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WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY     SATURDAY 


VOLUME  XXXVIII. 


Numbers    i — 26 


January  3— June  30,  1906 


ELECTRICIAN    PUBLISHING    COMPANY 

CHICAGO 


INDEX. 


I|n   lllis   llM,rx   subjects,   titles   and   authors'   names  are  all   included,   for   convenience,  in  one  alphabetically  arranged  list    Where  necessary    articles  are 
lexed  under  two  or  more  headings.    Often  the  Me*  is  consulted  bj   persons   who  hav.    onlj   a   vague  01   general  idea  of  th, 


soughl 
this  purpo 


In  such  a  case  a  search  under  every  heading  that   might  relate  to  the   subject   should  bi    made      A   number  of  i 
ose.     The  asterisk  (*)   is  equivalent  to  "illustrated."] 


Accumulators."     By  Sir  David  Saloi is.     (Booh 

Review; 

eeumulutorw.      iSir    also   Slor:iy»!    Ballcry.j 

.dams,   B.  C 

.dams1  "Electric  Transmission  of  Water  Power." 


sing,    Central- station.      (See    Central    Sta- 
sing,    Modern    Methods    of.    By    Frank    B. 


Agriculture,  Electr 
Air  Brakes  for  Eh 
Air,  Regeneration  0 
Ships  and    &i 


Horticulture.) 


.sou,  ::sn 


Alcohol,     Benzol 
Motor  Cars   in   Europe M89 

Alcohol    (Free)    in    Hie    Arts,    Elihu    Thomson    on..    220 

Alcohol,     Free,     Bill    Becomes    a    Law 34J,    -1!':; 

Alcohol,    Free,   ami    Its   Relation    to   Electric    Light- 
ing.     (Editorial) 310,  446 

Alexander's  "Electrical  Engineering."     (Book  Re- 


Alexundersou,    10.   F.      (A   Self-exci tin^  Alternator). *221 
Allen,    John    S.       (Proper     Handling    of     the    New- 

business     Department) 1G0 

Allis-Chalmers    Club,    The 142 

Allis- Chalmers    Company,    West    All  is    Works    of 

the 131,  *279 

Allis-Chalmers    Electrical    Works    in    Cincinnati.  .*529 

Allis-Chalmers    Engines,    Some   Barge *140 

Allis-Chalmers    1,800-horsepower    Gas    Engine    Di- 


sconnected   to    Alternator *1 

Allis-Chalmers   Railway   Motor * 

Allis-Chalmers    Shops    at    West   Allis,    Stationary 
Engi: 


Allis-Chnlui.-rs     So  :on     Turbine Hm.       ::.M.      :,n; 

Almert,    Harold *79 

Aimer  t,  Harold,  on  Central-station  Efficiency. 
(Editorial) 9S 

Almert,  Harold.  (Organization  and  Development 
of  the  New-business  Department) 1G0 

Alps,  Buergenstock  Electric  Elevator  in  the.  By 
Dr.    Alfred    Gradeiiwitz -. *154 

Alternating  Current  versus  Direct  Current  for 
Railways.       (Editorial) 36 

Alternating-current  Elevators.  By  W.  N.  Dickin- 
son,   Jr 501 

Alternating- current  Generators.  Compounding, 
Steinmetz's    Arrangement    for *352 

Alternating-current  Generators,  Protection  of, 
Against  Reversal  of  Energy.  (Leonard  Wil- 
son's   Patent) *13G 

Alternating- current    Meter,    Ferranti-Hamilton. , . .   *54 

Alternating-current  Motor,   Damme *116 

Alternating-current   Motors.    Self-starters  for *383 

Alternating-current  Overload  and  Reverse-cur- 
rent   Relay *553 

Alternating-current  Services,  Grounding  Second- 
ary.     By    Sidney    Hosmer 525 

Alternating-current  Signal  Circuits  in  the  New 
York  Subway.     By  J.  M.   Waldron *395 

Alternating-current  Traction  in  Heavv  Railroad- 
ing'  23S,  *29S 

Alternating-current  Wave  Forms,  Oscillographs  for 
the  Study  of *97,  *21S 

"Alternating  Currents."  By  Alfred  Hay.  (Book 
Review) 241 

Alternating  Currents  of  Low  Frequency,  Stan- 
ley's  System   of   Transmitting   and  Utilizing.  ..  ,*396 

Alternating  Currents.  (See  also  Central  Station, 
Generators,  High  Potential,  Polyphase.  Power 
Development,  Rotary,  Single  Phase,  Two-phase, 
Three-phase.     Surging.     Transformer,     etc.) 

Alternator,   A  Self-exciting.     By  E.  F.  Alexander- 


♦221 


Alternators  and  Gas  Engines,  Large,  for  Johan- 
nesburg,   South    Africa z<3 

Alternators,  Self -synchronizing  of.  By  Morgan 
Brooks  and  M.   K.  Akers 474,  47G 

Alternators.  (See  also  Generator,  Rotary,  Turbo- 
alternator,    etc.) 

Aluminum   Works   at   Niagara  Falls,    Bar^e   New..      49 

Amateur's  First  Dynamo,   An.    By  T.    H.  Reardon.    52S 

American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science.      (Annual   meeting   in   New  Orleans). IS,     34 

American  Electrical  Business,  Competition  in 
the.      (Editorial) 236 

American  Electrochemical  Society,  Ithaca  Con- 
vention   of 379 

American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers,  The. 
(Editorial) 420 

American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers,  An- 
nual  Meeting  of 422 

American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers.  Chi- 
cago  Meetings  of   the 52,    177.  243 

American   Institute   of   Electrical    Engineers.    Cin- 

139 


Elec- 
tion  of   Officers    of 147,    159,    257,    *27S.    399.   422 

American  Institute  of  Electrical    Engineers  Invited 
to    Visit    Great    Britain    and    Italy. 


American    insiiiut.-   oi    |.;i..i,j.  ,,i    i;, ,-.,,,. .  . 
Vork  Meetings  oi    the   uu,   1 77.  lt.t 

American  Instituti    ol    Electrical   Engineers,  Pitts- 
burg  Meetings  of 

American    Pacific   Cabli    I-    Completed 

America  n    Rallv         i ,    rfneerlng    and    S/La  Intel 

"I       Way      A.--.M   I,,  i  ,,,.,       ('},,..  r_;,,     (  ,.iri\  .-ni  i-.ii      of.  ,.     257 

American   Spi  I<  tj   oi    m-  i  h  mica]   Englneei    ,  i  !hat 

American     Si  reel     and     Inti-rurhan     llallwa} 

elation   a  nd    Affiliated   <  trganlzat  ions 

American     Telephone    am 

Annual     Report     of 

Anns,    W.    \v..    Death   of 220 

Anaconda,     Barge    Induction     Motors    for Ul 

Anderson.     S.     C,     Single-phase    Railway     Equip- 
ment   for (50 

Andrews,    Be. maid.      (The   Bong-flame   .\ir   Lamp),    lis 

Appleton     Wis..     Electrical     Conditions     in ::_'m 

Appleyard    Properties    Sold ITS,  206 

Arc-lamp     Post    Designs.     Art    Institute *213 

Arc   Damps,    Flame.      (See    Flame   and    Flaming.) 

Arc    Light.    Submarine. M26 

Arc    Light    on     Candlemas    Day.       (McCutcheon's 

Cartoon) »122 

Arc    Dighting.       By    R.     H.     Henderson M02 

Arc    Welding    Apparatus,    Improved *4ii!t 

Arctic    Regions,    Electric    Lighting    in    the 419 

Argentine    Republic    as    a    Market    for    Electrical 

Goods 302.     328 

Armstrong's,    A.    H.,    Method    for    the    Control   of 

Induction     Motors     for    Railway    Purposes *152 

Arnold.    B.    J.,     Elected    President    of    the    West- 
ern    Society 19 

A  mold -Carroll     Report    on    Electric- light    Rates    In 

Chicago    23S 

Arnold   Company,    The,    New   Offices  of *360 

Art    Institute.    Arc-lamp    Post    Designs   at *213 

Art     and     Utility     Combined     in     Italian     Hydro- 
electric   Plant *331 

Artillery,     Electricity    an     Important    Adjunct    of. 

(Editorial) 470 

Ashcroft,   E.    A.     (A  New   Process   for  the  Manu- 
facture   of    Sodium) 3S0 

Ashtabula     <  O. ')     Municipal-ownership    Situation...    260 

Atlantic    Cable,    All-British,    Proposed 523 

Atlantic    City    in    June • *445 

Atmosphere,    The    Production    of    Nitrogen    from 


Bchr   Mono-rail    Project    In    Borland   Abandon 
Beglum,    Publl  Electricity  in....  45* 

Be         Ao.OOK.f,.       Tel,,,; 

Bell,      i.  Physiological     Factor 

Illumination     and     Phol  •tni 

Bel    Telephone  Company  ol  C  Cana- 

Bell    Telephone    Contract    Agent*    Annual    Meet- 
ing    of 

Bell    Telephone    KInaiif:«!fl 

M,  1M,    MS,    I 

Be||         I   ,-|,    i 

and     T-lemaph     Company.) 
1:11          Loul                                        ,r     Transmission." 
1 1  look    R<  ■.  lew  i     

'"       l*w-    l-art      B.trnp     Guard 


i  .■ 


.1 


the 


Auditorium       Ekvtrie-li^ht       Plant       in       Chicago. 

(Editorial) 

Aurora,    El^in    and    Chicago    Electric    Railway    to 

Extend    Express    Business 

Aurora,     Elgin     and     Chicago    Railway    Company, 

Electric-light    Rates    of 

Austin    (Texas)    Dam,     Rebuilding    of    the 

Australian    Railroads  to  be  Electrified 

Automatic  Telephone  Exchange  for  SkibO  Castle.* 
Automatic  Telephone  System,  Bell;  in  Colorado.. 
Automatic     Telephone     System,     Chicago,     Exten- 


197 


to. 


Automobile.    Electric,    Grace    and    Distinction    of. 

(Editorial) 138, 

Automobile     Omnibuses,     Electric,      Proposed,      In 

Bondon 3S6,    406, 

Automobile    Shows.     (See    Boston,    Chicago,    New 

York,    etc.) 

Automobile    Truck,     Stud'-baker    Electric * 

Automobiles    (Notes) Ill,    1SS,    22S,    24S, 

Automobiles    in    Chicago,    Number    of 

Automobiles,  Electric.  Are  Safe.  (Editorial) .... 
Automobiles.  Electric.  Shown  at  Chicago  Show..* 
Automobiles,     Special-  Roads    for. 


Auxiliary  Telephone  Circuits.    By  Charles  H.  Coar  *62 


Backus.   Edward,   Death   of 

Badt,    F.    B.,    Recovery    of I 

Baker  Street  and  Waterloo  Underground  Railway 

.  of    London 205,    265,  * 

Bakery,    The    Central    Station    and   the 260,  I 

Ballistic     Work,     D'Arsonval     Galvanometer     for. 

Adjustment    of    the ! 

Baltimore,    New   Bell    Telephone    Exchange    in 

Baltimore,     New    Consolidated    Company's    Power 

Plant    at : 

Baltimore-Washington    Electric    Railway 347,  ' 

Bannister,    Bemuel,    Death    of ', 

Barrett,    George    A.      (The    Proper    Handling    of 

Consumers'    Meters) : 

Barrows"    "Pattern   Making."      (Book    Review) : 

Barstow,    W.    S.'-    (Mercury-arc    Rectifier    System 
with    Magnetic    Lamps    for    Street    Illumination") 

471.     • 

Bartholomew,   W.    S.,    on   Air   Brakes   for   Electric 

Cars    ■ 

Battery,    Dry.    Recharging 3 

Battery,    Storage.      (See   Storage   Battery.) 

Batteries,    Primary A 

Baxter's    "Electricity."     (Book   Review) 1 

Beaumont's      "Steam-engine     Indicator."        (Book 

Review) I 

Beauty.    Lamp    Posts    May   be    Things    of.      (Edi- 
torial)     I 

Beck   Flaming    Lamp    Company,    Incorporation    of.   ; 


l.eii;:ol,     Alcohol     :m<|     Caroline     vn-aj.-;     Steam     for 
M'.ioi-     i.;;,rn     in     Europe 

Berlin,    Moabll    Station    In 

Berlin    Street-railway   Affairs '   '   "  im 

Berthoud-Thoune  Electric  Railway  in  Switzerland    *ii 

Bingnamton    Idea,    a m 

Bisseii,    professor,    on     Depreciation    of    Electrical 
Properties    3.|0 

Bhicl;   River  power  Transmission ".".".".". I .".*."  Ml 

Blast-furnace    Gas-engine    Development    In    Pitts- 

burg    District 4->c 

Blindness,     Apparent.     Due     to    Alleged    Electricai 

Shock    410 

Bl |,    William    H..    jr 7.7.7. '.".'. '.*'.". M43 

Blood.    William    !)..    Jr..   Address  of.  as  President 

of    National     Electric     Light     Association.  ...  471 

Boat.      Trolley.      to      Disperse      Floating      Ice     at 

Niagara    Falls    Power    House "i*. 

Boats.    German    Method    of    Electrically   Towfi  - 
Bohemia.     Three-conductor     Direct-current     Rail- 
way   in.      By    C.    Smith »ij 

Boiler   Economy.    Sallberg   on 472    "473 

Boiler    Economy.    Stott    on *lnl 

Book   Reviews 142.   222.    241.   386 


Boston    Automobile    Show ' *  246 

Boston  Edison  Company.  The  New  Building  of  the  •-H5 
Boston   Harbor,  Low  Tide  in.  Affects  Power-house 

Condensers    36S 

Boston.      Municipal      Ownership      of     Electric-light 

Plant  Proposed  in 109,  145,   167,  306.  53S 

Boston    Section    of    Illuminating    Engineering    So- 
ciety    366 

Bower.    L.    F 117,   «*27 

Bradley,  George  L..  Death  of 279 

Bradley    Syndicate    Gets    Federal    Telephone    Prop- 
erties     J 455.  479 

1  "rak.s.   Air.  for  Electric  Cars 322 

Brakes  Discussed  by  Central  Electric  Railwav  As- 
sociation         255 

Brazil,   Electrical  Opportunities  in 4on 

Breen.  Joseph  L..  Death  of 279 

Brembo  River  Power  Develpoment  in  Italy *331 

Bremen.  Steamship.  Space  Telegraphv  on.". *3S3 

Brewery.    Pabst,    Power  Plant 124.   401 

Bridge.    Transporter.   "Widnes-Runcorn    Electrically 

Operated    '.   »i  2 

Brill.  G.    M..   Death   of 279 

Bristol    Portable    Recording  Gauges »363 

British.   All.   Atlantic  Cable  Proposed 523 

British    Pacific    Cable 12 

Brockway's    "Electric-railway  Accounting."     (Book 


Rev 


241 


Brooklyn,  Large  Steam  Turbines  for 7.  "3S1 

Brooklyn  Polytechnic   Students  Make  Train  Test..*397 

Brooks.    Franklin.    Death    of .  ,*. 220 

Brooks,    Morgan,    and    M.    K.    Akers.      (Self -syn- 
chronizing of  Alternators) 474,  47* 

Brown-Boveri  Steam  Turbines »537 

Brownell.    E.    E.      (Electrolysis"! 2S0 

Buck.   H.  "W.,  on  the  Economic  Value  of  Niagara 

Falls     453 

Buergenstock   Electric   Elevator   in    the  Alps.      Bv 

Dr.   Alfred  Gradenwitz >154 

Buffalo.  Lockport  and  Rochester  Electric  Railway.  541 
Buffalo.    Municipal   Lighting  Proposed   in.. 233.    365.   396 
Building  Construction.    Motors  Should   Replace  En- 
gines in.     (Editorial) 470 

Bullock   (Allis-Chalmers)   Works  in  Cincinnati *529 

Bunsen's    Photometer    321 

Burdett,  E.  W.,   on  Municipal  Ownership 491 

Burford,  "W.  D.     (Underground  Construction  in  La 

Crosse.  "Wis.) ISO 

Eurgess.    C.    F.,    on   Magnetic   Properties   of  Elec- 
trolytic   Iron    474 

Burglar  Protection  and  Advertising.   Combining...   54S 

Burglars  Don"t  Like  Electric  Light 261 

Burke    Smokeless    Furnace -374 

Burlingame's   "Wireless   Printing  Telegraph 3S 

Burnett.    Douglass.      (Some    Important    Considera- 
tions in  Elecfric  Illuminating  Engineering"* 320 

Burns.   John,    on   an   Incognito  "Visit 139 

Bushnell.   S.  Morgan.      (The  Sale  of  Electric  Light 

and  Power)    S4 

Business   Notes    2S.    49. 

6S.  91.  111.  131.  149.  169.  1S9.  209.    229,  24?,  26S,  2S9. 
309.   329.  349,    371.    390.   411.    433.    460.    1S4,   513,   535,  559 
1  of  the  Tear  1905  in  Review 20 


6980 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


Cable,   Atlantic.      (See  Atlantic  Cable.) 
Cable   Cars  to   Be   Abandoned  in   Chicag 

Cable  Clamps  Used  in  Turning  a  Corner 

Cable  Construction  for  Long:  Island  Railroad. 


.493,    521,  53S        Ch 


Chicago     Edison     Compai 

Other  Statistics  of 

Chicago    Edison    Compa 


Annual     Report 


•104, 


(.Editorial). 


Cable  Laying  in   Simplon   Tunnel 

Cable,    Pacific.      (See    Pacific   Cable.) 

Cable,  Panama  Canal.      (See  Panama  Canal.) 

Cable   Practice,    Underground,    Present,    Comn 
on.      By  Wallace    S.    Clark 

Cable     Roller,     Callahan 

Cable-testing  Wagon,    German 

Cable    and   Wire    Standardization. 

Cables,   Submarine,  of  the  World. 

Cables.  Testing,  Portable  X-ray  Apparatus  for * 

Cables,    Underground.    Maximum    Voltage    for 

Cables  and  Wires.  Rubber-covered,   Standardizing. 
By  John  Langan i 

Cahill    Electrical    Music    System,       <  lOditorial) 

California  Electric  Power  Consolidation   Completed 

California   Electrical  Works,    Effect   of   San    Fran- 
cisco Earthquake   on * 

California    Gas    and    Electric    Corporation,    9,700- 
horsepower  Hydraulic   Turbine  for : 

California  Power  Development.  Notes  of 

Calumet  Electric   Street  Railway   of   Chicago   Sold 

Canada,  Dominion  of.     (Correspondence) 

26.  46,  65,   89,    L09,  145-,  166,  1S5, 

205,    245,    265,   305,    367,    386,    406,    129,    456,    4S0,   511.   ! 

Canada,  Exportation  of  Electric  Current  from. 406, 

Canadian  Bell  Telephone  Company,   Improvements 


Canadian  Electrical  Association,  Niagara  Falls 
Convention     of 519,  : 

Canadian    Government   Telephone    Inquiry 323,   '■ 

Canadian  Niagara  Power  Company,  Power  Plant 
of  the   *: 

Canadian  Pacific,    Electric    Locomotives  on . 

Canadian    Telephone   News.      (Correspondent: 


.143, 
Canadian  Views  of  the  Niag; 


.152.     191,   277 


Canal   Boats,    Electrical   Towing  of 

Canal    Transportation    in    Ohio.    Electric.    Finar 
cially    Attacked 


Gasoline-electric,   An  Experimental * 

Car,-  Gasoline-electric,  Strang,   on  Transcontinental 

Trip    * 

Car,  Gasoline,  Lake   Shore  Railroad's : 

Car  Headlights,   Searchlights  as 

Car,     Test,    Electric,     Educational    Value    of    the. 

(Institute  Discussion)    

Car  and  Truck  Builders,  Combination  of 159, 

Cars  for  City  Service,  Types  of * 

Cars,  Electric.  Air  Brakes  for : 

Cars,  Motor,  in  Europe,  Alcohol,  Benzol  and  Gaso- 
line  Versus   Steam   for * 

Cars,  Steel,  for  New  York  Subway 

Carbons,    French,  in   the  United   States * 

Carhart,    Henry   S.      (The    Charlottenburg,  Confer- 
ence  on  Electrical  Units  of  Measurement) * 

Carnegie    Estate     in     Scotland,     Automatic     Tele- 
phones   for * 

Carrol],    William.       (Possible     Municipal    Uses    of 

Drainage  Canal  Power) 

Carroll's,   William,  Reports  on  Electric-light  Costs 

and  Rates  in   Chicago 19S, 

Carter's    "Motive    Power    and    Gearing    for    Elec- 
trical   Machinery."      (Book   Review) 

Carty,   J.  J.      (Telephone   Engineering) 182,  202, 

Catawba  River  Power    Development 47,  127,  145, 

Catalogue,  W.  N.  Matthews  &  Bro.'s * 

Catenary      Overhead      Construction      of      Warren- 
Jamestown  Single-phase  Railway * 

Caustic  Soda.  Electrolysis  of ■ 

Cement    Plant,    Large    Pacific    Coast,    Hydro-elec- 
tric  Power   for 

Census    Statistics    of    Electrical    Industries.    (Edi- 
torial)      176, 

Census    Statistics   of    Electrical    Manufactures    for 

1904 

Census  Statistics  of  Telephones  and  Telegraphs  in 

19C2     

Centenary  of  the  Electric  Light.     (Editorial) : 

Central  America,  Telegraph   Extension  in 

Central  Electric  Company.    New    Building  of  the...    : 
Central  Electric  Railwav   Association,    Meetings  of 

57,    100,   139,    255,   < 

Central     Pennsylvania     Traction     Company,     New 

Power    Station    of *i 

Central-station    Advertising 

*S5,  161,   *343,   424,  *47S.  504,   I 

Central-station    Advertising    Exhibit    at    Atlantic 

City  Convention    ! 

Central  Station,  The,  and  the  Bakery 260,  I 

Central    Station,     The    Bille,     at     Hamburg,     Ger- 
many.    By  Frank  C.  Perkins *\ 

Central-station    Company  and  Consumer - 

Central-station     Design.    Modern,     as    Exemplified 

in  La  Crosse,  Wis.     By  C.  H.  Williams *] 

Central-station   Economics,  Stott  on *101,  *: 

Central-station   Efficiency,   Almert   on.      (Editorial) 
Central    Station    Electrically    Decorated    Attracts 


Smith 


Hanover,    Germany.      By    C. 

Central-station    Industry    in    Massachusetts 

Central- station   Losses,    Swinburne   on 

Central-station  Policy  in  Illuminating  Engineer- 
ing,  Douglass   Burnett  on 

Central-station  Policy  in  Relation  to  Lamp  Effi- 
ciency.     (Editorial) 


Central-station  Practice.  Chicago *1,  31,  *< 

Central-station    Practice.    English.      (Editorial) t 

Central-station  Service  in  the  United  States,  Sta- 
tistical   Table    of 1 

Central  Station,  The  Small,  Forthcoming  Articles 
on    520,    ! 

Central  Station.  Small,  How  to  Make  a,  Pay.  By 
D.    F.   McGee ! 

Central    Stations    and    Electrochemical    Processes. .    ', 

Central  Stations.  Experience  of.  with  Lightning 
Trouble   i 

Central  Stations.  Power  Output  of.  Suggestions 
for  Increasing  the.     By  P.  H.  Korst 

Central  Stations.  (See  also  Lighting,  Power, 
Rates,    Selling    Electricity.    Sub- stations,    etc.) 

Central  Union  Telephone  Company.  Annual  Report 

of    : 

Century  Electric   Company's    Single-phase   Motors.*' 

Champaign,  111..  Const  met  inn  Work  in : 

Chariot  tenburg  Conference,  The,  on  Electrical 
Units   of   Measurement.     By   Henry    S.    Carhart.*! 

Cheney.   W.   W.,    Jr ' 

Chicago   Automatic    Telephone    System,    Extensions 

tn  : 

Chicago    Automobile    Show *136,  '. 

Chicago   Central-station    Practice *1,    31,   *• 

Chicago  City  Council,  Municipal-ownership  Meas- 
ures of  Mayor  Dunne  Passed  by 82.  : 

Chicago  City  Railway  Company,  New  Officers  and 
Annual  Report  of : 

Chicago  Department  Store  Plant  Fifty  Feet  Below 
Street  Level  *: 

Chicago  Drainage  Canal.     (See  Drainage  Canal.) 


B'la 


Due 


Men    Enb 


ed   at    Hawthi 


361 


Chicago,    Electric-light  Rates  in 139,  156, 

157,     177,     19S,     217,     238,     257,     38:3,     425,     403.     518,   541 

Chicago         Eleelric- light  Rales         Mild         .Methods         of 

Charging.      (Editorial) 156,    316,  520 

Chicago    the    Electrical    City.      (Editorial) 9S 

Chicago    Electrical    Show 

28,    *33,    *51,    *72,    SO,    99,    126,    141,   *157 

Chicago    Eh-clricai    Show,    The.       i  Editorial) SO,  98 

Chicago    Elevated-railway    Traffic 

.15,     48,     20S,     2S7,     3S9,  4S3 


Chicago,     Engine 


Club    of. 


124 


Jhieago   Federal   Building,   Artistic   Lighting   Fix- 

Chi.ano    Freight    Tunnels.  .'.  .V.VaY,'  +'lY»,"  24*','  25]',    48! 

Chicago    Gas    Inquiry 19,    34,    101,    137,   163 

Chicago,     Illinois    Central    Railroad    in,     Proposed 
Electrification    of 19,     36 

Chicago    Lighting    Statistics 448 

Chicago,    Mayor    Dunne    of.    Gives    His    Views    on 
Municipal     Problems 24 

Chicago    Municipal    Election,    Result    of 277 

Chicago    Municipal    Election,     Significance    of    the. 
(Editorial) ■ 276 

Chicago    Pneumatic    Tool    Company,    Annual    Re- 
port   of 149 

Chicago   Pneumatic    Tool    Company's   Compressed- 
air  Tools  for  Submarine  Working *426 

Chicago      Pneumatic      Tool     Company's      Portable 
Electric    Drills *552 

Chicago    South     Side    Elevated    Railroad.     Exten- 
sions   to 10S,     327,   432 

Chicago     St  reet -railwav     Municipal -owners-hip     Is- 
sue.    (Editorial) SO,    138,    196.    216,276 

Chicago     Street-railway     Service,     Betterment     of. 
(Editorial) 492 

Chicago     Street-railway     Situation 

-.21,    39.    SO.    82.    104,    138,    141,    17!),    196,    216,    21S,         » 
242,    276,     277,     322,     362,    404,     422,     450,     493,     521,   53S 

Chicago    Telephone     Company.     Affairs    and    Rates 

of    the 44,    SS,    106,    144,    1G5, 

184,    204,     244,.   263,     284,    305,     323,     405,     42S,     506,   545 

Chicago    Telephone    Company's    Annual    Report.  ...      S3 

Chicago,     Telephone     Exchange    in,     The     Newest 


Chicago  and  Vicinity   Suffer  from  Sleet  Storm. 82,  126 
Chicopee,     Mass.,     Municipal     Ownership     Not     a 

Success     in 1 67 

Chieti   Electric    Railway   in   Italy *231 

Chile,    Electrical    Opportunities    in 400 

Christensen,    Niels   A *507 

Chromium,     Electric 380 

Churches,     Notes    on     the    Lighting    of.     By    E.    R. 

Weeks    *453 

Cincinnati     Gas-    and     Electric     Company's     Exten- 
sions  325,    327,    55G 

Cincinnati    Light,    Heat   and   Power    Company    In- 
corporated     226 

Cincinnati    Society   of  Telephc 
Cincinnati    Telephone    Situation. 

.264,    283,    324,    366,    3S5,    506 


Research  , 


Cinder    Trap,    An    Efficient. 

Ciphers,    Telegraph,    by    the    Billion 243 

Circuit-breaker,      New,      of      Switchboard     Equip- 
ment   Company *3C2 

Circuit-breaker,    Weslinghouse     High-voltage *60 

Circuit-breaking    Apparatus,     High-potential *304 

Clark,   Wallace  S.     (Comments  on  Present  Under- 
ground   Cable    Practice) 359 

Clermont-Ferrand    (France)    Hydro-electric    Plant 


.13, 


Cleveland,    Block    Lighting    Proposed    ir 

Cleveland.    Niagara    Power    for 124 

Cleveland     Telephone    Interests.  .143.    224.    366,    455,    179 

Clifford,    Prof.   H   E.,    on   New   Illuminants 491 

Climax    Tube   for    Soldering    Flux *101 

Clyde     Valley     Powder     Plant     near     Glasg 


Frank    C.    Perkins ; *71 

Coal,    Exports  of,    from   the  United   States  in    1905.    235 
Coal- handling    Plant    of    Long    Island    City    Power 

Station *273,    274 

Coaling    Warships.    Floating    Fuel    Depot  for,    Elec- 
trically   Operated.      By    D.    A.    Willey *93 

Coar,    ( Tiarles'    1  1.      (Auxiliary    Teh-phone    Circuits  I    !::i>U 
Coar,    Charles  H.     (The  Prevention   of   Pole   Rot).  317 

Coast    Defenses,     Electricity    and.     (Editorial) 470 

Cobalt    in    North    Carolina 512 

Cold-storage    Plant.    Large,    Features    of  Engineer- 
ing   Interest    in    a *413 

Colleges    and    Educational    Institutions    at    Electri- 
cal    Show.       <  Editorial) !K 

Collins.    A.    F..    Wireless    Telephony   of *292 

Colloids,    Migration   and    Plocculation    of 379 

Colombia,     Electrical     Concessions    in 506 

Col  unit  liana,    Ohio,    Peculiar    Light  ing    Controversy 

in    23S 

Commercial   Telegraphers'   Union   of  America,  An- 
nual   Meeting    of 404 

Commonwealth    Electric   Company  of  Chicago,    An- 
nual   Report     and    Other    Statistics    of 31,545 

Commonwealth     Electric    Company,    Chicago,     Fisk 

Street   Station   of   the.     (With   supplement) .  .*1,  *554 
Commonwealth     Electric     Company     of     Chicago, 

Sub-stations    of *439 

Commutation,    Motor    Field,    Improvement    in *272 

Compound    and    Shunt- wound    Synchronous    Con- 
verters  for   Railway   Work.     By   W.    L.    Waters. 

474,     477 

Compounding        Alternating-current        Generators, 

Steinmetz's    Arrangement     for *352 

Compressed  Air  and  Arc  Light,  Submarine  Work- 
ing   by *426 

Concrete    Power    House    for    the    Seattle    Electric 

Company    493 

Condenser.     Electric,     Damping    Effect    of.       (Edi- 
torial)      492 

Condensers,    Steam,    in    Long    Island    City    Power 

Station    '. *294 

Condensers,     Steam,     Power-house,     Low     Tide     in 

Boston    Harbor    Affects 3CS 

Condensing    Plants.     Steam,     for    Small     Stations. .    335 

Connectome,    Dale    Company's *60 

Consolidated    Gas,    Electric   night  and  Power   Com- 
pany   of   Baltimore.    New-    Power    Plant   of 363 

Construction,    Line,    in    Small    Cities 201 

Construction,    Line,    Telephone.     By  S.   P.    Grace.. *351 
Construction,    Overhead    Line.      By    Paul    Spencer 

472.    *521 

for 
►464.  *540 


Construction,     Underground,     in    La     Crosse,     Wis. 

By  W.   D.    Burford 180.   2<;2 

Construction   Work   in   the  East  and  in   the  West. 

(Editorial) 36 

Construction    Work.     Some    Things    to    Avoid    in..    140 

Construction    Work,    Telephone.      (Editorial) 356 

Construction.     (See   also   Catenary,   Overhead,   Un- 
derground.   Wiring,    etc.) 
Controller.     Two-speed,     for    Electric     Light    and 

Power    Circuits    *312 

Cooking,    Electric,    Cost   of -(>1 

Cooking.    Electric     in    the    Household 541 

Cooking  by    Electricity,    Lectures    on 240 

Cooiev.     Lyman    E.       (The    Ownership    of    Public 
Utilities) 200 


Coolidge,   Marshall  H 

Cooper,    Leon    H.,    Death    of 

Co-operation,  Electrical.  Endorsed  by  National 
Electric    Light    Association 

Co-operation  in  Stimulating  the  Use  of  Current- 
consuming  Devices.     By  J.   Robert  Grouse 

Co-operative    Development 161, 

Copper,    Export    Duty   on,    Suggested.      (Editorial) 

Copper    Market 179 

Copper  Production  in  the   United  States  in  1905..   : 
Copper   Wire,    Hard-drawn.     By  T.    B.    Doolittle.. 
Cornell    University.    Electrical    Engineers    at,    New 

Quarters    for * 

Corrosion    of    Iron    by    Acids : 

Cotton-mill  Work,   New  Electrical  Equipment  for.  ! 
Council     Bluffs.     Iowa,      Construction      Work      in. 

Standard    of ■ 

Council    Bluffs,    Iowa,    New    Telephone    Exchange 

Crane,    Electric,    at     Southampton    Docks- 5 

Crocker- Wheeler    Electric    Hoists *• 

Crocker-Wheeler    Officials,    Convention    of *: 

Crouse,  J.  'Robert.  (Co-operation  in '  Stimulating  ' 
the  Use  of  Current- consuming  Devices) 84,  ' 

Curie,  Mrs.,  Succeeds  Her  Deceased  Husband  in 
Professorship   < 

Curie,    Professor,    Death    of 336,  *'. 

Curtis  Steam  Turbine,   Tests  of 365.  *i 

Cutler-Hammer  Self  Starters  for  Alternating-cur- 
rent   Motors *' 


.141,  216.   21S 


Electric 


Dale  Company's  Connectome   ... 

Dalrymple  Report.  The    

Damage    Suit.    Alleged    Bl indues 

Figures   in   a    

Daniel,   Frank,   on  Electrical  Co 

spection.       (Editorial) 36 

Danville,  111.,  Construction  Work  in 139 

D'Arsonval  Galvanometer   for  Ballistic  Work,   Ad- 
justment  of  the 215 

Davenport,     Rock     Island    and     Moline,     Electrical 

Properties  in.    Merger  of 302 

David,    C.    (Oscillographic    Researches    on    Surging 

in    High-tension    Lines) *43 

Davis,   Albert   G.,   Resonant-circuit    Telephony   In- 
vention of   *165 

Death  Roll  of  1905 IS 

December,    1905.  Electrical  Exports  for 121 

De  Cew  Falls  Power  Plant,   Additions  to.     By  Or- 

rin  E.   Dunlap *115 

Decorative  Lighting  in  Denver *54S 

De  Courcy,  A.     (Electrical  Progress  of  1905  on  the 

Continent)      .- *13 

De    Courcy,    A.    (Hydro-electric    Station    of  Plan    du 

Var)    13,   *14,  *192 

De  Forest,  Lee,   Marriage   of 16S 

Delaware  and    Hudson    Railroad's   Gasoline-electric 

Car    *117 

Denver   Central-entrance   Car *107 

Denver,  the  City  of  Lights 261,  *54S 

Denver,    Electric    "Welcome"    Arch'    to    Greet    the 

Elks  at   *54S 

Denver,    Municipal   Ownership    Defeated   in 443 

Depreciation    of    Electrical    Properties 340 

Detroit   Edison    Company's   Delray  Power   House..     *S 
Detroit,    Electrical     Conditions     in.     Underwriters' 

Report  on    300 

Detroit,    Electrolysis    in,    Precautions   Against 353 

Detroit  River  Tunnel,  Proposed 164,  484 

Detroit,   Telephone  Matters  in 126,   323,   42S 

Devonport,   England,   Dockyard,  Electricity  for 507 

Dickinson,   W.   N.,    Jr.      (Alternating-current   Ele- 
vators)       501 

Dielectric     Capacities,      Substances     of     Different, 

Electrical  Separation  of *192 

Direct    Current    Versus    Alternating    Current    for 

Railways.       (Editorial) 36 

Direct-current   Motor  Design  as  Influenced  by  the 

Inter-pole.      (Institute   Discussion) 447 

Direct-current  Power  Transmission 13,  34S 

Direct-current     Versus     Single-phase     Traction    in 

England     139,  197 

Direct-current,    Three-conductor    Railway    in    Bo- 
hemia.    By   C.    Smith *31 

Distribution,    Economical,   J.    A.   Innes   on 339 

Distribution     Scheme    of    Great    Northern    Power 

Company  in   Duluth,  Minn 463 

Distribution,    Secondary,   Spencer  on 522 

Distribution,    Steinmetz's   Long-distance    System  of  *95 

Dockyard,  British,  Electricity  for  a 507 

D'Olier  Air  Deflector  for  Electric  Fan *425 

Donohoe,   F.   E.,   Removal  of 1S7 

Doolittle,   T.  B.      (Hard-drawn  Copper  Wire) 61 

Doremus,    R.    O.,    Death    of 267 

Dow,  Alex,   on   Lightning   Protection 527 

Drafting  Rooms,  New  Wrinkles  in 395 

Drainage     Canal,     Chicago,     Power     Development, 

Progress   of   the *211 

Drainage  Canal,  Chicago,  Power  Offered  at  Lower 

Rates   506 

Drainage  Canal,   Chicago.    Power,   Possible  Munici- 
pal Uses  of ...37,  156,    157,   256,    506 

Drainage   Canal.   Chicago,   Power,    to  Be  Readv  in 

a   Year    157 

Drainage  Canal,    Chicago,   Utilization  of  the  Power 

of  the.      (Editorial) ' 156,  256 

Drainage  Canal.   Chicago.  Water  Diversion  of 

296,  313,  39S.   450 

Dra  i  nage    Canal,     Chicago,     Water     Diversion    of. 

(Editorial)     296,    398 

Drawings,    Signs  and    Symbols   in    Preparing 477 

Drills,   Electric,   Duntley  Air-cooled  Portable,   Lat- 
est Types  of  the *552 

Duluth-Edison     Electric     Company 129 

Duluth.  Minn.,  Great  Northern  Power  Company  in, 

Distribution    Scheme    of 463 

(Additions    to    De    Cew    Falls 


Dunlap,    Or 
Power   PI; 
Dunlap, 


it) 


*115 


(An  800 -horsepower  Motor  for 
the  Operation  of  a  Pulp  Mill) *463 

Dunlap,  Orrin  E.  (Generators  of  10,000  Horse- 
power on    Vertical  and    Horizontal   Shafts) -271 

Dunlap,  Orrin  E.  (How  May  Niagara  Falls  Best 
Serve  the  Interests  of  Mankind?) *134 

Dunlap.  Orrin  E.  (Transmission  Dine  from  Ni- 
agara Falls  to  Syracuse) *151 

limine.  Mayor,  Municipal -ownership  Measures  of, 
Passed  by  Chicago   City  Council 82,  104 

Dunne's.  Mayor,  Views  on  Pending  Municipal 
Problems    24 

Duntley  Air-Cooled  Portable  Electric  Drills,  Lat- 
est Types  of  the *552 

Dutch  East  Indies.  Space  Telegraphy  in  the.  By 
Dr.    Alfred    Gradenwitz *137 

Dvnamo,    An    Amateur's  First.      By  T.   H.    Reardon  52S 

Dynamos,  Direct-current,  Operation  of,  in  Series 
and  Parallel    262 

Dvnamos.    Shunt,    Operation   of.    in   Parallel 197 

Dynamos.  (See  also  Alternator,  Generator,  Ro- 
tary, etc.) 

Dynelectron,  The    *59 


ELEI  rRIi 


Idin        pparatu 

N  ■      Up  01     I 


■:'.        I  :.\     .1  "i    Swlliliilfii 

iihiK   Hen,    Bleetrlcitj    for  the. , 

letor,    Tho    

W.  C,   i 

,  The  Telephone   In 

in    Returns,    Searchlight    "Mor* 

ciii 


for     \n 


i  'i 


Drive.     (See    Factors    I  irh  ■■ 
Elevator.     (See   El  ova  Lor.  | 
Pans,     (See    Pans.) 
Furnace,     (Soe   Furnace.  I 
Heating-.     (See  Cooking  and 
Hoists.     (See  i  lolBtlngO 

Light,  Tho  Contonarj    of  the.     i  Ei lal)  23C 

-light  Fraud  In    England )?s 

UkIm   and  P.. wit  Rates.     (See  Rates.) 
Llghl    and    Powi  r,    The   Sa By    s. 


ting.) 


M 


rical  Effluvia,  Character  of,  Apparatus  for  In- 
[trlcal    Engineering."'  "By '  J."  '  H." '  Alexander. 


Ele 


Al.t 


Electrical      Munnfai 

Statistics  of,  for 
Electrical  Producliu 
Electrical    Progress 

A.  De  Courcy 
Electrical  Progress 

Henry  H.  Norris. 
Electrical  Property 
Electrical    Sale 


of. 


Chi. 


nial    Meet- 


Electrical  Separation.     (See  Separation.) 
Electrical    Shock.      (See   Shock.) 

Electrical   Shows.      (Editorial) 316 

Electrical  Trades  Association  of  Chicago,  Annual 

Meeting  of    101 

Electrical   Units.      (See  Units.) 

Electric  in  lis,    IU,'iss;ii'lnisr I  Is    Al.iv    Lirensi'- 2tI2 

"Electricity."     By  William  Baxter.  Jr.     (Book  Re- 
Electricity-'  Cannot    Be  Adulterated!     <  EdiVuruiii ..'.   lis 

Electricity,   Selling.      (See    Selling    Eleetricity.) 
Electrochemical    Convention,    The.      (Editorial) .  .  .  .37$ 
Electrochemical  Processes  as  Station    Load  Equal- 
izers        380 

"Electrochemistry."    By  P.  G.  Wiechmann.    (Book 

Review) 450 

Electrochemistry.       (See    also    American    Electro- 
chemical   Society.) 
Electro- dynamic    Company's    Inter-pole    Variable- 
speed    Motor *41 

Electroliers   Suggested   for  St.    Louis?  Street  Light- 
ing        1S1 

Electrolysis.     Bv  E.  E.  Brownell 2S0 

Electrolysis    of    Buried    Pipe 48,    2S0.    3"^ 

Electrolysis    in    Detroit.    Precautions    Against 353 

Electrolysis,    Possibility    of    Lead    Poisoning    from.    .",::." 

Electrolytic-tube    Furnace.     Solid.       i  Editorial) 156 

Electrolytic    Copper    Plant,    Electrically    Operated..  140 

Electrolytic    Corrosiua    <<(    Copp.-r-i  jM     Alb.vs :;vu 

Electrolytic    Corrosion    of    Structural    Steel 3S0 

Electrolytic     Deposits     of     Metals :;so 

Electrolytic  Iron,    Magnetic    Properties  of,   Burgess 

on.       (Institute    discussion) 474 

Electrolytic    Precipitation    of    Lead    from    Acetate 

Solutions    3S0 

Elevator    Combination,     Alleged,     Soil     Ago  ins  I  ....    _J_".i 
Elevator,     Electric,     Buergenstock,     in     the     Alps. 

By   Dr.    Alfred    (.Iradenwitz *154 

Elevator,      .Hydro -electric,      in      Tudor     Apartment 

Building,     Chicago *155 

Elevators,    Alternating- current.      By   "W.    N.    Dick- 
inson,  Jr 501 

Elevators,     Automatic.    Electric 261 

Elevators.    Electric,   and   Power   Plant   in   Majestic 

Theater   Building,    Chicago *373 

Elk    River    Power    Development    near    Minneapolis.    °0" 

Elliott,     Robert    L..     Marriage    of 147 

Emmet's    Steam-turbine    Improvements 493 

Emmet's  System    for    Regulat  ing  Turbo-generators  '272 
Empty    Houses    Lighted    by    Electricity    to    Attract 

Purchasers 342 

Engine    Economy,     Stott    on *10"'> 

Engine,    Gas.      (See    Gas    Engine.) 

Engine    Indicator   and    Overload    Alarm,    Shreffier.  .*103 

Engine,    steam.    Horizontal-vertical,    How  the  Idea 

of    the,    Was    Evolved 2S1 

Engines,    Some   Large   Allis-Chalmer-s *140 

Engines.     Subway,     Intcrborough     Companv's    Test 

of    123 

Engines    Under    Test     Supplying    Power    for    Fac- 
tory Purposes *50S 

Engineers'  Club  of  Chicago 124 

■■Engineer's         Handbook."  Bv.       Norman        H. 

Schneider.     (Book   Review) 142 

England,     Electric-light    Fraud    in 47S 

England,   Third   Rail   versus  Single   Phase   in.. 139,  197 


■■ 
1 


0 


I 


I 


1 


1     I II 0 

I) 

1  ■   ' ill f  Electric  ( 

Kxpri         i 

i  i, .  i,  |,     Rallv        ...i 

'     ■■"        ■ i  roll. 

Bxpri        :' .    i 


F 


[nsl  Jlnllon     l 

".'.   •::n.  :im.   t.i.   •!•;:. 

"I  '  !•  I'l U    .  ,  |,.«  |. 

■  ■""!  'i  ■  li  nl  onlc  i  loi I  BUI 

'  "    I  ■■  ......'...'......' 

Western  Electrli  • 

,  Gei Iloi  ...     190  .  v 

rlc     rgi     Fiji       

i "     H  ■    :  In  'i Typ 

rlc,    u i    or.      (Editorial) 

l>.,    Central-station    Decoration    In 

lea    in     hni,. i/,:      men  ased    by 


il   Building,  C so.     ("See  Chicago.) 

il    Teli  phone    Prop,  rtles,    Bi  lIIi 



I.      i  Electricity    In    .1     Large     Pap. 


York 

Fire,   E 
Fires, 


Handling    .,1    New-bus!-, 


1  Editorial) 

mission     in    Scotland, 

Mi  ' 

.    Support    for • 

il  house   Interests 

otor  Passes.'.'.'.!; '.'.'.'.'.'.'! 

uii-wi'ssiirc.     for    New 


Shop, 

1.1,. 


Finn  if 
Flame 
Flam 

Flam 


ling  

es.    Lighting,    1 

Arc  Lamp,  The, 
Arc  Lamps.  (E 
Arc  Lamps  .11  C 
Arcs  Discussed  1 
ng  Carbon  Arc  La 


L.    B.    Harks 


Flat,   Not  How.   but    How   Steep 

Flies,  Electric  Fans  Discourage.  .  .  . 
Flywheel  Accident.  Mansfield  (O.). 
Flywheel  Accident  in  Pontine.  111... 
Flywheel  Accidents.  (Editorial).... 
Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.,  Electrical  Con 
Fond    du    Lac.    Wis..    Electrical   Shov. 


■il.-d 


Franklin's     Historic    Electric    Generator 

Fraud,    Electric-light,    in    England 

Free    Alcohol.      (See    Alcohol.) 

Freight    Handled    by    Indianapolis    Electric    Rail- 
Freight    Tunnels.    Chicago.' '  '(See   Chicago'  Freight 
Tunnels.) 

French    Battery    Company • 

Frueauff.   Frank  W.      (Business-getting  Methods) '. 
Fuel  Economy.     By  .1     II.   Hallberg  472    * 

Furnace.    Burke    Smokeless 

Electric.    Design     Collens    on 


Fu 


Ele 


En 


I  'ii 


for   John 


Alternator    

Gas-engine  Economy,  Stott  on 

Gas-engine    Plant,    Electric    t  Pro.luccr  i 
Colo 

Gas-engine  Power.      (New  Year's  Revi 

Gas  Engine.    The.   as  a    Prime  Mover... 

Gas    Engines    and    Alternate 
nesburg.    South   Africa    .. 

Gas  Engines  Operating  Warren-Jamestown  Single- 
Station   '.....".'. 7..Y. 77.7 . a.' 

Gas   Mantles   Discussed  by  Illuminating  Engineers  217 
Gas   Power  Plant,   Producer,    in   Worcester   ...  "- 

Gas.  Price  of.   in  Chicago 19.  34.  101.  137.  163 

Gas,  Price  of,  in  New  York 4i* 


AH 


• 


Mctli 

T.-irirr.    The    N,  . 

ind    the    United 
ports  of  

I  II     l-i,    for    IIIkIi    Pun. 

Teli  pho 


I 

rdl,    B., 

John  t'..  Promotli 

opmcnl  from  the 

Glasgow's  Municipal   Debt.     (Editorial)..   .. 

Gongs,  Alarm,  for  Patrol  B 

d   l.lKhti 

Grace,  S.  P. 

z,    I 'r.    Alfred 
... 
Gradenwltz,  Dr.  Alfred.     (Electrl,    i:.,ii,..  ..ling  L'n- 


'■i        ■  Hi  ultii  SI 

■   tz,    Dr.   Alfred. 

Silk    i-'. les)  -311 

Gradi  nwitz.    Dr.    Alfred.      (High-tension     - 
phase    Traction    Expi  rim.  ms    on       .■     - 

ten    Line)    

Gradenwltz,  Dr.  Alfred.     ■ .-  phy  in  tlie 

Dutch    East    In, Ins  i 

Gradenwltz,    Dr.    Alfred. 

Seagoing    Si'-  unships  i 
'  ir.'iul   l:  l'i.ls.  Mi,  i,  .  ,  :  .    |  .  1:       Gurri 

Grand   Rapids,   M  i 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,   Municipal  Arc-light! 

;j;       Grand  Rapids,    Wis.  Overhead 'wiring' Conditions 


,;  Operation  In 


'Space     X 


eat  Britain.    Free    I 

n.  'Editorial. 

eat  Britain.    Street    Railways   i 

eat  Britain,   Telephony  in.      (S 

irthei..    _ 

Systen 

lie  "ley.  Colo..   Produe,  I-  nt   in {Is 

Green  Bay.  Wis..   Electrical  Conditions   In 320 

Grounded   Secondaries,     i  Iowa  Convention! 

Grounding   Secondary  Alternating-current    Services. 

By  Sidney   Hosmer   

Ground-wire    Clamp    for    Telephone    and    Teh-graph 

Work    .".. •$03 

Guns.   Electrical  Mechanism   for   Firing 

Guy  Anchor.  New  Stombaugh 


Hair-drying  Machine.   Electric 371 

Hallberg.    J.    Henry.      1  Fuel    Eeonomvi 472     "473 

Hamburg.    Germany.    The  Bille  Central   Station  at. 

P.v  Finnic  C.  Perkins t--"">i 

Hammer.   Electric    332 

Hanover.    Germany,    Central    Station    in.       Bv    C. 

Smith     ". »55 

It  inislmrg.    Pa..    New    Traction    Facilities    for «360 

Harrison's   "Wiring  Diagrams  and   Switchboards." 

1B.0e.fc    Review!     :42 

Hawaiian  Hydro-electric  Irrigating  Plant S2 

Hawthorne    Plant    of   Western    Electric    Company. 

Chicago  Edison  Men   Entertained  at 361 

Hawthorne   Shops   of   the   Western    Electric   Com- 
pany.     Bv   H.    R.    King '417 

Hay's   •'Alternating  Currents."      .Book  Review! 241 

Hazing,     Electrical,     Should    Be    Discountenanced. 

1  Editorial!     276 

!  r.   C.   K.    Sealing  Press 

IT,  at.    Electric,    for  the   Laboratory 424 

Grating.  Electric.  Aver  and  Loewenthal  on 472 

Heating    and   Lighting    Plant    at    Parkville.    Mo...  »23 

Heating  Pad,   Electric 260 

Hen.    Egg-eating.   Electricity   for   the S22 

-■n.    K.    H.      (Arc   Lighting! 

1 1,  rrioli's    "Practical    Electric'-'r'aiiwav'  'iTYiidbook'" 

(Book    Review) 222 

Cooper,   Mercury   Vapor  Lamp 42^ 

Hewlett.     E.     M.       (Modern     Switchboard     Practice 
with     Particular    Reference    to    Automata 


•546 


Hewlett's    High-potential    Circuit-breaking    Appa- 
ratus     *304 

High-potential  Circuit-breaking  Apparatus *304 


High-potential  Generators  for  Los  Angeles. .  . . . . . .  4 

High-tension    Line    Maintenance,    Practical   Points 

High  Unsicn  Linus    Surging  in    Cs-:llogr£,r.hi3  Es 
searches  on.     By  C.   David. .. ....  •  ■'•'•  ■•••  'A'l' 

High-tension    Wires    Crossing    Other    Wiies,    Pos- 
sible  Danger  from , 

Highways.    Telephone   Lines   on 

Hine,  William  S ■  ■  •  ■  ■ : 

Hoirj.'B^AlSSs^^ris^esiaenV  of  theN,:  , 
tional-Interstate   Tolepl Association    .........   ; 

Hoiienfuertli    llydro-elceirio   Plant   in  Bohemia.. 13,  ( 

Hotting'  £*"   '''>»'■'>  ■'■     'Crocke^Wheeler)..';} 

Soiophano  New  Pagoda   ■'Reflecting  Arc    *; 

Holophane    Beflector,    New iVo    < 

Horticulture.  Electricity   in . ••  •  ■ ■  •  v.y  "  "",.^  ' 

Hostner.  Sidney.     (Grounding  Secondary  Alternat-  ; 

ing-eurrent   Services  I    ■■■••■:••■■.■■.;■' V„  'iltrnet 
Houses.  Empty.  Lighted  by  Electricity  to  Attract  ; 

Purchasers    •  ■  •  •  ■  •  ■  ■  ■ 

TTovev    William   A.,    Death  of •  ■■- 'A'"' 

Humboldt    Exchange   of    Chicago    Telephone   Corny 

Hydro-electric '  Development   in   France   ! 

lydro-e  ectric  Devel, ,p„,e,„.   Milan-Paderno •■ 

PTvdro-eloetrio  Development    in   Switzerland........ 

Hydro-Seotric     Installations,     Influence    of :    Load. 

Hylr^Uctri-  Installation.  :r  Jhe.-r;  Fivsr  India 
Hy^I^^P^^^M^e^^tU, 
nfSc^Uztjlz  Flant  Italian  Art  an!  Utility  CJoir.  f 
Hyirc\lVitri3  Fcwar  for  L?.rgo  Paoific  Coast  03 
Hyto™:=  St,tion  *  Flan  S=  -.fe.f, 
Hy§roAel?cetrfcOUr%ee  '  also  '  Power '  'Development. 
Power  Generation  or  Power  Transmission, 
Waterpower,  etc.)  . 

Hygiene  of  Rural  Electric   Railways , 

Hylo   Incandescent   Lamp    Poster 


Ice  Cream   Freezing,  Electric  Power  in. .......  ■■ 

Ice  Floating,  at  Niagara  Falls  Power  House, 
Trolley    Boat    to    Disperse. 

Ic»   on    Third    Rail,    Prevention    ot 

Illinois.    (Correspondence^. .  . . ..  ...^  .  •  •  -;  •  ■  ■ -- ■  ■& 

Illinois  "Central  Railroad  Electrification  May  be 
Hastened 


144 


ois  Central  R-ihroad  Telephones. 
minis  JnUpenimt   T:.l5phcn3  As^ci^i-.n;;M33t       ^ 

IIP- "is .  ■1Mrnufc3t--:-3:-s'    Assccif.ticn    and    Chicag:   ^ 
IlrPff'r^rrA'certral  Flant  for  '   "     488 

Illinois  Traction  Systgo     ^     ^     .^     ...     _gg;  ^ 

Illuminants,    Artificial,    Swinburne 


Illuminants;   New,   H.   E.   Clifford  un ..... 
Illuniinatins    Engineering,    Electric,    Som 

tant  Considerat: 
Illuminating   Engineerin 


Impor- 
.  _._,lass  Burnett .  . 
The  Problems   of. 


By  Do 


491 
320 


111 


„  ng  Engineering  ^ociety,  growth  of  .^ 

217,    315,    320, 


Illuminating  Engineering  Society.^Meetin 
Illumination', '  Novel,"  by  '  Nernst    Lamps 


429,  4SS 
Pitts- 

'burg  .Railroad   Station •  •  •  • ...  ■  -  ■■■■■  20s 

Illumination   and   Photometry.    Some   Physiological 

Factors   in.     Ey   Dr.    Louis   Bell. ■ ■•   ■J"1 

Incandescent      limp,      Is      the      Carbon-filament, 
Doomed?     (Editorial) ■  ■  ■  ■  •  • J™ 


452 
494 


Ini- 


.23,    57,  100 


(Dine   Losses   and   Economical   Dis.- 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


International    Brotherhood    of    Electrical   Workers 

35,    1C9,    248 

Int'ernatiniial    Congress   of   Inventors 422 

International     Electric    Meter    Company— Its    Per- 

'    sonnel   and    Products .■  •     -4 

Inlernatiimal    Electrical    Congress.    Final   Financial 

Report    of 464.   "-■' 

International    Electrical   Units 257,  297 

International    Waterways    Commission^  Report    of 

Inter-pole; "  Direct-current  Motor  Design  as  In- 
fluenced   by    the.     (Institute    discussion) 447 

Inter-pole  Variable-speed  Motor  for  Machine-tool 
Work    • •■■■'. 

Interstate  Electric  Railway  Association,  Joliet 
Meeting    of iYL 

Interurban    Competition    in   Iowa. ..._..............  ■   ■»» 

Interurban    Railway    Development    m    Central    11- 

Intorurban'  Railway    iierger   in    Massachusetts....   127 
Int.rurban     Railway    in     Switzerland,    St.    Gallen- 

Trogen.     By  Franz  Koester ■••■■   -J" 

Inlerurban   Railway.   Winona.   Ind.,  Equipment  for.  477 
Interurban    Roads    Benefit    Farming    Communities 

Interurban  '  Roads'  Make   Towns   Crow .... 139 

Inventing.    The   Art   of.     (Institute   discussion) 475 

Inventors-.     Of    Interest    to *-« 

Iowa    Central-station    Stalistics 334 

Iowa    Cities    Oppose    Municipal    ownership t&i 

Iowa  Electrical  Association.  Des  Moines  Conven- 
tion   of ..j--,      ... l 

Iowa   Street   and  Interurban    Railway   Association, 

Des  Moines   Convention  of • 340 

Iowa  Telephone  Association,  Des  Moines  Conven- 
tion    of ViVI •"• 

Ipswich,   England,   Municipal   Electrical  Enterprise 

Iron,' 'Electrolytic','  Magnetic  Properties  of.  (In- 
stitute discussion) .••"-;■, ,' 

Iron    Wires    Substituted    for    Copper    in    Telegraph 

Work    454 

Irrigating   Large    Sugar  Plantation.   Electricity  for     62 

Isolated     Plant.    Large,     in    Pittsburg...... *528 

isolated    Plant,    The    Largest .      i  Editorial) 6b 

Italian     Hydro-electric     Plant,     Art     and     Utility 

Combined   in 331 

Italy,    Chieti    Electric    Railway    in "231 


Jackson,    Julian    S ;„'■"■;  "4-; I"   ■ 

Jackson's  Electrically  Operated   Tunnel  Excavator 

Jacksonville,    111.,    Construction    Work    in 

Jamestown    (Va.)    Exposition .309, 

Jamestown      (N.     Y.)     and     Warren     Single-phase^ 

Railway -■ -    

January,    1906,    Electrical    Exports    for 

Japan,  Largest  Power  Station  in 

Jewett,    Frank    N 

Jhelum    River    Power    Installat 
Johannesburg,    Large    Gas-dri'- 


Incandeseent   Lamp.    Swinburne   on  the 
Incandescent    Lamps,    Willeox   on.  ■■■•••■  •■•■■■ 

Indepe nl     Telephone    Exchange.      1  he     Fust 

Independent     Telephone     Interests     Win     in 

portant   Patent   Litigation..... ■■■• ■  ■  ■  ■  ■ 

Independent     Telephone     Situation,     The.        <Edi-  ^ 

Independent  Telephony  in  Western  Massachusetts.  225 
India.    Electrical    Industry    in .. ....«,  36i> 

In?irai28  (?4°rSl?7°n  lTo?e)2-06,'226;  Mfc  VSg 

307    326 1    347, '369,   388,   407,   431,  457,  4S1,  510,   532,  556 
Indiana      Engineering      Association,      Indianapolis     ^ 

IrCaf"3ntiIndeCPendent'      Tdsphsn-       Associaticn         ■ 
\    ."■    ngs   of.    45,    liui,   126,   204,   303,   3S5,   386,   427,  506 

Indiana    and    Ohio    Interurban    Railway    Associa- 
tions,  Merger  of ■■ ',"„> 

Indiana    Railways,    Changes   in   Personnel   of......   -... 

Indiana      Telephone      Items.         (Gorresp^riclericeO 

1-6     Vi     144.    1S4     184,    Ki     V-A     :M        "\     "3£ 
304      324      366!     3S5!     401.     127.     455,     170.     506.     526,   54a 
Indiana     fraction    Men,     New    Tears    Dinner    in     ^ 

Infflan^Xfrower'  Center  'ior'Smail  Users   ta!  \  404 
indian.pclis    Telgh.p^airs    ,  . . .  ..^  ^    ^ 

Induction    Coil,    Invention    of    the 32b 

Iicluclina     Meter    Explained 6LL 

Induotion    Motor    Operating   Hydraulic    Passenger ^_ 

Ir3acti*:n'M:tcr    Pclyphass    A  Npw  Type  z,t  *Sfl 

Induction     Motor,     Repulsion.       (Institute    discus-  ^ 

Induction    Motor's 'Driving' Pumps   of    Schnectady^ 
Waterworks •  • "x 

Induction   Motors,    Large,    for   Anaconda 1-4 

Induction     Motors     for     Railway    Purposes.    Arm- 
strong's   Method   of    Control    of... -   lt>2 

Induction    Motors,    Small    Riveted-frame    (General^ 
Electric) ■  ■  ■  •    .■■■•■•■  •  ■  ■  ■  ■.  §»» 

Induction    Motors,    Variable-speed    Operation    of..."j.« 

Industrial    Buildings.      (Editorial)  u .^..:  ■  11» 

Innes.    J.   A. 

tribution) 

Inspection.    Electrical. 

Instruments.     Electric, 

Westinghouse •  •  ■;•  •  ■  •  *. ■  ' "*"' 

Instruments,    Measuring,    of   International   Electric 
Meter  Company ■ -* 

Instruments,    Switchboard,    New   Permanent-mag- 


Insulated  Wire  and  Storage  Batteries  Discussed 
bv  Railway  Signal  Association 

Insulated  Wiring  and  Underground  Cables  Dis- 
cussed by  the  Institute < 

Insulation,  Protective,  of  Workmen,  Rubber  Shoes 
and    Gloves    for - 

Insulation,   Thin '■ 

Insulator    Pin,    All-steel *: 

Insulator  Pin,   W.    N.    Smith's *! 

Insurance.  Co-operative,  for  Electric  Railway  and 
Lighting  Properties 

Insurance  Requirements  for  a  Standard  Electric 
Light   and    Power   Station 

Interborough  Rapid  Transit  Company's  Test  of 
Subway  Engines 


l    in    India 43 

Alternators   for . 
'.ioii'ns-Maitvi'Tl'e    Pure    Copper    Trolley   Wheel 


Kafer,   John    C,    Death   of • ■•  ■  ■  ' 

Kakaheka    Falls    Power    Development    near    Port  _ 

William,    Ont : ; 

Kaukauna,   Wis.,    Electrical    Conditions    in ; 

Kennedy,    A.    E.,    on    Cable   Testing... j 

Kennellv,  A.  E„  on  Self-exciting  Alternators....  . 
King     H.    R.       (The    Hawthorne    Shops    of    the 

Western    Electric    Company) • ' 

King.   Terry  T.     (The   "Preservation"  of  Niagara 

Kingston,  "6nt.,    Municipal    Light    Plant    in. . .  .145,  j 

Kingsway    Subway   in   London i.1'^64'  ' 

Kinraide's  Ultra-violet  Lamp  with  Heat-radiating^ 

Qualities    ; 

Kirk,   E.   B ■  ■  ■  ■  ■  •  •  ■  •  •. 

Kitsee's     Sectionalized    Inductive    Conductor    for^ 

Telephone  Lines 

Knife  Switch,  A  Curious   Home-made ..." 

Koester,     Franz.       (St.     Gallen-Trogen    Interurban 

Railway    in     Switzerland) : ■■■■ 

Korst     P.    H.     (Suggestions     for     Increasing     the 

Power  Output  ot  Central   Stations) 

Kuzel  Metallic-filament  Lamp 179,  352,  ■ 


Laboratory  of  Electricity.   Public,    in    Belgium 4o4 

Laboratories.    Electrical    Engineering  and  Railway, 

at    Worcester    Polytechnic    Institute..... •4« 

Laboratories.    New    York    Electrical     I  esting.  ......    Ill 

Lackawanna    Steel    Mills    near    Buffalo,    Electrical 

Equipment    of •  ■•  •  ■  •  ■•  ■ ■  ■•■.|J| 

La  Crosse.   Wis.,   Central-station    Advertising  in.  ,»343 

La  Crosse,   Wis.,   Hogan  Engineering  Club  of 157 

La    Crosse,    Wis.,    Modern    Central-station    Design.. 

as    Exemplified   in.      By   C.    H.    Williams .*171 

La    Crosse,    Wis.,    Underground    Construction    m. 

By  W.   D.   Burford ISO,   262 

La   Crosse   Wis..    Waterpower   Company    3S1 

Lake    Shore    Railroad's   Gasoline    Car 6V> 

Lamine    Alternating-current    Motor... lit; 

Lamnie    on    Alternating-currenl    Traction.  .........    23S 

Lamme,  Scott  and  Conrad's  Automatic  Control  of 

Rotary   Converters 53 

I.ainine's    Variable-speed    Operation    of    Induction 

Motors .  ..   -34 

Lamp   Efficiency.    Central-station    Policy   in    Rela- 

tion    to.      (Editorial) 542 

Lamp  Guard,   Benjamin  Two-part 163 

[.amp    Guard.     Hold-fast "40 

Lamp   Posts.      (See  Arc-lamp   Posts.) 

Lamp    Suspension,    Spencer   on ..   52d 

Lamps      (See  Are.   Illuminants.   Incandescent.  Me- 

(allie-filam.-iit,  .Magnetite,  Mercury- vapor,  Nernst. 

Osmium,    Tantalum,    Ultra-violet,    Wolfram,  Zir- 
conium,   etc.) 

Landau.     Alfred ■  • -    16j 

I  angan.     John.        (Standardizing     Rubber-covered 

Wires1  and   Cables) 35S 

Langley,   Prof.    S.   P..   Death   of 07 

Lansing.    Mich..    Electric    Railways    (entered    in...      41 
Laundry.    Electrically   Operated,   in   San   Francisco.     6b 

Lawn    Party.    The    Electric.      (Editorial) 176 

Layman     W.    A.,    on    the    Single-phase    Motor    in 

Central-station    Work.      (Institute    discussion)..   177 

Lea.    John    M ■•■- y  ■  V  l 

Lead.    Electrolytic   Precipitation    of,    from    Acetate 

Solutions        * 

Lead   Poisoning    Possibility  of,    from  Electrolysis.   535 

Lexicon,   An  Electrical ■■;••••■,:.■ 

Lighting    Controversy,     Peculiar,    in    Columbiana, 

Ohio    ■■  ■  ■  ■■■  lis 

Lighting,      Electric,      of     Churches.        By     E.      R- 

Weeks   *45j 

Lighting,  'Electric,    in   the   Far  North •  419 

Lighting.    Electric,    and    Heating    Plant    at    Park- 

ville,    Mo ."'■■„■•«■     ?? 

Lighting,   Electric.      (New  Tear's  Review)... 9,   11,     15 

Lighting,    Electric,    in    New    Tork    State 237 

Lighting  (Electric)   Outfit,   Richardson . *21 


Lighting,   Electric,  and  Power  Station,   Standard, 

Underwriters'    Requirements   for  a 365 

Lighting,   Electric,   and  Railway  Plants,  Combined, 

The  Economy  of.     By  Ernest  Gonzenbach ..  *96 

Lighting,  Electric,  Train.  (See  Train  Lighting.) 
Lighting,  Electric.  (See  also  Arc,  Central  Sta- 
tion, Decorative  Lighting,  Fixture,  Illuminants, 
Incandescent.  Illuminating,  etc..  Isolated  Plant, 
Lamps,  Reflector,  Signs,  Street  Lighting.  Tube 
Lighting,  etc.) 
Lightning  Arresters,  High-tension,  for  Long  Isl- 
and Railroad  ?40 

Lightning    Flash,    Duration    of   a 478 

Lightning,    Protection   from.      (Editorial) 256 

Lightning,    Protection    from.    (Institute   discussion)   447 
Lightning.   Protection   from.     (N.  E.  L.  A.  report).  527 
Lincoln,    Neb.,    Telephone    Company,    Annual    Re- 
port  of 527 

Lincoln's    Variable-speed    Motor *141 

Line    Construction.       (See    Construction,    Wiring, 

Line  Maintenance,  High-tension,  Practical  Points 

Lineman," Trials  and  Dangers  of   the.     By  R.  <S. 

Grayne    :•■■•• Hi 

Lloyd     E.   W.,   Promotion   of 6 1 

Load    Factor,    Influence    of,    on    Hydro-electric   In- 
stallations     ii"V 

Load    Factor    and    Investment    m    Power    Plants, 

Stott    on -. .• J20 

I.o.kwood,    T.    D..    on   Telephone    Engineering 222 

locomotive.    Electric,    New    Tork    Central 

»6,    7,    144,  *52S 

Locomotive,     Electric,     One     Advantage     of     the. 

(Editorial) • 29b 

Locomotive,    Electric,   for    Simplon    Tunnel *153 

Locomotive   Engine.    A   New   Definition   of 377 

Locomotive,    Oerlikon    Single-phase 49,  «51o 

Locomotive,      Single-phase,      20.000-volt,      for     the 

Swedish   Railways.     By   C.    Smith "191 

Locomotives,    A.    C.-D.    C.    for    New    Tork,    New 

Haven   and   Hartford    Railroad *29S 

Locomotives.    Electric,    on    Canadian    Pacific 145 

I oiiiotives.    Single-phase,    for    Sainia    Tunnel.. 32.      59 

Locomotives,    Steam   and   Electric,    Comparison    of 

Logue,   William   S..   Death  of 388 

London.    Brighton    and    South    Coast    Railroad    m 

England.    Single   Phase   for 26.   46.    225.    22S.  3S0, 

London     Electric   Power    Stations    and   Plant   Life 

in 399 

London    Electric    Power   Supply  Projects 26.   46 

126     245     303.    305,     324,    316.    .ISO.    406.     420.    -ISO.     "oil 

London    "Electrobus" 3S6,    406,    480 

London,    Kingsway    Subway    in *11,    64.  22o 

London,     Olvmpia     Electrical    Exhibition    of,    Re- 
sults   of 309 

London   Outer  Circle    Railway 456 

London,    Telephone    Conditions    in.      (Editorial)...     56 
London     Underground     (Tube)     Electric     Railways 

10,    19,    41,    64,    205,    265,  *312 

Long-flame    Arc.      (See    Flame    Arc.) 

Long  Island  Railroad,    Eli-clrieal  Equil nt   of  the 

*7     "104.    '-'273,    2711.    !'293.    *313,    *464,    *51G.    'T.29 
Los   Angeles    Large-   High-voltage   Generators  for.   467 
Louisville   Lighting    Company's    Affairs  and  Rates.    300 
Louisville   and    Nashville   Railroad    Shops.    Electri- 
cal   Equipment   of.      By   A.    G.    Wessling *175 

Low-frequency     Currents.      Stanley's     System     of 

Transmitting    and    Utilizing *396 

Luminous   Arc.      (See   Flame    Are.) 

Lyons    Domestic    Electricity    Exposition 278 


IV/1 

McCormick,   Bradley.     (Comparison  of  Two-phase 

and   Three-phase   Motors) *523 

McCutcheon's    Candlemas    Day    Cartoon *122 

McGee,   D.   F.      (How   to  Make  a   Small  Electric 

Plant   Pay) 500 

Mackav   Companies    Prosperous 202 

MaoMillan,    George    D..    Death    of 147 

Mae.Mullan,    R.    H.,    Illness    and    Death    of 307,  343 

McQuarrie,    J.    L.      (Telephone    Engineering    as    a 

Profession) 243 

"Machine  Shop."     By  O.   E.  Perrigo.     (Book  Re- 

.Machine    Tools,     Electrical    Equipment    of,     in     a 

Large    Projectile    Shop *451 

Machine    Tools,    Horsepower    Required    by 454 

Machine    Tools.    Small    Electric,    Some    New *361 

.Magnesium,     New    Method    of    Obtaining.       (Edi- 
torial)    398 

Magnesium  Oxide.  Fused.  Goodwin  and  Matley  on.  379 
Magnetic   Properties   of   Electrolytic  Iron,   Burgess 

on.      (Institute   discussion) ....'. 474 

Magnetic    Wells ■•■-     57 

Magnetite    Lamps   with    Mercury-arc    Rcctiner  Sys- 
tem     for      Street      Illumination.        By      W.      S. 

B'arstow ■ ■■  ••  -471,    472 

Mail-conveying  System,   Underground,   in   Chicago. 

Test  of •  •  -179 

Maine     Independent     Telephone    Association,     Or- 
ganization    of 544 

Maintenance,  Line,  High-tension,  Practical  Points 

Majestic'  'Theater '  'Building,      Chicago,      Electric 

Light    and    Power    Plant    in 49.  «373 

Mall  W.  A.,  on  Condensers  in  Small  Stations..  335 
Manchester,    England,    Street    Railways,    Carriage 

of    Packages    by : 166 

Mandel    Bros.'    Private   Electric   Light   and   Power 

Plant    251 

Manila.    Electric   Railways   in 129 

Manila,    Modern    Telephone    Exchange    for 45 

Mansfield     (O.)     Flywheel    Accident *393 

March.     1906.    Electrical    Exports    for 35S 

Marconi    Company's    Report .-   300 

Marconi.    William.      (Controlling    the    Direction    of 

Space-telegraph     Signals) 295,     3S1,    - v.0  ! 

Marinette.    Wis.,     Electrical    Conditions    m 320 

Marks,    L.   B.      (The   Flaming   Carbon    Arc   Lamp)^ 

Mark's. '  L. '  B. ' '  (The    Problems    of    Illuminating 

Engineering) J62 

Maryland,    Motive   Power    Statistics   of 14- 

Massachusetts.    Central-station    Industry    of 449 

Massachusetts.    Interurban    Railway   Merger    in...  127 

.Massachusetts    May   License    Electricians -<■- 

Massachusetts    Steam    and   Electric  Railway   Mer- 

ger    Bill s31 

Massachusetts,    Western,    Independent    Telephony 

Massena  Power  Plant  on  St.  Lawrence  River  Re- 
ported   Sold ;0S 

Massie     Space-telegraph     System 35 

Matthews,      W.      N.,      &     Bro.'s     Cable     Clamps 

(Kearney) .361 

Matthews,    W.    N.,    &    Bro.'s    Catalogue *222 

Matthews,     W.     N.,     &     Bro.'s     Hold-fast     Lamp 

Guard    ..." i-  •  •"  •  ■  ••  *40 

Matthews.     W.     N.,     &    Bro.'s    New     Stombaugh 

Guy    Anchor -  -  -  201 

Matthews     W.    N..    &    Bro.'s    New    Style    of    Cable 

Roller *531 

Maunsell,     C.     R.,    Resignation    of 305> 

Maximum    Demand    Systems    in    England    and   the 

United    States.     By    J.    S.    C 363 

Mechanical     Refrigeration.     Meyer    on 47- 

Menasha,   Wis.,   Electrical  Conditions   In 320 


v\  !•; 


Morcoln,    Thomas    n ■ 

Mercury  arc   Rootlfloi    I ntlng  In  Multipiu  wiih 

M'.l'.i    r.'  n'l  ,i  I'M      

Mi  r<  m  ■ ■     Rectlfloi      Bj    "  m      n  II  h      il ■ 

I,,,,,,,:      I'm-      Hlr.'.-I       llliinilniill.iii.         I  ;y       VV.      H. 

i:  .1    tow *1l.    ■ 

Mercury  arc   i;<.iih.i    i"i    Telephone   Work • 

Mercun    vapoi      Apparal  u  i,     r      H,     Thomii  i     oil 

,i,     ,l '17:., 

Mi  "  urj     apoi    Lamp,   1  ho i  i  I,    i  10, 

Mei i""    i  -  trnp.    The    Bohotl    Im] i 

Meridian,   Ml*  ,   Homi    Tolophom    Company,  Mu.l- 


Mc 


rick,    J.    v.,    i 

rill.    W.    II..    -Il 

Bhon,    R.    i'..   ' 

lie      I M 'Ill     I 


ie 


Mi-liilll,.    III. il, i.  ni      I :.,     .'nil..    

Ah  i. iln     Lamp    l  ' ii'i.      Hy   J.   Swinburne iU'l 

Mili  I        I-".  i  i  .nil  I    I  liimllloli      Allei  n.  I  lull    eui i  .  ul . .  .  .    *6i 

iMii,  i    '|.    ting     l lie.    In    New    York 425 

"Meters."     By   H,   G.   Holomon.     (Book  Review)..  38ri 
Metera,     Coneumi'is',    The     I'roinr    Hi.miIIImk    or. 

In    i  liiiic...     \.    Hun-ell Ill 

Meiers,     I'lli'.l  ill-,    Tin-    I'lire    mill    Mnliiliiiiiiii'i'    or. 

I:.      \.     W.    Zuhm 

,\ .     S.  I.  . i  Ivlil'.i  loll 1711 

Met.  i    '.      Si  r\  lee -Illl 

Mi  1. 1        (See  also  tnstrumi  ni     I 

Me B]    torn,   Tim a-is,  3S1 

Metric    Weights   and    Measures.      (Editorial).  .266,  S96 
,\ii.i,i,|...iii..n    i:i.v.ne.l    U.....I.    Affairs   of.. 164,    188,287 

Mexican    Mines,    ECteotrlo   Power  n    Boon    to 641 

Mexico.     (Correspondence) 66,    128,    1st;,    320,  nil 

Mexico,    Spi Telegraphy    In 308 

Michigan.     (Corrosponde 1 

66,    89,     II".     I  Hi.     167,     187,    206,    227. 

217.    266,    286,    326,    369,    387,    407,     180,    181,    610,  >57 

Michigan    Independent    Telephone  Ass lull. m,  Ann 

\ r    Convention    of 2.;:: 

Mlohlgat]  State  Telephone  Company,   Earnings  of.  105 

MIclllKOII      Tel.). I ■      Mo  I  I  el'.s.      1 1  *oi'i'.'S|.noil('IU'.'l  . 

X7.      112.     2  11,     2X2,    366 

Milan   Kxi'nsii noil  Hi.'  I'lii'.'iiii.ii   I'o.ti'i'iiiklngs 


187 

-llll 


Mllltan     Methods,    Importai 1'    Electricity    In. 

(Editorial) 

Milne,  James  A * 

Milwaukee.    Kleetri.'    Uollwnv    noil    Lighting    Com- 

pany,    Public   Service   Building  or • 

Milwaukee    Kleelric     [tallwoy    unci     UkIiIIiir    Com- 
lioov.     SIokIi'-I'Iios.'     lO.ioii ot    Tor • 

Milwaukee,     Municipal     1 


Mines,    lli'xi.'.'in.    101. -eui.-    I'mvcr   n    Boon    to 541 

Mines,    Us ■    I'il.'.'liieilv    in.       I  i:.l i.il  I lis 

Minneapolis     I'lli'i'lri.'-liKliI     K.'ilns r,r,s 

Miimeopolls,    I'ilk    River   Power   Development   neor.  202 

Minneapolis    Merchants    Believe    in    Light 343 

.Minneapolis,      Proposed      [Olec-ll-ii-al      Treatment     of 

Water    in.      I  Editorial) 176 

Minneapolis,     Telephone    Aoiatgaoia  I  ion     in -10fi 

Minneapolis.    Wire    Ordinance    in,    Proposed. .  .11)3.  2S7 

M  Iscellaneous   Notes 2S, 

4S.    6S,    91,    130.    14S,    1C9,    1S9,    20S,    22S,    24S.    26S, 
2SS,    30S,    32S.    3'1S.    371,    410.    432,    460.    484.    512.    53f, 
Mississippi    River    Power    Utilized    at    Saulc    Rap- 
ids.   Minn S6 

Mississippi    Wire    Cllass    Company's    Product 484 

Mitchell.     C.    E.,     Resignation     of.     from     Western 

Electric     Company 47 

Mobile    Electric    Light     Company    Reported    Sold...    347 

Molybdenum,    A    New    Silicidc    of 379 

Monroe.    Harriet.      (Sonnet  on   a  Power   Plant)....        t, 
Monroe.    Mich..    Municipal    Plant    at,    Shut    "Down.     52 

Montreal,   Electrical   Extensions  in 205,  370,  ssn 

Montreal   Electrical    Show 473 

Moore  System  or  Electric  Tube  Lighting *210.  401 

Mortuary    Record  or  1005 18 

"Motive    Power    and    Gearing    for    Electrical    Ma- 
chinery."    By  E.  T.   Carter.     (Book  Review) 241 

Motor   Control.    Eck's   Method    of »253 

Motor    Control,    Gilpin's    Method   of «253 

Motor  Design.      (Institute   discussion) 447 

Motor.   An   SOO-hnrsepower.  for  the  Operation   of  a 

Pulp   Mill.      By   Orrin   E.    Dunlap *463 

Motor.   The  Electric.      (New   Year's   Review) 8 

Motor.   Electric,   Passes  Ordeal  of   Fire *509 

Motor  Field    Commutation,    Improvement   in *272 

Motor,  Induction.     (See  Induction.) 

Motor.   Inter-pole  Variable  Speed,   (or  Machine-tool 

'  Work    *41 

Motor,   Lamme  Alternating-current    *116 

Motor,    Lincoln   Variable-speed    *141 

Motor,  Railway.   Allis-Chalmers *86 

Motor,    Single-phase.    Advance *239 

Motor,    Wcstinghouse    Sirgle-phase    Compensated.   *59 
Motor,   Wcstinghouse  Variable-speed,   with  Auxili- 
ary Poles  *163 

Motors.    Alternating-current,    Sell"    Starters    for....*3S3 

Motors,  Fan.      (See  Fan.) 

Motors.  General  Electric,  for  Small  Machine  Tools. *361 

Motors    for    Hire.      (Editorial) 236 

Motors.  Polyphase,   Starting  of 454 

Motors.   Purchasing  in   Too   Small    Sizes 424 

Motors   Should   Replace  Engines   in   Building  Con- 
struction.    (Editorial)    470 

Motors.   Two-phase  and   Three-phase,    Comparison 

of.     By  Bradley  McCormick *523 

Motors.   Westinghouse,   Small *219 

Motor-generator,    Mercury-arc    Rectifier   Operating 

in  Multiple  with 195 

Mount  Hood,   Glaciers   on,   Proposed  Power  Devel- 
opment of  the S2 

Mount    Vesuvius    Eruption    and    Abandonment    of 

Electric  Railway.     By  Frank  C.   Perkins *332 

Mueller-certificate     Ordinances     of     Chicago     Citv 

Council    ■ 82,    104,450 

Muucie.   Ind.,    Quits  the   Lighting   Business 443 

Municipal  Accounting  a  Minus  Quantity 157 

Municipal   Arc-lighting    Figures    in    Grand   Rapids, 

Mich : 430 

Municipal    Art    League    Prize    Designs    for    Arc- 
Lamp  Posts    *213 

Municipal   Elecl  rica]  Enterprise  at  Ipswich 424 

Municipal  Light  Plant  in  Kingston.  Ont 145,   386 

Municipal    Light    Plant    in    New    York    City,    Will 

Not   Build    140 

Municipal   Lighting  Proposed   in   Buffalo.  .223.    365,  396 

Municipal  Operation  in  Europe.  Disappointing 321 

Municipal  Ownership  in  Ashtabula.  0 266 

Municipal    Ownership.   E.   W.   Burdett  on 491 

Municipal  Ownership  Defeated  in  Denver 443 

Municipal   Ownership   of   Electric-light   Plant   Pro- 
posed in  Boston 109.  145,   167.   306.  538 

Municipal   Ownership  in   Esennaba.   Mich 247 

Municipal  Ownership.  Iowa  Cities  Oppose 257 

Municipal-ownership  Issue  in  Chicago.     (See  Chicago.) 
Municipal    Ownership,    National    Civic    Federation's 

Investigation   of 68.    242,   460.    512.  531 

Municipal  Ownership  Not  a  Success  in  Chicopee, 

Mass 167 

Municipal  Ownership  piles  up  Debt,     (Editorial) , .  196 


Munlclpul-ownerahlp     .-'•  ■ '.■      h      •■•         i.  r«ey. 

I  i .. 

Muni,  n 

• 

Munlclp   10 

.     | 
Mm, e  u. 
View: 

Munli  a.  il 

i.. 

I I       '    .         Iw  l'llll 

Munli  inr.   mi.  i,      |..,„  i    Mill,   El ■     I) 

".  . . .  i .  'in 

Mimic,      Kl.  el  Ileal,      .'..lei 

Myth,  ,\   Pleasing 


National   Braki        II 

National  Civic  Pedi  ral ,-.    n.-  ,n ,i 

'  >l >'•"•  '    hip 

'.     Hi'.ll.ll         ML     e|,    |,  ,    ' ,  , 

Noil 'i    ii i.ii-M   Association,    Ul 

Convenl Edltoi  lol)  in, 

Nail. .mil     EICI  HI 


Convi 

N no 

ihe  \\ 
Nations 

In    lb. 

No 


elation,    a 


171.    Tin 


"I'l.i'  Ion,  ■ ".     P 


119 

"I  i    n  I'.i     ■     V     t i 

i  ""i   ' '""' "i  "i.  An  ttngemonts  t...    ... 

N.'.l  ii.n.il       File       I'll, ie,  i|. ,n        AsM.ieiailnn,       Annual 

Meeting  of,   In  I  Ihlcago 

National-Interstate    Telephone     Assoclal Ihl 

cago  Convention  of r.  i:: 

National- 1  ii  l  en  mi.-    T.I.  pi \     ...  i ,,.     Work 

"i  'be ie,:,,  2ii.  626 

National  Physical  t ... t ...... i . .1  \  .n  Greal   Bi  I 

National    X    1.1  v    lt.ll--.-1  ..r    .' pany's    "I'ok.      I:., 

net"     Relleelnr     •21,    •,,,, 

Nebraska  Independent  Telephone  Association,  Lin- 
coln  Convention   of 

B.    C,    Municipal    Street     Railway    Lo  i 


Nelson 

Mo  in '  v 
Nernsl     Lamp    llluuil 


il  inn      iii      PlttsbUI  B       . 


Station 

N.riisi    Lamp,  Swlnbun tlie 152 

Nevada  ''.msnli.lal.  .1  i'.,p|,,|.  i',,ni|iiiiiv.  Electrically 

Operated  Plant  of 1  In 

New  Business  Deparlmenl.   Electrical  Journals  and 

the.        I  Editorial) 

New-business     Department,    Prize    I  'oiopetitlon    for 

Papers  on    i.;,    | 

New-business  1  icparl  ineii  I .  Proper  Handling  ..r  the. 


(Papon 
111   di 


by    .In 


Alien  and  Harold  Alloeii. 
Northwestern  Convention.) . . 
in- nl.     Proper     Handling    of. 


New 

By  W.  A. 
New-busin 

Conventli 
New-busin 

Frueauff 
New   Business,    Getting  and   Retaining.    George   B 


bin 


g   Discussed   at   N.    E.    L.    A. 

il"'.  548,  :.l:. 

By     Frank     W. 

549 


-getting     Methods. 


(See  also  Selling  Elec- 


Tripp    on 
New-business   Notes    . 
New-business  Suggest! 
tricity.) 

New  England.      (Correspondence) 

109.  127,  145,  166.   1S6,  2(15.  226.    215,   2fifi,    284, 

306,   324,    316,    307.    3Sfi,    406.    120.    .151',,    ISO,    500,    532,    ">1 

New   England   Street   Railway   Club 263 

New   England   Telephone  Company's   Report 405 

New  England  Telephone  News.     (Correspondence).   107 
New   Orleans,    Building  and   Electrical    Boom    in...    517 

New  York.     (Correspondence) 20.  to. 

65.  89.  108.  127.  144,  166,  1S5.  205.  220.  210    265    281 
306.  324.   346,   368.   3S7,   406.   420,   456,   480,   500.   532,   555 

New   York    Automobile   Shows 53 

New    York    Central    Railroad's    Electrical    Equip- 
ment  •(;,    7.    144.    368.    '400.    '528 

Now  York-  Central  Railroad's  Gasoline-electric  Cars  200 
New   York    City,    Central-station    Advertising   in..*343 

Ncav  York   City,    Co-operation   Meeting  in 260 

New  York  City  Electric  Light  and  PoAver  Rates.  . 

65.  127.  110.  308 

New   York    City,    Municipal    Light    Plant    in.    Will 

Not  Build    140 

New  York   City.   The  Pennsylvania    Railroad's  Im- 
provements  in    

*7,    *273,    276.    *293,    *313,    *416,    •164.    *516.   *539 

New    York    City.    Possible    Telephone    Competition 

in 144.  324.  340.   3S7.  457.  480,  500 

N"\v  York   City   Streel-railw.lv   Statistics 285.    tor, 

New   York    City.    Telephone   Rates   in 480 

New  York  City  Traction  Merger. 26.  46.  108,  127.  185.   205 
New    York    City,    Williamsburgli    Fridge    in.    Rub- 
bish   Incinerating    riant    for    Lighting *215 

New  York    Edison    Motor  Load 65.  161 

Now   York   Edison   Waterside   Station 9 

New  York  Electrical  Club 308 

New   York   Electrical   Society,   Annual   Meeting  or.. 528 

New  York    Electrical    Testing   Laboratories Ill 

New   York   Gas   Inquiry 46.    177,  266 

New   York,    New    Haven    and    Hartford    Railroad's 

Alternating-current   Equipment 238.   284.   r208 

Nexv  York  Railroad  Club's  Discussion  on  Alternat- 
ing-current  Traction    238 

New  York  State.  Electric.  Lighting  in 237 

New  York  Subway.   Alternating-current  Signal  Cir- 
cuits in.     By  J.  M.   Waldron ._ »395 

New    Yuri;    Sul.wav   Engines.    Test   of 123 

New    York    Subway,    Fire    in    the 480 


New  York  Subway,  Q 
New  Zealand.  Use  of 
Falls,    Econo 


205,   210.  555 

49 

II     W.    Buck 


r  c 

I  Niagara  Falls.  How  Mav, 
\  of  Mankind?  By  Orrii 
\  Niagara  Falls,   Long-distance  Power  Transmission 

)      from    *135^ 

Niagara  Falls  Power  Development 


Nurrli,    Henry    H. 


■ 


E.   Dunlap *134- 


■ 

■ 

Ohio    Indepcndi  >lum- 

•     invention    <>( 

,    ...  pendi  ni    r-  l<  pi-"  ■    Bi  ill  rti. 
Ohio    and    iti'ii  itlf    im.  pur  hi  r  i    Rail* 

■•(   

Ohio,   Michigan  and  Indiana,   Long  Tr-.n-  >■  Trip  In  100 

•  ti,i.     i' 

■lit-.rlal* 

oil    Switch,     Wt  stliiKli.H.  H 
'  ihl..    T.  |.|..i.>,].'     Not- 

....  :.    106,    126,    Hi,    i 

224,    -'"1.    '-'•'.'. 

i 
■  I'M    Te  il    Supply  Power  f-»r 

i'ptm- 


•  H.  I.,  ■  I.,      I  ,■    ..  .     : 

I  il'"  

.   Power  *  rOmpanj    a  I    Nlag  ira  F 

i   i  ..r   the • 

development    Investigation. . 
Oregon    Independent   Telephone   Association,    For- 

i n    '"    th  

<"'r«",'oii    ami    Washington,    Tin     T« 

i  espondt  at    I 

0  boi    *      L.    A 

Oscillograph  for  the  Study  of  Alternatlng-cui 

Wave    Forma 

Oscillographic    Researches    on     Surning    In     I  Itch - 

tension    Lines,      Bj    C.    David '<- 

<  '.-aiiinni     Lamp    Filaments,    Support    for 

Osmium   Lamp,  Swlnburnt    on  'he 

Ottaw       Ont.,  Sti  145 

Overheati     »\,r,                             nary.     >.f     Warren- 
Jamestown   SinKlo- phase  Railway «15S 

'  .verl  ■    -I      C       bructloi       for      Seel 

Sinul.-pha-s.-    Traction    Fxpf-riments 

Overhead    Llni     Construction.      By   Paul   Speneor. 
■: 

Overhead   versus    Underground    I,ines 201 

Overhead    Wirim:    Conditions    in    Grand    Rapids, 
wis :ti 

Overliead    Work.     (See    also    Construction.) 

Ovi  rshlner,  E.  E *33 

Oxone 300.   3S0 


Pahsl     Brewery,    Power    Plant 2 

J ■: i -in.     Cable,    American,    Is    Completed 3<?1 

Pacific    Cable,     P,rilish 1 : 

Pacific    Gas   and    Electric    Company VI,   193 

Pacific    Slope.      (Correspondence)..        

26,     17.    66.    90,    HO,    128,    157.    K7.    W,    l'"7.    :47, 
2S6.    307.    :::<;.    ::vs.    ms.    131.    !"v    is:,    "ii. 
Pacific    Slope,    The    Telephone    on    the.      (Corre- 
spondence)   12S.    2*2 

Paderno,    Italy,    Hydro-electric    Plant 

Panama     Canal,     Cable    to.     Proposed 97 

Panama   Canal  Zone,   Electrical   Plants   for 

2.".    ,:77.    331'.       . 

Paper-box    and    Bag    Factory.    Electrical    Equip- 
ment   of *2"- 

Paper    Mill.    Large,    Electricity    in    a.      By    F.    M. 

Feiker     -3i> 

Parallel   Operation   of  Compound-wound  Dvnamos.   J'":' 
Parallel    Operation    of    Shunt-wound    Dynamos. .  .  .    107 
Parcel     Delivery     by      Street     Railways     of     Man- 
chester,   England 166 

Parcel    Delivery.      (See   also   Express   Service.^ 
Paris,    Large    St  earn- turbine    Power    Stations    for 

Paris    Lighting    Situation.    The .    311 

Paris    Metropolitan    Railway »ii 

Parkville,    Mo.,    Heating    and    Lighting    Plant    at..    »23 
Parr,     G.     D.     A.,     on     Deterioration     in     Storage 

Batteries   'HO 

Partridge.     James.     Death     of 

Party-line    Selective    Telephone    Svstem.    Step-bv- 

step    ."..•124 

Pas-s   &    Seymour   Sign    Receptacle »22 

Passenger    Rates    in     Ohio    Lowered    by    Electric 

Competition.       (Editorial) 196 

Passenger     Station.     New.     of     the     Pennsylvani: 


Patent   Record.    Illustrated   Electrical. 

28.     49.     69.      91.     Ill, 

131,   149,    169.    1S9.    209,    229,    24:">,    2->9     2S9     S09,   329. 

349,     371.     391.     411.     433.     401.    4S5.    513,     535.     559.    f.flO 

Patent    Regulations.    German.      (Editorial) 47'"1 

"Pattern    Making."      By    F.    W.    Barrows.      (Book 

Review) 142 

Peat.    Electrical    Production    of   Fuel   from 454 

Penington,    T.    C «155 

Penn      Iron      Mining      Company's      Hydro-electric 


Alev  Boat   to  Dispers* 
Niagara   Falls.  The  "Preservation"  of...4S,  93.   *134. 

152,    159.    191,    222.    259.    277.    296,    313.   3S5.    423.    420.    453 
Niagara  Falls.    The   "Preservation"   of.     Bv    Terrv 

T.    King    159 

Niagara    Falls.   The  "Preservation"   of.      (Editorial)  t^S- 
Niagara  Falls   Pulp   Mill.    An    SOO-horsepower   Mo- 
tor for  the  Operation  of  a.    By  Orrin  E.  Dunlap. *463 
Niagara   Falls.    Transmission   Line   from,    to   Svra- 

cuse.     By  Orrin  E.  Dunlap *151 

Niagara  Power,  Cheaper,  New  York  Cities  Want..   Wfi 

©Niagara    Power   Transmission.      (Editorial) US. 

Niagara's    "White    Coal" : 277 

Nickel-plating  Industry.   The  Development  of  the.   SS" 

Niesz.  H.  E *33.   '157 

Nitrogen.  The  Production  of.  from  the  Atmosphere.*  197 
Noise,  Unnecessary,  in  Steel-building  Construction. 
(Editorial)     ' 470 


5S 


H,! 


York    City. 
-•7.    *273.    270.    »293.    *313.    *416.    *464. 

Frank    C.       (The    Bille    Central    Station 
y). 


•291 


Pork-'-s.  Frank  C.  (The  Exposition  In  Milan  and 
the   Electrical  Undertakings  of  the  City) *4S7 

Perkins-.  Frank  C.  (Mount  Vesuvius  Eruption 
and   Abandonment   of   Electric   Railwari *332 

Perkins.  Frank  C.  (New  Simplon  Tunnel  Elec- 
trical   Equipment) *153 

Perkins.  Frank  C.  (A  60.000-kilowatt  Steam-tur- 
bine  Plant   at    St.    Denis,    France^ *537 

Perkins.  Frank  C.  (Steam-turbine  Power  Station 
in  the    Clyde  Valley  near   Glasgow) «71 

Perrlgo's  "Modern  Machine  Shop."  (Book  Re- 
view)   241 

Perry,  Prof,  John,  Accident  to 409 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


Personal    Notes 

111'.  12S,  M7,  lf-S,  1ST,  UH7,  L'J 
327,    347,    369,    388,    408,     131, 

Peru  Electric  Manufacturing  < 
Rosettes  

Peru,   Electrical  Opp"H  imp  }<  ■- 

L-Miil;H].-'lpliiii      Iil.-<-tri.-     <\..,,pn, 

Philadelphia,    Electric  U    Coi  31 

Philadelphia,      Electrical      !  .ev< 

Frank    H.    Taylor 

Philadelphia,  Franklin  < '•  h-hra 
Philadelphia  Rapid  Transit  O 
Philadelphia     Subway.     Tin-    N>\ 

Philadelphia    Telephone  Serv 


■17,    66,    90, 
7,   286,  307, 
.    511,    533,    557 
s    Fuseless 


Phin'! 


ew) . 


Follj.-y      .if      Si'i' 


the   Mercury- vapor 


Photometry.      By   Dr.    Louis   Bell *504 

Pierce,   Mrs,    R.   H.,   Death  of 30S 

Pignolet    Switchboard    Insl  .ruinents *450 

Pipes,     Cold     Bending    of,     for    Electrical     Wires. 

By  R.  G.   Grayne *94 

Piping    in    Long   Island    City   Power    Station 294 

Pittsburg    Isolated    Plant,    Large *52S 

Plan   du   Var    (Franco    Hydro-electric   Station 

13,    *14.    *192 

Plant   Life,   Electric   Power   Stations  and.   in   Lon- 
don        399 

Plate   "Warmers,    Electric , 342 

Pole  Line  Construction,    Spencer  on *521 

Pole    Line   and    Equipment    for    Long    Island    Rail- 
road     *465 

Pole    Rot,     The    Prevention    of.      B'y    Charles    H. 

Coar    31 7 

Police    Patrol    Boxes.    Alarm    Gongs    for 222 

Polyphase    Induction    Motor,    A    New   Type    of....*551 

Polyphase    Motors,    Starting   of 454 

Poole's    "Wiring   Handbook."      (Book    Review  i 211 

Popoff,     Prof.    Alexander,     Death    of 220 

Pontiac.    111.,    Flywheel    Accident    in 12!) 

Portland    (Ore.)    General    Electric    Company,    Ad- 
vertising   of *85 

Port  William,  Ont.,  Kakabeka  Falls  Power  Devel- 
opment   near 205 

Poster   Advertising   of   Incandesceni    Lamps* H7S 

Potomac     Electric     Company's     Power     House     in 

Washington,     D.     C... 200 

Power  Bill,   Government,   before   the  Ontario  Leg- 
islature    423 

Power   Center   for   Small   Users    in   Indianapolis...   404 

Power   Development,    California,    Notes   of 235 

Power    Development    of    Chicago    Drainage    Canal. 

(See    Drainage    Canal.) 
Power    Development,    Electric,    in    and   near   Win- 
nipeg       521 

Power    Development.    FJk    River,    m-ar    Minneapolis   202 
Power-development    Investigation,    Ontario.  .  .  .401,   423 
Power   Development   at   Niagara    Falls.      (See   Ni- 
agara   Falls.) 
Power   Development,    Proposed,    from    the   Glaciers 

on   Mount   Hood 82 

Power   Development,    St.   Croix   River 177 

Power    Development,    St.    Joseph    River 222 

Power  Development,    Susquehanna  River. .217.    370,  409 
Power  Development  and  Transmission.      (See  also 

Hydro-electric,    Waterpower,    etc.) 
Power     Distribution     of     Great     Northern     Power 

Company 4<%3 

Power,    Electric,   a   Boon    to   Mexican   Mines 541 

Power      Generation      and      Transmission.         (New 

Tear's    Review) S,    10,     13 

Power   House   and   Equipment   for    Potomac   Elec- 
tric Company  of  Washington.  D.  C 200 

Power    Output    of    Central     Stations.     Suggestions 

for  Increasing  the.     By  P.  H.   Korst S5 

Power   Plant.  A.     By  Harriet  Monroe.      (Sonnet)..        6 
Power     Plant     at     Baltimore,     New     Consolidated 

Company's1 363 

Power    Plant,    Clyde    Valley,    near    Glasgow.      By 

Frank    C.    Perkins *71 

Power    Plant.    De    Cew    Falls,    Additions    to.      By 

Orrin    E.    Dunlap *115 

Power    Plant    Economics.      By    Henry    G.    Stott. . 

*101.     *120 

Power    Plant    and    Electric    Elevators    in    Majestic 

Theater    Building,    Chicago *373 

Power  Required  by  Maehin.-   Tools 454 

Power-station    Design,    A    Pine  Example  of.      (Edi- 
torial)     276 

Power  Station,    Long   Island    Cil  y .  .  *273.    27G.    *293.   *3I3 
Power    (Motive   Power)    Statistics   of   Maryland...   142 

Power    Transmission.       (Notes) 

67,    130,    168,    1SS.    22S. 

26S,    287,    30S,     32S.    348,     370.     3S9.    409,     432,     483,     512 

"Power   Transmission."      (Look   Review) 450 

"Power      Transmission."        By      Dr.      Louis      Bell. 

(Book     Review) 222 

Power  Transmission,   Black  River 381 

Power  Transmission,   Direct-current 13,   34S 

Power-transmission    Line    and    Third-rail    System 

of    the   Long   Island    Railroad *464 

Power   Transmission    Projects    in    South    Africa 10S 

Power    Transmission.    Proposed,    in   Western    New 

York    83 

Power    Transmission    in    Wales 10,   *1S1 

Power-transmitting   Device,    Thomson's *3o 

Power-wise,    Are    You? 161 

Prindle,    E.    J.,    on    the  Art   of   Inventing 475 

Printing    Telegraph.    A    Wireless 3S 

Printing    Titles    on    Drawings- .    395 

Prize    Competition    for    Pa,pers    on    New-business 

Department.. 197,    4SS 

Prndueer-gas    Power  Plant  in    Worcester 478 

Projectile    Shop.    Machine    Tools    in    a,    Electrical 

Equipment     of *451 

Provo  Plant,   New,    of  Telluride    Power  Company..    4S3 
Public     Service     Building    of     Milwaukee    Electric 

Railway    and    Lighting    Company *46S 

Public-    Utilities,    The    Ownership    of.      By    Lyman 

E.    Coolev 200 

Public  Utilities.    The  Ownership   of.      (Editorial)..   196 
Public.     (See   also   Municipal.) 

Publications,       (Notes) 27,    4S,    6S, 

90,    111.    130,    148,    16S.    1SS.    208,    228.    268.    288.    30S, 
32S,     34S,     370,     3S9,    409,     432,     459.     4S3,     512.     534,   558 
Pulp  Mill.   An  SuO-horsepower  Motor  for  the  Oper- 
ation   of    a.      By    Orrin   E.    Dunlap »463 

Pulp   Mill,   Electrically   Operated,   at   Sauk   Rapids, 


Mil 


S6 


Pumping  Plant,  Electric,  of  the  Schenectady  Wa 

terworks.      By    C.    T.    Wilkinson "351 

Pumps,  Fire,  High-pressure  Electric,  for  New 
York    City 116 

Punga's  "Single-phase  Commutator  Motors." 
(Book    Review) 3S5 

Pupin.   M.   L.   on   Telephone  Engineering 223 

Pyrometry,    Errors   in 3S1.    479 


Questions  and  Answers. 197,  262,  321,  454 


Radium,    Discovery  of.    Irrtportance  of  the 

torial)    

Rae,  Frank  B.,  Jr.     (Modern  Methods  of  A 


Should   Be  Electrified.      <Kdii 
Railroad  Shops/  Louisville  and  Nashville.  Electrical 

Equipment   of.      By  A.    G.    Wessling * 

(See    Signals    and    Signaling.  > 
rs.     Proposed     Licensing     of. 


Knilpiading.    [01. ■. -lit.-.    ruder    I  ii flit-ult irs 

3   Trunk.. 
.      By    Dr. 

204 
=231 
*19 

Railroading.  Electric.  A  "Hissing  Link' 
plied     

Railroading,  Heavy.  All, anal  ing-eurrent 
in.       (New    York    Railroad    I'lnhl 

in,   Sup- 

Traolion 

Kadi- ling,    Heavy.    Various    Application 

s  of  Elec- 

-7i;       ■>::      .a.,     :;i;:    ;  s.;    pin.  '  i .;  l.  *,,15," 

it.ii.     -7::, 
'.".lii.  532. 

■53!) 

Affects    Passenger 


abined. 


Railway.     Electric,     Three-conductor.     Direct-cur- 
rent, in  Bohemia.    Bv  C.  Smith *3 

Railway,   Electric.    Triumphs   in   San   Francisco 42 

Railway   Motor.    Allis-Chalmers *S 

Railway  Properties,  Appleyard  Electric.   Sold.. .17$.  20 
Railway    Purposes.    Induction     Motors    for,     Arm- 


New  York  City) 

Railway    Signal    Associal 

Chicago)     

Railway.    Steam    and    E 

Massachusetts   

Railway  Telegraph  Supe 


larch    Mi 
Merger    ] 

its    Meet 


Railway  Work,   Shunt  and  Compound-wound  Syn- 
chronous Converters  for.     By  TV.  L.  Waters. 474. 
Railways.    Direct   Versus   Alternating   Current   for. 


477 


[Editorial) 

Railways,  Electric.  Rural.  Hygiene  of 451 

Railways.    Electric.       [See    also    Interurban.    Rail- 
roading,    Single-phase,      Street     Railway,     Third 
Rail.   Traction.    Trolley,    etc.) 
Raleigh,   N.   C,   and  Its  Three   Telephone  Systems 

204.    304 

Rates.  Iirainage  Canal,  for  Power. ..  .156,  157.  25(1,  39S 
Rates,  Electric-light,  Attacked  by  a  Newspaper....  122 
Electric-light,    of   Aurora,    Elgin    and    Chi- 


cago Railroad  Comp; 
Rates,  Electric-light,  it 

156,  157,  177,  198,  21' 
Rates,   Electric-light,   i 


Chii 


545 


257,  3S3.   425.   493.   SIS.  541 

cago.     (Editorial) 

156,    316,  520 

ht,    in    England   and    the   United 


Rates.    Electr 

States    

Rates,    Electric-light,    Minneapolis 55S 

Rates  for  Electric  Light  and  Power  in  New  York 

City 65.    127.    140,  368 

Rales.   Electric-light.   Regulation  of,   in  Iowa 340 

Rates,   Electric-light,  in  Seattle 129 

Runs.    El    <-iri. --light,    Wrighl    Iicinnnd    Sysleni   and 


356 


ill" -a. 


Rates,    Electric-light.      (See   also   Wright    Demand 

System.) 
Rates,  Electric-power,  in  Wi 
Rates,   Telephone,   in   Chicagi 

144,  165.  1S4,  244,  263.  284,  323.  428 

Rates.   Telephone,  in  England 244 

Rates,    Telephone,    in   Indianapolis 

45,    164.    204.   304,    360,   3S5.    455.    506 

Rates,  Telephone,  in  New  York  City. 480 

Hates,   Telephone,   in  Toledo 45 

Rates,   Telephone,  in  Wisconsin,  New  Law  Regu- 
lating        125 

Rates.    Telephone,   World-wide,    Disclosed   by   Ca- 
nadian   Inquiry    .'.-.323,   345 

Real  dun.    T.   H.     (An  Amateur's  First  Dynamo)..    52S 

"Reasons  Why"   for  the  Merchant 525 

Reduction  of  Metal   Sulphides    O.  W.  Brown   on...   379 


"Reflecting  Arc."   New   Pa 

Reflector,   Hnlophane.   New 

Reflector,   "Poke  Bonnet,"   for  Window  Lighting. 


Refrigerating    ain.l    Cold-slorage    Plant.    Larc 

Chicago  

Refrigeration,    Mechanical,    Meyer  on 

Refrigeration.     (See  also  Ice  Cream  Freezing 
Refuse  Destruction.     (See  Garbage  Burning.) 


Overload  and  Reverse-current,  Alternatin_ 

current 

Relay,    Reverse,    Construction.   Mershon    on 

Repulsion  Induction  Motor.  'Institute  discussion). 
Resonant-circuit  Telephony.  (A.  G.  Davis'  Pat- 
ent) 


Re 


tect 


al  of  Energy   in   Generators,    Wilson's   Pre 

nst   

nt  Relay.  Overload  and.  Alternating 


n  olds 


Hor 


ntal-vertieal  En 


gin 


E.  W..  Jr..   Candidacy  of 1 

Richardson    Lighting    Outfit 

Richmond     (Va.)     and     Chesapeake    Bay    Railri 

Single-phase   Equipment   for 

Richmond.    Tnd..    Municipal    Lighting   Plant    in. 


Roche 


Di' 


of   Er 


Railroad.    Ele 


509 


Rock    Island.    Mnline    and    Davenport,    Merger    of 

Electrical   Properties   in    302 

Reeky  Minimum  States.  1 1 'ni  respnndence)  .  .  .  .  40S.  533 
Roosevelt.    President.    Recommends    Legislation    to 

Preserve    Niagara    Falls 259 

Rope-tightening    Device,    Electrical,     for    Telpher 

System    *531 

Rosettes,   Fuseless.  New  Line  of *'S6 

Rosewater's  Recollections  > 304 

Rotary-converter   Sub-stations  of   the   Long  Island 

Railroad    .516,   .539 

Rotary  (  onverters.    The   Automatic  Control  of »53 

Rotary    Converters.    Shunt    and    Compound-wound. 

(Institute  discussion)    474    477 

Roussel's  System  of  Typewriting  Telegraphy..  '»214 
Royal  Gorge  Bridge  for  Electric  Railway  Proposed  n0<- 


Rubber,  Production  of 

Rubber  Shoes  or  Rubber  Gloves? . .'. 

Rubbish  Incinerating  Plain  for  Lighting  Williams- 
burgh  Bridge  in  New  York  City * 

Rudd,   W.   A.,    Death   of 

Rushmore,  D.  B„  on  Design  of  Hydro-electric  sta- 
tions     

Russia,    The  Telephone    in : 

Rustin,    Henry,    Death  of 187 '«■ 


St.    Croix    River    Power    Development 177 

St.  Denis,  France,  A  on.oim-kilowatt  steam-tur- 
bine   Plant   at.      By   Frank    C.    Perkins »537 

St.  Gallin-Trogen  In  term-ban  Railway  in  Switzer- 
land.    By   Franz  Koester .443 

St.    Joseph.    Mich.,    Railway    and    Light    Property 

....'.    146 


1  or    434 

St.     Paul,    Minn.,     Tollboard    Equipment    of    Tri- 

state    Telephone    Company   of 4494 

St.     Paul,     Minn.,    Wiring    Conditions    in 35     2S7 

St.    Peters-burg,    Electric    Railways    in '  499 

Salomons'   "Management  of  Accumulators."    (Book 


Salt   Lake  City  Ele 

San    Francisco    Earthquake   and    Fire.     (Editorial) 

316,    336,    378,  420 


»376.     »397,     405,     *415,    421.     422.    458,     4S2,'    493  '  533 
ban    Francisco    Gas    and    Electric    Company    Ab- 
sorbed   417      49^. 

San    Francisco,    Geary   Street    Railway  in..'.'."'      '     557 
San     Francisco.    Independent     Telephone    Company 

Established    in ,   544 

~"      Old    Edison    Plant    in.    Destroyed 

177.   193.   247.   272 


San    Franc 
by  Fire. 
San   Francisco,  A  Vivid   Short- 

Saren   Are  Lamps  at   Chicago  Electrical   Show..  T> 

Sarnia_Tun_nel,   Single-phase  System  for..»32.   "59.  532 


Sauk    Rapids 


Mil 


Electrically    Operated    Pulp 


Mill    al 
Schenectady        Waterworks,        Electric    "  Pu'm'p'i'i 


Sehi.lt.    William    H 

Scott.    Charles    F.,    on    Cable    Testing 

Scott,    Charles    F.,    on    Self-exciting"  Alternators 


•507 
360 
221 


Scott.     Henry     T..     President     of     Pacific     States 

Telephone    Company 407     144    *-">33 

Scrihner     Automatic     Signaling     Patent     Not     In~" 

fringed    in    Galesburg    Case *  *105 

Seribaer-McBerty    Telephone    Patent    Defeated.'.'/      87 

Sealing    Press.    A    New    Form    of 4497 

Searchlight   "Morse"  for  Announcing  Election  Re- 
Searchlight's  to  Aid  Firemen'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.' 401 

Searchlights   as   Car   Headlights lijj 

Senile,    R.    M..    on    Location    and    Care    of    Light- 
ing   Fixtures 215 

Seasickness    Treated   by    Electric-vibration    Chair/    148 

Seattle,    Electric-light    Rates    in 129 

Seattle   Electric   Company,   Concrete  Power  House 


Alfred   Gradenwitz "*515 

Self-synchronizing     of     Alternators.       B'y     Morgan 

Brooks  and  M.    K.   Akers 474,  476 

Selling    Electric    Light    and    Power.      By    S.    Mor- 
gan  Bushnell 34 

Selling    Electricity.      (Department) 

*S4,    160,    »260,    »,342,    424.   «5dS 

Selling    Electricity.      (Sec  also    New  Business,    etc.) 
Separation,    Electrical,    of   Substances   of  Different 

Dielectric   Capacities    *192 

Series  and  Parallel,   Direct-current  Generators  in, 

■Operation    of 262 

Follies     of     Science."       By    John     Phil 


Sewing    .Machine.    Electric    Power   for   the 425 

Shal.r,    N.    S.,    Death    of 327 

Sheldon.     Samuel *-i>7s     3'vi 

Shepard.  B.  E.  S.,  on  Errors  in  Pyrometry '.   381 

Shcpardson,      Professor,      on      Technical     Men     as 

Dividend     Earners 339 

Shock,     Electrical,     Alleged,     Apparent    Blindness 

Due     to 4X9 

Shopping    by    Telephone '."!  994 

Short-circuit   in   San   Francisco,   A  Vivid. 


Shreltlcr  Engine  Indicator  and  Overload  Alarn 
Shunt-wound  Dynamos  Operated  in  Parallel. 
Shunt-wound   Rotary    Converters.      (Institute    d 


Sig 


Steam-turbine    Installation    in 

s.    Carl,    Death    of 

Increased  in  Fond  du  Lac  by  Elec- 


trical   Showr 425 

Sign,    Electric,    The    First ..".'.'  161 

Sign.    Electric,    Large,    in   Indianapolis 455 

Sign.    Electric,    New    Use    of,    to    Please    Central- 
station     Customers 261 

Signs.    Electric.       (Editorial) 296 

Signs,    Electric,    Free    Installation   of 490 

Signs.   Electric,  Must  Bum  till  Midnight  in  Seattle  2611 

Signs.    Electric,    as   a    Summer    Load 343 

Signs.    Labor-saving  Receptacle   for , .  *23 

Signs    and    Symbols    in    Preparing    Drawings....''    477 
Signal    Circuits    in    the    New    York    Subway      \lter- 

nating-current.      By    J.    M.    Waldron .391; 

Signal    Service,    Unh  ersal    Space-telegraph    Inter- 
ceptor  for 94 

Signals    Discussed    by    Central    Electric    Railway 

Association *_   955 

Signaling   in    the   Electric   Zone  of   the   New  York 


Tunnels    434 

Signaling,     Railway,     in    London '"   19(3 

Signaling    System.    An    Extensive '"  952 

Signaling.      (See   also   Railway    Signal    Association) 
Silk    Factories,    Electrical    Operation   in.     By    Dr 

Alfred    Gradenwitz '  *311 

Simplon    Tunnel   Electrical    Equipment.    New. "  Bv 

Frank    C.    Perkins '  *153 

Simplon    Tunnel,    Electrification   of  the.      (All   re'f- 

""     *153,    302.   535 
tors."       13 

Iin    Punga.      (Book   Review) 

Single-phase  versus  Direct-current  Traction  in 
England 439     497 

Single-phase  Equipment  for  Central  iil'inoi's 
Electric    Railways 240 

Single-phase  Equipment  for  Milwaukee  Electric 
Railway    Company .994 

Single-phase  Equipment  for  Richmond  and  Ches- 
apeake   Bay   Railroad 597 


WESTERN     l  .1.1  <  rRIi 


Slnglo-phuso     Locomotive),      !J. i,      toi 

Sw,.n  i.    Rallwn  i..    C       h     '10! 

; UnKli    phase    for    i «ondon    and    Brighton    Eliillrond 

In    England ■•..    16     ■■ 

Blngli    phn  i      nun. i ,     -.I    •r.a 

Blngli    pha  i      Motoi .     Tho,     for     I ;.  m  - 

Purposes.      (Institute    iIIbi-iikhIiuu 177 

Blnglo-phni  i     Motoi   .    a  ntui 

Slur.--  i < i ■ . i  i     Railway    Etaulpi I    foi     Anderson. 

B.   C,  ... 

Blngli    p] :  .ii     .        -.    ,   .i 

Blngli    phage     System     In     Italy,      Wostlnghouso- 

I'lu/.i   

Single-phase    System    for    Surnlu    Tunnol 
Slnglo-phase    Traction,       (Now     Konr's     Rovlow) 

-ii.     7,     I  I 

shade  pin 'i'i.iiiIi.i,     r;-|..  i  inn. iii  i.      illicit  '■  n 

•Ion,   mi    the   Bet :b   Wi  tl i B      Dr. 

Alfred   Qrodi  nwlts     .., 
Small     Ki'ihii-    Plant,     How     to     Mule-,    a,     Pay. 

Bj    D,   i'\   McOeo 

Smelting,    Blootrlo,   or   tron   al    Bnull    Sto,    Mario, 

"mi !8,     10 

Smelling    I  ii.ii    Hi'.-    I.y    Kleel  Holly,      i  I'i. III. ii  I. ill     .         i:ii; 

Smith,  i'.     (Contra!   i.ighi   and   Power  Station   In 

Hani iv. ir,    Germany) 

Smith,  C.     (Three  c tor   Dlrocl  curronl    R  ill 

way    In    Bohemia)   Ml 

Smith,    ('.       iTu.iii> -limn  .ui.i  ...n     single. phase 

Loci live    tor    the    Swedleh    Railways)       .    ...•11)1 

Smith'i      i"  .i '     Pin •:,-::> 

Smoke    Ibatomenl    In    England 26,    I0G 

Societies    llllll     Sri |;i.        I  N.il. r;i 

48,    US.     Ill,     13(1,     |i;:i.     ISS.     2IIK,     22S,     J  IS.     JUS.     2SS, 

808,    828,    348,    370.    880,    110,    182,    183,    612,    531 

Socket     Bushing,     Knostraln »123 

Sodium,   A    Mew   Process   (or  the  Manufaoture  of. 

By     !•:.     A.     Ashorofl ..380 

Solaoring   Flux,  Cuvenlem   '|'i (or 'lm 

Soli "s   "Electricity   Meters."      n k    Review).  385 

Sons  of  Jove  i.  isms   Rapidly in 

hnuih    Ai'ri.M.    |...w.r    Transmission    Projects    In.,   his 
■s '   AH"  '    'i  !'■    Ti  lep in 845 

.Snillli      A l-l.-.-i.      Eleoll'lcnl     (l|i|iiirlun||||.M      ill.. Ml'.',     Inn 

Southeastern    States.      (Correspondoi i 

17.   i;,;.    108,    127,    I  15,    I  si;,   508,    228,   246,    266,   , 

326,    848,    868,    887,    107,    130,    457,    181,    510,    588,    566 

Soutl  .-.,..- Ti'li'plHini-      I  levolopnieuts-.        (Cnrre- 

II      V..  'ill,        !  34,      •I.7       HI.'      ■I'.s       I  ..  ,|| 

S Invest. -m       Electrical      nu. I      (Ins      Association. 

Galveston    (Yinvenlion    .if .J  u  | 

Space-telegraph     Apparatus     Apparently     K.  .r.-l  il  Im 

Earthquake    ;;,;;, 

Sparc-telegraph    Industry,    Guv  eminent    ('.nil,',, I    ,,!'. 

"  Italn ill;'..   824.  480 

in     Industry,      Marconi     Company's 


Sp; 


Rep. 


Spac 

nal    Service * 

Space-  leli  'Kl'ii  ph    Mcssngi 
Space-telegraph    Signals. 

of,     Hv   William   Marc 


Universal,    for    Sig- 


Npuoo 

Space 


410, 


208 


Space   Telegraphy   in    the    Dutch    East   Indies.      Bv 

Dr.  Alfred  I  (radenwitz :<i37 

Space    Telegraphy.    Internalii.nal    Co-operation    in. 

Desirable     292    363 

Space    Telegraphy    in    Mexico 308 

Space   Telegraphy,    Navy    Department's   Work    Willi    L'"s 

Space   Telegraphy.      (New  Year's   Review) 9     12       15 

Space  Telegraphy  for  North  Pole  Expedition..     . 

„ •■■; 56,    300.  404 

Space    Telegraphy    Proved    Useful    at    San    Fran- 
cisco.     (Editorial)    4*>0 

Space   Telegraphy   on    the   Stage.      (Editorial  1 80 

Space    Telegraphy    on     Seagoing    Steamships.       By 

Dr.    Alfred    I  iradenwilz *353 

Space  Telegraphy.     (See  also  Wireless.) 

Spencer,   Paul.      (Overhead   Line  Construction) 

472.    '521 

spencer.   Theodore.    Death  of 126 

Sporry,    E.    A.,    on    Electrochemical    Processes    for 

Central  Stations  380 

Sprngue,    Frank   J.,    on   Alternating-current    Trac- 
tion       239 

Sprongel.  Dr.  H.  J.  P..  Death  of 110 

Spring.  E.  C «255 

Springfield,    III..    Construction   Work    in 139 

Standard  Electric  Light  and  Power  Station.  Under- 
writers'   Requirements  for  a 365 

Standardization    Discussed    in    England 185 

Standardization    of    Electrical     Machinery.       (Edi- 
torial)       236 

Standardization     Rules.       (American    Institute    of 

Electrical  Engine. as)    416,  44S 

Sl.iiidariliz.il  ion.   Wire  and  Cable.      (Editorial) 356 

Standardizing    Rubber-covered    Wires    and    Cables. 

By  John   Langan 358 

St.inley-G.     1.     Electric     Manufnct  tiring    Company's 

Manufacture  of  Wright   Demand   Indicators *43 

Stanley-,;.    I.    P, ,lypl,:,se   Induction   Motor *551 

Stanley-!!.    I.    Devolving- field    Inductor    Generator .*  1113 
Slanley-G.   I.  Wright    Demand  Indicator  for  Trans- 
former Testing  *47S 

Stanley's,    William.    System    of    Transmitting   and 

Utilizing  Low-frequency  Currents *396 

Star  Electric  Fans *241 

Station,    Passenger.     New,    of    the    Pennsvlvania 

Railroad  in  New  York  City *416 

Stationary    Engineers     Visit     Atlis-i 'halluces    Shops 

at  West  Allis  «551 

Statistical    Table  of  Electric    Service   Facilities   in 

the   United    States    237 

Statistics,    Cnnniliaii    Electric-railway 237 

Statistics.   Census,   of  Electrical   Industries.      (Edi- 
torial)     176.  420 

Statistics.    Census,    of  Electrical    Manufactures   for 

1904     343 

Statistics.    Census,    of   Telephones    and    Telegraphs 

in    1902    428 

Slatistics.    Central-station,    of   Massachusetts 449 

Statistics,    Chicago    Lighting ; 448 

Slatistics     of     Electrical      Manufactures,      Western 

Electrician's 17 

Statistics.   Iowa   Central-station 334 

Statistics.    Ohio    Independent    Telephone 165 

"Steam-engine  Indicator."     By  W.  W.  Beaumont. 

(Book  Review)    241 

Steam  Engine.      (See  also  Engine.) 

Steamship   Mauritania.    Elect rival    Equipment   of...    26S 

Steamships,    Seagoing.    Space    Telegraphy   on.     By 

Dr.  Alfred  Gradenwitz   »353 

Steam-turbine    Accident,    Peculiar *507 

Steam  Turbine,  Curtis.  Tests  of 365,  *554 

Steam-turbine    Design,    Recent    Improvements    in. 
by  Stumpf,  Elihu  Thomson  and  W.  L.   R.  Emmet   493 

Steam-turbine   Economy,  Stott  on *103.  120 

Steam    Turbine    in    Europe.    Development    of    the. 

(New  Year's  Review) 13 

Steam-turbine     Plant    at     St.     Denis.     France,     A 

60.000-kilowatt.     By  Frank  C.  Perkins »537 

Steam    Turbine    and    Reciprocating    Engine,    Com- 
bination   of.    for  Freight    Steamboats 432 

Steam   Turbine.    Seliultz 26S 

Steam    Turbines.    Allies-Chalmers *60.   :!3Kl 

Steam  Turbines.  Curtis,  in  Chicago "1,  »554 


with. 

I  ...  I.e.. 


Hl.l 


IllH 


Hi    hi 

...       .    i.  .  i  .  .  . 
tot  .        Battel 

> 

.     i:  .ii.  n.        til  ...    ,. 

Battorlcs,    (nil 


Stoi 


Btorai      Buttoi 

s i ,   S     i:  .....    i 

PI I    

SU. III!    ..I      SI.''    I       101  '  '    '  'III. 

tli      In   ' ' ■  " 

si. .ii.   Hem  v  O.     .i'...-..  i    i- ! 

'..    "i :......     ...     . 

Trip 

Street    Llgh  [oi 

v 

Sl, 


.  Rail*  i 

Imp 
elopmcnl       



■rn.     (Instltui       '.     ' 


Sill,    :.l 
I..I, 

Suh-sl. 


verier,   of   tin     Lon| 


■  mi.     Court    I isi ni   !l!l-yt\ir    A.  I.      Jin.    J I -, 

.'.,, t     Tin,  ti..,,    in     l-'.n glut, d 

iug   ill    lllgh-lensio,,    Lines.   ( iscill. .graphic    U"- 

searches  on.     By  C,    David 

Susquehanna   River   Power    Development. 217,    370, 

Swedish      Railways,      Siuel.     ph.  I. Hv-'     (or 

the.    20,000-volt.     By  C.   Smith • 

Swinburne,    James.       (Efficiencies) 

Swinburne.   James.      (Metallic   Limp   Filaments).., 

Switch,    Knife.    A    Curious    Home-lnide • 

Switch.    Oil.      (See    Oil    Switch.) 

Switchboard  Apparatus  in   Long  Islam 
Station  and  Sub-stations 

Switchboard    Equipment    Company.    I 
breaker  of  

Switchboard  in   Mandel  Brothers'  Plar 

Switchboard    Practice.     Modern,     witl 
Reference    to    Automatic    Devices.      By    E.    M. 
Hewlett    *5 

Switchboard    Structures,   Class    Flooring    for 3 

Switzerland.    Hydro-electric    Development    in 1 

Switzerland.    St.    Gallen-Trogen    Interurban    Rail- 
way in.     By  Franz  Koester *1 

Switzerland.  The  Telephone  in 

Symbols  and  Signs  in  Preparing  Dr. 

Synchron 

Svnehron 


I  ',.\.  .a 


Particula 


n    e 


Tanning  bv   Electricity 169, 

Tantalum    Incandescent    Lamps.    General    Electric.' 
Tantalum    Lamp.      (All    references) 

9,    15,    SS,    347.    4f,2.    191,    *554, 

Tariff  Reform   Agitation   in   Great  Britain  and  the 

Electrical     Trade.        (Editorial) 

Tasmania.    The    Telephone    in 

Taylor.     Frank     H.       (Electrical     Development     in 

Philadelphia) * 

Technical    Definition.    Illustrated    (Overhead    Line 

Work) « 

Technical    Education.      (Editorial) 

Technical    Education    in    Germany   Overdone 

Technical   Men   as    Dividend   Earners.     By   George 

D.    Shepardson 

Telegraph.      (Notes) 130,    1611.    L'ns.     II, ,,     |32. 

Telegraph    Extension    in    Central    America 

Telegraph    Ciphers    by    the    Billion 

Telegraph    Messengers.    Men  as 

Telegraph.     Printing.     A    Wireless 

Telegraph  Work,  Iron  Wires   Substituted  for  Cop- 
per   in 

Telegraphs    and   Telephones   in    the   United   States 

in   1902 

Telegraphy.     Rapid,     on     the     Continent 

Telegraphy.    Typewriting,     Roussel's    System    of...* 
Telephone.     Automatic.       ,  See    Automatic.) 

Telephone   Cable  Roller.    New   Style  of * 

Telephone     Circuits-.     Auxiliary.       By     Charles    H. 

Coar    

Telephone    Companies.    New.      (Notest 

SS.    107.    126.    164.    1S4.    224.   244.   263.    455. 

Telephone   Conditions   in    London.      (Editorial).... 

Telephone    Construction    Work.      (Editorial) 

Telephone    Engineering.     By  J.    J.    Carty.182,    202. 
Telephone  Engineering  as  a  Profession.     By  J.  L. 

McQuarrie    

Telephone    Equipment.    Independent,    in    Meridian, 

Miss *! 

Telephone     Exchange     in     Chicago,     The     Newest 

Branch    *! 

Telephone     Exchange.     Ni 

Iowa    

Telephone-extension     Litigation.  . .  . 
Telephone  Extensions  and  Improvem 
Telephone.    False    Teeth    at    the. 
Telephone,    Frivolous    Use   of   the.    i 

D.      C 

GOV€ 


Council      Bluffs. 


Wit.  s. 


Washii 


Tel.  phone    Inquiry,     C: 
Telephone   Line.    The. 

Telephone    Lines    on    Highways 

Telephone     Lines.     Sectionalized     Inducti' 

ductor     for 

Telephone    Manufacturers    and    Deale 


1S5, 


263. 


Jst. 


Telephone    Men.     (Notes) . 

Telephone    News.     General.       (Notes) 

..25,  45,  64.  SS.  107.  126.  144.  16:..  is:..  225,  245, 
365,    2S3,    305,    333,    345,    367,    405,    479,    506,    536, 


Tcllurtde    power    * '."  ■ 


Tcmlsknmlng    oi 


Ml 


'i-.ii.tl    Value 
(Instil  . 

• 
pond. 
Texas    Independent    T-  Ii 

Thermo-electric  '  !oupl« 

ires    . 



Third    Rail,    I n.    prevention    of 

Third    Rail    vei  -  ■     In    England 

Long    island    Railroad 

Thorns        I'.     II..    on    Mercury-vapor    A;' 

(Institute  discussion)    

Bllhu, 

S,  Elihu 

Turbines  

Thomson's.      Elihu 

.....  ,    . 

Failure    

Three-condiiili.r     I  I 
hernia.      By    C.    Smith 

Tbree-phosi     ...   Quarter-phase   Currents,   Conver- 
sion   of.       (Stelnmetz) 

Three-phase    and    Two-phase    Motors,    Compai 
of.      By    Bradley    McCormlck 

Thutv's     Direct-current    Power    Transmission....     I] 

Tin.     High     Price     of 

Tokio    Electrical    Generating    Station 

Toledo     Telephone     Rates 

Topeka,    Central-station    Affairs    In 

Toreiiio.    Philip,    on    Tests-  for    Wire    Insulation 
Tiitp.-.lo    Exploder.    Wireless.    N.-w    Form   ..I.. 

Toureoing    International    Exposition 

Towne.     F.    T..     Death    of 

Townley.     Calvert,    on    Alternating-current    Ti 


tlon 


;.-.•-. 


Track  Circuits  for  Signaling 

Tracks.    Street-railway.    Two-part...' 303 

Traction.     Alternating-current,      in      Heavy     Rail- 
roading.    (New    York    Railroad    Club) 

Traction.    Elect  lie.       i.V.'W    Y.-ar's    Review). .6,    10.      II 
Traction.     Surface-contact.       (See    Surface-contact.) 

Trade    News.      (Notes) 2S.    49.    t5s.    31. 

i  ii.   i:;...   1  is.  1.;:..  lsn.  _•..■..    ....    . 

::js.    ;;is.    371.    :::„,.    111 
Train    Lighting    on    the    Great    Western    Railway 

of   England    s- 

'I'm, informer    Stations    of    Warren-Joniestown    Sin- 
gle-phase   Railway IS8 

Transformer.      Stt t.      in     Milan.     Italy "4ss 

Transformer    Testing.     Portable    Wright     Demand 

Indicator     for     •  17s 

Transformers  in  Long  Island  Railroad  Sul.-st  items  517 
Transmission,       Eleotric.         (See       Hydro-electric. 
Power  Development,   Power  Transmission,  etc.) 
Transmitting    and    Utilizing    Low-frequency    Cur- 
rents.   Stanley's    System    of 

Trenton     Falls     (N.     Y.  i     Hydro-electric     Develop- 


■ity    Railway    and     Light     Company.     Forma- 


is.' 


Getting     and     Retaining 


of. 

Tripp.     George 

Business    :,is 

Tri-state    Telephone    Company    of    St.    Paul.    Toll- 
board    Equipment    of    the •lot 

Trolley   Boat   to   Disperse  Floating  Ice  at   Niagara 
Falls    Power    House »93 

Trolley    Suspension   on    Seebaeb-Wettingen   Line.."5M 

Trolley.    Theater   Excursions   by It: 

Trolley   Trip.    \    Long 

Trolley   Wheel   of  Pure   Copper 


Tungsten.      (See   Wolfram.) 

Tunnel.    Detroit.      (See   Detroit.) 

Tunnel  Excavator.  Jackson's  Electrically  Oper- 
ated     

Tunnel.    Sarnia.      (See   SarniaO 

Tunnel.    Simplon.      (See    Simplon.) 

Tunnels.  Chicago  Freight.  (See  Chicago  Freight 
Tunnels.) 

Turbine.  Hydraulic  9.700-horsepower,  for  Cali- 
fornia   Gas  and    Electric    Corporation : 

Turbine.    Steam.      1  See    Steam    Turbine.) 

Turbo-generator.    Large.    The    Starting   of    a •! 

Turbo-generators.     Regulating.     Emmet's     System 


•293.   295 
n.l    Tiiree-phas"    Motors.    Comparison 

adley  McCormick 447.  '523 

ontroller,    Eastman's '312 

Telegraphy,    Roussel's    System    of..*214 


U 

Ultra-violet  Tamp  with  Heat-radiating  Qualities.  .'376 

Ultra-violet  Wave-length  Test  to  Detect  Exist- 
ence of  Life       (Editorial) 296 

Underground  Cable  Practice.  Present.  Comments 
on.       By    Wallace     S.     Clark 359 

Underground   Cables.    Maximum    Voltage   for 445 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


Underground  Construction  In  La  Crosse,  Wis.     By 

W.    D.    Burford    1»J>. 

Underground    Construction    for    Long    Island    Rail- 


ia.l 


.Mod,. 


Underground   Electrical  Construction 
Tendency   in    

Underground    Mail    Conveying    System    in    C 
(See  Chicago  Freight  Tunnels.) 

Underground   Versus  Overhead   Lines 

Underground    (Tube)    Railways   in    London 
London.)  ,    „      ,._ 

"    Report    on    Electrical    Conditions 


(Se 


Underwri 
Detroit    . . 

Underwriter 
trie   Light 


Requirements  lor  a   Standard   Elec- 

„.,    and    Power    Station 

United    Engineering    Building 33,    99,    217, 

United  Engineering    Building.    Cornerstone   Laying 


of 


(See    Ex- 


By 


United    States,    Electrical    Export 

United  States,  Electrical  Progress  in,  in  1305. 

Henry  H.  Morris.     (New   Years   Review) ...  . .... 

United  Stales  Telephone  Company 204,  4s5,   479.  , 

Units.  Electrical.      ( Editorial) 

Units,   Electrical,   International 257, 

Units  of  Measurement.   Electrical.  The  Charlottcn- 

burg  Conference   on.     By   Henry   S.    Carhart •. 

Utica,    N.    Y.,    Large    Waterpower    Developments 

Near     , 


Vacuum   Tube.   The.  and   Electrical   Effluvia 

Vacuum-tube  Lighting.     (See  Tube  Lighting.) 

Valentine.  E.   H.,  Retires  from  Business 

Variable-speed   Operation   of   Induction    Motors....' 

Vesuvius,    Eruption  of ■ ...itx, 

Victoria  Falls  fewer  Transmission,    Proposed 

Victoria    Park,    Niagara    Falls.    Annual    Report    of 

Commissioners   of    

Voltmeter.    Westingliouse    Electrostatic 

Voltmeters.      (See  also  Instruments.) 

Vose,    Frederic    P 


\Af 


Ne 


Wagner    Electric    Manufacturing    Company's 

Works     ■  - ,'•;,'."  ; 

Waldron,  J.  M.  (Alternating-current  Signal  Cir- 
cuits in  the  New  York  Subway) ■*< 

Wales,  Power  Transmission  in 10,     1 

Wallace,    John    F ............. ...*M.  '■ 

Warren    (Pa.)  and  Jamestown   Single-phase ,  Kail- 

Washington'-Baiti'more     Electric     Railway 347,  i 

Washington,  D,  C,  Frivolous  Use  of  the  Telephone 

Washington,  D.  C..  New  Telephone  Building  in '. 

Washington,  D.  C,  Potomac  Electric  Company  s 
Power  House  in ■ ;a"  '   ' 

Washington  and  Oregon,  The  Telephone  in.  (Cor- 
respondence)      '- •■■■•■■•■ 

Waterpower  Development  of  Kakabeka  Falls,  near 
Port  William,  Ont ................   . 

Waterpower  Development   at   Sewalls   talis,   rj.    t±. 

Waterpower  Developments  near  Utica,  N.  Y„ 
Large  .■  •  ■  • ■; ■  - 

Waterpower.  (See  also  Hydro-electric,  Power  De- 
velopment,   Turbine,   etc.) 

Water  Purification.   Electrical.      (Editorial) 

Water  Purifier,  Electrical,  for  Household  Pur- 
Waterworks'  Schenectady.  Electric  Pumping  Plant 
of  the.     By  C.   T.  Wilkinson * 


Waters',  W.  L.,  Improvement  in  Motor  Field  Com- 
mutation      • ■ ,-*273 

Waters      W.     L.      (Shunt     and     Compound-wound 

Synchronous  Converters  for  Railway  Work). 474,  477 
Watseka,    III..   Proposed  as  Electrical  Transmission 

Center     • ^^ 

Weather  Reports  by   Telephone 164 

Webb  II.  L..  on  European  Telephone  Service....  305 
Weeks    E    R.     (Notes  on  the  Lighting  of  Churchesr  i..3 

Wilding    Apparatus.     Arc,    Improved *469 

Wellman    Polar    Expedition.       I  Editorial) .......  ....      56 

Wellman    Polar  Expedition.  Plans  of  the.56    300,  305,  404 
Wellman    Polar  Expedition.      (See  also  North   Pole.) 
Welsl.aeh's  (Dr.   Carl  Auer  von  Welsbaeh)   Support 

for     Osmium     Lamp     Filaments ...»254 

Wessling,    A.    G.      (Electrical    Equipment    of  Louis- 
ville and  Nashville  Railroad   Shops) "175 

West    Shore    Railroad    Electrification 258 

West  Virginia   Independent  Telephone  Association, 

Parkersburg    Convention    of •■    244 

Western     Electric    Company.    Hawthorne    Plant    of, 

Chicago  Edison   Men   Entertained  at 361 

Western    Electric    Company.    Hawthorne    Shops  of 

the.     By  H.  R.   King ■  ■  .V«J 

Western    El.ctric   Company,   New   S'oek  Issue   of..   169 

Western    Electric    Fan    Motor 219 

Western  Electrician's  Statistics  of  Electrical  Man- 
Western    Ohio'    Railway    Extension ■  .*19,   206 

West. Til      Society     of     Engineers.      Electrical      Sec- 

tion  of.  Meetings  of 100,   -43,    1-3 

Western  Society  of  Engineers.  New  Officers  of...  19 
Western    Union    Telegraph    Company's    Quarterly 

Reports    ■  •  •  ■  v  -26s<  ■'■'7> 

Western    Union    Telegraph    Company  s    Semi-cen- 
tennial     -«*";"i j 

Westingliouse     Alternating-current     Overload    ana 

Reverse-current  Relay    "53 

Westingliouse   1906   Electric   Fans — 

Westingliouse     Electric    and     Manufacturing    Com- 
pany  Increases    Capital    Stock j59 

Westingliouse  Electrostatic   Voltmeter     .........  ..   *40 

Westingliouse.  George.   Awarded  John  Fritz  Medal,   lt>8 
Westingliouse   Graphic    Recording   Electric   Instru- 
ments     ■  ••■■ .":  " 

Westinghouse    High-voltage    Electrically    Operated 

Oil  Circuit-breaker   66 

Westingliouse  Motors.    Small    -19 

Westingliouse  Personnel.  Changes  m ••■■■■ ;;' 

Westingliouse  Singlc-pha  s.  Compensated  Motor...  *o9 
Westingliouse     Turbo-generators    in    Long    Island 

City  Power   Station 7,    *293,   295 

Westinghouse    Variable-speed    Motor    with    Auxili- 
ary Poles  ];» 

Weston.    Edward,    on   Service    Meters 491 

Wheaton    111..  Electrical   Conditions  at 202 

Widnes-Runcorn  Electrically  Operated  Transporter 

WiWiimann's  '  ri;:tt"h.  imsti  >  iE;i  Fill!*)  4r0 
Wil-us  W.  J.,  on  Alternating-current  Traction..  239 
Wilkinson,   C.   T.      (Electric  Pumping  Plant  of  the 

Schenectady   Waterworks) 3&1 

Willey     D     A.       (Electrically     Operated     Floating 

Fuel'  Depot    for    Coaling    Warships) :.......   *93 

Williams.    Arthur ..'WS,  *494 

Williams,    C.    H.      (Modern   Central-station   Design 

as  Exemplified   in    La   Crosse,   Wis.)... 171 

Wilmington,    Del.,    New-business    Campaign 424 

Wilmington.    Del..   New   Steam-turbine  Plant   for..  4SS 

Wilson-MacKean   Insulator   Pin • 140 

Wilson's.    Leonard.    Protection   of  Alternating-cur- 
rent   Generators    Against    Reversal    of    Energy,  .'lob 
Winnipeg,     Electric    Power    Development    in    and 

Winnipeg,    Electric-power  Rates   in •   425 

Winona,     Ind„      Interurban      Railway     Company, 
Equipment   for 477 


Winter  Use  of  Electric   Fans.      (Editorial) 56 

Wire    and    Cable    Standardization.      (Editorial)....   356 

Wire  Glass    484 

Wire,   Hard-drawn   Copper.     By  T.  B.  Doolitlle 61 

Wire,  Insulated.     (See  Insulated  Wire.) 

Wire    Stringing    for    Overhead    Lines,     Spencer    on.*522 

Wires    and    Cables,    Rubber-covered,    Standarizing. 

By    Joh  n    Langan 35S 

Wires,    Electrical,    Cold   Bending  of   Pipes   for.     By 

R.    G.    Grayne *94 

Wires.    Iron.    Substituted   for  Copper   in   Telegraph 

Work    454 

Wires,    Thin    Insulation    for .303 

Wireless    Conference,    Another 363 

Wireless    Contract,     Navy,    Awarded 139 

Wireless,    Long-distance 61,    277,    407 

Wireless    Printing    Telegraph,    A 38 

Wireless  at  San  Francisco   During  the  Great   Fire   121 

Wireless,     Subterranean 116.     add 

Wireless    Telephony.    Collins'    System    of *-'■>- 

Wireless     Torpedo     Exploder.     New    Form    of 401 

Wireless.      (See    also    Space    Telegraphy.) 

Wiring     Conditions     in     Western     Cities 

35,    36,    129,    139,    193.    202.    271.    287,    300.    320.    483 

"Wiring    1  hagrams   and    Switchboards."      By  New- 
ton   Harrison.      (Book    Review) 142 

"Wiring    Handbook."      By   Cecil    P.    Poole.      (Book 

Review) 241 

Wiring.     Inside,    in    the    East    and    in    the    West. 

(Editorial) 36 

Wiring    of    New    Houses,    The 6S 

Wiring.      (See    also    Construction.) 

Wisconsin    Light    and    Power    Company's    Central 

Station    at    La    Crosse,    Wis *171,  ISO 

Wisconsin  River  Power  Development  at  the  Dells, 

Proposed     16S 

Wolfram    Lamp,    The   New 179.    352 

Wood,    James   J.,    Mrs.,    Death    of 16S 

Worcester,     Mass.,     Electric-lighting    Situation    in. 

(Editorial) 39S 

Worcester    Polytechnic    Institute.    Electrical    Engi- 
neering    and     Railway    Laboratories    at *441 

Worcester,     A     Producer-gas     Power     Plant     in....    47S 
Wright    Demand  Indicator  Business  in   the  United 

States,    Growth    of    the *43 

Wright    Demand    Indicator,    Portable,    for    Trans- 
former   Testing *47S 

Wright   Demand   System   and  Electric-light   Rates. 

(Editorial) 356 

Wright    Demand    System    in    England 26n,    303.    362 

Wright     Demand     System     in     England     and     the 
United    States.      By    J.    S.    C 362 


X-ray   Apparatus,    Portable,    for   Testing   Cables ..  *254 


Yerkes,    Charles    T.,    Death    of ' *19,  64 

Yerkes'     Successors     Named 41,  88 

Yonkers,     Municipal     Ownership     in..  ......... 111 

Yonkeis   Specialty   Company's    Ground- wire    clamp.  ..0., 

Y'ork.    Pa..    Street    Railways    of,    Sold 300 

Yorke,    R.    F.,    Death   of 279 


Zahm      A     W »334,  340 

Zahm'    A.    W.      (The    Care    and    Maintenance    of 

Electric    Meters) |°J 

Zeidler   Gasoline   Blow   Torch &"9 

Zinc    Refining    Industry ««» 

Zirconium    Lamp    io 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


Vol.  XXXVIII. 


CHK  AGO,  .1  Wi 


Fisk  Street  Station  of  the  Commonwealth 
Electric  Company,  Chicago. 

IWiih  Supple in  I 

p  KNTKAl.  ST.Vl  ion    practice    in    Chicago    al 

*-*   the  present  time  exemplifies  lany  ways  the 

highest   develo] ml    of    the    art.    A    city    with    a 

population  nf  nearly  j.oou.otjo  schiK,  distributed  over 

an  area  about  26  miles  long  and  averaging  some 
eight  miles  in  width,  with  a  central  portion  which  is 
densely  congested  by  business  requirements,  offers 
a  great  variety  of  problems  to  the  central-station 
management. 
Fifteen    years    ago    several    central  Station    com 


whose   development    h  rly   by 

practice.     It  is  the  pui  i  iclc  to 

th  four 
lare.e  iiniis  complete.  The  previous  articles  which 
have-  appeared  ern  Electrician,  notably 

thai    of    May    23,    1903,    were    more    preliminary    in 

I     111   I      Ml' 

It  is  to  be  rioted  that,  whereas  the  three  older 

-    hi    the    pre    "i    equipment    have    a    nominal 

1    in f   5,000  kilowatts  each,  they   have  been    run 

continuously    at    6,000    kilowatts,    and    at    tin 
peak    load    as    high    as    7,500    kilow     1 


for   an    ullimal 

Station    will    !.•  •  -lic*ed 

that    no  other  electric-light   ai  n   any- 

where 

phot   when   it   . 

-ruu. 
Fisk    Street  the   juncture  of 

Fisk  Street  and  the   South   Branch  of  the  Chicago 
and    is    about    three    miles    from    the   down- 
town  business  district      At  tl  mmon- 
wealth  company  owns  23  acres  of  land,  the  1 
location  of  the  proper'                              in  Fig    2.  the 


STEAM    TUKt'.INES 


panies  were  operating  in  the  city,  among  them  the 
Chicago  Edison  Company,  which  was  the  largest. 
To-day,  however,  a  different  state  of  affairs  exists, 
and  all  the  smaller  independent  companies  have 
given  place  to  the  two  large  companies  which 
now  control  Chicago's,  central-station  business — the 
Chicago  Edison  Company  and  the  Commonwealth 
Electric  Company.  Each  generates  and  distributes 
electricity  in  its  own  territory,  that  of  the  Edison 
being  the  central  portion  of  the  city  and  that  of  the 
Commonwealth  the  surrounding  parts.  However, 
the  two  systems  are  interconnected,  and  that  of 
the  Chicago  Edison  Company  receives  much  of  its 
current  from  the  principal  generating  plant  of  the 
Commonwealth  Electric  Company.  This  generating 
plant  is  known  as  the  Fisk  Street  .Station,  the  first 
steam-turbine  central  station  to  be  put  in  operation. 
Equipped  entirely  with  steam  turbine's  ,and  the 
most  modern  apparatus,  and  with  an  ultimate 
capacity  of  156,000  kilowatts,  the  Fisk  Street  Station, 
from  its  great  size  and  many  new  features,  is  one 


latest  unit — No.  4 — which  is  the  farthest  from  the 
spectator  in  the  picture  on  this  page,  and  sepa- 
rately illustrated  in  Fig.  7,  has  a  maximum  capac- 
ity of  9,000  kilowatts.  As  it  stands  at  present  the 
station  has  a  record  of  carrying  2S,500  kilowatts. 

But  four  more  units  have  been  ordered  and  will 
undoubtedly  be  placed  in  position  during  the  year. 
These,  like  their  predecessors,  are  General  Electric 
outfits  with  Curtis  turbines.  These  turbo-gener- 
ators will  have  a  nominal  rating  of  8,000  kilowatts, 
guaranteed,  however,  to  run  continuously  at  9,000 
kilowatts,  and  for  two  hours,  the  period  of  maxi- 
mum load,  up  to  12,000  kilowatts.  This  equip- 
ment will  add  48,000  kilowatts  to  the  capacity  of 
the  station,  bringing  the  total  up  to  76,500  kilo- 
watts. 

After  this  addition  it  is  the  intention  to  remodel 
the  three  older  turbines  now  installed,  so  that  no 
machine  in  the  station  shall  have  less  than  9,000 
kilowatts  maximum  capacity,  while  all  after  the 
first   four   will  have   12,000.     The  plant  is   designed 


heavy  outlines  denoting  the  company's  property. 
On  the  north,  the  tracks  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington 
and  Quincy  Railroad  enter  the  grounds,  as  shown, 
and  at  the  south  end  of  the  property,  across  the 
river  from  the  station,  the  tracks  of  the  Chicago 
and  Alton  gain  entrance,  so  that  coal  and  supplies 
may  be   obtained   from   two  separate   roads. 

Ample  facilities  for  the  storage  of  coal  are 
provided,  as  will  be  seen  by  Fig.  2.  not  only 
across  the  river  from  the  station,  but  on  the  same 
side  as  well,  where  sufficient  trackage  is  provided, 
which,  however,  is  not  indicated  on  the  diagram. 
As  much  as  60,000  tons  has  been  in  storage  at  once, 
and  still  the  capacity  was  not  taxed  greatly.  Coal 
is  transported  from  the  storage  yard  across  the 
river  to  the  station  side  by  means  of  large  scows 
or   barges. 

Most  of  the  coal  burned  is  screenings  from  the 
Springfield  district,  averaging  about  10,500  B.  T.  U. 
The  station  has  used  as  hfgh  as  1.000  tons  in  a 
day    in    December.      This    low-grade    coal    has   been 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


January  6,  1906 


found  very  satisfactory  and  makes  an  intensely 
hot  fire  under  the  excellent  firing  conditions  which 
exist  in  the  plant.  Combustion  is  nearly  complete 
and  very  little  smoke  is  noticeable;  indeed,  this 
28,000-kilowatt  plant  emits  less  smoke  than  comes 
from  a  small  nearby  plant  using  an  engine  of 
probably   a   few   hundred  horsepower. 

Located  near  the  center  of  the  property  is  the 
generating  station  and  the  switch  house.  The 
part  indicated  in  heavy  black  in  Fig.  2  is  the 
present  completed  portion,  the  part  indicated  in 
solid  lines  is  work  now  under  construction  and  the 
part   in    dotted   lines  is  for   future   extensions.     The 


width  of  the  station  is  approximately  230  feet. 
The  completed  portion  (A)  is  185  feet  long,  the 
portion  under  construction  (B)  is  165  feet  in 
length,  leaving  for  the  future  extensions  the  por- 
tion  (C)    which  is  265  feet  in  length. 

At  the  north   end   of  the  property,   near  Twenty- 
second    Street,    is    a    substation    now    in    process    of 


fig.  3. 


TERIOR   OF    FISK   STREET    STATION  OF  COMMONWEALTH    ELECTRIC 

ty 


'  (SWITCH  HOUSE  AT  RIGHT). 


construction,  which  is  known  as  the  West  Tw 
second    Street   Substation. 

Generating  Station  and  Equipment. 
Fig.  3  is  an  exterior  view  of  the  Fisk  Street 
Station  as  it  now  stands.  The  building  is  of  the 
French  style  of  architecture  with  red  pressed-brick 
walls  and  cut-stone  trimmings,  the  whole  effect 
contrasting  in  a  pleasing  manner  with  the  plain 
surroundings  of  the  neighborhood.  Reference  to 
the  accompanying  supplement  will  show  the  general 
layout  of  the  plant,  both  in  plan  and  section.  The 
unit  idea  pervades  the  whole  installation,  from  the 
coal  conveyors  to  the  last  outgoing  line  switch, 
each  group  or  unit  being  complete  in  itself,  with 
the  idea  of  localizing  and  confining  any  possible 
trouble  that  might  arise. 

On  the  eastern  side  of  the  building  is  the  train 
shed,  which  extends  the  entire  length.  Here  the 
coal  cars  are-  run  in  for  unloading  into  hoppers 
below  the  floor,  which  discharge  the  coal  into 
crushers  preparatory  to  its  entering  the  conveyor 
system.  The  crushers  are  motor  driven,  and  one 
is  provided  for  each  boiler  unit.  From  the  crush- 
ers the  coal  is  carried  by  Meade  conveyors  having 
24  by  24  inch  buckets  to  the  coal  bunkers,  which 
are  located  above  the  boilers,  the  bunkers  for  each 
boiler  unit  having  a  capacity  of  1,000  tons.  The 
conveyors  travel  continuously  and  are  utilized  to 
remove  the  ashes  from  the  pits  beneath  the  boilers 
to  a  hopper  above  the  railroad  track,  from  which 
they  may  be  discharged  into  cars. 
Boiler  Plant. 
Each  boiler  unit  consists  of  eight  Babcock  & 
Wilcox  boilers,  the  boilers  of  each  two  consecutive 
units  facing  each  other  as  shown  in  Fig.  4.  The 
boilers  have  5,000  square  feet  of  beating  surface, 
there  being  in  each  52  four-inch  tubes  18  feet  long, 
arranged    in    banks     iS    tubes    wide    and     14  high. 


Nominally,  the  pressure  carried  is  180  pounds  to 
the  square  inch.  The  chain-grate  stokers  are  driven 
from  a  shaft  extending  the  full  length  of  each 
boiler  unit,  this  being  driven  by  either  of  two  en- 
gines, one  of  which  is  always  held  in  reserve. 

Coal  from  the  bunkers  above  the  boilers  is 
brought  down  to  the  grates  through  swinging 
chutes,  which  distribute  the  coal  evenlv  along  the 
grates.  The  bunkers  for  each  boiler  unit  having  a 
capacity  of  approximately  1,000  tons.  The  entrance 
of  the  coal  into  the  chutes  is  governed  by  a  valve- 
like arrangement  controlled  by  chains  which  are 
within  the  reach  of  the  boiler  attendant  on  the  floor. 
The  furnace  gases  pass  from  the  flues  through 
curved  uptakes,  shown  prominently  in  Fig.  5,  to  the 
boiler  breechings  which  lead  into  the  stack.  One 
stack  is  provided  for  each  two  boiler  units.  The 
stacks  are   of  steel   construction,  rising  to  a  height 


FIG.    4.       INTERIOR   OF 


STREET   BOILER    PLANT,    SHOWING    FRONTS   OF   TWO   BOILER    UNITS. 


of  205  feet  above  the  boiler-room  floor  and  with  an 
inside  diameter  of  iS  feet.  They  are  not  built  from 
the  ground  up,  but  are  supported  above  the  boilers. 
Superheat  of  1500  is  used,  which  is  obtained  bj 
a  superheater  receiving  the  direct  influence  of  the 
hottest  part  of  the  furnace  gases.  The  superheated 
steam  from  each  pair  of  boiler  units  passes  from 
the  superheater  upward  to  a  point  above  the  boilers 
and  from  there  into  a  six-inch  pipe  passing  down 
to  the  main  steam  header  located  in  the  basement. 
In  the  view  above  the  boilers  (Fig-  5)  the  arrange- 
ment of  a  portion  of  this  piping  is  shown  in  the 
foreground.  Reference  to  the  supplement  will  indi- 
cate more  clearly  the  arrangement  of  the  boilers 
and  piping,  since  one  portion  of  the  plan  shows 
the  top  of  a  set  of  boilers  with  the  piping  arrange- 
ment, another  portion  shows  in  plan  the  piping  in 
the  header  room  below  the  boiler-room  floor,  and 
the  third  portion,  which  shows  boiler  units  5  and 
6,  not  yet  constructed,  is  a  plan  through  the 
pent  house  with  roof  construction  removed. 


January  6,   [906 


In  .-I    11  ]r.,i  ii partmi  nl   ol   Ihi    b 

header  room(  a    mcnl I  abovi 

boilc 1       '  "i'    ol   the  1    I"  adi  1    1 

in   i' 'jg,   1,     Two   main     team    headers,   varying    in 

I.  ,1,1  i,  1    i,,, ni  fivi    i..   1  1   ini  hi   .  1    ti  nd   Ii  ngthwi  le 

,,1    il lartment,    and    into    Ihi  m     in 

ii dei     - ig    dov .'i i"    boili  1 

1  hi  1    ii-  adi  1.1.    how  n   in   ihi   pi  in    (sc< 

in  ni  1,    each    pa   1    1 1 1 1 

,1,1,1     to  the  ini  bine  .  thu  1  pn   1  1  .  ing  the  un 

'l  here  is,  however,  an  inti  n  01 bel       n 

pair  of  main  headci     «  hii  Ii   ■■■  ill  allow    ol   0 


room, 

turbine  to  bi 

1 

1  hi    in   ' 

itindation   foin    [1  making; 


— 


bine  being  run  from  its  adjacent  boiler  unit  if 
desired.  Remote-control  motor-operated  valves  are 
used.  In  the  header  room  there  are  also  located 
the  feed  and  auxiliary  headers  for  the  auxiliary 
apparatus. 

In  the  basement  below  the  boilers  is  located  an 
air-compressor  outfit,  which  furnishes  air  at  go 
pounds  pressure  for  operating  window  shutters  and 


EALTH    ELECT R 

the  total  height  above  the  floor  about  30  feet.  In 
size  and  arrangement  the  buckets  are  so  propor- 
tioned that  the  velocity  of  the  steam,  for  any  par- 
ticular rotative  speed,  is  only  partially  taken  up  in 
the  first  stage,  the  remaining  part  being  practically 
all  utilized  in  the  second  stage.  So  low  is  the 
velocity  of  the  steam  at  exhaust  that  the  exhaust 
openings  are  made  of  unusual  size,  and  the  con- 
denser is  placed  close 
up  to  the  turbine. 

Governing  is  accom- 
plished by  the  successive 
opening  or  closing  of 
the  various  nozzles  lead- 
ing to  the  buckets.  Each 
nozzle     may     be     closed 


its  general  dimensions,  weight  and  speed  arc  the 
same  as  for  the  first  three  units.  Tig.  7  is  a  good 
view  of  unit  No,   j 

The  turbine  room,  as  seen  in  Fig.  1.  extends 
north  and  south  and  i-  at  right  angli 
of  boilers  forming  each  boiler  unit.  This  i>  a  radi- 
cal departure  from  the  usual  practice  of  setting  the 
lines  of  boilers  parallel  to  the  lini 
The  main  steam  headers  pass  in  an  upward  direc- 
tion direct  to  the  turbines,  as  previously  mentioned. 
Fig.  8  is  an  interesting  picture  showing  these  head- 
ers as  they  emerge  from  the  partition  beneath  the 
visitors1  gallery  and  pass  in  sweeping  curves  to  the 
various  units. 

The  long  room  in  which  the  turbines  are  installed 
i3    handsomely    finished    in    white    glazed    brick    and 


in  Turbine  Room,  Showing  Headers  Leading  to  Turbines.  F>K-  9- 

VIEWS   IN    FISK    STREET   STATION    OF   COMMONWEALTH    ELECTRIC   COMPANY 


tools,  cleaning  electrical  apparatus,  etc.  It  is  driven 
by  a  35-horsepower  motor,  the  whole  being  en- 
closed in  a  sheet-iron  housing. 

Steam-turbine  Installation. 
Above  all  other  things  that  have  made  the  Fisk 
Street  Station  a  landmark  iu  the  progress  of 
central-station  development  is  the  use  of  the  steam 
turbine  exclusively  as  the  prime  mover.  This 
radical  step  was  first  taken  in  the  Chicago  plant, 
and  the  first  5,000-kilowatt  steam  turbine  to  be  put 
in  operation  was  here  installed.  Since  the  first 
turbo-alternator  was  put  in,  which  was  in  the  early 
part  of   1903,  three  others   have  been  installed,  two 


gradually,  and  can  be  worked  continuously  at  any 
position  between  full-open  and  closed.  The  governor 
is  mounted  on  top  of  the  alternator  and  connected 
to  the   end   of   the   vertical   shaft. 

As  the  first  unit  installed  represented  the  first 
type  of  5.oco-kilowatt  turbo-generator  (nominal 
rating)  built  by  the  General  Electric  Company,  50 
the  last  unit,  or  No.  4.  represents  the  latest  phase  of 
its  development,  which,  though  essentially  similar, 
contains  some  few-  improvements  as  to  detail.  The 
essential  points  of  difference  between  the  No.  4  unit 
and  the  previous  three  are  that  the  steam  enters  the 
turbine  through  two  steam  chests  instead  of  three. 


terra    cotta    from    floor    to  ceiling,    with  ornamental 
terra  cotta  architraves  to  all  openings.     A 
gallery    extends    along    both    sides,    giving    a    good 
view  of  all  the   units.     A   railroad  track   enters   the 
building  at  the  main   entrance  on   the   north    front. 
so  that  parts  for  each  successive  unit  may  he  taken 
direct  from  the  car  and  put  in  position  by  the  50- 
ton  crane  that  serves  the  turbine  room.     The  floors 
are  of  vitrified  German  tile  of  small  size  laid  in  a 
pattern  which  gives  a  general  mosaic  effect. 
Condensers   and   Auxiliary   Apparatus. 
The  surface  condensers,   containing  20.000  square 
feet  of  heating  surface  each,  were  furnished  by  the 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  6,  1906 


Alberger  Condenser  Company  of  New  York  city. 
These  condensers  are  located  close  to  the  turbines 
and  one  of  the  units  is  shown  in  Fig.  9.  For 
circulating  the  condensing  water  a  centrifugal  pump 
is  used  with  each  condenser,  driven  by  a  vertical 
Corliss  engine,  which  is  shown  in  Fig.  9.  On  the 
same  shaft  with  the  circulating  pump  is  a  vertical 
two-stage  dry-air  pump.  The  wet  vacuum  pump  is 
installed  as  a  tailpiece  on  the  steam  cylinder  of  the 
vertical    engine. 

Duplicate  vertical  boiler  feed  pumps,  the  hot  well 


supplied  to  the  bearings,  and  derives  its  supply 
from  a  steam-driven  pump,  the  pressure  being  also 
maintained  by  an  accumulator  similar  in  construc- 
tion to  the  type  of  accumulator  used  in  high- 
pressure  hydraulic  elevator  systems.  Oil  for  lubri- 
cation is  supplied  by  a  gravity  system. 

General   Electrical   Features. 
Three-phase    current    is    supplied    by    the    turbo- 
alternators  at   9,000   volts,    25    cycles.     Each    alter- 
nator,  with  its   switching  apparatus,   forms   a   sepa- 
rate  unit.      While   each   of   the    different   units   will 


00000066 


SNECTIONS    OF    HIGH-TENSION    SYSTEM    AT    FISK    STREET    STATION. 


and  the  feed-water  heater  are  located  underneath 
or  adjacent  to  the  surface  condenser,  so  that  the 
entire  equipment  for  each  unit  is  ■  compactly 
arranged  as  shown  in  Fig.  9.  The  boiler  feed 
pumps  take  their  supply  directly  from  the  hot  well 
into  which  the  condensers  discharge. 

Condensing  water  is  taken  from  the  slip  on  the 
east  side  of  property,  this  being  the  upstream  side, 
by  means  of  one  concrete  tunnel  for  each  two  units. 
These  tunnels  deliver  to  wells  from  which  the  circu- 
lating pumps  take  suction.  After  passing  through  the 
condenser  the  circulating  water  is  delivered  to  other 
concrete  tunnels,  one  for  each  four  or  five  units, 
which  tunnels  discharge  into  the  slip  on  the  west  or 
down-stream  side  of  the  property. 

Excellent  results  thus  far  obtained  indicate  that 
the  power  required  for  driving  these  various  con- 
denser auxiliaries  is  extremely  small,  in  fact  a  con- 
siderably smaller  percentage  of  the  total  output  of 
the  generator  than  is  the  usual  practice. 

Other  machinery  which  might  in  a  general  way 
come  under  the  head  of  auxiliary  apparatus  in- 
cludes a  complete  fire-protection  system  maintained 
by  the  station.  For  this  purpose  a  spherical  pump 
capable  of  delivering  water  up  to  a  pressure  of 
200  pounds  to  the  square  inch  is  located  in  a 
separate  room  off  from  the  turbine  room.  This 
pump  is  driven  by  a  225-horsepower  General  Elec- 
tric motor. "  By  the  use  of  a  Cutler-Hammer  con- 
trol board,  which  is  located  in  a  sheet-iron  housing 
in  the  pump  room,  the  motor  is  automatically 
brought  up  to  speed  upon  closing  the  switch. 

Another  important  part  of  the  auxiliary  apparatus 
is  the  oil-pumping  system  for  the  step  bearings  of 
the  turbines.  This  apparatus  is  located  in  the  oil 
room,  which   opens   out   of  the   turbine  room.     The 


1  1 

tfflHF .' 

O 

W';'JKF  ■ 

-■,4        '" 

II 

oil  from  the  turbine  bearing  comes  directly  to  the 
filters  located  in  this  room.  After  filtering  it  is 
taken  to  a  storage  tank,  from  which  the  various 
pumps  supplying  oil  to  the  bearings  derive  their 
supply.  To  keep  up  the  oil  pressure  in  case  of 
emergency  a  main  oil  pipe  is  provided  which  con- 
tains oil  under  1,200  pounds'  pressure,  the  pressure 


ordinarily    be    operated    independently,    provision    is 
made  whereby  any  unit  can  be  connected  in  multi- 
ple   with    any    other    in    reference    to    its    group    of 
feeders. 
The    high-tension    installation    for  the    station    is 


erator  bus  in  the  switch  house.  From  this  bus,  in 
the  first  four  units,  the  energy  is  delivered  to  three 
sets  of  busses,  namely,  transfer,  auxiliary  and  line 
busses.  The  line  busses  for  these  four  units  are 
equipped  with  sectionalizing  oil  switches. 

Beginning  with  the  fifth  and  the  following  units, 
the  generator  bus  is  connected  with  four  sets  of 
busses,  namely,  transfer,  auxiliary  and  two  line 
busses.  Here  it  will  be  observed  there  are  no 
sectionalizing   switches   between   the   line  busses. 

In  the  first  three  units  all  lines  are  equipped  with 
two  selector  switches  and  only  four  lines  per  unit. 
In  the  fourth  and  following  units  the  lines  are 
equipped  with  only  one  switch  each,  five  lines  ema- 
nating from  the  fourth  and  eight  lines  from  each 
of  the  following  units.  The  increased  number  of 
outgoing  lines  per  unit  is  due  to  the  larger  size  of 
turbines  to  be  installed,  beginning  with  the  fifth 
unit. 

There  are  installed  at  present  three  50-kilowatt 
induction-motor  exciter  sets,  on  an  inter-connected 
system.  It  is  proposed  to  install  two  similar  exciter 
sets  in  the  portion  now  under  construction.  In 
each  case  these  exciter  sets  are  connected  to  the 
generator  bus  of  that  particular  unit  through  an  oil 
switch  and  a  step-down  transformer  located  in  the 
switch  house.  In  addition  to  these  exciters  there 
is  an  emergency  steam-driven  exciter  which  con* 
sists  of  a  General  Electric  127.5-volt  588-ampere 
generator  direct  connected  to  a  vertical  engine. 

In  the  first  four  units  the  compartments  for  the 
high-tension  bus-bars  in  the  basement  of  the  switch 
house  are  so  arranged  that  all  busses  and  con- 
nections to  oil  switches  for  each  unit  are  contained 


FOR    FIRST    FOUR    L'Ni: 

located  in  the  switch  house,  a  two-story  building 
with  a  basement,  which  parallels  the  main  station  at 
a  distance  of  50  feet  (see  Fig.  3).  One-half  of  this 
building,  to  accommodate  seven  units,  has  been 
erected.  At  the  present  time  the  electrical  instal- 
lation for  units  6  and  7  is  in  progress.  The  wiring 
connections  for  the  high-tension  system  are  shown 
in  Fig.   10. 

High-tension  oil  switches  and  instrument  switch- 
boards are  located  on  the  first  floor  of  the  switch 
house,  while  the  bus-bars  and  other  high-tension 
connections,  together  with  the  instrument  trans- 
formers and  the  necessary  manholes  and  subways 
for  the  outgoing  lines,  are  located  in  the  basement. 
Fig.  11  is  a  view  showing  part  of  the  oil  switches 
for  the  first  four  units,  and  Fig.  12  shows  the 
instrument  transformers  in  the  basement. 

A  distinctive  and  special  feature  in  the  design  of 
the  switch  house  is  the  isolation  of  all  high-tension 
bus-bars  and  connections  thereto  in  fireproof  com- 
partments. The  oil  switches,  together  with  the 
instrument  switchboards  on  the  first  floor  have  also 
been  grouped  in  units,  but  not,  however,  in  sepa- 
rate compartments  The  control  and  instrument 
wiring  in  the  switch  house  is  brought  to  the  con- 
trolling switchboard  located  in  the  operating  gal- 
lery in  the  turbine  room  through  separate  groups 
of  ducts   fof  each   unit. 

As  will  be  observed  from  the  diagram  of  high- 
tension  bus  connections,  the  energy  after  leaving 
the  turbo-generators  in  the  turbine  room  is  deliv- 
ered by  means  of  high-tension  single-conductor  lead- 
covered    cables  through    an    oil    switch  to   the    gen- 


5    IN    SWITCH    HOUSE    AT    FISK    STREET    STATION. 

in  one  compartment  (see  Fig.  13).  The  instrument 
transformers  and  underground  cable  connections 
for  lines  are  also  contained  in  a  compartment  by 
themselves  and  similar  connections  for  generator 
leads  are  contained  in  another  compartment,  making 
three  compartments  per  unit 

In  the  fifth,  sixth  and  seventh  units  a  feature  of 
special  interest  has  been  introduced  in  the  bus 
connections  whereby  each  bus  has  a  separate  com- 
partment and  all  oil-switch  connections,  together 
with  the  instrument  transformers  and  bells  for 
cables,  are  likewise  contained  in  separate  compart- 
ments, one  for  the  generator  and  two  for  the  out- 
going lines,  a  total  of  seven  compartments  per  unit. 
By  this  arrangement  it  has  been  possible  to  separate 
and  isolate  all  phases  of  busses  and  connections, 
including  the  instrument  transformers,  by  means 
of  concrete  barriers,  thus  insuring  reliability  in 
operation,  simplicity  in  design  and  economy  in  in- 
vestment. The  busses  are  arranged  in  a  vertical 
position  and  supported  on  porcelain  petty-coated 
insulators,  while  the  oil-switch  connections  in  all 
cases  consist  of  copper  rods  practically  self-support- 
ing. 

It  is  possible  by  means  of  the  transfer  and 
auxiliary  busses,  in  case  of  any  disability  of  any 
particular  unit,  to  furnish  the  necessary  energy  for 
its  lines  from  any  other  unit.  Ordinarily  the  units 
are  operated  independently.  The  outgoing  lines 
leave  the  station  in  three-conductor  0000  under- 
ground cables  and  are  distributed  to  the  various 
substations,  as  shown  on  the  diagram  of  the  trans- 
mission   system,    Fig.    14.     This    diagram    illustrates 


January  6,   1906 

admirably  the  relation  of  the  Fisk  Street  Station  to 

iln    combined     '   1 >f    the    Commonwealth    and 

Chicago  Sdison  companies.     A.   shown   in    ! 
linea   N08,    1    to  200  inclusive   are   from, the 


WESTERN    hl.i' 

unit  an  irated  from  those  of  another 

unit,    either    by    vitril 

I  hi        Wiring    :        ,'  .,,       0 

All  conti 

,1    the 

table,  Hi  iik-  through  tin 

blc.     A  hronizing    plug 

•■  h,  and 
causes    on    the    synchronize!    an    indicatioi 
I 
point  .  about  to  be  do  witch 

At   the  rear  of  the  board  the  wiring  is  i 
larly  to  1   for  its  simplicity  and  neat- 

ness.    All   the   control   and    instrument    mull 

•  lii>  1 tbli     end  at   the  terminal   board,  carefully 

lettered 

hi      ■•  it  I ■  mand  a 


■ 

taking 

though    the    COI 

■ 

; 

Bern  ,  t>. 

Ample    facili' 
I  0   pro. 

fitting  up  a  restaurai 
second  fl'/or  of  the  switch  home,  wl 

uiioii 
and    to  .    zrd    in 

■1   the  plant 

iped    throughout  with 


Street  Station,  201  to  300  from  the  Morgan  Street 
Station  and  301  to  400  are  tie  lines  between  sub- 
stations. 

Switchboard  and  Apparatus. 
Remote-control  apparatus  which  is  used  to  operate, 
the  switches  in  the  switch  house  is  contained  in  an 
elevated  switchboard  room  which  is  built  up  on  the 
west  side  of  the  turbine  room,  as  shown  in  Fig.  15. 
This  compartment,  which  is  supported  on  a  highly 
ornamental  structure,  looks  out  upon  the  turbine 
room,  and  is  entirely  enclosed  on  the  front  and  ends 
by  glass,  giving  an  unobstructed  view  of  all  the  prin- 
cipal machines.  The  oil  stwitches  in  the  switch 
house  are  controlled  from  the  station  switchboard 
by  means  of  an  auxiliary  low-pressure  system 
operating  at  no  volts.  Here  are  located  also  the 
instruments  for  the  outgoing  lines.  All  remote- 
control  wires  are  carried  in  multi-conductor  lead- 
covered    cable    arranged    so  that   the    cables  of   one 


signal  system  between  each  turbine  and   its  operat- 
ing panel. 

Station  Light  and  Power. 
Light  and  power  for  the  Fisk  Street  Station  are 
supplied  from  West  Twenty-second  Street  Substation, 
located  on  the  same  property  (see  Fig  2).  At 
present  there  are  about  1,200  incandescent  and  50 
arc  lamps  required  for  lighting  the  station  and 
switch  house.  The  light  and  power  system  is  in 
duplicate.  One  main  service  board  is  located  in  the 
turbine  room,  also  a  controlling  board  in  the  boiler 


MAIN     OPKRATINo 


TREET    TUREINE 


electrical  cooking  apparatus  and  is  designed  to  pro- 
vide for  fifty  people.  The  electrical  stoves,  broilers 
and  toasters  are  mounted  on  a  specially  designed 
slate  cooking  table,  which  is  built  along  the  north 
and  west  walls  of  the  room.  This  table  consists  of 
three  shelves  at  suitable  heighths.  and  of  a  width 
sufficient  to  accommodate  the  various  cooking  units. 
These  shelves  are  built  against  a  slate  back,  which 
is  firmly  secured  to  the  wall,  and  on  which  the 
outlets    for    the  various    circuits    are   mounted. 

Ovens  and  a^  five-gallon  urn  for  providing  hot 
water  for  cooking  purposes  are  installed  on  a  sepa- 
rate table  near  the  center  of  the  room.  Coffee 
will  be  made  in  an  electrical  urn  located  in  one 
of  the  dining  rooms.  Each  outlet  is  controlled 
from  a  main  cut-out  cabinet  and  each  circuit  is  of 
sufficient  capacity  to  earn-  any  one  of  the  separate 
pieces  of  appartus. 

In  the  store  room  adjacent  to  the  kitchen  is  lo- 
cated a  200-pound  motor-driven  refrigerating  ap- 
paratus, which  provides  the  necessary  cold  storage 
space,  and  is  also  provided  with  facilities  for  man- 
ufacturing the  ice  necessary  for  cooling  the  drinking 
water. 

In  the  design  of  this  restaurant  careful  con- 
sideration has  been  given  to  sanitary  conditions,  and 
the  dining  rooms  are  fitted  with  a  view  to  the  com- 
fort and  convenience  of  the  employes  and  all  furni- 
ture and  fittings  have  been  selected  so  as  to  secure 
a  neat  and  harmonious  effect. 

On  the  same  floor  as  the  dining  room  and  kitchen 
are  several  comfortable  bedrooms  for  employes 
who  may  be  required  to  stay  for  any  considerable 
length  of  time  at  the  station. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  this  part 
of  the  work  is  the  asserhbly  and  reading  room, 
which  is  accessible  to  those  who  may  be  off  duty. 
A  view  of  the  interior  of  this  room  is  shown  in 
Fig.  16.  It  is  fitted  up  with  comfortable  furniture 
which  harmonizes  well  with  the  finish  of  the  room. 
Large  tables  are  provided,  where  the  current 
technical  literature  is  obtainable  for  those  who 
desire  to  read.  Well-filled  bookcases  stand  along 
the  wall,  and  their  contents  form  part  of  the  cir- 
culating   library    which    the    Chicago    Edison    and 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  6,  1906 


Commonwealth    companies    keep  up    for   the   benefit 
of  those   in  their  employment. 

Boiler-house  employes  have  quarters  located  di- 
rectly above  the  north  boiler  unit.  Here  are  pro- 
vided well-ventilated  locker  rooms,  lavatories, 
shower  baths,  etc.  In  these  quarters  is  also  located 
the  office  of  the  boiler-house  engineer,  who  is  thus 
at.  all  times  in  close  communication  with  the  men 
of  his  department. 

The    turbine-house  employes    have    their    quarters 
on    the    second    floor   of   the   switch   house,    where 
they  have  their  own  locker  and  bath   rooms. 
Miscellaneous  Features. 

To  furnish  excitation  to  the  generators  in  case 
of  emergency  a  storage  battery  has  been  provided, 
of  the  Electric  Storage  Battery  Company's  make, 
situated  in  the  third  story  of  the  main  station 
building.  The  battery  contains  70  type  G  cells  and 
is  provided   with   the  usual   end-cell  regulation,   the 


ELECTRICAL  PROGRESS  IN  UNITED  STATES  IN  1905. 


end-cell  switches  being  contained  in  a  separate 
room. 

The  West  Twenty-second  Street  Substation, 
which  is  located  on  the  Fisk  street  property,  is  now 
in  course  of  construction.  It  contains  one  1,000  and 
one  500  kilowatt  motor  generators,  which  transform 
the  incoming  current  from  25  cycles  to  60  cycles 
for  distribution  There  is  also  a  2,000-volt  rotary 
converter  which  supplies  current  to  the  station  and 
for  adjacent  territory. 

In  order  that  better  transit  facilities  be  provided 
between  the  Fisk  Street  Station  and  the  Harrison 
Street  Station  and  downtown  offices  than  is  afforded 
by  the  street  railway  lines,  the  officers  of  the  com- 
pany have  for  their  use  an  electric  launch,  which 
will  take  them  by  water  between  these  points  in  a 
few  minutes.  The  launch  is  one  of  those  used  at 
the  Pan-American  Exposition,  and  will  seat  20 
people.  It  is  provided  with  44  Chloride  accumula- 
tor cells  with  120  ampere-hour  capacity,  and  may 
be  propelled  at  five  different  speeds  by  a  six-horse- 
power 88-volt  motor. 

Among  the  contributors  to  the  success  of  this 
work  should  be  mentioned  Sargent  &  Lundy  of 
Chicago,  who  were  the  consulting  engineers;  Shep- 
ley,  Rutan  &  Coolidge  of  Chicago,  the  architects 
who  designed  the  group  of  buildings,  and  the  gen- 
tlemen composing  the  Commonwealth  company's 
permanent  engineering  staff,  under  whose  super- 
vision the  apparatus  was  installed.  The  result  is 
an  electric-light  and  power  station,  which,  already 
one  of  the  most  notable  in  the  country,  is  to  be 
extended   to  be,   perhaps,   the   largest   in  the   world. 


"A  Power  Plant." 

It  is  not  often  that  a  power  station  forms  the 
subject  of  a  sonnet,  but  in  the  Century  Magazine  for 
January  there  is  an  example  of  this  form  of  poetical 
composition  inspired  by  the  Fisk  Street  power  house 
of  the  Commonwealth  Electric  Company,  which  is 
described  at  length  in  this  issue  of  the  Western 
Electrician.  The  author  is  Miss  Harriet  Monroe 
of  Chicago,  well,  known  for  her  poetical  gifts,  and 
a  sister  of  Mr.  W.  S.  Monroe  of  the  engineering 
firm  of  Sargent  &  Lundy.  The  title  is  "A  Power 
Plant — the  Fisk  Street  Turbine-engine  Electric  Sta- 
tion in  Chicago."  The  verses,  which  are  here  repro- 
duced by  permission,  are  as  follows: 

und— 

-footed  Power 

,  caged  in  the  i 
Sing  as  they  labor  with  a  purring  sound. 
The  abysmal  bres,  crated  and  chained  and  bound, 
Burn  white  and  still,  in  swift  obedience  cower; 
While  far  and  wide  the  myriad  lamps,  a-flower. 
Glow  like  star-gardens  and  the  night  confound. 
This  we  have  done  for  thee,  almighty  Lord; 
Yea,  even  as  they  who  built  at  thy  command 
The  pillared  temple,  or  in  marble  made 
Thine  image,  or  who  sang  thy  deathless  word. 
We  take  the  weapons  of  thy  dread  right  hand. 
And  wield  them  in  thy  service  unafraid. 


By  Henry  H.  Norris 


The  year  just  closed  has  been  one  of  remark- 
able activity  in  all  of  the  fields  of  application  of 
electrical  engineering.  The  clearest  indication  of 
this  is  in  the  unprecedented  demand  for  technically 
trained  electrical  engineers.  The  experience  of  all 
of  the  high-grade  technical  schools  has  been  that 
their  students  are  needed  in  all  lines  of  develop- 
ment in  numbers  far  greater  than  can  be  supplied. 
This  shows  that  important  undertakings  requiring 
men  with  well-trained  minds  are  attracting  the  at- 
tention of  financiers,  manufacturers  and  engineers. 
The  demand  also  shows  that  the  adaptability  of 
carefully  trained  young  engineers  to  all  kinds  of 
electrical  activity  is  being  more  clearly  recognized. 
There  was  a  time  when  a  recent  graduate  from 
a  technical  school  was  regarded  with  suspicion, 
the  feeling  being  that  he  could  not  be  trusted  on 
account  of  his  devotion  to  theory,  with  a  sup- 
posedly corresponding  neglect  of  practice.  The 
technical  graduate  has  proved  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  business  world  that  his  theoretical  training 
does  not  necessarily  make  him  unpractical,  and 
that  while  his  ideas  at  first  may  be  crude,  he  has 
acquired  the  ability  to  adapt  himself  speedily  to 
any    new    environment. 

The  year  1905  was  a  remarkable  one  in  many 
ways,  but  particular  attention  has  been  devoted  to 
the  field  of  electric-railway  engineering.  Naturally 
the  public  views  with  keenest  interest  the  develop- 
ment of  improvements  which  have  a  tendency  to 
increase  its  comfort  and  convenience.  For  this 
reason  the  actual  introduction  of  alternating-cur- 
rent traction  and  the  adaptation  of  electricity  to 
steam-railroad  conditions  have  received  a  large 
share  of  attention  during  the  year.  At  the  same 
time,  telephone  engineering  has  made  as  great, 
although  less  sensational,  progress,  and  it  is  com- 
ing to  be  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  promising 
fields  in  which  the  activities  of  the  rising  genera- 
tion of  young  engineers  may  be  applied.  Electric 
lighting  is  not  far  behind,  while  the  use  of  the 
electric  current  as  a  means  for  transmitting  me- 
chanical power  is  steadily  increasing. 
Electric    Railways. 

At  the  convention  of  the  American  Street  Rail- 
way Association  held  at  Philadelphia  during  Sep- 
tember a  plan  of  reorganization  was  adopted  which 


organization  should  form  associations,  in  the  con- 
ventions of  which  their  methods  of  work  could  be 
discussed,  and  as  a  result  improved.  The  Ameri- 
can Street  Railway  Association,  the  parent  organ- 
ization, was  organized  in  1882,  and  for  a  long  time 
sufficed,  for  the  needs  of  all  departments.  Within 
the  last  few  years,  however,  there  have  sprung 
into  existence  the  Street  Railway  Accountants' 
Association,  the  American  Railway  Mechanical  and 
Electrical  Association,  the  American  Association  of 
Street  Railway  Claim  Agents,  and  the  American 
Street  Railway  Manufacturers'  Association,  the  last 
named  being  composed  of  manufacturers,  and  or- 
ganized for  the  purpose  of  bringing  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  other  associations  the  merits  of  the 
various    lines    of    street-railway  supplies. 

The  necessity  for  affiliating  all  of  these  associa- 
tions, without  at  the  same  time  interfering  with 
their  individual  development,  has  been  apparent  for 
several  years  to  all  persons  conversant  with  street- 
railway  affairs.  This  necessity  finally  resulted  in 
the  appointment  of  a  reorganization  committee,  the 
itsults  of  the  work  of  which  were  approved  at 
the  Philadelphia  convention.  The  present  plan  of 
the  organization  consists  in  establishing  close  con- 
nection among  all  of  the  associations,  with  the 
central  authority  vested  in  the  American  Street 
and  Interurban  Railway  Association.  A  permanent 
secretary  for  this  association  has  been  appointed, 
with  headquarters  at  New  York,  and  through  this 
central  office  will  pass  all  material  affecting  the 
electric-railway  business.  At  the  secretary's  head- 
quarters are  maintained  reference  files  of  all  kinds 
of  information  for  the  benefit  of  the  members. 
The  proceedings  of  the  association  are  to  be  as- 
sembled and  issued  to  members  of  the  parent  asso- 
ciation in  the  form  of  bound  volumes. 

The  affiliated  associations  are  represented  on  the 
executive  committee  of  the  parent  association,  so 
that  each  has  a  voice  in  the  general  management. 
It  is  expected  that  this  arrangement  will  conduce 
to  very  systematic  work,  each  association  con- 
fining its  activities  to  its  particular  field,  but  each 
having  due  consideration  for  the  work  of  the 
others.     The    scope    of   the    work   has   been    further 


Single-phase  Locomotii 


TWO    TYPES    OF    ELECTRIC    LOCOMOTIVES, 


it  is  expected  will  introduce  a  new  epoch  in  the 
history  of  that  very  useful  organization.  This  step 
was  made  necessary  by  the  enormous  expansion 
of  the  electric-railway  industry  and  by  the  diversity 
of  the  interests  now  associated  with  the  electric- 
railway  business.  When  the  association  was  founded 
the  organization  of  a  street-railway  system  was  a 
very  simple  affair,  each  officer  being  conversant 
with  the  conduct  of  all  divisions  of  the  work. 
When  the  horse  was  supplanted  by  the  electric 
motor,  necessitating  power  stations  and  complicated 
systems  of  distribution,  it  was  necessary  to  add 
engineering  talent  to  the  operating  force  properly 
to  care  for  the  new  and  expensive  equipment.  As 
speeds  increased,  accidents  became  common,  and 
the  further  addition  of  legal  talent  became  abso- 
lutely necessary.  The  rather  simple  forms  of 
bookkeeping  employed  in  the  early  days  were  en- 
tirely inadequate  to  the  later  demands  made  upon 
them,  and  elaborate  systems  of  accounting  were 
gradually  developed  by  men  trained  for  that  line 
of  work.  Finally,  as  the  simple  tram-rail  con- 
struction proved  to  be  inadequate  to  the  strains 
introduced  by  the  heavier  rolling  stock,  track  de- 
partments, similar  to  those  of  steam  railways,  were 
introduced. 

The  present  age  is  one  of  associations  and  con- 
ventions, and  it  was  therefore  natural  that,  one  b; 
one,   the   various    departments   of   the   street-railway 


enlarged  by  introducing  the  feature  of  associate 
membership,  to  which  any  person  interested  in  a 
practical   way  in  electric-railway  work  is   eligible. 

The  Philadelphia  convention  was  without  doubt 
the  finest  ever  held  by  the  association.  In  addition 
to  the  excellent  papers  and  discussion,  a  prominent 
feature  was  the  exhibition  of  products  of  the  elec- 
tric-railway manufacturers.  This  was  on  a  most 
elaborate  scale,  and  the  exhibits  will  undoubtedly 
form  an  increasingly  instructive  and  attractive 
part  of  the  conventions.  The  re-election  of  Hon. 
W.  Caryl  Ely  to  the  responsible  post  of  president 
was  not  only  a  token  of  appreciation  of  his  valuable 
services  to  the  association,  but  it  was  evidence  of 
a  desire  to  effect  a  continuity  of  management  which 
shall   tend   to   greatest   efficiency. 

It  has  been  stated  that  one  of  the  functions  of 
the  railway  association  is  to  furnish  reliable  data 
to  its  members.  In  this  connection  it  is  well  also 
to  note  the  excellent  work  of  the  United  States 
Census  Bureau.  The  entire  electric-railway  pro- 
fession is  indebted  to  the  United  States  Bureau 
of  Commerce  and  Labor  for  the  publication  during 
the  last  year  of  the  Census  Bureau  report  on  street 
and  electric  railways.  In  addition  to  the  numerous 
data  compiled  by  the  bureau,  the  report  contains 
a  great  amount  of  information  on  the  general 
subject,  prepared  by  the  special  expert,  Mr.  T.  C. 
Martin.     The    report    has    been    widely    appreciated 


January  6,    [906 


ERN     ELECTRII 


1    1  finding    man     u  efu]    field  1  ol 

'  itii  ii  work    as   this,    1  ombini  d    ■■■  itn    tin 

which   will  be  afforded  bj  thi    centra!  ofl (  (he 

Street    Railway    '••    tion,   •■■  ill   plai  ■■  at  t! 

po  .il    "l     !li,       . 

During   the   yi  ai    [90 ;  thi    Elect™    Railwa 

1  !i in   lion,    ■■'. hii  h    ws      01  -  mm  1  tion 

with  tlir   1  ouisinna    Pun  hasi    E    po  it 1  ompleted 

;i   long  programme   "i   ■    pi  1  mi'  nta  1      1  >  I    and   de 

voted  :i   large   amount    "i    Mm 1    n ,    Lo   thi 

prcparati I    1    report    "i   thi     wotV      The   fund 

■  upended   in   mil  ing  thi    te  1     :1ml  in  dcdui  h 

n   nil     were  furnished  by  individual    I  

interested  in  furthering  tin-  development  of  s  Bci 
mi  ific  basis  of  electt  11  railway  opi  ration,  'I  he 
project   is   important    in   that   il    1  1   "i"    of   the    fi  <■■■ 

undertakings    in    which    .-ill    of    the    contribt 1 

■a ere  m;  de   for  the  gem  ral   "-",'1   and   not    fot    thi 


direct  benefit  of  any  one  contributor.  The  report 
was  completed  in  December  and  is  coining  from  the 
press  at  the   present   time. 

Among  the  most  important  features  of  electric- 
railway  development  last  year  were  the  opening  of 
traffic  on  two  single-phase  interurban  lines,  the 
adoption  of  heavy  single-phase  alternating-current 
locomotives  for  use  on  steam  lines  by  the  New  York, 
New  Haven  and  Hartford  Railroad  Company,  the 
successful  test  of  the  New  York  Central  direct- 
current  locomotive  and  the  decision  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  Company  to  equip  its  Philadel- 
phia-Atlantic  City  line  with  electricity. 

The  Indianapolis  and  Cincinnati  Traction  Com- 
pany's line  started  regular  operation,  after  three 
weeks'  preliminary  trial,  on  January  21,  1905.  This 
line  has  since  been  in  successful  operation,  and  it 
illustrates  the  most  modern  type  of  construction. 
The  cars  weigh  over  4S  tons  each,  with  an  elec- 
trical equipment  of  four  75-horsepower  Westing- 
house  single-phase  motors  and  the  Westing- 
house  electro-pneumatic  system  of  control.  This 
road  may  be  said  to  be  the  first  of  its  kind  to  be 
operated  on  a  large  scale.  On  March  15th  the  sec- 
ond single-phase  road,  the  Bloomington,  Pontiac 
and  Joliet  railway,  equipped  with  General  Electric 
apparatus,  was  opened  for  traffic.  It  is  the  first 
large  system  using  alternating-current  apparatus 
of  General  Electric  manufacture  in  this  country, 
although  a  small  line  has  been  in  practical  opera- 
tion for  some  time.  This  road  was  constructed 
by  the  Arnold  Company,  and  it  has  been  in  suc- 
cessful operation  to  date,  with  practically  no  ex- 
pense for  repairs.  The  cost  of  this  road  without  the 
power  plant  was  less  than  $15,000  a  mile,  showing 
that  the  single-phase  system  can  be  installed  at 
reasonable  expense. 

This  road  and  the  one  previously  described  are 
furnishing  the  evidence  so  much  desired  by  engi- 
neers in  regard  to  the  practicability  of  single-phase 
traction.  The  alternating-current  motor  appears 
to  be  entirely  satisfactory,  and  the  special  line  con- 
struction difficulties  have  been  overcome.  A  sat- 
isfactory type  of  trolley  wire  suspension  has  been 
developed;  insulators  have  been  produced  to  with- 
stand the  high  electric  pressures  combined  with 
the  shocks  incident  to  this  service,  and  on  the 
whole  the  single-phase  motor  completes  its  test 
year  with  satisfaction  to  all  concerned. 

The  announcement  made  by  Mr.  C.  F.  Scott, 
-onsulting  engineer  of  the  Westinghouse  Electric 
and    Manufacturing    Company,    at    the    Philadelphia 


cidi  d  to  1 

will  weigh  appn 

i    with 
1  In-    equipment    will    pi 
ti',11   upon    eithi  1    din  cl     ir  alien 
i   thi 

tin:    tr.,, 

which    will    I, 
current 

:  '  atillg     Willi     'III, 

'    total    ot    t,6oo  hi  for    four   mot 

\\  hile  alt'  mating  current  tt 

inig  the  year,  there   h 
been   development    of   direct  current   apparatus    for 
railway    purposes.       tin-    direct-current    loc 
i"  entlj     built  the  G  1  :  "inpany 

hi. 1  Hi,  \ m,  in-all  Locomotive  Company  has  dur- 
ing tin    Li 

1 d   1  the    Mew    York    Cen- 

tral Railroad  Company,  It  will  be  remembered 
that  the  required  service  tests  comprised  50,000 
miles  of  operation,  which  mileage  is  now  nearly 
complete.  The  locomotive  has  stood  the  severe 
strains  without  undue  heating  -a  wear,  and  the 
statement  is  made  that  the  operation  improves  as 
1I1,     tests    prepress. 

Another  important   feature  of  direct  current  trac- 
li.'ii    has   been    the   completion   of   the   Long    Island 
Railroad  power  house  ami  tin-  beginning   of 
service   upon   that   road.      'Ibis     ■    tcm    i      in    exam 
pie   of  the    adaptability    of    the    electric    curn 
steam    railroads,    particularly    in    the    operat 
suburban    ear-        I  he    Long    Island    Railroad    Com- 
pany has  gone  into  this  matter  with  great  thorough- 
ness,   and    the    success    of    the    present    venture    re- 
flects   credit    upon     the    engineering    talent   of    the 
road    and    of    the    consulting    engineers, 
Westinghouse,    Church.    Kerr    &    Co.      The    system 
was    opened    for    operation  on    July    20,    1005,    upon 
approximately    90    miles    of    single     track.      Direct 
current   at   600   volts    is    used  in    the   cars,    and    the 
transmission    is  with    alternating    current    at    11,000 
volts.      The    power    house,    located    at    Long    Island 
City,      is     equipped      entirely      with      Westinghouse 
steam  turbines  of  5.500  kilowatts   each.     There  are 
at   present   three   units   installed,   with   provision    for 


I 

which, 

entt    in 

.'.  arm,,    R     I        fThia    station 

13.200- 

vo It     Westinghouse    tt  m    thii 

:  r  ■  y  ton, 

in    the    building    of    in    em  I 

30,000 

kilowatts,    and    both    of    the    stations   will 

in     parallel. 
equipped   with    I 
General    Electric    Company, 

about 
15    feet    in    diameter    and    .i.;    tier    high    <•■    I 
"f   the   generator.     The   work   is   under   the    - 
supervision    of    Vice-president    W.    J.    VY:  . 
the  New  York  Central  Railroad,  and 
in   a   remarkably  thorough   manner. 

ring  talent  i-  associated  with  the  staff,  and 
rk  is  subdivided  so  as  to  place  the  responsi- 
bility upon  those  most  capable  of  bearing  it.  The 
character  of  the  electrical  part  of  the  work  is  indi- 
cated by  the  names  of  the  men  comprising  the 
electrical  traction  committee,  which  consists  of 
M,-,rs   W.   J.   Wilgus,  J.    F.    Deems.   B.   J. 

.1.    Sprague,   while   Messrs,    K,    P..    Katte  and 
J.   I).   Keiley  are  the  company's  electrical  engineers. 
As   has   air,  many  important  elec- 

tric  roads  -'.cam   turbines 

of  power  and  in  units  of  increasing  size.  The  ex- 
treme in  this  direction  is  in  the  case  of  the  new 
Williamsburg  power  house  of  the  Brooklyn  Rapid 
Transit  Company  This  station  will  contain  at 
present   three   turbines,    two   being   of   the    Y. 


POWER   STATION   OF 


RAPID   TRANSIT   COMPANY,    SHOWING     TIRBO-GENERATORS. 


doubling   the   capacity   of  the   plant   as   the   demand 
increases. 

The  completion  of  this  work  marks  one  step  in 
the  entrance  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  system 
into  the  city  of  New  York,  as  the  Long  Island 
Railroad  will  connect  with  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road in  the  large  station  now  under  construction 
between  Seventh  and  Ninth  avenues  and  Thirty- 
first  and  Thirty-second  streets  in  the  Borough  of 
Manhattan  This  station  will  be  reached  from 
Long  Island  by  four  tunnels  tinder  the  East  River. 


house  type  and  of  7.500  kilowatts  capacity  each. 
The  other  is  one  of  the  new  turbines  recently  de- 
signed by  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company,  having  a 
capacity  of  about  9,000  horsepower  or  5.500  kilo- 
watts electrical  output.  The  Williamsburg  station 
is  remarkable  for  its  compactness,  the  space  taken 
by  the  engines  being  almost  negligible  in  com- 
parison with   that   occupied   by   the  boilers.  , 

The  most  noticeable  step  yet  taken  by  a  steam 
road  in  substituting  electricity  for  steam  as  the 
source    of   motive    power    is    that    of   the    Pennsyl- 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  6,   1906 


vania  Railroad,  which  just  awarded  the  contract 
for  the  electrical  apparatus  needed  to  equip  elec- 
trically its  high-speed  line  between  Philadelphia 
and  Atlantic  City.  The  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
maintains  a  remarkable  express  service  between 
these  two  cities,  and  the  steam  trains  make1  as 
great  speed  as  upon  any  road  in  the  country. 
The  service  is  mainly  between  the  terminal  cities, 
as  no  stops  are  made  by  the  fast  trains  except  at 
the  terminals.  It  is  announced  that  the  intention 
is  to  maintain  15-minute  service  between  the  two 
cities  as  well  as  to  provide  some  local  service 
to  the  suburbs  of  Philadelphia.  It  is  noticeable 
that  direct-current  motors  are  to  be  used,  and  in 
accordance     with     what    appears     to     be     standard 


of  these  companies  are  also  active  in  preparing 
for  the,  distribution  of  their  power  to  considerable 
distances.  The  plant  of  the  Ontario  Power  Com- 
pany is  located  in  the  gorge  below  the  Horseshoe 
Fall,  and  a  large  transformer  station  is  placed 
immediately  behind  and  above.  Early  in  the  year 
it  was  announced  that  contracts  had  been  made  for 
the  supply  of  a  considerable  proportion  of  the 
power  to  the  Niagara,  Lockport  and  Ontario  Power 
Company.  The  transmission  lines  of  the  company 
are  also  being  extended  into  Central  New  York. 
It  is  expected  that  in  March  of  the  present  year 
power  will  be  available  at  Syracuse  for  the  opera- 
tion of  the  extensive  railway  system  of  that  city. 
The     Canadian     Niagara     Power     Company     has 


way  indicate  the  fields  of  application  of  Niagara 
power.  In  other  parts  of  the  country  the  same 
condition  of  affairs  exists  in  regard  to  the  rapid 
extension  of  existing  systems.  The  important 
power  plants  are  being  enlarged  and  the  most 
recent  types  of  apparatus  installed.  The  tendency 
is  to  generate  a  standard  form  of  power  by  means 
of  large  units  and  to  transmit  this  at  high  tension 
over  increasingly  large  areas.  The  attention  which 
has  been  given  to  the  matter  of  high-tension  trans- 
mission by  the  important  electrical  engineering 
associations  indicates  that  further  development  in 
this  direction  is  to  be  expected.  It  is  a  pleasure 
to  note  that  high  American  tension  work  is  being 
recognized    abroad.      The    latest    evidence    of    this 


PRESENT   APPEA 


practice  at  present  steam  turbines  will  be  the  prime 
movers,  the  Curtis  turbines  being  adopted  in  this 
case. 

It  is  to  be  expected  that  electric  traction  will 
be  most  rapidly  developed  in  the  eastern  states, 
where  the  population  is  dense  and  cities  near  to- 
gether. This  is  particularly  true  of  interurban 
and  suburban  development.  It  should  not  be  in- 
ferred, however,  that  there  is  a  lack  of  activity  in 
the  Middle  and  Far  West.  The  Middle  West  has 
always  been  a  center  of  very  great  activity,  espe- 
cially in  the  line  of  interurban  railways.  The 
Bloomington,  Pontiac  and  Joliet  railway  has 
already  been  referred  to,  and  there  is  a  direct-cur- 
rent line  now  under  construction  by  the  Arnold 
Company  between  the  high-speed  Aurora,  Elgin 
and  Chicago  railway  and  the  interurban  system 
centering  at  Rockford,  111.  This  road  is  mentioned 
merely  as  an  indication  of  the  tendency  to  inter- 
connect the  high-speed  interurban  railways,  which 
tendency  has  now  resulted  in  the  formation  of  a 
more  or  less  complete  network  covering  the  states 
of  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois.  The  result  is  that 
the  "interurban"  has  now  lost  its  novelty  in  these 
sections  and  has  taken  its  place  as  a  necessity 
of  every-day  life. 

Power  Generation  and  Transmission. 
The  statements  already  made  in  connection  with 
electric-railway  work  indicate  two  tendencies  in 
trie  design  and  construction  of  steam  engines  for 
electric  power  generation.  The  first  of  these  is 
the  increasing  use  of  the  steam  turbine  and  the 
second  the  increase  in  size  of  units.  This  latter 
tendency  is  also  noted  in  the  case  of  water  tur- 
bines. Stationary  water  turbines  or  steam  tur- 
bines with  capacities  of  10,000  horsepower  and  up- 
ward are  not  now  considered  remarkable,  although 
of  course  the  actual  number  of  units  in  use  is 
not  very  great.  These  large  units  are  used  not 
only  for  railway  purposes  but  for  lighting  and  for 
power  transmission. 

A  number  of  power-transmission  undertakings 
have  been  recently  described  in  the  electrical 
press,  but  only  a  few  of  these  have  been  brought 
to  completion  during  the  year  just  passed.  Ni- 
agara Falls  continues  to  attract  attention  as  the 
power-generation  center  of  the  East,  .  There  appears 
to  be  no  limit  to  the  extension  of,  the  five  plants 
forming  the  equipment  of  this  great,  power-pro- 
ducing region.  Of  the  new  plapts  now  practically 
complete  those  of  the  Ontario  Power '  Company 
and  of  the  Canadian  Niagara  Falls  Power  Com- 
pany have  begun  practical  operation  during  the 
year.  Each  of  these  plants  has  several  large  units 
now  delivering  power,  and  both  companies  are 
increasing   their   equipment   at   a   rapid   rate.    Both 


practically  completed  a  splendid  power  plant  along 
the  same  general  lines  as  those  of  the  power 
houses  upon  the  American  side.  This  company 
will  be  able  to  supplement  the  output  of  the 
Niagara  Falls  Power  Company,  which  has  found 
an  ample  market  for  the  sale  of  its  product  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Falls  and  in  the  city 
of    Buffalo. 

The  Electrical  Development  Company  of  On- 
tario was  organized  to  develop  Niagara  power  and 
to  transmit  this  to  Toronto  over  the  lines  of  the 
Toronto  and  Niagara  Power  Company.  The  De- 
velopment Company  is  installing  a  large  power 
plant  above  the  other  two  just  described,  and  be- 
fore very  long  will  be  delivering  20,000  horse- 
power in  Toronto  over  a  line  75.5  miles  long. 

On  the  American  side  of  the  Niagara  River 
ground  has  just  been  broken  for  a  new  power  plant 
for  the   Niagara   Falls  Hydraulic   Power   and   Man- 


DETROIT   EDISON   COMPANY  S   DELRAV    POWER    HOUSE. 

u-.facturing  Company.  This  company  has  been 
gradually  increasing  its  output,  and  the  new 
plant,  which  will  add  a  capacity  of  20,000  kilo- 
watts, is  to  be  in  operation  within  the  next  two 
years.  The  plant '  will  contain  5,000-kilowatt  alter- 
nators, built  for  11,000  volts  pressure  and  25 
cycles.  In  adopting  a  uniform  pressure  for  all 
of  the  units  in  the  plant  the  company  departs 
from  its  original  practice,  in  which  each  unit  was 
adapted  to  the  particular  kind  of  service  which 
it  was  to  supply.  The  present  practice  indicates 
that  the  engineers  believe,  as  do  many  others,  that 
it   is    more    economical    to    transform    a    standard 

.  variety  of  current  to  the  desired  form  at  the  point 
of  application  rather  than  to  have  a  variety  of 
machines   for  the  various  kinds  of  load. 

The  above  statements  show  in  general  the  present 
status  of  affairs  at  Niagara  Falls  and  in  a  general 


is  the  selection  of  Mr.  R.  D.  Mershon,  who  has 
had  charge  of  the  -high-tension  work  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers,  as  con- 
sulting engineer  of  an  important  African  trans- 
mission system,  in  which  it  is  proposed  to  trans- 
mit power  a  distance  of  700  miles  from  Victoria 
Falls  to  the  Rand.  In  this  proposition  there  is 
under  consideration  the  possibility  of  using  the 
Thury  direct-current  system  of  distribution,  which 
is  opposed  to  the  present  American  practice. 

Gas-engine  Power. 
This- general  survey  of  the  subject  of  power  gen- 
eration would  not  be  complete  without  some  men- 
tion of  the  gas-engine  installation,  now  nearly 
complete,  for  the  California  Gas  and  Electric  Cor- 
poration. In  spite  of  the  fact  that  this  company 
is  located  within  reasonable  reach  of  large  water- 
pOwers  already  electrically  developed,  the  engi- 
neers concluded  that  a  combination  of  maximum 
ecoriorny'  and  reliability  would  be  secured  by  the 
introduction  of  large  gas-engine  units.  They 
have,  therefore,  had  constructed  three  gas-engine 
electric-generating  units  of  4,000  kilowatts  capacity 
each,  the  units  being  contracted  for  under  the 
most  rigid  specifications.  This  remarkable  experi- 
ment is  regarded  with  great  interest  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  the  gas  engine  is  here  in  competition  with 
a  very  cheap  form  of  electric  power,  and  if  suc- 
cessful a  most  important  problem  will  be  solved. 
If  gas-engine  power  can  be  produced  more  cheaply 
than  waterpower,  it  can  also  be  produced  much 
'  more   cheaply   than   steam  power. 

The  Electric  Motor. 
This  subject  deserves  special  mention  on  account 
of  the  expiration  of  the  Tesla  induction  motor 
patents,  which  occurred  in  May,  1905.  While  there 
is  still  some  question  as  to  the  exact  results  of 
this  important  event,  it  is  the  general  belief  that 
induction-motor  manufacture  is  now  thrown  open 
to  all  .wjio  desire  to  compete  for  this  very  desir- 
able business.  A  number  of  companies  are  entering 
the  field,  arid  there  is  prospect  of  keen  competition. 
The  larger  companies  which  have  been  manufac- 
turing this  type  of  motor  for  many  years  have 
developed  an  improved  type  to  meet  this  competi- 
tion. The  motors  of  this  year  are  designed  for 
maximum  economy  of  material,  combined  with  good 
efficiency.  Undoubtedly  under  the  present  circum- 
stances the  induction  motor  will  compete  even 
more  sharply  than  before  for  supremacy  over  the 
direct-current  shunt  motor,  over  which  it  has  some 
important  advantages.  These  induction  motors  are 
being  built  in  very  large  sizes.  The  Westinghouse 
company  recently  turned  out  a  number  of  1,500- 
horsepower  motors    with    squirrel-cage    secondaries, 


January  6,   1906 


rERN     I.  I.i' 


III,     ,      l,i  mi'    1 . 1 ' .  ] . ;  1 1 . 1 ','    lli.      I..  1    •■■    I     n   ..! 

ever    built,    for    while    [he    1      buitl 

World's  Fair  were  large,  thi  lecond- 

.11 1.  1, 

The     Bullock      Kliulm       -.1 <   11 I  otnp  HI) 

lias  recently  constructed  for  the  Shawinigan 

and    Town    1 ' p.1111   ;i      '.  111  lii'iiiuii     1 1 1. .1  ■ .  1    -.(   ;■:,!"" 

hui   cpowcr     capacity,     ihi  ■     I ;•      ii      1 nl     tin' 

Ini'K''  .1      1"l      "I     ll"'     tnlH.        It     I        fin      II   •■     II,     .1 

motor-generator  set   which  has   a   total   1   i- 
12,000  kilowatts. 

h  is  interesting  to  note  also  that  <lnrii in  the 
last  year  the  Wagner  Electric  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany  has   perfected   I   pul    into  operation   a   de 

velopmenl  of  its  single-phase  alternating-current 
motor    for    elevator    service,       ["hi     makes  possible 

the  operati f  elevators  on  il rdinary  lighting 

circuit,  and  if  will  undoubtedly  have  a  tendency 
to  improve  the  status  nf  the  electric  elevator.  In 
many  locations  it  is  impossible  to  secure  current 
for  direct-curent  motors  or  for  polyphase  induc- 
111, 11  motors,  and  under  these  circumstances  the 
new  Wagner  motor  will  undoubtedly  meet  with 
considerable   favor. 

Ei  1 ,  mi,    Lighting. 

The  National  Electric  Light  Association  con- 
tinues to  exert  a  great  influence  in  assisting  in  the 
development  of  that  important  industry.  The 
Denver  convention  held  during  June,  1905,  was  a 
remarkably  successful  gathering,  this  result  being 
due  to  the  energy  displayed  by  the  officers  in 
arousing  interest  throughout  the  whole  length  and 
breadth   of  the   country. 

The  vacuum-tube  and  mercury-vapor  lamps  are 
finding  special  fields  for  themselves  where  the 
quality  of  light  combined  with  high  efficiency  are 
important  items.  Cadmium  amalgam  has  been 
suggested  as  a  substitute  for  mercury  vapor,  and 
it  has  been  applied  already  with  more  or  less  suc- 
cess. 

The  tantalum  incandescent  lamp,  which  permits 
of  an  exceptionally  high-filament  temperature, 
has  great  promise  as  a  competitor  of  the  carbon- 
filament  lamp.  The  efficiency  of  this  lamp  is  almost 
twice  as  high  as  that  of  the  carbon  lamp,  while 
its  useful  life  is  quite  as  long.  The  osmium 
lamp,  which  has  about  the  same  efficiency  as  that 
employing  tantalum,  is  another  example  of  the 
effort  to  replace  carbon  by  metallic  filaments.  The 
discovery  of  these  highly  refractory  metals  has 
made  this  change  possible.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  platinum  was  used  in  the  earliest  incandescent 
lamps,   but   this   metal   did  not   give   as   great   satis- 


:: lib    higher 

■  .hi    during   ' 

■Derate 
•.ith    a 

■  in  nt    in    the    quality    and   quantity 
light. 

in    make    up 

.1    the    lighting 

line  an  inter- 
c  ting     ind  payment 


NEW    (BELL)    TEI.I   III  -k    IN    BALTIMORE. 


attachment  which  has  just  been  placed  on  the 
market  by  the  Fort  Wayne  Electric  Works.  By 
means  of  this  device  a  coin  may  be  inserted  and 
current  will  continue  until  the  amount  of  energy 
paid   for  has  been  consumed. 

In  the  matter  of  electric-lighting  power  stations 
there  has  been  great  progress  during  the  year 
1005  both  in  the  generation  and  distribution  of 
power.  The  Waterside  station  of  the  New  York 
Edison  Company  has  been  enlarged  and  now  con- 
tains two  additional  Westinghouse  turbine  units 
of  7,500  kilowatts  each.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  there  are  already  in  this  station  5,000-kilowatt 
turbine  units   of   the   Curtis   type. 

The  city  of  Baltimore  has  also  a  new  lighting 
station  containing  two  2,000-kilowatt  Westinghouse 
turbine  units  with  6,600-volt  three-phase  distribu- 
tion.    These  two   stations  are  mentioned   merely  as 


DAM  AND  POWER  HOUSE  OF  ATLANTA 

faction  as  carbon  on  account  of  its  comparatively 
low   melting   point. 

The  Nerrist  lamp  continues  to  fill  an  actual  want 
in  the  field  of  street  and  house  lighting.  For  the 
former  purpose  it  occupies  a  position  intermediate 
between  the  arc  and  the  incandescent  lamp,  giving 
a  good  distribution  of  light  with  high  efficiency. 
The  fact  that  it  has  continued  to  increase  in  popu- 
larity and  permanence  shows  that  it  is  well  be- 
yond the  experimental  stage.  The  number  of  lamps 
in  use  has  increased  rapidly,  and  where  installed 
they  appear  to   remain. 

No  remarkable  changes  in  regard  to  the  arc 
lamps  have  been  made  during  the  last  year,  but  the 
possibility    of    using    smaller   carbons     in     enclosed 


ATER    AND    ELECTRIC    POWER    COMPANY. 

examples  of  the  present  practice  in  electric  light- 
ing, which  is  following  the  same  general  trend 
as  that  of  electric  railways. 

In  concluding  this  part  of  the  subject  attention 
should  be  called  to  the  special  report  of  the  United 
States  Census  Bureau  on  Central  Light  and  Power 
Stations,  published  in  1905  from  data  collected  in 
1902.  The  report  comprises  an  elaborate  summary 
of  the  history  and  development  of  electric  lighting, 
with  numerous  data  concerning  financial  features 
and  general  statistics. 

Transmission   of   Intelligence. 

The  several  means  of  communication  are  being 
increasingly   utilized,    and   a   steady   and    substantial 


apparatus  it  will  be  possible  for  a  ship  to  retain 
communication  with  both  shores  during  its  entire 
voyage.  Numerous  minor,  improvements  in  the  ap- 
paratus have  been  made. 

In  the  telephone  field  the  most  healthy  growth 
is  evidenced  both  in  the  number  and  the  size  of 
the  new  exchanges.  Large  exchanges  are  being 
installed  by  the  Western  Electric  Company  in  San 
Francisco,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Washington 
and  a  number  of  other  large  cities.  The  installa- 
tions for  New  York  city  provide  for  approximately 
60,000  lines,  while  numerous  other  exchanges  of 
from  8,000  lines  upward  have  been  constructed 
during  the  year.  Other  telephone  manufacturers 
show    similar   activity. 

A  noticeable  feature  of  the  telephone  situation  is 
the  growing  appreciation  of  this  field  of  activity 
on  the  part  of  young  electrical  engineers  just  start- 
ing out  in  their  practical  work.  As  the  number 
of  subscribers  increases  the  complication  of  the 
system  grows  even  more  rapidly.  The  systems 
of  distribution  require  the  very  best  engineering 
construction,  and  in  addition  there  are  the  power 
plants  and  other  features  of  a  general  engineering 
nature.  These  facts  are  coming  to  be  realized  by 
the  technical  schools,  and  telephone  engineering 
is  taking  its  place  with  railway  engineering,  light- 
ing and   power   engineering. 

In  electric-railway  work  the  telephone  plays  a 
most  important  part,  as  it  is  used  in  train  dispatch- 
ing on  the  high-speed  interurban  lines.  By  en- 
abling the  dispatchers  to  be  in  almost  constant 
communication  with  train  crews  it  is  practicable  to 
reduce  accidents,  even  on  a  single-track  road,  to  an 
insignificant    number. 

Conclusions. 

In  taking  a  retrospective  view  of  electrical  prog- 
ress in  1905  it  is  noted  that  a  general  prosperity 
is  indicated  on  the  part-  of  all  branches  of  the 
electrical  industry.  There  is  at  the  present  time 
passing  over  our  country"  a  wave  of  popular  inter- 
est in  municipal  ownership  of  public  utilities. 
Electric  railways  and  electric  lighting  arc  the  par- 
ticular subjects  of  attention  by  politicians,  corpo- 
rations and  the  general  public  The  climax  of 
this  agitation  has  not  yet  been  reached,  and  inter- 
esting developments  may  be  expected.  The  mat- 
ter is  being  investigated  carefully  by  the  various 
associations  concerned  in  providing  electric  service 
for  the  public,  and  the  amount  of  time  being  de- 
voted to  the  subject  indicates  its  importance. 

The  rapid  progress  being  made  on  the  LTnited 
Engineering  Building  in  New  York  city,  which  will 
in  the  course  of  a  year  house  a  number  of  engi- 
neering associations,  is  very  encouraging  to  those 
whose  associations  will  use  the  building.  The 
funds  for  the  erection  of  this  building  were  con- 
tributed by  Mr.  Carnegie,  while  the  site  was  pro- 
vided by  the  associations,  who  will  divide  the  space 
among  them. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  6,  1906 


ELECTRICAL  INDUSTRY  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN  IN  1905. 


We  have  passed  through  a  notable  twelvemonth 
in  Great  Britain  from  the  electrical  engineering 
viewpoint,  as  the  result  both  of  what  has  been 
accomplished  and  what  it  is  sought  soon  to  bring 
about.  The  predominant  feature  has  been  power 
supply,  for  not  only  have  several  "bulk"  supply 
companies  in  England  and  Scotland  put  their  works 
into  operation,  but  since  March,  1905,  London  has 
been  the  center  of  a  raging  controversy,  the 
stremiousness  of  which  has  been  such  that  even 
in  the  "close"  season  the  matter  has  not  been 
allowed  to  rest,  and  at  the  moment  of  writing  pro- 
moters of  schemes  for  giving  London  electricity  at 
prices  ranging  between  one  and  two  cents  per  unit 
(kilowatt-hour)  are  treading  upon  one  another's 
heels  in  their  anxiety.  Nearly  a  dozen  schemes 
may  be  expected  to  be  placed  before  Parliament  in 
the  1906  session. 

The  far-reaching  recommendations  of  the  Royal 
Commission  on  London  Traffic  and  the  official 
promise  that  the  government  will  develop  what 
many  people  regard  as  the  one  practical  and  prac- 
ticable proposal  made,  viz.,  the  establishment  of  a 
traffic  board,  has  given  an  impetus  to  this  branch 
of  the  industry. 

Thus  in  two  most  important  directions  may  the 
year  1905  be  said  to  have  witnessed  the  commence- 
ment of  a  development,  the  ultimate  limits  of  which 
one  dare  not  attempt  to  define.  The  highly  suc- 
cessful electrical  exhibition  held  in  London  in  the 
autumn  has  given  the  industry  generally  a  much- 
needed  revival,  and  many  firms  have  reported  a 
welcome  increase  in  the  volume  of  business  trans- 
acted   since    the    exhibition   closed. 

These  are  the  most'  important  events  during  the 
year  without  going  into  detail,  which  will  be  done 
later.  Industrially  it  can  truthfully  be  said  that  the 
British  manufacturer  has  progressed,  for  although 
prices,  and  consequently  the  financial  results,  are 
not  all  that  may  be  desired,  the  large  majority  of 
firms  are  well  filled  with  work,  and  the  tendency 
for  orders  to  go  abroad  is  far  less  prominent  than 
hitherto,  for  which  the  difficulty  of  ascertaining 
and  controlling  the  conditions  of  Tabor  when  work 
is  carried  out  abroad  (a  sine  qua  non  of  many 
specifications)    is  to  some  extent  responsible. 

Electric  Power  Supply. 

Putting  on  one  side  for  the  present  the  proposals 
for  giving  a  cheap  supply  of  electric  power  in 
London — which  was  work  of  a  negative  character, 
so  to  speak — the  most  important  development  in 
the  matter  of  power  supply  has  been  the  progress 
made  with  the  North  Wales  electric  power  scheme. 
This  project  deserves  attention  for  many  reasons. 
First,  although  not  a  technical  reason,  the  expe- 
dition with  which  the  works  have  been  carried 
out,  the  bill  only  having  been  obtained  a  couple 
of  years  ago;  second,  the  plant  is  water-driven, 
and  third,  a  more  extensive  use  of  overhead  mains 
will  be  made  than  in  connection  with  any  under- 
taking of  the  kind  in  Great  Britain  previously.  As 
a  complete  description  will  be  available  within  a 
very  short  time,  a  bare  outline  of  the  undertaking 
will  suffice.  The  waters  of  Llyn  Llydaw,  a  portion 
of  the  crater  of  Mount  Snowdon,  are  to  be  made 
use  of,  the  area  being  5,500,000  square  feet?  The 
lake  is  one  and  one-fifth  miles  in  length  and  one- 
fifth  mile  wide.  A  fall  of  1,500  feet  is  available,  a 
pipe  line  of  600  feet  length  having  been  constructed 
for  driving  the  Pelton  wheels,  which  are  attached  to 
three-phase  generators.  About  12,000  horsepower 
will  be  available  at  this  spot,  but  another  water 
area  farther  north  in  Wales,  Llyn  Eigan,  will,  when 
necessity  arises,  furnish  the  company  with  double 
this  power.  The  estimate  for  the  high-tension 
transmission    cable    was    $3,000   a    mile. 

Indirectly  the  North  Wales  scheme  has  no  doubt 
been  responsible  for  broader  views  being  held  in 
certain  official  quarters  on  the  question  of  overhead 
mains,  for  a  great  development  in  this  direction  is 
now  being  witnessed.  Only  quite  recently  an  im- 
portant sewage  scheme  in  Birmingham  was  put 
into  operation  in  which  bare  overhead  transmission 
mains  are  employed.  To  continue  the  record  of 
the  work  of  the  "power"  companies,  it  is  to  be  men- 
tioned that  four  such  undertakings  have  started 
operations  during  the  year,  viz.,  the  Yorkshire 
Power  Company,  the  Lancashire  Power  Company, 
the  Clyde  Valley  company  and  the  Fife  company.  The 
latter  two  concerns  are  in  Scotland  and  have  started 
on  somewhat  moderate  lines,  possibly  owing  to  the 
nature  of  their  areas.  Two  views  of  the  Fife  com- 
pany's works  are  given  herewith,  and  the  York- 
shire   scheme    has  been    described    already    in    the 


[From  the  London  correspondent  of  the  Western  Electrician.! 

Western  Electrician.  The  Lancashire  scheme  is  a 
twin  of  the  latter,  for  both  undertakings  were  de- 
signed by  the  same  consulting  engineer  and  both 
have  adopted  Curtis  turbines.  The  Clyde  Valley 
works  are  on  similar  lines  to  the  Fife. 

That  the  "power"  companies  are  now  in  full 
swing  and  rapidly  developing  there  are  abundant 
signs.  An  engineering  adjunct  of  much  importance 
to  these  undertakings  is  a  telephone  system.  To 
pick  out  one,  the  Lancashire  company,  which  has 
many  miles  of  10,000-volt  transmission  mains,  both 
overhead  and  underground,  has  recently  had  a 
specially  designed  switchboard  installed  for  con- 
necting up  its  various  consumers,  many  of  whom 
have  their  own  sub-stations. 

Industries  of  the  most  varied  character  are 
rapidly  adopting  electric  driving,  and  the  opportuni- 
ties for  cheap  power  which  these  "bulk"  supply 
companies  afford  have  resulted  in  a  greater  ex- 
pansion of  this  nature  than  in  any  previous  year. 
The  effect  of  load  factor  and  diversity  factor  upon 
economical  production  is  now  borne  upon  the  man- 
ufacturer to  an  extent  not  attempted  in  the  past, 
with  the  result  that  in  many  cases  the  charges  for 
current  vary  according  to  the  period  of  the  day 
during  which  supply  is  demanded. 

High-power  generating  units  are  of  course  inti- 
mately bound  up  with  such  undertakings,  and  it  is 
satisfactory    to    note    that    attention  has    been    paid 


in  which  more  than  one  American  subscribed  to  the 
preliminary  expenses),  estimated  that  a  power 
scheme  wrorked  on  true  "power"  lines  could  supply 
current  at  anything  from  two  cents  per  unit  down- 
ward, and  that  the  average  selling  price  of  the 
company  wrould  be  Ij4  cents.  When  the  existing 
high  prices  in  London  are  remembered  the  effect 
of  such  a  proposition  was  naturally  consternation, 
and  although  toward  the  end  all  of  the  existing 
companies  came  to  terms  with  the  new  promoters, 
the  opposition  of  the  local  authorities  was  so  skill- 
fully drawn  out  that  there  was  not  sufficient  time 
for  the  bill  to  receive  the  royal  assent,  although  it 
was  passed  by  committees  of  both  houses  of  Par- 
liament. 

Electric  Traction. 

The  first  matter  of  importance  to  be  dealt  with 
under  this  head  is  the  report  of  the  Royal  Commis- 
sion on  London  Traffic,  whose  labors,  extending 
over  three  years,  culminated  last  year  in  a  num- 
ber of  voluminous  reports.  These  reports  made 
certain  recommendations  which  by  many  people 
were  considered  obvious  ones  and  aimed  at  a 
Utopian  condition  of  affairs  which  can  hardly  ever 
be  hoped  for  in  the  present  building  condition  of  the 
metropolis.  These  provided  for  the  construction 
of  a  number  of  very  wide  main  avenues  passing 
across  London  from  the  four  cardinal  points  of 
the  compass,  accommodating  tramways  to  a  very 
considerable  degree.  In  addition  a  great  extension 
of  electric  tramway  was  suggested,  although  no  hint 
was  given    as    to   the    responsible   authority   to    find 


engine  room  of 

to  both  the  prime  movers  and  the  electric  gener- 
ators. Quite  a  number  of  firms  have  taken  up 
the  manufacture  of  the  Parsons  turbine  with  im- 
provements of  their  own.  The  Curtis  turbine  also 
has  shown  a  marked  increase  in  its  sales. 

The  increasing  adoption  of  what  are  called  here 
extra-high  pressures  has  called  forth  a  set  of  regu- 
lations at  the  hands  of  the  Board  of  Trade  espe- 
cially to  deal  with  such  cases.  These  regulations 
stipulate  that  two  trunk  mains  shall  be  laid  to  each 
sub-station  and  that  the  electrical  power  trans- 
mitted by  any  extra-high  trunk  main  shall  not  ex- 
ceed 1,000  kilowatts  except  with  the  consent  of  the 
Board  of  Trade.  These  rules  apply  to  all  systems 
using  more  than  3,000  volts.  A  set  of  overhead 
regulations  has  also  been  drafted  by  the  Board  of 
Trade.  The  use  of  electric  power  in  mines  and 
the  development  brought  about  therein  by  the 
report  of  the  Home  Office  committee  some  time  ago 
has  necessitated  special  regulations  being  drafted 
for  this  purpose,  which  have  been  found  to  work 
to  the  benefit  of  the  mine  owner  and  for  the  safety 
of  the  miner.  High-tension  switch  gear,  too,  has 
undergone  considerable  change  and  modification, 
one  leading  firm  having  discarded  practically  all  its 
old  patterns  and  re-designed  its  apparatus  as  a 
necessary  corollary  to  modern  methods  of  supply. 

This  section  of  my  article  may  fittingly  be 
concluded  with  some  reference  to  the  power 
schemes  for  London  that  were  before  Parlia- 
ment last  year.  In  all  no  iess  than  eight  com- 
panies came  forward  with  such  schemes,  but  only 
one  proposed  to  deal  with  London  and  its  sur- 
rounding districts  as  a  whole.  This  scheme,  which 
came  to  be  known  as  the  $25,000,000  scheme    (and 


electric  power  house. 

the  necessary  capital  for  the  works.  That  the 
reports  of  the  commission  will  be  valuable  as  a 
future  guide  there  can  be  no  doubt;  but  whether 
the  advantage  so  gained  will  be  sufficient  to  justify 
the  immense  labor  involved  is  disputable.  One  very 
necessary  and  practical  reform,  however,  has  re- 
sulted, and  that  is  the  recommendation  to  appoint 
a  traffic  tribunal  for  London  consisting  of  -well- 
qualified  and  amply  paid  gentlemen  whose  business 
it  shall  be  to  scrutinize  all  schemes  of  locomotion 
submitted  to  Parliament  respecting  London,  and  so 
to  bring  about  a  little  uniformity  which  is  so  sorely 
needed.  The  past  history  of  traffic  legislation  in 
London,  so  far  as  railways,  at  any  rate,  are  con- 
cerned, is  that  everyone  has  selected  the  most  likely 
routes,  leaving  many  bare  patches  of  undeveloped 
district.  Such  a  condition  of  affairs  will  be  en- 
tirely eliminated  by  the  establishment  of  a  traffic 
tribunal  such  as  that  suggested  above ;  and  this  has 
already  been  promised  by  the  government. 

Travelers  upon  the  much-maligned  District  Rail- 
way and  Metropolitan  Railway  (familiarly  referred 
to  as  the  "Inner  Circle")  will  look  back  with  pleas- 
ure to  the  year  1905,  for  the  last  steam  train  has 
been  withdrawn,  and  swift  and  more  or  less  com- 
fortable traveling  is  in  vogue,  although  a  new  order 
(to  us)  of  unfortunate  human  beings  has  been 
created,  viz.,  the  "strap-hangers,"  who  under  the 
old  regime  traveled  under  even  worse  conditions 
than  holding  on  to  the  straps  provided  in  the  new 
electric  cars  for  standing  passengers. 

The  equipment  of  these  railways  and  some  con- 
tiguous lines,  over  which  there  are  running  powers, 
is  on  the  standard  direct-current  system,  with  two 
electric    rail    conductors,   but    another    London    rail- 


Januarj  6,   [906 


II'.        I.I.I,.     I  IT 


ir 


way  company  in  the  south   ha      tati  d 

to  adopt,  1  cpei  imi  ntall     on 

the    1  ingli   i'li  isi         irit!  [uipmi  m 

A  niiHMi  li. 1 bli  hcd  tl    '    :     order  ha 

bci  "   givi  n   to   the    VII ■  ine  Elckl 

schaft,  although   1  ■  I  vouch  foi   it 

1  v    1.,   ili'-   pn  'hi    .ill    iii.    "li...  1    railwa 
panic .   having  termini   in    1  <ondon   n 

from    electric   traction,  although    il    I    u 

thai       '\'i'l     'if    them     will 
problem  in  the  near  future,  in  1  01 


mm-    11  I-.    i  Rli     I'iiw  11     SB    IN    SCOTLAND. 

electric  power  proposals  which  arc  now  being  made, 
Initial  expense  has  been  a  noteworthy  deterrent, 
and    much    of    this    would    disappear    if    a    reliable 

supply  cmdd  he  obtained   from   outside    trees,     A 

new  tube  railway  running  to  the  northeast  of  Lon- 
don was  authorized  by  Parliament,  the  district 
much  requiring  improved  facilities.  The  North- 
eastern Railway  Company,  too,  has  decided  upon  a 
considerable  extension  to  its  electrically  equipped 
system,  and  some  talk  of  overhead  traction  has 
been  heard  in  this  connection.  Experiments  have 
been  carried  out  on  these  lines  with  a  limestone 
ballast,  the  property  of  which  is  said  to  be  that 
while  it  remains  dry  it  is  safe  to  touch  the  500-volt 
rail  when  standing  on  it.  I  have  not  heard  of  any 
considerable   use  of  it,   however. 

Considerable  interest  has  manifested  itself  in  the 
tramway  systems  at  Torquay  and  Lincoln,  where 
the  Dolter  and  Griffiths-Bedell  systems,  respec- 
tively, have  been  adopted.  Very  little  can  be  said 
about  either  at  present,  for  whereas  the  cars  have 
only  just  commenced  running  at  Lincoln,  so  many 
squabbles  have  taken  place  between  the  contractors 
at  Torquay  and  the  corporation  that  the  progress 
there  has  been  unsatisfactory,  and  the  lines  will 
probably  not  be  completed  for  some  time  yet. 
Apart  from  these  two  instances,  the  trolley  system 
has  continued  to  be  adopted,  and  considerable  ex- 
tension has  taken  place,  intercommunication  being 
so  freely  adopted  between  various  towns  that  runs 
of  20  and  30  miles  are  almost  common  in  the 
northern    Midlands. 

The  possibility  of  these  long  tram  journeys,  with 


cheap  fares,  has  had  a  most  prejudicial  effect  upon 
the  local  revenue  of  the  railway  companies  which, 
in  many  cases,  have  resorted  to  the  use  of  single 
motor  coaches  upon  their  ordinary  rails,  in  order 
to   accelerate   and  cheapen   the   service. 

The  use  of  top  decks,  although  most  ungainly, 
has  proved  a  profitable  investment  to  many  authori- 
ties,   and    especially    in    industrial   towns,    where  the 


i\cepti- 

ni,    and 

.    1 

irm    from  on 

made    ii 

I  In      hi. 

.I    v.iili   tin     familial    rapt ,  and     t 
itatioi 

order  to  rim;  the  l> 
believe  it  was  thi 

foi      hot  trolley   wire   should   it 

adopted. 
Mi.    ti  ""  ■.  ontiaued 

to  -  ■ '  ite   mui  li   mi'   est  and 

1  ..inn       1  ouncil    early    in    the  year    m 

lli'      '     ini'  hi'.  lines     in     (he 

north,   and    iln     lease 

rendered  in   April,  somt    two  or  three  years  earlier 

than  would  be  otherwise  tin    ca  1  ■■•  over 

40  mile?,   and    thi     rei  mstructioi 

tion    a    combin; of    trolley    and    conduit — will 

take    place    immediately    the    council    has     •<■ 
them,      1  In    large  gem  rating    tation   .-. hicl 
don    County    Council    is    erecting  at    Greenwich    is 
now    well   forward,   anil  a  view  of  one  of  the  3.500- 
volt  alternators  in  course  of  erection  is  shown. 

The    sketch     (section)     of    the     subway     tramway 
under   the   new    thoroughfare   in  London,  by   which 


been   dii 

brilliantly    lighti 

There    ha-    1 

nd    quite    a    numlicr 
types    I  the    market,    although 

many  of  the  makers  keep  the  details  of  their  con- 
stru'ctii  '  1    lamp, 

I'",   i-    securing  although  perh  • 

for    street    lighting,    the    change    from    the    vertical 


SECTIONAL   SKETCH    OF    NEW   THOROUGHFARE    IN    LONDON    (KINGSWAY),    SBI 


it  is  hoped  eventually  to  connect  the  north  and 
the  south,  will  also  be  interesting,  in  so  far  as  this 
subway  was  decided  upon  after  a  visit  to  America. 
Tram  cars  will  run  in  this  subway  from  the  city 
to  the  north  of  London  very  shortly.  The  subway 
is  a  little  less  than  one  mile  in  length,  but  the  cars 
will  continue  into  the  open,  and  the  passengers  will 
not   have   to  change. 

The  continued  efforts  to  secure  parliamentary 
powers  along  the  Victoria  Embankment  were  again 
frustrated,  this  time  by  the  House  of  Lords,  when 
it  was  almost  regarded  as  a  foregone  conclusion  that 
these  powers,  after  many  attempts,  would  be 
granted.  Until  these  powers  are  granted  we  shall 
always  have  the  north  and  the  south  of  London 
divided  by  the  river,  and  with  no  tramway  com- 
munication, although  doubt  is  frequently  expi 
as  to  whether   the   latter  is  really  necessary. 

Several  new  companies  have  been  formed  for 
exploiting  motor  omnibuses,  and  with  the  help  of  a 
daily  paper  something  like  a  scare  was  created 
among  tramway  shareholders,  and  also  among  some 
municipalities.  It  was  soon  laid  to  rest,  however, 
and  although  the  horse  omnibus  is  fast  being  super- 
seded by  the  motor  vehicle,  the  status  quo  ante 
seems  to  have  been   maintained. 

Regenerative  control  on  tramways  has  made  con- 
siderable development,  and  Mr.  Ra'worth  lias  suc- 
ceeded in  equipping  a  large  number  of  tram  cars 
with  his  system,  for  the  exploitation  of  which  a 
company  has  now  been  formed.  On  one  particular 
test  the  consumption  of  energy  per  car-mile  was 
shown  to  be  only  one  unit,  and  the  general  ex- 
penses have  been  materially  reduced.  Another 
regenerative  tramway  motor- has  been  placed  on  the 
market  by  Johnson-Lundell,  but  hitherto  no  prac- 
tical application  of  it  is  known. 

Once  again  there  is  little  progress  to  report  with 
regard   to   electrically-  driven   automobiles. 

The  Engineering  Standards  Committee  has  had 
the  question  of  standardizing  tramway  poles  and 
trolley  wire  under  consideration,  and  reports  have 
been  issued  concerning  these  matters.     A  number  of 


glower  to  the  horizontal  not  being  regarded  as  a 
wise  one  in  some  quarters.  Efforts  have  also  been 
made  to  improve  the  scope  of  the  mercury-vapor 
lamp,  by  the  addition  of  a  few  ordinary  glow 
lamps,  and  the  combination  certainly  produces  a 
pleasing  effect.  Imitation  candle  lamps  have  also 
become  popular,  while  long-filament  lamps  for  shop- 
window  effects  have  so  "taken  on"  that  one  firm 
has  commenced  to  manufacture  tubes  and  filaments 
for  this  of  no  less  a  length  than  four  feet.  Osmium 
and  tantalum  lamps  are  now  purchasable,  but  only 
so  recently  that  their  development  can  hardly  In- 
recorded. 

The  use  of  prepayment  meters  and  hire  purchase 
wiring  has   received    rather  more  attention    than    in 
previous  years,  but  the  results  can  hardly  he  termed 
satisfactory.      The  uncertainty  of  the  tenant 
before   anything   like   an    adequate   return    upon    the 
money    has    been    arrived    at.    and    the    man 
unsatisfactory  conditions  surrounding  I 
cla~s   so  wired,  has  resulted  in  most  supply  authori- 
ties  keeping   aloof,  although    success    seems    I 
been   achieved   in   some  towns.      The  proposal    made 
by   the   London    County   Council   in    Parliament  that 
all   the   London  borough  councils  owning  electricity- 
works    should    embark    upon   municipal    wiring 
defeated,  the   London   electrical  contractors  offering 
most   strenuous    opposition.     Many   towns    have   au- 
thority to  spend  money  for  wiring  and  fitting  houses 
of  electric  supply,  but  in  almost  all  cases  the  work 
is   done  through   a  contractor. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  year  a  proposition  was 
made  by  the  Engineering  Standards  Committee  that 
a  conference  of  glow-lamp  makers  should  be  held 
f  >r  the  purpose  of  arriving  at  some  degree  of 
standardization  in  incandescent  lamps.  This  was 
atled  upon,  but  the  result  cannot  be  made  known 
yet.  The  Cable  Makers'  Association,  which  con- 
'  the  majority  of  the  leading  firms,  agreed 
standard  form  of  tender  for  cables  during 
the    year. 

Two    other   important  features   of   the   year    have 
been  the  large  number  of  provisional  electric-light- 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


January  6,  1906 


ing  orders  which  have  heen  revoked  by  the  Board 
of"  Trade,  and  the  failure  of  the  Government,  for 
the  third  time,  to  secure  the  passing  of  the  Supply 
of  Electricity  Bill,  '  which  would  have  introduced 
several  very  necessary  reforms  into  the  present 
condition  of  legislation.  With  regard  to  provisional 
orders,  many  urban  councils  secured  orders  years 
ago,  and  they  shelved  them  with  the  sole  idea 
of  keeping  others  out,  but  yet  not  intending  to  put 
them  into  force  themselves.  The  policy  of  the 
Board  of  Trade  is  fast  breaking  down  this  condi- 
tion of  things. 

Telephony,  Telegraphy  and  Space  Telegraphy. 
An.  important  event  has  been  the  ratification  of 
the  agreement  between  the  National  Telephone 
Company  and  the  government,  by  which  the  under- 
taking of  the  former  will  be  acquired  in  191 1  upon 
agreed  terms,  as  set  out  in  the  parliamentary  agree- 
ment. These  terms  have  been  much  criticized,  but 
all  those  who  have  thought  about  the  matter  agree 
that  the  best  interests  of  the  telephone-using  public 
have  been  considered  thereby.  Many  extreme  peo- 
ple have  argued  that  inasmuch  as  the  telephone 
company  could  not,  by  law,  carry  on  its  business 
after  191 1,  and  that,  furthermore,  the  postmaster- 
general  was  not  bound  to  acquire  its  business  on 
any  terms  whatever,  ho  agreement  involving  pur- 
chase money  should  have  been  entered  into.  It  will 
at  once  be  seen,  however,  that  to  avoid  utter  stag- 
nation of  the  telephone  service  of  the  country— 
a  wholly  impossible  proposition— the  government 
was  forced  to  one  of  two  courses,  viz.,  the  laying 
down  of  a  separate  system,  which  would  mean  an 
almost  wicked  waste  of  money,  so  great  would 
have  been  the  duplication  of  plant,  or  an  amicable 
agreement  with  the  company.  This  latter  suggested 
itself  as  the  most  common-sense  course,  and  Parlia- 
ment, together  with  a  big  majority  of  the  public, 
agreed.  The  outstanding  question  now  is  the  posi- 
tion of  the  few  local  authorities  which  have  taken 
up  telephony.  This  has  not  yet  been  decided,  but 
so  bare  was  the  response  to  the  offer  contained 
in  the  Telephone  Act  of  1899,  to  allow  municipali- 
ties to  erect  competing  exchanges,  that  the  responsi- 
ble officials  of  the  postmaster-general  are  firmly 
convinced  that  they  should  all  be  absorbed  by  the 
government  when  their  licenses  expire. 

The    unsatisfactory     financial    conditions    of     the 


Wheatstone  working  between  England  and  Teheran 
(Persia)  was  put  into  operation,  and  the  results 
have  been  quite  satisfactory.  The  Murray  type- 
printing  telegraph  has  again  been  prominent,  the 
British  government  having  adopted  it.  McDonald 
Murray,  the  inventor  of  the  system,  received  a 
premium  for  a  paper  on  the  subject  before  the 
Institution  of  Electrical  Engineers. 

A  standard  of  telegraph  material  has  been  worked 
at  by  the  Engineering  Standards  Committee,  and 
a  report  has  been  issued  in  connection  therewith. 

For  the  last  two  or  three  years  the  Marconi 
Wireless  Telegraph  Company  has  not  failed  to 
introduce  some  new  practical  application  of  its 
system  which  very  quickly  disappeared.  The  year 
1905  has  been  no  exception,  for  after  continued 
negotiations  with  the  postmaster-general,  it  was 
agreed  to  accept  wireless  messages  at  any  postoffice 
for  transmission  by  ordinary  telegraph  to  certain 
specified  ports,  whence  at  scheduled  times  outward- 
bound  liners  could  be  reached  by  the  Marconi 
operators.  The  system  worked  for  a  time,  but  was 
abandoned  after  a  few  months.  The  whole  world 
is  familiar  with  the  exploits  of  the  London  Times 
steamer  Haimun,  fitted  with  the  De  Forest  system, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Port  Arthur  during  the 
Russo-Japanese  war,  and  the  eminently  successful 
results  obtained.  The  very  success  of  this  new 
departure  in  war  chronicling  led  to  its  being  dis- 
continued by  request.  Some  interesting  work  is 
being  carried  out  by  the  Lodge-Muirhead  syndicate, 
which  is  working  well  with  the  British  government. 
The  system  has  also  been  adopted  by  one  of  the 
railway  companies  in  its  cross-Channel  steamer 
service  with  pronounced  success.  The  Admiralty 
has  entered  into  an  agreement  with  the  Marconi 
company  for  connecting  a  number  of  lightships 
with  the  mainland. 

The  first  return  issued  by  the  government  since 
it  assumed  control  of  the  wireless  telegraph  indus- 
try here  has  been  put  out  and  makes  interesting 
reading.  The  return  was  dated  March  31,  1905. 
There  were  78  applications  for  licenses  of  the  vari- 
ous classes,  and  of  these  two  were  made  by  Ameri- 
can companies,  viz.,  the  De  Forest  company  and  the 
National  Electric  Signaling  Company.  At  the  time 
of  the  report  no  definite  arrangements  had  been 
come    to    between    the    parties,    but    a    license    for 


will  be  of  use.  It  was  designed  and  constructed 
for  the  London  and  Southwestern  Railway  Com- 
pany's new  graving  dock  at  Southampton,  and  with 
the  exception  of  the  electrical  equipment,  which 
is  German,  it  is  wholly  British  made.  It  has  a 
lifting  capacity  of  50  tons,  and  the  following  are 
the  principal  dimensions:  Gauge  between  rail  cen- 
ters, 25  feet  six  inches;  clearance  under  truck 
cross  centers,  15  feet;  diameter  of  roller  path  cen- 
ters, 25  feet  6  inches ;  wheel  base,  30  feet ;  length 
of  jib,  85  feet;  height  of  jib  from  ground  level  at 


50-TON    ELECTRIC   TRAVELING   CRANE   AT    SOUTHAMPTON    DOCKS. 


government  Pacific  Cable  and  some  differences 
between  the  Pacific  Cable  Board  and  the  competing 
telegraph  companies  were  the  cause  of  a  Pacific 
Cable  conference  in  London.  Although  the  exact 
decisions  come  to  were  not  published — the  con- 
ference was  private — it  is  understood  that  some- 
thing in  the  nature  of  an  amicable  arrangement 
was  settled.  The  submarine  telegraph  companies 
have  also  been  the  cause  of  a  deputation  to  the 
chancellor  of  the  exchequer  as  to  the  high  rates 
charged  between  London  and  Egypt,  Africa,  India 
and  China,  and  it  is  satisfactory  to  note  that  con- 
cessions  in   this  direction   have   been   made.     Direct 


another  site  was  offered  in  one  case,  and  a  license 
is  said  to  be  in  course  of  execution  in  the  case  of 
the  National  Signaling  company  for  a  site  on  the 
Irish  coast.  In  both  cases  the  license  would  be 
for  experimental  work  between  Great  Britain  and 
America. 

Miscellaneous. 

Illustrations  herewith  show  a  large  electric  crane 
and  an  electrically  operated  transporter  bridge 
across  the  River  Weaver  in  Cheshire,  and  they 
demonstrate  two  of  the  most  interesting  pieces  of 
electrical  engineering  work  that  have  been  carried 
out  during  the  year.     Some  figures  as  to  the  crane 


WIDNES-RUNCORN    ELECTRICALLY   OPERATED    TRANSPORTER 
BRIDGE   IN    CHESHIRE,    ENGLAND. 

maximum  radius,  60  feet;  height  from  ground  level 
at  minimum  radius,  103  feet.  There  are  three  50- 
horsepower  motors,  one  80-horsepower  motor  and 
one  25-horsepower  motor  for  the  various  operations 
of  lifting,  derricking,  traveling  and  slewing.  The 
net  weight  of  the  crane  is  about  250  tons,  unloaded. 
The  Widnes-Runcorn  transporter  bridge  will  not 
need  much  description;  the  illustrations  are  almost 
self-explanatory.  A  separate  power  house  has  been 
erected  and  is  seen  in  the  end  view  of  the  bridge, 
together  with  the  transporter  car.  The  dynamos 
are  gas-driven.  The  motors  on  the  car,  which  is 
operated  on  a  sort  of  tramway  trolley  principle, 
are  35  horsepower,  the  whole  of  the  operations 
being  controlled  by  a  driver  in  the  roof  of  the  car. 
Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  good 
work  that  has  been  carried  out  by  the  Engineering 
Standards  Committee,  but  the  National  Physical 
Laboratory  has  been  in  rather  hot  water,  owing  to 
the  feeling  that  has  been  engendered  in  private 
testing  undertakings  that  the  laboratory  officials 
have  exceeded  the  scope  of  their  mandate.  In 
other  words,  that  state-aided  competition  is  being 
carried  on — a  thing  not  contemplated  at  the  time 
of  the  inauguration  of  the  laboratory. 

The  electrical  exhibition  at  Olympia,  in  London, 
has  had  most  beneficial  results,  and  very  great 
interest  is  now  being  taken  in  electric  heating  and 
cooking,  to  mention  only  one  result.  The  general 
result  exceeded   anticipations. 

Municipal  trading,  if  anything,  has  been  checked, 
so  far  as  new  undertakings  are  concerned,  and 
especially  in  connection  with  trading  outside  the 
area.  Parliament  has  Very  decided  views  upon  this 
matter,  and  it  is  almost  hopeless  at  present  to  ask 
for  such  powers. 

Technical  education,  although  not  quite  so  promi- 
nent as  in  past  years,  has  again  been  well  to  the 
front,  and  the  establishment  of  the  British  Science 
Guild  has  also  indirectly  helped  the  matter  forward. 
The  facilities  now  are  far  greater  than  ever,  and 
to  quote  only'  one  instance,  $50,000  was  given  by 
an  anonymous  donor  toward  the  completion  of  the 
electrical  department  of  the  new  Birmingham  Uni- 
versity. 

Space  forbids  detailed  reference  to  the  several 
improvements  in  single-phase  motors,  the  develop- 
ment in  the  design  of  gas  suction  plants  and  small 
oil  generating  sets,  etc.,  but  a  real  improvement 
in  these  and  many  other  directions  has  been 
manifest. 

Colonial. 
As  usual  it  will  be  impossible  to  give  anything 
approaching  an  exhaustive  review  of  what  hastaken 
place  in  the  colonies  during  the  year,  and  if  atten- 
tion is  drawn  to  a  few  of  the  leading  features  this 
must  suffice.  At  the  moment  of  writing  there  is 
much  discussion  of  the  proposal  to  generate  elec- 
tricity at  the  Victoria  Falls  in  South  Africa  and 
to  transmit  it  a  distance  of  700  miles  to  the  Rand. 
I  believe  that  English,  Continental  and  American 
engineers  are  agreed  as  to  the  technical  possibilities 
of  the  scheme,  but  as  to  how  far  they  aaree  as  to 
the  adoption  of  the  high-tension  continuous-current 


January  6,   [906 


ERN     ELEI   l  RIl 


lyitem,  which  the  financial  lyndicate  al  the  back 
of  the  project  seems  to  favor,  I  am  not  awan 

In   Auatralia,   South    Africa   and   elicwhei 

■iderable   extension!   to   existing   electricity 

have  been  made,  and  many  new  worl    ,  

municipal,  have  been  put  into  opei  ation  I  hi 
Pretoria    (South   Africa)   corporation  haa  pa    ed 

lull     alltllori/illK     Hi''     '      I"  "'III I     :'   ,.'">.""    •"' 

electric  supply.  At  Sydney  (N.  S.  W.)  $1,125,000 
has  been   voted    fur  extern  ion     foi    both   1 

and   lighting.     A   new   three  pha  c  plan)    ha     I 

1  n  1  ted  al  1  .aunceston,  1  a  mania,  and  ■■>  1  cheme 
involving  $275,000  has  t •«-«-■  x  authorized  for  Auck- 
land (N.  /..).  In  New  Zealand,  al  o,  .1  rcporl  a 
to  the  waterpower  resources  of  the  country  for  the 
purposes  of  generating  electricity  shows  thai  there 

■  1  sufficient  for  almost  all  the  needs  of  those 
islands,  and  the  future  will  without  doubt  10  thi 
report  acted   upon. 

A  vast  exten  ion  of  the  use  of  electricity  in  its 
application  to  mining  purposes  has  occurred,  and 
for  very  few  purposes  now  is  electricity  not 
adapted.  In  the  development  of  electric  energy  as 
a  power  agent  in  other  directions  it  should  be 
noted   1l1.1t    al   the   Table   Kay   Harbor  no  less  than 


ELECTRICAL  PROGRESS  OF  1905  ON  THE  CONTINEM 


■i.  Couacv. 


I'.n  iini 

uid   the   leading  clcc- 
ii leal    factor!  upplying    considerable 

."ippar.ii  n 

tl u       In 

bus    been     formed    to 

manufai  tt 

ini  ludi      thi     t.i    ip,      '      urg-Nuremburg,    North 
1  li  nimi    Lloyd  Schuck- 

erl  tinii        lb.    bn  I,,,       in  France  is  to  be  carried 
on    by  the    Schneider   firm   of   Crcusol 

ii ml ■   we  bud  the   Brown-Boveri   Company, 

which  is  making  a  great  number  of    team  turbines 
on   the    Parson       patent  i  land    and    alio 

in   i .'  i  many,     I  he  Allgemeine   Elekti 
schaft  of   Berlin  i  i  also  building  the  ti 

The     French    Thomson-Hou 
turned  out   a   large  amount    of   electrical    machinery 
,ii   its   Paris  works.     Pari  of  it  went  to  supply  the 
hydraulic   plants    on    the    coast    near    Nice    and    the 


END    VIEW    OF 


TRANSPORTER    BRIDGE, 


21  electric  cranes,  manufactured  in  England,  have 
been  erected,  costing  some  $1,750,000.  And  this 
brings  me  to  the  point  that  British  manufacturers 
are  greatly  in  the  ascendancy  in  the  large  majority 
of  the.  colonies.  In  Calcutta  the  trams  have  been 
converted  to  electric  traction  by  British  plant  and 
British  contractors ;  similarly  at  Hong  Kong,  Singa- 
pore and  Bangkok.  Again,  at  Johannesburg,  some 
very  large  continuous-current  dynamos,  made  in 
the  Midlands,  have  been  erected,  and  they  will  be 
driven  by  gas  engines.  At  Durban  the  corporation 
is  so  far  up  with  the  times  that  funeral  tram  cars 
are  in  existence.  The  South  Australian  trairnvays, 
to  the  extent  of  70  miles,  are  being  converted 
from  horse  haulage,  as  also  are  the  Adelaide  lines. 
The  Stone  system  of  train  lighting  has  been 
adopted  on   the    New    South    Wales   railways. 

The  Australian  colonies  also  had  a  big  share  in 
the  Pacific  Cable  conference  in  London.  The  com- 
petition of  the  cable  companies  is  so  keen  that  a 
pooling  of  the  receipts  was  suggested,  but  a  later 
proposal  is  to  nationalize  the  company's  eastern 
lines.  Trunk-line  telephony  is  also  making  head- 
way, and  Melbourne  and  Sydney  were  joined  up  at 
a  cost  of  $250,000. 

All  this  is  sufficient  indication — as  the  facts  are — 
that  if  anything,  owing  to  the  commencement  of 
development  being  later,  the  electrical  industry  in 
the  British  colonies  is  more  active  than  at  home. 


extensive  tramway  lines  which  are  now  running 
on  the  Mediterranean  coast.  The  addition  to  the 
Metropolitan  station  in  Paris  required  several 
groups  of  large  capacity,  and  the  increase  in  the 
subway  keeps  up  the  demand  for  motor  equip- 
ments. Some  of  these  have  also  been  supplied  by 
the  French  Westinghouse  Company.  The  latter 
has  erected  a  large  hydraulic  plant  at  Clermont- 
Ferrand,  and  is  also  to  equip  several  large  elec- 
tric railroads  in  Italy.  A  number  of  companies  in 
Switzerland  and  Germany  are  making  trials  of  sin- 
gle-phase or  three-phase  systems  for  railroad  lines. 
Among  these  are  the  Oerlikon  and  Siemens- 
Schuckert  for  Switzerland,  while  the  Union  Elec- 
tric Company  intends  to  equip  the  Hamburg  elec- 
tric road.  The  Allgemeine  and  the  Siemens- 
Schuckert  companies  have  made  a  combine  for  ob- 
taining the  concession  for  the  Cologne-Diisseldorf 
railway. 

Stations  and  Power  Transmission. 
Two  hydraulic  plants  of  large  capacity  are  to 
be  erected  in  the  Lyons  region  for  obtaining  the 
additional  current  which  the  city  now  requires 
for  lighting  and  power,  including  the  extensions 
of  the  tramway  lines.  When  finished  these  will 
figure  among  the  largest  hydraulic  stations  in 
France.  The  first  is  located  at  Mouriers,  and  it  is 
to  use  the  high-tension   constant-current  series   sys- 


I  be  overhead   hue   nu 

u\n,  and  U  will 
I 

try  machine*,  rt 

■ 
plant,   which 
the   Romanche 

three    turbine   and    all 
kilowatt!    each,    with    an    overhead 

ng    runiiinj;    to  1!    OUt- 

- 

ng     utilized     in 
the  Alpine  region  near  the  Mediterranean 
France    to   supply    Nice.    Monte    Carlo    and    other 
towns  in   the   region ;   also   the   extensive   syjtcm   of 
tramways    aloi  a 
which  have  been  already  erected,  I  may  menl 

■    which   the    i  n  concern  ha. 

I  at  Plan  du  Var  for  the  Mediterranean 
Coast  Electric  Company.  When  finished  the  sta- 
tion will  have  two  turbine  and  generator  sets,  like 
hown  in  the  illustration,  of  600  kilowatts 
each.  Turbines  of  the  Francis  type,  built  by 
Eschcr,  Wyss  &  Co.,  arc  coupled  to  three-phase 
1 1,000-volt    alternators. 

The  Ganz  Company  of  Budapest  has  lately  in- 
stalled a  hydraulic  plant  which  is  now  the  largest 
in  Bohemia.  It  furnishes  current  mainly  to  the 
extensive  paper  and  cellulose  factory  of  the  J. 
Spiro  Company  at  Krummau  as  well  as  to  some 
of  the  neighboring  towns.  The  fall  at  ilohcnfurth 
is  about  300  feet.  When  complete  the  station  will 
contain  five  turbine  sets  using  Ganz  three-phase 
alternators  of  2,500  kilowatts  each.  The  overhead 
line  which  runs  to  Krummau  is  operated  at  15.000 
volts,  and  the  step-down  transformers  lower  it 
to  300  volts.  The  two  large  paper  factories  use 
a  number  of  three-phase  motors  ranging  from  100 
horsepower    down. 

The  gas  company  of  Clermont-Ferrand,  which 
is  one  of  the  large  towns  of  France  in  the  Au- 
vergne  region,  put  in  a  large  hydraulic  plant  not 
long  ago  in  order  to  secure  the  increase  of  current 
which  the  town  requires.  The  plant  is  located  on 
the  Sioule  River  about  20  miles  off,  and  the  outfit 
will  include  six  turbo-alternator  sets  of  1.200  horse- 
power each,  using  Escher-Wryss  turbines  (-$  foot 
fall)  and  alternators  which  have  been  built  at  the 
Havre  works  of  the  French  Westinghouse  Com- 
pany. The  overhead  line  uses  20,000  volts,  which 
is  furnished  by  oil  transformers.  At  Clermont 
there  is  a  large  sub-station  containing  similar 
transformers   for   reducing  to   3.000   volts. 

Among  the  hydraulic  plants  in  Italy  which  are 
to  be  erected 'I  may  mention  the  Naples  station, 
which  is  to  be  situated  on  the  Volturno.  and  is 
expected  to  give  3.000  horsepower  at  the  start.  An 
overhead  line  will  run  to  Naples,  operating  at 
45,000  volts,  and  a  sub-station  will  deliver  current 
for  lighting  and  for  the  tramways.  Rome  is  to  have 
a  new  power  plant,  according  to  the  project  of 
the  Sila  Industrial  Company.  The  current  will  be 
used  mainly  for  operating  some  of  the  local  trac- 
tion lines.  The  Sila  River  affords  a  2.000-foot 
head  of  water,  and  it  is  expected  to  obtain  6.000 
horsepower.  A  new  station  on  the  Cellina  River 
is  to  furnish  a  large  amount  of  current  for  the 
city  of  Venice,  where  an  increase  of  power  has 
been  needed  for  some  time. 

Development  of  the  Steam   Turbine. 

The  station  which  is  now  building  in  the  suburbs 
of  Paris,  at  St.  Denis,  will  be  one  of  the  largest 
steam-turbine  plants  in  Europe.  It  is  intended  to 
supply  current  for  the  Paris  subway  as  well  as  for 
different  surface  traction  lines  and  some  of  the  city 
lighting  circuits.  The  station  consists  of  a  three- 
part  building  lying  on  the  Seine,  and  the  main 
hall  for  the  machines  is  325  feet  long  and  70  feet 
wide.  The  boiler  room  is  to  have  20  Babcock  & 
Wilcox  boilers,  each  having  500  square  yards  heat- 
ing surface.  Special  mechanical  devices,  motor- 
driven  conveyors,  etc.  will  handle  the  coal  as  it 
comes  on  the  barges.  The  dynamo  hall  is  laid  out 
to  contain  four  steam-turbine  and  dynamo  groups 
of  the  Brown-Boveri  type,  built  at  the  Swiss  fac- 
tory of  Baden.  Each  of  these  sets  will  have  a 
capacity  of  10.000  horsepower.  The  alternators 
are  of  the  three-phase  io.ooo-volt  type,  working  at 
25  cycles  and  750  revolutions  per  minute. 

A  large  steam-turbine  set  on  the  same  system 
is   now   running  in  the  Essen  plant,   Germany,  and 


H 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  6,   1906 


it  operates  at  1,000  revolutions  per  minute.  The 
alternator  is  of  the  5,000-kilowatt  three-phase  pat- 
tern and  delivers  5,000  volts  at  50  cycles.  The 
same  turbine,  which  has  a  capacity  of  8,000  horse- 
power, also  drives  a  direct-current  machine  of 
1,500  kilowatts  and  600  volts.  A  good  speed  regu- 
lation is  secured  here,  and  it  is  said  that  there  is 
but  five  per  cent,  variation  between  no  load  and 
full   load. 

Among  other  steam-turbine  plants  in  Germany 
I  may  mention  the  large  unit  which  has  been  in- 
stalled in  the  Rheno-Westphalian  station.  This  is 
a    10,000-horsepower    group    and    has    a    three-phase 


supply  a  steam-turbine  outfit  for  the  large  plant 
which  the  Gas  and  Electric  Lighting  Company  pro- 
poses to  erect  at  Marseilles.  It  will  furnish  a 
large  amount  of  current  for  the  city  circuits  and 
also  for  the  tramway  lines  which  are  being  ex- 
tended. The  new  plant  will  be  built  alongside  the 
gas  works,  and  when  finished  it  will  contain  six 
steam-driven  sets  besides  three  units  (300-kilowatt), 
which  will  have  Curtis  steam  turbines.  The  Thom- 
son-Houston Company  has  adopted  the  Curtis  tur- 
bine and  expects  to  use  it  in  the  future  on  the 
Continent.  These  groups  will  have  a  capacity  of 
1,000  kilowatts  and  operate  at  50  cycles.     The  other 


1 
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Switzerland,  are  used  here.  The  boiler  room  is 
laid  out  on  the  most  modern  principles  and  con- 
tains 35  boilers  at  present,  having  330  square  yards 
heating  surface  each.  The  motor-driven  apparatus 
for  handling  the  coal  and  ashes  is  most  complete, 
and  in  a  10-hour  day  it  takes  care  of  380  tons  of 
coal.  The  engines,  which  are  of  the  triple-expan- 
sion type,  with  60-inch  stroke  and  85  revolutions, 
have  mounted  on  the  main  shaft  a  3,000-kilowatt 
alternator  having  a  70-pole  interior  field.  An  ex- 
tensive switchboard  is  used  to  handle  the  different 
circuits   of  the   station. 

Traction. 
The  question   of  using  electric  traction  upon  the 
railroads  is   one  which  has  been   occupying   the   at- 
tention   of    the    different    governments    or    private 
railroad   companies  in   nearly   all  the   leading  coun- 


MEDITEERANt:  AN 


MOTOR    TRUCK    USED    ON    PARIS    METROPOLITAN 


5,000-kilowatt  alternator  working  at  5,000  volts 
besides  a  1,500-kilowatt  direct-current  machine  at 
600  volts.  The  speed  is  1,000  revolutions  per  min- 
ute. The  turbine  set  with  the  two  machines  occu- 
pies a  length  of  65  feet  and  weighs  some  200  tons. 
It  was  built  at  the  Mannheim  factory  of  the 
Brown-Boveri   Company. 

To  show  the  development  of  the  steam  turbine 
in  Europe  I  may  mention  some  of  the  large  plants 
which  the  above  firm  has  installed  in  the  different 
cities  up  to  the  present.  The  largest  equipment  in 
France  consists  of  four  6,000-kilowatt  turbo-alter- 
nator sets  which  are  running  in  the  plant  belong- 
ing to  the  Compagnie  Russo-Francaise  at  St. 
Ouen  in  the  suburbs  of  Paris.  In  Switzerland  we 
find  a  2,400-kilowatt  set  at  Beznau  and  one  of 
1,500  kilowatts  in  the  Rheinfelden  station.  Russia 
has  two  large  groups  of  2,000  kilowatts  each  in 
the  St.  Petersburg  city  plant,  while  the  Moscow 
station    has    lately    installed    a    group    of    the    same 


six  units  of  the  station  will  be  run  by  steam 
engines  and  have  a  capacity  of  1,000  kilowatts. 
Garbage-burning  Plant  in  Zurich. 
A  successful  plant  is  now  running  at  Zurich  in 
which  the  steam  is  furnished  by  garbage-consum- 
ing furnaces.  There  are  12  of  these  furnaces,  which 
have  been  built  by  the  Horsfall  Company  of  Leeds. 
In  24  hours  they  will  consume  150  tons  of  waste. 
A  system  of  motor-driven  conveyors  and  cranes  is 
used  to  feed  the  furnaces,  and  electric  fans  produce 
a  strong  draught  for  the  combustion.  The  hot 
gases  from  the  furnaces  go  by  a  main  conduit  to 
two  boilers,  which  have  200  square  yards  heating 
surface  each.  The  steam  is  superheated  and  sup- 
plied to  a  Brown-Boveri  steam-turbine  group 
which  is  placed  in  the  dynamo  room.  The  alter- 
nator, of  the  three-phase  50-cycle  type,  is  designed 
for  3,000  revolutions  and  furnishes  500  kilowatts 
at    220   volts.      The    turbine    set    not    only    delivers 


size,  and  a  1,500-kilowatt  set  is  running  at  Kieff. 
Besides  the  Essen  plant  mentioned  above  we  find 
in  Germany  two  large  sets  of  3,000  kilowatts  each 
in  the  municipal  station  of  Frankfort,  a  2,000-kilo- 
watt  group  at  Cologne  and  many  others  of  large 
size.  One  of  the  largest  steam-turbine  sets  on 
the  Continent  has  lately  been  installed  at  the 
Bruckhausen  mines  in  Germany,  and  it  delivers 
some  6,000  kilowatts  on  the  three-phase  5,600-volt 
system  for  '  operating  the  mining  machines.  A 
large  •'textile  factory  at  Orjechow,  Russia,  uses  a 
thousand-kilowatt  set. 
The    French   Thomson-Houston    Company    is    to 


DUNE    ELECTRIC    RAILWAY    IN    SWITZERLAND. 

current  for  running  the  motors  of  the  furnace 
plant  but  also  supplies  a  certain  amount  to  the  city 
mains. 

Moabit  Station  in  Beklin. 
Among  the  large  electric  stations  of  Berlin  is 
the  Moabit  plant,  which  is  located  in  .the  north- 
western part  of  the  city  between  the  Spandau 
Canal  and  the  Hamburg  railroad.  At  present  the 
station  has  four  engine-driven  units  of  3,500  horse- 
power each,  and  it  is  expected  to  install  four  new 
sets  of  6,000  horsepower  before'  long,  which  will 
give  the  plant  nearly  40,000  horsepower.  Triple- 
expansion     Sulzer     engines,     built     at     Winterthiir, 


tries  of  Europe.  In  many  cases  experiments  are 
being  carried  out  upon  short  lines  to  show  what 
can  be  expected  of  single-phase  or  three-phase 
systems.  During  the  year  a  number  of  electric 
railroads  of  greater  or  less  length  have  been  in- 
stalled or  completed,  and  their  successful  working 
has  had  a  favorable  influence  on  the  electrify- 
ing of  the  main  railroad  lines.  This  is  especially 
true  in  countries  like  Switzerland  and  Italy,  where 
a  large  amount  of  hydraulic  power  can  be  secured 
for  operating  the  roads. 

The  Austrian  government  is  considering  the 
question  of  electrifying  the  main  lines  and  using 
hydraulic  power  to  operate  them,  especially  the 
roads  which  lie  in  the  region  of  the  Alps.  The 
railroad  companies  are  working  in  connection  with 
the  government  to  develop  this  idea,  and  the  first 
step  will  be  to  obtain  accurate  data  as  to  which 
of  the  falls  will  be  best  adapted  for  the  purpose. 
The  Swedish  government  is  also  interested  in  the 
question,  and  experiments  are  now  being  made  with 
a  single-phase  locomotive  built  by  the  Westinghouse 
company.  An  overhead  trolley  system  using  volt- 
ages varying  from  18,000  to  3,000  volts  is  proposed. 
Oil  transformers  mounted  on  the  locomotive  will 
reduce  the  voltage.  On  each  of  the  two  axles  is 
placed  a  single-phase  150-horsepower  motor.  Gov- 
ernment engineers  are  overseeing  the  trials  at  pres- 
ent. In  Switzerland,  where  the  interest  taken  in 
the  question  is  probably  the  greatest,  the  Oerlikon 
and.  Siemens-Schuckert  companies  have  made  an 
agreement  in  relation  to  carrying  on  the  preliminary 
work  and  making  experiments  which  are  to  lead 
to  the  electrifying  of  the  Swiss  railroads.  For 
some  time  past  the  Oerlikon  company  has  been 
working  under  the  direction  of  the  government, 
and  the  Seebach-Wittingen  line  has  been  allotted 
to  it  in  order  to  carry  out  a  series  of  experiments 
with  locomotives  using  15,000  volts.  The  first 
trials  will  be  made  over  a  two-mile  section  from 
Seebach  to  Affolten.  At  the  same  time  the  Sie- 
mens-Schuckert firm  has  its  experience  of  the  Ber- 
lin-Zossen  experimental  road  to  aid  in  solving  the 
problem. 

In  Germany  a  number  of  projects  for  high-speed 
electric  railroads  are  on  foot.  The  Allgemeine 
company  and  the  Siemens-Schuckert  company  have 
lately  made  a  combine  in  order  to  secure  the  con- 
cession for  a ,  high-speed  line  from  Cologne  to 
Dusseldorf.  The  government  is  also  considering  a 
project  for  a  direct  line  between  Berlin  and  Ham- 
burg, using  high-speed  trains,  which  will  run  be- 
tween the  two  cities  without  stopping,  at  So  or  90 
miles  an  hour.  On  one  proposed  system  such  a 
line  would  cost  $20,000,000  for  a  single  track, 
while  another  project  which  calls  for  double  track 
gives  $40,000,000  as  the  cost.  Belgium  is  also  in- 
terested in  high-speed  roads,  and  a  recent  project 
relates   to   a  direct   line   from   Louvain   to   the   Ger- 


Januarj  6,   1906 

man    frontier,  with   trains    running    al   Ko  miles  an 
hour,   so  as  to   redui c   the   timi    between    Bi 
.•Hid   Aix  la-Chapi  He.    1  Cere   the   cosl        Rgi 
$15,000,000. 

In    relation    to   shorl    line     ol     tandartl    or    nai 

row  gauge    cleeti  ii     1  ailroad,    01 ti      a    1  on  id 

erable  progri   9   during   th     year  on   the   Continent, 

both   aa   to  the   ini  n  ai  e   of  traffii     ind   addi f 

new     material    on    the    ah  1  ad}     -    1  ting    1 .    a 

well    as    ili<'    construe! 1    a     numbi  1     

roads.    A   very  successful    standard  ad   in 

Switzerland   is  the   line  which   coi 1     aero      bi 

tween    two   of   the    main  railroad    line  .    and    run 

between    Bertl I   on    the   Zui  ich  <  !i  m  va    railroad, 

and  the  statio 1 1 ne,  on  the  Berne  Inti  1  lal  1  n 

road.  The  new  electric  road  now  has  a  large  traf 
Sc,  as  it  gives  a  direct  connection  between  the 
north  or  easl  of  Switzerland  and  the  Bcrm 
Oberland.  Motor  cars  are  used  with  trailers  to 
form  the  trains,  as  shown  in  the  illustration.  Hie 
line  is  about  25  miles  long  and  uses  current  from 
a  hydraulic  plant.  Ii  is  an  example  of  the  use 
of  the  three  phase  system  with  750  volts  •■!!  the 
trolley.  Brown  Boveri  electrical  outfits  are  u  ed 
here.  The  freight  trains  arc  drawn  by  electrii 
locomotives    carrying    two     150  horsepower    molor 

An  important  line  in  Greece,  running  from  Allien 
lo  the  coast,  lias  1 11.11  equipped  by  the  Thomson- 
Houston  company;  it  uses  motor  cars  ami  trailers. 
Several  new  lines  on  the  single  phase  system  are 
io  be  built  in  Italy  by  the  Westinghouse  company. 
Among  these  is  a  35-mile  road  from  Rome  to 
Civita  Castellana,   using  6,000  volts. 

Electric  trains  arc  now  running  on  the  Orleans 
company's  tracks  in  the  suburbs  of  Paris  as  far 
as  Juvisy,  u  miles,  where  the  electric  line  uses 
the  two  outer  tracks,  and  the  steam  trains  of  the 
main  road  run  on  the  two  inner  tracks.  Current 
from  the  Ivry  plant  is  transformed  in  three  sub- 
stations to  600  volts  direct  current  for  the  loco- 
motives and  motor  cars.  The  latter  arc  fitted  with 
four  Thomson-Houston   motors   of  270  horsepower. 

The  Berlin  subway  is  to  have  a  new  section 
which  will  be  12  miles  long  and  will  cost  some 
$12,000,000,  while  the  present  subway  is  also  being 
extended.  Turning  to  the  Paris  subway,  the  last 
year  has  seen  the  opening  up  of  a  new  section, 
while  several  other  sections  are  under  way.  The 
line  will  cross  the  Seine  for  the  first  time  upon 
two  bridges,  and  at  present  a  tunnel  is  being  laid 
under  the  river  for  a  newer  portion.  The  West- 
inghouse and  Thomson-Houston  companies  are  fur- 


WESTERN    ELE(  TRK 

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life   of 

which 
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IR1C     PLANT    IN    BOHEMIA. 


used  to  form  filaments,  and  Professor  Wedding  re- 
cently brought  out  some  new  lamps  in  which  the 
filament  is  obtained  from  a  mixture  of  oxides  of 
magnesium  and  zirconium.  An  improved  mercury- 
vapor  lamp  is  made  in  Germany  by  the  Schott  com- 
pany of  Jena.  It  consists  of  a  glass  tube  seven 
or  eight  inches  long  having  a  carbon  stopper  at 
each  end.  Current  is  brought  by  platinum  wires. 
fused  in  the  glass,  and  enters  the  mercury  which 
the  tube  contains.  The  new  lamp  is  remarkable 
for  giving  a   large  amount  of  violet  light.     A  mer- 


nishing  the  material  for  the  new  trains.  A  picture 
shows  one  of  the  new  trucks  for  the  motor  cars 
which  the  latter  company  lurnished.  This  truck 
carries  two  175-horsepower  motors. 
Electric  Lighting. 
The  new  tantalum  lamps  seem  to  have  met  with 
some  success  during  the  year,  as  the  Siemens  & 
Halske  firm  is  said  to  have  already  sold  more 
than  ioo.oco  of  them.  It  appears  that  they  should 
be  run  as  much  as  possible  on  direct  current,  where 
they  have  a  longer  life  and  less  blackening  than 
with  alternating  current.  Official  tests  made  at 
Vienna  show  that  a  25-candlepower  lamp  gave  at 
first  22.35  candlepower,  and  after  600  hours  24.6 
candlepower;    at    1,200    hours  it   still    held    at    23.7 


cury-vapor  lamp  having  a  quartz  tube  has  also  been 
placed  on  the  market  by  the  Heraeus  Company. 
Space  Telegraphy. 
One  notes  considerable  progress  in  space  teleg- 
raphy during  the  year,  and  stations  have  been 
erected  in  nearly  all  the  countries  of  Europe.  The 
Telefunken  Company  is  one  of  the  most  active  in 
Germany  Not  long  ago  it  installed  an  important 
system,  which  works  between  Berlin  and  Dresden, 
over  115  miles  distance.  The  mast  wires  are 
placed  upon  four  towers,  and  within  the  area-  so 
formed  is  located  the  electric  station.  The  ma- 
chines deliver  alternating  current  at  15,000  volts  on 
the  primary.  The  electrical  oscillations  are  very 
powerful,   and   there  is  no   difficulty   in   sending  the 


the  island  of  Rhodes  with  Derna,  a  port  situated 
on  the  African  coast.  The  French  Thomson-Hous- 
ton company  has  lately  brought  out  a  system  of 
apparatus,  and  already  has  stations  erected  in  Ger- 
many, Sweden,  Holland  and  other  countries.  It 
is  already  operating  20  coast  stations  in  Germany 
alone,  and  has  equipped  80  war  vessels.  In  Russia 
there  are  five  portable  military  stations  working, 
and  four  in  Austria. 

Telegraphy   and   Telephony. 

This  year  has  seen  the  opening  of  the  Paris- 
Rome  telephone  line,  which  is  one  of  the  most 
important  in  Europe,  and  conversation  can  now  be 
carried  on  between  these  two  cities.  It  is  reported 
that  G.  Angclini,  the  chief  engineer  of  Italian  tele- 
graphs, has  invented  a  new  form  of  microphone 
transmitter,  or  rather  an  improvement  in  the  gran- 
ulated-carbon microphone,  and  that  he  used  it  on 
the  Rome-Brussels  line,  which  has  not  as  yet  been 
covered,  even  by  the  most  powerful  instruments. 
The  new  transmitter  gave  good  results  in  this  case. 
It  is  said  to  be  of  a  simple  construction  and  can 
be  adapted  to   any  line. 

The  new  telephone  cable  which  is  to  be  laid  in 
Lake  Constance  will  use  the  Pupin  coil  system. 
The  three  governments  of  Wurtembcrg.  Bavaria 
and  Switzerland  have  made  an  agreement  in  rela- 
tion to  the  new  cable.  It  has  been  ordered  from 
the  Siemens  &  Halske  works  of  Berlin,  and  i> 
some  nine  miles  in  length.  The  Pupin  system  is 
also  to  be  adopted  on  the  new  telephone  line  which 
will  run  from  Vienna  to  Innsprfick,  over  .1  distance 
of  340  miles.  The  line  consists  of  three-millimeter 
bronze  wire,  and  is  mostly  overhead.  The  Siemens 
&  Halske  factory  at  Vienna  furnishes  the  coils, 
and  they  will  be  spaced  2'j  miles  apart  on  the 
overhead  portion. 

The  Rowland  rapid  telegraph  has  proved  very' 
successful  on  the  Continent  during  the  year.  It 
has  been  in  use  on  the  Rome-Xaples  line,  which  has 
a  very  heavy  traffic,  and  the  Italian  government  gives 
a  very  favorable  opinion  of  the  system  in  its  last 
report.  The  same  company  is  making  negotiations 
in  Germany,  in  order  to  have  the  octoplex  system 
used  on  the  Berlin-Hamburg  and  the  Berlin-Frank- 
fort   lines. 


Chicago  Elevated  Railway  Traffic. 

Traffic  on  the  elevated  railways  of  Chicago  for 
December  continued  good.  Compared  with  Decem- 
ber 1004  the  percentage  of  increase  in  the  daily 
number  of  passengers  carried  was :  Metropolitan, 
cent.  ;  Northwestern,  11.42  per  cent.:  Soutb 
Side,  9.81  per  cent.  The  average  daily  number  of 
igers  carried  by  these  roads  in  1005  and  the 
percentage  of  increase  which  that  number  represents 
over  the  figures  for  1904  is  as  follows:  Metro- 
politan. 124.271,  9.30  per  cent.:  Northwestern,  77,- 
366,  9.S9  per  cent.;   South   Side,  90,301,  S.47  per  cent. 


i6 


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CAN     BB     MADE     BY     NO    OTHER      ELECTRICAL      JOURNAL     IN     THE 

United  States.  Electrical  merchants  and  manufacturers 
d''siri//'j  western  trade  will  appreciate  the  tjnequaled  value 
of  this  journal  as  an  advertising  medium  in  its  special  field. 
Advertising  rates  are  moderate,  and  will  be  furnished  en 
application. 

REMITTANCES.— All  checks,  drafts  and  other  remit- 
tances should  be  made  payable  to  the  order  of  the  publishers, 
the  Electrician  Publishing  Company,  and  addressed  to  the 
offices  of  publication.  Suite  510,  Marquette  Building  (204 
Dearborn  Street),  Chicago,  Illinois,  TJ.  S.  A. 


CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

Fisk  Street  Station  of  the  Commonwealth  Electric  Company, 

Chicago.     With  Supplement.,     Illustrated i,  2,  3.  4,  5,  6 

"A  Power  Plant" 6 

Electrical  Progress  in  the  United  States  in  1905.     By  Henry 

H.  Norris.     Illustrated 6,  7,  3,  q 

Electrical  Industry  in  Great  Britain  in  1905.     Illustrated 

10.   n,  12,  13 

Electrical  Progress  of  1905  on  the  Continent.  By  A.  De  Courcy. 

Illustrated x3.  J4,  J5 

Chicago  Elevated  Railway  Traffic 15 

Editorial l6 

Statistics  of  Electrical  Manufactures 17 

Mortuary  Record  of  1905 18 

Electrical  Exports  of  1905 lS 

November  Exports J8 

American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science 18,  19 

Death  of  Charles  T.  Yerkes.     Portrait 19 

Northwestern  Convention  in  Chicago 19 

Chicago  Gas  Inquiry *9 

Illinois  Central  Electrification  May  be  Hastened 19 

A  "Missing  Link"   in  Electric   Railroading   Supplied.     Illus- 

Mr.  Arnold  Elected  President  of  the  Western  Society 19 

Business  of  the  Year  1905  in  Review 20,  21 

"Poke  Bonnet"  Reflector  for  Window  Lighting.     Illustrated. .  21 

Chicago  Street-railway  Situation 21 

Richardson  Lighting  Outfit.     Illustrated 21 

Universal  Space-telegraph  Intercepter  for  Signal  Service. 21 

Westinghouse  1906  Electric  Fans.     Illustrated 22 

Heating  and  Lighting  Plant  at  Parkville,  Mo.     Illustrated 23 

Ohio  and  Indiana  Interurban  Associations  May  be  Merged 23 

Labor-saving  Receptacle  for  Signs.     Illustrated 23 

Coming  Exhibition  of  Balloons  and  Air  Ships 23,  24 

"International"  Switchboard  Instruments  and  Their  Makers. 

Illustrated 24 

Mayor  Dunne's  Views  on  Pending  Municipal  Problems 24,  25 

New  Stromberg-Carlson  Transmitter.     Illustrated 25 

General  Telephone  News 25 

Manufacturers  and  Dealers 25 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence 26,  27 

Great  Britain 26 

New  York 26 

Dominion  of  Canada : 26 

Pacific  Slope 26 

Ohio 26,  27 

Personal 27 

Electric  Lighting 27 

Electric  Railways 27 

Publications 27,  28 

Miscellaneous 28 

Trade  News 28 

Business 28 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record 28,  29,  30 


DATES  AHEAD. 

Railway  Signal  Association  (annual  meeting),  Grand 
Union  Hotel,  New  York  city,  January  9,  1906. 

Indiana  Electric  Railway  Association  (annual  meeting), 
Claypool   Hotel,    Indianapolis,   January   nth. 

Automobile  Club  of  America  (annual  exhibition),  Sixty- 
ninth  Regiment  Armory,  New  York  city,  January  13th  to 
20th. 

Chicago  Electrical  Show  (first  annual  exhibition  of  Elec- 
trical Trades  Exposition  Company),  Coliseum,  Chicago,  Jan- 
uary  15th  to  27th. 

American  Electrical  Salesmen's  Association  (first  annual 
meeting),  Grand  Pacific  Hotel,  Chicago,  January  20th,  9  a.  m. 

Nebraska  Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  con- 
vention), Lindell  Hotel,  Lincoln,  Neb.,  January  23d  and 
24th. 

Ohio  Interurban  Railway  Association  (annual  meeting), 
Algonquin    Hotel,    Dayton,    Ohio,    January    25th. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

The  year  1905  was  a  prosperous  one  for  the 
electrical  interests  generally,  not  only  at  home  but 
abroad.  In  the  United  States,  as  is  shown  by  the 
statistical  statement  on  the  opposite  page,  the  value 
of  electrical  and  auxiliary  manufactures  (meaning 
by  "auxiliary"  only  such  as  are  necessary  in  the 
employment  of  electricity)  was  over  16  per  cent, 
greater    in    1905    than    in    1904.     The    totals    were : 

1904,  $230,510,000;  1905-.  $268,075,000.  This  rate  of 
growth  is  accentuated  by  the  fact  that  1904  was  an 
"off"  year,  falling  behind  the  year  before  in  value 
of    electrical    manufactures.     Comparing    1903    and 

1905,  the  increase  is  seen  to  be  14  per  cent.,  which, 
while  somewhat  less,  is  nevertheless  gratifying. 
In  the  matter  of  electrical  exports  from  the  United 
States,  too,  the  year  1905  seems  to  have  made  a 
high-water  mark,  although  the  figures  for  December 
are  not  available  at  this  writing.  With  the  miss- 
ing month  estimated,  the  total  is  $12,552,360,  which 
is   larger  than   for  any  previous  year. 

While  the  year  has  been  one  of  advance  in  all 
departments,  there  Jias  been  no  striking  departure 
from  existing  practice,  although  apparatus  and 
methods  previously  advocated,  such  as  the  tantalum 
lamp,  the  use  of  the  direct  current  for  long- 
distance power  transmission  and  single-phase  loco- 
motives   have   attracted    much    attention. 

In  the  electric-lighting  field  the  nearest  approach 
to  a  novelty  has  been  the  tantalum  lamp,  which 
was,  however,  mentioned  in  the  Western  Elec- 
trician's New  Years  number  of  1905  (the  first 
reference,  we  believe,  in  an  American  electrical 
journal),  so  that  it  belongs,  strictly  speaking,  to 
1904.  Mr.  De  Courcy,  in  his  article  in  this  issue 
on  "Electrical  Progress  of  1905  on  the  Continent," 
notes  the  assertion  that  100,000  of  these  lamps  have 
been  sold  in  Germany.  Tantalum  lamps  are  also 
commercially  available  in  England,  but  not  yet,  'in 
quantities,    in    this    country. 

The  flame-arc  lamp  is  making  friends  in  locali- 
ties where  it  can  be  used ;  the  osmium  lamp  con- 
tinues to  excite  discussion ;  the  Nernst  and  mer- 
cury-vapor lamps  both  show  healthy  growth;  and 
the  year  has  been  marked  by  the  appearance  of 
an  improved  "metallized"  carbon  filament  which  is 
put  forward  as  resulting  in  greater  efficiency, 
especially  in  incandescent  lamps  of  the  larger  sizes. 

Gas  interests,  both  in  respect  to  light  and  power, 
have  been  more  active  than  in  former  years,  but 
fortunately  there  has  been  a  conspicuous  awakening 
of  central-station  companies  also,  largely  due  to 
the  efforts  of  the  rejuvenated  National  Electric 
Light  Association,  and  campaigns  for  new  business 
and  the  study  of  the  manufacture  and  marketing 
of  electricity  as  a  product  now  receive  more  intel- 
ligent  attention   than   was   formerly   the   case. 

Municipal  ownership  of  public  utilities  attracted 
more  attention  in  the  United  States  during  1905 
than  ever  before.  Chicago  elected  a  municipal- 
ownership  mayor.  New  York  almost  did  so ;  in 
fact,  there  are  many  residents  of  that  city  who 
insist  that  a  fair  count  of  the  votes  would  show 
a  plurality  for  the  municipal-ownership  candidate. 
Cleveland  has  for  its  chief  magistrate  one  of  the 
leading  apostles  of  the  cult.  All  over  the  country 
the  question  has  been  agitated  and  debated,  and  a 
very  strong  popular  interest  has  been  aroused  for 
municipalization.  But  there  are  some  signs  of  a 
revulsion  of  feeling,  and  this  the  private-owner- 
ship advocates  are  endeavoring  to  encourage  by  a 
campaign  of  education. 

Electric  railroading  has  gone  forward  with  great 
impetus  during  the  year.  The  work  on  the  New 
York  Central  terminal  electrification  in  New  York 
city  is  well  advanced  toward  completion.  The 
great  electric  locomotive  (direct-current)  to  be 
employed  in  this  work  has  nobly  withstood  all  its 
tests.  The  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford 
Railroad  made  the  interesting  decision  to  employ 
single-phase  locomotives  entering  the  same  terminal. 
This  brought  about  a  controversy  that  reminds 
one  of  the  old  days,  when  all  Gaul  was  divided 
into  two  parts — direct  current  and  alternating  cur- 
rent. Happily,  there  seems  to  be  no  question  that 
either  type  of  apparatus  will  fail  to  perform  the 
duty  required  of  it.  In  all  parts  of  the  country, 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  the  electric  rail- 
way is  being  extended.  Steam-railroad  companies, 
in  not  a  few  cases,  are  no  longer  such,  but  rather 
steam-railroad  and  electric-railway  companies.  The 
electric  railway  is  no  more  merely  a  rank  outsider ; 


January  6,  1906 

it  has  been  taken  to  the  bosom  of  its  elder  brother. 
In  Chicago  the  interesting  electric-railway  freight 
tunnels  have  been  greatly  extended  during  the 
year.  Considerable  material  has  been  moved  through 
the  tunnels,  which  are  not,  however,  fairly  in 
operation   as  yet. 

Power  transmission  continued  to  press  forward, 
if  the  expression  may  be  allowed,  during  1905. 
The  work  at  Niagara,  on  the  Pacific  Slope  and 
in  other  centers  was  pushed  with  unabated  vigor. 
Following  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association 
in  South  Africa,  there  was  renewed  discussion 
of  the  proposal  to  transmit  power  over  a  distance 
of  745  miles  from  Victoria  Falls  on  the  Zambesi 
River  to  Johannesburg.  There  is,  however,  grave 
doubt  of  the  practicability  of  this  scheme  from 
the  commercial  point  of  view.  It  is  also  suggested 
that  direct  current  may  be  used,  which  would  be 
at  variance  with  American  practice.  But  in  France 
a  115-mile,  57,000-volt  direct-current  transmission 
system  is  to  be  built  from  Moutiers  to  Lyons 
after  the  design  of  Mr.  Thury,  whose  work  on  the 
similar  St.  Maurice-Lausanne  plant  is  well  known. 
This  will  be  the  most  ambitious  direct-current 
transmission  in  existence,  and  the  practical  results 
will  be  awaited  with  great  interest.  In  the  United 
States  polyphase  transmission  is  used  almost  ex- 
clusively. 

The  steam  turbine  continues  its  triumphant 
march  in  the  electric  power  stations  of  the  world. 
The  first  large  steam  turbine  in  the  United  States 
was  installed  in  the  Fisk  Street  Station  of  the 
Commonwealth  Electric  Company  in  Chicago  and 
was  first  put  in  operation  October  5.  1903.  Last 
year  it  is  estimated  that  the  value  of  steam  tur- 
bines sold  in  the  United  States  to  drive  electrical 
generators  was  $4,000,000.  The  leading  feature  of 
this  issue  of  the  Western  Electrician  is  the  first 
complete  description  which  has  been  published  of 
the  Fisk  Street  Station.  This  great  generating 
plant  has  now  four  turbo-generator  units  which 
have  carried  a  maximum  load  of  28,500  kilowatts. 
Four  more,  larger  machines,  are  on  order,  and 
will  be  installed  as  soon  as  possible,  bringing  the 
maximum  capacity  of  the  power  house  up  to  76,500 
kilowatts,  while  the  total  ultimate  maximum  capac- 
ity will  be  156,000  kilowatts,  or  200,000  horsepower. 

The  gas  engine  is  also  pushing  to  the  front, 
being  made  in  units  of  constantly  increasing  size, 
and  there  are  not  wanting  those  who  predict  that, 
with  producer  plant,  it  will  yet  prove  to  be  a 
serious  rival  of  the  steam  turbine,  which,,  even 
now,  seems  to  have  distanced  the  reciprocating 
engine  as  a  prime  mover  in  large  steam  power 
plants. 

Telephonic  growth  was  more  marked  in  1905,  in 
the  United  States,  than  in  1904.  The  automatic 
system  continues  to  expand,  several  large  ex- 
changes built  last  year  being  provided  with  the 
apparatus  which  takes  the  eplace  of  operators.  In 
Europe  important  events  were  the  reaching  of  an 
agreement  between  the  English  government  and 
the  National  Telephone  Company,  by  which  the 
formcre  will  take  over  the  latter's  system  in  1911. 
and  the  opening  of  the  Paris-Rome  long-distance 
line.  Some  progress  is  reported  in  rapid  systems 
of  telegraphy,  while  space  telegraphy  has  demon- 
strated its  usefulness  in  such  widely  separated 
fields  of  endeavor  as  saving  life  at  sea  and  naval 
warfare. 

Several  subjects  which  still  remain  to  be  men- 
tioned must  be  touched  upon  briefly.  One  relates 
to  the  subject  of  standardization  of  electrical  ap- 
paratus, which  is  given  more  earnest  discussion. 
In  England,  especially,  the  standardization  of  in- 
candescent lamps  has  received  attention.  It  is 
evident  that  there  will  be  no  lack  of  work  for  the 
International  Electrical  Standardizing  Conference — 
when  it  meets. 

That  electrical  pioneers  are  not  forgotten  in 
Belgium  after  their  death  was  shown  by  the  un- 
veiling of  the  monument  to  Zenobe  Gramme  last 
fall  in  Liege.  Perhaps  there  is  a  monument  to 
Joseph  Henry  in  the  United  States,  but  at  the 
moment  it  would  puzzle  us  to  say  just  where  it  is. 

A  large  portion  of  the  space  in  this  New  Years 
issue  is  devoted  to  articles  reviewing  the  electrical 
history  which  the  year  1905  has  made.  It  is  a 
vc*ir  that  will  be  classed  among  the  "fat"  years, 
and  we  hope  that  the  year  now  entered  upon  will 
equal    or   surpass   it. 


January  6,    [906 


WESTERN     ELECTRK 


STATISTICS   OF   ELECTRICAL   MANUFAC'IUkES. 


The   gem  ral    prospcrit;    ol    th 

refle  1  tl  in   1)"'   h I 

closi  Ij   allied    m fai  turc     in    tl ' 

for    igoSi    as    shown    by  the   annual    New 

t  itimati     "i   thi    v. 1   Elect™  ian,  given  below 

in    tabulated     form.       The     1 1     1      $268,1 

which,    compared    with    thi     $230,510,000    ol     [904, 

.in, u     Mm     i. 11  gc    im  re; 1;    1 

u,  pei  cent,     U  is  to  be  rcmcmbei  1  d,  howi  rer,  thai 
in   igo  1  there  was  a    ilighl   Calling  of)    in   clccti  ii  il 
.in, I   allied    manufactures   compared    with    thi 
before,    10  thai   the   im  rea  e     how  n   b     thi 
,1    |a  1  year    is    larger    than    11    would    havi    been 

iverc  ii   iini   foi   the  c parativclj   1 r    how  ing  of 

[904.      I  aking  the  pei  ii  ,1   [anuai  j    1 ,    1904,  to 

January  t,  1906,  the  increase  was  something  ovei 
1  1  pei  cent.,  which,  di  n  ibuted  through  the  two 
years,  shows  a  rate  of  growth  which  1  not  ab 
normal    in   the    electrical    busines         Furthermore, 

the  figures  given   expn       the   val 1    the  output 

in  the  various  lines  in  dollars,  so  thai  price  a 
well  as  volume  of  product  affect  the  result.  But, 
in,  mailer  how  the  figures  are  analyzed,  il  is  pleas- 
ing to  reflect  that  the  year  just  closed  witnessed 
a  larger  total  value  of  electrical  apparatus  and 
apparatus  made  necessary  by  the  use  of  electricity 
than    any   year   that    preceded    it. 

Ill  nearly  every  nne  of  the  elassilieal  i,  hi  -.  adopted 
for  the  following  table  there  is  shown  a  good  eon 
and  in  some  instances  a  surprising  increase.  In- 
deed, in  only  one  item  is  there  a  marked  decrease, 
and  this  is  in  reciprocating  steam  engines  used 
to  drive  electrical  machinery.  Here  the  falling 
off  is  no  doubt  due  to  the  advance  of  the  steam 
turbine   and   perhaps   of   the   gas   engine.     Recipro- 


■ 
■ 

both     1  1 

tropl  iting     and     othi 
other    instano 

inn,  h    gi 

than   won]. 1   1, 
one    wh 
ubjeel      ii    i     also  growing 

it    il 

po  iible    thai    the    yafui    ol  output    for    ig 
under   tint  tied      [ndi  •  d,  in  all  1 

n .i],'    to   1       too  1    high 

'  out in    gathering    inform  ,  1 

this   chat  one   that    the    I  'nited 

States  is  a  big 
is   a    hie,    1 

Mernsl   1 p 

pul   of  ovei    1 rtli  I]  arrest 

attention,    bul     the     tuthoritj     foi     the    figures    is 

unimpeachable.     The  same  may  be  said  of  mi 

vapor  lamp       In  both  ca  1     thi 

as   well   as  volume  of   output   is   to  ■ 

Shafting,    pulleys,    clut  ;  ed    in    electrical 

stations,    is    mother    item   that    jhow     a    I 

portionate  increase.     Bul    here,   probabb 

an  underestimate  for  1904. 

Space  telegraphy  show  an  im  1  ea  1  of  but  a 
little  over  live  per  cent.  The  practical  utilization 
of  this  truly  marvelous  invention  seems  to  be 
proceeding    but    slowly. 

Telephone  apparatus  shows  a  good  increase  over 
the   year   before,   although   the   figure   is   in   nowise 


lively 

jrattly 

avoiding  dupli 

but    thi  - 

nnmli,  1  I    allied 

industri  They 

are   based   on  knowledge   and   maj 

iccount 
of   progi 
To  the  large  number  of  fri 

the    pn  p 

mitted    to    the    clectri, 

trtcian    returns    its   hearty   thai 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN'S  ESTIMATES  OF  THE  VALUE  OF  ELECTRICAL  AND  AUXILIARY  MANUFACTURES  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


1902. 


1003. 


10O4. 


Arc  lamps  and  appurtenances 

Auxiliary  steam  plant  for  electrical  installations,  such  as  pumps,  condensers,   separators,  feed- 
water  heaters,  injectors,  piping,  etc 

Bells,  buzzers,  push-buttons,  call-boxes,  annunciators 

Belting  used  in  electrical  plants 

Boilers  for  electrical  plants  (water-tube) 

Boilers  for  electrical  plants  (other  than  water-tube) 

Cables,  underground,  aerial  and  submarine 

Carbons  for  lamps,  batteries,  brushes  or  other  electrical  purposes 

Cars  and  trucks  for  electric  railways 

Circuit-breakers • 

Conduits  (underground)  and  similar  material 

Conveyors,  coal  and  ash,  used  in  electrical  plants 

Cranes  and  hoists,  electrically  operated 

Dynamos  and  motors,  including  parts  of  machines,  boosters,  rotary  converters,  motor-generators, 
etc.,  and  all  motor  applications,  such  as  automobiles,  not  specifically  enumerated  in  this  list 

Electroplating  an/3  other  electrolytic  apparatus  not  elsewhere  specified 

Electrostatic  machines,  induction  coils,  medical  sets,  etc  

Elevators,  electric  (mechanism  only) 

Engines,  gas,  gasoline  or  oil,  used  to  drive  electrical  machinery 

Engines,  steam  (reciprocating),  used  to  drive  electrical  machinery 

Pans,  electrically  operated  and  direct-connected 

Fire-alarm  apparatus,  also  burglar  alarms,  crossing  indicators,  etc 

'Fixtures  for  electric  lighting 

Fuses 

Glassware,  electrical 

Heating  and  cooking  apparatus,  electrical 

Incandescent  lamps 

Instruments  for  measurement  and  meters  of   all   kinds;  also   ground   detectors,  scientific   anc 
laboratory  apparatus,  photometers,  Leyden  jars.  X-ray  outfits,  etc 

Insulating  material,  fiber,  tape,  etc 

Insulators  (glass  and  porcelain) 

Interior  wiring  supplies,  as  tubing,  interior  conduit,  molding,   junction  boxes,   rosettes,  outlet 
boxes,  etc 

Lightning  arresters 

Mercury-vapor  lamps 

Nernst  lamps 

Poles,  cross-arms,  brackets  and  pins 

Primary  batteries 

Railway  supplies,  electric,  such  as  trolleys  and  other  contact  devices,  strain  insulators,  cross 
overs,  rail-bonds,  etc 

Rheostats,  car  controllers,  motor  starters,  etc 

Shafting,  pulleys,  clutches,  etc.,  used  in  electrical  generating  plants 

Sockets,  switches,  cut-outs 

Space-telegraph  apparatus 

Steam  turbines  used  to  drive  electrical  machinery 

Storage  batteries,  including  those  used  on  automobiles 

Telegraph  instruments  and  apparatus • 

Telephones,  telephone  switchboards  and  distinctively  telephonic  apparatus 

Third  rail  for  electric  railways 

Transformers,  stationary 

Waterwheels,  used  to  drive  electrical  machinery , 

Welding  apparatus,  electric 

Wire,  bare. 


Wire,  rubber  covered 

Wire,  weatherproof 

Wire,  all  other  electrical 

Miscellaneous,  including  switchboard  frames  and  panels,  signs  and  flashers,  automatic  stokeris 
for  electrical  plants,  wire  guards,  electrical  tools  and  toys,  projectors,  solenoids,  igniters  for 
gas  engines,  waterwheel  governors  for  hydro-electric  plants,  voltage  regulators,  electric 
drills,  commutator  compounds,  lamp  adjusters,  etc 


S  1,935,000 
2,000,000 

si. "..I-.! 

615.000 
5,100,000 

■2.  |i  mum 
18,650,000 
2,300,000 
7,500,000 

300.000 

1.025.1  UK  I 

751 1,1111 
3.500.00(1 


3.750.000 
1,250,000 

1.751 1  urn 

1,000,000 
425,000 


350,000 

4,350,000 

685,000 

2,150,000 

3,200,000 
425,000 

3.500.1  K 10 
200,000 
500,000 

4,500.000 

200,000 

21,000.000 

500.000 

4,200,000 

1,300,000 


17,500.000 
6,425,000 
8,750,000 
2,000,000 


2,000,000 


Total I      $221,165,000 


I  2,025,000 

1,950,000 
800,000 
575,000 

1,500,000 

■j.i  iii,iiii 
19,700,000 
2,600,OOQ 

7.5m.  urn 
1.21  m,UK  1 

2,350,000 
750,000 

4,750,000 


48,000,000 

52,000,000 

275,000 

300,000 

325,000 

425.1 . .  1 

2.1  O0.000 

2,000,000 

1,300,000 

1,500,000 

17.000,000 

16,500,000 

1,500,000 

1,450,000 

050,000 

950.0011 

4,100,000 

1.25. 1,1111 

185,000 

250,000 

51  mum 

450,000 

330.OUI 

325,000 

5,000,000 

5,400,000 

:;.s.-,n,um 
1,400,000 
1,900,000 

1,950,000 
470.000 
30,000 

450,000 

1.7i  K  1.1 « H 1 

775,1  « '  1 

2.1.50.000 
3,400,060 

400,000 
3.675,000 

250,000 
1,200.1X10 
5.000.000 

200.000 
19,500,000 

500,000 
4.500,000 
1.500,000 


18,350.000 
S.250.000 
9/100,000 
2.700,000 


I  2J200.000 

2,300,000 
900,000 
500,000 

5,600,000 

3,100,000 

7,500,000 
1,350,000 
2,650,000 

■.,,,,.., 

3,875,000 


::.s -„i,.,, 
1.600.000 
1,550,000 

1,975,000 

450,000 

60,000 

425.1  > .  1 

4,850,000 
800,000 

1,900,000 

2,850.01X1 

•>5.i.  m 
;;.-,.,,.," 

380,000 

2,500,000 
5,000,000 

265.000 

17.21X1.000 

715,000 

4.450.000 
1,230,000 


18,000,000 

S.200.000 

s.5,.1.,  • 
2,500.000 


■ 

6,731 1,000 
2,850,000 

■ 
-  ..  ., 
1,450,000 

'..mum 
5.2."-  1,000 


51,000,000 

60,000,000 

250,000 

550,000 

575.1 . .  1 

2,<  00,000 

1-350,000 

l.-...,.u.i 

_ 

14.5oo.uui 

■ 

1,200,000 

1,375,000 

l.lim.um 

1.41m.,.., 

1.125.1  «> 

4,750,000 

:;im.i.m 

650,000 

O  11.1111 

700,000 

425.1  ■  ■ ' 

650,000 

5,750,000 

- 

12200,000 

l.N>  _,,, 

22250,000 
500,000 

125.i . .  1 

,»,,...,  1 

5.400,000 

1.200,000 

2.200.000 
5.25'.,..  1 

750,000 
4,150,000 

400,000 
4,0  0,000 
,;.•_,...,.,. 

300,000 
192200,000 

1.700,000 

95.000 

20,000,000 

11.000.000 
9.500,000 


4,000,000 


1268,075,000 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  6,  1906 


Mortuary  Record  of  1  905. 

Deaths  among  men  in  the  electrical  field  who 
had  achieved  more  than  ordinary  distinction  in 
their  chosen  profession  were  numerous  in  1905. 
No  great  figure  in  the  purely  scientific  world  died 
during  the  year,  but  many  who  have  been  of  benefit 
to  the  cause  of  applied  science  in  electrical  lines 
will  no  longer  continue  their  work.  Among  these, 
Mm  of  some  prominence  in  the  manufacturing  field, 
was  Charles  C.  Warren,  who  was  president  of  the 
Warren  Electric  Manufacturing  Company,  and  who, 
with  his  son,  was  the  designer  of  the  well-known 
Warren  alternator.  Eugene  F.  Phillips  of  Phillips- 
dale,  R.  I.,  was  a  business  man  of  wide  electrical 
acquaintance.  Charles  T.  Yerkes,  who  died  but  a 
few  days  ago,  while  not  an  engineer,  did  a  great 
deal  for  street-railway  interests,  both  in  Chicago 
and  in  London.  One  man  who  did  much  in  his 
time  in  the  laying  of  submarine  cables  was  Charles 
Cuttriss,  who  died  while  performing  work  of  this 
character  on  the  connecting  link  of  the  American 
Pacific  Cable.  William  B.  Rankine  was  a  con- 
spicuous figure  in  the  financing  and  promoting  of 
electrical  enterprises,  and  it  was  due  to  him  that 
the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company  was  organized. 
The  telephone  industry  lost  in  John  I.  Sabin  and 
S.  P.  Sheerin  two  of  its  most  useful  workers,  who 
had  achieved  noteworthy  things  in  their  respective 
spheres. 

A  list  of  the  men  connected  in  some  way  with 
electrical  development  in  its  various  phases  who 
died  in  1905  is  as  follows: 

January  7th. — Charles  M.  Wilkes  of  Chicago,  me- 
chanical engineer  for  D.  H.  Burnham  &  Co. ;  aged 
47  years. 

January  12th. — George  S.  Bowen  of  Elgin,  111., 
who  called  the  meeting  in  Chicago  for  the  organi- 
zation of  the  National  Electric  Light  Association : 
president  of  the  Elgin  Electric  Light  Company  in 
1883;  aged   76  years. 

January  22d. — Victor  Serrin  of  Neuilly-en-Tel, 
France,  said  to  have  been  the  inventor  of  the  auto- 
matic regulator   fpr   arc  lamps;    aged   75  years. 

January  25th.— Edward  H.  Mullin  of  Milburn, 
N.  J.,  chief  of  the  literary  and  advertising  depart- 
ment of  the  General  Electric  Company;  aged  46 
years. 

February. — S.  L.  Barriet  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  of  the 
Harriet  Electric  Company,  inventor  and  designer  of 
electrical  machinery. 

February  19th. — Albon  Man  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
associated  with  William  E.  Sawyer  in  the  invention 
of  the  Sawyer-Man  incandescent  lamp  ;  a  lawyer  by 
profession  ;   aged  78  years. 

February  22d. — Eugene  F.  Phillips  of  Phillips- 
dale,  R.  I.,  general  manager  of  the  American  Elec- 
trical   Works ;   aged   62   years. 

March.— W.  H.  Durin  of  Cedar  Rapids,  la.,  well- 
known   Independent  telephone   man. 

March  1st.— Dudley  B.  Wick  of  Cleveland,  chief 
engineer  of  the  North  Electric  Company.;  aged  29 
years. 

March  4th. — Frederick  A.  La  Roche  of  New 
York,  former  electrical  inventor  and  business  man; 
aged   46  years. 

_  March  15th. — Edward  C.  Cockey  of  New  York, 
superintendent  of  supplies  and  general  purchasing 
agent  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company ; 
aged  73  years. 

March  21st. — Arthur  B.  Davis  of  Baltimore,  gen- 
eral manager  of  the  Viaduct  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany ;   aged  74  years. 

March  22d. — Charles  C.  Warren,  Sandusky,  Ohio, 
president  of  the  Warren  Electric  Manufacturing 
Company ;  aged  70  years. 

March  29th.— William  0.  Mundy  of  Pittsburg, 
commercial  engineer  of  the  Westinghouse  Electric 
and  Manufacturing  Companjf;  former  master  me- 
chanic of  the  St.  Louis  Traction  Company;  aged 
30   years. 

April.— John  Verity  of  Wellingford.  England,  of 
the  firm  of  Verity  &  Sons,  engaged  in  gas  and 
electric-lighting   enterprises ;    aged  41   years. 

April  2d. — Charles  Alexander  Gerhardi  of  Lon- 
don, England,  well-known  in  the  field  of  telegraphy 
and  submarine   signaling;  aged  6S  years. 

May  18th. — George  W.  Davenport  of  Niagara 
Falls,  N.  Y.,  third  vice-president  of  the  Niagara 
Falls  Power  Company ;  aged  47  years. 

May  19th.— James  P.  McKinstry  at  Clifton   Park, 
Cleveland.    Ohio,   treasurer   of    Cleveland  Telephone^ 
Company,   known   as  the   father  of  the  telephone   in 
Cleveland :   aged  63  years. 

May  24th. — Dr.  J.  E.  Lowes  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  a 
pioneer  electric-railwav  man. 

June  1st.— F.  M.  Haines  of  Fort  Worth,  Texas, 
general  manager  of  the  Northern  Texas  Traction 
Company;  aged  4=  years. 

June  5th.— Edward  A.  Leslie  of  Brooklyn.  N.  Y., 
general  manager  of  the  Kings  County.  Electric 
Light  and  Power  Company;  aged  56  years. 

June  20th. — S.  P.  Sheerin  of  Indianapolis,  promi- 
nent manager   of  Independent   telephone   properties. 

July. — T.  C.  Wales,  Jr.,  of  Boston,  chief  elec- 
trical engineer  of  the  New  England  Telephone  and 
Telegraph   Company;   aged  35  years. 

July. — William  B.  Dick  of  Sevenoaks,  England, 
founder  of  the  establishment  of  Dick,  Kerr  &  Co. 
of   London;    aged    76   years, 


July  6th. — William  E.  Matson  of  Lynn,  Mass., 
head  of  the  stationary-motor  division  of  the  Gen- 
eral  Electric  Works  at  Lynn;   aged  31  years. 

July  13th. — J.  Holt  Gates  of  Chicago,  electrical 
business  man;  aged  43  years. 

July  28th. — Jacob  C.  Chamberlain  of  New  York, 
electrical   engineer. 

August  12th. — William  E.  Langdon  of  Ramsgatc, 
England,  telegraph  engineer;  aged  73  years. 

September  1st. — Edwin  R.  Whitney  of  Penacook, 
N.  H.,  head  of  the  Whitney  Electric  Instrument 
Company. 

September  19th. — J.  Frank  Butterfield  of  Chicago, 
electrical   contractor;   aged  44  years. 

September  30th. — William  B.  Rankine  of  Niagara 
Falls,  N.  Y.,  second  vice-president  of  the  Niagara 
Falls    Power    Company ;    aged    47    years. 

October  10th. — John  I.  Sabin  of  San  Francisco, 
prominent  Bell  telephone  manager. 

October  16th.— William  D.  Barnard  of  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.,  a  pioneer  in  the  Independent  tele- 
phone movement. 

October  27th. — George  C.  Bailev  of  Chicago, 
general  western  manager  of  the  John  A.  Roebling's 
Sons  Company:  aged  62  years. 

November. — G.  A.  Grindle  of  London,  late  gen- 
eral manager  of  the  Chloride  Electrical  Power  Stor- 
age  Company  of  London. 

November  nth. — Frederic  H.  Betts  of  New  York, 
patent   lawyer;    aged    62   years. 

November  14th. — James  C.  Warner  of  Chicago, 
who  made  the  original  Morse  telegraph  instruments 
used  in  line  between  Washington  and  Baltimore ; 
aged   S2  years. 

November  17th. — Charles  Cuttriss,  electrician  of 
the    Commercial    Cable    Company :    aged    55  years. 

November  26th. — William  H.  Edgar  of  Chicago, 
president  of  the  Dearborn  Drug  and  Chemical 
Works ;   aged  40  years. 

November  27th. — Charles  A.  Thompson  of  Brook- 
lyn, founder  of  the  Thompson-Bonney  Company, 
and  electrical  contractor ;  aged  .44  years. 

December  29th. — Charles  T.  Yerkes  of  London, 
large  financial  promoter  of  street-railway  enter- 
prises; aged  68  years. 


Electrical  Exports  for   1  905. 

Electrical  exports  from  the  United  States  for  the 
calendar  year  1905  were  the  largest  of  any  year  on 
record.  With  complete  figures  for  1 1  months  of 
the  year,  but  estimating  the  month  of  December,  for 
which  month  the  official  figures  are  not  yet  avail- 
able, the  total  value  of  electrical  exports  from  this 
country  for  the  year  just  closed  amounted  to 
$12,552,370.  This  is  $1,512,612  more  than  the  total 
for  1904.  For  the  last  five  years  the  total  value  of 
all  electrical  exports  from  the  United  States  was 
as  follows:  1905,  $12,552,370;  1904,  $11,039,758; 
1503,  $9,856,047;   1902,  $9,997 J95;  1901,  $7452,783. 

The  following  table  shows  the  value  of  electrical 
exports  from  the  United  States  by  months  for  the 
year  1905,  the  month  of  December,  as  stated,  being 
estimated.  The  first  column  of  figures  represents 
foods  classified  as  electrical  appliances,  which  in- 
cludes telegraph  and  telephone  instruments;  the 
second  column  is  for  electrical  machinery,  and  the 
third   gives   the  totals: 

Exports  by  Months  for  1905. 

Appliances.      Machinery.       Total. 

January      $    387,610    $    554,999    $     942,609 

February     418,483  637,479         1,055,962 

March    505,705         620,496        1,126,201 

April   443478         564,883         1,008,361 

May    430,692         806,702         1,237,394 

June      472,154         629,256         1,101,410 

Julv    373>i9i         597,483  970,674 

August    542,270         589.233         Li3i,503 

September    386,887  465,882  852,769 

October      454.224  527,669  981,893 

November     546,856         547738        1,004.594 

^December     404,000         645,000        1,049,000 

Total      $5,365,550    $7,186,820    $12,552,370 

♦Estimated. 

Both  appliances  and  machinery  show  a  good  gain 
as  compared  with  1904,  in  which  year  the  figures 
were  :  Appliances,  $4,363,992  ;  machinery,  $6,675,766. 
For  the  first  ri  months  of  the  year  British  North 
America  was,  as  also  in  1904,  the  largest  purchaser 
of  electrical  machinery  from  the  United  States,  hav- 
ing imported  $1,783,850  worth.  Japan,  as  in  1904. 
was  second  on  the  list  with  $1,180,033 :  Mexico  was 
third  with  $947,228,  and  the  United  Kingdom, 
which  previous  to  1904  was  the  principal  buyer  of 
electrical  machinery  from  the  United  States,  was 
fourth,  with  $740,596. 

November  Exports. 

Electrical  exports  from  the  United  States  for  the 
month  01  November  reached  a  total  value  of 
$1,094,594,  or  $94,738  less  than  those  of  November, 
1904.  The  decrease  is  due  to  a  falling  off  in  the 
amount  of  electrical  machinery  exported.  Goods 
classified  as  electrical  appliances,  which  include  tele- 


graph and  telephone  instruments,  show  a  good 
increase  over  November,  1904.  The  figures  com- 
pared are  as  follows.  Electrical  appliances — No- 
vember, 1904,  $459,476;  November,  1905,  $546,856. 
Electrical  machinery — November,  1904,  $729,856; 
November,    1905,  $547,738. 

The  following-named  countries  were  the  princi- 
pal buyers  of  electrical  machinery  from  the  United 
States  in  November,  1905,  the  figures  given  being 
the  values  of  the  respective  purchases:  British 
North  America,  $175,323;  Japan,  $102,757:  Mexico, 
$69,269;  United  Kingdom,  $46,356;  Argentina, 
$22,556;  Cuba,  $13,180;  Philippine  Islands,  $12,347; 
France,  $11,748;  Brazil,  $10,452;  British  Africa, 
$9,305;  British  Australasia,  $9,264;  British  East 
Indies,  $7,071;  Germany,  $5,043;  Hongkong,  $2,184: 
Giinese   Empire,  $1,035. 


American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science. 

The  American  Association  for  the  Advancemert 
of  Science  opened  the  initial  session  of  its  fiftj- 
fifth  annual  meeting  in  New  Orleans  on  December 
29th,  the  first  session  being  attended  by  the  dele- 
gates of  all  sections.  The  retiring  president. 
W.  G.  Farlow,  was  taken  sick  during  the  preced- 
ing night  and  was  unable  to  attend  the  meetinp-. 
The  attendance  was  small,  there  being  barely  ic: 
people  in  the  auditorium  of  the  Temple  Sinai 
Nearly  all  the  various  sections  began  on  their 
programmes  on  the  opening  day,  all  but  one  hold- 
ing their  meetings  at  Tulane  University.  The  an- 
nual address  of  the  president  was  given  on  the 
night  of  the  29th,  President  Farlow  being  then 
able    to    speak. 

At  the  opening  session  in  the  morning  the  Hon. 
Charles  F.  Buck  welcomed  the  visitors  in  behalf 
of  Governor  Blanchard;  Mayor  Martin  Behrman 
of  New  Orleans  afterward  welcomed  the  dele- 
gates to  the  city.  President  E.  B.  Craighead  of 
Tulane  University  also  extended  a  friendly  greet- 
ing to  the  visitors  in  behalf  of  the  schools  and 
colleges  of  the  city. 

Section  A,  Mathematics  and  Astronomy,  elected 
Prof.  Howe  of  Cleveland  a  member  of  the  coun- 
cil at  its  first  meeting.  Dr.  Alexander  Ziwet  de- 
livered his  vice-presidential  address  upon  "The 
Relation  of  Mechanics  to  Physics." 

Section  B,  Physics,  elected  Prof.  C.  C.  Trow- 
bridge of  the  University  of  Wisconsin  member  of 
the  council,  and  began  its  regular  programme  on 
December  30th. 

Section  C,  Chemistry,  at  the  opening  session 
elected  Dr.  J.  H.  Long  of  Northwestern  University 
member  of  the  council.  Several  talks  on  subjects 
relating  to  chemistry  were  given  at  the  opening 
session    of   this    section. 

Mechanical  Science  and  Engineering  supplied 
the  topics  discussed  by  Section  D,  which  began 
its  first  session  on  the  29th  by  electing  Prof.  F.  O. 
Marvin  of  trie  University  of  Kansas  member  of 
the  council. 

Section  E,  Geology  and  Geography,  elected  Presi- 
dent C.  R.  Van  Hise  of  the  University  of  Wis- 
consin  member   of  the   council. 

Section  F,  Zoology  and  Botany,  organized  and 
elected  Prof.  Herbert  Osborne  member  of  the 
council. 

Many  interesting  things  were  brought  out  .in 
President  Farlow's  address.  Speaking  of  the  ways 
the  public  could  aid  scientific  men  he  said  that 
this  might  be  done  directly  by  endowments  for 
paying  salaries  and  indirectly  by  providing  properly 
equipped  laboratories  and  other  necessary  equip- 
ment, and  especially  for  paying  the  services  of 
assistants.  If,  as  it  appears,  the  public  has  reached 
a  better  conception  of  the  position  of  the  scientific 
man,  he  said,  it  might  be  that  he  could  hope  that 
he  could  appeal  to  the  public  not  only  for  pecu- 
niary but  for  moral  support.  He  thought  it  well 
to  state  somewhat  explicitly  some  of  the  conditions 
which  were  unfavorable  to  the  progress  of  sci- 
ence in  this  country,  or  which  tended  to  retard  it. 
Here  it  is  not  so  much  a  question  of  money  as 
of  just  appreciation  of  the  true  position  of  scientific 
men  in  their  relation  to  those  for  whom  their 
work  was  undertaken.  That  work,  using  a  rough 
classification,  might  be  considered  under  three 
heads — that  done  in  technical  and  commercial  con- 
cerns, that  done  for  the  government  and  that  done 
in  universities,  including  colleges,  scientific  schools 
and  similar  institutions  which  have  a  permanent 
endowment   of  some   kind. 

Taking  up  the  commercial  side  of  the  question, 
he  commented  on  the  "reluctance  of  Americans  to 
employ  original  investigators  for  the  purpose  of 
developing  their  business,"  and  contrasted  that 
with  the  policy  of  the  Germans,  who  have  coined 
money  in  chemical  industries.  "If  our  business 
men  are  too  stupid  to  take  advantage  of  the  help 
afforded  by  science,"  said  he,  "although  informed 
as  to  what  is  done  by  their  foreign  competitor, 
we  shall  not  be  called  upon  to  shed  many  tears 
over  their  ultimate  failure  in  the  competition  for 
business." 

All  sections  held  regular  sessions  on  the  30th. 
One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  speakers  was 
Dr.  James    Carroll   of   the  Army,   who   was   one   of 


January  6,    [906 

ilJr    i men    who   d n  tratcd    tl "     thi 

pry   of    il"'    Iran  mi     i I      ■ 

l  in     cngi "      1 1  tion    pti  ■!   an     invitation 

i,,   |at<  i    mii    ill'      ■  ' '  '■'"       '-'"I    i    '■  i   ins 

iti  'I   ih"   •  Id  ii  i'   lii'lit    plant   "ii   Hi'    -1 

Section     I.    upon     meeting    Saturdaj ,     Ii  ti  m  -I     to 

:,  paper  prcpan  'I   nj     'I \    I  p,   thi    chaii 

ni.-in  of  the  section  and  chaii I   thi    [nl 

i  . .  i ,       rcc    I  mi    ion,  m, "  I  ran  portation    and 

Competition."      Mr.    Knapp    wa  i   nol    pre  enl    and 
the   papi  i    was   read   by   Acting   I  Ihairman    Powi  i 

Colonel    I     F,    vlci  i ) ,   | i  al    in 

oi    Mi.     ill nil    railroad,    n  ad  a    p; 

the   "Mi  thod  i  ol    Devi  loping    I  n Indu  try   and 

Immigration    by    a     Modi  rn    Rail  m  Follow 

him  the   Hon.   II.  T.  Newcomb  read  a   paper  u| 

:i   "  Proposed   Solution   ol    the    Railw  a;    Rati     Prob 

In  the    mattei    "I   attendam  e   thi      i  cond  day   of 

the  convention  ti :d  •  >nt  more   favorablj    than  thi 

in   i.    ,i ,    in.  mbei      I  epl    arriving    by    all    trains.      \i 

the  general    session    on    that    day    it    was    pro] I 

t0   iii.il.     the    section    of   anthropology    include    al  o 

psychology il    also    in    form    a    new     ;cc( 

education        twenty-two    new    members    wen 
Sleeted  hi   this  session. 

A  brief  report  of  the  later  sessions  of  the  con- 
vention  will  be  given  in  the  Western  Electrician 
of  next   week. 


Death  of  Charles  T.  Yerkes. 

Charles  T.  Yerkes,  a  "traction  magnate"  well 
known  in  two  hemispheres,  died  in  New  York  city 
on  December  29th.  Bright's  disease  and  hearl 
trouble  arc  said  to  have  been  the  immediate  cause 
of  death.  He  bad  been  il!  fur  some  time  with  a 
complication  of  diseases.  During  last  summer  he 
bad   a   rather   serious  illness   in    London,  but   recov- 


CHARLES    T.    YERKES. 

ered  sufficiently  to  permit  him  to  come  to  the 
United  States.  His  condition  became  serious  soon 
after  his  arrival,  however,  and  for  several  weeks 
he  was  seriously  ill  at  the  Waldorf-Astoria  Hotel 
in  New  York. 

Mr.  Yerkes  was  a  man  of  conspicuous  business 
ability  and  accumulated  a  large  fortune  by  his 
exploitation  and  management  of  street-railway  prop- 
erties, principally  in  Chicago,  but  afterward  in 
London.  In  recent  years  he  devoted  his  energies 
to  the  building  of  underground  railways  in  London. 
A  large  portion  of  this  system  is  now  in  successful 
operation. 

Mr.  Yerkes  was  born  in  Philadelphia  on  June 
25>  1&37-  After  a  varied  career  he  came  to  Chicago 
in  1S81  and  opened  a  bank  at  La  Salle  and 
Madison  streets.  In  1886  he  obtained  control  of 
the  North  Chicago  street-railway  lines.  One  of 
the  first  things  he  did  was  to  change  the  motive 
power  from  horse  to  cable.  The  LaSalle  Street 
Tunnel  was  constructed  by  him.  The  first  cable 
trains  on  the  North  Side  began  running  March  26", 
1888.  In  1888  he  also  got  control  of  the  West 
Side  lines  and  converted  them  to  cable  operation. 
He  and  his  associates  also  built  electric  lines  run- 
ning to  the  suburbs,  and  became  interested  in  ele- 
vated lines.  In  1899  he  sold  his  North  and  West 
Side  lines  for  $10,000,000  to  a  syndicate  which 
organized  the  present  Union  Traction  Company.  In 
1900  be  sold  his  outlying  electric  lines  and  a  year 
later  his  stock  in  the  elevated  railways.  He  soon 
after  went  to  London,  where  he  became  interested 
in  the  construction  of  underground  roads. 


Northwestern    Convention    in    Chicago. 

The  Northwestern  Electrical  Association  will  hold 
its  next  annual  convention  at  the  Great  Northern 
Hotel,  Chicago,  commencing  on  Wednesday  morn- 
ing, January  17th,  and  continuing  through  the  iSth. 
A  very  full  and  interesting  programme  will  be 
rendered.  The  entertainment  committee  is  com- 
posed of  James  Wolff,  H.  Almert,  W.  W.  Low  and 
George  S.  Whyte.  The  entertainment  programme 
will  consist  of  theater  parties  on  Wednesday  night, 


WESTERN     ELE(  TRU 

visiting  tl 

on    I  bur  day   night. 

Chicago  Gas  Inquiry. 

'  .       ' 

thi     offei 

... 

nl         .:...:. 

.    1,1,  II, 

Edward  1 
,  ,,,,,111.11,  e  that  ga       ould  b 

'  hi .'i 

total   1 "  1    of  '  11 1,   tho 
tured   l".'   thi    Pi 
of  the 

divided    thi 
as    Ml.,- 

Colt  1 turinj    

Colt  of  d     rib  

is  pain,   rem 

1 , ,  1  •  ,  •    t     

fatal 

Prof.    II. -mis    thought     ", 
I,,,,  ni    foi     inti  1 .  it    and    di  ndend      ii     • 

1    1  , '  1 ,  i"        ii'    did   not   think   tli 

pany    bad   a    right    to    colled     re 

would  p.".  .1  i"  1  '  '  "i  dh  idend  on  the  actual 
cosl  of  11  plant  thi  pi  ii  1  for  which  it  co 
duplicated.  "It  is  safe  to  say,"  he  added,  "that  a 
reduction  of  30  cents  per  thousand  cubic  fei  1 
in  any  large  city  in  the  country  would  not  reduce 
ih,  profits  15  cents;  the  increased  consumption 
would  make  up  the  difference.  I  think  it  a  need- 
less expense  to  require  24-candlepower.  I  be- 
lieve better  results  and  reduced  cost  would  follow 
if  18  candlepower  were  substituted.  In  Boston 
16  candlepower  1-  used  and  in  England  as  low  as 
M-" 

E.  G.  Cowdery,  general  manager  of  the  Laclede 
Gas  Company  of  St.  Louis,  testified  before  the 
committee.  lie  considered  90  cents  a  thousand 
.,  reasonable  price  for  gas  in  Chicago  and  thought 
the  council  should  accept  the  offer  of  the  People's 
company  at  that  figure.  He  based  his  conclusions 
mi    the    following  figures,  being  his  estimate: 

Cost   of   manufacture    $0.3000 

Cost    of    distribution     -3/5 

Reserve    fund    'ooo 

Interest  on   capitalization   and   dividends 2500 

Total     S0.8S75 

Mr.  Cowdery  said  the  cost  of  gas  fluctuates 
from  five  to  15  cents  a  thousand  feet  during  a 
year.  He  said  it  costs  more  to  establish  a  coal- 
gas  than  a  water-gas  plant,  but  the  coal  gas  can 
be  manufactured  cheaper  on  account  of  the  sale 
of  by-products.  He  said  the  surplus  set  aside 
to  meet  contingencies  ought  to  be  at  least  10 
per  cent,  above  all  profits  and  expenses.  In  large 
cities  also  the  repair  account  was  heavier  "on 
account  of  the  impairment  of  pipes  through  elec- 
trolysis," which  also  produces  a  loss  by  leakage. 
He  placed  the  repair  item  at  2]/2  per  cent.  The 
average  life  of  gas  mains  he  put  at  12  years,  and 
of  a  meter  15  years,  and  of  an  entire  plant  at  25 
years. 

Illinois  Central   Electrification    May    Be 
Hastened. 

For  years  the  Western  Electrician  has  been  call- 
ing attention  to  the  desirability  of  "electrifying" 
the  extensive  suburban  service  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad  Company  in  Chicago.  It  is  a  satisfac- 
tion, therefore,  to  print  in  full  the  following,  which 
is  the  full  text  of  a  resolution  introduced  in  the 
Chicago  City  Council  on  January  2d  by  Alderman 
Potter : 

Whereas,  The  right  of  way  of  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
way within  the  city  limits  traverses  almost  exclusively  a 
resilience    district;    and. 

Whereas,  This  railroad  operates  an  unusually  large  num- 
ber   of    trains  per    day    by    reason   of    its   extensive    suburban 

Whereas,  'The  people  of  Chicago  are  constructing  at 
large  expense  an  extensive  park  along  the  lake  front,  be- 
tween Twelfth  and  Randolph  streets,  which  park  is  to  con- 
tain the  Field  Museum  and  the  Crerar  Library,  with  their 
valuable    collections;    and,  .  ... 

Whereas  The  noise  and  smoke  of  the  locomotives  ot  said 
railway  are  an  intolerable  nuisance  to  the  residents  along 
its  rie'lit  of  way.  and  the  smoke  and  dirt  are  most  destruc- 
tive to  personal  and  public  property  and  will  be  most  de- 
structive to  the  valuable  collections  ot  the  Field  Museum 
and  the  Crerar  Library,  and  to  the  lawns,  shrubs  and  trees 
of  the   Lake    Front   Park;   and,  . 

Whereas,  It  has  been  amplv  demonstrated  that  electricity 
is  a  practicable  and  economical  motive  power  for  the  opera- 
tion of  railways,  as  is  witnessed  by  the  elevated  roads  ot 
this  citv  and '  great  numbers  of  intcrurban  railways,  and 
notably  "by  its. adoption  bv  the  New  York  central  and  Penn- 
sylvania railways  for  their  New  York  City  terminals;  now, 
therefore,  be  it  , 

Resolved,  That  on  and  after  three  years  trom  the  date  of 
the  adoption  of  this  resolution  the  use  of  steam  locomotives 
shall  be  forbidden  to  the  Illinois  Central  Railway  within 
the  limits  of  the  city  of  Chicago,  or  to  any  railway  using 
the  right-of-way  and  terminals  of  the  Illinois  Central  Kail- 
way  within  the  limits  of  the  city  of  Chicago;  and  be  it  fur- 
Resolved,  That  the  committee  on  local  transportation  be 
and  it  is  herebv  required  to  preoare  an  ordinance  and 
submit  same  to  this  council  requiring  the  Illinois  Central 
Railway    to    conform    to    the    terms  of   this   resolution. 

The  resolution  was  referred  to  the  committee  on 
local  transportation. 


A  "NlisninK  Link"    In  Electru.   Railroad- 
ing Supp 

Mich  . 


ng     like     70    I 

I  mile- 
in    Michigan,    with    a 
■   in-  in  Indiana,  with  a  mile- 
age of  88  in    Pennsylvania,   with 
lines   75   miles   long,   making   a   total  of   7,,~</>  miles, 
without    reference    to    citj 

To  mark  the  completion  of  the  line  a  golden 
spike  was  drawn  by  A.  E.  Aiken  of  Cleveland. 
Cddres  by   Walter  Richcy  and  S.  S. 

Wheeler  of  Lima  and   F.   D.  Carpenter. 

Arrangements    have     already     been   compli  I 
the    Wi  Dayton    and    Troy    and    the 

Toledo,   B  1  and  Southern  for  the  opera- 

tion of  cars  fr ,  .1.  W, 

162  miles,  the  schedule  time  being  live  hours.  The 
arrangements  will  probably  be  extended  to  Detroit. 
60  miles  further,  within  a  short  time,  on  a  seven- 
hour  schedule. 

Fraction  men  from  Ohio.  Indiana.  Michigan  and 
other  places  attended  the  ceremonies  at  Findlay 
and  the  day  was  made  a  holiday.  A  special  car 
from  Cleveland  and  one  from  the  Indiana 
Traction  Company  of  Indianapolis  siood  on  either 
side  of  the  gap  when  the  latter  was  being  closed  up. 


Mr.  Arnold  Elected  President  of  the 
Western  Society. 

Installation  of  officers  and  a  banquet  were  held 
by  the  Western  Society  of  Engineers  on  January 
2nd  at  the  Sherman  House  in  Chicago,  this  being 
the  36th  annual  meeting.  The  new  officers,  who 
had  previously  been  elected  by  sealed  ball 
in   by   the  members  of  the  society,  are  as  follows: 

President,  Bion  J.  Arnold ;  first  vice-president. 
YV.  L.  Abbott;  second  vice-president.  Andrews  Al- 
len: third  vice-president.  Prof.  Dugald  C.  Jackson 
of  Madison,  Wis.:  treasurer.  A.  Reichmann 
tee  for  three  years.  F.  H.  Bainbridge.  The  elec- 
tion was  hotly  contested  for  both  president  and 
first  vice-president,  Mr.  Arnold  securing  his  elec- 
tion by  a  margin  of  two  votes  and  Mr.  Abbott  by 
12  votes.  Mr.  Arnold  is  the  first  electrical  engi- 
neer to  be  elected  president  of  the  society. 

About  100  members  were  present  at  the  banquet. 
Willard  A.  Smith  was  the  toastmaster,  and  per- 
formed his  duty  admirably.  The  numbers  on  the 
programme  included  the  address  of  the  retiring 
president,  E.  C.  Carter,  and  addresses  by  several 
of  the  members.  L.  E.  Cooley  spoke  upon  the 
'Ownership  of  Public  Utilities."  Isham  Randolph 
talked  upon  "The  Engineer  in  the  Law."  Onward 
Bates  took  for  his  subject  "The  Contracting  Engi- 
neer.'' and  Prof.  D.  C.  Jackson  the  "Development 
of  University-trained  Engineers."  Samuel  G.  Mc- 
Meen  gave  some  interesting  facts  on  "Electrical 
Communication,"  and  the  last  speaker.  Bion  J. 
Arnold,  took  as  his  subject  "Public  Utilities."  Mr. 
Arnold  showed  a  number  of  views  of  the  Xc-w 
York  Central  terminal  work,  and  his  talk  was  of 
special  interest  to  Chicago  people  in  view  of  the 
rapidly  growing  sentiment  in  favor  of  similar 
changes  in  the  Illinois  Central  and  other  suburban 
systems. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


That  1905  was  a  prosperous  year  for  the  elec- 
trical and  allied  interests  of  the  United  States  is 
amply  shown  by  the  following  expressions  of  opin- 
ion on  the  subject.  Without  a  dissenting  voice, 
all  the  authorities  agree  that  the  business  of  the 
year  was  large  in  volume  and  satisfactory  in  char- 
acter. The  outlook  for  1906  is  considered  equally 
bright.  It  is  therefore  a  pleasure  to  lay  the  fol- 
lowing symposium  before  the  readers  of  the  West- 
ern   Electrician. 

Carbons. 

National    Carbon    Company,    Cleveland    (N.    C. 

Cotabish,  sales  manager):  Our  business  for  the  year  1905 
fully  met  with  our  expectations,  and  was  about  in  line  with 
my  letter  to  you  a  year  ago.  The  outlook  for  1906  is  prom- 
ising and  I  look  for  a  year  fully  as  prosperous  as  1905. 

Cranes    and    Hoists. 
Pawling-   &    Harnischfeger,    Milwaukee    (F.    P. 

Bieck):  The  volume  of  business  for  1905  in  the  building 
of  cranes  and  allied  machinery  has  been  very  satisfactory, 
the  output  for  the  year  being  fully  one-quarter  more  than 
for  the  previous  years.  The  amount  of  business  offered 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  year  was  very  heavy  and  the 
indications  present  a  very  promising  outlook  for  the  year  of 
engineering  and  building  propositions  are 


;,;.!, 


to    operate    the    works    nights    to    keep    up    with    the    orders- 
Shipments    are    not    confined    to     anv    particular    locality    or 
of  the    Union,    which    is   an   indication    that   all    parts 
ntry  are  enjoying  a  prosperous  era  of  business. 


of  the  1 


Yale  &  Towne  Manufacturing  Company,  New 
York  (C.  W.  Beaver):  Our  electric  hoist  sales  have  reached 
a  very  high  figure  during  the  last  12  months.  We  expect 
this  business  for  the  ensuing  year  to  more  than  double  that 
of  the  last  12  months  in  this  line.  These  hoists  are  being 
adopted   for  every  class  of   lifting. 

Dynamos.,    Motors,    Electrical    Machinery. 
Crocker-Wheeler     Company,     Ampere,     N.     J. : 

Our  most  important  achievement  in  the  year  1905  was  our 
successful  entrance  into  the  field  of  alternating-current 
manufacture.  After  17  year's  experience  in  the  direct-cur- 
rent field  (in  which  we  hold  an  enviable  position),  we  en- 
tered the  market  with  a  complete  line  of  alternating  current 
generators,  motors,  transformers,  etc.  In  a  short  time,  still 
holding  our  place  in  the  direct-current  field,  we  had  estab- 
lished ourselves  in  the  front  rank  of  alternating-current 
manufacturers. 

Emerson    Electric    Manufacturing-    Company, 

St.  Louis  (H.  L.  Parker,  president):  In  our  fan-motor  de- 
partment we  are  largely  dependent  on  weather,  and  last  sea- 
son, while  not  generally  considered  a  hot  season,  was  nearer  the 
ideal  of  rhe  "poor  fan  man"  than  any  since  1901,  and  from 
that  fact  and  the  great  general  prosperity  of  the  country  we 
can  assuredly  place  the  season  of  1905  in  our  list  as  a  good 
one.  In  the  line  <£  small  power  motors  we  received  a  por- 
tion of  the  grand  "ivision  of  prcsperitv  in  the  shape  of  a 
handsome  increase  of  business.  For  the  future  we  can  see 
nothing  but  the  best  of  prospects,  and  in  all  departments 
are  increasing  our  facilities  and  force  with  a  view  to  greater 
output  and  all  possible  improvements,  believing  that  we  can 
still  keep  our  old  position  at  the  head  of  the  procession. 

General  Electric  Company,   Schenectady,   N.   Y. 

(B.  E.  Sunny,  western  manager,  Chicago):  There  has  been 
a  tremendous  demand  for  a  great  variety  of  apparatus,  in 
many  cases  necessitating  special  development,  especially  in 
the  line  of  large  machinery.  More  attention  is  being  "paid 
to  switchboard  work  than  previously,  and  with  the  higher 
voltages  now   in   general    use,  jnanv    elaborate    and   expensive 


Gregory   Electric    Company,     Chicago     (A.     O. 

Kuehmsted.  vice-president)  :  The  year  1905  has  been  a  very 
good  ;>nc  tor  the  Gregory  Electric  Company,  in  fact  the  best 
year  m  its  history.  There  is  considerable  difference  in  the 
.-•titlook  for  the  coming  year  when  compared  with  the  outlook 
of  a  year  ago.  The  latter  part  of  1904  particularly  must 
have  been  a  very  unsatisfactory  period  for  all  people"  in  the 
L-ketncal  business.  Orders  were  scarce  and  prices  were 
continually  dropping,  and  manufacturers  were  making  cut 
after  cut  in  order  to  meet  competition  and  in  order  to  force 
business,  which  was  slow  in  coming.  The  tide,  however, 
turned  early  in  1905,  confidence  apparently  being  once  more 
:  then  there  has  been  a  satisfactory  increase, 
has  developed  into  a  "boom," 
sight.     We  consider  the  prices 


nd  the   last   half  of  the 
ic  end  of  which  is  not  1 

icnt   abnormally    low,   when    the   high 


al  and  labor  are  considered,  and  predict  higher  prices  for 
•         d   believe  that    a  standard  apparatus   for  jmme- 
premium. 


uld    aln 


have  been  compelled 
warehouse  and  works  at 
d    have    also  just    let    addi- 


ivake  to   the  possibilit 


to    build    a    large    addition 

Sixteenth    and    Lincoln    stre 

tional    contracts   for    largely   increasing  the    office 

hope    to    have    these    improvements    completed    by    March    1st. 

We  believe   1906  will  be   a  phenomenal  year  and  that  peoplt 


should  prepare  for 


od   hu 


bobbins  &  Myers  Company,  Springfield,  Ohio 
CW.  YV  Murama):  We  are  glad  to  say  that  our  business 
during  the  year  1905.  exceeded  any  previous  year.  The  trade 
in  our  motors  has  been  exceptionally  cood  since  the  first  of 
N-T'Umi"  r.  and  Indications  are  that  there  will  be  an  increased 
rather  than  a  decreased  demand  for  1906.  At  least  the 
outlook  to    us  is  promising. 

Sterling  Electric  Motor  Company,  Dayton, 
Ohio  (T.  A.  Gauthier,  president):  The  last  year  has  been 
gratifying  to  us.  We  have  managed  a  good"  increase  over 
utput.  Our  line  is  now  from  one-twelfth 
/e  are  also  making 


E.  D.  Wood  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.   (H.  G.  H. 

larr):     The    year    1905    will    be    memorable    as    marking    the 


practical  beginning  of  gas-engine  installations  in  larce  units 
111  tins  country.  There  are  now  five  or  six  builders  who  are 
prepared  to  install  plants  in  units  of  3,000  to  5,000  kilowatts 
in  connection  with  producer  gas.  The  largest  under  way 
now  is  one  for  San  Francisco,  where  thev  arc  u*;iic  cueing 
of  5,000  kilowatts.  In  the  East  probably  the  most  interesting 
plant  now  building  is  that  of  the  Boston  Elevated  railway 
consisting  of  three  500-horsepower  gas  engines  with  our 
water-seal  pressure-type  producers.  This  plant  is  designed 
for  a  coal  economy  of  1.6  pounds  per  kilowatt-hour  at  85- 
per  cent.  load.  The  ultimate  economy,  so  far  as  we  can 
11  be  obtained  by  the  use  of  by-product  producers 
ngine,  and  to  1906  we  look  for  a  practical 
of   this.      We    are    now    building    a    Mond    by 


and  the  ga 
demonstrati 
product    pi; 


Detroit,  which,  unfortunately 
?5-  i*xu  as  a  power  proposition  during  the  coining  year. 
With  a  credit  of  75  pounds  of  sulphate  of  ammonia  from 
one  ton  of  coal  and  engine  consuming  only  1.6  pounds  per 
kilowatt-hour,  we  shall  have  very  cheap  current,  probably 
"~,  eap  as  w"l  ^e  attained  in  a  good  many  vears  to  come 
I  he  gas  engine  and  producer  have  passed  the  experimental 
stage  and  are  now  in  straight  competition  with  the  perfected 


Fuses   and   Fuse  Wise. 
American   Electric  Puse   Company,    Muskegon 

-Mich.  (F  G.  Jones,  president):  The  year  1905,  especially 
in  the  later  months,  has  been  the  most  favorable  year  in 
point  of  activity  in  our  line  of  business  which  we  have 
experienced.  Our  customers  seem  to  be  planning  big 
omething 


things   for    1906    and    are   already    letting    „ 

about  their  requirements  and  placing  orders  ahead  for  future 
—    hand    at   the   present    time    a    larger 


delivery. 


orders    than 


every  kind  of  goods.      W-  

observable  last  year  on  the  part  of 
insistent  upon  the  point  of  quality,  in  many 
regardless  of  the  cost  w-  K.ll 
permanence  in  growth 
of  the  telephone  industry.  We  predict  for'  ToWa  business 
exceeding  by  as  per  cent,  at  least,  the  volume  of  any  pre- 
vious year  s  business  in  the  telephone  and  electrical  business 
and  barring  the  happening  of  some  unfavorable  event  liable 
to  affect  national  credit  or  finances,  we  believe  that  the  com- 
ing year  will  be  but  the  beginning  of  an  era  of  greater  pros- 
perity than   this  country  has  ever  known. 


of    bus; 


sizes   lincl    a  good   deal    to   do    with   the    .... 
}~i,i:I'.,°'L0"    u9_°6  "'Jj1.  a'i  ,h.e  hope  Possible   for  heathens  c. 

should 


the    healthiest 


be    disappointed.       Business    all    around    i< 
conditicn    that  we    have   ever  seen.      The  crops 

going  to  elect  any_  president.      If  we    don't   have 
imer"  for  everybody 

Engines,    Gas    and    Steam. 
Harrisburg    Foundry    and    Machine    Works 

Harrisburg,  Pa.  (Robert  S.  Bcccher)  :  Our  experience  has 
been  most  gratifying.  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  there  has 
never  been  such  activity  in  all  lines  o'f  business,  nor  such 
,.V-'~''!";'  evidence  of  secure  and  permanent  financial  sta- 
bility during  any  previous  year  of  this  particular  era  of 
prosperity  now  being  enjoyed  by  the  people  of  this  republic 
■•—•where,  while  ft  is  a  striking  and 
f   steam  engines  in  particular  are 


Appleton    Electric    Company,     Chicago    (A     I 

Appleton,  manager)  :  We  are  pleased  to  state  tbit  our  busi- 
ness tor  this  year  has  been  exceedingly  satisfactory,  and 
unless  something  unforeseen  occurs  we  believe  that  the  year 
1906  will  prove  to  be  one  of  the  best  years  for  manufacturers 
and    dealers    in    electrical    and    telephone    supplies. 

Chicago  Fuse  Wire  and  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany,   Chicago    (W.    W.    Merrill,   manager)  :    Our 

business  during  the  year  1905  has  shown  a  steady  and  sub- 
stantial increase,  particularly  in  enclosed  fuse  material.  We 
have  every  reason  to  expect  that  from  present  indications  the 
same   ratio  of  increase   will    be  shown  during    1906. 

Incandescent  Lamps. 
Buckeye    Electric    Company,    Cleveland    (L     P 

Sawyer,  manager):  It  is  with  pleasure  that  I  am  able  to 
state  that  this  company  during  the  year  1905  has  had  more 
than  the  normal  increase  of  business.  In  fact,  I  am  very 
much  Pleased  with  the  business  we  have  done  in  the  last 
year,  and  believe  it  is  due  largely  to  the  general  awakening 
"t  the  central-station  men  and  consumers  of  current  to  the 
possibilities  of  electricity  in  general.  Early  last  fall  I  pre- 
dieted  that  the  incandescent-lamp  business  would  show  a  very 
decided  increase  for  the  balance  of  1905  over  the  same  period 
for  1904.  This  prediction,  I  believe,  has  come  true,  and  the 
lamp  manufacturers,  as  well  as  all  electrical  manufacturers, 
are  today  looking  forward  to  a  still  greater  volume  of  busi- 
ness in  1906.  I  further  believe  that  this  volume  of  increase 
will  be  greater  in  proportion  than  in  previous  vears,  owing 
to  the  activity  of  the  electrical  manufacturers  in"  pushing  the 
electrical  industry  as  a  whole.  It  seems  as  though  the  cen- 
tral-station  men  and  all  users  of  electrical  apparatus  and 
current  are  just  beginning  to  see  the  great  possibilities  of 
electricity  in  everyday  life  rather  than  as  a  luxury.  I  have 
just  returned  from  a  rather  extended  trip  through  the  South 
and  Southwest,  and  as  an  example  cite  the  case  of  one  large 
lighting  company,  which,  up  to  November  I,  1905,  had  in- 
stalled  twice  as  many  meters  for  those  10  months  of  this 
year  as  it  had  for  the  entire  12  months  of  1904.  This  in- 
crease of  business,  so  I  was  informed,  was  due  almost 
to  the  company's  development  of  a  new-business 
department,  whereby  they  make  a  house-to-house  canvass  and 
make  it  a  point  to  show  each  and  every  possible  consumer 
'Jlf  ,.,  -T'  way?  and  rneans  of  using  electrical  current. 
Should  it  be  possible  for  all  of  the  electrical  manufacturers 
to  get  together  and  act  with  the  central-station  men  and  con- 
along  the  lines  of  a  new-busincss-ex-ninc  scheme,  I 
question  that    the  year    1906   would 

Poles,   Ties,   Cross-arms. 
H    M.  Loud's  Sons  Company,  Au  Sable,  Mich. 

(H.  Kimball  Loud):  Regarding  the  cedar-pole  market  we 
may  remark  that  we  have  had  a  very  good  year  both  as  to 
demand  and  prices.  The  demand  became  so 'brisk  the  latter 
part  of  1905  that  we  raised  our  prices,  and  find  that  we  still 
receive  orders  We  believe  that  next  year  will  open  with  a 
strong  demand  for  poles  and  a  general  level  of  prices  ap- 
proximately 25   per  cent,   above    the   level  of   1905. 


Duri 


January  6,  1906 


BUSINESS  OF  THE  YEAR  1905   IN    REVIEW. 


found  in  machinery 
and    with    due    con- 
trolled by  natural 
al   prog- 


hecoming 

designed    along    definite  Vnd    nxeT'l: 
sideration  to  certain    scientific  principl. 
laws.      It   has   been    truthfully   said    that   "The 
ress    of   the    world    hinges    on    the    cost    of    power."      What    ^ 
marked   contrast   in    power    development   is    found    in    the    ox- 
driven    power    machinery    employed    in    Eastern    countries   cen- 
turies ago    and   the   magnificent   prime  movers  of   the    present 
day.     We  look  with  no  small  degree  of  pride  upon  our  pres- 
ent   attainments,    and    without    being    desirous    of    displ;     " 
undue  egotism,  we  feel  that  hundreds  and  thou 
tihcally    designee    power    iinib,    driving   electric    £,._., 
all    types     and    found    in    perhaps    75    per    cent,    of    the    indus- 
trial establishments  of  this  broad  land,   have  much  to  di  with 
the    material    progress    of    the    present    day.      We    look    for    a 
continuance    of   these    conditions   during   the    year    to    follow. 

^  Union    Gas    Engine    Company,    San    Francisco, 

(O.    H.    Fisher):     A   large   number  of    "Union"    engines 

,,'IR'  ~'A(i  in  this  country  and  in  most  of  the  principal  foreign 
rouutnes  during  the  last  year  for  the  purpose  of  driving 
generators.  In  addition  a  large  number  of  vessels  were 
equipped  with  electric-lighting  olants.  We  are  receiving 
many  inquiries  for  generating  sets  at  the  present  lime  which 
leads  us  to  believe  that  our  business  in  tins  line  will  be  very 
much  larger  in   1906  than  it  was  the  last  year. 

Watertown      Engine      Company,      Watertown, 

~    *\,     USI^ess    \n    our    Hne    for    the    year    1905    has    been 

the    last    five.     So        gtne 


the  last  year  we  have  furnished  over  half  a  million  cedar  ties 
andi   100,000     poles,    and    the    outlook    for    next    vear    is    a 
The  output   last    year    was    somewhat    under   the 
"    shortage    in    several    lengths    occurred    during 


and 


the    fall,   especially 


35-foot  seven-inch   tops.      Thus  far  the 
favorable  weather  for  getting 


out  stock,    and   unless  the    weather    for    worki 

imnr.ves    there    will    be    quite    a    shortage.      The    demand    for 

ceaar   ties  m    [906   is  going  to  be  much  larger  than  last  vear, 

as    there    are    inquiries,    lor    twice    the    number    thus    far.  "    \11 

are  getting  as  large  a  stock  of  poles  as  they  possibly 

vill  just   about   carry 

getting 


1.      Our  stock  of  about  40,000  pole 
through  until  we   get  our  new  stock 
ne  large  orders  in    now.      There    is  going   to   be  _   . 
nd    for    short    poles    because    of    the    large    development 


elepho 


C.    H.    Worcester    Company,    Chicago    (William 

.     Louring,    secretary):     The    year     1905    has    been    one    of 

teady    demand    for    our    product— cedar    poles.      The    end    of 

pply,    while 

"■    perhaps 


the  year  findL  . 
stocks  of  poles  ; 
better     conditiun 


not  large  i._   __ 
this    respect    than    they    have 
same  time.     Much  construction   work  has 
of   the    scarcity  of    standard   poles. 


that  will   be  started 


healthy  demand 
orrespondingly  firm, 
d  in  the  production 
t   what   quantities    of 

,  for  the  output 


the  woods  work  very  largely." 

Storage    Batteries. 


rvlin.. 


vhicb 


Electric  Storage  Battery  Company,  Philadel- 
phia (Charles  Blizard,  manager  sales  department):  The  sales 
or  the  "Chloride  Accumulator"  during  the  vear  just  closing 
have  been  the  largest  in  the  history  of  the  industry.  Many 
new  applications  for  the  use  of  storage  batteries  have  been 
developed    and    the    prospects    are    excellent    for    a    continued 


expansion  of  the  bus: 


during 


National    Battery    Company,    Buffalo     (Gaston 

Harbison):  Our  sales  of  storage  batteries  for  central-enernv 
telephone  systems  have  been  very  great  during  the  last  vear, 
as  a  result  of  the  large  improvements  and  extensions  which 
are  being  carried  on  in  that  field.  Our  sales  of  National 
batteries  tor  electric  vehicles  and  of  sparking  batteries  for 
gasoline  automobiles  have  shown  a  remarkable  growth. 
Other  departments  of  our  business  have  shown  a  correspond- 
in?  increase,  and  present  indications  are  that  our  own  busi- 
ness for  the  year  1906  will  be  greater  in  volume  than  ever 
history.  There  has  been  no  over-production  in  the 
f  electrical  apparatus  gener- 


electrical  field.      Manufactu: 

ally   are    rushed   to    keep   u?    with    their  orders!' 

the    result    of    a    boom.       It    is    genuine  demand 

rapid  development  in  an  industry'  which  is  yet  ir 


Tin- 


Central    Electric    Company,     Chicago    (George 

A.    McKmlock,   president) :     The  electrical   supply   business   is 


[though  in  the  early  part  of  the 
afortunate  disaster  in  the  complete  "destruction  bv  fire  of 
.varehouse  and  offices.  Outside  of  the  physical  change 
affect,  except  in  a   slight 


conditions,  the  fire    did 


YV  hile  we  have  been  very  much  cramped  in  our  temporary 
quarters  and  have  been  doing  business  under  difficulties,  we 
are  very  much  gratified  to  be  able  to  say  that  our  sales  for 
the  year  exceed  those  of  the  previous  vear.  On  January  1st 
we  return  to  our  old  stand,  a  new  modern  mill-constructed 
building  having  been  erected  on  the  old  site.  Our  facilities 
will  be  very  much  enlarged  and  increased,  and  we  are  looking 
forward  to  1906  as  a  year  of  great  activity  and  are  making 
preparations  to  meet  what  we  expect  will  be  a  heavy  demand 
for  electrical  supplies.  The  great  increase  in  the  applied 
uses  of  electricity  has  stimulated  a  like  demand  for  copper 
in  its  various  forms,  and  we  foresee  a  continuation  of  pres- 
ent prices  for  this  metal.  There  does  not  seem  to  be  any- 
thing^ in  _  the  conditions  at  home  or  abroad,  in  our  opinion, 
that  is  likely  to  interfere  with  our  growth  and  prosperity, 
although  there  is  always  the    unexpected  to  be  considered. 

Telegraph  and  Telephone  Apparatus. 
Automatic  Electric   Company,   Chicago    (H.  H. 

Y\  oodworth) :  We  are  gratified  to  report  a  most  prosper- 
ous year's  business  during  1905,  with  every  prospect  of 
greatly  increasing  it  during  1906.  The  sentiment  in  favor 
of  the  automatic  telephone  is  spreading  rapidly.  The  public 
is  learning  that  it  is  the  ideal  service.  The  operating  com- 
panies are  learning  that  it  is  not  onlv  the  best  but  also  the 
most  profitable  service  to  render.  The  greatest  growth  in 
automatic  telephony  during  the  coming  year  will  probably 
be  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  where  several  cities  will  have  auto- 
matic exchanges,  franchises  having  been  granted  to  Inde- 
pendent companies  in  these  cities,  in  which  the  automatic 
system  is  specified.  At  least  a  million  dollars'  worth  of 
business  is  in  sight  in  this  territory  alone.  Among  the 
developments  of  our  system  during  the  last  vear  which  are 
notable  are  the  party-line  system  and  a  new  trunk  selector 
switch.  This  latter  development  bids  fair  to  revolutionize 
the    telephone    business.     This    switch    takes    up    very    much 


less    space    than    the    p 
us    and    will     admit    ol 
system     consisting    of     __. 
hundred    lines    each,    which    car 
building,    in    the   manhole   of   a 
any    convenient    place,    leaving 


first  selector 
nstallation  of  a  mi 
d  branch  exchange: 
n  be  put  in  the  coi 
nduit   under    the 


the 


ntral    part   of    the    to' 
system   does   away   with   at   least   So   per 
lines  and   makes   a  proportionate  saving 
tion    and    maintenance    cost.     Taking    it 
1905   has  been   a  gratifying  one   for  the 
The    growth    has   been   a    steady  and   su 
upon  the   principle    that  the  automatic  i 
service     both     as     to     quality     and    econ._. 
The  public  at  large  and  practical   telephom 
to  see   this  more  clearly  every  day. 


I  exchange  in  the 
urposes.  This  new 
:ent  of  the  outside 
n  outside    construc- 

II  in    all,    the    year 

one    and   is   based 

the   ideal   telephone 

of     production. 

len   are  coming 


J.    H. 

Ghegan,  pr 
output 


Bunnell    &    Co.,    New   York     (John    J. 

;ident) :  We  are  pleased  to  say  that  our  business 
just  closing  has  been  quite  satisfactorav  and  the 
high-grade   telegraphic  appliances  much   larger 


attribute    this 


than    the    pi 

pally    to    the    superior    qualities    of    our    product. 

to  believe  that  the  coming  year  will  be  at  1 


as  fully  successful   as  the  past. 

Farr     Telephone     and     Construction     Supply 
Company,   Chicago    (C.   W.  Farr,  president)  :    The 

year  of  1905  certainly  was  a  very  prosperous  year  for  every 
branch  of  the  electrical  trade.  The  telephone  business  has 
taken  the  lead,  from  East  to  West,  there  being  an  average 
of  from  50  to  100  per  cent,  increase  in  telephone  users. 
The  construction  of  telephone  lines  in  all  states  has  made 
a  tremendous  demand  for  all  kinds  of  telephone  construction 
material.  The  prospects  for  the  coming  vear  are  better  than 
ever  before,  and  the  demand  for  telephones  and  telephone 
material  will   far  exceed  any  previous  year. 

Waterwheels. 
Abner  Doble  Company,    San   Francisco    (C.  W. 

Whitney) :     On    the    whole,    our    business    in    the    waterwbeel 


January  6,   i</>6 


H 

. ,  n|    In  hoi  i  po  cm  Irani- 

acted  the  preceding  >'•",    -  Kourrw 

,|m  mm-      i', ■    ■    ' 

in,,-  the  tol  .1   Foi    1004 

,,   due    in      on*     mi  i  tin     to    th      ■ 

f...     I     rln.-.-l ...1      - 

•  Include  ilngli     valet  n  hi  1 1   ■■■  hich  will  dc< 

■  !,    |et  oj       iter. 

. 

in 

,,,.1,  1  .  ■.',,■  hav< 1  is         1 

,1,  lulic  equtpmi  nl  0.   th<    I  hi  lum   H  ill  ilion   In 


.■.  i'i  bi    srcatly  i 

Peltou     Water     Wheel     Company,     S.ui     l 
itca    (Edward   f-    Bray  ton,   m;in..K<--rj :    Altln.m-li   ■■•■•    :.m-   hm 
Mii.ilv  in  Mm-  .  I--.  11 1.  il  h'  M.   w.    in  i',   1  1 kin  hip   to 

il,    in    that    our    s|n-ci»ltv    i*    the    ih.iniiI; i.     m      /. ..  r  <  v.  !,.■■  I 

.,[,,,  1  ,in  .,  h  hii  li  1  ■  now    10  1  lo  u  ly  id<  ntifi  d  wil  11  thi    elei   i  11 


business  within   the  lasl   few   yean  has  been   direct! 

.    ociatcd    with    the    el :al    industry.       Pcrhap      the    moat 

noteworthy    feature    of    the     year's  dcvclopmenl    is   the  pro- 

11- ;cd   tendency    toward   high     pci  d   and    largi     powci    i i. 

This  is  no  doubt   dm-   in    1    !.<■■■.■    «<•  ■ "   ""■   ■"'■'  '"    ",' 

,[„       team    turbine,    which    is    bo    i  mincntlj     adapted    to    im  h 

1 4.        As     a     n-sult     Hi«-     '  I-  ilm    "1      m.Minf.y  hm  i    .     Ii..v. 

adopted  standards  -i  ■  ■■!-  -  " •■    "  -1    1   i.«  . ■  ...i.., .    n  rarded 

.,.(  bi  yond  the  scope  oi   tin    impul  i     wheel      Foi      ■     npje    bul 


y.  a 


■  lull. 


Vlu-L'l 


w  r 


of   i  I.,  trie 

ird  tendency  in  the  price 
n'f  that  metal,  it  is  likely  that  th-  electrical  manufacturers 
will  be  driven  tn  the  adoption  of  still  hi.-h-r  sp. .  .1  stan-lanls. 
In  fact,  at  this  writing  we  are  reipiested  to  Submit  tenders 
on  similar  units  at  a  speed  of  500  revolutions.  1  here  seems 
l<>   he   an    inercasinu    demand    for   hydro-electric   apparatus,    and 

certainly   as  far  as  the    Pacific  ("oast  is  concerned  the  year 

urns  will  have  to  its  credit  a  ejealc-r  kilowatt  capacity  sold 
than  any  previous  year.  Judging  from  the  interest  I  hat  is 
evinced  and  the  number  of  l.-irgt-  enterprises  that  are  on  the 
tapis,  it  would  seem  that  the  coming  year  will  be  equally 
progressive, 

Wires  and  Cables. 

Eastern  Electric  Cable  and  Wire  Company, 
Boston:  The  yeac  1905  has  been  an  exceedingly  busy  one 
for  us.  We  purchased  of  the  receiver  the  plant  for  manu- 
facturing  rubber-covered  wire  of  the  Eastern  Electric  Cable 
Company  in  lanuarv  last.  Wc  had  the  usual  trouble  with 
help,  which  held  us  back  considerably.  This  question  was 
settled  and  some  new  machinery  installed  and  a  good  busi- 
ness was  done.  In  fact,  we  have  not  been  able  to  accept 
all  the  business  offered  us.  Wc  have  ordered  more  ma- 
chinery   and    arc   looking    for   a    much    larger    business    during 

Standard  Underground  Cable  Company,  Pitts- 
burg (J.  W.  Marsh,  vice-president) :  Our  business  for  the 
year  1905  has  been  very  much  larger  than  that  of  the  year 
IQ04.  This  is  all  the  more  remarkable  because  of  the  very 
high  prices  that  have  obtained  for  all  the  classes  of  raw 
materials  entering  into  our  products.  With  regard  to  the 
outlook  for  the  year  1906,  it  appears  to  us  certain  that  it  is 
going  to  be  a  big  year  unless  serious  financial  troubles, 
amounting  to  a  panic,  should  occur,  and  we  see  absolutely 
nothing  to  indicate  that  anything  of  this  kind  is  impending 
or  is  likely  to  occur  during  the  year. 

Miscellaneous. 
American   District   Steam  Company,    Lockport, 

N.  Y.  (H.  C.  Eddy,  Chicago,  district  manager)  :  During  the 
year  1905  the  volume  of  business  in  our  line — that  of  in- 
stalling underground  steam  mains  for  district  heating  sys- 
tems— was  entirely  without  precedent  in  the  last  2S  years. 
Some  of  the  more  notable  installations  were  made  in  Bir- 
mingham, Ala.,  Eastern,  Pa.,  Baltimore,  Md.,  Chatham,  Ont., 
Detroit,  Mich,,  Springfield,  Ohio,  Cheyenne  and  Evanston, 
Wyo.,  together  with  a  considerable  number  of  plants  in 
cities  of  lesser  importance,  and  a  number  of  extensions  to 
plants  already  existing.  Our  merchandise  business  has  been 
tar  in  excess  of  any  previous  year,  both  in  amount  and  in 
geographical  distribution.  The  outlook  for  1906  is  flattering 
in  the  extreme,  a  number  of  large  installations  being  planned, 
for  which  the  preliminary  engineering  work  has  already  been 
done.  The  company  has  enlarged  the  selling  force  for  1906. 
and  shortly  after  the  first  of  the  year  expects  to  issue  a 
new  catalogue  of  merchandise  far  exceeding  in  size  and 
number  of  articles  listed  any  previous  publication  of  this 
character. 

L.   P.   Brown  &   Co.,    Chicago    (F.  J.   Holmes)  : 

The  year  1905,  which  was  our  pioneer  year,  has  brought  us 
very  gratifying  results.  During  the  year  our  sales  have 
consisted  principally  of  electric  soldering  tools,  and  we  find 
that    they    are    meeting    with    quite    general _  acceptance. 


other  ways.  The  new  year  will  find  us  considerably  behind 
with  our  orders,  but  wo  are  planning  such  increases  in  our 
facilities  that  we  hope  soon  to  be  able  to  make  shipments 
promptly. 

Colonial  Sign  and  Insulator  Company,  Akron, 

Ohio  (C.  R.  Quine,  secretary):  While  the  year's  business  on 
the  whole  has  been  quite  satisfactory,  we  suffered  together 
with  the  other  electrical  porcelain  manufacturers  from 
ruinous  price-cutting  on  standard  goods.  It  is  to  be  recretted 
that  the  manufacturers  and  jobbers  did  not  stand  together 
and  maintain  their  organization.  This  association  could  have 
resulted  in  permanent  benefit  to  all  concerned.  Our  sign- 
letter  department  has  enjoyed  a  very  good  year.  Central- 
station  managers  in  even  the  smaller  towns  are  awakening 
to  the  opportunity  for  increased  profit  to  be  derived  from 
having  electric  signs  on  their  circuits^  and  are  making  active 
campaigns  for  sign  business.  Electric  signs  are  no  longer 
considered  a  luxury  or  a  novelty  by  advertisers,  but  as  much 
a  necessity  as  attractive  show  windows  or  newspaper  adver- 
tising. A  feature  of  the  year's  sign  business  is  that  the  first 
cost  of  a  sign  is  no  longer  the  most  important  consideration. 
The  purchaser  insists  upon  durability,  safety  and  economy 
of  operation  rather  than  low  first  cost.  Many  cities  are  modi- 
fying their  citv  ordinances  so  that  electric  signs  may  be  hung 
over  the  sidewalk.  The  authorities  are  willing  to  do  this  on 
account  of  the  benefit  the  city  received  from  the  light.  The 
year  1905  was  one  of  the  best  we  have  had  and  there  is 
every  indication  that  1906  will  be  a  banner  year  for  the  elec- 
tric sign  and  the  porcelain  business  in  general. 

Pass   &   Seymour,   Inc.,    Solvay,    N.   Y.    (J.   W. 

Brooks,  general  sales  manager)  :  On  P.  &  S.  material  we 
■wish  to  say  that  the  outlook  has  never  been  better.  At 
the  present  time  we  are  absolutely  swamped  with  orders,  and 
it  is  more  a  question  of  making  shipments  than  of  securing 
more  orders.  We  arc  at  the  present  time  making  some  addi- 
tions to  our  plant  in  order  to  take  care  of  this  increased 
business,  and  the  prospects  are  that 
entire  plant  in  the  spring. 


i.i".     ELECT 

W.  H.  Schott,  Chicago:  among 


two  lamp*  of 
which 


not  true, 

I 

Ing   year,   and   the 
eelicnt. 
United  Iron  Works,  Oakland,  Cal 
hi       1 


During    thi 

.   '-I  ■!.! 


■  1.  .  11 1.  ity. 

Xylotite    Product    Company,    Cincinnal 
-  - 1 1    .1  icneal  I:    During 

mill  motor  business  itemed  rather  .lack.  Bul 
number  of  large   mi  .'"T*  were  10M  throughout 

the    country.      During    the    fall    the   large   businrss     ■■ 

I     ill'     small-motor    business    das    Incrctn 

niously.      During    th.      I.'        I     0     '  "  ks   ol 

ton  with 

pulleys.      The    tetldi  I    belted    electrical 

machinery    Minis    to    l»-    to    increase    the    b 

wc  can  tell  from  the  fact  tli.it  we  are  supplying  pulleyi  which 

arc  considerably  larger  in  diametei    ' 

ago    for  the   same  machines.     This  condition   seems   to  apply 

particularly   to  the    Middle   Weal       [t  lo  the  outlook 

for   1906,  we  can  only  say  that   it 

nr    at    least    the    electrical    manufacturers    think    so.    I 

of  them  arc  building  large  stock  orders  of  small  motors  and 

many    arc    even    building    75    and    100-horscpowcr    motors    in 

large    numbers. 


"Poke    Bonnet"    Reflector  for   Window 
Lighting. 

Proper  light  for  show  windows  has  been  a  per- 
plexing problem,  usually  requiring  special  orders 
for  fixtures  to  fit  the  window  exactly.  This  diffi- 
culty has  been  done  away  with  to  some  extent,  and 
it  is  possible  to  buy  from  stock  various  types  of 
window-lighting  fixtures.  A  "poke-bonnet  search- 
light" is  what  a  manager  of  one  of  Chicago's  largest 
department  stores  called  a  novel  reflector,  which  is 
here  illustrated. 

The  "poke-bonnet"  reflector,  as  shown  by  the 
accompanying  illustration,   is   made  by  the   National 


Chicago  Street-railway  Situation. 

week    il 

viding    I 

lucago 
will  be  taken  up  after  the  franchise  ordinances, 
have  bt 

1  on  the  ballot 
I   10  the 
• 
i  In 
the  ballot  at  the  spring  election  had  been  prepared 
committee    and    were 
reported    to    the    council;    thi  red    de- 

ferred and  ptibl 
Arguments  in  the  '//-year  case  were  scheduled  to 
Supreme    Court    at    Wash- 
1  I    C.,   this    week.      Attorneys   for  the   trac- 
•ind  for  the  city  arc  at  the  national 
capital   in   full   force,  prepared  to  present  the  claims 
of    their 

John  i\i.  Harlan,  recently  named  by  Judge  Gross- 
cup  as  his  special  counsel  in  traction  affairs,  has 
I  to  the  judge  on  the  street-railway 
situation,  dealing  chiefly  with  the  changes  he  would 
recommend,  in  the  interest  of  the  public,  to  the 
franchise  ordinances  drawn  by  the  local  transpor- 
tation committee.  Mr.  Harlan  was  a  candidate  for 
mayor  in  the  last  city  election,  and  announced  him- 
self as  favoring  municipal  ownership,  but  not  imme- 
diate  municipal   ownership. 


Richardson   Lighting  Outfit. 

The  Richardson  Engineering  Company  of  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  makes  a  complete  line  of  standard 
electric-light   outfits,   adapted   to  the   needs  of   resi- 


shall    duplicate  the 


X-ray  Reflector  Company  of  Chicago.  It  is  a 
trough  reflector,  constructed  in  sections,  each  I ' 
inches  in  length  and  complete  in  itself.  These 
units  can  be  combined  to  give  any  desired  length 
required,  but  the  light  from  them  is  sufficient  for 
them  to  be  erected  at  intervals  instead  of  being 
used  as  a  continuous  trough,  thus  making  a  saving 
of  one  or  more  lights  every  three  feet. 

It  is  said  for  this  reflector  that  it  will  give  double 
the  light  with  the  same  current,  or  as  much  light 
with  half  the  current  now  used.  Each  section, 
being  separate  and  independent,  can  be  adjusted  to 
any  desired  angle  to  throw  the  rays  of  light  where 
they  are  most  needed.  When  used  in  the  window 
they  can  be  placed  in  the  front,  back,  top  or  end. 
Where  only  a  few  are  needed,  each  reflector  may 
be  used  as  a  separate  lighting  fixture  and  easily 
installed  by  anyone.  The  adjuster  on  the  stem 
furnished  with  each  reflector  is  such  that  any  de- 
sired  angle  may  be  obtained. 

While  these  reflectors  were  intended  primarily 
for  window  reflectors,  they  have  met  with  favor 
for  picture  lighting  and  for  illuminating  art  dis- 
plays. Where  a  considerable  number  are  necessary 
for  a  large  window  or  around  the  sides  of  an  art 
room  they  are  attached  to  one-inch  tubing,  through 
which  the  wires  run.  This  tubing  is  suspended 
from  the  ceiling  by  chain  supports  or  by  a  flange 
on  the  end  attached  to  the  wall. 

The  reflector  is  made  of  heavy  glass,  with  a 
spiral  corrugated  surface,  plated  with  sterling  silver. 
Sterling  silver  provides  the  highest  reflective  sur- 
face known  on  account  of  its  whiteness  and  bril- 
liancy, superior  even  to  quicksilver  or  German 
silver  plating.  The  spiral  corrugations  break  the 
rays  of  light  and  there  is  no  shadow  thrown  by 
the    filament    of    the    lamp. 

Each    "poke-bonnet"    section    is    furnished    with 


RICIIAKDSuN    LIGHTING    OUTFIT. 

dences,  clubs  and  country  estates,  launches,  yachts, 
etc.  These  equipments  are  complete  with  all  of 
the  necessary  apparatus  required ;  they  range  from 
10  to  500  16-candlepower  lights.  But  it  is  possible 
for  a  purchaser  to  use  his  own  engine  if  pre- 
ferred. The  sets  are  particularly  well  adapted  for 
export  trade.  It  is  possible  to  buy  the  entire  plant 
of  one  concern,  which  holds  itself  responsible  for 
every  detail   of  it. 

The  company  is  prepared  to  furnish  over  130 
standard  equipments,  ranging  in  price  from  $35  to 
$5.oco.  Some  of  these  equipments  include  a  stor- 
age battery,  giving  the  advantage  of  electric  lights 
at  any  time  during  the  24  hours.  Thus  these  equip- 
ments are  of  special  interest  to  isolated  places, 
such  as  residences,  country  estates,  mountain  and 
shore  cottages,  ranches,  etc.  The  power  used  with 
these  equipments  is  also  available  for  pumping 
water,   sawing  wood,   refrigeration,   etc. 


Universal  Space-telegraph    Intercepter 
for  Signal  Service. 

According  to  the  Brooklyn  Eagle  of  December 
30th,  General  A.  W.  Greeley,  chief  signal  officer  of 
the  United  States  Army,  announces  that  the  Signal 
Corps  of  the  army  has  perfected  the  invention  of 
space-telegraph  receivers  which  will  enable  the 
army  to  intercept  and  read  the  messages  of  even' 
system  of  space-telegraphy  in  use. 

"The  new  army  receivers,"  General  Greely  is  re- 
ported to  have  said,  "invented  by  the  Signal  Corps, 
intercept  and  record  the  messages  of  all  known 
systems."  Asked  for  further  explanation  of  the 
inventions,  General  Greely  dismissed  his  interviewer 
with  the  statement:  "The  Signal  Corps  system  is 
absolutely  secret,  and  will  remain  so." 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  6,   1906 


Westinghouse   1  906  Electric  Fans. 

For  the  season  of  1906  the  Westinghouse  Elec- 
tric and  Manufacturing  Company  presents  a  largely 
increased  assortment  of  electric  fans,  designed  with 
great  care  and  embodying  the  results  of  skill  and 
experience.  The  fans  are  simple  to  install,  easy 
to  operate,  efficient  in  service,  strong  and  reliable, 
and  are  constructed  to  sell  at  the  lowest  price 
compatible  with  high-grade  workmanship.  'Ihey 
are  made  for  both  direct  and  alternating-current 
service,  and  in  forms  known  as  the  desk  type,  the 
bracket  type,  the  ceiling  type,  the  floor-column 
type   and   the  counter   type. 

Desk  and  Bracket  Fans.— The  1906  desk  and 
bracket  fans  are  substantially  designed  and  are  of 
attractive  appearance.  The  body  and  base  present 
smooth  surfaces,  which  prevent  the  accumulation 
of  dirt.  They  are  finished  in  polished  black  enamel, 
with  guards  and  fans  of  buffed  and  lacquered 
brass.  The  best  material  and  workmanship  is  evi- 
denced  in   the   construction  of  every  part. 

The  blades  are  a  departure  from  the  ordinary 
design  formerly  employed,  and  are  the  result  of 
the  careful  study  and  investigation  which  have 
been  given  to  this  question  by  the  Westinghouse 
company.  They  are  constructed  upon  exact  mathe- 
matical principles,  and  their  angles  are  theoretically 
correct,  with  the  result  that  the  fan  will  give  an 
even  breeze  across  its  entire  front,  as  there  is 
an  absence  of  that  tendency  to  project  a  hollow 
cone  of  air,  which  is  found  in  all  fans  whose 
blades  have  not  been  correctly  designed.  The 
breeze  is  sent  out  from  the  fan  in  the  shape  of 
a  solid  cylinder  of  air,  and  there  is  little  tendency 
to  set  up  eddy  currents,  with  their  attendant  losses. 
The  determination  of  this  correct  blade  angle  has 
resulted  in  an  extremely  high  air  delivery,  while 
the  total  watt  consumption  has  been  decreased, 
though    the    volume    of  air   has   been    increased. 

The  fan  blades  are  protected  by  a  guard  of 
graceful  design,  pleasing  appearance  and  substantial 
construction,  which  is  secured  in  position  by  arms 
so  rigid  that  the  entire  weight  of  the  motor  may 
be    supported    by    the    guard    without    injury. 

The  motor  is  mounted  upon  trunnions  whose 
line  of  support  passes  through  its  center  of  gravity 
and  is  therefore  balanced  at  any  angle.  There  is 
therefore  no  tendency  to  turn  over  when  the 
thumb-screw  is  loosened,  a  point  of  great  advan- 
tage. The  motor  is  secured  in  any  position  by 
two  thumb-screws;  one  holds  at  any  angle  in 
a  horizontal  plane  and  the  other  at  any  angle  in 
a  vertical  plane.  The  thumb-screw  which  secures 
the  motor  in  a  vertical  position  passes  through  the 
trunnion  support  a  little  below  the  axis  and  bears 
against  a  boss  on  the  side  of  the  motor,  affording 
a  rigid  and  secure  means  of  clamping  the  fan  in 
any  position.  The  thumb-screw  which  retains  the 
fan  at  any  angle  in  a  horizontal  plane  is  a  recent 
modification,  greatly  superior  to  former  methods, 
in  which  friction  washers  were  employed.  All  fan 
motors  have,  when  running,  a  tendency  to  shift 
from  the  position  in  which  they  are  adjusted,  but 
these  clamping  screws  hold  it  secure  when  once 
adjustment  has  been  made. 

But  a  small  amount  of  power  is  consumed  by 
this  fan,  as  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  it  costs 
only  about  three-fourths  as  much  to  run  a  12-inch 
fan  as  to  burn  an  ordinary  16-candlepower  in- 
candescent  lamp   on   the   same   circuit,    while    a    16- 


inch  fan  can  ,  be  operated  at  less  than  the  cost  of 
burning  two  such   lamps. 

By  means  of  a  simple  adapter,  the  12  and  16- 
inch  desk  and  bracket  types  of  Westinghouse  fans 
are  interchangeable.  This  provision  makes  it  un- 
necessary for  dealers  to  carry  two  types  in  stock 
and  also  makes  it  possible  for  the  user  to  attach 
the  fan  to  the  most  convenient  location  without 
disconnecting  lead  wires,  giving  him  all  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  two  styles   of   mounting. 

Alternating-current  Service. — The  motor  used  in 
the  alternating-current  desk  and  bracket  fans  is 
of  the  induction  type,  with  stationary  primary  and 
rotating  secondary,  and  has  a  winding  made  up 
of  solid  rods  of  copper  inserted  through  the  par- 
tially closed  slots  of  a  laminated  core  and  short- 
circuited  by  metallic  end  rings.  There  are  no  mov- 
ing   contacts    and    no   electrical    connection   between 


the  rotating  part  and  the  outside  line.  The  motor 
has  accordingly  no  wearing  parts  except  the  bear- 
ings, and  is  durable  and  exceedingly  simple  both 
in  construction  and  operation.  The  primary  is 
wound  for  either  no  or  220  volts  and  for  7,200 
or   16,000  alternations  per   minute. 

The  7,200-aIternation  motor  is  made  with  two 
bearings  which  are  of  ample  dimensions  and  auto- 
matically lubricated.  In  the  16,000-alternation  mo- 
tor the  shaft  carries  the  fan  at  one  end,  and  the 
secondary  of  the  motor  at  the  other,  the  two  parts 
nicely    balancing    each    other   on    one  bearing. 

Simple  in  design  and  substantial  in  construction 
is  the  switch  employed.  It  is  made  of  molded  in- 
sulating material,  of  such  form  that  it  cannot  easily 
be  damaged  or  thrown  out  of  alignment.  The 
handle  projects  through  a  slot  in  the  motor  base 
at   the   most   convenient   and    accessible  point. 

One  of  the  most  important  characteristics  of  the 
alternating-current  fan  is  the  ease  and  quickness 
with  which  it  starts.  The  start  is  made  as  readily 
when  the  switch  is  in  the  slow  position  as  it  does 
when  in  the  high-speed  position,  so  that  there  is 
no  danger  of  burnout  because  of  failure  and  sud- 
den restoration  of  power  when  the  switch  is  set 
on  the  slow-speed  contact.  These  excellent  start- 
ing qualities  have  been  secured  by  careful  design 
of  the  motor,  combined  with  the  use  of  a  cen- 
trifugal device  which  cuts  out  the  starting  winding 
as  soon  as  the  fan  has  attained  sufficient  speed,  and 
by  means  of  which  a  large  amount  of  energy  is 
saved    which    would    otherwise   be    wasted. 

The  1906  alternating-current  fans  are  arranged 
for  operation  at  two  speeds  of  approximately  1,625 
and  1,300  revolutions  per  minute.  The  slow  speed 
is  obtained  by  the  insertion  of  a  choke  coil  con- 
nected to  the  switch  contacts  and  in  series  with  the 
motor — an    ideal   arrangement,    as   it    eliminates   un- 


T     DESK    FAN. 


necessary  losses  of  energy,  and  complication  of 
switch   mechanism. 

Direct-current  Service. — The  field  coils  of  the 
direct-current  motor  are  rectangular  in  shape,  are 
machine  wound,  and  are  insulated  by  special  treat- 
ment which  reduces  to  a  minimum  liability  of 
breakdown.  The  armature  is  of  the  drum  type 
with  slotted  laminated  core  and  carefully  insulated 
winding.  The  commutator  is  so  constructed  and 
protected  that  wear  is  inappreciable,  and  the  troubles 
so  often  found  in  this,  the  most  vulnerable  portion 
of  a  fan  motor,  are  practically  eliminated.  It  is 
completely-*  enclosed,  but  an  easily  removable  dust 
shield  makes  inspection  possible.  The  brushes  are 
of  carbon,  of  the  highest  quality,  and  do  not 
"chatter"  or  cut  the  commutator.  The  brush  hold- 
ers maintain  an  even  pressure  and  perfect  contact. 
The  shaft  is  of  the  best  Hardened  steel  and  runs 
in  bushings  of  fine  bearing  metal,  which  give  a 
long  service,  but  can  be  easily  renewed.  There  are 
two  bearings  provided,  with  an  automatic  oil  re- 
turn, which  insures  abundant  lubrication  at  every 
point   and   prevents   throwing  of  the  oil. 

The  switch  is  skilfully  designed  and  strongly 
constructed,  so  that  it  will  withstand  considerable 
hard  usage  without  getting  out  of  alignment.  A 
handle  of  insulating  material  molded  to  the  end 
of  the  blade  projects  through  the  base.  The 
switch  and  contacts  are  covered  with  an  insulating 
disk  which  prevents  danger  of  short  circuit  when 
the  fan  is  placed  on  a  radiator  or  any  uneven 
conducting  surface.  The  regulating  resistance  is 
made  01  wire  of  a  low  temperature  coefficient 
wound  on  the  outer  edge  of  the  enclosed  porcelain 
switch  base  and  afterward  enameled — a  construc- 
tion which  gives  a  large  radiating  surface  with 
consequent   minimum  rise   in  temperature. 

Three  different  positions  of  the  switch  handle 
give  three  different  operating  speeds,  with  a  maxi- 
mum of  1,650  revolutions  per  minute,  a  medium  of 
1,300  revolutions  per  minute  and  a  minimu  of 
1,000    revolutions    per   minute. 

Ceiling,  Floor-column  and  Counter  Fans. — The 
Westinghouse  fans  for  1006  for  ceiling  and  floor 
mounting  have  many  distinctive  features  of  great 
value.  The  cases  are  of  graceful  design  and  orna- 
mental  appearance,  with  a   standard  finish   of  black 


enamel    and    mottled    copper,  though    other    finishes 
may  be  furnished  if  desired. 

The  fan  is  made  with  four  blades,  which  are  set 
at  angles  calculated  to  give  the  highest  possible 
movement  of  air  for  the  lowest  possible  consump- 
tion of  energy.  The  blades  are  securely  attached 
to  the  moving  element  by  screws  which  effectually 
prevent  them  from  turning  from  their  normal  posi- 
tion. The  fans  are  designed  for  operation  at  three 
speeds,  controlled  by  means  of  resistance  wound 
about  the  bearing  cup;  200,  150  and  100  revolutions 
per  minute  may  be  obtained.  The  switch  is  placed 
centrally   on   the   under   side   of  the    fan    body.     As 


ALTERNATING-CURRENT    CEILING    FAN. 

there  are  no  live  parts  outside  of  the  case  there  is 
no  danger  of  shock  from  handling  or  cleaning. 

Fans  of  this  type  are  made  for  operation  from 
either  alternating-current,  60-cycle,  or  direct-cur- 
rent circuits.  The  alternating-current  motor  is  of 
the  single-phase  induction  tyne  with  stationary 
primary  and  short-circuited  secondary,  which  has 
no  connection  with  the  outside  line.  It  therefore 
.  possesses  no  moving  contacts  or  wearing  parts 
except  the  bearings. 

The  direct-current  motor  is  substantially  con- 
structed with  rectangular  field  coils  and  a  drum- 
type  armature.  The  commutator  is  especially  well 
made,  embodying,  as  it  does,  all  the  high-grade 
features  of  other  Westinghouse  motors.  The 
brushes  are  of  the  finest  quality  of  carbon  and 
are  so  mounted  that  perfect  contact  and  good  com- 
mutation are  maintained  at  all  times.  These  motors 
are  strong  and  reliable  and  are  noiseless  in  opera- 
tion. 

The  rotating  element  is  supported  upon  noiseless 
ball  bearings  which  reduce  friction  to  a  minimum. 
A  stationary  shaft  is  provided  with  a  spiral  groove 
through  which  oil  from  the  reservoir  is  forced 
upward   by  the   rotation  of  the   armature. 

Counter  type  fans  are  exactly  similar  to  those 
designed  for  floor-column  mounting,  with  the  ex- 
ception  that   the   shaft   is   made   short. 

Following  are  tabulated  data: 

Alternating-current  Desk  Fans. 

Watts 
Size  Alter-  Full 

of  Fan.  nations.  Volts.  Speed.  Speed. 

12-inch.. 7,200  110—220  1,300  45 

1,625 
16-inch 7.200  no — 220  1,300  80 

12-inch 16,000  no — 220  1,300  65 

1,625 
16-inch 16,000  110—220  1,300  120 

Alternating-current  Bracket  Fans. 

Watts 
Size  Alter-  Full 

of  Fan.  nations.  Volts.  Speed.  Speed. 

I2"mC   2°  1,625 

16-inch 7,200  110—220  1,300  80 

1,625 
12-inch 16,000  110—220  1,300  65 

16-inch 16,000  110—220  1,300  120 


Counter   Fans. 
Volts.  Speed.   Watts  Full  Speed. 


16- inch H5" 


rrent   Ceiling,    Floor-col 
Volts.  Speed. 


and    Counter  Fans. 
Watts  Full  Speed. 


The  steamer  MTowera,  which  arrived  at  Victoria, 
B.  C,  a  few  days  ago  from  Australia,  reported  that 
when  it  arrived  at  Fanning  Islands  the  cable  staff 
was  without  provisions  and  the  .  men  were  living 
on  cocoanuts. 


Ja 


6,  [906 


Heating    and    Lighting    Hlant   at    Park- 
vllle,  Mo. 
Park    College,   al    Parkvillc,   Mo.,   aboul    10 

h   -I    Kan   1     Citj     ha     1 tiled  a   heating 

ui,l    lighting    plant,    whii  h    ha      t  fev 

■.  In<  i,     arc     ill'     re  ull     ol     mi  1  ling     pi  1  uliai 

.  ,,1,'lih. I"     l" I  of  tl       -  qtii| ,1 

\  plan    v  i'  v-    "i    ili'    '  ampu     (Fig 
novi  I      '  heme    in    a    carefully    outlini  'I      ysti  m    ol 

ti  1  hi     id'    "i  a  huge  1 1  mound, 

wiili    iIh     M '    i'i '     ba  ■       rhi 

ol   colli  "'    build .    [2  in   number,   1  i  located   upon 

iIh   1    iii  1  ,,  -   ,    and    1  • H    1      feel    b 

,,    1  . 1     above    power  hou  ic     level       V 
,,1. 1, ,      ,1   I,, ,  .inn    111  cc    .11 1    i"  bla  1   tin     olid 

:nn     ;,      fool foi      till       Itl  .111,    hi ■■     pip       Inn  , 

ami  there  arc  not  a  few  instances  where  thi  pipe 
lined    upward    al    an    angle    ol     1      dcgrci      to 

I,  ai  Ii    the   highi  1    tcrrac 

The    system    of    heating    here    installed    m 

1, id    a    regulated    vacuum    system,    in    whii  h    the 

condensation  is  returned  by  gravity  to  tin  plant, 
exccpl  from  two  buildings,  which  lie  below  the 
power  house  level.  From  thi  ic  building  the  con 
den  .iiii.n  is  dropped  into  the  sewer. 

Fig.    j    slmws   a    cross  sccti i    the     pecial    in 

sulation    biiili    up   1 commodate    the    return    line. 

II,     11   of  the  corrosive  actii 1   condensation 


V1LLE,    MO. 

on  wrought-iron  pipe,  when  not  always  filled  with 
water,  it  was  decided  to  use  cast-iron  pipe  on  return 
lines.  This  is  known  as  universal  pipe,  and  is 
manufactured  by  the  Central  Foundry  Company  of 
New  York.  The  steam  lines  are  of  standard 
wrought  pipe,  with  all  the  necessary  expansion 
joints  and  specials  used  in  standard  practice.  The 
small  line  on  the  outside  supplies  15  pounds  of 
air   for  the  operation   of  thermostats. 

Fig.  3  shows  a  general  view  of  that  part  of  the 
system  which  operates  under  vacuum.  An  auto- 
matic controlling  valve  at  the  steam  inlet,  a  trap 
and    check    valve    at    the    outlet     and    an    automatic 


In-     1 

to   plant. 

At    the   pi."  ■ 


O  — 


tank.    Into   1 

water,   whi  hi  ith  a  float  valvi 

gh    an 

automatii    valve   fi hi    tank  above.     I  hi 

I  ti  m  :     thu  implicity,  but 

to   work   automa 

["he  ligl "     fstem 

voll      1  tern,    readil; 

system,   if  di     red     when   additional   generate 

lupin  ,  ,| 

This   plant,   as    in-i    pni    into 

stalled    i"i     11     B     Mc  Vfce,    bu  im        1 

thi     Pari     1  olli  bj    W.    II.   Sell 

well-known     hi  itin neci 

the   Marquette    Building 


Ohio   and    Indiana    Interurban   Associa- 
tions May  Be  Merged. 

Perhaps   trie   most   interesting   topic   discu I   at 

the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Ohio  [nterurban  Rail 
way  Association,  held  at  Columbus  on  Decembei 
28th,    was   the   question    of   merging   the    Ohio   and 

Indiana  associations.  After  discussing  ihe  matter 
the  president  appointed  E.  C.  Spring,  J.  R.  Har- 
rigan,  F.  D.  Carpenter  and  J.  O.  Wilson  as  a  com- 
mittee to  lake  up  the  matter  with  a  committee  of 
the  Indiana  association.  A  meeting  of  the  joint 
committee  will  be  held  at  Indianapolis  on  January 
10th  and  a  report  of  the  results  will  he  made  at 
■the  annual  meeting  of  the  Ohio  association  in 
1  Jayton   on   January   25th. 

In  case  the  merger  is  made  it  is  thought  that 
Columbus  may  be  selected  as  the  headquarters  with 
a  salaried  secretary  in  charge  of  the  business. 
Should  this  be  done  an  effort  would  be  made  to 
have  the  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michi- 
gan and  Kentucky  come  into  the  organization  under 
the  proposed  name  of  the  Central  States  Inter- 
urban Association. 

Other  topics  for  addresses  at  the  meeting  were 
as  follows:  "The  Proper  Method  of  Advertising," 
"Shop  Records"  and  "Transportation  of  Employes 
and  Their  Dependents."  An  invitation  was  ex- 
tended to  the  members  to  attend  the  ceremonies 
incident  to  the  completion  of  the  western  Ohio 
extension  at  Findlay  on  Saturday,  and  an  explana- 
tion of  the  importance  of  the  event  was  made. 

It  is  expected  that  many  of  the  foremost  traction 
men  of  the  country  will  attend  the  annual  meeting 
and  banquet  of  the  Ohio  association  at  Dayton  on 
January    25th.       Among    them     will     be     President 


Labor-Having  Receptacle  for  Signs. 


the   illu 

from   thi 
metal, 


tion   from   the   front.     This  porcelain   ring  not  only 
f    holding    the    receptacle   in 

place,  but   gives  3   finished  appearance  to  the  front 
'  iclc    becoming. 
1    after    the    sign    is  up    it    may    be    readily 
1   and  a  new  he  turning  of 

the  receptacle  after  it  is  inserted  is  made  impos- 
sible by  tin  providing  of  a  key  in  the  receptacle 
part  proper,  which  serves  as  a  locking  device. 
The  manufacturers  say  that  they  arc  prepared  to 
furnish  at  cost  the  die  necessary  for  punching 
out  the   holes. 


Coming    Exhibition  of    Balloons   and 
Air  Ships. 

An  exhibition  of  spherical  and  other  drifting  bal- 
loons, dirigible  airships,  aeroplanes,  parachutes. 
kites,  etc.,  will  be  held  under  the  auspices  of  the 
recently  organized  Aero  Club  of  America  in  the 
Sixty-ninth  Regiment  Armory,  New  York  city,  on 
January  13th  to  20th.  in  connection  with  the  annual 
the  Automobile  Club  of  America.  The  main 
drill  room  floor  of  the  Armory  will  be  given  over  to 
the  automobiles,  but  suspended  overhead  will  be  a 
number  of  large  balloons,  airships,  aeroplanes 
while  the  gymnasium  upstairs  will  he  entirel 
voted  to  an  exhibition  of  aeronautical  models  and 
appurtenances,  signal  systems,  meteorological  ap- 
paratus, files  of  periodicals,  patents,  liooks.  photo- 
graphs, etc.,  relating  to  aeronautics.  The  exhibi- 
tion will  have  a  scientific,  an  engineering,  as  well 
as  a  popular  and  sporting  interest  The  following- 
named  gentlemen  have  been  invited  to  act  in  an 
advisory   capacity   to   the  club:     Prof.    S.    P.   Lang- 


air  vent  at  the  radiator  tell  the  entire  story.  The 
result  is  that  the  average  temperature  in  the  radi- 
ator is,  under  normal  conditions,  reduced  to  about 
180  degrees,  and  thereby  a  considerable  amount 
of  the  sensible  heat  in  the  condensation  is  ex- 
tracted. A  closer  regulation  of  temperature  in  the 
building  is  also  secured,  with  its  consequent  saving 
of  steam.  Furthermore,  from  the  facts  that  steam 
is  being  drawn  into  the  building  intermittently 
and  that  all  the  buildings  never  take  steam  at  the 
same  time,  the  capacity  of  the  line  is  increased 
very   materially. 


NECTIONS    FOR    HEATING    SYSTEM    AT 


Vreeland  of  the  New  York  city  lines.  President 
Ely  of  the  American  Street  and  Interurban  Railway 
Association  and  T.  E.  Mitten  of  the  Chicago  lines. 
The  annual  meeting  of  the  Indiana  Electric  Rail- 
way Association  will  be  held  in  the  Claypool  Hotel, 
Indianapolis,  on  January  nth.  On  the  programme 
are  the  annual  address  of  President  Henry,  informal 
discussion  of  miscellaneous  subjects,  and  the  ques- 
tion box.  In  the  evening  there  will  be  a  banquet. 
On  January  10th  the  committee  from  the  Ohio  asso- 
ciation, headed  by  E.  C.  Spring,  and  the  com- 
mittee   from    the    Indiana    association,    headed    by 


with  Cooling  Coil  and  Drain. 


ley.    Thomas   A.    Edison.    Prof.    Alexander    Graham 
Bell  and  Peter  Cooper  Hewitt. 

A  remarkable  collection  of  aeronautical  pictures 
will  be  shown,  embracing  several  private  collections. 
the  largest  of  which,  numbering  about  150  subjects, 
will  be  loaned  by  William  J.  Hammer,  the  well- 
known  consulting  electrical  engineer  of  New  York 
city.  Nearly  all  his  pictures  consist  of  photo- 
graphs taken  by  himself  while  abroad  of  various 
notable  ascents,  together  with  photographs  pre- 
sented to  him  by  Prof.  Langley.  Sir  Hiram  Maxim, 
Santos-Dumom     and    others.       Mr.     Hammer    will 


24 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  6,  1906 


also   contribute   some  material   relating   to   signaling 
from   war  balloons. 

A  system  of  signaling  from  war  balloons  by 
means  of  colored  incandescent  lamps  attached  to 
captive  balloons,  with  the  code  signals  operated 
from  a  keyboard,  will  also  be  demonstrated,  this 
being  the  first  system  of  the  kind,  it  having  been 
devised  by  Mr.  Hammer  in  1880  at  Mr.  Edison's 
laboratory  at  Menlo  Park,  N.  J.  This  system  is 
the  substantial  basis  of  the  methods  which  have 
been  employed  on  war  balloons  and  on  shipboard 
subsequently  both  here  and  abroad. 


"  International  "    Switchboard     Instru- 
ments and  Their  Makers. 

The  "International"  switchboard  instrument,  which 
the  accompanying  cuts  well  illustrate,  is  the  im- 
proved type  of  the  instrument  which,  although 
manufactured  but  a  few  years,  has  been  received 
with  a  degree  of  favor  flattering  to  the  manufac- 
turer. It  is  manufactured  by  the  International 
Electric  Meter  Company  of  Chicago,  and  makes 
use  of  the  well-known  principle  developed  by  the 
noted  pioneers,  Deprez  and  d'Arsonval,  and  is 
said  to  be  the  first  gravity  meter  making  practical 
application    of   this    principle. 

The  salient  features  in  this  type  of  instrument 
are  the  evenly  divided  scale  and  the  positive  "dead- 
beat"  action  of  the  moving  parts.  These  effects 
are,  attained  by  the  use  of  a  very  light  coil  and 
metal  frame,  mounted  on  a  suitable  suspension, 
which  is  free  to  turn  in  the  uniform  field  of  a 
strong   permanent   magnet. 

These  general  and  primary  facts  are  well  known 
to  all  versed  in  the  electrical  field.  This  funda- 
mental principle  has  been  applied  to  a  varietv  of 
mechanical  designs,  which  were  developed  in  the 
following   order: 

Originally  the  coil  was  suspended  on  ordinary 
torsional  filar  supports,  which  served  the  purpose 
of  opposing  the  electromotive  force  of  the  coil  and 
also  to  convey  the  current  through  the  coil.  Later, 
the  torsional  springs  were  replaced  by  spiral 
springs  and  pivots,  which  are  essential  for  portable 
instruments,  but  not  necessary  for  instruments  that 
are  mounted  permanently  in  a  certain  position,  as 
is   the  case   with   switchboard   apparatus. 

The  latest  and  best  instrument  for  use  on  switch- 
boards is  the  "Gravity"  type,  so  named  because 
of  the  use  of  small  weights,  properly  adjusted  to 
control  the  movement  of  the  coil.  It  is,  of  course, 
evident  that  when  the  weights  are  properly  se- 
cured, the  resisting  force  will  always  be  the  same 
and  zero  trouble  will  be  eliminated.  Zero  trouble, 
that  is,  the  trouble  due  to  setting  of  the  springs, 
when  heated,  causing  the  index  to  point  in  a  posi- 
tion other  than  on  the  zero  mark,  is  often  expe- 
rienced by  users  of  the  spring-type  instruments. 
When  this  occurs  it  is  necessary  to  recalibrate  the 
instrument.  The  advantage  of  the  gravity  type  of 
meter  is  its  constancy;  it  is  only  necessary  to 
place  the  instrument  in  such  a  position  that  the 
index  points,  at  zero,  and  the  readings  will  be  and 
will   always   remain   correct. 

There  are  many  details  in  the  construction  of 
the  International  meter  which  are  new  and  seem 
to  be  improvements  over  the  usual  construction. 
Prominent  among  these  is  the  riveting  of  the 
jewel  stud  or  pivot  directly  into  the  aluminum-coil 
frame,  making  the  construction  both  rigid  and 
permanent,  and  the  winding  of  the  coil  upon  the 
inside  of  the  frame,  which  acts  as  a  protection 
to    the    coil.     The    usual    method    is    to    wind    the 


Tungsten  steel  of  the  best  grade  is  used  in  the 
magnets,  and  the  best  kind  of  imported  sapphire 
jewels  are  used  in  the  bearings.  All  parts,  except 
those  actually  necessary  to  carry  current,  are 
"dead."  The  voltmeters  are  high  in  resistance,  and 
can  be  used  for  ground-resistance  readings.  The 
ammeters  are  used  in  connection  with  a  shunt  of 
low  temperature  coefficient,  and  are  operated  on 
0.04  of  a  volt.  The  shunt  is  composed  of  a  metal 
which  has  the  lowest  possible  temperature  coffi- 
cient  and  is  of  a  design  which  is  most  convenient 
for  switchboard  use.  It  is  clamped  to  the  surface 
of  the  bus-bar,  eliminating  the  fitting  of  the  bus-bar 
into  slots.  All  sizes  of  shunts  are  rigid  and  self- 
contained  and  do  not  need  a  block  of  wood  to 
support    them. 

As  will  be  noted,  these  instruments  are  of  the 
round-pattern  design,  and  are  made  in  two  sizes, 
measuring    in    diameter    g^i    and    7%     inches,    re- 


Mayor    Dunne's    Views    on    Pending 
Municipal    Problems. 

In  a  sort  of  New  Year's  message  Mayor  Dunne 
reviews  the  municipal  situation  in  Chicago  from 
his  own  point  of  view.  Here  is  part  of  what  he 
says  about  traction,  lighting  and  telephone  inter- 
ests: 

I  _  am  confident  that  the  people  will  vote  this 
April  as  decisively  in  favor  of  municipalization  of 
the  street-car  lines  as  they  did  last  April.  I  have 
done  everything  in  my  power  to  carry  out  the 
will  of  the  people  of  Chicago  in  the  way  of 
bringing  about  municipal  ownership  of  the  city's 
traction  lines,  but  the  members  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil, in  the  face  of  the  expression  of  the  people's 
will,  have  voted  by  an  overwhelming  majority 
against  any  move  in  that  direction  that  I  have 
made.     As  a  consequence  the  wheels  of  legislation 


W.  W,  Cheney,  jr..  Preside 


tary.     John  M.  Lea,  Electrical  Engineer.     Julian  S.  Jacks. 
ATIONAL    ELECTRIC    METER    COMPANY. 


spectively,  in  both  flush  and  standard  mounting 
and  in  all  standard  capacities  and  finishes.  The 
case  is  composed  of  cast  iron,  and  acts  as  "a  shield 
to  the  meter  in  case  it  is  placed  in  a  magnetic 
field.  All  instruments  carried  in  stock  are  as- 
sembled, but  not  calibrated.  The  meter  is  cali- 
brated just  before  shipment,  to  insure  a  more  ac- 
curate   product. 

The  International  Electric  Meter  Company  is  a 
corporation  organized  under  the  laws  of  the  state 
of  Illinois,  with  headquarters  in  Chicago.  The 
present  management,  of  which  Mr.  W.  W.  Cheney, 
Jr.,  is  president  and  treasurer,  took  charge  of  the 
business  about  a  year  ago,  and  since  that  time 
the  company  has  made  material  advances.  Mr. 
Cheney  is  a  native  of  Chicago,  and  was  educated 
at  the  St.  John's  Military  School  of  Manlius,  N.  Y. 
While  devoting  his  time  largely  to  the  interests 
of  this  company,  he  is  also  interested  in  several 
other  successful  enterprises,  to  which  he  gives  his 
attention. 

Mr.    August    Benson    accepted    the   secretaryship 


for  the  time  being  are  effectively  blocked.  It  is 
for  the  people  to  determine  whether  my  course  or 
that  of  the  council  shall  be  apnroved  and  sustained. 
This  question  the  people  will  face  at  the  polls  next 
April.  Their  will  must  stand  supreme,  and  I  am 
not  doubtful  of  what  will  be  their  verdict. 

With  other  citizens  who  believe  that  the  existing 
gas  companies  of  Chicago  have  been  charging  ex- 
orbitant rates  for  gas,  I  went  to  Springfield  shortly 
after  my  election  and  urged  upon  the  General 
Assembly  the  passage  of  an  act  enabling  the  City 
Council  of  the  city  of  Chicago  to  fix  reasonable 
rates  for  gas  and  electric  light.  The  State  Legis- 
lature passed  such  an  act  in  response  to  this  de- 
mand, and  the  same  has  been  adopted  by  the  citi- 
zens of  Chicago  upon  a  referendum  vote. 

Immediately  upon  the  adoption  of  this  act,  by 
referendum  last  November,  I  addressed  a  message 
to  the  City  Council  calling  the  attention  of  that 
body  to  this  fact  and  urging  the  council  to  pass  an 
ordinance,  which  I  submitted,  fixing  the  price  to  be 
charged    for   gas   at   75   cents   per    1,000   cubic    feet. 


Complete  Instrument. 


wire  upon  the  frame  and  stick  the  pivots  to  the 
outside   of   the   wire. 

The  construction  of  the  needle  and  its  support. 
is  of  the  highest  grade  of  mechanical  design.  It 
is  rigid  and  strong  and  of  minimum  weight.  The 
needle  is  a  solid  aluminum  wire,  instead  of  a 
fragile  tubing,  and,  although  having  sufficient  stiff- 
ness, can  be  severely  deformed  without  breaking. 

On  account  of  the  unavoidable  variance  in  the 
machining  of  the  pole-pieces  and  core,  it  is  said 
to  be  impossible  for  any  meter  manufacturer  to 
obtain  a  perfect  air  gap  between  these  parts,  and 
unless  extreme  care  is  applied  to  the  balancing  or 
poising  of  the  needle  and  coil,  a  scale  drawn  in 
perfectly  even  divisions  is  unsatisfactory,  as  a  me- 
ter adjusted  to  full-scale  reading  on  an  evenly 
printed  scale  is  likely  not  to  give  true  intermediate 
readings.  The  method  used  by  the  International 
company  is  to  "step  off"  the  main  divisions  with 
the  current  and  draw  in  the  lines  by  hand.  This 
method,  it  is  declared,  should  always  be  used 
where    accuracy    is  essential. 


of  this  company  at  the  time  M'r.  Cheney  secured 
control.  He  has  been  connected  with  several  of 
the  large  commercial  houses  of  Chicago,  in  dif- 
ferent capacities,  and  this  gives  him  the  necessary 
business  experience  to  perform  the  duties  of  his 
office   most   acceptably. 

Mr.  John  M.  Lea,  who  is  the  electrical  engineer 
of  the  company,  is  an  engineering  graduate  of  the 
University  of  Wisconsin.  He  has  had  several  years 
of  experience  in  the  different  departments  of  the 
Western  Electric  Company,  and  to  him  should  be 
given  the  credit  for  the  excellent  instruments  the 
company   has   placed    upon    the    market. 

Mr.  Julian  S.  Jackson,  sales  manager,  was  con- 
nected for  several  years  with  the  sales  department 
of  the  Western  Electric  Company,  and  was  later 
sales  agent  at  Chicago  for  Pass  &  Seymour,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  traveled  the  larger  portion  of 
the  United  States.  This  wide  acquaintance  in  the 
electrical  field,  and  a  pleasing  personality,  will 
prove, of  much  value  in  advancing  the  interests  of 
his    company. 


This  price,  in  my  judgment,  is  a  reasonable  one, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  gas  has  been  sold  within 
recent  years  in  the  city  of  Chicago  by  one  of  the 
present  constituent  corporate  members  of  the  Peo- 
ples Gas  Light  and  Coke  Company  for  75  cents 
per  1,000  cubic  feet,  and  in  view  of  the  further  fact 
that  gas  now  is  sold  in  several  American  cities  for 
75  cents  and  less.  The  matter  of  my  message  has 
been  referred  to  the  council  committee  on  gas,  oil 
and  electric  light.  I  earnestly  hope  that  that  com- 
mittee soon  will  recommend  to  the  City  Council 
for  passage  an  ordinance  fixing  the  price  of  gas 
in  this  city  at  75  cents  per  1,000  cubic  feet. 

It  is  my  intention  at  an  early  date,  as  soon  as  I 
procure  sufficient  reliable  data,  to  recommend  to 
the  City  Council  the  passage  of  an  ordinance  ma- 
terially reducing  the  price  of  electric  light  in  this 
city,  as  I  am  confident  that  the  present  rates 
charged  by  private  companies  are  both  exorbitant 
and  unjustly  discriminative  between  different 
classes   of   citizens. 

I  have  communicated  and  held  several  interviews 


January   6,    i'/<<> 


ELE<  TRK 


v.iil,   ihc   officials  ol   th<    I  hii  ago    I  ■  li  phom    l  on 

panj  i    and    havi     urgi  'I    upon    this   •  orporal the 

adoption    "f    a    more   n  a  onabli      i  I"  dul 

it, i    telephone    lervicc.      In    re  pon  -    to    the  ic   sug- 

je  n, ,11     ili,'  ,  ompany  ha  -  addn  iscd  a   i  ommi 

M,,i,   i,i  i Ik-  mayor  and  the   '  il  v   I  ouni  il  req 

ih,    opening   ol   negotiation!   with    rcl to    thi 

future   dealing     ol    the   •  ompan; I    thi    i  ity  and 

.  hi/,  ii     ol  I  I"'  I  I in ii  ation,   too 

been   refei  red  to  the  coum  il  i  oi I •• 

.-mil  electric  light,  where  the  matti  i   now   i    pending, 

I   am  pleased   to  state  thai   the  ofl I  the  tell 

phone  company    have    in! I    mi     thai    thi  .    an 

prepared  to  consider : 

i     \  I,  -I  mi  u .:  i  ni  i  barge  i  to  ti  lepl u  icr 

2,  'l  In-  incorporation  in  any  agreement  that  may 
l,f  made  with  the  municipality  of  a  provision  under 
which   the   city  of  Chicago   shall   In-  empowered    to 

take  over  and   operate   the   telephone   pla I    thi  i 

ompan]   a  i  a  munii  ipal  plant   when  thi     tati    Legi 
l.iiurf  enacts  a  law  enabling  the  city   io  to  do. 


New  Stromberg-Carlson  Transmitter. 

Telephone  apparatus  capable  of  being  used  in 
discriminate^/  over  long  or  short  distances  lias  bc- 
come  almost  a  necessity.  One  of  tin:  most  difficult 
parts  ni'  the  apparatus  to  adjust  to  this  condition 
is  the  transmitter,  which  should  lov  .ofl  and  picas 
ing  transmission  over  the  shorl   disl :es  ana  still 


be  capable  of  transmitting  speech  over  long  lines 
with  the  least  possible  exertion  on  the  part  of  the 
speaker.  The  volume  of  transmission  depends  upon 
the  change  of  distance  between  the  electrodes, 
brought  about  by  the  vibration  of  the  diaphragm. 
In  the  usual  form  of  transmitter  one  electrode  takes 
up  the  same  amplitude  of  vibration  as  the  central 
point  of  the  diaphragm.  In  a  new  form  of  the 
Stromberg-Carlson  transmitter,  however,  both  elec- 
trodes are  attached  to  the  central  point  of  the  dia- 
phragm, thus  producing  a  variation  of  distance 
between  the  electrodes  of  twice  the  amplitude  of 
vibration  of  the  central  point  of  the  main  dia- 
phragm. 

The    mechanical    construction    of    the    transmitter 


•villi    (hi 

•  up    'Ii  imounti  fl     ivitl 
cup   with   thi 

I 

'  ai  i ■ i 

mill,  i     i 

olden  fl  i"  ii no  cting 

■  ili'       i    ■  m  but 

high 
i     thi     'Km  nun,  i     pai  king   and    prevenl      arcing. 
The  company   al  o   m  inul  granular 

-  ml 

The  diaphragi  ird  aluminum 
and  is  carefullj  traighl I  in  a  powerful  ma- 
chine.     It    i     pi i''l    l 

auxiliary    diaphragm    for    sealing    thi 

iv    made   oi    ielci  ted    India    mica    can  full] 

to  thiekni         o  thai 

and    ii    is     ei  ui  i  Ij    hi  Id    in    pta  e  by  the 

ring.      I  lie  minor  pans  of  thi 

constructed   « ith  partii  ulai    can    and   fi  om 

selected    material. 

Each    transmitl   i    b  ■     erial    nui 


either  by  the  letter  C  or  the  letter  L,  C  being  for 
central-energy  transmitters  and  L  for  local-battery 
transmitters.  Each  transmitter  is  accurately  meas- 
ured for  resistance  and  given  a  practical  test  on 
both  short  and  long  lines  in  comparison  with  other 
instruments,  thus  assuring  that  each  has  been  prop- 
erly assembled  and  received  an  accurate  adjustment 
by  the  manufacturer,  the  Stromberg-Carlson  Tele- 
phone Manufacturing  Company  of  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
A  cardholder  of  neat  design,  held  in  place  by 
two    of    the    transmitter    mounting    screws,    is    fur- 


UENERAL  TELEPHONE  :;twb 

I 

I  h(  -»ph  Company 

with    a 

■  A     Telegraph 
)  ,    hat    be?: 

•'/     The 
•  'iui  A. 

Amorq 

Bath-Hammoi 

Valley 
I  elephi  -fprings 

field    II  Tcnn. ; 

I  hilton 

Medo    Telephone    Company,   Medo,    Minn. 

N.  Y. :   Ri 

Jersey     I 

Company.    Ringwood,    ' 

i  lompan  Kan  ,     Penmar    Tel 

Company,  Peru,  Kan. 


MANUFACTURERS    AND    DEALERS. 

The    Swedish-American    Telephom    I 

i'.-.rk.  Chicago. 
which  is  it-,  address  for  mail  and  express.  Freight 
shipments   should  be  made  to  Summerdale,  111. 

'  ii  much  value  to  the  practical  telephone  man 
is    the    new    bulletin    of    the     Stromberg-Carlson 

Telephone  Manufacturing  Company  of  Rochester, 
X  Y..  upon  private-branch  telephone  exchanges. 
All  the  details  of  the  apparatus  are  first  described 
in  the  bulletin  after  which  the  various  -' 
switchboards  arc  illustrated.  A  few  pages  are  also 
ited  to  the  power  board  and  its  accessories. 
The  bulletin  is  built  upon  the  loose-leaf  principle, 
the  cover  being  of  a  simple  but  appropriate  design. 

The  }Vcstcrn  Electric  Company  of  Chicago  and 
other  large  cities  has  taken  over  the  supply  de- 
partment of  the  Central  Union  Telephone  Corn- 
pans-  at  Indianapolis  and  has  established  a  branch 
house  at  that  place  for  the  sale  of  telephone 
apparatus  and  supplies.  Mr.  Edward  S.  Holmes 
of  Chicago  has  been  appointed  manager.  The 
former  employes  of  the  Central  Union  Telephone 
Company's  supply  department  have  been  taken 
over  by  the  Western  Electric  Company.  It  is 
understood  that    the    Indianapolis    branch    will    not 


PARTS  OF  STROM 


CONNECTORS 


SEW  STROMBERO  CAR.LSON  TRANSMITTER. 


follows  out  the  practice  that  has  been  found  to  be 
the  most  satisfactory  for  high-class  anoaratus — 
that  is,  the  use  of  highly  polished  carbon  elec- 
trodes and  irregularly  formed  carbon  granules 
enclosed  in  a  practically  moisture-proof  case,  using 
no  absorbent  material  whatever,  so  that  the  trans- 
mitter when  once  assembled  should  be  entirely 
free  from  any  bad  effects  due  to  atmospheric 
changes,  and  should  be  equally  as  efficient  in  any 
climate.  The  transmitter  is  made  more  durable, 
particularly  in  damp  climates,  by  the  use  of  an 
auxiliary  moisture-proof  diaphragm  over  the  main 
diaphragm,  thus  preventing  any  chemical  action  of 
the  main  diaphragm,  due  to  moisture  or  alkali  from 
the  breath. 

Figs.  I,  2  and  3  clearly  show  the  construction 
of  the  instrument.  What  corresponds  to  the  front 
electrode  in  the  ordinary  transmitter  is  divided 
into  two  halves,  each  forming  a  terminal.  The 
back  disk  with  highly  polished  carbon  is  used  only 
as  an  electrical  connection  between  the  two  halves 
of    the    transmitter.      Fig.    4    shows    the  diaphragm 


nished  with  each  instrument.  It  is  provided  with  a 
transparent  celluloid  disk  and  white-paper  back,  on 
which  may  be  printed  the  telephone  number. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  no  metal  what- 
ever is  used  in  the  construction  of  this  transmitter 
excepting  brass,  thus  insuring  sufficient  weight  and 
freedom  from  warping,  which  is  more  than  liable 
to  occur  if  any  composition  parts  are  used,  as  it  is 
evident  that  the  slightest  movement  on  the  part 
of  the  framework  would  throw  the  transmitter 
completely  out  of  adjustment  and  render  it  prac- 
tically worthless.  Neither  is  any  exposed  part  of 
the  transmitter  connected  with  the  telephone  cir- 
cuit, thus  insuring  the  subscriber  freedom  from 
any  disagreeable   shocks  or  injury. 


City  Electrician  Carroll,  before  the  committee 
investigating  the  cost  of  gas  in  Chicago,  was  asked 
as  to  the  damage  done  to  pipes  by  electrolysis  in 
Chicago.  He  replied  that  while  it  was  considerable 
it  could  not  be  measured.  It  was  greater  to  water 
than  to  gas  pipes. 


attempt  to  do  any  manufacturing  but  will  depend 
for  its  source  of  supply  on  the  company's  large 
factories    at    Chicago    and    New    York. 

The  Automatic  Electric  Company  of  Chicago  is 
well  pleased  with  its  yeear's  work,  as  the  list  of 
exchanges,  which  it  has  equipped  in  the  last  12 
months  is  a  long  one.  Twenty-one  public  ex- 
changes were  installed  aggregating  about  25.000 
lines.  The  largest  of  these  was  the  Citizens'  Tele- 
phone Company's  exchange  at  Columbus. 
with  S.000  lines.  West  Exchange  of  the  Home 
Telephone  Company  of  Los  Angeles.  Cal.,  coming 
second  with  4,000  lines.  Private  exchanges  ag- 
gregating 413  lines  were  installed  during  the  year, 
the'largest  being  for  the  Brooklyn  Heights  Railway 
Company.  Additions  to  15  public  exchanges  and 
six  private  exchanges  were  made.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  year  the  company  had  on  hand  con- 
tracts for  nine  public  exchanges  aggregating  19,800 
lines,  and  for  three  private  exchanges,  some  of 
which  have  already  been  partially  built. 


26 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


Great  Britain. 

London,  December  20.— I  have  previously  men- 
tioned that  in  all  likelihood  the  contract  for  the 
electrical  equipment  of  a  portion  of  the  London, 
Brighton  and  South  Coast  Railway  Company  s  sub- 
urban lines  on  the  single-phase  system  would  go 
to  Germany.  It  is  now  definitely  announced  that 
the  contract  has  been  given  to  the  Allgemeine  Llek- 
tricitats-  Gesellschaft  of  Berlin,  but  that  consider- 
able subletting  will  be  done,  and  in  this  a  number 
of  British  firms  will  participate.  The  line  to  be 
converted  runs  from  Victoria  in  the  southwest  of 
London  out  to  several  suburban  neighborhoods  in 
the  south,  and,  taking  the  shape  of  a  semicircle 
returns  to  London  Bridge  in  the  city.  It  is  stated 
that  the  Winter-Eichberg  system  will  be  adopted 
and  that  the  German  firm  has  secured  the  contract 
by  virtue  of  higher  guarantees.  In  view  of  the 
proposals  to  supply  electric  power  in  London  it  is 
interesting  to  note  that  the  railway  company  does 
not  intend  to  erect  a  generating  station,  being  ap- 
parently convinced  that,  there  being  so  many  com- 
petitors, suitable  terms  will  be  easy  to  obtain. 

With  the  natural  progress  of  engineering,  greater 
attention  is  being  paid  to  the  economical  burning 
of  fuel  in  generating  stations.  Closely  allied  with 
this,  of  course,  is  the  question  of  smoke  abatement, 
and'  the  general  motto  in  large  works  nowadays  is. 
More  steam  and  less  smoke.  In  the  past  one  of 
the  nightmares  of  the  central-station  and  factory 
-ngineer  was  the  "outlooks"  of  the  Smoke  Abate- 
ment Society,  a  body  formed  with  the  very  laudable 
object  of  enforcing  the  law  in  the  interests  of 
public  health,  with  the  object  of  bringing  home 
to  factory  and  other  owners  the  commercial  as  well 
as  the  hygienic  advantages  arising  from  the  smoke- 
less combustion  of  fuel.  Identified  with  the  society 
are  many  well-known  engineers,  and  the  result  has 
been  a  binding  together  of  the  society  and  the  fuel 
burners,  so  that  there  will  undoubtedly  be  greater 
co-operation  in  the  future  than  in  the  past.  A 
proposal  is  on  foot  to  organize  some  department 
whose  function  it  should  be  to  hire  out  skilled 
advice  on  the  question  of  scientific  stoking,  etc. 
One  of  the  biggest  drawbacks  which  the  society 
encounters  is  the  fact  that  government  factories  are 
exempt  from  the  general  law  relating  to  the  ques- 
tion, and  curiously  enough  they  set  the  exceedingly 
bad  example  of,  apparently,  emitting  the  maximum 
quantity  of  black  smoke  that  their  furnaces  are 
capable  of. 

A  few  further  details  are  now  available  regard- 
ing the  London  County  Council's  electric  power 
scheme.  At  the  meeting  last  week  a  resolution 
that  a  bill  be  promoted  was  carried,  and  so  the 
council  stands  committed.  The  total  area  of  supply 
is  117  square  miles  inside  London  and  270  square 
miles  outside.  Powers  are  sought  to  supply  only 
to  authorized  distributors  and  to  railways,  tram- 
ways and  the  like.  In  addition  to  the  large  trac- 
tion power  house  at  Greenwich  a  new  station  will 
be  erected  further  up  the  River  Thames  at  Bat- 
tersea.  Roughly,  power  will  be  asked  for  at  first 
to  borrow  $12,500,000,  spread  over  seven  years. 
Of  this  it  is  estimated  that  nearly  $7,500,000  will 
be  expended  during  the  years  1907,  1908  and  1909. 
Through  it  all  the  finance  committee  repeatedly 
warns  the  council  of  the  insecure  character  of  the 
business  and  of  the  fact  that  a  loss  is  inevitable 
during  the   first  years. 

The  National  Telephone  Company  and  the  Swan- 
sea corporation  are  still  fighting  in  the  law  courts 
as  to  the  rights  which  the  latter  claims  to  have 
concerning  intercommunication  between  the  munici- 
pal telephone  system  and  that  of  the  company  under 
the  terms  of  the  Telegraph  Act  of  1899.  Already 
the  case  has  been  tried  in  the  lower  courts  and  the 
verdict  went  against  the  company.  It  is  now  in  the 
Apoeal  Court  and  the  contention  of  the  company 
is  that,  while  under  the  act  in  question  it  cannot 
refuse  to  grant  intercommunication,  it  required  a 
clear  definition  of  the  law  as  to  the  extent  of  the 
intercommunication.  Its  contention  was  that  the 
scheme  of  the  Swansea  corporation  was  imprac- 
ticable, inasmuch  as  it  did  not  provide  for  a  go 
and  return  line  between  all  the  sub-exchanges  on 
the  two  systems.  If  this  were  not  done  the  service 
would  be  dislocated  Eventually  the  case  was  ad- 
journed for  the  court  to  send  down  an  independ- 
ent expert  to  report  upon  the  amount  of  intercom- 
munication demanded  by  the  exigencies  of  the  two. 
services. 

The  makers  of  the  Nernst  lamp  have  announced 
that  in  consequence  of  the  continued  rise  in  the 
raw  materials  used  in  the  manufacture  of  their 
goods  an  extra  charge  of  five  per  cent,  is  neces- 
sary on  the  list  prices  upon  most  orders  received 
in  the   future. 

A  company  called  the  Egyptian  Engineering 
Company  has  recently  been  formed,  having  for  its 
function  the  representation  in  Egypt  of  a  large 
number  of  British  electrical  and  other  engineering 
firms.  G. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

Hearst,  that  the  ballots  should  be  recounted  has 
not  been  acceded  to,  but  the  revised  returns  reduce 
the  plurality  to  3,472  votes.  The  Hearst  lawyers 
will'  probably  continue  the  fight  by  initiating  quo- 
warranto  proceedings,  when  the  mayor  will  be 
called   upon  to   justify  his   position. 

Mayor  M'cClellan  has  appointed  William  B.  Elli- 
son as  commissioner  of  water  supply,  gas  and  elec- 
tricity. 

An  official  inspection  of  the  subway  extension 
to  Kingsbridge  was  made  this  afternoon,  and  the 
line  will  be  opened  for  passenger  traffic  at  midnight, 
January  1st.  This  completes  the  Manhattan  por- 
tion  of  the  subway   scheme. 

Following  the  merging  of  the  subway,  elevated 
and  surface  lines  the  traction  representatives  have 
given  out  a  statement  relative  to  the  financial  side 
of  the  amalgamation  and  announce  the  formation 
of  a  new  company  with  a  capital  of  $222,000,000  to 
hold  the  shares  and  stocks  of  the  various  companies 
as  detailed  in  the  Western  Electrician  last  week. 
Traction  stock  declined  several  points  on  this 
announcement,  for  the  scheme  provides  for  the 
replacing  of  the  seven-per  cent,  guaranteed  Metro- 
politan stock  with  new  five-per  cent,  cumulative 
preferred  stock.  The  Rapid  Transit  Commission, 
which  supervises  the  electric  traction  of  Greater 
New  York,  has  discussed  the  combination,  and 
individual  members  expressed  the  view  that  the 
Belmont  financiers  would  ultimately  have  to  come 
to  terms  with  the  city.  Controller  Edward  H. 
Grout  immediately  prophesied  that  within  a  few 
weeks  competition  would  be  forthcoming  for  the 
construction  of  new  subways,  and  this  morning  it 
was  made  public  that  a  new  $100,000,000  syndicate 
was  being  formed  by  J.  Edward  Swanstrom,  who 
was  president  of  the  borough  of  Brooklyn  under 
Mayor  Low.  The  syndicate  proposes  to  bid  for 
the   Brooklyn   subway  extensions. 

The  employes  of  the  Interborough  Rapid  Transit 
Company — that  is,  the  subway  and  elevated  guards, 
conductors  and  switchmen — will  receive  increases 
of  pay  as  from  January  1st,  and  the  trainmen, 
clerks  and  starters  who  work  12  hours  a  day  will 
be  allowed  two  days  off  each  month,  with  pay. 
This  is  the  second  increase  of  wages  since  the  strike 
of  last  spring  and  affects  about  10,000  men. 

The  Kings  County  Electric  Light  and  Power 
Company  will  increase  its  capital  from  $5,000,000  to 
$S,200,ooo,  and  is  planning  to  spend  the  additional 
money  on  a  scheme  of  extensions  calculated  to 
meet    the   needs    of    several   years    to    come. 

A  criminal  charge  for  installing  devices  for  tam- 
pering with  electric  meters  has  been  heard  this 
week,  when  the  New  York  Edison  Company  failed 
to  prove  its  case.  To  assist  the  court  an  exhibit 
consisting  of  a  switchboard,  meters,  cut-offs  and 
lamps    was    produced    in    evidence. 

At  the  new  Wanamaker  store  on  Broadway  an 
electrically  operated  floor-polishing  machine  is  to 
be  seen  in  operation.  This  is  in  the  form  of  a 
miniature  road-roller,  with  additional  rollers  re- 
volving at  a  high  speed  to  poiish  the  flooring. 
The  mechanism  is  operated  by  a  small  Crocker- 
Wheeler  motor  and  power  is  supplied  from  the 
nearest    available    lamp    circuit. 

The  Western   Electric   Company   has  leased   for  a 
long  term  of  years  a  building  at  17  Murray  Street. 
William  H.  Houston  and  associates  of  Washing- 
ton, N.  J.,  have  incorporated  the  Washington  Elec- 
tric   Company    with   a    capital    of   $50,000. 

Fire-alarm  telegraph  devices  are  to  be  installed 
in  a  number  of  public  schools  in  Brooklyn.  The 
whole  work  must  be  done  on  one  contract  in  60 
days,  and  bids  are  receivable  at  the  Board  of 
Education  till  the  morning  of  January  8th. 

D.  W.  W. 


January  6,  1906 

operation  for  many  years  and  furnishes  all  the 
electric  light  used  by  the  city,  and  power  is  also 
furnished  manufacturers.  The  power  house  is  situ- 
ated on  the  Batiscan  River,  18  miles  from  the  city. 
The  city  gave  this  company  the  exclusive  right 
for  20  years  to  furnish  electric  light  and  power 
to  Three  Rivers.  Ten  years  of  the  franchise  have 
expired.  The  Shawinigan  company  will  bring  its 
power  from  Shawinigan  Falls,  about  21  miles  dis- 
tant. W. 


New  York. 


New  York  city,  December  30. — Colonel  George 
B.  McClellan  was  officially  declared  to  be  elected 
mayor  of  Greater  New  York  on  Wednesday  and 
has"  taken  the  oath  of  office.  The  demand  of  the 
municipal-ownership    candidate,    William    Randolph 


Dominion  of  Canada. 

Ottawa,  Ont,  December  30. — It  is  believed  that 
the  United  States  government  will  appoint  three 
commissioners  from  Maine  to  act  with  the  Cana- 
dian commissioners  in  the  adjustment  of  the  dis- 
pute as  to  the  diversion  of  water  from  the  river 
St.  John,  N.  B.  Upon  the  return  of  the  minister 
of  public  works  to  Ottawa  the  Dominion  govern- 
ment will  probably  decide  upon  the  subject  of  co- 
operation with  the  United  States  authorities  in  the 
protection   of  Niagara  Falls. 

The  Citv  Council  of  St.  John,  New  Brunswick, 
will  place  at  the  disposal  of  an  expert  engineer  a 
sufficient  sum  of  money  to  investigate  the  subject 
of  the  development  of  power  at  the  Reversible 
Falls  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  St.  John.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  20,000  horsepower,  now  going  to  waste, 
could  be  developed  at  these  falls. 

Dr.  Haanel,  Dominion  superintendent  of  mines, 
has  received  a  sample  of  the  first  pig  iron  turned 
out  at  the  government's  experimental  electric 
smelter  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Ont.  The  iron  is  of 
a  very  superior  quality.  The  object  of  the  experi- 
ments now  being  made  is  to  determine  whether 
the  electric  process  is  applicable  to  the  economical 
smelting    of   Canadian    hematite    ores. 

T.  W.  McKenzie  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  railway 
has  perfected  an  automatic  device  for  calling  tele- 
graph offices  in  railway  work,  which,  it  is  said,  will 
do  the  work  of  a  man. 

The    North     Shore    Power    Company    of    Three 

Rivers,    Que.,   has   sold  out  its  electric  power  plant 

and  privileges   to  the  Shawinigan   Power  Company. 

The    consideration    for    this    valuable    franchise    is 

$300,000.     The   North   Shore   Company  has  been  ii 


Pacific  Slope. 

San  Francisco,  December  29. — The  Oro  Water, 
Light  and  Power  Company's  stockholders  held  a 
special  meeting  in  San  Francisco  on  December 
28th  and  authorized  the  increase  of  the  bonded 
indebtedness  by  $150,000,  making  a  total  of 
$750,000.  The  machinery  which  is  being  installed 
for  a  20-mile  transmission  to  Oroville,  Cal.,  was 
purchased  by  the  proceeds  of  the  original  bond 
issue  of  $6co,ooo.  About  4,000  horsepower  will 
be  developed,  most  of  which  will  be  used  for  com- 
mercial   lighting   and    operating  gold  dredges. 

The  City  Council  of  Alameda,  Cal.,  has  rejected 
all  of  the  bids  for  additional  generators  for  the 
municipal  electric-light  plant.  The  city  clerk  w^as 
ordered  to  readvertise,  as  the  bids  were  considered 
too  high. 

The    Pacific    Portland    Cement    Company    of    San 
Francisco  has    closed    contracts    for   two    additional 
Westinghouse  400-kilowatt  induction  motors   for  its  I 
new  plant  at  Cement,  Cal. 

The  Wave  Power  and  Electric  Company,  incor- 
porated under  the  laws  of  Arizona,  has  filed  a 
copy  of  its  papers  in  San  Francisco,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  manufacturing  and  installing  the  motors. 
The  principal  place  of  business  is  Phcenix  Ariz 
Fred  Starr,  John  C.  Beach  and  W.  T.  Ha'shagan 
are  interested. 

The  Miller-Cahoon  Company  has  taken  the  Utah  ' 
agency  for  the  Pope-Waverley  electric  automobile. 
A  large  building  will  be  erected  in  Salt  Lake  City 
■  to  be  used  as  a  garage  and  charging  station.  The 
company  contemplates  installing  charging  stations 
also  in  Ogden,  Murray,  Garfield,  American  Fork, 
Springville,  Provo   and   other  towns. 

The  North  Shore  Railroad  Company  has  awarded 
the  complete  contract  for  the  enlargement  of  the 
electric  power  nouse  at  Alto  to  Hunt,  Mirk  &  Co. 
of  San  Francisco.  A  1,000-kilowatt  Westinghouse- 
Parsons  turbo-generator,  Keeler  water-tube  boilers, 
condensing  plant  and  auxiliaries  are  included. 

I.  N.  Enright  and  Raymond  Benjamin  have 
asked  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  St.  Helena,  Cal., 
for  a  franchise  for  an  electric-light  and  power  sys- 
tem. Bids  for  the  franchise  will  be  opened  in 
February. 

The  Northern  Electric  Company,  which  is  build- 
ing an  electric  road  from  Chico  to  Oroville,  Cal 
and  contemplates  building  on  to  Sacramento,  pro- 
poses to  issue  $6,000,000  bonds  for  the  purpose  of 
construction.  Henry  A.  Butters  of  San  Francisco 
is  president  of  the  company. 

An  interurban  electric-railway  scheme,  backed  by 
the  Canadian  Pacific  railway,  embracing  a  continu- 
ous line  from  Seattle  to  Portland,  Ore.,  making 
Olympia  the  upper  Sound  central  point,  with  opera- 
tion of  a  local  street-car  system,  is  reported  from 
railway  news  sources  on  the  Sound.  The  plan  also 
contemplates  taking  over  the  power  plant  and 
street-car  and  lighting  systems  of  the  Olvmpia 
Light  and  Power  Company.  It  is  designed  to 
connect  all  principal  cities  of  the  Sound  and  along 
the  route  to  Portland. 

.The  town  trustees  of  San  Diego,  Cal.,  have  sold 
an  electric-light  franchise  to  Hugh  T.  Duff  for 
$25.  He  will  immediately  commence  the  erection 
of  a  $30,000  plant.  It  is  stated  that  the  proposition 
may  mean  power  for  an  electric  line   later  on. 

The  Los  Angeles  and  Redondo  electric  line  is  to 
be  made  a  four-track  road  as  part  of  the  Hunting- 
ton  system. 

The  Shasta  Power  Company,  which  is  construct- 
ing an  electric  power  plant  near  Hot  Creek,  Shasta 
County,  Cal.,  has  closed  a  contract  with  the  Allis- 
Chalmers  Company  of  two  750-kilowatt  three-phase 
60-cycle  generators,  which  are  to  be  direct  con- 
nected to  two  Doble  impulse  wdieels.  Power  will 
be  transmitted  to  mines  and  smelters.  The  pipe 
line  has  been  completed.  A. 


Ohio. 

Cleveland,  December  30. — Within  a  short  time  a 
new  gasoline  motor  car  will  be  completed  at  the 
Kuhlman  shops  at  Collinwood  for  the  Lake  Shore 
Railroad  Company,  with  which  experiments  will  be 
made   in   the  way  of  doing  a   suburban    business. 

It  is  said  that  Dan  R.  Hanna  has  made  a  propo- 
sition to  the  Northern  Ohio  Traction  and  Light 
Company  that  if  it  will  extend  its  Akron  and 
Ravenna  line  east  to  Warren  he  will  pay  for  the 
construction  of  the  2V2  miles  between  Ravenna 
and  his  farm,  known  as  Cottage  Hill  farm. 

The  Erie  Railway  Company,  it  is  said,  is  plan- 
ning to  inaugurate  some  kind  of  suburban  service 
between  Cleveland  and  Youngstown  and  that  a 
third  track  may  be  built  for  the  purpose.  It  is 
also  said  that  plans  have  been  thought  over  for  a 
service  of  the  same  kind  east  of  Alamanca. 

The  Wheeling  Traction  Company  has  obtained 
the   right-of-way   for  the  extension  of  its  track  up 


January  <■,  1906 


River    in    lli'- 


1     oi    Porl    nd,    thi 


I  hi    1   in     Easti  in   Ini'  i"i  i"n   '  Minpan     h 

grant  'I   a  fram  hi  1    I ei    Mai  ion        '1 1"    

11     .■.  ill   "i"  rati     wiili    ga  olim    i  ai   .    il    i        lid 

I  in     Springfield,    Soulli    (  harli   Ion,    Wa  hing 

('.   II.  and  I  lull lie  line   wa  ■  i ha  i  'I  al 

,1  .    ialc  11    few   days  ago  l>y  a     yndii  ate   hi  adi  -I   b 

E,     W.     1  I -I    1  li  vi  land     [01     $66, 1  hi 

1  ri  ditoi  i  of  the  i  ompanj    ha<  n  i  'I   to  i  il  i    gold 

I Is    heii     indchtedm  li    i     tin     intci 

to    complete    tin    road    ; ling     to    th ginal 

|J. 11 

A    mortgage    fur  $3,000,000    in    (:r  01    "1    1  In     I    moll 

I  hi  ,i    <  i "i    Pill  burg    Im     been   fill  d    b     tin 

In  i     Liverpool     I  raction    <  ompanj     i r<      in 

i ,  I     20  year     I ds     of    thai     al i         I  hi 

money    from    the   sale   of   $600,000   ol    tin   c    bonds, 

which    will    be   disposed   of   as   needed,    will    1 1 

to      future    acquisitions   and    bettci  menti         I  he    offi 

1    the  company    arc    as    follow         Pn    idi  nl 

Van  Horn  Ely,  Buffalo  ;  vice  president,  1  \  mitli 
East  Liverpool ;  secretary  and  treasurer,  I  dwai  d 
Mil  lonald. 

Some  fears  arc  entertained  thai  the  Lcgi  laturc 
mm  make  an  attack  upon  the  use  of  the  third  rail. 
One  bill  has  been  prepared  prohibiting  the  use  of 
ih,  1  item,  il  is  said,  and  another  providi  thai 
guards  shall  be  used  the  entire  distance 

Superintendent  Wilcox  of  the  municipal  light 
plant  al  Columbus  has  informed  the  board  of  serv- 
ice that  the  plain  is  being  overworked  and  thai  a 
new  turbo-generator  will  be  needed  to  bring  it  up 
to  proper  condition.  This  would  necessitate  the  oul 
lav    of    $N,yX)0. 

The  Cleveland  Electric  Illuminating  Company  has 
made  a  bid  of  $69.72  per  are  light  to  the  city  for 
the    ensuing    year.      The    price    the    lasl    year    was 

$73-56- 

The  Cincinnati  and  Columbus  I  raction  Coin 
party  is  completing  the  survey  from  Hillshoro  to 
Chillicothe. 

It  is  said  that  a  bill  will  lie  introduced  in  the 
Legislature  this  winter  making  the  capital  stock 
of  steam  and  electric  railways  taxable,  as  well  as 
the  physical  property,  and  raising  the  valuation 
from  20  to   50  per  cent. 

Samuel  F.  George  of  Dayton  in  an  interview  a 
few  days  ago  said  that  he  had  arranged  for  the 
financing  of  the  Cincinnati,  Dayton  and  Fort  Wayne 
Traction  Company  by  English  and  French  capital- 
ists. It  will  cost  about  $12,500,000  to  construct  the 
road.  It  will  be  built  on  the  steam-road  basis,  and 
will  be  operated  on  the  third-rail  system.  The  line 
will  be  192  miles  long.  The  Brighton  steam  road 
may  be  purchased  to  gain  an  entrance  to  Cincin- 
nati. 

The  Cleveland  Electric  Railway  Company  has 
given  notice  that  the  Central  Avenue  franchise  case 
will  be  appealed  from  the  United  States  District 
Court  to  the  United  States  Supreme  Court.  Judge 
Taylor  decided  that  the  company's  franchise  ex- 
pired last  spring,  and  the  company  contends  that 
it  does  not   expire   until    1914. 

The  receivership  of  the  Miami  and  Eric  Canal 
Transportation  Company  has  been  transferred  from 
the  Superior  Court  at  Cincinnati  to  the  Common 
Pleas  Court.  W.  Kelsey  Schoepf  withdrew  as  re- 
ceiver and  W.  C.  Shephard  of  Dayton  was  ap- 
pointed in  his  place.  The  receivers  have  realized 
$51,608.57  from  the  sale  of  some  of  the  chattels, 
and  the  fees  for  attorneys,  receivers  and  the  ex- 
penses amount  to  $38,972. 

The  Coshocton  council  has  granted  a  franchise 
to  the  Zanesville,  Coshocton  and  New  Philadelphia 
Traction  Company.  O.  M.  C. 


PERSONAL 


George  W.  Lloyd  has  been  appointed  superin- 
tendent of  the  second  district,  southern  division, 
of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company,  in 
place   of   J.  M.    Stephens,    who   has    resigned. 

Henry  V.  Miller  of  Bloomington,  111.,  died  on 
December  27th  in  Chicago.  He  was  for  15  years 
superintendent  of  telegraphs  for  the  Chicago  and 
Alton  railroad,  and  recently  retired  to  promote  an 
electric  block  signal   of  which  he  was  the  inventor. 

J.  D.  Flynn,  well  known  in  telegraphic  circles 
through  his  connection  with  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio, 
and  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Companies,  died 
at  his  home  in  Pittsburg  on  December  25th.  Mr. 
Flynn  was  born  in  Cleveland  on  December  25,  1S46. 
For  twelve  years  he  was  superintendent  of  the 
Western  Union  in  the  Pittsburg  district,  but  for  the 
past  two  years  had  been  president  of  the  Pittsburg 
Stock   Quotation   Company. 

The  Chicago  Daily  Tribune  of  January  1st  con- 
tained the  following:  "S.  Frank.  4740  Calumet 
Avenue,  is  seeking  his  son,  Samuel  J.  Frank,  who 
disappeared  last  Thursday  afternoon.  The  father 
is  a  member  of  the  firm  of  M.  J.  Berkson  &  Co., 
wholesale  clothing  merchants,  235  Jackson  Boule- 
vard. S.  J.  Frank  is  32  years  of  age.  For  two 
years  he  was  general  manager  of  the  Mexican 
Telephone  Company  with  headquarters  in  Mexico 
City." 

J.  C.  Barclay  of  New  York,  assistant  general 
manager,  Theodore  P.  Cook  of  Chicago,  general 
superintendent  of  western  division,  and  Charles 
H.  Bristol  of  New  York,  general  superintendent  of 


l.l".     El 


p  in       1     peel 

in    Indianapol 

and   hcadquartci     in   that 

city. 

I      1 ,      Pp 

a   pi  1  itioi 

way   and  1 

i' ha     been    with   the    '  1 

with    a  •    gold 

watch,  chain  and  1  hai  n 

1  mphi 

W,    G.    William  .    who    fi  1  rcpre 

nti  d  thi  t  Lamp        apany   in   Penn 

and    othci     tcrriloi       fa 

previous);    

Supply  < '  impany  of  New  Voi 

po  lil  ion     ■■  ill     il"     Columb        '  Lamp 

*  ■  11 1  ip.i  1 1 ,.   ..I  Si     1  0  11  .  and    vill 
mid    Philadelpl 

thai  com] 1 .   covci  ing    northern    P  inia   and 

tati 

John    I      1  lili  in  1  1    1 gncd    h 

general  contracl  agent  of  thi    1 

pan)    i"   bee a    istant   to  the   president   of   the 

1 1 1 1 1 . 1 1 1 '.         \l  1  .     '  iill  I"  1    I     I 

as  well  a-  a  busim  man  ol  fii  t-rati  1  tpai  ity,  and 
Mr.     Iiisiill,    thi     president,  011s    and 

broad-gauged  policy  has  done  so  much  to  bring  the 
1  ompanj  to  its  pn  icnl  1  mini  nee,  will  find  in  him  a 
worthj  helper  in  overseeing  the  details  incident 
to  the  responsibilities  and  cares  of  the  executive 
office. 

Vinton  A.  Scars  of  Boston,  Mass.,  who  some 
months  ago  resigned  from  the  various  automatic 
telephone  companies  in  Massachusetts,  has  moved 
to  the  Sears  Building.  Boston,  where  lie  will  con- 
imi'.c  10  be  interested  ill  Independent  telephone  work 
and  securities.  Mr.  Scars  organized  the  automatic 
telephone  companies  at  New  Bedford  and  Fall 
River,  Mass..  which  were  the  first  to  demonstrate 
the  practicability  of  the  automatic  system.  He  is 
the  author  of  a  well-known  book,  "Telephone  De- 
velopment:    Scope  and   Effect  of   Competition." 

Henry  C.  Ebert,  assistant  to  the  third  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Westinghousc  Electric  and  Manufac- 
turing Company  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  has  1 
his  position  to  become  the  president  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati Car  Company  and  vice-president  of  the 
Ohio  Traction  Company.  Mr.  Ebert's  connection 
with  the  Westinghouse  company  dates  back  about 
15  years.  After  having  been  promoted  to  the 
position  of  superintendent  of  construction,  which 
he  occupied  for  some  years,  he  was  made  chief 
of  the  correspondence  department,  later  assistant 
to  the  manager  of  works,  and  lastly  assistant  to 
the  third  vice-president.  It  was  while  Mr.  Ebert 
occupied  the  position  of  superintendent  of  con- 
struction that  the  10  5,000-horsepowcr  revolving- 
field  generators  made  by  the  Westinghouse  com- 
pany were  installed  and  put  in  operation  in  the 
power  plant  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company. 
The  officers  of  the  Westinghouse  company  gave  a 
dinner  in  his  honor  at  the  Hotel  Schenlcy  just 
before  he  left,  and  as  a  token  of  the  esteem  in 
which  he  had  been  held  during  his  long  association 
with  the  company  he  was  presented  a  beautiful 
bronze    electric    stand    lamp. 


ELECTRIC  LIGHTING 

A  new  electric  plant  is  being  installed  in  the 
Mt.  Carmel  Academy  at  Wichita,  Kan. 

The  Grand  Island  (Neb.)  Electric  Light  Com- 
pany is  about  to  put  in  an   entirely  new  plant. 

The  Colorado  Salt  Company  of  Colorado.  Tex., 
will  install  a  small  electric  light  equipment  in  its 
plant. 

The  capacity  of  the  local  electric-light  plant  at 
Atoka,  I.  T..  is  to  be  increased  and  new  machinery 
installed. 

The  Forrest  City  Ice  and  Power  Company  of 
Forrest  City.  Ark.,  will  enlarge  its  plant  and 
install    machinery. 

W.  M.  Dunn  has  purchased  the  business  of  the 
Canadian  Valley  Electric  and  Refrigerator  Company 
at  Holdenville,  I.  T. 

The  Citizens'  Electric  Light.  Power  and  Manu- 
facturing Company  will  erect  an  electric-light  plant 
in   Fort  Collins,   Colo. 

A  building  to  cost  $16,000  is  to  be  erected  and 
equipped  for  furnishing  light  and  power  to  the 
Brazos    Hotel   in   Houston,   Tex. 

The  New  Century  Hotel  Company  of  Dawson 
Springs.  Ky..  will  enlarge  its  electric-light  plant 
and  furnish  the  town  with  lights,  both  arc  and 
incandescent. 

The  Algiers  Railway  and  Lighting  Company  of 
New  Orleans  has  absorbed  the  interests  of  the 
Algiers  Waterworks  and  Electric  Company  of 
Algiers,  La.,  and  will  arrange  at  once  for  making 
extensive   improvements   to  electric-light  and  power 


I  he  U 

,  Shore 
pany  in   ll.m.i 

1  ongn  appropriate 

trie  IikIu  plain  I 
Point,    tin-    lo 

can  be  driven  fn 

O'Neil     Luc" 

works  and   an   electric-light   plant   in 

til   Jan- 
uary   15th   by  C    J.   Humphri 
Improvement,   Argenta, 

ipening    at    Kirbyville, 

for  the  installation  oi  an  electric-light  plant. 

in   has   a  population  rmation 

will    be   given    b  lerritt,    industrial    com- 

1   ipeka   and   Santa    Fe 

Railway,  9  Jackosn    Boulevard.   Cln> 

The   city   of   South    Pittsburg,    linn.,   ha 
affirmatively  on  the  proposed  $31000  bond  i 

1   the  plant  of  ih.-  South   Pittsburg 

Electric     Light     and      I'nwer     Company 
111.1  it  -   will  be  made  at  once   for  making  the  ncccs- 
1  11. 1    placing    the    plant    in    operation. 


tLECTRIC  RAILWAYS 
Traffic  on  the  new  electric  railway  between  Gales- 
liurg   and    Monmouth,  111.,    has   been   opened   by    the 
Galesburg,     Monmouth    and    Rock     Islam!    Railway 
Company. 

Materials  for  usi  on  the  Elgin-Belviderc  (III.  1 
electric  railway  are  being  shipped  to  Belvidere  by 
the  carload.  Seven  cars  of  horses,  and  grading 
equipments  have  already  been  received  there  and 
other  material    is  arriving   in   frequent   shipments. 

An  ordinance  granting  the  Chicago  and  Southern 
Electric  Traction  Company  a  35-year  franc 
operate  a  street  railway  in  Blue  Island.  III.,  has 
been  passed  by  the  council.  The  North  Shore  Elec- 
tric Company  will  furnish  the  current  for  the 
operation^  of  the  cars  pending  a  decision  by  the 
railway  company   as  to  the  location  of  a  powerhouse. 

The  bridge  at  Berrien  Springs.  Mich.,  owned  by 
the  South  Bend  and  Southern  Michigan  Railway 
Company,  is  probably  the  largest  and  most  costly 
bridge  devoted  to  intern  rban  traffic  in  the  state. 
It  is  1.200  feet  long  and  cost  about  $45,000.  There- 
are  eight  spans,  each  of  which  is  150  feet  long. 
Four  of  these  spans  cross  the  river  itself,  but 
the  building  of  a  new  dam  will  overflow  the  river, 
so  that  the  others  are  necessary.  The  road  ex- 
lends  from  South  Bend.  Ind.,  to  Niles,  Mich., 
and  is  being  extended  to  St.  Joseph.  22*2  miles,  at 
a    cost    of    $550,00p. 


PUBLICATIONS. 


The  Schott  Specialty  Company  of  Chicago  is 
sending  out  some  attractive  wall  calendars.  W.  H. 
Schott.  engineer  of  the  Schott  systems,  Marquette 
Building,  Chicago,  is  also  distributing  some  beau- 
tiful   calendars. 

A  tasteful  calendar  for  the  month  of  January' 
has  been  issued  by  the  Madison  Gas  and  Electric 
Company  of  Madison,  Wis.  »It  bears  a  pretty 
picture  of  one  of  the  most  picturesque  spots  along 
the  Yahara  River,  south  of  Madison. 

A  quantity  of  revised  bulletins  prepared  for  filing 
purposes  by  the  Cutler-Hammer  Manufacturing 
Company  of  Milwaukee,  relate  to  rheostats,  drums, 
machine-tool  controllers  and  resistances.  They  are 
numbered  24.  25.  67.  75.  76.  77.  7$  and  79.  and 
give  descriptions,  dimensions,  prices  arid  other  in- 
formation about  the  various  appliances,  besides  a 
number   of  illustrations. 

Fans,  blowers  and  exhausters  for  heating  and 
ventilating,  mechanical  draft  and  other  purposes 
are  described  in  a  booklet  issued  by  the  Green 
Fuel  Economizer  Company  of  Matteawan.  N.  Y. 
This  company  has  for  many  years  installed  fans 
and  exhausters  for  mechanical  draft  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Green  fuel  economizer  and  has  long 
been  aware  that  important  improvements  could  be 
introduced  in  air-moving  apparatus.  The  Green 
company  does  not  contract  for  the  engineering  of 
plants    nor     for    the    installation     of    heating    and 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  6,  1906 


ventilating  plants  in  competition  with  the  heat- 
ing and  ventilating  contractors.  It  has  recently 
added  large  shops  to  its  plant  at  Matteawan  to 
handle  this  branch  of  the  business. 

The  new  catalogue  of  the  International  Electric 
Meter  Company  of  330  West  Randolph  Street, 
Chicago,  has  just  been  distributed,  and  it  illus- 
trates and  describes  comprehensively,  and  in  con- 
cise terms,  the  leading  facts  concerning  Inter- 
national meters,  described  elsewhere.  Dimensions 
and  drilling  data  for  both  meters  and  external 
shunts  are  contained  in  the  catalogue  and  will 
prove   useful   in  mounting  the   instruments. 

A  neat  little  booklet  with  a  pretty  winter  scene 
on  the  cover  gives  details  of  construction,  prices, 
and  instructions  for  using  Westinghouse  pipe- 
thawing  apparatus.  It  is  designated  as  folder  No. 
4051  and  will  be  of  interest  to  central-station  men 
and  others.  Circular  No.  1107,  also  from  the 
Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, gives  illustrations,  descriptions  and  full  in- 
formation about  the  various  types  and  styles  of 
Westinghouse  circuit  breakers. 

"Industrial  Opportunities  Not  Yet  Realized  in 
Massachusetts"  is  the  title  of  Part  IV  of  the 
annual  report  of  the  Massachusetts  Bureau  of 
Statistics,  of  which  Mr.  Charles  F.  Pidgin  is 
chief.  The  report  takes  up  one  by  one  the  towns 
and  cities  of  Massachusetts  and  points  out  the 
chances  for  new  industries.  Not  a  few  of  these 
opportunities  are  afforded  by  undeveloped  water- 
powers  which  migbt  be  turned  to  good  advantage 
in    the   production    of   electrical    power. 

In  commenoration  of  the  victory  which  it  won 
at  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition,  the  Abner 
Doble  Company  of  San  Francisco,  is  sending  to  its 
friends  a  fine  photogravure  which  bears  a  figure 
typifying  Victory  poised  upon  a  Doble  waterwheel. 
The  figure  is  a  photographic  reproduction  of  a 
bronze  by  Mr.  Debut,  the  original  being  in  the 
private  office  of  Mr.  William  A.  Doble.  The  com- 
pany has  refrained  from  putting  any  printing  on 
the  face  of  the  photogravure,  so  that  it  is  suitable 
for  framing. 

C.  R.  Underhill,  electromagnet  specialist,  55  Lib- 
erty Street,  New  York,  has  issued  a  new  illustrated 
catalogue  showing  the  various  types  of  plunger 
electromagnets,  solenoids  and  other  coils  designed 
and  supplied  by  him,  and  he  has  also  revised  and 
published  a  new  edition  of  his  booklet,  "Facts 
About  Electromagnets."  This  little  booklet  gives 
much  information  regarding  electromagnets  and 
solenoids  and  contains  an  interesting  table  of  mag- 
net windings.  Both  the  catalogue  and  booklet 
will  be   sent  free  to  any  address   upon   request. 

Everybody  interested  in  alternating-current  gen- 
trators  will  find  Bulletin  No.  147,  issued  by  the 
Stanley-G.  I.  Electric  Manufacturing  Company, 
Pittsfield,  Mass.,  entitled  "The  Inductor  Alternator," 
not  only  of  interest,  but  of  value.  The  S.  K.  C. 
inductor  alternator  was,  it  is  declared,  the  first  suc- 
cessful and  commercial  revolving-field  machine 
built.  Its  field  consists  of  a  revolving  spider  carry- 
ing the  poles,  which  are  energized  by  a  single 
stationary  field  coil.  As  the  armature  is  also  sta- 
tionary there  are  absolutely  no  revolving  wires, 
collector  rings  or  brushes,  the  revolving  element 
being  merely  a  mass  of  metal.  The  machine  needs 
a  minimum  amount  of  attention  in  operation.  The 
Chicago  office  of  the  company  in  the  Monadnock 
Block  reports  a  steadily  increasing  demand  for  the 
S.  K.  C.  inductor  alternator  in  the  Middle  West. 
Central-station  managers  and  consulting  engineers 
will  find  this  bulletin,  which  can  be  obtained  from 
the  Chicago  or  other  offices,  an  acquisition  to  their 
technical  library. 


MISCELLANEOUS 


Mr.  F.  E.  Bell  has  been  appointed  assistant  gen- 
eral passenger  agent  of  the  Chicago,  .Burlington 
and  Quincy  Railway  Company,  with  offices  in  the 
passenger-department  headquarters  at  Chicago. 
Mr.  H.  A.  Cherrier  has  been  appointed  city  pas- 
senger agent  at  Chicago,  with  headquarters  at  211 
Clark  Street,  to  succeed  Mr.  F.  E.  Bell.  These 
changes  took  effect  on  January   1st. 

The  Chicago  electrical  show,  to  be  held  in  the 
Coliseum  from  January  15th  to  27th,  promises  to 
be  a  most  interesting  and  successful  affair.  There 
will  be  the  most  complete  and  varied  display  ever 
put  together,  it  is  said.  The  leading  electrical  con- 
cerns and  many  of  the  smaller  ones  will  have  ex- 
hibits, and  besides  there  will  be  unique  and  spec- 
tacular  features.      During  the    show    there    will    be 


special  days  for  telephone  men,  for  technical  classes 
nf  schools  and  colleges,  Ben  Franklin  day,  etc. 

The  performance  of  the  turbine  engines  on  the 
new  Cunard  steamer  Carmania  has  attracted  wide 
attention.  The  turbine  is  of  the  Parsons  marine 
type,  which  has  recently  been  adopted  by  the  British 
Admiralty.  The  rights  to  build  Parsons  marine 
turbines  in  the  United  States  are  held  by  the  AlHs- 
Chalmers  Company  of  Milwaukee,  William  Cramp 
&  Sons  of  Philadelphia,  the  W.  A.  Fletcher  Com- 
pany of  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  the  Quintard  Iron  Works 
of  New  York  and  the  Bath  Iron  Works  of  Bath, 
Maine.  The  Allis-Chalmers  Company  is  not  only 
licensee  under  the  Parsons  marine-turbine  patents, 
but  also  holds  the  rights  for  manufacturing  the 
Parsons  turbine  blowers  and  compressors,  and  has 
recently  formed  an  alliance  with  Hon.  Charles  A. 
Parsons,  the  eminent  turbine  inventor,  for  a  full 
co-operation  and  interchange  of  data  on  steam 
turbines  for  land  operations.  It  is  at  the  present 
time  practically  doubling  its  large  plant  at  West 
Allis,  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  the  greater  part  of  the 
new  shops  being  intended  for  an  extension  of  the 
steam-turbine  work  and  the  electric  generators  to 
be   driven  by  them. 


TRADE  NEWS 


The  Woods  Electric  Company  of  Houston.  Tex., 
has  been  incorporated  to  deal  in  electric  supplies. 
R.  C.  Woods,  D.  F.  Woods  and  F.  C.  Jones  com- 
prise the  new  firm. 

The  Robb-Mumford  Boiler  Company,  successor 
to  Edward  Kendall  &  Sons,  has  moved  from  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  to  its  new  plant  at  South  Framing- 
ham,  Mass.,  which  will  be  its  address  in  the  future. 

The  J.  W.  Smith  Electric  Company  of  Norfolk, 
Va.,  has  been  incorporated  with  $10,000  capital 
stock  to  engage  in  a  general  electric  construction 
business.  J.  W.  Smith  is  president  and  (R.  N. 
Scott,    secretary-treasurer. 

The  Haller  Machine  Company  of  Chicago  is 
turning  out  of  its  sign  works  a  lot  of  electric  signs 
for  the  electrical  exhibition  which  will  be  opened 
in  the  Coliseum  on  January  15th.  Bulletin  No.  15, 
issued  by  the  company,  gives  information  about  its 
signs  and  electric  metal  letters,  and  illustrates  some 
of  the  signs  which  it  has  installed  for  hundreds  of 
merchants. 

The  electrical  fraternity  will  be  interested  to 
learn  that  the  Central  Electric  Company,  Chicago, 
will  again  be  housed  in  its  old  location  at  264- 
266-26S  and  270  Fifth  Avenue,  where  it  will  have 
twice  as  much  floor  space  as  at  any  previous  time 
in  its  history.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the 
company's  offices  and  salesrooms  were  totally 
destroyed  by  fire  last  January,  since  which  time 
it  has  been  located  at  207  and  209  East  Jackson 
Boulevard. 

Oscar  Claussen,  Edward  P.  Burch  and  Charles 
L.  Pillsbury  have  entered  into  a  partnership  under 
the  firm  name  of  Claussen,  Burch  &  Pillsbury, 
with  headquarters  at  1208-10  Guaranty  Building, 
Minneapolis,  Minn.,  and  514-15  German  American 
Bank  Building,  St.  Paul.  They  will  do  a  hy- 
draulic, steam  and  electrical  engineering  business, 
and  are  prepared  to  make  reports,  tests  and  ex- 
aminations on  the  management  and  operation  of 
power  plants,  and  also  to  plan  and  supervise  their 
construction. 

Sealed  proposals  are  being  invited  by  the  Bureau 
of  Supplies  and  Accounts,  Navy  Department,  until 
January  16th,  for  furnishing  eastern  navy  yards 
with  the  following  supplies:  Schedule  303,  arc 
lamps,  -  panel  board,  conduit,  cable,  miscellaneous 
electrical  supplies;  schedule  306,  electric  hoist.  On 
January  23d  the  bureau  will  open  bids  for  furnish- 
ing southern  naval  stations  with  arc-lamp  carbons, 
incandescent  lamps,  wire  and  electrical  supolies, 
embraced  in  schedule  309.  Proposal  blanks  can  be 
obtained  upon  application  to  the  bureau  and  to  the 
navy  pay  office   in   New  York  for  eastern  yards. 

The  Standard  Underground  Cable  Company  has 
leased  the  exclusive  use  of  an  all-copper  line  to 
connect  its  general  office  and  factories  at  Pittsburg, 
branch  offices  at  New  York  and  Philadelphia  and 
its  eastern  factories  at  Perth  Amboy,  N.  J.  This 
private  line  will  be  available  for  either  telegraph  or 
telephone  service.  There  could  be  no  better  evi- 
dence of  the  large  aggregate  volume  of  business  and 
the  growing  condition  of  this  important  manufac- 
turing company,  for,  so  far  as  known,  this  will  be 
the  longest  exclusive  wire  owned  or  operated  by 
any  company  confining  itself  to  the  manufacture 
of  copper  wire  and  cables.     The  service  was  put  in 


effect  January  1,  1906,  and  while  without  doubt  of 
great  convenience  and  value  to  the  company  in 
facilitating  .  communication  between  its  offices  and 
factories  and  the  important  market  centers  of 
New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburg,  it  is  in- 
stalled primarily  to  enable  it  to  place  itself  in 
closer  touch  with  its  customers  and  to  give  these 
customers  the  same  quick  service  that  would  be 
possible  if  its  general  offices  were  located  in  each 
of   these    cities    instead    of    in    one. 

A.  Eugene  Michel  has  recently  entered  the  em- 
ployment of  the  George  H.  Gibson  Company,  ad- 
vertising engineers  of  New  York  city,  having  re- 
signed as  assistant  advertising  manager  of  the 
Standard  Paint  Company.  Mr.  Michel  is  a  gradu- 
ate of  Rose  Polytechnic  Institute  and  his  profes- 
sional experience  includes  two  years  in  the  engi- 
neering department  of  the  Diamond  Chain  Works 
of  the  Federal  Manufacturing  Company,  charge 
of  the  testing  department  of  the  Ewart  Manufac- 
turing Company  and  assistant  managership  of 
the  department  of  publicity  of  the  International 
Steam    Pump    Company   under   Mr.    Gibson. 

Among  the  important  manufacturing  enterprises 
beginning  their  existence  in  the  new  year,  the 
officers  of  the  Standard  Electrical  Manufacturing 
Company  of  Niles,  Ohio,  announce  the  organization 
of  a  new  company,  the  Star  Electric  Company.  The 
Star  Electric  Company  will  be  located  in  Niles, 
Ohio,  and  it  is  the  intention  to  finance  this  com- 
pany by  the  stockholders  of  the  Standard  Electrical 
Manufacturing  Company.  Mr.  James  P.  Gilbert, 
who  is  secretary  of  the  Standard  company,  will 
occupy  a  like  position  with  the  new  organization. 
Mr.  H.  H.  Albert,  sales  manager  of  the  Standard 
company,  will  also  occupy  a  like  position  with  the 
Star  Electric  Company.  It  is  the  intention  of  the 
new  concern  to  engage  in  the  manufacture  of  dry 
batteries  and  fan  motors.  After  spending  several 
years  in  experimenting,  Mr.  Gilbert  has  perfected 
a  dry  battery  which,  it  is  thought,  will  soon  com- 
mand a  leading  position  in  the  market.  With  the 
assemblage  of  especially  high-grade  ingredients 
heretofore  unused  in  work  of  this  kind  and  the 
employing  of  the  celebrated  Henrion  carbon,  a 
battery  of  exceptionally  long  life,  high  amperage 
and  recuperative  powers  has  been  perfected.  It  is 
intended  that  two  types  will  be  put  on  the  market, 
one  for  gas  engines  and  automobiles  and  the  other 
for  telephone  and  bell  work.  Exhaustive  tests  have 
demonstrated,  it  is  said,  that  the  Star  Electric 
Company  will  be  able  "to  deliver  the  goods."  The 
fan-motor  line  will  consist  of  the  regular  type  of 
direct-current  motors.  A  swivel,  swivel  and  trun- 
nion and  oscillating  fan  in  12-inch  and  16-inch 
sizes  will  be  marketed. 


BUSINESS. 


The  Columbia  Battery  Company  of  Milwaukee 
has  already  experienced  such  a  large  demand  for 
its  goods  that  it  is  unable  to  meet  it.  This  bat- 
tery is  expected  to  give  twice  the  mileage  that  the 
ordinary  batteries  now  on  the  market  give,  and  the 
outlook  for  the  coming  season  is  bright,  so  much 
so  that  the  company  is  making  great  preparations 
to  meet  the  demands  that  may  be  made  upon  it. 
The  company's  specialty  is  manufacturing  batteries 
for    electric    vehicles    and    trucks. 

The  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing 
Company  has  recently  renewed  an  annual  contract 
covering  the  requirements  of  the  Moline  Elevator 
Company  of  Moline,  111.,  so  far  as  its  motor  needs 
are  concerned.  Highly  satisfactory  performance 
by  these  elevator  motors  under  the  most  trying 
conditions  are  reported.  The  Westinghouse  com- 
pany is  also  finding  an  extensive  field  for  its  motor 
equipments  in  the  marble-finishing  industry.  It 
lately  completed  the  equipment  of  a  large  marble 
yard  in  the  South.  The  operation  of  this  plant 
by  means  of  electric  drive  has  been  entirely  satis- 
factory both  as  to  convenience  and  operating  cost. 

The  Peru  Electric  Manufacturing  Company  of 
Peru,  Ind.,  reports  one  of  the  most  successful  years 
in  its  history,  the  demand  for  Peru  goods  having 
been  greater  than  ever  before.  Within  the  last 
year  this  company  has  placed  on  the  market  a 
new  line  of  National  Electrical  Code  standard 
specialties  embodying  a  number  of  new  and  novel 
features,  and  the  success  of  this  material,  the 
company  says,  has  been  gratifying.  With  a  num- 
ber of  new  articles  just  added  to  its  line  the 
Peru  company  will  start  the  new  year  with  a  full 
line  of  standard  porcelain  and  National  Code  wir- 
ing  devices. 


ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 


Issued  (United  States  Patent 


:ej   December   26,   1905 


8,064.  Commutator  Motor.  Engelbert  Arnold, 
Karlsruhe,  Germany,  and  Jens  L.  la  Cour,  Ed- 
inburgh, Scotland.  Application  filed  December 
16,   1904. 

A  compensated  single-phase  alternating-current  commu- 
tator motor  with  three  brushes,  in  a  bi-polar  scheme, 
which  are  set  relatively  to  each  other  at  angles  of  120 
degrees  and  of  which  three  brushes  two  short-circuited 
brushes  are  used  for  introducing  and  the  third  brush 
for  taking  off  the  magnetizing  current. 


S,o65.     Electric    Switch.     Samuel    H.    Beck,    New 
York,    N.    Y.     Application    filed    April    22,  1905. 

The  combination,  with  stationary  electrodes,  consists 
of  a  movable  member  pivoted  at  one  end,  a  reciprocating 
fluid-actuated  member,  a  bell  crank  for  operating  the 
movable    member    loosely    pivoted,    a    spring 


of  the  movable  member,  pins  on  the  bell  crank 
pin  carried  by  the  fluid-actuated  member  adapted  t 
tact  with  the  pins  on  the  bell   crank  to  move  it. 


808,066.  Process  for  the  Production  of  Metallic  Cal- 
cium. Wilhelm  Borchers  and  Lorenz  Stockem, 
Aachen,  Germany.  Application  filed  October  24, 
1902. 

A  process  for  the  production  of  metallic  calcium  con- 
sists in  the  fusion  of  anhydrous  calcium  salts,  elec- 
trolyzing    the    salts    and    maintaining    the    small    cathode 


January  6,   1906 

808,08; 
N 


,085.    Electric  Glow  Lamp     Gu  tavi    R    Hartung, 
"rw   York,  N.   Y.    Application  filed    Mai 
1904. 

An   clccti  leal    glow    lamp    hai ■ nbi  i 

giving    clcmcnlB    of     ■  1        1    1  1 

Sin  mi  ■    urn trollirifl    di    io       01         I  In  r.     I       i 

common   healer  and  an  electrical  refill tti 

giving    clci ,. I [ion     with     th.     ■ 

and    iln     to  al in    ■    p  u    Ivi   liq  lid    th<  rmi 

out,   otlapti  'I    i"    i"    ai  tuati  -l    b)    i  ni  i  ■■ ,    di  ■  lip  ited    I 

Ill''      I'   HI   .1.1111  '"       I'M       I   llllim'      "«il       III."      I1r.1t.   1       IJj.OH       1  hi         n,   I 

turity  -.I  a    ici  ondai  ,  luctor.    I  '■ i ■    ■ 

HoK.oHf).        I  hriiiin  <■)>■<  trir      .'.all.  iy,       All.rn  In      I  I-  il, 

Frankforl  on  thi  Main,  Germany,  assignor  to  A. 
Wolf,  Jr.,  &  1  o.,  Frankfort  on  the  Main,  Gcr- 
many.    Application  filed  October  31,  1904, 

in    ,-i   iliri  him  .  l<  ■(  ii  n    iiiit.  1,    n-    combined    a    beating 

plate  arranged  to  be   heated   from  the    •    ol    heal  and 

having   a   projecting   end,    .1    th 1 nple   com* 

prittinv:   .1   positive   rod-shaped    1 1 1    and     1    negatlvi 

win  shaped    component,    who*     tvai  n Ii    arc    united 

with  the  projecting  end  oi    tbe    bci ■   plati    In    narrow 

or  small  contacl  foci  1, 

808,087.    Electric  Signaling  Apparatus  Circuit.    Felix 

Ii.       I  Iri/..;;,       |<'.il\var<l       1'.       I  I'.jil.Mr,      .llhl      <    I       I  |< 

Herrmann,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  said  Herrmann 
and  Hopkins  assignors  to  said  Herzog.  Appli- 
cation filed  August  8,   1888. 

iM are  provided  in  it  Btrect  signal  box  for  con- 
trolling   the    main    circuit    to    a     ">         ti n    by    an 

operator  at  the  box;  adjuncts  al   the  box  also  control  the 

in. mi    circuit    fr .1    substation.    I In  r    with    or 

more  points  of  connection  i"  the  main  circuit  adapted 
and  arranged  i<>  1"'  used  with  the  adjuncts  and  for  the 
sub-atiii ion  control  only.  There  is  a  sub-stntion  line 
entirely  distinct    from   the  main    line. 

808,095.  Manufacture  of  Organic  Gniipnitnds  by 
Oxidation.  Walther  Lang,  Salbke-on-the-Elbe, 
Germany.     Application    filed    August   28,    1902. 


oxidizing  inanganous  oxide  salts  by  elec- 
trolysis, so  as  to  obtain  manganic  oxide  salts  find  caus- 
ing the  latter  to  act  on  the  organic  substance  to  be 
oxidized. 

808.096.  Detachable  Electrical  Connection.  Augus- 
tine N.  Lawrence,  Jr.,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Ap- 
plication  filed    October   3,    1903. 

En  combination  are  a  plug  of  insulating  material 
adapted  to  enter  a  socket,  and  a  soring  member  project- 
ing beyond  the  outer  surface  of  the  plug  and  compres- 
sible toward  the  surface  thereof  and  adapted  to  engage 
the  inside  of  a  socket  and  having  helically  arranged  con- 
tact surfaces  whereby  the  helically  arranged  contact  sur- 
faces may  be  rotated  within  a  socket  or  longitudinally 
withdrawn  therefrom.  A  central  contact  upon  the  mem- 
ber forms  one  terminal  and  the  contact  surface  an- 
other   terminal. 

508.097.  Detachable  Electrical  Connection.  Augus- 
tine N.  Lawrence,  Jr.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  Ap- 
plication filed  April   15,   1905. 


on    being   provided    with 

nctal    in    the    recess    and    normally    projecting    t 
portion    formed    to    engage 


There    is  a    central 
nected    to    the    contact 
to   the  resilient  piece. 


threads, 
second    terminal    connected 


1,103.  Art  of  Galvanizing  Metals.  Guy  L. 
Meaker,  Evan  st  on,  111.,  assignor  to  the  Ameri- 
can Steel  and  Wire  Company  of  New  Jersey. 
Application  filed  June   18,   1902. 


This    method    consists    in    subje 

cting    the    metal    to    the 

action   of    an    electric    current    in 

an    electroplating   appa- 
ctrolyte    composed    of    a 

ratus    in    the    presence    of    an    ele 

combined    solution     of    zjnc    chlo 

ide,    zinc    sulphate    and 

a  small  proportion  of  a  vegetable 

acid. 

18,115.  Electrical  Meter.  Henry  W.  Sayles,  Pe- 
oria, 111.,  assignor  to  the  Diamond  Meter  Com- 
pany, Peoria,  111.  Application  filed  March  13, 
1905. 

The  combination,  with  an  armature  secured  to  a  spin- 
dle, consists  of  a  scries  field  for  the  armature,  a  damp- 
ing disk  secured  to  the  spindle,  an  electromagnetic  damp- 
ing magnet  for  the  disk,  the  windings  on  the  electro- 
magnet being  included  serially  in  circuit  with  the  arma- 
ture windings,  and  a  permanent  magnet  associated  with 
the  electromagnet.  The  combined  effect  of  the  damping 
and  electromagnets  is  to  cause  the  speed  of  rotation  of 
the  spindle  to  be  proportional  to  current  changes  inde- 
pendent of  pressure  changes. 

>8,i39.  Electric  Trolley  Head.  John  T.  Cherry 
and  Edward  H.  Give,  Plymouth,  England.  Ap- 
plication  filed    March   28,    1905. 

Details  are   described. 

8,159.  Electric  Signal  for  Railways.  Burton  A.f 
Karr,  Omaha,  Neb.  Application  filed  August* 
28,    1905. 

An  electrical  railway  signal  comprises  a  battery,  an 
alarm  bell,  two  contacting  members  having  electrically 
conducting  surfaces  and  non-conducting  electrical  sur- 
faces, a  rock  bar  adapted  to  have  a  radial  movement 
and  two  arms,  the  arms  being  radially  mounted  and 
making  contact  with  the  contacting  members. 

8.162.  Electric  Trolley  Wheel.  John  Miller,  Jr., 
Amesbury,  Mass.,  assignor  to  William  E.  Bid- 
die,  Amesbury,  Mass.  Application  filed  March 
17,  1005- 

A  trolley  wheel  comprising  a  stationary  axle  and  a 
stationary  hollow  perforate  hub-like  bearing  is  adapted  to 
contain  a  lubricant. 

8.163.  Trolley  Harp  for  Electric  Railways.  John 
Miller,  Jr.,  Amesbury,  Mass.,  assignor  to  Will- 
iam E.  Biddle,  Amesbury,  Mass.  Application 
filed   April    10,    1905. 


walls  extending  out    laterally  in   opposite  dii 

8,182.  Electric  Signal  System  for  Electric  Cars. 
Edwin  J.  Adams,  Waco,  Texas.  Application 
filed   March  6.   1905. 

The   combination,  with  a  feed  conductor,   a   return  con- 
ductor and  a   signal  conductor,   consists  of  cars  each  hav- 


ELECTRICIAN 


lamin,  :    ,     N.     V.     Ajm- 

April   27,    1903. 

1  icrl 

1 

8o8,ig 

I"  0      1  '      on,     Lou     Angel. 

ipplii  ition   fill  -I    Fi  bi 

l'"l'      'till    an    ml-  rn.ill  ,  -.upporl- 

■nd  operated   liy  a  quick  movi >..  ■    Kuvern- 

ina  tl ■'  "•::  mean      n    thi    fi  .-iiurci. 

808,200.    Fuse,    John    E.   Graybill,    York,    Pa.    Ap- 
plication   filed    March   22,    1005. 
Detalll    in    di   cribed 
808,213.    Contact  Shoe  for    I  hii  ic  Rail- 

ivays.     Willi. 'in    l:     Potter,    .Schenectady,    N.   Y., 

assignor  to  th     '  Ii  m  1  'I   El np  my,  New 

York,  N.  Y.    Applical filed  Jul)     1 

A  collector    ihoi    1.  mad one  or  more  thin  scrap 

ing  runners  set  u|ion  edge  on  the  uppei   faa    ol  tbe  third 

rail  and  approximately   in  Hie   pla Means 

for   maintaining    the    runners   yieldingly    in    contacl 
the   rail  are  provided' 

808,220.  Power-transmission  Mechanism  for  Auto- 
mobiles. Charles  G.  Simonds,  Schenectady, 
N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General  Electric  Com- 
pany, Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  June 
22,   1904. 


first. 


ith    the 


5.222.  Third-rail  Insulator.  Samuel  B.  Stewart, 
Jr.,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation filed  July  23,   1903. 

A  rail  insulator  comprises  a  cap  composed  of  two 
integral  parts,  each  of  which  consists  of  a  rail  retaining 
car  and  a  plug  portion  and  an  insulating  support  hav- 
ing a  socket  for  receiving  the  plug  portions. 

5.223.  Railway  Signaling.  Samuel  D.  Strohm, 
Philadelphia,    Pa.     Application   filed   August  29, 


an    elect: 
ground   t 


ith  a  railroad  switch  or  drawbridge  arc 
tell  111  circuit  with  a  contact  plate  and  a 
lion,  station  magnetic  devices,  partial  cir- 
platcs    and   an   engine  or    train    having 


including  magnetic  devices  and 
tacts,  power-controlling  mechanism,  operating  means 
therefor  and  appliances  in  engagement  with  the  contacts 
automatically  actuated  by  tile  forward-and-backw  anl 
movement  of  the  engine  or  train  for  changing  the  posi- 
tion of  the   engine  contacts. 

808,226.  Controller  for  Magnetic  Clutches.  Edward 
H.  Anderson,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to 
the  General  Electric  Company,  Schenectady, 
N.  Y.  Application  filed  July  20,  1004. 
With  a  variable-speed  transmission  mechanism,  com- 
prising a  number  of  electromagnetic  clutches,  are  com- 
bined a  controller  for  the  clutches,  having  a  number  of 
running  positions  arranged  to  connect  the  clutches  for 
the    several    speeds,    and    intermediate    positions    arranged 

clutch  when  breaking  the  circuit  connections  in  passing 
from  one  running  position  to  another.  (Sec  cut  on  next 
page.) 

808,232.  Electrolytic  Meter.  Alvarado  L.  R.  Ellis, 
Lynn,  Mass.,  assignor  to  the  General  Electric 
Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
June   22,    1904. 

An  electrolytic  meter  has  an  anode,  a  cathode,  a  recep- 
tacle for  the  electrodeposited  material  having  a  small 
opening  at  the  lower  end  thereof,  a  second  receptacle 
below  the  opening  and  means  to  indicate  the  amount  of 
electrodeposited    material    in    each   of    the    receptacles. 

808,237.  Tachometer.  Caryl  D.  Haskins,  Brook- 
line,  Mass.,  assignor  to  the  General  Electric 
Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
March  29,   1900. 

A  magnetic  speed  indicator  comprises  a  field  magnet, 
a  movable  armature  and  a  movable  low-resistance  part  in 
separated  parts  of  the  field  of  force  of  the  magnet,  one 
of  the  movable  elements  being  revoluble  and  the  other 
being  oscillatory  but  biased  to  a  normal  position  of  rest. 

So8,24i.  End  Connection  for  Dynamo-electric  Ma- 
chines. Frank  H.  Jeannin,  Schenectady,  N.  Y., 
assignor  to  the  General  Electric  Company, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  May  25, 
1904. 

In  a   dynamo-electric  machine  are   conductors  slotted  at 
their    ends,    rivets    adapted    to    enter    the    slots,    and    end 
for  the  conductors  engaged  by  the  rivets. 


808,258.  Method  of  Making  Switch  Clips.  Walter 
J.  Rickey.  Schenectady,  N.  Y..  assignor  to  the 
"General  Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y. 
Application    filed    November    2S,    1902. 

The  method  of  making  switch  clips  consists  in  cutting 
off  sections  of  an  I-bar  and  cutting  the  web  of  each 
section  transversely  and  longitudinally  in  opposite  direc- 
tions from  the  ends  of  the  transverse  cut. 

S0S.263.  Power  -  transmitting  Mechanism.  Elihu 
Thomson.  Swampscott.  Mass..  assignor  to  tin- 
General  Electric  Company,  Schenectady.  N,  Y. 
Application  filed  November  26,  1902.  Renewed 
August  22,  1904. 


E.  Cat*. 

mpany,   Schenectady,    . 

IiI<:<1   June   24,    I'/n 

v--.tb    the 
ll«     and     the     n.    ' 

.  -.U'ltr. 

808,273.    Apparatus    for    Exploding    Mine    I 

- 

-.  ..ralu.      cn.i.t.     of     the      combination      mm. 
!',unl     mcchaniimt,     eaci. 
number  of  lets  of  contacts  arranged  in  at. 
•crie«.    of    a    revoluble    contact    arm    for    engaging    the 
conlact.,    a    mourcc    of    energy    I  DrM    of 

the  circuit  clo.ing  mechanism.,  mean,  for  connecting 
final  get  of  circuit  closer,  of  the  fir.t  mechani.ni  to 
the  circuit-closer,  of  the  second  mechanism,  and  working 
circuits  leading  outward  from  both  mechanism*,  the 
working  circuits  being  also    connected    to   tbe    . 

808,277.    Electric  Bell  or  Gong.    George  E.  Dunton, 
York,  N.   Y.    Application  filed   March    15, 

1904. 

Details  arc  described. 
808,279.  Multi-rate  Meter.  Walter  C  Fish,  Lynn, 
Mass.,  assignor  to  the  General  Electric  Com- 
pany, Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  June 
23,  1904. 
A  multi  rate  meter  ha?  a  clock  mechanism  to  effect  the 
change  from  one  rate  to  another.  Means  are  provided 
lor  causing  the  meter  to  operate  at  the  high  rate  on  fail- 
ure to  rewind   the  mechanism. 

808.350.  Apparatus    for    Purifving    and     Filtering 
«  iter     Leon  Dion,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor 
to     the     Americus     Electrohermetic     Company, 
Wilkcsbarrc,     Pa.     Application     filed     Ju: 
1904. 

The  combination,  with  a  closed  tank  or  reservoir,  corn- 
chambers  mounted  upon  it  and  connected  with 
-  "iilating  lining  arranged  within  one  of 
'.«fc  '""»'«'>  and  made  up  from  independent  sections 
nd  parts,  and  a  filler  arranged  within  the  other  of 
_uch  chambers.  A  group  of  electrodes  is  arranged 
within  the  compartment  formed  by  such  insulating  lining. 
There  are  means  hy  which  a  current  of  electricity  may  be 
supplied  to  these  electrodes,  means  by  which  water  or 
other  liquid  may  be  supplied  to  and  the  purified  portion 
thereof  withdrawn  from  the  apparatus,  and  devices  by 
wlnch  this  flow  of  water  or  other  liquid  to  and  from 
the   apparatus   may    be    controlled. 

808.351.  Device  for  Controlling  the  Flow  of  Fluids 
and  Other  Materials.  Leon  Dion,  Wilkesbarrc. 
Pa.,  assignor  to  the  Americus  Electrohermetic 
Company.  Wilkesbarre,  Pa.  Application  filed 
March  25,   1905. 

A  device  for  controlling  the  flow  of  fluids  and  electric 
currents  consists  of  a  casing  which  is  provided  with  a 
number  of  pairs  of  co-operating  induction  and  eduction 
ports,  a  movable  member  arranged  in  connection  with 
the  casing  and  provided  with  ports  that  are  adapted 
to  be  brought  one  after  another  into.  and.  in  a  reverse 
order,,  carried  one  after  another  out  of  operative  rela- 
tionship to  the  ports  in  the  casing  as  the  movable  member 
is  moved  m  the  required  direction,  and  an  electric  cir- 
cuit maker  and  breaker  arranged  in  connection  with  the 
casing  and  the  movable  member,  whereby  to  permit  of 
both  the  flow  of  the  fluid  or  other  material  and  of  the 
electric  current  through  the  device  and  of  the  interrup- 
tion of  the  now  as  may  be  desired. 

808,364.  Electric  Switch.  William  S.  Horn-.  Ni- 
agara Falls,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  March  20, 
1905. 

In  combination  are  a  main  circuit  containing  an  in- 
ductance a  shunt  circuit  containing  an  electrolytic  cell, 
the  anode  of  the  cell  consisting  of  a  material  which 
otters  an  abnormally  high  resistance  to  the  flow  of  cur- 
"vcly    open    the 


but  directly   close  the 

S.366.  Telegraph  Transmitter.  Beniyman  P.  Hayes 
and  Sigel  H.  Gill,  Topeka,  Kan.  Application 
filed  June   17,    1905. 

In  a  telegraph  transmitter  are  included  a  driving 
shaft  and  a  symbol  disk,  friction  brushes  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  disk  and  secured  to  the  shaft  and  a  kev 
and  key  lever  for  controlling  the  disk. 

S.371.  Protective  Shunt  for  Electric  Circuits  of 
High  Inductance.  William  S.  Horn-.  Niagara 
Falls.  N.  Y.     Application  filed  January  26.  1905. 


808.3S1.     Electric  Lamp-shade  Holder.     Theodore  H. 
Joseph    and    James   J.    Ehrenreich.    New    York. 
N.   Y.     Application  filed   March  8,   1904. 
Details  are  described. 

808,383.  Recording  Apparatus  for  Measured  Tele- 
phone Sen-ice.  James  A.  Kenny.  Chicago.  111. 
Application    filed    March    1.    1902. 

A  recording  apparatus  comprises  a  registering  device 
I  'C  ited  at  an  outlying  station  upon  which  temporary 
records  are  adapted  to  be  severallv  made.  An  electricallv 
actuated    recording  device  is  located  at   a  central   station. 


30 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  6,  1906 


and  electrical  connections  between  the  registering  and 
recording  devices,  which  are  set  in  operation  solely  from 
the  central  station  to  transfer  all  of  the  temporary  rec- 
ords from  the  outlying  register  to  the  recording  device 
at  the    central  station. 

8,386.     Telephony.      Isidor      Kitsee,     Philadelphia, 
Pa.     Application    filed    October    14,    1905. 

A  line   of   transmission,    a   series  of   stations    connected-        J^g 

to   the    line   in    multiple    arc.    each    station   provided   with   a  : 

Ukgrapliic  transmittinc  key,  a  telegraphic  receiver,  a 
switching  device,  a  source  of  current  and  telephonic 
transmitting  and  receiving  device?,  the  source  of  current 
of  the  different  stations  connected  normally  in  opposition 
as  to  each  other,  and  means  whereby,  through  the  switch- 
ing device,    the  source  of  current  of  the  station  calling 


ranged  one  above  tthe  other,  a  set  of  circuit  closers 
mounted  on  the  lower  arms,  each  arranged  to  have  the 
thread  pass  through  it  from  below  to  a  point  above 
and  to  operate  by  a  break  in  the  yarn,  and  a  second  set 
of    circuit-closers    mounted    on    the    upper    arms    and    ar- 

anged    to    hold    a    loop    of    the    yarn    coming    from    the 


on  the 


by 


of 


of    the 


808,392.  Electric  Switch.  William  W.  Lathrop, 
Bridgeport,  Conn.  Application  filed  August  31, 
1904. 

Mechanical   features  are   described. 


,25.  Electric  Water  Heater.  James  P.  Erie, 
Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  assignor  to  Benjamin  Stern. 
Application  filed    September   8,    1898. 

A  casing  having  inlet  and  outlet  water  pipes,  a  tor- 
tuous water  pipe  comprising  duplicate  sections  having  a 
connecting  chamber  between  the  adjacent  ends  of  the 
sections  and  extending  through  the  casing,  one  section 
connecting  the  inlet  and  another  the  outlet  pipes,  a  sec- 
tional water  heater  within  the  casing,  the  sections  of  the 
heater  being  connected  and  arranged  intermediate  the 
adjacent  walls  of  the  waterpipe,  ana  means  for  directing 
37i    electric    current   through   the    heater,    are    the    features. 

,532.  Induction  Meter.  Alphonse  J.  Frager, 
Paris,  France,  assignor  to  Compagnie  pour  la 
Fabrication  des  Compteurs  and  Materiel  d'Usines 
a  Gaz,  Paris,  France.  Application  filed  October 
3i.    1903- 

The  combination  with  an  alternating-current  circuit 
suring  the  true  energy  therein, 
comprising  a  coil  connected  in  shunt,  and  a  coil  con- 
nected in  series  with  the  circuit  having  a  secondary 
coil  in  inductive  relation  therewith  and  co-operating  to 
produce  a  number  of  dephased  fluxes,  and  a  rotating 
member  arranged  within  the  influence  of  the  shunt  and 
;.     (See  cut.) 

,545  Electric  Railway  System.  William  G.  Kee- 
ler,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  Application  filed  June 
June   16,    1905. 

electric-railway  t  system    are    a    series   of   contacts 
equal     distance    apart,     the 


and  a  dissymmetric  inductor  rotor  having  such  form  that 
the  waves  of  the  alternating  current  generated,  which 
have  a  magnetizing  effect  on  the  permanent  magnet  field,* 


3,562.  Electric  Wrater  Meter.  Richard  H.  Milton! 
Reidsville,  N.  C.  Application  filed  February 
14,    1905. 

A  water  meter  comprising  an  electrically  operated- 
register  located  at  a  distance  from  the  water  taker  is  < 
combined  with  circuit  wires,  an  electric  generator,  a 
circuit  closer  and  a  hydraulic  moving  device  for  the  J 
circuit  closer  consisting  of  a  casing  with  an  enlarged 
end  arranged  in  the  water-supply  pipe  of  the  water 
taker  and  a  longitudinally  moving  rod  with  differential 
rranged    in    the  case   and    operated    automatically 


through  the 


I'V 


8,571.  Electric  Signaling  System.  Charles  G.  I 
Otwell  and  Ira  H.  Melvin,  Laurel,  Del.  Ap- 
plication filed  February  24,  1905. 
In  the  system  are  track  rails  arranged  in  blocks,  a 
conductor  rail  separate  from  the  track  rails,  a  switch, 
the  terminals  of  which  are  electrically  connected  with 
track  rails  composing  a  block,  an  electricallv  operated 
device  in  series  with  the  switch,  a  telephone  and  a"  circuit 
controller  in  series  with  each  other  and  electrically  con- 
nected with  the  conductor  rail  and  one  of  the  track  rails 
composing  the  block,  and  a  movable  mounted  member 
arranged  for  operation  by  the  electricallv  operated  de- 
vice, the  two  constituting  an  index  or  indicator. 

8,589.     Trolley    Finder.      James    Wilhelm,    Phila- 
delphia,   Pa.     Application   filed  June  20,    1905. 

Two  bars  are  arranged  one  on  each  side  and  pivoted 
intermediate  of  their  ends  upon  the  same  pivot  as  the 
trolley  wheel,  the  lower  portion  of  the  bars  being  heavier 
than    the    upper   portion,   so    that   the   tendency   of  the   bars 


NO.  808,085. — GLOW    LAMP. 


8,416.      Electric  Stop-motion  Mechanism  for  Looms. 
Joseph    B.  Whitney,    Brooklyn,   N.   Y.     Applica- 
tion  filed   February  28,    1905. 
In  a  loom  are  combined  means  for  maintaining  a  lease 
in  the  warp,  an  electric    circuit  and  circuit-closing 
having     the     moving     part     thereof     projecting     intt 
transversely  of  the  space  occupied  by  the  lease. 

'8,417.  Electric  Stop-motion  Mechanism  for  Looms. 
Joseph  B.  Whitney,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Applica- 
tion filed   February  28,   1905. 

A  faller  for  stop-motion  mechanisms  for  textile  ma- 
chinery having  a  thread  aperture  formed  therein,  the 
aperture  having  its  surface  at  one  side  thereof  and  in 
the  thread-line  inclined  to  one  face  of  the  faller  where 
it  proxiraates  the  latter. 

18,418.  Electric  Stop-motion  Mechanism  for 
Looms.  Joseph  B.  Whitney,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Application  filed  February  28,  1905. 
In  an  electric  stop-motion  mechanism  for  textile  ma- 
chinery are  two  sets  of  terminals  representing  different 
poles  in  the  circuit,  the  terminals  being  taut  attenuated 
devices,  circuit-closers  movable  to  bridge  terminals  of 
both  sets,  and  detached  means,  interposed  between  the 
sets  of  terminals,  intermediate  their  ends,  for  maintain- 
ing the  terminals  of  one  set  in  fixed  relation  to  those 
of  the  other. 

18,438.  Telephony.  Albert  G.  Davis,  Washington, 
D.  C.  Application  filed  April  22,  1897. 
A  multiplex  telephone  system  includes  a  number  _  of 
sources  of  alternating  current  of  different  frequencies, 
a  number  of  tuned  circuits,  including  capacity  and  in- 
ductance, the  inductance  of  each  circuit  being  provided 
by  a  variable-inductance  transmitter,  and  a  number  of  re- 
ceiving circuits  each  adapted  to  respond  to  its  own  trans- 

)8,45i.  Signaling  System.  Maynard  W.  Hamblin. 
New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  American 
District  Telegraph  Company,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Application  filed  May  31,  I9°4- 

The  combination  with  a  normally  closed  circuit  com- 
prises metallic  outgoing  and  return  lines  and  a  number 
of  signaling  devices  having  contact  mechanism  for  con- 
trolling the  circuit  and  also  for  connecting  it  to  ground, 
and  means  for  supplving  current.  There  are  a  number 
of  signal-receiving  devices  and  a  switch  comprising  a 
single  operating  device  and  contact  members  operated 
thereby,  the  switch  interposed  between  one  of  the  lines, 
and  means  for  supplving  current  and  adapted  when  op- 
erated to  produce  separate  ground  return  circuits  inde- 
pendently connected  to  means  for  supplying  current. 

>8,454.  Telephone  Attachment.  Paul  Kammerer, 
Pittsburg,  Pa.  Application  filed  February  24, 
1905. 

Combined  are  a  standard  having  a  substantially  in- 
verted U-shaped  bracket  at  its  lower  end  adapted  to  be 
clamped  to  a  part  of  a  telephone,  a  casing  adapted  to 
close  a  registerinc  mechanism  and  having  exterior  lugs 
red   to   the    standard   and  provided    with   interior  lugs 


MAGNETIC  CLUTCHES. 


NO.   808.263.  —  pow 


endless  metallic  cable  or  belt  arranged  underneath  each 
car  and  passing  over  pulleys  journaled  at  each  end  of 
the  car,  the  lower  run  of  the  cable  or  belt  adapted  to  lie 
upon  the  contacts  by  its  own  weight  and  remain  station- 
ary   with  the   contacts   as  the   car  travels  forward,   and   a 


guide   for  the  cable. 

8oS,55i.  Ignition  Device.  Leon  J.  Le  Pontois,  New 
Rochelle,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Polyphase  Ig- 
nition System  Company  of  New  York.  Appli- 
cation filed  November  7,  1903. 

A  sparking  system  comprises  two  or  more  insulated 
electrodes  located  in  the  ignition  chamber  of  an  internal- 
combustion  engin:,  ground  connections  for  the  electrodes 
and  means  to  simultaneously  disconnect  the  electrodes 
from  their  ground  connections  so  that  the  respective 
circuits  of  a  polyphase-current  generator  leading  to  the 
electrodes  may  be  simultaneously  interrupted. 

808.552.  Magneto  Alternator.  Leon  J.  Le  Pontois, 
New  Rochelle,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Polyphase 
Ignition  System  Company  of  New  York.  Ap- 
plication filed    September   24,    1904. 

A  polyphase  alternator  comprises  a  rotor  consisting 
of  a  permanent  magnet  having  a  number  of  separately 
magnetized  steel  laminae  substantially  annular  in  shape 
and  so  magnetized  that  two  consequent  poles  are  formed 
at  opposite  ends  of  the  same  diameter. 

805. 553.  Method  of  Igniting  Combustible  Mixtures. 
Leon  J.  Le  Pontois,  New  Rochelle,  N.  Y.,  as- 
signor to  the  Polyphase  Ignition  System  Com- 
pany of  New  York.  Application  filed  Septem- 
ber  24,    1904. 

The  method  of  producing  sparks  suitable  for  igniting 
combustible  mixtures  consisting  in  continuously  convert- 
ing two  alternating  currents  differing  in  phase  from 
each  other  by  90  degrees,  into  interrupted  alternating 
currents  having  at  all  times  a  sufficient  intensity  to  ig- 
nite a  combustible  mixture  by  short-circuiting  one  of 
the  currents  near  the  period  of  its  minimum  intensity 
and  simultaneously  rapidly  interrupting  the  other  of  the 
currents  at  or  near  the  period  of  its  maximum  intensity. 

508.554.  Apparatus  for  Generating  and  Utilizing 
Polyphase  Alternating  Currents  for  the  Igni- 
tion of  Explosive  Mixtures.  Leon  J.  Le  Pon- 
tois, New  Rochelle,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Poly- 
phase Ignition  System  Company  of  New  York. 
Application    filed    October  7,    1904. 

A  system  for  igniting  combustible  mixtures  in  inter- 
nal-combustion engines  comprises  a  polyphase  alternating- 
current  generator  having  its  rotor  driven  at  a  speed  pro 
portional  to  that  of  the 
varying   the 


808,532. — INDUCTION  METER 


8,594.  Apparatus  for  the  Transmission  of  Energy 
Through  Space.  Alessandro  Artom,  Turin, 
Italy.    Application   filed   February  20,    1905. 

In  an  apparatus  for  transmitting  electrical  energy_  the 
combination  with  a  suitable  main  electric  circuit,  a 
source  of  electric  current  and  a  circuit-breaker  therein 
consists  of  a  discharge  circuit  in  inductive  relation  to 
the  main  circuit,  discharge  conductors  therein  and  a 
branch  circuit  therefrom.  Means  are  provided  in  the 
branch  circuit  to  throw  the  current  therein  out  of  phase 
with  that  in  the  discharge  circuit,  and  grounded  aerials 
are  in  inductive   relation  to   the  branch    circuit. 

8,6oo.  Telephony.  Albert  G.  Davis,  Schenectady, 
N.  Y.  Original  application  filed  April  22,  1897. 
Divided  and  this  application  filed  May  15,  1903. 

Creating  a  telephonic  current  is  accomplished  by  im- 
pressing an  alternating  electromotive  force  on  a  circuit 
and  varying  the  reactance  of  the  circuit  around  a  point 
near  but  not  at  the  resonance  point  in  substantial  ac- 
cordance with  the   sound   to   be   transmitted. 

8,602.  Desk  Bracket.  Alan  R.  Fergusson,  New 
York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Warren  Ball  Bear- 
ing Fixture  Company,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Ap- 
plication filed  March  3,  1903.  Renewed  No- 
vember 15,   1905. 

Mechanical  features  of  a  bracket  for  adjusting  the 
position  of  electric  lamps  are  described. 


PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Following  is  a  list  of  electrical  patents  (issued 
by  the  United  States  Patent  Office)  that  expired 
on   January    1,    1906. 

395.315-     Electric     Signaling     Apparatus.      Tohn    P.    Coleman, 

Swissvale,   Pa. 
395.317-      Sign      for     Electric     Lights.     Edward     A.      Dubey, 

Brooklyn,    N.    Y. 
395,421.     Safety     Device      for      Use      in      Electric      Circuits. 

Arthur    C.    Cockburn,    London.    England. 
395.442.      Conduit     Electric     Railway.     Byron    Jennings,     San 


Jo 


Cal. 


the 


____    shaft, 

.  f    operation    of    the    sparking    device 

connect    electrically    the     device     to     the 

f    generation    of    either    of    the 


nding    through 


to    which    the    registering    mechanis 

lever    for    actuating    the    mechanir- 
slot  in  the  wall  of  the  casing. 

>8,475.  Electric  Stop-motion  for  Knitting  Ma- 
chines. Arthur  L.  Patterson,  Albemarle.  N.  C. 
Application   filed   February   10,    1905. 


808,555.  Self-exciting  Alternator.  Leon  J.  Le 
Pointois,  New  Rochelle,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  Poly- 
phase Ignition  System  Company  of  New  York. 
Application   filed   February  3,    1905. 

A  partially  self-exciting  alternator  of  the  inductor  type 
comprises  a  permanent  magnet  field,  polar  projections 
adjacent  to  the  magnetic  poles  developed  by  the  field, 
stationary    windings     surrounding    the    polar    projections, 


395,546.     Electric   Cable.     William  A.    Conner,   Pittsburg,   Pa. 
395,375-      Electromagnetic     Rock     Drill.     Harry     N.     Marvin, 

Syracuse,    N.   Y. 
395. 5S4.     Conduit    for     Electric     Wires    or     Cables.     Edward 

H.    Phiops,  New  Haven,  Conn. 
19  ^,609.     Electrical      Switch.     Paul      H.      Brangs,      Newark, 

N.  J. 
395,613.      Electroharmonic      Telegraphv.      Mark      W.      Dewev, 

Syracuse,   N.   Y. 
^95,622.      Dvnamo-electric      Machine.      Tohn     F.    Kcllev,    New 

York,  N.  Y. 
395.667.      Electric-railway    Signal.       Daniel     S.     Smith,    Poca- 

tello,   Idaho. 
395.377-     395-3  ?S.      395>379-       Secondary     Battery     Charging. 

Charles    F.    Brush,    Cleveland,    O. 
395,427.     Automatic     Telegraphy.     Patrick     B.    Delany,     New 

York,   N.    Y. 
395,4/6-     Speaking       Telephone.     Francis       Blake,       Weston, 

195o°S,     io;.^oq.     ^oi.ii".      Multiplex     Telegraphy.       Francis 

J.    Patten;    New    York,    N.    Y. 
395.532.     Automatic     Safety      Cut-out    for    Electric     Circuits. 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


Vol.  XXXVIII. 


CHICAG(  ).  JANUARY   13,  1906 


Three-conductor    Direct-current     Rail- 
way In  Bohemia. 
By  C.  Smith, 

,\n     interesting     direi  1  currenl     1  li  cti  ii      railway 
which   possesses  some   feature     which   arc   radically 

l,ti   Mm   from    \mcrii  an   prai  tii  -    ha     rei  entlj    I 

m  tailed   between    Tabor  and    Bo  bin,    in    Bohi  mia, 

by    the    well  known    electrical 

establishment  of   F.   Krizik  of 

Prag  Karolini  nthal.     The    line 

is    24.24    kilometers   in    length 

:iikI   has  five  stations,  those  of 

Tabor,    Slapy,    Malsice,    Sudo- 

mcrige  and  Bechin.    The  road 

i  ,     fairly    level,    (he    steepcsl 

grade  being  3.5  per  cenl  ,  and 

Inn    one    river,   the    Luschnitz, 

is    crossed,    being   spanned    by 

a  bridge  174  meters  in  length. 

Steel  rails  weighing  21.75 
kilograms  per  meter  are  laid  on 
pine  ties  one  meter  apart.  'I  he- 
trains  consist  of  two  or  three 
motor  cars  which  travel  at  from 
15  kilometers  per  hour  on  the 
steepest  grades  to  30  kilome- 
ters  per   hour  on   the  level. 

The  power-generating  sta- 
tion, which  is  seen  in  the  ac- 
companying illustration,  Fig.  1, 
is  located  near  Tabor,  on  the 
Luschnitz  River  at  one  end 
of  the  line,  and  generates  di- 
rect current  at  1,400  volts 
pressure,  also  supplying  the 
city  of  Tabor  with  light  and 
electric  power.  The  station 
contains  three  Tischbein  boil- 
ers of  80  square  meters  heat- 
ing surface,  constructed  for  a 
pressure  of  II  atmospheres, 
superheaters  being  provided 
for  raising  the  temperature  of 
the  steam  to  300°  C. 

Three  steam  engines  are  the 
prime  movers  in  this  station, 
and  they  are  of  the  compound 
condensing  type,  developing 
120  horsepower  each.  They  are 
connected  by  belting  to  direct- 
current  generators,  as  seen  in 
Fig.  3,  which  shows  the  inte- 
rior of  the  power  house.  Two 
of  the  engines  run  at  180  rev- 
olutions per  minute,  while  the 
third,  which,  together  with  the 
storage  battery,  is  able  to  op- 
erate two  50-ton  trains,  has  a 
speed  of  220  revolutions  per 
minute.  Two  belt-driven  boost- 
ers have  also  been  installed, 
as  well  as  other  sets  to  be  used 
in  case  of  emergency. 

The  storage  battery  consists 
of  700  Tudor  elements,  having 
a  capacity  of  123  ampere-hours 
at  a  discharge  rate  of  one 
hour,  and  171  ampere-hours 
at  a  discharge  rate  of  three 
hours. 

A  three-wire  system  has  been 
installed,  with  700  volts  on 
each  side,  and  the  rails  as  a 
neutral.  In  this  respect  the 
system  is  unique,  and  it  po- 
sesses  some  advantages.  With 
this  system,  under  no  circum- 
stances can  a  motor  receive 
more  than  700  volts,  this  being 
an    important    advantage    over 

a  straight  line.  Two  bow  collectors  are  used  for 
taking  the  current,  and  this  is  said  to  be  a  great 
advantage,  especially  in  winter,  when  the  rails  are 
covered  with  sleet.  The  two  overhead  conductors 
consist  of  copper  wire,  eight  millimeters  in  diam- 
eter, placed  5.5  meters  above  the  rails  and  1.2 
meters  apart.  Fig  2  is  an  illustration  showing  a 
car  with  bow  trolleys,  and  the  line  construction. 


1  !ai  ii  1: cl  four  quadri- 

polar    mot 

1  nli'  1    'i .'•   in   parallel,   and   1 

peed  "i       "   i'    -!n':'.'!     pi  1    minute,   with 
j I'he  gcai  75,  and 

I  91  I)       

Ill aril 

1  he    cai  .    '.<  hii  h   an 


Power  House  on  Luschnitz  River  near  Tabor. 
Showing  Bow  Trolleys  and  Overhead  Constructs 
:  Generators  in  Power  House. 


:hree-condlctor     DIRECT-CURRENT     RAILWAY    IN     BOHEMIA. 

divided  into  two  compartments  of  the  second  and 
third  class,  and  bold  in  all  40  passengers.  The 
general  outlines  are  well  shown  in  Fig.  2. 

This  novel  system  has  been  in  operation  since 
June  and  has  given  excellent  satisfaction.  It  is 
stated  that  F.  Krizik  proposes  to  install  a  new 
and  similar  line  operating  at  a  pressure  of  3,000 
volts    and    utilizing    Sco-horsepower    motor    cars. 


Electric    Light    and    Power  Service    In 
Chicago   and    Vicinity. 

[hi   and  power 

Shore 
■nent». 

central     portion 

Surrounding   tie 
extending    to    the    cirj 

•1th     company 
the    field,    and    in    the 

territory      forming    a 
around    the    city    and    • 
ing  into  many  of  the 
the   North   Shore  company  di-- 
tributcs  its  light  and  p 

Eleven  years  ago  the  Chi- 
cago Edison  Company  had 
connected  a  light  and  power 
load  equivalent  to  23K 
candlepower  lamps.  On  March 
3Ii  1005.  its  light  and  power 
output  was  equivalent  to  1.475.- 
699  16-candlcpowcr  lamps.  In 
the  last  four  years  the  busi- 
ness of  the  company  has  al- 
most doubled.  During  the 
year  just  closed  the  company 
has  added  to  its  list  of  cus- 
tomers several  of  the  large 
State  Street  department  stores. 
Sub-stations  have  been  in- 
stalled in  several  new  build- 
ings and  one  was  built  in 
Plymouth  Place.  The  plant 
represented  an  investment  on 
March  31,  1905,  of  $18,532,- 
753 

The  Commonwealth  Electric 
Company  has  developed,  and 
is  still  adding  to,  one  of  the 
most  interesting  central-sta- 
tion plants  in  the  world.  The 
Fisk  Street  station  of  this 
company,  with  its  large  steam 
turbines,  and  contemplated  ul- 
timate capacity  of  156,000  kilo- 
watts, was  illustrated  and  de- 
scribed in  detail  in  the  West- 
ern Electrician  of  last  week. 
The  connected  business  of  this 
company  on  March  31,  1905, 
was  the  equivalent  of  727.075 
16-candlepower  lamps.  Among 
the  notable  additions  to  the 
company's  service  in  1005  may 
be  mentioned  its  contract  with 
the  Chicago  City  Railway  Com- 
pany to  supply  current  for 
operating  cars.  This,  with 
s  i  m  i  1  a  r  service  for  other 
s  t  r  e  e  t-railway  and  elevated 
lines,  makes  a  demand  up- 
on the  company  for  20.000 
horsepower. 

The    North     Shore    Electric 
Company  in  1002  began  a  light 
and    power    service    for    the 
towns  along  the   North   Shore 
of     Lake      Michigan,     acquir- 
ing    the     lighting     plants     at 
Waukegan  and  Highland  Park. 
Its  territory-  now  extends  clear 
around   Chicago    to  the  south. 
More    than    thirty    cities    and    villages    are    served 
by    the     company.        A     number     of     independent 
and    municipal     plants    have   been    bought    by    the 
company,    and    in    1905    it    acquired    the    Calumet 
Lighting   Company,   which   served   towns   south   and 
southwest    of    the    city."  including  Chicago    Heights 
and    Harvey.     The    business    of    the    North    Shore 
company    has    been    largely    lighting,    but    arrange- 


3^ 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January   13.   1906 


merits  are  being  made  for  an  extensive  power 
business.  A  power  house  in  course  of  construc- 
tion in  the  Blue  Island  district  will  furnish  the 
current  for  the  Chicago  and  Southern  Traction 
Company  and  also  to  factories  in  the  district. 
Stations  are  also  being  constructed  at  May  wood 
and  Waukegan,  with  transmission  lines  to  sub- 
stations   intervening. 


Single-phase    Locomotives    for    Sarnia 
Tunnel. 

After  about  two  years'  study  and  investigation 
of  the  problem,  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  Com- 
pany has  awarded  the  contract  for  the  electrification 
of  the  Sarnia  tunnel,  and,  on  the  recommendation 
of  its  consulting  and  supervising  electrical  engineer, 
Mr.    Bion    J.    Arnold,    has    chosen    the    single-phase 


end  of  the  tunnel,  and  the  total  distance  to  be 
electrically  equipped  is  19,348  feet  from  terminal 
to  terminal.  The  accompanying  drawing  is  a  gen- 
eral map  and  profile.  Specially  designed  steam 
locomotives  have  been  used  to  haul  both  freight 
and  passenger  trains  through  the  tunnel,  freight 
trains   being  usually  divided. 

The  new  electric  power  house  will  be  placed  on 
the  surface  of  the  ground  on  the  American  bank 
of  the  river,  over  the  tunnel,  to  which  cables  will 
run  down  a  shaft.  The  locomotive  load  will  be 
variable,  requiring  1,200  kilowatts  during  the  seven 
or  eight  minutes  required  to  pull  the  train  up 
grade  and  practically  nothing  during  the  remaining 
six  or  seven  minutes  of  the  proposed  15-minute 
run.  There  will  also  be  a  lighting  load  and  a 
pumping  load,  so  that  the  maximum  load  will  be 
something    like    2,oco    kilowatts,     for    which    three 


through  the  tunnel  by  the  electrical  equipment 
other  than  that  imposed  by  the  limited  mechanical 
strength   of  the   coupling  from   car   to   car. 

These  locomotives  are  of  the  rigid-frame  type, 
with  driving  axle  boxes  and  draft  gear  mounted 
on  the  same  frame.  Each  unit  will  have  three 
pairs  of  62-inch  driving  wheels  with  a  motor  on 
each  axle  connected  with  a  gear  reduction  of  18 
to  95.  It  will  weigh  approximately  62  tons,  all 
of  which  is  on  the  driving  wheels.  Equalizer 
beams  similar  to  those  used  in  standard  steam- 
locomotive  practice  will  distribute  the  weight  among 
the  six  drivers.  The  frames  will  be  made  of  cast- 
steel  and  will  be  placed  outside  the  wheels.  The 
locomotives  will  be  equipped  with  the  Westinghouse 
friction    draft  gear. 

The  power  equipment  of  each  unit  comprises 
three  250-horsepower  single-phase  series-wound  mo- 


locomotive  system,  placing  the  order  for  the  whole 
equipment  with  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and 
Manufacturing  Company.  Mr.  Arnold  was  retained 
by  the  railroad  company  in  April  of  last  year.  His 
first  impression  was  in  favor  of  direct  current  for 
the  tunnel  equipment,  but,  after  a  thorough  analy- 
sis, he  decided  that  the  single-phase  motor  would 
meet  the  conditions  encountered  in  this  installation 
better  than  the  direct-current  motor,  owing  to  the 
elimination  of  the  third  rail  from  the  extensive 
yards  at  each  end  of  the  tunnel,  the  better  speed 
characteristics  and  more  uniform  drawbar  pull  of 
the  single-phase  motor,  and  the  probable  saving  in 
first    cost    and    operating  expenses. 

Mr.  E.  H.  Fitzhugh  of  Montreal,  third  vice- 
president  of  the  Grand  Trunk,  handled  the  matter 
for  the  railroad  company,  and  received  the  various 
proposals  which  were  submitted.  Mr.  Frank  H. 
Shepard  was  active  in  the  matter  on  behalf  of  the 
Westinghouse    interests. 

The  Sarnia  or  St.  Clair  tunnel  of  the  Grand 
Trunk  railroad  extends  between  Port  Huron,  Mich., 
and  Sarnia,  Ont,  under  the  St.  Clair  River,  con- 
necting the  Canadian  and  American  portions  of 
the  railroad.  The  tunnel  proper  is  6,032  feet  long, 
1,718  feet  of  which  is  under  the  river,  with  two 
per  cent,  grades  on  each  side.  It  is  of  iron,  cir- 
cular in  shape,  with  space  for  a  single  track.  As 
has    been    said,    there    are    extensive    yards    at  each 


8co-kilowatt/  3,300-volt  three-phase  25-cycle  turbo- 
generators will  be  installed.  The  contract  also 
provides  for  the  power  station  itself  and  the  boil- 
ers, stokers,  coal  and  ash-handling  machinery,  feed 
pumps,  feed-water  heaters,  condensers,  water  sup- 
ply, fire  protection  and  heating  systems,  piping, 
electric  crane,  engine-driven  exciting-  unit,  motor- 
driven  exciting  unit,  switchboard,  feeder  and  dis- 
tributing system,  bridge  and  pole  lines  for  catenary 
trolley  construction,  overhead  work,  bonding,  trans- 
formers for  power  and  light,  light  and  power  dis- 
tributing systems,  lightning  protective  apparatus, 
arc  and  incandescent  lamps,  roundhouse  motors, 
motor-driven  pumps,  drainage  and  sewer  systems 
for  buildings  and  yards  and  electric  locomo- 
tives. 

Interest  centers  in  the  locomotives,  which  are  to 
be  equipped  with  the  series-wound  single-phase 
motors  developed  by  the  Westinghouse  company. 
There  are  to  be  six  single  or  three  double  loco- 
motive units,  designed  to  meet  the  requirements 
of  the  tunnel  service  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway, 
Each  single  unit  will  exert  a  drawbar  pull  of 
25,000  pounds  on  a  two  per  cent,  grade  at  a  speed 
of  10  miles  an  hour.  The  locomotives  may  be  op- 
erated from  either  end,  and  two  or  more  may 
be  coupled  together  and  controlled  in  multiple 
from  a  single  unit,  so  that  there  is  practically  no 
limit    to    the    size    of    train    which    may    be    taken 


tors  of  the  same  general  type  as  those  recently 
adopted  by  the  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hart- 
ford Railroad  for  its  terminal  operations  in  New 
York.  Pneumatically  operated  trolleys  of  the  pan- 
tagraph  type  will  collect  the  current  from  the  over- 
head-trolley line  outside  the  tunnel.  In  the  tunnel 
itself    side    contacts    will    probably    be    used. 

Alternating  current  at  25  cycles  and  3,000  to 
3,300  volts  will  be  delivered  to  the  locomotives. 
Outside  the  tunnel  the  current  will  be  fed  through 
a  No.  0000  grooved  trolley  wire  and  trolley  to 
the  locomotive  equipment.  The  trolley  wire  will 
be  hung  by  a  catenary  suspension  from  steel  towers 
which  span  the  track,  or  from  bracket  arms  mounted 
on    lattice-work   poles    of    steel. 

Tunnel  operations  are  conspicuous  fields  for  the 
electrical  propulsion  of  heavy  trains,  avoiding  the 
smoke  and  gases  of  steam  locomotives,  and  the  ap- 
plication of  the  single-phase  alternating-current  sys- 
tem to  the  St.  Clair  problem  provides  a  most 
effective  solution  of  the  difficulties  encountered. 
By  its  adoption  the  tunnel  companj'  is  enabled  to 
utilize  the  safe  and  simple  catenary  line  construc- 
tion rather  than  the  third  rail,  to  eliminate  elec- 
trolytic troubles  and  to  secure  a  close  and  efficient 
speed  control,  with  economical  starting  and  rapid 
acceleration.  It  is  expected  that  the  electric  loco- 
motives will  greatly  relieve  the  present  congestion 
at    the    terminal    yards. 


January  13,  1906 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


M 


Northwestern  Electrical  Convention. 

'I  in'   1  onvi  ni  1. .11    of   the    N01 
Association    will    bi    hi  Id    in  1       G 
I  [otel    mi    January    171I1    and    t8th,  and     I ' 

the  1H1I1  ha  1  bci  n    1 1  a  ide  b     1 1 an  1 

ill.-    Elei  11 H    'I  radcs    E    po  il ion    a       ;  toi th 

I'.lll    ll   il    III         \         III    Mill, II       I    III    , 

An   unusually  promising  literary  programn 

in  1 1 ipared  for  the  1  onvi  ntion  and   im  ludi 

following  papers :   "  1  he    Propi  1    1  Candling   ol    I  on 
Burners'   Meters,"  by   George    1 1     Bai  rett  ; 

1  ndi  1  [round    I ' 11  lion,"    by    V.      1 1.     Bufoi  '1 . 

"Suggestions   fur   Increasing  the    Power   Output   of 
1    mi  ■     Stations,"   by    P.   1 1.    Korsl ;    "Govei nrm  nl 
Tests  of  Fuel,"  by  C.  J    David  on;  "The  Organiza 
li.m    .-uiil    I  levclopmenl    of    Ni  w    Bu  ine       Deparl 
ments,"  by  George  Williams;  "Successful   Applies 
tions    of    New    Business    Methods,"    by    John 
Allen;  "The  Economics  of  Combined   Railwaj    and 
Power    Plants,"    liy     I''..    ( iun/riiliarli  ;    "111. 
of   Load    Factor  on   Station  Costs,"  by  R.    N 
ball. 

On  the  night  of  the  1N1I1  the  delegates  of  the 
Northwestern  association  will  vi^ii  the  Electrical 
Show  in  a  body,  after  which  a  banquet  will  be 
Riven.  The  president  of  the  association  is  E.  II. 
Williams  of  Lacrosse,  Wis.,  and  Thomas  R  Mer 
cein  is  the  secretary  and  treasurer. 


The  Chicago  Electrical  Show. 

trical    1  1 

',      Samuel      li 
1  lharli     E.  G  nd   Ell  worth    B 

1 


Generous  Contributions  to  Engineering 
Building  Fund. 

In  view  of  the  importance  and  utility  of  the 
United  Engineering  Building,  as  a  home  and  cen- 
ter for  the  engineering  professions  and  arts,  the 
General  Electric  Company  has  made  a  contribution 
of  $25,000  to  the  land  and  building  fund  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers.  Presi- 
dent C.  A.  Coffin,  who  takes  a  warm  personal  in- 
terest in  the  matter,  lias  also  sent  his  own  check 
for  $5,000.  The  committee,  which  has  already  re- 
ceived gifts  and  pledges  amounting  to  nearly 
$70,000,  is  greatly  encouraged  by  this  generous 
support  of  its  work.  The  fund  is  now,  with  other 
new  contributions,  well  over  $100,000,  and  with 
renewed  energy  tbe  committee  has  begun  its  can- 
vass of  the  field,  with  the  object  of  securing  the 
second  necessary  $100,000.  About  600  members 
have  already  subscribed  to  the  fund,  and  the  com- 
mittee expects  to  have  no  difficulty  in  at  least 
doubling  this  number.  It  has  just  issued  to  the 
whole  membership  a  handsome  pamphlet,  illustrating 
and  describing  the  new  building  in  course  of  erec- 
tion in  New  York  city,  and  detailing  the  steps 
that  have  been  taken  by  the  associated  engineering 
bodies  to  give  effect  to  Mr.  Carnegie's  original  gift. 


American  Electrical  Salesmen's  Con- 
vention. 

The  first  regular  meeting  of  the  American  Elec- 
trical Salesmen's  Association  will  be  held  in  the 
Grand  Pacific  Hotel  January  20th.  The  president 
of  the  new  association  is  Vincent  Gray  and  the 
secretary  is  R.  A.  Cavanaugh,  Masonic  Temple, 
Chicago.  A  comprehensive  programme  has  been 
prepared,  including  the  following  papers  and  ad- 
dresses :  "Our  Purpose,"  by  President  Gray ; 
"Illustrated  Address,"  by  J.  Robert  Crouse;  "Mod- 
ern American  Meter  Practice,"  by  R.  C.  Lamphier ; 


POSTER    FOR    THE   CHICAGO    ELECTRICAL   SHOW. 

Spalding;  general  manager,  Thomas  R.  Mercein. 
The  directors  are  Mr.  Insull,  Mr.  Overshiner,  Mr. 
Spalding,  Mr.  Gregory.  T.  P.  Gaylord,  James  Wolff, 
A.  L.  Waterbury,  H.  B.  McMeal.  C.  E.  Mitchell, 
Homer  E.  Niesz,  G.  H.  Atkin,  G.  Edward  Kohler 
and    George    B.    Foster. 

The  exposition  company  has  issued  a  handsome 
poster  advertising  the  show,  which  by  its  appro- 
priate design  and  pleasing  colors  is  attracting  no 
little  attention.  The  poster  was  designed  by  Mr. 
Edward  A.  Wilson,  a  student  at  the  Art  institute 
in  Chicago,  and  not  unknown  to  the  electrical 
fraternity.     One    of    the    accompanying    illustrations 


world)  alio  used  at  the  St   Lo 

tbe  Lite  building  there    mill 

. 

.nd    all    of    II  - 

i    the  electrical   show.    Purdue,   Mini 

to    nuke  exhibits,    and 
Purdue   will    tend  a   bun- 
students    to    Chicago 

uy  of   Illinois  will   tend   the 

Class   of    the    department    of    electrical    engi- 
neering   to   Chicago   at   the   time  of   the   exj. 
Each  '/i  the    paces  allotted  to  ti.'.-  univei  ncs  will 

rated  in  the  college  colors,  and  will  be  made 

uig    headquarters     for    tbe    alumni 
institutions. 
On    the    opening    night    the    leading   men    in    the 
electrical    field    will    be    present    by    invitation,    and 
the  show  will  at  the  same  time  be  formally  opened 
to    the    public.     It    has    been    definitely    settled    that 
President    Roosevelt    will    send    his    greetings    in    a 
wireless    telegram    on    the    opening    night    of    the 
show.     Dr.    Ue    Forest   of    the   be    Forest    \. 
1  elegraph  Company  of  America  arrived  in  Chicago 
from    Washington   a   few   days   ago,  where   he  had 
made    complete    arrangements    for    the    flashing   oi 
the   message  to  the   Coliseum. 

The  man  or  woman  who  wishes  to  keep  in- 
formed on  the  subject  of  electricity  in  the  house- 
hold will  find  much  of  interest  in  this  department 
of  the  exhibition.  Complete  kitchen  equipments, 
including  every  variety  of  electrically  heated  utensil 
from  a  teakettle  to  a  griddle,  will  be  shown.  The 
Chicago  Edison  Company  and  the  Simplex  Electric 
Heating  Company  will  exhibit  complete  cooking 
outfits,  with  which  demonstrations  will  be  made 
for  the  benefit  of  the  public.  The  Simplex  com- 
pany will  do  much  of  the  cooking  for  the  res- 
taurant, as  well  as  the  larger  part  of  the  laundry 
work  for  this  department  The  household  devices 
also  cover  a  great  number  of  novelties,  ranging 
from  sad  irons,  milk  warmers  and  curling  irons  to 
electric  heating  pads,  which  are  used  in  place  of 
hot-water  bags.  In  contrast  to  these  heating  de- 
vices may  be  mentioned  the  small  ice-making  plants 
which  are  operated  by  electric  motors.  They  are 
suitable  for  small  stores  which  carry  perishable 
goods.  Medical  appliances  will  be  shown,  such  as 
vibrators    and    the    like. 


E.  B.  Overshiner, 
Vice-president, 

THREE   OF   THE 


Thomas  R.  Mercein. 
General  Manager. 
HUSTLERS"    FOR  THE  ELECT 


also  five-minute  addresses  by  members  present  on 
salesmanship. 

Two  questions  of  importance  will  be  discussed  at 
the  meeting — as  to  whether  the  association  shall 
publish  an  official  paper  of  its  own,  and  as  to  what 
shall  be  done  toward  establishing  headquarters  for 
the   association. 

Delegates  to  the  convention  will  take  the  oppor- 
tunity presented  by  this  gathering  to  visit  the  Elec- 
trical Show,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  20th  they 
will  meet  at  the  Coliseum,  where  the  ladies'  tea- 
room will  be  placed  at  their  disposal. 


is  a  reproduction  of  the  poster,  the  picture,  how- 
ever, lacking  the  delicate  tints,  which  is  one  of  the 
striking    features   of    the    original. 

The  electrical  show  promises  to  be  a  success,  and 
the  various  attractions  offered  by  the  management, 
such  as  excellent  music,  together  with  the  inter- 
esting nature  of  the  exhibits  themselves,  will  no 
doubt  prove  enjoyable  and  instructive  not  only  to 
those  directly  interested  in  electrical  things,  but 
to   the   general    public   as   well. 

One  of  the  unique  exhibits  will  be  the  electric 
clock,  nearly  eight   feet  in   height,  and  made  of  15,000 


The  Chicago  Edison  Company  will  print  a  daily 
edition  of  The  Electric  City  in  the  building 
throughout   the   exposition. 

Among  the  most  interesting  of  the  many  demon- 
strations to  be  made  will  be  the  "stunts"  that 
G.  H.  Thordarson  of  Chicago  will  produce  with 
600,000  volts  of  electricity,  producing  an  electric 
spark  nearly  10  feet  long.  For  these  experiments 
Mr.  Thordarson  has  had  specially  made  a  sheet 
of  plate  glass  weighing  700  pounds. 

During  the  two  weeks  of  the  Electrical  Show 
there    will    be    three    conventions     in     Chicago    of 


34 


associations  in  the  electrical  field.  These  are  the 
Northwestern  Electrical  Association,  January  17th 
and  18th;  the  American  Electrical  Salesmen's  As- 
sociation, January  20th,  and  the  Allied  Electrical 
Trades   Association. 

Wednesday,  January  17th,  will  be  known  as 
"Benjamin  Franklin  Day"  and  some  special  elec- 
•  trical  feature  is  contemplated  for  that  occasion, 
although  definite  arrangements  have  not  yet  been 
made.  On  that  day  bronze  medallions  will  be  dis- 
tributed as  souvenirs  of  the  occasion. 

January  22d,  23d  and  24th  will  be  of  more  spe- 
.  cial  interest  to  telephone  men,  and  a  day  will 
also  be  set  aside  for  the  different  colleges,  many 
of   which   will  send   delegations   to   the  show. 

Weil's  band  of  St.  Louis  will  give  afternoon 
and  evening  conceits.  It  has  never  before  been 
heard  in  Chicago,  although  many  will  remember  it 
as  one  of  the  bands   at  the   St.  Louis   Exposition. 

The  accompanying  plan  shows  the  arrangement 
of  the  exhibit  spaces  on  the  main  floor  of  the 
Coliseum,  and  the  list  of  exhibits  indicates  the 
location    of    each    by    section    letter  and    number. 

Ackerman    &    Eoland    Company,    C    3. 
Acorn   Reflector  Company,  E  23. 
Ailams-Bagnall  Electric  Company,  A  4. 
Allis-Chalmers    Company,    D    5,   6. 
American    Circular    Loom    Company,    F  6. 
American    Conduit    Company,    I    3. 

Electric  Fuse  Company,  J  1. 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


Gorman  &  Co.,   Sam  J.,  C   16. 

Grier,  Thomas  G.,  J   s. 

Guarantee  Electric    Company,  A   11. 

Iialler   Machine    Company,   J.   6. 

llnlcombe    &   Co.,    D    16. 

India  Rubber  and  Gutta  Pcrcha   Insulating  Company,   C  7. 

Indiana   Rubber    and    Insulated   Wire    Company,    E    16,    8. 

Krantz    Manufacturing    Company,    F   3. 

Lang   Electric   Company,  J.,  A  6. 

Larsen-Bakcr   Ice    Machine    Cuinpany,  F  zz. 

Lincoln    Electric   Manufacturing    Company,    E    15. 

Manhattan    Electric   Supply   Company,    C    15. 

Mark  Manufacturing  Company,   F  8. 

Metropolitan   Electric  Supply  Company,    C  3. 

Miller    Anchor    Company,    H    5. 

Monarch   Electric  and  Wire   Company,  C  24. 

McRoy  Clay  Works,  C  4. 

McFell    Electric    Company,    C    5. 

National    Carbon    Company,    C    14. 

National    Wire    Corporation    Company,    D    22. 

New   York  and   Ohio    Company,    E   16,  8. 

New  York  Insulated  Wire   Company,  T  4. 

Niagara  Tachometer  and  Instrument  Company,  J    5. 

North    Shore  Electric    Company,    F    11. 

Nungesser   Electric    Battery   Company,   J   5. 


Overbagh   &  Aye: 

Packard    Electric   Company,   E    16,  8. 

Paiste    Compuany,   H.      T.,   J  4. 

Peabody   Coal   Company,    C  22. 

Peru   Electric    Manufacturing   Company,   J    3. 

Peterson  Mfg.    Co.,   H.,  A  9. 

Phillips    Insulated   Wire   Company,    E   16,    8. 

Phoenix   Glass   Company,   E   23. 

Porter   &    Berg,   A  4. 

Purdue  University,  G  I. 

Reynolds   Dull  Flasher  Company,  J  6,   7. 

Reynolds  Electric    Flasher  Manufacturing    Company,    E   23. 

Rock   Island    Battery  Company,    B  2. 

Roeblings    Sons    Company,  John    A.,    B    4. 

Roth   Bros.   &   Co.,  D  24. 


it- 


January  13,  1906 

American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science. 

In  the  Western  Electrician  last  week  a  synopsis 
was  given  of  the  proceedings  of  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  in 
New  Orleans.  The  concluding  sessions  were  held 
on  January  1st,  2d,  3d  and  4th,  and  the  importance 
of   the  meeting  grew   on   each    succeeding   day. 

Delegates  to  the  convention  enjoyed  themselves 
in  various  ways,  on  Sunday,  the  31st,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  many  pleasure  trips  which  may  be 
enjoyed  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Orleans  during 
this   season   of   the  year. 

One  of  the  interesting  papers  read  before  the 
engineering  section  on  Monday  was  by  Prof.  F.  W. 
McNair,  vice-president  of  the  section  and  head 
of  the  Michigan  College  of  Mines  at  Houghton. 
He  described  some  experiments  performed  in  a 
deep  mine  shaft  to  prove  the  theory  of  the  diurnal 
rotation  of   the   earth. 

On  Monday  evening,  at  the  general  session,  the 
officers  for  the  ensuing  year  were  chosen,  and  the 
following-named  gentlemen  were  honored  by  elec- 
tion to  office: 

President,  Dr.  William  H.  Welch  of  Johns- 
Hopkins;  vice-presidents,  mathematics  and  astron- 
omy, Edward  Kasner,  Columbia,  physics,  W.  S. 
Sabine,  Harvard,  chemistry,  Clifford  Richardson, 
New  York  city,  mechanical  science  and  engineer- 
ing, W.  R.  Warner,  Cleveland  geology  and  geogra- 
phy,  A.   C.   Lane,  Lansing,  zoology,   E.   G.   Conklin, 

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Electrical  Novelty  Company,  E    u. 
American    Electric   Sign    Company,    I   o. 
American    Electric    Supply    Company,    G   7. 
American   Steel  and  Wire  Company,   D    17   and    : 
American   Telephone  Journal,    B    8. 
Ansonia    Electrical    Company,    E    16,    8. 
Armour   Institute,    G   4,    5. 
Arthur,  Adam,  I  6. 
Austin  &  Co.,   M.  B.,   D   22. 
Automatic  Electric   Company,  C   20. 
Belden   MaufacUiriim    Company,   E   21. 
Benedict  &  Burnham,   D  22. 

Benjamin    Electric    Manufacturing   Company,    J    1 
Bennett,   I.  A.,   E  7. 
Bryan-Marsh  Company,  C  23. 
Camp    Company,   H.    B.,    E  24. 
Central    Electric   Company,   D  9. 
Central    Electric    Manufacturing    Company,    C   6. 
Chicago    Battery   Company,   B    3. 
Chicago  Compound  Battery  Company,  I  00. 
Chicago  Edison  Company,   F   1,  s,  3,  4,  9. 
Chicago   Lamp  and  Reflector   Company,   F  24. 
Chicago    Pneumatic    Tool    Company,    F    10. 
Chicago    Solder    Company,    H   4. 
Chicago    Telephone    Company,    D    11,    19. 
Colonial   Electric    Company,    C   24. 
Conover,    G.    W.,    &   Co.,    B   2. 
Cook,  Frank  B.,  E  4. 
Crane   Company,   D    1. 

Crescent   Insulated   Wire    Company,    C  24. 
Crockett   Company,    William   P.,  A  3. 
Crocker-Wlicckr    <  'ompany,    C   21. 
De   Forest   Wireless   Telegraph    Company,    D    2. 
Edwards  Headlight  Company,  A    1. 
Electric   Appliance    Company,   E  8,    16. 
Electric  Clock  Company,  H  4. 
Electro-Dynamic    Company,   F   5. 
Electric    Storage    Battery  Company,    D    21. 
En gince ring   World,    I    1. 
Federal  Electric  Company,  F  12, 
Fort  Wayne   Electric  Works,  C  13. 
Freed,   A.    L.,  _C   4. 

General  Electric  Company,  F  17,  18,   19,  20,  A  2 
General  Incandescent   Lamp    Company,    D   22. 
General    Storage    Battery   Company,    C   8. 


Safety  Armorite    Company,    Jj   22. 

Safety    Insulated   Wire    Company,    D    22. 

Sangamo    Electric    Company,    E    16,    8. 

Selk-iilel    Company,    W.,    B    5. 

Schott,   W.   H.,   A   7,  8. 

Schurcman  Company,   T.  L.,  B   1. 

Simplex    Electric    Heating    Company,    F   21. 

Sound   Waves,    B  9. 

Stanley  G.-I.   Electric  Manufacturing  Company,  F   16. 

Stromberg- Carlson   Telephone    Manufacturing   Co.,   E    13,   5. 

Swedish-American    Telephone    Company,    E    12. 

Sturtevant  Company,  B.  F.,  C  1. 

Telephony  Publishing  Company,  B  6. 

Thomas-Betts    Company,    D    22. 

Thorardson,    G.    H.,   I  4,   5. 

Universal   Electric   Storage    Battery   Company,   D    13. 

University  of  Colorado,  G  2. 

University    of    Illinois,    G    3. 

University   of   Wisconsin,   G   6,    7. 

Vesta    Accumulator    Company,    A    10. 

Western    Electric    Company,    D    12,    20. 

Western    Electrician,    B    7. 

Western  Union   Telegraph    Company,   H  3. 

Westinghouse    Electric   and    Manufacturing   Co.,    D    3,    4. 

Whitney    Electrical    Instrument    Company,"  E    16,    8. 


Chicago  Gas  Inquiry. 

Alexander  C.  Humphreys,  president  of  Stevens 
Institute  of  Technology,  Hoboken,  r^-.  J.,  said  be- 
fore the  investigating  committee  that  it  would  not 
be  practicable  to  sell  gas  at  75  cents  in  Chicago. 
The  company  that  undertakes  it,  he  said,  would  be 
bankrupt  in  a  short  time.  Mr.  Humphreys  is  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Humphreys  &  Glasgow, 
manufacturers  of  gas-making  apparatus.  In  his 
opinion  the  People's  Gas  Light  and  Coke  Company 
should  charge  95.53  cents  per  thousand  feet  for 
its  product  to  earn  a  fair  profit,  provide  for  de- 
preciation,  and   meet   all   possible   contingencies. 


University  of  Pennsylvania,  botany,  Daniel  T. 
MacDougal,  Carnegie  Institute,  anthropology,  Hugo 
Munsterberg,  Harvard,  social  and  economic  science, 
C.  A.  Conant,  New  York,  physiology  and  experi- 
mental medicine,  Simon  Flexner,  Rockefeller  In- 
stitute; general  secretary,  John  F.  Hayford,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. ;  secretary  of  the  council,  Frank  W. 
McNair,   Michigan   College  of  Mines. 

The  permanent  secretary,  Dr.  L.  O.  Howard,  and 
the  secretaries  of  the  sections  were  elected  for 
five-year  terms  at  the  Philadelphia  meeting.  Dr. 
Howard  is  serving  his  second  term  now. 

The  special  summer  meeting  will  be  held  in 
Ithaca,  N.  Y..  on  June  28th,  and  the  regular  winter 
meeting  in    New    York    on    December   27th 

Of  particular  interest  to  engineers  was  the  paper 
by  Prof.  W.  R.  Warner  on  the  Panama  Canal. 
Professor  Warner  is  convinced  that  the  sea-level 
canal  is  the  only  one  that  should  be  built.  He  said 
in  part: 

"Twenty-five  years  ago  the  control  of  the  Chagres 
River  was  considered  the  difficult  problem,  but  in 
accordance  with  the  information  I  have  gained 
from  several  of  the  best  authorities,  this  river  is 
now  considered  only  10  or  15  per  cent,  of  the 
problem. 

"When  we  consider  that  the  maximum  height  at 
the  beginning  was  less  than  the  height  of  some  of 
our  modern  buildings,  and  that  the  French  com- 
pany reduced  that  height  to  150  feet  above  sea 
level,  which  is  practically  the  height  of  our  nine 
or  10-story  buildings,  and,  further,  that  this  height 
extends  only  for  less  than  10  miles,  I  am  confident 
that    if    the    present    Congress    does    not    direct    a 


January    I.;,    i 1  0  > 

. .,  i.   el  i  anal  to  bi    built,  thai   tl I  "nc  will, 

for   "in    gOVCI  mil'  hi    l  n"i g       01  !       in    Hi"    i- 1  I 

have   ""I    been   c luctcd   on    thi    pennj  wise-and- 

pound  foolish    plan, 

"( inc  othci  ■'"  .'.'mi'  hi  "iii'lii  i"  i"    mi  rationed,  and 

thai  is  thai  will I  i    -  epl hi    ■ 

v.ni I  .  i-i  iln    i'"'  '  "i  i"  "'  i- i  ha  '   proven 

gi  |vi  .    too    small    and    too    limiti  'I      'hi      i      illu 
(rated   by  the   Soo  ( lanal,   the   firsl    loci 

were    discarded    ycat      i and    I  II  ■"  i    I""'1 

.■..in.  h  i ii  i"  i"    "  plai    'i  '.    ". 

If  the  Panama  <  lanal  i  i  bu ill  on  the  i  a  level  plan, 
ii  can   !«■  enlarged   without    inti  i  Fi  i  ing    ■■■■  ith  traffii 

.- 1 1 ■  < ]    without    difficult)     On    tl thei    hand,    if   a 

Nick   system    ia    used,    ii    is    limited    and  cai '    I"' 

enlarged  withoul  being   n  buill 

Professor   Fullcrton    Waldo   .'I  o     poke   U] the 

ubjei  t   of  the  canal  and   gavi fig i     to 

the   in hi   "I    work   already   accomplished. 

iiii  Wednesday  most  of  the  sections  had  con- 
cluded  their  work  and  the  day  was  largely  given 
over  to  pleasure  and  sightseeing  The  chemical 
section  visited  il"1  Kcnilworth  plantation  The  en 
gineering  section,  under  the  auspices  "f  the  Sewer 

and    Water    Board,    visited    ■ ic    of    the   pumping 

plants,  and  a  portion  nf  the  party  also  visited  the 
central  power  plant.  Several  social  entertainments 
were  given  in  the  evening. 

The  meeting  of  the  associatiotf  was  brought  to 
a  close  on  Thursday  forenoon  at  the  general  ses- 
sion held  in  Gibson  Hall,  which  was  little  more 
than  a  formality  and  but  few  members  wire  present. 


[•ERN     ELECTR1 

able    fi 

speed    in  limited 


New  Massie  Space-telegraph  System. 

The  United  States  government  is  installing  a 
chain  of  spacc-telcgraph  stations  along  the  coast 
and  is  preparing  to  send  out  weather  reports, 
storm  warnings  and  time  signals,  and  it  is  stated 
that  commercial  messages  are  also  to  be  sent  and 
received,  so  that  one  of  the  most  necessary  equip- 
ments of  every  sea-going  vessel  is  a  space- 
telegraph  installation.  The  accompanying  illustra- 
tions show  the  details  of  construction  and  the  elec- 
trical apparatus  of  the  Massie  system  of  space 
telegraphy  to  be  used  by  the  government,  including 


FIG.    I.       CIRCUIT    DIAGRAM    OF    PORTABLE    MASSIE    SPACE-TELEGRAPH    SET 

the    oscillaphone,    the    bell-alarm    and    switch-con- 
trolling devices. 

This  apparatus  was  designed  by  Walter  W. 
Massie  of  the  Massie  Wireless  Telegraph  Company 
of  Providence,  R.  I.  For  transmitting  signals  up 
to  ioo  miles  with  this  system  a  special  type  of 
induction  coil  or  transformer  is  employed  to  change 
the  low  potential  of  the  lighting  circuit  to  the 
high-potential      current      required      to      charge    the 


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tanccs  of  over  100  miles,  the  amount  of  power 
required  being,  it  is  stated,  approximately  in  pro- 
portion to  the  square  of  the  distance.  If  it  takes 
one-quarter  of  a  horsepower  to  cover  100  miles,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  use  four  horsepower,  or  16 
times  the  former  amount  to  cover  400  miles,  ac- 
cording to  the  observations  made  by  Mr.  Massie 
in  the  practical  application  of  his  system. 

Fig  1  shows  the  electrical 
connections  of  the  transmit- 
ters, receivers,  etc.,  as  well 
as  the  bell  alarm,  which  is  a 
prominent  feature  of  the  Mas- 
sie system.  This  bell  alarm 
is  in  circuit  when  the  wireless 
installation  is  not  in  operation 
and  is  ready  to  respond  to 
any  signal  received,  thus  noti- 
fying the  operator  when 
called,  and  by  its  use  the  op- 
erator is  relieved  of  the  strain 
1   ifrj»  I  1      and    confining   task   of  "listen- 

T  P  _»  '"s"  to  t'le  te'ePh°ne  receivers. 

The  oscillaphone,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  2,  is  used  as  a  re- 
ceiver for  the  Massie  system, 
and  is  a  form  of  microphone 
used  to  detect  the  oscillatory 
current  set  up  in  the  vertical 
wire  by  the  passing  ether 
wave.  There  are  two  knife-edge  terminals  made 
of  a  carbon  compound,  which  are  held  in  place 
by  two  resilient  metal-conducting  strips,  bridged 
with  a  small  steel  needle.  The  needle  is  held  in 
place  against  two  stops  by  magnetism  to  counteract 
the  motion  of  the  boat.  Vibrations  of  the  engines 
on  board  ship  are  overcome  by  placing  the  box 
containing  the  instruments  on  a  pneumatic  cushion. 
It  is  stated  that  the  entire  system  is  controlled 
and  operated  by  a  single  switching  device  arranged 
so  that  a  single  motion  is  all  that  is  required  to 
change  the  connection  for  sending  or  receiving, 
and  in  this  manner  it  is  asserted  that  the  speed 
in  operating  is  as  rapid  as  that  of  the  land  tele- 
graph in  making  the  change  from  receiving  to  send- 
ing, or  vice-versa.  Fig.  3  shows  the  recording  de- 
vice. 

Transmission  of  wireless  signals  is  due  accord- 
ing to  Mr.  Massie,  to  a  wave-like  disturbance  in 
the  magnetic  forces  of  the  earth,  and  he  is  not 
an  advocate  of  the  free  inter-wave  theory,  having 
claimed  to  have  discovered  the  discrepancy  between 
the  accepted  theory  and  the  results  brought  out 
by  practical   work.  P. 


FIG.     I.        MASSIE    OSCILLAPHONE    RECEIVER,  SWITCH    CON- 
TROLLING   DEVICE   AND   ALARM   BELL. 

Leyden  jars,  the  oscillatory  discharge  of  which 
passes  across  a  spark-gap  and  through  an  adjust- 
able inductance.  The  connecting  link  between  the 
ground  and  the  vertical  wires  is  this  inductance, 
and  it  is  used  to  adjust  the  discharge  of  the  Ley- 
den jars  to  the  natural  frequency  of  the  vertical 
system.  A  suitable  muffler  is  utilized  to  enclose 
the  spark-gap  to  deaden  the  sound  of  the  discharge, 


At  the  recent  convention  of  the  International  Broth- 
erhood of  Electrical  Workers,  held  in  Louisville, 
Ky.,  the  question  of  moving  the  headquarters  from 
Washington,  D.  C,  to  a  more  central  location  was 
discussed,  and  it  was  decided  to  choose  a  location 
by  referendum  vote.  Twelve  cities  were  nomi- 
nated and  Springfield,  111.,  was  selected  by  a  vote 
of  5,769  against  3.317  for  Indianapolis,  "the  next 
highest  competitor.  W.  N.  Chiles,  assistant  city 
electrician  of  Springfield,  assisted  by  the  Business 
Men's  Association  and  city  officials,  was  instru- 
mental  in  locating  the  headquarters. 


Thomson's  Power-transmitting  Device. 

through 

Klihu    J 

the  prii 
trolling 

erator;    but    ti.  tefully 

into    mechanical    cnerr 
main    driving   niacin:- 

Furthermore,    the    electric    o  .trolled 

by   varying   the   rclati. 

machines,  thereby  varying  tl  - ■ , nc  per 

ampere  of  current   flowing  through   them.    By  this 
lie     arrangement,     thi  |ue     of 

prime  mover  and  driven  member  may  be  controlled 
so  that  the  power  delivered  by  the  prime  mover 
may  be  transmitted  to  the  dr:  ith  the 

speed-torque  factors  altered  in  any  desired  manner 
— that  is,  with  increased  torque  and  lowered  speed, 
or  vice  versa.  This  result  is  accomplished  without 
the  use  of  batteries  or  other  external  sources  of 
motive  force  or  current  whatever. 

The  accompanying  illustration  is  a  diagram  of 
the  connections  of  one  form  of  the  device,  the 
generator  and   motor  being  coupled  together. 

When   the  apparatus   is   in  operation,  a   variation 


of  the  field  strength  of  motor  occasioned  by  manip- 
ulation of  the  rheostat  varies  the  counter-electro- 
motive force  of  the  motor,  and  this  electromotive 
force  being  developed  in  a  circuit  in  series  with 
the  generator  varies  the  current  developed  by  the 
generator.  If  the  counter-electromotive  force  be 
increased  by  strengthening  the  field  of  the  motor, 
the  current  flowing  in  the  generator  circuit  is  de- 
creased, thereby  decreasing  the  torque  exerted  be- 
tween the  two  members  of  the  generator.  The 
torque  exeerted  upon  and  the  speed  transmitted 
to  the  driven  mechanism  through  the  sprocket  chain 
therefore  decrease.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  field 
strength  of  the  motor  be  weakened  by  diverting 
current  from  the  field  winding  or  otherewise,  more 
current  flows  in  the  generator  circuit,  thereby  in- 
creasing the  torque  between  the  members  of  the 
generator.  This  may  result  in  a  speeding  up  of 
the  mechanism  driven  through  the  sprocket  chain 
or  other  power-transmitting  device,  the  power  de- 
veloped in  the  generator  in  the  form  of  electrical 
energy  through  the  medium  of  which  the  torque 
is  transmitted  to  the  driven  mechanism  being 
returned  to  the  power-supply  system  through  the 
instrumentality  of  the  motor.  The  mechanism 
is  in  condition  for  transmitting  maximum  torque 
when  the  short-circuiting  switch  is  closed, 
thereby  short-circuiting  the  generator  directly  upon 
itself.  The  short-circuiting  of  the  motor  has  no 
effect,  since  as  soon  as  it  commences  to  develop 
current  the  direction  of  the  current  is  such  as  to 
reduce  the  field  magnetism  to  zero,  thus 
diately  preventing  the   generation   of   current. 


At  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  an  ordinance  has  just  been 
adopted  by  the  City  Council  requiring  that  electric- 
light  and  power  wires  in  churches,  theaters  and 
other  places  used  for  public  gatherings,  also  wires 
in  unfinished  basements,  to  be  placed  in  suitable 
metal   conduits. 


36 


WESTERN   ELECTRICIAN 


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CORRESPONDENCE  relating  to  electricity  or  any  of  its 
practical  applications  is  cordially  incited,  and  the  co-operation 
of  all  electrical  thinkers  and  workers  caniest.lv  desired.  Clear, 
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CAN     BE     MADE     BY     NO    OTHER      ELECTRICAL      JOURNAL     IN     THE 

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Offices  of  publication,  Suite  510,  Marquette  Building  (2f>J 
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CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

Three-conductor    Direct-current    Railway  in    Bohemia.       By 

C.  Smith.     Illustrated 31 

Electric  Light  and  Power  Service  in  Chicago  and  Vicinity. .31,  32 

Single-phase  Locomotives  for  Sarnia  Tunnel.     Illustrated 32 

Northwestern  Electi  ical  Convention 33 

Generous  Contributions  to  Engineer  inn  Building  Fund 33 

American  Electrical  Sales  men's  Convention 33 

The  Chicago  Electrical  Show.     Illustrated 33,  34 

Chicago  Gas  Inquiry 34 

American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science.    (Con- 
clusion of  report  of  New  Orleans  meeting.) 34,  35 

New  Massif  Space  telegraph  System.     Illustrated 35 

Thomson's  Power-transmitting  Device.     Illustrated 35 

Editorial 36 

Possible  Municipal  Uses  of  Drainage  Canal  Power 37,  38 

A  Wireless  Printing  Telegraph 38 

Waterpower  Development  at  Sewalls  Falls,  N.  H.     Illustrated.  38 

Books  Received 38 

Electricity  in  a  Large  Paper    Mill.     By  F.  M.  Feikcr.    Illus- 
trated   39 

Chicago  Street -rail  way  Situation 39.  40 

Westirigtaouse  Electrostatic  Voltmeter.      Illustrated 40 

The  "Hold- fast"  Lamp  Guard.     Illustrated 40 

Inter-pole  Variable-speed  Motor  for    Machine-tool  Work.     Il- 
lustrated   41 

Dinner  to  Indiana  Traction   Men 41 

Michigan  Traction  Consolidation 41 

Yerkes'  Successors  Named 41 

Efficiencies,     By  James  Swinburne.     Illustrated 42 

California  Electric  Power  Consolidation  Completed 42 

Growth   of  the    Wright    Demand    Indicator    Business   in   the 

United  States.     Illustrated 43 

The  New  Philadelphia  Subway 43 

Engineering    Features  of  the   Jhelum   Power  Installation  in 

Oscillographic  Kr-earche^  on  Snruini;   in   High-tension    Lines. 

By  C.  David.     Illustrated 43,  44 

Central   1 11  i  :■■  •;:-  I  in  It- pen  dent  Teh-phone  Meeting 44 

Telephone  Men 44 

Indiana  Telephone  Items 45 

Telephone  News  from  the  Northwest 45 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes 45 

Indiana  District  Telephone;  Meeting 45 

Modern  Telephone  Kxchangc  foi   Manila 45 

General  Telephone  News 45 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence 46,  47 

Great  Britain 46 

Dominion  of  Canada 46 

New  York 46 

Ohio 46,  47 

Indiana *-> 

Southeastern  States 47 

Northwestern  States 47 

Pacific  Slope 47 

Personal 47,  48 

Electric  Lighting 48 

Electric  Railways 48 

Publications 48 

Societies  and  Schools 48 

Miscellaneous 48,  49 

Trade  News 49 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record 49.     50 

DATES  AHEAD. 

Chicago  Electrical  Show  (first  annual  exhibition  of  Elec- 
trical Tradea  Exposition  Company),  Coliseum,  Chicago,  Jan- 
uary  15th  to  27th. 

Northwestern  Electrical  Association  (annual  convention), 
Great  Northern  Hotel,   Chicago,  January  17th  and   18th. 

American  Electrical  Salesmen's  Association  (first  annual 
meeting).  Grand  Pacific  Hotel,  Chicago.  January  20th,  9  a.  m. 

Nebraska  Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  con- 
vention), Lindell  Hotel,  Lincoln,  Neb-,  January  23d  and 
24th. 

Ohio  Interurban  Railway  Association  (annual  meeting), 
Algonquin    Hotel,    Dayton,    Ohio,    January    25th. 


In  a  recent  issue  of  one  of  our  contempo- 
raries there  appears  a  description  of  what  is  as- 
serted to  be  the  largest  private  electric-light  plant 
in  the  world.  The  plant  described  is  that  in  the 
Mutual  Life  Building  in  New  York  city,  having 
four  350-kilowatt  generators,  or  a  total  rated  ca- 
pacity of  1400  kilowatts.  The  writer  of  this  ar- 
ticle, however,  is  somewhat  in  error  on  the  point 
of  its  being  the  largest  private  plant  in  the  world. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  New  York  plant  falls 
considerably    short    of    being    a    record-breaker    in 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

size.  The  private  electric  plant  in  Chicago  which 
furnishes  current  for  the  Auditorium  and  Audi- 
torium Annex  hotels  contains  seven  units,  having 
an  aggregate  rated  capacity  of  2,000  kilowatts. 
We  do  not  recall  any  other  private  lighting  plant 
as  large  in  size  as  that  at  the  Auditorium,  and  it 
is  possible  that  it  holds  the  record  as  to  size. 
It  at  least  considerably  outstrips  the  one  described 
in   New   York. 


In  view  of  the  recent  controversy  that  has 
arisen  over  the  relative  merits  of  direct  and  alter- 
nating currents  for  traction  purposes,  additional 
interest  is  attached  to  the  article  which  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  issue  under  the  title  "Three-con- 
ductor Direct-current  Railway  System  in  Bohemia." 
The  system  described  makes  use  of  direct  current 
generated  at  1,400  volts  and  distributed  on  the 
three-wire  system,  with  the  rails  for  the  neutral, 
and  700  volts  between  them  and  each  of  the  two 
overhead  conductors.  This  system  of  operation 
has  been  suggested,  but  has  never  met  with  favor 
in  this  country,  or  elsewhere  for  that  matter,  and 
it  will  be  interesting  to  note  what  the  outcome 
will  be.  Mr.  Frank  J.  Sprague,  who  is  an  advo- 
cate of  direct-current  operation,  believes  that  the 
working  voltage  of  direct-current  railways  may  be 
as  high  as  1,500  volts  or  more,  with  attendant  ad- 
vantages. In  the  Bohemian  railway  under  con- 
sideration we  are  able  to  discern  a  tendency  in 
this  direction.  Of  course  in  this  case  only  700-volt 
motors  are  used,  which  are  connected  in  parallel 
between  the  neutral  and  the  two  outside  conduct- 
ors, or  in  series  between  the  outside  conductors, 
but  still  700  volts  is  a  distinct  rise  in  motor  volt- 
age over  the  500  or  550  volts  now  customary  in 
direct-current  railway  practice. 


Alderman  Potter  of  the  Sixth  Ward,  Chicago — 
may  his  tribe  increase ! — deserves  credit  and  thanks 
for  his  resolution  in  the  City  Council  demanding 
the  electrification  of  the  suburban  service  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  in  Chicago,  even  if  nothing 
further  comes  of  it.  What  a  pleasing  morsel  of 
truth  is  this,  one  of  Mr.  Potter's  "whereases" : 
"The  noise  and  smoke  of  the  locomotives  of  said 
railway  are  an  intolerable  nuisance  to  the  residents 
along  its  right-of-way,  and  the  smoke  and  dirt 
are  most  destructive  to  personal  and  public  prop- 
erty and  will  be  most  destructive  to  the  valuable 
collections  of  the  Field  Museum  and  the  Crerar 
Library,  and  to  the  lawns,  shrubs  and  trees  at  the 
Lake  Front  Park."  The  man  who  has  struggled 
along  an  Illinois  Central  platform  in  a  cloud  of 
smoke  and  cinders,  with  an  energetic  live  coal 
nestling  between  his  neck  and  his  shirt-collar  will 
indorse  this  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart.  And 
the  next  "whereas,"  how  true :  "It  has  been  amply 
demonstrated  that  electricity  is  a  practicable  and 
economical  motive  power  for  the  operation  of  rail- 
ways, as  is  witnessed  by  the  elevated  roads  of  this 
city  and  great  numbers  of  interurban  railways,  and 
notably  by  its  adoption  by  the  New  York  Central 
and  Pennsylvania  railways  for  their  New  York 
city  terminals." 

Of  course  the  suburban  service  of  the  Illinois 
Central  should  be  electrified.  It  is  entirely  prac- 
ticable, as  the  Western  Electrician  has  faithfully 
borne  witness  on  former  occasions.  It  is  obviously 
equally  practicable  to  electrically  equip  the  sub- 
urban services  of  all  other  steam-railroad  com- 
panies doing  this  class  of  business  in  Chicago. 
But  the  case  of  the  Illinois  Central  is  more  glar- 
ing, because  it  happens  that  ill  no  other  instance 
are  the  steam  locomotives  such  a  nuisance  as  here. 
Perhaps  the  company  is  delaying  in  making  the 
change  on  the  score  of  expense,  but  it  has  been 
demonstrated  that  the  electrically  equipped  trains 
can  be  operated  at  least  as  cheaply  and  with 
recent  improvements  probably  considerably  cheaper 
than  the  steam  locomotive.  The  improvement  is 
bound  to  come  some  time,  and  the  sooner  the  rail- 
road company  takes  a  step  which  is  inevitable  the 
greater  will  be  its  credit. 


Some  interesting  comparisons  between  the  stand- 
ards observed  in  the  East  and  in  the  West  for 
inside  wiring  were  made  recently  by  an  electrical 
inspector  for  the  Western  Association  of  Fire  Un- 
derwriters. The  inspector  visited  some  of  the  best 
municipal  electrical  inspection  departments  in  east- 
ern   cities    during    a    recent    trip,    and    from    the 


January  13,  1906 

general  character  of  the  work  open  for  inspection 
at  that  time  he  concludes  that  the  standard  for 
inside  wiring  maintained  by  the  average  municipal 
department  in  the  West  is  fully  up  to  the  best 
eastern    requirements. 

Eastern  departments,  he  reports,  maintain  more 
complete  records  of  work  done  and  are  more 
aggressive  in  supervising  outside  wiring  than  the 
average  department  in  the  West.  This  was  found 
particularly  true  in  Massachusetts,  where  the  stat- 
utes require  each  municipality  to  regulate  both 
inside  and  outside  wiring.  It  is  thought,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  municipal  departments  in  the 
western  territory  have  made  greater  progress  in 
securing  improvements  in  old  and  defective  wiring. 
It  is  always  to  be  remembered  that  inspectors 
for  the  underwriters  are  employed  for  the  purpose 
of  making  the  insurance  business  more  remuner- 
ative, not  to  advance  electrical  interests  as  such. 
But,  wmle  some  of  their  criticisms  are  academic 
rather  than  practical,  it  is  of  couse  true  that 
electrical  apparatus  should  be  installed  and  main- 
tained with  careful  regard  for  the  fire  hazard.  It 
is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  this  hazard  is  greatly 
overrated  by  the  general  public,  due,  largely,  to  the 
carelessness  of  daily  newspapers  in  giving  currency 
to  the  well-worn  phrases,  "The  fire  was  due  to 
crossed  wires,"  or  "The  fire  was  apparently  of 
electrical  origin."  In  nearly  all  cases  where  "in- 
vestigation is  possible,  it  is  shown  that  the  elec- 
trical equipment  was  not  at  fault.  But  sometimes 
the  men  in  charge  of  the  equipment  become  care- 
less or  impatient  or  indifferent,  and  there  is  trouble. 
More  rarely,  the  contractor  skimped  the  job  in 
the  first  instance,  neglecting  to  install  the  work 
properly,  to  make  a  little  more  money.  Correctly 
installed,  we  think  that  all  are  agreed  that  elec- 
trical devices  for  generating,  transmitting  and 
utilizing  power  are  the  safest  known. 

In  a  recent  report  Mr.  Frank  Daniel,  electrical 
inspector  for  the  Indiana  State  Board  of  Fire 
Underwriters,  makes  some  interesting  observations 
on  this  important  subject.  He  says  that  in  the 
smaller  cities  in  that  state  the  electrical  conditions 
are  the  outcome  of  a  haphazard  development.  Only 
in  rare  cases  have  the  electric-light  and  power 
systems  in  these  cities  had  the  advantage  of  in- 
telligent direction  from  the  start,  with  provision 
for  growth,  expansion  and  betterment.  This  is 
probably  true,  but  it  doesn't  necessarily  follow 
that  the  fire  risk  is  greater.  Mr.  Daniel  has  most 
fault  to  find,  however,  with  honest  but  unskilled 
workmen,  "to  whom  the  National  Electrical  Code 
is  all  Greek."  He  cites  some  "horrible  examples." 
In  one  town  he  visited  a  dry-goods  store  where 
the  conditions  were  particularly  bad.  "By  all  the 
rules  of  the  game,"  he  says,  "this  place  should 
have  burned  out  at  least  10  times  a  day" — but  it 
didn't.  Electrical  construction,  even  at  its  worst, 
has  a  way  of  muddling  through  somehow  that 
elicits  a  degree  of  admiration,  even  if  it  does 
not  command  respect.  But  it  is  safest  not  to  take 
chances. 

Mr.  Daniel's  main  point  is  that  better  workmen 
are  needed.  The  gist  of  what  he  says  may  be 
stated  as  follows:  "Conditions  which  are  com- 
mon in  Indiana  and  many  other  states  show  con- 
clusively that  most  of  the  defects  in  wiring  are 
due  to  ignorance  on  the  part  of  local  workmen. 
Where  faults  are  called  to  the  attention  of  the 
insured,  it  is  generally  the  case  that  they  are  as 
anxious  as  the  insurance  companies  to  have  them 
corrected.  The  trouble  comes  in  making  correc- 
tions, for  when  the  property  owner  turns  the  mat- 
ter over  to  local  workmen,  it  is  often  the  case 
that  they  are  unacquainted  with  the  National  Code 
requirements.  There  is  need  for  more  technical 
knowledge  among  electrical  inspectors  and  workers 
to  bring  conditions  up  to  standard.  Those  who 
are  engaged  in  the  work  are  anxious  to  improve 
their  knowledge  in  the  majority  of  cases  and  are 
making  use  of  such  opportunities  as  come  their 
way."  The  last  sentence  shows,  what  apparently 
Mr.  Daniel  does  not  say  directly,  that  the  standard 
of  electrical  construction  work  everywhere  is  con- 
stantly being  improved,  in  some  places  more  rap- 
idly than  in  others,  but  in  all  places  to  some  ex- 
tent. It  is  true  that  there  are  incompetent  elec- 
trical workmen,  but  often,  where  defective  work 
exists,  the  owner  is  at  fault  in  insisting  on  a  low- 
priced   job   at   any   cost. 


January   13,   [906 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


37 


Possible  Municipal  Uses  of  Drainage 
Canal  Power. 

William    Carroll,   eity  electrician;   John    Ericion, 

riiy   engineer,   anil   Joseph    M     I'attei ,   oumm-. 

sioncr  of  public:  works,  have  prepared  iointly  a 
reporl  lo  thi  mayor  and  City  Council  of  Chicago 
mi  the  mosl  advantageous  municipal  usea  of  power 
from  the  hyilro-clcctric  development  of  the  Chicago 
Drainage  Canal,  for  which  construction  work  is 
now  in  progress.  'I  his  powci  1  l>-  intc  developed 
by  the  Sanitary  District  (a  territory  largely  made 
lip  of  the  city  of  Chicago),  anil  an  influential 
parly  believes  that  the  enerev  should  he  used  for 

nicipal  purposes,  at  cost,  inasmuch  as  the   Drain 

age  Canal  was  built   with  public  

After  reciting  the  council  order  for  the  making 
of  the   report,   its   authors  continue: 

Power  Development. 

The  watcrpowcr  now  being  developed  by  the 
Sanitary  Districl  below  I.ockport,  111.,  is  expected 
lo  lie  partially  available  on  or  before  January,  1907. 
With  the  first  installment  of  the  plant  and  with  the 
present  allowable  flow  through  the  Chicago  River, 
in  addition  to  the  flow  that  in  the  near  future  is 
to  be  delivered  through  the  Thirty-ninth  Street  con- 
duit, it  is  estimated  there  will  be  generated  suffi- 
cient power  to  make  available  at  a  proposed  ter- 
minal station  to  be  located  somewhere  near  Forty- 
eighth  Avenue  and  the  Drainage  Canal,  after  losses 
in  watcrwhcels,  generators,  transformers,  transmis- 
sion lines,  etc.,  shall  have  been  deducted,  about 
15,730  horsepower.  From  this  should  he  deducted 
a  further  loss  of  an  average  of  five  per  cent,  in 
transmission  from  the  terminal  station  to  points 
of  application,  leaving  a  net  number  of  horsepower 
for   actual   use   of  about   15.000. 

Having  been  unable  to  obtain  definite  data  from 
which  to  determine  this  probable  available  power, 
we  have  for  the  purpose  of  this  report  accepted 
the  estimate  as  furnished  us  by  officials  of  the 
Sanitary  District,  without  either  approving  or  re- 
jecting the  same. 

After  the  proposed  Calumet  District  Channel 
shall  have  been  completed,  which  no  doubt  will 
require  quite  a  number  of  years,  the  available 
commercial  power  at  the  terminal  station  referred 
to  will  probably  be  increased  to  21,000  or  22,000 
horsepower  at  low  lake  level.  This  estimate  is 
somewhat  of  an  approximation  until  more  definite 
data  as  regards  the  hydraulic  elements  of  the  Sani- 
tary  District   Canal   can  ,be   obtained. 

The  Santary  District  also  has  waterpower  rights 
south  of  Joliet,  which,  when  developed,  will  add 
considerably  to  the  above   estimate'. 

Utilization    of   This    Power   for   Municipal 
Purposes. 

The  municipal  purposes  for  which  power  is  re- 
quired are  principally  as  follows: 

Electric  lighting. 

Waterworks. 

Sewage  pumping  stations. 

Bridges. 

Street  railways    (when  municipally  operated). 

Miscellaneous. 

Under  the  most  favorable  conditions  water- 
driven  electric  power  plants  have  a  great  advan- 
tage over  steam-driven,  especially  in  their  low  op- 
erating   cost. 

If  the  investment  per  horsepower  developed  is 
high  and  the  power  thus  generated  has  to  be 
transmitted  long  distances,  this  advantage  disap- 
pears, however,  especially  where  the  cost  of  fuel 
is  low.  The  improvements  that  in  the  last  few 
years  have  been  made  in  the  construction  and 
operation  of  steam-driven  plants,  make  it  necessary 
to  carefully  consider  all  phases  of  the  subject  of 
power,  before  determining  whether  the  water- 
driven  or  the  steam-driven  power  is  the  most 
economical  and  desirable 

We  have  given  the  matter  considerable  attention 
in  connection  with  a  consideration  of  the  uses 
to  which  the  Lockport  power  may  be  put  for 
municipal    purposes. 

The  cost  at  which  the  power  developed  by  the 
Sanitary  District  may  be  obtained  by  the  city  of 
Chicago  has  not  been  ascertained.  If  the  city  can 
obtain  this  power  at  cost  of  development  and 
transmission,  including  all  charges,  there  will  be 
a  saving  to  the  city  in  its  utilization  for  municipal 
purposes. 

Electric   Lighting. 

There  are  at  present  about  6,700  electric  street 
lamps  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  as  soon  as  neces- 
sary power  is  obtained  it  is  contemplated  to  place 
a  lamp  at  practically  every  street  intersection  and 
in  the  middle  of  very  long  blocks  in  the  city. 
This  would  add  about  22,000  lamps,  making  a  total 
of  some  29,000  lamps. 

To  operate  these  lamps  there  would  be  required 
about  21,000  horsepower  for  an  average  of  II  hours 
per  day,  being  a  maximum  of  14  hours  in  the 
winter  for  about  two  months  and  a  minimum  of 
8T/2  hours  in  the  summer  for  about  three  months. 
When  such  a  system  shall  have  been  completed 
nearly  all  the  ultimate  power  to  be  developed  at 
Lockport   would   be   required    for   this    purpose   and 


for   the  lighting  of  municipal  buildings  for  a  cer- 
tain   portion    OI    the    24  hour    day. 
As  thi 

! ,  it  would  be  necessary  to  n 

■   tin  .  power,  when  m  1 
lighting    purposes,    in    order    to 
This    is    1 

water  driven    plan!    than    in    thi    1  1  e    of   a   steam - 
di  ivi  n,   n'nce  the  operating  1  icpen  1     an   q  lit 
in   the   foi  mi  r  a  r,   while 

the  fixed  chargi  plant  arc  heavy 

"WORKS. 

In  order  to  determine  appro   in 
of  power  that  would  bi  op<  ration 

of    the    v.  atet  wot  k     of   the  go,    the 

prci 'Hi    work   of  the     ti  tion     ha     Ix  ei 

ba  1 
The  average   daily    pumpage    for    the    ■,  ■ 

was  at  the  rah  <,  boul  1  0100,000  gallons 
a  head  averaging  100  feet.  This  is  equivalent  to 
about  7,200  pump-horsepower.  The  maximum 
pumpage  in  any  certain  time  of  the  year  is  about 
20  per  cent,  over  and  above  the  average,  or  say 
8,600  horsepower.  If  electrically  driven  pumps 
should  be  installed,  there  would  he  required 
motors  to  perform  this  work  about  14,400  horse- 
power at  the  time  of  maximum  pumpage. 

Owing  to  additional  pump  installations  during  the 
coining  year  there  will  probably  be  required  in 
1907  for  electrically  operated  pumps  about  16,000 
horsepower  for  peak  loads.  The  minimum  would 
thin  he  about   r,3,ooo  horsepower. 

The  comparatively  slight  variation  in  and  the 
constancy  of  the  power  required  during  all  hours 
for  this  purpose  would  make  the  utilization  of 
the  watcrpowcr  quite  desirable,  but  there  are  ob- 
jections which  outweigh  these  apparent  advantages, 
and  which  must  not  he  lost  sight  of. 

It  is,  in  our  opinion,  impracticable  to  apply  elec- 
tric power  to  the  present  vertical  triple-expansion 
and  horizontal  compound  pumping  engines  without 
an  entire  reconstruction  of  the  various  plants. 
This  reconstruction,  even  with  the  maintaining  of 
the  present  pump  ends,  would  be  so  costly  and  the 
results  so  unsatisfactory,  that  it  would  be  pref- 
erable to  install  entirely  new  plants  with  modern 
turbine   pumps. 

The  power  for  waterworks  purposes  must  be 
constant  and  absolutely  reliable.  Failure  at  any 
time  of  the  power  operating  such  plants  would 
involve  the  city  into  difficulties  not  to  be  counte- 
nanced for  a  moment.  It  is  almost  a  certainty 
that  at  times  there  will  be  an  unavoidable  shut- 
down of  the  waterpower  plant,  caused  by  anchor 
ice,  accidents  at  the  power  house  or  to  the  trans- 
mission lines  or  from  other  causes.  This  has  oc- 
curred both  at  Niagara  Falls  and  at  the  Economic 
plant  at  Joliet,  at  the  latter  place  for  hours  at  a 
time,  so  that  an  auxiliary  steam-turbine  installation 
has  been  made  at  the  power,  plant  to  meet  such 
emergencies.  There  is  certainly  no  guarantee  that 
such  accidents  will  not  occur  at  the  Lockport 
plant. 

It  would,  therefore,  be  necessary  to  install  en-" 
tirely  new  plants,  suitable  for  electric  power  equip- 
ment, and  also  to  maintain  the  present  plants  as 
'  auxiliaries  to  be  brought  into  use  in  cases  of 
emergency,  at  least  for  some  time.  The  difficulty 
and  cost  of  installing  duplicate  plants  of  equal 
capacity  with  the  present  ones  at  each  station,  to 
be  operated  electrically  and  without  dismantling 
the  present  plants,  is  too  great  to  be  contemplated. 

Proposed  New  Works. — In  the  plans  now  being 
prepared  to  provide  for  the  future  development 
of  the  Chicago  waterworks  system  there  are  con- 
templated four  additional  pumping  stations,  each 
of  a  capacity  of  about  100,000,000  gallons  daily. 
One  of  these  will  be  in  operation  in  about  four 
years,  and  the  others  as  soon  as  the  demands  will 
require    and    the    finances    will    permit. 

Recent  developments  in  turbine  or  centrifugal 
pumps  which  are  specially  adapted  to  be  operated 
electrically,  makes  it  advisable  to  consider  such 
installations  at  the  new  proposed  stations,  provided 
that  the  power  can  be  obtained  at  a  sufficiently 
low  cost.  The  low  cost  of  installation  and  of  op- 
eration, exclusive  of  power,  of  such  plants  brings 
the  cost  of  pumping  water  below  the  cost  of  op- 
erating with  steam-driven  plants,  provided  the 
power  can  be  obtained  at  a  price  that  it  costs  to 
generate  same  at  the  proposed  power  plant  and 
to  transmit  it  to  the  point  of  application.  In  case 
of  such  installation,  however,  supplementary  power 
should  be  available  in  cases  of  emergency.  This 
could  be  provided  by  storage  batteries  or  from 
one  or  more  steam-driven  plants,  which  the  mu- 
nicipality in  the  near  future  may  install  for  mu- 
nicipal street  railways  or  other  purposes,  whether 
the  Sanitary  District  waterpower  is  made  use  of 
or  not. 

The  average  power  that  will  be  required  at  the 
motors  for  each  one  of  these  stations,  when  fully 
equipped,  is  about  2,500  horsepower,  with  peak 
loads  at  certain  times  during  the  warmest  and 
coldest   months    of  4,700  horsepower. 

High-pressure  Water  System. — A  high-pressure 
water  system  has  for  some  time  been  under  con- 
sideration by  this  community.  One  system  for  the 
central  district  with  a  total  capacity  of  30,000 
gallons  per  minute  and  one  for  the  south  section 
of  the  city  with  a  capacity  of  10,000  gallons  per 
'  minute.     Assuming     maximum     pressures     at     200 


•he  maximum  given   >. 
pumping 

llOt      la 
At      - 

I    by    the    railroad    company 

■  a  lion  is  supplied  wilh 
1   pumps,  each  driven  by  a  .;- 
in    engine.     'I  his    in  ' 
i'  adily    he    cbi 

lly  without  much  cost.  The  pon 
quired  will  vary  from  16  horsepower  un<h  - 
nary    dry-flow    conditions    to    about    - 

Pullman     Station,     located    at    Onc-hundred-and- 
ninth  Street  and  the  Illinois  Central   Railroad,  con- 
tains   two   direct-acting    compound    steam    pumping 
of  60  horsepo  trically  driven 

centrifugal  pumps  can  be  substituted  for  the  pres- 
ent  machinery- 

The  Jackson  Park  Avenue  pumping  station  con- 
tains four  steam-driven  centrifugal  pumps.  The 
plant  is  just  about  completed,  hut  a  change  so  as 
to  provide  for  electrical  operation  could  be  made 
without  excessive  cost.  The  average  power  re- 
quired will  for  some  years  probably  not  exceed 
80  horsepower.  The  maximum  probably  not  to  ex- 
ceed 300  horsepower.  Ultimately  the  maximum 
power  required  may  be  as  much  as  800  horsepower. 

Contract  is  about  to  be  let  for  a  sewage-pumping 
station  at  Ninety-fifth  Street  and  Erie  Avenue. 
This  will  practically  be  a  duplicate  of  the  Jack- 
son Park  station,  and  will  require  about  equal 
power. 

At  the  FuIIerton  Avenue  pumping  station  a 
maximum  of  100  horsepower  at  the  motors  would 
he  required  if  electrically  operated.  The  load  at 
this  station  may  be  kept  uniform,  making  the  sta- 
tion especially  suitable  for  the  application  of  elec- 
tric  power. 

The  Thirty-ninth  Street  and  the  Lawrence  Av- 
enue sewage-pumping  stations  arc  both  to  be 
equipped  with  steam-driven  centrifugal  and  screw 
pumps.  As  they  both  are  to  be  operated  by  the 
Sanitary  District,  they  need  not  be  further  con- 
sidered in  connection  with  the  subject  under  dis- 
cussion. 

What  has  been  said  as  regards  reserve  power  for 
the  operation  of  the  waterworks  pumping  stations 
applies  also  to  the  sewage-pumping  stations,  al- 
though generally  not  with  equal  force,  as  the  stop- 
ping of  the  latter  for  a  few  hours  would  generally 
not  have  the  same  disastrous  effect  as  the  stopping 
of   the    waterworks    pumps. 

Bridges. 

There  are  50  movable  municipal  bridges  in  the 
city,  all  of  which  eventually  will  be  electrically- 
operated.  The  average  maximum  power  required 
for  each  bridge,  including  lights,  signals,  pumps 
and  operation,  is  about  125  horsepower.  There  is, 
however,  only  a  part  of  this  number  that  are  op- 
erated simultaneously,  and  the  power  required  will 
vary  considerably  for  different  seasons  and  dif- 
ferent hours  of  the  day.  Since  a  number  of  railway 
cars  have  to  stop  running  when  bridges  are  op- 
erated, and  the  power  can  be  obtained  at  very 
reasonable  cost,  there  would  probably  be  very  little 
if  any  gain,  in  changing  the  power  from  the  rail- 
way service,  where  it  is  now  mostly  obtained.  The 
power  would  vary  from  about  300  to  1.200  horse- 
power for  the  whole  city  when  all  bridges  shall 
have   been   electrically   equipped. 

Street  Railways. 

L'ntil  the  question  as  to  whether  the  city  of 
Chicago  is  to  operate  railway  systems  of  its  own 
is  settled,  it  cannot,  of  course,  make  any  provision 
for  the  power  that  will  be  necessary  for  this  pur- 
pose. 

The  pending  ordinances  now  before  the  Ciry 
Council  call  for  1.582  double-truck  cars  and  S51 
single-truck  cars  to  be  in  use  within  a  period  of 
three  years.  Allowing  for  a  certain  proportion  of 
these  cars  to  be  out  of  service  and  undergoing 
repairs,  there  would  be  required  for  the  peak  loads 
from  5 :30  to  about  6  p.  m.  about  95,000  horse- 
power, basing  our  conclusions  on  a  load  diagram 
furnished  by  the  Chicago  City  Railway  Company. 
All  the  power  that  can  be  developed  at  both  the 
power  plants .  that  the  Sanitary'  District  proposes 
to  install  can  be  utilized  for  10  or  20  hours  out 
of  24.  The  surplus  power  developed  the  remain- 
ing four  or  five  hours  could  be  stored,  and  thus 
reduce  the  capacity  of  the  steam-driven  plants  that 
would  be  necessary  to  take  care  of  the  loads  that 
the    water-driven    power .  could    not    handle.      TKe 


38 

power   produced   by   the  water-driven   plants   could 
therefore    be    used    more    advantageously    for    this 
purpose  than  for  any  other  mentioned. 
Recapitulatio  n. 

At  the  present  rate  of  installing  electric  street 
lamps,  the  city  will  require  during  the  year  1907 
about  7,000  horsepower  for  an  average  of  11  hours 
per  day.  Additional  power  for  this  purpose  will 
be  required  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  street 
lamps  installed  yearly.  For  the  disposal  of  power 
when  not  used  for  electric-lighting  purposes,  there 
remain    the    following    municipal    utilities : 

Average  constant  power  required  for  sewage- 
pumping  stations  is  about  300  horsepower.  The 
requirements  for  this  purpose  may  at  any  time, 
day  or  night,  be  increased  to  about  1,000  horse- 
power. The  power  required  for  the  operation, 
lighting,  signaling,  pumping,  etc.,  at  the  present 
electric  bridges  will  vary  from  about  200  to  a 
maximum  of  about  1,000  horsepower.  This  maxi- 
mum requirement  of  power  may  be  made  at  any 
time,   night   or  day. 

In  addition  to  the  lighting  of  municipal  build- 
ings, there  are  a  few  small  municipal  shops  where 
electric  power  may  take  the  place  of  steam  power. 
As  before  stated,  it  is  not  practicable  or  advisable 
to  introduce  electric  power  for  the  operation  of 
the  present  waterworks  plants.  Assuming  then 
that  sufficient  power  be  purchased  to  operate  our 
present  electric-light  system,  there  would  be  7,000 
horsepower  to  be  disposed  of  during  the  day.  The 
average  requirements,  day  or  night,  for  the  opera- 
tion of  the  sewage-pumping  stations,  bridges  and 
shops  would  not  exceed  1,000  horsepower,  which 
at  times  may  be  increased  to  2,000  horsepower. 
The  maximum  requirements  are  liable  to  occur 
at  nighl,  when  the  power  is  required  for  electric- 
lighting  purposes,  as  well  as  in  daytime.  If  the 
city  of  Chicago  can  dispose  of  its  surplus  power 
for  commercial  uses,  when  not  required  for  elec- 
tric lighting  or  other  purposes,  satisfactory  ar- 
rangements could  undoubtedly  be  made  whereby 
the  electric  lighting  as  well  as  the  other  mentioned 
municipal  works  could  be  economically  operated  by 
power   generated    at   Lockport. 

Assuming  that  the  power  from  the  proposed 
waterpower  plant  will  be  obtained  at  a  price  that 
will  bring  the  cost  below  that  of  power  generated 
by  steam-driven  plants,  and  sufficient  funds  for 
necessary  installations  are  appropriated,  we  beg  to 
emphasize   the   following: 

First — The  most  desirable  use  for  municipal  pur- 
poses of  the  power  now  being  developed  at  Lock- 
port  by  the  Sanitary  District  would  be  for  the 
operation  of  municipal  street  railways,  which  can 
use  all  the  power  that  the  Sanitary  District  can 
furnish   for  24   hours   each   day. 

Second — For  the  lighting  of  the  city's  streets 
and  municipal  buildings,  provided  a  disposition  can 
be  made  of  the  power  during  such  hours  when 
lighting  is  not  required.  This  may  be  done  if  the 
city  is  given  the  right  to  dispose  of  power  for 
commercial    purposes    during   the   day. 

Third — Sewage-pumping  stations,  bridges  and 
other  minor  utilities  may  be  equipped  for  electrical 
operation,  but  would  not  to  any  appreciable  ex- 
tent serve  to  utilize  during  the  daytime  the  i*e- 
leased  power  used  for  electric  lighting  during  the 
night. 

Fourth — It  is  not  economical  or  practicable  to 
change  the  present  waterworks  plants  to  electrical 
operation.  New  proposed  plants  may  be  electrically 
operated,  and  careful  consideration  should  be  given 
to  this  matter  before  new  designs  are  decided 
upon. 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

of   course,    be    the   case    if   the   foregoing   assertions 
prove    true. 


A  Wireless  Printing  Telegraph. 

An  Indiana  correspondent  sends  the  following: 
"Elmer  A.  Burlingame,  a  young  electrician  and 
inventor  of  Laporte,  Indiana,  says  that  he  has  per- 
fected an  apparatus  that  will  revolutionize  present 
methods  of  telegraph  communication  and  news  dis- 
semination. The  invention  is  a  printing  wireless 
telegraph.  The  operator  who  sends  messages  writes 
or  prints  them  on  an  ordinary  typewriter.  This 
prints  in  the  usual  way,  but  in  addition  flashes  a 
message  through  space  to  a  receiving  station,  where 
the  copy  is  reprinted  on  a  similar  machine,  ex- 
actly like  the  first.  The  receiving  station  must  be 
attuned  to  the  incoming  Hertzian  waves,  this 
giving  secrecy  and  making  it  possible  to  have  sev- 
eral sets  of  instruments  working  at  once  without 
interference.  This  non-interference  is  said  to  be 
so  complete  that  all  sending  instruments  may  be 
connected  to  the  same  sending  wire,  and  all  re- 
ceiving instruments  to  another  wire.  Mr.  Bur- 
lingame says  messages  may  be  sent  by  his  printing 
system  about  five  times  as  fast  as  with  the  Morse 
code,  and  the  necessity  of  waiting  for  an  idle  line 
is  done  away  with.  It  is  said  that  by  connecting 
linotypes  in  offices  within  a  radius  of  500  miles 
it  will  be  possible  to  operate  them  simultaneously 
from  one  sending  station.  The  cost  of  equipping 
the  receiving  station  will  be  about  $i,oco,  while 
the  cost  of  the  sending  station  will  be  about  $2,000. 
Laporte  capitalists,  it  is  declared,  are  preparing  to 
huild  a  factory  to  manufacture  the  apparatus." 

This  is  certainly  interesting.  But  more  detailed 
information  will  be  needed  to  supplement  these 
general  statements  before  it  can  be  taken  for 
granted  that  the  gentleman  named  has  made  an 
invention  of  great  practical  importance,  which  will, 


Waterpower   Development  at  Sewalls 
Falls,  N.  H. 

An  interesting  problem  in  the  utilization  of  a 
waterpower  with  a  small  fall  and  large  variation 
of  head  for  the  production  of  electric  current  has 
been  skillfully  solved  in  the  design  of  two  900- 
horsepower  turbines  which  have  been  built  and  are 
now  being  installed  at  Sewalls  Falls,  N.  H.,  for 
the  Concord  Electric  Company.  The  first  installation 
will  consist  of  two  complete  hydro-electric  units, 
each  composed  of  a  triplex  turbine  waterwheel  and 
a  direct-connected  alternating-current  Bullock  gen- 
erator, a  motor-driven  exciter  set,  turbine  governors 
and  electrical  synchronizers.  As  the  current  is  to 
be  used  chiefly  for  lighting  purposes  and  possibly 
in  connection  with  other  sources  of  power  genera- 
tion, it  is  necessary  to  have  the  speed  of  revolution 
for  the  wheels  and  generators  constant,  even 
though  the  amount  of  developed  power  might  differ 
tinder    different    heads. 

Ordinarily  the  stream  produces  a  fall  which  gives 
a  net  working  head  of  16  feet.  In  times  of  flood, 
however,  the  water  backs  up  in  the  lower  channel 
so  as  to  reduce  the  working  head  to  12  feet. 

To  secure  the  desired  results  two  turbines  have 
been  designed,  each  with  three  sets  of  runners  and 
gates  complete,  the  three  sets  being  arranged  one 
above  the  other  on  a  vertical  shaft,  as  illustrated 
in  horizontal  position  in  Fig.  1.  The  runners  are 
all  connected  to  the  tailrace  by  means  of  draft  tubes 
so  as  to  derive  the  full  energy  of  the  water,  due  to 
its  actual  head,  from  each  of  the  runners,  no  matter 
what  its  relative  or  actual  position  may  be  upon 
the  shaft.  The  lower  runner  of  each  wheel  has  a 
draft  tube  by  itself,  while  a  single  tube  of  larger 
dimensions  carries  off  the  discharge  water  from 
the  two  upper  runners.  The  turbines  are  of  the 
Francis  central-discharge  type.  The  three  runners 
on  each  wheel  are  each  of  equal  size,  form  and 
capacity;  but  they  do  not  all  discharge  in  the  same 
direction.  The  lower  one  discharges  downward 
into  an  individual  concrete  draft  tube.  The  upper 
runner  discharges  downward  and  the  middle  one 
upward,  both  into  a  separate  concrete  draft  tube, 
which  joins  the  lower  one  at  the  bottom  of  the 
tail-race.  The  reactions  from  these  two  runners 
practically  balance  one  another,  while  the  reaction 
from  the  discharge  of  the  lower  runner,  being 
upward,  tends  to  lift  a  portion  of  the  load  on  the 
turbine  shaft.  This  effect  is  considered  negligible 
in  the  turbine  design,  but  provision  is  made  for 
using  the  pressure  due  to  the  head  of  water  to 
actually  carry  a  considerable  part  of  the  weight  of 
the  turbines  and  the  generators  at  all  times.  This 
is  done  by  admitting  the  water  of  the  flume  into 
a  space   directly  under   the   second   runner   of  each 


January  13,  1906 

this  operation.     This  power  is  supplied  by  the  gov- 
ernor for  each  wheel. 

The  governors  are  placed  on  the  generator  floor 
beside  the  generators.  They  are  of  the  Allis- 
Chalmers  standard,  self-contained  oil-pressure  hy- 
draulic type.  The  design  of  this  governor  is  such 
that  no  changes  in  arrangement  will  need  to  be 
made  should  three  or  more  units  be  added  to  the 
plant.  Such  additions  are  not  unlikely  after  two 
or  three  years. 

The  wheels  will  each  produce  000  horsepower 
with  a  16-foot  head  on  a  consumption  of  620  cubic 
feet  of  water  per  second,  or  625  horsepower  at  12- 
foot  head  with  a  flow  of  650  cubic  feet  per  second. 
Working  at  full  gate  they  are  expected  to  econo- 
mize 78  per  cent,  of  the  power  of  the  water  or 
more,  and  to  give  80  per  cent,  return  at  three- 
fourths    gate.      At  half-gate    they    are    expected    to 


FOR     SEWALLS 


economize  75  per  cent,  of  the  power  of  the  water. 
They  operate  at  100  revolutions  per  minute. 

Standing  directly  over  the  turbines  with  their 
stator  parts  supported  on  the  generator-room  floor 
are  the  two  generators,  one  for  each  turbine.  The 
rotor  shafts  are  direct-coupled  to  the  shafts  of  the 
turbines  and  form  the  upper  parts  of  the  turbine 
shafts.  The  weight  of  the  rotors  is  carried  by  the 
thrust  bearings  of  the  turbines ;  but  they  have  a 
steady  bearing  above  the  coupling  to  keep  them  in 
line. 

The  generators,  one  of  which  is  shown  in  Fig.  2. 
are  of  the  Bullock  vertical  waterwheel  type,  with 
upper  guide  bearing  supported  in  a  housing 
bolted  to  the  stator.  The  stator  or  armature 
rests  on  a  substantial  cast-iron  ring  supported 
by  the  foundation.  The  revolving  field  consists  of 
a  cast-steel  spider  securely  keyed  to  the  vertical 
shaft  and  provided  with  dovetail  grooves  in  its 
rim  for  holding  the  laminated  pole-pieces,  which 
are  secured  in  place  by  tapered  steel  keys.  The 
field  coils  are  wound  with  copper  strip  bent  on 
edge. 

Each  generator  can  deliver  500  kilowatts  at  2,600 
volts,   three-phase,  60   cycles,    in    amperes   per  line. 


turbine,  where  it  exerts  its  pressure  upward 
against  a  circular  plate,  which  forms  a  revolving 
piston.  The  water  will  carry  about  one-third  the 
weight  of  the  rotating  parts.  The  other  two-thirds 
is  carried  by  a  thrust  bearing  supported  by  the 
castings  of  the  turbine. 

Lubrication  is  provided  for  in  an  ingenious  man- 
ner. A  well  is  formed  outside  the  bearing  rings, 
and  this  is  filled  to  a  suitable  height  with  oil. 
The  oil  flows  to  the  inner  part  of  the  bearing 
through  suitable  holes,  passes  through  the  bearing, 
guided  by  proper  grooves,  and  is  returned  through 
holes  to  the  well.  The  circulating  action  is  con- 
tinuous as  long  as  the  wheel  is  in  action,  and  it  is 
automatic. 

The  shaft  is  in  two  parts  coupled  together  just 
below  the  generator.  The  rumors  are  of  non-cor- 
rosive bronze,  each  cast  in  one  piece.  They  are 
55  inches  in  diameter.  Surrounding  each  runner 
are  the  gates  which  admit  the  water  to  it  and  con- 
trol its  speed.  Outside  the  gates  of  each  runner 
and  reaching  all  around  it  so  as  to  admit  water 
to  all  parts  of  the  periphery  of  the  wheel  at  once 
is  a  space  ample  for  that  purpose.  The  gates  are 
composed  of  movable  guide  vanes  and  so  con- 
structed that  when  open  they  admit  a  full  head  of 
water  with  but  little  interference,  and  when  closed 
totally  exclude  the  water.  They  are  all  connected 
by  links  to  a  common  gate  ring  and  arranged  so 
that  a  minimum  of  power  is  required  to  operate 
them.  Operation  is  through  two  countershafts 
standing  parallel  to  the  main  shaft.  These  are 
each  provided  with  a  crank  at  each  set  of  gates, 
and  the  cranks  are  connected  to  the  gate  rings  by 
links.  One-eighth  of  a  turn  of  the  shaft  com- 
pletely closes  the  gates.  An  energy  of  not  more 
than    12,000   foot-pounds   is   all   that   is   required   for 


FOR    SEWALLS 


The  speed  is  100  revolutions  per  minute,  the  re- 
volving fields  having  72  poles.  The  fields  are 
wound  for  separate  excitation  at  120  volts  and  the 
generators  have  an  efficienc}r  of  94  per  cent,  at  full 
load,  93  per  cent,  at  three-quarters  load  and  91 
per  cent,  at  half-load,  and  will  stand  a  100  per 
cent,  momentary  overload  without  injury. 

The  armatures  have  a  three-phase  winding  of 
heavily  insulated  coils  capable  of  standing  a  5,000- 
volt  puncture  test  between  coils  and  frame.  The 
field  insulation  is  tested  with  1,500  volts  applied 
between  the  coils  and  field  cores  or  spider.  The 
supporting  yoke  for  the  armature  core  is  of  open 
construction. 

For  exciting  the  alternators  a  motor-generator 
set  consisting  of  a  75-horsepower  induction  motor 
coupled  to  a  45-kilowatt  direct-current  generator 
is  provided.  The  induction  motor  is  wound  for 
2,600  volts,  three-phase,  60  cycles,  and  the  generator 
for  120  volts;  the  full-load  speed  is  approximately 
680  revolutions  per  minute.  Both  machines  are 
mounted  on  a  common  bedplate  and  the  set  has 
three  bearings,  two  of  wmich  are  carried  in  end 
housings  bolted  to  the  stator  yoke  of  the  induction 
motor. 

The  Allis-Chalmers  Company  of  Milwaukee  fur- 
nished the  complete  hydraulic  and  electric  equip- 
ment. 


Books  Received. 

"Practical  Pattern  Making,"  by  F.  W.  Barrows. 
Published  by  the  Norman  W.  Henley  Publishing 
Company,    New   York.     Price,   $2. 

"Practical  Talks  on  Electricity*  (Parts  I.  and 
II.),  by  William  Baxter,  Jr.  Published  by  the  En- 
gineer   Publishing   Company,    Chicago.      Price,   $3. 


January   [3,   [906 


WESTERN     ELECTRK 


Electricity  In  a  Large  Paper  Mill. 
By  F.  M.  Feikkh. 
Of   all    the    varied    Industrie)   in    which    electricity 
has  been  so  widely  applied  aa  a  motive  power  there 

in  h nil  ii  11   1    better  adapted  than  thi 

ufacturc    of    paper,      In    1 Ii  1  n    papi  1    mill  1    Ihe 

flexibility  and  general  efficiency  ol  tni  -  tem  are 
causing  ii  to  supplant  rapidly  the  older  method 
,,i   mi  ■  hanii  al   di  11        Not  only  does  the  He   ibilil 

,1  .  in  1 1  ii  iimim   ih  n '    ini   |M|i<  1  mil 111 11  him 

n  mill    11   1-. 1  Hi',  applicable,  but  there  ;ire  also 


■n  foi  the  virion    proa         of  panel  manu- 
facturing,   such    as    hi  •  ,    drying    the 

in   tins  generating  station   is  located  a  co 

-I  with    an    ultim 



[50  pound    : 

,ii  p  .]„  r  manufacturi 

I,  I  ti  ite  the  variabli 

paper    m    :' 


- 

chine    the 


paper  ma- 


of  manilla    paper    evei 

Company     of     Schenectady, 


many  subsidiary  reasons  which  have  helped  to 
bring  about  the  change. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  of  these  causes  is 
the  general  simplicity  of  the  electric  system.  There 
are  no  idle-running  shafts  or  belts ;  indeed  little 
shafting  and  belting  is  required.  From  the  starting 
point  at  the  generating  apparatus  up  to  the  mo- 
ment when  the  electrical  energy  is  converted  into 
useful  work  there  is  a  minimum  of  transmission 
loss. 

At  the  generating  end  we  may  have  a  water- 
wheel-driven  electric  generator  deriving  its  power 
from  the  same  river  which  floats  the  raw  material 
to  the  mill  in  the  form  of  logs;  or,  the  location,  for 
commercial  reasons,  may  of  necessity  demand 
steam-power   generation    of   electricity. 

Another  reason  which  makes  the  use  of  electric 
power  advantageous  is  the  ease  with  which  it  can 
be  measured.  At  the  main  switchboard  in  the 
power  house  are  located  the  measuring  instruments, 
through  which  all  current  passes  and  is  accurately 
metered.  With  the  mechanical,  steam  or  hydraulic 
distribution  of  energy  the  accurate  measurement 
of  the  energy  used  is  practically  impossible.  Using 
the  electric  system,  the  power  consumed  in  various 
mills  or  departments  of  the  same  mill  is  known 
to  the  fraction  of  a  horsepower  and  may  therefore 
be  properly  charged. 

In  the  third  place,  in  the  distribution  of  power, 
electricity  again  has  the  advantage.  Leaving  the 
main  switchboards  the  current  is  led  by  overhead 
or  underground  transmission  lines  to  the  various 
buildings  or  mills.  This  transfer  of  energy  takes 
place  with  a  small  loss  in  comparison  with  the 
cumbersome  methods  of  mechanical  or  hydraulic- 
power    transmission. 

At  the  receiving  end  of  the  line  there  are  many 
marked    advantages    for    the    electric    drive.      The 


engines  is  the  most  ready  means  of  drying  the 
paper.  The  furnaces  are  designed  to  burn  either 
wood  or  coal,  being  equipped  with  interchangeable 
grates.  An  electric  railway  is  being  constructed  to 
bring  the  refuse  from  a  number  of  shingle  mills 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  plant.  This  refuse  will  first 
pass  through  an  electrically  driven  hogging  ma- 
chine and  then  be  fed  to  the  boilers.  At  present 
coal   is  used  for  firing. 

The    electrical    equipment    consists    of    two    500- 
kilowatt      600-volt      alternating-current      generators, 


Chicago  Street-railway  Situation. 

I  he    I  ry   M\ 

Icring 
:     the    whole. 
I  In     franchise-extension    ordinances    for    the    Chi- 
1     mpany   and  the   Union   Trac- 
ipanj  and  it-  underl;  ii  .  drawn 

bj   ihe  local  transportation  committee,  were  to  have 
been    presented    and   coi  ng   with    them 

the  mayor's  $75,000,000  Mueller  certificate  ordi- 
i  taken  up,  the  object 
being  t"  arrive  at  something  definite  for  presenta- 
tion to  tlie  voters  at  the  spring  election.  As  soon 
..-  ii-,  council  "1  called  to  order,  and  before  it 
got  as  far  as  committee  of  ihe  whole,  a  resolution 
was  presented  and  passed  sending  the  franchise- 
extension  ordinances  back  to  the  local  transporta- 
tion committee,  with  instructions  to  consider  all 
suggested  amendments  and  such  other  matters 
germane   to  the  question   as   might   be  presented. 

The  resolution  was  presented  by  those  friendly 
with  the  majority  of  the  transportation  committee. 
It  recited  that  the  ordinances  represented  the  best 
efforts  of  ihe  majority  .of  the  committee  in  the 
way    of    a    solution    of    the    traction    problem,    and 


itmi's    1  iri-K  \ri-:n    t  i.li  I  ki,  all 


\RGE     PAPER    MILL. 


motors  may  be  of  either  the  direct  or  alternating- 
current  type,  although  the  latter  design,  the  induc- 
tion motor,  is  better  suited  to  most  paper-mill  work. 
In  order  to  bring  out  more  clearly  special  adapta- 
tions of  the  electric  system  an  interesting  example 
of  an  electrically  driven  paper  mill  is  briefly  de- 
scribed. This  plant,  located  at  Munising,  Mich., 
consists  of  three  groups  of  buildings — the  power 
house,  the  sulphite  fiber  mill  and  the  paper  mill. 
The  power  house  is  centrally  located  so  as  to  sup- 


each  direct  connected  to  compound  condensing  en- 
gines rated  at  850  indicated  horsepower.  There 
is  also  a  600-volt  alternating-current  generator 
having  a  capacity  of  50  kilowatts,  direct  connected 
to  an  engine  with  the  field  exciter  mounted  on  the 
same  shaft.  The  other  generators  are  supplied  with 
current  for  field  excitation  from  a  30-kilowatt  di- 
rect-connected engine  exciter  set  and  a  duplicate 
motor-driven  set.  For  operating  the  railway  the 
necessary  direct  current  is  furnished  by  a  35-kilo- 
watt  550-volt  motor-generator  set.  Because  of  an 
increasing  need  for  power  it  is  proposed  to  add  to 
this  equipment  soon  a  1,500-kilowatt  Curtis^  turbo- 
generator set  which  will  take  care  of  the  increas- 
ing load  and  also  provide  a  reserve  capacity. 

The  remaining  illustrations  show  some  ex- 
amples of  induction-motor  drive  operating  in  the 
mill.  The  method  of  adapting  the  motors  is  self 
explanatory.  All  of  the  machinery  is  so  arranged 
that  one-half  of  the  plant  can  be  shut  down  with- 
out interfering  with  the  operation  of  the  other 
half.  From  the  time  the  logs  are  run  out  of  the 
canal    on    electrically    driven    conveyors    until    the 


that  they  embodied  the  limit  of  concession  on  the 
part  of  the  companies.  It  stated  that  the  majority 
of  the  committee  believed  that  the  settlement  pro- 
posed by  the  ordinances,  if  submitted  to  a  ref- 
erendum, would  be  accepted  by  the  people  and 
would  bring  about  traction  conditions  of  a  high 
degree  of  efficiency  and  amply  safeguard  the  pres- 
ent and  the  future  interests  of  the  city.  Whereas 
amendments  had  been  suggested  to  the  ordinances, 
and.  whereas  the  amendments,  like  the  ordinance?, 
would  have  to  be  accepted  by  the  companies  be- 
fore becoming  effective,  and,  whereas  the  com- 
panies had  already  said  that  they  would  not  ac- 
cept the  ordinances  if  essentially  changed,  there- 
fore, the  object  of  the  resolution  was,  to  have  the 
amendments  taken  up  by  the  local  transportation 
committee,  which  would  Iisjen  to  all  suggestions 
and  negotiate  at  once  with  the  companies  con- 
cerning the  proposed  amendments. 

Meetings  have  already  been  held  by  the  local 
transportation  committee,  which  has  been  listening 
to  suggestions  from  various  speakers.  There  were 
many   minor   objections    offered    to    the    ordinances. 


40 


some  of  them  being  covered  by  the  amendments 
submitted  to  Judge  Grosscup  by  his  special  trac- 
tion adviser,  John  M.  Harlan.  On  the  four  points 
covered  by  Mr.  Harlan,  and  which  are  here  given, 
all    the    objectors    agreed.     They    are,    in    brief: 

That  all  bonds  of  the  Union  Traction  Company 
in  excess  of  $20,000,000  be  either  paid  or  pro- 
vided for  inside  of  three  years.  That  the  Consoli- 
dated Traction  Company  be  made  a  party  to  the 
ordinances,  giving  up  its  present  franchises  and 
accepting  new  ones.  That  unless  all  the  ordi- 
nances are  accepted  by  the  grantee  companies  none 
of  them  become  operative.  That  a  fund  be  set 
aside  by  the  companies  for  renewals  and  mainte- 
nance. 

At  the  time  of  going  to  press  the  committee  is 
in  adjournment,  awaiting  a  reply  from  the  traction 
companies  as  to  the  amendments  mentioned.  The 
committee  was  instructed  to  report  to  the  council 
next    Monday   night. 

Col.  James  Hamilton  Lewis  and  G.  W.  Brown- 
ing, representing  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  John  P. 
Wilson,  representing- the :  traction  companies,  "were 
scheduled  to  appear  in  the  Supreme  Court  in 
Washington  this  week  to  argue  the  tunnel  ques- 
tion. This  question  comes  from  the  Supreme 
■Court  of  Illinois,  which  decided  the  city  had  legal 
authority  to  enact  an  ordinance  requiring  the.  street 
railways  to  lower' "the  tunnels  under  the  river. 
The  g9-year  cases  were  also  expected  to  be  argued 
this    week. 


Westinghouse  Electrostatic  Voltmeter. 

In  electrical  testing  and  experimental  work  high 
pressures  are  frequently  used,  and  the  measure- 
ment of  these  potentials  is  often  a  perplexing 
problem.  A  number  of  different  methods  of  high- 
pressure  measurement  have  been  used,  with  vary- 
ing degrees  of  success  as  to  their  accuracy,  but 
all  involve  some  uncertainty  as  to  results.  Where 
it  is  'required  that  such  apparatus  as  dynamos, 
transformers,  cables,  insulators,  etc.,  be  subjected 
to  a  specified  pressure  test  as  a  condition  of  their 
acceptance,  controversy  often  arises  as  to  whether 
the    required    voltage    has    been    applied. 

Theoretically  correct,  at  least,  is  that  method 
of  high-potential  measurement  employing  an  elec- 
trostatic voltmeter,  but  certain  obstacles,  the  prin- 
cipal  one   of   which   was   the   lack   of   an    insulating 


FIG.     I.       ELECTOSTATIC    VOLTMETER    COMPLETE. 

medium  of  sufficient  dielectric  strength,  have  here- 
tofore prevented  the  development  and  application 
of  this  type  of  instrument.  The  Westinghouse 
Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company  believes  that 
it  has  succeeded  in  overcoming  these  difficulties 
and  in  producing  a  meter  that  requires  for  its 
operation  a  negligible  amount  of  energy,  that  is 
free  from  the  effects  of  variation  of  wave  form 
and  is  direct  reading.  It  is  said  that  the  faults 
inherent  in  all  other  methods  of  high-potential 
measurement  are  entirely  absent  from  this  meter. 
Fig.    1   is  a  view  of  the  voltmeter  complete. 

The  operating  elements  of  this  instrument  are 
immersed  in  a  special  grade  of  oil  contained  in  a 
metal-lined  wooden  case,  with  an  insulated  cover. 
The  metal  lining  acts  as  a  screen  to  prevent  out- 
side fields  or  influences  from  affecting  the  meter. 
As  the  insulation  is  one  of  the  most  important 
parts  of  an  instrument  of  this  type,  a  few  of  the 
advantages  derived  from  the  use  of  oil  may  be 
summarized   as    follows : 

(1)  The  distance  between  the  operating  ele- 
ments may  be  greatly  lessened,  thereby  reducing 
the   size   of  the   instrument. 

(2)  The  actuating  forces  are  greatly  increased, 
due  to  the  smaller  distances  between  active  parts 
and  the   high  specific  inductive  capacity  of  the   oil. 

(3)  The  reduction  in  distance  between  working 
parts  of  the  meter  makes  possible  a  better  form 
of    scale. 

;  (4)  The  oil  acts  as  a  damper  and  makes  the 
instrument  nearly  dead  beat  and  easy  to  read. 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

(5)  The  oil  buoys  up  the  moving  element,  thus 
removing  practically   all   weight   from  the  bearings. 

The  arrangement  and  relative  position  of  the 
parts  of  the  meter  are  shown  in  the  diagrammatic 
sketch,  Fig.  2.  The  curved  plates  (Bi)  and  (B-) 
are  of  such  a  shape  and  so  arranged  with  respect 
to  the  moving  element  that  a  deflection  in  a  posi- 
tive direction  shortens  the  gap  between  the  ele- 
ment and  the  plates.  The  charges  induced  on  the 
two  extremities  of  the  moving  element  (Fig.  3) 
are  of  such  a  nature  that  they  exert  forces  of 
attraction  on  the  charges  on  the  plates,  which 
bring  about  such  a  movement.  The  turning  of 
the  moving  element  is  restricted  by  a  spring,  and 
the  deflection  of  the  pointer  is  read  on  the  scale. 
The  condensers  (G)  and  (C=)  are  in  series  with 
other  parts  of  the  instrument,  one  plate  of  each 
being  metallically  connected  to  a  curved  plate  and 
the  other  to  a  terminal.  The  instrument  may  be 
operated  with  either  or  both  condensers  short- 
circuited,  thus  giving  a  wide  range  to  the  meter. 
Curved  plates,  with  the  condenser  plates  at- 
tached, as  shown  in  Fig.  4,  are  supported  from 
the  insulated  cover  by  means  of  grooved  posts 
of   suitable    insulating   material.     The  separate    con- 


January   13,    1906 

The  "Hold-fast"  Lamp  Guard. 

Users  of  incandescent  electric  lamps  will  be  in- 
terested in  the  Hold-fast  lamp  guard,  illustrated 
herewith,  patented  by  Charles  P.  Anderson,  on 
August  15,  190,5.  The  design  of  the  collar  makes 
it  impossible  to  pull  or  jerk  the  guard  from  the 
socket.  The  center  spreading  ring  is  corrugated, 
and  is  said  to  be  superio'r  to  a  plain  ring  so  far 
as  strength  and  rigidness  are  concerned.  The  cor- 
rugations   are    deep,    allowing   the    rib    wires    to    lie 


3.    Mov 


VOLTMETER. 


denser  plates  are  supported  in  a  similar  manner. 
As  all  parts  are  firmly  fastened  to  the  same  base, 
they  are  held  in  constant  relation  to  each  other, 
and  no  error  can  result  due  to  disarrangement  of 
parts.  The  height  of  the  oil  in  the  case,  together 
with  the  long  paths  over  the  suspension  posts, 
prevent  leakage  between  the  plates.  The  horn- 
shaped  terminals  (Fig.  4)  extend  to  the  same  dis- 
tance below  the  oil  as  the  suspension  posts  and 
are  also  grooved  so  as  to  prevent  leakage  over 
their    surface. 

Bearing  springs  and  adjustments  are  similar  to 
corresponding  parts  of  Westinghouse  standard  in- 
dicating instruments.  The  cylindrical  parts  of  the 
moving  elements  are  hollow,  and  so  proportioned 
that  the  buoyant  effect  of  the  oil  removes  almost 
all  weight  from  the  bearings,  thereby  eliminating 
friction  and  wear.  The  scale  over  which  the 
pointer  passes  is  placed  on  an  edgewise  cylindrical 
form  similar  to  the  scale  of  an  edgewise  switch- 
board instrument,  and  the  reading  may  be  taken 
from  a  safe  distance.  With  the  exception  of  the 
glass  window  through  which  the  scale  is  read,  the 
cover  over  the  pointer  is  all  metal,  and  acts  as 
a  screen  to  prevent  external  static  fields  from 
affecting  the  pointer.  Instruments  of  this  type  may 
be  obtained  for  potentials  as  high  as  200,000  volts. 
The  one  shown  in  the  illustrations  may  be  used 
for  voltages  up  to  100,000  volts  with  the  con- 
densers in  circuit,  or  for  approximately  50,000  or 
25,000    volts,    with    one    or  both    condensers    short- 


inward  from  the  extreme  outward  circumferential 
point  of  the  ring.  In  that  position  the  connections 
are  protected  from  any  injury  by  impact  upon  the 
guard.  This  center  ring  is  in  the  greater  diameter 
of  the  guard  and  must  meet  practically  all  of  the 
impact,  thus  protecting  the  ribs  from  becoming 
bent  or  dislocated.  Its  rigid  construction  makes 
it  capable  of  withstanding  a.  heavy  blow  without 
collapsing,  and  for  this  reason  the  Hold-fast  guard 
is  said  to  be  the  only  one  made  that  is  self-pro- 
tecting. 

The  spiral  cushion  is-  a  guarantee  against  injury 
to  the  lamp  under  all  conditions  of  usage.  This 
cushion  can  be  raised  or  lowered  to  fit  any  length 
or  shape  of  lamp  by  bending  the  three  terminals 
up   or    down. 

Through  the  bottom  ring  the  lamps  are  removed 
or  replaced.     By   its  construction  are  eliminated   all 


circuited.  The  case  is  22  inches  long,  18  inches 
wide,  and  i$%  inches  high,  with  terminals  pro- 
jecting  18   inches  above  the   case. 


adjustable',  parts  for  that  purpose.  This  is  a 
marked    improvement. 

The  Hold-fast  guard  can  be  set  down  like  an 
ordinary  oil  lamp  when  long  cords  are  used  around 
work  benches  or  tables.  When  hanging,  there  is 
r.o  obstruction  to  the  downward  rays  of  light.  It 
is  impossible  for  grounds  to  occur  on  this  guard, 
as  no  part  of  it  can  get  in  contact  with  the  ter- 
minals  of  the   lamp   socket. 

The  maker  of  this  guard,  the  Hold  Fast  Lamp 
Company  of  St.  Louis,  recently  turned  over  the 
manufacture  of  these  guards  to  W.  N.  Matthews 
&  Bro.  of  that  city.  It  is  stated  by  the  maker 
that,  conservatively,  90  per  cent,  of  the  lamps  on 
suspended  sockets  never  burn  their  entire  rated 
life  before  they  are  carelessly  or  accidentally 
broken.  Taking  the  average  life  of  a  lamp  at 
about  four  months  at  26  days  each,  counting  10 
hours  per  day,  and  at  a  cost  of  20  per  cent.,  if 
broken  the  first  month,  it  means  a  loss  of  75  per 
cent,  on  the  investment.  The  second  month  50 
per  cent,  and  the  third  month  25  per  cent.  Any 
lamp  broken,  carries  with  it  a  proportional  per  cent, 
of   loss. 


The  membership  list  of  the  National  Electric 
Light  Association,  which  has  just  been  brought  up 
to  date  by  Secretary  Eglin,  shows  that  the  associa- 
tion has  grown  considerably  during  the  last  year. 
The  membership  companies,  Class  A,  number  over 
500,  and  there  are  long  lists  under  classes  B,  C,  D 
and    E. 


Municipal  ownership  and  operation  of  an  electric- 
light  plant  at  Thorntown,  Ind.,  have  proved  a  failure. 
The  plant  is  depreciating  and  losing  money  every 
day,  while  the  taxpayers  are  bringing  suits  to  pre- 
vent the  trustees  from  paying  interest  and  principal 
on  the  bonded  debt  on  the  ground  that  the  con- 
tract entered  into  for  the  construction,  of  the 
plant  was  illegal. 


January  13,  1906 

Inter-pole  Variable-speed   Motor  for 
Machine-tool  Work. 

There  hat  been  foi  a  numbi  1 
live    demand    for    vai  1  ibli     peed    mi  toi      foi    the 
direct    driving    of    machinery,      it 
opinion    that   the   great  bulk   of   machinery 
future   is   io   be   'I""  1    driven    b 
rather  than   bell  driven,   -  pecially   in   view   ol    thi 
fact  that  a  substantial   redui  tio'n   in  1 
facture    in    several    different     indu  tries    has    bi 

de nstrated,  when  »a\  ing  in    pai  c,   labor,  

Installation  and  ■■ill  otl 1 

c 1      There  arc  a   numbei    ol    important   condi 

tions  which  are  essential  and  which  1 be  met  in 

order   that    variable  speed    motoi       hall    1  01 to 

general  use.     Among  these  may  be  menti 1  non 

spat  king   lei    exci     iv<    ovei  load  1,    1    lai  gi    1  mgi 

.ii   speed  "i   motor,     peed     to   bi    kept   coi 

all  loads  when  adjusted  to  any  de  ired    peed,  

pactness,  simple  wiring,  revei  ibility,     impli   trol 

ami  simple  accessories,  the  lightest  p<>  ible  weight 
ami  high  efficiency  under  avi  ragi    load 

The  Electro-Dynamic  Company  of  Bayonne,  X  J ., 

Iit'licvcs    that    in    its    inter  polr    im  l>  n     ilin,     ha      I 

developed  a  machine  which  will  till  tin-  exacting 
requirements  of  machine-tool  drive.  Several  im- 
portant claims  arc  made  by  the  company  for  this 
motor.  The  speed  variation  is  given  from  j  to  i 
up  to  6  to  1.  Almost  any  variation  of  speed  con- 
trol can  be  obtained.  Changes  can  be  made  in- 
stantly and  the  controlling  apparatus  can  be  placid 
anywhere  on  the  tool  or  machinery  for  convenient  c 
of  operation.  The  speed  can  he  set  at  almost  any 
point  between  the  limits  with  a  certainty  that  prac- 
tically constant  speed  will  be  maintained  under 
varying  loads.  The  torque  is  increased  as  the 
speed  is  decreased,  and  this  is  an  important  factor 
both  in  maintaining  constant  speed  and  in  having 
the  tool  work  uniformly  and  with  proper  cutting 
capacity. 

In  the  past  considerable  trouble  has  been  experi 
enced  by  sparking,  at  the  commutator,  when  vary- 
ing speed  of  motors,  and  especially  when  over- 
loading. This  difficulty  is  said  to  have  been  over- 
come entirely  in  the  inter-pole  motor,  and  it  is 
asserted  that  it  will  not  spark,  even  when  over- 
loaded 100  per  cent,  and  reversed.  The  control  of 
this  motor  is  effected  by  turning  the  handle  of  a 
controller  placed  within  the  reach  of  the  operator. 
The  motor  operates  on  a  single  voltage.  The  inter- 
pole  feature  provides  a  separate  field  which  makes 
excellent  commutation,  thus  increasing  the  life  and 
efficiency  of  the  motor  and  making  greater  the 
saving  in  operating  expenses. 

Among  the  recent  applications  of  the  inter-pole 
motor  stand  forth  prominently  its  employment  for 
driving  elevators,  machine  tools,  blowers,  pumps, 
fans  and  similar  classes  of  machinery.  The  ad- 
vantage of  the  scientific  method  of  treating  ma- 
chine-tool work  calls  for  such  apparatus  as  shall 
produce  the  desired  speed  and  keep  the  tool  up  to 
its  proper  cutting  capacity.  The  wide  steps  in 
cone  pulleys  frequently  render  proper  cutting 
speeds  impossible,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  cor- 
rect speed  cannot  be  obtained,  and  consequently  a 
workman  is  obliged  to  push  through  work  at  a 
slower  cutting  speed  than  that  called  for. 

The  facility  with  which  the  speed  can  be  edged 
up  to  the  proper  point  by  the  inter-pole  motor  and 
the    certainty    with    which    its    speed    will    be    held 


WESTERN     EI.I 

plii  ih  of  mainl  -,  tuu  furthi-r 

menuation  foi  th  wilding 

In    pai 
pole   mot 

riation  afforded   for 
and    11    1 ,   imp.. 11  mi    that  run   at 

ny  particular 
nun.. 1    upon       I'  ■  •'    1    I 

.    and 


111    th>-    : 


l/f 


if  the  voltage  is  maintained  constant.  This  gives 
a  sense  of  security  to  the  machinist  or  mechanic 
who  operates  it. 

For  printing-press  work,  where  the  motor  has  to 
stand  very  heavy  overloads  at  certain  times  and 
run  below  its  full-rated  capacity  at  others,  the  con- 
struction of  this  motor  is  well  adapted,  and  the 
company  reports  increased  sales  in  this  particidar 
branch  of  its  business.  The  ordinary  variation 
given  for  printing-press  work  is  2  to  i  or  3  to  !. 
and  in  many  cases  a  compound  winding  is  used  to 
give  greater  torque  at  the  moment  of  excessive 
overload. 


Michigan  Traction  Consolidation. 

I  llr-      ' 

which 

of  the   ' 

the    Kalamazoo    and 

railway    between    th*-    ■  be   deal 

'•:  that  connect 
the    in!      ■  ral    and 

n     Mi'  higan  ler    the 

name    of   the    Michigan    United    Railway 

by   which   the  project   will   be 
financed    aggregate   $4,000,000.     Lansing  will    Ik    the 
center   of   the    system,    and    the    local    management 
ell    line    will    remain    in    the    home    cil 

nt.  I  he  syndicate  is  composed  of  Myron 
W.  Mills  and  George  T.  Moore  of  Port  Huron 
and   James    R.    Elliott 

The   construct  Lansing    and    Jackson 

railway  will  first  be  completed.  It  is  also  intended 
to  build  a  line  between  Jackson  and  Adrian  and 
to  extend  the  line  now  operating  between  Lansing 
and  Pine  Lake  to  Owosso,  and  from  Owosso  to 
Flint.  The  consolidation  will  give  the  company 
control  of  141  miles  of  road,  as  follows:  Kalama- 
zoo, city,  14  miles;  Battle  Creek,  city,  15 
Kalamazoo  and  Battle  Creek,  interurban,  30  miles; 
Jackson  and  Battle  Creek,  interurban,  37  miles ; 
Lansing,  city.  15  miles;  Lansing  and  St.  Johns, 
intemrban,  22  miles;  Pine  Lake  extension,  eight 
miles.  The  completion  of  the  Jackson-Lansing  line 
will  add  37  miles,  and  the  Pine  Lake  extension 
to  Owosso   18  miles,  giving  in  all   196  miles. 


Dinner  to  Indiana  Traction  Men. 

After  a  pleasant  trip  over  the  Indianapolis  and 
Cincinnati  Traction  Company's  line  the  stockhold- 
ers and  prominent  traction  men  were  given  a  din- 
ner at  the  Columbia  Club  on  New  Year's  night, 
the  guests  of  President  Charles  L  Henry'.  Hugh 
J.  McGowan  had  been  invited  to  respond  to  a 
toast,  his  subject  being  "Indianapolis  as  an  Inter- 
urban   Center."      Mr.    McGowan    was    unable    to    be 


Yerkes'  Successors  Named. 

Sir  George  S.  Gibb,  L.L.B.,  general  manager  of 
the  Northeastern  Railroad,  has  been  elected  man- 
aging director  and  deputy  chairman  of  the  Under- 
ground Electric  Railways  Company  of  London  and 
also  managing  director  and  chairman  of  the  Met- 
ropolitan District  Railway  Company.  At  the  same 
meeting  of  the  board  Mr.  Edgar  Spcyer  of  Speycr 
&  Co.,  American  bankers  of  the  Underground  com- 
pany, was  elected  chairman  of  the  Underground 
company.  These  positions  were  made  vacant  by 
the    recent    death    of    Charles    T.    Yerkes. 

Mr.  Gibb.  a  British  railroad  man  of  long  ex- 
perience, is  55  years  old  and  an  Aberdeen  Scotch- 
man.    He   is   accounted   one  of  the  most   successful 


Main  Bay  of  Electro-Dyna 


(independent  of  load)  make  it  a  valuable  accessory 
to  a  machine  tool,  and  this  facility  imparts  a  dis- 
tinct tone  to  the  product  of  the  shop. 

Ability  of  the  inter-pole  motor  to  stand  heavy 
overloads  without  deterioration  of  commutator, 
due  to  absence  of  sparking,  its  excellent  reversing 
qualities,  compactness  and  durability  in  general, 
make  it  well  adapted  for  machine  work.  The 
motor,  being  equipped  with  ball  bearings,  is  en- 
abled to  be  set  much  closer  to  the  machine  it  drives 
and  the  reduction  in  bearing  friction  and  the  sim- 


AHLK-SI'EED    MOTO 


present,  but  sent  a  letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Henry, 
who  acted  as  toastmaster. 

Mr.  McGowan's  letter  was  listened  to  with  in- 
terest, since  he  predicted  that  in  a  short  time 
every.  Indiana  hamlet  will  be  on  an  interurban  line. 
Referring  to  the  Rushville  single-phase  line  he 
said: 

"I  cannot  let  this  opportunity  pass  without  com- 
plimenting the  president  of  the  Indianapolis  and 
Cincinnati  Traction  Company  upon  the  splendid 
result  of  his  single-phase  system   on  the   Rushville 


and  up-to-date  railroad  officials  in  England.  His 
railroad  experience  began  in  the  legal  department 
of  the  Great  Western  Railway  Company  in  1877. 
He  was  later  solicitor  and  then  genera!  manager 
of  the  Northeastern  Railway  Company,  which  office 
he  now  leaves  to  enter  the  sen-ice  of  the  London 
Underground.  Mr.  Speyer  will  have  charge  of  the 
general  financial  interests  of  the  company,  and 
b  will  have  the  executive  direction  of  its 
technical  operation,  succeeding  more  directly  to 
Mr.   Yerkes'   labors. 


42 


Efficiencies.1 

By  James  Swinburne. 

Heat  includes  what  is  called  sensible  heat,  or 
heat  that  makes  things  latent  heat,  such  as  heat 
that  disappears  when  ice  is  melted  or  water  vapor- 
ized and  chemical  energy.  I  must  tell  you  that  it 
is  not  orthodox  to  call  chemical  energy  heat;  and 
you  will  not  find  any  such  treatment  of  the  subject 
in  books  on  thermodynamics.  At  present  I  believe 
that  I  am  alone  in  classing  chemical  energy  or 
defining  heat  so  as  to  include  chemical  energy.  But 
the  treatment  of  chemical  energy  in  chemcial  ther- 
modynamics is  quite  consistent  with  my  definition, 
so  I  may  use  it  provided  I  give  you  due  warning  of 
any  heterodoxy. 

I  think  that  it  is  not  realized  that  chemical  energy 
is  necessarily  low-grade  energy,  only  partially  con- 
vertible into  work.  This  involves  the  idea  of  chem- 
ical temperature  which  may  be  important  in  chem- 
istry in  discussing  the  way  any  given  possible 
reaction  will  go;  but  we  are  not  concerned  with 
that  here.  It  will  be  said  that  the  coal  is  cold 
when  it  is  put  into  the  furnace,  as  cold  as  the  air, 
in  fact,  so  that  if  this  idea  is  right,  none  of  the 
chemical   energy  .is  available. 

But  I  must  give  some  idea  of  what  I  mean  by 
chemical  temperature.  If  carbon  and  oxygen  are 
heated  to  a  high  enough  temperature  you  get  a 
state  in  which  on  the  least  fall  of  temperature  the 
carbon  and  oxygen  combine  and  give  out  sensible 
heat  at  that  temperature  under  the  other  circum- 
stances that  obtain.  The  least  increase  of  tempera- 
ture, however,  causes  the  carbon  and  oxygen  to 
separate  again,  absorbing  sensible  heat.  At  this 
temperature,  therefore,  under  the  pressure  and 
quantitative  relations  of  the  carbon,  oxygen  and 
carbon  monoxide,  sensible  heat  and  chemical  energy 
are  interchangeable.  _  This  temperature  may  be 
called  the  chemical  temperature  of  the  energy  of 
carbon  and  oxygen.  I  need  not  trouble  you  with 
discussions  as  to  whether  the  energy  is  really  in 
the  carbon  or  the  oxygen  or  the  ether,  or  as  to  the 
effect  of  pressure  and  proportions  of  carbon,  oxygen 
and  monoxide  on  the  reaction.  I  merely  want  to 
give  you  a  broad  idea  of  carbon  as  having  or  con- 
trolling chemical  energy,  or  heat  with  a  correspond- 
ing "chemical  temperature"  of  the  order  of  3,000° 
C.  or  more.  If  the  burning  coal,  containing  of 
course  other  constituents,  such  as  hydrocarbons 
with  other  chemical  temperatures  could  hand  over 
its  heat  at  3,000°  C,  nearly  all  of  it  would  be  avail- 
able. As  the  heat  is  finally  rejected  at  condenser 
temperature  of  ido°  or  so,  3.000 — 100 -f- 3,000,  or 
about  97  per  cent,  of  it  would  be  available.  But  the 
boiler  takes  it  up  at  under  500°  C.  absolute,  so 
that  five-sixths  is  degraded  or  rendered  unavailable 
right  off. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  there  is  enormous  room 
for  improvement  in  the  steam  engine.  An  efficiency 
diagram  looks  as  if  all  the  loss  is  due  to  the  engine 
which  gets  68  per  cent,  and  only  gives  out  seven 
per  cent,  but  we  must  not  be  hard  upon  the  engine. 
It  is  turning  out  work,  or  high-grade  energy,  and  it 
is  receiving  heat,  or  low-grade  energy.  This  engine 
is  probably  taking  in  steam  at  about  450°  C.  absolute 
and  rejecting  it  at  about  375°  C.  absolute,  so  it 
could  if  perfect  only  turn  out  68  X  73  -=-  450  =  11.3; 
so  it  is  not  really  doing  so  badly.  The  real  loss  is 
between  the  fuel  and  the  boiler,  and  it  is  not  loss 
of  energy  but  loss  of  availability.  Though  the 
chemical  is  low-grade  energy,  it  has  such  a  high 
chemical  temperature  that  97  per  cent  is  theoret- 
ically available;  but  we  cannot  run  a  boiler  and 
engine  between  3,000°  C.  and  4,000  °  C.  Engineers 
are  always  trying  to  improve  the  results  by  using 
higher  and  higher  temperatures ;  but  as  you  can- 
not use  the  pressure  that  would  then  correspond 
with  saturated  steam  you  can  only  superheat.  This 
does  not  mean  that  most  of  the  heat  is  taken  in 
at  the  high  temperature,  and  the  resulting  gain  is 
chiefly  due  to  such  things  as  reduction  of  cylinder 
condensation.  There  are  great  practical  difficulties 
in  reducing  the  lower  temperature.  The  condenser 
reduces  it  to  about  100°  C.  or  373°  C.  absolute ;  but 
even  then  the  steam  is  not  completely  expanded, 
and  blows  into  the  condenser  under  pressure.  The 
efficiency  has  been  raised  more  recently  by  reducing 
the  lower  temperature  limit  by  means  of  sulphur 
dioxide.  I  do  not  know  who  was  the  first  to  pro- 
pose this.  Rayleigh  suggested  it  as  early  as  1-876. 
It  is  being  put  in  practice  now  in  Germany. 

The  right-hand  part  of  the  accompanying  dia- 
gram illustrates  the  yearly  losses  in  the  Metropoli- 
tan system,  supplying  several  London  areas  from- 
Willesden.  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Highfield  for  the 
figures.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  transformers  are 
very  efficient,  and  when  they  can  be  cut  out  at 
light  loads  so  that  the  transformers  in  use  are 
always  well  loaded,  the  efficiency  can  be  made  very 
high.  The  diagram  is  also  a  little  deceptive  be- 
cause it  takes  no  notice  of  the  time  at  which  the 
energy  is  wasted.  Energy  wasted  at  the  time  of 
station  full  load  is  serious,  because  if  it  were  not 
wasted  it  might  be  sold,  or  else  the  station  might 
be  a  little  smaller  in  proportion.  But  most  of  the 
waste  in  transformers  is  at  light  loads,  and  it 
costs  very  little  extra  to  generate  extra  power  at 
times  of  light  load,  for  it  costs  nothing  extra  in 
capital,  superintendence  or  labor,  and  it  does  not 
cost  much  in  coal,  for  the  boilers  have  to  be  kept  hot, 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

and  some  engines  have  to  be  kept  running  in  any 
case.  These  points  have  to  be  borne  in  mind  in 
considering  the  meaning  of  such  diagrams.  It 
will  be  seen  that  there  is  a  loss  of  six  per  cent,  in 
"station  losses,"  only  two  per  cent,  feeder  losses  to 
sub-stations  and  13  per  cent,  conversion  losses  and 
lighting  of  the  sub-stations. 

These  are  for  the  year.  They  alter  from  time 
to  time,  so  the  wastes  are  shown  black  to  the  left 
for  three  representative  times.  Thus  the  station 
losses  are  seven  per  cent  at  noon,  four  per  cent,  at 
top  load  and  20  per  cent,  at  three  in  the  morning, 
and  so  on.  This  is  because  the  losses  do  not  vary 
in  proportion  to  the  loads.  Through  the  various 
sources  of  waste  energy  the  final  result  is  that 
there  is  21  per  cent,  loss  af  noon,  or  79  per  cent, 
efficiency,  and  74  per  cent,  efficiency  at  six  p.  m., 
and  up  to  65  per  cent,  at  three  a.  m.,  which  is 
astonishingly  good  when  the  system  is  considered. 

If  a  station  is  run  by  a  town  the  accounts  must 
be  kept  by  an  absurd  system.  Towns  are  generally 
concerned  with  such  things  as  sewerage  systems,  in 
which  there  is  no  profit  and  loss  account.  The 
town  may  not  treat  its   sewerage  system  as  a  per- 


January  13,  1906 


o!  the  British  Institution  of  Electrical  En 


)  the  Manchester  local  s 


Top  Load  100 

DIAGRAM     SHOWING    LOSSES   IN     METROPOLITAN     ELECTRIC 
SUPPLY   SYSTEM. 

manent  asset  at  all.  It  has  to  borrow  money  to 
put  down  its  sewerage  system,  say  iioo.ooo  at  three 
per  cent.  Then  it  has  to  pay  £3,000  a  year  interest. 
But  that  is  not  all — it  has  to  pay  back  the  whole 
of  the  iioo.ooo  in  a  certain  number  of  years,  to 
do  this  it  has  to  provide  out  of  the  rates  a  sinking 
fund,  such  that  in  the  prescribed  term  of  years  the 
whole  of  the  debt  is  paid  off.  The  town  then  has 
a  sewerage  system  to  the  good,  which  has  been  paid 
for  over  many  years  out  of  the  rates.  The  town 
therefore  does  not  save  money  like  the  private  indi- 
vidual and  then  buy  what  it  can  afford.  I  do  not 
think  it  would  be  allowed  to  do  such  a  rational 
thing;  it  has  to  borrow  money  for  everything  and 
pay  it  back  over  a  term  of  years.  The  length  of 
the  term  has  no  reference  whatever  to  the  nature 
of  the  work  done,  as  the  work  is  not  in  any  way 
security  for  the  loan;  the  local  rates  are  the  se- 
curity. There  is  an  epidemic  of  outcry  just  now 
about  municipal  indebtedness,  but  it  is  apt  to  give  a 
totally  wrong  impression  to  the  average  reader,  as 
he  does  not  realize  that  municipalities  must  be  in 
debt  owing  to  the  way  these  things  are  arranged. 
For  a  private  individual  always  to  be  in  debt  would 
be  bad;  for  a  town  it  is  another  matter;  the  only 
question  is  how  much  the  town  ought  to  be  in 
debt.  The  nation  itself  does  business  in  the  same 
sort  of  way;  it  has  no  ready  money,  and  when  any- 
thing has  to  be  done  it  borrows.  But  local  au- 
thorities are  now  taking  up  such  businesses  as  elec- 
tric supply  and  tramways,  which  have  profit  and 
loss  sides;  they  are  obliged  to  work  the  businesses 
on  the  same  lines  as  town  improvements,  which  is 
absurd. 

A  municipal  electric-light  scheme  is  thus  worked 
under  absurd  difficulties.  It  is  like  a  public  company 
that  has  a  negative  capital — that  is  to  say,  all  its 
money  is  borrowed.  The  shareholders  are  the 
ratepayers.  They  hold  shares  depending  on  the  rate 
assessments.  The  dividends  are  generally  negative. 
All  the  shareholders  are  so  by  compulsion  if  they 
live  in  the  place.  The  only  thing  they  can  do 
if  they  do  not  want  to  be  shareholders  in  such 
undertakings  is  to  move  off  to  another  town;  but 
then  they  become  shareholders  in  another  set  ^  of 
ventures.  I  believe  the  only  way  to  avoid  being 
shareholders  in  these  compulsory  undertakings  is 
to  live  in  a  barge  on  a  canal.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
the  undertaking,  though  a  profit  and  loss  concern, 
must  keep  its  accounts  on  the  same  principle  as  if 
it  were  a  sewerage  system.  To  begin  with,  the  town 
may  only  borrow  enough  money  to  put  do\yn  the 
plant  This  has  to  be  paid  off,  as  already  explained, 
by  the  sinking  fund,  which  returns  all  the  borrowed 
money  in  say  20  years.  The  plant  may  last  10 
years"  or  it  may  last  50;  that  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  case.  If  the  plant  lasted  20  and  then  went  into 
powder,  like  Holmes'  "one-hoss  shay,"  the  sinking 
fund  would  correspond  with  correct  depreciation. 
If  it  lasts  less  something  more  should  be  allowed, 
and  less  should  be  written  off  for  the  parts  that 
will  last  longer.  This  right  depreciation  to  be 
allowed  in  municipal  works  is  a  burning  question 
between  the  advocates  of  municipal  trading  and  its 
opponents.  Again,  a  private  concern  would  start 
business  with  enough  capital  to  put  down  the  sta- 
tion and  to  run  it  at  a  loss  for  a  year  or  two  until 


it  turned  the  corner.  The  municipality  may  not  do 
anything  as  sensible  as  that;  it  may  only  borrow 
money  enough  to  put  down  the  station,  and  the  first 
few  years'  losses  must  be  paid  for  out  of  the  rates 
for  these  years.  This  sometimes  excites  the  rate- 
payers. 

Almost  any  business  has  to  be  run  at  a  loss  at 
first,  and  enough  capital  is  provided  to  meet  the 
deficit,  and  when  the  business  pays  it  ought  to  pay 
on  the  whole  capital.  No  one  would  think  of  start- 
ing, say  a  works,  with  no  working  capital  at  all, 
and  distributing  a  negative  dividend  during  the 
next  few  years  to  pay  the  losses.  This  is  one  of 
the  many  absurd  conditions  under  which  municipal 
work  has  to  suffer.  In  one  case  a  lovingly  solicitous 
gas  company  felt  that  it  was  hard  that  a  municipal- 
ity should  lose  during  the  first  years,  so  it  got  a 
clause  inserted  to  the  effect  that  if  there  were  a  loss 
the  price  should  be  raised  and  raised  until  there 
was  either  no  loss  or  no  customers ;  it  did  not  mat- 
ter which,  though  in  its  heart  of  hearts  the  gas 
company  preferred  the  latter.  This  clause  was  sol- 
emnly inserted  in  one  or  two  acts  by  the  collective 
wisdom  of  the  country.  It  may  interest  you  to  real- 
ize that  the  large  commercial  interests  of  this  coun- 
try are  controlled  by  a  set  of  people  who  think  that 
if  a  manufacture  does  not  pay,  the  simple  expe- 
dient of  raising  the  price  will  put  things  right 

Referring  to  the  comparative  costs  of  different 
artificial  illuminants,  if  electrical  energy  costs  4d. 
a  Board  of  Trade  unit,  an  ordinary  glow  lamp  will 
give  nearly  Soo  candlepower  for  is.  A  flame  arc 
with  energy  at  3d.  gives  you  14,000  candle-hours. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  the  is.  is  all  spent  on 
energy,  nothing  is  allowed  for  renewal  of  lamps, 
interest  on  fittings,  meter  rents,  interest  on  arc 
lamp,  cost  of  carbons  or  labor.  For  Is.,  with 
energy  at  sd.,  you  get  about  the  same  light  as  with 
a  flat-flame  gas  burner  and  gas  at  4s.  The  ordinary 
oil  lamp,  with  paraffin  at  8d.  a  gallon,  beats  them 
both  hollow,  and  it  is  out  of  the  running  with 
acetylene.  The  great  fight  between  electricity  and 
gas  has  been  fought  with  the  flat-flame  burners  and 
carbon  lamps,  and  there  has  been  much  discussion. 
I  have  been  accused  of  a  strong  partiality  for  elec- 
tric light.  But  I  feel  impartial.  I  really  do  not 
know  which  is  the  worst.  The  gas  mantle  makes 
an  enormous  difference  and  brings  gas,  say  at  3s., 
ahead  of  everything  but  the  mercury  and  flame  arcs 
at,  say  4Hd.  a  unit.  The  flame  arc  is  essentially 
for  large  lights,  while  the  mantle  lights  can  be 
made  quite  small.  The  comparison  is,  I  repeat,  only 
for  the  same  money  paid  for  gas  or  energy.  To 
make  a  real  comparison  many  other  factors  are 
to  be  taken  into  account.  There  is  the  interest  on 
the  mercury  lamp  for  one  thing ;  then  its  color  is 
not  good ;  and  if  you  add  carbon  lamps  the  effi- 
ciency goes  down.  On  the  other  side,  however, 
you  have  to  estimate  the  cost  of  mantles,  the 
trouble  and  worry  of  breakages,  and  of  the  jets 
getting  stopped  up,  and  so  on.  Even  then  it  must 
be  clear  that  the  mantle  has  a  large  margin  of 
economy  for  the  house  lamps,  such  as  the  Nernst, 
the  metal  and  the  carbon  incandescents.  For  out- 
door use  and  for  large  buildings  the  flame  arc 
seems  to  have  plenty  of  margin  over  the  mantle, 
though  large  mantle  lamps  are  even  better  than 
some  of  the  smaller  ones. 

In  addition  to  the  cost  of  lamps,  mantles,  etc..  we 
must  remember  that  if  an  illuminant  spoils  the  deco- 
rations the  extra  cost  of  redecorating  should  be 
charged  against  it.  Gas  blackens  the  ceilings  and 
destroys  paint,  and  so  on ;  and  the  extra  cost  of 
decoration  may  be  as  heavy  as  the  whole  cost  of 
electric  light,  in  which  case  it  does  not  pay  to 
employ  gas  at  any  price.  This  argument  annoys 
the  gas  industry,  so  it  is  sound  and  good. 


California  Electric  Power  Consolidation 
Completed. 

The  final  consolidation  of  the  principal  electric 
power  interests  of  California,  under  the  name  of 
the  Pacific  Gas  and  Electric  Company,  was  brought 
about  last  week.  The  promoters  of  the  new  com- 
pany early  in  the  week  turned  over  to  the  Union 
Trust  Company,  trustee  for  the  San  Francisco 
Gas  and  Electric  Company,  $3,150,000  in  cash  and 
$10,101,460  in  five-per  cent,  gold  bonds  to  be  dis- 
tributed among  the  stockholders  of  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Gas  and  Electric  Company  in  the  proportions 
of  $25  in  cash  and  $65  in  bonds  for  each  share  of 
stock  in  the  San  Francisco  Gas  and  Electric  Com- 
pany. The  taking  over  of  the  California  Gas  and 
Electric  Corporation  by  the  Pacific  Gas  and  Electric 
Company  had  already  been  accomplished.  The  own- 
ers of  the  new  company  are  N.  \V.  Halsey  &  Co.  of 
New  York,  and  the  leading  stockholders  of  the  Cal- 
ifornia Gas  and  Electric  Corporation.  John  A.  Brit- 
ton  has  been  elected  president  of  the  new  company. 
The  new  company  has  secured  extensive  quarters 
on  the  eighth  and  ninth  floors  of  the  Shreve  Build- 
ing, San  Francisco,  in  which  executive  offices  will 
be  established.  It  is  still  unknown  whether  or  not 
the  company  will  be  able  to  secure  control  of  the 
Mutual  Electric  Light  Company  of  San  Francisco. 
It  is  known  that  a  large  number  of  stockholders 
of  the  Mutual  company  are  in  favor  of  selling,  but 
there  is  a  strong  minority  which  is  opposed  to  the 
deal. 


January   13,  1906 

Growth  of  the  WrlKht  Demand  Indicator 
Business  In  the  United  States. 

'l  he   u  righl    d ind    ind 

\1il11n    \\  1  ighl   ol    Bl  igl ■     I  nd,   for  use  with 

tlie   Wright  di  mand 

1  hie   system    w  1 1    introdw  cd    in    B n    ik,,.< 

.,11.1   w  .1  ■    promptly   follow,  d  by 

income,  l«y  greatly  imprc  cd   load  ■factoi    ind   b 

large    increase    in    the    numbei    ol    long 

tomei 

R.   S,   I  talc  broughl   o\ m    I  11°  ind   in    1896 

the  i"  1   W  1  ighl  indi  al ll      Ui 

[807  Mr.   Wrighl   Inn.  icll   1  ■  ad  I"  ti  11 

El I.i.'lil        A      Ol  1  ..1 

papi  1   entitled,  "Profitab      1 

Supply   Stations,"   in   which  he  outlined   hi 

in    detail.      I  his     •  1  ved    1..   focu      ;        :  tenl 1 

central  station   managi  1     on   the   rati    que  ' 

the    principle     1  nuni  iated    bj     »i  1     v.  1  ighl    rapidly 

gaining  recognition      \i  the  pr.   cnl  timi    1  d 

I  i f  some   form  based   on   lh<   e   pi  in.  iplc     1 

in  use  in  ill.-  more  promim  nl   citii     ol   !i  1 

States  such  as  N'i  «   York,  Chicago,  B Dctr. 

Cleveland,   Cincinnati,    Si.    Loui  .     fopeka,    Den 


ERN     ELEl  'ilMClAN 

equipped   ivlth   the   tl 

tli.    pri 


Engineering    Features    of    tho    Jhalum 
Power  Installation  In  India. 

\l.. , 
ill.-    Jhclum    I' 

of   San    Frai 
!  I.-  i-i  ivitj   1  ondu  •  '"t  will 

be  appi 
ill.-  upp. 
ditch 

Hume, 


* 

Oscillographic   Researches  on  Surging 
in  High-tension  Lines. 


WRIGHT    DEMAND    INDICATOR 

St.  Paul,  Minneapolis,  Seattle,  Rochester,  N.  Y., 
and  Springfield,  Mass.,  as  well  as  in  a  large  number 
of  the  smaller  cities. 

The  manufacture  of  Wright  demand  indicators 
in  this  country  was  begun  in  1898  by  the  General 
Incandescent  Arc  Light  Company  of  New  York, 
which  purchased  the  right  from  the  English  com- 
pany. The  business  grew  rapidly  and  was  trans- 
ferred to  Pittsfield  in  1903,  where  improved  facili- 
ties were  obtained  and  the  present  capacity  of  the 
works  of  the  Stanley-G.  I.  Electric  Manufacturing 
Company  is  1,000  indicators  per  week.  The  busi- 
ness continues  to  grow,  and  for  the  first  10  months 
of  the  present  fiscal  year,  which  dates  from  Febru- 
ary 1st,  is  already  34  per  cent,  ahead  of  last  year's 
total. 

The  accompanying  illustration  shows  some  of  the 
assembly  benches  in  the  factory  at  Pittsfield,  Mass., 
with  indicators  awaiting  inspection. 


The  New  Philadelphia  Subway. 

On  December  18th  the  first  section  of  the  new 
Philadelphia  subway,  previously  allude  to  in  the 
Western  Electrician,  was  opened  for  traffic.  This 
section  runs  from  Fifteen  Street  to  the  Schuylkill 
River  under  Market  Street.  Two  inside  tracks  will 
be  used  for  express  trains  and  two  outside  tracks 
for  locals  when  the  subway  is  completed.  The 
completed  section  is  48  feet  six  inches  wide  inside 
and  14  feet  six  inches  above  the  rails.  The  walls 
are  of  reinforced  concrete  and  the  floor  of  plain 
concrete. 

An  interesting  type  of  track  construction  is  used, 
having  no  ballast,  for  the  purpose  of  providing 
a  perfectly  sanitary  condition.  The  entire  roadbed 
can  be  washed  down  with  a  hose  and  drained 
through  sumps  placed  at  frequent  intervals.  The 
rails  for  the  local  tracks  are  mounted  on  cast-iron 
chairs,  which,  with  the  rails,  are  embedded  in 
concrete.  The  rails  are  secured  to  the  chairs  by 
adjusting  screws,  making  it  possible  to  set  the 
rails  to  exact  gauge.  Except  at  crossovers,  the 
express  tracks  are  mounted  on  yellow-pine  blocks, 
to  which  they  are  attached  by  clips  and  screw 
spikes.  One  rail  for  each  express  track  has  been 
reserved  for  block  signaling;  the  other  rail  is 
bonded  with  a  protected  bond,  and  the  two  return 
rails    are    cross-bonded. 

As  surface  trolley  cars  will  be  operated  over 
the  local  tracks,  an  overhead  wire  is  provided, 
supported    in    a    special    flexible    suspension.      The 


FACTORY  READY  FOR  INSPECTION. 

will  have  a  capacity  of  over  500  cubic  feet  per 
second. 

The  forebay  at  the  end  of  the  gravity  line  and 
at  the  head  of  the  pressure  pipes  will  be  con- 
structed of  masonry  and  will  be  provided  with 
special   headgates. 

The  pressure  lines  will  consist  of  rivelc.l  steel 
pipes  designed  with  a  factor  of  safety  of  five,  each 
supplying  one  of  the  hydro-electric  units.  For  each 
pipe  line  a  standpipe  and  two  special  vacuum  valves 
will  be  provided,  in  order  to  protect  the  pipe 
against  injury  in  case  the  water  should  be  drawn 
out  suddenly.  The  pipes  of  each  pressure  line 
will  vary  in  diameter  from  30  to  36  inches,  with 
a  54  to  36-inch  taper  pipe,  10  feet  long,  at  the 
upper  end.  The  pipes  will  be  790  feet  in  length 
and  will  deliver  the  water  under  an  effective  head 
of  400  feet.  The  interior  piping  of  the  power 
house  will  consist  of  welded  pipe  with  welded 
flanges. 

Twelve  main  units  and  three  exciter  units  have 
been  planned  for  the  equipment  of  the  power  house. 
Each  main  unit  will  consist  of  a  Doble  tangential 
waterwheel  with  automatic  oil-pressure  governor, 
delivering  1,765  brake  horsepower  to  the  shaft,  un- 
der an  effective  head  of  400  feet.  Each  wheel  will 
be  direct  connected  to  a  1,000-kilowatt  alternator, 
the  speed  of  the  unit  being  500  revolutions  per 
minute.  The  exciter  units  will  each  consist  of 
a  tangential  waterwheel.  delivering  285  brake  horse- 
power to  the  shaft  under  an  effective  head  of  400 
feef.  The  speed  of  the  exciters  will  also  be  500 
revolutions    per   minute. 

The  power  house  will  be  of  solid  masonry  con- 
struction and  will  have  a  wide  veranda  as  a  pro- 
tection from  the  tropical  sun.  A  double  steel  roof 
will  be  provided,  and  two  traveling  cranes  will  be 
installed  for  handling  the  machinery.  The  trans- 
formers will  be  installed  in  a  bay  of  the  main 
building   or    in    a   separate    structure. 

The  conditions  under  which  the  plant  will  be 
installed  arc  decidedlv  out  of  the  ordinary  as  com- 
pared with  similar  work  in  this  country.  The 
specifications  for  the  electrical  and  hydraulic  equip- 
ment stipulated  that  no  single  piece  of  machinery 
should  weigh  more  than  four  tons  when  packed, 
for  the  reason  that  there  is  200  miles  of  road_ 
transportation,  including  a  lift  over  a  range  of 
mountains  S.ooo  feet  high.  Transportation  in  that 
section  of  the  country  is  limited  to  bullock  cart, 
and  no  single  piece  of  machinery  heavier  than  four 
tons    can    be    transported,    a    total    of  five    tons    m- 


ired  in  two  way*  in  a 

inge  of  circuit  condition  taking 

in  additional  line,  the  open- 
ing   of  a    circuit     wit] 

■;,    in    the   tii.-.' 

' 

vstcm  and  can 
When    a    transmission    lux 
ban   maintained  at  constant  potential  the  line  may 
ndenser   with   inductance  and 
■  rics.      According    to  theory 
■ 
High-potential    Transmission    Lines),    the 
maximum    value    of     the     oscillating     electr.  • 

rce  producing  the   surging;  that  is,  when  a 

source  of  electromotive  force 

ntial   may   rise  to  double  potential  and  will 

cillate    between    this    value    and    zero    with 

continually  diminishing  amplitude.      The    amplitude 

oscillations   set  up  depends  on  the  point  of 

the    impressed    electromotive-force    wave    at    which 

the  circuit   switch   is  closed.     Also  the  frequency  of 

the    oscillations    set    up  is    independent    of    the    im- 

frcqiiency  but  depends  on  the  line  constant. 

Ilie  instantaneous    values    of    electromotive    force 

i.-nts  were  obtained  by  means  of  a  Blondcl- 

I  .11. .graph.      In  the  ordinary   form   of 

graphs   the    images   arc  obtained   on   a 

plate  3.5  inches  by  4.5   inches.      It   was  ad- 

to  arrange  some  means  by  which  the  records 

would    be    taken    for    a    time    sufficient    to    include 

conditions  not  only  during  the  period  of  surging  but 

for  the  time  before  and  after. 

Instead  of  the  ordinary  plate  a  film  3.5  inches 
wide  by  4.5  feet  long  was  wound  on  a  wooden 
cylinder  placed  in  a  closed  box  with  a  shutter  and 
arranged  so  that  the  images  on  the  galvanometer 
mirrors  could  be  thrown  on  the  film.  This  drum 
was  rotated  by  a  small  motor,  so  that  the  width 
of  a  period  length  as  shown  on  the  film  could  be 
altered  by  speeding  or  slowing  the  motor.  It  was 
thus  possible  to  obtain  a  large  number  of  periods 
on  one  film. 

The  transmission  lines  experimented  upon  are 
shown  in  Fig.  i  mi  the  next  page. 

The  two  stations  of  Plan  du  Var  and  La  Mecla 
operate  in  parallel.  These  stations  arc  4!i  miles 
distant.  The  line  joining  them  is  overhead,  three- 
three  conductors,  24  inches  apart.  No.  1. 
1;  &  S.  copper  wires.  From  station  of  Plan  du 
Y.ir  two  overhead  transmission  lines.  17  and  15 
miles  long,  go  respectively  to  sub-stations  at  La 
and  Ste.  Agathe.  The  line  to  La  Begude 
is  made  up  of  three  conductors.  No.  2.  B.  &  S..  24 
inches  apart,  and  that  to  Ste.  Agathe  of  No.  1. 
B.  &   S. ;  conductors  same  distance  apart. 

The  sub-stations  at  La  Begude  and  Ste.  Agathe 
are  connected  by  an  underground  three-conductor 
lead-covered  cable  eight  miles  long,  No.  00,  B.  &  S. 
conductors. 

Capacity  in  microfarads  between  one  conductor 
and  the  other  two  connected*  to  the  lead  covering, 
0.S25  per  1,000  feet.  Capacity  in  microfarads  be- 
tween the  three  conductors  joined  together  and  the 
lead  covering.  0.825   per   1,000  feet. 

It  was  thus  possible  to  experiment  with  a  cir- 
cuit forming  a  loop  of  a  total  perimeter  of  40 
miles — 32  miles  of  which  was  overhead,  the  remain- 
ing eight  miles  underground,  the  underground  part 
about  midway  along  the    loop. 

A  three-phase  600-kilovolt-ampere  25-cycle  ti.ooo- 
volt  alternator,  driven  by  a  ooo-horsepower  hori- 
zontal turbine,  provided  the  electric  power.  The 
switchboard  in  the  station  was  equipped  with  high- 
tension  oil  switches  and  three-pole  air  knife  switches 
were   also   provided. 

The    electromotive    force   wave   of   the   generator 

showed    the    effect    of    the    fifth    and  seventh    har- 

which  were  the  only  ones  noticed,  and  they 

were  quite  small,  the  fifth  being  less  than  two  per 

the  value  of  the  fundamental  one._ 

The    first    experiments    consisted    in    making    and 

1.  From  an  abstract  of  Mr.  David's  paper  given,  with  introduc- 
tion, by  L  A.  Herdt  before  the  Electrical  Section  of  the  Canadian 
Society  -t  eis    November 2, 190= 


44 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  13,  1906 


breaking  with  an  air  switch  the  charging  current 
at  the  sending  end  of  the  line,  the  charging  cur- 
rent being  approximately  five  amperes  at  8,000 
volts.  The  40-mile  circuit  was  unloaded  but  for 
a  few  transformers  with  open  circuit  secondaries 
which   were  left  accidently  on  the  line. 

In  Fig.  2,  (Ui)  is  the  electromotive-force  wave 
across  one  phase  at  the  generator,  (Us)  the  voltage 
at  the  end  of  the  line.  Waves  (U,)  and  (Us)  have 
been  shown  in  opposition  of  phase,  that  is  (Us)  is 
displaced  by  1800  to  show  the  two  curves  more  dis- 
tinctly. 

The  line  is  shown  to  have  been  switched  on 
the  bus-bars  when  the  impressed  electromotive 
force   is  changing  sign,   and,   as  would  be   expected, 


SUBST/JT/OA/  or 

lr  Becuoc 

FIG.    I.       TRANSMISSION      LINES,      WIRES    24     INCHES 
APART. 

the  oscillations  produced  are  very  small.  The  oscil- 
lations cease  in  the  first  half  period  after  the 
make.  When  the  line  is  opened  there  are  no  oscil- 
lations on  (Ui),  but  the  wave  (Us)  shows  at  the 
rupture  a  damped  oscillation  of  large  period. 

Fig.  3  shows  the  line  switched  on  at  the  mo- 
ment when  the  impressed  electromotive  force  is 
near  one-fourth  period. 

At  first  the  impressed  electromotive  force  is  sud- 
denly reduced,  but  further  a  rise  of  potential  takes 
place,  giving  a  50  per  cent,  increase  of  impressed 
pressure.  A  rise  is  also  shown  on  wave  (Us). 
The  oscillations  cease  in  the  first  period  after  the 
make.  Here  again  there  are  no  oscillations  in  the 
impressed  electromotive-force  waves  when  the  cir- 
cuit is  opened,  but  (Us)   shows  a  momentary  surge. 

When  the  line  was  switched  on  at  a  moment 
when  the  impressed  electromotive  force  was  at  or 
near  one-third,  one-half  or  two-thirds  period,  the 
surges  on  both  ends  of  the  line  were  well  shown 
and  quite  large.  The  rise  of  potential,  how- 
ever, did  not  in  any  one  of  a  large  number  of 
experiments  exceed  55  per  cent.  The  oscillations 
took  place  in  one  period  after  the  make  of  the 
switch.  When  the  switch  was  opened  the  voltage 
never  rose,  but  in  all  cases  the  wave  (Us)  showed 
a  much  longer  period  and  is  damped  out  in  a  sin- 
pie  oscillation. 

Records  taken  on  the  unloaded  line,  when  oper- 


FIG.    2.       OSCILLOGRAPH     CURVES    WHEN     IMPRESSED    PRES- 
SURE  WAS    CHANGING    SIGN. 

ated  with  an  oil  switch   in  place  of  the  air  switch, 
do  not  differ  very  much  from  those  just  shown. 

In  12  different  experiments  the  rise  of  voltage 
for  (Ui)  and  (Us)  is  as  follows  (line  switched 
in): 

Per  Cent. 

U,  (E.  M.F.  at  bus-bars)  one  rise  of  potential 64 

two  "  "      60 

three        '"  "      25 

For  Us  difference  of  potential  end  of  line: 


Oscillographic  records  were  taken  on  non-induct- 
ive load  with  oil  switch  and  were  given  for  the 
switch  placed  between  the  generator  bus-bars  and 
the  line  and  the  switch  placed  between  the  line  and 
th  load.  A  three-phase  water  rheostat  was  placed 
at  the  end  of  the  lint  as  a  load. 

The  experiments  under  load  were  carried  out  in 


the  following  manner:  The  alternator  was  loaded 
through  the  40-mile  line  on  the  water  rheostat. 
The  switch  was  then  opened  for  one-half  second 
and  then  closed.  The  load  was  adjusted  to  22 
amperes,  a  voltmeter  on  the  line  side  of  the  switch 
reading  (Ui)  (7,200  volts  on  one  phase)  and  a 
voltmeter  placed  on  the  rheostat  reading  (Us) 
(6,200  volts). 

The  opening  of  the  switch  took  place  when  (Ui) 
was  zero.  No  rise  of  potential  occurred.  Other 
records  showed  similar  results.  The  break  was  al- 
ways shown  to  take  place  at  zero  value  of  impressed 
electromotive  force.  Mr.  David  is  uncertain  as  to 
whether  this  was  due  to  the  oil  switch  or  pure 
hazard. 

In  other  diagrams,  waves  (Ui)  and  (Us)  are 
shown  when  the  switch  is  closed.  There  is  no 
surging  or  rise  of  potential.  The  regime  is  steady 
after  the  first  period  following  the  close  of  the  cir- 
cuit. 

With  a  high-tension  oil  switch  placed  at  the 
end  of  line,  the  oil  switch  was  placed  between 
the  receiving  end  of  the  line  and  the  rheostat,  so 
that  the  alternator  was  kept  on  the  line  when  the 
load  was  switched  off.  Oscillations  were  shown 
on   (Ui)  and  (Us),  but  without  rise  of  potential. 

Experiments  were  carried  on  with  an  air  swatch, 
this  sw7itch  being  of  special  make,  allowing  the  arc 
made  at  the  break  to  rise  between  copper  horns, 
increasing  the  length  of  the  arc  until  it  broke.  The 
records  showed  that  the  rise  of  potential  with  this 
switch  is    considerably    greater    than    with    the  oil 


/  \   \   I 


FIG.    4.         OSCILLOGRAPH    CURVES    ON    UNLOADED     CABLE. 

switch  under  similar  conditions  of  load  and  that 
the  oscillations  are  kept  up  for  at  least  two  periods 
after  the  opening  of  the  circuit. 

An  underground  cable  was  experimented  with 
also,  being  a  three-conductor  lead-covered  cable, 
four  miles  long.  The  cable  unloaded  was  switched 
on  the  bus-bars  through  an  oil  switch,  and  records 
of  electromotive  force  and  current  are  shown  in 
Fig.  4.  The  bus-bar  voltage  was  9,700.  The  cur- 
rent value  is  not  given  but  could  not  be  more  than 
a  few  amperes. 

In  Fig.  4  (U)  the  electromotive-force  wave  shows 
little  oscillations,  not  so  with  the  current  wave 
(I).  Rapid  oscillations  take  place  during  the 
first  half  period  corresponding  to  the  closing  of  the 
switch. 

A  cable  was  switched  on  when  the  impressed 
electromotive  force  was  about  changing  sign.  The 
electromotive-force  wave  showed  no  oscillations. 
The  current  wave  showed  violent  ones.  The  maxi- 
mum values  of  the  current  exceeded  the  width  of 
the  film  and  were  not  recorded  on  the  plate.  The 
negative  and  positive  waves  were  dissimilar  and  the 
distances  between  the  zero  values  were  unequal. 
The  switch  was  opened  after  an  interval  of  four 
periods  and  the  current  had  not  then  taken  its  nor- 
mal value. 


The  North  St.  Louis  Power  Company  has  been 
incorporated  with  $10,000  capital  stock  by  S.  T.  G. 
Smith,  lohn  G.  Keyser  and  M.  C.  Keyser  of  St. 
Louis  and  Robert  Gaylord,  H.  P.  Young,  W.  T. 
Alden  and  C.  R.  Latham  of  Chicago,  to  develop 
waterpower. 


Central  Illinois  Independent  Telephone 
Meeting. 

The  Fifth  District  of  the  Illinois  Independent 
Telephone  Association,  comprising  the  managers 
and  owners  of  Independent  telephone  exchanges 
in  Peoria,  Marshall,  Tazewell,  Mason  and  Logan 
counties,  held  a  meeting  in  Peoria  on  January  5th 
and  6th.  The  Fifth  District  is  composed  of  pro- 
gressive men,  who  are  giving  the  toll-rate  commit- 
tee of  the  association  all  the  assistance  that  lies 
in  their  power.  To  promote  the  best  for  the  busi- 
ness in  which  they  are  interested  they  are  organ- 
ized, besides  their  affiliation  with  the  state  associa- 
tion into  the  Central  Illinois  Independent  Telephone 
Association,  which  is  connected  with  the  Inter-state 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company.  This  com- 
pany has  upward  of  3.000  telephones  in  Peoria, 
with  lines  extending  almost  to  Chicago.  It  has 
made  Peoria  the  hub  of  the  Independent  business 
in  Central  Illinois. 

The  meeting  in  Peoria  was  to  consider  the 
question  of  the  adjustment  of  toll  rates  through- 
out the  district  and,  incidentally,  throughout  the 
entire  state.  The  plan  as  advanced  by  the  toll- 
rate  committee,  composed  of  J.  S.  Dailey  of 
Chillicothe,  James  Barrett  of  Pekin  and  C.  A. 
Camp  of  Sparland,  is  that  the  Independent  com- 
panies throughout  the  Fifth  District  unite  on  a 
uniform  toll  rate  that  shall  obtain  in  all  parts  of 
the  territory,  and  establish  a  clearing  house,  to  be 
opened  possibly  in  Peoria,  from  which  the  earnings 
w^ill  be  distributed  equitably  among  the  lines  par- 
ticipating in  the  carriage  of  a  message. 

Some  50  of  the  owners  and  managers  of  the 
systems  radiating  from  Peoria  attended  the  meeting 
and  took  part  in  the  discussion  of  the  question  of 
merging  their  interests  to  bring  about  the  best 
results.  The  toll-rate  committee  was  continued  in 
service  until  the  April  meeting,  with  enlarged  pow- 
ers, the  most  important  of  which  are  the  solicita- 
tion of  toll  connections  in  all  parts  of  the  state 
and  in  other  and  adjoining  districts  to  join  in  the 
agreement  and  accept  the  articles  which  will  be 
drawn  up  by  the  committee,  the  reception  of  whose 
report  will  be  made  the  order  of  business  at  the 
next  meeting  of  the  association. 

For  a  number  of  months  the  Independents  have 
had  a  working  agreement  among  themselves  and 
have  handled  the  business  of  the  public  more  from 
the  standpoint  of  accommodation  than  for  the 
actual  monetary  consideration  to  be  derived  there- 
from. The  need  of  this  adjustment  of  the  toll 
rates  led  to  the  appointment  of  the  toll-rate  com- 
mittee at  the  meeting  of  the  Central  Illinois  Inde- 
pendent Telephone  Association  held  several  months 
ago.  The  work  of  reaching  an  agreement  is  a 
difficult  one.  In  the  district  within  the  bounds  of 
the  five  counties  are  .65  different  concerns  operat- 
ing 108  exchanges,  with  30,000  telephones  and  6.000 
miles  of  toll  wire.  An  extension  of  the  toll  lines 
in  Central  Illinois  is  planned.  A  new  line  will  be 
strung  between  Peoria  and  Washington,  a  distance 
of  12  miles,  at  which  place  connection  is  to  be  had 
through  El  Paso  with  the  Independent  toll  lines 
north  and  south,  from  the  outskirts  of  Chicago  to 
Springfield.  From  the  present  indications  the  year 
1906.  it  is  believed,  will  be  the  most  prosperous 
one  in  Central  Illinois  in  the  building  of  toll  lines. 


TELEPHONE  MEN. 


F.  P.  Fish,  president  of  the  American  Telephone 
and  Telegraph  Company,  reached  San  Francisco 
from  Boston  a  few   days  ago. 

Leigh  W.  Prentice,  formerly  manager  of  the 
telephone  exchange  in  New  Richmond,  Wis.,  and 
afterward  at  St.  Cloud,  Minn.,  died  a  few  days 
ago  of  consumption  at  his  home  in  Clinton,  Iowa. 
He  had  been  manager  of  the  Tri-city  Telephone 
Company   in   Clinton   for  several  years. 

As  a  memorial  to  his  father,  Alexander  Graham 
Bell  has  presented  to  the  Association  for  Diffusion 
of  Knowledge  to  the  Deaf,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Volta  Bureau,  real  estate,  bonds  and  gifts  valued 
at  $75,000.  The  bureau  was  established  by  Dr. 
Alexander  Melville  Bell.  Three  generations  of  the 
family  have  been  interested  in  problems  relating 
to    its    work. 

E.  B.  Danielson  of  Chicago  died  a  few  days  ago 
at  the  age  of  35  years.  He  had  been  in  the  em- 
ployment of  the  Chicago  Telephone  Company  for 
many  years  and  had  charge  of  its  supply  depart- 
ment when  this  department  was  made  a  part  of 
the  supply  department  of  the  Western  Electric 
Company  several  years  ago.  Since  that  time  he 
has  had  charge  of  that  part  of  the  supply  business 
of  the  Western  Electric  Company  relating  to  the 
business  of  the  Chicago  Telephone  Company.  Mr. 
Danielson  had  many  friends  throughout  the  coun- 
try who  will  be  grieved  to  learn  of  his  death. 


The  monthly  instrument  statement  of  the  Chi- 
cago Telephone  Company  shows  for  December  a 
gain  of  2,104  subscribers  in  the  city  and  816  in 
the  country.  Total  gains  for  the  year  1905  were. 
17.644  telephones  in  the  city  and  7,686  in  the  coun- 
try, a  total  of  25,33°.  A  call  has  been  issued  for 
the  annual  meeting  of  stockholders,  to  be  held  in 
the  offices   of  the  company  on  January   17th. 


January  13,  1906 


ELE(  1 1- 1 


Indiana  Telephone  Items. 

The    Mutual    1 1  li  pi I  omp  11  Ibyvillc 

will  soon  begin  the  construe! ni      p 

building  will  be  1  n  eti  d  tor  exi  10  ki  and 

all  the  wires  in  the  bu  ini      1 1  of  the  city  will 

be  laid  underground,    David  B    Wil  01 

of  the  company.     11  i    expected  thai  th<    new  plant 

will  be  in  operation  by  the  first  of  May. 

1  he    I  ■  ntral     1  nion     1  eli  pi 1  ompany    and 

the  1  [ope  [ndependenl    1 1  lephone  1  omp  iny  al  1  topi 

ItlirthoI'Miii  w     '   niliity,      li'  ■■ 

Some    time    ago    thi     I  is'    End li  nl 

phone    (  V-lnp.'iJiy   ni    I  mIiiiiiI.ii      m.i'l,      in 

tin:     I  I'M 1 ■.    .     properly,    bill     tin-     pi 

mandril    w.i     in. 1    liip.li. 

The    Indiana    [ndepi  ndenl     I  -  li  phom 
has    issui'il    the    first    number    ol     rhi     Bulletin,    a 
ini.iiilily  publication  devi ited  <      lusi     <■    to  ti 
pendent  telephone  industry  in   Indiana       11      Bu 
tin   is   under  the  direction   of  C.   S, 

i.-iry  "f  the  as  '....in      1  1      hi    is  creditabli 

in  appearance  and  character.  The  chiei  aim 
first  issue  seems  to  be  to  convince  the  people  thai 
the  greater  number  of  telephone  connections  possi- 
hle  the  more  valuable  the  service,  and  that,  unlike 
many  other  industries,  the  larger  the  plant  the 
greater  the  cost,  proportionately,  to  operate  it. 

The    Salem    Ridge    Mutual    Telephone    C panj 

of   Kising  Sun    has   been    incorporated.      William 
Rockafcllow,  Charles  Rice,  G.   A.   Woods  and  Clay 
Miller  are  the  directors. 

The  Indiana  branch  of  the  Illinois  Central  rail- 
road is  being  thoroughly  equipped  with  Independ 
ent  telephone  service.  Copper  wire  weighing  166 
pounds  to  the  mile  is  being  used  for  the  long-dis- 
tance circuit. 

The  Central  Union  Telephone  Company  is  Hear- 
ing the  completion  of  new  lines  surrounding  the 
city  of  Crawfordsville.  During  the  last  two  months 
this  company  has  set  90  miles  of  poles  and  is  now 
running  600  miles  of  wire  to  complete  the  neces- 
sary connections. 

It  is  expected  that  the  final  struggle  between 
the  New  Long-distance  Telephone  Company  and 
the  Bell  telephone  company  for  the  long-distance 
business  arising  from  the  exchange  of  the  Citizens' 
Telephone  Company  in  Kokomo  will  take  place  at 
the  next  meeting  of  the  City  Council  of  Kokomo. 

The  Central  Union  Telephone  Company  has 
finished  placing  its  wires  underground  in  the  city 
of  Lafayette.  The  improvement  in  the  appearance 
of  the  streets  by  the  removal  of  the  poles  and  wires 
is  marked. 

A  petition  will  be  filed  with  the  new  Board  of 
Public  Works  in  Indianapolis  next  week  from  the 
Indianapolis  Telephone  Company  requesting  several 
changes  in  the  contract  between  the  city  and  the 
Home  Telephone  Company  to  the  end  that  the 
company  may  increase  its  rates  in  Indianapolis 
and  also  for  an  extension  of  its  25-year  franchise. 
The  Indianapolis  Telephone  Company — a  holding 
and  operating  and  interest-guaranteeing  concern — 
operates  in  Indianapolis  under  the  contract  made 
by  the  city  in  May,  1898,  with  the  Home  Telephone 
Company.  The  Indianapolis  Telephone  Company 
recently  passed  from  the  hands  of  local  holders 
into  a  syndicate  that  is  dominated  by  St.  Louis 
and  Toledo  financial  interests.  The  opposition  to 
a  modification  and  an  extension  seems  to  be  melt- 
ing away,  and  it  is  generally  believed  if  the  new 
holders  make  it  plain  to  the  Board  of  Public 
Works  and  the  City  Council  that  the  improvements 
named  in  their  petition  will  be  made  there  will 
be  no  great  opposition  to  granting  the  request  for 
an  increase  of  rates  and  an  extension  of  the  fran- 
chise. 

The  United  States  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  has 
affirmed  the  decision  of  the  District  Court  and 
holds  that  the  Cumberland  Telephone  Company  is 
on  the  streets  of  Evansville,  with  no  rights  under 
the  law.  The  injunction  to  prevent  the  city  from 
disturbing  the  company's  property  has  been  dis- 
solved. While  the  decision  means  that  the  Cum- 
berland Telephone  Company  is  without  a  fran- 
chise and  the  city  has  a  right  to  remove  its  poles 
and  wires,  the  feeling  of  the  people  has  undergone 
a  change.  The  Cumberland  system  covers  the  ter- 
ritory of  Evansville  as  no  other  does,  and  it  is 
claimed  that  the  people  of  Evansville  prefer  this 
system  to  any  other.  The  Pocket  Telephone  (In- 
dependent) is  asking  for  a  franchise  and  claims  to 
have  a  good  system  in  the  territory.  However,  it 
is  conceded  that  the  Cumberland  company  has 
the  advantage  by  reason  of  its  established  plant  and 
can  afford  to  bid  higher  than  a  new  company  for 
a   franchise.  S. 


Telephone   News  from    the   Northwest. 

The  Northwestern  Telephone  Exchange  Company 
has  installed  a  local  exchange  for  Isanti,  Minn.  The 
company  is  improving  its  toll  lines  around  Lake 
Minnetonka,  from  Excelsior,  Minn.,  and  has  just 
completed   connection   with  St.    Bonifacius. 

J.  J.  Maloney,  manager  of  the  Northwestern 
Telephone  Exchange  Company  at  St.  Cloud,  Minn., 
has  been  transferred  to  Albert  Lea,  Minn.,  for  the 
same  company.  He  is  succeeded  at  St.  Cloud  by 
James  P.  Howatt,  who  has  been  wire  chief. 

During  the  next  two  years  the  Twin  City  Tele- 
phone Company  proposes  to  construct  about  21,000 
feet  of  underground  conduit  in  Minneapolis,  which 
will    cost    about    $22,000.      This,    together    with    the 


:'„:,    will 

entail  an  • 
and   Wi 

earning 

'l  he 
pany    will    remove    il  1  old    ti 
Minn  ,  and  ' 

Minn  ,  is  mount. 

Minn. 

■  1  li.  |i  bough) 

St,  James,  Minn  .  and  ha    a 

I 
1,    1906, 
certain  1 
with.       1  hi     dad     finds    very    little    pn 

....    the   total   an  a   1  leart  .1   of    ■■•  in 

too   extended    and    was    unreasonable.      The   council 

11  1 in     underground   territory   materially 

.  ground  within 

two   years       f*he    panii      say   that   seven    t..    to 

ould  I"'  allowed. 

A  new  telephone  exchange  has  been  installed  in 
the   North   Dakota    Agricultural  College  at  Fargo. 

The  Northwestern  Telephone  Exchange  Company 
has  established  a  new  division  to  include  most  of 
the  business  section  of  Minneapolis,  the  Main  ex- 
change having  become  filled.  A  new  north  division 
will  also  be  established  shortly.  R. 


■ 

I    -  the  pta 


Ohio  Telephone  Notes. 

The  statement  has  been  made  that  a  new  com- 
pany will  be  formed  to  take  over  the  property  of 
the  Federal  Telephone  Company  and  that  collateral 
bonds  will  be  issued  to  take  care  of  the  debt 
against  the  company  and  to  provide  money  for 
improvements  and  extensions.  The  Everett-Moore 
syndicate,  to  which  the  large  part  of  the  debt  is 
due,  will  take  stock  in  the  new  company  in  pay- 
ment and  the  other  stockholders  will  be  asked  to 
participate  in  the  same  way.  The  St.  Louis  syndi- 
cate thatT  has  been  spoken  of  so  many  times  in 
connection  with  the  company  is  expected  to  take 
the  bonds  with  a  40-per  cent,  stock  bonus  besides 
considerable  of  the  stock  issue. 

Thee  Cleveland  Telephone  Company,  according 
to  General  Manager  Yensen's  recent  statement,  has 
secured  5,000  new  subscribers  during  the  last  year. 
Besides  building  a  new  exchange,  as  already  men- 
tioned in  the  Western  Electrician,  the  company  will 
probably  expend  something  like  $1,000,000  in  im- 
provements and  extensions  in  and  about  Cleveland 
the  coming  year.  The  number  of  subscribers'  sta- 
tions  is   now   25,000,    Mr.  Yensen  said. 

The  Columbus  Citizens'  Telephone  Company  is 
engaged  in  installing  new  telephones,  orders  for 
which  have  been  waiting  for  many  months,  some 
of  them  two  years.  It  is  reported  that  the  company 
has  announced  an  advance  in  the  price  of  the  serv- 
ice and  that  some  dissatisfaction  has  been  caused 
thereby. 

The  Cumberland  Telephone  Company  will  build 
four  direct  wires  from  Louisville  to  New  Orleans. 
This  will  give  the  company  better  service  with  the 
South. 

The  Van  Wert  Home  Telephone  Company  of 
Van  Wert  has  notified  the  secretary  of  state  of  an 
increase  of  capital  stock  from  $50,000  to  $100,000. 

The  girl  operators  in  the  Bell  exchange  at  Dela- 
ware struck  last  week  because  the  manager  forbade 
them  talking  to  each  other  while  on  duty,  and 
closed  the  window  blinds  so  they  could  not  see 
out  on  the  street. 

The  Bell  exchange  at  Elyria  was  badly  damaged 
by  the  fire  that  destroyed  the  Hotel  Adwur  on 
January  6th.  Men  were  put  to  work  at  once  re- 
pairing and  installing  a  new  exchange  across  the 
street  from  the  hotel  where  the  old  one  was  located. 

Fred  Lubbe  and  others  have  organized  the  Dills- 
boro  Telephone  Company  at  Dillsboro  with  a  capi- 
tal stock  of  $1,000. 

It  is  reported  that  the  Bell  people  have  reduced 
their  rates  at  Toledo  in  competition  with  the  Inde- 
pendent company.  Two-party  residence  telephones 
have  been  reduced  from  $24  to  $18;  two-narty 
business  telephones  have  been  placed  at  $36;  inde- 
pendent or  single-wire  residence  telephones  from 
$36  to  $27 ;  independent  business  telephones  from 
$60  to  $54,  with  $12  additional  for  extensions.  The 
four-party  lines  have  been  abolished  and  two-party 
lines  will  be  furnished  at  the  same  rate.  All  ex- 
isting contracts  will  be  continued  at  the  new  rates. 

The  Union  County  Telephone  Company  of  Marys- 
ville  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$200,000  to  take  over  all  the  Independent  interests 
of  the  county.  Newton  E.  Liggett,  W.  C.  Fulling- 
ton,  W.  C.  Shearer,  G.  E.  Whitney  and  H.  E. 
Conkright  are  the  incorporators. 

The  Central  Union  Telephone  Company  has  ar- 
ranged to  establish  a  branch  exchange  in  Columbus 
on  the  North  Side  at  the  corner  of  High  Street 
and    Fifth    Avenue,    where    the    entire    floor    of    a 


Indiana  District  Telephone  Meeting. 

A  sp* 

Indiana     I  ri  •  1  ••  1  n     was 

held    ir  January   5th 

-canoe. 
tain,    Park,    B<xjtie    ai  I 

O.    B.    Farlxrrtt. 
and    Prank   Goodwinc  ol   W<  ted  a* 

secretary.      The    principal     • 
the    advisability    of    making 

pany  at  Danville,  III.  The  discussion  resulted  in 
the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  take  up  the 
matter  with  the  Commercial  Club  at  Danville  and 
have  the  long-distance  business  at  Danville 
distributed  among  all  the  long-distance  companies 
I  he  matter  of  independent  companies  becoming  a 
sub-licensee  of  the   Bell   company   was   disa; 

Local  operating  methods  were  also  discussed, 
after  which  William  Vcsey  of  the  New  Long-dis- 
tance Telephone  Company  of  Indianapolis  talked 
of  the  latest  phases  'of  the  Independent  telephone 
situation  in  the  state.  Mr.  Vescy  said  that  within 
a  short  time  Independent  long-distance  facilities 
would  be  brought  to  every  Independent  company 
in  the  state. 


Modern    Telephone    Exchange    for 
Manila. 

The  Philippine  Island  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company,  which  was  organized  in  San  Francisco 
some  time  ago  for  the  purpose  of  constructing 
telephone  and  telegraph  lines  in  the  Philippine 
Islands,  is  now  installing  a  modern  telephone  plant 
at  Manila.  A  switchboard  is  now  en  route  to 
Manila,  accompanied  by  a  force  of  electricians 
An  underground-conduit  system  is  now  being  put 
in.  The  company  has  a  50-ycar  concession  from 
the  Philippine  Commission,  and  has  purchased  the 
property  of  the  Manila  Telephone  Company,  a 
Spanish  corporation,  which  put  in  a  plant  about 
20  years  ago.  It  is  said  by  San  Francisco  repre- 
sentatives of  the  company  that  as  soon  as  the  city 
system  is  completed  a  number  of  long-distance 
lines   will   be  extended   into  various   provinces. 


GENERAL  TELEPHONE  NEWS 

The  Kinloch  Telephone  Company  will  erect  a 
new  building  in    Granite   City,   111.,   to   cost  $10,000. 

The  Attica  Telephone  Company  has  received  a 
franchise  to  operate  a  telephone  system  in  Attica, 
N.  Y. 

The  Lamoure  County  Telephone  Company  of 
Marion,  N.  D.,  has  been  granted  a  franchise  to 
operate  a  telephone  system  in  Marion. 

The  Kansas  City  Home  Telephone  Company  has 
secured  a  permit  for  another  branch  exchange 
building  in  Wabash  avenue,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

The  city  of  Shawnee,  Texas,  has  granted  a  21- 
year  franchise  to  the  Pioneer  Telephone  Company 
for  the  installation  of  a  telephone  system.  It  is 
proposed  to  invest  $100,000. 

T.  J.  Smith  and  J.  B.  Rhodes  have  received 
a  telephone  franchise  from  the  City  Council  of 
Xew  Lexington.  Ohio,  and  will  at  once  commence 
to  build  throughout  the  entire  county  of  Perry 
in  conjunction  with  the   Independent  toll  service. 

A  good  programme  and  entertainment  have  been 
provided  for  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Nebraska 
Independent  Telephone  Association  to  be  held  at 
the  Lindell  Hotel.  Lincoln,  on  January  23d  and 
24th.  Important  matters  are  to  be  discussed  and 
decided,  among  them  a  plan  to  harmonize  the  In- 
dependent telephone  interests  of  the  state.  A  large 
attendance  from  Nebraska  and  adjoining  states  is 
expected.  R.  E.  Mattison  of  Lincoln  is  acting  sec- 
retary. 

Albert  Haynes  and  associates  of  Royal  Oak  and 
Birmingham,  Mich.,  have  entered  into  a  sub-license 
contract  with  the  Michigan  State  Telephone  Com- 
pany and  will  operate  telephone  exchanges  at 
Birmingham  and  Royal  Oak  under  the  name  of 
the  Detroit  Suburban  Telephone  Company.  This 
company  will  take  over  all  Michigan  State  prop- 
erty in  both  towns  and  will  connect  with  the  long- 
distance system.  About  So  subscribers  are  already 
in  the  service  in  Birmingham  and  about  75  con- 
tracts have  been  secured  in  Royal  Oak  and 
vicinitv. 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


January  13,  1906 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

Great  Britain. 

London,  December  27.— After  the  usual  uncer- 
tainties which  are  yearlv  created  by  the  notices 
of  intention  to  deposit  bills  in  Parliament  during 
the  forthcoming  session,  it  is  now  possible  to  give 
a  correct  estimate  of  what  is  likely  to  take  place, 
the  statutory  period  for  depositing  bills  having  ex- 
pired. Of  course,  chief  attention  will  again  be  at- 
tracted to  the  electric  power  bills  for  London,  there 
being  no  less  than  10  such  measures.  Only  three, 
however,  schedule  an  area  of  supply  and  deal 
with  the  matter  in  a  comprehensive  manner,  viz., 
the  revised  Administrative  County  of  London  and 
District  Electric  Power  Company,  a  new  company 
ostensibly  formed  to  sunply  London  railway  com- 
panies, but  whose  bill  will,  no  doubt,  be  regarded 
with  suspicion  by  competitors,  owing  to  a  somewhat 
ambiguous  drafting,  and  the  London  County  Coun- 
cil's electric  power  bill.  The  capital  involved  in 
these  three  measures  amounts  to  something  like 
$4S,ooo,ooo,  but,  from  the  nature  of  the  proposals, 
only  one  can  be  sanctioned.  The  majority  of  the 
remaining  electric  power  bills  are  combinations  of 
existing  electric-supply  authorities  for  powers  to 
give  mutual  supply  in  each  other's  areas,  by  agree- 
ment, a  thing  at  present  rendered  impossible  by 
a  clause  in  the  electric-lighting  acts.  A  welcome 
sign  in  connection  with  these  latter  bills  is  that 
local  authorities  and  companies  are  combining  with 
the  object  above  stated.  One  bill  schedules  the 
larger  part  of  the  County  of  London  north  of  the 
River  Thames,  but  there  is  a  rumor  that  it  is  in- 
tended to  appoint  a  royal  commission  to  inquire 
into  the  whole  matter,  a  proceeding  which  would 
be  fatal  to  the  passing  of  any  of  the  measures. 

Appertaining  to  the  question  of  electric  power 
supply,  is  the  recent  attitude  of  the  London  County 
Council  to  those  borough  councils  owning  electric- 
ity undertakings.  The  County  Council  is  the  au- 
thority in  London  for  granting  electric-lighting 
loans,  and  there  now  seems  to  be  a  tendency  to 
discourage  any  further  extensive  loans,  pending 
the  result  of  the  power-bill  controversy.  This  is 
not  done  in  an  impartial  spirit,  however,  for  it  is 
evident  that  the  object  is  to  secure  business  for 
the  council's  own  project,  should  it  pass  into  law. 
It  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  were  a  power 
company  to  succeed,  the  granting  of  loans  would 
go  on  as  merrily  as  before. 

The  National  Telephone  Company's  head  ex- 
change in  Glasgow  was  burnt  out  at  the  end  of 
last  week.  Fortunately  none  of  the  operators  were 
in  peril  of  their  lives,  but  the  inconvenience  to 
many   thousands   of   subscribers   is   considerable. 

There  is  a  very  rapidly  growing  tendency  in 
Great  Britain,  especially  in  busy  towns,  toward 
the  adoption  of  covers  to  the  roofs  of  double-deck 
tram  cars.  In  Sheffield,  Glasgow,  London  and 
many  other  places  quite  an  extensive  use  is  made 
of  this  form  of  vehicle,  and,  quite  naturally,  a 
town  of  the  size  of  Birmingham  would  wish  also 
to  adopt  them.  The  Board  of  Trade's  consent, 
however,  has  to  be  obtained  in  every  case,  and  in 
regard  to  Birmingham  it  has  been  withheld  on 
account  of  the  narrowness  of  the  tracks  and  the 
danger  of  capsizing,  due  to  wind  pressure.  The 
corporation  has  a  very  good  reply,  however,  in 
that  the  cars  of  the  company,  which  has  running 
powers  over  the  municipal  lines,  have  been  fitted 
with  roof  decks  for  18  months.  An  answer  to  this 
is    now    being   awaited. 

From  the  very  inception  of  the  National  Physical 
Laboratory,  the  complaint  has  been  heard  that  the 
funds  granted  by  the  government  are  insufficient 
to  carry  the  institution  on.  Frequent  representa- 
tions have  resulted  in  some  slight  but  always  in- 
sufficient increase.  Consequently  it  is  not  surpris- 
ing that  an  application  has  been  made  to  the  new 
government  with  the  same  end  in  view,  and  in 
this  instance  a  great  deal  of  detail  has  been  gone 
into  in  making  comparisons  between  what  is  done 
in  the  United  States  and  other  countries.  The 
sum  of  $120,000  has  been  granted  for  buildings  in 
connection  with  the  National  Physical  Laboratories, 
together  with  a  grant  of  $27,000  (not  permanent) 
per  annum.  Against  this  it  is  pointed  out  that  the 
United  States  has  provided  $35°,°°°  f°r  buildings, 
$225,000  for  equipment  and  an  annual  grant  of 
$95,000  in  connection  with  the  National  Bureau  of 
Standards.  The  memorial  embodying  these  argu- 
ments has  been  presented  to  the  new  chancellor 
of  the  exchequer,  in  the  hope  that  he  may  make 
further  provision  for  the  laboratory  in  the  forth- 
coming   education    estimates. 

Mr.  Fell,  the  chief  officer  of  the  London  County 
Council,  has  presented  a  lengthy  report  in  which 
he  comments  on  and  compares,  in  a  very  can- 
did manner,  the  various  systems  of  tramways 
and  street  railways  in  the  United  States.  The  re- 
port is  the  outcome  of  a  recent  visit  to  the  United 
States.  The  comparisons  in  many  details  are  not 
favorable    to    British   methods. 

The  giving  of  the  contract  for  the  electrical 
equipment  of  a  portion  of  the  London,  Brighton 
and  South  Coast  railway,  with  the  single-phase 
system,  to  Germany,  appears  to  have  engendered 
considerable  feeling  in  certain  quarters  here.  It 
is  clear,  however,  that  most  of  this  is  at  the  hands 
of  unsuccessful  bidders,  and,  after  all,  from  official 
information,  there  is  not  much   in  it.     The  patents 


are  held  in  England,  and  with  the  exception  of  the 
first  few  motors,  etc.,  the  majority  of  the  work 
will  be  carried  out  by  the  British  Thomson-Hous- 
ton company.  In  fact,  it  is  announced  that  the 
latter  concern  was  associated  with  the  Allgemeine 
Elektricitats  Gesellschaft  in  its  very  favorable  tender 
for  the  work.  G. 


Dominion  of  Canada. 

Winnipeg,  Man.,  January  6. — The  Winnipeg  Elec- 
tric Street  Railway  Company  has  applied  for  per- 
mission from  the  City  Council  to  place  additional 
side  tracks  in  order  to  give  better  service  on 
William  and  Sherbrook  streets.  The  company  has 
just  opened  a  new  line  to  Headingly,  about  II 
miles  from  Winnipeg,  which  will  make  a  good 
route  for  the  transportation  of  produce  and  garden 
truck  from  the  farmers  along  the  route.  Plans 
have  been  prepared  for  a  belt  line  with  Elmswood 
and  St.  Boniface.  A  new  bridge  will  be  built  by 
the  company  across  the  Seine  River,  St.  Boniface 
paying  half  the   cost. 

The  British  Columbia  Electric  Railway  Company 
is  installing  additional  machinery  to  the  value  of 
about  $35,000  in  its  Vancouver  sub-station.  The 
chief  improvement  is  a  new  rotary  converter  with 
transformers  and  equipment  This  will  be  used  in 
connection  with  the  street-railway  circuit  and  leave 
the  machinery  at  present  used  for  this  purpose 
available  for  other  uses.  It  will  be  employed  in 
providing  a  separate  system  for  all  motors  sup- 
plied with  power  by  the  company  which  are  now 
operated  on  the  trolley  circuits.  In  connection 
with  the  public-lighting  service  new  transformers 
will  be  put  in  at  an  expense  of  $8,000  and  a  new 
two-phase  switchboard  which  will  cost  approxi- 
mately $2,000. 

W.  M.  Douall,  president  of  the  West  Kootenay 
Power  and  Light  Company,  states  that  the  cost 
of  the  new  machinery  at  Bonnington  on  Kootenay 
River,  B.  C,  together  with  the  pole  lines,  will  be 
about  $1,000,000.  The  company  will  have  28,000 
horsepower  for  railway  and  industrial  purposes 
and  expects  the  lines  into  the  boundary  will  be 
ready  for  transmission  purposes  by  March  or 
April. 

Robert  P.  Inglis  of  Montreal  has  a  charter  for 
the  construction  of  a  street  railway  in  Edmonton. 
He  has  gone  to  Europe  to  secure  capital  for  his 
enterprise.  The  principal  part  of  the  business  will 
be  between  Edmonton  and  Strathcona.  The  equip- 
ment will  at  first  consist  of  10  cars.  Mr.  Inglis 
is  interested  in  the  Montreal,  the  Toronto  and  the 
Winnipeg  street   railways. 

An  electric  railway  connecting  Windsor  with 
Buffalo  will  be  the  outgrowth  of  the  Windsor, 
Essex  and  Lake  Shore  Electric  railway.  The 
grading  of  the  roadbed  is  finished  between  Kings- 
ville  and  Windsor,  and  the  tracks  are  now  being 
laid.  The  waterpower  of  Niagara  Falls  will  be 
used  when  Buffalo  and  Detroit  are  connected. 
The  distance  is  229  miles.  The  route  will  be  from 
Windsor  to  Essex,  Kingsville,  Leamington,  Wheatly, 
Tilbury,  Chatham,  London  and  thence  to  Buffalo 
and  Detroit. 

James  Milne  of  Toronto  has  accepted  the  posi- 
tion of  general  superintendent  of  the  British  Co- 
lumbia electric  railway.  H. 


Railroad  near  Jamaica  between  an  electric  pas- 
senger train  and  some  freight  cars  showed  con- 
clusively that  the  steel  passenger  cars  are  capable 
of  withstanding  an  impact  at  the  rate  of  50  miles 
an    hour. 

The  State  Lighting  Commission  is  still  hearing 
evidence  as  to  the  cost  of  gas  in  this  city.  Prof. 
E.  W.  Bemis,  a  gas  expert,  has  stated  that  he  has 
calculated  that  the  profit  made  by  the  Consolidated 
Gas  Company  is  45.65  cents  for  every  thousand 
cubic  feet  of  gas  it  sells  in  New  York.  It  appears 
that  the  Consolidated  reserves  10  cents  per  thou- 
sand feet  for  depreciation  of  plant,  or  five  times 
more   than    Professor    Bemis   thinks   needful. 

During  the  year  just  ended  there  has  been  a  net 
gain  of  35,000  telephone  instruments  operated  by 
the  New  York  Telephone  Company  in  Manhattan 
and    the   Bronx. 

In  an  appellate  decision  the  New  York  Telephone 
Company  has  been  ordered  to  pay  a  householder 
$200  for  the  use  of  his  roof  for  affixing  telephone 
wires. 

One  of  the  last  acts  of  the  retiring  fire  com- 
missioner, N.  J.  Hayes,  was  to  recommend  the 
speedy  installation  of  a  new  fire-alarm  system.  The 
first  act  of  the  new  commissioner  is  to  order  Bell 
telephones  to  be  placed  in  every  fire  station,  as 
supplementary  to  the  present  departmental  service, 
which  is  so  deficient  that  it  frequently  breaks  down. 

The  New  York  Tribune  reports  that  a  Brooklyn 
boy,  named  Austin  Curtis,  has  invented  a  space- 
telegraph  apparatus  by  which  he  has  been  enabled 
to  pick  up  messages  from  the  Brooklyn  navy  yard. 

The  De  Forest  Wireless  Telegraph  Company  an- 
nounces that  22  steamships  sailing  from  New  York 
port  are  equipped  with  its  system,  and  that  the 
equipment    of    20    more    vessels    has    been    ordered. 

The  New  York  and  Westchester  Auxiliary  Fire 
Alarm  Company  has  been  incorporated  with  a 
capital   of  $50,000,   and  offices  at  Yonkers,   N.  Y. 

An  examination  for  an  electrical  engineer  for 
the  Federal  service  will  be  held  at  the  Brooklyn 
Postoffice  Building  on  January  24th.  Details  are 
obtainable  at  the  Civil  Service  Bureau,  Custom 
House,    New   York   city. 

Bids  are  returnable  on  January  15th  for  installing 
electric  elevators  in  the  Manual  Training  High 
School,  Brooklyn.  The  value  of  the  work  is  ap- 
proximately $10,000. 

The  General  Electric  Company  has  installed  at 
the  Brooklyn  navy  yard  a  searchlight  of  20,000 
candlepower,  similar  to  a  twin  light  at  Sandy 
Hook.  The  carbon  is  2j4  inches  in  diameter,  used 
with  200  amperes  current,  at  50  volts.  The  lens 
is  60  inches  in  diameter  and  there  is  a  powerful 
parabolic  reflector.  D.  W.  W. 


New  York. 


'  New  York  city,  January  6. — The  appellate  judges 
have  denied  the  application  of  two  taxpayers,  acting 
in  the  interests  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  to  re- 
strain the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment 
from  act4hg  in  the  matter  of  new  subway  applica- 
tions. This  decision,  unless  reversed  by  the  Su- 
preme Court,  confirms  the  constitutionality  of  the 
new  law  which  took  away  from  the  Board  of 
Aldermen  the  power  to  grant  traction  and  tele- 
phone franchises.  Following  this  decision,  the 
Rapid  Transit  Commission  has  announced  that  it 
will  advertise  for  bids  for  new  subways  on  May 
1st,  as  relating  to  proposed  new  subways  on  Third, 
Lexington,    Seventh    and   Eighth    avenues. 

August  Belmont,  in  a  letter  to  the  Brooklyn 
Transit  Reform  League,  says  that  the  merger  of 
the  Interborough  and  Metropolitan  does  not  alter 
the  situation  as  far  as  the  completion  of  the  Flat- 
bush  extension  is  concerned.  The  merger  will  not 
change  the  policy  of  the  Interborough  with  regard 
to  extensions.  If  there  is  any  change,  it  would  be 
forced,  he  says,  by  those  who  have  assumed  that 
"the  companies  are  incapable  of  conducting  trans- 
portation properly.  The  combined  companies  seek 
to  promote  the  efficiency  of  their  service  on  sound 
and  stable  lines  of  operation,  to  the  end  that  the 
public  may  be  better  served  and  that  rapid-transit 
facilities  may  be  more  speedily  extended  between 
the  several  boroughs.  These  statements  give  satis- 
faction in   Brooklyn. 

There  are  prospects  that,  as  far  as  Brooklyn  is 
concerned,  there  will  be  rival  bids  for  subways 
from  the  Interborough  company,  the  Brooklyn  Rapid 
Transit  Company  and  from  the  syndicate  identified 
with  J.  Edward  Swanstrom,  president  of  the  Brook- 
lyn   Transit   Reform   League. 

The  Supreme  Court  has  refused  to  restrain  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  from  closing  Thirty-third 
Street,  between  Ninth  and  Tenth  avenues,  for  the 
purpose  of  tunnel  building  in  connection  with  the 
Pennsylvania-Long  Island  line  across  Manhattan. 
A    collision    on    Wednesday   on    the    Long   Island 


Ohio. 

Cleveland,  January  6. — The  trouble  between  the 
Schoepf  interests  at  Lima  and  the  Western  Ohio 
Railway  Company  threatens  to  break  into  the 
courts.  The  trouble  is  over  the  joint  use  of  cer- 
tain  tracks   in    Lima. 

Mayor  Tom  L.  Johnson  of  Cleveland  appeared 
before  the  special  committee  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  a  few  days  ago  and  gave  his  version  of 
what  should  be  done  regarding  franchises.  He 
does  not  believe  in  renewing  franchises  which,  he 
says,  will  give  the  company  rights  that  are  worth 
from  $20,000,000  to  $40,000,000  without  some  com- 
pensation in  return.  The  mayor  holds  pretty 
closely  to  his  old  idea  of  three-cent  fare  or  some 
form   of  municipal  ownership. 

It  is  said  that  the  larger  electric  railways  out 
of  Cleveland  are  making  plans  for  the  development 
of  business  the  coming  year  and  that  some  of 
them  at  least  will  have  traveling  passenger  agents 
to  work  along  their  lines.  In  the  past  the  roads 
have  taken  largely  only  the  business  that  has 
come  to  them.  Now  they  propose  to  make  busi- 
ness. The  excursion  business  will  be  given  atten- 
tion and  all  other  matters  will  receive  more  care 
than  usual.  In  addition  more  publicity  will  be 
given  the  roads  and  their  manner  of  conducting 
business. 

George  F.  Wilson  of  Delphos  and  Engineer 
Huntoon  of  the  Fort  Wayne,  Van  Wert  and  Lima 
road  are  laying  off  a  line  between  St.  Marys  and 
Defiance,  and  it  is  said  that  Delphos  and  Fort 
Wayne  men  are  interested  in  it. 

The  Dayton  Citizens'  Electric  Company  of  Day- 
ton, with  a  capital  stock  of  $100,000,  has  been 
incorporated  by  Cyrus  E.  Mead,  F.  T.  Griest,  H.  B. 
Arnold  and  others. 

Purchasers  of  the  Springfield,  South  Charleston, 
Washington  C.  H.  and  Chillicothe  road  have  incor- 
porated the  Washington  Traction  Company  to  take 
over  the  property.  The  nominal  capital  stock  is 
$io,coo,  and  J.  S.  Hrashman,  F.  J.  Southard,  A.  M. 
Irwin,  H.  J.  Andrews  and  E.  M.  Buel  are  the  in- 
corporators. The  intention  of  the  new  company  is 
to  complete  the  line  to  Washington  C.  H.  and 
eventually  to  Chillicothe.  It  has  been  in  the  hands 
of  a  receiver  for  some  time  and  the  new  owners 
have  arranged  for  financing  the   debt. 

The  directors  of  the  Columbus  Public  Service 
Company' have  declared  a  three  per  cent,  dividend 
on  the  $250,000  preferred  cumulative  stock. 

The  Cleveland  City  Council  has  appropriated 
$56,000  for  improving  a  municipal  light  plant  re- 
cently acquired  by  the  annexation  of  territory. 

It  is  said  that  traction  officials  in  this  state  are 
considering  the  advisability  of  reducing  the  number 


January   13,   1906 

bi    in  *    pa    '      issued.    They    i< -I    thai    too    many 
people   have   been   receiving   them. 

Interurban    railway    men    will    probably    havi 
lull  introduced  in  the  I  ,cgi  laturc  thi     winti  1  mal 
ing  a  $2  bill  the   maximum   amount   thai    maj    bi 
tendered  to  a  1  ondui  toi    foi   a  cash   fai  1         <   pi 

mi  there  is  no  limit  and  1  ondui  toi     1    ilwaj 

In  a  position  to  make  change  foi  a  $10  01   $20  bill. 

All   the     ill.  stal 1  hi   the   I  olumbu  ,    Dclawan 

and   Marion   line  were  put   in  opei  ation  al   the  in  il 
of  the  M. 11  O,  M  ' 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

The   mii/ 1    Walker! 

n  mi.  1  ..11  „|  in  thai 

iiy. 


Indiana. 


[ndianapoli  i,    fanuai  y  6      \     .1    p   ull    ol   thi    ai 
quisition   of   the   Indiana    Northern    Traction    Com 

p.-iiiy    by    the    Indiana    Union    Traction    C pan 

through   cars   are   now   running   between     mh| 

and    Wabash,    with    close    conned E01     Indian 

apolis.  All  "f  the  employes  of  the  Indiana  North 
.in  have  been  dismissed  and  the  repair  ihops  ol 
the  company   have  been  closed. 

Joseph  A.  McGowan,  secretary  to  Hugh  J.  Mc- 
Gowan,  president  of  the  Indianapolis  fraction  and 
Terminal  Company,  has  been  promoted  to  the 
office  of  auditor  of  the  company.  Leroj  I 
Snyder  has  been  made  assistant  secretary  to  Prcs 
h]i  hi    McGowan  with  the  duties  of  secretary. 

Franchise  ordinances  were  presented  to  the  Sey- 
mour City  Council  on  January  2d  for  the  entrance 
i.l  l Ik-  Indianapolis,  Columbus  and  Southern  Trac- 
tion Company  and  the  Louisville  and  Indianapolis 
Traction   Company  to  that  city. 

Robert  I.  Todd,  recently  appointed  general  man- 
ager of  the  Indianapolis  Traction  and  Terminal 
Company,  has  arrived  in  Indianapolis  and  taken 
up  the  active  duties  of  that  office.  Mr.  Todd 
has  a  reputation  among  traction  men  as  one  of  the 
ablest  executive  and  operating  men  in  the  business. 

C.  C.  Reynolds,  who  was  recently  made  general 
superintendent  of  the  syndicate  controlling  most 
of  the  Indiana  trolley  lines,  has  moved  his  head- 
quarters from  Lebanon  to  the  Traction  Building, 
Indianapolis,  where  D.  G.  Edwards,  president  of  the 
merger  company,  will  likewise  make  his  official 
headquarters. 

Edgar  Elliott  and  Harry  B.  Gates  have  purchased 
a  controlling  interest  in  the  Louisville  and  Eastern 
Electric  railway  extending  from  Louisville  to  Beard 
Station.  The  sale  of  the  road  involves  more  than 
$2,000,000.  There  is  considerable  speculation  about 
this  deal,  and  it  is  currently  believed  that  the 
merger  traction  syndicate  of  Ohio  and  Indiana  is 
back  of  the  deal,  notwithstanding  Mr.  McGowan 
says  he  knows  nothing  about  it. 

The  city  electric-light  plant  at  Cannelton  was 
destroyed  by  fire  on  January  1st.  The  plant  was 
purchased  by  the  city  two  years  ago  and  several 
thousand  dollars  have  been  expended  on  improve- 
ments. The  two  private  plants  are  insufficient  to 
■supply  the  light  and  power  needed  and  the  city 
plant  will  be  rebuilt  and  installed  with  new  appli- 
ances at  once. 

Mayor  McCormack  of  Columbus  has  recom- 
mended that  the  council  take  immediate  steps 
toward  the  securing  of  an  incandescent  commer- 
cial lighting  service  to  be  conducted  by  the  city. 
The  plan  is  to  erect  and  install  a  municipal-light- 
ing plant. 

A  25-year  franchise  has  been  granted  by  the 
City  Council  of  Andrews  to  the  Andrews  Light 
and  Water  Company  for  the  construction  and 
operation  of  an  electric  railway  from  the  middle 
of  the  city  to  the  station  on  the  Fort  Wayne  and 
Wabash  Valley,  traction  line,  a  half  mile  north  of  the 
town.  It  is  understood  that  the  Andrews  company 
will  receive  assistance  from  the  Wabash  Valley 
company,  as  it  will  prove  a  good  feeder. 

The  Capital  Circuit  Traction  Company,  recently 
incorporated  to  construct  an  electric  railway  around 
Indianapolis,  about  25  miles  out,  and  connecting  a 
number  of  good  towns  and  cities,  has  elected  the 
following-named  officers,  with  headquarters  in  In- 
dianapolis :  President,  J.  N.  Crabb ;  vice-president, 
J.  W.  Trotter;  secretary-treasurer,  C.  E»  North- 
chief;  engineer,  J.  A.  Shafer. 

The  interurban  express  and  freight  business  dur- 
ing Christmas  on  the  Indianapolis  and  Northwestern 
required  four  express  cars,,  each  averaging  $200  a 
day.  It  is  said  the  other  interurban  lines  did 
equally    as    well. 

The  Northern  Indiana  and  the  Winona  Electric 
Railway  Companies  have  jointly  ordered  plans  for 
the  construction  of  a  joint  terminal  station  for  all 
lines  entering  Goshen.  A  four-story  building  with 
offices  above  and  station  below  is  the  plan  to  be 
followed. 

Land  values  in  Indiana  lying  near  interurban 
lines  are  increasing  at  an  unprecedented  rate.  In 
traction  localities  the  farmers  have  raised  the  prices 
of  their  holdings  until  good  farms  cannot  be 
bought  for  less  than  $100  to  $500  per  acre. 

The  largest  concrete  arch  on  any  interurban  line 
of  the  state  has  just  been  completed  over  Williams 
Creek  on  the  Indianapolis  and  Cincinnati  traction 
line,  near  Connersville.  The  arch  is  200  feet  long, 
contains  5,000  cubic  feet  of  concrete  and  cost 
$45,000. 

The  Indiana  Public  Service  Company  of  Aurora, 
Ind.,  has  been  incorporated  with  the  purpose  of 
constructing  an  electric-light  and  waterworks  plant 
in  Aurora.  David  J.  Hauss  is  chairman  of  the 
board   of  directors. 


Southeastern  States. 
1  harlotl 
t  la  n  ta,  G 
to  thi      outnern  1 

-  "ii n  of  a  en 

0 

■  •  ..1         It    providi      thai  .11    not 

01 

•f-'X  for  1 

I'hc  to     1 
idi  ring   thi  :.         ol  floating  $1 

bond     1 Hum  ipal    lightini     p 

inte hi     tow  a    i"   build    an    indi  p 

lighting  plant, 

1  hi     louthi  rn  Pi     i      i    mpany,  which  1 
foi  eat      buying    in    watcrpowi  1      in    the 

1  arolina  1,    now    hold    title    ti 
which   .-ire   estimated    to  bi 
■on. mii  I101   .  powi  1       Ml    arc   on    thi    ' 

■  a  1  pi    hi.  ,    ■.■, in.  h         1  .   iti  d    on    Broad    Ri 

South    Carolina         II"     lunipanj 

the  Catawba  River  and  may  soon  turn  its  atl 

i"   other  rivers   in   the   South.      [Tie  1 

just   bought  $250,000  worth   ol  ichincry 

1 1 1  In    U  .  .1  ini'l ipan ,    foi    il     new  plant 

1 ii    Fall  1,    m  11    Fort    Lawn,    S.  I 

important  cotton  mill  plants  in  the  section  where 
lln  Southern  Power  Company  operates  have  re- 
cently become  subscribers  to  the  electric  power  and 
its  use  in  the  mills  is  daily  becoming  more  and 
more  popular   with  the   mills.  L. 

Northwestern  States. 

Minneapolis,  January  6. — The  Minneapolis  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company  has  notified  the  City  Council 
of    its    plans    for    placing    its    wires   underground. 

The  Grand  Forks  (N.  D.)  Gas  and  Electric  Com- 
pany has  prepared  plans  for  a  two-story  brick 
building  in  that  city  for  a  storehouse  and  office. 
Next  season  it  will  also  construct  a  large  power- 
house adjoining  its  present  buildings. 

The  survey  for  the  proposed  trolley  line  from 
Milwaukee,  Wis.,  to  Sheboygan,  with  a  branch  line 
to  Fond  du  Lac,  which  will  be  built  by  the  Mil- 
waukee and  Northern,  is  progressing  rapidly. 

H.  L.  Wherland  has  resigned  his  position  as 
superintendent-  of  the  water  and  light  plant  at 
Waseca,  Minn. 

The  Tripoli  (Iowa)  Canning  Company  is  plan- 
ning to  install  an  electric  light  plant  in  the  spring. 

Electric  power  will  be  furnished  the  two  pumping 
stations  at  De  Pere,  Wis.,  by  the  Electric  Light  and 
Power  Company.  A  contract  has  been  entered 
into  for  that  purpose. 

The  Penn  Iron  Mining  Company  has  contracted 
for  a  complete  hydro-electric  plant  to  be  installed 
at  Sturgeon  Falls,  Mich.  The  first  contract  is  for 
apparatus  that  will  furnish  2,000  horsepower,  which 
will    be   doubled    later. 

There  is  talk  of  putting  in  a  new  electric-lighting 
system  at  Paynesville,   Minn. 

A.  M.  Worthington  has  resigned  as  superintend- 
ent of  the  electric-light  system  at  Ortonville,  Minn. 

It  is  announced  that  work  will  be  started  at 
once  on  a  trolley  line  on  the  Iron  Range,  connect- 
ing all  towns  between  Biwabik,  Minn.,  and  Hib- 
bing.  A  right-of-way  has  been  granted  to  the  Mis- 
sabe  Range  Traction  Company,  and  it  is  estimated 
that  the  road  will  cost  about  $700,000.  The  road 
will  be  approximately  40  miles  long.  F.  B.  Myers 
of    Biwabik   is   president   of   the    company. 

C.  W.  Hurd  has  been  appointed  city  electrician 
at    Stillwater,   Minn. 

The  Sioux  Falls  (S.  D.)  Interurban  Railway 
Company  has  been  incorporated  and  will  build  a 
trolley  line  from  Sioux  Falls  to  Parker  and  Marion 
Junction.  R.  F.  Brown  is  president  and  G.  A. 
Pettigrew,   secretary. 

The  City  Council  of  Pipestone,  Minn.,  is  inves- 
tigating the  advisability  of  installing  an  electric- 
light  plant. 

The  courthouse  and  city-hall  commissioners  of 
Minneapolis  and  Hennepin  County  have  awarded 
the  contract  to  the  Electrical  Machinery  Company 
for  a  generator  and  engine  to  cost  $4,Soo.  They 
have  also  let  the  contract  for  a  new  $9,000  switch- 
board. 

The  electric  light  plant  at  Ladysmith,  Wis.,  has 
been  sold  to  G.  E.  Newman.  R. 


Pacific  Slope. 

San  Francisco,  Cal.,  January  5. — The  municipal 
authorities  of  San  Francisco  are  meeting  with  de- 
termined opposition  to  the  reconstruction  of  the 
Gearjr  Street  cable  road,  as  a  municipal  electric 
line,  from  the  bondholders  of  the  Geary  Street 
Railroad  Company.  Isaac  Strassburger,  one  of 
these  bondholders,  attempted  to  secure  an  injunc- 
tion restraining  the  city  from  proceeding  with  its 
plans.  He  failed  to  get  the  injunction,  but  secured 
an  order  to  show  cause  why  an  injunction  should 
not  issue.  Notwithstanding  this  suit  the  super- 
visors have  passed  a  motion  urging  the  mayor  to 
proceed  as  expeditiously  as  possible  with  the  pur- 
chase of  property  for  use  as  a  site  for  a  municipal 
power   house. 


1  he    i. 
ot    $n 

■ 

and   Iroi 

being  built   urn 

I  In 

'    under   the    I. 
preparing    to    build   an    electi 

thoritu 
in   bond 

'•.  owned  and  control  ■ 

fornia   arc  completed   and   that    right 
'ii  largely  secured. 


PERSONAL 


K     W.    Hani  1  o,  Mich,   superintend- 

■  in    of   the  Michigan    Traction    Company,   has   tcn- 
dered    his   resignation   and   will    leave   Kalamazoo. 

C.    A.    Coffin,    president   of   the    General    Electric 
Company,  with  Mrs.  Coffin  and  daughter,  1-  ft 
"lorl.    on    January    6th    on    hoard    the    While    Star 
liner    Celtic,    for    a    Mediterranean    trip. 

Alexander  E.  Orr,  president  of  the  Rapid  Tran- 
sit Commission  of  New  York  city,  has  been  elected 
president  of  the  New  York  Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany. Mr.  Orr  will  not  resign  from  the  Rapid 
Transit  Commission,  it  is  said. 

George  P.  Zwcrncr  of  Marysville,  Ohio,  has  re- 
signed his  position  with  the  Marysville  Telephone 
Company  to  become  superintendent  of  the  Marys- 
ville Light  and  Water  Company.  Mr.  Zwcrncr 
succeeds  Howard  M.  Jones,  who  has  gone  to  the 
Standard    Stamping    Company. 

Marcus  Smith  of  Wilkesbarre,  Pa.,  died  sud- 
denly at  his  home  on  Christmas  evening  from  a 
stroke  of  apoplexy.  Mr.  Smith  was  the  founder 
of  the  Wilkesbarre  Gas  and  Electric  Company 
and  was  a  leading  citizen  of  Wilkesbarre.  He  was 
68  years  of  age  and  is  survived  by  five  sons. 

C.  E.  Mitchell  has  resigned  his  position  as  as- 
sistant manager  of  the  Western  Electric  Company 
of  Chicago  to  engage  in  a  financial  enterprise  in 
New  York  city.  Mr.  Mitchell  has  many  friends  in 
Chicago  who  learn  of  his  departure  with  regret 
It  is  understood  that  his  new  work  will  practically 
take  him  out  of  the  electrical  field. 

R.  S.  Mitten,  who  has  been  general  sales  manager 
for  the  Eureka  Electric  Company  of  Genoa,  HI., 
for  the  last  three  years,  has  severed  his  connec- 
tions with  that  company  and  has  taken  a  position 
with  the  Electric  Appliance  Company  as  assistant 
to  Mr.  S.  A.  Dinsmore  in  the  telephone  department. 
He  will  have  charge  of  the  correspondence  of  this 
department. 

George  H.  Thayer,  for  30  years  superintendent 
of  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  railway  division 
of  the  Western  Lmion  Telegraph  Company,  died 
on  January  8th  at  his  residence  in  Norwood  Park, 
Chicago.  Mr.  Thayer  was  born  at  Weathersfield, 
Vt.,  on  January  8,  1843,  and  had  lived  in  Chicago 
53  years.  He  was  connected  with  the  Western 
LTnion  company  45  years.  His  widow,  a  daughter 
and    three    sons    survive   him. 

Dr.  Otto  A.  Moses  died  at  his  home  in  New 
Y'ork  city  on  January  3d.  He  had  a  world-wide 
reputation  as  a  chemist  and  geologist.  Dr.  Moses 
was  born  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  in*  1S46.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  the  LTniversity  of  Leipsic,  and  intro- 
duced most  of  the  Edison  inventions  in  Europe. 
For  some  time  he  was  state  geologist  of  South 
Carolina  and  general  supervisor  of  the  phosphate 
works.  Dr.  Moses  was  the  founder  of  the  Hebrew- 
Technical  Institute,  in  Stuyvesant  Street,  an  in- 
stitution for  the  free  education  of  poor  boys. 

Mr.  Radiguet,  a  scientist  of  Paris,  has  died  after 
a  lingering  illness  caused,  it  is  said,  by  his  ex- 
periment with  radiography.  He  was  a  maker  of 
instruments,  but  on  the  discovery'  of  the  rays  by 
Dr.  Rontgen  applied  himself  immediately  to  the 
study  of  the  new-  force.  About  two  years  ago  his 
right  arm  was  attacked,  and  partial  mortification 
set  in,  owing  to  his  having  subjected  it  to  the  rays 
to  observe  experimentally  the  effects  of  the  iatrer. 
which  were  not  then  known.  The  progress  of  the 
affection  was  slow,  but  eventually  ulcerous  wounds 
were  produced,  which  every  remedy  failed  to  heal. 

H.  W.  Goode,  president  of  the  Portland  General 
Electric  Company  of  Portland.  Ore.,  returned  re- 
cently   from    a   six-weeks'    trip    through    the    East. 


where  he  went  to  arrange  for  considerable  im- 
provements to  the  company's  plant  in  Portland. 
He  stated  that  work  will  be  commenced  at  once 
on  the  company's  new  $200,000  office  building. 
The  reconstruction  of  the  electric-lighting  system 
of  the  city,  which  will  cost  nearly  $1,000,000,  will 
be  undertaken  early  in  the  year.  The  improve- 
ments and  extensions  include  a  pole  line  to  Salem, 
Ore.  A  contract  has  been  made  to  supply  the  local 
lighting  company  at  Salem  through  this   line. 

H.  I,  Wellman,  in  the  employment  of  the  West- 
ern Electric  Company  in  Chicago,  was  instantly 
killed  by  a  train  on  January  3d.  He  resided  at 
Riverside,  111.,  and  was  hurrying  across  the  tracks 
of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy  Railroad  to 
catch  a  train  to  work  when  he  was  struck  bv  an 
approaching  fast  train.  Mr.  Wellman  was  one  of 
the  designing  engineers  of  the  Western  Electric 
Company.  He  was  a  skillful  engineer  and  was 
highly  esteemed  by  his  employers,  who  anticipated 
an  exceptionally  successful  career  for  him  in  elec- 
trical engineering.  Mr.  Wellman  came  to  the  West- 
ern Electric  about  a  year  ago.  He  had  been  with 
the  General  Incandescent  Arc  Light  Company  pre- 
vious to  its  consolidation  with  the  Stanley  com- 
pany. He  was  32  years  old  and  leaves  a  wife  and 
one   child. 


ELECTRIC  LIGHTING. 

Fire  in  Beresford,  S.  D.,  recently  destroyed  the 
electric-light  plant  in  that  city.  The  loss  is  said 
to   have  been   $25,000. 

The  Humbird  Lumber  Company  and  the  Pan- 
handle Smelting  Company  are  both  applicants  for 
an   electric-light   franchise   in    Sand    Point,   Idaho. 

The  Kirksville  (Mo.)  Gas,  Heat  and  Electric 
Company  has  been  incorporated  with  $30,000  capi- 
tal stock  by  B.  F.  Henry,  Fred  Grassle,  Charles 
Sands,  F.  J.  Storm,  W.  P.  Foster  and  P.  C. 
Miles. 

The  stockholders  of  the  Utah  County  Light  and 
Power  Company  of  American  Fork,  Utah,  have 
voted  to  increase  the  capital  stock  from  $50,000  to 
$200,000  and  will  at  once  proceed  to  install  a  sec- 
ond plant  of  much  larger  capacity  directly  above 
its  present  plant  and  thus  be  enabled  to  furnish  all 
the   power  needed  by  the   fast-growing  community. 


ELECTRIC  RAILWAYS, 

P.  S.  Briggs  and  John  L.  Davis  are  seeking  a 
franchise  for  a  street-railway  system  in  Beloit,  Wis. 

The  Central  Pennsylvania  Traction  Company  has 
commenced  the  construction  of  its  new  power  plant 
in    South    Cameron    Street,    Harrisburg,    Pa. 

The  Central  Railway  Company  contemplates 
building  an  electric  railway  through  Prairie  Home 
and  Booneville  to  Marshall,  Mo.,  from  California, 
Mo. 

Robert  K.  Cochrane,  a  councilman  of  Pittsburg, 
Pa.,  is  threatened  with  blindness  from  blood  poison- 
ing, which  he  believes  he  got  from  a  street-car 
strap.  While  holding  a  strap  in  a  crowded  car 
Mr.  Cochrane  rubbed  one  of  his  eyes  frequently 
to  relieve  it  from  itching,  and  he  thinks  he  con- 
veyed  poison   germs   from   the   strap. 

The  Lansing  (Mich.)  and  Suburban  Traction 
Company  is  planning  to  install  a  comprehensive 
block  signal  and  dispatching  system,  practically  the 
same  as  that  used  on  the  steam  roads.  When  the 
new  offices  are  in  shape  a  telephone  line  will  be 
installed,  covering  both  the  city  and  interurban 
systems,   to   be   used  by   the    dispatcher. 

The  four  elevated  railways  of  Chicago  carried 
123,654,432  passengers  in  1905,  compared  with  113,- 
050,400  in  1904.  Of  the  total  for  1905  the  Metro- 
politan carried  45,358,843,  the  South  Side  32,959,- 
752,  the  Northwestern  28,238,621,  and  the  Oak 
Park  17,097,216.  All  the  roads  show  a  good  in- 
crease over  1904,  the  percentage  of  gain  being 
8.69  per  cent.  During  the  month  of  December 
traffic  on  the  Oak  Park  line  averaged  52,044  pas- 
sengers daily.  This  was  the  largest  in  the  history 
of  the  road  and  a  gain  over  December,  1904,  of 
9.89  per  cent.  The  average  increase  for  the  year 
over   1904  was  7.09  per  cent. 

At  a  meeting  held  in  South  Bend,  Ind.,  the  di- 
rectors of  the  Kalamazoo,  Elkhart  and  South  Bend, 
railway  elected  officers  for  the  ensuing  year  and 
made  public  the  fact  that  the  organization  had 
been  incorporated  in  both  Michigan  and  Indi- 
ana. The  line  contemplated  by  the  company  will 
run  from  Kalamazoo  to  Vicksburg,  thence  to  Park- 
vine  and  Three  Rivers,  Constantine,  Mottville, 
Union,  Elkhart  and  South  Bend.  The  road  is  in- 
tended to  be  a  connecting  link  between  lines  di- 
verting to  points  in  Michigan  from  Kalamazoo  and 
from  South  Bend  to  points  in  Indiana.  A  private 
right-of-way   will  be   used. 


PUBLICATIONS. 


The  Chandler  &  Taylor  Company  of  Indianap- 
olis, Ind.,  has  published  two  new  bulletins,  E-104, 
covering  stationary  tubular  boilers,  breechings, 
fronts,  etc.,  and  E-105,  showing  plain  slide-valve 
engines  with  detailed  description  of  parts.  These 
bulletins   are    high-grade    both    in    printing    and    in 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

the  character  of  the  half-tone  illustrations.  These 
bulletins  the  company  will  be  pleased  to  mail  upon 
request. 

Two  important  mining  machines — the  Jeffrey  elec- 
tric drill  for  cutting  coal,  and  the  Jeffrey  electric 
locomotive  for  hauling  it — are  illustrated  on  the 
1906  calendar  of  the  Jeffrey  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, of  Columbus,  Ohio.  The  calendar  is  well 
designed. 

A  circular  that  is  attracting  attention,  and  favor- 
able comment  is  being  distributed  by  the  Consoli- 
dated Engine-stop  Company  of  100  Broadway,  New 
York.  It  concerns  the  Monarch  engine-stop  and 
speed-limit  system,  which  is  a  safeguard  to  life 
and  property  against  accidents  due  to  the  running 
away  of  engines  or  to  persons  becoming  caught  in 
machinery,  and  requiring  the  machine  to  be  stopped 
instantly  to  save  their  lives. 

A  concise  pocket  telegraph  code  for  use  in  the 
electrical  profession  and  trade  in  general  has  been 
published  by  F.  B.  Badt  &  Co.,  1504  Monadnock 
Block,  Chicago,  and  is  being  sent  out  by  them. 
Different  from  most  codes  now  in  existence,  the 
Badt  electrical  trades  telegraph  code  is  not  bulky 
and  can  be  easily  carried  in  the  pocket.  The  se- 
lection of  code  words  has  been  given  special  at- 
tention by  the  author,  Mr.  Badt,  and  they  meet  the 
exacting  conditions  of  accuracy  and  dispatch. 

Allis-Chalmers  belted-type  Reliance  Corliss  en- 
gines are  described  in  bulletin  No.  1501,  sent  out 
by  that  company.  The  line  of  engines  described 
embody  the  latest  design  in  Corliss  construction, 
but  in  detail  are  somewhat  different  from  other 
types  manufactured  by  the  company  The  bulletin 
describes  the  important  parts  of  the  engine  in  de- 
tail, giving  numerous  illustrations.  A  bulletin  from 
the  electrical  department  of  the'  company  describes 
Bullock  alternating-current  generators  of  the  engine 
and    flywheel    types. 

Open  belt-type  motors  and  generators  and  vari- 
ous types  of  electric  hoisting  machinery  are  de- 
scribed in  two  recent  bulletins  from  the  Crocker- 
Wheeler  Company  of  Ampere,  N.  J.,  numbered, 
respectively,  61  and  62.  The  line  of  belted  ma- 
chines described  includes  a  large  number  of  sizes 
and  ratings  from  10  horsepower  to  275  horsepower, 
and  from  nine  to  225  kilowatts.  A  general  de- 
scription of  these  machines  is  contained  in  Bulletin ' 
No.  61.  Electric  hoists  and  winches  of  various 
types  are  shown  in  Bulletin  No.  62,  for  different 
purposes,  such  as  contracting  work,  prospecting, 
dock   work,    for   traveling   cranes,   etc. 

The  Peru  Electric  Manufacturing  Company  of 
Peru,  Ind.,  is  distributing  a  circular  calling  atten- 
tion to  the  special  features  of  safety  in  its  Na- 
tional Electrical  Code  standard  cartridge  fuse 
blocks,  which  it  asserts  are  found  in  no  other  line. 
Under  the  heading  of  "Greater  Protection"  it  em- 
phasizes the  advantages  of  Peru  blocks.  Another 
circular  describes  the  exhibit  of  the  Peru  company 
at  the  electrical  show,  Chicago,  January  15th  to 
27th,  which  will  not  only  display  Peru  products 
to  the  best  advantage,  but  will  also  have  a  number 
of  unique  features,  making  its  booth  very  attractive. 
All   are   cordially   invited   to  visit   its   exhibit. 

"If  a  man  can  write  a  better  book,  preach  a  bet- 
ter sermon,  or  make  a  better  mouse  trap  than  his 
neighbor,  though  he  build  his  house  in  the  woods, 
the  world  will  make  a  beaten  path  to  his  door." 
There  is  a  good  deal  of  truth  in  this  saying,  and 
one  of  the  firm  believers  in  its  efficacy  is  the  Bull 
Dog  Specialty  Company  of  South  Bend,  Ind.  This 
company  has  just  issued  a  new  descriptive  price- 
list  upon  Bull  Dog  soldering  fluxes,  which  come 
in  various  forms,  and  are  especially  useful  in  elec- 
trical work.  One  of  the  products  described  in  the 
pamphlet  in  which  the  company  takes  special  pride 
is  the  new  six-inch  slim  soldering  stick,  manu- 
factured   for    both    the    domestic    and    export  trade. 

Proceedings  of  the  thirty-third  annual  convention 
of  the  International  Association  of  Fire  Engineers 
have  been  compiled  in  book  form  by  A.  A.  Far- 
rington,  official  reporter,  Duluth,  Minn.  One  of 
the  papers,  by  Frank  C.  Stover  of  Chicago,  was  on 
'Advantages  of  Fire-alarm  Equipment  in  Fire  De- 
partments." Mr.  Stover  advocates  the  addition  of 
an  auxiliary  fire-alarm  service  to  the  regular  city 
system,  extending  that  system  to  any  desired  point 
in  the  interior  of  buildings,  thus  saving  the  time 
that  would  otherwise  be  lost  in  running  from  the 
point  of  discovery  of  the  fire  to  the  nearest  street 
box.  The  auxiliary  service,  he  said,  should  be 
operated  on  entirely  independent  circuits,  having 
no  electrical  connection  with  the  fire-department 
circuits,  thereby  preventing  the  possibility  of 
trouble  on  the  city  circuits  from  causes  originating 
in  the  auxiliary  plants. 

The  Illinois  Telephone  Construction  Company  has 
issued  a  handsome  brochure  which  gives  the  present 
status  of  the  great  underground  tunnel  system  in 
Chicago.  The  book  contains  about  35  half-tone 
illustrations  and  many  drawings  illustrating  various 
parts  of  the  work.  All  the  different  sections  of 
the  tunnel  constructed  up  to  December  1st  are 
enumerated,  with  the  number  of  lineal  feet  in  each 
section.  The  total  number  of  feet  on  that  date  was 
208,212.  The  title  of  the  booklet  is  "Chicago  Sub- 
way." At  the  end  George  W.  Jackson,  general 
manager  and  chief  engineer  of  the  company,  says: 


January  13,  1906 

"So  many  misleading,  malicious  and  vicious  reports 
have  been  circulated  about  damages  being  done  by 
this  company's  work,  that  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  state 
emphatically  that  in  the  construction  of  the  entire 
system  it  has  been  accomplished  without  the  com- 
pany being  called  upon  to  defend  or  pay  any  claim 
for  damages  of  any  kind.  No  deaths  have  occurred 
that  can  be  attributed  to  tunnel  construction,  and 
not  one  employe  has  been  disabled  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  prevent  him  from  following  his  usual 
vocation." 


SOCIETIES  AND  SCHOOLS. 

The  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  Bos- 
ton, has  issued  its  catalogue  for  December,  1905, 
being  Vol.  41,  No.  1  of  the  Bulletin.  It  is  a  book 
of  408  pages  giving  detailed  information  about  the 
Institute.  General  information,  officers,  courses 
of  instruction,  requirements  for  admission,  subjects 
and  methods  of  instruction,  laboratories  and  equip- 
ment, libraries,  regulations,  summer  courses,  etc., 
are  the  subjects  treated. 

The  tenth  annual  meeting  of  the  National  Fire 
Protection  Association  will  be  held  in  Chicago  on 
May  22d,  23d  and  24th.  A  committee  of  the  asso- 
ciation on  "uniformity  of  requirements"  is  pre- 
pared to  compile  a  glossary  of  words,  terms  and 
phrases  used  in  connection  with  the  insurance  busi- 
ness or  the  various  trades,  arts  and  sciences  with 
which  that  business  has  to  deal,  and  which  are 
more  or  less  commonly  used  or  referred  to  in  the 
reports  and  standards  of  the  association.  To  that 
end  the  committee  will  undertake  to  list  and  de- 
fine any  words,  terms  or  phrases  that  may  be  sent 
for  that  purpose  to  its  chairman.  The  committee 
will  also  be  glad  to  receive  suggestions  of  defini- 
tions along  with  the  words  in  cases  where  mem- 
bers have  already  made  research  and  determined 
the  same.  H.  E.  Hess,  32  Nassau  Street,  New 
York,    is    chairman   of  the   committee. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


Sir  Edwin  Cornwall,  chairman  of  the  London 
County  Council,  has  issued  to  the  press  a  proposal 
for  an  international  congress  of  representatives  of 
cities  having  over  500,000  population,  to  meet 
annually  for  the  discussion  of  municipal  methods. 
In  conjunction  with  this  congress  Sir  Edwin  pro- 
poses an  exchange  of  pupils  between  the  schools 
controlled  by  the  municipalities  holding  member- 
ship  in   the   congress. 

Governor  Higgins  of  New  York,  in  his  message 
to  the  Legislature,  said  that  the  preservation  of 
Niagara  Falls  could  not  be  accomplished  without 
an  international  agreement  to  protect  the  cataract 
and  river  from  spoliation.  The  state  of  New  York, 
however,  could  limit  the  amount  of  water  taken 
by  American  companies,  repeal  all  undeveloped 
charters,  and  institute  legal  proceedings  to  result 
in  forfeiture  in  the  case  of  abuse  of  franchise 
powers   by   corporations. 

Vice-consul  Kaiser  of  Mazatlan,  Mexico,  reports 
that  the  Standard  Oil  Company  will  establish  a 
large  factory  in  Torreon,  Mexico,  in  which  the 
guayule  plant  will  be  utilized  in  the  production  of 
rubber.  The  company  is  known  as  the  Continental 
Mexican  Rubber  Company.  The  price  paid  for  the 
plant  is  $35  per  ton  Mexican,  and  there  is  a  large 
demand  at  that  price.  The  rumor  is  current,  says 
Mr.  Kaiser,  that  the  same  company  will  establish  a 
number  of  smaller  plants,  which  would  greatly  in- 
crease the  rubber  output  of  the  country  and  place 
it  in  the  lead  of  other  Mexican  materials  on  the 
market. 

Electrification  of  the  railway  in  the  Simplon 
tunnel  has  been  entrusted  by  the  Swiss  govern- 
ment to  the  Swiss  firm  of  Brown,  Boveri  &  Co. 
Inasmuch  as  the  Simplon  line  reaches  into  Italy, 
and  will  eventually  be  operated  jointly  by  the  Swiss 
State  Railways  and  by  the  Italian  government,  the 
latter  has  arranged  with  Ganz  &  Co.  for  the  use 
of  some  of  the  three-phase  locomotives  now  em- 
ployed on  the  well-known  Valtellina  line  for  the 
Simplon  tunnel,  and  has  placed  these  locomotives 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Swiss  government,  so  that 
the  tunnel  may  be  opened  for  public  traffic  in  June, 
1906.  Brown,  Boveri  &  Co.  are  now  building  two 
other  three-phase  1,000-horsepower  electric  locomo- 
tives, which  will  also  be  used  to  handle  the  traffic 
through   the  tunnel. 

F.  S.  Richardson  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the 
American  Gas  Light  Association  in  Milwaukee 
gave  some  interesting  experiences  in  connection 
with  electrolysis  in  a  six-mile  pipe  line  paralleling 
a  street  railroad  and  connected  with  the  trolley 
rail  at  five  places  near  the  center  of  the  line  in 
proximity  to  the  power  station.  On  account  of 
damage  done  to  the  pipe  before  it  was  connected 
to  the  rail  it  was  necessary  a  short  time  ago  to 
remove  about  600  feet.  One  length  of  pipe  had 
27  pits  in  it,  and  three  other  lengths  were  so 
badly  pitted  that  they  leaked.  Originally  the  pipe 
line  had  insulated  joints  every  500  feet,  but  it  has 
since  been  bonded,  making  it  a  continuous  con- 
ductor. Insulated  joints  will  not  keep  the  pipe 
from  being  damaged,  and  in  fact  have  quite  the 
opposite  effect,  as  tests  have  shown  that  a  dif- 
ference   of    potential    exists    between    the    ends    of 


J; :n\     I  .^ ,    [906 

each   insulated   i i,   which  i  au  to   pa 

from  nne  length  of  pipe  to  the  nc  i  bj  way  of  the 
soil 

Mir  Swiss  Ocrlikon  Company  ha     iu  i  pleted 

its  experimental  single-phasi    I 

be  tried  on   its   line  close  to  Zurich      fhi    voltage 

on  the  line  will   be   15,000:11   25  cycli         rhi    I 

motive  is  mounted  on  two     ■■  ivel  trucl 

motoi  s  .-ire  used.    '1  he  axle  of  the  toi  1  i     pci 

pendicular  to  the  wheel  axle.    The  motoi    i ioo 

horsepower  output,  of  the   scrie     compen  atcd   I    pi 

There  are  eight  principal  poles  and  eight  1 tal 

iilg  poles.     The  speed  is  650  revolul i"  1 

and  the  vvorking  voltage  is  350.  Speed  variation 
arc  obtained  by  varying  the  voltage,  and  foi  this 
purpose  the   transformer  on   the    locomotive    1      pro 

viiled    with    12   taps.     The   motors   can,    il 1 

safely  sustain    an    overload    of    100  pc 1         I. 

trolley  collector  is  of  the  inverted  bow  type  oi  the 
Ocrlikon  company. 

The  Pittsburg  Reduction  Company  has  made  a 
contract  with  the  Niagara  balls  Hydraulic  Power 
and  Manufacturing  Company  for  27,000  horsepower, 
to  be  delivered  in  1907.  To  use  thi-  power  the 
Pittsburg  Reduction  Company  plans  to  erect  a 
very  large  new  aluminum  works  on  a  four-acre  site 
which  it  has  leased  form  the  power  company.  It 
is  understood  that  contracts  for  the  electrical  equip- 
ment of  the  proposed  new  plant  are  about  to  be 
made.  Power  for  the  new  works  will  be  supplied 
from  a  new  power  bouse  to  be  erected  at  the 
water's  edge  in  the  gorge,  the  site  for  which  has 
been  excavated  in  the  debris  slope.  On  top  of  the 
high  bank  the  canal  basin  has  been  extended  sev- 
eral  hundred  feet  to  the  north  of  the  flouring  mills, 
and  a  large  new  forebay  is  being  built  at  the  edge 
of  the  bank.  Next  spring  the  work  of  building 
the  new  power  house  will  be  commenced  and 
prosecuted  with  great  vigor.  The  output  capacity 
of  the  station  will  be   110,000  horsepower. 

Dr.  Jacques  Locb  believes  that  be  has  discovered 
the  reason  of  the  electrical  effects  of  galvanic  cur- 
rent upon  nerve  and  muscle  tissue.  In  previous 
investigations  Dr.  Loeb  had  discovered  that  sodium 
and  potassium  in  solution  stimulated  nerve  and 
muscle  fibers,  and  that  the  subsequent  administra- 
tion of  solutions  of  calcium  and  magnesium  neu- 
tralized the  stimulating  action  of  the  other  two 
substances.  Dr.  Loeb  now  says  that  his  last  set 
of  experiments  has  demonstrated  that  this  phe- 
nomenon is  due  to  the  fact  that  when  the  galvanic 
current  is  applied  these  chemical  substances  migrate 
and,  concentrate  in  the  region  of  application  of  the 
electrodes,  or  poles  of  the  battery.  The  oleates 
and  stearates,  which  are  normally  in  the  nerve  and 
muscle  tissue,  precipitate  the  calcium  from  the  solu- 
tion under  the  action  of  electricity,  and  in  this 
way  the  calcium,  or  lime,  is  prevented  from  inter- 
fering with  the  stimulant  action  of  the  sodium  and 
potassium. 

Electric  tramways  are  "all  the  go"  in  New  Zea- 
land. In  addition  to  the  well-established  and  suc- 
cessful lines  in  Auckland,  Wellington,  Christchurch 
and    Dunedin,    the    local    authorities    at    Hutt    and 


ELECTRICIAN 

in  the 

11 lor  . ,  mo 

ni  ill   lighted   elect 

trii    po  1 1 

Zealand,   ncarlj   all   the   largi  ■  ther  cm- 

pl "   electric  1 

Duneditt 

1  Power  1  nerating 

works  a  1      pari 

eral  di  po  iti •       .    of  the 

.11    the 
water  rights  for  this  purpose. 


TRADE  NEWS 


J.   Reed   ha     purcha  ed   the  electrical  busin 
I'.    I  hompson    at    Santa   Ana,   Cnl. 

W.  N.  Matthews  &  Bro  of  St.  Loui  call  at- 
tention to  the  f art  that  their  bu  m.-ss  in  tl 
has  grown  so  large  that  it  has  been  necessary  for 
them  to  open  a  New  York  office  at  30  Cortlandt 
Street,  to  give  it  proper  care;  also  that  thi 
just  bought  the  patents  and  have  taken  over  the 
manufacture  of  the   Hold  fat  lamp  guard. 

The  general  purchasing  agent  of  the  Isthmian 
Canal  Commission  is  inviting  scaled  proposals  until 
January  23d.  for  furnishing  a  number  of  engines, 
dynamos  and  switchboards  for  delivery  on  the 
Isthmus.  Proposal  blanks  and  detailed  informa- 
tion can  be  obtained  from  the  above-mentioned 
officer,  located  at  Washington,  the  assistant  pur- 
chasing agent,  24  State  Street,  New  York,  or  the 
chief  quartermaster,  Department  of  the  Lakes,  Chi- 
cago. 

The  Navy  Department,  through  the  Bureau  of 
Supplies  and  Accounts,  is  inviting  sealed  proposals 
until  January  23d  for  furnishing  a  quantity  of 
weatherproof  wire  and  electrical  supplies,  embraced 
in  schedule  313,  obtainable  at  the  navy  pay  office 
in  New  York  or  upon  application  to  the  bureau. 
On  February  6th  the  bureau  will  open  bids  for 
furnishing  The  Norfolk  navy  yard  with  a  portable 
electric  jib  crane,  embraced  in  schedule  317,  ob- 
tainable from  the  same  sources.  The  bureau  is 
also  inviting  sealed  bids,  until  January  30th,  for 
furnishing  and  installing  in  the  United  States  naval 
hospital  at  Washington  a  quantity  of  electrical 
apparatus.  The  schedule  number  is  321,  which  can 
be    obtained    from    the   bureau. 


BUSINESS- 

Electrical  dealers  desiring  to  add  to  their  line 
two  specialties  of  proven  merit,  arc  invited  by 
E.  R.  Crolius  &  Son  of  6419  Peoria  Street,  Chi- 
cago, to  correspond  with  them.     They  are  the  man- 


49 

-■   flick 

not    already    handling    them    | 
will    be   offered. 

At    ■ 

duty    p 

tabling   a    steady    load 

working 

will    be   well    v. 

ing    out    a    small    bull' 

many    interesting   thing,    tint    will    I 

1 '"'  mpany 

of  Kansas  1  ity,  Mo., 
has    been    one   of    the 

farm-engine   di 

has  been   worki 

The  buying  of  gas  and  ting  and  pump- 

ing machinery  I 

t    many  new  mines  beii 

th  Mexico  has 
been  excellent,  as  the  company  manufacture 
cial  sectionalized  machines  for  transports 
mule-back  when  shipped  to  the  mountain,  of  that 
country.  The  large-engine  business  has  exceeded 
ns,  the  Weber  company  having  placed  a 
many  plants  for  various  uses,  including  a 
number  of  complete  electric-light  installations  for 
private  use  and  for  municipal  purposes.  The  out- 
look for  1906  is  good  in  all  departments,  many 
orders  being  on  the  books  for  future  deli-. 

The  electric-light  and  power  equipment  in  the 
Majestic  Theater  Building  in  Chicago  is  one  of 
the  best  and  most  modern  private  plants 
kind  in  the  city.  It  was  built  and  installed  by  the 
Allis-Chalmers  Company  of  Milwaukee  and  con- 
sists of  three  generating  units,  composed  of  Rcv- 
nolds-Corliss  engines,  of  the  Reliance  type,  direct- 
connected  to  Bullock  direct-current  generators. 
Two  of  the  engines  are  20  inches  by  26  inches,  pro- 
ducing 300  horsepower  each  ;  the  third  is  16  inches 
by  30  inches  and  of  150  horsepower.  The  two 
larger  engines  are  each  connected  to  a  Bullock 
direct-current  generator  of  200  kilowatts  capacity, 
while  the  smaller  is  coupled  with  a  ioo-kilowatt 
generator  of  the  same  make.  There  are  two  com- 
pensating sets,  each  consisting  of  a  Bullock  45- 
kilowatt  generator  and  a  15-kilowatt  machine.  This 
plant  produces  a  220-volt  power  current  and  a  no- 
volt  lighting  current,  distributed  by  the  three-wire 
system  through  a  seven-panel  switchboard.  The 
power  is  used  for  running  the  elevators,  scene- 
shifting  machinery,  compressed-air  plant,  ventilat- 
ing plant,  etc.,  and  furnishes  the  lighting  current 
for  all  the  building  and  the  theater   illumination. 


ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 


Issued  (United  States  Patent  Office)  January  2,  igo6. 


8,620.  Tube-drawing  Apparatus.  George  Baehr, 
McKeesport,  Pa.,  assignor  to  the  National  Tube 
Company,  Pittsburg,  Pa.  Application  filed  Sep- 
tember  17,    1904. 

An  electric   motor   is   used  to    drive   the  apparatus. 

8,635.  Apparatus  for  Treating  Diseased  Tissues. 
Antonino  Ciolfi  and  Rolland  A.  Case,  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  assignors  to  the  American  Specialty 
Company,  Cleveland,  Ohio.  Application  filed 
September   21,    1904. 

Two  electrodes  are  used,  each  in  a  compartment  by 
itself,  an  electrolyte  being  introduced  into  the  compart- 
ments.    The    device    is    used    for   electrotherapeutical    pur- 

8,641.  Wireless  Telegraphy.  Patrick  B.  Delany, 
South  Orange,  N.  J.  Application  filed  May  14, 
1903. 

A  microphonic  contact  is  placed  in  the  path  of  the 
received  waves  or  impulses.  Electromagnetic  means 
variably  maintaining  the  microphonic  contact  at  a  high 
periodicity   comprise  a  local  circuit  controlled  at  the 


tact    and    a    receiver    whose    circuit    is    controlled 
contact,  modification  of  the  contact  by  the  received  waves 
or    impulses    effects    manifestation    of    the    signals    by    the 

8,669.  Tablet  Board.  Charles  B.  Macfarlane, 
Waltham,  Mass.  Application  filed  February  28, 
1905. 

Three  terminals  are  fixed  to  the  tablet,  a  pair  of  bus- 
bars being  fixed  to  the  top  face  of  the  tablet  and  con- 
nected with  two  of  the  terminals,  the  bar  is  branched 
and  each  branch  adapted  to  be  connected  with  a  fuse.  A 
bus-bar  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  tablet  and  connected 
with  the  other  terminal,  is  branched  and  each  branch  is 
adapted  to  be  connected  with  a  fuse. 

8,717.  Electric  Locomotive.  Asa  F.  Batchelder, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation filed  November  12,  1903.  Renewed  June 
14.   1905. 

The  locomotive  truck  comprises  an  inclosing  frame 
constituting  the  field-magnet  structure  for  a  number  of 
armatures,  transverse  members  joining  opposite  sides  of 
the  frame.     The  pole  pieces  are  secured  to  the  transverse 


member; 
referenc 

SoSjiS.  Regulating  Transformer.  Henry  J.  Blakes- 
lee,  Hartford,  Conn.  Application  filed  April 
8,    1905. 

A  regulating  transformer  having  a  magnetic  frame  is 
provided  with  a  stationary  primary  coil,  a  stationary 
secondary  coil  and  a  core  always  having  the  same  mag- 
netic relation  to  the  primary  coil  but  adapted  to  be 
moved   to    vary    its   magnetic    relation    with    the    secondary 

808,723.  Annunciator.  Albert  Carliss,  Chicago,  111., 
assignor  to  the  American  Electric  Telephone 
Company,  Chicago,  111.  Application  filed  May 
25,     1901. 

Combined  with  a  drop  or  shutter  are  a  pintle  or  pivot- 
pin  having  a  central  upward  bend  and  a  lever  to  actuate 
the    drop    or    shutter    and   extending   beneath    the    upward 

S08.729.  System  of  Control  for  Electric  Motors. 
Maxwell  W.  Day,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor 
to  the  General  Electric  Companj'-,  Schenectady, 
N.   Y.    Application   filed   May   15,    1905. 

A  motor  having  a  shunt  field  winding  and  series 
field  windings  has  also  means  for  connecting  the  motor 
to  a  source  of  current  supply  in  such  a  manner  that 
the  effective  excitation  of  the  series  windings  assists  that 
of  the  shunt  winding  both  when  the  motor  is  propelling 
a  load  and  when  it  is  overhauled  by  the  load  and  acting 
as  a  generator. 

80S.740.  Transformer.  John  J.  Frank,  Schenec- 
tady, N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General  Electric 
Company,  Schenectadj-,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
March  27,   1905. 

A  magnetic  core  formed  of  three  laminated  units  has 
the  planes  of  lamination  intersecting  each  other  at  iro 
degrees,  each  unit  being  formed  of  a  number  of  bundles, 
some  of  the  bundles  overlapping  the  others  to  form 
tenons  which  interlock  with  the  other  bundles. 

808.755.  Electrical  Battery.  Carl  Jager,  Rock  Is- 
land, 111.,  assignor  to  the  Rock  Island  Battery 
Compan3\     Application   filed   February   27,  1904. 

A  battery  cell  having  a  zinc  cup  is  supplied  with  a 
carbon   pencil   within  the    cup,   a  compound  of  dioxide  of 


manganese,   iron   filings  and   powdered    graphite    -„■ 

me  the   carbon    pencil    and  a   filling  of   flour  and  plaster- 

of-pans  between  the  cup  and  the  inclosed  body. 

808,763.  Automatic  Holdfast  for  Electro- hoister 
Drums.  Asher  Lambert,  Newark,  N.  J.  Ap- 
plication  filed   April    13,    1905. 


S0S.773.  Surface-contact  Electric  Railwav.  George 
H.  McFeaters,  Johnstown,  Pa.,  assignor  to  the 
Lorain  Steel  Company.  Application  filed  Au- 
gust   15,    1904. 

Combined  with  an  upper  fixed  electrode  are  a  lower 
movable  electrode  and  a  flexible  conductor  connecting 
the  movable  electrode  with  the  supplv  side  of  the  svstenf 
An  arc  guard  or  shield  in  the  form  of  a  thin  plate  or 
disk  of  insulating  material  is  situated  below  the  movable 
contact  and  covers  the  flexible  conductor. 

SoS,777.  Telegraph  Key.  Addison  E.  Peterman. 
Repton,  Ala.     Application  filed  October  13,  1905. 

A  base  to  the  key  having  a  number  of  contacts  rep- 
resenting different  lines  is  associated  with  a  turntable 
mounted  on  the  base  and  carrying  a  kev  lever  to  operate 
any  one  of  the  lines  and  means  carried"  by  the  turntable 
to  hold  the  other  lines  closed. 

SoS,77S.  Motor-control  System.  William  B.  Pot- 
ter, Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation   filed   August    10,    1904. 

Several  groups  of  motors,  each  group  comprising  motors 
permanently  connected  in  series,  the  motors  being  adapted 
for  operation  on  either  direct  or  alternating  current,  are 
provided  with  means  for  supplying  alternating  or  direct 
current  to  the  motors.  A  switch  is  adapted  to  connect  the 
groups  in  series  and  in  parallel  and  to  vary  the  amount 
of  resistance  in  the  motor  circuit  and  a  switch  is  adapted 
to  vary  the  field  strength  of  the  motors.  (See  cut  on  next 
page. ) 

SoS,779.  Electric  Generator.  Benjamin  P.  Remy 
and  Frank  I.  Remy,  Anderson,  Ind..  assignors 
to  the  Remy  Electric  Company,  Anderson,  Ind. 
Application  filed  May  27.   1905. 

journaled  within    the   sta- 


5° 


808,832.  Receiver  and  Recorder  for  Wireless  and 
'  Other  Transmissions.  Fred  E.  Gallagher,  San 
Francisco,  Cal.,  assignor  of  one-third  to  Simeon 
L.  Phillips  and  one-third  to  Walter  D.  Val- 
entine, San  Francisco,  Cal.  Application  filed 
June  15,  1905- 
A  type  wheel  having  constantly-operative  impelling 
means  is  associated  with  a  pivoted  armature  carrying 
means  for  locking  the  type  wheel,  another  pivoted  arma- 
ture carrying  a  sinking  hammer,  a  pair  of  magnets  for 
each  armature  arranged  respectively  at  opposite  sides 
of  its  pivot,  a  controller  circuit  which  includes  one 
magnet  of  each  armature  and  a  striker  circuit  which 
includes  the  other  magnet  of  each  armature.     (See  cut.) 

808,834.  Relay.  Charles  L.  Goodrum,  Rochester, 
N.   Y.     Application  filed   November    II,    1905. 

An  armature,  front  and  rear  pole  pieces,  one  of  which 
forms  a  support  for  the  relay,  the  other  forming  a  sup- 
port   for    the    armature,    contact    springs    mounted    on    the 

supporting   pole  pieces  and  means  removably  securing   the 
core  to  the  supporting  pole  piece  are  the  essential  features. 

808,852.  Trolley  Device.  Frank  J.  Ludolph,  Roch- 
ester,   N.   Y.     Application  filed  July    iS,    1905. 

A  trolley  device  comprises  the  pole  and  a  harp  in  two 
separable  sections  for  holding  the  wheel,  the  two  parts 
of  the  harp  having  mutually  interlocking  elements  be- 
tween the  wheel-bearing  and  the  outer  end  of  the  harp 
for  preventing  their  separation.     ' 

808,868.  Telephone  Signaling  Apparatus.  Karl  H. 
Poyas,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.  Application  filed  July 
24,   1905. 

In  a  telephone  receiving  instrument,  are  a  base  of 
insulating  material  in  the  instrument,  two  normally  closed 
manually  operated  make-and-break  switches  mounted  on 
the  base  and  forming  a  part  of  the  instrument  circuit, 
one  switch  in  each  branch,  a  ground  plate  secured  to  the 
base  at  a  point  to  be  engaged  by  the  switches  when  they 
are  moved  to  open  the  circuit  and  a  connection  from 
the  plate  to  the  ground. 
808,894.  Adjustable  Suspender  for  Electrical  De- 
vices. Austin  Berry,  Ottawa,  Canada.  Appli- 
cation  filed  July   II,    1905. 

Mechanical  features  are  described. 

808,944.  Alternating-current  Motor  Reverser.  Ed- 
win H.  Porter  and  Burleigh  Currier,  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.  Application  filed  March  29,  1905. 
Combined  with  a  source  of  alternating-current  energy 
is  a  motor  connected  with  and  adapted  to  operate  from 
the  source  of  energy  having  a  number  of  energizing  cir- 
cuits, part  of  which  is  supplied  with  two  opposing  alter- 
nating eleetromotives  forces  in  series.  Means  are  sup- 
plied for  automatically  varying  one  or  both  the  opposing 
electromotive  forces  so  that  their  sum  is  greater  or  less 
than  zero.     (See  cut.) 

808.957.  Circuit  Controller.  Richard  Varley,  Engle- 
wood,  N.  J.,  assignor  to  the  Autocoil  Com- 
pany.   Application   filed   October  31,    1904- 

A  permanent  magnet,  a  rotary  shaft  carrying  a  block 
of  iron  tending  to  close  the  magnetic  circuit  of  the 
magnet  and  a  circuit-controlling  lever  interposed  be- 
tween a  pole  of  the  magnet  and  the  block  of  iron  are 
the  patentable  features. 

808.958.  Spark-ignition  System  for  Explosive  En- 
gines. Richard  Varley,  Englewood,  N.  J.,  as- 
signor to  the  Autocoil  Company.  Application 
filed  March  28,  1905. 

An  ignition  system  for  explosion  engines  comprises 
an  induction  coil,  an  igniting  device  and  means  whereby, 
according  to  the  speed  of  the  engine,  a  single  spark  or 
a  series  of  sparks  will  be  created   at  the  igniting  device. 

808,966.  Weft-replenishing  Loom.  Horace  W.  Wy- 
man,  Worcester,  Mass.;  Mary  H.  Wyman, 
administratrix  of  said  Horace  W.  Wyman, 
deceased.  Application  filed  May  II,  1905. 
The  filling-detector  feelers  of  the  loom  are  clectro- 
magnetically  operated. 

868,983.  Telephone  .  Holder.  Louis  S.  Hallowell, 
New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  of  one-half  to 
Thomas  L.  Ricart,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  Applica- 
tion   filed    March   28,    1905. 

A  movable  bracket  for  holding  a  telephone  set  is 
described. 


808,832. 


-TELEGRAPH    RECEIVER, 


809,026.  Electric  Scale  for  Accurate  Lard  Weigh- 
ing. Charles  E.  Snypp,  Gretna,  La.,  assignor 
to  the  Southern  Cotton  Oil  Company,  Jersey 
City,  N.    J.     Application   filed   June   25,    1903. 

An  electromagnet  arranged  in  connection  with  a  lever 
of  the  weighing  mechanism  operates  to  close  the  valve 
which    controls  the  flow  of   the  melted   lard. 

809,060.  Ringer  for  Telephones  and  the  Like.  El- 
bert R.  Hobbs,  Lamar,  Colo.  Application  filed 
November   10,   1904. 

1  Combined  with  a  magnet  are  a  supporting  plate, 
mechanism  connected  with  the  plate  and  adjusted  rela- 
tively thereto,  the  mechanism  being  provided  with  brack- 
ets, springs  connected  with  thy  brackets  and  depending 
therefrom  and  an  armature  mounted  upon  the  springs 
and  free  to  rock. 

809,083.  Automatic  Electrical  Controller  for  Air 
Compressors.  Fred  D.  Ackerman,  Kendallville, 
Ind.     Application  filed  May  17,   1905. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


The  improved  automatic  controller  comprises  a  valve 
chest  and  valve,  an  air  cylinder  and  a  slidablc  piston 
contained  therein  and  connected  with  the  valve.  A 
spring  opposes  the  movement  of  the  piston  in  one  direc- 
tion, a  second  air  cylinder  having  a  spring-pressed  piston. 
An  air  conductor  connects  the  second  cylinder  with 
the  valve  chest,  a  slidablc  bar  being  connected  with  the 
last-named  piston.  A  casing  applied  to  and  slidable  on 
the  bar  contains  a  spring  which  applies  pressure  be- 
tween it  and  the  bar.  An  electrical  switch  has  one 
member  connected  with  the  casing,  spring  locking  and 
release  mechanism  is  connected  with  the  casing  and  holds 
it  normally  immovable  and  the  switch  normally  closed 
until  a  certain  predetermined  air  pressure  is  accu- 
mulated. 

9,085.  Electrolytic  Apparatus.  Henry  S.  Black- 
more,  Mount  Vernon,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
filed  July  22,   1903. 

Apparatus  for  electrolyzing  light  metal  compounds 
comprises  an  electrolytic  vessel  having  a  means  for  pro- 
ducing a  heavy  and  light  metal  alloy  by  the  electrolysis 
of  the  light-metal  compounds,  in  combination  with  means 
for  displacing  the  heavy  and  light  metal  alloy  by  gravity, 
means  for  associating  the  heavy  and  light  metal  alloy 
with  a  metal  hydroxide,  means  for  removing  the  light 
metal  oxid  thus  produced,  means  for  converting  the 
light  metal  oxid  into  light  metal  hydroxid,  and  means  for 
„  returning  a  portion  of  the  light  metal  hydroxid  to  the 
chamber  containing  the  heavy  and  light  metal  alloy. 

9,088.  Process  of  Producing  Caustic  Alkali. 
Henry  S.  Blackmore,  Mount  Vernon,  N.  Y. 
Application    filed    May    10,    1905. 

The  process  of  producing  caustic  alkali  consists  in  pro- 
viding a  liquid  metal  cathode  having  in  communication 
therewith  a  liquefied  alkali-metal  compound  of  a  weight 
sufficient  to  digress  the  surface  thereof  below  its  normal 
level  and  electrolysing  the  alkali  metal  compound, 

9,116.  Method  of  Producing  Circulation  in  Elec- 
trolytic Processes.  Hugo  Koller,  Vienna,  Aus- 
tria-Hungary, and  Paul  Askenasy,  Nuremberg, 
Germany.    Application  filed  October  29,   1903. 

A  mechanical  process  for  causing  the  circulation  of 
the  electrolyte  is  described. 


January   13,   1906 


A  telephone  exchange  comprises  a  subscriber's  latent- 
signal  set  arranged  to  send  its  signals  in  separate  groups, 
a  calling-board  with  subscribers'  jacks,  a  bench  carrying 
calling  plugs,  a  called  board  with  subscribers'  jacks,  a 
bench  carrying  called  plugs  and  an  electromagnetic  dis- 
tributer. A  numerical  indicator  comprises  a  set  of  indi- 
cators at  the  called  board  in  the  plug  circuit,  energized 
by  the  plugging  of  a  calling  plug  into  the  calling  sub- 
scriber's jack  to  simultaneously  indicate  to  the  called 
operator  the  several  elements  of  the  signal  set  on  the 
subscribers'    latent-signal   transmitter. 

■9,237.  Semaphore  Mechanism.  Bruno  O.  Wag- 
ner, Swissvale,  Pa.  Application  filed  March  9, 
1905. 

Electromagnetic  mechanism  operates  the  semaphore. 


(,944.—. 


RRENT     MOTOR     REVEKsHR. 


NO,   808,778.  —  MOTOR-CONTROL    SYSTEM, 

9,120.  Electric  Railway.  Charles  Levinson,  New 
York,   N.   Y.     Application  filed  July   18,   1905. 

A  safety  device  for  preventing  the  starting  of  a  car 
comprises  a  contact  or  switch  located  in  the  driving- 
motor  circuit  independent  of  the  motorman's  controller 
and  associated  with  a  gate  of  the  car,  the  contact  or 
switch  is  so  arranged  as  to  be  opened  and  to  cut  off  the 
current  from  the  driving  motor  independent  of  the  mo- 
torman's controller   when  the    gate  is  open. 

9,126.  Electric-light-fixture  Insulator.  Louis  Mc- 
Carthy, Boston,  Mass.  Application  filed  Feb- 
ruary  2,    1905. 

Two  ribs  are  provided  on  the  insulator  separated  by  an 
intervening  depression,  the  outer  edge  of  one  rib  being 
adapted  to  engage  the  inside  edge  of  a  canopy  of  one 
size,  and  the  inner  edge  of  the  other  rib  being  adapted  to 
engage  the  outside  edge  of  a  canopy  of  another  size, 
whereby^  the  insulator  may  be  used  with  more  than  one 
size  of  canopy. 

19,127.  Station  Meter  Index.  Donald  McDonald 
and  Lynn  M.  Scofield,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  assignors 
to  the  American  Meter  Company,  New  York, 
N.  Y.  Application  filed  April  29,  1904.  Re- 
newed  December   8,    1905. 

A    revolving    cylinder    is    adapted    to    carry    the    chart. 


9,183.  Current  Tap.  William  D.  Harris,  Phila- 
delphia,   Pa.     Application   filed   March  24,    1905. 

Combined  with  a  body  of  insulating  material  are  a 
set  of  plug  contacts  and  a  second  set  of  socket  con- 
tacts and  terminals  for  the  attachment  of  conducting 
wires    in    electrical    connection    with    certain    of    the    con- 

9,186.  Telephone  System.  Henry  A.  Judge, 
Washington,  D.  C.  Application  filed  September 
9,   1905. 

In  a  telephone  system  are  a  talking- circuit  comprising 
a  direct  path  of  negligible  resistance  for  continuous  cur- 
rent, a  magnetic  discharge  coil,  a  transmitter  and  a 
source  of  current  therein  and  a  shunt-path  around  the 
coil  only.  The  shunt  is  opaque  to  continuous  current  but 
passes  high-frequency  currents  directly. 

9,211.     Starting  Means    for    Gas    or    Similar    En- 
gines.    Francis    L.    Orr,    Thurman,    Iowa,    as- 
signor of  one-half  to   Mark  Morrow,    Percival, 
Iowa.     Application    filed   February  21,    1905. 
Details  are  described. 

19,220.  Collector  Ring.  Henry  G.  Reist,  Schenec- 
tady, N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General  Electric 
Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
April   22,    1904. 

A  collector  ring  is  cut  away  to  forrn  a  flexible  part 
and  a  supporting  stud  is  carried  by  the  part. 

59,232.  Semi-automatic  Telephone-exchange  Sys- 
tem. Arthur  T.  M.  Thomson,  London,  Eng- 
land.    Application   filed    October   6,   1905. 


809,262.  Contact  Device  for  Induction  Apparatus. 
Ralph  O.  Hood,  Danvers,  Mass.,  assignor  of 
one-half  to  Warren  D.  King,  Peabody,  Mass. 
Application  filed  April  11,  1905. 

In  a  contact  device  for  sparking  apparatus  are  a  casing, 
a  flexible  closure  therefor  forming  therewith  a  substan- 
tially air-tight  chamber,  a  fixed  contact  point,  a  movable 
contact  point  passing  through  the  flexible  closure  and 
adjusting  means  for  the  fixed  contact  point. 

809,267.  Station  Indicator.  Richard  F.  Le  Broco, 
Etna,  N.  J.,  assignor  of  one-half  to  James  P. 
Niemann,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
March    30,    1905. 

One  claim  reads  as  follows:  "In  indicators,  indicating 
means,  a  stop  actuated  in  unison  with  the  indicating 
means,  a  stop-lever  carrying  a  detent  co-operating  with 
the  stop,  an  electric  switch  actuated  by  the  stop-lever, 
setting  means  to  actuate  the  stop-lever,  a  setting-switch 
actuated  by  the  setting  means,  a  motor  to  operate  the 
indicating  means  and  electrical  contacts  in  series  and  co- 
operating with  the  stop-switch  and  the  setting-switch  to 
control  the  motor." 

Reissue. 
12,431.  Induction  Motor.  Abe  L.  Cushman,  Con- 
cord, N.  H.,  assignor  to  the  Cushman  Electric 
Company,  Concord,  N,  H.  Application  filed 
November  19,  1904.  Original  application  dated 
April    14,    1903. 

In  an  induction  motor  are  a  secondary  member  pro- 
vided with  a  secondary  winding  having  elements  arranged 
in  multiple  arc,  all  adapted  to  carry  currents  in  one 
direction  only,  any  desired  number  of  which  may  be  used 
at  the  same  time.  Each  when  in  use  acts  as  an  effective 
element  of  the  winding  contributing  to  the  polarization 
of  the  secondary  member.  Means  carried  by  the  sec- 
ondary member  bring  the  elements  one  at  a  time  into 
action  and  remove  them  from  action,  the  means  admitting 
the  current  fully  to  each  element  as  such  element  is 
brought  into  action. 


PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Following  is  a  list  of  electrical  patents  (issued 
by  the  United  States  Patent  Office)  that  expired 
on  January  8,   1906: 

395, 6S2.      Electric    Train-brake    Apparatus.     Augustin    I.    Am- 
bler, Washington,  D.  C. 
395,703.     Trolley   for  Electric    Railways.      Wilton   F.  Jenkins, 

Richmond,  Va. 
395,706.      Dry  Voltaic  Battery.      Isidor  Kitsee,   Cincinnati,  O. 
395,755-      Holder   for  Electric  Arc  Lamps.     Jacob   Pav.-lowski, 

Cincinnati,  O. 
395,761.     Conduit     for     Electric     Railways.       Samuel     Trott, 

Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  Canada. 
395,769.      Voltaic    Battery.     Theophilus    Coad,    Forest    Gate, 

County    of  Essex,    England. 
395, 77^-     Cathode     for     an     Electric    Depositing      Apparatus. 

Elisha   Emerson,    Providence,   R.    I. 
395,814.      Support  for  Aerial  Electric  Conductors.     Henry  H. 

Cutler,    Newton,    Mass. 
395,836.     Apparatus  for  Charging  and  Discharging  Secondary 

Batteries.     William  P.   Kookonev.    Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
395,878.      Process    of    Electric    Welding.       Charles    L.    Coffin, 


N.  Y. 


New 


York, 

!    Sys- 


395,936.     Regulator     for     Incandescent     Electric-lightir 
terns.      Merle    J.    Wightman,    Hartford,    Conn. 

395,950.      Electrical     Heating.     John     V.      Capek,      Brooklyn, 
N.  Y. 

395,958.      Electric     Signaling    Apparatus.     Mark    W.     Dewey, 
Syracuse,    N.    Y. 

395,959-     Electric     Signaling    Apparatus.     Mark    W.     Dewey, 


Syra. 


N.   Y. 


Electrical      Store-service     Apparatus.       Richard     N. 
Dyer,  East  Orange,  N.  J. 

395.962.  Method  of  Manufacturing  Electric  Lamps. 
Thomas  A.   Edison,  Menlo  Tark,   N.  J. 

395.963.  Incandescent-lamp  Filament.  Thomas  A.  Edison, 
Menlo    Park,   N.   J. 

395,974-  Electrical  Measuring  Apparatus.  Hammond  V. 
Hayes,  Cambridge,  and  Anthony  C.  White,  Boston, 
Mass. 

396.009.  Forming,  Brazing  and  Welding  of  Metals  by 
Electricity.      Elihu     Thomson,     Lynn,     Mass. 

396.010.  Method    of    Electric    Forging.     E.    Thomson,    Lynn, 


396,0 

1 

396,0 


Ma: 


Method    of   Electric   Welding.     E.    Thomson,    Lynn, 


Apparatus     for     Electric      Welding      and      Working- 
Metals.     E.    Thomson,    Lynn,    Mass. 

396.013.  Electric    Pipe    Joining   and    Pipe    Work.     E.    Thom- 
son,  Lynn,   Mass. 

396.014.  Electric      Metal      Working.      E.      Thomson,      Lynn, 


396,015.     Method  of  Electric  Riveting.     E.  Thou 

Mass. 
396,039.     Coupling     for     Gas     and     Electric-light 

Keinhold    Herman,    Crafton,    Pa. 


Lyn 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


Vul.  XXXVII] 


The  Chicago  Electrical  Show. 

Beautified     with    bi  ighl  i  olorcd    di   oi  i 

louaanda    of    electric    lamps,    and    with    admiring 

ircnn-.  of  people  filling  the  galli  i  ii     and 

round    the    various    booths,    where    electrical    ap 

aratus  "I  al I    everj    typi    wa     to  I ,   thi 

iterior  of  the  Coliseum  in  Chicago  pn  entcd  ■< 
rilliant  and  animated  scene  on  thi  opening  night 
f  the    Electrical    Show.     With   only   two   daj      in 

.  1 1 1  •  1 1  to  prepare  exhibits  bel hi    evening  of  the 

pening,  which  was  January  15th,  things  were  in  a 
audi  more  completed  9tate  than  would  be  thoughl 
lossible  when  ii   is  considered  thai  so  many  of  the 


Ml!'      GO,  J        1  '  \KY   20,    I 

11   il Ural   portion   of   tin-   t ■ .-» 1 1 

exhibit   ol  thi    I 

,,     and   '...nil    5hor     I 

idi  a  "i   thi     exhibit 

the   advantagi 

fulfill    tl  1  ■:•    way 

fitted       Man;     p 

;re  ted  in  the  electric  kitchen,  which  was  in  full 

operation      Hi 

men  il    ol  all  dc  1  1  iption  ,  al  0  an  •  lectrically  opcr 


hall  on 

about 

Ruber 


GENERAL   VIEW    OF    THE    CHICAGO    ELECTRICAL 


exhibits  required  quite  complicated  wiring  and  the 
installation   of  heavy   machinery. 

At  the  opening  of  the  show  on  Monday  evening 
there  were  several  thousand  people  present,  prin- 
cipally by  invitations  sent  out  by  the  Electrical 
Trades  Exposition  Company.  They  thronged  the 
aisles  and  filled  the  galleries,  and  the  general 
opinion  expressed  on  all  sides  was  that  the  show 
was  going  to  be  a  great  success. 

One  of  the  drawing  cards  at  the  opening  was 
the  reception  of  a  telegram  from  President  Roose- 
velt by  "wireless"  at  the  Coliseum  station  of  the 
American  De  Forest  Wireless  Telegraph  Company. 
The  message  was  received  at  about  8  p.  m.,  and 
said:  "Congratulations  and  best  wishes.  Theodore 
Roosevelt."  To  the  public  at  large  the  space  tele- 
graph is  still  a  thing  of  mystery,  and  hundreds  of 
people  were  packed  around  the  De  Forest  booth  at 

•  the  time  the  message  came  in,  waiting  anxiously 
for  some  outward  indication  of  the  coming  of  the 
signal. 

The  accompanying  illustration  of  the  interior  of 
the  Coliseum  gives  a  fair  idea  of  its  appearance  on 
the  opening  night,  though  it'  hardly  does  justice 
to  the  blaze  of  light  which  greets  the  visitor  upon 


ated  dishwasher.  Coffee,  made  on  the  spot,  was 
served  to  visitors.  This  department  of  the  ex- 
hibit received  a  great  deal  of  attention,  people 
standing  in  several  ranks  in  order  to  get  near 
enough  to  watch  the  operation  of  the  novel  appa- 
ratus. Just  back  of  the  kitchen  was  to  be  found 
an  example  of  a  cozy  dining  room  with  all  the 
conveniences  that  could  be  wished,  including  a  com- 
mendable scheme  of  dining-room  lighting.  Other 
things  shown  by  these  three  companies  in  their  ex- 
hibit space  included  all  kinds  of  household  electrical 
appliances   and   fixtures   for   decorative   lighting. 

Across  the  aisle  from  the  Edison  exhibit  the 
General  Electric  Company  showed  in  one  depart- 
ment a  large  amount  of  kindred  apparatus  such  as 
electric  flatirons,  curling-iron  heaters,  cooking  uten- 
sils, etc. 

C.  H.  Thorardson  made  some  experiments  during 
the  evening  at  his  booth  in  the  north  end  of  the 
building.  Here  he  showed  apparatus  for  interesting 
the  public  and  at  the  same  time  drew  attention  to 
bis  business.  The  feature  of  his  demonstrations 
was  a  high-tension  spark  discbarge  which  could 
be  seen  and  heard  from  all  parts  of  the  room. 

On   Tuesday  evening  Prof.  Clarke  began  a  series 


back  of  the  star,  and  as  the  latter  revolves  the 
lamps  of  different  colors  are  alternately  lighted 
and  extinguished,  giving  a  pleasing  effect. 

Another  feature  in  the  lighting  which  could  not 
but  attract  attention  was  the  row  of  Siemens 
dame  arc  lamps  which  formed  part  of  the  central 
illumination  scheme.  There  were  eight  of  these 
lamps  in  a  row  down  the  center  of  the  hall  and 
the  soft  but  intense  light  which  they  emitted 
brought  forth  much  favorable  comment.  Part  of 
these  lamps  emitted  a  pinkish  light,  part  a  bluish 
light  and  the  remainder  a  nearly  white  light.  The 
mechanical  construction  of  these  lamps  is  some- 
what simpler  than  that  of  the  ordinary  arc  lamp. 
though  the  cost  of  maintenance  is  slightly  more, 
owing  to  the  cost  of  the  carbons.  The  carbons  are 
the  distinguishing  feature.  They  are  made  up  with 
a  special  core  which  is  a  secret  with  the  Siemens- 
Schuckert  Company,  the  maker  of  the  lamp.  The 
efficiency  of  the  lamp  is' very  high,  and  the  maker 
predicts  for  it  a  brilliant  future.  The  lamp  is  now 
used  to  light   the  streets  of  Berlin. 

Several  of  the  leading  universities  and  colleges 
in  the  Middle  West  are  represented  in  what  is 
known  as   "College  Row."     The  institutions  exhibit- 


52 

ing  products  of  their  laboratories  and  views  of  their 
buildings  and  grounds  are  the  University  of  Illi- 
nois, University  of  Wisconsin,  Armour  Institute, 
University  of  Colorado  and  Purdue  University. 
"College  Row"  is  a  popular  meeting  place  for 
alumni  of  the  various  institutions  represented. 

Franklin  Day  was  observed  at  the  Electrical 
Show  on  Wednesday,  January  17th,  that  being  the 
bicentenary  of  Franklin's  birth.  On  Franklin  Day 
the  Exposition  Company  distributed  handsome  me- 
dallions as  souvenirs  of  the  occasion.  These  me- 
dallions were  of  bronze  nearly  as  large  as  a  silver 
dollar,  bearing  upon  one  side  the  head  of  Benjamin 
Franklin  with  his  name  suitably  inscribed.  The 
reverse  side  bore  the  inscription,  "Souvenir,  Elec- 
trical Show,  Coliseum.  Chicago,  January  15-27, 
igc6."  The  keepsakes  were  much  admired  and  they 
were  given  to  each  ticket  holder. 

The  music  by  Weil's  Band  of  St.  Louis  is 
greatly  enjoyed  by  all  those  in  attendance.  This 
band,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the  official  band 
at  the  St.  Louis  Exposition.  Afternoon  and  even- 
ing concerts  are  given  daily  and  the  music 
rendered  is  of  a  high  order,  the  heavier  pieces 
being    interspersed    with    popular    airs,    making    this 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


Following   is    a   list   of   additions   and   corrections 
to  list  of  exhibitors  as  printed  last  week : 

American  Bank  Protection  Company,  E  14. 

American   Electric  Fuse  Company.  A  5. 

American  Electrical  Novelty  and  Manufacturing  Company,  I  7. 

American    Electrical    Supply    Company,  J  7. 

Hel'kn   Manufacturing  Company,  I  3. 

Bullock  &  Co.,  T.  H.,  A  8. 

Chicago  Pneumatic  Tool  Company,  F  12. 

Chicago   and   Milwaukee   Telephone    Com;<any.   F   24. 

Dossert  &  Co.,  E  21. 

Electric  Gaslighting  Company,    C  5. 

Electrocraft    Pulilisliine    Company,    D   8. 

Electrical    World,   D   8. 

Engineer,  The,  B  10. 

Federal    Electric    Company,   F  4. 

Krantz  Manufacturing  Company,  F  13. 

.Newman   Manufacturing  Company,  A  7. 

Niagara  Tachometer  and  Instrument  Company,  C   12. 

Schott,   W.   H.,   I   1. 

Standard    Electrical    Manufacturing   Company,   A   8. 

Taylor,  J.  F.,  I  2. 

Universal  Electric   Storage  Battery   Company,  D   12. 

Wagner    Electric    Manufacturing   Company,    D    10. 

Western  Electrician,  E  22. 


Modern  Sub-station  Practice. 

At  an  interesting  and  well-attended  meeting  of 
the  Chicago  branch  of  the  American  Institute  of 
Electrical  Engineers  held  on  Tuesday  evening  in 
the  rooms  of  the  Western  Society  of  Engineers 
Louis    A.    Ferguson,    one    of    the   managers    of    the 


CHICAGO    ELECTRICAL    SHOW. — CENT 


feature  of  the  show  adaptable  and  pleasing  to 
all  tastes. 

Considerable  attention  was  attracted  to  the  large 
motor-generator  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
hall,  which  was  installed  by  the  Chicago  Edison 
Company  to  furnish  current  for  the  exhibits.  This 
machine  furnished  60-cycle  three-phase  current  to 
the  exhibits,  principally  for  power  purposes,  though 
a  portion  of  the  current  was  used  for  exhibit  light- 
ing. On  the  opening  night  the  peak  load  upon  the 
alternating-current  side  of  this  machine  was  about 
25  amperes. 

Facilities  for  the  comfort  of  visitors  are  provided 
on  every  hand.  Unlike  most  of  the  previous  shows 
held  in  the  Coliseum,  the  galleries  in  this  instance 
are  left  entirely  free  to  visitors,  all  the  exhibits 
being  confined  to  the  main  floor.  This  leaves 
ample  seating  space  for  those  who  desire  to  rest 
and  listen  to  the  music.  An  up-to-date  cafe  is 
located  in  the  annex,  where  excellent  meals  are 
served.  Wardrobe  checkrooms  are  conveniently 
located,  where  articles  of  clothing  may  be  checked 
if    desired. 

The  great  electric  searchlight  which  carried  off 
the  honors  at  the  World's  Fair  at  St.  Louis  has 
been  installed  on  the  roof  of  the  Coliseum,  and 
its  rays  were  visible  at  night  far  up  and  down 
the  shores  of  the  lake.  It  is  equipped  to  cover 
a  radius  of  12  miles,  but  because  of  the  atmo- 
spheric conditions  it  has  not  yet  reached  that  dis- 
tance. 

The  Electrical  Show  as  a  whole  is  brilliant,  and 
showed  at  the  start  that  it  will  draw  the  public  fully 
as  well,  if  not  better,  than  any  of  the.  "shows"  in 
various  lines  of  development  which  are  held  each 
year  as  the  Coliseum.  Next  week  the  Western 
Electrician  will  undertake  to  describe  more  in  detail 
the  various  exhibits. 


foreground). 


Institute,  presided  in  the  absence  of  K.  B.  Miller, 
the  regular  chairman.  Prof.  P.  B.  Woodworth 
gave  abstracts  of  the  recent  Institute  papers  by 
Sydney  W.  Ashe  and  C.  W.  Ricker,  the  respective 
subjects  being  "The  Relation  of  Railway  Sub-sta- 
tion Design  to  Its  Operation,"  and  "Some  Con- 
siderations. Determining  the  Location  of  Electric 
Railway  Sub-stations."  The  latter  paper  was  given 
in  full  in  the  Western  Electrician  of  December  23d, 
page  489.  Mr.  Ashe's  paper  is  on  the  same  general 
subject  as  the  same  author's  article,  entitled  "The 
Practical  Operation  of  a  Modern  Railway  Sub-sta- 
tion," written  for  the  Western  Electrician,  and 
published  in  the  issues  of  September  30th  and  Oc- 
tober 7th  last. 

George  A-  Damon  opened  the  discussion.  He 
gave  some  of  the  results  of  his  experience,  saving 
that  he  had  not  found  a  practicable  application 
of  Kelvin's  law.  Theoretical  assumptions  are  of 
course  profoundly  affected  by  practical  conditions. 

P.  Junkersfeld  remarked  that  in  starting  rotaries 
in  large  systems  the  direct-current  side  is  usually 
used.  In  interurban  roads  and  in  small  systems 
the  alternating-current  side  is  usually  used.  Ro- 
taries are  employed  in  units  as  large  as  2,000  kilo- 
watts. In  large  cities  the  cost  of  real  estate  for 
sub-stations  is  a  serious  item.  Often  the  buildings 
are  designed  so  that  they  can  be  used  for  commer- 
cial purposes  if  it  should  later  become  advisable  to 
take  out  the  equipment.  Cranes  are  sometices 
omitted,  decreasing  cost  and  making  sub-station 
buildings  more  strictly  available  for  commercial 
purposes.  The  storage  battery  has  a  very  important 
place  in  the  sub-station.  As  to  Kelvin's  law,  it  is 
perhaps  sometimes  used  unconsciously  by  engineers. 
But  it  is  always  modified  by  the  existing  conditions. 

J.  M.  S.  Waring  spoke  more  particularly  of  the 
storage-battery  feature.  In  railway  sub-stations 
there  is  not  at  present,  so  far  as  the  speaker  is 
aware,  a  battery  operated  without  a  booster. 
Therefore,  there  is  no  purely  floating  battery  in  this 
class  of  work.  He  made  the  statement  in  view  of 
a  possible  misapprehension  on  this  particular  point 
that  might   follow   a   reading   of  Mr.   Ashe's   paper. 


January  20,  1906 

Mr.  Waring  said  that  a  battery  is  not  a  panacea 
for  all  ills,  but  he  made  reference  to  the  saving 
in  copper  and  transmission  losses  effected  by  the 
installation  of  line  batteries  on  urban  and  inter- 
urban systems  and  to  the  possible  elimination  of  a 
sub-station  by  the  adoption  of  a  battery  of  this 
description. 

Ernest  Lunn  also  spoke  of  the  battery  feature. 
Both  he  and  Mr.  Waring  agreed  that  the  resistance 
is  the  all-important  feature  of  the  battery  in  sta- 
tion  regulation. 

B.  J.  Arnold,  past-president  of  the  Institute,  said 
that  he  believed  in  the  use  of  sub-station  batteries 
on  variable  loads  for  various  reasons,  the  principal 
one  being  the  reliability  thereby  secured.  In  the 
New  York  Central  terminal  work  it  was  thought 
wise  to  spend  the  large  amount  of  money  called 
for  by  the  batteries  because  the  work  is  of  such 
magnitude  that  reliability  in  train  operation  is 
of  paramount  importance.  Here  the  battery  takes 
the  overload  up  to  twice  its  one-hour  discharge 
rate.  Above  that  the  overload  is  divided  between 
battery  and  rotary.  On  interurban  roads,  where 
trains  are  few  and  far  between,  batteries  are  desir- 
able. On  direct-current  Edison  systems  they  have 
amply  proved  their  usefulness.  In  alternating-cur- 
rent work  "inverted  rotaries"  are  employed.  The 
weak  feature  of  this  device  is  the  interposition  of 
revolving   machinery   between   battery   and    line. 

Mr.  Ferguson  said  that  perhaps  the  most  im- 
portant question  in  sub-station  work,  is,  How  far  is 
it  advisable  to  go  to  protect  apparatus  and  service? 
The  subject  of  protective  apparatus  is  very  impor- 
tant both  in  lighting  and  railway  stations.  Reli- 
ability of  service  is  essential.  As  to  the  storage 
battery,  it  is  a  most  useful  adjunct.  In  the  Chi- 
cago central-station  system  some  12,000  or  J  3,000 
kilowatts    of   battery    is    employed. 

W.  G.  Carlton  of  New  York,  but  formerly  of 
Chicago  and  back  on  a  visit,  speaking  of  the  re- 
verse-current relay  as  one  protective  device,  said 
that  with  high-potential  alternating-current  systems 
it  was  necessary  to  have  a  considerable  number  of 
protective  devices,  such  as  reverse-current  _  relays, 
overload  relays  and  speed-limit  devices.  It  is  hard 
to  determine  how  far  to  go  in  installing  these  de- 
vices. More  information  is  needed  on  these  points. 
W.  M.  Moran  said  that  simplicity  is  the  great 
essential  needed  in  sub-station  work.  Referring  to 
danger  from  lightning,  he  said  that  in  this  direc- 
tion protection  in  alternating-current  high-tension 
work  is  still  very  poor.  Turning  to  the  ordinary 
risks  of  service,  he  noted  that  the  direct-current 
side  of  the  rotary  is  the  more  vulnerable  side.  Re- 
verse-current relays  are  all  right,  but  they  are  very 
delicate.  Nevertheless  he  would  use  them  in  a  large 
installation.  But  more  attention  should  be  paid 
to  the  wiring  and  care  of  these  appliances.  Mr. 
Moran  also  made  the  point  that  it  was  possible 
to  eliminate  many  reserve  rotaries  in  a  string 
of  sub-stations  by  having  one  in  reserve,  suitably 
arranged  on  a  flat-car  or  otherwise,  to  be  trans- 
ported  where   needed. 

L.  H.  Zapp  of  Highwood,  111.,  said  in  the  inter- 
urban system  centering  in  that  place  they  used 
what  they  called  double-pole  relays,  with  two  cur- 
rent transformers,  for  the  operation  of  the  protect- 
ive devices.  Thus  if  one  should  fail,  the  other 
would  still  stand  up,  undoubtedly,  and  furnish 
current  for  the  protective  apparatus.  This  was  in 
answer  to  Professor  Woodworth,  who  asked  what 
would  happen  if  the  current  transformers  broke 
down. 

Mr.  Junkersfeld  called  attention  to  the  personal 
equation  in  the  sub-station  operators.  In  a  large 
system  it  may  be  necessary  to  train  100  or  150 
men  for  this  work.  The  percentage  of  efficiency 
is,  of  course,  considerably  below  100.  "Much  as 
we  should  strive  for  simplicity,"  said  the  speaker, 
"we  can  hardly  do  away  with  our  protective  de- 
vices." 

Mr.  Winslow  said  the  reverse-current  relays  and 
other  protective  devices  should  be  tested  about 
once   in   every    10   days. 

R.  E.  Hellmund,  recently  from  Germany,  briefly 
contrasted  European  and  American  practice.  For 
one  thing,  in  Germany,  until  very  lately,  motor- 
generators  were  used  in  sub-station  work  rather 
than  rotaries.  Mr.  Lunn  also  gave  some  of  the 
results  of  observations  made  by  him  on  a  recent 
European  journey.  He  found  that  practice  dif- 
fered   widely   in   different   parts   of   Europe. 

Others  taking  part  in  the  discussion  were  Ernest 
Gonzenbach,  Edward  Schildhauer  and  D.  W.  Roper. 


Municipal  Light  Plant  Shut  Down. 

A  dispatch  in  the  Saginaw  ("Mich.)  News  bearing 
the  date  line  of  Monroe,  Mich.,  January  5th,  says: 
"Darkness  prevailed  in  Monroe  last  night  and  the 
prespects  are  it  will  every  night  for  some  time  to 
come.  The  municipal  lighting  plant,  which  the 
voters  refused  to  improve  or  sell,  has  gone  to  the 
bad  and  the  glimmer  of  a  few  commercial  lights 
on  the  streets  only  intensifies  the  darkness.  It  is 
said  that  the  Board  of  Works  cannot  secure  any 
more  coal,  as  the  city  owes  $700  for  what  has  been 
used.  The  situation  is  the  sole  topic  today.  The 
council  is  being  criticised  for  appointing  a  super- 
intendent of  lighting  at  the  fat  salary  of  $i,Soo, 
nearly  as  much  as  is  received  by  the  superintendent 
of  the  Detroit  lighting  plant,  which  is  $2,000." 


Januarj   20,   [906 

The  Automatic  Control  of   Rotary  Con- 
verters. 
Rotai )    <  on'  mi.,,    to    operate    al    thi  ii     I 

"efficiency,    should    be    provided    with     

h  hei  ebj   the  load  upo rivcrti 

tain'  '1  appro   mi.'1'  Ij    ant    t  ithin 

ing  range   regardlc      ..i   tin    trariatio thi 

upon   ili.'   dirccl  1  in  rem     ostein      ll    ha     be 

imiii    pr: ■    herctol nsti  ui  I    tl n 

vcrters  and  combine  them   v.  ith  an   iliarj   api 

thai   ili.'   voltage  imprc    •  <l   u| hi    el 

system    may    remain    practically    1  mi    or    may 

rise    as    the    load   upon    the     ystcin    inert     1        it 

however,   >i    1     dc  ired   1 plo      to batti  1  ii 

in  conw  'i  h.i,  \..  n  1 arj   convcrtci   .  il   1     1     ential 

thai    the   voltage   impressed  ii| the   dircct-ci 

system  by  iln'  rotary  convert 
<-rs  shall  il''.'"'  a  >e  .1 1  the  load 
11  1. 11  n  the  system  tin  rea  i 
since  storage  batteries  delivcf 
tl  u  c  r  easing  elcctromol  \\  e 
forces    ii-  the  current  demand 


1-1.1/  TR] 

■ 

i  pond  ing 

(10J     11  j    and    11.' 

upon 
ii'l   from  the  primary 
coil        Phi 
■ 

i    from    the 

if  opcrati 

I  In 


tin 


tion  of  in 
tary  converters  a  plan  h  .1 
been  devised  and  patented  by 
Benjamin  G  Lamme,  Charles 
\\  Scotl  and  Frank  *  onrad, 
all  of  Fitlsburg,  which  em- 
bodies a  ^  >■  s  1  e  in  of  one  or 
more  rotary  converters  and 
a  storage-battery  means  f  0  r 
causing  the  direct-current  elec- 
tromotive force  of  the  rotary 
converters  to  decrease  as  the 
1 0  a  tl  upon  the  system  in- 
creases, this  means  compris 
ing  automatic  voltage  regu- 
lators located  between  1  h  e 
alternating- cur  rent  supply  sys- 
tem and  the  rotary  converters. 
By  their  use  the  alternating- 
current  electromotive  force 
applied  to  the  rotary  convert- 
ers is  varied  inversely  as  the 
load  upon  the  direct-current 
system  varies.  The  voltage 
regulators  may  be  so  adjusted 
as  to  secure  the  following  re- 
sults under  the  various  stated 
conditions  of  operation: 

If  the  service  requires  less 
than  a  normal  full-load  cur- 
rent output  of  the  rotary  con- 
verters, the  electromotive  force  of  the  rotary  con- 
verters will  rise  slightly  above  that  corresponding 
to  full-load  output  and  the  open-circuit  electro- 
motive force  of  the  storage  battery,  and  the  stor- 
age  battery  is   then   charged. 

When  the  service  requires  the  normal  rotary- 
converter  output,  the  current  will  be  supplied  to 
the  direct-current  system  by  the  rotary  converters 
alone  at  a  voltage  corresponding  to  that  load, 
which  is  also  equal  to  the  open-circuit  electromotive 
force  of  the  storage  battery. 

When  the  demand  for  current  upon  the  direct- 
current  system  exceeds  the  normal  rotary-con- 
verter output,  the  regulators  which  are  located 
between  the  alternating-current  supply  system  and 
the  rotary  converters  cause  the  alternating-current 
voltage  supplied  to  the  rotary  converters  to  di- 
minish, and  consequently  current  is  delivered  to 
the  direct-current  system  at  a  reduced  voltage. 
The  excess  of  current  demanded  by  the  direct- 
current  system  over  the  normal  rotary-converter 
output  is  then  supplied  by  the  storage  battery, 
since  the  voltage  of  the  system  is  less  than  the 
open-circuit  electromotive  force  of  the  battery,  and 
the  rotary .  converters  continue  to  deliver  approxi- 
mately  their  normal   rated   output   of  current. 

If  the  demand  for  current  upon  the  direct-cur- 
rent system  is  greater  than  the  normal  rated  full 
load  output  of  the  rotary  converters  plus  the 
maximum  allowable  current  output  from  the  bat- 
tery, the  voltage  regulators  cease  to  operate,  and 
a  constant  alternating-current  electromotive  force 
is  delivered  to  the  rotary  converters.  The  addi- 
tional load  upon  the  direct-current  system  is  then 
carried  as  an  overload  upon  the  rotary  converters, 
the  direct-current  electromotive  force  remaining 
approximately  constant.  Under  this  condition  the 
current  which  the  rotary  converters  may  safely 
deliver  in  addition  to  that  delivered  by  the  storage 
battery  is  determined  by  the  capacity  of  the  rotary 
converters.  The  accompanying  diagram  illustrates  a 
svstem    embodying    the    invention. 

Alternating-current  energy  is  supplied  from  any 
suitable  source  to   distributing  conductors    (2),    (3) 


CONVERTERS. 


similar  to  the  well-known  devices  employed  for 
the  purpose  of  regulating  the  current  in  arc-light- 
ing circuits.  When  currents  traverse  the  circuits 
of  the  primary  and  secondary  coils  of  the  regu- 
lator, these  coils  repel  each  other,  the  strength 
of  the  repulsive  action  being  proportional  to  the 
amounts  of  the  currents  that  traverse  the  windings. 
As  the  coils  separate,  the  magnetic  leakage  be- 
tween them  increases,  and  consequently  the  voltage 
at  the  terminals  of  the  secondary  windings  de- 
creases. 

Corresponding  terminals  of  the  secondary  wind- 
ings of  the  voltage  regulator,  constituting  one  set, 
are  connected,  respectively,  to  the  supply  conduct- 
ors, and  the  corresponding  terminals,  constituting 
the  other  set,  are  connected  to  delta-connected 
primary  windings  (  17),  (  18)  and  (19)  of  three 
transformers.  Secondary  windings  of  the  transform- 
ers are  delta-connected  and  are  also  connected  to 
brushes  (26),  (27)  and  (28")  at  the  alternating- 
current   end   of  a   rotary  converter    (29). 

Direct  current  is  supplied  from  the  commutator 
brushes  (30)  and  (31)  of  the  rotary  converter 
through  series  field-magnet  winding  {32),  to  sup- 
ply the  conductors  of  the  direct-current  system. 
The  rotary  converter  is  also  provided  with  a  shunt 
field-magnet  winding  1 35 ) ,  and  the  amount  of 
current  supplied"  to  it  may  be  adjusted  by  means 
of  a  suitable  rheostatic  device,  such  as  that  shown 
at  (36).  If  more  than  a  single  rotary  converter 
is  employed  in  the  distributing  system,  an  equaliz- 
ing connection,  such  as  that  indicated  at  (37), 
should  be  made  between  the  terminals  oi  the  arma- 
ture windings,  which  are  connected  to  terminals 
of    the    series    field-magnet  windings. 

A  storage  battery  (38)  and  a  booster-generator 
(39)  are  connected  in  series  between  the  supply 
conductors  (33)  and  (34),  booster  (39)  being 
provided  with  a  field-magnet  winding  (40),  that 
is  connected  in  series  with  the  conductor  1 34 1 
in  order  that  the  charge  and*  discharge  of  the 
battery  may  be  dependent  largely  upon  the  current 
demand  upon  the  system.  The  booster  may  be 
operated    by   any   suitable    means,    such    as   a  motor 


Automobile  Shows  In  New  York. 

club   I19 

I  he    . 
limited.     I  he    only    I;    . 

md,   HI wh 

wound   i"r  the   Baker 

.'ili''  ■-.[     not      to     i'Mrn 

battery    can    furnish 
will  travel  40  m 

The   1 
scnted  by  .1.  M    Lansdi 

Ruprechl    and    Charles    Schutti 
novel    pleasure   vehicle,   which   thej 

25  miles  .-in  I 

arranged  in  the  front 
accessible  by  lifting  a 
tnr-   and   controllers   arc  used.    The 

d    a   two-ton   truck   equipped    with   60 
traveling   25   1 

ii..  Dayton  Electrical  Manufacturing  Company, 
represented 

"   tin-   line  of   ignition   dynamos.    The  corn- 
also  putting  on  the  market  a  new   automo- 
ttery  charger,  with  clutch  governor,  to  main- 
tain a   constant   speed.     It-   : 

made  up  of  units    each   weigl      1    -  The 

unit   is  a   lead  bottle    with  the  vent  at  the 
prevent   the   fumes  eating  the  terminal 
Other  batteries  were  shown  by  the   E 
Battery    Company,    the    National    Carl 
and   the    Eastern   Carbon    Works.    The    Witherbcc 
Storage    Battery   Company   was    also    represented. 

Spark  coils  were  shown  by  the  Connecticut  Tele- 
phone rind  Electric  Company,  which  claimed  that 
it  has  designed  its  products  cspeciall)  to  meet  the 
conditions    required    by   gasoline    engines. 

The    Byrne-Kingston   Company  of   Kokom 
had  a   well-organized   exhibit   of  commutators 
and   plugs.     This  company  was    represented   al   both 
of   the    New    York    shows   by   C.    T.    Byrne. 
B.    Kingston,   J.    P.   Grace,  j.    W.   Johnson.    Marion 
Black    and    William    H.    Diehl.    Cither    coils    were 
shown   by    C.    F.    Splitdorf   of    Xew    York. 

In  the  large  gymnasium  was  an  interesting 
hihit  by  William  J.  Hammer,  represented  by  Ed- 
ward Durant,  wdio  gave  a  demonstration  of  his 
method  of  signaling  from  balloons  by  m. 
incandescent  lamps.  Tn  this  system  a  ring 
pended  from  a  small  captive  balloon,  carrying 
eight  incandescent  lamps  of  different  colors.  The 
lamps  are  controlled  from  a  keyboard,  and  a  very 
high  speed  of  communication  can  lie  maintained. 
On  the  same  balloon  the  Eric  Bruce  signaling 
method  was  illustrated,  in  which  an  incandescent 
lamp  is  placed  within  the  balloon  itself.  Around 
the  walls  of  the  gymnasium  were  several  hundred 
photographs,  loaned  by  Mr.  Hammer,  and  illus- 
trating the  art  of  aerial  navigation  and  its  prog- 
ress   during    recent    years. 

The  lighting  of  the  armory  was  in  the  hands 
of  James  Riley  &  Sons  of  Xew  York,  and  com- 
prised 64  arc  lamps  and  many  thousands  of  in- 
candescent lamps,  arranged  in  a,  definite  decorative 
scheme. 

The  show  in  the  Madison  Square  Garden  was 
held  under  the  auspices,  for  the  first  tin 
year,  of  the  Association  of  Licensed  Automobile 
Manufacturers.  The  makers  of  all  the  machines 
in  the  Garden  recognize  the  rights  of  the  Selden 
patent  as  governing  the  principles  of  the  internal- 
combustion  engine.  The  armory  exhibitors,  on  the 
other  hand,  are  known  popularly  as  the  independ- 
ents, as  they  have  thus  far  refused  to  recognize 
the  basic  rights  of  the  patent.  This  sharp  legal 
division    is   really   the   reason    lor   the   two    sfi 

Both  shows  contain  about  425  exhibitors.  There 
were  220  in  the  Garden  and  205  in  the  Armory. 
The  Armory,  however,  contains  a  larger  number 
of  makers  of  different  machines.  In  the  Armory 
there    were    44    types    of    American    pleas-.-.r. 

ctrics,  two  steam,  seven  commercial  and 
18  foreign  makes  of  cars  represented,  a  total  of 
73  varieties.  The  Garden  had  56  different  makes, 
being  divided  into  30  American  cars,  it  foreign, 
eight  electrics  and  seven  commercial  vehicles. 
Nearly  200  complete  cars  and  chasses  were  shown 
in    the    Armory    and   about    160   in   the   Garden. 


54 

Ferranti-  Hamilton    Alternating-current 
Meter. 

In  electric  wattmeters  of  the  induction-motor 
type  for  use  on  alternating  circuits  it  is  necessary 
to  produce  a  lag  of  go  degrees  in  the  magnetic 
field  produced  by  the  shunt-current,  behind  the  im- 
pressed electromotive  force. 

The  object  of  an  invention  by  Sebastian  Ziani 
De  Ferranti  and  William  Hamilton  of  Hollinwood, 
England,  is  to  provide  a  simple  form  of  meter  in 
which  the  required  phase  _  displacement  is  obtained 
without  the  use  of  special  arrangements,  such  as 
additional  choking  coils  or  secondary  circuits.  ^ 

The  invention  consists,  broadly,  in  employing  a 
shunt  magnet  having  large  magnetic  leakage  through 
non-hysteretic  and  non-conductive  material,  such 
as  air,  so  as  to  obtain  a  lag  of  go  degrees  of  the 
effective  torque-producing  flux  behind  the  impressed 
electromotive  force  without  the  use  of  additional 
flux-retarding   devices.     Further,    it   consists   in    de- 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

high  up  on  the  central  limb  of  (b),  and  the  lower 
part  of  the  limb  is  provided  with  an  additional  me- 
tallic cross-section,  the  effect  of  which  is  to  produce 
a  further  lag  in  the  magnetic  flux  which  enters  the 
disk.  This  additional  metallic  cross-section  may 
be  provided  either  by  thickening  up  the  lower  part 
of  the  central  limb  of  (b),  as  shown  in  Fig.  I,  or 
by  providing  a  non-insulated  short-circuited  winding 
(b')  around  the  pole.  By  the  above  arrangement 
a  lag  of  go  degrees  of  the  effective  flux  due  to  the 
magnet  (b)  behind  the  impressed  electromotive 
force  may  be  readily  produced.  Indeed,  it  is  possi- 
ble and  convenient  to  produce  an  excessive  lag  and 
reduce  this  to  exactly  90  degrees  by  means  of  a 
series  non-inductive  resistance.  Careful  experiments 
have  shown  that  the  lag  of  more  than  go  degrees 
thus  obtainable  is  due  chiefly  to  the  following 
causes :  First,  large  leakage  through  non-hysteretic 
and  non-conductive  material,  and,  second,  large  iron 
losses. 

In  the  form  of  meter  shown  in  Figs.  2,  3  and  4 
the  upper  or  shunt  electromagnetic  (b)  has  five 
poles  which  are  alternately  north  and  south,  and 
which  project  inward  from  the  end  pieces  (f)  and 
(f)    of  the  core  on   which  the  coil    (d)    is  wound. 


MILTON    ALTERNATING-CU 


vices  for  enabling  sufficient  speed  to  be  obtained 
on  inductive  loads,  thus  rendering  possible  the  con- 
struction of  a  meter  practically  equally  accurate  on 
both  inductive  and  non-inductive  loads  and  prac- 
tically independent  of  frequency  through  wide  varia- 
tions. 

Fig  1  is  a  diagram  showing  the  arrangement  of 
the  series  and  shunt  magnets  in  relation  to  the 
rotating  disk.  This  figure  also  shows  the  connec- 
tions to  the  supply  circuit.  Fig.  2  is  an  elevation  of 
one  form  of  the  improved  meter.  Fig.  3  is  a  sec- 
tional plan  on  the  line  (3  3)  of  Fig.  2.  Fig.  4  is 
a  sectional  elevation  on  the  line   (4  4)    of  Fig.  2. 

Referring  first  to  Fig.  1,  a  horizontal  disk  (a)  is 
mounted  on  a  vertical  axis  so  as  to  be  free  to 
rotate  between  the  poles  of  a  shunt  magnet  (b) 
and  those  of  a  series  magnet  (c).  The  shunt  mag- 
net, which  is  disposed  above  the  outer  portion  of 
the  disk,  has  three  limbs,  forming  poles.  On  the 
central  limb  is  mounted  a  coil  which  is  connected 
as  a  shunt  across  the  source  of  supply.  The  series 
magnet,  which  is  below  the  disk,  has  two  poles  on 
which  are  wound  coils  through  which  current 
passes  to  the  working  circuit.  The  poles  of  (c) 
are  arranged  practically  opposite  to  the  gaps  be- 
tween the  poles  of  (b).  In  order  to  increase  the  lag 
of  the  effective  field  of  (b)  behind  the  applied  elec- 
tromotive force — i.  e.,  the  lag  of  the  flux  entering 
the  disk  (a)  due  to  the  magnet  (b)— the  core  of 
the  latter  is  made  of  such  a  form  that  there  is  a  con- 
siderable leakage  of  magnetic  lines  from  one  limb 
of  (b)   to  the  others.     The  shunt  coil   (d)  is  placed 


The  coil  (d)  preferably  does  not  occupy  the  whole 
of  the  space  between  the  end  pieces  (f)  and  (fv)  ; 
but  a  washer  (e)  is  arranged  on  each  side  of  it. 
This  shunt  magnet  is  arranged,  as  shown,  above 
the  horizontal  disk  (a),  which  is  mounted  on  a 
vertical  axis  (g),  free  to  rotate  in  bearings  sup- 
ported in  a  brass  frame.  This  frame  is  clamped 
to  the  frame  (1),  which  supports  the  magnets  by 
means  of  a  screw,  so  that  when  desired  the  frame 
(i),  carrying  with  it  the  disk  (a),  may  be  removed 
without  interfering  with  the  other  parts  of  the 
meter.  The  series  electromagnet  (c)  has  a  core 
of  laminated  iron  with  four  projecting  poles,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  2,  on  which  are  wound  the  coils 
through  which  the  current  passes  to  the  working 
circuit.  In  order  to  obtain  an  adjustable  starting 
torque  when  no  current  is  flowing  in  the  series  coils 
the  shunt  magnet  is  mounted  so  that  it  can  be  dis- 
placed to  the  right  or  left,  when  the  want  of  sym- 
metry produces  a  starting  torque. 

The  meter  is  also  applicable  to  polyphase  cir- 
cuits. For  example,  a  three-phase  meter  may  be 
made  of  three  meter  elements,  each  elment  com- 
prising a  series  and  a  shunt  coil,  as  in  one  of  the 
forms  of  a  single-phase  meter,  so  arranged  that 
each  of  the  elements  acts  on  a  disk  common  to  all, 
tending  to  rotate  it  in  the  same  direction. 


The  American  Electrical  Salesmen's  Association 
will  hold  its  first  regular  meeting  in  the  Grand 
Pacific  Hotel  on  January  20th.  Any  information 
regarding  the  meeting  will  be  gladly  given  by  Mr. 
George  H.  Erich  '  of  Room  52,  88  Washington 
Street,  Chicago,  who  is  secretary  of  the  associa- 
tion, and  has  an  office  for  the  present  at  the  above 
address. 


January  20,  1906 

Storage    Batteries   and    Insulated    Wir 

Discussed  by  Railway  Signal 

Association. 

The  January  meeting  of  the  Railway  Signal  As- 
sociation was  held  at  New  York  city  on  January 
9th,  C.  H.  Morrison  of  the  Erie  Railroad  Company 
presiding.  The  association  has  now  565  members, 
and  among  36  new  applicants  elected  at  the  meeting 
were  Joseph  Bijur,  president  of  the  General  Stor- 
age Battery  Company ;  Elmer  F.  Bliss  of  the  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company,  Schenectady ;  J.  M.  Walshe, 
General  Railway  Signal  Company ;  F.  C.  Laverack, 
Federal  Railway  Signal  Company,  Chicago;  Sam- 
uel B.  Dusinberre,  manager  storage  department, 
Westinghouse  Machine  Company ;  J.  H.  Dodd,  Ja- 
maica Government  Railways,  and  John  P.  O'Don- 
nell,  London,  England.  G.  M.  Basford,  the  first 
president  of  the  association,  was  made  an  honorary 
member.  A.  H.  Rudd  was  elected  eastern  vice- 
president. 

I.  S.  Raymer,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  stor- 
age batteries,  in  a  preliminary  report  said  there 
was  a  general  tendency  to  use  storage  batteries  for 
signal  work.  Such  batteries  were  charged  (1)  by 
transmission  wire,  (2)  by  taking  portable  batteries 
to  the  central  station,  and  (3)  by  the  "primary- 
storage"  method.  The  last  method  is  used  on  the 
Pittsburg,  Cincinnati  and  St  Louis  division  of  the 
Pennsylvania  lines.  Six  storage  cells  are  used  at 
a  signal  location.  Eighteen  gravity  cells  are  then 
put  in  series  and  similar  terminals  of  each  set  are 
connected.  The  result  is  that  the  gravity  voltage 
overcomes  the  counter  electromotive  force  of  the 
storage  cells.  The  signal  motors  receive  current 
from  the  storage  cells,  but  when  the  signals  are 
standing,  current  is  supplied  from  gravity  to  stor- 
age. Three  years'  operation  shows  this  method  to 
be  practical  and  economical. 

C.  C.  Anthony,  signal  supervisor  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad,  said  that  when  storage  cells  were 
charged  at  a  low  rate  it  is  desirable  to  have  a 
periodic  overcharge.  He  doubted  the  ultimate  suc- 
cess of  the  primary  storage  method.  D.  C.  Arling- 
ton of  the  Westinghouse  Machine  Company  also 
approved  a  periodical  overcharge  which  removes 
sulphate  in  cells  used  spasmodically. 

E.  B.  Leslie  of  the  Electric  Storage  Battery  Com- 
pany,    Philadelphia,    suggested    combining    a    slow 

.  charge  with  an  overcharge  at  the  normal  rate.  The 
half-rate  reduces  the  sulphate,  and  there  was  no  sedi- 
ment at  low  rates  because  it  remained  on  the  plates. 

D.  M.  Case  of  the  Queen  and  Crescent  Railroad 
spoke  on  portable  batteries.  He  cited  an  example 
in  which  each  maintainer  kept  two  extra  sets  and 
used  them  as  substitutes  while  the  regular  cells 
were  recharged.  The  extra  set  lasted  six  weeks. 
Recharging  portables   gave  no   trouble. 

Edward  L.  Reynolds,  sales  agent  of  the  Electric 
Storage  Battery  Company,  said  eastern  engineers 
were  much  against  portables.  In  the  West  they 
were  used  advantageously.  As  to  charging  port- 
ables, Mr.  Bezar  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  said  this  is 
easier  on  account  of  the  automatic  cut-outs  at  the 
central  stations.  A.  H.  Rudd,  assistant  signal  engi- 
neer of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  estimated  that 
portable  batteries  would  stand  200  discharges,  or 
say  20  years  of  life. 

H.  W.  Lewis,  supervisor  of  signals  of  the  Lehigh 
Valley  Railroad,  read  a  paper  on  the  care  of  storage 
batteries.  He  recommended  a  full  initial  charge, 
followed  by  a  half  discharge  and  a  regular  re- 
charge. He  asked  for  information  as  to  the  use 
of  sodium  sulphate  to  prevent  sulphating. 

I.  M.  Waldron  of  the  Interborough  Rapid  Tran- 
sit Company  said  that  for  10  years  they  had  given 
new  batteries  100  per  cent,  overcharge  and  then 
set  them  to  work.  This  method  had  never  failed. 
Storage  batteries  are  not  delicate  things  if  decently 
treated.  They  kept  the  plates  covered,  but  did  not 
test  every  day. 

Information  being  asked  as  to  charging  with  mer- 
cury arc  rectifiers,  F.  B.  Corey  of  the  General 
Electric  Company,  explained  the  process,  which,  he 
asserted,  is  cheaper  and  more  efficient  than  using 
motor-generators. 

Instances  of  SOO-per  cent,  overcharge,  lasting  from 
40  to  60  hours,  were  related  by  Mr.  Leslie.  The 
positive  plates  got  into  good  condition  before  the 
negative. 

Azel  Ames,  Jr.,  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
wire  inspection,  reported  briefly.  He  suggested  the 
formation  of  a  permanent  inspection  bureau  for 
the  Use  of  all  the  roads.  The  committee  was  seek- 
ing to  co-operate  with  the  fire  insurance  inspectors 
as  to  methods  of  inspecting  insulated  wires. 

F.  F.  Fowle  of  the  American  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company  read  a  long  paper  on  "Spec- 
ifications for  Line  Wire."  He  laid  down  general 
principles  for  efficiency  and  economy  under  varying 
conditions,  pleaded  for  standardization  and  sug- 
gested a  number  of  problems  for  future  investiga- 
tion. He  asked  members  to  collect  statistics  as 
to  the  number  of  breaks  per  mile  per  annum.  An- 
swering a  question  by  Mr.  Ames,  he  said  that  no 
allowance  was  made  for  the  extra  weight  of 
weatherproof  wire  because  their  wires  were  always 
strung  with  a  very  large  factor  of  safety  on  ac- 
count of  sleet.  Mr.  Rudd  said  insulated  wires  car- 
ried more  sleet,  and  mentioned  a  case  of  sleeting 
two  inches  thick.  Mr.  Fowle  remarked  that  sleet 
caused  wires  to  slack  and  so  decreased  then  tension. 

Double-braided   No.   10  wire   for   storms,   or   No. 


January  20,  [906 


l-.l.i/  TkH 


12  with  60  pole  1   i"   II Ii  1 11  !"!■  d 

by    Mr.    Ames. 

No.   9    wire    for   signal   circu 1       0    6    foi 

charging  lines  were  favored  byMr.  Rudd,    Weather- 
proof   wire    di  ti  1  ioi  ati   I    hi 

using  a  cheapi  i   i  oppi  i    to  last  onl .   a     long   a     thi 
insulation,      Prcscnl  day    braided     win       ai  1  irding 

to  Mr.   Balliet,  are  not  so  good   a     tl 1    peai 

ago.    1  tc   mentioned   lab  d    «  1 891    which 

lai  ted  11  years,    'i  he  old  soi  1  could  I bti 1   il 

specified.     Mr,   Fov.  I1     laid   <  ubl 1  illation   la  ted 

[or  80  per  cent,  ol  the  life  ol  thi    ■■.  ire      Mi .  I  lamrn 
aid  the  old   « ii  1    '■■■  a     boughl   by  the  mile  and  the 
new    by    the    pound.      Purchasing    agi  nl     can   g 
good  whr  if  they  w  ill  pay  for  it. 

Mr.  Anil v  dwell    upon  the  defects  of  the  old 

wires.      Some    manufacturers    joined    with      ingle 
loops   ami    put    them    through    the    insulating    ma- 

illinr. 

Dr.  Clayton  II.  Sharp,  introduced  as  a  visito 
scribed  satisfactory  and  economical  methods  of  ti  I 
ing  insulation.  He  is  devising  a  method  i>f  aging 
wire  prematurely.  Mr.  Smith  reported  five  breaks 
per  annum  on  142  miles  of  wire.  Mr.  Anthony 
sni'l  the  trouble  is  Hue  to  railroads  buying  wire 
in  small  quantities.  I  In  association  should  draw 
up  a  standard  specification  and  make  some  ar- 
rangement for  testing. 

A  preliminary  report  by  G.  K.  Rogers  of  Cal- 
cutta  "ii  signaling  mi  (lie  East  ISengal  gnvern 
incut  railways  was  received,  but  members  ex 
pressed  the  view  thai  they  had  nothing  to  learn 
from    Indian   methods. 

President  Morrison  entertained  the  members  of 
the  association  at  dinner  in  the  evening.  The 
next  meeting  of  the  association  will  be  held  at 
Washington,   D.  G,  on   October  9th.        D.W.  W. 


11 mr 

"  cd  1 
in  the  in 

corresponds  1  II    four 

1 1  Imdi  1  i,    thi    ma   im  im    1 

11 11   70,000 

I    at    the    mid. li- 
ne load  and  the  other  under  load 

run    at     1)1.        ami 

and    maintain    synchronism    foi 

1  1 "in.      are     upplicd    .■•  itti    oil 

ervnir   by   gravity.     After    beil 

tank     in    Hi.    1  •  11  11    and    is   purified    from   ; 

timi .  being  rai  led  to  th 

These    two    units    were    subjected    to    thorough 


- 


General    Electric    Salesmen's    Meeting. 
Company    in 

n   man 
January'   15th, 
and   mi  1 

arc,  in  general,  ol  a 


Central    Light   and   Power  Station   in 
Hanover,  Germany. 

By  C.  Smith. 

To  meet  the  new  conditions  and  greater  demand 
for  electrical  power,  the  city  of  Hanover,  Germany, 
has  recently  constructed  a  new.  central  station  to 
take  the  place  of  the  old  direct-current  installation, 
which  has  been  in  continuous  service  for  the  last 
13  years.  But  two  of  the  three  units  have  been 
installed,  these  two  being  sufficient  at  the  present 
time  to  supply  the  current  required.  Space  has 
been  reserved  throughout  for  the  third  unit,  how- 
ever, which  will  be  put  into  operation  as  soon  as 
required. 

Coal  is  brought  to  the  station  by  rail  and  stored 
in  a  shed  separated  from  the  boiler  room  by  a 
fireproof  wall.  When  brought  to  the  boilers  it 
passes  over  small  scales,  so  that  an  accurate  record 
of  the  coal  consumption  can  be  kept.  Four  Stein- 
muller  boilers  are  in  use  at  present,  space  being 
reserved  for  a  battery  of  two  more.  They  are  of 
the  water-tube  type,  with  a  heating  surface  of 
4.CCO  square  feet  each,  and  a  grate  surface  of  82 
square  feet.  They  generate  steam  at  a  pressure  of 
175  pounds  per  square  inch.  Steinmuller  super- 
heaters of  840  square  feet  surface  are  also  used. 

Furnace  gases  from  each  boiler  are  led  through 
short  flues  to  a  main  flue  connecting  with  the 
stack,  economizers  not  having  been  installed  at 
present,  although  it  is  the  intention  to  make  use 
of  them  later. 

A  spring  situated  a  few  hundred  feet  from  the 
building  supplies  the  feed  water  for  the  boilers. 
Two  pumps  lift  the  water  to  two  water  purifiers, 
from  which  it  passes  overhead  to  the  front  of  the 
boilers,  being  forced  into  them  by  two  feed  pumps, 
one  being  placed  before  each  battery. 

The  steam  from  the  boilers  to  the  engines  passes 
from  the  superheaters  through  a  double  conduit. 
The  flanges  are  packed  with  asbestos,  reinforced 
by  inserted  metal,  a  packing  which  does  not  blow 
out  under  the  high  pressure,  so  that  the  flanges 
could  be  made  smooth  and  yet  afford  as  much 
safety  as   the  grooved  ones  usually  used. 

Two  large  separators  are  used  to  take  out  any 
water  which  may  condense.  This  precaution  was 
taken  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  superheaters 
might  be  temporarily  out  of  service  and  saturated 
steam  would  have  to  be  supplied  to  the  engine. 
These  separators  are  each  79  inches  high  by  39 
inches  in  diameter. 

Steam  leaving  the  boiler  has  a  temperature  of 
509°  F.,  but  on  reaching  the  high-pressure  cylinder 
of  the  engine  the  temperature  has  fallen  to  42S 
degrees,  showing  a  loss  of  81  degrees  between  boiler 
and  engine,  the  steam  pipe  having  a  length  of 
164  feet. 

Fig.  1  gives  an  excellent  idea  of  the  interior  of 
the  engine  room  and  the  two  units  already  in- 
stalled. They  are  three-cylinder  triple-expansion 
engines  built  by  the  Maschinenbau  Actien  Gesell- 
schaft.  They  develop  from  1,350  to  2,040  horse- 
power each.  The  alternators  are  placed  between 
the    pair    of   cylinders.     The    high-pressure    cylinder 


CENTRAL   LIGH 


\    IN    HANOVER,    G] 


tests  before  being  accepted  by  the  city.  In  the  test 
with  dry  saturated  steam  at  a  pressure  of  170 
pounds  per  square  inch  11.52  pounds  of  steam  were 
consumed  per  horsepower-hour.  With  steam  at  77 
degrees  superheat,  the  steam  consumption  was  10.56 
pounds   per   indicated  horsepower-hour. 

The  condensers  are  of  the  jet  type  and  are  lo- 
cated beside  the  low-pressure  cylinders.  They  are 
each  of  sufficient  size  to  be  able  to  handle  the 
entire  exhaust  from  a  single  engine,  but  can  main- 
tain a  better  vacuum  by  working  together.  The 
water  is  led  from  each  condenser  through  indi- 
vidual pipes  to  one  large  discharge  main,  which 
conveys  it  to  a  suction  pit,  located  outside  the 
small  pump  house.  From  there  two  centrifugal 
pumps,  driven  by  induction  motors,  raise  it  to  a 
cooling  tower,  from  which  it  flows  through  piping 
230  feet  in  length,  to  another  pit,  into  which  the 
suction   pipes   from    the    condensers    dip. 

The  alternators  used  are  of  the  Schuckert  type 
and  generate  a  three-phase  current  at  5,000  volts 
pressure,  the  frequency  being  100  cycles  per  second. 
They  have  each  a  capacity  of  1,000  kilowatts.  Two 
vertical  steam  engines,  developing  from  400  to  500 
horsepower  each,  and  a  horizontal  engine  of  200- 
horsepower  capacity  are  also  situated  in  the  engine 
room.  They  drive  electrical  generators  at  a  speed 
of  150  revolutions  per  minute,  supplying  current 
for  excitation  and  also  for  driving  small  motors 
and  other  electrically  operated  machinery  about  the 
station. 

The  switchboard  is  located  at  the  rear  of  the 
engine  room.  It  is  constructed  entirely  of  iron 
and  marble,  and  a  glass  cover  entirely  protects  it 
from  the  injurious  effects  of  moisture.  The  room 
in  the  rear  is  shut  off  from  the  engine  room  by 
iron    gates,    preventing   unnecessary   intrusion. 

Five  main  cables  conduct  the  current  to  sub- 
stations,   where    transformers    and    rotary-converter 


commercial  nature  and  are  intended  to  increase  the 
knowledge  of  the  men  by  an  interchange  of  ideas. 
Men  especially  versed  in  the  different  branches  of 
the  company's  business  address  the  salesmen  and 
bring  to  their  attention  the  particular  points  of 
merit  in  the  various  machines  or  appliances  pro- 
duced by  the  company.  For  instance,  P.  D.  Wag- 
oner of  Schenectady  spoke  on  transformers,  F.  G. 
Yaughen  of  Schenectady  talked  about  meters,  and 
F.  G.  Kimball  of  Boston  gave  a  talk  on  small 
motors.  Other  speakers  and  subjects  were  as  fol- 
lows :  "Induction  Motors,"  J.  T.  Stockdale  of 
Schenectady ;  "Railway  Controllers,"  H.  M.  Ran- 
som of  Schenectady;  "Incandescent  Lamps,"  A.  D. 
Page  and  F.  W.  Willcox  of  Harrison,  N.  J. :  "Heat- 
ing and  Cooking  Devices."  X.  R.  Birge  and  W.  J. 
Newcomb  of  Schenectady;  -"Specialties,"  H.  C. 
Wirt  of  Schenectady;  "Circuit  Breakers,"  E.  P. 
Edwards  of  Schenectady ;  "Railway  Overhead  Ap- 
pliances,"  W.   G.   Carey  of   Schenectady. 

Those  present  at  the  meeting  from  out  of  Chicago 
were  the  following-named :  J.  E.  Lewis  of  Dallas, 
Texas,  A.  N.  Feineman  of  Oklahoma  City,  Okla., 
C.  W.  Hough  and  I.  F.  Schaefer  of  Kansas  Citv. 
George  D.  Rosenthal,  F.  C.  Pullen,  William  Hand 
and  C.  R.  Croninger  of  St.  Louis,  George  A. 
Seabury  and  G.  W.  Munro  of  Omaha,  C.  H. 
Alexander  of  Helena,  Mont..  A.  B.  Cross  and 
W.  F.  Smith  of  Minneapolis.  R.  A.  Swain  of  Du- 
ltith,  Minn..  J.  B.  Tingley  of  Oshkosh,  Wis.,  J.  H. 
Livsey  and  W.  W.  Kittleman  of  Detroit.  L.  M. 
Paige  of  Grand  Haven,  Mich.,  A.  L.  Haralson  of 
Cleveland,  T.  L.  Rainey  and  A.  H.  Meyrose  of 
Cincinnati.  F.  G.  Kimball  of  Boston,  A.  D.  Page 
and  F.  W.  Willcox  of  Harrison,  N.  J.,  P.  D. 
Wagoner,  F.  G.  Vaughen.  J.  T.  Stockdale.  H.  M. 
Ransom.  N.  R.  Birge.  W.  J.  Xewcomb.  H.  C. 
Wirt,  E.  P.  Edwards  and  W.  G.  Carev  of  Schenec- 
tady. 

The  usual  banquet  was  not  held  this  year.  In- 
stead the  salesmen  made  frequent  visits  to  the  elec- 
trical show  at  the  Coliseum,  wdiere  the  General 
Electric  Company  has  a  large  and  attractive  exhibit. 


56 

WESTERN   ELECTRICIAN 

EVERY    SATURDAY. 

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CORRESPONDENCE  relating  to  electricity  or  any  of  its 
praet  it'iil  applu-u  kms  is  cordially  incited,  and  the  co-operation 
of  all  electrical  thinkers  and  workers  earnestly  desired.  Clear, 
concise,  well  written  articles  are  especially  welcome;  and  com- 
munications, views,  news  items,  local  newspaper  clippings,  or 
any  information  likely  to  interest  electricians,  wiil  be  thank- 
fully received  and  cheerfully  acknowledged. 

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general  electrical  paper  published  in  the  West—  thorough lv 
covers  a  territory  f.n-liimrth/  it  a  own.     This  is  a  c^-iim  which 

CAN     EB     MADE     BY     NO    OTHER      ELECTRICAL      JOURNAL     IN     THE 

United  States.  Electrical  merchants  and  manufacturers 
dftirinq  wt-r.lt  rn  trade  will  appreciate  the  unequaled  vj»,-txe 
of  this  journal  as  an  advertising  medium  in  its  special  field. 
Advertising  rates  are  moderate,  and  will  be  furnished  en 
application. 

REMITTANCES.— All  checks,  drafts  and  other  remit- 
tances -.imn'id  hi-  mad.'  payable  to  the  order  of  the  publishers, 
(In  Blectrician  Publishing  Company,  and  addressed  to  the 
Offices  of  publication,  Suite  510,  Marquette  Building  {204 
Dearborn  Street),  Chicago,  Illinois,  Tj.  S.  A. 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

The  Chicago  Electrical  Show.     Illustrated 5L  52 

Modern  Substation  Practice.    (Institute  discussion  in  Chicago.)  52 

Municipal  Lighting  Plant  Shut  Down :  52 

The  Automatic  Control  of  Rotary  Converters.     Illustrated ....  53 

Automobile  Shows  in  New  York 53 

Ferranti-Hamilton  Alternating-current  Meter.     Illustrated 54 

Storage  Batteries  and  Insulated  Wire   Discussed  by  Railway 

Signal  Association 54.  55 

Central  Light  and  Power  Station  in  Hanover,  Germany.      By 

C.  Smith.     Illustrated 55 

General  Electric  Salesmen's  Meeting 55 

Editorial 56 

Ohio  and  Indiana  Electric  Railway  Associations  to  be  Merged.  57 
Northwestern  Electrical  Association.      (Annual  convention  in 

Chicago.) 57 

Magnetic  Wells — 57 

Year's  Earnings  of  Chicago  Freight  Tunnels 57 

Electrical  Trades  Association  of  Chicago 57 

Northwestern  Cedarmen's  Association.      (Annual   meeting  in 

Minneapolis.) 58 

Marshall  H.  Coolidge.     Portrait 58 

Electric  Power  for  Large  Iron  Mine 58 

Further  Details  of  Sarnia  Tunnel  Equipment.     Illustrated  —  59 

The  Dynelectron.     Illustrated 59,  Go 

5,000  Kilowatts  in  Steam  Turbines  Ready  for  Shipment.      Il- 
lustrated    60 

The  New  "Poke  Bonnet"  Reflector-     Illustrated 60 

The  Connectome.     Illustrated 60 

High-voltage  Electrically  Operated  Oil  Circuit-breaker.        Il- 
lustrated   60,  61 

Something  about  Hard-drawn  Copper  Wire 61 

Finest  Ever  Printed  in  the  United  States 61 

Long-distance  Wireless.     (Communication.) 61 

American  Energy  Triumphing  over   Misfortune.      (Communi- 

Co-operative  Insurance  for  Railway  and  Lighting  Properties..  61 

Opening  of  the  Simplon  Tunnel 61 

Electrically    Operated    Irrigating    System    on    Large    Sugar 

Plantation 62 

Auxiliary  Telephone  Circuits.      By  Charles    H.    Coar.     Illus- 
trated  62,  63 

Telephone  Men *3 

Telephone  News  from  the  Northwest 64 

Indiana  Telephone  Items 64 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes 64 

Southeastern  Telephone  Developments.. 64 

Oregon  Independent  Telephone  Association 64 

General  Telephone  News 64 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence 64,  65,  66 

Great  Britain 64.  65 

New  York 65 

Dominion  of  Canada 65 

Ohio '■ 65 

Michiean 65 

Indiana 65.  66 

Southeastern  States 66 

Texas 66 

Mexico 66 

Northwestern  States 66 

Pacific  Slope 66 

Personal 66.  67 

Electric  Lighting 67 

Electric  Railways 67 

Power  Transmission 67 

Publications 68 

Societies  and  Schools 68 

Miscellaneous 68 

Trade  News 68 

Business 68,  60 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record 69.  70 

DATES  AHEAD. 

Chicago  Electrical  Show  (first  annual  exhibtion  of  Elec- 
trical Trades  Exposition  Company),  Coliseum,  Chicago,  Jan- 
uary 15th  to  27th. 

American  Electrical  Salesmen's  Association  (first  annual 
meeting),  Grand  Pacific  Hotel,  Chicago,  January  20th,  9  a.  m. 

Nebraska  hide  pern  lent  Telephone  Association  (annual  con- 
vention), Lindcll  Hotel,  Lincoln,  Neb.,  January  23d  and 
24th. 

Ohio  Interurban  Railway  Association  (annual  meeting*. 
Algonquin  Hotel.  Dayton,  Ohio,  Tamiary  25th. 

American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers  (two-hundred- 
and-third  meeting),  44  West  Twenty-seventh  Street,  New 
York  city,  Tanuary  26th,  8:15  p.  m. 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

Marshall  Field  was  not  an  electrical  man,  and 
yet  we  suppose  there  is  not  an  electrical  man  of 
prominence  in  Chicago  who  does  not  feel  a  sense 
of  personal  loss  at  his  death.  He  was  a  strong, 
reserved  man,  who  kept  his  own  counsel,  but  he1 
was  nevertheless  a  friend  of  progress  and  a  com- 
manding figure  in  the  influences  that  made  for  the 
prestige  and  betterment  of  the  city.  He  early  rec- 
ognized the  advantages  of  electric  light  and  power, 
and  later  became  financially  interested  in  the  cen- 
tral-station and  traction  interests  of  Chicago.  He 
was  unquestionably  the  foremost  citizen  of  the 
western  metropolis,  and  was  held  in  universal  re- 
spect and  honor.  The  death  of  such  a  man  should 
be  and  is  keenly  regretted. 


Much  interest  is  naturally  manifested  in  the  con- 
templated attempt  to  reach  the  North  Pole  to  be 
made  by  Walter  Wellman,  who  has  been  com- 
missioned by  a  Chicago  daily  newspaper  to  build 
an  airship  and  undertake  to  proceed  to  the  Pole 
in  that  manner  from  Spitzbergen.  The  celebrated 
aeronaut,  Alberto  Santos-D union t  of  Paris,  will  act 
as  Mr.  Wellman's  aeronautic  engineer  in  the  con- 
struction and  equipment  of  the  airship,  which  is 
to  be  of  the  dirigible  variety:  Mr.  Santos-Dumont 
may  also  accompany  the  expedition  to  pilot  the  ship. 
Communication  with  the  outside  world  is  to  be 
maintained,  it  is  hoped,  by  the  aid  of  space  teleg- 
raphy and  the  submarine  cable.  For  this  purpose 
a  wireless  station  is  to  be  established  at  Spitz- 
bergen, 550  miles  from  the  Pole.  This  station  will 
transmit  the  messages  which  Mr.  Wellman  may 
send  to  Hamrnerfest,  Norway,  600  miles  from  the 
first  station.  From  Hamrnerfest  communication  will 
be  carried  on  with  this  country  by  means  of  the 
Atlantic  cable.  After  what  is  declared  to  have  been 
careful  investigation,  it  has  been  decided  that  a 
sending  apparatus  to  be  carried  on  the  airship  can 
be  made  of  necessary  power  to  enable  messages  to 
be  sent  over  the  550  miles  between  Spitzbergen 
and  the  Pole,  granted,  of  course,  that  the  Pole  can 
be  reached — and  Mr.  Wellman  believes  the  chances 
of  success  are  greater  than  the  chances  of  failure. 
The  effort  is  to  be  made  next  July  or  August  or 
else  in  March  or  April  of  1907,  these  two  periods 
of  the  year  being  deemed  the  most  auspicious. 
"  There  seems  to  be  no  question  that  the  airship 
attempt,  with  wireless  accompaniment,  is  to  be 
made  in  good  faith.  Mr.  Wellman  has  had  pre- 
vious Arctic  experience  and  is  a  man  of  ability 
and  resolution.  The  project  seems  to  be  a  very 
daring  one,  especially  in  view  of  the  unfortunate 
history  of  the  Andre  expedition.  An  airship  such 
as  is  proposed  has  never  been  built,  while  it  is 
difficult  to  believe  that  apparatus  capable  of  send- 
ing 550  miles  by  wireless  can  be  carried  in  addition 
to  the  passengers  and  the  other  machinery,  in- 
struments and  stores.  But  the  plan  is  boldly  con- 
ceived at  any  rate;  the  latest  appJications  of  science 
are  relied  .upon  to  bring  success  in  the  fascinating 
search  for  the  Pole.  We  must  be  doubtful  of  the 
success  of  this  most  interesting  plan,  but  neverthe- 
less one  cannot  refrain  from  a  certain  admiration 
for  it.  A  gallant  fight  against  the  Terra  Incognita 
is  promised,  and  for  our  part  we  wish  the  air- 
ship voyagers  a  successful  journey  and  a  safe 
return. 


January  20,  1906 

of  the  telephone  may  be  largely  mitigated,  if  not 
entirely  overcome,  by  a  combination  of  efficiency 
with  good  sense  and  good  manners.  If  this  is  the 
true  lesson  of  the  telephone,  it  is  one  which  we 
shall  none  of  us  be  the  worse   for  learning." 

Nobody  can  gainsay  the  Times'  conclusion.  In- 
deed, it  may  be  that  nobody  attempts  to  contro- 
vert the  Great  Mogul  of  journalism  in  anything. 
But,  be  that  as  it  may,  the  defects  of  the  telephone 
service  in  the  British  metropolis  are  not  to  be 
disposed  of  by  mere  banter;  even  the  Times  did 
not  attempt  that.  The  faults  seem  to  be  such  as 
could  be  partly  obviated  by  the  proper  training  and 
supervision  of  operators — that  is  an  important 
point;  perhaps  London  needs  a  school  for  telephone 
operators  such  as  that  of  the  Chicago  Telephone 
Company,  recently  described  in  the  Western  Elec- 
trician— and  by  the  use  of  improved  apparatus.  But 
no  doubt  the  telephone  users  need  some  training, 
too.  For  instance,  there  seems  to  be  little  system 
in  handling  the  incoming  calls  in  large  establish- 
ments. We  take  it  that  private  branch  exchanges 
and  extension  service  are  not  very  common  in 
London.  The  Times  could  no  doubt  do  a  real 
service  to  its  readers  by  publishing  a  series  of 
articles  showing  what  a  modern  telephone  service 
should  be  and  how  the  public  should  take  advan- 
tage of  it.  There  is  a  telephone  engineer  in  Lon- 
don, an  Englishman,  but  well  versed  in  American 
practice,  who  could  write  well  on  such  a  topic 
if  prevailed  upon  to  do  so. 


Telephone  conditions  in  London  are  such  as 
to  cause  the  judicious  to  grieve.  And  the  august 
Times  of  that  city,  which,  if  not  judicious — and 
we  do  not  say  that  it  does  not  possess  that  admir- 
able characteristic — is  at  least  judicial,  or  at  any 
rate  ponderous  (we  shall  carefully  eschew  the  word 
pompous) — the  revered  London  Times,  we  repeat, 
devotes  one  of  its  column-long  editorials  in  a  re- 
cent issue  to  saying  so/  Our  venerated  contem- 
porary, in  its  stately  phrase,  declares  that  the  vex- 
ations of  the  telephone  service  in  London  are  "'very 
real  and  oftentimes  very  trying  indeed."  But,  it 
pointedly  asks,  "Are  they,  after  all,  inherent  in 
the  use  of  the  telephone  and  inseparable  from  it, 
or  are  they  merely  accidental  and  in  large  meas- 
ure remediable  concomitants  of  it?"  Skipping  now 
to  the  end  of  the  column  for  the  answer  (our 
American  brevity  will  be  excused,  we  trust),  we 
find  that  there  is  an  answer,  and  it  is  in  these 
momentous   words : 

"On  the  whole,  then,  it  would  seem  that  the  evils 
which    our    correspondent    associates    with    the    use 


Electric  fans,  by  a  little  thought,  may  be  made 
to  do  service  in  winter  as  well  as  in  summer.  As 
a  valued  correspondent  points  out,  any  machine 
which  is  allowed  to  stand  still  from  half  to  two- 
thirds  of  every  year  is  on  principle  a  luxury,  for 
the  fixed  charges  upon  it  tend  to  assume  too  large 
a  proportion  of  the  total  cost  of  possession  and 
operation.  While  luxuries  have  their  place,  it  is 
nevertheless  a  fact  that  if  the  owners  of  fan  motors 
more  generally  realized  their  value  in  the  cold 
season,  the  result  would  be  mutually  gratifying  to 
both  the  central-station  manager  and  the  consumer. 

In  the  winter  the  ventilation  of  dwellings  and 
mercantile  houses  is  a  far  more  difficult  problem 
than  in  the  summer.  The  fan  motor  can  be  used 
to  great  advantage  in  such  cases,  for  the  circulation 
of  air  in  closed  rooms  is  difficult  to  maintain  by 
natural  means.  The  installation  of  a  fan  near  a 
radiator  in  a  room  which  is  not  easily  heated 
often  distributes  the  warmth  most  satisfactorily,  and 
a  little  experimenting  with  a  slightly  opened  win- 
dow in  one  part  of  a  room  and  an  electric  fan 
in  another  enables  one  to  adjust  the  ventilation 
to  a  nicety.  In  some  of  the  newer  hotels  ian 
motors  are  used  with  great  success  in  maintaining 
an  even1  draft  at  open  fireplaces  and  in  preventing 
the  flow  of  smoke  into  apartments  in  case  the  di- 
rection of  the  wind  is  unfavorable.  Everyone  knows 
the  convenience  of  the  fan  motor  in  evaporating 
frost  as  it  gathers  upon  window  panes,  and  in 
many  confectionery  stores  the  electric  fan  is  em- 
ployed to  keep  a  constant  circulation  of  air  over 
trays  and  counters,  so  that  the  various  candies 
may  be  kept  cool  and  fresh  in  confined  quarters. 

The  ventilation  of  photographic  dark  rooms,  the 
drying  of  plates,  and  the  supply  of  fresh  air  to 
and  the  removal  of  odors  from  lecture  tables,  lab- 
oratories and  kitchens,  are  as  important  in  winter 
as  in  summer.  In  the  domestic  laundry  the  dry- 
ing of  the  family  washing  on  stormy  days  may  be 
greatly  hastened  by  the  use  of  a  fan  motor.  The 
ventilation  of  steam-railroad  cars  in  the  winter  is 
seldom  satisfactory,  and  it  would  seem  as  though 
some  improvement  might  be  possible  through  the 
use  of  fan  motors,  at  least  on  trains  equipped  with 
them  for  summer  operation.  Very  satisfactory  re- 
sults have  been  attained  by  using  a  fan  motor  to 
expedite  the  drying  of  cement-lined  vaults  in  new 
buildings.  In  such  cases  the  natural  circulation  of 
air  is  usually  very  poor,  and  by  placing  the  fan 
on  a  box  near  the  top  or  bottom  of  the  vault  door, 
leaving  the  alternate  bottom  or  top  space  open  for 
suction  or  exhaust,  the  vault  can  be  dried  out  in 
a  much  shorter  time  than  by  the  old  plan  of  letting 
things  alone.  In  the  hospital  and  the  sick-room 
the  fan  motor,  if  of  a  noiseless  design,  can  be 
employed  advantageously  in  the  winter  season. 
The  whole  subject  h  certainly  worth  consideration 
by   enterprising  central   stations. 


fanuai  s   20,  h/i'i 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


Ohio    and    Indiana    Electric    Railway 
Associations  to  be  Merged. 

The  a mI  meeting  ol  Hi'    Ind       1   11 1    R 

way    A  isociation    wa     hi  Id    in    thi     I  1  1;  1 '    1  1 

Indianapoli  i,    on     I. ai  |     nth      Pn   idi  nl     I 

I  [enrj    pre  iding      I  In     a   101  iation      nb  d    ii 

of   con  olidating    «  ith    the   I  (hi n 

the   n: ■   of   ili''    1  <nli.il    1 1 11  •  iiirh.in    I-'. nl.'.. 1 

ciation       \     W     Bradj .    pre  idenl    ol    ihc    Indiana 

1  11 1  1. 11 1 impanj ,    and    1  h an    ol    thi 

committee  api 1  fi  1    «  ith  a     imilai   

mittec    .-I    the    <  Uiio    El Railwaj     \    01  iation, 

1.  p il  thai   the  t« I"  Id  .1   ii  in 

fcrencc  :  1  <  1  •  I  after  canvi ■   the     itui with  a 

hum  h  1  .in-  :i  i  possible  decided  in  fai 1  thi    plan 

of  consolidation. 

Mr.  Brady  explained  the  purposes  ol  the  consoli 
dation  and  the  advantages  expected  to  bi  derived 
from  the  employmcnl   of  a  permanenl    iccrctarj    to 

c pile    and    diffuse     information    concerning    the 

various    intcrurban    companies,    their    facilities    for 

transportation,    knowlcdgi     and    u  e    ol    tl ■ 

changeable    mileage    tickel  i,    -  01 :tins     line  .    1  d 

II,.  said  the  mosl  serious  objection  was  that  the 
jurisdiction  was  made  coextensive  and  thai  the  dis- 
tance  was  a   matter  of  concern   to   the   meml 1 

Southern    Indiana,    bul    he    though)    these    did    no) 
counterbalance    the    manj    advantages    promised    by 
the    amalgamation,      He    said    meetings    should    be 
held  alternately  in  Ohio  and   Indiana  and   lei      fri 
ipuaii  than  heretofore.     There  was  some  discussion 

of  the  report,  bul  generally  favorable  to  the  rci 

mendation,  and  the  report  was  then  concurred  in 
by  the  members. 

A  committee  consisting  of  ('.  I.  Henry,  C.  C. 
Reynolds,  I'..  C.  Emmons,  W.  G.  Irwin  and  A.  W. 
Brady  was  appointed  with  power  to  act  in  the  com 
pletion  nf  the  consolidation  of  the  Indiana  and  Ohio 
associations.  The  two  state  committees  held  a  joint 
conference  a)  once  ami  formulated  a  plan  ol  con 
solidation,  drafted  a  constitution  and  by-laws,  and 
arranged  all  matters  necessary  for  the  amalgama 
linn,  in  be  completed  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Ohio  association  in   Dayton  on  January  25th. 

Charles  C.  Murdock  of  the  Terre  Haute  Traction 
and  Light  Company  presented  a  comprehensive 
and  interesting  paper  on  the  subject  of  "Turbines." 
Mr.  Murdock  said  the  turbine  engine  as  against  the 
reciprocating  engine  was  more  simple  in  operation, 
required  less  Hour  space  and  was  promising  in  the 
matter  of  a  low-expense  account.  In  comparing 
the  American  and  the  French  turbines,  he  was  0f 
the  opinion  that  the  French  turbine  was  not  keep- 
ing up  with  the  American  machine  in  results,  lie 
said  the  efficiency  of  the  turbine  engine  depends 
upon  superficial  heat  and  vacuum,  causing  as  little 
friction  as  possible.  Mr.  "Murdock  took  up  the 
question  of  possible  results  from  certain  degrees 
of  superficial  heat  and  the  effect  in  the  matter  of 
economy,  and  quoted  some  interesting  figures  de- 
rived from  tests  made  by  the  turbine.  The  tur- 
bine installed  in  the  Terre  Haute  plant,  and  with 
which  they  had  obtained  excellent  results,  cost 
$18,000. 

Mr.  Murdock's  paper  was  discussed  by  George 
H.  Kelsay  of  the  Indiana  Union  Traction  Company 
and  C.  L.  Henry  of  the  Indianapolis  and  Cincin- 
nati Traction  Company.  Mr.  Henry  thought  the 
adoption  of  the  turbine  was  simply  going  back  to 
original  principles.  Mr.  Henry  said  he  was  favor- 
ably impressed  with  the  simplicity  of  operation  and 
results  obtained  from  the  turbines,  and  was  get- 
ting ready  to  install  them  in  the  Rushville  power 
station.  After  visiting  a  Chicago  plant,  where  four 
large  turbines  were  installed  and  in  operation,  be 
was  convinced  the  turbine  had  come  to  stay.  The 
low  rate  at  which  electricity  is  now  being  generated 
is  surprising,  he  said,  and  be  was  delighted  over 
the    promise    turbines    have    in    store. 

Questions  taken  from  the  question  box  at  a  pre- 
vious meetings  and  submitted  to  A.  W.  Brady  and 
J.  A.  Van  Osdol  of  the  Indiana  Union  Traction 
Company  were  answered  by  Mr.  Brady,  Mr.  Van 
Osdol  not  being  present.  The  first  question  related 
to  the  interpretation  of  the  Indiana  state  law  as  to 
whether  a  conductor  could  be  prosecuted  for  em- 
bezzlement in  case  he  found  a  ticket  of  his  com- 
pany upon  the  street  or  in  his  car  and  appropriated 
it  to  his  own  use,  or  sold  or  gave  it  away  to  an- 
other. Mr.  Brady  said  a  conductor  wdio  comes  into 
possession  of  a  ticket  by  reason  of  his  connection 
with  the  operation  of  the  line  is  in  duty  bound  to 
return  the  ticket  to  the  company  with  a  view  of 
returning  it  to  the  rightful  owner,  otherwise  he  is 
liable   for  embezzlement. 

The  other  question  was.  "What  constitutes  a 
legal  tender  in  the  payment  of  fare  on  an  electric 
railroad?"  Mr.  Brady  said  there  was  no  law  on 
the  subject  in  Indiana,  and  whether  the  amount 
tendered  is  reasonable  is  governed  by  circum- 
stances. He  cited  a  case  in  California  where  the 
court  held  that  the  tender  of  a  $5  gold  piece  was 
a  reasonable  tender  for  a  five-cent  fare.  In  New 
York  the  court  held  that  a  $5  bill  was  not  a  rea- 
sonable tender  for  such  fare,  and  that  the  Pennsyl- 
vania court  had  decided  likewise,  insisting  that  $2 
in  change  was  as  much  as  ought  to  be  required  of 
a  conductor.  Mr.  Brady  thought  street  and  inter- 
urban  conductors  should  be  supplied  with  a  reason- 
able amount  of  change  and  said  the  amount  of  fare 
usually  paid  by  passengers  would  determine  the 
amount  in  a  measure.    He  spoke  of  the  practice  of 


lull       foi 

had  a   righl   to  retain   tin    bi 
due 

1      11     vlilho 

"lid.ii mplctcd, 

I  he    meeting    adjou  mi  ■ 

Il :,    1)1 

at id   thi    bi  i", 

brate  the   bii  th  ol  Railway 



nil fca 

Indiana    and    Ol until    it 

11,  ludi      'ii- 

Mil  higan      II 

much  beni  fit  is  to 

of   1I1.     Widdli  1    thai 

will     nu  hid,      all     ll of    the 

Middle  Stat 
A.    \\      Bi  "l      • 1 

pcakci  1  harli      I.     I  Icnry,   pn 

Indiana  association.     Mr.   Henry    reviewed   thi 
1  ion   in, in  .1 1  j    ',1    Indiana,  and     aid   il    ■ 
ing  to  know   that,  .1     .1   rule,   Indiana 
were   promoted    bj     Indi  in  lian  lucl 

aid    ,il 1    "in  idi     1  apital,'     hi        id  d    much 

credil   1     dui    1 11  id<    capital   in  1       di 

of  thi    interurbans  in  our   itate,  bul    I  take 
in   calling   attention   lo   the   fact   thai    Indiana 
first   I, 'in    Indiana   monej    n-  begin  the   devi 
of  intcrurban  roads,     Looking  back  and 
ward,"    Mr.    Henry    said,    "if    I    am    to    judg 
future  by  the  past,   we  have  a  right  t..  expi 

while  wonderful  progress  has  been  mad'  in  the 
last  eight  years,  even  greater  progress  will  be  made 
in  the  coming  eight  years.  The  various  lines  will 
be  linked  up.  better  tracks  and  roadbeds  will  be  in 
use  and  cars  more  comfortable  and  substantial  will 
be  constructed;  higher  speed  and  greater  safety  will 
be  attained," 

E.  C.  Spring,  president  of  the  Ohio  association, 
spoke  modestly  of  the  development  in  Ohio  and 
said  he  was  gratified  with  his  visit  to  Indiana 
He  concluded  by  predicting  great  things  of  the 
amalgamated  association.  The  other  speakers  were 
F.  B.  Carpenter,  C.  A.  Baldwin,  H.  S.  Drake  and 
Ernest    Bross. 


Northwestern  Electrical  Association. 

The  fourteenth  annual  convention  of  the  North- 
western Electrical  Association  was  begun  in  the 
Great  Northern  Hotel  in  Chicago  on  January  171I1, 
the  meeting  being  called  to  order  by  President 
Charles  H.  "Williams  of  La  Crosse.  Wis.  The  eon 
vention  was  held  in  Chicago  this  year,  instead  of 
in  Milwaukee  as  in  previous  years,  on  account  "f 
the  Electrical  Show,  which  many  of  the  members 
wished  to  attend.  A  fair  proportion  of  the  members 
were   present   at  the  opening  meeting. 

President  Williams  read  a  short  address,  which 
was  to  the  point.  Touching  on  the  subject  of  the 
appointment  of  committees,  he  said  that  it  was 
his  belief  that  committees  should  not  be  appointed 
for  investigating  any  question  of  operation  or  pol- 
icy which  might  be  investigated  by  individual  mem- 
bers. He  did  not  believe  it  good  policy  1" 
appoint  committees  on  a  lot  of  subjects  simply  be- 
cause other  representative  organizations  of  the  kind 
were  in  the  habit  of  doing  so.  When  some  really 
very  important  problem  comes  up.  however,  let  a 
committee  be  appointed,  that  committee  to  expend 
its  best  efforts  and  get  results  that  count. 

Secretary  Thomas  R.  Mercein  was  present,  but 
said  that  he  would  be  unable  to  present  his  report 
on  financial  matters  until  the  next  day,  owing  to 
the  press  of  work  which  he  has  had  as  manager 
of  the  Electrical  Show.  He  read  the  report  of  the 
committee  on  legislation,  of  which  Mr.  S.  B.  Liver- 
more  of  La  Crosse.  Wis.,  is  general   chairman. 

Considerable  discussion  arose  concerning  the  leg- 
islative committee,  and  it  was  deemed  wise  by- 
some  that  an  attorney  be  appointed  in  each  state- 
covered  by  the  association  to  look  after  the  cen- 
tral-station interests  at  the  various  state  capitals. 
Some  believed  this  step  was  hardly  necessary  111 
states  other  than  Wisconsin,  since  they  each  bad 
their  own  individual  association  to  look  after  the 
central-station  interests.  In  Wisconsin,  however, 
there  is  no  state  association,  and  it  was  believed 
that  there  an  attorney  was  greatly  needed.  Work 
thus  far  in  that  state  needing  the  services  of  a 
lawyer  has  been  done  gratuitously  by  one  of  the 
central  stations  operating  there.  The  point  was 
brought  up  in  this  connection  that  the  attorney  be 
appointed  by  some  central  station,  acting,  however, 
for  the  interests  of  the  association,  for  in  that  way 
•the  arguments  of  the  attorney,  it  seems,  have  more 
weight.  The  whole  matter  was.  upon  motion,  left 
to  the  executive  committee,  which  was  to  report 
before    the    close    of    the    convention. 

Mr.  H.  D.  Goodwin,  official  stenographer  of  the 
association,  was  appointed  assistant  secretary  dur- 
ing the  convention  to  act  for  Mr.  Mercein.  who 
would  be  compelled  10  be  absent  much  of  the  time 
on    other   business. 

As  a  committee  on  membership  the  president  ap- 
pointed J.   H.   Harding  of   La  Porte.  Ind.     W.   H. 


Magnetic  Wells. 

I  he 

in    whii 

as   nail 

ally  a  well  i-  found  in 

I  he    water   III    the     ■. 

of    the     water     should 

filled  at  the  well  and  I  about 

if;    pace:    from    the    well,    whci  ;   be   at 

from    any    ma 

uld  then 

•Ii    some  conn. 
magnetism.*  If  the  steel  is  no)  magncl 
then    be    placed    itnmi  m    the 

lid    allowed    I"    reman 
minutes,   afu-r    which    it    should    In;    wiped    dry    and 
again    t, 

The  officers  of  the  United   -  al  Sur- 

vey   would   be   pleas,.! 

the   subject    of   magnetic    well-    from   drillci 
owner:  .■■  have  knowlcd 

this  character. 


Year's  Earnings  of  Chicago  Freight 
Tunnels. 

The    Illinois     runnel    Company    has    made    it-    re- 
port of  earnings  to  thi    comptroller  of  Chic  - 
the  year    hio.s.      -  the  ordinance  granted 

the    Illinois   Telephone   and   Telegraph    Com) 
June   15.   1903.     The  report  place-  the  total  1 
for  the  year  at  $108,300.68.     This  amount   thi 
nam-  does  not  consider  large  ehensivc 

a  system  of  tunnels,  but  it  state,  that  the  plant 
is  not  yet  in  practical  operation,  and  the  report 
goes  on  to  show   the   reason   why. 

In    November.    1004.    the    report    -ays.    the    com- 
pany   changed    its    plans    and    decided    I"    o 
tunnels    to   connect    with    all   the    freight    hou 
cated    in     the    district     north    of     Eighteenth     Street. 
east   of   Halsted    Street    and    south   of    India,:.:    - 
To  do  this  the  company  was  compelled  to  complete 
20   miles   of   additional    tunnels    to   make    th 
nections.     During    the    period    of    this    construction 
it    was    found    impractical    to   put    the   plant    in    op- 
eration.    Therefore    no    business    was    dene    except 
hauling  excavation  from  a  number  of  new  buildings. 

the    report    says   that    on    November    1.    1004.   the 
company     bad    completed     103.1    -  tunnel 

From  November  1.  1004.  to  December  31, 
constructed  [09,169  feet  additional,  making  a  total 
completed  on  December  31,  1905.  of  212.7-1  feet, 
or  40.3  miles.  An  interesting  clause  in  the  report 
is  the  statement  that  in  the  next  few  months  the 
plant  will  be  in  practical  operation.  Of  the  total 
gross  earnings,  amounting,  as  stated,  to  $108  1 
the    city    received    five    per    cent,    compensation. 


Electrical    Trades    Association    of 
Chicago. 

The  annual    nn  linner  of  the   Electrical 

Trades  Association  "f  Chicago  will  Ik-  held  in  the 
Coliseum  Annex.  Chicago,  on  the  evening  of  Janu- 
ary 24th.  Unusual  interest  is  being  manifested  at 
this  time  and  the  anticipation  is  the  largest  meeting 
of  credit  men  in  the  electrical  trade  ever  held. 
Manv  electrical  manufacturers  and  jobbers,  from 
Cleveland  to  Denver,  and  from  Detroit  to  New 
Orleans,   will   be  in   attendance. 

At  the  dinner  James  Wolff,  Chicago  representative 
of  the  New  York  Insulated  Wire  Company,  will 
act  as  toastmaster.  and  the  programme  includes 
responses  to  be  made  by  representative  m 
Hirers  and  jobbers  from  the  central,  western  and 
southern  territories.  The  Chicago  association  num- 
bers 155  members,  and  the  records  for  the  last 
year   will    show   remarkable   work    accomplish 

mbers     through     co-operative     protection     of 
credits. 

Fred    P.    Vose,    Marquette    Building.    Chicago,    is 
secretary    and    general    counsel    for    . 
and    further    details    with    reference   to   the   meeting 
may  be  bad  on  application   to  him. 


S8 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


January  20,  1906 


Northwestern  Cedarmen's  Association. 

The  tenth  annual  meeting  of  the  Northwestern 
Cedarmen's  Association  was  held  at  the  Nicollet 
Hotel,  Minneapolis,  Tuesday,  January  9th.  The 
meeting  was  well  attended  and  the  business  was 
transacted  in  a  rapid  manner.  This  has  been  the 
first  year  under  the  reorganization,  and  the  re- 
sults accomplished  by  a  permanent  secretary  -have 
satisfied  the  members  that  the  benefits  received 
are  worth  the  added  expense.  The  decision  to  co- 
operate with  the  northern  pine  associations  in 
handling  overweight  claims  was  an  important  re- 
sult of  the  meeting. 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  at  10  a.  m.  by 
President  M.  K.  Bissell.  Secretary  M.  O.  Nelson 
presented  his  report  on  the  year's  work.  The  fol- 
lowing facts,  taken  from  the  report,  will  be  found 
of  interest.  Under  the  present  conditions  of  cedar- 
men's records  it  was  impossible  to  get  uniform 
reports  of  the  sales  for  1904,  the  stocks  cut  and 
purchased  for  1905  and  the  stocks  on  hand  January 
1st.  In  the  summary  of  sales  for  1904,  the  reports 
that  cannot  be  reduced  to  detail  make  up  a  total 
of  about  603,000  seven-foot  to  18-foot  posts  and 
290,000  20-foot   and   up   poles. 

It  was  the  wish  of  the  association  last  April 
that  the  canvass  for  green  stocks  put  in  for  1905 
be  continued  throughout  the  year,  or  until  every 
producer  and  wholesaler  had  made,  report.  This 
canvass  has  been  pursued  with  the  same  relentless- 
ness  with  which  the  others  have  been  pushed.  It 
has  been  suggested  that  each  wholesale  concern 
provide  a  special  clerk  to  take  care  of  the  de- 
mands of  the  association  secretary,  but  it  is  not 
known  that  this  has  been  acted  on  as  yet  by  any 
member. 

To  the  request  for  report  of  sales  for  1904  have 
come  74  responses ;  to  that  for  stocks  for  1905,  63 
responses,  and  to  the  call  for  dry  stocks  on  hand 
January  1st,  50  responses.  The  fact  that  50  whole- 
salers responded  to  the  call  within  a  .single  week 
is  very  good  proof  that  the  cedarmen  want  this 
information  and  are  willing  to  co-operate  in  giving 
it.  The  plan,  whereby  the  estimate  of  posts  and 
poles  put  in  the  current  winter  was  obtained,  is  one 
suggested  at  the  last  April  meeting,  and  discussed 
previous  to  that  time  by  the  association.  This  is 
to  divide  the  cedar-producing  territory  into  districts, 
giving  to  some  wholesaler,  who  is  familiar  with 
that  district,  the  task  of  estimating  the  cut  of  the 
winter  there  and  the  cut  of  the  previous  year.  This 
obviates  the  overlapping  of  estimates  and  covers 
all  the  territory,  though  in  a  rough  way.  These 
estimates  are  based  on  average  logging  weather. 
Last  year  the  estimate  was  made  up  from  reports 
of  individuals,  each  operator  giving  a  report  of  his 
own  cut  only.  In  the  report  at  the  end  of  the 
logging  season  the  secretary  is  ready  to  use  either 
or  both  methods,  as  the  association  may  think  best. 

Three  important  committees  have  been  called  on 
to  act  during  the  year.  In  May  the  trades  rela- 
tions committee  met  a  similar  committee  of  the 
Lumber  Secretaries'  Bureau  of  Information  in  Chi- 
cago and  formulated  a  reciprocal  trade  agreement 
that  later  was  abrogated  by  the  retailers'  associa- 
tions, and  nothing  further  has  been  done  in  the  case. 

A  meeting  of  the  railroad  committee  with  Mr. 
Becker  of  the  Western  Weighing  Association,  to 
bring  about  a  better  understanding  regarding  the 
treatment  of  overweight  claims  in  his  office,  was 
held,  with  results  known  to  most  of  the  members. 

The  third  committee  to  report  is  a  special  com- 
mittee appointed  to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  allied 
lumbermen's  associations  of  the  country  in  bringing 
a  complaint  before  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
sion to  compel  the  railways  to  make  an  allowance 
for  the  cost  of  equipping  their  flat  or  gondola 
cars  for  the  carrying  of  lumber,  and  to  compel 
them  also  to  make  allowance  in  weight  for  this 
equipment. 

Another  matter  spoken  of  by  the  secretary  in 
closing  was  the  death  of  two  members  during  the 
year.  "Never  in  the  history  of  this  association  have 
we  been  called  on  to  mourn  the  death  in  one 
year  of  two  so  prominent  and  almost  indispensable 
members  as  were  E.  E.  Naugle  and  Daniel  Mac- 
Gillis." 

In  the  afternoon  session  the  committee,  on  rec- 
ommendations for  the  "eastern  classification  book," 
consisting  of  A.  T.  Naugle,  H.  S.  Gilkey  and 
George   J.   Backus,   made  the   following   report : 

"Your  committee  recommends  that  the  secretary, 
in  making  his  classification  of  freights  for  the  states 
of  Indiana  and  Oh!o,  be  instructed  to  name  the 
rate  from  Hermansville ;  also  the  proportional  rate 
from  Chicago  to  all  points  in  the  above-named 
states,  and  in  making  the  rates  for  Illinois  and 
Wisconsin  to  name  the  Hermansville  rates  and  also 
the  rates  from  the  Minnesota  transfer.  In  naming 
the  rates  from  the  Minnesota  transfer  we  have 
taken  into  consideration  the  fact  that  a  large  num- 
ber of  cedar  poles  are  being  produced  in  North- 
western Minnesota  along  the  Minnesota  and  In- 
ternational railway,  and  as  these  points  have  no 
outlet  through  Duluth  the  interests  of  the  Minne- 
sota shippers  will  be  better  served  by  giving  the 
rates  from  the  Minnesota  transfer  than  from  Du- 
luth."    The    report    was    adopted. 

President  Bissell  read  an  invitation  to  the  asso- 
ciation to  hold  its  next  annual  meeting  in  Chicago 
at   the  time   of  the   electrical    show. 

J.  E.  Rhodes,  secretary  of  the  Mississippi  Valley 
Lumbermen's  Association,   was   introduced   to   make 


a  brief  statement  of  the  workings  of  the  new 
bureau  for  the  conduct  of  freight  claims  before 
the  Western  Weighing  Association.  He  stated  that 
excellent  results  had  been  secured  in  this  way, 
reducing  the  number  of  claims  and  causing  a  re- 
form in  the  method  of  weighing  practiced  for- 
merly, as  the  association's  inspector,  J.  F.  Chambers, 
had  discovered  and  called  attention  to  several 
abuses. 

H.  S.  Gilkey  moved  that  the  Northwestern  Cedar- 
men's Association  co-operate  with  the  Mississippi 
Valley  Lumbermen's  Association  for  the  next  six 
months  in  handling  freight  claims.  This  was  car- 
ried  unanimously. 

The  report  of  the  pole  committee  was  presented 
by  H.  W.  Reade.  M.  H.  Coolidge,  for  the  inspec- 
tion committee,  reported  that  inspectors  had  been 
called  upon  during  the  year  by  members  in  three 
or  four  cases  to  adjust  differences,  and  had  suc- 
ceeded in  each  case.  Similar  requests  from  persons 
outside  the  association  had  been  refused.     The  com- 


mittee did  not  recommend  any  change  in  the  present 
specifications. 

On  motion  of  A.  T.  Naugle,  amended  by  E.  L. 
Clark,  it  was  voted  to  increase  the  initiation  fee 
after   July    1st,   next,    from   $25   to   $100. 

On  motion  of  A.  T.  Naugle  the  association  ex- 
tended a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  secretary,  M.  O. 
Nelson,  for  his  efficient  services  during  the  last 
year. 

H.  S.  Gilkey  moved  that  E.  H.  Valentine,  having 
retired  from  active  business,  be  made  an  honorary 
member   of   the    association,    and    this    was    carried. 

A  nominating  committee  of  three  was  appointed 
to  present  names  for  officers  and  directors.  The 
chair  named  A.  T.  Naugle,  Hall  Brooks  and  Ole 
Erickson  as  such  committee.  After  a  short  recess 
the  committee  reported  in  favor  of  the  following 
gentlemen    for    the    offices    indicated : 

President,  Marshall  H.  Coolidge ;  vice-president, 
P.  W.  Raber ;  treasurer,  W.  B.  Thomas ;  directors 
for  three  years,  A.  T.  Naugle  and  W.  T.  Watkins. 

The  report  of  the  committee  was  adopted  and 
the  ballot  cast  for  those  named.  President-elect 
Coolidge  took  the  chair,  and  thanked  the  associa- 
tion for  the  honor.  A  rising  vote  of  thanks  to 
the   retiring   president,    M.   K.   Bissell,   was   ordered. 

H.  S.  Gilkey  was  called  on  to  give  his  views  on 
the  market  situation.  Mr.  Gilkey  said  it  was  need- 
less to  state  that  conditions  in  the  market  were 
the  best  for  a  number  of  years,  probably  the  best 
ever  known.  Post  prices  have  not  been  wholly 
satisfactory,  but  a  good  demand  recently  had  re- 
duced the  surplus,  and  prices  are  firmer.  The  out- 
look for  business  for  a  coming  year  never  was 
better.  Conditions  in  the  woods,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  as  bad  as  ever  known,  with  no  freezeup  until 
the  snow  came,  which  has  left  the  bottoms  soft, 
and  hauling  is  very  slow  and  difficult.  It  prob- 
ably means  an  earlier  breakup  in  the  spring.  After 
this    the   convention    adjourned 

After  adjournment  the  directors  ,  held  a  brief 
meeting  and  re-elected  M.  O.  Nelson  as  secretary 
for  the  ensuing  year. 

Among  those  in  attendance  at  the  meeting  were 
the    following-named    gentlemen : 

Backus,    George  J.,    Dumas-Backus  Lumber   Company,  Minne- 

Bissel],    M.    K.,    Erickson    &    Bissell,    Escanaba,   Mich. 

Bliss,  A.   S.,  R.   Connor  Company,  Marshfield.  Wis. 

Bowring,    W.    P.,    C.    H.    Worcester    Company,    Chicago. 

Bradley,    T.    P.,    Duluth    Log    Company,    Duluth,    Minn. 

Brooks,    Hall    L.,    Tomahawk,    Wis. 

Clark.    E.     L..    Valentine-Clark    Company,    Chicago. 

Coolidge,     Marshall     H.,     Marshall     H.     Coolidge     Company, 

Minneapolis. 
Dixon,  H.  M.,  Cloquet  Tie   and   Post  Company,  Cloquet,  Minn. 
Erickson,    Ole,   Erickson   &   Bissell.    Escanaba,    Mich. 
Genge,    R.    R.,    Francis    Beidler    &   Co.,    Chicago. 
Gerich,  J.    E..    MacGilHs   &   Gihbs    Lumber    Company. 
Gilkey,    H.    S.,    Pendleton    &    Gilkey,    Minneapolis, 
llayden,    J.    i'\.    Mississippi    Valley    Lumberman.    Minneapolis, 
[[user,   E.,    Beaver   Dam    Lumber    Company,   Cumberland,   Wis. 
Lcitch,   J.    G.,    Francis   Beidler  &   Co.,    Escanaba,    Mich. 
Martin,  'L.    R.,    Duluth,    Minn. 
McDevitt,    J.    A.,    Cloquet    Tie    and    Post    Company,    Cloquet, 

Minn. 
McMeal,    H.    B.,    Telephony,    Chicago. 
Miller,     J.     P.,     Minneapolis    Cedar    and    Lumber     Company, 

Minneapolis, 
Miller,    William,    Minneapolis    Cedar    and    Lumber    Company, 

Minneapolis. 
Mueller,     William,     William     Mueller    Company,     Chicago. 
Naugle,   A.  T„   E.    E.   Naugle  Tie  Company,   Chicago. 
Naugle,  Joseph,   E.    E.    Naugle   Tie    Company,    Chicago. 


Nelson,  M.  O.,  secretary  Northwestern  Cedarmen's  Associa- 
tion,   Minneapolis. 

Olcott,  F.  L.,  Beaver  Dam  Lumber  Company,  Cumberland, 
Wis. 

Olson,   L.  E-,   Dumas-Backus  Lumber  Company,   Minneapolis. 

Page,    L.   A.,    Page    &   Hill    Company,    Minneapolis. 

Partridge,  H.   F.,  T.    M.   Partridge  Lumber  Company,  Minne- 

Paulson,  Lester,    Duluth  Log   Company.    Duluth,   Minn. 

Raber,    P.   W.,    Raber   Si    Watson,    Chicago. 

Reade,    H.    W.,    Pittsburg   and   Lake    Superior  Iron    Company. 

Schalck,    Frank   K-,   Western    Electrician,    Chicago. 

Shaw,   G.    B.,   E.    E.    Naugle   Tie    Company,    Chicago. 

Thomas,    W.    B.,    Manistique,    Mich. 

Watkins,    W.    T-,     Pillsbury- Watkins    Company,    Minneapolis. 

Wells,    Daniel,    Fop!    River    Lumber   Company,   Wells,   Mich. 

Werner,  F.  W.,   Pillsbury- Watkins  Company,   Minneapolis. 

Convention   Notes. 
The    Valentine-Clark    Company    was    well    repre- 
sented by  E.   L.   Clark. 

L.  A.  Page  of  the  Page  &  Hill  Company  of 
Minneapolis  was  on  hand. 

J.  E.  Gerich  of  the  McGillis  &  Gibbs  Company 
of    Milwaukee    was    much    in    evidence. 

The  Minneapolis  Cedar  and  Lumber  Company 
was  represented  by  Messrs.  William  and  J.  P. 
Miller. 

T.  P.  Bradley  and  L.  C.  Paulson  of  the  Duluth 
Log  Company  came  down  from  Duluth  to  attend 
the    convention. 

H.  F.  Partridge  represented  the  T.  M.  Partridge 
Lumber  Company  of  Minneapolis,  and  was  in  con- 
stant attendance. 

The  convention  did  not  fail  to  bring  from  Toma- 
hawk, Wis.,  one  of  the  popular  men  of  the  busi- 
ness— Hall  L.   Brooks. 

The  Cloquet  Tie  and  Post  Company  of  Cloquet, 
Minn.,  again  sent  its  welcome  representatives — J.  A. 
McDevitt  and  H.  M.  Dixon. 

The  popularity  of  Marshall  H.  Coolidge  was  de- 
monstrated by  the  satisfaction  felt  by  his  election 
as   president  of   the   association. 

The  Dumas-Backus  Lumber  Company  of  Min- 
neapolis was  well  represented  in  the  persons  of 
George  J.   Backus  and  L.   E.  Olson. 

R.  R.  Genge  of  the  Francis  Beidler  Company  of 
Chicago  was  present  in  the  interests  of  his  com- 
pany, as  was  also  J.  G.  Leitch  of  the  Escanaba 
yards. 

One  of  those  present  who  always  takes  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  meetings  of  the  association  was 
A.  T.  Naugle  of  the  E.  E.  Naugle  Tie  Company 
of  Chicago. 

H.  S.  Gilkey  of  the  Pendelton  &  Gilkey  Com- 
pany, without  whom  no  cedarmen's  convention 
would  be  complete,  took  his  usual  active  part  in 
the   proceedings. 

The  ever  good-natured  and  jovial  "Mueller"  of 
the  William  Mueller  Company,  Chicago,  was  on 
hand  to  help  brighten  the  occasion — an  accomplish- 
ment at  which  he  has  no   equal. 

The  C.  H.  Worcester  Company  was  naturally 
represented  at  the  convention,  Secretary  W.  P. 
Bowring  attending.  Mr.  Bowring  was  engaged 
much  of  the  time  in  greeting  his  many  friends. 

W.  T.  Watkins,  president  of  the  Pillsbury-Wat- 
kins  Company  of  Minneapolis,  was  one  of  the  men 
present  who  is  always  sure  of  a  warm  welcome  at 
these  meetings.  In  attendance  with  Mr.  Watkins 
was  F.  W.  Werner  of  the  same  company. 

H.  W.  Reade,  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the . 
Pittsburg  and  Lake  Superior  Iron  Company  of 
Escanaba,  was  one  of  the  heartily  welcomed  mem- 
bers who  was  constantly  in  demand.  Mr.  Reade 
is  one  of  those  gentlemen  whom  to  know  is  a  real 
pleasure. 


Electric  Power  for  Large  Iron  Mine. 

The  Penn  Iron  Mining  Company  of  Marquette, 
Mich.,  has  contracted  for  a  complete  hydro-electric 
plant  to  be  installed  at  the  Sturgeon  Falls.  The 
first  contract  is  for  apparatus  that  will  furnish 
2,000  horsepower,  later  to  be  followed  by  an  addi- 
tional 2,000  horsepower.  The  current  used  will  be 
for  the  purpose  of  operating  hoists,  compressors  and 
pumps  afEast  Vulcan,  West  Vulcan  and  Curry  mines. 
The  motor  size  will  range  from  450  horsepower 
down  to  15  horsepower.  Pumping  will  be  taken 
care  of  by  two  centrifugal  pumping  sets  of  capacity 
for  1,800  gallons  per  minute,  directly  connected  to 
motors.  The  dam  at  which  electricity  is  to  be  gen- 
erated is  located  six  miles  from  the  more  distant 
mines,  and  the  transmission  lines  will  be  erected  for 
the  total  capacity  of  4,000  horsepower,  13,200  volts, 
three-phase  current.  The  dam  is  now  under  con- 
struction. It  is  to  be  of  concrete  across  the  mouth 
of  Sturgeon  River,  where  its  banks  come  within  175 
feet  of  each  other.  The  dam  is  anchored  in  the 
rock  of  the  river  bed.  It  will  be  31  feet  thick  and 
will  give  a  head  of  22  feet.  This  change  to  elec- 
tricity will  mean  an  expenditure  of  about  $250,000 
and  will  give  the  Penn  company  probably  the  most 
complete  and  up-to-date  electrical  plant  in  the  Lake 
Superior  region. 


January  20,   [906 


rERN     ELECTRK 


will  be  arranged   al ■ 

ing    a    free    pa 

ngth.    'I  he   cab   » ill    I" 


Further  Details  of  Sarnla  Tunnel 
Equipment. 

Further  details  of  the  single  pha  ic  equip 

the  Sarnia  1  1 :1,  which   wa  id 

in  the  Western   Elecl  rician  lai  1    wi  ek,   will  bi    1 

with  in!'  r<  st,     1  he   lingli   pha  1    W hou  1    loco 

motive  were  bi  ieflj  described  in  il"'  pi  1 
article,  bul  some  further  featun  ol  theii  coi 
linn  may  now   I"-  given. 

The    prim  ipal    dimension!     wiU    be    appro   ii 
as    follows:     Length    ovi  r    end     ill  ,    .7    Ei  - 
inches;   r i k ■  <  1   wheel   base,   12   feet;   width   over  all, 
nine   feet   six    inchc   .    heighl    from   top   ol    rail    t" 
top  of  cab,   (••  feel    six  inches;  diameter  of  driving 
wheels,   62   inches. 

I  he   operating  apparatu 
the   sides   of    the   cab,    Ii 
feet   wide   the   entire 
lighted  and  heated  by  electricity,  arrangement  being 
made    to    screen    the    instrument    lights    while    the 
locomotive    is    running. 

Westinghouse  combination  automatic  and  straight 
air  and  American  driver  brakes  will  be  used.  The 
air  supply  will  be  provided  by  a  two  cylinder  mo 
tor-driven  air  compressor,  having,  with  a  five-inch 
stroke  and   speed   of    igo  revolutions   per   minute,   a 

ipai  ity  of  45  cubic  feet  of  air  per  minute.  Air 
reservoirs,  signal  outfits,  whistle,  bell  with  pneu- 
matic ringers,  automatic  pump  governor,  tools,  in- 
struments, gauges,  headlights,  push  poles  and  other 
details   complete    the   auxiliary   equipment. 

A  motor  will  be  geared  to  each  axle,  giving  each 
unit  an  aggregate  rated  capacity  of  750  horsepower. 
They  arc  of  the  Westinghouse  single-phase  alter- 
nating-current series-wound  compensated  type, 
whose  successful  development  was  first  publicly 
announced  in  the  notable  paper  read  by  Mr.  B.  G. 
Lamms  before  the  American  Institute  of  Electrical 
Engineers  in  New  York,  September  26,  1902.  They 
are  of  the  same  general  character  as  the  motors 
selected  by  the  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hart- 
ford Railroad  Company  for  the  operation  of  its 
line  between  New  Haven  and  New  York.  Each 
motor  will  weigh  complete  approximately  14,500 
pounds,  the  armature  weighing  about  5,600  pounds. 

The  motors  are  swung  between  the  locomotive 
frame  and  the  driving  axles  by  a  flexible  nose 
suspension  from  two  hangers  supported  by  a  truck 
transom,  and  passing  through  heavy  lugs  with 
helical  springs  above  and  below  the  lug.  The  mo- 
tors are  held  to  the  axle  by  means  of  caps  which 
are  split  at  an  angle  of  35  degrees  with  the  per- 
pendicular, so  that  the  greater  part  of  the  weight 
is  borne  by  solid  projections  from  the  motor  frame, 
which  extend  over  the  axle,  rather  than  by  the 
cap  bolts.  Large  openings  above  and  below  pro- 
vide  access   to   the   commutator   and   brush   holders. 

Within  the  cylinder  of  the  motor  frame  there  is 
built  up  a  core  of  soft-steel  punchings,  forming  a 
complete  laminated  field.  The  punchings  dovetail 
into  the  frame  and  clamp  between  end  rings  of 
cast-steel.     The    field    coils   are   wound    with    copper 


SECTION    OF    SARNIA   TUNNEL. 

strap,  insulated  between  turns  and  about  the  coils 
by  mica  and  finished  by  taping  and  dipping,  and 
are  impregnated  in  the  best  grade  of  varnishes, 
providing  a  sealed  coil  which  can  withstand  the 
most  severe  internal  heat  and  is  practically  inde- 
structible under  the  usual  conditions  of  heavy- 
railway  service. 

In  addition  to  the  main  coils,  the  field  carries  a 
neutralizing  winding,  which  consists  of  copper  bars 
placed  in  slots  in  the  pole  faces  and  joined  at  the 
ends  by  connectors  of  copper  strap,  so  as  to  form 
one  continuous  winding,  which  is  connected  in 
series  with  the  main  field  winding  and  with  the 
armature   circuit. 

The  armature  cores  are  formed  of  slotted  soft- 
steel  punchings,  built  up  upon  a  spider  and  keyed 
in  place.  The  spider  is  forced  upon  the  shaft  with 
heavy   pressure   and   secured  by   a   steel  key. 

During  operation  a  forced  circulation  of  air,  sup- 


,   enters  at   thi 

I  he    1  npment 

.iy    unit    may    be    controlled 
from   eithei 
1  oupli  d  I  from  1 

1 
by  van  itioi  btained 

'     1     ol       r  ">   the   winding 

mi"  h am  1 11 1 ,    ■  hii  h 

trolley    ii     1,000 

-  ii     Ii  -:.  er,    ' 


taps  are  connected  to  unit  switches,  from  which 
current  is  led  through  the  preventive  coils  to  the 
motors.  Four  unit  switches  serve  to  reverse  the 
field  of  each  motor.  The  unit  switches  are  of 
standard  Westinghouse  design  and  are,  in  effect, 
pneumatically  operated  circuit-breakers  of  great 
power   and   reliability. 

Each  locomotive  unit  will  be  equipped  with  a 
pneumatically  operated  pantagraph  trolley  to  col- 
lect current  from  the  overhead  lines  outside  the 
tunnel  and  throughout  the  yards.  The  proportions 
of  the  pantagraph  will  be  such  that,  when  ex- 
tended, it  will  make  contact  with  the  trolley  wire, 
22  feet  above  the  rail,  and,  when  closed  down,  the 
contact  shoe  will  not  extend  more  than  18  inches 
above  the  roof  of  the  locomotive.  The  pantagraph 
will  have  a  broad  base  and  will  be  constructed  of 
light    and    stiff   material. 

A  No.  000  grooved  overhead  trolley  wire  will  be 
suspended  from  a  single  five-eighths-inch,  high- 
strength,  double-galvanized,  steel-strand,  messenger 
cable  by  hangers  of  varying  length  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  the  trolley  wire  will  be  approximately 
horizontal.  The  messenger  cable  will  be  swung 
from  structural-iron  bridges,  located  throughout  the 
yards,  and  are  of  suitable  length  to  span  the  proper 
number  of  tracks,  there  will  also  be  a  small  sec- 
tion of  track  equipped  with  a  trolley  line  swung 
by  catenary  suspension  from  bracket  arms,  which 
are   supported  on  lattice-work  poles. 

The  new  equipment  will  handle  that  portion  of 
the  Grand  Trunk  railway  system  which  connects 
the  divisions  terminating  at  Port  Huron.  Mich.,  and 
Sarnia,  Ont.,  on  opposite  sides  of  the  St.  Clair 
River.  The  tunnel  proper  is  6,032  feet  long  and 
the  line  to  be  electrically  operated  measures  19,348 
feet   from   terminal   to   terminal. 

A  pair  of  the  new  units  will  be  capable  of  haul- 
ing a  thousand-ton  train  through  the  tunnel  with- 
out division.  Mechanical  considerations  limit  the 
advisable  weight  of  train  in  the  tunnel  to  these 
figures.  Heavier  trains  can  be  •  divided-  or  sent 
through  together,  with  locomotives  in  front  and 
behind.  The  service  requires  that  each  unit  shall 
take  a  train  of  500  tons  through  the  tunnel  block 
from  summit  to  summit  in   15  minutes. 

Six  of  these  locomotives  are  to  be  furnished  by 
the  Westinghouse  company.  It  is  expected  that  the 
electric  equipment  will  greatly  relieve  the  traffic 
congestion  now  existing  and  due  in  a  large  measure 
to  the  necessity  of  dividing  trains  at  the  terminal 
points,  and  to  "greatly  simplify  the  operation  of  the 
road.  Its  opening  will  mark  the  progress  of  elec- 
trical methods  in  the  railway  field  under  conditions 
which  seem  peculiarly  fitted  to  demonstrate  its 
practical    advantages    in    heavy    service. 

The  work  of  installation  will  be  conducted  under 
the  supervision  of  Mr.  Bion  J.  Arnold  of  Chicago, 
consulting  engineer  for  the  tunnel  company,  by 
whom  the  plans  and  specifications  were  prepared. 
Mr.  Arnold,  as  is  well  known,  was  one  of  the  first 
engineers  in  America  to  advocate  the  employment 
of  the  single-phase  alternating-current  system  in 
railway  service,  and  is  at  present  a  member  of  the 
commission  in  charge  of  the  electrification  of  the 
New  York  Central  Railroad  system  in  New  York, 
and  has  been  closely  identified  with  many  electrical 
developments    of    great    importance. 


The  Dynelectron. 

briefly 
'itxan- 

Xcwark,    N.   J,     A    r< 

orluhop 

in    tba' 

I    in    all 

the  medium.     B 

I  namo. 
As    ih  lie   unit 

•    by    12    by    14    inch' 

■  I    chambers.     In    the 

teed    48    cai+x,:. 

partially    holli  I  'ally,    properly 

1    from    the    casting,    and    constituting    the 

In  the  central  cham- 

l"-r,    which    is    silver-plated    on    it-,    external    face, 

1     each 
rmin.il. 
'•.  con- 
f  sodium  hydrate,  with  the  addition  1 
half  of  one   per  cent,  of   ferric  oxide.     The  central 
chamber    i-    air    tight,    and    the    electrolyte    cannot 
pass    into    it.     Into    this    central    chamber    air    is 
pressure  of   10  :  square 

inch,  anil  the  air  passes  into  the  hollowed 
of  the  rods  and  through  the  pores  of  the  carbon 
into  the  electrolyte.  At  the  same  time  the  elec- 
trolyte is  heated  to  about  390"  Fahrenheit,  and 
when  the  cell  is  thus  arranged,  an  electric  current 
is  generated  and  continues  as  long  as  the  air  pres- 
sure and   temperature   are  maintained. 

Current  obtained  from  each  unit  is  approxi- 
mately 600  amperes  at  0.9  volt,  this  being  equal 
theoretically  to  540  watts,  or  about  three-quarters 
of  an  electrical  horsepower.  In  practice  there  arc 
heat  losses  to  be  considered,  and  part  of  the  cur- 
rent is  normally  used  to  drive  the  air  compressor, 
so  that  a  unit  such  as  just  described  is  to  be  con- 
sidered for  practical  purposes  as  equivalent  to  one- 
half  horsepower.  The  current  is  proportional  to 
the  carbon  surface,  and  since  in  the  evolution  of 
the  present  design  the  relation  between  the  carbon 
surface  and  the  dimensions  of  the  cell  have  been 
continually  improved,  it  may  be  ultimately  possible, 
without  increasing  the  amount  of  the  heat,  to  re- 
duce the  size  of  the  cell   still   further. 

The   electrical   action   of  the   dynelectron   is   cata- 


PARTS    OF    THE    DVNELECTRON. 

lytic.  The  current  is  obtained  from  the  constant 
dissociation  and  recombination  of  oxygen  and  hy- 
drogen as  represented  in  the  form  of  water  and 
air.  When  the  cell  is  working  there  is  a  constant 
interchange  of  molecules  and  atoms,  but  without 
any  consumption  of  the  electrodes,  nor  any  perma- 
nent change  in  the  character  of  the  electrolyte. 
The  process  is  cyclic.  When  the  air,  that  is  to 
say.  the  oxygen,  contained  in  it,  is  forced  through 
the  pores  of  the  carbon  rods  from  the  central  air- 
tight chamber,  into  the  outer  compartments  contain- 
ing the  electrolyte,  a  thermo-electric  action  is  set  up, 
and  the  sodium  hydrate  becomes  sodium  dioxide, 
and  water.  The  water  is  decomposed,  with  the 
additional  assistance  of  the  heat,  into  hydrogen  and 
oxygen,  the  oxygen  escaping  into  the  atmosphere 
with  other  by-products  of  a  gaseous  nature.  The 
excess  of  hydrogen  reduces  the  ferric  oxide  to 
ferrous  oxide,  and  the  ferrous  oxide  is  at  once 
oxidized  again  by  the  action  of  the  air,  forced 
through    the    carbons. 

Theoretically,  it  might  be  an  improvement  to 
supply  pure  oxygen,  but  in  practice  the  oxygen 
contained  in  the  air  is  found  sufficient.  There  is 
an  evaporation  of  water  equivalent  to  one  pint  per 
horsepower  per  hour,  and  this  loss  is  supplied  and 
kept  regulated  by  an  automatic  float.  The  incom- 
ing water  acts  upon  the  sodium  dioxide  and  forms 
sodium  hydrate  and  free  oxygen.  Thus  the  process 
taking  place  in  the  cell  is  analogous  to  that  going 


6o 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  20,   ic 


011  in  a  storage  battery.  In  the  storage  battery 
PbO  is  raised  to  Pb^O-.  In  the  dynelectron  cell 
FeO  is  raised  to  Fe203j  and  possibly  to  a  still 
more  unstable  compound.  Reduced  to  chemical 
formula,  the  process  in  the  dynelectron  cell  appears 
to  be :  Fe.Oa  +  2NaOH  +  heat  =  2FeO  +  Na.O,  + 
H20. 

Mr.  Rcid's  experiments  have  extended  over  14 
years.  One  of  the  chief  difficulties  encountered  was 
inability  to  obtain  a  carbon  of  such  a  grade  that 
it  would  withstand  the  combined  action  of  air 
pressure  and  heated  liquid,  and  two  years  were 
spent  in  perfecting  a  process  of  manufacturing  car- 
bon in  an  electric  furnace,  when  Mr.  Reid  dis- 
covered that  a  new  grade  of  carbon  was  being 
made  at  Buffalo.  This  carbon  is  now  purchased 
in    sheets    and    cut    up  jnto    rods    at    Newark. 

Every  part  of  the  apparatus  and  every  step  in 
the  process  has  been  subjected  to  continuous  tests 
and  analysis.  These  tests  are  said  absolutely  to 
demonstrate  that  there  is  no  disintegration  either 
of  the  carbon  or  of  the  iron  electrodes,  nor  any 
secular  change  in  the  chemical  composition  of  the 
electrolyte,  despite  the  continuous  generation  of 
current  over  a  long  period.  A  very  refined  test 
shows  in  some  cases  that  there  is  a  deposit  of  one- 
tenth  of  one  per  cent,  of  sodium  carbonate  on  the 
surface  of  the  carbon  rods,  but  this  deposit  does 
not  at   all   impair  the  efficiency  of  the  cell. 

In  the  working  of  the  cell  an  ingenious  way  is 
provided  for  the  escape  of  gases.  This  consists 
of  a  number  of  fine-wire  disks  enclosed  in  a 
threaded  cylinder  attached  to  the  top  of  the  iron 
cell,  and  through  which  the  gases  can  pass  with- 
out permitting  any  water  to  be  ejected  under  the 
air  pressure.  Readers  in  search  of  information  as 
to  the  electrolytic  action  of  hydrates  in  solution 
are  referred  to  a  paper  on  this  subject  read  at 
the  meeting  of  the  Faraday  Society,  London,  Eng- 
land,   May    16,    1905. 


5,000    Kilowatts    in  Steam  Turbines 
Ready  for  Shipment. 

To  the  ordinary  observer  the  accompanying  illus- 
tration, which  shows  a  string  of  flat  cars  loaded 
at  the  West  Allis  (Milwaukee)  Works  of  the  Allis- 
Chalmers  Company,  would  convey  no  especial  mean- 
ing; but  to  the  experienced  engineer  it  is  significant 
of  a  revolution  which  is  taking  place  in  the  equip- 
ment of  many  power  stations  throughout  the  world, 
for  foremost  in  the  train  are  the  bodies  of  two  steam 
turbines,  each  of  them  occupying  not  more  than 
one-half  the  floor  space  of  its  car,  yet  representing 


STEAM    TURBINES    READY    FOR    SHIPMENT. 

in  their  combined  capacity  the  delivery,  under  nor- 
mal conditions,  of  nearly  5,000  horsepower. 

The  development  of  this  modern  type  of  the  ro- 
tary engine,  in  which  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company 
has  recently  taken  a  leading  part,  has  come  about 
so  rapidly  that  the  possibilities  of  yesterday  become 
the  probabilities  of  today  and  the  assured  facts  of 
tomorrow.  Engineers  everywhere  are  vitally  inter- 
ested in  solving  the  problem  of  the  most  economical 
generation  of  power,  not  merely  in  the  quantity  of 
fuel  consumed  but  also  in  the  floor  space  required 
for  the  machinery,  the  cost  of  skilled  attendance, 
efficiency  in  transmission  and  the  other  factors 
which  must  be  reckoned  in  when  computing  the 
total  expense  incurred  for  each  unit  of  power  de- 
livered. To  these  the  steam  turbine  seems  to  offer 
a  practical  solution  of  the  problem  under  certain 
conditions,  which  are  not  to  be  confounded  with 
those  in  which  reciprocating  engines  can  be  most 
,  successfully  operated,  and  they  are  taking  careful 
note  of  every  installation  where  the  necessary  data 
can  be  obtained. 

The  Allis-Chalmers  Company  is  turning  out  these 
machines  as  rapidly  as  its  present  shop  facilities 
will  permit,  and  the  large  extensions  to  its  already 
great  plant  at  West  Allis  have  been  dictated  largely 
by  the  necessity  of  providing  more  room  for  this 
branch  of  manufacture. 

Meanwhile,  the  company  asserts,  orders  for  re- 
ciprocating engines  have  not  ceased  to  come  in,  and 
the  capacity  of  the  company's  works  is  being  taxed 
to  the  utmost  to  keep  up  with  the  demand  for  its 
standard  Corliss  types.  Most  of  the  sales  at  pres- 
ent, both  of  turbines  and  reciprocating  engines,  in- 
clude orders  for  Bullock  generators  to  be  direct 
connected  to  them.  The  electrical  apparatus  is  now 
built  at  the  company's  works  in  Cincinnati,  but 
when  the  new  'West  Allis  shops  are  finished  com- 
plete power  units  of  all  kinds  will  be  constructed 
there. 


The  New  "Poke  Bonnet"  Reflector. 

A  show-window  lighting  device  that  is  high- 
class,  adequate  and  economical,  and  at  the  same 
time  can  be  handled  with  satisfactory  profit  is 
represented  by  the  New  "Poke  Bonnet"  reflector, 
illustrated  herewith,  which  is  an  improvement  of 
the  reflector  of  this  type  described  in  the  Western 
Electrician    of  January   6th. 

I  his  reflector  is  constructed  in  sections  and  on 
the  trough  principle.  The  sections  are  14  inches 
in  length  and  may  be  used  singly  or  in  series. 
"Because  of  the  unusual  brilliancy  of  the  reflected 
light  the  sections  can  be  mounted  so  as  to  leave 
open    spaces    between,    thereby    effecting    a    saving 


device,  the  connectome,  manufactured  by  the  Dale 
Company  of  New  York,  which  furnishes  a  con- 
nection for  the  portable  which  is  at  once  con- 
venient and  at  the  same  time  does  away  with  the 
flush    receptacle. 

The  illustration  shows  the  construction  of  the 
device  so  plainly  that  little  description  is  needed. 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  connectome  furnishes  at 
once  a  connection  for  the  portable  and  for  a  light- 
ing fixture.  It  can  be  fastened  to  the  wall  or 
outlet  box  and  is  neat  in  appearance,  becoming 
part  of  the  fixture  when  installed.  It  does  away 
with  the  necessity  of  splicing,  soldering  and  taping 
wires,  enabling  a  connection  to  be  made  from  a 
point  which  is  neatly  concealed.  It  is  made  for 
straight  electric  or  combination  fixtures,  for  either 
single  or  double  connections. 


High-voltage   Electrically   Operated  Ol\ 

Circuit-breaker. 
The  circuit-breaker  shown  in  the  illustration  here- 
with   was    designed    by    the    Westinghouse    Electric 


VO    TYPES    OF    THE    NEW     "POKE    BONNET"    REFLECTOR. 


upon  the  initial  cost  of  the  outfit,  as  well  as  for 
the  later  expense  for  operation. 

As  each  unit  is  adjustable,  the  various  sections 
of  the  continuous  installation  can  be  arranged  at 
any  desired  angle  or  angles,  so  as  to  throw  the 
light  rays  in  any  direction,  and  where  they  are 
most  needed.  The  reflectors  can  be  located  at  the 
top,  back,  ends  or  front  perpendicular  corners 
of  the  window,  whichever  way  may  suit  the  taste 
or  accord  with  the  judgment  of  the  individual  mer- 
chant. However,  the  company  recommends  that 
the  reflectors  be  placed  at  the  top  front  of  window, 
or  just  back  of  the  transom  bar,  but  in  no  case 
where  the  lamps  themselves  will  be  within  the  range 
of  vision. 

These  reflectors  will  also  be  found  useful  for 
illuminating  the  pictures  in  an  art  gallery,  as  the 
sections  can  be  distributed  in  units,  pairs,  or  any 
larger    number,    as    they    are    most    needed. 

The  unusual  strength  of  the  reflected  light  from 
these  reflectors  is  obtained  by  the  use  of  a  heavy 
spiral  corrugated  glass,  having  a  silver-plated  sur- 
face. In  the  estimation  of  those  who  have  made 
a  study  of  the  subject,  the  reflected  light  which 
conies  from  the  use  of  silver  is  more  brilliant 
than  that  which  is  reflected  from  any  other  surface. 

The  purpose  of  the  corrugated  surface  is  to  break 
and  distribute  the  rays  of  light  so  there  will  be 
no   possibility   of   any   shadows   being  thrown. 

Each  of  the  14-inch  sections  is  equipped  with 
twin  sockets,  and  lamps  of  eight,  16  and  32  candle- 
power  can  be  used.  Just  how  many  of  these  sec- 
tions would  be  required  for  a  show  window  will 
depend  upon  the  size  of  the  window,  its  shape,  and 
the  class  of  goods  which  is  to  be  exhibited  therein, 
but  as  indicating  what  these  reflectors  are  sup- 
posed to  do,  it  may  be  said  that  four  of  the  sec- 
tions equipped  with  eight  16-candlepower  lamps 
will  adequately  light  a  window  measuring  12  by 
six  feet,  filled  with  ordinary  dry-goods  merchandise. 

The  fact  that  these  complete  sectional  reflectors 
can  be  carried  in  stock,  can  be  easily  installed 
makes  them  a  valuable  article  for  the  dealer  and 
jobber  to  handle,  as  is  pointed  out  by  the  manu- 
facturer, the  National  X-ray  Reflector  Company  of 
Chicago. 


and  Manufacturing  Company  primarily  for  the  On- 
tario Power  Company's  work.  It  is  intended  to 
handle  energy  up  to  6o,cco  horsepower  per  three- 
phase  circuit,  and  will  open  a  circuit  under  any 
conditions  of  overload  or  short-circuit  which  may 
occur  with  a  power  house  capable  of  delivering 
200,000  horsepower.  The  insulation  to  ground  and 
between  terminals  is  designed  to  withstand  a  break- 


The  Connectome. 

In  large  buildings  portables  are  extensively  used 
as  well  as  fan  motors.  These  ordinarily  require 
a  flush  receptacle,  or  else  are  attached  in  a  lighting 
socket,  thereby  rendering  the  latter  useless  for  the 
duty  which  it  was  originally  intended  to  perform. 
The    illustration    shown   herewith    represents    a   new 


Till:    CONNECTOME. 


HIGH-VOLTAGE     ELECTRICALLY    OPERATED    OIL    SWITCH. 

down  test  of  150,000  volts,  and  the  insulation  be- 
tween poles  is  twice  that  amount,  since  the  poles 
are   electrically    separate. 

All  three  poles  of  the  switch  are  closed  together 
by  means  of  a  toggle  joint  operated  by  a  single 
direct-pull  solenoid.  The  switch  is  held  in  a  closed 
position  by  the  toggle  being  carried  just  beyond 
the  center,  and  is  tripped  out  by  the  tripping-coil 
armature  striking  this  toggle  and  knocking  it  back- 
ward, allowing  the  switch  to  open  by  gravity.  Each 
pole  of  the  switch  gives  a  double  break,  each  break 
being  approximately  17  inches.  The  closing  mag- 
nets require  approximately  5,000  watts  direct  cur- 
rent, while  the  tripping  magnets  require  about  300 
watts. 

There  are  three  oil  tanks,  made  of  boiler  iron, 
lined  with  an  insulating  material,  with  barriers 
interposed  between  the  stationary  contacts.  The 
contact  parts  are  of  the  company's  standard  type 
C  construction,  having  renewable  arcing  tins  and 
contacts.  The  leads,  with  their  insulation  and  the 
upper  porcelain  insulators  may  be  readily  removed 
from  the  switch,  giving  access  to  the  contact  parts 
for  inspection  and  repairs.  The  top  covers  of  the 
tanks  are  made  of  treated  soapstone  slabs,  part  of 
which  are  also  removable.  Each  tank  is  provided 
with  an  oil  drain,  opening  in  the  bottom,  and  an 
overflow  just  above  the  normal  oil  level.  These 
openings  are  provided  with  standard  three-inch 
pipe-flange  threads,  but  no  pipe  is  provided.  Each 
tank  has  an  oil-level  gauge,  and  requires  approxi- 
mately  160  gallons  of  oil. 

The  total  weight  of  each  three-pole  switch  com- 
plete, the  tanks  being  filled  with  oil,  is  approxi- 
mately 15,000  pounds.  The  oil  alone  weighs  ap- 
proximately   4,oco    pounds. 

A  two-pole  double-throw  indicating  switch  is 
provided  upon  each  three-pole  oil  switch  for  use 
in  connection  with  the  controlling  and  indicating 
devices.     The    circuit-breaker    is    not    automatic    in 


January   20,   igo6 


WESTERN     ELECTRIl 


il  elf,  an  ovci  load  relay  opi  i  ati  d  fron     cri< 

forme  ra   bi  ing    


Something  about   HarcJ-drawn    Copper 
Wire. 

Thomas    B.   Doolittle   dc an    inli  n   tine 

manner    in    the    I  larvard    E  ngin I lal    thi 

history,   manufacture  and   pro] I    liai  d-dra    n 

copper,       l  I"'   «  i  it'  i     wa      f; li  u     ■.  ith    til      phi 

nomenon    of    the    hardening    ol    drawn    coppi 
the     time     he     entci  ed     the     field     ol     elcctricil 

therefore,    when     ii     wa      disci I     i"     him     that 

coppi  i    was  ""I    onlj    "in    "i    thi     I"   lui  toi 

,,i  elci  ii  icity    Inn    wa     thi    i  1m  api    I    nd 

,,i  per  mile  ohm,  ii  was  only  I'  ii  for  him  to  deter 
mine  whether  "r  not  this  hardening;  process  could 
In-  made  available  in  order  that  copper  wire  should 
I,,    comparable   in    iron    in    it-,   ability    to    stand    the 

n f    its  nun    weight     when    strung    on    poll  i, 

and.    in   addition    thereto,    the   weight    of    sleet    or 
snow    .-ind    wind    pressure.      There    was    no    mathi 
matical   road   to  determine   tins    factor;   therefore   it 
wa,   simply   a   case  of   "cut    and  try." 

First,  the  size  of  the  finished  product  was  fixed 
u|i..n  I  No.  i-!  Ii  X  S.  gauge);  then  ii  became  a 
matter  of  experiment  in  determine  the  size  "f  the 
annealed  copper  rod  which,  when  drawn  in  ibis 
predetermined  size,  should  possess  the  proper  ten 
silc  strength  and  the  required  torsional  property. 
It  was  also  necessary  in  determine  the  number  of 
"link's"  or  reductions  that  should  intervene  in  the 
process  of  drawing  in  order  that  the  structure  or 
fiber  of  tin-  metal  should  not  be  injured  during  the 
process.  Tun  much  force  would  result  in  granulat- 
ing the  metal  and  thereby  impairing  its  tensile 
strength.  Tin"  experiments  proved  all  that  could  be 
anticipated,  and  a  sufficient  amount  of  hard-drawn 
copper  wire  was  manufactured  to  equip  the  lines 
necessary  to  connect  all  of  the  mills,  offices  and 
residences  of  officers  of  the  Ansonia  Brass  and 
Copper  Company,  in  whose  wire  mill  these  experi- 
ments were  made.  A  telephone  switchboard  was 
set  up  in  the  brass  mill  of  that  company  and  an 
operator  answered  calls  and  made  connections. 
This  work  was   begun  in   November.    1877. 

Although  the  product  is  known  in  the  trade  as 
hard-drawn  copper  wire,  and  properly  so  known — 
as  the  name  indicates  its  property  of  hardness  and 
the  method  of  manufacture — the  name  has  no  an- 
tonym or  contra-term  because  soft-drawn  copper  is 
a  misnomer ;  the  very  process  of  drawing  eliminates 
the  quality  of  softness  and  makes  it  hard. 

Prior  to  its  introduction  for  aerial  electrical  con- 
ductors there  was  very  little,  if  any,  call  for  the 
hard  product.  Copper  wire  was  usually  annealed 
after  drawing  and  sold  in  that  form.  Copper  al- 
loyed with  other  metal  was  and  is  now  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  hard  or  "spring  wire." 

Skepticism  on  the  part  of  electricians  and  gen- 
erally in  scientific  circles,  as  to  the  practical  value 
of  this  adaptation,  prevented  its  being  adopted  to 
any  extent,  except  the  few  circuits  that  Mr.  Doo- 
little introduced  into  the  Bridgeport  (Conn.)  tele- 
phone  exchange   until   seven  years   afterward. 

In  1884  Mr.  Doolittle  was  commissioned  to  con- 
struct an  experimental  metallic  circuit  of  copper 
between  New  York  and  Boston.  The  wire  for 
this  circuit  was  drawn  under  his  personal  super- 
vision in  the  wire  mill  of  the  Bridgeport  Brass 
Company.  The  total  cost  of  this  experiment  was, 
in  round  numbers,  $70,000.  After  the  experiment 
was  concluded  the  wires  were  turned  over  to  the 
intervening  telephone  companies  for  local  use  and 
immediate  steps  were  taken  to  build  the  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  long-distance  telephone  line.  The 
miles  of  hard-drawn  copper  wire  now  in  use  for 
all    electrical   purposes   are  counted   by   millions. 

The  first  recorded  employment  of  copper  as  a 
line  conductor  was  its  use  by  Prof.  Morse  in  his 
experimental  telegraph  lines  between  Washington 
and  Baltimore.  The  ordinary  market  wire  was 
used  but  for  the  reason  that  it  would  not  sustain 
its  own  weight,  it  was  abandoned  and  iron  wire 
was  substituted.  The  next  of  record  was  strung 
by  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  in  New 
Jersey.  In  this  case  also  the  ordinary  copper  wire 
was  used,  but  an  attempt  was  made  to  increase 
its  tensile  strength  by  twisting  a  pair  of  wires 
into  the  form  of  a  rope.  This  did  not  prove  a  suc- 
cess and  was  abandoned  for  the  same  reason  as 
the  other. 

In  the  early  seventies  manv  experiments  were 
tried  in  attempts  to  make  available  for  aerial  line 
conductors  the  superior  conductivity  of  Conner.  In 
each  case  a  steel  wire  was  emnloyed  for  tensile 
strength.  In  one  case  a  copper  ribbon  was  wound 
spirally  around  the  steel  wire.  On  exposure  to 
the  elements  a  chemical  action  was  set  up  that 
quickly  destroyed  the  steel  core.  This  ribbon  was 
afterward  tinned,  but  with  unsatisfactory  result. 
In  another  experiment  the  copper  ribbon  was  folded 
longitudinally.  The  last  and  most  successful  in 
this  line  of  experiment  was  the  process  of  electro- 
plating the  steel  wire  with  copper.  This  was  put 
in  service  by  the  American  Rapid  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, but  in  a  few  years  it  also  proved  unsatisfac- 
tory and  was  abandoned.     Therefore  it  will  be  seen 


hi    1.V7H      Thi 

- 1 1      1 ,     ... 
adoptc  .ii! 

Ii 

1    manufai  tun 

I    pr..d 

Ui  1         '.1 

1..  ing   anm  alcd  il 

.Hhl     lii 

le    mean     ol   a   hammer,  in  order  il 

1 in  d   mi   enough  throug 

I-     ;rappli  ,1  on  thi    1  p 

"I      i"    1"     drawn    mi  m. 'thud 

,,i     tarting  od   bad   a   distin 

ad    ui-'"     1  11     the   reason    that    il 

likely   to  lap  '  over  in  the  process   of  draw- 

ing,   lli'  1 

win-,  iln  •   il.  1  trouble 

snine    ill    the      in  ill-  1  After    li.-u  iii« 

been  drawn    through    a    certain  number    of    "holes 
the     sin  I. 1     (Ii.      ivjn      I. d    to    an 

cxtenl    which    rcquin      thai    il     hould    bi 

i"  i"'  -  any   further  n  dm  1 

The  new  process  is   substantially  a     1 

1  li--  coppi  r  i     I'-- '  r.  1  'i   i\ the     mi 

in   the    form  of  wire  bars,   which  an-   approximately 
54  inches  long,   wiili  an  average  diameter  of  about 
'. '  1     inches,    and    weigh    about    200    pound 
Mi     .     :uv     delivered     as     commercial    copper     wire- 
bars. 

The  first  operation  is  to  put  the  bars  into 
is    termed  a,  "continuous    furnace."   the   bars    going 
in   at  one  end   of   the   furnace  and   taken  nut   at   the 
other.      In    their    passage    through    thej    an 
to  about  950°  C,  at  the  rate  of  about  two  bars  per 
minute. 

I'lie  heated  bars  are  then  put  through  a  series 
of  grooved  rolls.  Each  succeeding  groove  being 
smaller,  it  results  in  a  reduction  "f  the 
bar  to  a  diameter  of  five-sixteenths  of  an  inch. 
These  are  now  called  rods  and  are  taken  up  "ii 
a  reel  in  the  form  of  a  coil  about  30  inches  in  di- 
ameter. These  coils  are  then  taken  from  the  hot- 
rolling  department  and  are  cold  at  that  time.  They 
are  then  plunged  into  a  bath  of  sulphuric  acid  and 
water  for  the  purpose  of  removing  whatever  oxide 
has  been  formed  in  the  hot-rolling  operation.  After 
about  20  minutes  in  this  solution  the  oxide  is  re- 
moved and  the  rods  are  then  taken  and  thoroughly 
washed  with  clean  water  under  a  high  pressure 
from  a  hose ;  after  which  they  are  immersed  in  a 
vat  containing  a  lubricant  of  tallow  and  soap.  I  he 
'  rods  arc   now   ready   for  the  drawing  process. 

The  rods  are  substantially  drawn  on  what  is 
termed  by  wire  manufacturers  a  "continuous  wire- 
drawing machine."  That  is  to  say.  the  five-six- 
teenths-inch rod  goes  in  at  one  end  of  the  machine, 
and  after  passing  through  several  dies,  each  one 
reducing  the  diameter  and  hardening  the  wire,  it 
finally  is  drawn  around  a  block  to  the  finished  size, 
say  0.104  inch. 

In  making  this  reduction  the  copper  wire  is  re- 
duced in  diameter  from  No.  1  wire  gauge  to  No. 
12  wire  gauge,  or.  in  technical  terms,  the  wire  is 
"11  numbers  hard."  This  process  gives  the  wire 
the  greatest  amount  of  tensile  strength  possible 
from  commercial  copper  and  yet  preserves  its  elas- 
ticity. The  cost  of  production  is  enormously  re- 
duced by  the  new  process.  Whereas,  under  the  old 
process,  a  very  skilled  workman  was  required  for 
each  single  drawing,  an  attendant  is  now  able  to 
care  for  several  continuous  drawing  machines  that 
are  run  at  a  speed  unapproachable  by  the  old 
method.  In  the  smaller  sizes  of  wire,  diamond  dies 
are  employed,  which,  in  themselves,  represent  a 
verv  considerable   investment. 

Commercial  copper  in  its  soft  state  has  a  tensile 
strength  of  about  28.000  pounds  per  square  inch, 
with  an  elongation  of  about  36  per  cent.,  and  by 
the  cold-drawing  process  above  described  the  tensile 
strength  -is  increased  by  each  number  drawn  and  tile 
elongation  is  reduced;  therefore  when  the  copoer 
wire  is  drawn  11  numbers  hard,  it  has  a  tensile 
strength  of  about  64,600  pounds  per  square  inch, 
with  an  elongation  of  about  one  per  cent.  The 
wire  is  then  taken  from  the  wire-drawing  blocks, 
so-called,  and  is  carefully  inspected  for  tensile 
strength,  elongation,  torsion  and  conductivity.  The 
inspected  wire  is  then  carefully  packed  by  wrap- 
ping each  coil  with  burlap,  so  that  it  does  not  be- 
come bruised  or  damaged  in  any  way  by  trans- 
portation. 


COMMUNICATIONS. 
LonK  dlstan 


Finest  Ever  Printed  In  the  United  States. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Western  Electrician,  dated  Tan- 
uary  13th.  the  Farr  Telephone  and  Construction 
Supply  Company  uses  this  appreciative  language: 
"We  also  wish  to  compliment  you  on  the  New 
Years  number  of  the  Western  Electrician,  which 
is  certainly  the  finest-appearing  electrical  journal 
that  was  ever  printed  in  the  United  States.  You 
certainly  deserve  great  credit  for  getting  out  such 
an   edition." 


■ 


Ui 


N'ew    Yurk,  January 


American  Energy  Triumphing  over 
Misfortune. 
To  ili.    Editot 

Relative  to  the  dan 
tory   at   I  -    plant 

i.    I.ii t    that    I- 

We     Will     he     111  -,      |Oth 

I    Ijr         ' 

tory,    )='.  162    1 

ty,    January    1  lib       I  . 
Aagration    gaining    rapid    head 

,     hunks    and 

-n  tierce  that   the   1  partment 

innati    was    required    to    fight    the    li 
Even    while    the    fir. 
a    meeting    of    as    many    a,    possible    of    tli. 

■  f  the  company  was  called. 
and  a  resolution  immediately  passed  in  ...cure  not 
"iily  1  new  hut  a  larger  factory,  a. id  to  go  ahead 
and    n  with     all     possible    dispatch. 

i  miittee   appointed    leased   a   new    factory   mi 
the   curiier   of    Ninth   and    Sycamon 
too    feet    mi    the    ground,    with    six    stnries    and    a 

ny    luckily   had   a    lot 
tery  material   in  transit,  and  further  urders  were  at 
once   placed    fur   additional    material.    Consequently, 
by    the   time    the    new    building    1-    ready   and   occu- 
pied,  which   will   In-   aboul    February    1st.   thi 
Island    Battery    Company    will    have    everythi    - 
hand    fur   business.     We  can.   therefore,   assure  the 
tradi     that    we    will    he    ready    promptly    to    fill   all 
orders   not    later   than    February    10th.  'Orders    will 
lie  filled  in  the  nriler  which  they  are  received.     The 
company's   temporary   offices    are   at    the    corner   of 
Third    and    Vine    streets.    Cincinnati.    Ohio. 

R01  k    Island   Batteky   Company, 
By  M.   A.   Loeb,   Secretary  and   Treasurer. 

Cincinnati.   January    16.    1906. 


Co-operative    Insurance    for    Electric 
Railway  and  Lighting  Properties. 

The  incorporation  of  the  American  Railway  In- 
surance Company  and  the  Associated  Railway  O'lii- 
panies'  Insurance  Company  of  Cleveland,  each  with 
a  capital  stuck  of  J-'OO.OOO.  has  be< 
The  incorporators  are  the  same  in  bulb  cas 
follows:  Horace  E.  Andrews.  Henrv  \.  Everett 
A.  E.  Akins.  Warren  S.  Bicknell,  Charles  \V.  Was- 
son,  John  J.  Stanley,  all  of  Cleveland;  C.  G 
rich  of  Minneapolis,  Minn..  J.  C.  Hutchins  of  De- 
troit, Mich..  J.  H.  Hogsett  and  Henry  X  - 
The  companies  will  write  on  both  sprinkler  and 
unprotected  risks,  including  all  properties  of  elec- 
tric-railway and  light  companies,  such  as  car  houses. 
power  houses,  rolling  stock  and  lighting  plants. 
The  rates  will  he  made  as  low  as  possible  and  will 
be  determined  by  an  inspection  and  rating  bureau. 
of  which  Mr.  Staats  is  manager.  The  business,  in 
tact,  will  be  conducted  upon  a  co-operative  basis 
entirely  in  the  interests  of  the  railroad  and  light- 
ing companies.  The  stock  has  .been  largely  ar- 
ranged tor.  subscriptions  being  received  from  vari- 
ous portions  of  the  country,  all  by  railroad  and 
lighting  people. 


Opening  of  the  Simplon  Tunnel   Post- 
poned. 

The  official  opening  of  the  new  international  rail- 
way line  through  the  Simplon  tunnel,  after  having 
been  advertised  for  April  1,  1906.  is  now  reported 
by  Consul  Keene  of  Geneva  as  being  postponed 
until  May  1st.  by  action  of  the  Swiss  authorities. 
After  having  been  for  a  considerable  time  under 
discussion,  the  mode  of  traction  between  Brigue 
and  Domo  d'Ossola  is  to  be  electrical,  in  accord- 
ance with  a  decision  recently  made  by  the  federal 
department  of  Swiss  railroads. 

Iln  Swiss  system  of  traction  now  in  use  on  the 
railroad  Berthoud-Thoune,  in  the  canton  of  Berne. 
will  he  applied  with  up-to-date  imorovemenrs  on 
nplon  line.  The  Berthoud-Thoune  system 
was  illustrated  and  briefly  described  in  the  Western 
Electrician  of  January  6th.  The  first  two  electrical 
engines  will  be  tried  on  the  Italian  electrical  lines 
of  Valtellina. 


62 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


January  20,  1906 


Electricity  in  Irrigating  Large  Sugar 
Plantation. 

Sugar  is  manufactured  extensively  on  the  Island 
of  Kausi,  Hawaiian  Territory,  where  there  are  a 
number  of  large  plantations,  which,  however,  must 
in  some  cases  be  irrigated.  Following  is  a  descrip- 
tion of  an  electrically  operated  irrigating  system  to 
be  installed  on  one  of  these  plantations. 

The  primary  driver  will  consist  of  a  specially  de- 
signed impulse  waterwheel  operating  under  a  fall 
of  400  feet  of  water  conveyed  in  penstock  pipes  from 
a  mountain  stream  and  delivering  its  power  con- 
tinuously to  a  Bullock  alternating-current  generator, 
direct  connected,  at  six  maximum  speeds,  which 
are  secured  by  the  use  of  six  different  sets  of 
buckets   arranged    on   wheels    of  varying   diameters. 

Mountain  streams  are  not  very  numerous  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  and  are  usually  in  comparatively 
inaccessible  places,  rendering  it  impossible  to  lead 
the  water  by  means  of  flumes  or  ditching  to  the  land 
to  be  irrigated.  Furthermore,  it  is  frequently  the 
case  that,  while  the  quantity  of  water  available  is 
small,  the  head  is  comparatively  great,  thus  enabling 
a  large  amount  of  power  to  be  obtained.  Under 
such  conditions  an  electric  generator  driven  by  a 
waterwheel  may  be  installed  at  the  falls  and  the 
power  generated  transmitted  from  there  to  a  distant 
pumping  plant  located  but  a  few  feet  above  sea 
level,  which  obtains  its  supply  from  wells  or  under- 
ground tunnels.  At  such  points  the  quantity  of 
water  available  is  usually  abundant.  The  funda- 
mental engineering  problem  is  therefore  to  utilize  a 
small  quantity  of  water  under  a  high  head  to  raise 
a  large  quantity  of  water  to  a  comparatively  low 
head. 

As  is  the  experience  with  mountain  streams  else- 
where, the  quantity  of  water  available  for  power 
varies  considerably  at  different  seasons;  hence  it  is 
desired  at  all  times  to  utilize,  as  far  as  practicable, 
the  maximum  water  supply,  and  in  order  to  get 
the  full  benefit  from  the  quantity  available  at  any 
time  it  has  been  necessary  to  evolve  a  scheme  by 
which  the  speed  of  the  pump  can  be  varied  in  pro- 
portion to  the  flow  at  the  source  of  power. 

The  head  being  constant  the  velocity  of  the  water 
at  the  delivery  nozzle  is  constant,  and  the  horse- 
power varies  directly  with  the  water  supply.  By . 
changing  the  dimensions  of  the  wheel  carrying  the 
buckets  the  rotative  speed  of  the  generator  is 
changed,  while  the  speed  of  the  water  remains 
constant  at  all  times.  With  constant  field  strength 
on  the  generator  the.  voltage  will  be  directly  propor- 
tional to  the  rotative  speed,  and,  as  the  cycles  are 
also  proportional  to  the  rotative  speed,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  volts  and  cycles  vary  in  a  fixed  ratio 
to  each  other. 

The  energy  from  the  generator  being  delivered 
to  an  induction  motor,  the  speed  of  the  motor,  and 
therefore  of  the  pump,  will  change  in  the  same 
proportion  as  the  speed  of  the  generator.  As  both 
the  frequency  and  the  voltage  change  in  the  same 
ratio,  the  induction  motor  will  at  all  times  be 
operating  under  conditions  corresponding  to  those 
for  which  it  has  been  designed.  The  generator  is 
rated  at  300  kilowatts,  three-phase,  60  cycles,  and 
will  have  a  normal  speed  of  450  revolutions  per 
minute. 

About  five  miles  from  the  power  station  will  be 
located  the  pumping  plant.  Here  is  to  be  installed 
a  Bullock  induction  motor  of  225  horsepower  and 
this,  by  means  of  rope  transmission,  will  drive  a 
duplex,  double-acting  Riedler  pump,  having  a  ca- 
pacity, against  250  feet  head  (including  friction), 
ranging  from  1,750  gallons  per  minute,  when  the 
waterwheel  has  five  cubic  feet  per  second  supply 
of  water,  to  2,800  gallons  a  minute  (4,032,000  gal- 
lons per  24  hours),  with  a  supply  of  eight  cubic 
feet  a  second  at  the  wheel.  The  speed  of  the  pump, 
operated  at  its  full  capacity,  will  be  116  revolutions 
a   minute. 

The  generator  will  have  its  exciter,  of  eight  kilo- 
watts, direct  connected  to  it,  and  the  exciter  has 
been  so  designed  that  it  can  deliver  the  full  volt- 
age and  current  required  for  excitation  even  at  the 
minimum  speed.  By  means  of  an  automatic  regu- 
lator the  exciter  voltage  will  be  maintained  con- 
stant at  all  speeds  of  rotation,  and  it  will,  there- 
fore, be  unnecessary  to  change  the  adjustment  of 
the  generator  rheostat  when  the  speed  of  rotation  is 
changed.  In  addition  to  the  automatic  regulator  a 
hand-operated  field  regulator  will  be  installed  for 
use  in  an  emergency.  It  was  the  original  inten-^ 
tion  to  use  at  the  pumping  station  a  synchronous 
motor  which  would  require  a  50-horsepower  motor 
for  starting,  as  well  as  an  exciter,  controllers  and 
apparatus  for  throwing  the  starting  motor  in  or 
out;  but  it  was  found  that  the  sysem  could  be  sim- 
plified by  the  use  of  an  induction  motor.  The  oper- 
ation of  the  plant  remains  otherwise  practically  the 
same,  and  of  course  the  induction  motor  requires 
neither  a  starting  motor  nor  exciter,  but  merely 
controlling  apparatus.  The  efficiency  of  the  whole 
plant  will  be  the  same  with  an  induction  motor  as 
with  a  synchronous  motor,  while  in  simplicity  of 
construction,  reliability  of  operation,  small  amount 
of  attention  required  and  also  in  the  matter  of  first 
cost  the  induction  motor  has  the  advantage.  Neces- 
sary by-pass  valves  are  provided  for  use  in  start- 
ing up.  Either  side  of  the  pump  may  be  run  sep- 
arately when  desired. 

The  plant  was  furnished  and  installed  by  the 
Allis-Chalmers    Company. 


Auxiliary  Telephone  Circuits. 

By  Charles  H.  Coar. 
Demand  for  auxiliary  interior  telephone  apparatus 
is  growing,  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  when 
one  considers  that  the  ordinary  doorbell,  the  speak- 
ing tube,  the  errand  boy  and  many  other  slower 
methods  of  communication  are  being  gradually 
supplanted  by  this  class  of  equipment.  To  de- 
scribe the  evolution  and  adoption  of  the  many 
different  systems  would  consume  much  space,  so  the 
purposes  of  the  following  is  to  bring  to  mind  some 
of  the   possibilities   and   operating   arrangements   of 


a  few  such  circuits  without  discussing  in  any  man- 
ner their  commercial  aspects. 

Interior  telephone  systems  are  now  usually  de- 
signed to  operate  from  a  centralized  battery  which 
often  furnishes  the  current  for  both  ringing  and 
talking  purposes.  In  some  circuits  two  cen- 
tralized batteries  are  used — one  for  ringing  and 
one  for  talking.  It  is  the  most  common  practice 
to  utilize  an  ordinary  vibrating  bell  for  signaling, 
but  when  the  distance  between  any  two  of  the  tele- 
phones in  the  one  system  is  much  over  1,000  feet 
the  better  practice  is  to  use  a  magneto  method  of 
signaling.  When  it  becomes  necessary  to  use  mag- 
neto current  for  ringing  purposes  the  ordinary 
practice  is  to  equip  the  telephones  with  local-bat- 
tery talking  apparatus.  Some  circuits  are  designed 
to  operate  in  conjunction  with  trunk  lines  to  a 
local  telephone  exchange  in  addition  to  other 
duties. 

Fig.  1  illustrates  one  arrangement  of  an  interior 
system  which  employs  a  centralized  battery  both 
for  ringing  and  talking  purposes.  Switch  contacts 
are  provided  for  five  stations,  three  of  which  are 
shown  in  the  circuit.  Each  station  is  equipped 
with   a   transmitter   and   induction   coil   arranged   in 


FIG.    2.       AUXILIARY   TELEPHONE   CIRCUITS. 

conjunction  with  a  hook  switch  and  receiver,  also 
a  vibrating  bell  or  buzzer  (B)  associated  with  the 
push  button  and  lower  contact  of  the  switch  hook 
as  shown.  The  switch  (S)  is  provided  to  make 
connections  to  the  various  lines.  An  impedance 
coil  (I)  is  arranged  in  series  with  the  battery  taps 
to  each  transmitter  to  obviate  any  cross  talk  and 
also  to  cut  down  the  battery  consumption. 

The  stations  in  this  system  call  each  other  by 
placing  the  switch  (S)  on  the  numbered  contact 
of  the  station  desired  and  pressing  the  push  but- 
ton which  closes  the  circuit  through  the  battery 
and  bell  of  the  called  station.  Both  persons  then 
take  down  their  receivers  and  talk.  In  the  opera- 
tion of  this  circuit  it  is  necessary  to  return  the 
switch  lever  (S)  to  the  "home"  contact  after  using 
the  telephone,  otherwise  it  will  be  impossible  for 
this  station  to  receive  any  incoming  calls.  It  is 
also  necessary  that  the  receivers  be  in  place.  Both 
of  these  facts  are  made  evident  in  Fig.   1. 

To  overcome  the  objection  of  returning  the 
switch  lever  to  the  "home"  contact  manually,  sev- 
eral mechanical  devices  have  been  perfected  which 
operate  when  the  receivers  are  hung  up.  In  other 
circuits  a  rearrangement  of  the  apparatus  is 
effected  in  such  manner  that  this  detrimental  fea- 
ture is  overcoine. 

A  rearranged  circuit  is  shown  in  Fig.  2,  which, 
with  the  exception  of  the  bell  circuit,  is  identical 
with  that  shown  in  Fig.  1.  It  will  be  noticed  in 
connection  with  the  circuit  shown  in  Fig.  2,  that 
the  bells  are  directly  connected  to  the  "home"  con- 
tacts, in  which  position  they  can  be  actuated 
regardless  of  the  position  the  switch  lever  may 
occupy.      Therefore    it    is    not    necessary    that    the 


switch  lever  occupy  the  "home"  contact  in  order 
to  receive  its  calls  properly.  Otherwise  the  opera- 
tion of  the  circuits  shown  in  Figs.  1  and  2  is 
identical. 

The  circuit  shown  in  Fig.  3  is  employed  on 
occasions  where  a  subscriber  wishes  to  have  several 
extension  telephones  arranged  in  such  manner  that 
they  can  secure  through  connections  to  the  tele- 
phone exchange  at  all  times  other  than  when  he  is 
using  the  telephone.  This  is  also  done  in  order 
that  the  conversations  from  the  main  telephone 
will  be  secret  in  so  far  as  the  extension  telephones 
are  concerned. 

Fig.  3  shows  an  arrangement  for  connecting  a 
main  telephone  to  the  exchange  line  in  the  usual 
manner,  while  the  extension  telephones  (1),  (2) 
and  (3)  are  so  connected  that  one  side  of  the  cir- 
cuit to  these  instruments  has  its  continuity  de- 
pendent upon  the  position  of  the  hook  switch  in 
the  main  telephone.  It  is  necessary  that  the  re- 
ceiver be  hung  up  at  the  main  telephone  before  the 
extension  telephones  can  utilize  the  line,  as  the 
connections  depend  on  the  lower  switch  hook  con- 
tact in  this  telephone.  The  push  buttons  and  bells 
are  provided  to  summon  persons  to  the  different 
extension  telephones  should  an  arrangement  of  this 
kind  be  desired.  This  is  often  convenient  when 
one  person  answers  all  the  calls,  and  then  bv  aid 
of  the  push  buttons  and  bells  calls  the  desired  per- 
son to  an  extension  telephone.  As  shown  in  the 
circuit,  one  side  of  the  telephone  line  is  used  as  a 
common    return    for   the   bell    service.     This    should 


preferably    be    the    side    that    is    cut    off  when    the 
main  telephone  is  being  used. 

Fig.  4  illustrates  one  arrangement  which  is  suit- 
able for  a  private  line  of  considerable  length  oper- 
ating from  a  regular  exchange  battery,  preferably 
centrally  located  with  regard  to  the  length  of  the 
line.  This  arrangement  can  be  worked  to  good 
advantage  between  two  stations  situated  in  widely 
separated  portions  of  a  city.  A  regular  central- 
energy  telephone  is  used,  and  the  sub-stations  call 
each  other  by  means  of  a  push  key  located  at  the 
telephones.  It  is  necessary  that  a  line  of  this 
description  extend  through  an  office  or  exchange 
where  ringing  and  talking  currents  are  available. 

In  the  circuit  shown  in  Fig.  4,  the  apparatus 
located  in  the  exchange  consists  of  a  retardation 
coil  having  two  windings  of  200  ohms  each,  these 
windings  being  associated  in  series  with  two  50- 
ohm  windings  of  a  balance  relay  and  battery  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  current  for  talking  pur- 
poses is  fed  through  these  windings  to  the  line 
conductors  at  such  times  as  the  relay  windings 
tend  to  neutralize  each  other.  This  relay  neutrali- 
zation occurs  when  the  current  flow  through  both 
windings  is  equal,  as  is  the  case  when  the  receivers  ' 
are  off  the  hooks  at  the  instruments,  presuming 
of  course  that  the  line  is  well  insulated.  In  this 
circuit  when  a  push  key  is  pressed  at  a  sub-station 
it  places  a  local  ground  on  the  sleeve  or  negative 
side  of  the  line  at  this  station,  thus  providing  a 
path    for   the   battery   current   to   flow    through  one 


S^b-SlM.oix 


S4t-s1.it  11 


FIG.    4.       PRIVATE   LINE   OPERATING    FROM   EXCHANGE 


winding  of  the  balanced  relay  which  operates  it, 
causing  the  armature  to  close  contacts  with  the 
ringing  generator  (G).  As  the  relay  armature 
closes  contact  with  the  ringing  current,  both  tele- 
phone bells  which  are  connected  to  the  tip  side 
of  the  line  are  operated  in  multiple  to  local  earth 
connections.  A  ground  on  the  sleeve  side  of  the 
line  will,  if  it  is  of  low  resistance,  allow  sufficient 
current  to  flow  through  the  relay  winding  to  oper- 
ate it  and  ring  the  bells,  so  it  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary that  the  insulation  be  kept  to  a  high  standard. 
If  the  local  grounds  pick  up  sufficient  earth  cur- 


January  20,    igo6 

rents    to    cause    noi  |     (ran  mi    ion    tl bi 

arranged    in    i  ui  h    manni  i    thai    thcj     n  ill    be   di 
.  onnei  u  d   wh<  n   the  sw  iti  h  hool    i     raised 
Sometimes    il   i     desirable   to    have    interioi 

ti  in     arranged  in    Buch    manner   thai    the    difl 

telephones    have    conned with    a    regular    tele 

phone  exchange  by  mean  :  of  a  ti  unk   lini       I  hi     i 
;n  i  omplii  In  -I    in    several    differcnl     ways,    bul    tin 

li'  ii<  i   piji  in  r  is  to  arrange  the  appai  il h 

;i  way  thai  the  diffcri  nl   inti  i  ioi   teleph :an  call 


TALKIHQ  -  £ATr£HY 


the  exchange  without  receiving  aid  from  any  inter- 
mediate set. 

It  is  also  highly  desirable  for  transmission  pur- 
poses to  retain  the  use  of  an  induction  coil  for 
trunk-line  conversations,  and,  unless  all  the  tele- 
phones in  the  interior  system  be  equipped  with 
regular  exchange  apparatus,  it  becomes  necessary 
to  place  the  coil  permanently  in  the  trunk  line. 
One  system  of  this  description  is  shown  in  Fig.  5. 
and  is  arranged  in  the  following  manner:  Each 
interior  telephone  (i),  (2)  and  (3)  consists  of  a 
receiver  and  transmitter  arranged  to  operate  in 
series  by  means  of  the  switch-hook  contacts  with 
the  outer  springs  of  the  keys  (C),  (A),  (il,  (2), 
(3)  and  (R),  associated  with  this  telephone.  The 
outer  springs  of  these  keys  are  bonded  together  in 
common,  as  shown  in  the  diagram. 

The  keys  at  each  telephone,  with  the  exception 
of  the  (R)  key,  are  arranged  to  be  self-restoring, 
or  in  such  manner  that  when  one  key  is  pressed  it 
releases  all  other  keys  at  this  telephone  to  resume 
a  normal  position.  This  is  accomplished  by  means 
of  a  sliding  plate  cam  through  which  the  key 
plungers  operate.  In  the  diagram  the  various  keys 
at  each  telephone  are  for  the  following  purposes : 
The  key  (C)  is  used  in  calling  the  exchange,  as 
will  be  explained  later;  the  key  (A)  is  used  in 
answering  all  calls;  the  keys  (1),  (2)  and  (3) 
are  station  keys  and  are  used  in  calling  the  stations, 
and  the   (R)   key  is  used  for  ringing. 

In  this  system  two  separate  batteries  are  used — 
one  of  20  volts  for  talking  purposes  and  one  of  12 
volts  for  ringing  purposes.  The  talking  battery 
has  a  bank  of  condensers  equal  to  approximately 
10  microfarads  connected  across  its  terminals  to 
reduce  cross  talk,  and  the  current  supply  is  fed 
permanently  to  the  various  lines  of  the  interior 
■  system  through  battery  taps  having  100  ohms  re- 
tardation in  series  with  them,  as  shown  in  the  dia- 
gram in  Fig.  5.  These  retardation  coils  reduce  any 
cross  talk  and  lessen  the  battery  consumption. 

The  ringing  battery  is  also  supplied  throughout 
by  conductors  common  to  all  the  telephones  from 
which  single  taps  are  connected  to  the  ringing 
keys  (R),  as  shown.  One  ringing  battery  tap  is 
brought  up  to  a  lower  insulated  switch-hook  con- 
tact, where  connection  is  made  with  the  telephone 
bell  when  the  switch  hook  is  normal.  As  men- 
tioned before,  trunk-line  connections  are  provided 
each  telephone  and  the  arrangement  in  this  in- 
stance is  to  equip  the  trunk  line  with  a  suitable 
induction  coil  and  apparatus  in  order  that  trans- 
mission over  the  trunk  line  be  as  nearly  perfect  as 
possible.  During  all  conversations  over  the  trunk 
line  the  telephones  receive  their  current  supply  from 
the  telephone  exchange.  The  trunk  line  is  also 
provided  with  a  bell  or  other  suitable  means  for 
receiving  incoming  calls  in  addition  to  a  clearing- 
out  signal    (S),  which  is  utilized  to  give  notice   of 


ERN     ELECT 

nk  line 

irunk 
trunk 

nf    1 1  j •     1 

to  talk 

would   '  pi 

— —  . — Tr=rr>        ''"      ''' 

' — 'l|l  t  i  o  n    it 

would  the    auto- 

ringing     key 
( IO,  while  the 

rcnl   i"  flo 

(3)  to  the  1"  II 
:   I 
1  inging    1. mi  ry,    thu 
the   signa 

calling   person    can    riir. 
eceivei    i     of!    thi 
in    which    position    he 
to  tell    from   ringing    induction 

.■,  Ii>  ill.  r  the  I.. -II  of  a  called 
station  is  ringing  or  not.  All 
the  buttons  and  keys  an 
matically  released  by  subse- 
quent calls.  In  using  the 
trunk  line  the  key  (C)  is 
pressed,  which  connects  the 
telephone  apparatus  by  means 
of  the  key  contacts  through 
the  induction  coil  properly  for 
good  transmission. 
Incoming  calls  over  the  trunk  line  are  answered 
first  at  the  mam  interior  telephone,  which  may 
be  assumed  to  be  station  (1).  From  station  (1) 
the  desired  person  is  called  by  means  of  the  in- 
terior system,  and  after  he  has  ascertained  what 
is  wanted  he  places  his  telephone  in  connection 
with    the    trunk    line    and    completes    the    call.    As 


R/HG/HG- BATTERY. 


APARTMENT  HOUSE. 


a  precaution  against  confusion  the  trunk  key.  (C) 
should  be  normal  at  all  times  they  are  not  in 
actual    service. 

One  of  the  more  modern  uses  that  telephones 
are  put  to  is  in  conjunction  with  flat  buildings  or 
apartment  houses,  where  in  some  instances  they 
have    superseded    the    call    bell    and    speaking-tube 


push 
apart- 
large 

and    a 

Bat,    in 

addition   to  equipping  the  tenants'   apartment*   with 

telephone  are 

.    which    is    used    to 

II  when  he  it  wanted 

from   the  push 

1   in   the    vestibule  or  at   the   janitor's 
telephone,  as   shown.    Two  talking   wires  arc  con- 
md   used   in   1 

in    addition    to  the    bell 
which    i  and    a 

mding  push   button. 

A  '"   talking    and 

ringing    purposes,    and    the  1     pref- 

1.  phone,  where 

it    can    be  maintained    more    conveniently.     In    this 

the  tenant's  or  janitor's  bell  can  be  rung 
from  the  vestibule,  and  the  janitor  can  ring  any 
of  the  tenants  or  be  called  by  them.  It  is  also 
possible  for  any  two  of  the  tenants  to  intercom- 
municate with  each  other  by  calling  the  janitor, 
who  can  call  the  desired  tenant  and  hold  them  in 
connection  by  means  of  his  telephone  apparatus. 
Systems  of  this  kind  can  be  designed  to  meet  almost 
any  condition.  They  arc  not  expensive  to  install 
or  maintain,  and  are  a  great  improvement  over 
any   arrangement   of   speaking  tubes. 

Since  the  installation  of  interior  systems  neces- 
sitates the  stringing  of  a  comparatively  large  num- 
ber of  wires  to  each  station  connected,  it  is  well 
to  plan  out  a  course  of  procedure  which  can  be 
adopted  to  good  advantage  while  doing  the  work. 
It  is  the  usual  practice  to  install  wires  of  different 
color  and  adopt  a  color  code  by  which  the  various 
lines  can  be  easily  identified.  Such  wires  as  arc 
used  for  battery  feeds  are  well  insulated  and  usu- 
ally have  a  higher  carrying  capacity  unless  the 
system  be  confined  within  a  small  space.  It  is 
good  policy  to  use  some  form  of  a  junction  box 
or  terminal  strip  where  taps  are  taken  from  the 
main  cables  for  the  various  telephones.  These 
boxes  or  terminals  will  be  the  means  of  making  a 
much  more  presentable  and  permanent  installation, 
in  addition  to  the  advantages  such  construction 
offers  in  the  location  of  any  subsequent  fault.  The 
apparatus  of  these  systems  should  be  so  installed 
that  the  least  possible  chance  for  trouble  exists, 
especial  care  being  exercised  to  avoid  dampness  or 
wearing  effects.  Much  depends  on  the  position 
chosen  for  the  location  of  the  batteries,  which  are 
usually  dry  cells.  These  should  be  located  in  a 
position  free  from  dampness  or  any  excessive  heat. 


TELEPHONE   MEN. 


J.  J.  Maloney  has  taken  charge  as  manager  of 
the  local  exchange  at  Albert  Lea.  Minn.,  of  the 
Northwestern   Telephone  Exchange  Company. 

C.  M.  McClure  becomes  general  manager  of  the 
Carolina  Telephone  Company  at  Tarboro,  X.  C, 
succeeding  E.  A.  Holderness.  who  will  continue  as 
secretary-  E.  S.  Paddison  becomes  auditor  of  the 
company. 

N.  O.  Wood,  manager  of  the  Southern  Bell  Tele- 
phone Company  in  Greensboro,  X.  C,  has  resigned 
to  go  to  Asheville,  to  take  charge  of  the  new- 
plant  of  the  Asheville  Telephone  Company.  His 
successor  is   R.   L.   Boyd   of  Raleigh. 

M.  B.  Overly-  has  resigned  as  manager  of  the 
United  States  Telephone  Company  of  Cleveland,  to 
take  charge  of  the  construction  of  the  Independent 
lines  from  Louisville  to  the  gulf,  which  are  being 
backed  by  a  syndicate  headed  by  Ed.  L.  Barber 
of   Wauseon,    Ohio. 

The  following  promotions  and  appointements 
were  made  by  the  Bell  Telephone  Company  of 
Canada,  becoming  effective  on  January  1st:  L.  B. 
Macfarlane  has  been  appointed  general  manager,  a 
new  position;  C.  F.  Sise,  Jr.,  has  been  appointed 
general  superintendent;  W.  H.  Hayes  has  been 
named  the  district  manager  of  the  districts  of 
Manitoba  and  Saskatchewan,  and  districts  Xos.  3 
and  4  will  be  combined  under  J.  L.  Richmond. 


^ 


Telephone   News  from    the    Northwest. 

The  Osceola  Farmers'  Mutual  Telephone  Com- 
pany of  Osceola,  Wis.,  has  been  organized  with 
$25,000   capital    stock. 

The  Grant  County  Telephone  Company  of  Mil- 
bank,  S.  D.,  contemplates  a  bond  issue  of  $30,000 
for  the  purpose  of  extending  and  improving  its  line. 
The  company  has  built  400  miles  of  wire  since  May- 
last. 

The  Farmers'  Telephone  Company  at  Hecla,  S.  D., 
will  build  a  line  into  Aberdeen. 

The  Minnesota  Mutual  Telephone  Company  has 
sold  its  lines  at  North  Branch.  Minn.,  and  vicinity 
to  the  Tri-state  Telephone  Company. 

The  Bridgewater  (  S.  D.)  Union  Telephone  Com- 
pany lias  sold  it>  system  to  J.  J.  Henrich. 

The  Ettrick  (Wis.)  Telephone  Company  has  filed 
articles  01  incorporation  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$8,000.  K.  A.  Knutson  heads  the  list  of  stock- 
holders. 

K.  McLean  and  others  propose  to  build  a  tele- 
phone line  from  Miles  City,  Mont.,  down  the  Yel- 
lowstone River  to  Shirley. 

The  Mutual  Telephone  Company  of  Des  Moines, 
la.,  has  announced  that  it  will  spend  $30,000  in 
improvements  to  its  system  in  that  city  during  the 
ensuing  year.  The  company  expended  $375,000  on 
its   system  in   1905. 

The  Western  Electric  Telephone  Company  has 
authorized  the  expenditure  of  $200,000  in  improve- 
ments to  its  lines  during  the  year.  The  company's 
headquarters  are  at  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  and  B.  C. 
Way  is  secretary.  R. 


Indiana  Telephone  Items. 

The.  Pocket  Telephone  Company  of  Evansville 
has  applied  for  a  franchise  in  Evansville.  It  is 
generally  believed  that  franchises  will  be  granted 
to  both  the  Cumberland  Telephone  Company  and 
the   Pocket  Telephone  Company  on   equal  terms. 

The  city  attorney  of  Princeton  insists  that  the 
Cumberland  Telephone  Company  is  without  legal 
rights  in  the  city,  and  the  City  Council  has  asked 
the  company  to  accept  a  franchise,  the  terms  of 
which  the  company  says  are  far  too  exacting  and 
burdensome.  In  the  meantime  the  Independent  in- 
terests  are  preparing  to   contest  for  the  field. 

The  report  that  the  Hope  Telephone  Company  of 
Hope  had  been  taken  over  by  the  Bell  interests 
is  denied  by  the  officials  of  the  Hope  company. 
Hie  officials  say  that  they  had  a  proposition  from 
the  Bell  interests,  but  nothing  was  done  to  war- 
rant  the   report   given   out. 

The  telephone  situation  in  Indianapolis  remains 
unchanged,  although  the  indications  point  to  a 
strenuous  efforts  to  increase  rates  and  otherwise 
modif}'  the  existing  franchise.  The  people  are 
not  opposing  the  wishes  of  the  Indianapolis  com- 
pany so  generally  as  when  the  proposition  was 
first  made.  They  freely  admit  that  the  greatly 
extended  service  is  worth  more  now  than  when  it 
was  first  installed  with  a  few  thousand  patrons. 
The  new  Board  of  Public  Works,  it  is  said,  will 
increase  the  rate,  and  if  so  the  council,  it  is 
thought,    will    ratify    the    increase.  S. 


Ohio  Telephone  Notes. 

City  Solicitor  Northup  of  Toledo  has  prepared  a 
bill  for  introduction  in  the  General  Assembly  at 
Columbus,  which  will  give  city  councils  power  to 
regulate  telephone  rates  and  readjust  them  every 
seven  years.  This  bill  has  been  brought  about 
through  the  decision  of  the  courts  that  city  coun- 
cils cannot  fix  a  price  for  telephone  service  under 
present  laws  and  that  where  a  company  voluntarily 
agrees  upon  a  price  it  cannot  be  held. 

Owners  of  the  Oberlin  Telephone  Company  of 
Oberlin  are  considering  the  advisability  of  install- 
ing   an    automatic   board    in    their    exchange. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Cuyahoga  Telephone 
Company  will   be  held  on   February   7th. 

The  Parkman  Telephone  Company  has  been 
taken  into  the  Geauga  County  Telephone  Associa- 
tion, which  makes  it  possible  for  Chardon  to  give 
service  over  almost  the  entire   county. 

Owners  of  the  Queen  City  Home  Telephone 
Company  of  Cincinnati  will  endeavor  to  secure  a 
franchise  at  Hamilton.  A  fight  has  been  made  by 
the  Independents  for  a  franchise  in  that  city  sev- 
eral times,  but  they  have  not  been  successful  in 
getting   the    rights    they    desire.  C. 


Southeastern  Telephone  Developments. 

The  Asheville  (N.  C.)  Telephone  Company  has 
prepared  plans  for  a  handsome  new  plant  and 
building  in  that  city,  which  will  provide  offices, 
rooms  for  switchboards  and  general  storage  space, 
the    structure    being   three    stories. 

The  Southern  Bell  Telephone  Company  is  cut- 
ting in  its  new  $200,000  plant  in  Lynchburg.  Va., 
just  completed.  The  plant  is  one  of  the  most  mod- 
ern in  the  South,  and  will  be  ready  for  operation 
in   a   few  weeks. 

At  the  semi-annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders 
of  the  Georgia  Telephone  Company  at  Savannah. 
Ga.,  the  directors  declared  a  semi-annual  dividend 
of   2,/2   per  cent. 

The  Thomasville  (Ga.)  Telephone  Company  has 
been  bought  out  by  the  municipality,  and  the  town 
authorities    will    operate    the    svstem    in    the    future. 

L. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

Oregon   Independent  Telephone   Asso- 
ciation. 

Independent  telephone  companies  owning  a  net- 
work of  telephone  wires  spreading  throughout  the 
state  of  Oregon  giving  connection  between  the 
principal  cities  and  towns  and  focussing  in  Port- 
land were  united  under  the  name  of  the  Oregon 
Independent  Telephone  Association  in  Portland  on 
January  4th.  The  purpose  is  to  work  as  a  unit 
to  improve  the  Independent  service  in  Oregon  and 
to  compete  for  business  against  the  Pacific  States 
Telephone  Company,  owner  of  the  Bell  lines. 

For  several  years  the  Independent  companies 
throughout  the  state  have  been  trying  to  cain  an 
entrance  into  Portland  and  have  repeatedly  ap- 
plied for  franchises.  The  construction  of  the  auto- 
matic system  now  ,  being  installed  by  the  Home 
Telephone  Company  has  settled  the  difficulty.  This 
company  will  be  the  chief  factor  in  the  new  organ- 
ization and  will  give  to  the  other  Independents  the 
Portland  connection  of  which  they  are  desirous. 

At  the  meeting  the  following  men  were  present : 
F.  PI.  Stow,  Home  Telephone  Company ;  W.  D.  ■ 
DeVarney,  Corvallis  Telephone  Company ;  S.  C. 
Hughes,  Forest  Grove  Telephone  Company;  O.  G. 
Wilkes,  Hillsboro  Telephone  Company;  J.  W.  Con- 
don, Dalles  Telephone  Company ;  P.  L.  Brown, 
Silverton  Telephone  Company  ;  Henry  C.  Chappelle, 
Woodburn  Telephone  Company  ;  A.  B.  Flint,  Scholls 
Telephone  Company,  and  C.  H.  Morris.  Dalles  Tel- 
ephone Company.  There  are  also  Independent  sys- 
tems at  McMinnville,  Albany,  Browneville.  Le- 
banon, Scio,  Stayton,  Turner,  Chemawa,  Newborg, 
Dayton  and  Sheridan.  All  of  these  companies  will 
be  asked  to  join  the  association.  In  addition  to 
these  the  Home  Telephone  Company  has  been 
granted  a  franchise  in  Salem,  and  has  applied  for 
franchises  in  Eugene,  Baker  City  and  Pendleton, 
and  these  cities  will  also  be  connected  with  the 
Independent  system  as  soon  as  the  lines  are  in- 
stalled. 

The  meeting  was  called  at  the  instigation  of 
W.  D.  DeVarney  of  Corvallis.  A  constitution  was 
drawn  up  and  adopted  and  the  following  officers 
were  elected :  President,  F.  H.  Stow ;  vice-president, 
S.  C.  Hughes ;  secretary  and  treasurer,  P.  L.  Brown. 
The  executive  board  is  composed  of  F.  H.  Stowe, 
P.  L.  Brown,  J.  W.  Condon.  C.  H.  Morris  and  O.  G. 
Wilkes.  The  constitution  is  modeled  after  that  of 
the  Indiana  Independent  Telephone  Association. 
The  executive  board  is  composed  of  F.  H.  Stow, 
panies  owning  3.SS8  telephones  actually  in  use.  It 
is  estimated  that  there  are  about  14.000  Independ- 
ent telephones   in  the  Willamette  Valley  alone. 


GENERAL  TELEPHONE  NEWS 

L.  R.  Olson  and  others  have  organized  a  rural 
telephone  company  at  Rake,  la. 

The  Kansas  Independent  Telephone  Association 
will  meet  in  Wichita,  Kan.,  on  January  22d  and 
23d. 

The  Western  Independent  Telephone  Company, 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  has  been  incorporated,  with  a 
capital  stock  of  $50,000. 

The  Ridley  Telephone  Company  of  Davenport. 
Okla.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $5,000  by  R.  C.  Ridley,  W.  -R.  Ridley  and  others. 

The  board  of  regents  of  the  University  of  Cal- 
ifornia has  decided  to  place  a  complete  private 
telephone  exchange  in  the  university  at  Berkeley, 
connecting  all   departments. 

The  Palisade  Mining  Company,  through  R.  F. 
Grisby,  president,  has  petitioned  the  town  authori- 
ties of  Calistoga,  Cab,  for  a  franchise  to  maintain 
and  operate  a  telephone   line  in   Calistoga. 

At  the  annual  stockholders'  meeting  of  *  the  Mo- 
renci  (Mich.)  Telephone  Company  directors  were 
elected  and  W.  W.  Crabbs  was  chosen  president 
and  manager.  The  secretary's  report  showed  a 
substantial    growth. 

The  following-named  telephone  companies  have 
been  incorporated  recently :  Rice  Telephone  Com- 
pany, Hill  City,  Kan. ;  Palco  Telephone  Company, 
Palco,  Kan.;  Atlanta  and  Naples  Telephone  Com- 
pany. Bryan's  Mill,  Texas ;  Adele  Telephone  Com- 
pany, Adele,  Mont. ;  Neola  Mutual  Telephone  Com- 
pany,   Neola,    Kan. 

A  strong  remonstrance  has  been  filed  by  the  Citi- 
zens* Telephone  Company  of  Grand  Rapids,  Mich., 
against  the  license  ordinance  now  before  the  coun- 
cil, which  provides  that  all  local  corporations  shall 
pay  a  tax  of  10  cents  per  year  per  pole.  This  will 
affect  the  street-railway  company,  the  telegraph  and 
the  telephone  companies.  It  has  been  estimated 
that  there  are  from  35,000  to  40,000  poles  involved. 

A  New  York  dispatch  says  that  Attorney-general 
Mayer,  after  a  hearing  in  New  York,  denied  the 
application  to  have  the  attorney  general  begin  legal 
proceedings  to  annul  the  charter  and  franchise  of  the 
New  York  Electric  Lines  Company,  which  was  incor- 
porated in  1SS2  to  do  a  general  telephone  business. 
This  company,  with  a  franchise  granted  to  it  by 
the  1SS3  Board  of  Aldermen,  was  acquired  recently 
by  the  Greater  Eastern  Telephone  Company,  which 
desires  to  use  the  franchise  for  business  in  Man- 
hattan   and    the    Bronx. 


January  20,   1906 
CORRESPONDENCE. 

Great  Britain. 

London,  January  3. — Although  not  coming  within 
the  general  purview  of  such  notes  as  these,  the 
political  situation  in  Great  Britain  at  the  present 
time  is  not  without  interest  to  engineers  generally 
and  electrical  engineers  in  particular.  The  late  Con- 
servative government  for  the  first  time  since  1S88 
made  an  attempt  to  deal  with  the  law  relating  to 
electric  supply  in  1903,  again  in  1904  and  yet  again 
in  1905.  The  net  result  of  all  three  attempts  was 
to  engender  a*  feeling  of  disgust  at  the  obvious  man- 
ner in  which  the  whole  proceedings  were  carried 
out,  viz.,  with  no  intention  of  accomplishing  any- 
thing, and,  as  has  been  repeatedly  pointed  out,  in 
1905  we  were  working  under  the  same  general  laws 
that  governed  us  in  1S88.  In  so  far  as  the  various 
public  departments  have  been  concerned,  praise- 
worthy efforts  have  been  made  to  bring  things  up 
to  date ;  but  naturally  such  efforts  are  limited  with 
the  old  laws  still  in  force.  In  addition  there  are  • 
many  directions  in  which  legislation,  as  it  affects 
the   electrical   industry,  needs   reform. 

Therefore  the  policy  of  the  new  government  is 
being  watched  with  interest,  and  a  few  indications 
.have  so  far  been  given  as  to  the  intentions  of  the 
Liberal  part}'  in  this  connection.  Apart  from  legis- 
lation of  a  general  character,  much  needs  to  be 
done.  The  compilation  of  municipal  accounts  is 
an  important  item,  and  the  ease  with  which  the 
real  condition  of  affairs  can  be  hidden  from  the 
general  public  has  often  been  drawn  attention  to. 
Therefore,  from  the  municipal  electric-supply  point 
of  view,  one  views  with  interest  and  satisfaction 
that  the  new  president .  of  the  Local  Government 
Board  has  drawn  a  reference  and  is  appointing  a 
committee  so  that  ratepayers  and  taxpayers  shall 
have  their  accounts  presented  in  such  a  manner 
that  he  who  runs  may  read  and  may  have  the 
knowledge  which  is  not  now  always  revealed  as  it 
should  be. 

A  further  interesting  point  raised  by  the  new 
prime  minister  himself  has  reference  to  a  more 
practical  use  of  the  waterways  of  Great  Britain. 
The  promise  of  a  royal  commission  to  inquire  into 
the  matter  demonstrates  a  desire  to  deal  with 
pressing  home  affairs,  which  has  not  altogether 
been  in  evidence  for  some  years  past.  There  is  not 
a  single  instance  of  any  magnitude  in  which  me- 
chanical traction  of  any  kind  in  Great  Britain  has 
been  adopted,  in  spite  of  the  considerable  mileage 
of  canals  which  exists,  and  yet  British  electrical 
engineers  are  fully  acquainted  with  the  results  of 
experiments  with  electric  haulage  and  towing  upon 
canals  in  America  and  on  the  Continent.  It  is  not 
wholly  legislation  that  has  prevented  the  develop- 
ment of  the  use  of  our  canals  in  the  past,  but  no 
government  hitherto  has  taken  the  initiative  toward 
giving  the  manufacturer  the  full  advantage  of 
freight  carriage  by  these  waterways. 

The  first  subway  tramway  in  London  is  now 
complete  and  has  been  inspected  by  the  Board  of 
Trade.  The  line  is  less  than  a  mile  in  length  and 
runs  under  the  new  thoroughfare  in  the  heart  of 
London  known  as  Kingsway.  When  it  reaches  the 
end  of  the  new  street  it  emerges  to  the  surface 
and  will  continue  as  such  to  the  northern  part 
of  London,  as  far  as  the  horse  lines  in  these 
districts  have  been  reconstructed  for  electric  trac- 
tion. The  whole  of  the  northern  horse  lines  will 
not  come  into  the  hands  of  the  council  until  April 
this  year,  but  certain  new  lines  have  been  laid 
which  will  enable  a  service  to  be  run  from  the  cen- 
ter of  London — where  hitherto  no  tramway  has 
penetrated — to  a  verv  populous  district  in  the  north. 
Single-deck  cars  will  be  used. 

'  Everyone  here  interested  in  traction  matters  re- 
grets exceedingly  to  hear  of  the  death  of  Mr. 
Yerkes  at  a  time  when  he  was  almost  on  the  verge 
of  witnessing  the  final  fruits  of  his  labors  to 
introduce  some  law  and  order  into  the  very 
chaotic  condition  of  locomotion  in  London  a  few 
years  ago.  As  has  been  reported  in  these  notes,  a 
complete  electric  service  of  trains  is  now  being  run 
upon  the  Inner  Circle,  a  problem  to  which  Mr. 
Yerkes  specially  devoted  himself.  And  so  suc- 
cessful has  he  been  that  with  a  headway  of  but  a 
few  minutes  there  is  excessive  overcrowding  during 
the  "rush"  hours  night  and  morning,  when  the 
trains  carry  double  as  many  passengers  standing 
as   there    are   sitting. 

But  a  still  further  triumph  for  Mr.  Yerkes  would 
have  been  for  him  to  witness  the  opening  of  the 
several  tube  railways  in  London  which  he  under- 
took to  finance  after  they  had  lain  for  many  years 
practically  derelict.  The  two  longest  of  these  lines 
give  most  important  cross-country  connection  be- 
tween .the  north  and  the  west,  southwest  and  south 
of  London.  Some  new  all-steel  cars  for  these  tube 
railways  have  recently  attracted  some  notice,  and  a 
few  figures  will  be  interesting  when  compared  with 
the  rolling  stock  now  used  upon  the  Inner  Circle. 
The  steel  cars  have  an  over-all  length  of  41  feet 
&y2  inches,  an  extreme  width  of  8  feet  8  inches,  a 
height  from  floor  to  roof  of  7  feet  6  inches,  wheel- 
base  5  feet,  seating  capacity  54,  weight  35.55° 
pounds,  and  weight  per  passenger  seated  of  657 
pounds.  Similar  figures  for  the  Inner  Circle  rolling 
stock,  which  is  mainly  wood,  are.  over-all  length, 
35  feet  8  inches,  an  extreme  width  of  S  feet  9 
inches,   height    from    floor   to   roof  8   feet   5   inches, 


January 


tgo6 


wheel    base    6    fci  I    6    im  hi    ,     •  iting    ■  apacity    52, 
weigh!   of  -i7,f>*>"  pound  .   and   w<  ighi    pi  1    pa    1  ngi 

1  ati  -I   918   pounds.     S ■■   ol    th •.      tccl  cai 

have  jnsi   been  delivi  n  '1 

■\    w  intei    iporl  1   club   was   01 <\    in    I  on  don    in 

<  In  r  tmas    week,    win  re    all    kind  1    ol    garni       an 

nightly    held— thanks    i<>    the    good    servio 

elei  1 1  ic  arc.  1 , 


New  York. 


New  York  city,  Januarj  13.  J  is  unequivocally 
denied  thai  there  arc  no  pending  negotiations  i"i 
tin'  purchase  ol"  the  Brooklyn  Rapid  'Iran  il  bj  the 
[nterborough     Rapid     Transil     Company,      Al     the 

same    1 1  Mir    neither    Augusl     Belmont    nor    Antl 

N.   Brady  can  be  induced  to  talk   mi,  the  matter. 

The  appraisers  appointed  to  a  certain  tin-  dam 
ages  i"  adjacenl  property  caused  by  the  construi 
tion  of  tlir  Brooklyn  subway  have  mail''  an  award 
of  $1  againsl  "an  unknown  property  owner"  in 
order  thai  a  test  case  may  !»<■  taken  to  .1  uperioi 
courl  with  respeel  in  an  instance  of  disputed  own 
ership.  Awards  to  ili<'  total  amounl  of  $33,000  havi 
been  announced   in  other  cases. 

\n    organiza 1    oi    citizens   at    Prospecl    Hill,   a 

Brooklyn  suburb,  is  taking  steps  t,,  ..run-  the 
placing  of  all  wires  underground  a  in  I  in  regulate 
the  conditions  of  any  new  traction  franchises  affeel 
ing  their  locality.  They  even  think  that  tin-  Rapid 
'Iransii  Commission  should  be  abolished.  A  similar 
organization  in  the  Bedford  district  is  fighting  a 
proposal  to  run  a  surface  line  down  Bedford  Ave- 
nue and  is  preparing  an  appeal  \<>  the  Legislature. 
The  Bedford  residents  state  thai  "while  street- 
rail  ways  are  factors  in  the  upbuilding  of  a  city, 
they  are  usually  a  liar  to  its  improvement."  On 
the  Other  band,  the  Ridfiewood  Board  of  Trade  lias 
adopted  resolutions  ealling  for  the  eonstruction  of  a 
subway  to  Jamaica  via  Myrtle  Avenue  and  Rich- 
mond   Hill. 

The  Behr  Monorail  Company  has  applied  for  a 
franchise  to  construct  a  line  for  suspended  cars 
from    Flatbush   Avenue  to  Coney  Island. 

Senator  Page  on  Wednesday  introduced  at  Al- 
bany a  new  bill  to  regulate  the  price,  quality  and 
pressure  of  gas  sold  in  New  York  city.  The  bill, 
which  Ms  some  prospect  of  success  this  time,  fixes 
the  price  of  gas  at  80  cents  per  thousand  feet  in 
nearly   all   parts   of  the   Greater   city. 

Arthur  Williams,  general  inspector  of  the  New 
York  Edison  Company,  after  investigation  of  some 
complaints  that  since  the  price  of  electricity  was 
reduced  in  July  the  monthly  bills  have  increased 
to  small  consumers,  avers  that  his  company  is  en- 
tirely willing  to  investigate  free  of  charge  any 
inaccuracies,  but  at  the  same  time  he  states  that 
since  the  new  tariff  came  into  operation  the  com- 
pany has  been  losing  a  large  share  of  is  income. 
Mr.  Williams  produced  data  gathered  by  his  clerks. 
Comparisons  were  made  in  batches  of  50  patrons  in 
different  localities.  The  chief  object  was  to  see 
whether  these  patrons  were  adding  to  their  con- 
sumption of  current.  Fifty  customers  in  the  East 
Sixties  showed  a  reduction  in  the  bills  amounting 
to  25  per  cent.  In  another  section  an  increased 
consumption  of  12  per  cent,  was  shown,  with  a 
decrease  in  the  bills  of  19  per  cent.  Fifty  West 
Side  houses  showed  an  increased  consumption  of 
ii  per  cent.,  and  a  decrease  of  22  per  cent,  in  the 
bills.  Another  batch  of  50  patrons  sliowed  that 
there  was  less  than  one  per  cent,  increase  in  the 
use  of  electricity,  and  that  the  decrease  in  the 
money  paid  the  company  was  fully  33  per  cent. 
Mr.  Williams  said  there  were  two  facts  which 
could  not  be  denied.  One  was  that  only  the  legal 
rate  was  being  charged,  and  the  other  was  that 
his  company  was  willing  to  correct  any  error  in  a 
bill  as  the  result  of  a  meter  being  out  of  order. 

The  New  York  Edison  Company  reports  an  ag- 
gregate motor  installation  connected  with  its  mains 
of  106,126  horsepower.  The  estimated  number  of 
motors  is  40,000. 

A  bronze  statuette  of  the  late  Samuel  F.  B. 
Morse  has  been  presented  to  the  Metropolitan  Mu- 
seum of  Art. 

Jacob  Curtis,  for  30  years  telegraph  and  telephone 
operator  at  Bellevue  Hospital,  died  at  the  hospital 
on  Friday.  He  was  an  expert  operator  and  did 
some  extraordinary  work  in  coding  names  during 
the   Westfield   disaster  of  1871. 

A.  A.  Ernst,  E.  Beckman  and  others  have  incor- 
porated the  Engineering,  Light  and  Illumination 
Company  of  this  city,  with  a  capital  of  $20%coo. 

The  Duplex  Ignition  Company,  to  manufacture 
electrical  spark  plugs,  has  been  incorporated  with 
a  capital  of  $3,450. 

H.  L.  Doherty,  J.  C.  Andrews  and  H.  C.  Dreyer 
have  incorporated  as  the  Gas  Securities  Company 
of  New  York  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  gas 
and  electric  companies.  The  authorized  capital  is 
$1,100,000.  D.  W.  W. 


Dominion  of  Canada. 

Winnipeg,  Man.,  January  13. — A  proposal  has 
been  made  to  the  city  of  Winnipeg  that  an  issue 
of  bonds  be  put  on  the  market  to  raise  money  to 
cover  the  expenditure  of  the  city's  electrical  de- 
partment. A  new  power  house  will  shortly  be 
required.  The  Winnipeg  high-pressure  system  is 
about  to  become  a  certainty,  as  the  city  has  se- 
lected the  site  for  the  pumping  station,  and  work 
will    be   pushed    immediately.      The    proposed    pump 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

■""I  cng hou  ••   will  Ik  equipped    i 

ola I  ■  -  1   -.i   ill.'    worl     .'.  ill  amount  1 



of  two 

W pi 

i"'  nl  1..  the   Winiii| 

■■■•■    I 

applii  'i   1-  tli      :.  ■  .ri,-  ■    1 
" i 

1,.  1 11  i,  1. 

I   Im  I 

I i'i"  Street  Rail 

il 
In  .11    1.  .1.1      im    H    i.m     mon  1. 

1 1  e   to    fun 

total   hi   $125,1 '        i-M  ed   on   the   plant 

i"   trail  urn    the pi 

<  Irillia,    <  im  .    ha      I 
the    ( Intario    I  i 

benturi      thi     ccai    hi    imp      i  m 

trie-light  plant  and   to  mal 
1  1 1 1     planl    1     1 1 1 1 1   bj    tin    muni 

'I  In'  City  1  11  il  ni    1  oronto  ha     i  nl  ;i  ed   into  a 

contract    with    the     I  oronto    Eli  i  tr pany    to 

Unlit    the     treel     v. ith    opi  n  an    lamps    for  a   term 
of  five   ii'.n     al   $69.35   l"'r  ''gin   l"'1    annum 
pre  Mm    pi  ice  is  $74.82. 

The  location  and  plana  for  the  Western  Ontario 

ion   of   the    Toronto,    Hamilton   and    Niagara 

Pou  11    1  'ompany   have  been  filed   with   thi    m 
of  railways   for  approval.     The  proposed   e  ten  ion 
does  mil  al   preseni  go  wesl  ol   1  ondon     ii   toui  hi 
Brantford,    Gait,    Paris,    Woodstock,    Iiirmiv.I1    and 
other  manufacturing  centers  between   Hamilton  and 
London. 

Willie  Chipman  of  Toronto  has  prepared  com- 
plete plans  nn<l  estimates  to  develop  waterpower 
situated  u  miles  from  Prince  Albert  and  to  convey 
it  to  Prince  Albert  for  light,  bent  and  power  pur- 
poses. Plans  will  be  shortly  submitted  to  manu- 
facturers for  estimates  on  necessary  electric  equip 
ment.  H. 


Ottawa,  Out.,  January  13. — For  the  last  four 
years  the  town  of  Almonte,  Out.,  has  owned  and 
operated  the  electric-light  system  of  the  town,  fur- 
nishing business  and  domestic  light  as  well  as  street 
lamps.  During  this  period  the  yearly  profit  is  said 
to  have  been  about  $1,500  after  providing  for  oper- 
ating expenses,  interest,  repairs  and  a  sinking  fund. 
In  addition  to  this  the  citizens  are  getting  their 
lights  at  prices  25  per  cent,  less  than  what  they 
formerly  paid  the  private  company. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  papers  read  before 
the  Dominion  forestry  convention,  held  at  Ottawa 
on  the  10th.  nth  and  12th  hist.,  was  that  of  Mr. 
C.  B.  Smith  of  the  Temiskaming  railway,  respecting 
waterpowers.  Referring  to  damage  to  forest,  by 
sparks  from  the  locomotive,  lie  said  that  the  rem- 
edy lay  in  the  substitution  of  electrical  energy  for 
steam,  and  he  ventured  the  opinion  that  such 
would  be  the  policy  of  many  of  the  railroads  within 
a  short  time.  He  showed  the  economic  advantages 
of  electrical  operation,  particularly  in  the  vast  sav- 
ing in  coal.  This  not  only  applied  to  railways  bttt 
to  manufacturing  industries,  the  development  of 
which  has  been  retarded  by  the  great  lack  of  fuel 
and  the  great  cost  of  importing  coal.  In  south- 
western Ontario  the  lands  are  now  cleared  for  farm 
purposes,  thus  rendering  almost  useless  the  water- 
powers  on  the  rivers.  As  this  land  is  too  valuable 
to  permit  reforestation,  the  district  will  have  to 
depend  on   Niagara   for  its  electrical   energy, 

Negotiations  are  stated  to  be  in  progress  between 
the  management  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  railway 
and  a  leading  electrical  power-development  com- 
pany in  the  province  of  Quebec  with  a  view  to  sup- 
plying the  electrical  energy  which  the  railway  will 
require  when  it  begins  to  operate  its  trains  by- 
electricity.  W. 

Ohio. 

Cleveland.  January  12. — G.  M.  Pierce,  an  official 
of  the  Cleveland  and  Sharon  Traction  Company, 
states  that  the  road  from  Middlefield.  Ohio,  to 
Sharon,  Pa.,  will  be  completed  the  coming  summer 
and  that  a  line  will  be  built  between  Warren  and 
Jefferson,    as    planned. 

Judge  A.  C.  Thompson  of  the  United  States 
District  Court  has  entered  decrees  of  foreclosure 
against  five  of  the  roads  in  the  Appleyard  system. 
and  unless  certain  judgments  are  satisfied  within 
five  days  from  that  time,  they  will  be  sold.  Gen- 
eral B.  R.  Cowan,  clerk  of  the  United  States  court, 
and  Attorney  A.  B.  Vorhies  were  appointed  com- 
missioners to  conduct  the  sales.  The  upset  prices 
fixed  upon  the  various  roads  are  as  follows :  Ur- 
bana,  Bellefontaine  and  Northern,  $175,000:  Day- 
ton, Springfield  and  Urbana,  $300,000:  Columbus. 
London  and  Springfield,  $250,000;  Central  Market 
Street  railway  of  Columbus.  $150,000;  Columbus. 
Grove   City   and    Southwestern.   $35,000. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  mayors  of  Ohio  in  Co- 
lumbus a  few  days  ago  it  was  recommended  that 
a  bill  be  passed  by  the  present  Legislature  per- 
mitting the  renewal  of  street-railway  franchises  to 
other  than  existing  companies.  This  is  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  around  the  trouble  encountered 
a  short  time  ago  in  attempting  to  grant  a  renewal 


of    Dunkirk    h 

iii.'iii 

I  he    <  levcland,    Al 

Bedford,   and   tl 

land. 

ton   In. 

$100,000  by  II.  B.  An 


Michigan. 

d      Rapids,     Mich..     January     13.— Thi 

pany'.     fi 

M.    B.    Wheeler   has    filed    his    acceptance 
I    franchise,    which,   as    it    no 

ti    ulti- 
mate  franchise    fee   of  $500. 

has    decided    to    install    a    new    electric    ele, 
Hall  and  will  soon  advertise  for  bid 
estimated  cost  1       been  placed  at  $5,000. 

I  Im    1. rand  Rapids-Muskcgon  Water  Power  Elec- 
tric Company  has  taken  out  a  permit    for   tl 
tion    of    a    brick    sub-station    for    p 
I  hi    cost   1-    given   at  $6,000. 

The   M.   B.   Wheeler   Electric   Companj    1 
awarded    the    contract    fur    the    electrical    equipment 
of  the  .Michigan   Plaster  Company's  plant  at  Grand- 
ville.     The  company  will  install  a  generator,  switch- 
board   and    six    large    motors.     The    comp; 
also    secured   the   contract   for   installing  an 
plant    at    Hackley,    Wis.,    for    the    Hackle.    . 
Bonell  Company.     This  will  consist  of  a  [J-kilowatt 
generator,   engine,    switchboard,  and   wiring 
incandescent   lamps. 

M.  Fitzpatrick  of  the  Globe  Hotel  of  Alp. 
contracted    for    machinery    for    a    private    lighting 
plant,    which    is    to    be    installed    at    once 
horsepower    gasoline    engine    and    dynamo    are    in- 
cluded  in    the   outfit. 

Judge  Fred  W.  Mayne  of  Charlevoix  prop 
behalf  of  a  syndicate,  to  furnish  electricity  to 
key     at    the    rate    of    four    cents    a    kilow: 
lighting  and  2J_-   cents  for  commercial  purp.  - 
distribution     to    lie    ill     the    hand,    of    the    city.      He 
also  proposes  to  buy   the    Petoskey  lighting  plant,  if 
it  is  offered  for  sale.     The  power  is  to  be  generated 
at    a    dam    on    the    Pigeon    River,    in    Cheboygan 
County.      Though    the    rate    offered    is    lower  "than 
Petoskey    can    produce    it.    the    proposition    will    be 
opposed,    it    is    said,    by    those    who    believe    in    mu- 
nicipal  ownership. 

The  Port  Huron  Light  and  Power  Company  an- 
nounces a  decided  reduction  in  the  rate  tor  com- 
mercial lighting.  Last  spring  the  company  made  a 
cut  in  its  rules  for  resilience  lighting,  amounting  to 
a  reduction  of  20  per  cent.  January  1st  a  differ- 
ential rate  was  made  to  apply  to  ,-.||  lighting  ; 
except  residence  lighting.  The  new  rate  will  be 
15  cents  a  kilowatt-hour  for  the  first  30  hours 
used  per  month  for  lamps,  and  five  cents  a  kilo- 
watt-hour for  all  current  used  in  excess  of  that 
amount.     The  present   rate  is   straight    15  cents. 

The  Pere  Marquette  Light  and  "Power  Company 
ha.  given  notice  that  its  officers  will  appear 
the  Shelby  council  and  ask  lor  a  franchise  to  sell 
electricity  for  lighting  and  power  purposes.  The 
com]. any  already  controls  the  lighting  system  at 
Pentwater  and  has  asked  the  Hart  council  for  a 
franchise  and  contract.  The  company  js  capitalized 
at  $150,000.  If  there  is  not  enough  demand  to  use 
up  its  1. 100  horsepower,  another  company  will  be 
organized,  it  is  said,  to  operate  an  electric  road 
between  Hart  and  Pentwater.  B. 


Indiana. 

Indianapolis,  January'  13 — The  Indianapolis.  Xew 
Ca.tle  and  Toledo  Electric  Railway  Company  has 
opened  a  suite  of  offices  i  1  the  Traction  Terminal 
Building  in  Indianapolis.  The  company  will  begin 
the  construction  of  a  through  line  from  Indianapo- 
lis to  Toledo,  with  radiating  branches  to  several 
Indiana  towns  early  in  the  spring.  The  preliminary- 
work  and  financing  is  all  done.  D.  M.  1 
president  and  C.   S.  Hernley  secretary. 

Franchises    were    secured    during    the    last    week 


66 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  20,   1906 


through  Tipton  and  Clinton  counties  for  an  elec- 
tric railway  between  Tipton  and  Frankfort. 

A  15-mile  electric  line  is  to  be  built  at  once  to 
connect  Matthews  and  Marion.  The  line  will  be 
built  by  the  Marion,  Matthews  and  Muncie  Trac- 
tion Company. 

The  Louisville  and  Southern  Indiana  Traction 
Company  closed  a  deal  this  week  for  a  site  in  Jef- 
fersonville  on  which  to  build  a  large  plant  for  gen- 
erating electricity.  The  site  adjoins  the  building 
now  used  to  supply  the  electricity  for  the  various 
utilities  controlled  by  the  traction  people  in  Jeffer- 
sonville  and   New  Albany. 

The  Wabash  Valley  Traction  Company  has  sur- 
veyed a  route  on  each  side  of  the  Wabash  River 
for  the  extension  of  the  company's  line  from  Lo- 
gansport  to  Lafayette,  and  there  is  now  a  spirited 
fight  between  the  citizens  of  the  east  and  west  side 
of  the  river  for  the  road.  The  same  condition  exists 
in  the  case  of  the  Indianapolis,  Columbus  and 
Southern  Traction  Company,  which  has  surveyed 
a  route  on  each  side  of  White  River  for  its  Sey- 
mour extension. 

The  Holland  Palace  Car  Company  of  Indianapo- 
lis has  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  receiver.  The 
company  was  organized  in  1903  to  manufacture 
sleeping  and  buffet  cars  for  use  on  traction  lines. 
After  building  two  elegant  cars  disputes  arose  over 
patent  rights  and  the  company  became  insolvent. 
In  this  connection  it  is  the  belief  of  several  promi- 
nent traction  men  that  sleeping  cars  are  imprac- 
tical on  electric  railways  for  many  reasons.  They 
say  cars  are  too  narrow  for  double  berths.  There 
will  be,  however,  elegant  parlor  and  cafe  cars  run 
on  the   Indiana   and   Ohio   system. 

The  electric  railways  operating  in  the  city  of 
Indianapolis  pay  taxes  on  a  valuation  of  more  than 
$4,228,740. 

The  final  survey  of  the  Vincennes,  West  Baden 
and  Petersburg  traction  line  has  been  completed 
and  the  company  will  remove  its  office  from  Vin- 
cennes to  South  Bend.  Work  on  the  construction 
of  the  road  will  begin   February   1st. 

The  American  Window  Glass  Company  of  Hart- 
ford City  has  combined  the  five  electric  switch- 
boards formerly  operated  on  each  side  of  the  tank, 
and  now  one  man  can  operate  10  blowing  machines, 
whereas  10  men  were  required  before.  Other 
changes  have  been  made  through  the  introduction 
of  electricity  that  will  greatly  reduce  the  cost  of 
making  glass. 

The  lighting  plant  of  the  new  Federal  Building 
in  Indianapolis  was  completed  last  week  and  for 
the  first  time  the  whole  building  from  basement  to 
garret  was  brilliantly  illuminated.  Government  In- 
spector Fourcha  was  greatly  pleased  with  the  plant. 

A  special  course  of  lectures  on  "Alternating-cur- 
rent Electricity,"  covering  10  weeks,  has  been  ar- 
ranged by  the  Indianapolis  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  the  first  to  be  given  this  week  by 
P.  G.  Winter,  electrical  engineer  for  the  Jenny- 
Electric  Company.  There  will  be  an  elementary 
class  and  an  advanced  class.  S.  S. 


Southeastern  States. 

Charlotte,  N.  C,  January  13.— A  policy  is  being- 
worked  up  by  commercial  and  other  bodies  in 
Baltimore,  Md.,  to  provide  for  all  future  times 
against  litigations  and  misunderstandings  relative 
to  the  entry  into  the  city  of  interurban  lines.  The 
Washington,  Baltimore  and  Annapolis  electric  rail- 
way has  sought  such  entrance  into  the  city,  while 
the  United  Railways  and  Electric  Company  oper- 
ates all  of  the  city  lines  and  routes.  The  new 
arrangement  is  said  to  be  of  broad  principles  and 
in  no  way  antagonistic  to  any  existing  corporation. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  directors  of  the  Macon  (  Ga.) 
Electric  Railway  and  Light  Company,  contracts 
were  confirmed  for  about  $85,000  improvements  in 
the  local  system.  New  machinery  will  be  installed 
and  the  capacity  of  the  plant  enlarged. 

The  Georgia  Manufacturing  and  Public  Works 
Company  of  Marietta  has  been  organized  to  take 
charge  of  the  Marietta  Electric  Company  and  other 
utilities,  the  capital  being  $600,000.  Moultrie  Ses- 
sions is   president  of  the  company. 

The  town  of  Yorkville,  S.  C,  is  to  be  lighted  by 
electricity  from  the  Catawba  Power  Company's 
plants    on   the    Catawba   River. 

The  Southern  Light  and  Power  Company  of 
Atlanta,  Ga.,  has  applied  for  the  right  to  do  busi- 
ness in  that  city  and  a  number  of  surrounding 
points.  The  company  may  increase  its  capital  at 
will  to  $1,000,000,  and  proposes  to  furnish  light, 
heat,   etc.,  and  do  a  general  electrical  business. 

The  United  Railways  Company  and  the  Wash- 
ington, Baltimore  and  Annapolis  railway  have  set- 
tled their  differences  regarding  the  use  of  the  third 
rail,  and  a  bill  has  been  introduced  in  the  second 
branch  of  the  City  Council  of  Baltimore  providing 
for  a  third  rail  on  the  disputed  streets.  The  Wash- 
ington, Baltimore  and  Annapolis  has  secured  prop- 
erty in  the  heart  of  the  business  section  of  Balti- 
more for  terminals,  it  is  said,  and  if  the  desired 
ordinances  are  passed  it  is  believed  that  the  pro- 
posed  improvements   will  be   forthcoming.  L. 

Texas. 

Austin,  January  11. — The  proposition  to  build  an 
interurban  electric  railway  between  Austin  and  Lock- 
hart  is  still  under  consideration  by  a  syndicate  of 
New    York    men.      Engineer    C.    P.    Scrivener    has 


completed  the  preliminary  survey.  The  principal 
difficulty  is  in  providing  means  for  crossing  the 
Colorado  River. 

J.  W.  Russell  and  associates  who  recently  ob- 
tained contFOl  of  the  street-railway  system  at  Bon- 
ham  are  preparing  to  make  important  improvements 
and   extensions. 

It  is  said  that  the  Houston-Galveston  interurban 
electric- railway  project  is  now  on  a  solid  financial 
footing  and  that  the  road  is  finally  to  be  built. 
The  original  plan  of  running  the  line  direct  to  Vir- 
ginia Point,  across  the  bay  from  Galveston,  has 
been  changed  and  the  road  will  run  from  Houston 
to  Laporte  via  Genoa. 

The  project  of  building  an  electric  railway  from 
Brenham  to  some  point  on  the  Missouri,  Kansas 
and  Texas  railroad  has  assumed  definite  shape. 
The  citizens  of  Industry  have  organized  for  the 
purpose  of  lending  substantial  encouragement  to 
secure  the  building  of  the  proposed  line  to  that 
place.  B.  E.  Knolle  of  Industry  can  give  informa- 
tion in  regard  to  the  proposed  line. 

Emmett  Landry  is  promoting  the  organization  of 
a  new  electric-light  and  power  plant  for  Beaumont. 

McCarthy,  Starnes  &  Co.  of  Lufkin  will  install  an 
electric-light  and  power  plant  in  that  place. 

The  Houston  Lighting  and  Power  Company,  with 
a  capital  stock  of  $1,000,000,  has  obtained  its  char- 
ter. The  incorporators  include  A.  H.  Ford  of  New 
York,  Henry  P.  Dart  of  New  Orleans  and  J.  W. 
Terry  of  Galveston.  W.  H.  Chapman  remains  with 
the  new  company  as  general  manager.  H. 


build  into  the  city  from  the  north  and  the  Chicago 
and  Milwaukee  Electric  Railway  Company  from 
the  south.  The  former  company  has  also  asked  for 
franchises  at  Sheboygan,  Fond  du  Lac  and  other 
towns. 

Noah  Newbanks  of  Pierre,  S.  D.,  and  Frank 
Fischer  of  Fort  Pierre  have  applied  for  franchises 
in  the  two  cities  for  an  electric  railway  which  will 
connect  the  two  towns. 

The  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing 
Company  is  preparing  plans  for  the  West  Side  Heat 
and  Light  Company,  which  proposes  to  build  a 
3,000-horsepower  light  and  power  plant  in  the  West 
Side   of   St.    Paul. 

C.  W.  Heckel  of  Prescott,  Wis.,  will  apply  for  a 
franchise  for  an  electric-light  plant  at  Farmington, 
Minn. 

A  stock  company  has  been  formed  at  Waterville, 
Minn.,  and  will  incorporate  for  the  purpose  of 
building  an  electric-light  plant  to  cost  about  $8,000. 
C.  H.  Birch  is  president  of  the  new  company  and 
C.  A.   Backman,  secretary.  R. 


Mexico. 


City  of  Mexico,  January  10. — The  installation  of 
a  hydro-electric  plant  at  the  falls  of  the  Piaxtla 
River  in  the  state  of  Sinaloa  is  to  be  made  by  the 
Compania  Minera  Guadalupe  de  los  Reyes,  which 
owns  several  mines  in  the  Cosala  district.  The 
plant  will  have  a  capacity  of  5,000  horsepower  and 
will  cost  about  $800,000.  The  plans  for  the  plant 
were  prepared  by  Robert  McF.  Doble,  an  electrical 
and  hydraulic  engineer  of  San  Francisco. 

It  is  announced  that  engineers  of  La  Electra,  S.  A., 
the  Spanish  light  and  power  company  of  Guadala- 
jara, are  studying  a  project  to  utilize  the  power  of 
the  Santiago  River  between  Las  Juntas  and  San 
Cristobal  and  transmit  the  current  to  Aguascali- 
entes,  a  distance  of  more  than  100  miles. 

Miguel  A.  Lopez  of  the  City  of  Mexico  has  ob- 
tained a  concession  from  the  federal  government  for 
the  erection  of  a  large  electric  power  plant  on  the 
Yaui  River  near  Sahuaripa.  It  is  stated  that  the 
proposed  plant  is  to  provide  power  for  mines  and 
industries  of  the  Sahuaripa  district. 

Paul  Ginther  of  Santa  Rosalia  has  gone  to  Paris, 
France,  on  business  connected  with  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  French  company  to  develop  his  hydro- 
electric plant  on  the  Conchos  River,  27  miles  above 
Santa  Rosalia.  About  $50,000  has  been  expended 
upon  the  preliminary  work.  A  large  amount  of 
engineering  work,  such  as  surveys,  maps,  plans  and 
estimates,  has  been  done. 

The  concession  of  L.  Iwansky  of  Parral  for  an 
electric  power  plant  in  the  Parral  district  has  been 
taken  over  by  Pittsburg  men  and  a  company  is 
being  organized.  The  company  will  also  erect  ore- 
reduction  plants  in  the  Parral  district  with  an  ag- 
gregate capacity  of  at  least  1,000  tons  daily.  The 
work  of  installing  a  temporary  electric  power  plant 
near    Parral   has   been   started. 

James  H.  Lasdon,  an  electrical  engineer,  has  been 
investigating  the  situation  in  Durango  on  behalf  of 
an  American  syndicate  with  the  view  of  installing 
a  new  electric-light  and  power  plant  for  the  city 
of  Durango.  It  is  also  proposed  to  construct  an 
electric  street-railway  system  in  Durango. 

The  authoritive  announcement  is  made  that  La 
Electra,  the  light  and  power  company  of  Guadala- 
jara, in  which  Spanish  capital  is  principally  inter- 
ested, will  issue  additional  bonds  to  the  amount  of 
$2,000,000.  It  is  estimated  that  the  rebuilding  and 
equipping  of  the  company's  street  railway,  the  con- 
struction of  a  new  power  house  at  the  falls  of 
Juanacatlan  and  the  construction  of  a  central  sta- 
tion in   Guadalajara  will  cost  bout  $3,000,000. 

W.  D.  H. 


Northwestern  States. 

Minneapolis,  January  13. — The  Twin  City  Rapid 
Transit  Company  will  construct  a  new  transformer 
station  at  Lake  Street  and  Chicago  Avenue,  Minne- 
.  apolis,  which  will  distribute  power  to  all  car  lines 
south  of  Lake  Street,  including  the  new  interurban 
line  to  St.  Paul.  The  new  building  will  be  of  brick 
and  concrete,  40x72  feet  in  size. 

The  St.  Anthony  Falls  Power  Company  has  be- 
gun work  in  connection  with  the  project  of  estab- 
lishing a  big  electric  plant  at  St.  Anthony  Falls, 
Minneapolis,  and  developing  about  6,000  more  horse- 
power for  manufacturing  purposes.  William  de  la 
Barre,  chief  engineer  of  the  company,  will  have 
charge  of  the  work. 

The  City  Council  at  Muscatine,  Iowa,  has  granted 
track  and  terminal  facilities  to  the  Cedar  Rapids 
and  Iowa  City  Railway  and  Light  Company  for  a 
line  from  Iowa  City  to  Muscatine.  This  insures 
the  building  of  the  road  and  work  will  be  started 
early  in  the  spring. 

Two  franchises  for  electric  street-railway  lines 
have  been  asked  of  the  Milwaukee  council.  The 
Milwaukee  Northern  Railway  Company  proposes  to 


Pacific  Slope. 

San  Francisco,  January  12. — The  first  of  the 
nine  space-telegraph  plants  to  be  installed  in  the 
near  future  on  the  Pacific  Coast  has  been  shipped 
to  Point  Arguello,  Cal.,  where  it  will  be  erected 
by  electricians  from  the  Mare  Island  Navy  Yard. 
The  Union  Gas  Engine  Company  of  San  Francisco 
has  constructed  for  the  Navy  Department  eight 
gas  engines  for  the  hew  stations.  Each  of  the 
generating  sets  consists  of  a  Westinghouse  150- 
volt  direct-current  generator  direct  connected  to 
a  Union  gas  engine  using  kerosene.  The  installa- 
tions will  vary  from  a  three-kilowatt  generator 
driven  by  a  seven-horsepower  double-cylinder  en- 
gine to  a  15-kilowatt  generator  driven  by  a  30- 
horsepower  three-cylinder  engine.  A  sectional  mast 
150  feet  high  will  be  erected  at  Point  Arguello 
Station. 

The  Metropolitan  Laundry  Company  of  San 
Francisco  is  to  have  one  of  the  largest  plants  in 
the  United  States,  covering  a  lot  of  275  feet  square. 
All  of  the  machinery  will  be  electrically  driven  by 
motors  taking  current  from  a  direct-generating 
plant  to  be  installed  in  a  power  house  separate 
from  the  main  building.  The  contract  for  the  com- 
plete oil-burning  steam-driven  generating  plant  has 
been  awarded  to  the  Risdon  Iron  Works  of  San 
Francisco  for  $41,025.  This  includes  two  150-kiIo- 
watt  generators,  switchboards  and  all  electrical  work 
except  the  motors  and  wiring. 

The  North  Mountain  Power  Company  of  San 
Francisco,  which  has  a  hydro-electric  plant  near 
Junction  City,  Trinity  County,  Cal.,  and  transmits 
power  to  Eureka  at  30.000  volts,  has  closed  a  con- 
tract with  Hunt,  Mirk  &  Co.  for  an  additional  gen- 
erating unit.  This  will  be  installed  in  the  auxiliary 
steam  plant  at  Eureka,  which  carries  a  good  deal 
of  the  lighting  load  of  Eureka.  The  additional 
installation  includes  a  500-kilowatt  Westinghouse- 
Parsons  turbo-generator  set,  three-phase,  2,400  volts 
and  60  cycles. 

The  Town  Trustees  of  Palo  Alto,  Cal.,  have 
called  for  an  election  on  Janury  24th  to  vote  upon 
the  proposition,  of  issuing  bonds  to  the  amount  of 
$QQ,coo,  of  which  $50,000  will  be  used  in  improv- 
ing the  municipal  lighting  plant  and  water  system. 

The  Mono  Power  Company  has  been  incorporated 
in  San  Francisco  with  a  capital  stock  of  $3,000,000 
by  J.  G.  Quinn,  J.  P.  Allen  and  associates. 

The  City  Trustees  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  Cal.,  are 
advertising  for  bids  for  a  franchise  to  construct 
and  operate  an  electric-lighting  and  distributing 
system  in  San  Luis  Obispo.  Bids  will  be  opened 
on  February  6th. 

John  L.  Murray  of  Olympia,  Wash.,  has  ap- 
plied to  the  Olympia  municipal  authorities  for  a 
franchise  to  construct  a  pole  line  and  lay  conduits 
for  the  distribution  of  light,  power  and  heat  in 
that  city.  Mr.  Murray  plans  to  erect  a  plant  at  a 
cost  of  $10,000. 

A.  Welch  of  Salem,  Ore.,  has  been  granted  a 
franchise  to  construct  and  operate  an  electric-light 
and   power   system   in   Corvallis,   Ore. 

The  Washington  Water  Power  Company  of  Spo- 
kane, Wash.,  is  arranging  to  double-track  all  its 
important   street-railway   lines   in    Spokane. 

The  Spokane  Electric  Railway  Company  has  been 
incorporated  at  Spokane,  Wash.,  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $250,000.  The  incorporators  are  Francis  H. 
Cook,  D.  C.  Cook  and  Austin  Gubson. 

H.  W.  Goode  of  Portland,  Ore.,  has  purchased 
the  entire  corporate  stock  of  the  Vancouver  Elec- 
tric Light  and  Power  Company  of  Vancouver, 
B.  C.  About  $50,000  will  be  spent  in  improving 
the  system  during  the  present  vear. 

W.  D.  Valentine.  J.  M.  Duke,  M.  V.  Kellogg. 
S.  L.  Phillips,  John  H.  Marble,  J.  D.  Lederman 
and  others  of  San  Francisco  are  promoting  the 
organization  of  a  company  to  construct  and  operate 
space-telegraph  systems.  The  company  will  have  a 
large  capital  stock  and  will  be  incorporated  under 
the  laws  of  Oregon.  A. 


PERSONAL 

Bernard  Hartley,  for  10  years  manufacturer  of 
electrical  apparatus,  has  accepted  a  position  with 
W.  Scheidel  &  Co.  of  Chicago,  manufacturers  of 
N-ray     apparatus.      Mr.     Hartley     is     well     known 


January  20,    igo6 


BLBi   I  I' K.IAN 


throughout   the    VV.   .1,   ami    hi.    111.  ml      ...ill    w ill    1 

success  in   his   new    work. 

Charles  W.  Hurd  ha  been  appointed  city  clcc- 
n  ician  !.i   :  tillwati  i ,  Minn. 

R,  1 1.  Sharp  ha    n  ligni  d  a    eeri 

Mi.    Peopli '  i   Light,   1 1,  mi   and    Powi  i    ' i 

Springfield,   Ohio. 

Owing  to  ill   health,   Mr.   A,    P,   Seymour,   via 
president  and  treasurer  of   Pas  ■  &  Seymour,   Inc., 
Solvay,   N.   Y.,  has  retired   from   busine   .  and   will 

hereafter   make   his   home   in    Southern   Calii a 

Mr.  Seymour's  stock  has  been  acquired  l>y  the  intci 
.  sts  v.  hi  It  have  bi  en  idi  ntified  ■.•.  ith  the  i  ompan; 
Bincc  iis  inception   15  years  ago. 

Irvine;  Monllrop  ..f  lh.-  I'...l.m  l.li.on  Company, 
representing    the    stcam-turbim     committee    of    the 

X'.ii ;il    Electric    I  ,ighl    A  1  ...  iation,   1m       ailed    for 

Europe  1..   investigate  turbines,     li   is  the  intention 

of  lh'1  coi hi..'  this  year  to  report  mi  the  p 

..f  the  steam  turbine  here  .'i".!  abroad;  also  1 

elude  in  iis  work  an  investigation  of  gas  turbim 

Friends  of  William  J.  Hammer  of  153  We  1 
Forty-sixth  Street,  New  York,  will  he  grieved  i" 
Irani  .if  1  lie  death  of  his  wife,  Mrs.  AH..  \\ 
White  Hammer,  which  occurred  on  January  12th. 
Mrs.  Hammer  was  in  her  forty  third  year  and  had 
been  suffering  from  a  tubercular  complaint  for 
two  years.  The  funeral  took  place  at  Cleveland, 
Ohio. 

Warren  Bicknell,  president  of  the  Lake  Shore 
Electric  Railway  Company,  was  presented  at  his 
home  in  Cleveland  with  a  handsome  hall  clock. 
Every  man  in  any  way  connected  with  the  company 
had  contributed  to  the  fund  for  the  purchase.  Mr. 
Bicknell  retired  from  the  presidency  of  the  com- 
pany mi  January  161I1.  He  has  served  in  the  office 
two  years  and  a  half.  Mr.  Bicknell  has  been 
elected  president  of  the  Cleveland  Construction 
Company  of  Akron,  and  the  headquarters  of  the 
company    will   he   moved   to    Cleveland. 

E.  W.  Lloyd  has  been  made  contract  agent  of 
the  Chicago  Edison  Company,  succeeding  John  F. 
Gilchrist,  promoted  to  be  assistant  to  the  president. 
Mr.  Lloyd  has  been  assistant  superintendent  of 
construction,  and  takes  high  rank  in  the  staff  of 
capable  men  which  has  made  the  Chicago  Edison 
Company  successful.  He  is  an  authority  on  the 
sale  of  electricity  for  industrial  purposes,  and  as 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  "Purchased  Electric 
Power  in  Factories"  his  reports  to  the  National 
Electric  Light  Association  have  permanent  value. 

Friends  of  James  G.  Pomeroy,  western  sales 
manager  of  the  Adams-Bagnall  Electric  Company, 
will  be  sorry  to  hear  that  Mrs.  Pomeroy  and 
daughter  Catherine  were  injured  in  a  wreck  near 
the  terminal  station  at  St.  Louis  last  week.  Mr. 
Pomeroy,  with  his  wife  and  daughter,  were  start- 
ing on  a  trip  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  They  were  in 
the  Pullman  car  Harcourt,  attached  to  a  Wabash 
train,  and  in  the  wreck  the  car  they  occupied 
fell  15  feet  to  the  granite  pavement.  Mrs.  Pomeroy 
was  badly  injured,  but  her  condition  is  now  re- 
ported as  not  serious.  Miss  Catherine  received 
some  painful  cuts  in  the  face  and  Mr.  Pomeroy 
escaped    uninjured. 

Marshall  Field,  who  died  on  January  i6th,  was 
the  foremost  citizen  of  Chicago,  and  perhaps  the 
world's  greatest  merchant.  He  leaves  a  vast  for- 
tune and  a  name  synonymous  with  business  honor 
and  integrity.  While  not  directly  connected  with 
electrical  pursuits,  he  took  a  lively  interest  in  the 
progress  and  development  of  the  electrical  indus- 
try. Among  the  earliest  isolated  electrical  plants 
in  Chicago  were  those  installed  in  his  retail  and 
wholesale  establishments,  although  subsequently 
central-station  service  was  substituted.  Mr.  Field 
was  a  large  stockholder  in  the  Chicago  Edison 
Company.  With  him  in  New  York  when  the  end 
came  was  Robert  T.  Lincoln,  first  vice-president 
of  the  Chicago  Edison  Company,  and  an  intimate 
friend. 

The  electrical  fraternity  will  be  pleased  by  the 
knowledge  that  Governor  Deneen  of  Illinois,  in  his 
effort  to  rid  the  state 
charitable  institutions  of 
politics  and  place  them  on 
a  thorough  business  basis, 
has  chosen  Bernard  E. 
Sunny  of  Chicago,  west- 
ern manager  for  the  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company,  to 
be  president  of  the  board 
of  trustees  of  the  Kan- 
kakee Insane  Asylum. 
The  acceptance  of  Mr. 
Sunny,  who  is  a  very 
busy  man,  was  only  se- 
cured after  much  persua- 
sion on  the  part  of  the 
governor.  Mr.  Sunny  is 
not  without  experience  in 
public  affairs.  He  was 
formerly  president  of  the  Civic  Federation  of  Chi- 
cago, was  prominent  in  the  charter-amendment 
movement  and  is  a  delegate  to  the  present  charter 
convention.  He  was  also  at  one  time  a  trustee 
of   the    St.    Charles   Home   for    Boys. 


ELECTRIC  LIGHTING. 

St.   Bi  ,!,,  Mil, i,.,  will 

plant 

1    ■ 

1.  N,  Smith  a,.. 1  1 

plant. 

1 1,,    li...     City  (Kan.)  1 

ha      1.  ■  1.     ii 

I  he    Riverside    1 

Abilene,  Kan.,  ha    !•■  1 1 1 

jtock  of  $50,000. 

I"     1 1 ■     '       '  I  Ikla.)    Electric    Light, 

and    ti  •     1. ..i.n,  . 
capital  of  $15,000. 

II  1      reported    that    the    Metropolil 

■   '  •    ',,.    ,,1    1    m  .,     1  nv,    Mo.,    will 

11  clectrii  lighl  plant   foi    Burlington  Junction,  Mo, 

1  al  ■    City,    11.,      ■  .'  ..M,|  ;in 

electric-light   plant    for   a    population   of    ro 
15,000.    J.  C.  Sheffield  of  the  Board  of 

Public   Worl 

I'.  A.  Piatt,  W.  L  Jenks  and  II.  I..  Handley  of 

1 1 n   ton,  in  ,  li..'..    in,  '.1  poi ated  a    th<    1 1  ■ 

lias   and   Electric   Company.      The   capital    is   placed 
at   $200,000. 

The    Empire    Construction    Company   of    Birming- 
ham, Ala.,  has  been  incorporated  to  operate  electric- 
lighl    plant,    waterworks    and    steam  I 
C.  Smith  is  president. 

Mi.-  electric-light   plain,  gas  plant  and   street-car 
system   in    Muscatine,   fowa,  belonging  to  local  per- 
sons, has  been   sold,  il   is  reported,  to  a 
represented  by  .1.  II.   Brown  and  George   Mi 
Chicago,    for    $750,000. 

A  conspicuous  departure  in  the  lighting  of  canals 
is  that  of  the  Welland  Canal,  near  St.  Catherine, 
Ont.  Over  600  alternating-current  series  arc  lamps 
have  been  provided  by  the  Canadian  Wcstinghouse 
Company.  and  these  have  been  in  operation  for 
the   last   few  months,  and  have  given  good   service. 

The  Pere  Marquette  Railroad  Company  is  pre- 
paring to  light  its  own  premises  in  Bay  City,  Mich., 
by  electricity.  Dynamos  and  boilers  will  be  in- 
stalled in  tli£  new  warehouse  now  being  constructed 
to  light  warehouse,  passenger  depot  and  yards. 
The  lights  in  use  will  be  the  equivalent  of  700  16- 
candlepower  incandescent  lamps. 

It  is  rumored  in  electrical  circles  in  Grand  Rap- 
ids, Mich.,  that  there  is  a  strong  possibility  of  a 
consolidation  between  the  Edison  company  and  the 
Grand  Rapids-Muskegon  Electric  Water  Power 
Company.  This  rumor  has  not  been  confirmed,  but 
it  is  said  that  the  latter  company  has  not  shown 
any  particular  anxiety  about  securing  a  franchise 
into  Grand  Rapids,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
company  has  promised  to  deliver  power  in  the  city 
by  the  end  of   February. 


ELECTRIC  RAILWAYS. 

The  Omaha  (Neb.),  Bellevue  and  Southern  In- 
terurban  Company  has  been  incorporated  to  build 
a  trolley  line  from  Bellevue  to  Fort  Cook,  Neb. 

The  Butte  Electric  and  Gas  Company  of  Butte, 
Mont.,  is  having  plans  drawn  for  the  construction 
of  an  electric  railway  to  the  Galliton  mining  district. 

Hugh  Holmes,  president  of  the  Ottawa  (Kan.) 
Finance  Company,  is  promoter  of  the  electric  road 
to  be  built  from  Olathe  to  Ottawa.  The  road  will 
be  built  in  10-mile  sections.  Contracts  will  be  let 
at  once. 

The  stockholders  of  the  York  (Pa.)  Street  Rail- 
way Company  and  its  10  affiliated  companies  have 
re-elected  Captain  W.  H.  Lanius  as  president,  and 
the  following-named  directors:  J.  W.  Stacey, 
George  Billmeyer,  W.  F.  Bay  Stewart,  George  P. 
Smyser,    Grier   Hersh   and    W.   A.    Himes.    " 

Hodenpyl,  Walbridge  &  Co.  of  New  York,  who 
bought  the  Bloomington  and  Normal  street  rail- 
way, heating  and  lighting  system  for  $1,000,000, 
have  sold  the  property  to  the  McKinley  syndicate, 
which  is  building  and  operating  interurban  lines 
throughout  Illinois.  The  purchasers  already  own 
the  Consumers'  heat  and  light  system  and  inter- 
urban   franchises    in    Bloomington. 

Arguments  have  been  concluded  in  the  Supreme 
Court  at  Washington,  D.  C,  on  the  Chicago  trac- 
tion cases.  Owing  to  the  length  of  the  record 
and  many  of  the  legal  questions  involved  the  court 
is  likely  to  take  some  time  over  the  case.  The 
Chicago  City  Council  at  its  meeting  this  week 
voted  to  take  up  the  various  ordinances  and  amend- 
ments, in  committee  of  the  whole  on  Thursday  of 
this   week. 

H.  H.  Vreeland,  president,  and  Orin  Root,  gen- 
eral manager  of  the  New  York  City  Railway  Com- 
pany, declare  that  the  Madison  Avenue  surface  line, 
which  is  an  underground-trolley  system,  instead  of 
having  proved  a  failure  during  times  of  storm  in 
winter,  has  been  more  capable  of  handling  its  traf- 


il»-   men 

inn   linl 

trie    III;' 

' 

out. 

\t  a  meeting  of  the  dir.-.  n.r    •  f  the  Metropolitan 
ated  Railroad  I 

begin  an  immediate  investigation  of  tl 

..ill   report   the   result 

committee  will  decide  between  a  new 

i    $500,000   or    a    contract    witli    the    I 
Edison    Company.    The   latter   organization 
equipment    in 

an    requires. 

port  of  the  gross  earnings   of  the    I'nitcd 
Railways  Company  of  St.   L01  d  year 

shows  an  aggregate  of  $X.43o,044.     While  this  rep- 
resents   a    decrease    of    about    $1,500,000    from    the 
1004  figures,  it   shows  a  big  gain  over  the  1 
for  1003.  which  may  be  regarded  as  a  normal  year. 
The    1904    earnings    were    exceptionally    large     be- 
cause of  the   heavy   traffic  on   the    St.  Loui 
railways    incident  to   the    World's   Fair.     Ti,. 
ings  for  the  last  year  have  shown  a  gain  of  about 
15    per  cent,   over   the    1903   figures.     The   common 
stock  of  the  I'nitcd  Railways  Company  of  St.  Louis, 
SiX.000.000  of   which    was   purchased   by    the    North 
American    Company    last     spring,    representing    the 
control,    has   nearly   doubled    in    market    value    since 
tlu    North  American   Company  bought   it. 


POWER  TRANSMISSION. 

The  Niagara  Falls  Electrical  Transmission  Com- 
pany is  asking  leave  to  increase  its  capital  from 
$1,000,000  to  $5,000,000.  and  to  construct  transmis- 
sion hues  of  capacity  sufficient  for  at  least  50,000 
electrical  horsepower.  The  company  distributes  the 
current  generated  by  the  Electrical  Development 
Company  of  Ontario,  Canada,  among  the  contigu- 
ous  counties    in    New    York   state. 

Articles  of  incorporation  for  five  companies  will 
be  filed  soon  in  San  Diego,  Cad.,  it  is  said,  the 
capital  aggregating  $6,000,000.  The  companies  have 
been  formed  for  the  purpose  of  developing  the 
waters  of  the  San  Luis  Rev  River,  and  building 
dams  and  reservoirs  to  generate  electric  power  for 
the  Pacific  Light  and  Power  Company  of  Los  An- 
geles. It  is  planned  to  complete  the  first  dam  in 
14    months. 

The  Coosa  River  Electric  Power  company  of 
Anniston,  Ala.,  will  issue  $300,000  of  23-year 
bonds  for  development  work.  The  plans  have  iieen 
made  so  that  the  work  of  building  dam  and 
powerhouse  and  contracting  for  the  electric  and 
hydraulic  equipment  for  a  capacity  of  7,500  horse- 
power can  be  proceeded  with  at  once  in  order  to 
have  plant  in  operation  by  January  1.  1007.  Robert 
R.  Zell  is  engineer  in  charge.  The  company's 
office  is  in  the  First  National  Bank  Building. 
Birmingham,    Ala. 

Water  has  been  turned  onto  the  two  large  tur- 
bines in  the  power  plant  of  the  Animas  Power 
and  Water  Company  of  Durango.  Colo.  After  an 
expenditure  of  two  years  of  time  or  more  and 
$1,000,000  in  money,  the  plant  is  at  last  supplying 
its  customers  in  Silverton,  and  as  far  as  Ouray. 
with  electric  power.  The  plant  is  located  on  the 
Animas  River,  at  a  point  about  12  miles  from 
Durango,  and  is  destined  to  be  one  of  the  largest 
electric  generating  plants  in  the  West.  H.~"  T. 
Henderson,  who  originated  all  the  plans  for  the 
plant  and  who  is  the  general  superintendent  of  the 
company,  says  that  even  now  they  have  orders  for 
much  more  power  than  can  be  delivered.  The 
company  will  increase  the  present  height  of  its 
dam  to  100  feet,  which  will  enable  the  reservoir 
to  hold  35^  billion  cubic  feet  of  water.  This  will 
cover  an  area  of  I,i6o  acres.  When  the  plant  is 
finally  complete  it  will  generate  40.000  horsepower. 
This  will  involve  the  expenditure  of  $3,000,000  and 
five  years  of  time.  The  plant  will  supply  power  for 
the  mines  of  the  entire  southwestern  portion  of 
Colorado. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  20,  1906 


PUBLICATIONS. 

The  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing 
Company  is  distributing  a  large  assortment  of  ad- 
vertising blotters  of  pleasing  design. 

Tin-  Allis-Chalmers  Company  of  Milwaukee  has 
issued  a  new  bulletin  on  the  Tremain  steam  stamp. 
Other  machinery  described  includes  ore  crushers, 
vanning  machines,   etc. 

A  circular  has  been  issued  by  the  Indiana  Dyn- 
electron  Company  of  Indianapolis  which  explains 
accurately  what  the  dynelectron  is  and  the  possibili- 
ties  which   the   future  may  hold   for  it. 

Direct-current  generators  made  by  the  Robbins 
lS;  Myers  Company  of  Springfield.  Ohio,  are  de- 
scribed in  a  recent  bulletin.  These  generators  are 
designed  with  special  reference  to  their  use  in 
small    isolated    incandescent    lighting   plants. 

The  National  Electric  Company  of  Milwaukee 
has  issued  another  of  its  tasteful  mailing  cards, 
this  time  devoted  to  the  type  N  motor.  The  motor 
illustrated  is  one  of  the  i.coo  built  for  the  Union 
Electric    Light   and    Power    Company   of    St.    Louis. 

Single-phase  induction  motors  of  one-tenth  to 
one-eighth  horsepower,  built  by  the  Emerson  Elec- 
tric Manufacturing  Company  of  St.  Louis,  form 
the  subject  of  a  new  bulletin.  These  motors  are 
of  the  "condensed"  type,  full-load  automatic  start. 
The  bulletin  tells   all   about  them. 

The  H.  T.  Paiste  Company  of  Philadelphia,  Pa., 
is  distributing  bulletin  No.  2S,  which  is  devoted 
to  fusible  hanger  boards,  Paiste  panelettes  and 
Paiste  taplets.  Some  interesting  illustrations  of 
these  devices  are  contained  in  the  bulletin,  together 
with  clear  and  accurate  descriptions  of  the  parts. 

Sprague  direct-current  type-D  motors  are  made 
the  subject  of  an  unusually  attractive  bulletin  issued 
by  the  Sprague  Electric  Company  of  New  York. 
The  type-D  machines  are  described  in  detail,  with 
dimension  drawings,  and  a  few  examples  of  their 
use  shown  by  several  half-tone  illustrations  in  the 
back   of   the   bulletin. 

The  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing 
Company  has  placed  on  the  market  a  new  line  of 
core-type  transformers,  known  as  the  type  C,  which 
are  described  in  circular  No.  1126.  They  are  sim- 
ply an  addition  to  the  many  standard  forms,  so 
that  Westinghouse  transformers  of  any  desired 
form  and  construction  may  he  obtained  to  meet  the 
varying  demands  of  present-day  light  and  power 
service. 

Bulletin  No.  265  of  the  Stanley-G.  I.  Electric 
Manufacturing  Company,  on  the  subject  of  the 
Paragon  factory-type  electric  sewing-machine  trans- 
mitter, has  just  been  issued.  The  Paragon  trans- 
mitter embodies  a  device  in  which  the  drive  be- 
tween the  sewing  machine  and  the  transmitter  it- 
self is  positive.  A  gentle  pressure  on  the  treadle 
opens  a  switch  and  starts  the  motor.  Further  pres- 
sure gradually  speeds  up  the  machine. 

An  assortment  of  new  advertising  literature  is  be- 
ing distributed  by  the  General  Electric  Company 
of  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  one  of  the  most  attractive 
pieces  being  a  catalogue  describing  varnished  cam- 
bric cables.  The  frontispiece  of  this  book  is  a 
reproduction  in  colors  of  a  panel  bearing  samples 
of  General  Electric  cables.  There  are  also  con- 
tained some  valuable  tables  relating  to  wire  and  its 
properties.  Illuminating  engineering  as  applied  to 
interior  lighting  is  the  subject  of  a  special  bulletin 
which  contains  some  attractive  illustrations,  showing 
efficiently  lighted  interiors.  Other  literature  de- 
scribes 220-volt  direct-current  enclosed  arc  lamps, 
double  push-button  flush  pocket  switches,  competi- 
tion knife  switches,  field  coils,  pole-line  oil  switches, 
ett. 


SOCIETIES  AND  SCHOOLS. 

Prof.  George  Davidson,  president  of  the  Geo- 
graphical Society  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  faculty  of  the  University  of  California, 
has  received  a  telegram  from  Raoul  Amundsen, 
who  made  his  way  through  the  Northwest  Passage, 
asking  about  the  facilities  for  making  his  final  mag- 
netic observations  in  San  Francisco.  A  reply  has 
been  sent  that  facilities  and  help  will  be  given  by 
the  University  of  California  and  the  California 
Academy  of  Science,  the  Technical  Society  and  the 
Geographical    Society   of   the    Pacific    Coast. 

The  two-hundred-and-third  meeting  of  the  Amer- 
ican Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers  will  be  held 
in  the  assembly  room  of  the  New  York  Edison 
Company.  44  West  Twenty- seventh  Street.  New 
York,  on  January  26th,  at  8:15  p.  m.  The  follow- 
ing papers  will  be  presented  and  discussed :  "Cen- 
tral-station Economics,"  by  Henry  G.  Stott,  super- 
intendent of  motive  power,  Interborough  Rapid 
Transit  Company;  "A  Self-exciting  Alternator," 
by  E.  F.  Alexanderson,  electrical  engineer  of  the 
General   Electric    Company.    Schenectady,    N.    Y. 

At  the  annual  dinner  of  the  Pike's  Peak  Poly- 
technic Society,  held  in  the  Antlers  Hotel  in 
Colorado  Springs  recently,  Bion  J.  Arnold  of  Chi- 
cago was  the  guest  of  honor.  Professor  William 
Strieby,  president  of  the  society,  introduced  Air. 
Arnold,  who.  as  the  speaker  of  the  evening,  talked 
on    the    electrification    of    steam    railroads.     On    this 


subject,  with  which  Mr.  Arnold  is  so  familiar,  he 
spoke  very  encouragingly  of  the  future  for  electric 
power  on  steam  railroads.  His  remarks  were 
largely  along  the  line  of  his  presidential  address 
at  the  convention  of  the  Institute  in  St.  Louis,  and 
he  repeated  that,  with  the  single-phase  motor  and 
the  steam  turbine  a  reality,  the  transmission  prob- 
lem is  about  solved.  He  gave  an  interesting  de- 
scription of  the  work  of  electrifying  the  terminals 
of  the  New  York  Central  and  the  Pennsylvania 
lines    in    New   York   city. 

The  tenth  annual  meeting  of  the  National  Fire 
Protection  Association  is  to  be  held  in  Chicago, 
May  22d  to  24th.  In  addition  to  the  usual  pro- 
gramme covering  discussion  and  adoption  of  rules 
and  specifications  covering  fire-protection  topics,  a 
commemorative  address  on  the  organization,  aims 
and  purposes  of  the  association  will  be  delivered  by 
Uberto  C.  Crosby,  United  States  manager  of  the 
Royal  Exchange  Assurance,  who  is  one  of  the  found- 
ers of  the  association,  its  only  honorary  life  mem- 
ber, and  who  has  been  identified  with  fire-protection 
work  covering  a  longer  period  than  is  represented 
by  the  history  of  the  organization.  An  additional 
feature  of  interest  in  connection  with  the  meeting 
will  be  the  demonstrations  to  be  given  in  the  new 
testing  station  of  the  Underwriters'   Laboratories. 

The  thirty-sixth  annual  catalogue  of  the  Worces- 
ter Polytechnic  Institute  has  just  been  issued,  con- 
taining the  usual  information  regarding  courses  of 
study,  teaching  force,  equipment,  students  and 
alumni.  The  addition  of  courses  in  electrical  engi- 
neering, having  to  do  especially  with  electric-rail- 
way and  power-plant  engineering  is  noted,  together 
with  the  addition  to  the  faculty  of  Albert  S.  Richey 
as  assistant  professor  of  electric-railway  engineer- 
ing, under  whose  direction  these  new  courses  have 
been  developed.  The  catalogue  shows  that  over 
70  scholarships  are  available  for  the  students  of 
the  Institute,  that  the  total  registration  is  388,  an 
increase  of  over  40  per  cent,  in  two  years,  and 
that  of  the  1.034  living  graduates,  scattered  well 
over  the  civilized  world,  by  far  the  great  majority 
are  engaged  in  work  for  which  they  were  fitted 
by  their  institute  course. 


MISCELLANEOUS, 


The  first  space-telegraph  station  in  Montana  is 
to  be  erected  in  Great  Falls.  Later  other  stations 
are  to  be  set  up  in  the  state  and  at  points  in  Idaho, 
Wyoming  and  the  Dakotas.  These  stations  will  be 
part  cf  the  transcontinental  system  which,  it  is 
said,    the    De   Forest    company    is    putting    in. 

The  Chicago  automobile  show  will  be  held  in 
the  Coliseum  and  First  Regiment  Armory  Febru- 
ary 3d  to  10th.  In  order  not  to  be  outdone  by  the 
managers  of  automobile  shows  in  other  cities,  Sam- 
uel A.  Miles,  who  is  directing  the  local  exhibition, 
has  arranged  for  columns  of  plaster  paris  with 
cross-pieces  and  huge  electric  globes,  which  will  be 
touched  up  with  green  and  gold  and  installed  in 
the  two  big  buildings. 

The  cable  vessel  Burnside,  which  has  been  doing 
valuable  service  under  the  Army  signal  office,  will 
be  equipped  with  a  $23,000  pick-up  gear,  which  will 
enable  the  ship  to  pick  up  an  injured  cable  at  a 
depth  of  one  and  one-half  miles.  The  Burnside  will 
remain  at  Seattle  during  the  coming  winter,  pend- 
ing the  installation  of  the  improved  mechanism,  and 
in  the  meantime  will  be  held  in  readiness  to  answer 
emergency  calls  for  repairs  along  the  Alaskan  cable 
line. 

The  p"ublic  ownership  commission  of  the  National 
Civic  Federation  met  in  New  York  city  on  January 
10th  and  made  final  arrangements  for  the  investiga- 
tion which  it  will  undertake  in  this  country  and 
in  Europe  as  to  the  comparative  merits  of  public 
and  private  ownership  of  water  supply,  electric 
light  and  gas  lighting  and  street  railways.  It  was 
decided  by  the  commission  to  investigate  public  and 
private  plants  in  a  great  many  towns  and  cities  in 
.the    United    States. 

There  is  said  to  be  an  unusual  building  boom 
in  Kansas  City,  Mo.  Most  of  the  new  houses  are 
being  wired  for  electricity,  as  it  has  become  com- 
monly known  that  houses  so  built  command  better 
rents  and  better  prices  if  put  for  sale.  W.  L. 
Hutchison  of  the  Kansas  City  Electrical  Construc- 
tion Company  says :  "It  is  a  fact  that  the  custom 
of  wiring  a  house  for  electricity  is  becoming  more 
general.  During  the  last  year  we  wired  over  500 
single  houses  and  apartment  buildings.  It  costs 
about  $40  to  wire  an  ordinary  eight-room  house 
and  about  $30  for  an  apartment  of  the  same  size. 
This  includes  speaking  tubes,  bells  and  switches. 
Steel  conduits  are  being  used  quite  generally  in 
electrical  work  They  are  more  expensive,  of  course, 
but  the  wiring  when  so  constructed  lasts  indefi- 
nitely." 

In  the  region  of  McCall's  Ferry,  Pa.,  where  the 
work  preliminary  to  that  of  constructing  a  large 
power  plant  and  dam  by  the  McCall's  Ferry  Water 
and  Power  Company  is  in  progress,  flowing  ice  in 
the  river  recently  interfered  with  the  engineers  and 
workmen  in  crossing  the  stream.  The  Susque- 
hanna River  at  that  point  is  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
wide  and  the  volume  of  water  which  descends  from 
the   upper    regions    of   Pennsylvania    and    from   val- 


leys in  New  York  state  is  at  a  point  known  as 
"The  Neck"  thrown  into  a  narrow  space,  rock-bound 
on  either  shore.  When  the  ice  is  floating  it  is  im- 
possible to  cross  the  river.  A  one-inch  cable  was 
taken  from  the  company's  equipment  and  dragged 
across  the  river,  a  majestic  chestnut  tree  on  each 
side  being  selected  for  fastening  the  cable.  Two 
hundred  men  at  either  end  and  50  horses  were  used 
in  making  the.  cable  taut.  A  basket  was  then 
rigged  to  the  cable  with  a  roller  attachment  for 
its  operation.  In  this  tiny  car,  swinging  high  above 
the  surface  of  the  treacherous  river,  the  engineers 
and  workmen  make  their  transits  across  the  stream. 


TRADE  NEWS 


The  Electric  Cable  Company  of  Bridgeport. 
Conn.,  has  filed  articles  of  incorporation.  The  au- 
thorized capital  is  $500,000.  The  incorporators  are 
Edwin  W,  Moore  of  New  York,  F.  H.  Cowles  of 
Greenwich,  and  J.  N.  Shreve  of  Scarsdale,  N.  Y. 

The  Stanley-G.  I.  Electric  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany of  Pittsfield,  Mass..  has  established  an  office 
at  505  Postal  Telegraph  Building,  Kansas  City, 
Mo.,  for  the  purpose  of  more  conveniently  and 
more  quickly  taking  care  of  its  many  customers  in 
the   state  of  Kansas. 

The  increasing  business  of  the  Westinghouse 
Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company  in  the  ter- 
ritory covered  by  its  Columbus  (Ohio)  office  has 
necessitated  its  moving  into  larger  quarters.  The 
company  is  now  located  in  Room  923  Columbus 
Savings   and    Trust    Building. 

The  Bureau  of  Supplies  and  Accounts,  Navy 
Department,  is  inviting  sealed  proposals  until  Jan- 
uary 30th  for  furnishing  the  Boston  navy  yard 
with  nine  electric  motors  and  13  controlling  panels 
of  220  volts,  embraced  in  schedule  323,  obtainable 
at  the  navy  pay  office  in  New  York  or  upon  ap- 
plication   to    the   bureau    at    Washington. 

On  account  of  the  great  increase  in  the  demand 
for  its  Bijur  "High-duty"  elements,  the  General 
Storage  Battery  Company  has  decided  to  enlarge 
its  factory  at  Boonton,  N.  J.,  by  erecting  buildings 
furnishing  an  additional  48,000  square  feet  of  floor 
space,  and  to  install  hydraulic  and  steam  or  gas- 
generating  machinery,  aggregating  over  1,000  horse- 
power. 

The  New  York  Central  Railroad  is  reported  to 
have  awarded  to  the  General  Railway  Signaling 
Company  of  Rochester,  N.  \\,  a  contract  for  inter- 
locking and  block  signals  amounting  to  $2,000,000. 
The  equipment  is  intended  for  the  zone  of  electric 
motive  power  extending  about  2$  miles  from  the 
Grand  Central  Station.  The  system  of  signals  is 
said  to  be  the  most  comprehensive  ever  devised  by 
any  railroad.  It  is  designed  to  insure  the  highest 
possible    degree    of    safety    to    the   traveling    public. 

The  National  Engineering  Company,  successor 
to  McGrew  &  Bruning,  consulting  engineers,  an- 
nounces its  incorporation.  The  new  company  has 
its  headquarters  in  the  Brunson  Building,  Colum- 
bus. Ohio.  The  personnel  of  the  company  is  J.  A. 
McGrew,  president,  H.  D.  Bruning,  vice-president 
and  general  manager,  and  F.  C.  Caldwell,  secretarj- 
and  treasurer.  The  company  does  a  general  engi- 
neering, construction  and  architectural  business. 
J.  N.  Bradford  is  chief  architect.  E.  A.  Hitchcock 
chief  engineer  of  the  mechanical  department,  Mr. 
Caldwell  chief  engineer  of  the  electrical  depart- 
ment, C.  E.  Sherman  chief  engineer  of  the  railway 
and  municipal  department.  A.  H.  Heller,  construc- 
tion engineer  of  the  bridge  and  structural  depart- 
ment, and  Frank  Haas  chief  engineer  and  fuel 
expert    of    the    mining   department. 


BUSINESS, 


The  Boston  Incandescent  Lamp  Company,  Dan- 
vers,  Mass..  maker  of  incandescent  lamps,  supplied 
the  lights  exclusively  for  Steeplechase  Island, 
Bridgeport,  Conn.,  also  a  large  number  of  lamps  to 
Steeplechase   Park,   Coney  Island. 

The  Chicago  Pneumatic  Tool  Company  states 
that,  on  account  of  the  compressor  business  being 
offered  it  exceeding  its  manufacturing  capacity 
(amounting  to  only  400  compressors  during  the 
year  1905),  arrangements  are  now  under  way  for 
increasing  the  capacity  of  its  compressor  works  at 
Franklin,  Pa.,  so  as  to  give  it  an  annual  output  of 
between  650  and  700  compressors.  The  machines 
this  company  manufactures  are  gradually  taking 
the  lead,  thus  necessitating  increased  facilities  for 
taking  care  of  the  business  offered.  A  large  vol- 
ume of  business  was  lost  to  the  company  during 
1905  on  account  of  inability  to  make  deliveries. 

An  important  order  recently  secured  by  the 
Canadian  Westinghouse  Company  was  obtained 
from  the  Vancouver  Power  Company  of  Vancouver, 
B.  C  This  order  included  a  1.500-horsepower  2,200- 
volt  revolving-field  engine-type  generator,  which  will 
be  direct  connected  to  a  Pelton  waterwheel.  This 
is  a  duplicate  of  the  generators  now  in  operation 
in  the  power  plant  of  this  company,  and  will  op- 
erate in  multiple  therewith.  The  order  includes 
switchboards  and  air-blast  transformers  of  550- 
kilowatt    capacity.     There    is    also    included    in    the 


January  20,  1906 


WESTERN    ELECTRII 


order   :i    1,000-kilowatt  Co-cycle  rolarj 
operate   a(    550   roll       This   converter   will    I 
power  for  railway  work  ;m<]  will  !<■:  controlled  di 
rcct  from  the  switchboard. 

The   Green    Fuel    Economizer   Company   ol 
teawan,   N.  Y.,  originator  and  builder  of  the   fuel 
economizer,  some  time  ay,<>  began    thi     mar 
of  fans,  blowers  and   exhausters  on   a   large  scale. 

'I  Ik    1 p.-my    reports   a   large   numbci    ol 

ui  h  apparatus  recently,  among  the  largest  of 
which  are  two  310-inch  induced-draft  fan  to  thi 
A ican      l»i   tricl      Si. ■am      Healing     Company      of 

Minneapolis,    Minn.,    a    280  inch    heating    and    ven- 


-'.•  Clark,  Kim- 

No.   85,   New   York   eity.     In    additi 
1  ompari 

dating    apparatui    and    several    large 

'i  he  wondi  1  ful  thii  •     '  oul 
li'-.  rthern   Elcctrii  al 

with 
which   the   mai  bine   band   can   ah- 1 
ol   hia  equipment,  whether  il 
>Wcr    drive    or    [,000-horiepowcl 
ilation  of  the  motor-controllei 


1 
troller    with    minimutn 


ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 


halted  (United  State*   Patent  Office)  January  g,  /god. 


809,300.    Switch   Plug   with   Electrical    Fuse.     Vie: 
ander    Hepkc    and    Kurt     Dicncr,    Berlin,    Ger- 
many.  Application  filed  July  20,  1904. 

Two  contact  bodies  arc  fixed  to  the  plug  body, 
through  which  contact  bodies  the  current  enters  and 
leaves   the  plug.   Fuses  arc   placed   within  the  plug  body. 

£09,301.  Electric  Multiple  Fuse  Plug.  Alexander 
Hepke  and  Kurt  Diener,  Berlin,  Germany.  Ap- 
plication filed  July  20,  1904. 

A  plug  body  has  two  outside  contact  bodies,  through 
which  the  current  enters  and  leaves  the  plug,  fuses  being 
situated   within   the  plug  body. 

809,302.  Transformer  Cut-out.  John  P.  Hethering- 
ton,  Logansport,  Ind.  Application  filed  January 
27,   1905. 

A  primary  circuit,  a  secondary  circuit,  a  transformer 
connected  to  receive  current  from  the  primary  circuit 
and  to  deliver  the  transformed  current  to  the  sec- 
ondary circuit,  an  auxiliary  transformer  and  means  for 
automatically  introducing  I  lie  auxiliary  transformer  into 
the  system'  in  parallel  with  the  first  transformer  and 
cutting  it  out  therefrom  arc  the  essential  parts  of  the 
system. 

809,300.  Electroplating  Apparatus.  Arthur  W. 
L'Hommedieu,  Chicago,  111.,  assignor  to  Charles 
F.  L'Hommedieu,  Chicago,  111.  Application 
filed  April  22,  1905. 
Combined  with  a  plating  tub  adapted  to  contain  a 
plating  solution  and  arranged  to  be  rotated  upon  an 
upwardly  extending  axis  are  anodes  arranged  around 
the  inside  surface  of  the  tub,  a  resident  cathode- 
arranged  near  the  axis  of  the  tub,  a  non-conducting 
support  for  the  material  to  be  plated,  electric  connec- 
tions for  the  anode  and  resident  cathode  and  means  for 
rotating  the    tub. 

809.311.  Fireproof  Wire.  Amanda  M.  Lougee,  Bos- 
ton, Mass.    Application  filed  November  5,   1903. 

A  permanently  flexible  armored  electric  conductor  of 
indeterminate  length  has  an  external  size  adapted  to  the 
usual  requirements  of  office  buildings.  Its  component 
parts  are  held  integrally  and  permanently  together  by 
adhesion,  the  parts  including  a  wire,  an  asbestos  jacket 
for  the  wire  rendered  moisture  proof  by  an  enveloping 
coating  of  cement,  inclosed  by  a  tightly  woven  jacket 
of  wire  embedded  on  both  sides  in  waterproof  and  fire- 
proof insulation. 

809.312.  Process  of  Making  Fireproof  Conductors. 
Amanda  M.  Lougee,  Boston,  Mass.  Application 
filed  May  23,   1904. 

The  method  of  manufacturing  a  fireproof  electric  con- 
ductor cable  is  described. 

809.313.  Protected  Conductor.  Amanda  M.  Lougee, 
Boston,  Mass.    Application  filed  May  23,  1904. 

An  inner  conductor  wire  is  enveloped  by  a  vulcaniz- 
able  compound  containing  a  maximum  quantity  of  insulat- 
ing ingredients  adjacent  the  wire,  and  an  increasing 
quantity  of  fireproofing  ingredients  toward  its  outer  side. 
A  coarse  mesh  woven-wire  jacket  filled  and  permeated 
on  both  sides  with  a  vulcanizable  compound  contains 
fireproofing  and  insulating  ingredients,  a  superimposed 
fine  mesh  woven-wire  jacket,  permeated  on  both  sides 
with  a  vulcanizable  compound  containing  also  fireproof- 
ing, insulating  and  waterproofing  ingredients,  the  whole 
being  vulcanized  together    as   a  one-piece   article. 

809,356.  Oscillating  Electric  Fan.  Herbert  S. 
Brown,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
July  27,    1904. 

The  fan  and  motor  are  suspended  from  a  bracket  so 
as  to  rotate  and  deliver  the  air  in  all  directions. 

809.379-  Adjustable  Support  for  Telephones.  Her- 
bert L.  Knight  and  Burton  W.  Sweet,  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  assignors  to  the  Williams- Abbott 
Electric  Company,  Cleveland,  Ohio.  Applica- 
tion filed  April  15,  1905. 

An  adjustable  device  for  supporting  the  parts  of  a 
telephone    is  described    in  the  patent, 

809,394.  Electrically  Operated  Portable  Drill.  Adolph 
Pedersen,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  assignor  to  the  Van 
Dorn-Elliott  Electric  Company,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
Application  filed  September  19,   1904. 

A  multipolar  motor  within  a  hollow  casing  drives  the 
drill  shaft. 

809,423.  Telephone.  Charles  G.  Burke,  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  assignor  of  one-half  to  John  Q.  A. 
Whittemore,  Boston,  Mass.  Application  filed 
September  16,  1901. 

A  local  transmitter  comprising  a  battery  and  a  trans- 
mitting circuit  is  connected  to  a  main-line  circuit.  The 
receiver  comprises  a  diaphragm,  a  core  for  operating 
the  diaphragm  being  provided;  also  an  induction  coil 
surrounding  the  core  for  magnetically  affecting  the  core 
and  having  two  coils,  one  of  the  coils  formed  of  coarse 
wire  of  few  turns  and  connected  in  series  with  the  local 
circuit,  the  other  of  the  coils  formed  of  fine  wire  of 
many  turns  and  connected  in  series  with  the  coil  of 
coarse  wire  and  the  main  line. 

809,433.  Rotary  Electric  Switch.  John  Dugdill, 
Failsworth,  Manchester,  England.  Application 
filed  March  15,   1905. 

A  rotary  switch  comprises  a  spring  drum,  a  support, 
contacts   on   each  of  the    parts   and   means  for  permitting 


the  coi 
th    di 


nt    when 


.  the  other  direction. 

809,453.    Higl  '  ibuter    for    In- 

[iw   .    Leon    J-    Lc    Pon- 

to  the  Poly- 

pha  ■     [gnition  I       ipany.     Application 

i,    ,j   t  ,. 

II-  mi  i>t  ■  ol  D  Rparlrfng  device  for  internal  combus- 
tion  engines  arc  dcscrlb 

Sofj,_j(rf).    Mm tor  Controller.     Vdolph  Pedersen,  Clcvc- 
i.nni,   1  Ihii  i,   a    ignoi    to   th<     Van    Dorn-Elliott 

!■  1 I  ompany,   <  levcland.    Appli   ■ 

May    26,    i'.' 

Means  foi  automatically  breaking  the  armature  circuit 
when  the  magnetic  llux  of  the  motor  reaches  a  prede- 
termined quantity  are  described.  A  manually  operable 
switch  disk  >-■  adapted,  when  it  is  actuated  to  its  "off" 
position,    to    closi     thi     break    in    the  circuit    made    by    the 


the 


lost    thi    break  i 

cans.  A  short-circuiting  switch 
and  rendered  operative  during 
tch    disk    to    its    "on"    position. 


'      the    cii 
of    the 


,468.     Flexible    Electrical    Conductor.    G< 
Schmidmer,    Nuremberg,    Germany.    Application 

filed   May  4,    1904. 


9,515.  Electrical  Railway  Signaling  System.  Mil- 
ton H.  Loudon,  Kansas  City,  Mo.  Application 
filed    June   29,    1905. 

An  electrical  railway  signaling  system  embodies  a 
normally  closed  main  circuit  including  a  source  of  elec- 
trical energy,  a  rheostat,  visual  and  audible  signaling 
mechanism  and  a  solenoid  magnet  opcratively  connected 
with  the  engineer's  brake  valve.  A  normally  open  local 
circuit  includes  a  telephone  and  a  Morse  sounder. 
Means  actuated  by  the  telephone  receiver  either  open 
or  close  the  two  ' 


809,460. 


S09.529.  Electric  Laundry  Iron.  Earl  H.  Richard- 
son, Ontario,  Cal.,  assignor  to  the  Pacific  Elec- 
tric Heating  ,  Company,  Ontario,  Cal.  Applica- 
tion filed  April  25,  1905. 

A  laundrv  iron  having  a  hollow  body  with  extra  metal 
portions  in*  each  corner  and  means  in  the  metal  at  each 
corner"  for    directly    heating   the    exposed    corners    of    the 

iron   is  described. 

809,560.    Combined   Sparker  and   Governor   for   Gas 

Engines.    David  F.  Graham  and  Frank  A.  Fox, 

Stamford,    Conn.,    assignors    to    the    Eisenhuth 

'    Horseless  Vehicle   Company.   Middletown,  Conn. 

Application  filed  March  11,  1903- 

Details  are   described. 

So9,5/S.    Sparking  Plug.    William  Ottaway,  Aurora, 

111.,  assignor  to  the  Aurora  Automatic  Ma- 
chinery Company,  Aurora.  111.  Application  filed 
February  15,   1904. 

ement  passes  through 
the  cylinder. 

809.59;.  Bell  Push,  Pull.  Etc.  Lawrence  S.  Wilks, 
Whipps   Cross,   England.    Application  filed  May 

1,   1905. 

A    form    of    illuminated    push-button    for    door    bells 
is  described. 


Trollev   Win  .    Baker, 

:    filed    February    24, 


tudinal     slot 

length  and  forming  , 


long*. 


crnnk 


ting     tbc      channel 
trance  opening. 

>  Attachment.    Edward  D.  Rockwell, 
Bristol,  Conn.    Application  filed  May  17,  1905. 

A    trolley    harp   arranged    to    removably   receive    a    trol- 
ley  wheel   ha»  an  emergency  contact  having  an  upwardly 
extending  part   provided   with  a   groove  for  the  reception 
:rr    and    lupports  extending    laterally    from 
the   contact    and    arranged    to    be    received   by    tbc    wheel- 

iry- vapor  Elec- 
tric Lamp-.  Percy  H.  Thomas,  East  Orange, 
X.  J,  assignor  to  the  Cooper  Hewitt  Electric 
Company,    New    York,    X.    Y.     Application   filed 

April   _ 


tbc    ctcctrodes,    are    a    carbon  fill 

with    apparatus   and   a  ballast   also    in  scries   with 

the   apparatus,    the   ballast    having    a    positive  temperature 
coefficient. 

809,672.  Automatic  Indicating  and  Regulating  Hy- 
gromcter.  Stuart  W.  Cramer,  Charlotte,  X.  C. 
Application  filed  January'  9-  1905. 
A  hygrometer  provided  with  an  expansible  and  eon- 
tractible  member  has  the  following  essential  parts:  A 
arm  on  the  shaft  connected  to  the  member,  a 
secured  to  the  shaft,  a  needle  pivotally  tup- 
l  connected  to  the  crank  arm  beyond  its  pivotal 
support,  a  tongue  for  making  contact  therewith,  a  grad- 
uated scale,  an  electromagnet  for  operating  a 
source  of  electrical  energy  and  electrical  connections 
between  tbc  needle  of  the  hygrometer,  the  magnet  and 
the  source  of  electrical  energy. 

809,693.  Mechanical  Movement.  Gray  \Y.  John- 
ston, New  York,  X.  Y.     Application  filed  March 

-27.   1905- 

A  solenoid  disposed  upon  a  frame  carrying  contacts 
is  associated  with  a  member  pivoted  upon  the  frame  to 
swing  into  engagement  with  the  contacts  alternately. 
A  cure  is  slidably  mounted  in  solenoid  and  a  link  is  piv- 
oted to  the  core  and  having  a  part  engaging  cam  surfaces 
on  the  frame.  Frictional  means  hold  the  pivoted  member 
in  cither  of  its  extreme  positions,  whereby  the  pivoted 
link  is  cammed  into  engagement  with  alternate  earn 
surfaces  upon  the  pivoted  member  at  successive  actua- 
tions   of    the    core    of    the    solenoid. 

809,700.      Thermostatic      Switch      for  Incandescent 

Electric     Lamps.     John     V.     A.  Kimmey.     Jr., 

New    Haven,    Conn.    Application  filed    April    1, 
1905. 

A  bracket  is  connected  with  an  incandescent  electric 
lamp,  a  bowed  plate  being  secured  at  both  ends  to  one 
face  of  the  bracket.  A  contact  screw  is  mounted  in  the 
bracket  and  normally  in  contact  with  the  bowed  plate, 
electric  connection  being  made  between  the  bowed  plate 
and  one  wire  ->i  the  lighting  circuit  and  between  the 
bowed  plate  and  the  bracket,  the  bowed  plate  adapted 
under  heat  developed  directly  by  the  power  of  the  current 
of  the  lighting  circuit  to  expand  and  move  out  of  electric 
contact  with  the  bracket  whereby  the  circuit  is  broken. 
i  See  cut  on  next  page.) 

S09706.  Electric  Alternating-current  Machine.  Karl 
A.  Lindstrom,  Vesteras,  Sweden.  Application 
filed  June  29,   1905. 

An  alternating-current  machine  has  the  armature  wind- 
ing placed  in  more  or  less  open  slots  in  the  armature 
core,  and  poles  of  the  magnetic  field  so  placed  in  relation 
to  the  two  halves  of  an  armature  winding  that  the  waves 
of  tension  of  higher  order,  the  so-called  overtones,  in- 
duced by  certain  of  the  poles  in  the  armature  circuit  on 
account  of  the  discontinuity  of  the  magnetic  field  caused 
by  the  slots  in  the  armature  core,  arc  displaced  practi- 
cally half  a  period  in  relation  to  tlje  corrcspondnig  over- 
tones induced  by  the  other  poles. 

809,707.  Pneumatic  Train-control  System.  John  B. 
Linn,  Schenectady.  XT.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  X.  Y.  Ap- 
plication  filed  October   16,    1902. 

A  motor  controller  of  the  separately  actuated  contact 
type  comprises  successively  operating  contactors  adapted 
to  be  operated  by  fluid  pressure,  means  for  admitting 
the  compressed  fluid  to  the  first  of  the  contactors,  means 
whereby  each  coptactor  automatically  admits  the  com- 
pressed  fluid  to  the  next,  a  pneumatic  valve  controlling 
the  flow  of  compressed  fluid  to  each  contactor  and  means 
for  operating  the  valve  to  check  the  progression  of  the 
contactors. 


9,72s.  Electrical  Heating  System.  Arthur  D.  New- 
ton, Hartford,  Conn.,  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company.  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Applica- 
tion filed  July  9,  1904. 

The  method  of  arranging  the  heating  circuits  of  an 
electric    car    arc    described    in    the    patent. 

9.742.  Storage-battery  Plate.  David  P.  Perry, 
Chicago.  111.    Application  filed  June  8,  1903. 

A  storage  battery  grid  is  composed  of  superimposed 
plates  having  upwardly  extending  projections  adapted  to 
form  a  terminal  for  the  battery  plate,  and  having  also 
strengthening  or  re-inforcing  portions  tapering  down- 
wardly   from    the    terminal. 


yo 


809,743.  Cross-arm  for  Carrying  High-tension  Wires. 
Evan  E.  P.  Petery,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  assignor 
of  one-half  to  Samuel  Bowsher,  Indianapolis, 
Ind.    Application  filed  August   19,   1904. 

The  cross  arm  is  made  entirely  of  glass,  the  arm 
having  holes  for  bolting  it  to  the  pole,  and  having  inte- 
gral pins  terminating  with  integral  insulator  knobs,  the 
knobs  having  circumferential  grooves  and  downwardly 
and  outwardly  flaring  flanges  integral  with  the  knobs 
between  the  grooves  and  the  arm. 

809,747.  Hanger  or  Ear  for  Overhead  Electric  Trol- 
ley Wires.  Abraham  Richardson  and  'I  nomas 
S.  Jones,  Blackpool,  England,  assignors  of  six- 
eights  to  Joseph  Heap,  Henry  Heap,  James 
Bailey,  Thomas  Brierley,  Robert  Billington  and 
James  Haydock,  Blackpool,  England.  Applica- 
tion filed  February  6,   1905. 

An  ear  or  hanger  for  supporting  or  holding  up  electric 
conductor  wires,  constructed  with  two  jaws  to  grip  the 
wires  has  upwardly  extending  shanks  to  the  jaws  with 
an  inclined  recess,  a  loose  nut  placed  in  the  recess,  a 
collar  placed  over  the  shanks  and  the  insulator  bolt 
fitting  into  the  nut  and  a  flange  thereon  abutting  against 
the  collar  to  draw  the  nut  up  and  force  the  collar  down. 

809,762.  Telautographic  and  Other  Electric  Circuits. 
George  S.  Tiffany,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor 
to  the  Gray  National  Telautograph  Company, 
New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  April  22, 
1901. 

A  reversing  switch,  the  contacts  of  which  are  in  con- 
nection with  the  positive  and  negative  poles  of  the  source 
of  electrical  energy,  is  one  feature.  There  are  also  a 
shunt  forming  a  connection  between  the  poles  of  the 
source  of  electrical  energy,  a  circuit  connecting  to  the 
reversing  switch  and  to  the  shunt,  the  shunt  having  a 
resistance  on  each  side  of  its  point  of  connection  to  the 
circuit  and  an  adjusting  resistance  between  one  of  the 
poles  of  the  source  of  electrical  energy  and  the  point  of 
connection  of  the  shunt  and  the  reversing  switch  to  the 
line  leading  to  the  pole. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

9,798.  Means  for  Controlling  Overhead  Electric 
Carriers.  Henry  M,  Harding,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Application  filed  April  21,   1902. 

A  means  for  controlling  overhead  electric  carriers 
consists  of  a  main  conductor,  a  section  at  eacli  end 
thereof,  a  resistance   between  each   of   the   sections  and  the 


line    of 


tha 


ufficient 
the    loaded 


and    means    for    fully    energizing    the 
19,799.      Overhead     Electric     Carrier.      Henry     M. 
Harding,    New    York,    N.    Y.     Application    filed 
October  12,  1903. 

Details  of  an  electric  telpher  system  are  set  forth. 

(9,825.  Electric  Meter.  William  J.  Lloyd,  Pitts- 
field,  Mass.,  assignor  to  the  Stanley  Electric 
Manufacturing  Company,  Pittsfield,  Mass.  Ap- 
plication filed  May  10,  1904. 

In  an  alternating-current  meter  are  a  U-shaped  core, 
potential  coils  carried  thereby,  a  C-shaped  core  having 
intermediate  projecting  poles  facing  the  poles  of  the  first 
core  and  its  ends  extending  into  proximity  to  the  poles 
of  the  first  core,  a  current  coil  carried  between  the  pro- 
jecting poles  and  a  conducting  disk  disposed  between 
the   cores. 

9,831-  Telephone  Transmitter.  John  Z.  Miller, 
Erie,  Pa.    Application  filed  October  19,  1904. 

In  a  telephone  transmitter  there  is  a  non-vibrating  back 
plate,  a  washer  of  fibrous  and  non-conducting  material 
forming  a  container,  a  dampener  mounted  on  the  back 
plate  and  an  electrode  arranged  within  the  washer,  the 
electrode  being  of  less  thickness  than  the  washer.  Gran- 
ulated conducting  malt-rial  is  placed  in  the  cavity  with  the 
electrode,  a  ring  of  conducting  material  being  arranged 
outside  of  the  washer  and  mounted  within  the  case  but 
insulated  from  the  case  and  back  plate.  A  diaphragm  is 
mounted  on  the  ring  and  in  electric  contact  with  the 
ring,  being  connected  with  the  back  plate  through  the 
electrode  and  material  in  the  cavity  and  the  washer. 

9.835-  Alternating-current  Machinery.  Addams 
S.  McAllister,  New  York,  N.  Y.  "Application 
filed   March  2,   1905. 


i    aluminiti 

anode    a 

electrolyte 

noting 

d  boric  a 

id. 

(See  cu 

£09.770.  Asymmetric  Cell 
dorf-Berlin,  Germany 
4,    1904. 

In     an 

a    cathode 


809,774.  System  of  Control.  Frank  E.  Case,  Schen- 
ectady, N.  Y.,  assignor' to  the  General  Electric 
Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
June   12,   1905. 

In  combination  with  a  motor  circuit  are  a  pneumatic 
controlling  system,  a  circuit  breaker  in  the  motor  circuit 
and  means  operable  upon  the  exhaustion  of  the  pneumatic 
control li ng  system  while  the  motor  circuit  remains  ener- 
gized to  trip   the  circuit   breaker. 

809,787.  Alternating-current  Motor.  Max  Deri, 
Vienna,  Austria-Hungary,  assignor  to  the  Stan- 
ley Electric  Manufacturing  Company,  Pittsfield, 
Mass.    Application  filed   May  ~2,   1904. 

In  an  alternating-current  motor  are  a  single-phase 
primary  winding,  a  rotor  winding  short  circuited  at  a 
number  of  points  indivisible  by  the  number  of  _  poles  of 
the  motor,  commutator  brushes  arranged  on  a  line  at  an 
angle  to  the  line  of  magnetization  produced  by  the 
primary  winding  and  connections  from  the  brushes  to  the 
source  of  current  substantially  in  phase  with  the  primary 

809.793.  Electrostatic  Voltmeter.  James  Ferguson, 
Glasgow,  Scotland,  assignor  to  Kelvin  &  James 
White,  Ltd.,  Glasgow,  Scotland.  Application 
March  29,   1904. 

type  compri 


ting 


alternating-current    machine     having 

1  a  commutator   are   a    field    winding, 

:ling    adapted     to     nullify    the     rotor 

and  means  for  controlling  the  power  factor  of 

different    speeds. 

Apparatus  for  the  Production  of  Calcium 
Carbide.  Edgar  F.  Price,  George  E.  Cox  and 
James  G.  Marshall,  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y.,  as- 
signor to  the  Union  Carbide  Company,  Niagara 
Falls,  N.  Y.    Application  filed  October   19,  i9°4- 

In  an  electric  furnace  for  the  production  of  calcium 
carbide  and  in  combination  with  a  feed  supply  of  lime 
and  carbon  are  electrodes  consisting  of  graphite  rods  of 
reduced  cross  section,  means  for  supplying  to  the  elec- 
trodes an   electric   current    of   sufficient    amperage 

high    current    density    in 


reduci 

the  rods  ai 
of    the    ele 


(Se. 


rode 


for 


the  electrodes  and  effect  the 
leans  for  substantially  exclud- 
the   charge    from    the   sides    of 

ithdrawing  heat  from  the  ends 
from    the    zone    of    reduction. 


809,847.  Controller  for  Turbines.  Frederick  Samuel- 
son,  Rugby,  England,  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation filed  July  3,  I9°5- 

In  an  electric  circuit  controller  there  is  a  cam  cylinder, 
switch  members  adapted  to  be  actuated  by  the  cam 
cvlinder  in  predetermined  order  and  means  for  causing 
the    switch    members    to    open    the    circuit    with    a    quick 


A  voltmeter  of  the    electrostatit 

a    coating   of    insulating    material 
of    the    case,    a    coating 


the 


on     the" 
d  system 


. rface  of    the   insulating  coating,   a   fin 

of  cells  within  the  case,  vertical  back  of 
material  fitted  to  each  set  of  fixed  cells,  a  coating  of 
conductive  material  on  the  exposed  surface  of  the  back 
and  a  movable  system  of  vanes'  to ,  which  the  conductive 
coating    of   the    backs  is    permanently    connected. 

809,794.  Railroad  System.  Hannibal  C.  Ford,  Ja- 
maica, N.  Y.  Application  filed  September  12, 
1905. 

The    track   is   divided    into    sections,    and    electrical    con- 
following 

809,796.  Electric  Target-setting  Apparatus.  Gustav 
Grabosch,  Berlin,  Germany,  assignor  to  the 
Phoenix  Elektrotechnische  Gesellschaft  M.  B.  H., 
Berlin,  Germany.    Application  filed  July  1,  1905. 

In    a    target-setting    apparatus    is    an    electromagnet,    a 
core    slidable    therein    and    a    target    shiftable    directly    by 


809,852.  Ball-bearing  Trolley-wheel  Bushing.  Mah- 
lon  Shaaber,  Reading,  Pa.  Application  filed 
April  4,  1905- 

Details    are    described. 

809,864.  Insulated  Receptacle  for  Panel  and  Switch- 
boards. William  C.  Tregoning,  Plainville,  Conn., 
assignor  to  the  Trumbull  Electric  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  Plainville,  Conn.  Application  filed 
February  18,  1905. 

In  combination  with  a  panel  or  switchboard  provided 
with  circuit  terminals  are  a  pair  of  contact  members  re- 
movably attached  to  a  panel  and  connected  respectively 
with  the  circuit  terminals,  a  tubular  insulating  casing 
ng   the    contacts  and   resting    upon   the   panel 


l.x-kine.    1 

ne  of  the   contacts 

nd  the 

isulating   member 

tor 

locking  the  latter 

n  posi- 

tion   upo 

the   panel. 

,865.  Combined  Telegraph  and  Telephone  Sys- 
tem. Carlo  Turchi,  Ferrara,  Italy.  Application 
filed  April  15.    1903. 

Combined  with  a  telegraph  and  telephone  system  are  a 
wire,    telegraph 


the 


hiding 


'hiding    adja 


the- 


e  and   divided 
ches    of    the    clo 


the 


ches, 


closed 
of  the 
having 


January  20,   ic 


opposite    dii 

of  the   close 
in    the    mic 


the    winding 


the 


809,873-  Panel  Cut-out  and  Receptacle.  Frank  T. 
Wheeler,  Plainville,  Conn.,  assignor  to  the 
Trumbull  Electric  Manufacturing  Company, 
Plainville,  Conn.  Application  filed  February  18, 
1905- 

Associated  with  a  panel  or  switchboard  provided  with 
circuit  terminals  are  a  pair  of  contact  members  removably 
secured  to  the  base  and  connected  respectively  with  the 
circuit  terminals,  one  of  the  contacts  clamping  the  other 
in  position  upon  the  panel,  and  an  insulating  casing  in- 
closing the  contacts  removably  interlocked  with  respect 
to  one  of  them  and  resting  against  the  panel. 

809,878.  Starting  Device  for  Electric  Motors.  How- 
ard B.  Wilson,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to 
the  General  Electric  Company,  Schenectady, 
N.  Y.    Application  filed  March  10,  1904. 

An  electric  motor  and  means  for  starting  it  comprise 
a  self-reducing  resistance  connected  in  the  motor  circuit 
and  automatic  means  for  cutting  the  resistance  out  of 
circuit i  when    its    ohmic    value    is    reduced    to    a    predeter- 

809,904.  Emergency  Electric-lighting  Arrangement 
for  Theaters  and  Similar  Buildings.  Fritz 
Brand,  Berlin,  Germany.  Application  filed  March 
21,   1905. 

An  electric  emergency  lighting  system  for  buildings 
consists  of  several  sources  of  energy  located  in  the  base- 
ment of  a  building,  a  number  of  circuits  extending  from 
floor  to  floor  throughout  the  building,  the  circuits  being 
removed  from  and  being  independent  of  each  other 
throughout  their  length  and  lamps  connected  in  the  cir- 
cuits in  the   respective  stages  or  floors  of  the  building. 

809.508.  System  of  Control.  Frank  E.  Case,  Schen- 
ectady, N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General  Electric 
Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
October   i,   1904. 


elude 


Motor  controllers 
irection  of  rotation  of  the  motors  upon 
ars,  controller  actuating  means  includin: 
ower  local   to   each  car.     A  pneumatic   tra 


for    determining    the 


TELEPHONE. 


809,917.  Electric  Heater  for  Oil  Wells  and  Method 
of  Making  Same.  Benjamin  F.  Gardner.  Chi- 
cago, 111.,  assignor  to  the  Petroleum  Electric 
Producing  Company,  Chicago,  111.  Application 
filed   April  5,    1905. 

An  electric  heater  comprises  a  metallic  pipe,  a  non- 
vitreous  insulating  covering  on  the  pipe,  a  layer  of  non- 
metallic  resistance  material  incased  in  the  insulating 
material  and  electrodes  embedded  in  the  resistance  mate- 
rial, one  of  the  electrodes  being  connected  to  the  source 
of  electric   current   and   the   other    being    grounded- 

PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Following    is    a    list   of   electrical    patents    (issued 

by   the    United    States    Patent    Office")    that    expired 

on    January    15,    1906: 

396,086.  Synchronizing  Device  for  Dynamo-electric  Ma- 
chines.     Carl    Hoffman,    Berlin,    Germany. 

396,121.  Thermo-magnetic  Motor.  Nikola  Tesla,  Smiljan, 
Lika,   Austria-Hungary, 

396,124.  Suspended  Switch  for  Electric  Rail  wars.  Clark 
H.    Wells.    Kansas   City,    Mo. 

396,149.  Unipolar  Dynamo-electric  Machinery.  Rudolph 
Eickemeyer,    Yonkers,    N.    Y. 

396,176.  Electric  Coupling  for  Hose  Pipes.  David  T-  Simp- 
son, Pittsburg,  Pa. 

396.195.  Armature  for  Dvnamo-electric  Machines.  Leo  Daft, 
Plainfield,  N.  J. 

396.196.  Insulator  Support  for  Electric  Conductors.  Leo 
Daft,    Plainfield,  N.  J. 

396,199.  Electric  Appliance  for  Discharging  Guns.  Brad- 
ley A.   Fiske,    U.    S.    Navy. 

396,207.  Electric  Signaling  Apparatus.  William  Henion, 
Ritchev.    111. 

396.212.  Electrical  Bodv  Wear.  John  V.  Long,  lersey  City, 
N.  J. 

396.213.  Secondary   Battery.      Orazio  Lugo,   New   York,   N.   Y. 

396.214.  Secondary  Battery.     Orazio  Lugo,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
396,269.      Electro-dynamic    Machine.      Carl    Coerper,    Cologne, 


Prus; 
396,270.      Process    of    Electric 

Detroit,  Mich. 
396,310.     Traveler    for    Electr: 


Chic 


III. 


Welding.       Charles    L.    Coffin, 
:    Railway.      C.    J.    Vandepoele, 


396.311.  Hooked  Suspender  for  Electric-railway  Conductors. 
C.  J.    Vandepoele.  Lynn,   Mass. 

396.312.  Suspension  Device  for  Electric-railway  Conductors. 
C.  J.  Vandepoele,  Lynn,  Mass. 

396,31 3-  Adjustable  Crossing  and  Switch  for  Overhead  Con- 
ductors.     C.  J.   Vandepoele,    Lvnn,   Mass. 

396,314.  Commutator  Brush  Carrier  for  Electric  Motors.  C. 
J.   Vandepoele,  Lynn,   Mass. 

396.3^9-  Galvanic  Battery.  Paul  R.  De  F.  DTIumy,  Clap- 
ham    Rise,    County   of    Surrey,    England. 

396,342.  Galvanic  Battery.  Bernhard  Scheithauer,  Halc-on- 
the-Saale,   Germany. 

396,355-  Dynamo-electric  Machinery.  Isaac  T.  Dvcr,  Chi- 
cago,   111. 

396,356.  Magnetic  Separator.  Thomas  A.  Edison.  Llewcllvn 
Park,  N.  J. 

396,365.  Railway  Signal.  W.  C.  Paul  and  Oscar  D.  Klein- 
steuber,    Milwaukee,    Wis. 

396,367.  396,368.  396,369-  Secondary  Battery.  I.  L.  Roberts, 
Brooklyn,   N.   Y. 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


the 


Vol.  XXXVIII. 

Steam-turbine    Power     Station     In 

Clyde  Valley  Near  Glasgow. 

I'.y    Frank   C.    Perkins. 

Of  the  four  leading  British  power  Bchemes  which 

were  begun   during    1905   the    Clyde    Valley   power 

plants,    near    Glasgow    in    Scotland,    form    one    of 

the   most   interesting    examples,     \n    electric   power 

plant     using    steam    turbines    directly    coupled     to 

electrical  generators  of  2,000  kilowatts  capacity  each, 


CHICAGt  »,  JAN1    VRV  27,  1906 


walls  and   Italian   mosaic   floor.     Fig.  2  is  an  ex- 
terior view  of  the  plant    The  turbine  and 
Ming  room   1    ■  tjuippi  1  1 
ratoi       '<     hi     '■ 
having  a  maximum  capai  ity  tti  and 

1  mill   output  of  2)000 

mm     opi  rate    al   a    pei  d  of   t.soo  rei   lul 
minutes,  the  turbini     being  of  the  double-flow  type, 
ivith   ■  ti  am   1  nti  1  ins    it  thi 
.-,i   the  ends,     I  he   ••••  m 


citing  current  from  two  direct -connected  unit*  (Fig. 
7j  kilowatts  each.  con«i«ting  of  a  compound 
vertical  type  engine,  11  by  10  by  11   tncfac*,  directly 
■I   multipolar  dynamo. 
;-rate   at   a   »|>ccd   of   290  rrvohitioni 
p<r   minute.   Supplying  urrcnt   of    125 

-•".■mre.  'Ihc  instrument  pandl  and  oper- 
ating bench  board  are  mounted  in  a  gallery,  at 
shown  in    I 

pplying    »tcam    to   the    steam 


STEAM-TURBINE 

has  recently  been  constructed  at  Yoker  and  an- 
other at  Motherwell,  the  latter  15  miles  from  Glas- 
gow, and  the  former  about  five  miles  from  Glasgow, 
with  a  number  of  sub-stations  for  supplying  an 
area  of  several  hundred  square  miles  along  the 
Clyde  Valley  in  Scotland.  The  Yoker  electric 
power  station,  shown  in  the  accompanying  illus- 
trations, was  installed  by  the  Clyde  Valley  Electric 
Power  Company,  Limited,  supplying  energy  for 
light  and  power  purposes  for  manufacturers,  mer- 
chants and  general  commercial  service  in  the  ter- 
ritory above  mentioned.  For  this  distribution  there 
are  six  feeders  which  leave  the  basement  of  the 
power  station  supplying  current  to  the  district  be- 
tween Scotstown  and  Clydebank,  as  well  as  Temple. 
The  turbine  room,  which  is  shown  in  Fig.  4,  is 
about  43^2  feet  wide  and  more  than  250  feet  long, 
constructed    of    iron    and    steel,    with    glazed-brick 


3000  Horsepower  Turbo-senerators  in  Clyde  Valley  Power  Plant. 
TION    OF  THE   CLVDE   VALLEY   ELECTRIC   POWER   COMPANY 


GLASGOW. 


house  three-phase  design,  with  rotating  field,  sup- 
plying a  current  having  a  frequency  of  25  cycles 
and  a  pressure  of  11,000  volts.  The  current  is 
conducted  to  the  switchboard  galleries,  which  are 
three  in  number,  at  one  end  of  the  generating 
room.  The  oil  switches  and  feeders  are  arranged 
on  the  first  floor  and  first  gallery,  while  the  upper 
gallery  is  devoted  to  the  resistances,  bus-bars  and 
measuring  instruments.  The  switches  are  electric- 
ally operated  by  the  same  current  as  is  used  for 
exciting  the  field  of  the  alternator,  the  turbine 
units  also  being  stopped  and  started  from  these 
points   of  control. 

The  engine  room  will  ultimately  accommodate 
another  large  unit  of  3,500  kilowatts  and  another 
smaller  unit  of  2,000  kilowatts,  making  a  total 
output  for  the  station  of  nearly  10,000  kilowatts. 

The  turbo-alternator   units  are  supplied  with   ex- 


turbines,  is  equipped  with  four  water-tube  boilers 
of  the  Babcock  &  Wilcox  double-drum  type,  each 
having  a  heating  surface  of  more  than  4,000  square 
feet  and  provided  with  superheaters  capable  of 
raising  the  temperature  of  the  steam  to  1400  F. 
The  boilers  are  equipped  with  Roney  mechanical 
stokers,  driven  by  Westinghouse  engines  of  five- 
horsepower  capacity,  operating  at  a  speed  of  400 
revolutions  a  minute. 

Turbine  condensers  are  of  the  Mirrlees  \\  atson 
vertical-surface  design,  having  a  cooling  surface  of 
6,250  feet  for  each  condenser,  each  turbine  exhaust- 
ing directly  into  its  own  condenser,  the  latter  be- 
ing provided  with  a  steam-driven  dry-air  pump  of 
the   two-stage   type. 

Circulating  water  for  the  various  condensers  is 
taken  from"  the  Clyde  River,  passing  into  a  well 
iS   feet   in    diameter   by   gravity,    the    depth    of   the 


72 

water  being  nine  feet  below,  with  two  30-inch 
pipes  supplying  the  well  from  the  river,  and  a 
three-foot  pipe  for  drawing  the  water  out  by  means 
of  a  steam-driven  centrifugal  pump.  Into  the  hot 
well  the  condensed  water  is  pumped  by  a  motor- 
driven  centrifugal  pump,  operating  at  a  speed  of 
625  revolutions  per  minute,  the  motor  having  a 
capacity  of  six  horsepower,  and  being  of  the  shunt- 
wound  type,  with  vertical  shafts.  The  feed  pumps 
each  have  a  capacity  of  nearly  10,000  gallons  an 
hour  against  a  boiler  pressure  of  175  pounds  to  the 
square   inch.         

The  Chicago  Electrical  Show. 

The  Chicago  Electrical  Show  is  a  great  success. 
As  the  days  allotted  for  the  exhibition  passed,  in- 
terest in  the  many  new  and  interesting  things  to 
be  seen  at  the  Coliseum  increased,  and  the  spacious 
building  was  well  filled  with  sightseers  both  after- 
noon and  evening.  So  gratifying  has  been  the  pat- 
ronage that  the  show  has  received,  that  the  man- 
agement without  doubt  will  make  it  in  the  future 
an  annual  event.  A  review  of  the  success  of  the 
exposition  at  the  close  of  the  first  week  showed 
that  the  benefit  to  electrical  and  allied  trades  had 
been  marked,  and  many  of  the  concerns  had  booked 
substantial  orders  through  the  interest  aroused  in 
their  products  by  their  exhibits  at  the  Coliseum. 
To  the  "mere  visitor"  there  was  much  to  attract 
and  hold  the  attention,  and  he  who  left  the  hall 
without  a  much  wider  understanding  of  the  scope 
of  the  electrical  industry  did  so  because  he  had 
no    inclination    to    learn. 

One    of    the    features    of    engineering    interest    at 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

eter.  The  two-ampere  size  burns  singly  at  IOO 
to  120  volts  and  in  series  at  200  to  240  volts. 
A  three-ampere  lamp  is  also  made  for -use  singly 
at  100  to  120  volts.  The  lamps  are  for  indoor  or 
outdoor  service  and  are  so  simple  that  the  carbons 
may  readily  be  changed  by  the  house  servant. 
Their  special  application  to  workshop  and  factory 
lighting  is  said  to  have  already  been  proved  in 
Europe. 

Two  of  the  Sarco  lights  were  displayed  by  the 
Manhattan  Electric  Supply  Company.  The  light 
burns    impregnated   carbons   having   a   metallic   core 


the  show  was  the  appearance  of  the  new  flame 
arc  lamp,  which  as  yet  is  not  widely  known  in 
this  country.  There  were  two  exhibits  of  this 
lamp  made,  one  by  the  Siemens-Schuckert  Com- 
pany of  Berlin,  Germany,  and  one  by  the  Manhat- 
tan Electric  Supply  Company  of  New  York.  1  he 
latter  exhibited  what  is  known  as  the  Sarco  light — 
a  German  lamp,  for  which  the  Manhattan  company 
is  agent  in  this  country. 

The  Siemens  flame  arc  was  shown  in  two  styles. 
The  larger  lamps,  to  the  number  of  eight,  were 
used  in  illuminating  the  hall,,  and  there  were  also 
two  of  this  size  in  the  Siemens-Schuckert  booth. 
At  the  latter  exhibit  there  was  also  a  smaller 
size,  called  the  Liliput  lamp.  The  large  lamps  op- 
erate two  in  series  upon  a  no-volt  direct-current 
circuit,  and  when  thus  connected  give  from  4,coo 
to  5,000  candlepower  each,  with  a  current  consump- 
tion of  11  amperes.  The  carbons  are  of  the  core 
type,  made  by  a  process  which  is  a  secret  with 
the  company.  The  arc  is  formed  at  the  lower  ends 
of  the  two  carbons,  which  are  placed  at  an  in- 
clination from  the  vertical  position,  the  carbons 
passing  through  two  openings  in  a  refractory  ma- 
terial, which  serves  to  deflect  the  upward  rays 
to  a  useful  downward  direction.  The  mechanism 
of  the  lamp  is  comparatively  simple,  more  so  than 
the   ordinary   arc  lamp. 

The  length  of  time  during  which  a  lamp  will 
operate  at  a  single  trimming  depends  upon  the 
length  of  the  carbons.  Those  exhibited  at  the  Elec- 
trical Show  were  provided  with  10-hour  carbons. 
The  company  also  builds  lamps  using  17-hour 
carbons.  These  lamps  are  being  placed  upon  the 
American  market  by  Felix  Hamberger  of  New  York 
city,    who    demonstrated    the    lamps   at   the    Show. 

Mr:  Hamberger  also  showed,  for  the  first  time 
in  this  country,  the  Siemens  Liliput  lamp.  This 
lamp  is  of  the  direct-current  type,  with  a  restricted 
supply  of  air,  and  is  made  with  a  single  globe. 
A  reliable  clamping  arrangement  instead  of  a  clock- 
work mechanism  regulates  the  carbons,  which  are 
of    the    cored    type,    only    one-fifth    inch    in    diam- 


MARGES    AT 


running  through  them,  and  both  carbons  are  fed 
from  the  top  instead  of  the  top  ind  bottom,  as 
the  ordinary  type  of  lamp  feeds.  The  Sarco  light 
burns  two  lamps  in  series  and  takes  eight  amperes 
on  a  no-volt  circuit  and  the  two  lights  in  series  are 
said  to  give  7,800  candlepower  by  actual  test.  On 
account  of  its  great  brilliancy,  the  light  is  pecu- 
liarly adapted  for  advertising  purposes,  to  illumi- 
nate store  fronts,  outsides  of  restaurants,  theaters, 
etc.,  and  a  number  of  contracts  have  been  taken 
for  illuminating  pleasure  parks  and  outside  amuse- 
ment resorts. 

The  Electrical  Show  was  opened  to  visitors  early 
each  morning  and  continued  open  until  about  n 
p.  m.  Naturally  there  were  not  many  present  in 
the  forenoon,  but  after  one  o'clock  the  people  be- 
gan to  arrive  and  in  the  evening  the  place  was 
well  filled.  On  Friday,  the  19th,  the  day  of  the 
funeral  of  Marshall  Field,  everything  was  shut 
down  and  current  turned  off  for  a  brief  interval 
between  noon  and  .one  o'clock  in  respect  to  his 
memory. 

Electrical  people  took  advantage  of  the  oppor- 
tunity to  visit  the  Show  and  study  the  many  things 
offered  for  inspection.  Members  of  the  Northwest- 
ern Electrical  Association  were  prominent ;  also 
those  of  the  Electrical  Salesmen's  Association. 
Tuesday,    Wednesday    and    Thursday    of    this    week 


i— ^ 

Iff1* 

r*.  1 

January  27,   1906 

formed  at  his  booth  under  the  north  gallery,  and 
Professor  Clarke  continued  his  popular  demonstra- 
tions and  lectures  throughout  the  duration  of  the  " 
show.  During  the  course  of  his  lectures  Professor 
Clarke  passed  high-frequency  currents  of  200,000 
volts  through  his  body. 

Dynamos,   Motors   and   General  Electrical 
Machinery. 

The  General  Electric  Company  occupied  a  large 
space  near  the  main  entrance  to  the  show  and 
seized  the  opportunity  offered  to  arrange  an  at- 
tractive reception  space,  which,  because  of  its  loca- 
tion, made  a  convenient  meeting  place  for  visitors. 
This  space  was  attractively  illuminated  by  enclosed 
arc  lamps  with  concentric  diffusers  and  the  new 
Gem  lamps.  This  is  the  first  public  exhibition  in 
Chicago  of  these  new  lamps,  which  consume  only 
2^/2  watts  per  candlepower.  One  of  the  most  strik- 
ing features  of  the  General  Electric  Company's  ex- 
hibit was  the  large  space  devoted  to  devices  for 
heating  and  cooking  by  electricity.  A  description  of 
the  General  Electric  Company's  exhibit  would  be 
incomplete  without  reference  to  the  moving  pictures 
shown.  These  showed,  among  other  interesting 
views,  the  race  between  a  steam  train  and  the 
celebrated  electric  locomotive  built  by  the  Ameri- 
can Locomotive  Company  and  the  General  Electric 
Company   for  the   New   York   Central. 

The  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing 
Company  had  on  exhibition  its  graphic  recording 
voltmeter  as  well  as  a  full  and  complete  line  of 
Westinghouse  current-measuring  portable  and  pre- 
cision instruments.  There  were  also  lines  of  watt- 
meters, circuit-breakers,  transformers  and  also  a 
five-kilowatt  pipe-thawing  transformer.  Motors,  fan 
motors  for   the  season   of   1906,  and   overhead    rail- 


IEMENS    FLAME 


I  ELECTRICAL 


were  "Independent  telephone  days"  and  Friday  was 
"Thomas    A.    Edison    day." 

The  Western  Electrician  was  at  home  to  its 
friends  in  a  well  located  booth  just  north  of  the 
main  entrance.  College  Row  was  much  frequented 
by  the  alumni  of  the  various  institutions  there  rep- 
resented, and  presented  a  fine  appearance,  owing 
to   the   decorations   with   college   colors. 

C.  H.  Thordarson  continued  to  interest  the  pub- 
lic   by    the    electrical    experiments    which    he    per- 


way  line  material  were  shown.  The  exhibit  was 
lighted  on  one  side  by  Cooper  Hewitt  mercury 
vapor  lamps  and  on  the  other  by  Nernst  lamps. 
The  following  Westinghouse  representatives  were 
in  attendance :  From  the  Westinghouse  Electric 
and  Manufacturing  Company — T.  P.  Gaylord,  man- 
ager of  the  Chicago  office;  W.  R.  Pinckard,  Mal- 
colm MacNeil,  J.  W.  Busch,  Malcolm  Carrington, 
C.  A.  Ross,  Roy  Schaulin,  Charles  Talbot,  A.  L. 
Millard,  R.  H.  Moore,  A.  M.  Miller,  W.  D.  Mc- 
Donald, C.  W.  Regester,  Stephen  Gardner,  E.  M. 
Bischofr,  Norman  Stewart,  H.  H.  Caughlan,  S.  G. 
Peticolas,  R.  L.  Radcliff,  S.  J.  Moran,  James  P. 
Gardiner,  Ivar  Hennings,  W.  M.  01een,B.  J.  Brown. 
George  W.  Canney;  the  Westinghouse  Machine 
Company — J.  B.  Allen,  western  manager;  Messrs. 
Wilkinson,  Hinn,  Simmons,  Rosie.Johnson  and  Tripp  ; 
the  Nernst  Lamp  Company — Max  Harris,  general 
sales  manager;  A.  C.  Wales,  district  sales  man- 
ager, Chicago ;  Messrs.  Griffith,  Keene  and  Miller, 
and  also  Mr.  G.  C.  Keech  of  the  Cooper  Hewitt 
Lamp  Company,  Chicago.  J.  C.  McQuiston,  super- 
intendent of  the  Westinghouse  Companies'  publish- 
ing department,  and  J.  W.  Lewis  of  the  sales  de- 
partment of  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manu- 
facturing Company,   were   also   in   attendance. 

The  exhibit  of  the  Crocker- Wheeler  Company 
was  located  on  the  main  aisle  in  the  north  end  of 
the  building  and  was  tastefully  furnished  with 
green  and  black  decorations  and  Mission  furniture, 
together  with  numerous  framed  pictures  of  motors 
and  generators  in  machine-shop  service.  The  ex- 
hibit comprised  a  complete  line  of  the  company's 
alternating-current  and  direct-current  apparatus. 
There  was  shown  a  75-kilowatt  2,300-voIt  three- 
phase  60-cycIe  belt-driven  alternator,  sold  to  the 
Geary  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company  of 
Geary,  Oklahoma.  In  addition  were  exhibited  a 
12-kilowatt  form  D  generator,  a  five-horsepower 
3  to  1  variable-speed  form  I  F  motor,  a  five-horse- 
power standard  form  F  motor  and  a  two-horse- 
power standard  form  L.  All  of  the  above  ap- 
paratus was  shown  in  its  standard  shop  finish. 
The  company  called  attention  to  its  name  in  a 
large  electric  sign,  which  was  surmounted  by  an 
illumined  trade-mark,  operated  by  a  flasher.  The 
exhibit  was  arranged  by  and  in  charge  of  Mr. 
Julian  Roe.  western  manager  of  the  company. 

The    Western    Electric    Company    had    a    varied 


January  27,  1906 


exhibit.  There  were  electric  fans,  12  to  72  inches; 
a  50-kilowatt   marine   iel    foi    boats   and    n 

spaces,  tight  power  tors,  direct  current  and 

nating-current  arc   lamp     which   lighted    thi 

brilliantly,    a    line    ol    bo    tj  pi     - 1  an ; 

heavy   duty,    an    emery    grinder    carefully    d< 
[or  proper  height,  an   ai  1   light    <  gulato:    in 

with   the   arc   lamps,   clectrii      olde ■    iron,   IhkIi 

tension  insulators  and   battel  ii        0 1   th<    m 

interesting    features  "i    thi    1    hibil    tri     tl tot 

operated  9ewing  machine.  I  he  motoi  and  1  onl  rol 
arrangement    i^    made    by    the    company.      Sitting 

down  at  the  mai  him  .  ""'    1 ilj   to  pn      down 

the  treadle  slightly  to  start  thi  motor;  after  thai 
increasing   pressure  speeds  up  il"1   motor.     Rcmo\ 

ing    pressure    from    the    treadle    stops    the    1 1 

Another  feature  "f  interest  was  a  small  trans! 

wiili  an  attachment   for  thawing   watei    pipe 

\ ng  tli^  attractions,  il»'   Stanley  1.    I     Electrii 

Manufacturing    Company's    booth    was    prominent 

1  in  ihr  wesl     nl.    ..1  ill.-  booth  ;i  Challe ■  1  rordon 

press  from  the  A.  I''  Wanner  1  unipam  v.i  belted 
to  one  of  the  new  type  1.  direct  current  motors  and 
was  operated  by   the   linger    Printing   Company  to 

turn    nut    calendar    cards    with    a    very    e, '    '  '"    "' 

the  Stanley-G,  I  Works.  Nearby  an  automatic 
slereuptiecni  threw  upnii  a  screen  at  regular  inter 
vals  reproductions  of  works  of  art  interspersed 
with  views  of  the  company's  factory  and  prom 
inert  installations  or  apparatus  of  special  note.  I  111 
the  south  side  of  the  booth  were  a  number  of  alter- 
nating-current induction  motors  of  various  types; 
both  single  and  polyphase  were  displayed,  and 
beside  them  a  series  arc  panel  and  an  are  lamp 
regulator,  together  with  a  type  BO  transformer. 
The  latter  has  occasioned  some  discussion,  it  being 
the  first  shell  type  transformer  of  small  size  to  be 
built  on  precisely  the  same  lines  as  the  company's 
large  power  transformers,  which  have  proved  to  be 
so  successful.  In  the  rear  of  the  booth  various 
types  of  arc  lamps  were  suspended  from  a  test  rack, 
prominent  among  them  being  the  L  4  or  midget 
lamp  and  the  K  31,  the  new  lamp  of  crosshead  con- 
struction. Supplies  of  various  kinds  were  ex- 
hibited and  the  booth  was  lighted  by  three  arc 
lamps  suspended  from  corner  posts  and  bv  an 
illuminated  sign.  Louis  Friedmann,  C.  A.  Cum- 
mings,  C.  A.  Mann,  Alexander  Perry  and  A.  A. 
Morton  from  the  Chicago  office,  and  W.  M.  Green 
were  in  attendance. 

The  Wagner  Electric  Manufacturing  Company 
of  St.  Louis  was  located  in  Section  D,  space  10. 
It  showed  among  other  things  60-cycle  single-phase 
220-volt  alternating-current  motors  in  operation. 
There  was  also  the  new  three-phase  motor  of  7l/2- 
horsepower  size,  built  with  semi-enclosed  field  slots. 
Other  apparatus  making  up  this  exhibit  were  the 
standard  type  M  transformers  and  a  complete  line 
of  switchboard  and  portable  voltmeters,  ammeters 
and  wattmeters.  The  exhibit  was  in  charge  of  Frank 
N.  Jewett,  C.  C.  Warner  and  C.  B.  Richardson.  Mr. 
Jewett     will     represent    the     Wagner    company    as 


WKSTEkN     ELECTRICIAN 


1 
reel 

• 

11.     A 
hot   epo 
hop     -'  I 

Jading. 


thown    in    that 

•  ry  way 

the     fun..' 


73 


The  Allis- Chalmers  Company  was  one  of  the  first 
of  the  exhibitors  to  have  apparatus  actually  in 
operation,  and  it  was  represented  by  C.  A.  Tupper 
and  S.  R.  Kerr.  Direct  current  transmitted  to  a 
25-horsepower  Bullock  motor  was  used  for  driving 
a  60-kilowatt  belted  Bullock  alternator,  which,  in 
turn,  generated  current  for  the  operation  of  a  line 
of  Bullock  induction  motors,  ranging  in  capacity 
from  two  to  30  horsepower.  Each  of  the  machines 
responded    instantly   to   the  turn    of   its   switch,   po- 


•y 

^d&7.ic£ 

• 

1  "it 

■ *■>*■  »   1        c  * 

i 

•5,,"Ss*c  mm  i 

\v  -  *W 

_.!S»  '    i*JA        Ss          3?-- 

#«•,.,--»                 .  f*A      "lit; 

"'     •  '                      "J 

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_ 

:  -tut 

&  J 

WESTINGHOUSE    EXHIBIT    AT 

district    manager  -of   the    Chicago    office    after    Feb- 
ruary   1st. 

The  Fort  Wayne  Electric  Works'  exhibit  in  C  13 
was  attractive  and  interesting.  Prepayment  induction 
meters  were  the  features  attracting  central-station 
men.  In  addition  the  Wood  revolving  fans  and  arc 
lights  and  type-A  oil  transformers,  in  operation,  re- 
ceived favorable  comments  on  all  sides.  The  Shel- 
ton  Electric  Vibrator  Company  and  the  Neostyle 
Company  (motors  for  which  are  made  by  the  Ft. 
Wayne  Electric  Works)  were  operated  in  connec- 
tion with  this  exhibit.  Connected  with  the  exhibit 
were  W.  S.  Goll   (manager),  J.  H.  Raymond,  A.  L. 


tential  starters  being  used  in  connection  with  the 
induction  motors.  The  booth  was  tastefully  ar- 
ranged, and  light  was  furnished  by  a  resplendent 
red,  white  and  blue  electric  sign,  from  which  hung 
clusters  of  incandescent  lamps.  Altogether,  the  ex- 
hibit created  a  very  favorable  impression. 

Electricity  for  Domestic  Purposes. 

Electricity  for  light,  cooking  and  other  domestic 
purposes  was  demonstrated  at  the  booth  of  the 
Chicago  Edison,  Commonwealth  Electric  and  North 
Shore  electric  companies.  Last  week  a  picture  was 
shown    of    the    north    end   of   this    booth,    with    the 


A.    H.    Burton    of    Marshall    Field    &    Co.    In    the 

Edison  booth  was  also  a  complete  printing  outfit, 
where  a  daily  issue  of  the  Electric  City  was  printed, 
giving  an  example,  incidently,  of  one  of  the  im- 
portant uses  to  which  central-station  power  may 
be  put.  Electric  signs  were  also  demonstrated. 
Cables  by  which  current  is  distributed  in  the  Edison 
system,  and  other  features  of  the  operating  end  of 
a  central  station  were  among  the  many  interesting 
things  to  be  seen  at  this  booth. 

Practically  all  propositions  for  domestic  and 
commercial  use  of  electric  heat  were  exemplified 
in  the  exhibit  of  the  Simplex  Electric  Heating 
Company  of  Cambridgeport,  Mass.  There  were 
shown  three  types  of  ovens,  broilers,  griddles,  waf 
fle  irons,  frying  kettles,  etc.  One  of  the  most 
interesting  parts  of  the  exhibit  was  the  demonstra- 
tion showing  the  use  of  the  electric  flatiron.  The 
exhibit  gave  a  very  varied  and  interesting  exposi- 
tion of  the  state  of  perfection  to  which  the  art 
of   electric   heating    has   been    brought. 

In  a  booth  adjoining  the  Edison  dining  room, 
the  Brunswick  Refrigerating  Company  of  New 
Brunswick,  N.  J.,  exhibited  a  domestic  refrigerator 
and  ice  machine  which  demonstrated  the  advantage 
of   these    small   sets    for    household    purposes. 

Telegraph   axd   Telephone  Apparatus. 

City  and  long-distance  telephone  service  was  given 
by  the  Chicago  Telephone  Company,  at  whose  booth 
a  completely  appointed  telephone  switchboard,  with 
two  operators,  was  maintained.  Several  representa- 
tives of  the  company  were  present  to  explain  the 
apparatus.  On  the  walls  of  the  exhibit  space  was 
shown  a  complete  set  of  photographs  of  the 
pany's   exchange. 

The  exhibit  of  the  Automatic.  Electric  Company 
of  Chicago  was  walled  in  at  the  back  by  mahog- 
any finished  panelled  walls  seven  feet  six  inches 
high,  with  square  posts  at  the  corners.  Above  the 
wall  rose  two  electrically  illuminated  signs,  those 
on  each  side  reading  "Automatic  Electric  Com- 
pany; Telephone  Systems."  these  two  being  joined 
by  a  smaller  panel  with  the  familiar  dial  of  the 
Automatic  telephone  cut  out  of  wood  and  outlined 
by  incandescent  lamps.  This  dial  was  six  feet 
high.  Within  the  booth  were  located  an  Auto- 
matic switchboard,  exhibit  size,  of  the  10,000-type, 
to  which  were  connected  two  straight-line  wall  tele- 
phones, two  straight-line  desk  telephones  and  four 
party-line  wall  telephones.  These  were  operated 
by  the  switchboard,  and  a  ringing  machine  was 
mounted  alongside  of  the  board  to  furnish  ringing 
power.  Power  for  operating  the  Automatic  tele- 
phone switches  was  furnished  by  a  storage  battery 
of  26  cells.  The  telephone  department  of  the  Illi- 
nois Tunnel  Company  had  installed  in  the  booth 
two  Automatic  desk  telephones  which  were  con7 
nected  with  the  downtown  exchange.  The  Auto- 
matic company  distributed  at  the  show  a  new  book- 
let with  cover  of  Japanese  vellum,  on  which  is 
reproduced    in    the    original    tints    the    grand    prize 


74 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January   27,   1906 


Universal  Electric  Storac 
Safety- Armorite  Conduit 
College  Row. 
Roth  Brothers. 
William  P.  Crockett  Con- 


General  Storage  Battery  Compai 
Rock  Island  Battery  Company. 
American  Electric  Sign  Compan 
Frank  B.  Cook. 
Peru  Electric  Manufacturing  Co 


House  of  Economy  and  Flexduct  (I 
Stanley-G.  I.  Electric  Manufacturi 
Benjamin  Electric  Manufacturing 


8.     Mark  Manufacturing  Company. 

(American  Electrical  Novelty  and  Manufac- 
12.    \     turine  Company. 

(  Chicago  Compound  Battery  Company. 
16.     Manhattan  Electrical   Supply  Company. 


CHARACTERISTIC     EXHIBITS     AT     CHIC 


Januaiy    27,    1906 


WESTERN     l-l-i  ' 


I  Acorn  Shade  and  Re 
I  Reynolds  Electric  Flasher  Companv. 
"  al  Supply  Compan 


Federal  Electric    

McRoy  Clay  Works. 

H.  Krantz  Manu  fact  urine  Company 


Standard  Elec 


Wagner  Electric  Manufacturing  Company. 
CeniraJ  Electric  Manufacturing  Company. 
Bryan-Marsh  Company. 
J  American  Electric  Fuse  Company. 
1  |.   Lani:  Electric  Company. 
'  H.  B.  Camp  Company. 
G    M.  Gest. 


India    Rubber    and    Gutta    Perch  a    Ins> 


UTRICAL    SHOW,    JANUARY    15-27,    1906. 


7* 


disploma  which  was  awarded  to  the  company  at 
the  St.  Louis  World's  Fair.  The  booklet  contains 
a  brief  description  of  the  working  of  the  system 
with  pictures  and  data  of  the  larger  exchanges 
built  by  the  company. 

Interior  telephones  were  shown  in  various  de- 
signs by  the  Ackerman-Boland  Telephone  Company 
of    Chicago,   J.    W.    Liggett   being   in    charge. 

The  Swedish-American  Telephone  Company  of 
Chicago  occupied  spaces  ir  and  12  in  Section  E. 
with  a  complete  line  of  series  exchange  and  bridg- 
ing telephones  as  well  as  central-office  equipment. 
Its  exhibit  was  neatly  and  cleverly  arranged. 
Many  telephone  men  were  in  attendance  at  the 
show  and  several  good  orders  were  secured  by 
this  company.  A  handsome  souvenir  postal  card 
was  distributed  to  visitors.  One  of  the  features  of 
this  exhibit  was  a  fac  simile  of  the  new  factory 
building.  It  was  made  of  papier  mache  and  was 
illuminated,  giving  the  effect  of  being  in  actual 
operation.  This  exhibit  was  among  the  best  in  the 
show  and  had  the  stamp  of  originality  and  "inde- 
pendence" throughout. 

A  unique  booth  was  that  of  the  Chicago  and 
Milwaukee  Telegraph  Company.  This  booth  was 
enclosed  on  two  sides  with  a  complete  telegraph 
line — poles,   guys,   conductors,   and   all. 

In  a  spacious,  booth  a  rack  of  guy  anchors  and 
boring  tools  were  exhibited  by  the  Miller  Anchor 
Company. 

Visitors  were  always  welcome  at  the  De  Forest 
booth,  where  commercial  space-telegraph  messages 
were  taken  and  where  the  apparatus  for  sending 
and   receiving   was   to   be   seen. 

Frank  B.  Cook's  exhibit  at  the  Electrical  Show 
was  not  one  to  attract  the  general  public.  Were 
"Cook's"  big  double  booth  not  directly  in  front  of 
the  band  stand  it  is  doubtful  whether  there  would 
have  been  a  crowd  around  it.  But  the  exhibit  in 
the  booth  to  a  telephone,  electric-light  or  power 
man  was  a  novelty  and  a  treat.  Of  interest  to  the 
telephone  man  was  a  complete  line  of  protective 
apparatus,     from    switchboard    protectors    to    pole- 


cable  terminals.  One  large  main  distributing  frame 
had  mounted  on  it  the  five  different  types  of  pro- 
tective apparatus  that  Mr.  Cook  has  made,  the 
earliest  type  being  the  No.  4  with  tubular  coil,  and 
the  latest  being  the  No.  8  self-soldering  protector. 
Mr.  Cook  also  showed  a  decided  novelty  in  the 
way  of  a  land  anchor  which  bores  its  own  way  into 
any  depth  of  earth  desired  by  simply  turning  it 
to  the  right.  A  single  turn  to  the  left  throws 
out  two  blades  into  the  earth,  obtaining  a  hold  on 
practically  18  inches  of  undisturbed  earth  by  the 
use  of  an  anchor  with  a  six-inch  blade.  Cook's 
self-welding  wire  joints  for  connecting  copper 
wires   also   attracted   attention. 

Telephone  men  were  attracted  to  the  booth  of 
the  Stromberg-Carlson  Telephone  Manufacturing 
Company  of  Rochester  by  a  full  line  of  telephones 
and  switchboard  apparatus,  the  advantages  of  which 
were  explained  by  a  large  corps  of  representatives 
from  the  company.  The  central  feature  was  one 
section  of  a  12,500-line  exchange  switchboard.  The 
multiple  jacks  on  this  board  excited  no  little  com- 
ment upon  their  small  size,  being  only  one-fourth 
inch  in  diameter.  Another  interesting  part  of  the 
exhibit,  about  which  little  has  been  said  hereto- 
fore, was  the  telephone  for  mine  purposes.  In 
mines  the  ordinary  wooden  telephone  cabinet  will 
decompose  in  a  very  short  time,  owing  to  the 
moisture  in  the  atmosphere.  The  new  set  shown 
by  the  Stromberg-Carlson  company  is  completely 
encased  in  an  iron  box,  somewhat  over  a  foot 
square,  the  door  of  which  closes  with  a  rubber 
gasket,  making  it  entirely  moisture-proof.  The  tele- 
phone set  within  the  box  is  of  special  design,  and 
the  transmitter  is  supported  between  coil  springs, 
so  that  the  shock  of  blasting  will  not  disarrange 
its  delicate  parts.  The  bell  is  in  a  compartment 
on  top  of  the  box,  and  a  small  opening  into  this 
compartment  allows  the  sound  to  escape  readily. 
Another  interesting  piece  of  apparatus  was  the 
company's  intercommunicating  telephone,  which  is 
constructed  upon  the  same  thorough  principles  as 
the    regular    exchange    apparatus. 

De  Veau  telephones,  Diamond  H  flush  receptacles 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

by  the   William   P.   Crockett   Company  of   Chicago, 
and   Bossert   specialties    were   attractively   displayed. 

Batteries  and  Accumulators. 

What  was  shown  principally  by  the  Chicago 
Compound  Battery  Company  was  the  compound 
primary  battery,  a  new  closed-circuit  battery. 

The  General  Storage  Battery  Company  of  New 
York  made   an   interesting  exhibit   in  which   it  not 


only  showed  a  full  line  of  the  Bijur  high-duty 
storage  batteries  and  plates  but  also  gave  working 
demonstrations  of  a  booster  regulator  and  com- 
plete yacht-lighting  equipment.  The  booster  used 
in  conjunction  with  the  regulator  was  of  the  con- 
stant-current type,  being  driven  by  a  shunt-wound 
motor.  This  machine  was  used  to  charge  a  Bijur 
storage  battery,  consisting  of  15  plates  of  standard 
size  F  having  a  capacity  of  672  ampere-hours  at  an 
eight-hour  rate  of  discharge.  Discharges  of  over 
2,000  amperes,  or  three  times  the  regulating  rate, 
were  taken  from  the  cell  by  short-circuiting  the 
cell  through  a  low  iron  resistance.  The  charging 
current  wras  maintained  at  approximately  100  am- 
peres, the  variation  due  to  the  2,000-ampere  jerk 
only  producing  an  instantaneous  variation  not  ex- 
ceeding seven  amperes  in  the  current,  after  which 
it  immediately  returned  to  its  former  value,  this 
giving  regulation  of  less  than  one-half  of  one  per 
cent,  of  the  assumed  load.  The  company  was  rep- 
resented by  President  Joseph  Bijur,  R.  C.  Shaal, 
sales  department;  F.  E.  Booss,  engineering  depart- 
ment, and  F.  L.  Merrill,  Chicago  representative. 

In  an  artistically  decorated  booth  the  Chicago 
Battery  Company  exhibited  the  well-known  Duro 
storage  batteries  and  electrical  lamps. 

Various  types  of  storage  batteries,  both  the 
Chloride  accumulator  and  the  Exide  accumulator, 
were  shown  by  the  Electric  Storage  Battery  Com- 
pany of  Philadelphia.  The  largest  cell  exhibited 
at  the  Electrical  Show,  a  type  R-71  element  in  a 
type  R-83  lead-lined  tank,  was  to  be  seen  here  and 
was  a  duplicate  of  one  of  the  2544  cells  now  being 
installed  _  by  the  New  York  Central  and  Hudson 
River  railroad  on  its  lines  between  New  York  and 
Poughkeepsie.  Each  cell  has  a  capacity  to  dis- 
charge 4.200  amperes  for  a  period  of  one  hour. 
Other  cells  shown  were  a  G-9  in  lead-lined  tank, 
an_F-n  in  glass  tank  and  an  E-n  in  glass  jar.  A 
switchboard  panel  of  blue  Vermont  marble  had 
mounted  upon  it  the  standard  instruments  used  in 
the    operation    of    an    electric-railway    line    battery. 


electrical 


Railroad  car-lighting  cells  were  shown.  The  Exide 
vehicle  and  sparking  batteries  occupied  a  prom- 
inent place.  The  exhibit  was  in  charge  of  the 
company's  Chicago  office  staff,  consisting  of  G.  H. 
Atkin,  J.  M.  S.  Waring,  J.  A.  White,  Irving  Sea- 
man and  H.  B.  Marshall. 

The  Volta  battery,  an  improved  type  of  the 
Faure  battery,  was  shown  by  the  Volta  Battery 
Company  of  Chicago.  The  smaller  sizes  are  put 
up  in  metallic  cells  instead  of  the  usual  rubber 
boxes.  This  construction  ensures  durability  and 
eliminates  troubles,  due  to  leakage  of  the  electro- 
lyte. This  booth  was  artistically  set  off  with  signs 
in   the   form   of  silken  banners   and  was   in   charge 


January  27,  1906 

of  Messrs.  George  Berger  and  Roderick  Macrae. 
Over  the  desk  in  this  exhibit  was  a  large  photo- 
graph of  Lord  Kelvin  in  his  academic  gown,  un- 
derneath which  were  the  words,  "The  Father  of 
Electrical  Engineers."  On  the  side  were  shown 
autograph  drawings  in  pencil  and  differential  equa- 
tions expressing  the  inductance  in  a  solenoid  ring 
with  and  without  a  soft  iron  core.  These  equations 
now  of  such  importance  in  dealing  with  alternat- 
ing-current problems  are  interesting  from  the  fact 
that  they  were  worked  out  before  electricity  was 
used,  either  for  lighting  or  power,  and  before  such 
things  as  voltmeters  and  ammeters  were  heard  of, 
when  inductance  was  known  to  a  very  few  as 
"electromagnetic  inertia"  and  when  all  measure- 
ments had  to  be  taken  with  home-made  galvano- 
meters. It  was  from  these  equations  that  Lord 
Kelvin  was  able  to  tell  in  advance  of  the  retarda- 
tion of  signals,  due  to  electric  capacity  and  induct- 
ance. 

Black  Hawk  dry  batteries  were  exhibited  by  the 
Central  Electric  Manufacturing  Company  of  Rock 
Island,  111.  This  battery  is  of  a  new  type,  and  is 
said  to  be  superior  in  regard  to  voltage  and  am- 
perage. 

The  Universal  Electric  Storage  Battery  Company 
of  Chicago  showed  as  the  main  feature  of  its  ex- 
hibit a  29-plate  element  of  the  type  CX  which  was 
installed  in  one  of  the  Chicago  and  Alton  limited 
trains  for  electric  lighting.  This  element  weighs 
138  pounds  and  is  rated  at  800  ampere-hours.  It 
had  been  in  constant  service  for  the  last  eight 
months.^  One  positive  plate  was  removed  and 
shown  in  section  to  illustrate  the  peculiar  sectional 
construction  and  also  to  show  the  absence  of  de- 
terioration and  wear. 

The  Vesta  Accumulator  Company  showed  a  line 
of  Vesta  accumulators   for  headlights,   etc. 

Many  were  interested  in  the  Rock  Island  Battery 
Companys  exhibit  of  dry  batteries  and  Equipoise 
telephone  arms.  This  company's  factory  in  Cin- 
cinnati was  recently  burned  down,  but  it  now  has 
a   new   factory  in  that  city. 

Schoenmehl     primary     batteries,     made     by     the 


Waterbury  Battery  Company  of  Waterbury,  Conn., 
were  displayed  by  the  Bryant  Zinc  Company,  which 
is  the  Chicago  agent  for  this  apparatus. 

Wires  and  Cables. 

The  American  Steel  and  Wire  Company's  ex- 
hibit was  an  allegory  in  wire.  A  tall  Corinthian 
pillar  rose  at  the  corner.  This  pillar  was  wound 
with  one  mile  of  large-gauge  burnished  copper 
wire.  From  the  upper  portion  36  copper  wires  shot 
out  over  the  exhibit,  carried  by  six-arm  telegraph 
poles.  The  exhibit  covered  a  double  space  and 
embraced  a  display  of  panels  upon  which  were 
shown  the  different  stages  of  manufacture  of 
electrical  wires;  first,  a  copper-stranded  core,  then 
the  first,  second  and  third  windings  of  the  differ- 
ent layers  of  insulating  composition.  The  main 
exhibit  represented  the  Crown,  United  States  and 
multi-terminal  rail  bonds  and  soldered  rail  bonds 
in  different  varieties,  both  singly  and  applied  in 
all  the  different  forms  to  the  rails.  Also  appli- 
ances for  installing  rail  bonds  were  to  be  seen, 
such  as  gasoline-driven  grinding  machines,  hand 
and  lever-worked  drills,  including  the  new  multi- 
ple-spindle drill  for  installing  the  quadruple-ter- 
minal bonds.  This  bond  is  applied  to  the  ball  of 
the  rail.  Half-inch  holes  are  drilled  half  an  inch 
deep  into  the  outer  side  of  the  ball  of  rail,  into 
which  the  corresponding  copper  studs  are  firmly 
driven  and  anchored.  No  cumbersome  tools  or 
highly  skilled  labor  is  required.  A  picture  gallery 
was  another  feature,  showing  application  of  the 
company's  cables  to  the  underground  railway  in 
New  York  and  of  other  large  installations.  A 
picture  of  a  remarkable  occurrence  was  most  no- 
ticeable— a  rare  species  of  humpbacked  whale  with 
a  submarine  cable  wrapped  around  his  jaw.  This 
cable  was  being  laid  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  when 
one  day  it  was  discovered  that  the  cable  was  leak- 
ing. It  was  rewound  back  a  ways  and  raised  to 
the  surface,  when  this  whale  was  discovered.  It 
had  Ditten  through  the  insulation  in  its  struggles. 

The  India  Rubber  and  Gutta  Percha  Insulating 
Company  of  New  York  was  quartered  in  a  spa- 
cious  booth.     Here   were   shown   panels   of  various 


January  27,  rQo6 


WF.STF.h",'     KIECTRICIAtf 


77 


types    of    insula!"!    cable'.,    insulated    wires,    photo 

graphs    of    the    company's    various    producl      1 

I-  tions  of  standard  cables,    J    B    ( II  on     a    1 
teous    i"    visitors    as    he   explained    the    merits    of 
Habirshaw   wires. 

Samples   of    weatherproof   iron    win-,    galvanized 
strand,  guy  wire,  rubber-covered  wire,  etc.,  b 
many  specialties,   wenl    to  make   up  the   intcre  ting 
1    liilm    of    the    Monarch    Electric    and    Wire    Com- 
pany  of   Chicago. 

Magnet   wires    in    all    sizes    it N<-.    u   double 

cotton-covered  to  No.  40  silk-covered;  also  braided 
and  multiple  conductors,  were  sbown  by  the  Belden 
Manufacturing  Company  of  Chicago,  which  also 
1I1  1 1 1 1  m ted  its  new  catalogue  on  electrical  wire 
and  cords.  A  machine  that  attracted  considerable 
attention  at  this  exhibit  was  a  magnet-winding 
machine.  This  machine  is  driven  by  a  bell  from 
a    small    motor   or    shafting.     The    winding    spindle 


I  which 
M.  B  tt  a  full 

in    how 

I 
in     1 
the  American   Circulai    I 
Mass.,  entertaim 
representative     11    !'•    K  ii  1  land 

■-.   i  ,        .i         I  I 

G.  Griei      I 

,  onduil    known         '  I  [id    iron 

[111!    known         Elecl 

1  In-    Marl     Manufai 

hibiti '!     .I'll''     luit  pipi 

In  ii|    ],.    a  mduil    with    an 

clectrii     ign        ip       d  ov<     ! 


fitted  with  two  II  trak- 

walU 

i  much 
men. 

were  well  repi 


Allis-Chalmers  Company. 


Storage  Battery  Compaoy. 


^f^^^tfJ  Jr  ft 

In'  '^:- 

m  L  1 

Crocker-Wheeler  Company. 


is   fitted   with   a   steel   pulley,    and    is   controlled  by 

a    rocker    arm,    having    a    friction    driving    pulley 

mounted  on  one  end,  and  a  brake  on  the  other. 

Conduit   and   Insulating  Materials. 

Immediately  in  front  of  the  main  entrance  the 
visitor  upon  coming  in  was  attracted  by  the  display 
of  Camp  conduit  of  various  sizes  piled  high  in  a 
manner  to  attract  and  hold  attention.  This  was 
the  exhibit  of  the  H.  B.  Camp  Company  of  New 
York.  There  was  also  displayed  prominently  the 
award  ribbon  given  the  H.  B.  Camp  Company  at 
the    St.   Louis    Exposition. 

G.  M.  Gest  of  Cincinnati  and  New  York,  con- 
tractor, who  installs  a  great  deal  of  underground 
conduit,  had  an  exhibit  in  connection  with  the 
H.  B.  Camp  Company.  He  exhibited  a  large  num- 
ber of  interesting  photographs  showing  under- 
ground construction  work.  The  Gest  cable  rack 
was  also  prominently  displayed.  W.  T.  Jackson, 
manager  of  the   Cincinnati   office,  was   in   charge. 

The  McRoy  Clay  Works  of  Chicago  enclosed 
their  space  on  two  sides  by  a  wall  of  clay  con- 
duit in  large  and  small  sizes.  There  were  many 
handsome  photographs  on  the  wall  of  this  booth 
showing     conduit     construction     work. 

Examples  of  fiber  conduit  were  the  feature  of 
the  exhibit  of  the  American  Conduit  Company. 


EXHIBITS    AT    CHICAGO    ELEECTRICAL    SHO' 

with  a  frame  of  conduit.  D.  L.  Markle,  manager 
of  the  conduit  department,  and  C.  E.  Van  Court 
were  in   charge. 

An  excellent  exhibit  was  that  of  the  H.  A. 
Peterson  Manufacturing  Company  of  Chicago. 
Harvey-duct  is  one  of  the  staple  products  of  this 
company,   and  was   prominent   in   the   exhibit. 

Near  the  entrance  and  on  the  main  aisle  of  the 
Coliseum  was  a  rather  novel  and  at  the  same  time 
artistic  exhibit  of  Economy  iron  conduit  and  Flex- 
duct  flexible  conduit.  The  opportunities  presented 
to  attractively  display  iron  conduit  are  few,  but 
this  exhibit  was  popularly  voted  as  very  attractive, 
which  speaks  well  for  its  designer.  This  exhibit 
was  built  in  the  shape  of  a  cabin  with  walls  made 
of  iron  conduit  varying  in  size  from  one-half  inch 
to  three  inches  in  diameter,  making  it  a  novel  en- 
closure, 10  feet  high,  with  a  peak  roof  composed 
of  4,000  feet  of  Flexduct  flexible  conduit  made 
practically  in  one  piece,  being  looped  at  the  eaves 
without  a  break,  and  making  a  good  exhibit  of  the 
flexibility  of  Flexduct.  Air.  I.  A.  Bennett,  western 
manager,  fitted  the  cabin  with  a  complete  office 
equipment  in  handsome  Mission  furniture,  which 
is  to  be  installed  in  the  office  of  the  company  in 
Chicago.  The  exhibit  was  illuminated  by  several 
artistic  fixtures,  furnished  by  the  Beardslee  Chande- 
lier   Manufacturing    Company,    the    entrance    being 


Western  Electric  Company, 
V. 

hibitors  installed  switchboards  equipped  with  the 
latest  types   of  these   instruments.. 

Alpha  H.  Kling.  sales  manager  of  the  Peru 
Electric  Manufacturing  Company  of  Peru.  Ind„ 
presided  over  his  company's  booth  with  his  usual 
enthusiasm,  talking  particularly  upon  standard 
porcelain  and  National  Electrical  Code  standard 
specialties,  of  which  there  was  a  tasteful  display 
arranged  at  the  back  of  the  booth  in  the  form 
of  a   gre?t   bullseye   eight  feet   in   diameter. 

Eight  different  lines  of  electrical  specialties  were 
exhibited  in  the  booth  of  the  Thos.  G.  Grier  Com- 
pany of  Chicago.  Mr.  Grier  is  the  general  sales 
manager  for  the  Nungesser  Electric  Battery  Com- 
pany, and  a  number  of  dry  batteries,  from  a  big 
cell  34  inches  high  to  small  pocket  batteries  four 
inches  high,  occupied  one  corner  of  the  booth.  Other 
apparatus  exhibited  was  the  well-known  1900  tele-, 
phone  battery  and  the  Acme  ignition  batten-.  The 
Hubbel  specialties  were  shown:  also  those  of  Mc- 
Leod.  Ward  &  Co..  who  have  put  out  a  new  line 
of  desk  lamps,  reading  lamps  and  a  novel  array 
of  double-jointed  fixtures.  The  Wotton  extension 
telephone  gong  was  exhibited  in  a  variety  of  woods 
and  finishes.  The  Wirt  Electric  Company  had  a 
new  line  of  rheostats.  -The  well-known  line  of 
tubes,  knobs  and  cleats  manufactured  by  the  Brunt 


78 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


January  27,  1906 


Porcelain  Works  was  in  evidence,  as  was  that  of 
the    Chase-Shawmut    Company. 

The  American  Electric  Fuse  Company  exhibited 
samples   of    its   well-known    specialties. 

Situated  in  one  of  the  most  prominent  locations 
was  the  exhibit  of  the  Manhattan  Electrical  Sup- 
ply Company  of  New  York  and  Chicago.  The 
exhibit  was  in  charge  of  Mr.  A.  O.  Einstein.  One 
of  the  features  of  the  Manhattan's  exhibit  was 
that  every  article,  with  the  exception  of  the  Saco 
light,  which  is  a  European  product,  was  made  in 
the  factory  in  Jersey  City.  The  Manhattan  com- 
pany had  a  sign  displayed  in  its  exhibit  offering 
the  new  catalogue  free  to  those  interested  in  the 
electrical   business. 

At  the  exhibit  of  the  American  Electrical  Sup- 
ply Company  of  Chicago  were  F.  D.  Phillips,  E.  J. 
Johnson  and  B.  J.  Mockenhaupt,  who  were  glad 
to  show  and  explain  Colonial  motors,  De  Veau 
telephones,  Fostoria  incandescent  lamps  and  Inter- 
national   meters. 

The  H.  Krantz  Company  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
made  a  very  creditable  showing  in  its  commodious 
quarters  by  its  display  of  switches,  panels,  switch- 
board accessories,  etc. 

Hylo  lamps,  switches,  battery  supplies  and  other 
accessories  were  shown  by  the  Metropolitan  Elec- 
trical   Supply   Company  of   Chicago. 

The  Sangamo  Electric  Company  of  Springfield. 
111.,  exhibited,  in  conjunction  with  the  Electric 
Appliance  Company,  which  handles  its  product. 
A  highly  ornamental  panel  carried  a  number  of 
the  Sangamo  meters  and  requisite  connections. 
There  was  besides  a  large  case  containing  sll  the 
meter  parts. 

The  International  direct-current  instruments  made 
by  the  International  Electric  Meter  Company  of 
Chicago  were  much  in  evidence  at  the  show.  Con- 
siderable attention  was  shown  them  and  many 
orders  are  said  to  have  been  taken.  An  attractive 
souvenir  was  distributed  by  the  International  Elec- 
tric Meter  Company  in  the  shape  of  a  small  round 
pocket  mirror  having  a  cut  of  the  instrument  cov- 
ering the  entire  back,  producing  the  appearance  of 
a  miniature  instrument.  The  companies  which  dis- 
played their  instruments  were  the  American  Elec- 
trical Supply  Company  of  Chicago.  Monarch  Elec- 
tric and  Wire  Company  of  Chicago,  and  the  J. 
Lang  Electric  Company  of  Chicago.  International 
instruments  were  used  for  measuring  purposes  by 
the  following  exhibitors:  Crane  Company.  B.  F. 
Sturtevant  Company  and  the  American  Electrical 
Novelty  and  Manufacturing  Company. 

An   extensive  line  of  switchboard  accessories  and 


1 

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panel  boards  was  to  be  seen  at  the  headquarters 
of  the  J.  Lang  Electric  Company  of  Chicago.  A 
handsome  switchboard  panel  was  also  part  of  the 
exhibit,  carrying  International  meters,  which  are 
handled  by  this  company. 

Porter  &  Berg  of  Chicago  exhibited  a  line  of 
railway  and  mining  supplies.  Prominent  also  were 
the  Locke  insulators  for  high-tension  work,  some 
of  those  shown  being  for  50,000  and  6o,ooo-volt 
service. 

The  Electric  Appliance  Company  of  Chicago  was 
prominent  near  the  main  entrance  to  the  Coliseum. 
Here  were  to  be  seen  the  varied  lines  of  appliances 
and  material  which  it  handles.  There  was  on  ex- 
hibit insulated  wire,  fuses,  pole-line  accessories, 
lamps  of  all  varieties,  with  frosted  globes,  clear 
globes  and  colored  globes.  Eaco  series  telephones 
were  conspicuous;  also  batteries  and  other  tele- 
phone  appliances. 

The  display  made  by  the  H.  T.  Paiste  Company 
was  noticeable,  not  only  as  an  electrical  center  dur- 
ing the  two  weeks,  but  as  one  of  social  prominence 
as  well.  Western  Manager  James  Wolff  of  the 
Paiste  company  was  constantly  on  hand,  and  dur- 
ing the  "busy  time"  the  booth  was  particularly 
well  patronized  by  buyers.  Mr.  Wolff  made  a  hit 
with  his  souvenir  gilt  pin,  representing  a  Paiste 
socket.  During  the  last  week  of  the  exhibition  a 
change  in  the  souvenir  was  made,  and  the  ex- 
position was  literally  flooded  with  a  full-size  repre- 
sentation in  gold  of  a  Paiste  socket.  This  was  at- 
tached to  a  red  ribbon ;  and,  as  one  man  put  it,  if 
everyone  bought  a  socket  that  wore  a  Paiste  sou- 
venir,   Paiste    sockets    were    flooding    the    country. 


Mr.  Wolff,  as  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the 
shows  directors,  certainly  did  his  duty  in  the  mat- 
ter of  not  only  increasing  the  attendance,  but  of 
entertaining  as  well  the  host  of  friends  of  the 
Paiste  company.  Mr.  H.  T.  Paiste  was  in  attend- 
ance part  of  the  time. 

Numerous  new  devices  and  specialties  in  the 
electrical  line  were  a  source  of  interest  in  the  ex- 
hibit of  the  American  Electrical  Supply  Company 
of  Chicago,  the  booth  being  in  conjunction  with 
that  of  the  Haller  Machine  Company,  in  the  ex- 
treme southwest  corner  of  the  Coliseum. 

Arc  bursts  and  clusters  were  the  most  notice- 
able features  of  the  display  made  by  the  Benjamin 
Electric  Manufacturing  Company  of  Chicago.    There 


was  also  on  exhibit  a  cluster  guard,  which  at- 
tracted much  attention  from  its  simplicity  and  the 
complete  protection  which  it  affords  to  cluster 
lights. 

Signs  and  Flashers. 

S.  Newman  was  in  charge  of  an  interesting  ex- 
hibit of  fashion  display  signs  manufactured  by  the 
Newman    Manufacturing    Company    of    Cincinnati. 

At  the  booth  of  the  Federal  Electric  Company, 
Chicago,  the  honors  were  done  bv  James  M.  Gil- 
christ, R.  B.  Francis,  G.  C.  Patterson  and  W.  J. 
Devine.  Samples  of  porcelain  enameled  steel  panel 
and  sectional-letter  electric  signs  were  in  promi- 
nence at  this  booth;  also  Meridian  and  Federal 
clusters.  A  free  word  contest  was  instituted  at 
the  Federal  exhibit,  which  took  well,  $25  in  prizes 
being  given  away.  Each  person  was  given  six 
cardboard  boxes,  each  side  of  which  contained  a 
miniature  Federal  sign  letter.  Prizes  were  awarded 
for  the  best  lists  of  words  suitable  for  sign  pur- 
poses which  were  formed  out  of  the  letters  on  the 
blocks.  The  company  also  had  on  exhibition  sam- 
ples of  an  advertising  campaign  intended  for  cen- 
tral   stations. 

Especially  attractive  on  account  of  the  life  and 
motion  given  to  the  display  by"  the  Reco  and  im- 
proved Reynolds  flashers  and  the  Reco  whirler. 
was  the  booth  of  the  Reynolds  Electric  Flasher 
Manufacturing  Company  of  Chicago.  Mr.  C.  F. 
Ziegler,-the  president  of  the  company,  had  personal 
charge   of  the    display   at   night. 

Outside  of  its  regular  line,  the  Haller  Machine 
Company  showed  some  entirely  new  schemes  in 
sign  lighting,  among  them  a  large  grooved  letter 
"0"  flashed  in  three  different  colors.  A  great  at- 
traction, also,  were  the  "jumping  rabbits,"  designed 
for  sign  borders.  Many  other  oddities  in  signs 
were  on  exhibit,  and  were  explained  by  Carl  Hal- 
ler.  William  Goltz  and  Harvey  Feltzer. 

F.  B.  Badt  &  Co.,  with  offices  at  1503-04  Monad- 
nock  Block,  Chicago,  exhibited  in  the  extreme 
southwest  corner  of  the  Coliseum  an  innovation  in 
sign  flashers.  This  flasher,  called  the  Monadnock, 
runs  without  a  motor,  and  was  connected  up  to 
a  large  sign  reading,  "American."  This  flasher 
handles  up  to  100  amperes  on  each  side  of  a  sign, 
the  flasher  being  so  designed  as  to  operate  first 
!  one  side  of  an  illuminated  sign  and  then  the  oppo- 
site side.  The  remarkable  thing  about  this  flasher 
is  the  low  current  consumption  for  its  operation, 
the  fact  being  that  a  Weston  instrument  placed  in 
circuit  with  it  indicates  but  two-tenths  of  an  am- 
pere average  at  no  volts,  as  being  the  actual  con- 
sumption for  the  operation  of  the  flasher.  The 
actual  break  of  the  100  amperes  on  this  flasher 
is  made  between  two  three-fourths-inch  carbons, 
and  the  break  is  so  rapid  that  no  arc  is  set  up, 
and  at  the  end  of  three  months  it  is  stated  that 
■  there  was  no  depreciable  difference  in  the  length 
of  the  carbon  rods  used.  This  would  seem  to  indi- 
cate that  the  flasher  would  last  for  a  very  long 
time,  as  claimed  by  the  inventor.  This  flasher  was 
exhibited  jointly  with  the  Haller  Machine  Com- 
pany of  Chicago,  and  was  patented  by  Professor 
Badt,  who  also  owns  the  basic  patent  on  "ske- 
doodle"  devices.  F.  B.  Badt  &  Co.,  who  are 
western    agents    for    Weston    instruments,    will    be 


glad  to  send  their  complete  pocket  catalogue  atid 
also  their  new  pocket  telegraph  code  to  any  ad- 
dress. 

Electric  signs  of  a  highly  ornamental  nature 
made  the  booth  of  the  American  Electric  Sign 
Company  not  only  attractive,  but  at  the  same  time 
advanced  several  new  ideas  in  this  line. 

Shades    and    Reflectors. 

An  extensive  line  of  reflectors  were  on  exhibi- 
tion by  Overbagh  &  Ayres,  both  of  the  glass  and 
aluminum    types. 

Shades,  reflectors  and  portables  of  all  kinds  were 
exhibited  by  the  Chicago  Lamp  and  Reflector  Com- 
pany of  Chicago  in  one  of  the  most  artistic  booths 
at  the   Show. 

Shades  of  a  highly  artistic  order  were  exhibited 
in  an  artistic  display  made  by  the  Acorn  Shade  and 
Reflector  Company.  The  booth  was  one  to  attract 
more  than  passing  attention  on  account  of  the 
beauty  of  the  products  shown  and  their  arrange- 
ment. 

Delicate  tints  and  handsome  designs  in  orna- 
mental lighting  glassware  attracted  many  to  the 
booth  of  the  Phcenix  Glass  Company  of  New  York. 
E.  H.  Fox,  western  manager,  was  in  charge,  as- 
sisted by  C.  C.  Fricke.  A.  H.  Patterson,  vice- 
president  of  the  company,  was  also  in  attendance 
part  of  the  time,  having  come  on  from  New  York. 

Novelties. 

Electrical  novelties  and  fixtures  were  displayed 
in  an  artistic  booth  by  the  Adams-Arthurs  Com- 
pany. 

Holcomb  &  Co.  of  Chicago  showed  many  new 
and  interesting  things  in  the  line  of  electrical  nov- 
elties, sockets,  small  batteries,  etc. 

Vibrators,  massage  apparatus,  etc.,  were  demon- 
strated by   Sam  J.   Gorman  &  Co. 

S.  B.  Geen  and  A.  Anderson  were  in  charge 
of  the  exhibits  of  the  Geen  Electric  Novelty  and 
Manufacturing  Company,  which  showed  a  complete 
line  of  electrical  novelties,  decorative  lamps  and 
the    Genco    dry    battery. 

Electrical  novelties,  heating  and  cooking  devices, 
etc.,  were  exhibited  in  the  handsomely  decorated 
booth  of  the  McFell  Electric  Company  of  Chicago. 
Electric  Gas  Lighting  Company  of  Boston,  Bishop 
Gutta  Percha  Company  of  New  York,  Dayton  Elec- 
trical   Manufacturing    Company    of    Dayton,    Ohio. 


SCHOTT  S    EXHIBIT    AT 


ELECTRICAL    SHOW. 


American  Electrical  Heater  Company  of  Detroit 
and  the  Schwarze  Electric  Company  of  Adrian, 
Mich.  One  of  the  interesting  features  in  this  ex- 
hibit was  the  McFell  fire-alarm  system ;  also  the 
Scwarze  Universal  bell,  which  is  a  radical  de- 
parture from  the  old  methods  of  gong  and  bell 
ringing. 

Novelties  in  the  electrical  line  were  displayed 
in  a  pleasing  manner  by  the  American  Electric 
Novelty  and  Manufacturing  Company  of  New  York. 

MOTOR-CONTROL    SYSTEMS. 

The  Electro-Dynamic  Company  of  Bayonne,  N.  J., 
gave  an  interesting  exhibit,  consisting  of  a  series 
of  tests  made  on  an  Inter-pole  motor,  demonstrat- 
ing that  the  claims  made  for  this  motor  are  well 
within  its  ability.  Among  the  tests  made  were: 
Reversibility  at  any  speed  and  at  all  loads,  in- 
cluding 100  per  cent,  overload;  constant  speed  from 
no  load  to  full  load  at  any  set  speed ;  sparkless 
commutation  at  all  speeds  and  at  all  loads,  includ- 
ing 100  per  cent,  overload  in  either  direction.  The 
company  was  represented  by  Mr.  F.  L.  Merrill, 
manager  of  the  Chicago  branch,  and  Mr.  F.  G. 
Bell   of   the   home   office. 

The  J.  L.  Schureman  Companj-  exhibited  a  com- 
plete line  of  elevator  controllers.  Much  interest 
was  also  excited  by  the  remote-control  magnet 
switches  on  exhibition.  This  type  of  switch  elimi- 
nates the  necessity  of  running  heavy  mains  to 
the  point  of  operation. 

The  Lincoln  variable-speed  motor,  made  by  the 
Lincoln  Electric  Manufacturing  Company  of  Cleve- 
land,   Ohio,    attracted    much    attention.     This    motor 


Januarj  27,  k/Xj 


WESTERN     ELEI  'I  I-!- 


is  a  recent  invention  of  Mr.  J.  C.  Lincoln  and 
marks   a   dccidi  'I   adv; in    the   building    1 

1  la      0 toi        1  hi    1    

arc    that    the     peed    1  an to    I 

to   i"    1,    "i    gri  ater,    1  inl    I powt  r    al   all 

peed  .   I"'   u  c  on  ordinal  y  two 

iri  uil       No    controllci     i      used     I    thi 

operate    in  eithi  1  d al   full  lo:  ' 

Mr.  II.   Morlcy    Hiti  1 1    ol   Clcvi  land    

Ill     (  |i:ii  yr     mI      lie       .       lillill 

Misr  11  1       EOI 

A  model  of  a  complete  coal  wa  hci  and  al  0 
some  fine  photograph     and   pi  operty  plai 

at  the  exhibit  of  the   Pcabody  Coal  Coni- 

j  1 . 1 1 1  v   of  Chicago. 

One  of  the  booths   around    which   then     was   al 

ways   a   croud,    when    den trations    were   going 

*  was   thi \V.    Scheidcl   &    Co    of   I  hn  igo 

■  ■  r  1 1.    interesting  expei  1 1     ■■■ 11  med   In 

daily,   and   the   people   h  ere    nevci    tired    ol    1 
g    the    X-ray  and   other   apparatu 

The  Standard  Electrical  Manufacturing  C pan; 

and  the  Star  Electric  Company  of  Niles,  Ohio,  in 
Section  C  to,,  were  very  much  in  cvideno  with  a 
display  of  their  lamps  and  other  products,  and 
Mr.   James    P.   Gilbert,   secretary   and   treasurer   of 

both    companies,    T.    H     Bullock    of    the    Chic 

office,  R.  W.  Lease,  Robert  Miller  and  1 1  H 
\lhni  were  present  in  the  interest  of  these  con- 
cerns. 

An  exhibit  of  historical  interest  was  thai  of 
Charles  E.  Gregory.  Ii  consisted  of  the  first  elec- 
tric -light  plant  in  Illinois,  installed  in  a  Chicago 
'tore.  The  dynamo  and  some  of  the  lamps  were 
Shown,  the  latter  charged  with  nitrogen,  original 
voltage    unknown. 

Simple  bul  original  in  design,  the  exhibit  of  the 
National  Carbon  Company  of  Cleveland  attracted 
no  little  attention.  Large  cylinders  of  carbon,  and 
also  smaller  pieces  of  the  company's  product  were 
built  up  in  a  large  cubical  structure  in  the  center 
of  the  booth.  There  were  also  ample  facilities  for 
those    who    wished   to    rest   there. 

The  B.  F.  Slurtevant  Company  had  a  working 
exhibit   at   the   Show.' 

An  armature  for  an  electrical  generator  was 
constructed  in  the  booth  of  the  Guarantee  Electric 
Company,  an  interesting  process  to  visitors  who 
were  unacquainted  with  the  method.  There  was 
also  a  line  of  small  power  motors  shown  at  this 
booth. 

An  interesting  piece  of  apparatus  was  the  small 
Curtis  steam  turbine  exhibited  by  the  General  Elec- 
tric Company  in  a  space  apart  from  its  regular 
booth.  This  machine  was  of  the  horizontal  type, 
driving  an  alternator  at  3,6co  revolutions  per  min- 
ute.    The    turbine    was    of    33.53    horsepower. 

The  Dearborn  Paint  Company  was  an  exhibitor 
at  the  Show. 

A  unique  and  interesting  exhibit  at  the  show 
was  that  of  the  American  Bank  Protector  Com- 
pany. The  system  shown  in  operation  is  known 
as  the  automatic  double  electrical  burglar-alarm 
system. 

Engineers  and  others  interested  in  power-plant 
equipment  found  much  of  interest  in  the  exhibit 
of  the  Crane  Company,  Chicago,  in  which  were 
shown  this  company's  latest  designs  and  improve- 
ments   in    valves    and    steam    specialties. 

A  complete  and  interesting  line  of  portable  elec- 
tric drills,  "holders-on"  and  storage  batteries  was 
shown  by  the  Chicago  Pneumatic  Tool  Company. 
A  line  of  magnetic  "old  men"  or  "'holders-on," 
for  use  with  the  drills,  was  interesting.  This  piece 
of  apparatus  is  used  entirely  without  bolts,  and 
will  hold  in  any  position,  the  magnetic  force  being 
sufficient  to  hold  it  to  the  work  against  the  pres- 
sure   of    the    feed    screw    of    the    drill. 

A  device  which  will  not  only  appeal  to  building 
contractors  and  decorators,  but  also  to  central- 
station  men,  as  a  user  of  current,  was  the  elec- 
trically operated  floor  polisher,  exhibited  bv  J.  P. 
Sullivan    &    Co. 

The  Fair  Store  of  Chicago  had  a  very  artistic 
display  of  electrical  novelties  and  fixtures  at  the 
show. 

W.  H.  Schott  of  Chicago  entertained  many 
friends  at  his  handsome  booth  near  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  hall.  In  this  booth  was  also  installed 
a  small  system  of  piping,  arranged  to  show  the 
working  from  boiler  to  consumer  of  the  well-known 
Schott   system    of   heating. 

A  device  not  electrical  but  of  interest  to  engi- 
neers in  general  was  the  Niagara  tachometer,  which 
indicates  the  speed  of  a  machine  connected  to  it 
by  the  rise  of  a  liquid  in  a  tube,  centrifugal  force 
being  the  actuating  means.  It  was  exhibited  by 
the  Niagara  Tachometer  and  Instrument  Companv 
of  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y. 

The  Bryan-Marsh  Company,  although  it  did  not 
make  an  extensive  display  of  its  lamp  products, 
had  one  of  the  most  luxuriously  arranged  booths 
in  the  Coliseum,  which  was  much  frequented  by 
the    many    friends    of    the    company. 

Electrical  headlights  of  various  sizes  dazzled  the 
eyes  of  visitors  at  the  hooth  of  the  Edwards  Elec- 
tric   Headlight    Company    of    Laporte,    Ind. 

The  Sandwich  Pole-changer  ComDany  of  Sand- 
wich, 111.,  had  on  exhibition  the  Sandwich  ohm- 
meter,  pole-changer  and  duplexer  at  the  exhibits 
of  the  Stromberg-Carlson  Telephone  Manufacturing 
Company  and  the  Electrical   Appliance   Company. 


Northwestern  Electrical  Association. 

,'h  and 
iKlh,   and    the    Ihoroughl 
.-.■  re    di 

ined  to  let  no  ti  them 

from  di  1 
1  he  opi  ning 

1 
crn   Electi 

irning 

Harold  ' 
the  asso 
E  thi 

pai  1    hi     ha  I  'I    from 

h I    natun 

Mr.   Almerl   I 

■  •i  the 
1  Light,    Heal    and    Powei    Companj 

Park,   III  ntine  Hydraul 

p  in-.    -.I  ch,     He 

also   ha     ai  ti  d   in    •   1  on  ulting  several 

othei     el light      ind 

i.i  F01  year,  he   was  engineer    I 

Chicago  office  of  the   Buckeye  and  Jandiu    I 


Willian 

■ 

committi 

■ 

which   the   secretary's  financial    report 
milted. 

1  be 

■■t     th** 
"Proper     Handling 

II    Barrett.     In  the  si 


E.  B.  Kirk.  Fie 


Company  of  Cleveland.  Previous  to  that  he  was 
for  four  years  superintendent  of  water  and  light 
for  the  Lincoln  Park  commissioners  of  Chicago. 
Nine  years  ago  he  was  instructor  for  a  short  time 
at  the  Chicago  School  of  Applied  Electricity.  Pre- 
vious to  this,  after  finishing  his  schooling  at  the 
Chicago  English  High  and  Manual  Training  School 
and  the  Chicago  Business  Law  School,  Mr.  Almert 
was  for  five  years  in  the  engineering  department 
of  the  Chicago  Telephone  Company.  Mr.  Almert 
is  only  30  years  old',  and  for  one  of  that  age  his 
experience   has  been   remarkably   broad   and   varied. 

Edward  B.  Kirk  of  Oshkosh,  Wis.,  first  vice- 
president  of  the  association,  is  vice-president  and 
general  manager  of  the  Winnebago  Traction  Com- 
pany of  Oshkosh.  Mr.  Kirk  graduated  from  Pur- 
due University  with  the  class  of  1807  in  electrical 
engineering.  For  one  year  he  was  electrician  in 
charge  of  the  lighting  plant  at  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Hospital.  Jacksonville,  111.  After  this  he  was 
for  six  months  shop  foreman  of  the  Jacksonville 
Railway  Company  at  Jacksonville,  111.  Four  years 
were  spent  as  superintendent  of  the  Jacksonville 
Railway  Company  at  the  same  place.  For  six 
months  Mr.  Kirk  was  engineer  of  tests  for  the 
Milwaukee  Electric  Company,  Milwaukee,  Wis., 
and  for  one  year  electrical  engineer  and  master 
mechanic  for  the  Grand  Rapids,  Grand  Haven  and 
Muskegon  Railway  Company,  a  high-speed,  third- 
rail  electric  line.  Since  December,  icoa,  he  has 
been  with  the  Winnebago  Traction  Company  as 
general  manager  and  vice-president. 

Frank  J.  Baker,  second  vice-president,  is  the  man- 
ager of  the  North  Shore  Electric  Company,  which 
furnishes  current  to  towns  in  the  vicinity  of  Chi- 
cago both  along  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Michigan 
and  in  a  belt  surrounding  Chicago.  Mr.  Baker  is 
well-known  to  central-station  men  and  his  election 
was  a  well-deserved  compliment  to  his  ability. 

B.  C.  Adams  of  Madison.  Wis.,  superintendent 
of  distribution  of  the  gas  and  electric  departments 
of  the  Madison  Gas  and  Electric  Company,  was 
elected  secretary-treasurer  of  the  association.  Mr. 
Adams  is  a  young  man  well  liked  by  members  of 
the  association,  which  he  but  recently  joined.  In 
1903  he  graduated  from  the  electrical  engineering 
department  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin  and 
for  a  time  was  emoloyed  by  the  Colorado  Tele- 
phone Company  at  Denver.  The  remainder  of  his 
experience  has  been  with  the  Madison  Gas  and 
Electric  Company,  where  he  was  successively  con- 
nected with  the  operation  of  the  steam  plant,  gas- 
engine  plant,  coal-gas  works  and  water-gas  plant, 
until  finally  he  was  appointed  to  the  responsible 
position    of   superintendent   of  distribution. 

The    new    officers    were    installed    on    Thursday. 


the  paper  was  read  by  Irving   P.  Lord  of  Waupaca 
and  was   well   discussed. 

Wednesday  afternoon  there  were  three  papers 
read.  The  first  was  by  P.  H.  Korst  of  Janesville 
upon  "Suggestions  for  Increasing  the  Power  Output 
of  Central  Stations."  The  next  was  by  W.  D 
Buford  of  La  Cross  upon  "Modern  L'nderground 
Construction."  Following  suggestions  made  last 
year,  written  discussions  were  called  for  from  a 
number  of  the  members.  One  of  these  written  re- 
ports was  trom  G.  B.  Springer  of  Chicago  on  Mr 
Buford's  paper.  The  paper  was  discussed  generally 
also  by  the  members  present.  The  last  paper  on 
Wednesday  was  by  George  Williams  on  the  "Or- 
ganization and  Development  of  N'ew-busis  ■ 
partments."  a  written  report  on  this  paper  being 
contributed  by  Mr.  Almert. 

The  remaining  papers  on  the  programme  were 
rend  on  Thursday  and  were  as  follows:  "Govern- 
ment Test  on  Fuels."  by  C.  J.  Davisson  (report  by 
A.  W.  Richter)  :  "Successful  Applications  of  New 
Business  Methods,"  by  John  S.  Allen :  "The  Eco- 
nomics of  Combined  Railway  and  Power  Plants." 
by  Ernest  Gonzenbach  :  "The  Effect  of  Load  Factor 
on   Station  Costs,"  by  R.  N.  Kimball. 

Seven  new  members  were  elected  to  the  associa- 
tion at  the  close  of  the  session  Thursday.  The 
executive  committee  held  a  meeting  on  Friday 
morning,  which  closed  the  proceedings  of  the  con- 
vention. 


National  Electric-light  Convention  to  Be 
Held  at  Atlantic  City. 

Official  announcement  is  made  that  the  twenty- 
ninth  convention  of  the  National  Electric  Light  As- 
sociation will  be  held  at  Atlantic  City.  X.  J.,  on 
June  5.  6.  7  and  8.  1006.  Owing  to  the  many  addi- 
tions to  the  membership  of  the  association  now 
being  made,  as  well  as  other  evidences  of  increased 
interest  in  the  association  work,  it  is  confidently 
believed  that  all  previous  records  of  attendance  will 
be  broken.  It  is  the  intention  to  provide  a  suitable 
hall  for  such  exhibits  as  may  be  made  by  the 
manufacturers  and  supply  dealers  who  are  members 
of    the    association. 


The  Iron  Trade  Review  of  Cleveland  believes  the 
electrification  of  most  of  the  steam  railroads  of 
the  United  States  is  as  certain  as  any  future  great 
event  can  be.  It  believes  that  many  hundreds  of 
millions  of  dollars  will  be  spent  in  this  way  during 
the  next  quarter  century-  The  change  will  nat- 
urally follow  much  the  same  lines  as  did  the  in- 
troduction of  the  present  high-power  locomotive, 
the  great  trunk  lines  taking  the  lead  and  being 
r  less  closelv  followed  bv  the  smaller  roads. 


So 


WESTERN   ELECTRICIAN 

EVERY    SATURDAY. 

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each  number  of  the  Western  Electrician  are  copyrighted. 
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of  the  second  class. 

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year:  single  copies,  10  cents.  When  change  of  address  is  re- 
quested, the  old  address  as  well  as  tbe  new  should  be  given. 

CORRESPONDENCE  relating  to  electricity  or  any  of  its 
practical  applicat ions  is  cordially  incited,  and  the  co-operation 
of  all  electrical  thinkers  and  workers  earnestly  desired.  Clear, 
concise,  well  written  articles  are  especially  welcome;  and  com- 
munications, views,  news  items,  local  newspaper  clippings,  or 
any  information  likely  to  interest  electricians,  wiAl  be  thank- 
fully received  and  cheerfully  acknowledged. 

ADVERTISING-.— The  Western  Electrician— the  only 
general  electrical  paper  published  in  the  West—  thoroughly 
covers  a  territory  exclusively  its  own.    This  is  a  cz-AIM  which 

CAN     BE     MADE     BT     NO    OTHER      ELECTRICAL      JOURNAL     IN     THE 

United  States-  Electrical  merchants  and  manufacturers 
desiriinj  went  em  trade  -will  appreciate  the  unequaled  valttz 
of  this  journal  as  an  advertising  medium  in  its  special  field 
Advertising  rates  are  moderate,  and  will  be  furnished  en 
application. 

REMITTANCES.— All  checks,  drafts  and  other  remit- 
tances should  be  made  payable  to  the  order  of  the  publishers 
the  Electrician  Publishing  Company,  and  addressed  to  th€ 
offices  of  publication.  Suite  510,  Marquette  Building  (2tW 
Dearborn  Street),  Chicago.  Illinois,  If.  S.  A. 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

Steam-turbine   Power  Station  in  the  Clyde  Valley  Near  Glas- 
gow.    By  Frank  C.  Perkins.     Illustrated 7L  72 

Tbe  Chicago  Electrical  Show.     Illustrated 

72,  73.74,  75.  76.  77.78.  79 

Northwestern  Electrical  Association.     With  portraits 79 

National  Electric-light  Convention  to  be  Held  in  Atlantic  City  79 

Editorial 80 

The  Franklin  Bicentenary.     Illustrated 81.  82 

Proposed  Power  Development  from  the  Glaciers  on   Mount 

Hood 82 

Municipal   Ownership  Measures  of   Mayor  Dunne  Passed   by 

Chicago  City  Council 82 

Sleet  Hampers  Transportation  and  Communication  Facilities 

in  Chicago 82 

Electrical  Salesmen's  Association.      Illustrated 83 

Proposed  Power  Transmission  in  Western  New  York S3 

Indiana  Engineering  Association 83 

Selling  Electricity 84,  85 

The    Sale    of    Electric  Light  and   Power.     By   S.    Morgan 

Bushnell 84 

Co-operation  in  Stimulating  the  Use  of  Current-consuming 

Devices.     By  J.  Robert  Crouse.     (Communication.) 84.  85 

Central-station  Advertising.     Illustrated 85 

Suggestions  for    Increasing  the   Power  Output  of  Central 

Stations.     By  P.  H.  Korst 85 

Allis-Chalmers  Railway  Motor.     Illustrated .  86 

New  Fuseless  Rosettes.     Illustrated 86 

New  Holophane  Reflector.     Illustrated 86 

Municipal  Street  Railway  in  British  Columbia  Loses  Money..  86 

Electrically  Operated  Pulp  Mill  at  Sauk  Rapids,  Minnesota...  86 
Independent  Telephone  Interests  Win   in   Important   Patent 

Litigation 87 

New  Officers  for  Indianapolis  Telephone  Companies 87 

Indiana  Telephone  Items 87 

Telephone  News  from  the  Northwest 87 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes 87 

Michigan  Telephone  Matters 87,  88 

New  Companies 88 

Extensions  and  Improvements 88 

General  Telephone  News 88 

Chicago  Telephone  Company's  Report 88 

Bell  Telephone  Output  for  1905 88 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence 88,  89,  90 

Great  Britain 88,  89 

Dominion  of  Canada 89 

New  York 89 

Ohio 89 

Michigan 89 

Indiana 90 

Pacific  Slope 90 

Northwestern  States 90 

Personal 90 

Electric  Lighting 90 

Electric  Railways 90 

Publications oo,  91 

Societies  and  Schools 91 

Miscellaneous 91 

Trade  News 91 

Business 91 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record 91,  92 


DATES  AHEAD. 

Chicago  Electrical  Show  (first  annual  exhibtion  of  Elec- 
trical Trades  Exposition  Company) ,  Coliseum,  Chicago,  Jan- 
uary 15th  to  27th. 

National  Electric  Light  Association  (annual  convention), 
Atlantic  City,  N.   J.,  June  5th  to  8th,  inclusive. 


The  success  of  the  Chicago  Electrical  Show  is 
a  credit  to  the  electrical  industry.  The  show  is 
honestly  electrical,  managed  by  electrical  men,  and 
containing  genuine  electrical  exhibits,  which  are 
up-to-date,    varied    and    instructive.      It    has    ex- 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

cited  the  interest  of  the  press  and  public  of  Chi- 
cago, who  have  liberally  supported  it,  and  it  has 
drawn  a  large  out-of-town  attendance  of  electrical 
men.  The  result  has  entirely  justified  the  expecta- 
tions of  the  Chicago  electrical  men  who  organized 
the  show  and  worked  so  hard  for  its  success.  No 
doubt  the  show  will  hereafter  be  an  annual  event, 
as    it    should    be. 


January  27,  1906 

more  particularly  eligible  for  the  office  he  now 
holds.  He  is  well  known  and  well  liked  by  the 
electrical  fraternity,  and  his  clear-headed  progres- 
siveness  and  popularity  should  do  much  for  the 
success  of  the  association   during  the  coming  year. 


Helpfulness  in  the  matter  of  securing  new  busi- 
ness for  the  central  station  is  one  of  the  functions 
of  the  electrical  journals,  and  the  fact  is  grace- 
fully recognized  by  Mr.  John  S.  Allen  in  his  paoer 
on  "The  Proper  Handling  of  the  New  Business 
Department,"  read  before  the  Northwestern  Elec- 
trical Association  last  week.  The  electric-light 
company,  he  truthfully  says,  should  subscribe,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  new-business  department,  for  at 
least  six  magazines.  Mr.  Allen  suggests  two  lists 
of  helpful  journals,  the  second  given  as  supple- 
mentary. The  Western  Electrician,  it  is  pleasing 
to  observe,  is  on  the  first  list. 


Automobile  trucks  of  the  electric  variety  have 
one  certain  advantage  over  their  gasoline  com- 
petitors ;  they  are  safe.  An  illustration  is  afforded 
by  the  following  news  item  from  the  Chicago  Daily 
News  of  January  nth:  "An  auto-truck,  valued  at 
$5,000,  and  owned  by  Lyon  &  Healy,  caught  fire 
at  One-hundred-and-sixth  Street  and"  Avenue  L 
today  from  an  explosion  of  gasoline.  Three  men 
who  were  on  the  truck  at  the  time  escaped  un- 
hurt and,  assisted  by  firemen,  saved  a  piano  which 
was  in  the  truck."  The  incident  discloses  a  prac- 
tical objection  to  the  gasoline  truck.  Nobody  ever 
heard  of  an  electric  vehicle  catching  fire  from  any 
internal  cause. 


Telegraphy.,  in  mimic  representation,  has  for 
many  years  had  a  place  on  the  stage,  and  play- 
goers can  easily  recall  not  a  few  dramatic  climaxes 
in  which  the  ticker  or  the  operator's  room  or  the 
cross-country  construction  played  a  conspicuous 
part.  Some  of  these  plays,  like  the  well-known 
"Secret  Service,"  with  its  readily  remembered  tele- 
graph scene,  were  meritorious  productions  and 
received  the  applause  of  theater  frequenters  of  the 
better  grade.  But  the  newer  "wireless,"  which  has 
of  late  made  its  appearance  on  the  stage,  appears 
to  be  restricted  to  melodrama  as  yet.  Billboards 
bear  gaudy  pictures  of  alleged  space-telegraph  sta- 
tions with  aerials  shaped  like  a  pantograph  spit- 
ting fire  into  the  atmosphere  in  the  most  terrifying 
and  absurd  fashion.  This  is,  we  are  told,  "the 
famous  wireless  telegraphy  scene — the  first  produc- 
tion on  any  stage."  It  is  conceivable  that  "wire- 
less" episodes  could  be  deftly  woven  into  legitimate 
drama.  Indeed,  a  story  built  around  the  war  cor- 
respondents' use  of  space  telegraphy  from  their 
dispatch  boats  during  the  Russo-Japanese  war 
might  be  thrilling  and  true  to  the  fact.  But  the 
melodramatic  "wireless"  of  the  forked-lightning 
variety  is  merely  tiresome.  The  "first  production" 
of  such  trash  might  well  be  the  last. 


Holding  an  electrical  convention  during  an  ex- 
position has  its  drawbacks  as  well  as  its  advan- 
tages, as  was  demonstrated  during  the  World's  Fairs 
of  Chicago  and  St.  Louis.  The  great  outside  at- 
traction may  serve  as  a  magnet  to  draw  a  greater 
attendance  than  would  be  otherwise  the  case,  but 
yet  the  convention  has  in  a  measure  to-  compete 
with  the  big  show,  with  the  result  that  those  who 
attend  are  strongly  tempted  to  "play  hookey"  in- 
stead of  discussing  problems  of  management  in  the 
convention  hall.  Nevertheless,  the  Northwestern 
Electrical  Association  held  a  creditable  convention 
in  Chicago  last  week  during  the  period  of  the 
Electrical  Show.  A  good  programme  had  been 
arranged,  and  it  was  carried  out  faithfully.  The 
papers  were  up-to-date,  including  two  on  the  "new- 
business"  propaganda  which  is  now  attracting  so 
much  attention.  One  of  these  papers  is  given  in 
this  issue  of  the  Western  Electrician,  and  others, 
with  discussion,  will  be  given  later.  The  associa- 
tion has  chosen  an  entire  new  administration,  after 
giving  a  unanimous  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Mercein, 
who  has  been  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  asso- 
ciation for  so  many  years.  Mr.  Almert,  the  new 
president,  is  a  resident  of  Chicago,  although  his 
central-station     interests     in     Michigan     make     him 


In  relation  to  the  electrification  of  the  Sim- 
plon  Tunnel  the  Western  Electrician  is  now  ad- 
vised that  the  negotiations  which  have  been  in 
progress  for  some  time  between  the  Swiss  and 
Italian  governments  relative  to  the  subject  have  re- 
cently been  concluded.  The  system  to  be  adopted 
is  that  at  present  in  use  on  the  Valtellina  railway 
in  Northern  Italy.  We  understand  that  various 
non-technical  reasons  have  conduced  to  the  choice 
of  the  three-phase  system  in  this  case,  and  we  are 
furthermore  informed  that  the  merits  of  the  single- 
phase  system  of  traction  have  not  been  overlooked, 
for  its  adoption  in  the  future  has  been  provided  for 
in  the  contract  recently  awarded  the  Brown-Boveri 
concern  by  the   Swiss  authorities. 

Both  the  Swiss  and  Italian  governments  were 
very  desirous  that  the  electric  trains  should  be 
running  at  the  inauguration  of  the  tunnel  early  in 
June  next,  and  the  Italian  government  has  agreed 
to  lend  the  necessary  locomotives  from  the  Valtel- 
lina line  in  case  the  contractors  are  unable  to  de- 
liver the  three-phase  locomotives  in  time  for  this 
date.  This  solution  has  been  accepted  by  the  Swiss 
government.  Two  sub-stations  will  be  established, 
one  at  each  end  of  the  tunnel,  and  current  will  be 
supplied  gratis  by  the  Swiss  government  up  to 
these  points  of  conversion.  This  current  will  be 
generated  at  one  of  the  numerous  hydraulic  sta- 
tions in  the  district.  The  estimates  have  been  based 
upon  an  assumed  train  weight  of  300  tons  for  pas- 
senger trains  and  about  4CO  tons  for  freieht  trains, 
with  approximate  speeds  of  89  and  35  kilometers 
an  hour,  respectively. 

The  prices  in  the  contract  include  that  for  the 
train  haulage,  which  averages  60  centimes  per  train 
kilometer.  The  contract  further  provides  for  the 
substitution  of  single-phase  traction  for  the  three- 
phase  to  be  provisionally  installed.  Apparently  the 
Swiss  government  authorities  took  a  large  view 
of  the  question  in  this  particular  and  were  firm  in 
their  desire  to  have  the  contract  modelled  to  in- 
clude the  eventuality  of  the  adoption  of  single- 
phase   traction. 


By  a  complete  and  curious  reversal  in  its  policy 
the  Chicago  City  Council  has  abandoned  its  sup- 
port of  the  principle  of  private  ownership,  as  ex- 
pressed in  the  ordinances  extending  the  franchises 
of  the  street-railway  companies,  and  has  given  its 
adherence  to  the  mayor's  policy,  or  rather  to  one 
of  his  policies — and  not  the  one  he  favored  most, 
which  was  his  "contract  plan" — looking  toward 
municipal  ownership  of  Chicago  street-railway 
lines.  In  other  words,  the  council,  on  January 
18th,  by  a  vote  of  37  to  28,  adopted  a  resolution 
providing  for  the  issue  and  sale  of  $75,000,000 
worth  of  "Mueller-law  certificates,"  the  proceeds  to 
be  used  for  the  purchase,  construction  and  equip- 
ment of  street  railways  "in  and  upon  and  along  the 
streets  upon  which  street-railway  tracks  are  already 
located."  This  action,  by  an  express  provision  of 
the  Mueller  law,  is  subject  to  ratification  by  vote 
of  the  people  at  the  municipal  election  of  next 
April.  It  is  not  certain  at  this  writing  whether  the 
proposed  extension  ordinances  will  be  submitted 
at  that  time.  But  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  may 
be,  so  that  a  clear-cut  issue  may  be  presented  to 
the  voters,  who  should  decide  between  two  concrete 
policies.  After  the  election  the  final  solution  of 
the  almost  interminable  traction  imbroglio  should 
be  appreciably  nearer.  That  result,  at  least,  will 
be    some    alleviation    of   a    dismal    situation. 

In  the  Chicago  City  Council  there  is  one  group 
of  aldermen  conscientiously  favoring  immediate 
municipal  ownership.  Another  group,  just  as  hon- 
est, considers  municipal  ownership  at  the  present 
time  inexpedient.  But  there  is  a  third  group  which 
does  not  appear  to  be  governed  very  much,  in  con- 
sidering this  question,  by  principles  of  settled  con- 
victions of  any  kind.  The  aldermen  constituting  this 
remnant  of  other  days  have  now,  for  reasons  best 
known  to  themselves,  swayed  the  balance  in  favor 
of  municipal  ownershin.  The  victory  is  one  of 
which  the  honest  municipal-ownership  aldermen  are 
not    particularly    proud. 


January  27,  1906 

The  Franklin  Bicentenary. 
'I  he   two  lirin«li«<]tli    annivei  ai  j    of   thi    bi 
Benjamin    Franklin    wai    1  eli  bi  ated    «jrj    generally 
on    January    171b    i»    Boston,    Philadelphia,    New 
York,   Chicago   and   other    large   citie  .     In    Phila 
delphia,   where    Franklin   Bpenl    the  greater    pan    ol 
his    long    and    useful    life,    .-ill    the    public     chool 
many  churches,  societies  and   institutions   united   in 
observances,   and    at    nij:lit    lie  re    wag    a    beautiful 
illumination  of  the  greal   municipal  building.     The 

e: is,    however,    were   only    preliminary   to   the 

celebration,  which  will  be  held  Easter  week  in 
Philadelphia  and  in  France,  in  Boston  He-  state 
of  Massachusetts  and  the  cily  of  Boston  unit  d  m 
celebrating  the  two-hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
liirlb  of  Benjamin  Franklin.  I'nUie  exerri 
held  in  Symphony  Hall  in  the  presence  of  a  large 
company.  The  programme  included  the  singing 
of  historical  and  patriotic  selections  by  a  chorus 
of  pupils  from  the  Boston  public  schools  and  ad- 
dresses by  prominent  men.  There  were  also  publii 
meetings,  banquets  and  lectures  in  New  York, 
Chicago  and  elsewhere,  printers  and  publishers 
being  especially  conspicuous  in  paying  these  honors. 
An  interesting  feature  in  Chicago  was  the 
designation  of  January  171b  at  the  Electrical  Show 
as  "Franklin  Day."  Well  executed  bronze  medals 
were  given  free  to  all  in  attendance.  The  accom- 
panying illustration  shows  one  side  of  the  medal, 
with  the  head  of  the  philosopher  in  bas-relief. 

The  other  illustration  accompanying  this  article 
shows  the  statute  of  Franklin  designed  by  John 
J.  Boyle,  the  American  sculptor.  A  replica  of  this 
statue  is  to  be  unveiled  in  Paris  during  the  bicen- 
tenary celebration. 

It  is  interesting  to  review  at  this  time  what 
Franklin  did  for  science.  Why  should  scientific 
and  electrical  men  pay  tribute  to  bis  memory? 
The  Western  Electrician  can  perhaps  best  answer 
this  question  by  quoting  from  an  article  written 
by  the  late  John  B.  O'Hara,  at  that  time  managing 
editor  of  this  journal,  on  the  occasion  of  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  Franklin  statue  in  Lincoln  Park  in 
1896.  What  follows,  therefore,  is  from  Mr.  O'Hara's 
pen. 

Every  schoolboy  is  familiar  with  the  experiment 
that  made  Franklin's  name  immortal,  but  how  few 
educated  men  are  fully  acquainted  with  the  studies 
and  experiments,  the  labor  and  trials,  the  disap- 
pointments and  failures  experienced  by  this  emi- 
nent philosopher  in  solving  the  great  problem  of 
the  age?  There  were  many  considerations  that 
entered  into  the  subject  and  they  must  now  be 
recognized  if  proper  credit  is  to  be  given  for  the 
successful  accomplishment  of  Franklin's  great  un- 
dertaking. One  has  only  to  consider  the  preju- 
dices and  superstitions  of  the  people,  the  awe  with 
which  they  regarded  the  "celestial  fire"  in  those 
days,  to  realize  the  strength  of  mind  and  steadfast- 
ness of  purpose  which  Franklin  possessed.  "From 
lightning  and   tempest,   from   plague,   pestilence   and 


famine,"  the  Christian  world  prayed  for  delivery, 
and  the  full  meaning  and  significance  of  this  invo- 
cation of  divine  protection  or  interposition  can  best 
be  understood  after  an  examination  of  the  literature 
of  early  days.  It  abounds  in  reference  to  this  fire 
from  heaven — the  scourge  which  the  human  family 
most  dreaded.  Christian  nations  looked  to  the 
Almighty  for  protection  from  this  terrible  visita- 
tion of  the  wrath  of  Jehovah,  and  they  refused  to 
entertain  the  idea  that  divine  will  might  be  exer- 
cised through  the  instrumentality  of  man's  de- 
vices. This  sentiment-  prevailed  long  after  the 
announcement  of  Franklin's  discovery,  and  it  may 
be  said  to  have  many  supporters  at  the  present 
time. 

Abbe  Nollet  voiced  the  belief  of  the  age  when 
he  declared  it  "was  as  impious  to  ward  off  God's 
lightnings  as  for  a  child  to  resist  the  chastening  rod 
of  the  father."  And  yet  the  man  who  spoke  thus 
was  one  of  the  foremost  scientists  of  his  day  and 
generation.  He  had  followed  Franklin's  experi- 
mental work  in  its  development  with  no  little  inter- 
est, and  he  had  himself  devoted  much  thought  to 
the  identity  of  electricity  and  lightning.  His  treat- 
ise on  physics,  which  appeared  in  1748,  contained 
an  article  which  formed  a  valuable  contribution 
to  the  literature  of  this  subject.  In  this  he  says: 
"If  anyone  should  take  upon  him  to  prove  from 
well  connected  comparison  of  phenomena  that  thun- 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

thai   frighten  u  ,  and  thai  ii  . 
thai    1  cloud  prepared 

it    1,, 
trized   bod 

I,  would 

.Hid     in     Support     of    it    how     01 

pn  11  hi  1  hi  1 

■'.  nli    1  I'  ■  tricity." 

hu  . .    1 

nti  mporary;  yet  when 
innom of 


THE    BOYLE    STATUE    OK    FRANKLIN. 

ments  reached  Europe  and  the  means  to  which  the 
'discovery  was  to  be  applied.  Abbe  Nollet  did  not 
hesitate  to  condemn  the  plan  as  "an  impious  defi- 
ance of  the  power  of  the  Almighty."  He  had 
many  supporters,  too,  among  the  learned  men  of 
Europe  and  this  country. 

Still  Franklin  determined  to  utilize  his  discovery 
for  the  benefit  of  mankind  in  spite  of  adverse 
criticism  and  condemnation  of  many  who  had  for- 
merly admired  and  supported  him.  It  was  for  this 
purpose  that  he  had  labored  so  unceasingly,  that 
he  had  endured  privations  and  hardship  and  had 
braved   death   itself  in  the  pursuit  of  his  investiga- 

Franklin  was  eminently  practical;  all  of  his 
work  was  directed  toward  the  amelioration  of  the 
condition  of  his  fellows.  When  he  engaged  in  the 
study  of  electricity  in  '  1746  he  at  once  sought  a 
way  to  secure  some  practical  benefit  from  this  sci- 
entific toy.  It  was  in  the  experiments  conducted  at 
Philadelphia  that  it  was  first  demonstrated  that 
the  electric  motor  could  be  utilized  for  imparting 
motion  to  other  apparatus  and  doing  useful  mechan- 
ical work.  It  is  true  that  the  motor  with  which 
Franklin  and  his  associates  performed  the  experi- 
ment of  ringing  chimes  was  a  very  crude  affair 
and  not  at  all  like  the  finished  product  of  the 
present  day;  yet  this  early  utilization  of  electrical 
energy  is  abundantly  attested  and  is  accepted  by  the 
authorities. 

That  Franklin  was  actuated  by  philanthropic  mo- 
tives in  conducting  these  experiments  and  not  by 
a  desire  for  distinction  or  fortune  is  clearly  shown 
by  his  personal  correspondence  with  Peter  Collin- 
son,  the  English  merchant  and  trader,  who  was 
greatly  interested  ^in  the  work  of  the  American 
colonist  and  through  whom  Franklin  communi- 
cated his  discoveries  and  conclusions  to  the  Royal 
Society. 

Franklin  frequently  expressed  regret  in  the 
early  days  that  his  experiments  had  not  as  yet  de- 
veloped anything  of  practical  value.  "We  have 
been  hitherto  able  to  produce  nothing  in  this  way 
of  use  to  mankind,"  he  says  in  one  of  his  letters 
to  Collinson,  and  this  sentiment  often  finds  ex- 
pression in  his  correspondence,  but  he  continues 
hopeful  of  great  results,  and  in  another  of  his  let- 
ters he  outlines  his  plans  for  a  meeting  of  his 
friends  at  the  conclusion  of  his  experiments,  when 
"turkey  is  to  be  killed  by  the  electrical  shock  and 
roasted  by  the  electrical  jack  before  a  fire  kindled 
by  the  electrical  bottle;  when  the  healths  of  all  the 
famous  electricians  in  England,  Holland,  France 
and  German}'  are  to  be  drank  in  electrified  bump- 
ers under  the  discharge  of  guns  from  the  electrical 
battery."  This  fanciful  description  gave  many  the 
impression  that  the  New  World  possessed  a  master 
in  fiction,  a  dreamer,  and  the  great  philosopher  was 
ridiculed  for  his  boldness. 

The  history  of  his  preliminary  work,   if  such   it 


Hi 


advanl   . 
ough   I 

Ii    : 

II    upon    the   preliminai 
the   many   Intel 

,:  d    the 
that     bad     already     been 
England    becau  e   ■  I    thi     attentii  n    that    had   been 

olitary    Amen. 
who   had    overturned    many  cherished   ideas 
will    explain    thi  f    the    mind    in    which 

d    Society  considered    Franklin's   laiei 
tributioi  to    whom    these    had 

intrusted    for    transmission    to  realized 

their  importance,  but  be  was  unabli 
ih''  organization  to  ■-.''■  1 

The    rejected    paper:    comprised    the    r< 
Franklin's    scientific    lalw.rs.    his    final    cone. 
reached    after    years    of    application,    and     .: 
ful    explanation    of    the    reasons    that    led    him    to 
believe  that  electricity  and  lightning  were  identical. 
ived  methods;   he  had 
put  aside  bis  'electrical  bottles"  and  his  glass  tubes, 
the    face   of   nature    for   an 
explanation  of  the  phenomena.     He  had  utilized  the 
knowledge  gained   in  bis  preliminary   work   in  mak- 
ing his  deductions. 

Following  this  line  of  reasoning  to  its  logical 
conclusion  the  idea  was  forced  upon  him  that  light- 
ning could  be  drawn  from  the  clouds  by  means 
of  pointed  steel  rods  the  same  as  a  charge  of  elec- 
tricity could  be  drawn  from  one  body  by  a  pointed 
conductor.  "May  not  the  knowledge  of  this  power 
of  points  be  of  use  to  mankind  in  preserving 
bouses,  churches,  ships,  etc."?  is  the  query  pro- 
pounded by  Franklin.  He  believes  it  may,  and 
proceeds  to  tell  how  the  experiment  may  be  made. 
There  were'  no  buildings  in  Philadelphia  sufficiently 
tall  to  afford  facilities  for  this  test,  and  therefore 
his  conclusions  were  given  to  the  world  untried 
by  actual  experiment.  How  positive  must  have 
been  the  faith  of  the  great  philosopher  in  the  ac- 
curacy of  his  conclusions.  He  accompanied  his 
suggestions  by  detailed  instructions  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  experiment  should  be  carried  out. 
He  had  reached  the  conclusion  by  a  purely  mental 
process,  but  so  exact  was  he  in  all  the  details  that 
one  can  scarcely  believe  that  the  system  proposed 
was   not   developed   by  years  of  experience. 

This  document  is  most  convincing  proof  of  the 
high  order  of  the  intellectual  gifts  of  the  great 
American.  But  the  English  society  did  not  regard 
it  in  this  light ;  they  looked  upon  it  as  the  freak 
of  a  madman,  and  neither  Collinson  nor  Dr. 
Fothergill  could  persuade  their  associates  that  it 
should  be  given  a  trial  upon  its  merits.  It  was 
pronounced  too  absurd  to  be  seriously  considered 
by  a  society  of  English  scientists.  Franklin's 
friends  persisted  in  getting  his  contribution  before 
the  world,  and  when  the  leading  scientific  journal 
of  the  English-speaking  world  refused  to  admit  it  to 
its  columns  they  secured  its  publication  in  pamphlet 
form.  Only  a  limited  number  of  copies  were 
printed,  but  they  proved  a  drug  on  the  market.  A 
year  passed  and  still  there  was  no  evidence  that 
this  wonderful  discovery'  had  made  any  impression 
on  the  public  mind.  Then  a  copy  found  its  way 
into  the  hands  of  a  Frenchman:  it  appealed  to  him, 
and  he  gained  the  interest  Of  others.  It  was 
translated  into  the  French  language,  placed  on  sale 
in  Paris,  and  soon  the  French  capital  was  in  a 
fever  of  excitement  over  the  quaint  work.  The 
experiments  described  by  Franklin  were  performed 
before  the  scientific  societies  and  repeated  in  the 
presence  of  the  king. 

One  experiment  was  reserved  for  future  con- 
sideration. It  was  agreed  that  this  was  bv  far  the 
most  important  revelation  of  the  entire  work,  the 
experiment  with  the  pointed  rods,  which  had  been 
pronounced  by  the  Royal  Society  of  England  too 
visionary  for  the  serious  consideration  of  English 
scientists.  Elaborate  preparations  were  made  for 
this  test  at  Marly  la  Ville.  near  Paris,  and  also  in 
the  gay  French  capital.  It  is  unnecessary  here  to 
repeat  the  story  of  the  successful  experiment  or  to 
dwell  upon  the  sensation  produced  throughout  the 
entire  civilized  world  by  the  announcement.  The 
Royal  Society  was  incredulous,  but  when  the  facts 
were  communicated  to  the  French  Academy  bv 
eminent  scientists  that  body  placed  its  official  sanc- 
tion upon  the  so-called  "fairy  tale." 

When  the  news  reached  Philadelphia  there  was 
great  commotion.     Franklin   was   dissatisfied,   how- 


82 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  27,   1906 


ever.  In  the  French  experiments  the  pointed  rods 
were  only  40  feet  high  in  the  first  case  and  did 
not  extend  above  go  feet  in  the  second  test.  This 
did  not  prove  conclusively  that  the  electrical  charge 
from  the  clouds  had  been  dissipated  by  the  pointed 
rods.  But  how  was  he  to  conduct  experiments 
upon  a  more  extensive  scale?  There  was  no  tall 
building  in  Philadelphia  upon  the  top  of  which  he 
could  erect  a  rod  that  would  pierce  the  clouds. 
Then  came  the  idea  of  the  kite — an  idea  that  would 
have  made  the  Frenchmen  love  Franklin  even  had 
his  grand  experiment  failed.  But  it  was  one  that 
would  scarcely  find  favor  in  the  eyes_  of  his  fel- 
low citizens,  and  therefore  Franklin  did  not  com- 
municate  his   plans   to   his   associates. 

The  details  of  this  trial  need  not  be  enumerated 
here;  all  are  familiar  with  the  circumstances  and 
the  tale  has  been  told  to  every  generation  and  in 
every  clime.  The  fame  of  America's  first  and 
greatest  philosopher  spread  rapidly  to  all  lands. 
He  had  braved  death,  be  had  invited  destruction, 
and  had  he  perished  the  world  would  have  pro- 
nounced him  a  madman.  But  he  lived;  he  tri- 
umphed; his  theory  was  established  beyond  dis- 
pute ;  science  was  enriched ;  mankind  was  benefited, 
and  that  was  the  ultimate  aim  of  the  great  philoso- 
pher's   life.  

Proposed  Power  Development  from  the 
Glaciers  on  Mount  Hood. 

The  Mount  Hood  Electric  Company,  incorporated 
by  G.  W.  Waterbury  and  C.  W.  Miller  of  Port- 
land, Ore.,  and  Edwin  D.  Whitney  of  Chicago,  pro- 
poses to  develop  the  waterpowers  from  the  Big 
Sandy  and  Zigzag  glaciers  near  the  summit  of 
Mount  Hood  and  hopes  to  generate  80,000  horse- 
power to  be  carried  on  three  independent  transmis- 
sion lines  to  Portland  for  power  and  lighting  in 
competition  with  the  Portland  General  Electric 
Company,  which  at  the  present  time  controls  the 
production  and  distribution  of  electricity  in  the 
Willamette  Valley  bv  possession  of  the  water- 
rights  at  the  Oregon  City  falls  of  the  Willamette 
River. 

Bids  are  being  invited  for  equipment  of  the  first 
of  three  plants  to  be  constructed  by  the  Mount 
Hood  company  on  the  Sandy  River,  which  has  its 
source  in  the  Mount  Hood  glaciers,  and  drains  a 
watershed  embracing  500  square  miles.  Within 
these  limits  the  annual  precipitation,  according  to 
government  records,  is  84  inches,  or  .  double  the 
precipitation  at  the  city  of  Portland,  50  miles  dis- 
tant from  the  glaciers.  The  aggregate  effective 
head  at  the  three  plants  is  850  feet  and  is  secured 
by  using  the  water  at  different  points  for  14 
miles  along  the  upper  reaches  of  the   stream. 

Work  is  being  pushed  on  construction  of  a  five- 
mile  canal  for  plant  No.  1,  located  30  miles  from 
Portland.  The  available  water  supply  at  this  point 
is  about  600  second-feet,  and  a  head  of  300  feet 
will  be  obtained  by  taking  it  in  a  canal  to  a  reser- 
voir about  100  acres  in  extent  and  dropping  it 
into  the  wheels.  A  minimum  of  17,000  horsepower, 
it  is  said,  will  be  secured. 

After  the  water  is  discharged  from  the  wheels 
of  plant  No.  1  it  is  carried  in  a  canal  six  miles 
to  a  2C0-acre  basin  near  the  town  of  Bull  Run,  320 
feet  above  the  original  Sandy  River,  for  plant 
No.  2. 

At  this  point  the  waters  of  the  Little  Sandy 
River  also  are  discharged  into  the  basin  through 
a  flume  three  miles  in  length.  The  available  water 
supply  is  800  second-feet,  having  a  generating  ca- 
pacity continuously  of  24,000  horsepower.  This 
plant  is  located  22  miles  from  Portland.  The 
equipment  now  being  purchased  for  its  construction 
will  consist  of  six  hydraulic  units  having  a  devel- 
opment of  5,coo  horsepower  each,  with  a  speed  of 
450  revolutions  per  minute,  direct  connected,  the 
alternators  generating  three-phase  60-cycle  current 
at  2,200  volts,  each  having  a  normal  capacity  of 
2,500  kilowatts.  The  transformers  will  be  in 
banks  of  three,  having  a  normal  capacity  of 
5,000  kilowatts  per  bank ;  each  bank  thus  providing 
for  two  generators.  Bids  have  been  asked  for  six 
5,oco-horsepower  43-inch  high-pressure  Victor  tur- 
bines, 450  revolutions  per  minute,  Francis  type,  con- 
structed to  operate  in  a  spiral  cast-iron  flume  dis- 
charging through  a  cast-iron  quarter  turn  through 
the  draft  tube  into  the  tail   race. 

About  one  mile  below  the  No.  2  plant  the  water 
is  taken  from  the  stream  by  canal  and  woodstave 
pipe  and  carried  five  miles  along  the  mountain 
side  to  the  site  of  plant  No.  3.  Here  the  available 
water  supply  is  1,000  second-feet,  and  the  mean 
effective  head  under  which  it  is  to  be  discharged 
into  the  wheels  is  220  feet,  giving  about  20,000 
horsepower  at  the  generators.  The  development 
will  consist  of  four  5,coo-horsepower  units.  This 
plant's   location   is   16  miles  from   Portland. 

The  company  has  been  organized  with  a  di- 
rectory including  S.  B.  Cobb,  Samuel  Connel],  C.  W. 


Nottingham  and  eight  other  prominent  Portland 
business  men.  The  project  has  been  financed  by 
a  $1,000,000  bond  issue  to  the  Bank  of  America 
of   San   Francisco. 

It  is  pointed  out  that  peculiarly  favorable  condi- 
tions are  proved  by  government  records  to  exist 
on  the  mountain.  The  elevations  along  the 
stream  within  the  limits  of  the  development  vary 
from  2,000  feet  at  the  lower  plant  to  6,000  feet 
at  the  site  of  the  uppermost  plant  near  the  timber 
line.  The  glaciers,  lying  at  an  elevation  of  9,000 
feet,  will  furnish  the  bulk  of  the  water  supply  from 
July  15th  to  October  15th,  when  the  Oregon  rains 
begin.  Government  Camp  at  Bull  Run,  at  an  ele- 
vation of  9,000  feet,  records  an  annual  precipita- 
tion of  90  inches,  while  the  precipitation  at  Port- 
land is  only  43  inches.  At  Government  Camp  the 
average  maximum  temperature  is  84  and  the  mini- 
mum 33.  When  the  rains  on  the  lower  levels  of 
the  mountain  cease  in  the  late  spring  the  melting 
snows  in  the  timber  belt  on  the  higher  elevations 
continue  to  furnish  a  steady  supply  of  water  until 
late  in  July,  and  after  the  snow  below  timber  line 
disappears  the  water  comes  from  the  glaciers. 
Mount  Hood  is  11,500  feet  above  sea  level.         H. 


and  upon  the  streets  of  the  city  of  Chicago  hereinafter  described, 
so  as  to  provide  for  a  first-class  street-railway  system,  the  city  of 
Chicago  may  issue  and  dispose  of  its  interest-bearing  "street-rail- 
way certificates"  in  the  manner  provided  by  law,  not  to  exceed  the 
sum  of  S75.ooo.ooo. 
Sec.  2.  That  said  street-railway  certificates  or  the  proceeds 
sale  thereof  shall  be  used  by  the 
:  of  acquiring  either  by  purchase, 


in:' 

from 

Ihi 

'  issuan 

Of 

Chic; 

!"°, 

mdemni 

with 

tbe 

ets 

upon 

which  stree 

othe: 


Municipal  Ownership  Measures  of  Mayor 

Dunne  Passed  by  Chicago  City 

Council. 

By  a  complete  reversal  in  its  attitude  the  Chicago 
City  Council  last  week  rejected  the  franchise-exten- 
sion ordinances  drawn  by  the  local  transportation 
committee  when  the  aldermen  met  in  committee  of 
the  whole.  Instead  the  council  adopted,  by  a  vote 
of  37  to  28,  the  mayor's  $75,000,000  Mueller-certifi- 
cate ordinance,  allowing  the  city  to  purchase,  build 
and  maintain  street-railway  lines,  the  action  being 
subject  to  a  referendum  vote  of  the  people  at  the 
April  election.  Following  this,  the  council,  by  the 
same  vote,  passed  the  mayor's  ordinance  providing 
for  municipal  operation  of  the  lines,  also  subject 
to  a  vote  of  the  people. 

As  the  traction  situation  now  stands,  the  voters 
will  have  to  decide  clearly  whether  they  want  to 
place  $75,000,000  in  the  hands  of  the  aldermen  to 
go  into  the  street-railway  business.  Of  course 
should  the  people  ratify  the  council's  action,  it 
would  then  have  to  be  determined  in  court  whether 
the  provisions  of  the  Mueller  law  are  valid,  and 
then,  if  declared  valid,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
find  people  willing  to  put  their  money  into  the 
Mueller  certificates. 

The  action  of  the  council  came  as  a  great  sur- 
prise. All  along  a  good  majority  voted  against  the 
mayor's  municipal-ownership  ideas  and  stood  with 
the  local  transportation  committee,  which  was  by 
a  safe  majority  in  favor  of  renewing  the  com- 
panies' franchises  under  proper  restrictions.  This 
committee  worked  for  months  with  the  representa- 
tives of  the  traction  companies  and  finally  com- 
pleted what  it  considered  a  fair  agreement  with 
the  companies.  The  ordinance  so  drawn  provided 
compensation  to  the  city,  required  reconstruction 
into  first-class  systems  with  ample  service,  and 
contained  a  clause  under  which  the  city  could  buy 
the  lines  at  certain  defined  periods  during  the  20- 
year    term. 

This  ordinance,  the  principal  features  of  which 
have  appeared  in  the  Western  Electrician,  was  de- 
clared by  the  committee  to  be  the  best  available 
solution  of  the  tangled  situation  which  is  responsi- 
ble for  fhe  city's  inadequate  transportation  facilities. 
The  companies,  also,  declared  that  in  agreeing  to 
the  terms  of  the  ordinance  they  had  made  many 
concessions  and  would  not  accept  it  if  essentially 
changed  by  the  council. 

This  ordinance  was  reported  to  the  council  by 
the  committee,  to  be  considered  in  committee  of 
the  whole.  So  many  amendments  were  in  sight 
that  the  ordinance  was  at  once  referred  back  to  the 
committee,  which  undertook  to  pass  upon  them  and 
later  report  back  to  the  council.  It  at  once  became 
apparent  to  the  committee  that  the  amendments 
offered  were  considered  so  burdensome  by  the  com- 
panies that  the  traction  officials  would  reject  the 
ordinances  if  so  amended.     . 

When  the  council  met  last  week  to  consider  the 
committee's  report  about  a  dozen  aldermen  who 
-have  always  been  against  the  municipal  ownership 
ordinances  concluded  from  speeches  which  had  been 
made  that  it  would  be  useless  to  try  to  pass  the 
extension  ordinance,  and  when  someone  made  the 
motion  to  substitute  the  mayor's  $75,000,000  or- 
dinance for  the  extension  ordinance,  these  alder- 
men, following  the  lead  of  Alderman  Cullerton, 
voted  with  the  mayor's  supporters  with  the  result 
stated.  The  franchise-extension  advocates  then  re- 
fused to  have  their  ordinance  placed  on  the  baliot 
fnr  the  spring  election  with  the  mayor's  proposition. 

The  Mueller  certificate  ordinance  is  entitled:  "An 
ordinance  authorizing  the  city  of  Chicago  to  con- 
struct, acquire,  purchase,  own  and  maintain  street 
railways  within  its  corporate  limits  and  providing 
the  means  therefore,"  and  the  two  important  sec- 
tions  read : 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  city  council  of  the  city  of  Chicago: 
Section  1.     That  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  street  railways 
either   by   purchase,  construction,  condemnation,  or  otherwise   as 
provided  by  law,  and  for  the  equipment  of  such  street  railways  in 


thereof,  in   and  upon   and   along   the 
ilway  tracks  are  already  located. 

There  are  a  number  of  following  sections  which 
are  drawn  to  comply  with  the  intent  of  the  Mueller 
law.  They  provide  for  the  form  of  the  certificate 
to  be  issued  and  the  formation  of  a  sinking  fund 
to  care  for  their  retirement,  this  fund  to  be  in- 
vested at  compound  interest,  if  the  city  treasurer 
does  not  object.  They  provide  further  that  the 
street-railway  properties  to  be  acquired  be  mort- 
gaged to  secure  the  payment  of  these  certificates, 
and  none  of  the  money  received  from  their  ooera- 
tion,  except  interest  on  these  certificates  and  cost 
of  operation  and  expenses,  be  used  for  any  other 
purpose  than  a  sinking  fund  until  the  certificates 
are  wiped  out. 

If,  however,  there  is  a  surplus  after  the  sinking 
fund  has  been  provided  for  them  it  can  be  spent 
on  extensions,  which,  however,  shall  not  in  any  one 
year  exceed  five  per  cent,  of  the  total  mileage  of 
the  city's  roads. 

Provision  is  made  for  a  trustee  or  trustees  to 
whom  the  certificates  shall  be  issued  under  the 
mortgage  which  is  to  secure  them. 

The  second  ordinance — the  one  which  puts  up 
to  the  people  the  question  whether  they  want  to 
authorize  the  city  to  operate  street  cars,  as  well 
as  to  borrow  money  to  buy  them  with — quotes  the 
section  of  the  Mueller  law  which  reads:  "But  no 
city  shall  proceed  to  operate  street  railways  unless 
the  proposition  to  operate  shall  first  have  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  electors  of  such  city  as  a  separate 
proposition  and  approved  by  three-fifths  of  those 
voting  thereon." 


Sleet  Hampers  Transportation  and  Com- 
munication Facilities  in  Chicago. 

Chicago  and  the  .territory  for  200  miles  west, 
northwest  and  southwest  was  almost  cut  off  from 
telegraphic  and  telephonic  communication  with  other 
parts  of  the  country  by  an  unusually  heavy  blanket 
of  sleet  which  fell  late  Sunday  night.  Steam 
trains  and  electric  interurban  cars  entering  the  city 
were  delayed  on  Monday  morning.  In  the  city, 
service  on  the  elevated  roads  was  badly  delayed, 
and  the  interruption  continued  throughout  the  day 
and  following  night,  during  which  time  an  alter- 
nating storm  of  rain,  sleet  and  snow  kept  up.  The 
sleet  on  the  third  rail  was  the  worst  since  the  ele- 
vated   roads   were   constructed. 

Telegraph  lines  and  poles  became  strained  be- 
yond endurance  by  the  load  of  ice  which  formed, 
and  broke  down.  The  city  was  cut  off  from  the 
east  practically  all  day  on  Monday,  but  hundreds 
of  linemen  from  Chicago  and  other  cities  were  able 
to  repair  the  damage  sufficiently  so  that  by  night 
messages   were   coming   in   slowly. 

Communication  by  telephone  from  the  east  and 
south  was  even  more  difficult.  The  long-distance 
company  made  this  statement  of  conditions:  "Ex- 
traordinary roundabout  methods  of  electrical  com- 
munication were  attempted  on  a  scale  seldom  if 
ever  before  known.  New  York  endeavored  to 
reach  Chicago  by  way  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  to 
Duluth,  and  thence  south.  This  proved  unsuccess- 
ful, but  a  trunk  line  finally  was  established  on  a 
long-distance  telephone  wire  from  Minneapolis  to 
Cleveland,  via  St.  Louis.  Before  this  was  accom- 
plished, the  only  possible  route  from  the  east  was 
through  St.  Louis  and  Kansas  City  to  Salt  Lake, 
LTtah  and  Helena,  Mont.  From  Helena  there  was 
a  loophole  back  east  to  St.  Paul,  but  of  such  an 
uncertain  character  as  to  be  available  for  only  the 
most    important   brief    news    bulletins." 

Sunday  evening  the  lines  of  the  Postal  Telegraph- 
cable  Company  to  St.  Louis  began  to  break.  From 
then  on  the  progress  of  the  storm  could  be  traced 
as  it  came  from  the  southwest  by  the  successive 
breaks  that  occurred.  Monday  evening  messages  to 
and  from  Chicago  either  were  mailed  to  some  point 
from  where  they  could  be  sent  or  they  were  car- 
ried there  by  the  operators  who  took  them  on  the 
trains  to  and  from  South  Bend  and  other  cities 
where  the  wires  were  in  working  order. 

The  Western  Union  company  suffered  no  less 
severely,  and  the  few  lines  that  remained  intact 
gave  but  poor  service.  Its  difficulty  also  lay  toward 
the  east,  principally. 

Many  of  the  wires  of  the  municipal  light  plant 
in  Chicago  were  down  Sunday  night.  After  mid- 
night the  current  failed  in  many  West  Side  streets. 
In  Madison  Street  the  lights  were  out  at  two 
o'clock.  At  Forty-third  Street  several  telegraph  and 
telephone  poles  fell  down,  carrying  the  heavy  ca- 
bles with  them,  on  the  elevated  tracks  of  the  Rock 
Island    and    Wabash    roads. 


A  bill  has  been  introduced  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  em- 
powering the  governor  to  appoint  an  examining 
board  of  three  members  in  each  county  to  license 
master  electricians.  The  boards  shall  be  composed 
of  employing  or  master  electricians.  A  fee  of  $25 
is  provided  for  all  applicants  who  have  been  for 
five  years  previous  to  the  passage  of  the  act  master 
electricians,  and  an  gnpua]  registration  fee  of  $2 
rnay  be   charged, 


January  27,  1006 


WESTERN     ELECTR] 


Electrloal  Salesmen's  Association. 

The   American    Electrical    Sal 

organized   liy  the   salesmen   p t  at  th 

of  the   Illinois  State  Elci  trie  As  ;o<  iation   in    1 ' 

la  1    I  li  tobcr,   held   il  1   in  1   .1 1  d   mi  1 ■ 

1, rami    Pacific    Hotel   in   Chicago  on   January  20th. 
The  meeting   was   well   attended   and   the   membei 

were    enthusiastic    over    thi     pros] h 

association,    whose   influence   ha     already    been    fell 

for  mutual  benefit  and  tor  the  general  advance nl 

of  electrical  interests.  Electrical  salesmen,  the 
president  ventured,  arc  thi  I"  si  on  the  road.  I  [1 
pointed  out  that  «  hile  the  objeel  of  the  a  isoi  iation 
is  primarily  for  the  general  bi  ttei  mi  nl  ol  its  own 
members,  il  will,  nevertheless,  stimulate  the  bn  in 
of  those  making  or  dealing  in  electrical  device 
and  must  also  benefit  those  in  thai  branch  ol  thi 
industry   interested   in   the  broad     ubjeel   of  selling 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  in  the  forei 

by  President   Vincent  Cray  of  St.  Loui        I  hi    for 
n   meeting   was   a   business   session    for   membei 


!  i    autho 

and 

i  hi    accoi 

I 
the  oi'  ml  ■ 
tin    pii 

it '.ii-    :  bUl 

tp      Reading  left  to  right,   P 

nd    Secretary   1  th,    rc- 

pectivelj     in 
\\  hili 

towi  '       ■     who   have   already   come    in 

will  no  'I-  '  '     I  mul  larfi 

il in       \il   '.-  ho 

of  electrical  macl 

1  1 1  1    nature,   and    thosi  1 ctcd 


only.  The  association  already  has  a  membership 
of  250,  with  excellent  prospects  for  a  large  increase 
during  the  present  year.  At  the  meeting  the  name 
was  changed  to  simply  "Electrical  Salesmen's  As- 
sociation," dropping  the  word  American.  Emblems 
bearing  the  new  initials  will  soon  be  distributed  to 
take  the  place  of  the  old  ones. 

The  permanent  headquarters  of  the  association 
will  be  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  One  of  the  purposes 
of  the  organization  is  to  educate  its  members  along 
the  line  of  distributing  circulars  and  written  ad- 
dresses from  such  speakers  as  appear  before  the 
association  in  the  various  cities  at  various  times 
during  the  year.  This  will  give  each  and  every 
member  of  the  association  an  opportunity  to  read 
the  address  and  become  familiar  with  the  general 
line  of  work  intended  to  be  carried  out  bv  the 
association.  Members  and  prospective  members  are 
invited  to  call  upon  the  secretary  for  any  informa- 
tion they  may  desire,  or  when  in  the  city  of  Chi- 
cago they  are  at  liberty  to  make  their  headquarters 
at  the  association  rooms — Room  51,  88  Washington 
Street. 

The  new  by-laws  will  be  distributed  within  the 
course  of  the  next  two  weeks,  so  that  members  may 
study  them  to  become  familiar  with  the  object  and 
purpose  of  the  association.  A  clause  has  been  in- 
serted in  the  revised  by-laws  stipulating  annual 
dues,  which  will  be  $2.  In  addition  to  this,  $1 
initiation  fee  will  be  charged. 

At  the  afternoon  session  guests  were  admitted. 
President  Gray  opened  the  meeting  and  introduced 
Mr.  Howard  S.  Taylor,  city  prosecuting  attorney, 
who,  as  the  personal  representative  of  Mayor 
Dunne,  heartily  welcomed  the  salesmen  to  the  city. 
Mr.  Gray  then  made  a  short  and  pleasing  address. 

Mr.  J.  Robert  Crouse  of  Cleveland  gave  an  illus- 
trated address  in  which  he  outlined  a  proposed  co- 
operative new-business-getting  campaign  for  stimu- 
lating the  use  of  current-consuming  devices.  His 
plan  proposes  co-operation  among  manufacturers, 
publishers,  jobbers,  dealers,  contractors,  societies, 
associations,  salesmen,  central  stations,  etc.  Among 
these,  Mr.  Crouse  said,  there  exists  a  community 
of  interests  for  the  promotion  of  the  increased  use 
of  electrical  appliances  and  devices  by  the  public 
for  light,  heat  and  power.  The  details  of  Mr. 
Crouse's  proposed  business-getting  campaign  are 
given  in  another  column  of  this  issue.  He  has 
been  interested  in  the  incandescent-lamp  business 
for  some  time,  as  well  as  in  the  manufacture  of 
carbons   and   electrical  glassware. 

"Modern  American  Meter  Practice"  was  the  sub- 


JLECTRICAL    SALESMEN  S   CONVENTION. 

with  the  advertising  departments  of  electrical  jour- 
nals are  eligible  to  membership. 

The  officers  and  committees  of  the  association  are 
as   follows : 

President,  Vincent  Gray.  2119  Locust  Street,  St. 
Louis;  vice-president.  Cecil  R.  Wood,  Moline,  111.; 
secretary-treasurer.  George  H.  Erick,  88  Washing- 
ton   Street,    Chicago. 

Executive  committee,  Vincent  Gray,  Cecil  R 
Wood,   George   H.    Erick. 

Finance  committee,  Arthur  Jones,  Thomas  G. 
Grier,  Vincent  Gray. 

Membership  committee.  J.  B.  McCarthy,  .-v.  A. 
Morton,    E.    P.   Magoon. 

General  advancement  committee.  Frank  L.  Pern', 
J.  T.  McNaier,  James  R.  Cravath.  W.  W.  Moore. 
C.    A.    S.    Howlett. 

Co-operative  committee,  J.  S.  Corby,  Francis  Ray- 
mond. James   S.    Campbell. 

Auditing  committee,  E.  W.  Kearns,  H.  N.  Rem- 
ington,   Darwin    Ukle. 


Proposed  Power  Transmission  in  West- 
ern New  York. 

The  New  York  State  Gas  and  Electricity  Com- 
mission has  given  a  hearing  on  the  application  of 
the  Niagara  Electrical  Transmission  Company  to 
increase  its  capital  stock  from  $100,000  to  $5,000,- 
000,  and  also  for  permission  to  purchase  the  obliga- 
tions of  the  Albion  Power  Company  and  the  stock 
and  obligations  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Gas  and  Elec- 
tric Light  Company.  The  Niagara  Falls  Transmis- 
sion Company  is  an  international  company,  and  it 
was  organized  to  act  as  the  transmitting  agent  for 
the  Electrical  Development  Company  of  Ontario, 
Limited,  which  company  is  developing  power  in 
Victoria  Park  on  the  Canadian  side  at  Niagara 
Falls.  It  expects  to  begin  work  very  soon  on  the 
construction  of  its  transmission  line  from  the  Ni- 
agara Falls  to  Rochester  and  other  points.  While 
the  line  will  not  parallel  that  of  the  Niagara,  Lock- 
pert  and  Ontario  Power  Company,  the  Niagara 
Electrical  Transmission  Company  will  be  the  great- 
est competitor  of  this  company,  especially  eastward 
from  Niagara  Fails  toward  Rochester.  The  presi- 
dent of  the  Niagara  Electrical  Transmission  Com- 
pany is  Frederic  Nichols  of  Toronto.  Hon.  Frank 
A.  Dudley  of  Niagara   Falls  is  vice-president. 


Indiana  Engineering  Association. 

annual 

mond,  '■ 

nd  including  1' 

the  on. 

lUntry.     II'-  planned  and 

-in'!   Milwaukee   system,   wl 

in  July.  be  put 

d  10  run   from  a  rr,,rral  allcr- 

iransmi 

for  almost   any   length 

ommon,  ami  tin-  potential  van.--   irom  0/300 
10   50,000   volts.     The   introd  nethod 

ment  of 
long  lines      Up  t      n/35  the  three-phase  alternating 
current    had    been    the    only    form    of    hi^k  I 
alternating    current    1:  Al- 

though been    working    on    the    sin- 

e  method   for  probably 

say    that    the    first    commercial    su* 
ibis    line    was    the    installation    of    the    Indi  11 
and    Cincinnati    traction    line    between    Indianapoli* 
and    Rushville,   a    distance   of   40   miles,    which    was 
in    July,    1905.      Thirty-seven    miles    in    40 
minutes   have  been  made  on   tin 

Prof.  J.  I>  Hoffman  of  Purdue  University  in  a 
committee  report  said  that  in  the  product 
electric  power  from  walerpower  tv 
reported  in  Indiana — one  at  West  Muncie  and  the 
other  near  Monticello  on  the  Tippecanoe  Ki 
the  Litter  it  is  proposed,  by  the  construct! 
short  dam,  t.,  form  a  reservoir  into  which  will 
How  the  rainfall  from  the  surrounding  territory. 
A  waterpower  plant  is  then  to  be  installed  with 
the  necessary  water  turbines  and  - 
orm  a  complete  electric  generating  plant.  This 
plant  is  now  in  the  process  of  designing.  Through- 
out the  state  a  number  of  pi  for  elec- 
tric lighting  are  being  built.  Some  of  these  are 
municipal  and  some  private;  some  are  in  connec- 
tion with  water-supply  service  and  some  are  in 
connection  with  central  heating  plants.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  note,  he  said,  where  such  plants  are 
installed,  that  economy  of  operation  is  taken  into 
account.  This  is  exhibited  by  the  fact  that  first- 
class  machinery,  such  as  engines,  boilers,  coal-con- 
veying systems,  mechanical  stokers  and  the  like 
are  being  demanded.  Central-station  heating  and 
lighting  plants  are  being  talked  of  for  Fort  Wayne. 
Auburn  and  Oakdale.  The  new  plant  of  the  In- 
dianapolis Light  and  Heat  Company  has  just 
opened  up  for  service,  with  1,500-kiIowatt  Curtis 
turbines  and  boilers  equipped  with  superheaters. 

The  increased  activity  in  interurban  engineering 
work,  said  Mr.  Hoffman,  is  more  pronounced  than 
in  any  other  line.  The  experience  of  the  past 
few  years  has  shown  that  there  is  a  big  demand 
for  the  electric  road  for  local  service.  The  single- 
phase  alternating-current  system  is  giving  good  sat- 
isfaction, and  he  did  not  doubt  would  lead  to  a 
more  extended  use  of  this  system  within  the  state 
in  the  near  future.  Of  the  existing  power  stations 
in  the  state  those  of  esoecial  interest  are  the 
Anderson  station  and  the  Rushville  station.  These 
represent  the  two  classes  of  electric  power  gen- 
erators and  are  considered  first-class  in  the  quality 
of  the  equipment.  The  steam  turbine  is  being 
installed  instead  of  the  steam  engine  in  some  of 
the  large  electrical  plants.  Economy  of  operation 
and  economy  of  floor  space  are  both  controlling 
factors  in  their  selection.  High-pressure  steam  for 
engines  and  turbine  work  is  responsible  for  better 
grades  of  material  and  workmanship  in  boiler  con- 
struction. 

Other  papers  were  presented  bv  Hugo  Diemer 
of  Indianapolis  on  "Graft  in  Large  Industrial  Es- 
tablishments" and  on  a  "Combined  Water  Supplv 
and  Electric-light  Plant  for  Towns."  by  Prof.  R.  L. 
Sackett  of  Earlham  College.  Richmond.  Mr.  Diemer 
said  that  the  greatest  difficulty  that  confronts  fac- 
tory owners  is  the  scarcity  of  capable  men  to  fill  the 
head  and  staff  positions.  "America  needs  experts  in 
distribution  as  well  as  experts  in  production  if  she 
expects  to  assume  her  natural  leadership  in  trade. 
The  all-round  machinist  is  almost  extinct.  Ma- 
chine-shop foremen  who  have  advanced  from  the 
ranks  are  men  who  are  proficient  as  a  rule  on  but 
one  tool,  and  are  not  competent  judges  of  the  best 
way  to  do  work  on  all  the  different  machines." 

The  meeting  concluded  with  a  trip  to  Rushville 
over  the  single-phase  traction  line  and  a  banquet 
at  night.  Robert  P.  Woods  was  re-elected  presi- 
dent, E.  E.  Walls  vice-president  and  Charles  C. 
Brown   secretary. 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


January  27,   ic 


SELLING  ELECTRICITY. 


Under  this  headinc  will  appear,  from  time  to  time,  articles,  suggestion 
to  increase  the  existing  demand  for  electri 

The  Sale  of   Electric  Light  and   Power. 

By   S.   Morgan   Bushnell. 

The  two  most  important  elements  in  the  art  of 
selling  are  price  and  personality.  Both  are  equally 
important,  as  no  salesman,  however  pleasing  his 
personality,  can  hold  his  customers  very  long  if 
his  prices  are  very  far  out  of  line.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  poor  salesman  with  a  disagreeable  manner 
will  repel  the  prospective  purchaser,  even  if  he  is 
presenting  a  good  proposition. 

While  the  above  two  elements  are  needed  in 
every  form  of  business,  they  are  especially  re- 
quired in  the  exploitation  and  sale  of  electric  light 
and   power. 

Someone  has  said  that  the  time  to  commence 
training  a  child  is  ioo  years  before  it  is  born. 
In  like  manner,  in  order  to  have  a  successful 
central  station,  it  will  be  necessary  to  start  right 
with  the  first  investment  and  have  a  station  so 
designed  as  to  be  capable  of  producing  a  kilowatt- 
hour  of   electricity   at   a   minimum   of   cost. 

Combination,  co-operation,  consolidation,  the  de- 
velopment of  large  enterprises — such  are  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  business  evolution  of  the  twen- 
tieth century.  The  reason  why  the  large  depart- 
ment store  is  supplanting  the  smaller  store  and 
supply  house  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  can  supply  a 
better  assortment  of  goods  and  at-  more  attractive 
prices  than  the  small  retail  dealer.  The  essential 
economic  reason  why  the  central-station  company 
should  be  a  success  is  the  fact  that  it  can  produce 
electric  power  and  light  and  sell  it  with  profit  at  a 
lower  price  than  the  cost  of  producing  power  and 
light  from  the  small  isolated  plant.  The  central 
station  that  sells  current  at  a  high  price  may  appear 
to  be  successful  for  a  short  time,  but  any  enduring 
success  must  be  based  upon  economic  conditions. 

A  few  years  ago  one  of  the  large  electric-light 
and  power  companies  had  a  net  income  of  over 
20  per  cent,  on  its  capital  stock  in  one  year.  From 
one  viewpoint  the  year  was  very  successful,  but 
the  fact  remained  that  during  that  year  smaller 
competitive  plants  were  springing  up  all  over  the 
city.  A  new  management  took  hold  of  the  prop- 
erty ;  prices  were  reduced,  large  sums  of  money 
were  spent  in  improving  the  character  of  the  serv- 
ice, and  profits  dropped  from  20  per  cent,  to  scarcely 
eight  per  cent.  A  superficial  observer  might  ex- 
pect that  the  value  of  the  company's  stock  would 
be  cut  in  two.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  market 
value  of  the  stock,  after  a  slight  dip,  began  to 
improve  instead  of  decline.  The  reason  for  this 
lay  in  the  fact  that  the  investing  public  approved 
of  the  far-sighted  policy  of  the  new  management 
in  putting  the  company  in  a  position  successfully 
to  meet  competition  and  also  cover  the  territory 
which  naturally  belonged  to  it.  A  great  many  cen- 
tral-station companies  and  a  great  many  other  en- 
terprises fail  on  account  of  lack  of  judgment  in 
the  matter  of  price. 

A  new  street  railway  started  up  in  a  western 
town.  The  fare  was  10  cents  for  a  single  ride ;  the 
road  did  not  pay  expenses.  The  fare  was  then 
raised  to  15  cents,  and  the  road  went  into  the 
hands  of  a  receiver.  The  receiver  was  a  wise  man 
in  his  day;  he  reduced  the  fare  to  five  cents,  and 
the  road  became  a  paying  proposition. 

The  company  that  makes  a  success  of  selling 
electricity  will  make  its  price  as  attractive  as  pos- 
sible, will  place  as  few  restrictions  as  possible 
around  the  use  of  the  current,  and  thereby  give  to 
its  agents  a  proposition  which  will  naturally  invite 
business  in  and  of  itself.  In  establishing  a  scale 
of  prices,  there  is  always  a  golden  mean.  If  prices 
are  too  high,  the  business  of  the  company  is  cur- 
tailed, and,  on  the  other  hand,  if  prices  are  too 
low,  a  large  increase  of  business  may  mean  only 
disaster  to  the  enterprise.  It  is  therefore  necessary 
that  every  central  station  maintain  a  strict  record 
and  analysis  of  its  costs,  so  that  it  may  have  a 
clear  idea  of  where  to  draw  the  dividing  line 
between  the  loss  of  business  and  the  loss  of  money 
through    unprofitable    business. 

The  second  requisite — personality — is  the  com- 
bination of  qualities  hard  to  define,  yet  easily 
recognized  by  the  experienced  business  man.  which 
go  to  make  up  a  good  salesman.  A  good  salesman 
is  not  a  chance  combination.  There  are  certain 
characteristics  which  apply  to  a  good  salesman,  and 
which  have  long  been  recognized.  For  this  reason, 
during  recent  years,  schools  have  been  established 
for  the  training  of  salesmen.  The  training  is 
based  on  the  scientific  arrangement  and  study  of 
the    various    positive    qualities    which    are    required 


nples  which  1 


effort 


for  salesmanship,  and  the  basis  of  the  whole  sys- 
tem is  the  cultivation  of  character. 

It  is  an  old  proverb  that  "honesty  is  the  best 
policy;"  yet  many  men,  especially  young  men,  are 
inclined  to  laugh  at  the  idea  of  character  as  a 
business  asset.  The  commonly  received  notion  of 
a  good  salesman  is  that  of  a  hale-fellow,  well-met, 
ready  at  any  time  for  a  drink,  a  smoke,  or  a 
story;  in  short,  a  man  who  can  associate  himself 
with  a  customer  in  the  way  of  having  a  good  time 
and  thus  secure  his  business.  In  former  times 
there  may  have  been  a  measure  of  truth  in  this 
assumption,  and  so  far  as  this  assumption  includes 
the  idea  of  a  cheerful,  pleasing  manner,  it  is  true 
today;  but  the  above  type  of  salesman,  if  these 
are  his  only  qualifications,  is  sure  to  fail.  This  is 
an  age  of  keen,  close,  calculating  competition.  The 
man  who  has  a  proposition  submitted  to  him  must 
have  a  reason  why  before  he  acts,  and  the  suc- 
cessful salesman  must  not  only  have  a  sound,  con- 
vincing argument,  but  must  have  the  character 
to  back  it. 

Many  of  us  have  heard  the  story  of  Daniel  Web- 
ster in  that  great  meeting  in  Faneuil  Hall  in  Boston, 
when,  in  the  midst  of  his  speech,  he  reached  a 
momentary  climax  and  exclaimed,  "Destroy  the 
Whig  party  and  where  am  I  to  go?"  The  story 
states  that  everyone  held  his  breath,  wondering 
where  he  would  go.  If  Daniel  Webster  had  been 
five  feet  six  inches  in  height  and  of  ordinary  per- 
sonality, every  man  in  the  audience  would  have 
thought  to  himself,  "Who  in  the  world  cares  where 
you    go." 

It  is  character  that  commands  sympathy,  con- 
fidence and  respect,  and  an  argument,  no  matter 
how  ingenious  or  plausible,  without  character  to 
back  it,  is  likely  to  fall  short  of  its  object. 

A  great  many  central-station  companies  are  in- 
clined to  consider  the  sale  of  current  as  a  merely 
mechanical  operation.  They  figure  that  the  at- 
tractive qualities  of  electricity  for  light  and  power 
must  be  apparent  to  everybody,  and  that  therefore 
the  securing  of  business  is  merely  the  work  of 
filling  out  contracts  and  securing  signatures  where- 
ever  people  are  found  who  need  this  commodity. 
As  a  result  they  are  inclined  to  employ  a  cheap 
class  of  men  for  this  work,  relying  on  the  sup- 
position that  the  customer  must  necessarily  use  the 
current,  rather  than  on  any  attractive  presentation 
of  the  merits  of  electricity  as  compared  with  other 
methods  of  securing  illumination  and  power.  As 
a  result  a  great  deal  of  business  is  lost,  and  the 
fact  that  this  business  is  lost  may  never  be  realized 
by  the  central-station  company.  On  the  other  hand, 
salesmen  themselves  very  often  underestimate  the 
importance  of  their  position.  You  will  sometimes 
hear  a  salesman  complain  of  his  lack  of  oppor- 
tunity, saying  he  is  merely  a  salesman,  an  "electric- 
light  peddler."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  oppor- 
tunities for  a  good  salesman  are  fully  equal  to 
those   offered   in   any   line  of   effort. 

Some  time  ago  the  writer  was  talking  with  a 
department  manager  of  one  of  the  largest  electrical 
concerns  in  the  country,  and  the  latter  referred  to 
a  certain  man  with  the  remark,  "That  man  draws 
one  of  the  biggest  salaries  that  is  paid  by  our 
company."  When  asked  what  department  this  man 
had  charge  of,  he  answered,  "He  has  no  depart- 
ment, and  no  one  reports  to  him,  but  he  is  the  best 
salesman  employed  by  this  company."  This  instance 
is  cited  simply  to  show  that  large  commercial 
institutions  recognize  the  value  of  a  good  salesman. 

It  is  not  easy  to  find  a  man  of  executive  ability — 
a  man  who  is  capable  of  handling  men  and  con- 
trolling large  enterprises.  It  is  still  harder  to  find 
a  first-class  salesman,  namely,  a  man  who  can  in- 
fluence the  actions  of  others,  not  by  virtue  of  any 
.position  or  authority,  but  simply  by  the  winning 
power   of  his    argument   and   attractive   personality. 

A  few  years  ago  many  companies  were  inclined 
to  doubt  the  wisdom  of  advertising.  They  would 
say,  "Why,  everybody  in  town  knows  that  we  are 
furnishing  electricity.  What  is  the  use  of  adver- 
tising?" At  the  present  time,  however,  the  more 
progressive  companies  are  paying  great  attention  to 
this  method  of  securing  business,  recognizing  the 
natural  inertia  which  tends  to  make  people  leave 
things  as  they  are  rather  than  to  adopt  any  new 
improvement.  Judicious  advertising,  by  keeping  the 
subject  constantly  before  the  people,  together  with 
its  merits  and  advantages,  soon  sets  them  to  think- 
ing, and  the  result  is  that  the  salesman  has  a  much 
easier  task  when  he  in  turn  presents  his  proposi- 
tion. 

In    the    installation    of    electrical    machinery    the 


best  engineers  have  adopted  the  motto  that  "The 
best  is  none  too  good."  In  like  manner,  in  the 
development  of  central-station  properties,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  follow  a  large  and  progressive  policy.  The 
best  investment  that  a  central-station  company  can 
make  is  to  secure  first-class  talent  for  its  light 
and  power  solicitors.  The  results  may  not  be  fully 
apparent  the  first  year,  but  as  time  goes  on  the 
company  that  surrounds  itself  with  a  force  of 
strong  and  efficient  salesmen  and  provides  these 
salesmen  with  a  just  and  equitable  scale  of  prices 
will  year  by  year  secure  a  most  satisfactory  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  customers  and  at  the  same 
time  will  have  a  business  which  is  established  on 
a   sound   and   substantial  basis. 


COMMUNICATION. 

Co-operation  in  Stimulating  the  Use   of 
Current-consuming  Devices. 

To  the   Editor  of  the  Western  Electrician : 

A  few  introductory  remarks,  with  your  indulg- 
ence, possibly  at  the  expense  of  platitude,  as  to  the 
basis  and  theory  of  this  proposed  co-operation. 

Association  and  co-operation  are  increasingly  the 
watchwords  of  modern  commercialism.  "Competi- 
tion is  the  life  of  trade"  crystallizes  the  sentiment 
of  a  period  in  business  development  which  is  merg- 
ing into  a  new  regime,  characterized  by  the  senti- 
ment,  "Co-operation   is  the   life   of  trade." 

Not  co-operation  of  manufacturers  or  others  to 
set  prices  or  conditions  of  sale  to  the  buyer,  but 
broad-gauged  co-operation  among  all  the  different 
interests,  through  associations,  societies  or  otherwise, 
working  for  general  progress  and  improvement  on 
the  basis  of  the  square  deal.  Through  such  co- 
operation furthermore  developing  the  strength  to 
attain  an  approximation  to  it. 

The  governors  of  the  western  states  believed  the 
American  people  should  see  the  wonders  of  the 
West  before  spending  their  money  to  visit  Europe. 
They  met  and  devised  co-operative  plans  for  bring- 
ing this  about.     This  was  modern  co-operation. 

The  governors  of  13  southern  states  appreciated 
that  the  South  needed  more  people  to  develop  her 
great  natural  resources.  They  recently  met  and 
made  plans  for  co-operating  in  the  expenditure  of 
both  time  and  money  to  accomplish  this  result 
This  was  modern  co-operation. 

These  two  instances  might  be  otherwise  charac- 
terized as  associated  or  co-operative   self-interest. 

While  experience  amply  proves  that  self-interest 
is  the  great  "prime  mover"  in  the  affairs  of  men, 
the  more  widely  it  can  be  made  co-operative  or 
associated  (necessitating  the  recognition  of  the 
rights  of  others)  the  more  nearly  it  exercises  its 
most  proper  and  efficient  function  in  the  line  of 
progress. 

May  it  not  be  well  to  consider  whether  there 
does  not  exist  likewise  in  this  great  electrical  field 
a  common  ground  on  the  basis  of  which  co-opera- 
tion of  this  kind,  in  some  degree  at  least,  may  be 
broadly    undertaken    to    the   advantage   of   all? 

At  first  blush,  it  may  seem  that  our  interests  are 
too  diversified  and  conflicting  as  manufacturers, 
publishers,  jobbers,  dealers,  contractors,  societies, 
associations,  salesmen,  central  stations,  etc.,  but 
when  we  have  reviewed  all  the  interests,  conflicting 
or  harmonious,  the  fact  remains  that  they  form  a 
continuous  chain  (kinks  and  all)  from  the  manu- 
facturer  to   the   consumer. 

This  great  body  of  86,000,000  consumers,  spending 
$12,000,000,000  annually,  or  putting  it  into  the  bank 
for  future  expenditure,  controls  the  exchequer  from 
which  we  are  all.  directly  or  indirectly,  endeavor- 
ing to  secure  an  honest  livelihood  in  turn  for  the 
making,  selling,  installing  or  distributing  of  elec- 
trical  apparatus,   supplies   and   current. 

If  this  be  true,  it  suggests  that  there  does  exist 
a  community  of  interest  among  us  all  for  the  pro- 
motion of  the  increased  use  of  electrical  appliances 
and  devices  by  the  public  for  light,  heat  and  power, 
as  against  all  competitive  means  and  methods  for 
the   same   purposes. 

Any  increased  success  in  accomplishing  this 
through  co-operation  obviously  predicates  greater 
demand  for  "Everything  Electrical,"  from  the  coal 
pile  to  the  final  appliances  through  which  the  public 
is  electrically  served. 

The  question,  then,  is :  Can  any  scheme  of  prac- 
tical co-operation  be  devised  which  will  bring  about 
the  result  desired  by  all,  and  will  such  results  prob- 
ably be  large  enough  to  justify  the  expenditure  of 
both  time  and  money  in  their  accomplishment? 

This  is  a  subject  which  has  interested  the  incan- 
descent-lamp manufacturers  for  a  year  past.  We  be- 
lieve such  co-operation  is  not  only  possible,  but 
profitably  so.  As  "faith  without  works"  is  profit- 
less, these  manufacturers  have  backed  their  faith 
with  an  appropriation  of  $10,000,  to  which  has  been 
added  another  $10,000  from  other  sources,  for  the 
initiation   of  the  plans. 

It  has  been  determined  to  undertake  practical 
work  along  co-operative  lines  through  the  medium 
of  the  Co-operative  Electrical  Development  Asso- 
ciation. 

While  this  association  will  look  to  the  manu- 
facturers generally  for  the  revenue  with  which  to 
prosecute  the  plans,  equal  importance  is  attached  to 


January   27.    [906 

ig   the  moral   co-operation   of   all   other  elcc- 
trical  interest: ,    ioi  ietii     and  ationt. 

Ii    would   al    1I11     I""'    l"    pr    latui 

Ihc  detailed   plans   of   thi     ni   v    i 

11 1  r  ■-.  itii  .   had   both    ar I   and    in  tifv  d 

interest    in    them,     n    may    bi       iid     hot 

way    of    passing,    thai     they    havi     bci 

freely   laid   before   many   men   in   the    variou     elci 

trica]    inti  rests,    «  hosi     1  our  1  I     md    ci  itici  im    ha 

bi  en      •  ■n^lil    and    secured.      VVri; 1 

merit  they  may  now  posse  is  is  atti  ibul  ibli    I 
hearty  co  operation  and   ci uragement, 

As  initial  progress  in  Ibis  mil  1 1.-1 .  linn  pn  jlil,- 
along   1I11"  e  lines  in  the  pa  1.    0,  foi    the  futun  .    ! 

points  for  continued  and  permanent     to 

tematic  cultivation  of  th<     ami     oun 

Your    attention    is    respeel  full}    1  alii  'I    to 
campaign    ol  commercial  busincs    getting  literature 
which   either  are,  01    arc  aboul   to   be,   issued  to  all 
the    central    lighting    stations    ol    the    country,    in 

direct  line  with  the  purpose  of  the  new   a    01  ii n, 

through   the    medium     of    co-operating    adverti  ing 

I" 

The  objects  of  the  new  association  arc  one  in 
common  with  the  electrical  technical  pre  along 
all  lines  looking  to  increased  commercial  > 
directly  or  indirectly,  in  the  sale  of  current,  and  ii 
will  both  seek  their  co-operation,  and  endeavor  in 
turn  to  co-operate  with  them,  along  any  practicable 
lines. 

Finally,  coincident  with  the  recenl  and  prospective 
great  advances  made  by  the  mechanical  and  elei 
trical  engineers  in  increasing  the  efficiency  of  prime 
movers,  the  means  of  transmission,  and  the  final 
appliances  through  which  the  public  is  served,  this 
new  association  stands  for  a  vigorous  attempt  to 
match,  and,  if  possible,  to  exceed,  these  accom- 
plishments in  the  commercial  field,  through  a  gen 
eral  appeal  to  the  selling  ingenuity  of  the  fraternity 
for   effort   along   co-operative   lines. 

To  you,  if  sufficiently  interested  in  the  detailed 
plans  of  the  new  association,  as  they  have  thus  far 
been  developed,  the  writer  would  be  pleased,  upon 
request,  to  submit  the  preliminary  prospectus  for 
criticism   and    comment. 

In  the  spirit  of  "Co-operation,"  and  to  the  senti- 
ment, "All  together,  all  the  time,  for  everything 
electrical,"    I    am    most    respectfully   yours, 

J.  Robert  Crouse, 

Cleveland,  Ohio    (1814   Forty-fifth   Street,  N.   E.), 
January  20,    1906. 


Central-station  Advertising. 

That  advertising  in  the  local  newspapers  of 
towns  and  cities  helps  central-station  managers  to 
sell  their  current  is  conceded.  The  Portland  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company  of  Portland,  Ore.,  one  of 
the   large   and   successful   central-station   companies. 


ds THE  25°/o  CUT  IN  RATES  FOR 

A  NEW  YEAR'S  C1FT  p.  rpTnif      I  IfUT 

TO  ALL  PORTLAND  EJLXA-.  1 IX1V*     LaVJTI  1 

=P GOES  INTO  EFFECT  TODAY! 


It  Means  Electric  Light  for  EVERY  HOME- In  EVERY  STORE! 


RECENT    EXAMPLE    OF 


AL- STATION    ADVERTISING. 


is  a  believer  in  this  method  of  publicity.  Its  ads 
are,  of  course,  well  written  and  attractive — an 
essential  feature  in  getting  busy  people  to  spend 
time  in  reading  what  the  ad  has  to  offer.  The 
accompanying  illustration  is  a  reproduction  of  a 
full-page  ad  of  the  Portland  company  in  a  daily 
newspaper.  It  is  a  good  illustration  of  the  kind 
of  advertising  which  has  been  found  profitable  to 
a  company  which  has  had  experience.  The  Port- 
land company  has  for  its  advertising  agent  Mr. 
Bury    I.    Dasent. 


An  electric  railway  from  Shawnee,  Okla.,  to 
Tecumseh,  Okla.,  is  said  to  be  contemplated  by 
the  bnawnee  Lighting  Company. 


WESTERN    ELECTRIi 

Suggestions  for  increasing   the   Power 
Output  of  Central  Stations.' 

■  i  fiat 

It    will 

oon  be 
Willi   the   im 

i 

ion  will 

the   many   ad 

1      'i  making   it   easy    I 

to       II  l    ll 

I  In  facl  li.nl  I  be  broughl  prominently  before 
the  peopl  that  they  will  be  in- 

ter*  ted   in   pn  hing   the   development  of  the  power 

■.hi,' 

[Tierc  is  a  large  divergence 
in  rati     and  method    ol  charging  foi 
It   is  generally  conceded    thai  n  thod   a 

minimum  charge  mu  I  be  mad' 

of   the    pi    or    maximum    demand.     Ibis    is   to 

guarantee  a  proper  return  from  large  motors  which 
are   -'■Mom  used  and   ti  -non  of 

motors  for  breakdown  service  withoul 
pensation  where  othei  power  is  used. 
;  i      oi    gasoline   engines.      The    usual    practici 
charge  a  minimum  of  $1  per  month  per  hor 

tion  thereof  installed.  Si obtain  thi 

mum  demand  by  an  instrument  such  as  the  V.  right 
demand  meter,  and  charge  for  the  first  30,  60  or 
90  hours  of  use  per  month  at  the  maximum  de- 
mand; a  high  rate  and  a  low  rate  for  all  over  that. 
The  Dohcrty  method  is  to  make  a  fixed  monthly 
charge  for  the  readiness  to  serve,  based  on  the 
fixed  charges  of  the  central  station  and  the  size  of 
the  customers'  installation,  and  then  charge  for 
the  current  used  by  meter  at  a  low.  rate  per  kilo- 
watt-hour.    _ 

Others  use  a  modified  rate  similar  to  the  Do- 
herty  or  Wright  demand  methods.  Many  use  the 
older  methods  of  a  minimum  rate  for  the  installa- 
tion with  a  base  price  per  kilowatt-hour  and  a  slid- 
ing scale  of  discounts  governed  by  the  quantity 
used.  There  are  still  a  few  places  that  sell  power 
at  flat  rates.  All  of  these  methods  have  their  strong 
and  weak  points,  and  none  has  become  so  thor- 
oughly in  use  as  to  be  recommended  as  the  proper 
method. 

Rates. 

Power  rates  vary  from  20  cents  to  three  cents 
per  kilowatt-hour. 

Local  conditions  and  cost  of  fuel  should  largely 
determine  the  making  of  rate.  A  steam-driven  non- 
condensing  plant  has  a  high  fuel  cost  per  kilowatt- 
hour,  while  a  compound  condensing  engine  or  steam 
turbine  has  a  much  lower  cost,  and  of  course  the 
ideal  condition  is  a  good  reliable  waterpower. 

Intermittent  and  small  users  of  power,  such  as 
residences,  dentists,  physicians,  offices,  etc..  are 
usually  connected  to  the  lighting  meter  and  pay 
lighting  rates  until  their  power  demands  warrant  a 
separate   meter. 

Sometimes  central  stations,  in  their  eagerness  to 
obtain  a  large  power  load  quickly,  will  make  large 
users  too  low  a  rate,  which  afterward  they  find 
unprofitable.  They  are  then  in  the  dilemma  of 
carrying  these  at  a  loss,  or  raising  the  rates  with 
the  possibility  of  losing  them,  with  the  accompany- 
ing bad  moral  effect  on  other  customers.  It  is  cus- 
tomary to  offer  special  rate  to  such  customers  as 
use  power  24  hours  a  day  and  also  those  wdiose 
business  is  such  that  it  is  possible  to  dispense  with 
the  use  of  power  during  the  hours  of  peak  lighting 
in  winter.  Sometimes  water  plants  make  special 
rates  to  customers  which  have  steam  plants  and 
wdio  use  electric  power  only  during  such  portions  of 
the  year  that  there  is  ample  waterpower.  This 
enables  the  central  station  to  carry  a  smaller  steam 
reserve  for  use  during  seasons  of  low  water. 

Soliciting. 

Power  business  differs  from  lighting,  inasmuch 
as  everybody  needs  and  uses  light,  and  it  is  only  a 
question  of  what  kind. 

While  with  some  power  users  it  is  a  question  of 
electric  or  antiquated  methods,  yet  many  non-users 
can  be  made  consumers,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
solicitors  to  create  this  demand  to  show  the  various 
applications  that  would  be  useful  to  any  given  pros- 
pective customer  and  to  convince  him  that  he  needs 
it.  Good  solicitors  employing  all  or  part  of  their 
time,  according  to  the  field  for  canvassing,  are 
invariably  a  good  investment,  and  to  those  that  now 
use  canvassers  they  are  an  absolute  necessity  for 
the   proper   growth    of   power    business.     Especially 

I.  Abstract  of  paper  read  before  the  Northwestern  Electrical 
Association.  Januarv  17,  1906.  Mr.  Korst  is  manager  of  the  Janes- 
ville  (Wis.)  Electric  Company. 


P.: 


aooef  should  i. - 

I 

by  elirn 

by  enable  you 

n  ttalla - 

motor,  put  in  so  as  to  obtain  tl 
Several     manufactu:  ~     data 

kinds 
..    the    power    needed   to   drive    the   machine 
under   different   conditions   and   much   other   useful 
data  to  a  solicitor.     They  will  also  be  four,'! 

any   information   of   their   power   to   aid    in 
■   tner,  and  when  several  good 
in  prospect  will  often  send  a  skilled  tales- 
man to  help  land  the  business. 

Advuctising. 

Judicious  advertising  always  pays.  A  live  news- 
paper is  always  a  good  medium,  but  make  your 
story  concise  and  catchy.  Do  not  try  to  tell  too 
much  at  once,  but  leave  something  for  ton 
Well-selected  cuts  help  very  much  to  the  attractive- 
ness of  an  ad,  and  many  manufacturers  will  be 
glad  to  loan  suitable  cuts  illustrating  their  products. 
Circulars  sent  to  a  well-selected  mailing  list  and 
carefully  followed  up  by  a  solicitor  always  bring 
good  results.  Many  manufacturers  gladly  send 
descriptive  pamphlets  and  flyers  for  distribution, 
ami  these  always  bring  in  inquiries  if  properly  sent 
out. 

Since  we  also  sell  advertising  through  illuminated 
signs,  we  must  be  liberal  advertisers  to  be  con- 
sistent and  show  our  faith  in  it. 

Applications  of  Motors. 

The  more  commonplace  applications  of  motors 
are  so  well  known  that  no  special  mention  is  needed 
beyond  a  list  of  stores,  offices,  factories,  etc.,  show- 
ing the  prospects  for  power  in  the  various  places. 

Heretofore  the  use  of  electric  power  has  been 
largely  confined  to  the  smaller  factories  and  print- 
ing offices,  but  it  is  being  rapidly  extended  to 
stores  and  residences. 

Automatic  refrigerators  are  being  successfully- 
employed  now  in  restaurants,  meat  markets,  etc.. 
but  there  is  a  large  unexplored  field  for  it  in  do- 
mestic use,  and  it  behooves  us  to  watch  this  devel- 
opment closely  and  endeavor  to  get  in  a  sample 
installation.  There  is  no  reason  why  electric  plants 
cannot  obtain  as  large  returns  from  residences  for 
current  at  power  rates,  for  heating  and  power  use, 
and  battery  charging  for  automobiles  as  gas  com- 
panies now  get  for  fuel  gas.  Power,  in  addition  to 
refrigerators,  can  be  used  to  operate  pumps,  laun- 
dry machines,  dishwashers,  ice-cream  freezers,  ven- 
tilating fans,  and  it  is  a  safe  prediction  that  this 
will  soon  become  one  of  the  most  profitable  fields 
for  the  sale  of  current  for  these  purposes  and  also 
help  largely  to  solve  the  vexatious  servant-girl 
problem. 

Another  advantage  is  that  residence  customers 
will  employ  considerable  current  during  the  day, 
on  Sundays  and  holidays  when  the  station  load  is 
usually   low. 

The  use  of  small  motor-driven  air  compressors 
should  also  be  vigorously  pushed  among  barbers 
and  physicians  for  their  special  needs;  among 
saloons  for  charging  beer  in  place  of  carbonic-acid 
gas  and  for  other  purposes,  such  as  housecleaning 
outfits,    drilling  and  chipping  metal  or  marble. 

Fans  are  successfully  employed  in  winter  to 
keep  frost  off  the  show  windows,  to  blow  through 
steam  or  hot-water  radiators,  thereby  increasing 
their  heating  capacity,  and  to  place  over  hot-air 
registers  to  start  a  circulation  of  hot  air  when  the 
wind  is  in  a  direction  that  will  not  let  them  operate 
properly. 

In  many  cities  the  power  circuits  on  the  out- 
skirts reach  some  farmers  who  can  be  induced  to 
use  power  for  pumping  water,  shredding  corn,  saw- 
ing wood,  cutting  feed,  separating  cream  and 
other  uses. 

In  closing  I  will  quote  from  a  letter  received 
from  a  friend  very'  much  interested  in  electric 
power  development;     He  writes; 

"The  key  to  the  success  of  gaining  power  cus- 
tomers seems  to  be  in  popularizing  the  use  of  elec- 
tric current  on  a  just  basis,  keeping  yourself  before 
the  public  systematically  planning  and  following 
your  campaign,  getting  after  the  many  'little  fel- 
lows' instead  of  forgetting  them  for  the  'big  ones' ; 
changing  your  'ads'  frequently,  and  keeping  ever- 
lastingly at  it  in  an  intelligent,  comprehensive  man- 
ner." 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  2j,   ic 


Allis-Chalmers  Railway  Motor. 

Electric  interurban  service  of  a  much  better 
character  than  is  now  to  be  had  will  be  begun  this 
year  between  Toledo  and  Marblehead,  Ohio, 
through  the  improvements  which  have  been  put 
through  by  the  Toledo,  Port  Clinton  and  Lakeside 
Raihvav  Company.  A  fine  new  power  house  of 
1,600  kilowatts  capacity  has  been  built,  and  new 
equipment  in  all   departments  has  been  put  in. 

One  of  the  features  of  interest  in  the  car  equip- 
ment is  the  use  of  the  Allis-Chalmers  R-50  motors 
made  by  the  Bullock  works  of  this  company,  and 
designed  for  a  minimum  gauge  of  four  feet  eight 
inches.  They  are  of  liberal  design,  with  ample 
bearings,  and  particularly  adapted  to  interurban 
service. 

This  motor  is  rated  at  50  horsepower,  though 
it  is  capable  of  delivering  a  greater  output  without 
overheating.  It  has  a  continuous  capacity  of  45 
amperes  at  500  volts,  showing  no  more  than  75° 
C.  rise  in  shop  test.  The  field  frame  is  of  steel 
casting,  divided  horizontally  through  armature  and 
axle  bearings.  A  liberal  center  distance  is  al- 
lowed between  these  bearings,  so  that  a  maximum 
axle  of  six-inch  diameter  may  be  used.  The  pole- 
pieces  are  of  laminated  iron  secured  to  the  frame 
by  through  bolts.  There  are  four  poles,  each  pro- 
vided with  a  coil,  which  is  securely  held  in  place 
by  the  projecting  tips  of  the  pole-pieces.     The  pole- 


pieces  are  provided  with  ventilating  ducts,  which 
register  with  the  ducts  in  the  armature,  allowing 
air  to  circulate  through  the  pole-piece  and  around 
the  coil. 

Soft  steel  laminations,  annealed  after  punching, 
are  used  for  the  armature  core.  The  coils  are 
machine-wound  and  thoroughly  insulated;  they  fit 
accurately  in  the  slots  and  are  held  down  by  band 
wires,  which  are  well  below  the  surface  of  the 
core.  The  commutator  is  II J^  inches  in  diameter 
with  4j4-inch  face.  It  is  built  up  of  hard-drawn 
copper  bars,  and  insulated  with  the  best  mica. 
The  commutator  has  a  wearing  depth  of  about 
seven-eighths  inch. 

Brush  holders  are  of  cast  brass  secured  to  a 
specially  treated  wood  block.  This  block  is  in 
turn  bolted  to  the  end  of  the  upper  field  frame, 
fitting  in  an  accurately  babbitted  seat.  Each  holder 
is  secured  to  its  block  independently  of  the  other 
and  carries  two  carbon  brushes,  an  independent 
pressure  finger  is  provided  for  each  brush.  The 
bearings  are  of  cast-iron  with  babbitt  lining.  The 
pinion-end  armature  bearing  is  5^2  inches  in  diam- 
eter and  9V2  inches  long,  and  the  commutator 
bearing  three  inches  in  diameter  and  7^4  inches 
long.  The  axle  bearings  are  5*/  inches  in  diam- 
eter and  9^2   inches  long. 

Cast-steel  cut  gears  of  split  pattern  are  used. 
The  pinions  are  of  forged  steel,  fit  the  armature 
shaft 'on  a  taper  seat,  and  are  securely  keyed  to  it. 
The  gear  ratio  is  24  to  65.  Lugs,  are  provided 
on  the  top  field  frame  for  bolting  to  the  suspen- 
sion bar. 

The  controller  used  is  of  the  series-parallel 
type.  The  main  drum  makes  the  rheostatic  and 
motor  combination  for  the  four  motors.  The  re- 
verse drum  is  provided  with  contacts  for  each 
motor  and  is  interlocked  with  the  main  drum.  A 
cut-out  switch  is  provided  for  cutting  the  motors 
out  of  circuit,  and  can  be  thrown  without  re- 
moving the  controller  cover  by  using  the  reverse 
lever. 


The  Federal  Mining  Company,  owner  of  exten- 
sive mining  properties  in  the  Cceur  dAlene  district 
of  Idaho,  is  planning  to  erect  a  large  waterpower 
plant  at  Thompson  Falls,  Mont.  It  is  understood 
that  the  power  is  to  be  utilized  not  only  in  the 
mines,  but  for  the  operating  of  an  extensive  system 
of  electric  railways,  connecting  the  mines  of  the 
Cceur   dAlene   district   with   the   steam   roads. 


New  Line  of  Fuseless  Rosettes. 

"The  Little  Twister,"  a  new  line  of  fuseless  ro- 
settes, has  been  designed  by  the  Peru  Electric 
Manufacturing  Company  of  Peru,  Ind.,  and  will 
be  placed  on  the  market  within  a  very  short  time. 
These  rosettes  are  made  in  three  styles  for  cleat, 
concealed  and  molding  work,  and  they  have  a  num- 
ber of  special  features  of  merit  that  recommend 
them  to  all  practical  wiremen. 

Although  small  in  size,  the  rosette  is  a  substan- 
tial and  practical  article,  and  is  designed  to  meet 
all  requirements  as  to  safety  and  utility.  It  is 
neat  in  appearance  and  of  safe  construction.  It  is 
made  in  two  pieces,  secured  together  by  a  half 
turn  connection.  The  base  can  be  installed  when 
the  wires  are  being  stretched,  and  the  cap,  with 
lampcord  and  socket  attached,  inserted  by  a  half 
turn,   thus  saving  considerable  time  in  wiring. 

Fig.  1  shows  the  "Little  Twister"  for  cleat  work, 
Fig.  2  for  concealed  work,  and  Fig.  3  for  molding. 
The  inside  construction  is  shown  in  Fig.  4.  A 
large  cavity  in  the  cap  takes  a  knot  in  the  cord 
and  relieves  the  connections  from  all  strain.  It 
will  be  noted  that  the  terminals,  both  cord  and 
main  wire,  are  easily  accessible  for  wiring,  which 
is  one  of  the  marked  features.  A  special  feature 
in  the  rosette  is  a  spring  lock  under  the  connection 


Electrically  Operated  Pulp  Mill  at  Sauk 
Rapids,  Minn. 


The  latest  example  of  Mississippi  River  power 
application  will  be  found  in  the  establishment  of  a 
mammoth  pulp  and  paper  mill  at  Sauk  Rapids, 
Minn.,  by  the  Watab  Pulp  and  Paper  Company  of 
Sauk  Rapids.  This  company  is  owned  and  will 
be  operated  by  practically  the  same  capital  which 
owns  and  operates  the  Watab  Rapids  Power  Com- 
pany, from  whose  power  rights  it  is  proposed  to 
operate  the  new  pulp  mills.  The  site  selected  for 
the  new  mill  is  in  every  way  suitable  for  the  best 
production  of  the  paper  product,  the  principal  ad- 
vantage being  the  abundant  and  cheap  power  de- 
rived from  the  Mississippi  River,  seconded  by  the 
proximity    of   the    mill    to   the    supply    of   pulpwood 


Fig.  3.     Rosette  for  Moldings.  Fie.  4.     Internal  Parts  of  Rosette. 

NEW    FUSELESS    ROSETTES. 


to  the  base,  which  prevents  the  cap  from  working 
loose,  which  guarantees  a  good  contact  between  the 
parts. 

This  line  of  rosettes  will  be  ready  for  delivery 
the  latter  part  of  February,  and  the  Peru  company 
will  gladly  furnish  descriptive  literature  and  prices 
to   all   interested. 


New  Holophane  Reflector. 

The  Holophane  Glass  Company's  sales  depart- 
ment of  New  York  has  just  placed  upon  the  market 
special  reflectors  for  eight,  10,  16  and  32-candle- 
power  clear  and  frosted  lamps.  Much  time  and 
effort  have  Jieen  spent  in  the  past  in  producing 
efficient  combinations,  consisting  of  scientific  pris- 
matic reflectors  and  high-efficiency  lamps.  The 
sales  department  of  the  Holophane  Glass  Com- 
pany has  gone  a  step  farther  and  taken  hold  of 
the  smaller  units  and  designed  some  very  effective 
shades  to  be  used  for  this  purpose.  It  is  making 
six  styles,  three  of  which  are  used  for  concentrating 
the  light,  and  three  of  which  are  used  for  dis- 
tributing the  light.  In  one  instance  the  downward 
light  is  increased  almost  800  per  cent.,  it  is  said, 
over  that  of  the  bare  lamp.  All  of  these  reflectors 
are  made  to  fit  standard  2j4-inch  holders,  and  are 
graceful  in  design,  presenting  a  pretty  appearance 
when  used  as  shown  in  the  illustration.  The  Holo- 
phane company  has  issued  a  circular  which  de- 
scribes the  shade  and  shows  how  the  light  is 
distributed. 


Municipal  Street  Railway  in  British  Col- 
umbia Loses  Money. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Western  Electrician  at 
Winnipeg,  Man.,  writes  that,  according  to  figures 
given  out  by  the  city  officials  of  Nelson,  B.  _  C, 
on  January  5th,  the  first  year  of  the  municipal 
control  of  the  street  railway  in  that  city  resulted 
in  a  loss  of  $5,663.70.  The  city  took  over  the 
railway  at  the  beginning  of  1905  from  the  company 
on  a  lease  for  three  years,  the  company  to  pay  60 
per  cent,  of  any  deficit  up  to  $2,500.  The  cost  of 
operating  the  system  was  $9,000  alone,  and  the 
total  income  under  $0,000.  The  cost  of  power  was 
$2,400,  and  as  some  time  during  the  current  year 
the  city  hopes  to  be  in  a  position  to  supply  this 
power  from  the  mains  of  its  own  electric-light 
plant,  at  a  nominal  cost,  the  experiment  will  still 
be  carried  on,  and  the  net  loss  reduced,  if  possible, 
to  a  minimum  by  the  end  of  the  year   1907. 


and    the    excellent   transportation    facilities    afforded 
by  the  river  and  railroad  connections. 

The  Mississippi  River  affords  a  more  than  ample 
supply  of  water  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  The 
power  to  be  derived  is  placed  in  the  lowest  esti- 
mate at  9,000  to  10,000  horsepower,  with  a 
capacity  capable  of  developing  20,000  without  diffi- 
culty. The  river  has  a  width  at  this  point  of  600 
feet,  and  over  most  of  its  width  a  depth  of  from 
12  to  15  feet.  The  new  dam,  which  will  be  of  the 
type  known  as  a  crib,  will  have  an  effective  work- 
ing head  of  16  feet.  The  power  house,  which  will 
be  constructed  of  reinforced  concrete  throughout, 
will  be  loaated  in  the  center  of  the  river,  with  the 
grinding  room  extending  from  it  to  the  river  bank 
and  the  beater  room  and  machine  room  adjoining 
the  grinding  room  but  extending  400  feet  along  the 
bank. 

Power-house  equipment  will  consist  of  three  560- 
kilowatt  three-phase  60-cycle  Allis-Chalmers  water- 
whcel-type  generators,  440  volts,  and  a  speed  of 
2C0  revolutions  per  minute.  They  are  to  run  direct- 
connected  to  a  shaft  operated  by  three  pairs  of 
32-inch  horizontal  waterwheels,  only  two  of  the 
generators  being  installed  at  the  present  time.  The 
exciters  are  to  be  two  in  number,  each  of  75  kilo- 
watts capacity,  one  direct-connected  to  a  water- 
wheel  running  at  a  speed  of  300  revolutions  per 
minute,  while  the  other  is  to  be  direct-coupled  to 
,an  induction  motor  operated  at  a  speed  of  720  rev- 
olutions per  minute.  These  generators  will  supply 
current  for  the  operation  of  all  machinery  through- 
out the  entire  mill,  with  the  exception  of  the  grind- 
ers, which  will  run  directly  from  the  waterwheel 
shafts.  There  will  be  nine  grinders  installed,  for 
each  of  which  two  pairs  of  32  one-half-inch  water- 
wheels  will  be  required,  making  a  total  of  over 
5. coo  horsepower  in  the  grinding  room  alone. 

Induction  motors  are  to  be  used  in  driving  the 
apparatus  throughout  the  mill,  with  the  exception 
of  the  motor-driven  variable-speed  shaft  of  the 
paper  machine  and  one  or  two  others.  This  shaft 
is  to  be  driven  by  a  250-horsepower  direct-current 
motor  placed  in  the  center  of  the  shatt  and  direct- 
coupled  to  it.  The  motor  will  have  a  normal  speed 
of  270  revolutions  per  minute  and  will  be  required 
to  develop  150  horsepower  at  that  speed.  By  means 
of  shunt-field  resistance  the  speed  may  be  raised 
from  270  to  540  revolutions  per  minute,  and  at 
maximum  speed  the  motor  will  be  required  to  de- 
velop full  horsepower  or  250. 


Januarj   27,   [906 

Independent  Telephone  Interests  Win  In 
Important  Patent  Litigation. 

In   the  case  of   the    Western    Electric   Company 
(complainant  and  appellant)   against  the  Rochester 
(N.   Y.)    Telephone   Company   ami   othci      (deft   id 
ants  and  appellees)  the  United   5l  ites  Circuit  Court 
(,f  Appeals  for  the  Second  Circuit   (Judges  Wallace, 
Lacombc  and  Townsend)    lias  affirmed  the  decision 
of    the   court    below    in    favor    of    the    defendani 
The  Scribner  and  McBerty  patent,  on  which  suit  was 
brought,  was  considered  one  of  the   mosl    valuable 
owned   by  the   Bell    interests,  and   the    [ndepi 
are   correspondingly    elated,      While    the    defendani 
was  the  Rochester  Telephone  Company,  it  was  well 
known  that  the  Stromberg-Carlson  Telcphoni      In 
ufacturing  Company   maintained  the  defense. 

Following  is  the  full  text  of  the  opinion  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals: 

This  cause  comes  lure  upon  appeal  from  a  tie 
cree  of  the  Circuit  Court,  Western  Uistrict  of 
\'<  w  York,  dismissing  a  bill  of  complaint  in  a  suit 
in  equity  for  alleged  infringement  of  United  States 
patent  559,411,  granted  May  5,  1896,  to  complain- 
ant as  assignee  of  Charles  E.  Scribner  and  Frank 
R,  McBerty  for  "Improvements  in  Apparatus  for 
Telephone  Switchboard."  The  opinion  of  the  Cir- 
cuit Court  is  reported  in  132  F.  R.,  814. 

Per  Curiam. — We  find  it  unnecessary  to  add  any- 
thing to  the  very  full  and  careful  discussion  of  the 
issues  and  testimony  which  is  contained  in  the  opin- 
ion of  Judge  Hazel,  who  heard  the  cause  at  circuit. 
While  we  do  not  find  in  any  single  prior  patent  a 
distinct  anticipation,  we  fully  concur  in  his  con- 
clusion that  the  device  of  the  patent  "was  a  mere 
improvement  without  involving  the  exercise  of 
inventive    faculty." 

There  is  a  wide  difference  and  an  extended  con- 
troversy between  the  experts  for  the  respective  sides 
as  to  opinions,  theories  and  deductions,  but  as  to 
the  facts  which  establish  the  prior  art  there  is 
really  no  conflict,  nor  indeed  any  ground  for  con- 
flict, since  they  are  set  forth  in  written  docu- 
ments— the  earlier  patents  which  have  been  put 
in  evidence.  Moreover,  these  patents,  or  at  least 
the  four  or  five  most  important  of  them,  are  both 
in  specifications  and  drawings  very  clearly  ex- 
pressed.  When  once  familiarity  with  the  nomen- 
clature and  the  elementary  features  of  the  art 
(about  which  there  is  no  dispute)  is  acquired  the 
character  and  functions  of  the  respective  structures 
are  found  to  be  clearly  displayed  therein.  Indeed 
they  are  far  more  illuminative  than  are  some  of 
the  so-called  "simplified  diagrammatic  drawings" 
which  have  been  put  in  evidence.  If  the  expert 
who  is  called  to  testify  in  such  causes  would  only 
appreciate  that  he  is  not  addressing  electrical  engi-- 
neers,  but  laymen ;  and  if,  when  undertaking  to 
describe  what  some  particular  patent  showed  to  a 
man  skilled  in  the  art,  he  would  take  the  specifica- 
tions and  drawings  of  the  patent  as  his  text  instead 
of  some  conventional  paraphrase  of  his  own  devis- 
ing with  its  letttering  entirely  changed,  he  would 
materially  lighten  the  labor  of  the  court. 

At  the  close  of  a  very  long  record  one  of  the 
patentees  finally  stated  the  improvement  of  the 
patent  to  be  the  devising  of  a  "system  of  super- 
visory signals  in  which  the  interruption  of  the 
talking  current  in  the  line  circuit  is  caused  to 
apply  the  current  or  power  for  displaying  the  posi- 
tive supervisory  signal,  which  current  or  power  is 
later  withdrawn  when  the  plug  is  withdrawn  from 
the  jack,  permitting  the  signal  to  disappear."  This 
"system"  is  brought  about  by  a  rearrangement  of 
old  parts,  and  in  the  literature  of  the  art  these  parts 
had  already  been  brought  together  in  such  a  vari- 
ety of  ways,  and  there  had  been  so  many  substitu- 
tions of  one  device  for  another,  so  many  methods 
shown  of  controlling  one  current  by  another  and 
of  displaying  and  obscuring  signals,  such  a  trans- 
position of  parts  and  shifting  of  currents,  that  it 
seems  to  us  entirely  clear  that  the  rearrangement  of 
the  patentees,  clever  though  it  may  have  been  and 
in  its  details  perhaps  novel,  was  nevertheless  one 
of  those  minor  improvements  which  was  easily 
within  the  ordinary  skill  of  the  telephone  engineer. 
The  case  seems  to  come  within  the  views  ex- 
pressed in  Atlantic  Works  v.  brady,  107  U.  S.,  pp. 
199,  200;  and  peculiarly  within  those  expressed  in 
Thomson-Houston  Electric  Company  vs.  the  West- 
ern Electric  Company,  65   F.  R.,  619. 

The  decree  is  affirmed  with  costs. 


WESTERN    ELE<  TRICIAM 

H 

1 
1 

1      '  ter,  Breckcnridj 

A     P,    H" 


New  Officers  for  Indianapolis  Tele- 
phone Companies. 

With  the  view  of  carrying  out  original  intentions 
to  keep  the  affairs  of  the  Indianapolis  Telephone 
Company  and  the  New  Long-distance  Telephone 
Company  under  local  control,  both  companies  have 
made  changes  in  officers.  The  lists  are  now  as 
follows :  Indianapolis  Telephone  Company — Presi- 
dent, Harry  S.  New ;  vice-president,  secretary  and 
treasurer,  George  C.  Hitt;  general  manager,  A.  L. 
Tetu;  directors,  Harry  S.  New,  John  H..  Holliday, 
Cortlandt  Van  Camp,  Jesse  Fletcher,  A.  L.  Tetu, 
Herman  C.  Stifel,  James  S.  Brailey,  Jr.,  A.  H. 
Bauer  and  Ben  Altheimer.  The  officers  and  di- 
rectors of  the  New  Long-distance  Telephone  Com- 
pany  are :     President,  Herman   C.   Stifel ;  first  vice- 


Indlana  Telephone  Items. 

A   m  ft  I  •  ice  between   PI 

ton    and    Brov  /    the 

are  b  inj 

about  $20,000.    The  Central  '  to  secure 

a  franchise   from   Danville,    •■ 

two  '  due  to 

the  excelli  nt  service  s 

nil Company,   an    In  pany   in   tlii- 

neld,  with    ibo 

The   Tocsin     1  it    incor- 

porated to  take  over  the  business  and  property  of 
a  plant  which  already  has  a  large  number  0 

pi in  the  northern  part  of  Wills  County.    The 

capital    will    be    $10,000.     Extm  ion       vill    be    made 
and     ome  new  appliances  installed  in  the  e 
hi   1  "i   in 

Fred    T.    Loftin,    formerly    press    agent    for    the 
Indianapolis  and  the  New  Long-distance  Tel 
companies,   will   go    inti  hern    States    and 

give  telephone  lectures  to  induce  people  of  the  vil- 
lage and  farm  communitii  to  build  and 
telephone  plants.  In  these  southern  neighborhoods 
he  thinks  hundreds  of  telephone  lines  may  be  estab- 
lished on  the  initiative  of  local  sociel 
for  the  purpose,  if  properly  directed  by  a  few 
trained  telephone  experts.  Mr.  Loftin  says  that 
local  development  of  the  telephone  has  often  been 
brought  about  entirely  by  the  enterprise  of  a  single 
individual. 

The  Mugg  Telephone  Company  of  Spencer,  Ind., 
has  changed  hands,  the  new  owners  announcing 
that  it  I13S  taken  over  the  business  of  the  Central 
Union    Telephone    Company    at    Spencer. 

The  Cumberland  Telephone  Company,  operating 
in  Evansville,  wants  a  franchise  for  45  years,  and 
as  long  as  no  other  telephone  company  is  permitted 
to  enter  the  field,  the  company  agrees  to  pay  to 
the  city  two  per  cent,  of  its  gross  earnings.  In 
no  event  shall  the  city  receive  less  than  $2,500  a 
year  from  the  company.  The  company  also  agrees 
to  lay  conduits  within  two  years,  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  its  wires  underground.  The  company- 
proposes  to  make  the  following  charges  for  tele- 
phones: For  a  direct  business  line,  $5.50;  two- 
party  business  line,  $4.50;  four-party  business  line, 
$3.50;  for  a  direct  residence  line,  $2.50;  two-party 
residence  line,  $2;  four-party  residence  line,  $1.50. 
The  Cumberland  has  been  operating  without  a  fran- 
chise since  July  18,  1902.  When  the  franchise  ex- 
pired, the  company  made  application  for  a  new 
franchise,  but  it  was  refused,  as  the  city  did  not 
think  it  liberal  enough.  The  city  then  began  suit 
to  oust  the  company,  and  a  recent  decision  by  the 
United  States  District  Court  held  it  to  be  without 
a  franchise.  Mayor  Boehne  is  not  inclined  to  grant 
the  Cumberland  company  a  franchise  unless  it  pays 
to  the  city  $15,500  for  the  time  it  has  operated 
without  a  franchise  and  an  additional  $6,500  that 
the  city  paid  out  in  its  fight  against  the  company 
in  the  courts. 

C.  B..  Imel  of  New  Ross  has  been  appointed  a 
telegraph  operator  on  the  Isthmus  of   Panama. 


Telephone   News  from    the   Northwest. 

The  Hughes  Telephone  Company  contemplates 
installing  a  local  exchange  for  Garrison,  N.   D. 

Thomas  H.  Bunn  has  been  granted  a  franchise 
for  a  local  exchange  for  Pine  Island,   Minn. 

The  State  Municipal  and  Commercial  League  of 
Minnesota  has  passed  a  resolution  favoring  placing 
telephone  companies  under  the  control  of  the  state 
railroad  commission. 

The  New  York  Center  Telephone  Company  of 
Loyal,  Wis.,  has  filed  articles  of  incorporation  -  with 
$io,coo  capital. 

The  Northwestern  Telephone  Exchange  Company 
is  installing  an  additional  switchboard  in  its  ex- 
change in  Stillwater,  Minn.,  to  accommodate  the 
growing   business. 

The  Northwestern  Telephone  Exchange  Company 
has  severed  its  connection  with  the  local  exchange 
of  H.  Fant  at  Thief  River  Falls,  Minn.,  and  now 
has  a  toll  booth  there.  It  is  understood  the  North- 
western will  seek  a  franchise  to  put  in  a  local  ex- 
change   in   competition. 

The  Mesaba  Telephone  Company  will  build  a 
toll  line  to  Deer  River,  Minn.,  and  will  establish 
a  local  exchange  there. 

The  Lilly  Local  Telephone  Company  of  Lilly. 
S.  D.,  has  been  incorporated  with  $375°  capital 
stock. 

The  Pioneer  Rural  Telephone  Company  of  Hitch- 
cock, S.  D.,  has  been  incorporated  with  $5,000  cap- 
ital. 

The  Casselton  (N.  D.t  Telephone  Company  has 
been    incorporated    with   $20,000   capital   stock. 

The  Fairmont  Telephone  Company  has  sold  the 
North  Star  toll  line  to  the  Armstrong  Telephone 
Company  of  Truman,  Minn. 

The  Tri-state  Telephone  Company  has  applied 
for  a  20-year  franchise  at  Breckenridge,  Minn.  The 


•em   at 
Minn. 

build  ci({ht  or  nine  rural  tele] 

John    [verson    and  1    rural 

■ 
P.  H 

with    a    capital    -lock  »    com- 

HlufK  1 

to  $500,000.  k 


Ohio  Telephone  Notes. 
Should  the  Hillenkamp  bill   become  a  Ian 
laid  that  the  • 

will    have    the    nubt    to    regulate    the    1 
phone-    compani  it    through    the 

future 

I   com- 

hall    furnish   conduit   and   pole   accomrnoda- 

for    fire    and    police-alar-  d    shall 

the    municipality    not    more   than   25 

nes. 

Last  Friday  the  committee  of  the  Cincinnati  coun- 
cil on  telegraphs,  telephones  and  conduits  took  up 
the  application  of  the  Queen  City  Home  Telephone 
Company  for  a  franchise  to  operate  in  that  city. 
The  session   was  short,  and  a 

submitted  to  the  company.  Another  meeting  will 
i  on  February  2d.  Attorney  C.  B.  Matthews 
stated  that  the  officers  of  the  company  arc- 
dent,  C.  W.  Beers  of  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.;  vio 
dent,  C.  B.  Wing  of  Cincinnati ;  secretary'  and  treas- 
urer, Harry  B.  Gates  of  Indianapolis.  These  offi- 
cers, with  Senator  Max  Silbergerg  and  Mr.  Mat- 
thews, constitute  the  board  of  directors.  The  ap- 
plications of  the  Cincinnati  Telephone  Company  and 
the  Interstate  Telephone  Company  will  be  consid- 
ered within  a  few  days.  Senator  Silbergerg  is 
credited  with  the  statement  that  the  rates  of  the 
Queen  City  Home  Telephone  Company  will  be  at 
least  40  per  cent,  lower  than  the  Bell  rates  and 
that  the  company  is  willing  to  be  bound  by  a  rate 
agreement  with  the  council  if  it  can  be  legally  done. 

The  Thompson  Telephone  Company  of  Thompson 
has  joined  the  Geauga  County  Telephone  Associa- 
tion, and  the  toll  rate  has  been  done  away  with, 
so  far  as  communication  between  that  place  and 
Chardon   is   concerned. 

Both  the  Home  and  the  Bell  telephone  offices 
were  destroyed  by  fire,  which  swept  the  business 
portion  of  Convoy  a  few  days  ago. 

Bell  telephone  officers  have  been  in  Lorain  lately 
arranging  to  build  a  local  system.  The  franchise- 
was  granted  almost  a  year  ago,  after  a  hard  fight. 
but  up  to  the  present  time  nothing  has  been  done 
toward    installing  a   plant. 

The  Salem  Ridge  Telephone  Company  of  Rising 
Sun  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$2,500,  to  build  and  operate  a  system.  Charles  Rice. 
William   Rockafellow  and  others  are  interested. 

Articles  of  incorporation  have  been  filed  by  the 
Meigs  County  Home  Telephone  Company  of  Pom- 
eroy.  A.  B.  Kratz.  C.  E.  Peoples.  0.  A.  Rowley, 
W.  E.  Stansberry  and  others  are  the  incorporators. 
The  capital   stock  has  been  placed  at  $50,000. 

The  capital  stock  of  the  Gilbert  Telephone 
pany  of  Zanesville  has  been   increased  from  $2,000 
to  $7,000. 

The  Haskins  Bell  Telephone  Company  of  Haskins 
lias  been  incorporated  with  a  captal  stock  of  $10,- 
000  by  H.  A.   Fanning,  H.  J.  Johnston  and  others. 

Notice  has  been  filed  of  the  increase  in  the  capital 
stock  of  the  Credersville  Telephone  Company  from 
$5,000  to  $25,000.  C. 


Michigan  Telephone  Matters. 

The  Citizens'  Telephone  Company  of  Allegan  is 
running  a  copper  metallic  toll  line  from  there  to 
Hamilton,  to  connect  with  a  line  from  that  place 
to  Holland,  doing  away  with  jhe  relay  service 
through   Grand  Rapids.- 

At  a  meeting  of  the  North  Marshall  Telephone 
Company  in  Marshall  the  following  officers  were 
elected :  President,  Frank  Bell ;  vice-president. 
Fred  Huggett ;  secretary,  Frank  Lovejoy ;  treasurer, 
John   Sackett:  lineman,  M.   Farnum. 

The  third  farmers'  telephone  company,  with  head- 
quarters at  Ceresco.  to  be  known  as  the  South 
Emmet  Telephone  Company,  has  filed  articles  of 
incorporation.  The  other  two  companies  are  the 
North  Marshall  Telephone  Company  and  the  Ce- 
resco Telephone  Company.  The  '  capital  stock  of 
the  new  company  is  $1,000.  John  LTrich,  E.  T. 
Eyre.  R.  M.  Gubbins,  Jacob  Paul  and  M.  Gitchell 
are  the  stockholders. 

The  Reading  Central  Telephone  Company  of 
Reading  has  closed  a  contract  with  the  Steuben 
County'  Electric  Telephone  Company,  by  which  rates 
to  Indiana  points  are  materially  lowered.  The 
Steuben  company  owns  18,000  telephones  in  the 
county,  with  26  toll  stations,  and  has  trunk-line 
connections  with   145,000  telephones   in   Indiana. 

The  committee  of  the  council  of  Sandusky  to 
which  was  referred  the  application  of  the  Sandusky 
Telephone    Company   for  a   franchise,    recommended 


that  a  clause  be  inserted  in  the  franchise  whereby 
the  rental  would  remain  at  $8  a  year  for  20  years. 
The  company  refused  to  accept  such  a  condition. 
A  representative  of  the  Automatic  Telephone 
Company  of  Chicago  has  been  in  Marquette  in  con- 
sultation with  business  men  regarding  the  installa- 
tion in  Marquette  of  the  automatic  system.  The 
city  now  has  the  Bell  and  a  county  system.        B.    "~ 


NEW  COMPANIES. 


J.  Getchel  and  others  have  organized  the  Osceola 
Farmers'  Mutual  Telephone  Company  of  Osceola, 
Wis.,  with  a  capital  of  $25,000,  to  build  rural  lines. 

The  Charlotte  Telephone  Company  in  Charlotte, 
Ark.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $1,500,  by  W.  P.  Jones,  J.  C.  McGill  and  C.  H. 
Hogan. 

The  Hardin  County  Telephone  Company  of 
Klizabethtown,  111.,  has  been  incorporated  by  L. 
O.  Whitnell,  D.  W.  Whittenberg  and  Robert 
Thacker. 

Among  the  recently  incorporated  telephone  com- 
panies are  the  following:  New  Home  Telephone 
Company,  Beatrice,  Neb. ;  Ettrick  Telephone  Com- 
pany, Ettrick,  Wis. ;  Lincoln  County  Telephone 
Company,  Lake  Benton,  Minn. 


EXTENSIONS   AND    IMPROVEMENTS. 

A  new  office  building  is  being  erected  in  Pay- 
ette, Idaho,  by  the  Independent  Telephone  Com- 
pany. 

A  new  telephone  exchange  and  office  building 
is  being  erected  by  the  Water,  Light  and  Telephone 
Company  of  Lafayette,   Tenn. 

The  Pittsburg  and  Allegheny  Telephone  Company 
has  obtained  a  franchise  in  Washington,  Pa.  An 
exchange  will  be  constructed  at  once. 

The  Delaware  and  Atlantic  Telegraph  and  Tele- 
phone Company  will  erect  an  addition  to  its  pres- 
ent exchange  building  in  Wilmington,   Del. 

The  Southern  Bell  Telephone  Company  proposes 
to  enter  Swainsboro,  Ga.,  where  it  has  maintained 
a  long-distance  line  for  some  time.  A  franchise  has 
been  secured  for  a  local  system  with  100  subscribers. 

The  Independent  telephone  company  has  begun 
construction  work  in  Port  Tovvnsend,  Wash.  The 
company  already  has  a  rural  line  throughout  the 
adjoining  country  with  direct  connections  to  Port 
Angeles  and  Dungeness. 


GENERAL  TELEPHONE  NEWS 

Wyatt  &  Meadows  have  purchased  the  telephone 
business  of  J.  B.  Wilkinson  at  Comanche,  Texas. 

Richard  Inglis  has  been  granted  a  franchise  to 
construct  and  operate  a  telephone  system  in  Long- 
beach,   Miss. 

The  Home  Telephone  Company  of  Kansas  City 
has  purchased  the  local  telephone  exchange  at 
Richmond,   Mo. 

The  Cottonwood  Valley  Telephone  Company  has 
succeeded  to  the  business  of  the  Canton  Telephone 
Company  at  Canton,  Kan. 

The  Bell  Telephone  Company  has  purchased  the 
plant  of  the  Sabetha  Telephone  Company,  including 
rural  lines  at  Sabetha,  Kan. 

G.  M.  Hardy,  W.  E.  Henkel  and  associates  have 
secured  a  franchise  for  the  construction  of  a  tele- 
phone system  in  Ruston,  La.  It  is  proposed  to 
organize    a   stock   company. 

The  Citizens'  Telephone  Company  of  Grand  Rap- 
ids, Mich.,  is  installing  a  gas  engine,  with  a  view 
to  operating  its  own  electric  power  plant.  The 
electricity  will  be  used  for  lighting  purposes  and 
for  charging  the  batteries. 

The  Chicago  Telephone  Company  proposes,  as 
soon  as  an  equitable  agreement  is  reached  with  the 
city,  to  construct  a  new  building  to  cost  close  to 
$1,000,000.  The  new  structure  will  adjoin  the  pres- 
ent building  at  Washington  and  Franklin  streets 
and  will  care  for  the  companys  increasing  business. 

The  National-Interstate  Telephone  Association 
calls  the  attention  of  the  various  state  associations 
to  the  necessity  of  electing  delegates  to  the  Na- 
tion-Interstate convention  to  be  held  some  time  in 
June.  Independent  interests  in  states  at  present 
having  no  association  are  urged  to  organize  as  soon 
as  possible,  so  that  they  may  affiliate  with  the 
National-Interstate,  and  be  represented  at  the  con- 
vention. 

The  Independent  Telephone  Clearing  House  Com- 
pany, which  was  organized  in  Iowa  some  time  ago 
to  check  up  toll-line-message  business,  and  appor- 
tion the  earnings  of  interchanged  toll  business,  has 
secured  a  suite  of  rooms  at  410  Locust  Street, 
Boone,  Iowa,  and  has  engaged  George  T.  Hewes 
as  manager,  and  is  now  starting  in  with  its  work. 
Arrangements  have  been  made  with  a  large,  number 
of  Iowa  companies  to  have  their  business  checked 
up.  Charles  C.  Deering  is  president  of  the  com- 
pany. 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

Chicago  Telephone   Company's  Report. 

The  directors  of  the  Chicago  Telephone  Company 
made  their  annual  report  for  the  year  ended  De- 
cember 31,  1905,  to  the  stockholders  at  the  annual 
meeting  on  January  17th.  The  gross  revenue  of 
the  company  for  the  year  was  $7,131,342,  an  in- 
crease of  $758,226  over  1904.  Gross  expenses, 
which  include  operation,  taxes,  maintenance  and 
reserve  for  deferred  maintenance,  amounted  to 
$5>5°4,53i.  Dividends  consumed  $1,400,000.  The  re- 
sources at  the  close  of  the  year  are  placed  at 
$16,572,589.  The  following  table  shows  the  growth 
of  the  company's  plant  for  the  last  three  years : 

1903.  1004.  1905. 

No.  exchanges 114  in  156 

Toll  stations 81  80  57 

No.  of  exchange  telephones 101,187  117,893  143,223 

Underground  conduits,  miles...  235  254  335 

Underground  duct,  miles 1.372  1.468  1.755 

Miles  of  wire,  underground 149.234  161,202  187,231 

Miles  of  wire,  aerial  cables 40,480  46,697  51,711 

Miles  of  wire  on  poles 41.484  45,189  =2,213 

Total  miles  of  wire 231.198  253,088  291,155 

Capital  stock Si4,ooo,ooo    S14, 000.000    S14, 000,000 

The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  President 
Albert  G.  Wheeler's  report: 

The  Chicago  exchange  system  boundaries,  for 
service  within  which  in  1S89  there  were  neither 
toll  nor  mileage  charges,  have  been  enlarged  from 
time  to  time  from  the  16.3  square  miles  in  1889  to 
82  square  miles  in  1905.  We  are  not  aware  of  any 
similar  telephone  area  with  corresponding  density  of 
population  and  telephone  development  elsewhere  in 
the  world.  Payments  to'  employes  for  services 
amounted  to  $2,635,568.  The  activity  and  expan- 
sion in  industrial  and  commercial  affairs  in  1905 
resulted  in  demands  upon  our  company  unprece- 
dented in  its  history.  This  is  true  both  as  to  the 
net  increase  in  telephone  stations  in  service  and  to 
the  labor  and  detail  involved  in  effecting  this  in- 
crease. At  the  close  of  1905.  143,223  subscribers' 
stations  were  in  service,  25,330  more  than  at  the 
end  of  1904.  The  energy  of  our  suburban  depart- 
ment and  the  appreciation  of  our  telephone  service 
in  the  farming  sections  of  our  territory  are  evi- 
denced by  the  fact  that  telephones  are  installed  in 
seldom  less  than  80  per  cent,  and  in  many  districts 
over  90  per  cent,  of  the  farmhouses. 

Of  the  telephones  now  installed  84,215  are  for 
receiving  service  upon  a  message  (or  measure) 
rate  basis,  showing  that  its  equity  and  elasticity 
commend  it  to  subscribers.  The  supreme  im- 
portance of  rendering  efficient  service  with  every 
telephone  station  is  fully  realized  by  the  operating 
department.  The  real  estate  operations  of  the  com- 
pany during  the  year  have  included  the  purchase 
of  land  for  an  exchange  building  at  Irving  Park 
and  of  premises  for  construction  division  headquar- 
ters for  barns  and  storage  on  the  North  and  South 
sides  of  Chicago.  The  fireproof  four-story  building 
for  use  as  an  extension  of  the  quarters  of  Central 
Exchange  in  Chicago  has  been  practically  completed. 
Buildings  of  the  high  type  and  peculiarities  of 
construction  suitable  for  telephone  purposes  have 
been  erected  in  Wilmette,  La  Grange  and  Blue 
Island  and  on  Western  Avenue,  near  North  Ave- 
nue, known  as  Humboldt  Exchange  in  the  Chicago 
exchange   system. 

We  believe  it  to  be  the  function  of  the  company 
to  provide  such  varying  classes  of  telephone  facili- 
ties as  to  make  available  for  all  members  of  the 
public  the  service  required  by  their  differing  busi- 
ness, social  and  other  relations.  This  is  a  great 
task,  involving  investment  in  increasing  amounts 
and  requiring  constant  foresight  in  planning  in 
anticipation. 

Mr.  Wheeler  refers  to  the  large  amount  of  money 
spent  in"  bringing  the  plant  to  its  present  state  of 
development.  He  says  that  the  company  is  now 
at  a  point  where  further  enlargements  and  im- 
provements must  be  made.  This  makes  it  necessary, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  company's  franchise 
expires  in  1909,  to  ascertain  the  attitude  of  the  city 
in  regard  to  future  relations.  A  committee  of  the 
council,  as  previously  stated  in  the  Western  Elec- 
trician, has  the  matter  under  advisement,  and  the 
passage  of  an  equitable  ordinance  will  be  followed 
by  calls  upon  stockholders  for  further  investment. 


January  27,  1906 


Bell  Telephone  Output  for  1  905. 

The  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany reports  for  1905  a  total  net  output  of  1,217,- 
694  instruments.  The  report  for  the  month  of  De- 
cember shows  a  heavy  net  gain  over  the  two 
~  previous  Decembers  in  the  comparative  table.  Oc- 
tober was  the  big  month  of  the  year  in  gross  out- 
put, but  November  surpassed  it  in  net  output,  with 
an  aggregate  net  of  134,395.  Following  are  com- 
parative figures  for  December  and  the  calendar 
year: 
December.  1905.  1904.  1903. 

^In> ",ls 163,828       122,285        88,947 

Keturned 57,381  49,898  39,678 

Ye'ar'b'ecember 106.447         72,387         49.269 

Shipments 1.841,628    1,216,576    1,109,888 

Returned 623,934       515,529       480,691 

-r-.^.U *, 1.217,694       701,047       629,197 

Total  December  3r 5.698,258    4,480,564    3.779,517 

The  Saline  and  Hamilton  County  Mutual  Tele- 
phone Company  of  Cornerville,  111.,  has  been  in- 
corporated by  O.  A.  Tate,  J.  L.  Harris  and  W.  H. 
Johnson. 


CORRESPONDENCE, 


Great  Britain. 

London,  January  10. — It  has  leaked  out  in  a  very 
unobtrusive  way  that  the  Post  Office  is  most  seri- 
ously considering  the  advisability  of  acquiring  the 
few  municipal  telephone  systems  that  exist  in 
Great  Britain.  Of  course,  the  question  of  terms 
has  yet  to  be  settled,  but  the  government  has  the 
whip  hand  here.  So  far  the  engineers  of  the  Post 
Office  have  been  paying  visits  of  inspection  to  the 
five  municipal  undertakings  in  Glasgow,  Brighton, 
Hull,  Swansea  and  Portsmouth,  and  there  can  be  , 
no  reasonable  doubt  as  to  the  ultimate  future  of  ' 
these  telephone  systems.  It  may  be  well  to  recall 
the  offer  of  the  late  postmaster-general  that  he 
was  willing  to  deal  with  municipal  exchanges  on 
the  terms  accorded  to  the  National  Telephone  Com- 
pany, but  whether  the  Liberal  postmaster-general 
is  prepared  to  take  any  other  course,  has  not  yet 
been   made  public. 

An  interesting  trial  has  just  been  brought  to  a 
successful  conclusion  on  the  Great  Western  rail- 
way. Continual  experiments  are  being  made  with 
various  systems  of  train  iighting  on  the  different 
railway  lines  of  the  country,  and  every  electrical 
engineer  is  familiar  with  the  difficulties  to  be  over- 
come in  adapting  electricity  to  this  purpose,  when 
the  energy  has  to  be  produced  by  the  motion  of 
the  train.  The  main  difficulty,  of  course,  has  been 
to  avoid  the  fluctuations  in  the  pressure,  due  to  the 
stoppage  of  the  train.  One  of  the  newer  systems 
of  electric  train  lighting— the  Leitner-Lucas — was 
installed  upon  a  Great  Western  train  and  sealed 
up  for  12  months.  During  this  period  the  train 
traveled  over  25,000  miles,  and  no  attention  was 
paid  to  the  machinery,  which,  when  unsealed,  was 
found  to  be  capable  of  sustaining  further  hard  wear 
before  repairs  would  have  been  necessary.  In  ad- 
dition, careful  watch  was  kept  upon  the  steadiness 
of  the  light.  The  equipment  on  this  system  is 
capable  of  working  in  either  direction  of  the  motion 
of  the  train  without  any  operation  by  an  attendant, 
and,  in  view  of  the  recent  recommendation  of  the 
railway  inspecting  officers  of  the  Board  of  Trade 
that  the  adoption  of  electric  lighting  of  trains  was 
advisable  to  prevent  a  fire  following  a  collision, 
this  test  will  doubtless  attract  the  attention  it  de- 
serves. 

The  appointment  of  Edgar  Speyer  to  be  chair- 
man of  the  Underground  Electric  Railway  Com- 
pany of  London,  in  succession  to  the  late  Mr. 
Yerkes,  in  view  of  his  past  co-operation  with  Mr. 
Yerkes  and  his  generous  benevolent  contributions, 
is  a  popular  one.  Equally  so  is  the  appointment  of 
Sir  George  Gibb,  general  manager  of  the  Northeast- 
ern Railway  Company,  as  vice-chairman  and  man- 
aging director.  The  Northeastern  Railway  Company 
was  the  pioneer  of  electric  traction  on  main-line 
railways  in  this  country,  and  Sir  George  Gibb  will 
have  plenty  of  opportunity  for  exercising  his  well- 
known  ability  in  his  new  sphere,  as  the  following, 
for  an  example,  will  indicate: 

Since  the  electric  trains  were  introduced  on  the 
Inner  Circle  there  has  been  an  ever-increasing  over- 
crowding at  certain  hours  of  the  day,  which,  from 
personal  experience,  I  can  say  is  so  acute  that  I 
doubt  whether  it  would  be  tolerated  anywhere  else 
in  the  world;  absolute  danger  was  imminent  at 
times.  An  association  was  formed  and  legal  opin- 
ion taken,  with  the  result  that  an  appeal  was  to 
have  been  made  to  the  railway  commissioners,  who 
have  jurisdiction  in  these  matters.  When  this  came 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  company  it  was  imme- 
diately stated  that  in  a  few  weeks'  time  a  two- 
minute  headway  would  be  run,  owing  to  the  com- 
pletion of  the  automatic  block  signaling  system 
The  association  has  therefore  stayed  its  hand  tem- 
porarily. 

An  interesting  development  in  the  various 
schemes  for  providing  electric  power  on  the  Rand, 
in  South  Africa,  has  been  the  registration  of  a 
syndicate  in  London  having  for  its  object  the  pro- 
motion of  a  company  in  the  English  Parliament 
to  erect  a  generating  station  some  40  miles  from 
Johannesburg.  From  here  energy  would  be  trans- 
mitted   to   various    mines,    etc. 

The  question  of  municipalities  undertaking  the 
wiring  of  consumers  premises  for  electric  light,  in 
competition  with  private  contractors,  has  for  a  long 
time  been  an  acute  one  in  Great  Britain,  but  in 
the  past  there  has  not  been  sufficient  combination 
among  the  contractors  to  bring  the  law  into  action. 
It  has  been  judicially  given  out  that  without  special 
powers  from  Parliament,  such  work  on  the  part 
of  a  local  authority  is  illegal ;  yet  several  have  con- 
tinued. Of  late  there  have  been  signs  that  the 
Electrical  Contractors'  Association  is  awakening  to 
the  seriousness  of  its  responsibilities,  and  an  ap- 
plication has  been  made  for  an  injunction  to  re- 
strain one  very  large  municipality  from  carrying  on 
such   work   without  authority. 

It  is  reported  in  various  quarters  that  experi- 
ments are  being  carried  out  by  the  Midland  Rail- 
way Company  in  establising  connection  by  wireless 
telegraphy  with  moving  trains.  These  reports  have 
not  been  denied,  although  no  official  account  of 
what  is  being  done  has  been   published. 

Some  tests  with  the  tantalum  lamp,  for  street 
lighting,  have  been  carried  out  at  Ealing,  near 
London,  with  such  satisfactory  results  that  it  has 
been    decided    to    install    quite    a    large    number    of 


fanuary  27,  1906 

lllis     1  V|  ■■  ,        "I" 

h   i,,, .   i,  r  I,   r   inn. ii<  d   from  n 

I,.,],:  .,,  i,      n,i  would  l«   obi  tim  'I  i"  m    il 
'l  |„-  underground  ti  li  •■•  iph   lim    bi 

and  I  lla  gi  ■■    I ' •••>' 

■. . ■ .  1  r     ol    diffii  ultii  1   .'i"1   i'1  uni  '■. 


Dominion  of  Canada. 

Ottawa,    January  20.     In   vii  v  of  I 

I  ..      in  the  1  ity  of  Si.  John,  New  Bi 

1 al   ol    thi    ■■•'     1  ompany   1 lui  1 

li,.    Citj   1  01 1  l'.'    di  1  idi  -l  1 ki    in  ingi  1 1 

f,,i    ill.'    expropriation    ol    thi      trcel  rail  raj    

panj      .I- in.-   planl    foi    lighting   I    powci    pui 

po  e 

li  is  stated  thai   il"1  '  Intai  io  governmi  hi 

sidering    tin    qui   I controlling    Ihi    op 

of   telephones   in   the   province     In    this   cornice 1 

11   i-    ..ml  thai   ili'    Bi  11    I .  li  pi ■  panj   will  l" 

compi  II'  .I    i"   '  .'  Inn",''    tfafhj     with    1  'in"  1      line 
I  In-  que  11 1    i.'i"  ■   will  "I  0  I 'I'  red 

The  commisi :rs  ol    il"-    1 1  mi  kaming 

have    informed    ili"    Onti mine 1    thcii 

il 11     to     electrifj     the     railwaj     from     North 

i:,n    in  the    Blanch   River,  38  mill  1  north   ol     li 
Liskeard,     I  his  will  mean  ili"  electi  ifn  atii  n  ol   the 
firsl    1  si    miles   of   tin1    road.     II"-    power    will    be 
,1  tained  from  ili"  waterpowers  along  the  route. 

Arrangements    arc    being    made    foi    tn tting 

electrii  power  from  Hannawa  Falls,  N  V.,  1.. 
Brockville,  1  Inl  ,  via  I  Igdensburg  and  Prescotl  I  hi 
line  will  come  i"  Ogdensburg,  N.  ■> ..  withoul  fail, 
it  is  stated,  ami  if  sufficienl  inducements  are  held 
mil,  a  cable  will   In-  laid  across  the   river  between 

Ogdensburg   and    Prescott,   Ont.,   and   tinued    to 

Brockville.  It  is  estimated  that  ili"  electricity  can 
In'  generated   at    Brockville  at   a  cosl   of  aboul   $35 


ELECTRIi 

1     1 
1  0 

.1    that     .lull    lim 

'  '  nil" 

Ill 

'  . 

Ai   a  dinner  mi   tin-    I  elephi 

1        ,     1:.  1   . 

lain, n  rate  would  go  into  effc 1    [ulj 

!  ist  Mr.   Bcthcll  retin 

New    Y"i  1.    and    thi     New     fori     and    '• 

mam n  nl      thougl 

in 

1  I-    '  1 • 

is  ai    work  on  1 

owned  wire  com  tiding  tin-  authorization 

of  tli"  si  I"  mi .  il"    ti  i'  I'll""-  "i  bidden 

in  ereel  poll     in  cert;  D.  W.  W. 


irsepi 


Canadian  General  Electric  Company  lias  sold 
the  remaining  11,000  shares  of  iis  authorized  capital 
1.1  English  bankers  at  120.  The  price.  $1,320,000, 
has  been  paid  over.  Under  the  agreement,  th" 
stuck  is  in  be  listed  in  London,  and  not  a  share 
of  this  block  will  be  offered  in  the  Canadian  mar- 
ket  for  a  term  of  years. 

The  annual  report  of  the  Montreal  Telegraph 
Company  shows  the  gross  assets  to  be  $2,2So,cco. 
The  company's  property  is  operated  and  main- 
tained by  the  Great  Northwestern  Telegraph  Com- 
pany of  Canada,  and  is  also  guaranteed  by  the 
Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  of  New  York, 
under  an  agreement  for  97  years  from  July   1,    t88l. 

W. 


New  York. 


New  York  city,  January  20.— At  the  meeting  of 
the  Board  of  Aldermen  on  Tuesday  the  Tammany 
representatives,  who  are  in  a  minority  this  year, 
attempted  to  put  through  a  resolution  in  favor  of 
municipal  ownership,  but  without  success.  On 
Thursday,  in  the  state  Legislature  at  Albany, 
Assemblyman  Oliver  introduced  ,1  number  of  bills 
designed  to  give  New  York  city  owning  and  oper- 
ative powers  in  regard  to  traction,  gas  and  electric 
companies. 

Ex-Controller  Edward  M.  Grout  has  stated  that 
there  will  certainly  be  competition  against  the  Ryan- 
Behnont  traction  interests  in  the  matter  of  seeking 
franchises  for  new  subways.  As  to  the  Third  Av- 
enue route,  the  representatives  of  the  Portchester 
Railroad  are  said  to  be  looking  toward  it. 

The  New  York  Times  says  that  the  Ryan-Bel- 
mont  merger  w-as  in  reality  brought  about  by  the 
attempt  of  the  Rapid  Transit  commissioners  to 
force  the  traction  companies  into  bidding  for  "all 
or  none"  of  the  new  subway  routes.  The  Times 
has  ever  been  able  to  see  the  necessity  of  a  subway 
on  the  Crowded  East  Side,  and  renews  its  criticism 
of  this   portion   of  the   scheme. 

A  bill  is  about  to  be  introduced  at  Albany  to 
provide  for  the  awarding  of  separate  contracts  for 
the  construction,  operation  and  maintenance  of  all 
future  tunnels  in  Greater  New  York.  The  real 
object  of  this  bill  is  not  clear,  but  a  similar  meas- 
ure   failed    to    pass    last   year. 

At  noon,  on  Friday,  a  Brooklyn  elevated  train 
struck  a  half-open  switch,  and  one  of  the  cars  fell 
from  the  structure  into  a  vacant  lot,  with  its  pas- 
sengers, killing  one  and  injuring  14  others.  Pre- 
liminary investigation  shows  that  the  switch  had 
been  unspiked  for  a  special  train  to  be  run  over 
a    track    not    generally    used    in    winter. 

The  McAdoo  Tunnel  Company  is  planning  to 
put  up  an  immense  building  at  the  Manhattan  end 
of  its  New  York-New  Jersey  trolley  tunnel.  The 
building  will  probably  be  designed  for  a  department 
store,  and  the  tunnel  station  would  be  in  the  base- 
ment. 

Borough  President  Coler  of  Brooklyn,  following 
complaints  of  others,  and  his  own  personal  expe- 
rience, is  taking  steps  to  compel  the  Brooklyn  Rapid 
Transit  Company  to  maintain  its  cars  in  a  clean 
condition.  Mr.  Coler  is  also  opposed  to  granting 
a  franchise  for  a  subwav  under  Livingston  Street, 
and  prefers  that  if  any  such  line  is  made,  it  should 
be  constructed  by  the  city  and  leased  for  short 
periods. 

The  directorate  of  the  Long  Island  Electric  Rail- 
way has  been  reorganized  and  is  now  practically 
in  the  control  of  Belmont  interests,  in  place  of 
the  Elkins-Widener  Philadelphia  syndicate.     Among 


Ohio. 

Cleveland,  Januarj  20.     li  i 
burg    Railway   Company   will   build   a  line  I 

-i'i"  '     and     Coraopolis,     Pa.,     which     will     give 
through     crvice   from   P  1 

II"'   Easl   Liver] I  Traction  Companj   is  ready  t" 

build    from    Vanporl    to    Smith's    Ferry,     P 
from    W'l-IK  HI"   i"    Empire,   1  Ihii  >,    .'.  hen 

will    be    made    with    the    line,    of    til'     Stcul.clr.  ill"    and 

Toronto    Electric   Railway   Company.     A   line   is   al- 
"!•   m  operation  between  Steubcnville  and  Wheel- 
ing,    W.     V.i        Willi    a     short    streleli    huill    between 

Bellaire   and   Zanesville   the   route   would    be 
plete  to  Columbus    uni   Dayton  and  Cincinnati.     The 
connecting   up   of    these   cities    will    form    an    impor- 
tant   chain    of    roads    for    the    eastern    nan       1    th 
state. 

An  ordinance  limiting  the  number  of  persons  that 
may  ride  on__a  car  will  go  into  effect  in  Cle  1 
Monday.  It  states  that  only  as  many  persons  as 
may  be  seated  and  half  as  many  again  shall  ride 
on  a  car.  President  Horace  E.  Andrew,  0 
Cleveland  Electric  says  that  extra  cars  will  be  put 
mi  during  the  rush  hours  up  to  the  point  of  con- 
gestion, but  even  then,  he  says,  people  will  have 
to  be  left  standing  on  the  streets   for  a  long  time. 

1  he  increase  of  $4,000,000  of  stock  for  the  An- 
drews-Vanderbilt  syndicate  has  all  been  taken  by 
the  original  subscribers.  The  money  thus  obtained 
will  be  used  in  taking  over  the  Rochester  Railway 
and  Light  Company  in  February.  It  is  said  that 
the  Vanderbilts  are  to  furnish  60  per  cent,  of  the 
money  and  Mr.  Andrews  and  the  local  syndicate 
is  to  furnish  40  per  cent.  Many  business  men  of 
Cleveland  are  associated  with  Mr.  Andrews  in  tins 
syndicate. 

Directors  of  the  Cincinnati  Gas  and  Electric  Com- 
pany have  voted  to  increase  the  capital  stock  of 
the  company  from  $31,000,000  to  $36,000,000,  jn 
order  to  secure  funds  for  carrying  out  the  contract 
lo  furnish  natural  gas  for  the  city.  A  company- 
has  been  incorporated  to  take  care  of  the  pipe  line. 
and  the  local  company  will  have  the  distributing 
system  to  build,  or  alter  the  artificial  system  in 
such  a  manner  as  to1  put  it  in  condition  for  the 
change. 

The  Massillon  Light,  Heat  and  Power  Company 
shut  off  the  street  lights  in  Massillon  last  week 
because  the  City  Council  refused  to  make  a  con- 
tract of  any  kind.  The  company  has  been  furnish- 
ing an  all-night  service  for  $62.50  per  lamp,  and 
on  a  new  contract  asked  $69.50,  which  the  council 
has  refused  to  give.  The  contract  expired  last 
October,  and  since  then  the  company  has  been  fur- 
nishing lights,  expecting  that  some  arrangements 
would  be  made  by  the  council. 

According  to  a  statement  credited  to  W.  Kelsey 
Schoepf,  the  capital  stock  of  the  company  that  will 
operate  the  Ohio  roads  of  his  syndicate  will  not 
exceed  $10,000,000.  He  says,  however,  that  not 
much  attention  has  been  given  this  matter,  as  an 
actual  merger  is  still  far  in  the  future.  The  plan 
is  to  have  the  company  lease  the  roads  from  the 
syndicate.  Randall  Morgan  is  now  in  the  East 
arranging    for    the    finances    of    the    syndicate. 

Representative  Lehman  has  introduced  a  bill  in 
the  house  changing  the  manner  of  fixing  the  taxes 
on  interurban  railways  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
permit  the  town  or  county  where  the  power  plant 
is  located  to  secure  its  share  of  the  valuation. 
These  properties  are  now  placed  in  the  same  class 
as  steam  roads,  and  valuations  are  placed  on  the 
lines  by  the  county  auditors,  and  prorated  to  the 
counties  through  which  the  lines  pass.  This  in- 
cludes power  houses,  and  gives  all  the  counties  a 
show  at  it. 

The  Oliver  Electric  Vehicle  Company  of  Cleve- 
land has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$10,000  by  E.  C.  Mullen,  Sherman  Arter  and  others. 

The  right  of  the  Cleveland  Electric  Railway  Com- 


■ 
- 

Michigan. 

nil    Ionia    rail  .■ 

he   will   have   1! 

July    fill. 

Ihe    P 

all   of  the 
the-   Grai 
that    the    road    will    be   built    this    bummer. 

Matthew    Slush    of    i  I 

tO.lt.      M 

that    on    and   after    May    isl    • 

the  multiple  s\  stem,  t!  n 

lo    be    in    charge    of    one    motorman    and    tw 

ductors.     It   i-  believed   tin-    ...  .  t»  ihe 

double-tracked    between    Detroit    and 
the  exception   of  nine   miles. 

Surveyors   have   started    work   at    tl 
minal  of  the  Owosso  and  Corunna  electric  line  and 
are    surveying 

Ini.      to     1  ""  md.       The     pro]  -i     will 

parallel  the  Ann  Arbor  railroad. 

Floyd    - 

1  plant 
roft,  and  for  a  contract  to  light  the  village. 
;ht  the  village  until  midnigl 
night  for  $50  per  arc  lamp  per  year,  and  furnish 
incandescent  lighting  at  12  cents  a  kilowatt-hour. 
His  company  purposes  t"  utilize  the  power  of  the 
Shiawassee  River,  and  light  Morrice  and  Perry'  as 
well  as  Bancroft. 

I  he  erection  of  a  gas  plant  has  brought  competi- 
tion into  Ludington  for  the  Stearns  Lighting  and 
Power  Company,  which  company  announc 
during  the  year  1005  it  added  150  customers.  In 
view  of  this  fact  it  offers  two  months'  lighting 
free  to  all  persons  wiring  up  between  m 
March    ist. 

It  is  reported  that  several  well-known  men  of 
Iron    Mountain    are    planning  -  1    stock 

13    for  the  purpose  of  building  and  ■  ; 
.111     interurban    electric-railway    system    t. .    connect 
Iron    Mountain.    Quini 

retto,  Waucedah.  Niagara.  Spread  Eagle  Lake-. 
Commonwealth,  Florence  and  other  towns  in  the 
region.  It  is  said  that  possibly  the  new  line  will 
be  extended  so  as  to  connect  the  electric  road  pro- 
jected from  Menominee  to  Escanaba.  The  r 
say  it  is  in-  posed  to  generate  power  at  Twin  Falls. 
near  the  city.  A  franchise  was  obtained  from  the 
city   of   Iron    Mountain   some   lime   ago. 

With  the  beginning  of  1906  the  Jackson  and 
Battle  Creek  Traction  Company  began  running 
through  freight  ears  from  Kalamazoo  to  Jackson. 
Heretofore  all  merchandise  had  to  he  transferred 
at  Battle  Creek.  The  cars  of  the  Michigan  Trac- 
tion Company,  which  is  a  part  of  the  system,  have 
been  equipped  with  third-rail  attachment  to  be  able 
to  make  the  trip   East  from  Battle  Creek. 

Engineers  for  the  South  Bend  Power  Company, 
which  controls  the  interests  of  the  Hen  Island  dam 
and  the  Buchanan  dams,  have  completed  a  survey- 
tor  a  proposed  dam  in  the  St.  Joseph  River  oil 
the  line  between  Michigan  and  Indiana.  The  dam 
will  cost  in  the  neighborhood  of  $500,000.  and  will 
add  about  2.500  horsepower  to  the  system  of  the 
corporation.  The  advisability  of  building  on  the 
state  line  or  at  Berrien  Springs,  Mich.,  will  be 
considered  at  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors 
which  will  be  held  in  about  30  days.  It  will  cost 
in  the  neighborhood  of  $1,250,000  and  will  furnish 
about  10,000  horsepower.  Both  dams,  it  is  said. 
will   eventually   be   built. 

A  proposition  is  on  foot  to  extend  an  electric- 
road  to  Hesperia  from  points  to  the  south,  with 
terminus  at  Grand  Rapids.  Power  for  this  purpose 
is  to  be  obtained  from  White  River.  Hesperia  will 
give  an  exceptionally  good  bonus  as  an  inducement 
to  secure  the  road.  A  permanent  organization  of 
business  men  will  be  effected  on  January-  24th  for 
the  purpose  of  furthering  the  project.  A  proposi- 
tion is  to  be  laid  before  interested  persons  in 
February.  B. 


go 


Indiana. 

Indianapolis,  January  20. — Articles  of  incorpora- 
tion of  the  Crawfordsville  and  Northwestern  Rail- 
way Company  state  that  the  proposed  electric  rail- 
way is  to  start  at  Crawfordsville  and  pass  through 
Wesley,  Waynetown,  New  Richmond,  Wingate,  At- 
tica, Hillsboro,  Mellott,  Aylesworth,  Stone  Bluff, 
Newton,  Williamsport,  Kramer,  Carbondale,  Judy- 
ville  and  Pence.  The  capital  stock  of  the  corpora- 
tion is  $100,000,  and  the  directorate  consists  of 
Spencer  J.  Hunt,  A.  L.  Mason  and  John  F.  Mc- 
Farland. 

Chicago  and  Indianapolis  men  planning  to  build 
an  electric  railway  between  Indianapolis  and  Louis- 
ville have  filed  articles  of  incorporation  as  the 
Indianapolis  and  Louisville  Traction  Company,  Sam- 
uel D.  Miller  of  Indianapolis,  John  E.  Greeley  of 
Jeffersonville  and  Robert  Candee  of  Chicago  are 
among  the  directors.  The  company  is  capitalized 
at  $3,000,000.  According  to  the  incorporation  pa- 
pers, the  line  is  to  touch  Franklin,  Edinburg,  Co- 
lumbus, Seymour,  Crothersville,  Sellersburg  and 
Jeffersonville.  Indianapolis  and  Louisville  will  be 
the  terminals   of   the   road. 

Seven  months,  ago  Charles  L.  Henry,  president 
of  the  Indianapolis  and  Cincinnati  Traction  Com- 
pany, made  a  prediction  in  a  prospectus  that  the 
earnings  of  the  Shelbyville  line  for  1905  would  ag- 
gregate $104,440.42.  Data  now  compiled  show  that 
the  earnings  for  the  3'ear  were  $104,448.46,  or  just 
$8.04  more  than  the  amount  named  by  Mr.  Henry. 
Mr.  Henry's  report  sa}rs  that  the  limited  cars  of 
the  Shelbyville  line  make  an  average  speed  of 
34.46  miles  an  hour,  while  those  of  the  Rushville 
line  make  an  average  speed  of  42.13  miles  an  hour. 
The  Rushville  line  is  operated  by  the  single-phase 
alternating-current   system. 

Directors  of  the  Columbus,  Greensburg  and  Rich- 
mond Traction  Company  predict  that  their  cars  will 
be  running  between  Columbus  and  Greensburg  dur- 
ing the  present  year.  The  company  expects  to 
build  on  to  Connersville  in  the  spring  of  too",  and 
then  to  push  on  to  Richmond. 

A  corporation  which  has  for  its  object  the  opera- 
tion of  an  electric  plant  to  furnish  heat,  light  and 
power  to  the  three  towns  of  Jasonville.  Coalmont 
and  Hymera  has  been  organized.  The  name  of 
the  corporation  is  the  Indiana  Electric  Transmis- 
sion Company,  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $250,000  and  with  the  following  directors: 
Howard  L.  Hyatt,  William  H.  H.  Hornberger  and 
Thomas  Duncan.  Lafayette  is  given  as  the  home 
of  the  company,  although  its  operations  are  to  be 
in   Greene   and   Sullivan   counties. 

The  Kerr-Murray  Manufacturing  Company  of 
Fort  Wayne  is  preparing  to  erect  a  new  power 
plant. 

A.  A.  Wallace  is  reported  to  have  secured  a 
franchise   for  an   electric-light  plant  in   Monon. 

The  Indianapolis  Cold  Storage  Company  is  seek- 
ing a  franchise  to  permit  the  company  to  dispose 
of  its  surplus  light  and  heat  within  a  limited  ter- 
ritory tributary  to  the  plant.  The  Indianapolis 
Light  and  Heat  Company  and  the  Merchants'  Heat 
and   Light  Company  object  on  technical  grounds. 

A  franchise  to  operate  a  combined  waterworks 
and  electric-light  system  in  Lawrrenceburg  is  being 
sought  by  a  company  of  local  capitalists  headed  by 
W.   H.   O'Brien. 

Mayor  Bidaman's  scheme  for  building  a  municipal 
electric-light  plant  in  Terre  Haute  has  received  a 
set-back   by    threatened    injunction    proceedings. 

S.  S. 


Pacific  Slope. 

San  Francisco,  January  19. — The  San  Francisco, 
Vallejo  and  Vaca  Valley  Railway  and  Steamship 
Company  filed  articles  of  incorporation  in  Solano 
County  this  week.  This  company  is  organized  to 
build  an  electric  railway  connecting  the  principal 
towns  of  Solano,  Napa  and  Yolo  counties.  Alto- 
gether, So  miles  of  road  are  to  be  built.  The  new 
company  has  already  applied  for  franchises  in  vari- 
ous towns  and  counties  through  which  its  line  will 
pass.  Engineer  Soule  of  San  Francisco  will  have 
charge  of  the  engineering  work.  The  principal 
owner  of  the  road  is  Wilfred  H.  Hodgkm  of 
Fresno,    Cal. 

The  Town  Council  of  San  Jose,  Cal.,  has  granted 
a  franchise  to  the  San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara  Rail- 
road Company,  extending  the  present  franchise  32 
years,  with  the  privilege  of  broad-gauging  and 
standardizing   the   present   narrow-gauge    lines. 

John  Martin  and  Eugene  de  Sabla  have  pur- 
chased a  controlling  interest  in  the  co-operative 
electric-light  company  of  Santa  Cruz,  which  com- 
pany furnishes  electric  light  to  the  principal  parts 
of  the  town  of  Santa  Cruz.  Several  weeks  ago 
the  same  men  purchased  the  Santa  Cruz  Electric 
Light  and  Power  Company  of  the  same  city.  The 
latter  compan}r  furnishes  a  part  of  the  city  lighting 
of  Santa  Cruz,  and  also  furnishes  current  for  the 
operating   of    street    railways. 

The  Merchants'  Association  of  San  Francisco  is 
promoting  a  movement  to  secure  cluster  lights 
along  Market  Street,  the  principal  thoroughfare  of 
San  .Francisco,  for  a  distance  of  between  two  and 
three  miles.  It  is  proposed  to  raise  $20,000  by 
subscription  to  defray  the  expense  of  constructing 
and    installing   the    lights. 

The  Central  California  Traction  Company  has 
authorized    an    issue    of    bonds    to    the    amount    of 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

$1,500,000,  the  proceeds  of  which  will  be  used  in 
building  the  company's  proposed  electric-railway 
system  in  Stockton,  Cal.  Eight  miles  of  track  have 
already  been  laid  by  the  company,  which  owns 
franchises  for  extensions  to  the  towns  of  Lodi  and 
Woodbridge. 

A  franchise  has  been  granted  by  the  town  au- 
thorities of  Klamath  Falls,  Ore.,  to  C.  N.  Hawkins 
for  a  street-railway  system  in  that  town,  the  work 
of  construction  to  be  begun   on  or  before  July  1st. 

The  Ygnacio  Valley  Railway  Company  has  been 
incorporated  in  San  Francisco  for  the  purpose  of 
constructing  an  electric  railway  from  Oakland  to 
Antioch,  a  distance  of  40  miles,  and  also  branches 
to  Mt.  Diablo  and  Martinez.  The  company  has  an 
authorized  capital  stock  of  $2,000,000,  of  which 
amount  $75,000  has  been  subscribed.  The  principal 
stockholders  are  A.  Bishop,  L.  F.  Winchell  and 
W.  H.  Murphy. 

The  Town  Council  of  Seaside,  Ore.,  has  granted 
to  W.  L.  Dudley  of  Seattle,  Wash.,  a  franchise  to 
build  and  operate  an  electric  railway  within  the 
corporate    limits   of    Seaside. 

J.  A.  Foster  of  Oroville,  Cal..  has  applied  to  the 
city  authorities  of  that  place  for  a  franchise  to 
construct  and  operate,  during  a  period  of  50  years, 
an  electric  power  and  lighting  plant.  The  franchise 
will  be  offered  for  sale  on  February   10th. 

The  Electrical  Construction  Company  has  been 
incorporated  at  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  by  L.  R.  Saun- 
ders, M.  R.  Bennaugh  and  Edmond  Locke,  with  a 
capital  stock  of  $30,000. 


Northwestern  States. 

Minneapolis,  January  20. — The  Butte  (Mont.) 
Electric  and  Supply  Company  has  been  incorpo- 
rated with  a  capitalization  of  $50,000.  H.  K. 
Scheiber   heads   the   list   of  stockholders. 

A  trust  deed  in  favor  of  the  Wisconsin  Trust 
Company  for  $150,000  has  been  filed  by  the  Mani- 
towoc (Wis.)  and  Northern  Traction  Company. 
The  issue  is  to  pay  an  indebtedness  of  $118,000,  and 
the  remainder  will  be  used  in  making  numerous 
extensions. 

The  Des  Moines,  Winterset  and  Creston  Electric 
Railway  Company  has  applied  for  a  franchise  at 
Winterset,    Iowa. 

A.  T.  LeVesconte  has  decided  not  to  renew  his 
lease  of  the  electric-light  plant  at  Glencoc,  Minn., 
and  a  new  manager  will  have  to  be  secured. 

E.  L.  Heally  of  Red  Lake  Falls,  Minn.,  and 
A.  H.  Savage  of  Minneapolis  propose  to  establish 
a  new  electric-light  system  at  East  Grand  Forks, 
Minn.,  and  to  transmit  power  and  light  from  Red 
Lake  Falls,  where  they  will  construct  a  power  plant. 
Franchises  at  both  Red  Lake  Falls  and  East  Grand 
Forks    will   be    asked    for    in    February. 

There  is  talk  of  putting  in  an  electric-light  sys- 
tem at  Herreid,  S.  D. 

William  H.  Young  and  associates  at  Oconto,  Wis., 
have  filed  articles  of  incorporation  for  the  Oconto 
Electric  Company  with  a  capital  of  $5,000.  R. 


PERSONAL 

Edwin  L.  Huntley  has  been  appointed  manager 
of  the  Postal  Telegraph- Cable  Company  office  at 
Omaha,   Neb. 

Frederick  O.  Nourse  was  recently  appointed  gen- 
eral inspector  of  the  southern  district  of  the  West- 
ern Union  Telegraph  Company,  with  headquarters 
at  Atlanta,    Ga. 

E.  S.  Loomis,  superintendent  of  the  Jackson  and 
Battle  Creek  (Mich.)  electric  line,  will,  on  Feb- 
ruary 1st,  assume  the  superintendency  of  the  Mich- 
igan Traction  Company,  which  operates  cars  be- 
tween Battle  Creek  and  Kalamazoo.  This  will 
place   Mr.   Loomis  in  charge  of  both  lines. 

The  Ferris  brothers,  well-known  figures  in  the 
electrical  activities  of  the  West,  were  conspicuous 
visitors  at  the  Electrical  Show.  There  are  four 
of  them — W.  J.,  Thomas,  Robert  and  James  W. — 
and  they  manage  with  modern  enterprise  a  string 
of  central  stations  in  small  cities  in  Illinois,  Iowa 
and    South   Dakota. 

E.  W.  Moore  has  been  elected  president  of  the 
Lake  Shore  Electric  Railway  Company  of  Cleve- 
land to  succeed  Warren  Bicknell.  Mr.  Bicknell  re- 
signed to  become  president  of  the  Cleveland  Con- 
struction Company.  The  board  of  directors  passed 
a  resolution  approving  the  management  of  the  road 
by  President  Bicknell. 

A.  J.  Mellen,  district  superintendent  of  the  Cen- 
tral Union  Telephone  Company  for  Northwestern 
Ohio,  has  been  appointed  manager  of  the  Bell  sys- 
tem in  Toledo,  where  he  has  been  making  his 
headquarters.  Mr.  Mellen  will  look  after  this 
business  and  still  discharge  the  duties  of  his  former 
position.  He  succeeds  John  W.  Cherry,  who  will, 
however,  remain  with  the  Central  Union. 


J.  J.  Stanley  has  been  chosen  vice-president  and 
general  manager  of  the  Cleveland  Electric  Railway 
Company  and  will  take  over  many  of  the  duties 
heretofore  performed  by  President  Horace  E.  An- 
drews. This  change  w'as  made  at  the  suggestion 
of  Mr.  Andrews,  in  order  that  he  might  have  more 
time  to  devote  to  the  business  of  the  Andrews- 
Vanderbilt  syndicate.  It  will  also  be  the  means  of 
having  an  executtive  officer  present  in  the  city  at 
all   times. 


January  27,  1906 

6LECTRIC  LIGHTING. 

W.  H.  Reber  has  applied  for  an  electric-light 
franchise   for   Butte,   Mont.,   to   run  40  years. 

Williston,  N.  D.,  is  about  to  vote  to  issue  $12,000 
in    bonds    for    an    electric-light    and    water    system. 

I.  N.  Smith  and  C.  E.  Wood  have  been  granted 
a  franchise  for  an  electric-light  and  water  system 
in   Kennewick,   Wash. 

This  is  Mark  Twain's  description  of  the  electric 
searchlight:  "Plenty  of  daylight  in  a  box,  and 
ready   to   be   turned   on   whenever   needed." 

Chillicothe,  Mo.,  is  to  hold  an  election  on  January 
29th,  to  decide  whether  to  issue  bonds  for  $100,000 
for   an    electric-light    plant    and    waterworks. 

Notice  comes  from  New  York  that  the  American 
Light  and  Traction  Company  has  purchased  the 
properties  of  the  Lacombe  Electric  Company  of 
Denver,  Colo.,  and  the  Muskegon  Traction  and 
Light  Company  of  Muskegon,  Mich.  The  latter 
property  includes  a  street-railway  system  as  well  as 
gas  and  electric-light  plants.  Since  this  notice  a 
report  from  Denver  stated  that  the  Lacombe  plant, 
which  cost  about  $350,000,  and -supplies  the  arc 
lights  of  Denver,  had  been  damaged  by  fire  to  the 
extent  of  $100,000. 


ELECTRIC  RAILWAYS 

A  stock  company  is  said  to  have  been  organized 
in  Hutchinson.  Kan.,  to  build  an  electric  street  rail- 
way  in    that   city. 

The  contract  for  the  construction  of  the  new 
trolley  road  between  Seymour  and  Naugatuck, 
through  the  Naugatuck  Valley,  has  been  let  by 
the  Connecticut  Railway  and  Lighting  Company  to 
the  firm  of  D.  W.  Blakeslees'  Sons  of  New  Haven. 
Some  hard  problems  in  construction  will  be  met 
along  the  tortuous  course  of  the  Naugatuck  River, 
which  it  will  follow.  When  this  road  is  completed 
the  trolley  route  through  the  Naugatuck  Valley 
from  Waterbury  to  New  Haven  will  have  been 
practically  completed.  The  new  road  will  run 
through  High  Rock  and  Beacon  Falls,  and  parallel 
the  Naugatuck  division  of  the  New  York,  New 
Haven  and  Hartford  Railroad.  It  will  be  10  miles 
long. 

The  board  of  directors  of  the  Long  Island  Elec- 
tric Railway  Company  has  been  reorganized  by  the 
election  of  Interborough  representatives  in  the  place 
of  the  Philadelphia  interests,  which  formerly  con- 
trolled the  property.  The  company  operates  26 
miles  of  trolley  lines,  extending  from  the  terminus 
of  the  Kings  County  elevated  road  to  Queens,  L.  I., 
and  to  Far  Rockaway.  It  is  capitalized  at  $600,000. 
and  has  outstanding  in  addition  $600,000  of  five 
per  cent,  bonds.  The  directors  elected  are  August 
Belmont,  Ralph  Peters,  James  Jourdan,  E.  P. 
Bryan,  David  C.  Green,  A.  L.  Langdon,  C.  L. 
Addison,  Arthur  Turnbull  and  Alfred  Skitt.  The 
officers  elected  are :  Arthur  Turnbull,  president : 
F.  L.  Fuller,  vice-president  and  general  manager ; 
Frank  E.  Haff,  secretary,  and  J.  J.  Rollins,  treas- 
urer. 

The  Merchants'  Association  of  Indianapolis,  Ind., 
has  for  a  year  or  more  been  working  under  the 
plan  of  refunding  railroad  fare  to  all  purchasers  of 
$25  worth  of  merchandise  from  any  one  or  more 
of  the  members  of  the  association.  To  such  out- 
of-town  purchasers  the  association  refunds  the  fare 
on  steam  lines  for  a  round-trip  distance  of  80 
miles  and  for  a  round-trip  distance  of  150  miles  on 
the  interurban  lines.  Rebate  books  are  issued  to 
applicants,  and  w-hen  presented  to  Charles  Z.  Coffin, 
secretary  and  manager  of  the  Merchants'  Asso- 
ciation, with  the  evidence  of  the  purchase,  he  re- 
funds to  them  the  fare  paid  out.  It  is  said  that 
the  association  refunded  upward  of  $20,000  worth 
of  fares  during  the  year  1905,  three-fourths  of  the 
beneficiaries  being  interurban   passengers. 

The  work  of  converting  the  existing  mule-drawn 
street  cars  of  the  Compania  Ferrocarriles  Urbano 
in  Lima,  Peru,  into  an  electric  road  and  the  build- 
ing of  several  miles  of  new  track  has  been  under- 
taken by  W.  R.  urace  &  Co.  of  New  York.  United 
States  material  and  equipment  are  to  be  used  in 
the  construction  of  the  electric  traction  system. 
Forty-five  cars  will  be  used,  of  the  open  type. 
Power  for  the  new  lines  will  be  generated  at  a 
hydro-electric  plant,  30  miles  from  Lima,  on  the 
Rimac  River.  The  Lima  electric  system  will  be 
the  first  to  be  built  of  American  material  on  the 
west  coast  of  South  America,  the  British  and  Ger- 
mans having  hitherto  secured  such  contracts  in 
that  part  of  the  world.  The  new  lines,  about  30 
miles  long,  will  be  in  operation  this  year.  The 
General  Electric  Company  will  furnish  the  elec- 
trical    equipment. 


PUBLICATIONS. 


The  latest  report  of  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey  on  Mineral  Resources  of  the  United  States, 
being  for  the  year  1904,  has  been  issued  by  the 
Department  of  the  Interior.  It  is  a  book  of  1,264 
pages,  and  the  arrangement  and  scope  are  prac- 
tically the  same  as  in  the  20  preceding  reports  on 
the    subject   of   minerals.     Each    report   records   the 


January  jj.  igo6 

development  of  the  mineral  indu  tr'u     of  the  United 

States    ■  ince    the    tii vcrcd    by    thi     pi 

number   of   the   set  ie 

'I  he  Commercial   Mica   '  ompany,   Republic   Build 
ing,    Chicago,    ha  \   publi  hed  a     I  inclai  d    pi 
of  its   Micavita   insulation.     Ii   give*  prices  and   in 
formation  aboul   a   large   varietj    <>f   mica   pi 
including  cut  and  uncul   mica. 

The'new  1906  catalojgui    of  th<    I'.'  Idi  n    M  inu  fa< 

luring  Company  of  Chica oi  venient  pocket 

size,  well  bound  i ■  >  cloth  and  a  valuable  little  I '- 

for  engineers  to  have.     !'   describes   the   panj 

products  in  the  line  of  electrical  wire  and  cords 
and  contains  much   y.iIm.iI-I<    daia 

A   new   edition   of    Webster's    International    Die 

tionary  has  25,000  new  words  and  phra  c  .  a  new 
gazeteer  of  the  world  and  a  new  biographical  die 
tionary.  It  has  2,380  quarto  pages  and  5,000  illus- 
trations. The  G.  and  C.  Mcrriam  Company  of 
Springfield,    Mass,,    is    the    publisher. 

A  handsome  new  catalogue  from  the  C.  VV.  Hunt 
Company  of  West  New  Brighton,  N.  Y.,  is  an  clab 
orate  treatise  on  the  narrow-gauge  "industrial" 
railway.  The  catalogue  takes  up  both  thi 
construction  and  the  ears  and  equipment,  rhc-rc 
are  64  pages  in  the  catalogue,  which  is  plentifully 
illustrated. 

"Roofing  Rules"  is  the  title  of  a  handbook  on 
sheet  metals  in  building  construction  for  architects, 
owners,  engineers  and  builders,  issued  by  the 
Merchant  &  Evans  Company  of  Philadelphia.  The 
book  contains  some  handsome  illustrations  of  build- 
ings and  also  descriptions  of  the  company's  prod- 
ucts in   the  line  of  roofing  material. 

The  Star  Expansion  Bolt  Company  of  147-149 
Cedar  Street,  New  York  city,  has  issued  Catalogue 
No.  14,  in  which  its  products  are  illustrated  and 
described.  It  says  that  its  bolts,  both  lag-screw 
and  machine-type,  are  standard.  One  interesting 
specialty  is  the  Star  cable  dog,  used  to  fasten  elec- 
tric cables  or  pipes  to  masonry  walls,  ceilings,  etc. 
The  employment  of  this  device  obviates  the  use 
of  wooden   plugs. 

The  J.  L.  Mott  Iron  Works  of  New  York  city 
is  to  be  commended  on  the  striking  appearance  and 
originality  of  its  new  catalogue  "J"  on  "Electroliers, 
Lamps,  Brackets  and  Posts."  Numerous  fine  cuts 
illustrate  the  many  beautiful  designs  of  lamps  and 
posts  manufactured  by  this  company.  Prices  and 
dimensions  are  also  quoted  for  each  piece.  A  blue- 
print supplement  contains  drawing  of  a  number  of 
designs   for  steel  electric-light  poles. 

Sawyer-Man  incandescent  lamps,  sold  by  the 
Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, are  made  the  subject  of  a  neat  little  book 
published  by  the  Sawyer-Man  Electric  Company  of 
New  York.  This  company  builds  incandescent 
lamps  in  all  candlepowers,  voltages  and  efficiencies, 
and  manufactures  standard  lamps  of  varied  char- 
acteristics, about  a  dozen  of  which  are  illustrated 
and  described  in  the  book.  The  book  will  aid 
customers  in  selecting  lamps  with  special  reference 
to   the    conditions    of   operation. 

"Under  the  Gates  of  Babylon"  is  the  title  of  the 
latest  advertising  folder  of  the  Buckeye  Electric 
Company  of  Cleveland.  The  opening  of  the  gates 
reveals  an  impressive  night  picture  of  the  mighty 
walls  of  Babylon.  The  story  of  the  centuries  of 
impregnable  security  of  Babylon,  until  the  terrible 
night  when  the  Persians  ended  the  feasting  and 
carousing,  is  told,  ending .  with  this  paragraph : 
"And,  in  the  impenetrable  darkness,  when  the  last 
light  had  gone  out,  slowly  that  weird,  mysterious 
handwriting  appeared  on  the  walls — and  there  arose 
three  words  which  have  been  echoed  through  time 
— 'Better  buy  Buckeye.'  " 

The  Ontario  Power  Company  of  Niagara  Falls 
has  embellished  and  published  in  convenient  pam- 
phlet form  the  Institute  paper  of  Mr.  P.  N.  Nunn, 
which  gives  an  accurate  description  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Ontario  Power  Company  at  Niagara 
Falls  and  its  works,  which  are  now  in  operation. 
The  pamphlet  has  some  excellent  halftones  of 
machinery,  buildings,  etc..  and  drawings  showing 
locations    and    the    principal    engineering    features. 


I-.I-:.     ELECTRIi 

.    .    1  c 
I 

form 
k,   entitled  "    '• 

1    1 
up  in  novel   form,  and,  be  idc     illu  ti  iting 
.  1  ibing   1 .      ■  proi 

adjacenl   ■ 

i high-grad 

m  idi      mnually. 


SOCIETIES  AND  SCHOOL!: 
[1.     Proceed 
ciation    i  X.     It 

contains   the   proceedini  at   the 

New    York    meeting    on     I   i 

remarkabli     promptm       01     thi     pari    of    Secretary 
II.  S.   Balliel   in  issuing  it  tints  early.     It  c 
a  complete  record  of  a 

the   meeting,   with   the   papers   and   discussion.     In 
the  back  is  ;t  complcti  >i   mem- 

bers. 

Announcement  has  jusl   been  made  bj    thi 
of    engineering,    University    of    Wisconsin,    of    the 
complete  list  of  non-residenl   lecturers   who  arc  to 
address    the    students    in    engineering    during    tin- 
coming  year.     The   lecturers    selected   includi 
of  the  most  prominent  authorities  on   special 
of   engineering    in    the   country.     The    lectures    arc 
not    confined    strictly    to    engineering     ti  pii 
include   the  consideration   of   various   industrial    and 
commercial    problems    with    which    the    engineer    is 
brought  in  contact.     Among  the  subjects  pertaining 
to   electrical    engineering.    "High    Speed    in    Modern 
Engineering"     will     be     discussed     by     Mr.     B.     A. 
Behrend,  chief  electrical  engineer  of  the  Allis-Chal- 
mers  Company. 

The  annua]  inspection  tour  of  the  senior  class  in 
electrical  engineering  of  the  University  of  Illinois, 
under  the  direction  of  Professors  Morgan  Brooks 
and  T.  M.  Gardner,  was  taken  on  January  22d  to 
25th  inclusive.  The  Bloomingtou,  Pontiac  attd 
Joliet  single-phase  railway  was  inspected,  after 
which  the  party  came  to  Chicago,  stopping  at  the 
Grand  Pacific  Hotel.  Various  shops,  factories  and 
other  institutions  of  electrical  interest  in  Chicago 
were  visited  and  considerable  time  was  spent  at 
the  Electrical  Show.  A  short  trip  was  also  taken 
to  Waukegan  to  inspect  the  mills  of  the  American 
Steel  and  Wire  Company.  There  are  30  students 
in  the  senior  class  of  electrical  engineering  this 
year,  which  is  twice  as  large  as  last  year. 


MISCELLANEOUS 


The  backers  of  the  Argentine  Marconi  Wireless 
Telegraph  Company  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata  say 
that  within  a  year  they  will  be  sending  messages 
from  Argentina  to  Italy  and  Ireland.  It  is  ex- 
pected that  the  cable  rates  between  Xew  York  and 
the  Argentine  Republic  will  thus  be  considerably 
reduced.  George  H.  Monroe  of  the  firm  of  Monroe 
&  Monroe,  New  York,  has  returned  from  Buenos 
Ayres,  where  he  has  been  engaged  for  the  last 
two  months  organizing  and  financing  the  scheme. 

According  to  a  jury,  in  Part  II.  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  Brooklyn,  a  few  days  ago,  a  telegraph  com- 
pany is  responsible  for  damages  when  in  trans- 
mitting a  message  intrusted  to  it  the  company 
makes  a  mistake.  The  sum  of  $2,200.  the  full 
amount  sued  for.  was  awarded  to  E.  S.  Halstead 
&  Co.,  bag  manufacturers  in  Manhattan,  against  the 
Postal  Telegraph  Company.  A  message  was  sent 
by  Armour  &  Co.  of  Chicago  to  Halstead  &  Co. 
inquiring  the  price  on  a  contract  for  25,000  bags. 
An  error  in  figures  in  the  telegraphic  reply  made 
a   total   difference  of  $2,200  in   the   contract. 


9> 

TRADE  NEWS 

l«-r  than  in  :.■ 

t    Company    ..?' 
n   office    in   thi 
Building 

The     Aim.  r 

"ice    in 
■    |.|-   Pacific   Electric   Build  1  - 
companj  eel    and    ma 

chinery    supply   hue   h 

tion    in    the    S 
will   have   for   its  field   Southern   Cab:' 
and   Xew   Mexico  and 

ir     I.     Cummins    will    have    charge 


BUSINESS 


ivitehboard  for  -kyscraper,  1  he 

Nicholas,  will  be  built  by  the  F.  Bi 
of  that  city.  It  will  be  a  board  of 
sign    and    large   and   heavily  constru.  I 

What  ne  of  the  largest  -ini;':' 

for  machine  tools  ever  given  at  one  time  by 
company  was  recently  placed  by  the  Allis-Chal- 
mers  Company  of  Milwaukee  to  cover  a  portion  of 
the  equipment  for  the  new  extensions  to  it 
Allis  works,  now  under  construction.  Forty-two 
machine  tools  of  extra  heavy  pattern,  designed 
especially  for  use  with  high-speed  steels,  and  driven 
by  Allis-Chalmcrs  motors,  were  ordered  from  sev- 
eral of  the  most  prominent  builders  of  machine 
tools  in  the  country.  The  combined  weight  of  these 
machines,  without  motors,  is  about  4.282,000  pounds, 
or  2,141  tons.  About  75  AUis-Chalmers  m  I 
various  sizes  and  aggregating  a  total  of  1,200  horse- 
power, will  be  employed  to  drive  these  machines. 
In  addition  to  the  order  for  machine  tools  34  elec- 
tric traveling  cranes  were  ordered  at  the  same 
time  for  sizes  and  capacities  ranging  from  2 
wall  jib  cranes  up  to  60-ton  78-foot  span  cranes 
with  10-ton  auxiliary  hoist  for  the  new  foundry. 
The  combined  weights  of  the  cranes  ordered  is 
approximately  940  tons. 

The  Westinghouse  Machine  Company  of  East 
Pittsburg.  Pa.,  has  received  during  the  las 
months  many  orders  for  Westinghouse- 1 
steam  turbines.  The  largest  orders  were  received 
from  the  Transit  Development  Company.  Br 
N.  Y.,  for  a  7,500-kilowatt  turbine ;  Edison  Electric 
Company.  Los  Angeles,  Cal..  for  a  7,500-kilowatt  tur- 
bine ;  the  Laclede  Power  Company.  St.  Louis.  Mo., 
for  two  2.000-kilowatt  turbines,  and  the  Chautauqua 
Traction  Company.  Jamestown,  X.  Y..  for  a  1.500- 
kilowatt  turbine.  Other  important  orders  ranging 
from  1,000  kilowatts  down  to  300  kilowatts  are  also' 
reported.  The  turbine  to  be  installed  by  the 
Transit  Development  Company  will  be  of  the  mul- 
tiple-expansion parallel-flow  type,  direct  connected 
to  an  alternating-current  generator  running  at  750 
revolutions  per  minute,  and  will  operate  with  dry 
saturated  steam  at  175  pounds  boiler  pressure  and 
28-inch  vacuum.  The  generator  will  be  of  the 
rotating-field  enclosed  type  and  will  deliver  three- 
phase  current  at  6.600  or  11.000  volts.  The  Edison 
Electric  Company  turbine  unit  will  be  of  the  same 
general  type.  The  turbines  for  the  Laclede  Power 
Company  will  operate  at  1.200  revolutions  per  min- 
im-, with  dry  saturated  steam  at  165  pounds  boiler 
pressure  and  28-inch  vacuum,  and  will  deliver  three- 
phase  current  at  2.300  volts. 


ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 


Issued  (United  States  Patent  Office)  Janu 


jqo6. 


9,929.  Intercommunication  Telephone  System. 
Richard  M.  Beard,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Applica- 
tion filed   November  4,   1902. 

The  system  consists  of  interwiring  connecting  three  or 
imore  stations  with  ono  another,  telephone  apparatus  at  each 
station,  signal-sending  apparatus  at  each  station,  a  sep- 
arate group  of  wiring  for  the  telephone  and  signal-sending 
apparatus  located  at  each  station,  signal- receiving  appar- 
atus and  a  separate  group  of  wiring  therefor  at  each 
station,  and  devices  at  the  respective  stations  for  elec- 
trically connecting  the  interwiring  between  any  two  sta- 
tions, first  to  one  group  of  wiring  at  one  station,  and 
then  to  the  other  group  at  the  same  station.  The  inter- 
wiring comprises  independent  wires  for  respectively  con- 
necting the  apparatus  at  each  one  of  the  stations  with  the 
apparatus  at  each  one  of  the  remaining  stations.  (See  cut 
on  next  page.) 

9,966.  Stopping  and  Starting  Device  for  Motor- 
driven  Apparatus.  Walter  B.  Manny,  New 
York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Pike  Adding  Ma- 


chine Company.  Orange,  N.  J.     Application  filed 

August    1.    1905. 
A    machine   driven  by  an  electric  motor  has  a  movable 
stool    for    the     operator,    upon    which    stool    is    arranged    a 
starting  and  stopping  device  to  be  shifted  by  the  presence 
of  the  operator. 

Sog.97S.  Electric  Safety  Fuse.  Elmer  L.  Ogle. 
Peru.  Ind.,  assignor  to  the  Peru  Electric  Man- 
ufacturing   Company,    Peru,    Ind.     Application 

filed   May  25,   1904. 

An  inclosing  case  is  provided  with  a  main  fuse  con- 
nected with  the  terminals  of  the  case.  An  auxiliary  fuse 
is  connected  to  the  main  fuse.  A  layer  of  paper  saturated 
in  a  sensitive  chemical  material  is  adapted  to  be  dis- 
colored upon  blowing  of  the  fuse,  the  auxiliary  fuse 
being  in   contact  therewith. 

809,982.  Electric  Safety  Fuse.  Charles  W.  Rhoades, 
Peru,  Ind..  assignor  to  the  Peru  Electric  Man- 


ufacturing Company,  Peru,  Ind.  Application 
filed  May  25,   1904. 

The  combination  consists  of  a  cylindrical  shell  or 
casing  provided  with  similar  terminal  circuit  contacts,  an 
inclosed  fuse  of  limited  resistance  connected  with  the 
terminal  contacts,  an  outer  soring  device  secured  on  th'e 
side  of  the  main  shell  and  a  thread  device  attached  to 
the  end  of  the  spring  passing  through  an  opening  in  the 
shell  and  looped  around  the  fuse. 

809.985.  Incandescent  Electric-lamp  Remover,  Re- 
placer  and  Cleaner.  Charles  T.  Rundberg.  Kan- 
sas   City,    Mc.     Application   filed   July   24,    1905. 

A  handle  is  provided  at  its  upper  portion  with  longi- 
tudinal grooves  and  openings,  and  resilient  arms  are 
arranged  in  the  grooves  and  have  their  lower  portions 
extending  through  the  openings,  the  lower  terminals  of 
the  arms  being  bent  upwardly  against  the  outer  surface 
of  the  handle.  Shoulders  on  the  upper  portions  of  the 
arms,  a  sleeve  slidingly  embracing  tie  handle  and  the 
arms  to  regulate  the  tension  of  the  latter,  the    movement 


92 


of  the  sleeve  being  limited  by  the  lower  terminals  of  the 
arms  and  shoulders,  and  resilient  loops  carried  by  the 
upper  portions   of   the   arms   are   the    other    features. 

809,993.  Cable  Hanger.  Frederick  W.  Sorg,  Engle- 
wood,  N.  J.  Application  filed  December  16, 
1903. 

A  zinc  strap  is  formed  with  grips  and  with  keyhole 
slots  adjacent  the  ends  of  the  same.  A  headed  zinc  stud 
is  rigidly  riveted  to  the  strap  intermediate  the  slots, 
there  being  yieldable  integral  locking  fianges  adjacent  the 
slots  to  co-operate  therewith  and  to  prevent  the  accidental 
displacement  of  the  stud  in  the   slots. 

809,995.  Electric  Meter.  William  Stanley,  Great 
Barrington,  Mass.  Application  filed  March  7, 
1905. 

The  combination  con 
auxiliary  winding  at  : 
to  the  action  of  both 
rotation  substantially  a 
of  the  windings,  and 
the  auxiliary  winding  . 
impulses  and  maintai 
passing    through    the 

5,996.     System  of  Electrical  Distribution.     Charles 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


January  2J,   ic 


A  device  of   the   ch 


therewith 


■ut;illy 


;ide  of  the  axis  of  the  member,  and  stop 


the  member  and    fan 


<  ill. 1 


angle  thereto,  a  needle  subject 
in  dings  and  having  its  axis  of 
right  angles  to  the  axes  of  both 
eans    for    periodically   energizing 

as  to    give    the   needle  periodical 


810,179.  Apparatus  for  Measuring  Watts  in  Elec- 
trical Circuits.  Ernest  Wilson,  London,  Eng- 
land.    Application    filed   December   17,    1904, 

In  combination  with  the  primary  conductors  are  a 
secondary  electric  system,  means  for  producing  between 
two  points  in  the  secondary  system  a  potential  which 
varies  with  the  current  in  the  work  circuit  and  is  always 
proportional  thereto,  an  electrometer,  means  connecting 
the  pairs  of  quadrants  of  the  electrometer  to  the  two 
points  in  the  secondary  system  and  means  connecting  the 
case  and  the  needle  of  the  electrometer  to  the  points 
between  which  the  watts  are  to  be  measured. 

810,235.  Electrical  Measuring  Instrument.  Thomas 
W.  Varley,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  of  one- 
half  to  Walter  S.  Rugg,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Application    filed    February   6,    1905. 

An  electrical  measuring  instrument  comprising  a  per- 
:agnetic  field  has  a  stationary  coil  adapted  to 
shift  the  lines  of  force  of  the  magnetic  field  and  a  mov- 
able   enil    in     I  he    magnet  ic    field 


box   inclosing    the    whole    apparatus. 

810,335.  Telephone  Party-line  System.  Frank  B. 
Hall  and  Arthur .  F.  Poole,  Wheeling,  W.  Va. 
Application  filed  September  23,  1901. 

Of  forty-five  claims  the  first  one  reads:  In  a  selective 
party-line  system  the  combination  with  a  battery,  a  con- 
tinuous metallic  line,  normally  open  connections  leading 
from  said  line  to  a  scries  of  stations,  automatic  switching 
mechanism  at  each  station,  and  mechanism  arranged  to 
complete  the  circuit  ihi'iin^h  the  connection  at  any  station 
and  then  cut  out    the  battery  from  the  continuous  line. 

810.345.  Telephone  Party-line  System.  Arthur  F. 
Poole  and  Frank  B.  Hall,  Wheeling,  W.  Va. 
Application   filed   October    13,    1902. 

Full  details  of  a  comprehensive  party-line  telephone 
system  arc  given, 

810.346.  Partv-Hne  Signaling  System.  Arthur  F. 
Poole  and  Frank  B.  Hall,  Wheeling,  W.  Va. 
Application    filed    October    1 3,    1902. 

ntral 

ibstations,    signaling    apparatus    at    each 
f  the    substations  normally   disconnected    from   the    lines, 
ins   at    each    substation    absolutely    controlled    from    the 
central  station    and    from  the  substation  whereby  the   cor- 
responding signaling  apparatus   may  be  connected  with  the 
whereby  an  actuation   of  the  first  means 
'lied    from    the    corresponding    substation    establishes 
a  condition   such    that  the  substation    control  at  the  other 
substations  of   the  first  means  is  rendered  ineffective. 

810,357.  Electric  Switch  for  Street  Arc  Lamps,  etc. 
Peter  H.  F.  Spies,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor 
of  one-third   to   David   E.    Aarons,   one-third   to 


P.  Steinmetz,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to 
the  General  Electric  Company,  Schenectady, 
N.    Y.     Application   filed   April    13,    1894. 

The  first  claim  reads:  The  combination  of  main  and 
supplementary  transformers,  interconnected  as  described, 
with  one  terminal  of  the  windings  of  the  supplemental 
transformer  coupled  to  a  central  point  of  the  correspond- 
ing winding  of  the  main  transformer,  and  wound  for 
such  different  ratios  of  transformation  that  the  resultant 
electromotive  forces  on  one  side  of  the  transformer  differ 
by  approximately  120  degrees  in  phase,  and  on  the  other 
side    by  approximately  go    degrees. 

809,999.  Railway  Signaling.  Samuel  D.  Strohm, 
Philadelphia,  Pa.  Application  filed  August  29, 
1S91. 

In  a  railway,  groups  of  separate  alining  contact  plates 
located  at  predetermined  points  along  the  line  of  way,  the 
plates  being  insulated  from  each  other  and  one  of  them 
having  reversely-inclined  contact  surfaces,  are  used  in 
combination  with  circuit-controlling  mechanisms  carried 
by  a  car  and  station  appurtenances  in  circuit  with  the 
contact  plates. 
810,004.  Cable  Hanger.  Frank  C.  Tabler,  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  assignor  to  Thomas  R.  Fowler,  St. 
Louis,   Mo.     Application  filed   February  6,   1905. 

The  claims  describe  a  convenient  hanger  for    cables. 

810,027.  Electric  Signal.  Charles  C.  Blake,  Brook- 
line,    Mass.     Application   filed    August    19,    1905. 

A  selective  signal  system  consists  of  a  transmitting 
station  having  a  series  of  pendulums  adapted  to  send 
electric  impulses  of  different  periodicity  over  a  line  wire 
when  connected  thereto.  A  series  of  way  stations  are  each 
provided  with  a  pendulum  device  adapted  to  respond  to 
the  vibrating  of  one  only  of  the  transmitting  pendulum* 
and  an  electric-lamp  signal  and  a  semaphore  arm  become 
operative    when    the    unison    of    vibrations    is    established 


the  magnetic  field  is  shifted.  (See 
.  Electric  Motor-controlle 
A.  Weyand,  Maywood,  111. 
June   14,    1905. 

The 


and    a    central    ape 

/er    an   electric   coi 

ntroller   with  a  re 

tral  aperture,  a  jaw  adapted    to 


!ini       ' 


handle   of  ; 


controller, 


tached  to   the   inside    of  the 


Regulator.     Paul 
Application    filed 

in  body  having  a  base, 
terior  rachet  teeth,  a 
rture,  the  body  being 
troller  rod  and  to  be 
oluble  cover  having  a 
receive  the  shank  of  a 
d  a  pawl  pivotally   at- 


810,244.  Electric  Lamp  Bracket.  George  C.  Wright, 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  Application  filed  March  30, 
1904. 

Details  of  a  bracket  for  electric  lamps  are  given. 

810,266.  Lamp  Guard.  Edward  C.  Dickinson,  Elgin, 
111.     Application    filed    February    4,    1904. 

The  guard  is  formed  from  sheet  metal  and  has  end 
collar  .portions  and  flat  longitudinal-  ribs  formed  integral 
with  the  collar  portions  and  lying  substantially  in  radial 
planes  passing  through  the    longitudinal  axis  of  the  guard. 

810,269.  Method  of  Operating  Electric  Motors. 
Arthur  C.  Eastwood,  Cleveland,  Ohio.  Appli- 
cation filed  July  24,   1903. 

The  method  of  utilizing  electrical  energy 
first  transforming  electrical  energy  from  e 
supply  " 


lechanical  ■ 
energy  into  electric 
of  the  electrical  energy 
a  load,  and  employing  ; 
energy    to    directly 


the  mechan- 

g    a    portion 

mechanical   energy 


ergy. 


Sio.cCg.  Overhead  Trolley  Harp  and  Shoe  for 
Electric  Railways.  John  Miller,  Jr.,  Amesbury, 
Mass.,  assignor  to  William  E.  Biddle,  Ames- 
bury,  Mass.  Application  filed  March  17,  1905. 
Renewed   December   iS,   1905. 

An  overhead  device  of  the  kind  comprises  a  trolley  pole, 
a  harp  mounted  thereon,  a  shoe  pivoted  between  the 
arms  of  the  harp  and  having  a  hollowed-out  contact  sur- 
face along  its  upper  edge,  and  means  for  normally  main- 
taining the  shoe  with  its  contact  surface  lipped  upwardly 
at  its  rear  end  approximately  in  line  with  the  trolley  pole. 

810,150.  Wireless  Transmitting  and  Receiving  Mech- 
anism for  Electric  Waves.  Christian  Huls- 
meyer,  Dusseldorf,  Germany.  Application  filed 
March    14,    1904. 


nother   portion    of  the    electrical 
:rol    the    rate    at    which    electrical 
of    supply    is    transformed    into 
mechanical  energy. 

3io,3ii.  Electroresponsive  Device.  Elmer  A.  Ter- 
pening,  Geneseo,  111.  Application  filed  Decem- 
ber  17,   1904. 

In  a  current-responsive  device  adapted  for  actuation  by 
feeble  currents  two  horseshoe  magnets  are  arranged  with 
opposite  poles  in  proximity  to  leave  therebetween  two 
spaces  constituting  two  strong  magnetic  fields.  A  coil 
in  the   spaces  and   adapted    for 


and  then 


oil  for  os 

■ill: 

ion,  means  fo 

le    coil, 

nd 

working   parts 

nrive  the 

r   w 

orking    power 

coil. 


spending    the 

retarding  the  oscillation  of 
associated  with  the  coil  to 
from     the    oscillation    of   the 


litter 


electr: 


ch  have  synchronously  rotating  contact  wheels 
and  means  for  automatically  freeing  the  contact  wheels. 
Means  are  provided  for  actuating  the  receiver  mechanism 
after  a  predetermined  space  of  time,  and  there  are  means 
for  preventing  all  other  waves  arriving  at  other  moments 
actuating  the  receiver  mechanism.  Regulating  the  resist- 
ance of  the  coherer  to  a  determined  point  can  be  accom- 
plished by  varying  the  angle  of  the  coherer. 

810,174.     Oscillating     Electric     Fan.      Gustav      Sitt- 

mann,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  Herbert 
Stanley  Brown,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Application 
filed  June    II,    1902. 


310,330.  Apparatus  for  Measuring  Electric  Resist- 
ances. Sydney  Evershed,  Streatley,  England, 
assignor  to  himself  and  Evershed  &  Vignoles, 
Limited,  Chiswick,  England.  Application  filed 
February  27,   1904. 

Claim  1  reads:  In  combination,  a  generator  of  electric 
current;  an  electrometer  in  close  proximity  to  the  gen- 
erator having  a  rotatablo  index  pointer  and  segmental 
piece  thereon,  in  stable  equilibrium  throughout  its  range 
as  regards  gravitational  or  torsional  forces;  four  metal 
quadrants  connected  electrically  in  two  pairs,  grouped 
about  the  spindle  and  segments  of  the  rotatable  index 
pointer;  an  electrical  resistance  in  the  connection  between 
one  pair  of  quadrants  and  an  external  terminal;  an  elec- 
trical resistance  connecting  the  two  pairs  of  quadrants, 
and    adapted   to   cause   a   difference   of  potential   between 


Leroy  M.  Hanlon  and  one-third  to  William  T. 
Lambert,  all  of  New  York,  N.  Y.  Application 
filed   February   io,   1905. 

An  electric  switch  for  arc  lamps,  chandeliers  and  the 
like  comprises  fixed  line  contacts  connected  with  the  line, 
a  block  moving  with  the  lamp  and  carrying  lamp  contacts 
connected  with  the  lamp  circuit  and  adapted  to  engage 
the  lower  ends  of  the  line  contacts,  and  a  movable  block 
carrying  auxiliary  contacts  electrically  connected  with 
each  other,  the  block  being  controlled  by  the  movement 
of  the  block  carrying  the  lamp  contacts,  the  auxiliary 
contacts   being  adapted   to   engage   the   upper   ends  of  the 

810,367.  Lamp  Jack  for  Telephone  Switchboards. 
Sidney  A.  Beyland,  Elyria,  Ohio,  assignor  to 
the  Dean  Electric  Company,  Elyria,  Ohio.  Ap- 
plication  filed   November  25,   1904. 

A  lamp  jack  for  telephone  switchboards  is  formed  of 
one  piece  of  metal  having  its  front  end  inclosed  in  tubu- 
lar form  for  a  sufficient  space  to  inclose  the  bulb  of  an 
incandescent  lamp  and  having  its  rear  end  extended  and 
formed  into  a  straight-sided  channel  with  contact  sorings 
and  interposed  insulation  fitted  to  and  rigidly  held  within 
the    channels. 


PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Following  is  a  list  of  electrical  patents  (issued 
by  the  United  States  Patent  Office)  that  expired  on 
January  22,  1906: 

396,403.      Electric  Meter.   M.  J.  R.  Jacquemier,  Paris,    France. 
396,407.     Electric-wire  Conduit.     J.  Lynch,  Washington,  D.  C. 

■!q6,.|J2.  Regulation  of  Alternate-current  Generators.  G. 
Pfannkuche,    Cleveland,    Ohio. 

393.439-      Electrical    Switch.       E.    A.    Sperry,    Chicago,    III. 

;q(i,4^o.  Municipal  Telegraph  Svstem.  T.  I.  Zocller,  Louis- 
ville,   Kv. 

306,465.  Sounder  Attachment.  G.  H.  Carey  and  W. 
McArthur,  Dollarvillc,  Mich. 

396,543.  Underground  System  of  Electric  Wires.  H.  B, 
Cobb,  Wilmington,  Del. 

396,549.  System  of  Electrical  Distribution.  E.  N.  Dicker- 
son,  Jr.,    New    York,    N.    Y. 

396,557-  Dynamo  for  Telegraphic  Purposes.  B.  Gmur, 
Schanis  and  O.  Flatz,  Niederurnen,  Switzerland. 

396.579.  Wiring  Block  for  Electrical  Circuits.  O.  P. 
Loomis,    Somerville,    Mass. 

396.580.  Coupling  Dynamos.  O.  P.  Loomis,  Somerville,  Mass. 

396.581.  Coupling  for  Dynamos  and  Motors.  O.  P.  Loomis, 
Somerville,  Mass. 

396.582.  Automatic  Sound  Detector  for  Electric  Circuits. 
O.    P.    Loomis,    Somerville,   Mass. 

396.583.  Incandescent    Lamp    Socket,       O.    P.    Loomis,    Som- 


dlle,    Mi 

396.602.  Combination   of    Electric   Genera 
Jr.,  Lynn,    Mass. 

396.603.  System    of    Electrical     Distribut! 
Tr.,   and  A.    L.    Rohrcr,  Lvnn,    Mass. 

396,618.     Electric     Railway     Trolley     and 


E.    W.    Ric 


Md. 


Support.       S.     H. 
D.     G.     Weems,    Balti- 


396,645.    'Electric   Time   Meter.     G.   F.    Card,    Covington,  Ky. 

396,649.  Turn  Table  for  Cable  or  Electric  Railways.  W 
Davidson,    Oakland,    Cal. 

396,667.      Burglar   Alarm.      A.    C.    Robbins,    Brooklyn,   N.    Y. 

396,681.  Secondary  Battery  Charging.  C.  F.  Brush,  Cleve- 
land,   Ohio. 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


Vol.  XXXVIII. 


CHICAGI  I,  l  I  BR1    ■•.!•  .    3,  [906 


Electrically  Operated  Floating  Fuel  De- 
pot for  Coaling  Warships. 

By  D.  A,  Win  1 

One   of   the   oddc  il    tyj ma afl 

designed  is  what  Great  Britain  uses  to  supply  its 
warships  with  coal  in  some  of  its  harboi  ]  lie 
craft  is  called  a  floating  coal  depot,  and  well  de- 
serves the  name,  for  it  is  a  coal  yard  afloat,  and 
when  filled  holds  no  less  than  12,000  tons  of  fuel. 
Il  is  in  reality  a  great  steel  hulk,  divided  into 
compartments,  all  of  which  arc  utilized  for  coal 
storage,  and  is  operated  by  a  very  elaborate  me- 
chanical system,  the  electric  power  used  being  gen- 
erated on  hoard.  The  floating  coal  depot  here  illus 
tratcd  is  located  in  the  harbor  at  Portsmouth,  which 
is  one  of  the  principal  naval  stations  of  Great 
Britain,  and  such  is  its  size  that  it  can  fill  the 
blinkers  of  three  or  four  big  battleships  with  fuel 
before  its  bins  are  empty.  The  odd  appearance  of 
this  craft  is  well  shown  in  Fig.  3.  As  the  picture 
shows,   a   form   of   the   plant   commonly   utilized   in 


to  the  boom  1  abl     thi    hool     fitting  into  rojx 

ired    in 

big.    1. 

\     ha     bei  n     tated,   il aling    d 

an   individual   power  plant,  and  all   the  coal   load 

ing,  with   tl ;  tion  of  filling  thi 

formed  by  electric  motor-,     1  he  1 111 

ated  by     tei 

'       in  tailed    on    the    tramway 
....  m  derricl 

of  the  depot   1      m  h  thai   the  bunl  er    of  a  flotilla 
of  gunboats   can   be   filled   at   one   time,   •■•.  1 1  i I e  the 
reach  of  the  tramway  anus,  which  is  plainlj 
in   Fig.  2,   is   such   that   the   two  small   ves  1 
lie   abreasl    and    be    lerved   by   the   mechani 

In    trials    which    have    been    made    of    the    coal 
depot  at  Portsmouth,  it   has  been  hauled 
a  dock  and  a  certain  proportion  of  its  cargo  dumped 
on  the  dock  in  a  given  period  ol   time.     In  another 


in    the    saving    </f    lalx/r    and    time    compared    with 
the    for 

ralioni 
ng   the 

depot    i      that    at    many    of    the    principal 
the    tidr    ris<i    and    falls    to    such    a    d<  xrrr   that    it 
only  difficult  Inn  dangi  1  war- 

floaling 
depot,    however,    aiul    lake    Ml     fuel    at    any    time, 

III    with    it,    ai 
to  the  movement  of  thi 


The  Niagara  Power  Situation. 

.Senator    I.'l  lommtdieil    has    introduced    bil 
the   New   York   Legislature  to  revoke  the  charter* 
of    tour   companies    which   were   given    the   right   to 


this   country   in   transferring  cargoes 
on   the   Great   Lakes   is   employed. 

The  depot  is  equipped  with  four 
'  conveyors,  each  consisting  of  a  steel 
tower  mounted  upon  rails,  so  that 
it  can  be  moved  forward  and  back, 
and  adjusted  to  the  depot  or  the 
ship  which  it  is  to  serve.  Each 
tower  supports  a  series  of  lateral 
tramways  consisting  of  steel,  which 
are  so  adjusted  that  they  can  be 
raised  and  lowered  to  a  suitable 
angle.     Upon    each    tramway    travels  eleci 

the  bucket,  which  can  be  raised  and 
lowered  at  any  point  between  its  extremities 
by  means  of  an  automatic  guide.  Power  is 
supplied  by  an  electric  motor,  but  to  assist  in 
overcoming  the  load  of  the  mechanism,  a  chain 
holding  the  bucket  is  attached  to  a  wire  cable  and 
sheave.  The  trolley  system  is  utilized  in  hauling 
the  buckets  back  and  forth  as  well  as  in  raising 
and  lowering  them,  and  as  the  tramways  extend 
from  both  sides  of  each  tower,  two  vessels  can 
be  coaled  at  once  at  the  depot,  which  can  also  be 
filled    from   both   sides. 

In  addition  to  the  tramway  conveyors,  the  hulk 
is  also  provided  with  a  series  of  boom  derricks, 
the  arms  of  which  are  constructed  of  steel.  These 
are  auxiliary  to  the  tramways,  but  are  intended 
principally  to  serve  the  galleries.  Frequently  it  is 
desirable  for  a  warship  to  take  on  sorted  fuel  in 
bags.  Nearly  all  of  the  manual  labor  required  on 
board  the  depot  is  to  fill  the  fuel  bags  with  coal 
in  the  lump  form.  The  lower  portions  of  the  bins 
open  out  into  galleries,  and  as  fast  as  the  bags 
are  filled  they  are  wheeled  into  these,  when  the  fuel 
is  lifted  out  by  the  derricks,  slung  over  the  side 
and  placed  on  board  the  receiving  vessel.  A  half 
dozen  or  more  bags  can  be  transferred  at  once  by 


Fie  3.     A  Modern  Successor  of  the  Old  Coal  Hulk. 
IICALLY   OPERATED    FLOATING   FUEL   DEPOT   FOR    COALING    W.J 

test  the  mechanism  of  the  depot  was  employed  to 
transfer  its  cargo  to  the  dock,  where  the  coal  in 
bags  was  trundled  on  board  the  warship.  As  Fig. 
1  shows,  to  keep  pace  with  the  charging  capacity 
of  the  series  of  tramways,  an  entire  ship's  crew 
was   required. 

Perhaps  the  most  valuable  feature  of  the  depot, 
however,  is  that  it  is  not  only  movable,  but  is 
available  for  serving  vessels  on  either  side  or  on 
both  sides.  It  can  also  be  utilized,  while  loading, 
to  fuel  the  battleship  or  cruiser  alongside.  While 
the  bunkers  of  the  war  vessel  are  being  filled  on 
one  side  by  the  tramways  and  booms,  the  con- 
tents of  the  collier  can  be  taken  aboard  by  the 
mechanism  on  the  opposite  side.  Indeed,  the  cargo 
of  the  collier  can  be  transferred  directly  to  the 
'  warship,  the  coal  being  taken  across  the  deck  of 
the    depot   by    its    conveying   mechanism. 

Ordinarily,  the  floating  coal  depot  is  moored  in 
the  harbor  by  means  of  heavy  anchors  attached  to 
both  ends.  Consequently  all  of  its  apparatus  can 
be  employed,  if  desired,  ships  on  both  sides  being 
served  at  one  time.  When  it  is  necessary  to  fill 
up  the  depot,  it  can  be  towed  to  the  dock 
and  there  loaded  from  railroads  cars  or  coal  piers. 


divert  water  from  the  Niagara  River 
for  power  purposes.  The  compa- 
nies affected  are  the  Niagara  Power 
and  Drainage  Company,  granted  in 
1S89;  the  Lewiston  Water  Supply 
Company,  granted  in  18SS;  the  Lock- 
port  Water  Supply  Company,  granted 
nd  the  Lewiston  Water 
Works  Company,  granted  in  "- 
None  of  these  companies  has  begun 
its  proposed  development,  and  it 
ships,  is    probable    that    the    charters    have 

been  automatically  revoked,  but  it 
is  thought  best  to  wipe  the  charters  out  beyond 
question    hy    passing    the    bills    referred    to. 

Should  these  bills  become  law,  there  will  be  only 
four  charters  in  existence  for  power  development 
on  the  New  York  side  of  the  river.  These  are 
the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company,  the  Niagara 
Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany and  the  Niagara,  Lockport  and  Ontario  Power 
Company,  as  well  as  the  Niagara  County  Irrigation 
and  Water  Supply  Company,  the  last  named  being 
better  known  as  the  Love  scheme.  Ground  was 
broken  for  the  Love  development  some  years  ago, 
but  nothing  of  any  account  h3S  ever  been  done. 
It  is  said  about  $600,000  was  sunk  in  the  project. 
While  it  is  understood  to  be  doubtful  if  a  com- 
pany could  operate  under  the  charter  as  it  stands, 
it  is  reported  that  a  project  is  on  foot  to  revive 
the   scheme. 

The  only  two  companies  operating  on  the  New- 
York  side  are  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company 
and  the  Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Man- 
ufacturing Company.  The  understood  possibilities 
of  the  first-named  company  in  the  development  are 
about  200,000  horsepower,  while  the  last-mentioned 
company    may    develop     125,000    horsepower.      The 


94 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


February  3,   ic 


three  companies  now  at  work  on  the  Canadian  side 
of  the  river  have  projected  a  total  development 
of  over  400,000  horsepower,  which  would  appear 
to  indicate  that  the  Canadian  side  is  likely  to  lead 
in  the  extent  of  the  development,  especially  as  it 
is  contemplated  to  limit  the  development  of  the 
other  two  companies  that  have  rights  on  the  New 
York  side.  This  condition  of  affairs  is  doubly  im- 
portant, because  the  demand  for  power  is  likely 
to  be  greater  in  the  United  States  than  in  Canada. 
Under  their  agreements  with  the  Ontario  govern- 
ment, all  the  power  companies  developing  power  at 
Canadian  Niagara  may  transmit  one-half  of  their 
product  to  the  United  States,  and  each  of  the 
developing  companies  is  preparing  to  send  large 
amounts  of  power  across  the  border,  so  much  so 
that  Canadians  are  beginning  to  realize  that  the 
development  may  not  mean  the  upbuilding  of  their 
country. 

Senator  L'Hommedieu  is  quoted  as  stating  that 
there  are  11  franchises  that  permit  of  power  de- 
velopments on  the  Canadian  side.  This,  however, 
does  not  mean  there  are  that  many  franchises 
for  development  close  to  the  falls.  Plans  have 
just  been  filed  in  York  County  showing  the  route 
of  the  Niagara-Welland  Power  Company  through 
that  county  to  Toronto.  This  company  was  char- 
tered for  utilizing  a  part  of  the  waters  of  the  Niag- 
ara and  Welland  rivers,  the  capital  stock  being 
$5,000,000,  the  plan  being  to  tap  the  Welland  River 
AV2  miles  from  Chippewa,  and  to  construct  a  canal 
to  the  Niagara  escarpment,  six  miles  away,  where 
a  head  of  225  feet  would  be  obtainable.  The  proj- 
ect is  very  similar  to  Love's  old  project  for  the 
New  York  side. 

Resolutions  relating  to  the  Falls  of  Niagara  are 
being  introduced  in  Albany  and  Washington.  The 
latest  in  Washington  is  that  offered  by  Senator 
Piatt  of  New  York.  This  resolution  is  intended 
to  protect  the  waters  of  Niagara  Falls,  "to  preserve 
their  natural  beauty,"  and  to  investigate  the  diver- 
sion of  the  waters  of  the  Niagara  River  above  the 
falls,  and  all  other  causes  operating  to  diminish 
the  flow  of  water  over  the  falls.  The  president 
is  authorized  to  appoint  a  commission  of  four,  to 
meet  a  similar  commission  from  Great  Britain,  to 
investigate  and  report  on  the  matter.  The  sum  of 
$20,000   is   appropriated   to   meet    expenses.  D. 


graph  line  requires  a  boat  as  yet  to  carry  the 
messages,  but  as  soon  as  Mexican  authority  is 
granted,  a  cable  will  be  laid  under  the  river.  There 
will  then  be  an  unbroken  line  established  from 
Belize  to  Galveston.  The  new  line  means  much 
for  American  commercial  interests  in  that  region. 


From  the  Canadian  point  of  view  the  following 
from  the  Ottawa  (Ont.)  correspondent  of  the  West- 
ern Electrician  will  be  interesting:  "The  Canadian 
government  will  undoubtedly  take  steps  to  co-oper- 
ate with  the  government  of  the  United  States  in 
the  movement  for  the  preservation  of  the  scenic 
grandeur  of  Niagara  Falls  from  destruction  at  the 
hands  of  power  companies.  The  Dominion  gov- 
ernment, however,  must  first  ascertain  from  the 
courts  whether  it  or  the  local  government  of  On- 
tario is  entitled  to  control  of  the  waters  of  the 
Niagara  River  on  the  Canadian  side  of  the 
boundary.  In  the  event  of  the  courts  deciding  in 
favor  of  the  province,  then  the  rights  of  the  latter 
will  probably  be  purchased  by  the  Dominion.  The 
Canadian  authorities  recognize  the  fact  that  there 
are  two  sides  to  the  proposed  preservation  of 
Niagara  Falls.  They  cannot  ignore  the  fact  that 
with  the  few  waterpowers  existing  throughout  West- 
ern Ontario  the  use  of  Niagara  Falls  for  the 
development  of  electric  energy  will  hereafter  prove 
an  inestimable  boon  to  the  traction  and  industrial 
interests  of  that  region.  The  Canadian  section  of 
the  International  Waterways  Commission  has  re- 
ferred the  question  of  policy  in  this  matter  to  the 
federal  cabinet  for  its  determination  and  will  await 
the  government's  decision  before  framing  any  recom- 
mendations as  to  how  the  power  interests  can  best 
be  held  in  check." 


Telegraph    Extension    in    Central 
America. 

Belize,  the  capital  of  British  Honduras,  is  now 
connected  with  the  United  States  by  telegraph. 
Formerly  messages  were  sent  to  New  Orleans,  then 
carried  every  Thursday  by  mail  to  Belize,  requir- 
ing three  days,  or  10  days  if  the  weekly  mail  was 
missed  at  New  Orleans.  On  December  15th  the 
first  telegram  ever  received  direct  at  Belize  was 
delivered  at  10:30  a.  m.,  having  been  dispatched  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  at  3 :30  p.  m.,  December  14th.  No 
tariff  has  yet  been  fixed,  but  the  probable  through 
rate  from  the  United  States  will  be  $1  a  word. 

The  new  telegraph  lines  connect  with  the  Mexi- 
can system.  The  Mexican  Department  01  War 
erected  the  line  from  Payo  Obispo,  via  Santa  Cruz, 
to  Peto,  Yucatan — about  225  miles,  in  1901 — solely 
for  official  purposes.  Last  November  it  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Department  of  Public  Works,  and  its 
use  granted  to  the  general  public.  Payo  Obispo, 
Mexico,  is  across  the  Rio  Hondo,  six  miles  from 
Consejo,    British    Honduras.     This   gap   in   the  tele- 


Cold  Bending  of  Pipes  for  Electrical 
Wires. 

By  R.  G.  Gkayne. 

Installation  of  electrical  wires  for  lighting  or 
power  purposes  in  modern  building  requires  a 
certain  amount  of  work  and  care  to  insure  proper 
protection.  Various  types  of  metal,  glass  and 
other  tubes  are  provided  to  protect  the  insulation. 
Serviceable  casings  of  seasoned  and  selected  hard 
wood  are  used  in  many  places,  and  the  wires  are 
packed  in  asbestos  in  these  casings.  There  are 
various  other  forms  of  protection  for  the  lines  of 
wires  in  buildings.  But,  after  all,  the  common 
wrought-iron  pipe  is   extensively  used. 

In  nearly  all  of  my  work  I  have  noticed  ordinary 
inch  metal  pipe,  painted  black,  utilized  for  carry- 
ing the  wires  from  point  to  point.     Not  infrequently 


slot  on  the  side  of  the  pipe,  in  which  case  the 
slot  is  made  after  the  plan  of  that  from  which  the 
wire   (E)   protrudes  in  Fig.  5. 

As  to  the  bending  of  the  piping  cold,  this  may  be 
done  during  the  work  of  installing  the  wires,  pro- 
viding that  a  vise  or  anvil  is  at  hand.  If  forms  are 
made  to  order,  and  one  or  more  taken  along,  the 
bending  may  be  done  on  the  ground.  A  careless 
way  of  bending  a  section  of  the  metal  pipe  for 
wiring  purposes  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  6,  in  which 
is  shown  how  a  friend  of  mine  undertook  to  effect 
a  certain  curve  in  a  pipe  across  the  nose  of  an 
anvil.  He  failed  to  pack  the  interior  of  the  pipe 
properly,  and,  lacking  sufficient  interior  support, 
the  wall  of  the  pipe  first  collapsed  and  then  frac- 
tured as  at  (F).  Then  in  another  instance  the 
workman  placed  the  pipe  in  the  jaws  of  a  vise,  as 
in  Fig.  7.  As  soon  as  he  applied  pressure  to  force 
the  pipe  over  to  the  required  curve  the  pipe  wall 
broke  at   (G)    and  the  pipe  was  rendered  useless. 

First  of  all  the  pipes  must  be  properly  packed 
for  bending.  This  is  done  with  a  resin  filler.  The 
resin  is  melted  and  run  into  the  pipe  and  per- 
mitted   to    harden.      Then    when    bending    the    pipe 


NG    OF   PIPES    FOR    ELECTRICAL    WIRES. 


these  pipes-  must  be  bent.  The  electricians  do  not 
claim  to  be  pipefitters,  and  oftentimes  they  seek 
the  services  of  the  nearest  steam  and  water-pipe 
fitter  to  do  the  work  required  in  connection  with 
the  pipe  installation.  Others  prefer  to  work  at 
the  pipes  themselves.  I  have  observed  curious 
undertakings  in  pipe-bending  by  electricians.  I 
recollect  one  man  whom  I  saw  place  the  pipe  in  a 
vise,  then  play  the  jet  of  a  Bunsen  air-blast  and 
house  gas  burner  upon  it.  The  pipe  was  heated 
and  bent,  but  the  pipe  wall  collapsed  under  the 
pressure  and  was  ruined.  Then  I  have  seen  elec- 
tricians attempt  to  bend  pipes  over  forms  by  means 
of  repeatedly  hammering  them  cold.  Perhaps  the 
desired  curve  is  secured  at  last,  but  it  will  be  at 
the  expense  of  the  evenness  of  the  pipe  wall. 

In  the  accompanying  illustrations  are  presented, 
some  methods  of  pipe-bending  cold  that  may  be 
used  by  electricians  to  advantage  for  wiring  pur- 
poses. The  usual  form  of  turn  made  is  illustrated 
by  Fig.  1,  showing  the  wire  at  (A).  This  curve 
is  practically  the  only  one  possible  to  make  in 
the  completed  pipe.  There  are  instances,  however, 
in  which  a  sharp  turn  is  needed,  as  in  Fig.  2,  in 
which  case  the  best  way  for  the  insertion  of  the 
wire  (B)  is  to  cut  off  the  pipe  and  thread  the 
ends  so  as  to  use  an  elbow.  Sometimes  it  is  neces- 
sary to  take  the  wire  out  from  the  side  of  the  pipe, 
in  which  case  it  is  found  that  there  may  be  a  bore, 
as  at  (C)  (Fig.  3),  for  the  wire,  or  a  bore  as  at 
(D).  In  Fig.  4  is  exhibited  the  common  type  of 
round  pipe  carrying  the  wire  as  shown.  Occa- 
sionally  it   is   necessary  to  have  the   wire   enter   a 


wall  is  kept  up  full  and  it  cannot  be  crushed  in. 
Some  use  putty,  clay  or  other  material  for  the 
interior  packing. 

It  is  a  good  idea  to  have  some  forms  made 
for  bending  purposes.  The  common  round  metal 
form  is  shown  in  Fig.  8.  The  pipe  is  properly 
filled  and  then  bent  about  the  form  to  the  de- 
sired angle.  Or  a  wood  form  may  be  made  like 
that  in  Fig.  9.  The  base  is  a  hardwood  plank,  with 
the  hardwood  block  adjusted  securely  to  the  same. 
There  is  an  hour-glass  bore  put  through  the  cen- 
ter of  the  block.  The  odd  shape  of  the  bore  makes 
it  possible  to  effect  various  angles  of  bends  in  the 
pipe    (H). 

A  very  useful  type  of  hardwood  form  is  like- 
wise exhibited  in  Fig.  10,  consisting  of  the  founda- 
tion plank  for  the  support,  and  a  half-circle  cut 
out  from  a  section  of  timber.  The  circle  can  be 
made  of  any  size  needed.  This  form  is  secured 
to  the  foundation  with  bolts  and  screws.  Then  an 
upright  is  adjusted  to  carry  the  grooved  wheel  of 
wood  (I).  To  bend  a  pipe  it  is  only  necessary  to 
place  one  end  back  of  the  wheel,  next  the  form,  and 
bend  over. 

The  quarter-circle  arc  is  shown  in  Fig.  11.  Here 
the  construction  is  practically  the  same.  Instead  of 
the  grooved  wheel  there  is  simply  a  hole  put 
through  the  foundation  board  so  that  the  end  of  the 
pipe  can  be  inserted  as  at  (J).  Then  the  pipe  is 
bent  over  the  wood  form  to  the  degree  of  curve 
needed.  The  easiest  way  to  fill  a  pipe  with  molten 
material  is  shown  in  Fig.  12.  Close  the  lower  end 
with   a  pad   of  putty   or   clay   and   place   the   pipe 


ebruary  3,  [906 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


erect.    'J'hen  place  the  nozzle  of  the  tin  in 

in   the   upper  end   pom    tin    rei  1 1   thi    pipi 

full  to  the  top.  1  he  i"  in  ,  .in  bi  n  movi  d  from 
the  pipe  after  bending   by   lie; i,   1 1  n-   i  >p  i  ■• 

Fig.    [3   is  a   sketch   of   another    form   of   I 

made  pipe-bending  contrivance  for  electrician  I'hc 
bottom  block  (M')  is  cut  from  a  piece  of  hardwood 
and  shaped  on  top  to  a  curve,  as  shown,  Then  the 
corresponding  upper  block  1I.1  is  made.  The  two 
blocks  are  arranged   to  be  movable,  up  and  down, 

inside    the    hardv. d    frame    1  N  I,      'I  he    diagram 

slinws  Hit'  form  cut  through  the  center  io  .1  to 
exhibit  the  adjustment  of  the  pipe,  I  here  1  ■< 
support  for  the  frame  on  both  sides  of  the  block 
and  a  spirally  threaded  screw  of  the  copy  press 
order,  fixed  to  be  operated  in  a  threaded  "'I'1 
and  flange  in  the  frame,  so  that  by  turning  the 
wheel  of  tins  screw  the  upper  block  (L)  may  be 
forced  downward  upon  the  pipe.  Thus  the  block 
is  run  up,  the  pipe  inserted  and  the  block  turned 
down  until  the  pipe  is  forced  into  the  curve  re- 
quired. 

A  handy  clamping  device  for  pipework  is  shown 
iu  Fig.  14.  The  heavy  black  part  (R)  is  wrought 
iron.  The  forms  (PI' I  are  hardwood  and  are 
fitted  over  the  pipe  (O).  By  turning  the  wheel- 
shaft  (S),  pressure  is  brought  upon  the  pipe  and 
it  is  securely  held  for  working  purposes.  When  a 
vise  is  used  it  is  a  good  plan  to  protect  the  pipe 
from  the  hard  steel  jaws  with  soft-metal  (lead) 
protectors  (T),  as  in  Fig.  15.  Fig.  16  is  a  diagram 
of  a  two-wheel  form  of  pipe-bending  device.  The 
wheels  (U)  and  (V)  are  grooved  and  are  shaped 
from  hardwood.  There  are  two  uprights  mortised 
into  the  base,  as  shown,  and  the  wheels  are  ad- 
justed on  these  uprights  by  means  of  wood  pins. 
This  form  is  for  bending  light  pipes.  In  order  to 
get  a  curve  in  the  pipe  it  is  only  necessary  to  pull 
the  pipe  through  the  wheels.  Repeatedly  doing 
this  gradually  makes  the  required  bend. 


agitating    thi 
toward  the  ovi 

1 1  n   1 id 

1,  11    1 

p. 11 1  d 

bill,    hows  quiti  to  tl 

,n    iIh      fiagai 

IIOIll.li   ,|        ',,-1  V        iMlh    I,         .Mil, 

upper    rivci    ha     been    n  im    lak. 

ici    .im!  thi     ha     iddcd     1 
opi  1  ation  ol   i\r    powci    p 


Conversion  of  Three-phase  to  Quarter- 
phase  Currents. 

Among   the   patent     1    ued   1  n   Janu  irj    16 

to  Charles   P.  Stcinmetz  of  Schenectady,  N.  Y.. 

upon  .1     ■,  0  in   ol   electrical   distribution  embodying 

an   arrangement   for   thi    convci   : 

to    quart  r  pho  ic    cut  n  nl        Alth  iugh    thi 
lion    for  iliis  patent    was  filed   April    1  |,    ,     , 
12  years  ago,  it  is  ncvcrthcli       ol 
ncciion  with  the  problem    oi   pha  1 

The  invention  relates  to  a  system  of  1 
distribution  for  polypha  e  currents  of  such 
that    three  phase    and    quarter-phase    currents    are 


which  arc    convert' 

metrically  the  principle  on  v. 
In    I   . 

from    which    bi 

which 

-uiinali 
the    primary 

and    lli 

terminal  connected   Io  a   third  man 

winding  of  transform!  ■ 


Trolley   Boat  to   Disperse   Floating   Ice 
at  Niagara  Falls  Power  House. 

In  order  to  create  a  surface  current  in  the  inlet 
canal  so  that  the  floating  ice  may  be  driven  toward 
the  overflow,  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company 
has  had  built  a  boat  25  feet  long,  10-foot  beam 
and  with  a  draft  of  3'/,  feet.  This  is  equipped  with 
a  Westinghouse  75-kilowatt  single-phase  railway 
motor,  the  normal  speed  of  which  is  1,000  revolu- 
tions per  minute.  In  operating  it  a  railway  con- 
troller with  rheostatic  control  is  used.  The  current 
is  supplied  from  the  2,200-volt  mains  to  a  75-kilo- 
watt  oil-insulated    transformer,   the    ratio    of   reduc- 


TIIK    ci,N\  kl.:sn.\ 


rendered  convertible.  In  other  words,  a  three-phase 
system,  in  which  the  currents  are  120  degrees  apart 
in  phase,  may  be  converted  into  a  quarter-phase 
system,  in  which  the  currents  differ  by  go  degrees 
in  phase,  or,  conversely,  quarter-phase  currents  may 
be  converted  into  three-phase  currents. 

In  long-distance  systems  of  distribution,  as  de- 
scribed in  the  patent,  three-phase  generators  are 
employed,  from  which  the  energy  is  distributed  to 
desired  points,  where  it  is  converted  into  quarter- 
phase  currents  (that  is.  currents  differing  by  90 
degrees   in   phase),   which   are   utilized    in   the   con- 


tion  being  from  2,200  to  220  volts,  at  which  voltage 
current  is  supplied  to  the  motor  on  the  boat. 

The  boat,  which  is  shown  with  its  trolley  and 
the  trolley  wires  in  the  accompanying  picture,  is 
operated  on  the  same  principle  as  a  trolley  car,  the 
double-trolley  construction  being  used,  as  it  was 
deemed  inadvisable  to  attempt  a  ground  return. 
In  the  overhead  work  350  feet  of  No.  o  hard-drawn 
copper  wire  is  used,  suspended  at  a  height,  ap- 
proximately, of  40  feet  above  the  water. 

The  radius  of  action  of  this  novel  craft  is  the 
entire  width  of  the  canal  and  400  feet  along  its 
length.  It  is  possible  to  get  a  speed  of  from  100 
to  275  revolutions  on  the  propeller,  the  gear  ratio 
between  the  motor  and  the  propeller  shaft  being 
18  to  64. 

In    the    illustration    the   boat    is    seen    at   work    in 


sumption  devices.  Such  a  system  comprises  certain 
advantages,  because  three-phase  currents  are  well 
adapted  for  economical  transmission  over  consid- 
erable areas,  while  in  certain  types  of  apparatus 
quarter-phase  currents  are  preferable  in  the  con- 
sumption devices. 

Another  advantage  of  this  invention  is  the  pos- 
sibility of  running  three-phase  and  quarter-phase 
translating  devices  from  a  common  power  station 
and  systems  of  distributing  mains.  For  example, 
one  station  may  have  three-phase  motors  installed 
and  another  quarter-phase  motors,  yet  all  can  be 
operated  from  a  common  generating  plant. 

Fig.  1  shows  in  diagram  a  three-phase  generator, 
distributing  circuits  and  means  for  converting  the 
currents  into  quarter-phase  currents.  Fig.  3  shows 
in    a    similar    maimer    a    system    of    distribution    in 


ingr,  of  the  transformers  are  interconnected  in  a 
similar  manner,  the  terminals  of  the  main  trans- 
former leading  to  mains  (n)  (n:J,  while  the  ter- 
minals of  the  supplementary  transformer  are 
coupled  to  a  third  main  (n')  and  to  a  central  point 
in  the  secondary  winding  of  transformer  (T). 
With  this  arrangement  currents  00  degrees  apart 
in  phase  or  quarter-phase  currents,  as  they  arc 
called,  will  flow  between  the  mains  (nl  In')  and 
("')    (m). 

In  order  to  explain  the  manner  in  which  the 
change  of  phase  is  effected  reference  is  made  to 
Fig.  2.  The  electromotive  forces  maintained  be- 
tween the  mains  (m)  (m')  (nr)  are  displaced  in 
phase  by  120  degrees  and  are  equal.  Let  these  elec- 
tromotive forces  be  represented  by  the  lines 
(ef)  and  (fh),  which  form  an  equilateral  triangle. 
By  dividing  the  base  line  (ef)  at  (g)  into  two 
equal  parts  and  connecting  point  (g)  with  point 
(h),  two  equal  right-angle  triangles  are  formed 
whose  bases  and  altitudes  will  represent  com- 
ponent forces  at  right  angles  to  one  another,  into 
which  the  forces  represented  by  the  lines  leh)  and 
(fh)  may  be  resolved.  In  other  words,  (eh)  may 
in  this  way  be  resolved  into  (eg)  and  (glO.  (flu 
into  (fg)  and  (gh),  and  the  three  forces  (eh), 
(ef)  and  (fh)  into  (ef)  and  (gh).  Comparing 
this  diagram  with  the  connections  given  the  trans- 
formers (T)  (T:),  (ef)  represents  the  electromo- 
tive force  between  the  primary  terminals  of  trans- 
former (T),  which  are  coupled  directly  to  two  of 
the  mains;  (hg)  represents  the  electromotive  force 
of  transformer  (1~),  which  is  coupled  between  the 
third  mains  and  the  other  two  through  halves  of 
the  main  transformer.  Hence  the  three  electromo- 
tive forces  existing  between  the*primary  mains  and 
represented  by  (ef)  (eh)  (fh)  will  be  resolved 
into  two  component  electromotive  forces  00  de- 
grees apart  in  phase,  with  their  relative  values  cor- 
responding to  (ef)  (gh).  These  component  electro- 
motive forces  may  be  separately  transformed,  if 
desired,  and  quarter-phase  currents  made  to  flow  in 
independent  circuits  whose  mains  are  connected  in 
pairs  with  the  secondary  windings  of  the  two  trans- 
formers. 

In  order  to  change  the  phase  relation  as  well  as 
the  potential,  the  transformers  are  wound  for  dif- 
ferent ratios  of  transformation,  so  that  the  sec- 
ondary electromotive  forces  will  have  relative  val- 
ues such  as  are  represented  by  the  "lines  (ef)  and 
(gk)  in  Fig.  2.  These  two  electromotive  forces 
will  then  combine  to  form  resultants,  which  may  be 
represented  by  the  lines  (ek)  and  (fkl  at  an 
angle  of  90  degrees  from  one  another.  Hence  by 
resolving  the  electromotive  forces  on  the  three- 
phase   side    into   components    differing    in    phase    by 


90  degrees  by  properly  proportioning  the  values 
giving  these  components  on  the  secondary  side 
of  the  transformers  they  recombine  to  give  quar- 
ter-phase currents  in  an  interconnected  circuit  re- 
quiring only  three  mains. 

In  Fig.  3  (G')  represents  conventionally  a  quar- 
ter-phase generator  of  the  ordinary  type,  with  its 
terminals  connected  to  independent  circuits,  com- 
prising pairs  of  mains  (o  o')  and  (rr).  Lights, 
as  indicated  at  (L),  may  be  supplied  with  current 
from  these  circuits  through  tension-reducing  trans- 
formers (T).  To  convert  the  quarter-phase  cur- 
rents into  three-phase  currents,  two  transformers 
(T4)  (T1)  are  used,  whose  terminals  are  respect- 
ively coupled  with  the  mains  (o  o')  and  (rr'). 
The  secondaries  of  the  transformers  are  intercon- 
nected in  a  manner  similar  to  that  already  de- 
scribed. The  terminals  of  the  secondary  winding 
of  transformer  (T5)  lead  to  mains  (ss'),  while  one 
terminal  of  the  secondary  of  transformer  (T4) 
leads  to  a  third  main  (s1),  and  its  other  terminal 
is  coupled  with  the  central  point  of  the  secondary 
winding  of  transformer  (T=).  The  electromotive 
forces  on  the  primary  side  of  the  transformers  are 
90  degrees  apart  in  phase ;  but  on  the  secondary 
side  the  induced  electromotive  forces  combine  to 
form  resultant  electromotive  forces  120  degrees 
apart  in  phase.  In  order  that  this  may  be  the  case 
the  ratios  of  transformation  in  the  two  transformers 
is  made  such  that  the  resultant  electromotive  force 
generated  in  the  secondary  transformer  (T4)  and 
the  respective  halves  of  transformer  (T5)  are  sub- 
stantially equal  to  the  electromotive  force  between 
the  terminals  of  the  secondary  of  (T5).  These 
three  electromotive  forces  then  will  be  equal  and 
120  degrees  apart  in  phase,  as  already  explained  in 
connection  with  the  diagram  in  Fig.  2.  The 
three-phase  currents  thus  secured  on  the  mains 
(s  s'  s")  may  be  utilized  for  operating  translating 
devices  of  any  desired  sort  and  grouped  in  any 
well-known 


The  Economy  of  Combined  Railway  and 
Lighting  Plants,1 

By  Ernest  Goxzenbach. 
It  is  rather  unfortunate  that  at  the  present  time 
most  of  the  combined  railway  and  lighting  plants 
which  are  in  operation  are  the  result  of  consolida- 
tions of  two  or  more  corporations  which  originally 
had   independent   existences.     The  natural    result   is 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

unavoidable  in  many  cases  when  the  exigencies  of 
business  will  not  warrant  the  installation  of  new 
and  uniform  equipment.  On  the  other  hand,  such 
plants  are  not  getting  the  benefits  of  the  best  econ- 
omy possible  by  the  operation  of  the  combined 
service.  It  is  the  writer's  intention  to  here  discuss 
a  plant  which  is  to  be  constructed  in  conformity 
with  modern  practice,  and  which  shall  be  inter- 
changeable as  nearly  as  the  nature  of  the  two 
classes  of  service  will  permit. 

It  is_  particularly  fortunate  that  the  two  classes 
of  service  have  their  maximum  annual  peaks  at  dif- 
ferent times  during  the  year,  and  the  benefits  of 
this  condition  are  particularly  appreciated  in  the 
production  department,  otherwise  the  power  sta- 
tion. It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  so  far  nearly 
every  lighting  plant  in  existence  has  a  tremendous 
peak  lasting  from  one  hour  to  two  hours,  and  oc- 
curring near  5  p.  m.,  during  the  winter  months. 
This  peak  is  particularly  high  during  November 
and  December.  At  such  time  the  load  factor  of  the 
lighting  system  is  apt  to  be  in  the  neighborhood  of 
30  per  cent.,  even  with  a  good  motor  load,  and  all 
this  extra  equipment  to  handle  peaks  must  be 
installed  and  interest  paid  on  it  for  the  rest  of  the 
year.  In  other  words,  about  50  per  cent,  to  75 
per  cent,  of  the  equipment  of  the  lighting  plant  is 
earning  money  only  for  perhaps  150  to  200  hours 
during  the  entire  year.  The  rest  of  the  time  it  is 
not  engaged  in  anything  else  except  the  absorption 
of  interest  and   depreciation. 

In  a  railway  plant  the  peak  loads  occur  during 
the  summer  season  and  particularly  on  Sundays 
and  holidays.  The  amount  of  idle  investment  in 
the  railway  power  station  is  not  nearly  as  great  as 
it  is  in  the  lighting  plant,  but  nevertheless  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  equipment  has  to  be  held  in 
reserve  to  take  care  of  the  excessive  loads  which 
occur  on  perhaps  15  Sundays  and  holidays  during 
the  warm  months.  It  is  customary  for  railway 
plants  to  operate  with  a  smaller  percentage  of 
reserve  apparatus  than  is  usually  found  in  lighting 
plants.  On  account  of  the  very  fine  regulation  de- 
manded by  the  lighting  system  it  is  quite  difficult 
to  crowd  that  class  of  apparatus  be3Tond  a  reason- 
able limit.  The  regulation  of  railway  apparatus  is 
ordinarily  overlooked  and  the  owners  as  well  as 
the  public  close  one  eye  to  its  defects.  It  is,  there- 
fore, possible  to  neglect  the  reserve  capacity  of  the 
railway  station,  a  fact  which  is  taken  too  liberal 
advantage  of  by  many  existing  properties.  In  any 
case  it  is  advisable  to  have  some  reserve  capacity, 
and  it  is  one  purpose  of  this  paper  to  show  that 
this  reserve  may  be  obtained  in  a  combined  plant 
without   excessive   idle  investment. 

Fig.  1  represents  a  series  of  typical  local  curves, 
the  characteristics  of  which  are  taken  from  actual 
daily    averages    of    a    plant    in    a    small  'city.      The 


OF    RAILW.' 


a  lack  of  uniformity  in  the  producing  plant  which 
time  and  the  natural  wear  and  tear  of  apparatus 
only  can  eliminate.  We  still  see  in  too  many  cases 
a  power  station  equipped  with  separate  generators 
and  engines  for  lighting  and  another  plant  to  handle 
the  railway  load.  The  two  sides  are  generally  com- 
bined in  the  boiler  room,  but  some  plants  have 
gone  so  far  even  as  to  separate  the  steam  gener- 
ators. This  is  sometimes  necessitated  by  the  ex- 
cessive fluctuations  of  the  railway  load,  *  combined 
with  insufficient  steam  piping  and  inefficient  regu- 
lating   devices.      Such    an    arrangement    of    plant    is 

r  read  before  the  Northwestern  Electrical 


curves  approximate  very  closely  the  true  conditions 
found  in  any  city  between  30,000  to  50,000  popula- 
tion. The  load  factor  of  the  combined  summer 
curves  is  53  per  cent,  and  of  the  combined  winter 
curves  only  2S  per  cent. 

In  the  case  of  railway  plants  operating  a  consid- 
erable suburban  or  interurban  system  in  addition 
to  the  city  system,  the  lighting  load  becomes  a 
smaller  fraction  of  the  total  load  on  the  plant  and 
the  load  factor  will  be  very  much  improved.  It  is 
not  the  purpose  of  this  paper,  however,  to  consider 
such  cases,  but  to  take  an  abstract  example  from 
actual  daily  service.  The  railway  load  curve  rep- 
resented in   Fig.   1   calls   for  the  operation   of  eight 


February  3,  1906 

single-truck  local  cars  and  two  double-truck  sub- 
urban cars.  The  local  cars  are  supplemented  be- 
tween five  and  six  p.  m.  by  two  or  more  extra 
double-track  cars  to  take  care  of  traffic  during  the 
rush  hours.  The  lighting  load  represented  in  the 
curve  represents  a  total  connected  number  of  lights 
of  about  40,000  equivalents  of  16-candlepower  lamps, 
and  including  a  large  number  of  stationary  motors 
as  well  as  city  street  lighting. 

Considering  now  that  the  two  plants,  the  railway 
and  lighting,  are  separate  and  distinct  corporations, 
and  each  has  its  own  independent  plant,  it  is  inter- 
esting to  calculate  what  the  cost  of  equipping  the 
power  station  will  amount  to.  The  lighting  plant 
calls  for  a  maximum  of  approximately  i,2co  kilo- 
watts, and  it  will  be  necessary  to  install  that 
amount  of  machinery.  Furthermore,  prudent  man- 
agement demands  that  at  least  25  per  cent,  reserve 
capacity  be  installed  in  order  to  meet  emergencies. 


This  will  call  for  a  total  power  installation  of 
1,500  kilowatts.  Regardless  of  the  matter  in  which 
this  station  may  be  subdivided  into  individual  units, 
we  may  estimate  a  total  cost  of  power  station,  in- 
cluding engine  and  boiler  room  and  everything  else 
complete  at  $125  per  kilowatt.  For  the  1,500-kilo- 
watt  power  station,  therefore,  we  must  make  an 
appropriation  of  $187,500. 

The  railway  company  will  also  require  a  power 
station  of  its  own  in  the  case  here  assumed,  and 
as  the  total  maximum  demand  during  the  summer 
months  is  950  kilowatts  and  25  per  cent,  reserve 
capacity  must  again  prudently  be  provided,  we  must 
assume  a  power  station  with  a  capacity  of  1,200 
kilowatts  in  railway  generators.  This  at  the  same 
price  per  kilowatt  will  cost  $150,000.  The  combined 
cost  of  both  the  railway  power  house  and  the  light- 
ing power  house  will,  therefore,  amount  to  $337,500. 
If  we  combine  the  two  plants  and  operate  both 
the  lighting  and  railway  loads  from  one  station, 
with  one  class  of  prime  movers,  we  will  have  a 
maximum  demand  at  peak  loads  during  the  winter 
months  of  1,600  kilowatts.  It  is  in  this  case  also 
prudent  to  provide  25  per  cent,  reserve  capacity, 
and  this  will  call  for  a  power  station  having  2.000 
kilowatts  in  generators,  engines  and  boilers.  The 
same  cost,  $125  per  kilowatt,  will  make  this  station 
cost  $250,000,  a  saving  of  $87,500  in  the  first  cost 
of  the  plants.  Allowing  10  per  cent,  for  interest 
and  depreciation,  the  saving  on  this  score  alone 
amounts  to  $8,750  annually. 

Besides  this  saving  in  first  cost,  the  saving  in 
cost  of  operation  is  very  considerable.  One  chief 
engineer  only  instead  of  two  is  required.  There 
are  only  half  the  shift  engineers  required  which 
would  be  necessary  under  separate  operation,  and 
the  same  rule  holds  true  down  the  line  as  far  as 
the  coal  passers.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  cost  of 
labor  will  be  about  33%  to  50  per  cent,  less  in  a 
combined  plant  than  it  is  under  separate  operation. 
In  addition  to  the  saving  in  labor  the  fuel  econ- 
omy is  decidedly  improved.  In  a  lighting  plant 
boilers  and  engine  work  under  disadvantageous  con- 
ditions, as  a  rule,  during  light  loads.  The  engines 
may  be  only  partly  loaded,  therefore  not  giving 
their  maximum  efficiency.  The  same  holds  true  of 
boilers.  In  the  combined  plant  above  referred  to, 
with  a  capacity  of  2,000  kilowatts  subdivided  into, 
say  four  500-kilowatt  units,  two  of  them  alternat- 
ing-current, one  combination  unit  of  the  kind  re- 
ferred to  below  and  one  direct-current  unit,  it  is 
possible  to  so  operate  the  plant  that  there  will 
always  be  a  full  load  on  one  or  more  of  the  units. 
Fig.  2  shows  such  an  arraneement.  This  gives  the 
maximum  efficiency.  Data  taken  from  a  plant  of 
this  kind,  now  in  operation,  shows  that  the  saving 
in  labor  and  fuel  economy  amounts  to  about  $6,000 
per  annum,  over  and  above  the  operating  cost  of 
separate  plants.  Add  to  this  the  $8,750  saving  in 
interest  and  depreciation  and  we  get  a  total  of 
nearly  $15,000  per  annum  saving  accomplished  in 
a  plant  of  the  capacity  and  dimensions  referred  to. 
Fifteen  thousand  dollars  will  pay  interest  on 
$300,000  of  bonds,  or  it  will  provide  a  neat  little 
sinking  fund  or  stock  dividend.  At  any  rate,  it  is 
an  item  which  no  prudent  railway  or  central-station 
manager  would  care  to  overlook. 

It  may  be  urged  against  this  plan  that  it  is  not 
practical  to  operate  a  railway  and  lighting  load 
from  the  same  generators  and  engines.  The  best 
reply  to  this  criticism  is  that  it  is  not  a  theory 
which  we  confront  but  an  accomplished  fact.  There 
are  today  a  number  of  well-designed  power  sta- 
tions which  supply  lighting  and  power  from  one 
class  of  generators,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  rea- 
son why  the  type  of  units  in  the  power  station  of 
this  class  may  not  be   identical  at  least  within  the 


February  3,  1906 

limits  outlined  above.  The  writer  has  in  mind  for 
.,   planl   of  this  soi  1  direi  I  1  onm  ctcd   unitt  op 

H  60  1  y<  li  The  direct  current  for  the  railway 
operation  may  be  supplied  through  either  motoi 
gi  ni  ratoi     1  1    01   through  0 1  in    1  ombmation 

ets  consisting  of  alternating-current  and  direct- 
current    generators    connected    together,    1 

nected  with  :i  clutch  coupling  to  the  engine,  Thi 
latter    is    a    much    more    economical    pi 

[fghl   load  ■  the  railway  g al a .   be  opi  rati  d 

from   the   alternating  cum  nl    mai  him      voi  1 

synchronous   m .   thus   reducing   the  numbei    ol 

prime  movers  in  operation  and  giving  a  very  high 

demand  factor.    During  peak  1 1    the  engim     maj 

he  connected  to  these  combination  units  through 
the  clutch  couplings,  and  both  the  alternating-cur- 
rent and  direct-current  machines  may  be  used  as 
generators,  each  doing  its  respective  work.  In 
waterpower  stations  such  an  arrangement  is  even 
more  valuable  than   it  is  in   a  steam  station. 

Regarding  the  operation  of  direct-current  railway 
units  from  synchronous  motors  taking  their  cur- 
rent from  lighting  generators,  this  is  a  feal  which 
bi  my  accomplished  today  and  will  be  still  more 
in  the  future  than  il  is  at  present.  It  requires 
careful  design  of  the  generating  units  and   rcquin 

In  .  regulation  in  both  generators  and  the  engine 
governors.  A  Tyrrill  regulator  on  the  lighting 
lines  will  counterbalance  any  tendency  to  fluctua- 
tion caused  by  the  railway  load.  A  comparatively 
small  storage  battery  will  accomplish  wonders  in 
the  way  of  regulating  the  fluctuating  demand  on 
the  railway  generators  and  will  enable  both  classes 
of  service  to  be  furnished  from  one  machine  be- 
sides reducing  the  amount  of  railway  apparatus 
which    must   be   held    in   reserve. 


Oscillograph  for  the  Study  of  Alternat- 
ing-current Wave  Forms. 

One  of  the  interesting  things  exhibited  at  the 
Chicago  Electrical  Show  was  a  new  form  of  oscil- 
lograph of  the  d'Arsonval  type.  This  device  was 
shown    at   the   booth   of   the   University   of   Illinois 


'jJW.-  j 

1 

cr       ) 

BR**'* 

:viL  4 

and  was  made  by  two  seniors  in  electrical  engi- 
neering, Milton  K.  Akers  and  Edmund  B.  Wheeler, 
as  the  subject  of  their  thesis.  The  device  is  of 
a  practical  nature  and  embodies  many  ingenious 
features  in  its  construction.  This  oscillograph,  of 
which  a  general  view  is  shown  in  Fig.  i,  is  de- 
signed to  be  readily  set  up  for  operation  at  any 
place,  and  with  parts  strong  enough  mechanically 
to  be  easily  handled  and  adjusted  without  the  use 
of   fine    instruments,   yet   at  the   same   time   delicate 


/7\\/?V 


enough  to  give  accurate  results  under  ordinary  con- 
ditions. 

The  apparatus  consists  essentially  of  a  modified 
d'Arsonval  galvanometer,  combined  with  a  vibrating 
mirror  and  a  falling  plate  apparatus.  In  a  narrow 
gap  between  the  poles  of  a  powerful  electromagnet 
are  placed  two  parallel  strips  of  phosphor-bronze 
ribbon,  made  into  a  loop,  suitably  supported  to 
admit  of  oscillation  about  their  common  vertical 
axis.     If    the    alternating    current    to    be     studied, 


WKSTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

luitablj  gh  this 

loop   will    I* 
ward  and 

.11   the 
ion. 
n 

it    in   a    v'ti  .  h   will 

f  light  thrown 

"i t, 

the    "'ii  idi    ol    Ihi     b 

If  a  photographii    plat  ,  :  down 

of    this    mirror    win!  mg    the 

bi  im  of  lig  d  from  the  mil 

upon    the    sensitized    plate    the   curve   of   the   alter- 
nating cut 

I  lii  ,    il      bl     1  :■  iple    upon    which    the 

vibrating  operate*,  with- 


PIG.    3.      CURVES  OF  60-CYCLE   PRESSURE   AND   CONDENSER 
DISCHARGE   THROUGH    INDUCTANCE. 

out  going  into  the  details  of  the  mechanical  con- 
struction. By  certain  arrangements,  however,  the 
device  is  made  applicable  for  observations  of  the 
curve  direct,  without  taking  photographs.  This  sys- 
tem is  an  ingenious  one,  in  that  the  curves  may  be 
seen  directly  on  a  ground-glass  screen,  and  any 
momentary   fluctuations   readily   observed. 

In  making  the  optical  observations  the  path  of 
light  is  as  fallows:  The  light  from  the  arc  passes 
through  a  hole  in  the  side  of  the  box  to  two  small 
mirrors,  from  which  it  is  reflected  through  two 
narrow  slits  to  the  vibrating  mirrors.  From  here 
it  is  again  reflected  to  a  synchronous  mirror  through 
a  cylindrical  lens,  passing  from  there  to  a  ground- 
glass   screen   to  be   examined   visually. 

The  synchronous  mirror  is  used  to  draw  the  ray 


of  light  out  on  the  ground-glass  screen  in  the  form 
of  a  curve  instead  of  having  it  appear  as  a  single 
point.  The  synchronous  mirror  is  only  used  in  the 
case  of  optical  observations,  for  in  taking  photo- 
graphs the  falling  plate  gives  the  necessary  motion 
along  the  abscissa  of  the  curve,  to  produce  a  curved 
pressure  line.  This  mirror  is  operated  by  a  cam 
mounted  on  the  shaft  of  a  synchronous  motor. 

Briefly,  the  procedure  is  as  follows:  The  arc  is 
adjusted  so  that  the  light  passes  squarely  through 
the  hole  in  the  box  to  the  reflecting  mirrors.  These 
are  adjusted  so  that  the  beams  (for  in  this  appa- 
ratus there  may  be  more  than  one)  are  reflected  to 
the  vibrating  mirrors.  The  vibrating  systems  are 
in  turn  adjusted  until  the  beams  of  light  reflected 
from  them  are  in  turn  reflected  from  the  syn- 
chronous mirrors  to  a  common  point  on  the  ground 
glass.  When  the  synchronous  motor  is  started  this 
point  is  stretched  out  in  the  form  of  a  curve. 
When  a  photograph  is  to  be  taken  the  motor  is 
stopped  and  the  synchronous  mirrors  removed.  The 
plate  is  arranged  in  grooves  to  fall  in  front  of 
the  ray  of  light  from  the  vibrating  mirror,  and 
when   it  is   released  the  photograph  is   taken. 

With  a  free  length  of  the  vibrating  system  equal 


07 


A  ha* 

rent   and  presture  cui 

with   II 

a  45-^1  ire   for 

a    75-kilowatt    generator.    In   the   upper   curve   the 

fluclua! 

1  let  discharge  through  a  low 
ipreued  upon  a  Go-cycle  alternating 
pressure   curve;    the  |e   with 

denser   discharging   through    a   great 

irrent  curve  and  the  curve  line  for  carbon 
aluminum    cell  .:    same 

except  that  the  rectified  current  is  smaller  than  in 

of  the  upper  curves. 


Electrical    Water    Purifier    for    House- 
hold   Purposes. 

leal  current,  when  properly  applied  to  water 
liquids,  is  known  to  have  a  gcrmicv' 
purifying  effect.    Electrical  purification 

1    tried,  with   varying 
1  water  purifier,  however,  suitable  for  house- 


ELECTRICAL    WATER 


hold  purposes,  possesses  evident  advantages,  and 
a  device  of  this  nature  was  recently  patented  by 
Leon  Dion  of  New  York.  The  apparatus  is  shown 
in  the  accompanying  illustration,  which  is  a  vertical 
sectional  view. 

A  cylindrical  tank  in  a  horicontal  position  at 
the  bottom  of  the  device  carries  two  other  vertical 
tanks,  communicating  with  it.  The  water  to  be 
purified  is  supplied  to  the  right-hand  vertical  tank 
through  a  pipe,  beneath  the  opening  of  which  are 
groups  of  electrodes  having  corrugated  surfaces 
facing  each  other.  These  electrodes  are  divided 
into  two  groups,  one  positive  and  one  negative. 
The  electrodes  are  connected  to  the  terminals  of 
an  electrical  supply,  and  the  water  falling  between 
them  forms  the  connecting  link  in  the  circuit.  The 
lining  of  this   tank   is   of  insulating  material. 

Water  thus  subjected  to  the  action  of  current 
will  have  metals  and  other  impurities  deposited, 
and  these  will  find  their  way  to  the  horizontal  tank 
at   the   bottom,   from   which  they  may   be   removed. 

From  the  horizontal  tank  the- water  rises  in  the 
left-hand  vertical  tank,  shown  in  the  illustration, 
which  acts  as  a  settling  tank  and  a  filter  container, 
the  latter  being  of  any  approved  construction.  Bv 
means  of  the  filter  any  particles  of  foreign  matter 
held  in  suspension  are  removed  as  the  water  rises 
in    the   tank. 

By  means  of  an  automatic  arrangement  con- 
nected with  the  discharge  cock,  current  is  only- 
turned  on  during  the  withdrawal  of  water  from 
the  tank.  The  whole  outfit  is  also  enclosed  in  a 
casing  which  allows  of  its  being  packed  around 
with    ice,   thus   forming  a   refrigerator  to   keep   the 


vater  cool. 


Secretary  Taft  in  response  to  a  request  from 
the  House  committee  on  inter-state  and  foreign 
commerce  has  sent  a  communication  to  that  com- 
mittee relative  to  the  House  bill  for  the  construc- 
tion of  a  cable  connecting  the  mainland  of  the 
United  States  with  the  Canal  Zone.  The  secre- 
tary encloses  a  resolution  of  the  Board  of  Na- 
tional Defense,  which  he  says  shows  a  cable  is 
indispensable  for  military  purposes. 


WESTERN   ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY. 


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CORRESPONDENCE  relating  to  electricity  or  any  of  its 
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CAN     BE     MADE     BY     NO    OTHER      ELECTRICAL     JOURNAL     IN     THE 

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offices  of  publication,  Suite  510,  Marquette  Building  (204 
Dearborn  Street),  Chicago,  Illinois,  TJ.  S.  A. 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

Electrically  Operated  Floating  Fuel  Depot  for  Coaling  War- 
ships.    By  D.  A.  Willey.     Illustrated 93 

The  Niagara  Power  Situation -93.  94 

Telegraph  Extension  in  Central  America 94 

Cold  Bending  of  Pipes  for  Electrical  Wires.     By  R.  G.  Grayne. 

Illustrated 94.  g5 

Trolley  Boat  to  Disperse  Floating  Ice  at  Niagara  Falls  Power 

House.     Illustrated 95 

Conversion  of  Three-phase  to  Quarter-phase  Currents.     Illus- 
trated   95.  96 

The  Economy  of  Combined  Railway  and  Lighting  Plants.     By 

Ernest  Gonzenbach.     Illustrated 96,    97 

Oscillograph  for  the  Study  of  Alternating-current  Wave  Forms. 

Illustrated 97 

Electrical  Water  Purifier  for  Household  Purposes.     Illustrated  97 

Editorial 98 

Conclusion  of  the  Electrical  Show 99 

Institute  Meeting  in  New  York 99.  1°° 

Central  Electric  Railway  Association.    (Conventional  Dayton.)  100 

Electrical  Section  of  the  Western  Society  of  Engineers 100 

A  Long  Trolley  Trip 100 

Electrical  Trades  Association  of  Chicago 101 

Frederic  P.  Vose.     Portrait 101 

Agree  to  85-cent  Gas  in  Chicago 101 

Power  Plant  Economics.     By  Henry  G.  Stott.     Parti.     Illus- 
trated  - 101.  102,  103 

Shreffler  Engine  Indicator  and  Overload  Alarm.     Illustrated. 

103.  104 

Cable  Construction  for  Lung  Island  Railroad.     Illustrated 104 

9,700-horsepower    Hydraulic  Turbine  for   California  Gas  and 

Electric   Corporation 104 

Convenient  Tube  for  Soldering  Flux.     Illustrated 104 

Chicago  Street-railway  Situation 104 

Scribner  Automatic  Signaling  Patent    Not  Infringed  in  Gales- 
burg   Case.     Illustrated 105.  106 

Nebraska  Independent  Telephone  Association 106 

Indiana  District  Telephone  Meeting 106 

Extension-telephone  Litigation 106 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes 106 

Indiana  Telephone  Items 106 

Telephone  News  from  the  Northwest 107 

New  England  Telephone  News 107 

New  Companies 107 

General  Telephone  News 107 

Types  of  Cars  for  City  Service.     Illustrated 107 

Power-transmission  Projects  in  South  Africa .  108 

Extensions  to  South  Side  Elevated 108 

Books  Received 108 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence 108,  109,  no 

Great  Britain 108 

New  York 108.  109 

Dominion  of  Canada 109 

New  England 109 

Southeastern  States 109 

Ohio 109,  no 

Indiana '. no 

Michigan no 

Pacific  Slope no 

Personal no,  in 

Electric  Lighting in 

Electric.  Railways Ill 

Automobiles in 

Publications in 

Trade  News in 

Business hi 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record in,  112 


DATE  AHEAD. 


5th  : 


"Chicago,  the  Electrical  City,"  is  the  title  of  an 
editorial  in  one  of  our  esteemed  electrical  contem- 
poraries published  in  New  York  city.  Yes;  Chi- 
cago is  the  electrical  city  all  right;  but  isn't  it 
rather  late  in  the  day  to  make  the  announcement? 
As  Mr.  Insull  remarks,  in  an  interview  printed 
elsewhere,  the  attendance  at  the  Electrical  Show 
demonstrated  that  Chicago  is  the  center  of  a  very 
large  electrical  market.  But  while  the  exhibition 
made  the  fact  prominent,  the  gratifying  condition 
itself  has  been  in  existence  for  lo  these  many  years. 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

of  the  larger  machinery,  expect  to  derive  little  ben- 
efit directly,  in  the  way  of  orders  for  their  product, 
but  they  are  more  than  willing  to  goto  considerable 
expense  in  fitting  up  elaborate  exhibitions  and  giv- 
ing the  time  of  high-class  specialists  in  their  various 
lines  for  the  sake  of  the  benefit  that  will  be  felt 
by  the  electrical  trade  in  general  through  an  in- 
crease of  knowledge  among  the  public  concerning 
things  electrical  consequent  to  the  holding  of 
such  a  show. 

Another  educational  feature  which  was  more 
noticeable  at  the  Chicago  Electrical  Show  than  at 
others  held  heretofore  was  the  interest  and  co-op- 
eration on  the  part  of  the  various  universities  and 
colleges  of  the  Middle  West  that  have  engineering 
departments.  Not  a  few  of  these  institutions  had 
interesting  and  instructive  exhibits  in  ''College  Row," 
the  booths  being  decorated  in  a  pleasing  manner 
with  the  college  colors.  The  object  of  these  exhibits 
was  evidentlly  not  only  to  show  by  photographs 
and  otherwise  the  local  features  of  the  institutions, 
but  also  to  exhibit  something  in  the  line  of  original 
work  which  would  be  of  interest  from  a  scientific 
point  of  view. 

For  instance,  the  exhibit  of  the  University  of  Wis- 
consin was  devoted  largely  to  the  products  of  its 
excellent  electrochemical  department,  showing  speci- 
mens of  electrolytic  iron  and  an  example  of  a  per- 
fected type  of  electric  furnace,  demonstrating  some 
of  the  original  and  practical  features  of  the  work 
carried  on  in  the  electrochemical  department  under 
the  direction  of  Professor  Charles  F.  Burgess.  At 
the  exhibit  of  the  University  of  Illinois  there  was 
also  shown  a  very  interesting  piece  of  apparatus  in 
the  form  of  a  practical  wave  indicator  for  the  study 
of  alternating  current  and  pressure  waves — a  device 
designed  and  constructed  by  two  seniors  for  their 
thesis  work.  Advantages  offered  by  the  Electrical 
Show  to  study  the  new  developments  in  the  elec- 
trical field  drew  a  large  number  of  students  to 
Chicago  and  at  least  one  of  the  institutions  planned 
its  annual  engineering  inspection  tour  so  as  to  take 
in  the  exhibition. 


The  educational  function  of  an  electrical  show, 
such  as  the  one  just  held  in  Chicago,  is  of  prime 
importance.     Many  of  the  manufacturers,  especially 


That  old  but  ever  new  subject,  the  efficiency 
and  usefulness  of  central-station  apparatus,  was 
discussed  at  the  recent  convention  of  the  North- 
western Electrical  Association,  and  Mr.  Harold 
Almert,  who  was  later  elected  president  of  the 
association,  expressed  in  vigorous  terms  the  con- 
viction that  high-frequency  alternating-current  ap- 
paratus is  practically  obsolete,  and,  not  only  that, 
but  that  direct-current  dynamos  are  really  out  of 
date  also  for  purely  central-station  work.  "You 
will  find  many  central  stations,"  he  said,  "that  have 
attempted  to  go  into  the  power  business  which 
still  have  the  500-volt,  direct-current  apparatus,  with 
perhaps  the  single-phase  alternating  system,  on 
125  or  140  cycles,  and  from  that  up;  and  they  will 
do  lighting  work  with  open  or  enclosed  series  arc 
lamps  on  series  arc  machines.  I  think  it  is  very 
necessary  for  them  first  to  reorganize  their  sys- 
tems before  they  go  out  actively  after  new  business. 
Many  central-station  managers  still  favor  high- 
frequently  apparatus.  They  say  the  stuff  is  good 
enough  for  them ;  they  are  doing  a  pretty  com- 
fortable business,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  day- 
circuit  proposition.  They  are  still  contented  to 
give  a  dusk-to-daylight  service.  But  if  they  do 
not  give  in  soon  and  get  onto  a  24-hour  basis  in 
some  way  they  will  have,  sooner  or  later,  to  yield 
to  the  inevitable." 

A  gentleman  asked  the  speaker  if  he  really  con- 
sidered apparatus  of  125  cycles  or  higher  out  of 
date.  To  this  question  Mr.  Almert  answered: 
"I  do.  I  think  a  great  many  people  who  are  still 
holding  to  the  125-cycle  proposition  do  it  simply 
because  they  dread  to  tackle  the  job  of  putting  in 
an  entirely  new  outfit.  In  the  majority  of  small 
stations  it  is  a  very  serious  problem;  but  the 
change  does  not  all  have  to  be  made  at  once.  The 
high  frequency  of  the  transformers  will  work  on 
60  cycles  with  lower  capacity  and  lower  efficiency ; 
so  I  think  it  is  policy  to  weed  the  stuff  out.  The 
tendency  of  manufacturers  is  not  to  maintain  the 
high-frequency  apparatus  in  their  improvements,  and 
in  the  line  of  machinery  for  various  industrial  pur- 
poses the  apparatus  is  built  almost  invariably  on 
60  cycles.  You  must  get  the  lower  frequency 
apparatus." 

Later  Mr.  Almert  admitted  that  there  are  cases, 
in  towns  where  there  is  practically  no  manufactur- 


Februafy  3,  1906 

ing,  or  where  the  factories  are  so  large  that  the 
central  station  cannot  expect  to  get  their  power 
business,  in  which  the  high-frequency  apparatus  is 
justified.  A  suburban  town  near  a  large  city  might 
constitute  such  a  case.  But  these  conditions  are 
exceptional.  Another  gentleman  remarked  that  for 
lighting  purposes  alone  the  high-frequency  efficiency 
is  greater  than  the  low-frequency  efficiency,  and 
this  statement  aroused  no  opposition.  But  all 
agreed  that  where  there  is  a  motor  load  to  be 
cared  for — and,  of  course,  every  central  station 
should  have  a  motor  load — the  lower  frequency  is 
the  one  that  should  be  employed. 


As  an  important  result  of  the  recent  general 
election  in  the  United  Kingdom,  free  trade  is  ex- 
tended an  overwhelming  vote  of  confidence  as  the 
cardinal  principle  of  British  economic  policy.  Pro- 
tection or  fair  trade  or  fiscal  reform,  or  by  what- 
ever name  the  policy  proposed  by  Mr.  Chamberlain 
may  be  called,  has  been  rejected  with  emphasis  by 
the  electors.  But  the  Birmingham  statesman  insists 
that  after  every  tide  there  is  an  ebb  and  that  he 
will  continue  to  fight  for  empire  and  colonial 
preference  by  customs  duties  as  long  as  he  lives 
and  that  others  will  carry  on  the  agitation  after  he 
has  passed  away.  The  discussion  has  excited  an 
extraordinary  flood  of  debate  and  has  waged  in 
the  columns  of  the  electrical  press  as  well  as  else- 
where. Some  of  the  arguments  advanced  are  of 
interest  to  American  electrical  men.  Thus,  one 
free-trader  says :  "That  there  should  be  a  great 
outcry  when  a  British  contract  goes  abroad  is 
really  foolish,  save  that  such  outcry  may  induce 
the  home  manufacturer  to  bestir  himself.  If  it 
pays  us  better  to  manufacture  cotton  for  export  in 
payment  for  imports  of,  say,  electrical  machinery, 
then  why  on  earth  should  we  be  such  fools  as  to 
desire  to  make  electrical  machinery  instead  of 
cotton  ?"  This  comes,  as  might  be  expected,  from 
Manchester.  It  contains  no  sentiment  to  which  the 
American  electrical  manufacturer  can  take  excep- 
tion. 

Another  correspondent  points  out  that  the  United 
States  has  an  effective  remedy  if  it  is  discriminated 
against  in  favor  of  British  colonies.  He  thinks  it 
surprising  that  there  are  men  connected  with  the 
great  electrical  construction  works  in  the  United 
Kingdom  who  are  followers  of  Mr.  Chamberlain  in 
his  fiscal  policy.  Condensing  somewhat,  we  quote 
further  from  this  gentleman's  letter  in  an  electrical 
journal : 

Mr.  Chamberlain  says  that  he  will  let  in  raw 
materials  free,  and  for  this  we  are  duly  grateful 
to  him ;  but  he  proposed  to  put  a  tax  on  American 
wheat,  with  the  object  of  stopping  its  importation 
in  favor  of  colonial  wheat.  He  takes  it  for  granted 
that  the  Americans  will  quietly  submit  to  this,  and 
take  it  lying  down. 

America  is  the  largest  producer  of  copper  in  the 
world.  Her  output  is  over  400,000  tons  per  annum, 
and,  as  compared  with  her,  the  rest  of  the  world  is 
nowhere.  In  looking  about  her  for  a  means  of 
hitting  back  hard,  is  it  not  highly  probable  that  she 
would  give  a  thought  to  necessary  articles,  which 
she  supplies  to  us  and  which  we  cannot  get  else- 
where. Mr.  Chamberlain  would  do  so,  I  am  quie 
certain. 

Our  magnificent  trade  in  electrical  cables,  etc., 
employing  many  thousands  of  workmen  on  the 
Thames,  in  Manchester,  Liverpool,  Glasgow,  etc., 
and  which,  as  you,  sir,  admitted  to  me  the  other 
day,  is  the  greatest  in  the  world,  depends  on 
American  copper. 

Suppose,  therefore,  the  Americans  said  in  reply 
to  Air.  Chamberlain's  action :  "We  will  stop  him 
getting  his  raw  copper  free  by  putting  on  a  10  per 
cent,  export  duty,"  how  would  that  affect  the  elec- 
trical construction  trade?  It  would  in  a  very  short 
time  divert  it  to  America.  I  ask  your  readers  to 
calmly  consider  this  view  and  put  it  to  themselves 
whether  there  is  not  something  in   it. 

I  might  follow  the  same  argument  in  cotton,  but 
need  not  do  so,  as  in  this  we  depend  even  more 
than  we  do  in  copper,  if  that  is  possible,  on 
America. 

We  have  never  heard  an  export  duty  on  copper, 
cotton  or  other  raw  material  seriously  discussed  in 
this  country.  Probably  such  a  policy  would  be 
unwise  save  in  a  very  great  emergency.  But  it  is 
certainly  a  striking  tribute  to  the  favored  position 
of  the  United  States  that  the  possession  of  this 
formidable  weapon  is  conceded  to  it  in  the  struggle 
for  commercial  supremacy.  No  matter  what  hostile 
tariff  may  be  contrived  by  other  nations,  the  un- 
rivaled natural  resources  of  the  country  will  always 
give  to  the  great  American  republic  elements  of 
strength    which    no   other   nation    possesses. 


February  .(,   [906 

Conclusion  of  the  Electrical  Show. 
1  he   Chicago    Electrical    Show    1  ame   to   end    on 
I. urn.  11  v   27th,   1  ontinuing    ii  .   record   oi     no 

ih,'  last.     Exhibitors  wi  ri    pli  ised    vith  thi    1 

which    their   produi  1  1   arou  1  d    and    thi      ale     thi  1 

made,   and   1 1  litoi     wen    greatl     ti  'I    in    ill- 

varied  displays  which  they  saw.  The  total  attend 
ancc    ' In  1  i ijk    the    two    weeks    was    not    far    from 

[25,000.     Now  thai  thi     hov all  arc:  looking 

forward   to   its   repetition   next  year.     At   thi 

ing   over   30   exhibitors   have   signed    for     1 al 

the  1  >  f  17-  Bhow. 

The  manager  of  the  Coliseum  made  the    tatemcnl 
thai    the   Electrical   Show  drew   the   large  1   crowd 
in  the  historj   of  the  building, 
Friday,    Januarj    26th,    was    Thomas    A.    Edison 

Day   al    tin    show,   and   il    said   the   attcndai n 

that  day  was  at  leasl  [6,000,  Handsome  souvenir 
buttons  bearing  the  head  of  Edison  in  lias  relief 
were   distributed. 

The  banquet  on  Friday  night  which  was  tendered 
to  the  Electrical  Show  exhibitors  by  the  manage 
menl  and  directorate  of  the  Electrical  Trades  Ex- 
position Company  was  a  pleasant  affair.  ["able 
were  set  for  .300,  and  as  many  as  258  partook  of 
what  was  really  a  sumptuous  repast.  The  ban- 
queters assembled  in  the  dining  hall  of  the  Coliseum 
Annex  at  10:30  p.  in.,  and  music  was  furnished  by 
the  bit;  exposition  band.  President  Samuel  In  nil 
presided.  Mr.  Instill  read  this  telegram  from 
Thomas  A.  Edison,  who  had  been  invited  to  alien, I 
(his  dinner:  "Regret  inability  to  be  present  at 
dinner  to-night.  Please  express  to  exposition  pen- 
pie  my  best  wishes  for  their  success  and  pros- 
perity." 

Speeches  were  made  by  the  following-named  gen- 
llcnicn:  Samuel  Instill,  J.  C.  McQuiston,  P.  E. 
Odell,  A.  M.  Ramsey.  S.  J.  Gorman,  Homer  E. 
Niesz,  E.  B.  Overshiner,  Stewart  Spaulding,  B.  B. 
Ayres,  Charles  E.  Gregory,  Frank  L.  Perry,  Thomas 
R.   Mercein   and   C.   H.   Gentry. 

Weil's  Band,  the  official  organization  of  the  St. 
Louis  World's  Fair,  made  such  a  big  "hit"  with 
the  Chicago  public  during  the  show  that  the  man- 
agement of  the  Coliseum  has  engaged  it  for  several 
weeks,  beginning  with  the  opening  of  the  summer 
season. 

The  Sons  of  Jove  held  an  initiation  on  Thursday 
night,  at  which  about  ioo  new  members,  it  is  said, 
became  better  acquainted  than  ever  before  with  the 
mysteries  of  certain  electrical  appliances.  The  ini- 
tiation was  held  after  the  Coliseum  had  been  closed 
for  the  night,  and  the  fountain  is  believed  to 
have  played  no  inconsiderable  part  in  the  perform- 
ance. 

Thordarson's  experiments  and  those  of  Prof. 
Clarke  attracted  thousands  because  of  their  spec- 
tacular features.  The  high-potential  discharges 
which  were  one  of  the  main  attractions  at  the 
Thordarson  booth  were  made  possible  by  a  poten- 
tial of  300,000  volts.  The  experiments  with  induct- 
ive effects  never  failed,  either,  to  elicit  exclamations 
of  surprise,  for  to  see  an  incandescent  lamp  lighted 
without  any  circuit  connections,  or  to  see  a  loop 
of  wire  burned  through  with  no  visible  connection 
to  a  source  of  current  was  surprising  to  those  un- 
familiar with  the  phenomena  of  induction. 

New  and  interesting  things  were  to  be  seen  on  all 
sides.  One  of  these  was  an  electric  horn  for  use 
on  automobiles.  This  unique  device  was  exhibited 
by  the  Vesta  Accumulator  Company  of  Chicago. 
The  horn  is  operated  by  a  battery,  the  sound  being 
produced  by  a  vibrating  body  which  is  located  in 
the  base  of  the  horn  and  actuated  by  the  current 
from  the  battery.  By  merely  pressing  a  button  on 
the  steering  wheel  the  effect  of  a  high-class  reed 
horn  is  produced  with  but  small  consumption  of 
current. 

Those  who  had  never  seen  rubber  in  its  crude 
state  were  much  interested  in  the  rubber  "biscuit" 
exhibited  by  the  Central  Electric  Company  of  Chi- 
cago. The  rubber  was  in  the  form  of  a  hemisphere 
about  18  inches  in  diameter  and  was  valued  at 
$250.  From  the  appearance  of  the  mass  it  had 
evidently  been  relied  upon  a  stake  in  layers,  the 
process  going  on  until  a  ball  weighing  perhaps  150. 
pounds  had  been  produced.  This  rubber  "biscuit" 
was  then  cut  in  half  to  show  the  peculiar  forma- 
tion. 

Next  year  the  Chicago  Electrical  Show  will  be 
held  during  the  two  weeks  beginning  January  14th, 
undoubtedly  at  the  Coliseum,  and  perhaps  with  an 
overflow. 

Interviews  on  tee  Success  of  the  Show. 

Everybody    who    had    anything    to    do    with    the 

show — managers,     exhibitors     and     visitors     alike — 

agreed  that  it  was  a  great   success.    A   few   inter- 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

,    much 

... 

Samuel    in  nil,    prcsii 
'I  I.,-  large  al  1 

'how    fr< 1 

•.'.  iiliin  a  night'i  run  and  the 
large   amount 
Im  1    1     that  ( 
el,   t  rical   ma 

nenl   of  ihr  expoiitioi 
ahead  and  ari  11  ;i 

Ml'. I  i    I   ... 

phoni    1  ompan  /:    "Th 
Ii    v  <      int,  n   I 

11  "l    '  di  tim  1  ■  d al  vain,-.    1  )ui 

well   pica  ■  ,1    .-  hi,   it.  to  exhibit   again 

next   year,   onlj    on   .1    largei      call       In    fact,    I    may 

ay  thai    '.-.<    wi  ri     atisficd   with  the 
way.     I     saw    H 

tie-     upcriority   of   the   Chicago  exhibition 
marked  thai   there   v.  1  ...  , ,  00." 

B.  E.  Sunny,  western  manager  General  Electric 
1  ompany:    "The   genii  entor   and   the 

skill    of   the   manufacturer   of   electrical    app 
were    both    paid    a    very    high    compliment    in    the 
unprecedented  attendance  at  the  electrical  exposition 
during  the  last  two  weeks.     Some  who  thought  that 

electrical    manufactures   had    1 1 mm 

and  without  special  interest  to  the  public,  wen 
prised  to  find  that  there  was  enough  of  novelty  and 
attractiveness  left,  even  after  20  years  of  rapid  de- 
velopment, to  keep  the  building  crowded  with  look 
ers-on.  If  there  ever  was  any  doubt  that  electricity 
is  a  most  popular  agency  wherever  it  is  adopted 
for  any  service,  the  experience  at  the  Coliseum 
has    dispelled    it." 

G.  H.  Atkin,  Chicago  manager  of  the  Electric 
Storage  Battery  Company  of  Philadelphia:  "The 
two  things  about  the  electrical  show  which  has 
just  closed  that  impressed  me  were  the  large  at- 
tendance of  out-of-town  electrical  men  and  the  deep 
interest  evidenced  by  the  American  public  in  elec- 
trical and  mechanical  matters.  At  our  booth,  where 
we  displayed  the  'Chloride'  and  'Exide'  batteries, 
we  were  Constantly  being  questioned  by  people  wdio 
were  not  in  any  way  connected  with  electrical  in- 
dustries, as  to  the  functions  of  a  storage  battery, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  educational  work 
accomplished  by  this  show  is  very  widespread.  We 
expect  to  exhibit  next  year,  as  we  think  the  show 
is  a  good  commercial  idea  and  brings  together  a 
representative  gathering  of  electrical  people  of  all 
kinds." 

J.  C.  McQuiston  of  Pittsburg,  Westinghouse  Elec- 
tric  and  Manufacturing  Company:  "The  success  of 
the  Electrical  Trades  Exposition  by  far  exceeded 
our  expectations.  Much  credit  is  due  to  the  offi- 
cials who  so  faithfully  and  courteously  carried  out 
the  well-formed  plans  which  made  possible  an  elec- 
trical show  lasting  two  weeks,  and,  which  on  the 
closing  days  and  nights,  attracted  as  many  visitors 
as  at  the  beginning.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  not 
a  few  who  attended  the  exposition  came  quite  a 
distance  for  the  sole  purpose  of  familiarizing  them- 
selves with  the  latest  developments  in  electricity. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  interest  manifested  by  the 
people  in  general  in  the  lectures  given  by  Professor 
Clark  in  the  side  lecture  room  indicates  that  people 
in  all  walks  of  life  have  an  open  ear  for  anything 
connected  with  the  uses  of  and  developments  in 
electricity." 

E.  F.  Kirkpatrick,  manager  McRoy  Clay  Works: 
"Chicago's  Electrical  Show  was  a  success.  The  ex- 
hibitors, stockholders  and  the  general  public  so 
voted  it.  However,  many  of  the  thousands  of 
people  who  paid  50  cents  'per'  to  see  it  wondered 
as  they  were  pushed  about  and  trampled  upon  in 
the  great  throngs  that  filled  the  mammoth  build- 
ing every  evening  whether  it  was  worth  the  time 
and  half  dollar.  Many  were  pleased  and  many- 
were  disappointed.  Some  expected  to  see  'aero- 
grams' flying  through  the  air,  lightning  flashing 
from  every  nook  and  corner,  electricity  being 
made/  Thomas  Edison,  Nikola  Tesla  and  Marconi 
on  exhibition.  They,  of  course,  were  disappointed. 
From  an  educational  standpoint,  the  show  was  all 
it  was  intended  to  be,  and  that  was  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  the  promoters.  Such  exhibitors  as  the  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company,  Westinghouse  Electric  and 
Manufacturing  Company,  Allis-Chalmers  Company 
and  the  other  manufacturers  of  large  apparatus  did 
not  expect  the  show-  would  increase  their  business. 
Their  purpose  in  exhibiting  was  educational — for 
the  benefit  of  the  layman,  the  student  and  the  gen- 
eral consumers  and  users  of  electricity.  The  rail- 
way,  central-station   and   telephone-exchange   mana- 


99 

the  electrical  and  mecbanii 
little    at    the    ih/yw    tl    I 
wa»  numcrou*  'tmnfiv 

mingling 

■raturc*   which 

At    lie    1 

not    only    hid    their    own   exhibit    by    luifb    ;, 

off  th.-  general   view  of   lurroundii  .- 

1    the    fact   that    the    N< 
dismal    failure,   electrically,   mechanically   anil   finan- 
cially,  the   management      1   -  *   and 

■trical    trade   generally.  ngralu- 

lated  on  :li,-  -..-ry    plendid    ui 
point   of   the  'big  show1 


Institute  Meeting  in  New  York. 

A    r.-yular    meeting  of   the 

was    held    in    the    aud 
of  the  New  York  Edison  Companj 
of   January   26th.     President    Win.:, 
chair,    Secretary    I'ope    announced    that     i 
ciatc   members    had    be 
earlier    in    the    day.     Dr.    Wheeler    introdti 

Martin,  chairman  of  the  building  fin 
v.  ho    made    a    plea    foi 

g    fund  for  the   United  Engineering  Building, 
the  erection  of  which  Andrew   1 
given  $1,050,000.     The  three 

1    to    meet    the    cost   of   the    land    and    equip 

v.  n    quarters.     The    share    of    the    electrical 
engineers  is  about  $200,000.    Of  this,  over  $100,000 

■  ii_  pledged,    of    which    $55,000    is    in    bank. 
Of    the    $100,000    remaining    to   be    rai 
lieved   that  a  considerable  proportion   will  be   given 
by    the    great    electrical    corporations.     Mr     Martin 
continued:     "In  this  vicinity  we  have  900  n 
of  the  Institute.     Up  to  the  present  time  about  220 
of   these   have   contributed    to   the    fund.     Wi 
had    620   contributions,    s,.    that    v,,u    can    see    ^ 
subscribers    outside    of    New    York    territory    have 
shown   their  interest   in  this  grand  and  noble  proj- 
ect, but  barely  200  in  this  district,   who  will  derive 
the   greatest   benefit    from   the    project,    have    shown 
their  interest  in   what  we  are  doing."     The  speaker 
asked  for  a  large   number  of  $25   subscript 
be  paid  in  five  annual   installments.     But   larg 
smaller   contributions   will    be   gladly   received.     Mr 
Martin   also  made  this   interesting  statement :     "We 
have  had  several   individual   subscriptions   of  $5,000. 
but.  as  an  indication  of  the  interest  which  the  elec- 
trical   corporations    of    this    country    take    in    what 
we    are    doing.    I    would    like    to   mention    the    fact 
that  we  have  already  secured  from  the  General  Elec- 
tric   Company    a    subscription    of    $25,000.    and    not 
only  have   we  had   the   subscription,   but   the   check 
has  been   banked." 

Papers  by  H.  G.   Stott  and  E.   F.   Alexanderson 
were  read. 


The  Institute  has  received  from  the  Institution 
of  Electrical  Engineers  of  Great  Britain  a  cordial 
invitation  to  the  American  Institute  of  Electrical 
Engineers  to  visit  England  during  the  latter  part 
of  June  next.  A  similar  invitation  has  been  re- 
ceived from  the  Associazione  Elettrotecnica  Itali- 
ana  to  visit  Italy  during  the  season  of  the  Indus- 
trial Exhibition  at  Milan,  beginning  May  1.  1906. 
Both  of  the  proposed  tours  will  embrace  visits  to 
important  electrical  plants,  educational  centers  and 
scenic  features  of  these  countries.  The  Italian  trip 
would  necessarily  either  immediately  precede  or 
follow  the  visit  to  England,  in  all  probability  during 
the  month  of  May.  The  time  of  year  precludes 
the  possibility  of  making  special  arrangemen  - 
transportation  in  advance,  and  it  will  probabiy  be 
necessary   to  depend   upon    individual   arrann 

The  proposed  tour,  if  organized,  will  not  take 
the  place  of  the  regular  annual  convention,  which 
will  he  held  as  already  proposed  in  a  citv  of  the 
Central  West.  June  26-29.  The  board  of  directors 
desires  to  obtain  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  an 
expression  of  opinion  as  to  the  participation  of 
members  either  in  one  or  both  of  the  proposed 
visits. 

In  relation  to  the  Edison  medal,  to  be  awarded 
for  the  best  electrical  thesis,  it  is  announced  that 
sufficient  funds  will  be  available  from  the  net 
income  of  the  trust  fund,  created  in  1904  to  estab- 
lish the  Edison  medal,  to  provide  for  the  award 
of  the  medal  for  the  year  1906.  The  by-laws  pro- 
vide that  not  more  than  two  students  may  com- 
nete  in  any  one  year  from  any  one  institution  of 
learning  qualified  to  present  competitors:  that  each 
competing  thesis  or  record  of  research  must  be 
the  work  of  a  single  qualified  student  only;  that  no 
student  may  compete  unless  he  has  graduated  whe  1 
not  more  than  25  years  of  age  and  received  a 
degree  during  the  year  for  which  the  medal   shall 


IOO 

be  awarded  in  some  course  of  study  normally  re- 
quiring not  less  than  two  years  of  continuous  resi- 
dence and  work,  which  course  of  study  shall  include 
the  branch  of  electrical  engineering;  and  that  each 
student  shall  be  separately  presented  through  the 
faculty  of  the  particular  institution  at  which  he  is 
a  student  by  means  of  a  presentation  notice  prop- 
erly filled  in. 


Central    Electric    Railway   Association. 

Dayton,  Ohio,  January  26. — The  second  annual 
meeting  of  the  Ohio  Interurban  Railway  Associa- 
tion proved  the  occasion  of  the  beginning  of  a 
broader  and  more  important  work  in  the  way  of 
organization  than  has  ever  been  attempted  in  this 
part  of  the  country  before.  Not  only  were  the 
Ohio  and  Indiana  associations  merged,  as  had  been 
outlined  in  the  Western  Electrician,  but  plans  were 
made  whereby  Southern  Michigan  and  Western 
Pennsylvania  will  be  included  in  the  working  ar- 
rangement. The  new  organization  will  be  known 
as  the  Central  Electric  Railway  Association — a 
broader  name  than  if  the  word  "interurban"  had 
been    used. 

A  brief  business  session  of  the  Ohio  Interurban 
Railway  Association  was  held  in  the  forenoon,  when 
all  business  matters  were  closed,  in  order  that  the 
merger  with  the  Indiana  association  might  be  com- 
pleted. General  satisfaction  was  expressed  that  this 
action  had  been  brought  about,  as  it  means  not 
only  a  closer  affiliation  of  the  various  lines,  but 
makes  it  possible  for  more  uniform  operation  and 
the  extension  of  plans  for  long-distance  business. 
Heretofore  many  difficulties  have  been  experienced 
in  perfecting  plans  for  inter-line  ticketing  and  the 
use  of  mileage  coupons,  but  it  is  believed  that  the 
closer  affiliation  will  make  the  accomplishment  of 
these    purposes    a    matter    of    little    difficulty. 

At  the  opening  meeting  of  the  new  association 
the  following-named  officers  were  elected :  Presi- 
dent, E.  C.  Spring  of  the  Dayton,  Covington  and 
Piqua,  Dayton ;  vice-president,  C.  L.  Henry,  Indi- 
anapolis and  Cincinnati  Traction  Company,  Indi- 
anapolis ;  second  vice-president,  F.  D.  Carpenter, 
Western  Ohio  Railway  Companv,  Lima;  secretary, 
J.  H.  Merrill,  Lima;  treasurer,  W.  F.  Mulholland, 
Indianapolis.  The  executive  committee  consists  of 
F.  J.  J.  Sloat.  Hamilton:  Theodore  Stebbins,  Colum- 
bus :  Harrie  P.  Clegg,  Davton ;  J.  W.  Brown,  Con- 
nellsville,  Pa.;  C.  N.  Wilcoxen,  Cleveland;  W.  G. 
Irwin,  Columbus.  Ind. ;  C.  D.  Emmons,  Fort  Wavne, 
Ind. ;  Gardner  Wells,  Terre  Haute.  Ind. ;  C.  C.  Rey- 
nolds, Lafavette,  Ind..  and  H.  A.  Nicholl,  Anderson, 
Ind. 

At  the  afternoon  meeting  J.  V.  E.  Titus  of  the 
Garton-Daniels  Company,  Keokuk,  Iowa,  read  a 
technical  paper  on  "Lightning  Arresters,"  which  was 
interesting  and  instructive. 

It  seems  that  no  decision  was  made  regarding 
headquarters  for  the  association,  and,  from  present 
indications,  that  will  be  left  to  the  secretary.  At 
one  time  it  was  supposed  that  Columbus  would  be 
chosen,  but  this  was  not  done. 

While  no  permanent  secretary  was  elected  at  this 
meeting,  it  was  settled  that  J.  H.  Merrill  of  Lima, 
formerly  with  the  Western  Ohio,  will  be  selected 
for  the  position.  Mr.  Merrill  was  the  first  sec- 
retary of  the  association  and  did  a  large  part  of 
the  work  toward  permanent  organization.  He  is 
also  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  coupon-book 
business  and  the  interline  ticket  system,  so  that  it 
will  be  no  trouble  for  him  to  take  up  the  work 
at   once  and   formulate  a  system  for  operation. 

After  discussing  matters  of  business  to  some  ex- 
tent and  listening  to  brief  papers  and  addresses  on 
interesting  topics,  an  early  adjournment  was  taken 
in  order  to  prepare  for  the  banquet.  President  E. 
C.  Spring  opened  the  after-dinner  talks  with  an 
address  of  welcome  and  congratulation.  Among 
other  things,  he  said :  "The  work  which  we  have 
done  in  the  various  branches  of  the  association 
seemed  almost  impossible  to  accomplish,  but  it  has 
been  found  to  have  been  comparatively  easy.  The 
close  touch,  whereby  the  various  companies  of  the 
state  have  been  brought  together,  has  been  very 
evident  to  every  operative  man  of  the  state.  The 
magnificent  work  done  by  the  transportation  com- 
mittee, under  the  effective  management  of  its  able 
chairman,  Mr.  Merrill,  stands  pre-eminent  in  the 
work  of  the  association.  The  universality  of  the 
sale  of  the  interchangeable  coupon  book  has  gone 
way  beyond  the  anticipation  of  any  member  of  the 
association,  until  today  it  is  recognized  as  a  potent 
factor  in  the  Middle  West.  I  might  reiterate  the 
w-ork  of  the  association  in  the  matters  of  operation, 
of  passenger  service,  of  freight,  etc.,  matters  which 
have  been  taken  up  and  thrashed  out  during  the 
year,  and  have  brought  effective  service  to  the 
various  properties,  but  time  will  not  permit  me  to 
take  this  up  in  detail. 

"And  now.  as  we  turn  down  the  second  page 
of  the  association's  history  and  close  the  book  of 
the  Ohio  Interurban  Railway  Association,  let  us  open 
tonight  and  hail  with  a  new  determination  the  clean 
pages  of  the  book  of  the  Central  Electric  Railway 
Association.  When  we  stop  and  think  that  this 
association  tonight,  represented  by  you  gentlemen 
sitting  at  this  board,  represents  an  invested  capital 
of  $300,000,000,  4,500  miles  of  interurban  track, 
gentlemen,  this  association  is  of  no  mean  proportion. 

"We  have  shown,  up  to  the  present  time,  that 
securities  in  electric  railways  are  a  far  more  profit- 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

able  investment  than  steam  roads.  The  average 
capitalization  of  steam  roads  in  the  United  States, 
according  to  the  report  of  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission,  for  the  year  1905,  was  $61,490  per 
mile,  while  the  average  capitalization  of  electric 
interurban  railways  will  not  average  over  $35,000 
per  mile.  The  average  earnings  of  steam  roads  in 
America  from  passenger  traffic  for  the  last  year 
amounted  to  $1,674,  while  the  average  earnings  of 
the  interurban  electric  roads  were  nearly  2I4  times 
that  amount,  being  approximately  $3,800  per  mile. 
The  earnings  of  many  roads,  however,  run  very 
much  higher.  This  shows  we  have  set  an  enviable 
standard  of  efficiency  in  construction  and  operation, 
and  I  believe  that  we  can  better  serve  these  interests 
by  joining  hands  and  affiliating  ourselves  one  with 
another." 

President  W.  Caryl  Ely  of  the  American  Street 
and  Interurban  Railway  Association  was  next  in- 
troduced. Mr.  Ely  said  in  part:  "What  you  need 
in  this  state  is  legislation  patterned  after  that  which 
obtains  in  New  York.  In  a  spirit  of  fairness  to 
the  public  and  with  its  ultimate  good  as  your  ob- 
ject, all  things  can  be  won  to  you.  But  the  work 
must  be  done  openly.  The  day  when  things  could 
be  secured  in  the  dark  is  past.  All  must  be  fair 
and  open  to  the  people,  and  the  fairer  your  busi- 
ness, the  safer  it  becomes,  and  the  greater  measure 
of  success   is  enjoyed. 

"Here  in  Ohio,  the  financial  side  of  traction  op- 
eration should  be  given  much-needed  legislation. 
Now,  in  financing  a  road  there  must  be  as  much 
capital  stock  issued  as  there  are  mortgage  bonds. 
This  leads  to  overcapitalization,  one  of  the  great- 
est perils  that  confront  the  railway  interests  today. 
Another  law  that  should  be  enacted  is  one  calling 
for  the  establishment  of  a  state  board  of  railroad 
commissioners.  We  have  them  in  New  York,  and 
while  the  bill  calling  for  the  establishment  of  such 
a  commission  met  with  a  bitter  opposition  at  the 
time  of  its  projection  some  15  years  ago,  time  has 
proved  the  benefit  of  the  measure,  and.it  is  one  of 
the  strongest  laws  now  on  the  New  York  statutes. 
The  railway  men  stand  with  the  public  in  demand- 
ing its  retention,  as  their  interests  as  well  as  those 
of  the  public  have  been  better  served. 

"The  .Interstate  Commerce  Commission  should 
also  be  empowered  to  exercise  a  more  complete 
jurisdiction  over  railroads,  and  this  includes  the 
interurban  roads  as  well  as  the  steam  roads.  The 
electric  properties  have  so  developed  within  the  last 
20  years  as  to  practically  distance  steam  roads. 
Fifty  years  ago  there  were  9,000  miles  of  steam 
road  in  this  country,  while  in  1900,  193,000  miles 
had  been  in  operation,  and  this  number  was  in- 
creased to  300,000  miles   in   1005. 

"Traction  properties  in  the  last  20  years  have 
greatly  exceeded  that  record,  the  growth  being  phe- 
nomenal, and  the  beginning  is  but  reached.  Flence, 
there  should  be  legislation  commensurate  with  heir 
growth   and   value. 

"In  Massachusetts  the  state  has  given  plenary 
powers  to  the  state  commission,  and  as  a  result  the 
roads  there  are  in  better  condition  financially  than 
in  any  other  state.  Their  securities  are  more  stable 
and  better,  while  the  market  price  commanded  is 
equitable    and    firmly    established. 

"You  are  entitled  to  franchises  longer  than  for 
a  period  of  .15  years. '  In  smaller  communities,  the 
25-year  limit  is  too  small,  not  giving  time  enough 
to  capitalists  to  realize  fully  on  their  investments. 
In  consequence,  where  this  limit  is  in  vogue,  the 
roads  are  not  maintained  in  good  repair,  and  at  the 
end  of  that  time  when  the  franchise  is  forfeited 
the  right-of-way  is  about  the  only  thing  that  has 
a    salable   value." 

President  Charles  L.  Henry  of  the  Indianapolis 
and  Cincinnati  Traction  Company,  made  an  inter- 
esting talk,  urging  the  members  to  observe  their 
rights  always  and  to  remember  that  the  electric 
lines  are  intended  largely  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  common  people.  In  closing,  he  invited  all 
to  attend  the  next  meeting  of  the  association,  which 
will  be  held  in  Indianapolis  two  months  from  this 
time. 

Harrie  P.  Clegg's  talk  was  in  a  humorous  vein, 
and  he  stirred  up  quite  a  bit  of  amusement  before 
he  sat  down.  In  closing,  he  presented  Mr.  Spring 
a  ^  beautiful  silver  decanter,  as  a  tribute  of  the 
friendship  and  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  the 
members  of  the  Ohio  association,  over  which  he 
has  presided  with  signal  ability.  Henry  W.  Blake, 
editor  of  the  Street  Railway  Journal,  was  next 
introduced.  He  made  an  interesting  impromptu 
address,  in  which  he  placed  Ohio  in  the  front  rank 
in  electric-railway  development,  and  said  that  the 
work  of  the  new  association  will  be  watched  with 
growing  interest  by  railway  men  all  over  the  coun- 
try. The  establishment  of  a  state  railroad  com- 
mission was  advocated  by  T.  Russell  Robinson  of 
Boston,  and  the  need  of  greater  speed  for  traction 
lines  was  made  prominent.  Judge  C.  W.  Reilly  of 
Detroit  said  that  electric  roads  would  eventually 
supplant  the  steam  lines  in  the  passenger  service  in 
ordinary  travel,  and  illustrated  his  point  by  the 
possibilities  that  are  now  open  through  the  con- 
nection of  lines  of  three  states  and  the  equipment 
that  many  of  the  roads  are  securing.  Frequent 
service,  he  said,  appeals  to  people  more  than  cheap 
fares,  and  he  urged  that  rates  be  fixed  upon  an 
equitable  basis,  as  repairs  on  properties,  after  a 
certain  number  of  years,  will  require  a  fair  profit. 
National    conditions    were    discussed    by    Bernard 


February  3,  1906 

V.  Swenson,  secretary  of  the  American  Street  and 
Interurban  Railway  Association.  Means  of  securing 
desirable  legislation  were  discussed  by  Attorney  J. 
Sprigg  McMahon  of  Dayton.  He  said  a  committee 
should  be  appointed  to  push  the  matter,  but  that 
it  should  be  done  in  a  different  way  from  that  ordi- 
narily used  by  the  lobbyist.  Any  legislation  asked 
for  should  subserve  both  the  interests  of  the  roads 
and  the  public.  Attorney  A.  F.  Broomhall  of  Troy 
advised  the  managers  to  look  out  for  the  little 
things  that  cause  trouble,  and  especially  to  treat 
the  farmers  and  rural  population  fairly  and  cour- 
teously. Minor  damages  to  live  stock  and  prop- 
erty should  be  compromised  at  the  earliest  moment 
to  prevent  bad  feeling  and  consequent  loss  of  busi- 
ness. Edward  W.  Hanley  of  Dayton  was  the  last 
speaker  on  the  list.  His  talk  was  in  a  humorous 
style,  but  he  made  some  excellent  points  on  the 
different  systems  of  interurban-railway  operation 
"  C. 

Electrical   Section  of  the   Western   So- 
ciety of  Engineers. 

The  Electrical  Section  of  the  Western  Society  of 
Engineers  held  its  January  meeting  in  Chicago 
on  January  26th,  at  which  meeting  the  officers  for 
the  year  were  elected.  George  A.  Damon  presided, 
and  he  appointed  as  the  nominating  committee 
James  R.  Cravath,  H.  R.  King  and  Kempster  B. 
Miller.  The  committee  presented  the  names  of  the 
following  gentlemen  for  office,  who  were  unani- 
mously elected:  Chairman,  Samuel  G.  McMeen ; 
vice-chairman,  P.  Junkersfeld ;  director  for  three 
years,  Otto  E.  Osthoff.  Professor  P.  B.  Woodworth 
has  still  two  years  to  serve  as  director  and  George 
A.  Damon  one  year,  one  new  director  being  elected 
each   year. 

Types  of  cars  for  city  service  were  discussed  at 
the  meeting.  Introducing  this  subject.  Mason  B. 
Starring,  general  manager  of  the  Chicago  City  Rail- 
way Company,  described  the  general  features"  of  the 
new  Indiana  Avenue  cars  in  Chicago,  followed  by 
H.  B.  Fleming,  chief  engineer  of  the  company,  who 
described  the  electrical  features.  These  speakers 
made  use  of  numerous  lantern  slides  to  illustrate 
their  remarks,  and  some  time  was  afterward  con- 
sumed in  discussing  the  various  features  of  merit 
of  these  new  cars,  which  are  really  models  of  their 
kind. 

Following  the  gentlemen  from  the  Chicago  City 
Railway  Company,  Mr.  Damon  presented  a  com- 
munication from  John  A.  Beeler,  vice-president  and 
general  manager  of  the  Denver  City  Tramway  Com- 
pany, describing  the  central-entrance  cars  used  in 
that  city.  Mr.  Damon  also  contributed  some  data 
of  his  own  on  the  construction  of  city  cars,  show- 
ing by  means  of  lantern  slides  some  plans  embody- 
ing several  features  not  as  yet  tried,  but  which 
he  thought  might  be  practicable  under  certain  con- 
ditions. 

The  cars  of  the  Chicago  City  Railway  Company- 
have  already  been  described  in  the  Western  Elec- 
trician (September  16,  1905).  practically  covering 
the  remarks  of  Mr.  Starring  and  Mr.  Ffeming,  but 
the  Denver  cars  have  not,  and  the  substance  of 
Mr.  Beeler's  communication  will  be  found  on  page 
107  of  this  issue. 


A  Long  Trolley  Trip. 

A  company  of  prominent  traction  men  who  rep- 
resent the  moving  interests  in  the  interstate  asso- 
ciation of  electric-railway  lines  that  was  formed  at 
Dayton,  Ohio,  on  January  25th  is  said  to  have 
made  the  longest  trip  ever  taken  entirely  over 
interurban  electric  lines  and  entirely  by  trolley. 
The  party  is  said  to  have  traveled  3,700  miles,  the 
trip  representing  the  establishment  of  through  in- 
terurban service  between  the  electric  railways  of 
Michigan,  Ohio,  Western  Pennsylvania  and  Indi- 
ana. The  car  used  was  a  regular  passenger  car 
from  the  Detroit,  Monroe  and  Toledo  Short  Line, 
and  the  members  of  the  party  included  Matthew 
Slush,  president  of  the  Detroit,  Monroe  and  Toledo 
Short  Line,  C.  A.  Black,  Judge  Reilly,  Alexander 
McPhee,  George  Delisle,  H.  A.  Gilmartin,  J.  H. 
Clark,  M.  R.  Gilmartin  of  Detroit  and  George  War- 
nuth  and  W.  D.  Hord  of  Indianapolis. 

The  party  left  Detroit  and  went  to  Findlay,  a 
distance  of  no  miles,  and  then  to  Dayton,  where 
the  company  attended  the  convention  and  banquet 
of  the  Ohio  Interurban  Railway  Association.  From 
Dayton  they  went  to  Indianapolis  over  the  Dayton 
and  Western  and  the  Indianapolis  and  Eastern. 
Anderson.  Marion  and  Fort  Wayne  were  reached 
from  Indianapolis  over  the  lines  of  the  Indiana 
Lmion  Traction  Company  and  the  Wabash  Valley 
Traction  Company,  and  thence  the  party  went  back 
to  Dayton  and  Cincinnati,  and  then  to  Hamilton, 
Columbus  and  Springfield.  Judge  Reilly  was  the 
spokesman  of  the  party.  He  said  that  Ohio,  Indi- 
ana and  Michigan  can  boast  of  a  larger  number 
of  interurban  railroads  than  any  other  political  di- 
vision in  the  world,  and  that  to  Indianapolis  is 
justly  due  the  credit  for  its  terminal  station  and 
facilities. 


l-KKIMJO'       I'.      \'    S 


February  3,    [906 

Electrical    Trades    Association    of 
Chicago. 

•|  l„.    Elcctrii  il     1  radi       \    01  iation    o)    I 

I,,  Id  11     tenth  annual  m ■■  al  the  Coli  1  m 

1,,       1  hii  011    thi        1  ning   of    January   24th. 

Probablj    nevci    b  foi  1    in   thi    hi  toi      ol    tne  clcc- 

,1   indu  ii      '.'  '  1     then    a  1  man     men 

n in  ,    gatl 1    togi  thi  1     i"     thi     <     ■   ■    .ion   of 

il 

i„    .,  ,11   al   the  ting   125   rcpn   ental 

n,  ,,        turei  .   and    iobbi  1      loi  iti  d   in   the   central, 

western  and    outl ati   .    ind  co< ■   the  tei 

n'tory    embrao  -l    bel  wi levi  land    and    Denver, 

and    from     Detroil     b 

1  irli  .hi     and    1  'alia  .    I'exa 

'I  hi   total  lad    oi   ■ 
and      Hum        and    the    cvi- 
di  no     "i     "i    abundance    of 

■ 1    feeling    ■    ■ 

manifested  '''H  contributed  to 
mal  -■  thi  dinm  1  an  unquali 
li,  ,1      ico  1  1    ■  ■  I  'i 

1,  fully 
1,1,  pai  ed    and     well     served. 

1  iu  ing  i"  the  ""■'  oid 
.il,  ence  from  the  city  of  E. 
K.  Gilmore  of  the  Western 
Electric  Company,  president 
,,1  the  a  sociation,  and  also 
1I1,  inability  of  Vice  presi 
di  ni  Seymour  Guthrie  to  be 
pi,  ,,  ni,  Mr.  Frederic  P.  Vose 
was    made   chairman    of   the 

1 g.     Mr.  Vose  is  one  of  the  moving  spirits  in 

ociation  and  is  well  known  from  the  fact  that 
he  is  counsel  for  llie  association  and  advises  in 
the  directing  of  iis  affairs.  He  conducted  the  meet- 
ing admirably,  interspersing  a  sprinkling  of  mer- 
riment   here    and    there. 

The  secretary's  report  showed  the  membership 
in  the  Chicago  association  to  be  155  manufacturers 
and  jobbers,  and  a  total  membership  in  the  allied 
associations  of  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
San  Francisco,  Montreal  and  Chicago  of  335.  The 
total  number  of  persons  who  has  become  slow 
pay  or  did  not  pay  their  bills  at  all  in  the  trade 
is  9,746.  The  total  amount  of  slow  accounts  re- 
ported  by  the  association  is  $609,201.93.  and  the 
total  amount  of  settlements  secured  is  $471,908.90. 
After  the  report  of  several  committees  the  elec- 
tion of  officers  was  held,  resulting  as  follows: 
President,  Frank  S.  Beardslee,  Beardslee  Chande- 
lier Manufacturing  Company;  vice-president,  Sey- 
mour Guthrie,  Kellogg  Switchboard  and  Supply 
Company;  secretary  and  treasurer,  Frederic  P. 
Vose  (counsel  for  the  association)  ;  executive  com- 
mittee— Thomas  I.  Stacey  of  the  Electric  Appliance 
Company,  E.  R.  Gilmore  of  the  Western  Electric 
Company,  S.  E.  Kennedy  of  the  Central  Electric 
Company:  member  national  board,  James  Wolff, 
New  York  Insulated  Wire  Company. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  business  meeting  James 
Wolff  was  introduced  as  toastmaster.  The  first 
to  respond  was  Charles  W.  Wilkins  of  Patrick, 
Carter  &  Wilkins.  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Wilkins  is 
the  founder  of  the  association.  He  spoke  most 
happily  and  gave  expression  to  his  well-known  con- 
viction as  to  the  efficacy  and  thorough  practicabil- 
ity of  the  Electrical  Trades  Association's  co-opera- 
tive plan  of  credit  protection,  which  he  regards  as 
very  important. 

Other  gentlemen  on  the  programme  were :  Frank 
M.  Pierce,  Manhattan  Electrical  Supply  Company; 
F.  B.  Uhrig,  Western  Electric  Company,  Kansas 
City;  A.  B.  Conover,  John  A.  Roebling's  Sons 
Company;  Charles  E.  Gregory,  Guarantee  Electric 
Companv;  W.  E.  Phelps,  The  Phelps  Company; 
Henry  L.  Walker,  Detroit;  J.  E.  Erner,  the  Erner 
Electric  Company,  Cleveland;  S.  E.  Kennedy,  Cen- 
tral Electric  Company;  Harry  Parsons,  Western 
Electric  Company;  Thomas  R.  Mercein,  Milwaukee, 
and  Willard  S.  Sisson  of  the  D.  &  W.  Fuse  Com- 
panv, Providence,  R.  I.  After  the  speaking  pro- 
gramme, through  the  kindness  of  the  directors  of 
the  Electrical  Trades  Exposition  Company,  the 
courtesies  of  the  Electrical  Show,  which  was  in 
session  at  the  Coliseum,  were  extended  to  the  mem- 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

ind  and 

I  he 

ccrucd 

for  inti 

authoril 

0 
than  p  hem.    'I  he  m  ij  ■ 

all  the 

1 


Agree  to  S5-cent  Gas  in  Chicago. 

The  gas  companies  of  Chicago  and  the  City 
Council  committee  on  gas,  oil  and  electric  light 
have  come  to  an  agreement  on  the  subject  of  the 
future  price  of  gas  to  consumers.  As  a  result  the 
committee  has  presented  an  ordinance,  which  the 
companies  have  agreed  to  accept,  fixing  the  price, 
for  five  years,  at  85  cents  a  thousand  cubic  feet. 
The  council  deferred  action  on  the  ordinance,  and 
1,000  copies  were  ordered  printed  for  the  benefit 
of  the  aldermen  and  others  interested,  as  the  report 
is  considered  an  important  contribution  to  contem- 
poraneous  gas  literature. 

The  85-cent  rate  was  arrived  at  as  follows :  The 
accountants  who  examined  the  gas  company's  books 
had  showed  45.45  cents  a  1,000  feet  as  the  cost  of 
making  and  distributing  gas.  allowing  six  cents  for 
repairs  and  renewals,  but  all  the  experts  had  agreed 
on  10  cents  for  this  item,  and,  accepting  their  fig- 
ure,  would  bring  the  cost  up   to  approximately   50 


Power  Plant  Economics.1 
By  Henry  G.   Stott. 

l'AKT     I. 

Three   years  ago  tl  for  the 

1,11  of  electricity  had  apparentl 
almost  uniform  arrangement  01 
paratus    in    which    one    power   plant   differed    from 

another  only   in 

generators  and  auxiliaries.     As  only  abo 

had  'In  ii  elapsed   since  the  first  central  station 

put    in    operation   on   a    commercial   basis,   this   uni- 

ii amity    of   design    seemed    to    indicate    that    in    the 

mar  future  it  would  only  be  necessary  to  purchase 

a   standard   set   of   power-plant  drawings  and   make 

the   necessary  changes   in   size  of  units  in  order  to 

have    1   station  of  the  best  type  known  to  the  art. 

The  internal-combustion  or  gas  engine  had  from 
time  to  time  been  brought  forward  as  a  candidate 
for  the  position  of  prime  mover,  with  every  pros- 
pect of  improved  economy  in  fuel  consumption ; 
but  with  the  exception  of  a  few  special  instances  it 
was  not  looked  upon  with  favor,  as  shown  by  the 
almost   universal   use   of  the  steam   engine. 

After  a  long  period  of  development  a  new  factor 
in  power-plant  design,  namely,  the  steam  turbine, 
was  placed  on  the  market  in  commercial  sizes.  It 
is  safe  to  say  that  during  the  last  three  years  no 
other  piece  of  apparatus  has  had  so  stimulating 
an  effect  upon  the  power  plant.  Its  effect  upon 
the  entire  .plant  has  been  most  beneficial,  for  it 
has  revived  the  apparently  moribund  superheater. 
This  has  now  been  so  developed  and  improved  that 
superheat  of  200°  or  300°  F.  can  be  safely  and 
economically  obtained.  With  the  development  of 
the  superheater  further  study  of  the  problem  of 
combustion  has  improved  the  efficiency  of  the  fur- 
nace; and  this  most  important  subject  is  apparently 
susceptible   of   still    further   development. 

One  other  important  result  of  the  steam-turbine 
development  has  been  the  development  of  condens- 
ing apparatus  to  such  a  point  of  efficiency  that  a 
vacuum     within     one     inch     of     the     simultaneous 


FIG.    I.        PER    CENT.    C0«    RECORD,    FORCED   DRAUGHT. 

barometer  reading  can  now  be  maintained  without 
difficulty. 

Another  change  in  the  power  plant  has  been  the 
reversion  to  high-speed  generators,  resulting  in  de- 
creased cost  of  the  generator  and  its  foundations, 
as  well  as  saving  in  floor  space. 

Last  but-  not  least  the  steam  turbine  has  put 
the  reciprocating  engine  and  the  gas  engine  on  the 
defensive  and  has  actually  been  unkind  enough 
to  throw  out  hints  in  regard  to  the  application  of 
Dr.  Osier's  proposed  methods  in  the  treatment  of 
older    apparatus. 

The  reciprocating  engine  and  internal-combustion 
engine  have  not  been  slow  in  accepting  this  chal- 
lenge; they  have  responded  by  showing  so  im- 
proved an  economy  (especially  in  the  gas  engine) 
that  the  situation  has  become  most  interesting  to 
the  power-plant  designer.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 
the  developments  of  the  next  ten  years  will  show 
very  marked  improvement  in  power-plant  efficiency. 

In  regard  to  this  development  the  author  wishes 
to  direct  the  attention  to  the  basic  fact  that  in 
power  plants  one  should  not  look  merely  for  in- 
creased efficiency  in  the  prime  mover,  but  should 
also  investigate  and  analyze  the  entire  plant  from 
the  coal  to  the  bus-bars;  first,  in  regard  to 
efficiency;  second,  in  regard  to  the  effect  of  load 
factor    upon    investment:    and    third,    the    effect    of 


of  Electrical  Enginee.-.  - 
superintendent  of  motive  power  of  the  Interborough  Rapid  Tran- 
sit Company  of  New  York. 


f   pro- 

- 

Table  I. 


1 

y  Data  in  Tabu  I. 

Item    1.  Ii.  7 
The  thermal   value  of  the  coal  used  is  evid  1 
prime  importance,    as  it  affects  the  cost  efficiency  of 
the    entire    plant.     The    method    of    purchasing   coal 


used  in  the  plant  from  which  the  heat  balance  is  de- 
rived is  that  of  paying  for  B.  T.  U.  only,  with 
suitable  restrictions  on  the  maximum  permissible 
amount  of  volatile  matter,  ash  and  sulphur. 

A  small  sample  of  coal  is  automatically  taken 
from  each  filling  of  the  weighing  hoppers,  so  that 
the  final  sample  represents  a  true  average  of  a 
boat-load  of  coal.  This  final  average  sample  is 
then  pulverized  and  tested  for  heat  value  in  a 
bomb  calorimeter,  after  which  a  proximate  analysis 
is  made  of  another  portion  of  the  sample.  This 
method  of  purchasing  coal  has  been  in  use  for 
two  years,   with   highly  satisfactory'   results. 

Item  2.  Less  in  Ashes. — It  is  doubtful  whether 
a  further  saving  in  this  item  can  be  made,  as  the 
extra  care  and  labor  necessary  to  accomplish  any 
improvement  would  in  all  probability  offset  the 
saving  in  coal. 

Item  3.  Loss  to  Stack. — This  is  one  of  the  most 
vulnerable  points  to  attack,  as  the  loss  of  22.7  per 
cent,  is  very  large.  Recent  investigations  show  that 
promising  results  may  be  obtained  by  the  use  of 
more  scientific  methods  in  the  boiler  room.  In 
practically  all  cases  it  will  be  found  that  this  loss 
is  due  almost  entirely  to  admitting  too  much  air 
to  the  combustion  chamber,  resulting  in  cooling  of 
the  furnace.  This  result  is  usually  produced  by 
'Tholes"  in  the  fire:  these  "holes"  may  be  due  to 
several  causes,  but  usually  are  due  to  carelessness 
on  the  part  of  the  fireman. 

Fortunately  a  very  valuable  piece  of  apparatus 
has  been  placed  upon  the  market  in  the  shape  of  a 
CO-  recording  instrument.  The  results  of  a  series 
of  tests  made  with  this  instrument  are  shown  in 
Figs.  I  to  4. 

Fig.  1  shows  the  average  condition  of  a  furnace 
using  small  sizes  of  anthracite  with  forced  draught. 
The  conditions  are  such  that  approximately  40  per 
cent,  of  the  thermal  value  is  being  lost. 

Fig.  2  shows  what  improvement  may  easily  be 
obtained  by  watching  the  CO;  record,  and  indicates 
a  saving  of  about  19  per  cent,  over  the  previous 
case.  In  the  combustion  of  the  small  sizes  of 
anthracite  it  is  necessary  to  use  a  draught  of  not 
less  than  1.5  inches  of  water;  this  breaks  the  crust 
of  the  fire  in  the  thin  spots,  allowing  the  air  to 
come  through  in  such  volumes  that  an  enormous 
amount  of  heat  is  wasted  in  raising  the  temperature 
of  the  surplus  air  and  at  the  same  time  causing 
inefficient  combustion  in  the  entire  furnace. 

Fig.  3  shows  a  record  taken  from  a  stoker  boiler 
while  the  recorder  was  cohered  up  to  prevent  the 
fireman  from  seeing  the  record. 

Fig.  4  shows  a  record  taken  from  the  samestoker 
boiler  with  the  fireman  watching  the  CO=  indica- 
tions,   resulting   in   a   saving  of   over    12   per   cent. 


102 

Later  records  show  that  even  better  results  than 
an  average  of  11.4  per  cent  of  C0=  can  be  obtained. 

Fig.  5  shows  the  calculated  losses  in  fuel  cor- 
responding to  various  percentages  of  C02  for  three 
different  temperatures  of  flue  gases. 

From  a  consideration  of  the  above  tests  it  seems 
reasonable  to  assume  that  the  22.7  per  cent,  loss 
to  stack  can,  by  scientific  methods  in  the  fire  room, 
be  reduced  to  about  12.7  per  cent.,  and  possibly  to 
10  per  cent. 

Before  the  installation  of  the  C(X  recorder  a 
long  series  of  evaporative  tests  was  made  to  deter- 
mine the  most  economical  draught  to  carry  when 
a  high-grade  semi-bituminous  coal  was  burning  on 
the  automatic  stokers.     The  results  shown  in  Fig.  6 


fig.   3. 


CENT.    CO., 


were  so  remarkable  that  they  were  repeated  under 
different  conditions  in  order  to  confirm  them. 
Since  the  installation  of  the  CO?  recorder,  however, 
the  explanation  is  apparent ;  as  the  draught  giving 
maximum  evaporation  per  pound  of  combustible 
corresponds  to  the  point  of  maximum  C05,  illus- 
trating the  inherent  difficulty  of  maintaining  effi- 
cient conditions  in  the  combustion  chamber  with 
high  draught.  This  is  well  illustrated  by  Fig.  7, 
showing  the  draught,  per  cent,  of  rating  and  per- 
centage of   CO;. 

Item  4. — The  loss  in  boiler  radiation  and  leakage, 
amounting  to  eight  per  cent.,  is  largely  due  to  the 
inefficient  boiler  setting  of  brick,  which,  besides 
permitting  radiation,  admits  a  large  amount  of  air 
by  infiltration.  This  infiltration  will  increase  with 
the  draught,  thus  tending  to  exaggerate  the  maxi- 
mum and  minimum  points  on  Fig.  6.  The  remedy 
for  this  radiation  and  infiltration  loss  is  evidently 
to  use  new  methods  of  boiler  setting,  such  as  an 
iron-plate  air-tight  case  enclosing  a  carbonate  of 
magnesia  lining  outside  the  brickwork. 

Mr.    W.    H.    Patchell*    of    London,    who    recently 


visited  us,  has  introduced  very,  large  boilers,  as- 
sembling two  in  one  setting ;  each  boiler  has  a  nor- 
mal evaporation  of  33,000  pounds  per  hour,  and  in 
this  way  has  cut  down  to  a  minimum  the  radiating 
surface  per  square  foot  of  heating  surface.  He  has 
also  introduced  the  iron  case  with  magnesia  lining, 
and  with  good  results. 

The  question  of  boiler  leakage  is  one  in  which 
the  choice  of  the  lesser  of  two  evils  is  necessary ; 
for  in  the  tubular  or  cylindrical  boiler  the  leakage 
will  undoubtedly  be  less  than  in  the  water-tube  type, 
owing  to  the  smaller  number  of  joints  in  the  water 
space.  But  these  two  advantages  are  offset  by  the 
increased  difficulty  of  construction,  and  the  danger 
of  using  large  boilers  of  the  tubular  type,  especially 
with  high-pressure  steam. 

It  is  now  generally  admitted  that  there  can  be  no 
more  difference  in  the  efficiency  of  different  types 
of  boilers  under  similar  conditions  than  there  can 
be  in  electric  heaters,  press  agents  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding. 

Item  5.  Returned  by  Feed-water  Heater. — The 
importance  of  getting  the  feed  water  to  the  maxi- 
mum temperature  obtainable  is  generally  recog- 
nized, and  would  seem  to  indicate  that  all  auxil- 
iaries should  be  steam-driven  so  that  their  exhaust 
may  be  utilized  in  the  feed-water  heater;  in  this 
way  the  auxiliaries  may  operate  at  about  80  per 
cent,  thermal   efficiency. 

Item  6. — Owing  to  the  difficulty  of  pumping  water 
at  temperatures  above  150°  F.,  when  under  pres- 
sure, it  becomes  necessary  to  install  economizers 
for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  feed-water  tem- 
perature to  200°  or  250°  F.  As  this  increase  of 
temperature  is  obtained  from  the  waste  gases  at 
no   expense  for   fuel,   it  only  becomes   necessary  to 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

consider  the  load  factor,  as  will  be  shown  later,  in 
order  to  decide  whether  economizers  should  be 
installed  or  not.  In  practically  all  cases  where  the 
load  factor  exceeds  25  per  cent,  the  investment  will 
be  justified. 

In  deciding  upon  the  size  of  economizer  to  be 
installed  it  is  important  to  consider  first,  the  influ- 
ence of  the  economizer  upon  the  available  draught 
due  to  the  obstruction  it  offers  and  also  due  to 
the  reduced  stack  temperature;  the  second  im- 
portant consideration  is  to  equate  the  interest  and 
depreciation  charges  against  the  saving  in  fuel,  and 
so  determine  the  amount  of  investment  justified  in 
each   particular   case. 

Item  7.  Loss  in  Pipe  Radiation. — By  the  use  of 
two-layer  pipe  covering,  each  layer  being  approxi- 
mately 1.5  inch  thick,  and  sections  put  on  in  such 
manner  that  all  joints  are  broken,  the  radiation 
losses  have  become  practically  negligible. 

Items  S  and  g.  Heat  Delivered  to  Circulating  and 
Boiler-feed  Pumps. — As  these  auxiliaries  may  be 
either  electrically  driven  or  steam-driven,  it  is  inter- 
esting to  note  that  the  thermal  efficiencv  of  the 
electrically  driven  pumps  would  be  equal  to  the 
thermal  efficiency  of  the  plant,  multiplied  by  both 
the  efficiency  of  conversion  from  the  alternating  to 
direct  current  and  by  the  motor  efficiency.  In  this 
case  there  would  be  a  net  thermal  efficiency  of 
10.3X0.93X0.90  =  8.63  per  cent.,  whereas  the 
thermal  efficiency  of  the  steam-driven  auxiliary 
discharging  its  exhaust  into  a  feed-water  heater 
at  atmospheric  pressure  would  be  approximately  87 
per  cent. 

Item  10.  Loss  in  Leakage  and  High-pressure 
Drips. — The  loss  in  leakage  should  be  infinitesimal, 


1     i!i\an.  ,       'ii!i         :  .         !     i 

I  1  1  N 

ll'llihlllMl'^1^''    —    ''''''lIMMll 

and  the  high-pressure  drips  can  be  returned  to  the 
boilers,  so  that  practically  all  the  loss  under  this 
heading  is  recoverable. 

Items  11,  12  and  17. — These  are  probably  unavoid- 
able and  of  so  small  a  magnitude  as  not  to  merit 
much    consideration. 

Item  13.  Loss  in  Engine  Friction. — Recent  tests 
of  a  7,500-horsepower  reciprocating  engine  show  a 
mechanical  efficiency  of  93.65.  per  cent,  at  full  load, 
or  an  engine  friction  of  6.35  per  cent.  As  this 
forms  only  0.8  per  cent,  of  the  total  thermal  losses 
it  is  relatively  unimportant.  Attention  is  called  to 
the  method  of  -lubricating  all  the  principal  bearings 
by  what  is  known  as  the  flushing  system,  whereby 
a  large  quantity  of  oil  is  put  through  all  the  bear- 
ings by  gravity  feed  from  elevated  oil  reservoirs 
common  to  all  the  units ;  after  passing  through  the 
bearings  the  oil  is  returned  by  gravity  to  oil  filters 
in  the  basement  and  then  pumped  up  to  the  reser- 
voir tanks  again.  About  200  gallons  per  hour  are 
put  through  each  engine,  and  of  this  quantity  only 
about  0.5  per  cent,  is  lost.  This  method  of  oiling 
undoubtedly  contributes  to  the  general  result. 

Item  14. — As  large  electrical  generators  can  now 
be   obtained    which   give   from   98  to  98.5   per  cent. 


efficiency,  it  would  seem  as  if  the  limit  in  design 
had  been  reached  and  that  hereafter  the  problem 
of  design  is  to  be  merely  one  of  altering  dimen- 
sions to  suit  varying  sizes  and  speeds.  While  this 
is  true  as  far  as  the  efficiency  is  concerned,  other 
problems  are  continually  arising,  such  as  the  design 
of  generators  for  an  overload  capacity  of  100  per 
cent,  to  meet  the  demand  for  apparatus  capable  of 
taking  care  of  great  overloads  economically  for 
short  periods,  corresponding  to  peak  loads  of  a  rail- 
road or  lighting  plant. 
Item   jj.    Engine  Radiation  Losses. — This  source 


February  3,  1906 

of  loss  has  evidently  been  reduced  to  a  negligible 
quantity  by  the  use  of  improved  material  and  meth- 
ods  of  heat   insulation. 

Item  16.    Rejected  to  Condenser,  60.1  per  Cent. 

This  immediately  introduces  the  thermodynamics  of 
the  steam  engine,  a  subject  so  broad  that  it  will  be 
impossible  to  do  more  than  touch  upon  some  of  the 
most  important  points  in  considering  steam-engine 
efficiency. 

The    efficiency    of    any    heat    engine    can    be    ex- 
T,— T= 

pressed  by  the  ratio  of  E  = where  Ti  is  the 

T, 
absolute    temperature    of    the    steam    entering    the 


T1         FIG.    7.       GRAPHIi 


L   LOG    OF     AVERAGE   BOILER 
FOR    23-HOUR    RUN. 


engine  and  T=  the  absolute  temperature  of  the 
steam  leaving  the  engine.  Thus  in  the  engine  whose 
steam-consumption  curve  is  given  in  Fig.  8,  if  the 
initial  pressure  is  175-pound  gauge  and  the  vacuum 
at    the    low-pressure    exhaust    nozzle    is    28    inches, 

837  —  560 
then  the  maximum  thermal  efficiency  is = 

837 
33  per  cent.     This  would  he  true  for  any  form   of 
engine  or  turbine  working  between  the   same  tem- 
perature limits. 

In   Fig.   S,  however,   it  is   seen  that  the  point  of 


maximum  economy  shows  a  steam  consumption  of 
approximately  17  pounds  per  kilowatt-hour,  which 
is  equivalent  to  20,349  B.  T.  U.  per  hour.  One 
kilowatt-hour  is  equal  to  3,412  B.  T.  U.  per  hour, 
so  that  the  actual  efficiency  of  the  steam  engine 
3,412 

and   generator   is  = =16.7   per    cent.    As    the 

20,349 
generator  efficiency  at  this  load  is  approximately  98 
per   cent,    the   net   engine   thermodynamic    efficiency 
16.7 

is =17  per  cent. 

0.98 
The  difference  between  the  theoretical  efficiency 
and  the  actual  is  then  33  — 17  =  16  per  cent.,  of 
which  6.35  per  cent,  has  already  been  accounted  for 
in  engine  friction,  so  that  the  balance  of  9.65  per 
cent,  is  due  to  cylinder  condensation,  incomplete  ex- 
pansion  and   radiation. 

As  the  engine  friction  in  a  two-bearing  engine 
with  high-pressure  poppet  valves  and  low-pressure 
Corliss  valves  has  by  careful  design  been  reduced 
to  less  than  6.5  per  cent.,  gain  cannot  be  expected 
here,  so  attention  must  be  centered  on  the  loss  due 
to  cylinder  condensation,  etc.,  amounting  to  9.65 
per  cent.,  in  order  to  effect  anv  improvement. 

Superheated  steam  is  the  only  remedy  at  hand, 
and  with  it  we  can  probably  effect  an  improvement 
of  five  or  six  per  cent,  by  using  such  a  degree  of 
superheat  in  the  boilers  that  dry  steam  will  be  had 
at  the  point  of  cut-off  in  the  low-pressure  cylinder. 

Any  greater  amount  of  superheat  than  this  will 
merely  result  in  loss  to  the  condenser;  for  it  should 
be  remembered  that  the  cylinder  losses  increase 
with  the  difference  in  temperature  between  the 
steam  and  exhaust  portions  of  the  cycle;  in  other 
words,  the  greater  the  thermal  range  of  temperature 
the  greater  the  condensation  loss.    This  would  seem 


February  3,   1906 

lo  poinl   to  the  u  1    of  more  cylinders;  bill   f 

volves  additional   fii  1    1  osl   and   fricl 1     well   a 

in, -1 1      pai  e  and   higher  maintcnam  e  cha 

Fig.  <i  shows   what   may   be   v.. 'I   by   reducing 

the  temperature  al   the  end  ol   thi    cycli    I, 

of  increased  vacuum,  but   in   thi    casi 

maximum   vacuum  obtainable   in   practice       <     u  cd 

so  that  no  additional  economy  can   be  expected   in 

lllis    way. 

Summary  op    \n  \lysis  01   Heat    Bai 

The  pre  icnl  tj  pe  of  powei   planl  u  ing  rei  iproi  il 
ing  engines  can  l«-  improved  in  efficient  |  a    I 

Reduction  of  stack  lotsei 12  per  cam 

Reduction  in  boilei  radiation  and  leakaai  .  pc 

Kflllliaioll    ill   I'lll'ill,'   In,  .-■  .  I.v     III.     II    .'-a       Hi,.  III.     .1  f,   p.,,.   ,,, 

resulting  in  .a  nel   increase  of  thermal  officii 


X 


\ 


KILOWATT   MUCH. 

the  entire  plant  of  4.14  per  cent.,  and  bringing  up 
the  total  thermal  efficiency  from  10.3  per  cent,  to 
14.44  Pcr  ccnt- 

The   Steam   Turbine. 

A  typical  economy  curve  of  a  steam  turbine  is 
shown  in  Fig.  10.  An  inspection  of  this  curve, 
which  represents  what  is  probably  the  best  results 
obtained  up  to  date,  shows — first,  that  the  best 
economy  on  dry  saturated  steam  is  practically  equal 
to  that  of  the  reciprocating  engine  in  Fig.  8;  sec- 
ond, that  200  degrees  superheat  reduces  the  steam 
consumption  13.5  per  cent.  But  calculating  the 
total  heat  units  in  superheat  from  Hi  =  H  -J-  0.4S 
(t* — ti)  the  B.  T.  U.  per  kilowatt-hour  are  20,349 
for  dry  saturated  steam,  while  for  200  degrees 
superheat  they  are  19,008,  or. a  net  thermal  saving 
of  6.6  per  cent.  The  shaoe  of  the  economy  curve, 
however,  is  much  flatter  than  that  of  the  reciprocat- 
ing engine,  so  that  the  all-day  efficiency  of  the 
turbo-unit  would  be  considerably  better  than  that 
of  the  reciprocating  engine,  with  the  other  great 
advantage  of  costing  approximately  33  per  cent, 
less  for  the  combined  steam  motor  and  electric  gen- 
erator. 

High-pressure   Reciprocating   Engine   with    Low- 
pressure  Turbine  on  Its  Exhaust. 
The  inherent  principles  involved  in  the  design  of 
the   steam  turbine  show  that  it  can  be   expected  to 


-J-  --_-  -J-      ---         -p 

s-      \                  „.„„,»,,.  „..»„„                      -+- 

3»        -\                            -|_ 

:           S 

i»            -, 

?,.         ^  " 

i           v=-                                    ^f- 

~r               ±             ~r                  ± 

ECONOMY    CUR 


give  an  almost  perfect  adiabatic  expansion,  as  there 
are  no  thermal  cycles  of  heating  and  cooling  at 
every  stroke  as  in  the  reciprocating  engine ;  there 
is  an  almost  ideal  thermal  drop  from  the  steam 
valve  to  the  condenser.  It  is  also  evident  that  the 
expansion  will  be  relatively  more  nearly  adiabatic 
in  the  low-pressure  stage  of  the  turbine  than  in  the 
low-pressure  cylinder  of  the  engine,  so  that  it  has 
been  proposed  that  the  reciprocating  engine  should 
be  run  high  pressure  where  relatively  it  is  more 
efficient  than  the  steam  turbine,  utilizing  the  tur- 
bine for  the  low-pressure  part  of  the  cycle.  In 
other  words,  use  each  where  it  is  most  efficient. 

The  following  calculations  show  approximately 
what  might  be  expected  from  such  a  combination. 
Assuming  that  the  5,coo-kilowatt  reciprocating  unit 
would  take  50  per  cent,  more  steam  when  operat- 
ing non-condensing  than  when  condensing  there 
would  then  be  (see  Fig.  8)  a  consumption  per  kilo- 
watt-hour of  25.5;  pounds. 

Steam  expanding  between  the  absolute  pressure 
of  190  pounds  and  14.7  pounds  would  give  up  16^.3 
B.  T.  U.  per  pound,  or  a  total  of  4,215  B.  T.  U. 
per   kilowatt-hour. 


WESTERN'    ELECTRK 
total  heal  in  til 
ould  !«■ 

B 
"I"  ratii 

19 

al     ..I  I,,      i 

would   in   all   probabilitj 

70  pa   , .  hi       o  that  I 

turbine   would   I. 

1;   1   1      rhc  toi 

\\  ■     ilni      find    thai    for 
is.    1     1 

:  ng  unit,    hmI    j    0; 
unit,    01 

t5.S<>2   is     1     1      1 owa 

1 bo  unil    would  b        ti     iosi 

twecn   1I1,    c  ■  hau  1    nozzli    ol 

gine  and   the  - 1  mdi  n  1  1   and   would   h 

would  1 im  1  ti  d  din  ctlj    to  thi 

leads  without  any  switching  apparatu 

bly   knife   switche     to   di  conneel    for   testing   pur- 

po  '    .  and  in  opi  ratioi  whatever  would 

be  required  bi  ;  ond  thi   ordin  1  .   lubrii 

ings.     Such  a  unil  it  i^  evident  could  be  built  at  a 

very  small  cost  per  kilov  atl  I"  mi 

The  Internal  I  0  m 1  1 1 

The    gas    engine    has    probably    developed    more 
slowly  than  any  other  piece  "f  modern   appa 
as  it  is  now  30  years  since  the  Otto  gas  engim 
introduced.     It  is  only  within  the  last    10  y. 
the  larger  type  of  engine,   from  500  to  2,000  horsi 
power  in  size,   has  appeared.     The   delay   in    bring 
ing  forward  the  most  efficient  motive  power  known 
is  chiefly  due  to  the  difficulty  experienced  in  devel- 
oping an  efficient  and  inexpensive  method  ol  mak- 
ing   gas.      As    far    as    the    production    of    gas    from 
anthracite  and  non-caking  bituminous  coals   is  con- 
cerned,   this    problem    lias    apparently    been    solved, 
but  it  is  still   in  a  more  or  less  unsolved  condition 


for  the  riofcer  bituminous  and  semi-bituminous  cak- 
ing coals  of  the  eastern  states. 

The  following  heat  balance  is  believed  to  repre- 
sent the  best  results  obtained  in  Europe  and  the 
United  States  up  to  date  in  the  formation  and  utili- 
zation of  producer  gas. 

Analysis  of   the  Average  Losses  in    the  Conversion  of  One 
Pound  of  Coal  Containing  12,500  B.T.U.  Into  Electricity. 
B.T.U.    Pr.  Ct 

1.  Loss  in  gas  producer  and  auxiliaries 2,500  20. 

2.  Loss  in  cooling  water  in  jackets 2,375  19. 

3.  Loss  in  exhaust  eases 3.750  30. 

4.  Loss  in  engine  friction S13  6.5 

5.  Loss  in  electric  generator 62  0.5 

6.  Total  losses 0,500  76.0 


The  great  objection  to  the  use  of  the  gas  engine 
for  electrical  purposes  has  been  first,  its  lack  of  uni- 
form angular  velocity ;  second,  its  uncertainty  in 
action  and  high  cost  of  maintenance ;  and  third, 
its  inability  to  carry  heavy  overloads.  Recent  de- 
velopments have  removed  the  first  and  second  ob- 
jections; and  a  period  of  vigorous  development  has 
resulted  in  placing  the  gas  engine  in  the  front 
rank  of  claimants  for  attention  as  a  prime  mover. 

The  total  investment  for  a  gas-producer  plant,  all 
auxiliaries,  gas  engines  and  electric  generators,  has 
been  reduced  by  the  elimination  of  the  gas-holding 
tank  to  a  point  where  it  is  now  practically  on  a 
par  with  a  first-class  steam  plant  using  high-grade 
reciprocating  engines. 

Where  natural  gas  or  blast-furnace  gas  can  be 
obtained  the  gas  engine  has  outdistanced  all  com- 
petitors; and  now  that  some  of  our  large  manu- 
facturers have  taken  up  in  earnest  the  problem  of 
designing  producer-gas  plants,  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
rapid  developments  will  result. 

The  records  of  operation  of  several  important  in- 
stallations of  gas  engines  in  power  plants  abroad 
and  in  this  country  seem  to  indicate  that  only  one 
important  objection  can  be  raised  to  this  prime 
mover,  and  that  is  that  its  range  of  economical  load 
is  practically  limited  to  between  50-per  cent,  load 
and  full  load,  as  shown  in  Fig.  11.  This  lack  of 
overload  capacity  is  probably  a  fatal  defect  for  the 
ordinary  power  plant,  more  especially  for  the  aver- 
age railroad  plant  operating  under  a  violently  fluc- 
tuating load,  unless  protected  by  a  storage  battery 
of  comparatively  large  capacity. 

[To  be  concluded.] 


»°3 

Snreffler    Engine    Indicator    and   Over- 
load  Alarm. 

plain  fig 

minimui 

-•  a   front   view,   Fig.  .1  : 

attaching   an 


indicating  finger  (K)  to  that  part  of  the  valve 
or  governing  mechanism  which  has  a  movement 
that  varies  uniformly  as  the  load  on  the  engine 
or  the  steam  pressure  varies.  Indicating  finger  1K1 
is  attached  to  the  governor  rod  of  the  Corliss  en- 
gine or  valve-stem  of  the  automatic.  locomotive  or 
marine  engine.  The  diaphragm  shell  (A)  contains 
a  diaphragm  plate  (  \Y  )  of  known  construction  con- 
nected  with  the  -team  supply  of  the  engine  at 
(B)  and  with  the  exhaust  pipe  at  (Y).  One  of 
the  ends  of  the  rod  (C>  enters  the  diaphragm 
shell  (A)  and  rests  firmly  against  the  enclosed 
diaphragm  plate  i\V).  by  means  of  which  contact 
with  the  diaphragm  plate  the  rod  1C1  moves  as 
the  steam  supply  or  exhaust  pressure  varies.  The 
gland  (D)  encloses  a  spring  1 V )  which  rests 
against  the  piston  (X),  which  is  provided  with  a 
packing  ring,  as  shown.  Gland  (D)  is  locked  in 
position  by  means  of  the  lock  nut  (E),  when  the 
proper  adjustment  of  the  spring  is  secured.  The 
purpose  of  the  spring  (  V )  is  to  regulate  the  move- 
ment of  the  rod   (C). 

The  double  gear  (F)  is  pivoted  at  (f)  to  the 
frame  of  the  instrument,  the  teeth  of  the  small 
gear  of  the  double  gear  (F)  engaging  with  the 
teeth  of  the  rack  bar  (C).  as  shown.  The  exten- 
sion of  the  rod  (C)  passes  through  the  journal 
(G).  The  teeth  of  the  large  gear  of  the  gear 
(F)  engages  the  teeth  of  the  intermediate  gear 
(F),  which  is  adjustably  pivoted  at  (f'1.  as  shown. 
Rack  bar  (H)  enages  the  teeth  of  the  gear  (F). 
this  rack  bar  having  attached  at  one  of  its  ends 
a  spring  (I).  The  purpose  of  this  spring  is  to 
take  up  any  lost  motion  that  may  be  present.  The 
rack  bar  (H)  at  its  end  (h)  is  attached  to  the 
graduated  scale-plate  (J)  antl  overload  contacts 
(L)  and  (R),  and  moves  the  scale  and  contacts 
as  the  steam  supply  or  exhaust  pressure  varies, 
thus  securing  a  compensatory  movement  of  the 
scale-plate  (J)  and  overload  attachment,  thereby 
making  the  indicating  finger  (K),  which  derives 
its  movement  over  the  scale  from  the  valve  stem. 
r.  rod.  etc..  of  the  engine  to  which  it  is 
attached,  a  true  indicator  of  the  horsepower  de- 
veloped in  the  cylinder  of  the  engine  in  plain  fig- 
ures at  all   times. 

The  object  of  the  adjustable  bearing  (f)  is  to 
admit  of  the  substitution  of  gears  of  different  diam- 
eter to  secure  the  correct  movement  of  the  scale- 
plate  ij>  for  different  engines.  (T'l  represents  the 
stem,  governor,  rod,  etc.,  of  an  engine  to 
which    the    index    finger. (K)    is    attached. 

The  overload  attachment  (S)  is  constructed  as 
'  L 1  is  a  metal  electrode  with  a  recess 
or  notch  at  (M)  and  a  binding  post  (O).  which 
receives  the  electric  wire  of  one  side  of  a  circuit 
and  at  the  other  end  of  the  electrode  (L)  The 
contact   finger    (N)    is   enclosed   by  a    slotted   tube 


104 

(P),  constructed  of  guttapercha.  Tube  (P)  is  pro- 
vided with  a  metal  ring  (Q),  carrying  a  binding 
post  to  receive  the  other  side  of  the  electric  circuit 
and  the  brush  (R),  the  end  of  which  rests  over 
notch  (M).  Tube  (P)  is  enclosed  by  a  metal 
tube  (S),  which  is  fastened  rigidly  to  the  back  of 
the  scale-plate    (J),  as  shown. 

The  alarm  device  is  adjusted  by  placing  the  brush 
(R)  just  over  the  notch  (M),  and  not  touching 
the  electrode  (L).  Tube  (P),  with  the  enclosed 
electrode  (L),  is  pulled  out  or  pushed  in  the  tube 
(S)  until  the  overload  finger  (N)  is  on  the  point 
on  the  scale  indicating  the  maximum  load  that  it 
is  desired  the  engine  shall  not  exceed.  Should  the 
load  exceed  the  predetermined  limit,  the  index  fin- 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

for  this  service  was  determined  primarily  by  the 
fact  that  it  was  considerably  cheaper  than  var- 
nished-cambric cable.  While  it  was  conceded  that 
the  varnished-cambric  cable  would  be  the  best  for 
service,  it  was  felt  that  satisfactory  life  and  service 
would  be  obtained  with  the  paper  cables,  assuming 
that  proper  care  was  taken  to  preserve  their  lead 
sheaths  from  deterioration,  due  to  electrolysis  or 
corrosion. 

For  carrying  the  high-tension  circuits  under  water, 
where  the  drawbridges  interrupt  the  overhead  cir- 
cuits   on    the    line    across    Jamaica    Bay,    there    was 


February  3,  1906 

ing  about  164,000  feet.  These  will  include  a  three- 
conductor  No.  0000  11,000-volt  cable,  said  to  be  the 
largest  11,000-volt  cable  ever  made,  and  a  1.250,000- 
circular-mil  single-conductor  cable  for  track  con- 
nections operating  at  700  volts.  Because  of  the 
successful  use  of  these  cables  over  half  a  million 
feet  of  both  high  and  low-tension  cables  have  been 
ordered  from  this  company  by  the  New  York 
Edison  Company  for  its  requirements  in  1906.  These 
range  in  size  from  three-conductor  250,000-circular- 
mils  6,600-volt  up  to  1.000,000-circular-mil  low-ten- 
sion feeder  cable. 


E    INDICATOR 


ger  (K)  strikes  the  overload  index  (N),  moving 
the  electrode  (L)  with  the  notch  at  (M),  bringing 
it  in  contact  with  the  brush  (R),  closing  the  circuit 
and    ringing   the    bell,    thus    giving   the    alarm. 

To  verify  the  correctness  of  the  instrument,  the 
engine  is  placed  on  the  center  or  blocked  so  it 
will  not  run,  with  the  throttle  valve  open,  and  the 
pressure  indicated  on  a  scale  on  a  tube  (not  shown) 
is  noted.  If  the  reading  corresponds  with  the  pres- 
sure indicated  by  the  standard  steam  and  vacuum 
gauges,  the  index  finger  (K)  should  stand  at  zero 
on  the  scale-plate  (J)  when  the  throttle  valve  is 
closed  and  there  is  no  back  pressure  or  vacuum 
in  the  exhaust  pipe.  If  not  correct,  it  may  be 
corrected  by  adjusting  the  gland  (D)  or  by  re- 
adjusting   the    valve    mechanism. 


used  3,500  feet  of  the  three-conductor  250,000-circu- 
lar-mil  rubber-insulated  leaded  and  wire-armored 
sub-marine  cable  shown  in  cross  section  in  Fig.  2 
(less  than  two-thirds  actual  size).  As  in  the  pre- 
vious cases,  this  cable  was  tested  at  30,000  volts'  be- 
fore and  after  installation.  The  cable  weighs  18 
pounds  to  the  foot  and  is  one  of  the  heaviest  ever 
manufactured-  The  armor  is  No.  4  B.  &  S.  gauge, 
and  the  finished  diameter  about  three  inches. 

In  connection  with  the  third-rail  circuit  for 
jumper  cables  at  grade  crossings  and  in  places 
where  the  third-rail  was  shifted  from  one  side  to 
the  other  of  the  main  track  65,119  feet  of  2,000,- 
ooo-circular-mil  varnished-cambric  leaded,  with  a 
jute  and  asphalt  finish,  was  installed.  Cables  for 
this    service   operate   under  particularly    severe   con- 


9,700-horsepower     Hydraulic     Turbine 
for   California   Gas   and    Elec- 
tric Corporation. 

An  interesting  point  in  connection  with  the  re- 
cent purchase  by  the  California  Gas  and  Electric 
Corporation,  San  Francisco,  of  a  9,700-horsepower 
single-horizontal  spiral-case  reaction  hydraulic  tur- 
bine is  contained  in  the  fact  that  this  turbine  will 
operate  under  a  550-foot  lead  at  a  speed  of  400 
revolutions  per  minute,  which  is  said  to  be  the  high- 
est head  under  which  a  turbine  of  this  type  has 
ever  been  installed.  Until  recently  manufacturers 
of  secondary  machinery  have  avoided  the  operation 
of  their  apparatus  on  high  speeds.  This  prejudice, 
however,  has  to  a  great  extent  been  overcome, 
and  it  is  only  a  question  of  time  when  this  type 
of  hydraulic  turbine  will  be  constructed  for  still 
higher  heads  than  the  present  practice  will  allow. 
This  turbine  and  accessories  will  be  furnished  by 
the  Allis-Chalmers  Company  of  Milwaukee,  and  is 
destined  for  installation  at  Chico.  Cal.,  where  the 
corporation  controls  the  water  rights. 


Convenient  Tube  for  Soldering  Flux. 

Shop  and  construction  men  who  have  occasion 
to  use  soldering  paste  for  flux  know  the  disad- 
vantage of  using  the  paste  when  put  up  in  the 
usual  flat  box.  The  Climax  flux  tube  here  illus- 
trated  is   a   convenient   receptacle   for   the   flux,   and 


Cable   Construction   for  Long   Island 
Railroad. 

Owing' to  the  increasing  amount  of  underground 
work  for  all  classes  of  electric  service,  correspond- 
ing attention  has  been  paid  to  the  design  of  the 
necessary  cables.  The  differentiation  carried  on 
along  other  lines  in  the  electrical  field  has  been 
followed  in  this  territory  as  well,  and  the  results 
of  this  selective  process  are  well  shown  in  the 
cable  equipment  for  the  recently  electrified  Long 
Island    Railroad. 

For  the  interior  wiring  in  the  generating  station 
and  sub-stations  of  this  railroad  there  was  in- 
stalled about  19,000  feet  of  nfooo-volt  varnished- 
cambric-insulation  braided-finish  cable,  shown  in 
Fig.  1.  All  of  this  cable  was  tested  by  the  manu- 
facturer with  30,000  volts  for  30  minutes  after  it 
had  been  immersed  in  water  for  24  hours,  and  was 
again  tested  with  the  same  potential  after  installa- 
tion. 

Varnished-cambric  insulation  was  selected  as  the 
best  available  insulating  material  for  this  use,  as  it 
is  asserted  that  cables  insulated  with  this  material 
are  better  for  withstanding  high  voltage  than  the 
best  rubber  cables  and  are  not  subject  to  deteriora- 
tion from  static  discharges  or  heat.  Furthermore, 
the    fact   that    these    cables    could   be    used    without 


ditions,  as  they  are  subject  to  heavy  overloads  and 
to  deleterious  electrolytic  action.  The  overhead 
feature  rendered  rubber  insulation  undesirable,  while 
the  difficulty  of  maintaining  the  lead  sheath  in  good 
condition  proved  an  equal  barrier  to  the  use  of 
paper.  The  varnished-cambric  insulation,  being 
free  from  the  weaknesses  of  both  of  these  types 
of  insulation  and  yet  possessing  all  the  gbod  points 
of  both  types,  was  therefore  used.  The  jute  and 
asphalt  jacket  was  put  on  these  cables  to  protect 
the  lead  from  mechanical  injury  and  corrosion, 
since  the  cables  are  in  many  cases  buried  directly 
in  the  earth. 
To  carry  the  third-rail  circuits  and  also  the  track 


FOR    SOLDERING    FLUX. 

by   its    use   just   enough    flux   can   be   squeezed   out 
at  a  time  necessary  for  the  work  in  hand. 

The  spout  of  the  tube  is  of  aluminum — an  im- 
portant feature.  This  allows  of  the  paste  being 
applied  directly  to  the  joint  simultaneously  with 
the  heat  without  soldering  up  the  vent.  The  maker 
of  this  device,  the  Climax  Manufacturing  Company 
of  Boston,  asserts  several  advantages  for  it,  among 
which  are:  No  stickey  jobs  from  too  much  paste; 
no  tools  daubed  from  lying  in  the  paste  box;  no 
splints  needed  to  apply  the  flux;  no  waste  of  flux 
from  the  accumulation  of  dust  and  dirt;  can  be  car- 
ried in  the  upper  pocket  like  a  screwdriver  for  use 
in  soldering  overhead  wires.  The  paste  is  said  to  be 
est  flux  made,  being  insulating  and  non-corrosive. 


the   bes 


i.ooovolt  Varnished-cambric  Cable. 

CABLES    FOR    LONG    ISLAND    RAILROAD. 


Submarine  Cable. 


lead  sheaths  avoided  the  installation  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  end  bells. 

Varnished-cambric  insulation  with  the  braided 
finish  was  also  used  for  the  low-tension  wiring  in 
the  generating  and  sub-stations,  where  in  all  about 
36,000  feet  of  cable  in  sizes  from  2,000,000  circular 
mils  down  to  No.  2  was  installed  for  this  work. 
Several  of  the  reasons  governing  the  selection  of 
varnished-cambric  insulation  for  the  high-tension 
work  applied  with  equal  force  in  this  case,  with  the 
additional  advantage  that  in  the  large  cables  the 
heating  of  the  conductor,  due  to  overloads,  could 
not  soften  the  insulation  and  allow  the  conductor 
to   decentralize. 

Taking  up  now  that  portion  of  the  transmission  cir- 
cuits which  is  underground  in  this  installation,  it  is 
found  that  lead-covered  paper-insulated  cable  is 
employed.  For  this  purpose  about  135,000  feet  of 
three-conductor  250.000-circular-mil  cable,  guaran- 
teed for  11,000  volts,  was  used.  This  cable  was 
also  tested  with  30,000  volts  for  30  minutes  by  the 
manufacturer,  and  the  test  was  repeated  after  the 
cable  was   installed.     The   selection   of  paper  cable 


circuit  around  the  drawbridges  at  Jamaica  Bay, 
5,(5oo  feet  of  2,000,000-circular-mil  rubber-insulated 
lead-covered  and  wire-armored  cable  were  installed. 
The  submerging  of  these  cables  maintains  them 
at  a  low  temperature,  which  tends  to  preserve  rub- 
ber, and  justifies  its  use  in  this  case. 

As  a  reinforced  feeder  for  the  third  rail  there 
was  installed,  in  conduit,  9,438  feet  of  paper-insu- 
lated low-tension  cable,  selected  as  the  cheapest 
available  construction  for  the  service,  since  the 
installation  was  regarded  as  being  of  a  more  or 
less  temporary  nature,  and  because  the  ultimate  life 
of  the  cable  was  not  an  important  feature. 

All  the  above  cable  as  well  as  the  necessary  wire 
and  cable  for  the  cars  was  furnished  by  the  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company.  The  aggregate  length  of 
all  kinds  of  wire  and  cable  supplied  for  this  in- 
stallation was  637,243  feet,  the  sizes  ranging  from 
No.  12  to  2,000,000  circular  mils.  The  entire  equip- 
ment is  now  in  service  and  giving  satisfaction. 

It  is  said  that  the  General  Electric  Company  will 
also  supply  the  high  and  low-tension  cables  for  the 
electrification    of   the    New    York    Central,    compris- 


Chicago  Street-railway  Situation. 

Mayor  Dunne  has  signed  the  $75,000,000  Mueller 
certificate  ordinance  passed  by  the  council  recently 
as  a  substitute  for  the  franchise-extension  or- 
dinances reported  by  the  maj  ority  of  the  local 
transportation  committee.  The  mayor  is  quoted  as 
saying  that  some  amendments  were  suggested  to 
the  ordinance,  but  after  careful  consideration  by 
himself  and  legal  advisers  the  strictest  examination 
failed  to  show  the  necessity  for  them.  The  mayor 
said  he  had  no  intention  at  present  of  again  put- 
ting forward  his  contract-plan  ordinance,  nor  would 
he  have  any  more  suggestions  to  make  on  the 
municipal-ownership  line.  He  would  take  a  rest 
until  the  people  had  decided  at  the  April  election 
whether  they   wanted   municipal   ownership. 

As  the  time  approaches  when  the  street-railway 
tunnels  under  the  river  must  be  lowered,  necessi- 
tating the  abandonment  of  the  cable  cars  by  the 
traction  companies,  it  is  expected  the  traction  offi- 
cials will  soon  ask  the  council  to  do  something 
definite  in  the  way  of  permitting  it  to  substitute 
trolleys  for  the  cables  when  the  tunnels  come  out. 
It  is  said  that  if  it  becomes  necessary  the  Union 
Traction  Company  will  ask  Judge  Grosscup  for  an 
order  permitting   the   substitution    of  trolleys. 

Marcus  Pollasky  sent  to  the  council  this  week 
his  old  subway  ordinance  submitted  several  years 
ago.  It  provides  for  a  loop  with  four  to  six- 
tracks  in  the  district  between  the  river  and  Twen- 
ty-second Street,  with  four  branches  connecting 
with  the  four  elevated  roads.  Inclines  are  provided 
giving  the  surface  street  cars  ingress  and  egress 
to  the  underground  loop.  The  ordinance  grants 
the  Chicago  Central  Sub-railroad  Company,  which 
is  the  corporation  seeking  the  franchise,  the  right 
to  build  branches  under  the  river  to  reach  the 
North  and  West  sides.  The  fare  is  to  be  five 
cents.  A  50-year  franchise  is  asked.  The  pro- 
posed ordinance  was  sent  to  the  local  transportation 
committee,  where  it  probably  will  remain. 


February  3,  1906 


ELE<  iri' 


Scrlbner    Automatic     Signaling    Patent 
Not  Infringed  In  Galesburg  Case. 

Aboul    a    ..  ai    i ,   as  set   forth   in 

1  led ai    ill.-    time,    Judgi     Si  aman 

1  nitcd    State .    1  lircuil    Courl    dc  idi  d 
Ei  ndants  in  the  case  of  the  Wc  tern      '     I        I 
pany,    ■  omplainant,    against    the    G 
1  hi;  n       :  phorn    I  ompanj  and  another,  d<  Ei  ndanl 
1  he     uil    v.  a     brought   for  alii 
patent   No.  669,708,  1  sued   March    12,   1901   (on  ap- 
olii  ation    fill  -I    Fi  bi  uai ;      18,        1  Charles   ] 

Scribner    for    "Apparatu      for     felephone    Switch- 
boai  di  "     This    patent    is   owned    by    the    W 
Electric   Company.     The   defendant    company   opcr- 

atcs    hi  1    ili.iii1 Gale  burg  and  employs  a  form 

of  signaling  apparatus  made  by  the  Sterling  Elec- 

1111     Company,    which    was    alleged    1 body    thi 

invention  of  the  patent   in   1  uit,     1  I"'  1  ai  c   wa     1 
garded   as  of  some   importance,  because   the   pati  nl 

lira     alh I    i"   be    the   pioneer   patent    relating   to 

mon-battery    automatic    signaling    hoards.      Ed- 
ward Rector  and  George  P.  Barton  were  the  coun- 

,1     1. 11     the    1 plainant    and    Charles    A.    Brown 

argued    the    case    for    the    defendants.      The    patent 

tains  17  claims,  and  infringement  was  alleged  on 

the    sixth,    seventh,    eighth    and    eleventh    of    these 
claims. 

Judge  Seaman's  decision  has  now  been  affirmed 
bj  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  for  the  Seventh 
Circuit,   consisting  of   Judges   Grosscup,    Baker   and 

I  li        The    deci  ions   in   favor   of   defendants    in 

;il  and  in  the  suit  upon  patent  No.  559,411, 
referred  to  in  the  Western  Electrician  of  last  week, 
are  thought  greatly  to  clear  the  patent  situation, 
SO  Ear  as  the  Independent  telephone  interests  are 
concerned. 

Inasmuch  as  the  opinion  of  the  Court  of  Appeals 
in  the  Galesburg  case  is  of  considerable  technical 
interest,  it  is  given  herewith   in  full. 


Claim  No.  6  may  be  taken  as  a  single  compre- 
hensive statement  of  the  invention  claimed.  That 
claim   is   as   follows: 


■.-lay,  Hi. 


the  line,  a  local  circuit  incluilinu  a  source  of  cur- 
:oil.  and  a  line-signal  lamp,  controlled  by  the 
lal  li.-inc  associated  .villi  a  snrinHack  of  the 
pliin  for  use  with  the  sprinn-jack,  a  clearinq- 
,-itch- 


.... cnal    lamp  associated  with  the  connectinv-ptue.  and  s. 

contacts  adapted  to  close  a  shnnt-circuit.  through  the  clearmE- 
ont-simial  lamp  about  the  line-sicnal  lamp  and  the  contact-points 
of  the  relay  when  the  pine  is  inserted  into  the  sprinc-jack,  sub- 
stantially as  described. 

This  claim  when  applied  to  the  art  shows  a  com- 
bination within  a  combination,  with  means  connect- 
ing the  inner  with  the  greater;  and  it  is  essential, 
in  determining  the  scope  of  the  patent,  to  keep  in 
mind,  as  separate  entities,  this  greater  combination, 
this  inner  combination,  and  the  specific  means  that 
connect  them. 

The  greater  combination  is  the  telephone  line, 
fully  equipped  with  the  signaling  system   described. 

The  inner  combination  is  the  signaling  system — 
two  signal  lamps  so  placed  in  parallel  branches  of 
a  local  circuit  that  when  either  branch  is  open  the 
lamp  on  the  other  will  be  luminous,  and  therefore 
a  signal ;  but  when  both  branches  are  closed,  both 
lamps  will  be  "effaced,"  and  therefore  neither  a 
signal ;  this  concept  being  mechanically  embodied 
in  the  line  lamp  associated  with  a  spring  jack  of 
the  line,  the  connecting  plug  for  use  with  the  spring 
jack,  the  supervisory  lamp  associated  with  the  con- 
necting plug,  the  switch  contacts,  and  the  resistance 
coil  controlling  the  flow  to  the  lamps. 

The  means  connecting  the  inner  combination  with 
the  greater  combination  is  the  relay  responding  to 
currents  in  the  main  line,  whereby  the  local  circuit 
is  connected  electrically  with  the  main  line. 

We  see  no  invention  in  the  mere  selection  of  this 
connecting  means — the  connecting  of  the  inner 
combination  with  the  greater  combination  by  means 
of  the  relay — relays  to  put  electric  lamps  on  local 
circuits  into  connection  with  the  main  lines  of  elec- 
tric-lighting systems  being  in  common  use. 

We  see  no  invention  in  the  mere  selection,  as 
signals,  of  electric  lamps.  The  electric  lamp,  in  the 
patent  sense,  is  as  old  as  sunlight.  So  also  the 
placing  of  two  or  more  lamps  upon  parallel  branches 
of  the  same  circuit.  We  do  not  think  that  the 
mere  adaption  to  a  telephone  line  of  electric  lamps 
as  signals — apart  from  the  special  concept  that  the 
lamps  should  be  so  balanced,  that  on  a  massed  cur- 
rent each  lamp  would  be  luminous,  while  on  a 
divided  current  both  would  be  non-luminous,  and 
the  mechanical  embodiment  of  that  concept — is  pat- 
entable invention.  The  only  new  element,  there- 
fore, in  the  combination  patented,  is  the  concept 
named,  together  with  the  mechanical  means  in 
which    it    is    embodied. 

But  here  again,  when  we  come  to  look  at  the 
prior  art,  there  must  be  a  further  elimination. 

That  concept,  to  repeat  what  has  been  said  be- 
fore, is  the  so  placing  of  two  signal  lamps  in 
parallel  branches  of  the  same  circuit  that  when 
cither  branch  is  open  the  lamp  on  the  other  will  be 
luminous,  but  when  both  branches  are  closed  neither 
will  be  practically  luminous — a  concept  proceeding 
upon  this  thought,  that  a  current  might  be  so 
predetermined  or  pitched,  that  going  through  one 
of  two  lamps  of  identical  character  it  would  be 
sufficient  to  make  that  lamp  practically  luminous, 
but  being  divided  in  equal  parts,  between  the  two 
lamps,  it  would  be  so  insufficient  that  neither  lamp, 
practically,  would  be  luminous. 

Now,   except  for  this  specific  concept  of  the  dif- 


'urrent 
being    1 

1 

cnt   in 

m  i.h.:.,'. 

..f    electricity,     win  1  illy     at 

lea  1,  1I1.    ''in  1   in    ■..  a     di  id. 

thi      diffi  that    whereas   in    the   patent    in    suit 

.  :n  I.    Ian  ■■ 

ii:.-  

1  the   current    may    have   trav- 
eled   in   diffcriti 

smaller  current  '  placed 

upon  il   did  nol  tile  scribner,  in 
the  ,  arliei  pati 

trical  l.n  inept  embodied  in  the 


eral    u.  in   the   exchange   11 

'.y   a   normal    I 
light ' 

Affair 

' 

dull-growing    filament,    while    it    did 

ite   light   of  the   filament   when   fully   illumi- 

'hese  defect  i — 
•o  tin.  signaling  more  robu<tnc*»—  t: 
trical   thi  :■  thinking  and  cxperit; 

That  system  is  connected  to  the  general  telephone 


t*Cj    Cv     -     \\o>-mal    Co-v\i\\.\o-rx 


t  i^/l>  -    Su.L*cr  ».l>tv    C-o.W.v\\o 


Vc^  C   -     Ccnvvivsa-Uovi  Vkvyicv  \4atV  ~\  u,  d  -  5Ki«nvmc,tvTvo     ^.<^-«a* 


DFKKM'ANTS      LOCAL    'IlKCllT     IN     GALLMHK.,     T  K  LK  I '  I  i .  •  \  K 


inner  combination  of  the  patent  in  suit,  he  did 
contribute  there  the  thought  that  led  up  to  his  later 
thought ;  and,  what  is  certainly  to  the  point,  the 
precise  mechanism,  save  as  such  mechanism  is 
modified  by  the  substitution  of  electric  lamps  for 
indicator  signals,  and  save  also  that  for  signals 
presenting  differing  resistances,  he  substituted,  in 
the  later  patent,  signals  of  identical  resistance. 

Here,  then  (considering  that  the  mere  choice  of 
lamps  as  signals  is  not  patentably  a  new  thing),  is 
the  only  element  of  the  patent  in  suit  not  found  in 
the  previous  art — identity  of  signal  lamps,  and  an 
exact  predetermined  pitch  of  current,  the  identit1- 
of  the  lamps  being  essential  because  any  difference 
of  resistance  would  break  the  fine  balancing  of  cur- 
rent upon  which  the  whole  conception  rests ;  and 
a  predetermined  pitch  of  current,  neither  too  high 
nor  too  low.  being  essential,  because  a  current 
pitched  too  high,  though  it  might  make  the  lamps 
more  luminous,  would  not,  when  divided,  efface 
the  lamps,  while  a  current  pitched  too  low.  while 
when  divided  making  the  effacement  more  complete, 
would  not,  when  massed,  give  sufficient  luminosity. 

The  new  element  thus  bounded  and  identified 
must  not  be  lost  sight  of;  for  unless  it  is  found 
substantially  in  appellees'  device,  the  combination 
constituting  appellees'  device  cannot  be  held  to  be 
an  infringement. 

The  patent  in  suit,  based  on  this  element,  had  its 
defects.  Theoretically,  an  equal  division  of  current 
cuts  such  current  into  halves.  But  practically,  the 
current  being  divided,  the  resistance  is  so  dimin- 
ished that  each  line  of  the  divided  circuit  gets  con- 
siderably more  than  one-half  of  the  current  massed. 
The  effect  of  this  is,  that  there  is  not  such  a  wide 
difference  between  the  luminosity  of  the  lamp  fed 
by  the  current  massed  and  the  current  divided,  as 
the  inventor  perhaps  anticipated;  so  that,  accessory 
to  making  the  signals  practical,  these  three  things 
at  least  were  added :  The  lamp  was  covered  with 
a  lens,  not  solely  for  radiating  the  light,  but  to 
partially  smother  it ;  the  uniformity  of  the  lamps 
had  to  be  maintained — that  is,  the  lamps  not  only 
had  to  be  uniform  when  put  in  but  replaced  the 
moment  that,  through  use.  a  difference  in  uniform- 
ity developed:  and  the  batteries  had  to  be  kept  at 
a  given  voltage — a  variation  of  voltage  or  diminu- 
tion of  the  flow  destroying  the  fine  balance  upon 
which  alone  the  luminosity  and  non-luminosity  of 
the    lamps    are    maintained. 

That  these  defects  were  actual  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  the  patent  in  suit  has  not  gone  into  gen- 


line  by  means  of  the  relay,  just  as  appellant's  sys- 
tem is.  But  this  does  not  make  it  an  infringement: 
for,  as  already  indicated,  the  mere  insertion  of 
such  signaling  system  into  a  general  telephone  line, 
and  the  means  by  which  that  insertion  is  brought 
about,  were,  in  the  field  of  electric  mechanics,  as 
shown  by  the  previous  art,  so  obvious  that  they 
constitute  separately  no  part  of  whatever  was  pat- 
entable in  the  patent  in  suit. 

The  appellees'  system  employs  the  device  of  a 
signaling  lamp  associated  with  a  supervisory  lamp, 
each  being  on  a  circuit  alone  at  times,  and  both 
being  upon  a  circuit  together  at  times,  with  the 
result  that  when  each  is  on  the  circuit  alone  it  is 
a  signal,  but  when  both  are  on  the  circuit  at  once. 
neither  are  signals;  together  with  the  resistance 
coils,  spring  jacks,  connecting  plugs  and  the  like, 
that  mechanically  bring  this  about.  But  this  de- 
vice, save  that  the  association  is  on  the  main  line, 
instead  of  a  local  circuit  connectable,  when  signal- 
ing is  needed,  with  the  main  line,  and  save  also 
that  the  signal  is  an  indicator  instead  of  a  lamp,  is 
present,  in  all  substantial  respects,  in  pate- 
559,616;  and  as  already  stated,  the  mere  substitu- 
tion of  an  electric  light  for  an  indicator,  and  the 
mere  placing  of  the  signaling  device  on  a  local  in- 
stead of  the  main  line,  do  not  constitute  patentable 
invention.  But  even  if  they  did,  it  would  be  of  no 
consequence  in  this  suit  unless  ,the  inner  element — 
the  so  placing  of  the  lamps  that  they  followed  the 
law  of  the  patentee's  conception — is  to  be  found 
substantially  in  appellees'  combination.  And  that 
brings  us  to  the  system  used  by  appellee. 

The  following  diagrams  show  the  appellees'  sys- 
tem (1)  in  normal  condition;  (2)  subscriber  call- 
ing: (3)  conversation  taking  place,  and  (4)  discon- 
necting signal : 

When  the  subscriber  in  appellees'  system  re- 
moves his  telephone  from  its  hook,  the  calling  relay 
(i)  attracting  the  armature  (k")  closes  the  circuit 
from  the  battery  through  the  resistance  coil  (e), 
and  the  signal  lamp  (n)  as  shown  by  the  heavy 
lines.  The  whole  current  being  through  (.n),  the 
lamp  lights  up  and  becomes  the  signal. 

The  operator  now  inserts  the  plug  into  the  corre- 
sponding spring  jack,  thus  closing  the  plug  contact. 
Now  the  circuit  being  divided,  if  the  lamps  were  of 
equal  resistance,  the  current  would  be  divided,  as  in 
the  patent  in  suit,  both  lamps  becoming  partially  non- 
luminous.  But  in  appellees'  system,  appellees'  lamp 
(v),  interposing  very'  much  less  resistance  than 
lamp   (n),  and  the  current  taking  the  path  of  least 


io6 

resistance,  the  current  practically  passes  almost  alto- 
gether through  lamp  (v),  according  to  the  heavy 
lines  in  Fig.  3,  leaving  a  small  portion,  if  any, 
to  pass  through  lamp  (n),  and  thus  electrically 
short-circuiting  fn),  just  as  signal  (h)  in  patent 
No.  559,616  is  electrically  short-circuited  by  inter- 
posing in  the  path  of  the  current  a  resistance  higher 
than  through  the  signal   (e). 

This  diversion  of  current  through  (v)  does  not 
light  the  lamp,  however,  because  (v)  being  a  lamp 
of  different  character  from  (n),  it  requires  a  volt- 
age greater  than  the  whole  voltage  of  the  current 
when  subjected  to  the  resistance  (e),  the  supervis- 
ory lamp  in  both  cases  considered  to  be  in  circuit. 
So  the  circuit  through  the  resistance  coil  (g)  is 
introduced,  closed  by  the  subscriber  replacing  his 
telephone;  and  (g)  interposing  a  less  resistance 
than  (e),  a  voltage  enough  greater  than  the  volt- 
age through  (e)  alone  is  obtained  that  the  lamp 
(v)    is  lighted. 

Now  compare  this  with  wThat  we  have  found  to 
be  the  actual  concept  of  the  patent  in  suit.  The 
patent  in  suit  employs  a  single  predetermined  pitch 
of  current,  as  it  reaches  the  lamps  through  resist- 
ance (m),  and  would  operate  under  no  other 
conditions ;  the  appellees'  system  carries  a  current 
varying  according  to  the  lamps  to  be  lighted, 
and  would  operate  under  no  other  conditions. 
The  patent  in  suit  provides  for  extinguish- 
ment by  an  approximately  equal  division  of  the 
current,  and  looks  in  pursuit  of  this  purpose  to 
no  other  provision ;  the  appellees'  system  provides 
for  extinguishment  of  the  line  lamp  by  practically 
short-circuiting,  and  the  supervisory  lamp  by  a  high 
candlepower,  and  would  operate  in  no  other  way. 
The  patent  in  suit  involves  the  necessity  of  lamps 
of  identical  character — lamps  so  delicately  matched 
that  in  dividing  the  current  the  flow  through  each 
lamp  will  be  equal — and  the  patent  in  suit  would 
operate  under  no  other  conditions ;  the  appellees' 
system  employs  lamps  so  differing  from  each 
other  in  character  that  any  close  balancing  of  the 
lamps  is  a  matter  that  is  not  involved.  In  the  pat- 
ent in  suit  the  current  must  be  pitched  to  almost 
an  exact  predetermined  point,  involving  battery 
action  constantly  up  to  a  certain  point,  and  a  resist- 
ance that  is  constant :  the  operation  of  appellees' 
system  cannot  be  said  to  hinge  in  the  least  upon 
pitch  of  current.  When  we  have  thus  passed  over 
all  that  is  old  in  art.  reaching  the  actual  concept 
covered  by  the  patent  in  suit,  the  differences  pointed 
out  become  fundamental.  They  mark  two  substan- 
tially differing  lines  of  thought.  And  they  have 
resulted  in  two  distinct  signaling  systems,  in  the 
one  of  which  the  defects  in  the  other  have  been 
escaped  chiefly  by  avoiding  all  in  it  that  was  new, 
while  readapting  certain  things  in  it  that  were  old. 
This,  in  our  judgment,  differentiates  the  essential 
element  under  consideration  in  appellees'  device 
from  the  element  that  gives  to  the  patent  in  suit 
any  patentable  invention,  if,  indeed,  it  have  any 
patentable  invention.  Wherefore  it  follows  that  the 
one  combination  is  not  an  infringement  upon  the 
other. 

The  audible  test  being  governed  by  the  same 
consideration   need   not   be    further   discussed. 

The  decree  of  the   Circuit   Court  is  affirmed. 


Nebraska    Independent    Telephone 
Association. 

The  Nebraska  Independent  Telephone  Associa- 
tion held  its  annual  convention  in  the  Lindell  Hotel, 
Lincoln,  Neb.,  on  January  23d  and  24th.  At  the 
opening  session  on  Tuesday  afternoon  over  50 
companies  were  represented  by  more  than  twice  as 
many  delegates.  The  forenoon  was  given  over  to 
inspecting  the  exhibits  of  jobbers  and  manufac- 
turers who  had  representatives  at  the  convention. 
The  meetings  were  open  only  to  members.  At  the 
first  session  reports  of  officers  and  committees  were 
heard,  and  these  were  more  encouraging  than  at 
any  previous  meeting.  The  outlook  for  the  Inde- 
pendent men  was  declared  to  be  much  brighter 
than  a  year  ago.  Theodore  Gary  of  Macon.  Mo., 
vice-president  of  the  National  association,  and  Mr. 
Fisher  of  Shenandoah.  Iowa,  spoke  at  this  session. 
Mr.  Gary  described  improvements  in  instruments 
and  equipment,  and  Mr.  Fisher  told  of  the  ad- 
vances made  in  long-distance  Independent  lines.  He 
said  it  was  possible  to  telephone  over  Independent 
lines  from  almost  any  town  in  Iowa  to  St.  Louis, 
Kansas  City  and  the  principal  towns  in  Nebraska 
except  Omaha. 

In  the  evening  the  Telephone  Traffic  Association 
conducted  the  meeting.  This  association  .is  a  sort 
of  clearing  house,  which  serves  the  companies  by 
effecting  equitable  divisions  of  toll  rates  when  long- 
distance calls  have  to  be  sent  oyer  several  lines. 

At  the  session  on  Wednesday  afternoon  plans 
were  discussed  whereby  Independent  men  may 
get  a  franchise  in  Omaha,  so  that  connection  may 
be  made  with  outside  lines.  Resolutions  were 
n.dopted  stating  that,  whereas  there  are  about  S.ooo 
Independent  telephone  stockholders  in  Nebraska,  all 
business  men,  and  as  these  men  desire  to  deal 
with  jobbers  who  have  Independent  telephones,  the 
cities  whose  jobbing  houses  have  no  Independent 
telephone  facilities  cannot  expect  the  trade  of  these 
stockholders.  This  resolution  was  intended  to  in- 
fluence Omaha  business  men  to  exert  their  influ- 
ence toward  the  granting  of  Independent  entrance 
into  Omaha.     The  legislative  committee  which  tried 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

to  secure  enactment  of  a  law  compelling  the  city 
of  Omaha  to  admit  the  Independent  telephone  lines 
was  continued.  It  includes  Frank  Woods  and  A. 
W.  Field  of  Lincoln  and  W.  E.   Bell  of  York. 

The  association  voted  to  divide  the  state  into 
five  districts,  each  to  have  an  association  subordi- 
nate to  the  state  association.  Secretary  Mattison 
and  the  executive  committee  will  have  charge  of 
organizing  the  districts,  each  of  which  will  have 
a  presiding  officers,  who  will  be  a  vice-president 
of  the  state  association.  G.  J.  Garlow  of  Columbus 
and  Frank  Woods  of  Lincoln  addressed  the  after- 
noon   meeting. 

Officers  for  the  ensuing  year  were  elected  as 
follows :  President,  Frank  H.  Woods  of  Lincoln ; 
vice-president,  W.  Clapp  of  Kearney ;  secretary  and 
treasurer,  R.  E.  Mattison  of  Lincoln;  members  of 
executive   committee,    F.    H.    Woods.   W.    Clapp,   R. 

E.  Mattison,  W.  E.  Bell  of  York.  Thomas  Parme- 
lee  of  Plattsmouth  and  G.  J.  Garlow  of  Columbus. 

The  traffic  association  will  endeavor  to  gain  ad- 
mission to  the  National-Interstate  association,  and 
elected  delegates  to  attend  the  convention  in  St. 
Louis  in  June.  The  officers  of  this  association  and 
the  delegates  are :  President,  T.  T.  Pollock  of 
Plattsmouth;  vice-president,  W.  E.  Bell  of  York; 
secretary,    R.    E.    Mattison    of    Lincoln;    treasurer, 

F.  H.  Woods  of  Lincoln ;  delegates,  F.  H.  Woods, 
T.   H.   Pollock  and  W.   E.   Bell. 

The  convention  closed  on  Wednesday  night  with 
a  banquet  at  the  Lindell  Hotel.  The  banquet  was 
given  to  the  members  of  the  association  by  the 
manufacturers  and  jobbers,  and  an  elaborate  dinner 
was  served.  A.  W.  Field  of  Lincoln  was  toast- 
master  and  the  following  gentlemen  responded  :  "The 
Sign  of  the  Times,"  Theodore  Gary,  Macon,  Mo. ; 
"Looking  Into  the  Past,"  I.  D.  Clark,  Papillion ; 
"Friends  and  Foes."  A.  T.  Munro,  Omaha;  "Twenty- 
five  Years  Hence,"  G.  A.  Briggs,  Elkhart.  Ind". ; 
"To  See  Ourselves  as  Others  See  Us,"  William  J. 
Crawford,  Chicago :  "Between  Now  and  Then,"  G. 
J.  Garlow,  Columbus. 


Indiana  District  Telephone  Meeting. 

The  third  quarterly  meeting  of  the  eighth  district 
of  the  Indiana  Independent  Telephone  Association 
was  held  in  Richmond  on  January  24th.  Repre- 
sentatives were  present  from  every  countv  and  a 
majority  of  the  companies  of  the  district.  A.  C. 
Lindemuth,  president  of  the  district  organization 
and  vice-president  and  member  of  the  executive 
committee  of  the  state  association,  presided.  George 
Watts  of  Knightstown  acted  as  secretary  in  the 
absence  of  C.  A.  Phelps.  The  morning  session  wTas 
devoted  to  the  regular  order  of  business,  including 
reports  from  committees,  after  which  the  20  dele- 
gates and  visitors  present  were  the  guests  of  the 
Richmond  Home  Telephone  Company  at  dinner  at 
the   Westcott  Hotel. 

At  the  afternoon  session  W.  G.  Thompson,  gen- 
eral manager  of  the  Home  Telephone  Company  of 
Hamilton,  read  a  very  interesting  paper  entitled 
"Two  Independent  Telephone  Companies  as  an  In- 
vestment, and  Their  Management,"  the  two  com- 
panies referred  to  in  the  paper  being  the  Valley 
Telephone  Company,  with  seven  exchanges,  oper- 
ating in  Warren  and  Trumball  counties,  and  the 
Home  Telephone  Company,  operating  at  Hamilton 
and  throughout  Butler  County,  Ohio,  both  being 
under  one  management.  The  paper  clearly  demon- 
strated that  Independent  telephone  companies,  estab- 
lished even  under  the  most  unfavorable  conditions, 
can  be  made  to  pay  dividends  and  placed  on  a 
solid  basis  if  right  business  methods  are  employed. 

William  M.  Bailey,  superintendent  of  the  Rich- 
mond Home  Telephone  Company,  read  a  paper  en- 
titled, '^How  Can  We  Improve  Our  Local  Tele- 
phone Service  ?"  in  which  he  discussed  the  relative 
speed  of  service  through  common-battery  and  local- 
battery  magneto  systems.  His  paper  indicated  a 
comprehensive  and  practical  knowledge  of  the  en- 
tire conditions  that  make  for  better  service.  Both 
of  the  papers  brought  out  a  spirited  discussion. 

The  latter  part  of  the  evening  session  was  devoted 
to  a  general  discussion  of  the  Independent  interests 
in  the  district  and  in  perfecting  traffic  relations 
among  the  various  members.  It  was  the  unanimous 
opinion  of  those  present  that  the  outlook  for  the 
Independents    in    the    state   was   never   better. 


Extension-telephone  Litigation. 

The  Chicago  Telephone  company  has  filed  a  bill 
for  an  injunction  to  restrain  the  Madison  Electric 
Company  from  installing  private  telephones  connect- 
ing with  its  wires.  The  two  corporations  have  been 
fighting  a  year  and  a  half.  The  Chicago  Telephone 
Company  charges  varying  rents  for  trunk  lines, 
switchboards  and  extension  telephones.  The  electric 
company  installs  extensions  for  customers  and  sells 
the  fixtures  outright,  asserting  that  each  telephone 
subscriber,  with  unlimited  service,  has  a  legai  right 
to  use  his  telephone  every  minute  of  the  24  hours 
of  each  day,  and  that  extensions  simply  assist  the 
telephone  company  to  transact  its  business,  are  a 
convenience  for  the  subscriber,  and  neither  take 
from  the  telephone  company  anything  that  belongs 
to  it.  nor  increase  the  value  of  the  service  beyond 
the  point  that  patrons  are  entitled  to.  The  bill 
charges  a  conspiracy,  and  says  that  it  is  impossible 
for  the  telephone  company  to  keep  its  system  up 
to  the  standard  without  instruments  of  uniform 
character. 


February  3,  1906 
Ohio  Telephone  Notes. 

A  meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  the  Federal 
Telephone  Company  was  scheduled  to  be  held  at 
East  Orange,  N.  J.,  February  1st,  to  take  action 
to  enable  the  beard  of  directors  to  handle  the 
properties  of  the  company  or  make  such  changes  in 
the  business  as  may  be  deemed  best  for  all  con- 
cerned. • 

The  regular  quarterly  dividend  of  one  per  cent, 
was  declared  by  the  Columbus  Citizens'  Telephone 
Company  a  few  days  ago.  Reports  of  officers  show 
that  new  telephones  at  the  rate  of  125  per  week 
are    being   installed   now. 

Stockholders  are  well  pleased  with  the  annual 
report  of  the  Akron  People's  Telephone  Company, 
which  is  just  out.  The  company  has  4,230  sub- 
scribers and  outstanding  bonds  of  $338,500,  draw- 
ing five  per  cent,  interest.  The  gross  earnings  for 
1905  were  $96,568,  in  comparison"  with  $90,515,  the 
year  before.  The  surplus  was  $22,606  and  in  1904 
it  was  $21,218. 

Superintendent  Hanna  of  the  Dayton  Flome  Tele- 
phone Company  stated  that  there  was  nothing  in 
the  story  that  a  two-party  line  service  would  be 
introduced.  Rumors  have  been  afloat  to  the  effect 
that  such  a  service  would  be  installed  and  that  the 
rate  for  residence  telephones  would  be  $1.50  a 
month  and  for  business  houses  $2.50  a  month.  In 
addition,  it  was  said  that  the  automatic  switchboard 
would  be  increased  in  capacity  to  accommodate  the 
additional  service. 

Bills  introduced  in  the  Legislature  at  Columbus 
prohibit  the  granting  of  free  telephone  service  to 
officeholders. 

A  dispatch  sent  out  from  Toledo  d^-lares  that  a 
movement  has  been  started -to  merge  all  the  Inde- 
pendent telephone  companies  between  Pittsburg  and 
Kansas  City  into  one  company.  This  it  would  seem, 
is  in  opposition  to  the  policy  of  grouping  the  com- 
panies in  a  smaller  way,  although  the  report  may 
refer   more    especially   to   the    long-distance    lines.  " 

Mayor  Whitlock  of  Toledo  has  taken  the  stand 
that  he  will  pay  for  the  telephones  in  his  residence 
and  that  the  city  must  pay  for  the  telephone  service 
furnished  it.  The  mayor  says  that  under  a  recent 
decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  no  city  has  a  right 
to  accept  favors  from  a  telephone  company,  and 
he  proposes  to  live  up  to  it  and  have  the  city  do  so. 

The  Clarksfield  Telephone  Companv  of  Clarks- 
field  has  been  incorporated  w^ith  a  capital  stock  of 
S9.975  by  H.  F.  Fletcher,  E.  E.  Rowland  and  others. 

At  Fisher  the  '  Farmers'  Telephone  Company  has 
been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock  of  $2,500 
by  W.   Dalton,   R.   W.   Patterson   and   others. 

The  Fonogirl  Company  of  Columbus  has  been 
incorporated  with  a  capital  stock  of  $30,000  by 
Charles  B.  Thomas,  Fred  N.  Sinks,  J.  L.  Raymond, 
C.  M.  Addison  and  others.  The  company  will  have 
offices  in  the  Columbus  Savings  and  Trust  Building, 
where  a  force  of  stenographers  will  be  employed 
and  will  take  dictation  over  the  telephone.  A 
similar  enterprise  has  been  in  operation  in  Cleve- 
land for  some  time.  Q 


Indiana  Telephone  Items. 

The  Richmond  Home  Telephone  Company  has 
elected  A.  C.  Lindemuth  president,  E.  H.  Gates, 
vice-president;  J.  W.  Moore,  secretary;  W.  P.  Orr' 
L.  M.  Flesh  and  W.  M.  Bailey,  directors.  The 
company  now  has  2,577  telephones  in  service  in 
the  city.  Those  in  the  rural  districts  and  through- 
out the  county  makes  the  total  5,000  or  more.  It 
is  understood  that  the  matter  of  consolidating  all 
the  Independent  companies  in  the  county  was  dis- 
cussed, and  it  is  probable  that  such  a  course  will 
be  taken  soon  by  the  larger  companies,  and  these 
in  turn  will  be  formed  into  a  co-operating  company 
which  will  extend  its  lines  over  the  entire  country. 
The  Citizens'  Telephone  Company  of  Columbus 
has  elected  Thomas  D.  Sheerin  president;  C.  S. 
Norton,  vice-president;  M.  S.  Hosea,  secretary 
treasurer  and  general  manager.  H.  B  Sale,  for- 
merly secretary,  resigned,  but  retains  his  place  on 
the  board  of  directors. 

The  Newcastle  Independent  Telephone  Company 
is  asking  the  City  Council  for  a  new  franchise. 
As  matters  now  stand,  there  is  a  mixed  agreement 
between  the  town,  the  telephone  company  and  the 
light,  heat  and  power  company,  all  using"  the  same 
poles. 

The  New  Long-distance  Telephone  Company  has 
been  granted  a  franchise  for  both  a  local  system 
and  a  long-distance  station  in  Spencer.  It  is  un- 
derstood that  a  local  company  will  be  organized  to 
install    and    operate    the    local    system. 

The  Dillsboro  Telephone  Company  has  elected 
F.  H.  Sale,  president :  George  F.  Heffelmeyer,  vice- 
president,^  Fred  Lubbi,  secretary-treasurer.  The 
board  decided  to  build  and  equip  a  new  and  modern 
telephone    plant. 

For  some  time  the  Central  Union  Telephone 
Company  has  been  trying  to  locate  its  office  in  a 
downtown  district  in  Rushville,  meeting  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  local  Independent  company.  At  last 
an  agreement  has  been  reached  between  the  two 
companies  whereby  the  Central  Union  people  are 
allowed  to  place  a  long-distance  booth  in  the  local 
company's  exchange,  on  the  written  condition  that 
it  will  cease  its  efforts  to  get  a  franchise  for  a 
complete   city   plant   for   local    service   in   Rushville 

S. 


February   3,   roo6 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


Telephone    News   from    the    Northwest. 
The  Northwestern  Tclephom    E   change  Company 

h.'l      1  otiiplrtrd    ai  ram."  lm  ill       foi     ll |i|i 

tro    ol   ili'    Minm   ota   Central    H  1  phoni    '  ompany, 
with    headquarters    al    Willmar,    Minn,    Thi 
pany  has  a  mileage  of  2,000.    The  auditing  depart 
ini'iit  will   be  removed  to   Mi lapoli 

The  Twin  City  Rapid  Tran  il  Company  will  ex- 
tend win  i"  Big  1  land  in  1  I  [innetonka,  from 
Exci  I  ior,  Minn.,  in  ordi  r  to  ha\  1  a  ti  lephom 
di  p  iti  h  )  i'in  for  managing  il  yrsti  m  of  inti  1 
urban  clcctrii  cai  from  Minncapoli  .  and  the  lake 
boal     i"  the   1  land    fi Excel  101 

William  Buchholz,  formerly  managci  ol  thi 
kah  1    I  Minn.)   office  of  the   Xori  hwr  -.!•  i  n    Telephone 
Exchange  Company,  has  gone  into  the  lumber  bu  i 
in       al    Morgan,    Minn. 

The    In  State    telephone  Company  seeks  a  fran 

chise   hi    I  kston,    Minn.,    for   .1   competing   local 

exchange, 

The  Sedan  Telephone  Company  has  been  formed 
al   Sedan,   Minn. 

The  Great  Northern  Telephone  Company  of  Wil- 
lislon,  N.  I  >..  is  putting  in  an  exchange  at  Cul- 
bertson,   Mont. 

I  In  New  State  Telephone  Company  of  Sioux 
City,  Iowa,  has  purchased  the  Northeastern  Ne- 
braska Telephone  Company's  toll  lines,  embracing 
more  than  200  miles.  The  company  will  construct 
a  new  toll  line  to  Omaha. 

James  Fisher  and  others  have  incorporated  as  the 

Western     Crawford     County     Farmers'     Telepl 

Company   of   Eastman.    Wis. 

I  he  Boone  County  Telephone  Company  will  cx- 
peml  $15,000  in  improvements  to  its  system  at 
Ames   and    Boone,    Iowa. 

J.  E.  Quinlan  and  others  of  Rock  Valley,  Iowa. 
have  incorporated  as  the  Klein  Rural  Telephone 
Company,  with  a  capitalization  of  $2,000. 

The  Hawkeye  Telephone  Company  will  install  a 
new  switchboard  at  Valley  Junction,  Iowa,  and 
otherwise  improve  its  system. 

The  Wisconsin  Telephone  Company  will  move 
its  exchange  into  a  larger  building  at  Neenah,  Wis. 
Extensive  underground  work  will  be  done  at  Nee- 
nah  and   Menasha   this  year. 

The  Iowa  Telephone  Company  is  planning  to  in- 
stall an  entirely  new  central-office  apparatus.      R. 


New  England  Telephone  News. 

Two  telephone  exchanges  in  Eastern  Massachu- 
setts were  visited  by  fire  within  the  last  week.  At 
Woburn,  Mass.,  Miss  Lillian  S.  Graves,  chief  op- 
erator, distinguished  herself  by  coolly  using  the  fire 
extinguisher  and  putting  out  the  blaze  before  much 
damage  had  been  done,  although  the  switchboard 
was  out  of  commission  for  about  two  days.  At 
Manchester,  Mass.,  the  building  in  which  the  local 
exchange  is  located  was  gutted,  and  the  loss  to  the 
telephone  company  was  about  $10,000,  covered  by 
insurance.  Here,  also,  the  operator,  Anna  Haraden, 
displayed  much  courage,  giving  the  alarm  for  the 
fire,  which  started  in  the  boiler  room  and  spread 
to  the  exchange. 

The  New  England  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company  has  declared  its  regular  quarterly  divi- 
dend   of    1V2    per    cent.,    payable    February    15th. 

At  Portland,  Maine,  Judge  Strout  issued  a  tem- 
porary injunction  on  January  23d,  restraining  the 
majority  of  the  stockholders  of  the  Northeastern 
Telephone  Company  of  that  city  from  issuing  $200,- 
000  of  its  preferred  stock.  Notice  could  not  be 
served  on  Clerk  O.  H.  Hersey,  the  only  Portland 
resident  officer  of  the  company,  as  he  was  not  in 
the  citv.  B. 


NEW  COMPANIES. 


The  Central  Exchange  Telephone  Company  of 
Paloma,  111.,  has  been  incorporated  by  J.  W.  Henry, 
O.  H.  Lawless  and  Joseph  Dickhut. 

The  Citizens'  Mutual  Telephone  Company  of  Van- 
town,  Mich.,  with  20  members  and  a  capital  stock 
of  $6,000,   has   filed   articles   of   incorporation. 

The  Menno  Rural  Telephone  Company  of  Pierre, 
S.  D.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $25,000  by  G.  W.  Munsmer,  M.  H.  Claggett 
and    Peter   Gundmunson. 

The  Lakewood  (111.)  Mutual  Telephone  Company 
has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock  of  $2,500 
to  operate  a  telephone  line.  The  incorporators  are 
Charles  H.  Duckett,  J.  E.  Bowman  and  E.  A. 
Weakley. 

The  Oregon  City  Farmers  Independent  Telephone 
Company  has  been  incorporated  at  Oregon  City, 
Ore.,  by  W.  H.  Bonney,  C.  G.  Huntley  and  C.  G. 
Caufield.  The  company  has  an  authorized  capital 
stock  of  $5,000. 

Among  the  recently  incorporated  telephone  com- 
panies are  the  following:  Star  Telephone  Com- 
pany, Hallam,  Neb. ;  Lilly  Local  Telephone  Com- 
pany, Lilly,  S.  D.:  Garrett  Telephone  Company, 
Garrett,  Kan. ;  Northwestern  Mutual  Telephone 
Company,  Weatherford,  Okla. ;  New  Cambria  Tele- 
phone Company,  New  Cambria,  Kan. ;  Pioneer 
Rural  Telephone  Company,  Hitchcock,  S.  D. ;  Deer 
Creek  and  Lamont  Telephone  Company,  Lamont, 
Okla. ;  Kinsman  Independent  Telephone  Company, 
Kinsman,   111. 


GENERAL  TELEPHONE  NEWS 

' 

of  Qu 

and  S.   I 

ompany  i>  plant 
■  Albuquerque, 

■ |UI 

rhi 

of    San     i 

improving  il 

n /  Council  ol   Kirksvillc,  M 

11    fran.  In   1      

will   pm    in   an    Indcpendci  nee,   which   will 

form   pari   of  an   unbroken    Independent   line   from 
Si     1  "in     to    Di        i"  1.'       Iowa. 

Superintendent   M.    B  •    divi- 

ion  "i   the  Southern   Bell    felepl 
succeeded   in  purcha  ing  for  his  company  thi 
exchanges    at    Laurinburg    and    at    Gibson, 

1  in   -  ,    .\  nli   the   '    changi    al    I  lamlet,   X.   C,  will 
be  managed  bj   .1-   B.   Maxwell,  former  manai 
the  exchanges  at  Laurinburg  and  Gibson 

By   a    slip   of   1!"     pi  ii    the    name    of     Vlbi 
Wheeler    was    given     1     president   of   the    1 
Telephone   Company    in   a   summary   of   the   annual 
report    of   that   company   in   last    week's   issue.    As 
is  well  known,  the  name  should  havi    been  Arthur 
I).    Wheeler,   who  is   the   president   of   the   I 
Telephone   Company. 

Preliminary  steps  wen-  taken  last  October  in 
Cincinnati  to  form  an  organization  to  have  ih  its 
object  the  increasing  of  knowledge  concerning  prob- 
lems of  modern  telephone  practice.  Organiz 
has  now  been  completed  and  the  society  will  k 
known  as  the  Cincinnati  Society  of  Telephone  Re- 
search. There  is  already  a  good  membership  and 
the  officers  are:  President,  R.  Hiltbrand  ;  first  vice- 
president,  C.  Durham ;  second  vice-president,  B. 
Seavers ;   secretary  and  treasurer,   F.   Arens. 

The  Michigan  Stale  Telephone  Company's  direct- 
ors have  approved  estimates  of  expenditures  for 
improvement  extensions  for  1906  aggregating  $1,- 
260,000.  At  least  20,000  more  telephones  will  be 
installed,  it  is  predicted.  Dudley  E.  Waters,  presi- 
dent of  the  Grand  Rapids  National  Bank,  has  been 
elected  vice-president  to  take  the  place  of  Truman 
M.  Newberry.  Approximately  $600,000  was  spent 
in  maintenance  for  the  year  ended  April  30,  1905, 
all  of  which  was  charged  directly  to  expenses. 

Hitherto  it  has  been  found  imnracticable  to  com- 
municate by  telephone  between  Frankfort,  Germany, 
and  Vienna,  Austria.  The  difficulty  did  not  arise 
in -any  way  on  the  side  of  Austria,  it  is  said,  the 
Austrian  government  having  done  its  utmost  to 
facilitate  matters.  The  chief  cause  of  the  delay  has 
been  the  unsuitable  character  of  the  wires  through 
Bavaria,  but  as  these  have  now,  it  appears,  been 
replaced  by  larger  ones,  recent  experiments  have 
given  favorable  results,  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
line  will  shortly  be  open  for  public  use. 

Stockholders  of  the  Missaukee  (Mich.)  Tele- 
phone Company  at  a  recent  session  at  Lake  City 
elected  H.  S.  Lamb  president,  Fred  Rose  vice- 
president,  Mrs.  M.  M.  Peck  secretary  and  treasurer. 
George  S.  Stout  general  manager.  It  was  decided 
to  increase  the  capital  stock  to  $20,oco.  and  in 
addition  to  the  regular  quarterly  two  per  cent,  cash 
dividend  theretofore  authorized,  a  special  stock  divi- 
dend of  six  per  cent,  was  declared.  The  company 
will  purchase  the  Lake  City  Telephone  Exchange, 
now  owned  by  Mrs.  M.  M.  Peck  and  G.  S.  Stout. 

Henry  T.  Scott  of  San  Francisco  is  to  succeed 
the  late  John  I.  Sabin  as  president  of  the  Pacific 
States  Telephone  Company,  according  to  a  state- 
ment credited  to  President  Fish  in  the  Boston 
Transcript  of  January  23d,  which  says:  "President 
F.  P.  Fish  of  the  American  Telephone  and  Tele- 
graph Company  has  returned  from  a  three  weeks' 
trip  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  tie  made  a  careful  in- 
vestigation into  the  affairs  of  the  Pacific  States 
Telephone  Company,  a  lessee  of  the  American  com- 
pany, and  was  greatly  pleased  with  the  telephone 
development  in  the  far  West.  Mr.  Fish  states  that 
Henry  T.  Scott,  formerly  president  of  the  Union 
Iron  Works  of  San  Francisco,  will  be  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  Pacific  States  Telephone  Company  to 
succeed  the  late  John  I.  Sabin.  In  the  territory 
covered  by  the  Pacific  States  company,  namely, 
Washington.  Oregon,  California  and  Nevada,  there 
are  more  than  200,000  telephones.  No  considera- 
tion   has  been   given    to   any   new   financing  plans." 


Types  of  Cars  for  City  Service. 

i   Sep- 
Anotl 

■ 

- 

Denvi  r  n   which 


An  attractive  folder  from  the  Stromberg-Carlson 
Telehone  Manufacturing  Company  of  Rochester. 
N.  Y.,  takes  up  the  subject  of  transmitters,  giving 
some  general  facts  about  this  part  of  the  telephone 
and  also  describing  in  detail  the  Stromberg-Carlson 
transmitter  as  exemplified  in  its  latest  products. 


DENVER    CENTRAL-ENTRANCE   CAR. 

car  is  illustrated  herewith,  while  the  following  is 
taken  from  the  communication  of  Mr.  Becler,  which 
yarded   in   due  course. 

The  length  of  the  car  over  all  is  41  feet  six 
inches;  width  of  aisle,  23  inches;  seating  capacity, 
48.  The  car  is  constructed  with  a  forward  and  "a 
rear  compartment  divided  by  the  center  entrance 
space.  The  car  is  semi-convertible  and  is  equipped 
with    GE-58   motors.     Its    weight    is    37,000   pounds. 

This  type  of  combination  car  was  adopted  by  the 
Denver  company  for  several  reasons,  one  of  which 
was  the  climatic  conditions  which  obtain  in  that 
locality.  The  car  is  well  adapted  to  the  climate 
on  account  of  the  warm  days  and  cool  nights  which 
are  common  all  the  year  round.  Even  during  win- 
ter months,  many  of  the  people  prefer  to  ride  in 
the  open  air.  During  the  warm  summer  days  the 
entire  car  is  opened,  but  during  the  evening  the 
front  compartment  is  closed,  making  a  comfortable 
place  for  those  who  do  not  care  to  ride  in  the 
open.  In  case  of  a  sudden  storm,  also,  the  front 
compartment  can  be  closed  in  at  a  moment's  notice. 
During  the  winter  the  forward  compartment  is 
closed  and  heated  electrically,  but  those  who  do 
not  care  to  ride  in  a  heated  car  patronize  the  rear 
compartment,  where  fresh  air  is  always  obtained, 
owing  to  the  wide  center  entrance,  which  is  never 
closed. 

This  type  of  car  is  safe  to  operate,  as  the  con- 
ductor is  at  all  times  at  or  near  the  only  entrance, 
even  when  collecting  fares  his  average  distance 
from  the  entrance  being  only  one-fourth  the  length 
of  the  car.  The  company  also  finds  the  central 
entrance  facilitates  loading  and  unloading,  as  the 
passenger  cannot  walk  more  than  half  the  length 
of  the  car  in  getting  to  the  door.  In  collecting 
fares  the  conductor  has  the  advantage,  since  by 
the  time  he  is  half  through  collecting  he  is  at  the 
entrance,  and  much  "dropping  off'  is  thereby  pre- 
vented, which  is  an  item  of  considerable  financial 
importance. 

Another  feature  in  the  operation  of  the  Denver 
system  is  the  use  of  trailers  during  the  rush  hours. 
The  trailers  are  similar  to  the  motor  cars,  except 
that  they  are  lighter  in  construction,  the  weight 
being  12,300  pounds  They  are  readily  attached 
during  rush  hours.  They  are  safer  than  independ- 
ent units  on  the  street,  as  they  are  handled  by  regu- 
lar motormen  instead  of  "extras"  who  would  be 
employed  during  rush  hours  if  each  car  was  a 
motor  car.  Each  trailer  accommodates  practically 
as  many  passengers  as  a  motor  car ;  it  requires  no 
motorman  and  carries  less  dead  weight,  all  of 
which  contribute  to  the  economy  of  its  operation. 
A  four-motor  car  as  above  described  requires  2.; 
kilowatt-hours  per  car-mile:  when  hauling  a  trailer. 
nne  kilowatt-hour  per  car-miles  is  required  in  ad- 
dition. 

After  presenting  the  communication  from  Mr. 
Beeler,  Mr.  Damon  showed  to  the  Electrical  Sec- 
tion a  number  of  lantern  slides  of  diagrams  of  cars 
suitable  to  city  service.  These  diagrams  represented 
no  cars  actually  constructed,  but  embodied  several 
practical  ideas  which  might  be  adopted  in  the  con- 
struction  of  such  cars. 


io8 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


February  3,  1906 


Power  Transmission    Projects  in  South 
Africa. 

Robert  Hammond  of  London,  the  well-known 
electrical  engineer,  does  not  think  the  proposed 
745-mile  electric  power  transmission  from  Victoria 
Falls  to  Johannesburg  is  commercially  practicable 
under  existing  conditions.  He  writes  to  the  Lon- 
don Times  as  follows: 

"Mr.  W.  B.  Esson  has  recently  estimated  the 
total  cost  of  the  transmission  line,  to  deal  with 
20.0C0  horsepower,  at  £2,000,000,  a  figure  which  I 
am  able  fully  to  confirm.  Allowing  10  per  cent,  for 
interest  on  capital  and  for  maintenance  and  renew- 
als, we  have  a  total  annual  cost  of  the  transmission 
line  of  £200,000.  On  the  credit  side  in  favor  of 
the  waterpower  scheme  we  have  the  great  economy 
resulting  in  the  saving  of  the  entire  coal  bill  of  a 
steam  station,  together  with  various  subsidiary 
economies  such  as  a  saving  in  wages,  waste,  oil, 
water  and  stores.  If,  therefore,  the  coal  bill  of  a 
steam  plant  dealing  with  a  similar  output  ap- 
proaches £200,000,  we  have  at  once  a  convincing 
proof  that  the  waterpower  scheme  has  the  advan- 
tage. On  the  other  hand,  if  the  coal  bill  is  con- 
siderably less  than  £200,000,  it  is  obvious  that  the 
waterpower  scheme  could  not  possibly  compete 
with  one  relying  upon  steam.  Now,  sir,  coal,  hav- 
ing a  calorific  value  of  11,000  B.  T.  U.'s  per  pound, 
can  be  delivered  into  the  bunkers  of  the  steam  sta- 
tion which  I  have  in  view  for  5s.  a  ton,  and  at 
any  point  on  the  Rand  for  10s.  6d.  a  ton.  On  the 
basis  of  a  maximum  load  of  20,000  horsepower,  or 
15,000  kilowatts,  and  on  the  basis  of  the  load 
factor  adopted  in  this  controversy,  the  output  would 
amount  to  87,500,000  units  per  annum.  Assuming 
the  reasonable  rate  of  consumption  of  four  pounds 
per  unit,  the  coal  bill  of  a  steam  plant  would 
amount  to  £43,750  on  the  basis  of  5s.  per  ton  for 
coal,  or  £91,875  on  the  basis  of  10s.  6d.  per  ton. 
Taking  the  higher  figure,  it  appears  that  Mr.  Wil- 
son Fox's  scheme  saves  £91,875  per  annum  plus  a 
small  sum  to  cover  other  minor  savings,  and  in 
order  to  do  it  the  annual  expenditure  of  £200,000  is 
necessary." 

Another  scheme  proposed  is  the  installation  of 
an  electric  generating  station  at  Vereeniging,  ca- 
pable of  developing  100,000  horsepower,  for  sup- 
plying the  needs  of  the  Witwatersrand.  Vereeni- 
ging is  32  miles  in  a  straight  line  from  the  Rand, 
and  it  is  intended  to  utilize  the  coal  fields  in  the 
Vereeniging  district,  where  a  plentiful  supply  of 
water  is  also  available.  The  promoters  of  the  scheme 
contemplate  the  provision  of  electricity  for  power 
purposes  and  for  the  supply  of  light  and  heat  to 
the  whole  reef,  including  Johannesburg  and  the 
neighboring  towns.  They  anticipate  that  the  scheme 
will  enable  large  economies  to  be  effected  in 
capital  expenditure  in  the  various  mines  and  in  the 
working   costs. 


Extensions  to  South  Side  Elevated. 
The  South  Side  Elevated  Railroad  Company  of 
Chicago  at  its  annual  meeting  reported  net  earn- 
ings of  $660,385  for  the  year  ended  December  31, 
1905.  This  is  the  best  report  in  the  history  of  the 
company.  The  total  earnings  were  $1,713,347,  and 
the  total  operating  expenses  $1,052,962.  The  ele- 
vated road  to  Englewood  was  practically  completed 
during  the  year  and  is  now  in  partial  operation. 
Extensions  during  1905  cost  about  $2,500,000.  Presi- 
dent Carter  said  that  82  per  cent,  of  the  new 
third  track  had  been  erected.  The  express  service 
could  not  be  established,  however,  until  all  the 
work  had  been  done.  He  said  150  new  cars  had 
been  ordered  and  were  arriving.  These  operate 
successfully  in  trains  with  the  present  equipment, 
and  all  can  be  used  for  either  local  and  express 
service.  Power  was  greatly  added  to  during  the 
year  by  the  completion  and  putting  on  the  line 
of  an  additional  storage  battery  of  1,000  kilowatts 
capacity.  The  addition  to  the  power  house  he  said 
would  provide  two  new  engine-driven  units  of 
2,000  kilowatts  capacity  each.  They  should  be 
ready  for  operation  in  the  spring. 


Books  Received. 

"Electric-wiring  Diagrams  and  Switchboards." 
By  Newton  Harrison.  Published  by  the  Norman 
W.  Henley  Publishing  Company,  New  York.  Price, 
$1.50. 

"Modern  Machine  Shop  Construction,  Equipment 
and  Management,"  by  Oscar  E.  Perrigo.  Published 
by  the  Norman  W.  Henlev  Company,  New  York. 
Price,   $5. 

"The  Practical  Engineer's  Handbook — the  Care 
and  Management  of  Electric  Power  Plants."  By 
Norman  H.  Schneider.  Published  by  Spon  & 
Chamberlain,  New  York. 


Mayor  Dunne  has  vetoed  the  order  requiring 
the  removal  of  turnstiles  on  the  elevated  loop. 
He  said  the  order  had  been  passed  on  the  ground 
that  the  turnstiles  were  causing  public  incon- 
venience. He  said  he  had  investigated  as  to 
whether  the  turnstiles  were  a  nuisance  and  had 
been  assured  that  they  were  a  necessary  and  usual 
adjunct  to  the  service  and  ought  not  to  be  re- 
moved. 


CORRESPONDENCE, 

Great  Britain. 

London,  January  17. — Surface-contact  traction 
systems  in  this  country  tend  to  become  quite  nu- 
merous. It  is  well  known  that  for  some  time  the 
Wolverhampton  Corporation  has  had  the  Lorain 
system  working  a  fair  mileage;  it  will  also  be 
remembered  that  the  Dolter  company  has  parlia- 
mentary powers  to  construct  lines  upon  its  system 
at  Torquay,  and  in  fact  the  lines  are  now  in  course 
of  being  built.  Further,  I  have  recently  reported 
that  the  Lincoln  Corporation  had  in  course  of  con- 
struction an  experimental  mile  upon  the  Griffiths- 
Bedell  system.  This  latter  has  now  been  opened.  I 
propose  to  give  a  few  further  particulars  of  this 
installation  shortly.  In  addition  to  these  cases  there 
is  now  being  built  a  six-mile  section  of  line  on  the 
Dolter  system  between  Mexborough  and  Swinton 
in  Yorkshire,  in  connection  with  which  a  scheme 
embodying  the  lighting  of  three  towns,  and  tram- 
way communication  between  them,  is  now  being 
undertaken. 

At  Lincoln  iH  miles  of  single  track  and  half  a 
mile  of  double  track  has  been  equipped  with  the 
"G.  B."  system,  which  I  described  in  the  Western 
Electrician  some  time  ago  and  which,  I  believe,  is 
familiar  to  American  engineers.  As  at  Wolver- 
hampton, the  contractors  for  the  line  have  had  to 
undertake  the  withdrawal  of  the  system  should  the 
result  be  unsatisfactory  after  a  short  time.  A 
feature  of  the  line  is  that  a  level  crossing  exists  at 
one  portion  of  the  route  where  the  lines  of  the 
Great  Northern  Railway  Company  cross  those  of 
the  tramway.  With  this  system  the  contact  studs 
do  not  project  above  the  surface  of  the  roadway, 
and  the  conductor  is  carried  in  a  glazed  earthenware 
pipe  in  which  it  is  supported  on  porcelain  insula- 
tors. The  skate  underneath  the  car,  which  is  mag- 
netized, causes  a  small  swritch-piece  to  descend  onto 
the  conductor  and  so  to  give  the  necessary  connec- 
tion to  the  car.  Besides  reliability,  great  cheapness 
is  claimed  for  the  system.  A  stud,  it  is  stated,  will 
last  as  long  as  the  rails,  and  it  is  estimated  that  it 
will  not  cost  any  more  to  renew  the  studs  over  one 
mile  of  track  than  to  replace  a  similar  length  of 
trolley  wire.  The  results  at  Lincoln  will  be 
watched  with  interest. 

For  many  years  the  postoffice  authorities  have 
been  worried  by  the  inclination  of  the  various 
chambers  of  commerce  throughout  the  country  to 
expedite  the  laying  of  additional  underground 
cables  for  both  telegraph  and  telephone  purposes  to 
the  north  of  England  and  Scotland.  Realizing  the 
business  necessity  for  such  additional  communica- 
tion, the  laying  of  a  cable  and  the  first  section  was 
completed  some  years  ago  between  London  and 
Birmingham.  From  that  point  to  the  north  of 
England  and  on  to  Glasgow  geographical  and  other 
difficulties  have  greatly  hindered  the  work;  hence 
it  is  that  only  quite  recently  has  the  complete  cable 
been  laid  and  opened  for  traffic.  The  Birmingham 
section  of  the  cable  consists  of  76  paper-insulated 
lead-covered  cables,  each  weighing  150  pounds  a 
mile;  from  Birmingham  to  Warrington  there  are 
74  ico-pound  wires,  and  similar  cables  on  the  sec- 
tion between  Warrington  and  Glasgow,  but  laid 
up  in  a  different  manner.  The  total  length  of  the 
cable  is  409  miles. 

The  opposition  in  the  next  Parliament  to  the 
various  electric-power  companies  throughout  the 
United  Kingdom  promises  to  be  keener  than  ever, 
and  already  an  organization  of  the  various  peti- 
tions is  being  put  in  hand.  In  Lancashire  all  the 
local  authorities  have  combined  to  fight  the  Lan- 
cashire company  and  the  same  thing  will  apply  to 
the  various  companies  in  London,  while  more  than 
one  borough  council  in  London  has  decided  to 
oppose  the  scheme  of  the  London  County  Council, 
and  it  is  the  boroughs  that  the  latter  has  to  look 
to  most  for  its  business. 

Instances  frequently  occur  of  the  need  for  a  re- 
vision of  the  law  relating  to  vibration  in  neighbor- 
ing premises  set  up  by  plants  which  have  to  give, 
by  law,  a  public  supply  of  electricity.  Under  some 
conditions  the  owners  of  the  electricity  works  is 
liable  for  heavy  compensation  in  respect  of  any 
such  vibration,  while  under  another  law  he  is  not. 
An  attempt  has  been  made  in  a  general  act  to  ex- 
empt public  works,  such  as  are  electric-generating 
stations,  from  the  operation  of  such  acts,  but  with- 
out success.  This  year  a  large  number  of  authori- 
ties are  seeking  individual  powers  of  this  character. 
A  recent  case  of  what  does  happen  in  this  connec- 
tion has  occurred  at  Manchester,  where  the  owner 
of  some  property  adjoining  the  municipal  electricity' 
works  has  practically  forced  the  corporation  to 
pay  him  $5,000  a  year  instead  of  taking  the  matter 
into  court.  As  the  law  now  stands  the  corporation 
would  either  be  bound  to  remove  its  works  or 
abate  the  nuisance,  which  is  really  infinitesimal,  but 
yet  a  nuisance  in  the  legal  sense. 

The  recent  orders  of  British  makers  of  turbines 
show  that  there  is  a  great  field  for  this  type  of 
machine  here.  Willans  &  Robinson,  makers  of  the 
well-known  Willans  engines,  have  had  no  less 
than  50,000  kilowatts  under  construction  in  one 
year,  the  largest  size  being  5.000  kilowatts.  These 
machines  are  of  the  Parsons  type  and  are  made 
under  license. 

A  return  has  been  issued  having  reference  to  the 
mileage    and   other   details    concerning   street    tram- 


ways in  Great  Britain.  Since  the  year  1878  the 
length  of  route  open  for  traffic  has  been  increased 
from  269  miles  to  2,117  miles  in  1904-5,  the  capital 
expenditure  from  about  $21,500,000  to  $272,500,000, 
and  the  number  of  passengers  carried  has  increased 
from  146,000,000  to  2,069,000,000.  The  actual  length 
of  line  worked  electrically  is  1,780  miles,  and  the 
remainder,  making  2,117  miles,  are  worked  by 
horses  and  steam,  but  the  next  two  years  at  most 
will  see  these  displaced  by  electric  traction.  Mu- 
nicipal undertakings  have  increased  during  the  last 
year  from  160  to  174,  and  the  number  belonging 
to  companies  has  diminished  in  the  same  period 
from  150  to  146.  About  $1,000,000  was  paid  by 
local  authorities  toward  the  relief  of  rates  from 
tramway  revenue  during  the  year  1904-5.  G. 


New  York. 


New  York  city,  January  27. — On  Wednesday  at 
Albany  the  Interborough-Metropohtan  Company  of 
New  York  was  incorporated  with  a  capital  of 
$15,000  for  the  purpose  of  holding  the  stocks  and 
bonds  of  the  companies  operating  the  transportation 
lines  in  Greater  New  York  and  vicinity.  This 
company  has  a  charter  for  999  j'ears,  and  details 
were  made  public  today  of  tr.e  manner  in  which 
the  stock  of  the  Interborough  and  Metropolitan 
companies  will  be  held  or  reorganized  with  a  total 
paper  capitalization  of  $225,000,000.  The  directorate 
of  the  holding  company  includes  John  B.  McDon- 
ald, the  constructor  of  the  New  York  subway,  who, 
it  will  be  remembered,  left  the  Belmont  concern 
to  supervise  the  proposed  subway  schemes  of  the 
Metropolitan  Street  Railway  Company.  Mr.  Mc- 
Donald is  now  definitely  connected  with  the  Belmont 
interests  and  ceases  to  be  identified  with  any  rival 
schemes.  Then  there  is  Walter  G.  Oakman,  who 
is  president  of  the  Hudson  tunnel  companies ;  Peter 
A.  B.  Widener  of  Philadelphia  and  Morton  F. 
Plant.  Mr.  Oakman  has  been  elected  temporary 
chairman  of  the  new  board,  and  a  board  of  voting 
trustees  has  been  formed  which  includes  the  above 
with  the  addition  of  August  Belmont,  Thomas  F. 
Ryan  and  Cornelius  Vanderbilt.  The  actual  details 
of  the  financing  of  the  merger  are  too  complicated 
to  be  mentioned  here,  except  to  state  that  about 
$3, coo.coo  cash  is  to  be  forthcoming  and  that  each 
of  the  two  chief  traction  companies  will  deposit 
two-thirds  of  its  stock  with  the  holding  company. 
Nothing  has  been  divulged  to  show  that  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  has  any  relations  with  the 
merger,  but  it  is  not  clear  about  the  position  of  the 
Brooklyn   Rapid  Transit. 

Plans  are  awaiting  approval  of  the  city  authori- 
ties for  the  lengthening  of  the  local  subway  plat- 
forms to  accommodate  eight-car  trains  in  place  of 
the  five-car  trains  now  used.  The  express  stations 
will  not  have  to  be  altered.  A  discussion  is  pend- 
ing as  to  the  necessity  of  guard  rails  at  various 
stations,  but  these  rails  have  this  week  been  put 
up  at  Fourteenth  Street. 

In  May  last  year  the  Interborough  Rapid  Transit 
Company  was  denied  an  application  to  construct  a 
third  or  express  track  on  the  Third  Avenue  Ele- 
vated line,  but,  according  to  the  allegations  of  the 
City  Club,  the  company  is  proceeding  illegally  to 
lay  the  track,  in  proof  of  which  photographs  have 
been  forwarded  to  the  mayor. 

A  bill  has  been  introduced  at  Albany  to  provide 
for  an  eight-hour  working  day  for  subway  em- 
ployes. 

Gossip  is  current  that  the  New  York,  Westches- 
ter and  Boston  railroad  has  acquired  a  controlling 
interest  in  the  Port  Chester  scheme,  but  the  affirma- 
tions and  denials  of  the  presidents  on  both  sides 
are  so  emphatic  as  to  leave  confusion  worse  con- 
founded. The  Westchester  has  a  franchise  for  an 
electric  road  in  the  Bronx  and  defeated  a  similar 
application  made  by  the  Port  Chester  company. 
That  the  Port  Chester  company  anticipates  ulti- 
mate success  is  shown  by  an  attempt  it  has  made 
to  bind  the  labor  unions  down  to  a  three-year  con- 
tract. 

Compressed  air  escaping  from  the  McAdoo  Tun- 
nel under  Greenwich  Street,  Manhattan,  forced  its 
way  through  30  feet  of  earth  this  morning  and 
raised  a  portion  of  the  sidewalk  five  feet  above  its 
normal  level.  The  air  has  been  escaping  through 
the  loose  soil  in  small  quantities  for  several  days 
past. 

Thirty-one  bodies  were  represented  at  a  meeting 
held  at  the  Board  of  Trade  on  Thursday  after- 
noon for  the  discussion  of  the  effective  control  by 
the  city  of  all  future  subway  systems.  Brooklyn 
delegates  were  solid  for  city  subways,  but  Manhat- 
tan representatives  indulged  in  some  heated  discus- 
sion. A  meeting  for  a  similar  purpose  will  be  held 
in  Brooklyn  on  Monday. 

District  Attorney  W.  T.  Jerome  is  said  to  be  in 
possession  of  a  confession  of  a  man  who  avers 
that  he  was  formerly  hired  by  the  Metropolitan 
Street  Railway  Company  for  the  purpose  of  influ- 
encing juries  in  damage  suits.  The  documentary 
evidence  implicates  men  higher  up. 

A.  C.  Shand,  now  assistant,  will  become  chief 
engineer  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  on  March 
1st,  when  Chief  Engineer  W.  H.  Brown  retires  on 
a  pension. 

The  Great  Eastern  Telephone  Company  is  busily 
canvassing  all  the  boroughs  for  private  and  com- 
mercial business  and  in  some  cases  offers  an  unlim- 
ited residental  rate  of  $1  a  month,  with  the  first  six 


P(  l.i  nary  3,   1906 

months    free   to   the   first    10,000   sub  ci 
lowest  businet  1   mi  1  agi    rate  i     two       •         ind  I 
•     1  borough  rate  will   be  fi 

mill    limit.    'I  he  form  of  contracl   m  ikes  il   p Ii 

to  bind  1  ho  company  down   ti 

;,      long    a  •    five    yi  ars,      I  .ong  di  t; mixtions 

ii  0,000   in  itr I      in 

I  lir    Duplex    Ignition    Company    of    150 
Strcel    has   put   a   new    .pari:   plug  on    the 
which   is  so  made  that   by  pulling  out  a  slci 
inductance  equals  the  capacity   (by  operating  what 
1 1  in   reality  a  miniatun    Leydcn    jar),     0  that  any 
stoppage   nf   the    action    due    to     oot,   etc,    ■     im 
mediately  overcome. 

Bids    for    the    annual    contracts    for    the    electric 
lighting  of   Brooklyn   are   returnable   on    February 

it,  Inn   it  is  not  anticipated  that  any   'I gi    eithei 

of  contractor  or  prices  will   result.  D.  W.W. 


Dominion  of  Canada. 

Ottawa,  Ont,  January  27.— A  large  American 
telephone  supply  company,  having  headquarters  at 
Elkhart,  Ind.,  has  written  the  city  clerk  of  Ottawa 
as  to  the  city's  business  advantages,  rail  and  water 
and  the  mineral  resources  of  the  district, 
with    a    view   to    locating   a    branch   house    here. 

The  Canadian  commission  that  studied  electric 
smelting  in  Europe  was  satisfied  with  results  ob- 
tained in  the  case  of  hematite,  but  it  remains  to  be 

in  whether  magnetite  ores,  which  so  largely 
abound  in  Ontario  and  Quebec  provinces,  can  be 
smelted   at   an    equally    low    cost. 

The  Canadian  Gazette  contains  notice  of  the  in- 
corporation of  a  big  construction  company  with  a 
capital  of  $6,000,000,  and  headquarters  in  Montreal. 
The  principal  promoters  of  the  company  are  A. 
MacArthur,  A.  F.  MacArthur,  Chicago;  J.  R.  Mac- 
Arthur.  New  York;  W.  J.  Poupore  and  G.  C.  Fos- 
ter, Montreal.  In  addition  to  a  general  construct- 
ing business  the  company  will  carry  on  the  business 
of  an  electric-light,  heal  and  power  company  in  all 
its  branches. 

Something  new  in  the  steel  industry  is  Canadian 
steel  made  direct  from  sulphurous  ores  by  electric 
furnace.  A  sample  of  this  steel  has  been  sent  to 
the  Ontario  director  of  mines  by  J.  W.  Evans, 
mining  engineer,  of  Deseronto,  Ont.  This  sample 
was  accompanied  by  other  samples  of  steel  made 
by  the  same  electrical  process  from  titanium  ores. 
Although  the  experiments  in  the  treatment  of  the 
ores  were  carried  out  only  on  a  laboratory  scale, 
ihey  are  nevertheless  considered  most  encouraging. 
Titanium  in  iron  ore  has  been  considered  a  draw- 
back in  the  reduction  of  the  ore  in  the  blast  fur- 
nace. Too  much  sulphur  has  also  resulted  in  an 
inferior  quality  of  iron.  In  Ontario  there  are  iron 
deposits  that  can  be  made  of  great  advantage  should 
the  electrical  process  prove  the  success  that  the 
experiments  now  promise  it  will.  W. 


Winnipeg,  January  27. — The  city  is  about  to  force 
the  Winnipeg  Street  Railway  Company  by  legis- 
lative enactment  to  put  air  brakes  on  all  street  cars 
in  the  city,  to  install  electric  push  buttons  at  each 
car  seat  and  to  prevent  smoking  in  car  vestibules. 

The  power  for  electrifying  the  Temiscaming  rail- 
way is  to  be  developed  from  the  Montreal  River, 
which  is  on  the  line  of  the  railway  not  far  from 
Cobalt,  Ont.  This  will  help  the  mining  industries 
there. 

The  St.  John  (N.  B.)  Electric  Railway  Company 
has  offered  to  again  supply  the  city  with  electric 
lights  at  a  reduced  charge  if  the  present  contract 
is  renewed,  which  expires  next  August.  The  city 
proposes  to  seek  legislative  sanction  to  expropriate 
the  street-railway  company's  plant. 

The  Toronto  and  York  Radial  Electric  Railway 
has  given  notice  of  an  application  to  the  Legisla- 
ture for  an  act  to  empower  it  to  operate  the  To- 
ronto and  Scarboro  Electric  Railway,  Light  and 
Power  Company,  the  Toronto  and  Mimico  Electric 
Railway,  Light  and  Power  Company  and  the  Metro- 
politan Electric  Railway,  and  conferring  on  the 
Radial  company  all  the  powers  already  held  under 
the  acts  of  the  separate  companies.  Authority  is 
also  asked  to  construct  and  operate  several  branches. 

The  London  electric  street  railway  has  re-elected 
the  old  board  of  directors.  The  report  shows  a 
slight  increase  of  earnings.  A  dividend  of  six  per 
cent,    was   declared. 

The  Port  Arthur  (Ont.)  City  Council  has  car- 
ried the  by-law  for  the  running  of  Sunday  cars  and 
is  now  making  application  to  the  Legislature  for 
permission  to  build  a  belt  line  through  the  residen- 
tial portion  of  the  town.  This  also  equally  applies 
to  Fort  William,  which  is  joint  owner  of  the  rail- 
way. 

The  Edmonton  (N.  W.  T.)  City  Council  has  de- 
cided to  build  three  miles  of  electric  street  railway 
and  run  it  as  a  municipal   undertaking. 

Chairman  Hendrie  of  the  Railway  Commission 
has  completed  the  draft  of  the  government  bill  for 
the  regulating  of  electric  railways  in  the  Province 
of  Ontario.  It  contains  clauses  preventing  the  giv- 
ing of  perpetual  franchises  by  municipalities,  allows 
expropriation  to  interurban  lines,  regulates  freight 
cars,  etc.,  on  radial  and  interurban  electric  railways 
whose  lines  are  on  the  public  highways,  and  there 
are  provisions  for  the  protection  of  crossings. 
Bonding  privileges  are  also  clearly  defined  in  the 
act,  which  also  contains  regulations  as  to  rates. 
Reference    of    disputes    between    municipalities    and 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

for.      Mr.    II.: 
running  of  Sui  thai  they 

'..     V.        ! 

that  the  direct- 
feed    In-  inner)', 
up  i..  :i  highi  1  II. 

New  England. 
Bo  ton,    January    27. — The    controversy    over    the 
ric-light 
plant  in  tin     city  1     getting  warm,  and  trad. 

mmerce, 
ociation  and  other  influential 

have   formally 

and  thi    bu  im       men  generally  arc  opposed  to  the 

chi  in 

Of  COl  n   Electric   Illuminating  Com- 

pany of  Bo  ton  i  following  the  pn  11 
a  watchful  eye.  The  wonderful  growth  of  that 
company  and  thi  facl  thai  1'  ervice  is  appreciated 
fully  by  many  of  the  largest  merchants  of  Boston 
make  it  a  factor  in  the  situation.  There  arc  lots 
of  business  men  who  believe  that  the  cost  of  an 
electric-lighting  equipment  on  the  part  of  the 
city  would  be  a  costly  thing  for  the  citizens  as  a 
whole,   and  especially   for  them  as  heavy  taxpayers. 

The  law  under  which  municipalization  of  elec- 
tric-light plants  is  authorized  in  Massachusetts  is 
very  advantageous  to  existing  electric-light  plants 
and  shuts  off  competition  by  compelling  the  pur- 
chase of  existing  public-service  corporation  plants 
at  a  valuation  based  upon  the  market  value  of  these 
plants,  earning  capacity,  etc.,  taken  into  account. 
It  is  not  the  mere  cost  of  duplication,  therefore, 
which  has  to  be  considered,  but  the  cost  of  putting 
existing  industries  out  of  commission  and  of  reim- 
bursing stockholders  for  the  supplanting  of  their 
investment   with   a   governmental   monopoly. 

The  proposed  new  Lowell  and  Boston  inter- 
urban elevated  electric  road  is  making  a  large  bid 
for  popularity  and  the  promoters  are  meeting  with 
a  large  degree  of  success.  The  route  will  be  only 
one-tenth  of  a  mile  longer  than  an  air-line  between 
the  two  cities  would  measure.  Private  way,  im- 
munity from  curves  and  a  possible  run  of  25 
miles  is  -a  little  over  one-half  an  hour,  are  the 
features  of  the* project.  Permits  have  been  ob- 
tained in  Lowell  this  week  for  necessary  track 
locations  and  a  station  site.  It  is  proposed  to 
connect  with  the  Boston  elevated  road  at  Sullivan 
Square.  Congressman  Butler  Ames,  grandson  of 
General  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  is  president  of  the 
company. 

The  Bangor  and  Northern,  formerly  known  as 
the  Penobscot  Central,  a  trolley  line  extending  from 
Bangor,  Maine,  to  Charleston,  a  distance  of  26 
miles,  was  sold  on  January  21st  to  the  Bangor  Rail- 
way and  Electric  Company.  The  absorbing  com- 
pany now  controls  all  the  Bangor  and  suburban 
electric    railway    properties.  B. 

Southeastern  States. 

Charlotte,  N.  C,  January  27. — A  bill  has  just 
been  introduced  in  the  South  Carolina  Legislature 
providing  that  all  electric  lines  outside  of  towns 
shall  provide  separate  cars  for  white  and  colored 
people.  It  is  provided  that  motormen  shall  be 
held  responsible  in  case  of  violations  of  this  act. 

It  is  announced  in  Frederick,  Md.,  that  the  syn- 
dicate owners  of  the  Frederick  and  Middletown 
Electric  Railway  are  preparing  to  receive  bids  for 
building  a  road  from  Baltimore  to  Hagerstown  to 
cost  $6,000,000,  the  line  to  take  in  a  large  number 
of  intervening  cities.  Two  mountains  will  be  tun- 
neled at  a  cost  of  $1,000,000  each,  and  a  big  power 
plant  will  be  constructed  at  Monocacy  River.  The 
contract  for  this  part  of  the  work  will,  it  is  under- 
stood, be  given  out  first.  The  entire  cost  of  the 
work  is  calculated  at  from  $6,000,000  to  $S,ooo,ooo. 

A  new  concern  has  been  launched  at  Anderson, 
S.  C,  to  develop  Gregg  Shoals,  about  17  miles 
from  the  town.  S.  M.  Orr  of  Anderson,  J.  E. 
Sirrine  of  Greenville  and  others  are  interested. 
The  company  is  known  as  the  Savannah  River 
Power  Company.  The  principal  office  will  be  in 
Anderson. 

Application  for  a  charter  has  been  filed  at 
Columbia,  S.  C,  by  J.  U.  Jackson,  vice-president 
of  the  Augusta-Aiken  electric  railway,  for  a  new 
company  to  be  known  as  the  Augusta  and  Colum- 
bia Railroad  Company,  which  will  connect  Columbia 
and  Augusta  by  an  electric  line.  Steam  will  be 
used  for  freight  and  electricity  for  passenger  traffic, 
it  is  said.  The  new  line  will  be  about  too  miles 
in  length,  22  miles  now  being  in  operation  between 
Aiken  and  Augusta. 

It  is  announced  that  during  1906  the  Georgia 
Railway  and  Electric  Company  of  Atlanta  will 
double  track  all  of  its  lines  in  Fulton  Lounty, 
spending  $250,000  and  erecting  a  house  for  em- 
ployes. 

The  Reed  River  Power  Company  has  been  organ- 
ized at  Laurens,  S.  C,  to  develop  a  nearby  water 
power,    the    capital    being    $50,000. 

The     Central     Carolina     Power     Company,     with 


$500/00  capital 


Ihe  actarmg 

n   and 

rests.  I. 


Ohio. 

Cleveland,  January  27. — At  the  annual  meet 
and    Light    C 
at  Akron   a   few  days   ago  the  officers  cho*. 
as  folio. 

.",  second  vice-president  and 
r,  Charles  Curric;  secretary,  • 
treasurer,  J.  K.  Xutt.  The  financial  report 
an  increase  in  the  receipts  of  $67,433  over  the  year 
Physically  and  financially,  the  company  is 
in  good  condition,  and  it  is  expected  that  the  gross 
earnings  will  go  over  the  million-dollar  mark  this 
year. 

Preliminary  steps  have  been  taken  to  consolidate 
the  four  traction  lines  that  cover  the  distance  be- 
tween Cleveland  and  Erie,  Pa.  Myron  H. 
and  W.  J.  Hayes  are  engaged  in  securing 
on  the  stock  of  the  Cleveland  and  Painesville.  The 
stock  of  the  Cleveland,  Painesville  and  Eastern, 
the  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  and  the  road  that  op- 
erates from  Conncaut  to  Erie  is  all  closely  held 
and  can  be  voted  at  any  time.  Competent  traction 
men  have  agreed  that  these  roads  can  be  more 
profitably  operated  together  than  individually. 

Representative  Reynolds'  bill  providing  for  heat- 
ing the  motormen's  vestibules  has  been  passed  by 
the  lower  house  of  the  General  Assembly  without 
a  dissenting  vote. 

Reports  of  officers  at  the  annual  meeting  of  stock- 
holders of  the  Columbus  Railway  and  Light  Com- 
pany show  that  the  gross  income  for  the  year  was 
almost  $1,800,000,  and  that  the  net  income  for  the 
year  was  a  little  over  $900,000,  the  expenses  being 
about  49  per  cent,  of  the  gross  earnings.  This  is 
the  smallest  expense  ratio  shown  by  any  road  in 
the  state  so  far.  The  number  of  passenger  carried, 
including  transfers,  has  increased  from  18,000,000 
in  1000  to  50,000,000  in  1005.  R.  E.  Sheldon  was 
elected  president,  and  E.  K.  Stewart,  general  man- 
ager. 

The  Licking  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company 
of  Newark  will  erect  a  new  power  house  at  a  cost 
of  about  $100,000  in  order  to  keep  pace  with  the 
growth  of  the  town. 

Senator  Vanover  has  prepared  a  bill  that  will 
place  the  work  of  assessing  all  railroads,  electric 
railways,  telephone  companies,  telegraph  companies 
and  other  semi-public  corporations  in  the  hands  of 
a  commission  consisting  of  the  governor,  state 
urer  and  state  auditor,  with  two  private  citizens. 
The  franchises  and  physical  property  shall  be  val- 
ued and  the  taxes  shall  be  paid  into  county  where 
the  property  is  located.  The  bill  does  away  en- 
tirely with  the  present  method  of  fixing  valuations. 

The  sixteenth  annual  meeting  and  dinner  of  the 
Cincinnati  Postal  Telegraph  Managers  took  place  at 
the  Business  Men's  Club  in  that  city  on  Tuesday 
of  this  week.  E.  J.  Nally  of  Chicago.  E.  W.  Col- 
lins  of  Cleveland  and  A.  W.  Reinhart  of  Pittsburg 
were  among  the  guests. 

A  bill  now  before  the  Legislature  provides  that 
a  franchise  must  be  granted  interurban  railroads 
in  cities  where  there  is  but  one  track  on  the  streets 
desired,  providing  the  consents  of  property  owners 
are  secured.  The  interurban  must  bear  the  expense 
of  moving  the  existing  track  to  one  side.  This  bill 
is  intended  to  provide  terminal  ^facilities  for  inter- 
urbans,  and  does  not  mention  a  city  sen-ice. 

Preliminary  work  on  the  Galion  Southern  elec- 
tric-railway line  is  being  prosecuted  with  vigor.  It 
is  the  intention  to  build  a  line  between  Galion  and 
Fredericktown.  Mayor  W.  L.  Ball  of  Frederick- 
town  has  the  matter  in  charge. 

It  is  said  that  the  Lake  Shore  Electric  is  con- 
templating the  purchase  of  the  Toledo,  Port  Clin- 
ton and  Lakeside,  in  order  to  make  a  direct  con- 
nection between  Sandusky  and  Toledo.  The  report 
has   been   denied   in   some  quarters. 

The  School  Board  of  Cleveland  is  considering 
the  establishment  of  lighting  plants  in  four  school 
buildings.  A  small  plant  in  one  of  the  buildings 
has  proved  successful,  and  this  has  induced  the 
board  to  take  up  the  matter  relative  to  the  other 
buildings.    especially'  where   night   schools   are   held. 

The  Thomson-Houston  Electric  Company  has 
brought  suit  against  the  Sackett  Mine  Supply  Com- 
pany of  Columbus  to  restrain  the  manufacture  of 
a  suspended  switch  and  traveling  contact,  claiming 
infringement   of   patents   owned   by   the   company. 

Sidings   are  being  built  at  intervals   of  one   mile 


Ho 

by  the  Toledo,  Bowling  Green  and  Southern,  in 
furtherance  of  its  plans  to  carry  produce  from  the 
farms  directly  to  the  markets.  In  addition,  sidings 
have  been  built  in  front  of  many  farms.  The  road 
is  now  carrying  wheat  and  other  grain,  poultry,  eggs 
and  produce  of  all  kinds  to  the  markets,  and  re- 
turning goods  that  are  purchased  'in  the  city  di- 
rectly to  the  purchasers.  The  plan  bids  fair  to  be 
a  big  success,  although  the  expense  of  the  sidings 
is  considerable. 

Options  have  been  secured  near  Ravenna  by  the 
Cleveland,  Alliance  and  Ravenna  Traction  Company. 
It  is  said  the  projectors  of  this  line  will  make  it 
an  almost  water-level  air  line,  and  that  it  will  be 
one  of  the  best  equipped  in  the  country,  giving 
Cleveland  an   excellent  southern  outlet. 

Reports  are  current  that  the  Lake  Shore  Electric 
is  negotiating  for  the  Sandusky,  Norwalk  and  Mans-' 
field  line,  which  is  in  operation  between  Norwalk 
and  Plymouth,  a  distance  of  20  miles. 

The  Columbus  and  Miami'  Valley  Railway  Com- 
pany of  Xenia  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital 
stock  of  $10,000  bv  Gwynne  Dennis,  J.  M.  Dawson, 
Charles  Follett,  W.  H.  Thomas  and  J.  W.  Jones. 
The  company  is  formed  to  build  a  line  between 
Columbus  and  Xena,  with  a  branch  to  Oregonia. 

The  Lake  Shore  Electric  Railway  Company  will 
probably  make  some  important  improvements  the 
coming  year  in  the  way  of  additional  power  and 
the  purchase  of  15  new  cars.  It  is  also  possible 
that  a  double  track  will  be  built  from  Avon  Beach 
to  Cleveland,  in  order  to  take  care  of  the  increasing 
business. 

J.  R.  Harrigan,  it  is  reported,  has  resigned  as 
general  manager  of  the  Columbus,  Buckeye  Lake 
and  Newark  and  the  Columbus,  Newark  and  Zanes- 
ville,  effective  February  1st,  to  become  general  man- 
ager of  the  Canton-Akron  road,  with  headquarters 
at  Canton.  This  road  has  about  90  miles  of  track. 
O.  M.  C 


Indiana. 

Indianapolis,  January  27. — The  Indiana  Rapid 
Transit  Company,  a  new  enterprise,  proposes  the 
construction  of  an  interurban  line  from  Logansport 
to  Crawfordsville  and  a  branch  to  Indianapolis. 

The  Wabash-Northern  Railway  Company  has  filed 
articles  of  incorporation.  The  purpose  is  to  build 
a  line  from  Wabash  to  Winona  and  Warsaw. 
J.  A.  Barry,  G.  D.  McGee  and  J.  R.  Wilson  are  the 
incorporators. 

It  is  given  out  among  traction  men  that  an 
organization  of  eastern  capitalists  is  backing  a 
project  to  build  an  electric  railway  connecting 
Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  with  Indianapolis. 

The  work  of  surveying  the  Crawfordsville  and 
Northwestern  traction  line  between  Crawfordsville 
and  Hoopston,  HI.,  by  way  of  Attica,  is  almost 
complete.  The  work  is  in  charge  of  J.  W.  Farrell 
and  Spencer  J.  Hunt. 

With  J.  W.  Foutz  as  joint  agent,  with  offices  in 
the  terminal  freight  station,  Indianapolis,  the  offi- 
cials of  the  merger  companies  in  Indiana  have 
worked  out  and  adopted  plans  for  handling  and 
transporting  through-freight  and  express  matter. 
Rate  sheets  and  schedules  have  been  issued  and 
traffic  arrangements  made  with  connecting  lines  in 
Ohio  and  Michigan.  Comfortable  waiting  rooms 
are  being  opened  at  stations  along  the  lines  and  an 
agent  put  in  charge  to  sell  tickets  and  take  care 
of  the  freight  and  express  matter. 

According  to  the  incorporation  papers  of  the 
United  Traction  Coal  Company,  it  is  the  purpose 
of  some  of  the  Indiana  traction  companies  to  mine 
and  transport  their  own  coal.  The  capital  stock 
of  this  corporation  is  $300,000.  The  company  will 
open  mines  in  Sullivan  County  at  a  point  soon  to 
be  reached  by  an  interurban  road,  with  connection 
with  Indianapolis,  where  the  headquarters  and  dis- 
tributing office  of  the  company  will  be  maintained. 
The  directors  are  William  Sampson,  J.  V.  Von 
Asdell  and  H.  C.  Carpenter,  all  connected  with  the 
Indiana  Union  Traction  Company. 

The  commissioners  of  Allen  County  have  granted 
a  franchise  right-of-way  through  the  county  and 
the  town  of  Areola  to  the  Fort  Wayne  and  Winona 
Interurban  Company  from  Fort  Wayne  to  the 
county  line.  This  completes  the  right-of-way  the 
entire   distance. 

The  Indiana  Supreme  Court  has  decided  that  a 
steam  or  interurban  railroad  may  run  trains  through 
the  country  and  over  public  crossings  at  as  high  a 
rate  as  they  please  if  they  give  the  statutory  sig- 
nals and  maintain  proper  crossings.  This  rule, 
however,  does  not  apply  to  towns  and  cities. 

The  Town  Board  of  Centerville  is  preparing, to 
construct  an  electric-light  plant.  A  committee 
headed  by  John  Clark  will  negotiate  with  contract- 
ors and   supply  men. 

G.  W.  H.  Roush  of  Monroe  City  has  petitioned 
for  a  franchise  to  construct  and  install  electric-light 
plants  in  Monroe  City,  Algiers  and  Otwell. 

John  T.  Wynn,  an  electrician,  is  reported  to  have 
accepted  a  position  with  the  Fort  Wayne  and 
Wabash  Valley  Traction  Company  to  take  charge 
of  the  work  of  distributing  electricity  to  the  farm- 
ers along  the  company's  line.  Wires  will  be  strung 
from  the  feed-wires  to  farm  yards  to  convey  cur- 
rent for  light  and  power  purposes. 

The  Indianapolis  Heat  and  Light  Company  has 
just  completed  the  installation  of  a  large  motor 
generator  in  its  uptown  station.  The  motor  gener- 
ator   will    be    used    in    the    conversion    of   4,000-volt 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

alternating  current  from  the  Mill  Street  power  sta- 
tion into  250-volt  direct  current,  which  practically 
provides  two  distinct  plants,  either  being  capable  of 
furnishing  current  sufficient  for  present  demands. 
This  improvement  was  made  to  provide  for  emer- 
gencies. S.  S. 

Michigan. 

Grand  Rapids,  January  27. — At  the  meeting  of 
the  stockholders  of  the  Grand  Rapids  Edison  Com- 
pany, recently  held  in  this  city,  directors  were 
elected  for  the  ensuing  year  and  the  following 
officers  were  chosen :  President,  Daniel  McCool ; 
vice-president,  McGeorge  Bundy;  secretary  and 
treasurer,  Thomas  F.  Bechtel;  general  superintend- 
ent, A.  F.  Walker.  It  is  said  that  the  company 
contemplates  increasing  the  present  capacity  of  the 
plant  within  the  next  year. 

At  the  recent  annual  meeting  of  the  Grand  Rap- 
ids Railway  Company,  the  newly  elected  directors 
elected  C.  M.  Clark,  president;  L.  J.  Rindge,  vice- 
president;  Benjamin  S.  Hanchett,  general  manager, 
secretary  and  treasurer.  The  company  expects  to 
expend  $270,000  during  the  year  in  the  improvement 
of  the  property. 

Condemnation  proceedings  have  been  brought  by 
the  South  Bend  and  Southern  Michigan  Interurban 
Railwav  Company  against  farmers  who  are  not  will- 
ing to"  sell  right-of-way  at  a  reasonable  figure. 
In  one  township  the  company  paid  $3,700  for  right- 
of-way  across  four  big  farms.  In  another  town- 
ship $3,250  was  awarded  to  three  farmers  for  right- 
of-way.  The  company  expects  to  have  the  line 
completed  to  St.  Joseph  by  May  1st.  A  sub-station 
is  in  course  of  construction  at  Niles  for  the  trans- 
mission of  power  to  either  the  South  Bend  or 
Berrien  Springs  lines,  and  within  a  few  days  the 
company's  4,000-horsepower  engine  will  be  started 
at  Scotdale,  high-tension  wires  having  just  been 
completed  from  that  point  to  Niles  for  the  trans- 
mission of  the  power. 

Superintendent  Dawson  of  the  Rapid  Railway  an- 
nounces that  in  the  early  spring  some  of  the  hand- 
somest suburban  cars  built  would  be  placed  on  the 
line  between  Detroit  and  Port  Huron.  The  cars 
will  have  motors  of  112  horsepower  instead  of  76 
horsepower,  as  at  present,  and  ball-bearing  trucks. 
The  interior  will  be  finished  similar  to  parlor  cars 
and  will  have  all  modern  conveniences.  The  new 
cars  will  be  much  heavier  than  those  used  on  the 
line    at   present. 

The  town  of  Morrice  has  signed  a  contract  with 
the  Saginaw  Electric  Lighting  Company  for  lights. 
Bancroft  and  Perry  will  also  be  supplied.  A  power 
house  will  be  built  at  Shiawassee?  The  lights  are 
to   cost   $50  each. 

The  Manistee  River  Power  Company  of  Cadillac 
has  received  its  franchise  from  the  supervisors. 
The  dam  and  power  house  on  Manistee  River  are 
to   be    in    readiness    for  business   by    April    1,    1910. 

P.. 


Pacific  Slope. 

San  Francisco,  January  26.— The  Stanislaus  Elec- 
tric Power  Company,  recently  incorporated  under 
the  laws  of  Connecticut  by  California  and  eastern 
financiers,  and  capitalized  at  $10,000,000,  has 
opened  an  office  at  009  Kohl  Building,  San 
Francisco,  with  Beach  Thompson  and  Howard  P. 
Veeder  in  charge.  Construction  work  will  be 
pushed  this  season  on  the  initial  installation, 
amounting  to  20,000  kilowatts,  and  2,000  men  will 
be  employed  by  next  summer.  The  Union  Con- 
struction Company,  controlled  by  Sanderson  & 
Porter,  the  Stanislaus  Electric  Power  Company 
engineers^  will  construct  the   entire  plant. 

At  the  directors'  meeting  of  the  United  Railroads 
of  San  Francisco,  held  on  January  25th,  Thorn- 
well  Mullally  was  chosen  assistant  to  the  president 
and  executive  head  of  the  company  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. Patrick  Calhoun  will  remain  president  of 
the  company.  Charles  Holbrook  was  made  chair- 
man  of  the  board   of  directors. 

W.  D.  Larabee,  H.  M.  French,  J.  W.  Evans  and 
R.  A.  Phillips  of  Los  Angeles,  organized  under  the 
name  of  the  United  Railway  Company,  have  bought 
a  controlling  interest  in  the  Orange  Traction  Com- 
pany of  Portland,  Ore.  The  new  owners  have  ap- 
plied to  the  City  Council  for  a  franchise  for  the 
operation  of  additional  railway  lines.  The  applica- 
tion states  that  if  the  franchises  are  granted  the 
company  will  guarantee  to  expend  in  excess  of 
$400,000  in  construction  work. 
"  Grading  has  been  begun  by  the  San  Francisco, 
Oakland  and  San  Jose  Railway  Company  on  new 
extensions  to  the  Key  Route  system.  The  ap- 
plication of  S.  O.  Holmes  for  an  injunction  restrain- 
ing the  company  from  laying  these  extensions  has 
been  denied. 

The  Vallejo-Vaca  Electric  Railway  and  Steam- 
ship Company  has  been  incorporated  at  San  Fran- 
cisco with  a  capital  stock  of  $3,000,000,  of  which 
$So,oco  has  been  subscribed  by  W.  H.  Hodgkin, 
W.  H.  Sullivan  and  Daniel  Kelley.  The  company 
plans  to  build  electric  railways  and  operate^  a 
ferry  from  San  Francisco  to  the  east  side  of  San 
Francisco  Bay. 

The  Trinity  County  Water  and  Power  Company 
has  been  incorporated  in  San  Francisco  for  the 
purpose  of  constructing  a  waterpower  plant  in 
Trinity  County,  Cal.  The  capital  stock  of  the  com- 
pany is  $500,000.     The  incorporators  are  C.  A.  Gray, 


February  3,   1906 

Bart  Burke,  H.  Cherini,  A.  K.  Barrows,  O  F. 
Cooper,  F.   C.   Lewis  and  C.  A.   Rose. 

An  ordinance  has  been  introduced  in  the  City 
Council  of  Los  Angeles  calling  for  a  vote  upon 
the  proposition  of  issuing  bonds  to  the  amount  of. 
$i,coo,ooo  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a  munici- 
pal   electric-light   plant. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  of  Alameda,  Cal.,  has 
awarded  a  contract  to  Charles  C.  Moore  &  Co.  of 
San  Francisco  for  a  new  engine  for  the  municipal 
electric-light  plant.  The  National  Electric  Com- 
pany of  Milwaukee  was  awarded  a  contract  for  a 
generator  for  the  same  plant  on  its  bid  of  $4,670. 

J.  M.  Farland  has  been  granted  a  franchise  to 
establish  an  electric-light  plant  at  Half  Moon  Bay, 
San  Mateo  County.  A. 


PERSONAL. 

Arthur  O.  Einstein  has  many  friends  who  will 
be  interested  in  the  knowledge  that  he  is  again 
traveling  for  the  Manhattan  Electrical  Supply  Com- 
pany of  Chicago. 

Harry  S.  Ward,  chief  engineer  of  the  British 
Columbia  Electric  Railway  Company,  was  accident- 
ally killed  at  the  Goldstream  (B.  C.)  power  house. 
He  grasped  the  copper  on  two  switches  at  once. 

There  was  a  large  number  of  out-of-town  cen- 
tral-station men  in  attendance  at  the  Chicago  Elec- 
trical Show.  Among  them  were  L.  D.  Mathes, 
general  manager  of  the  Union  Electric  Company  of 
Dubuque,  and  M.  A.  Beal,  manager  of  the  Rock- 
ford   Edison   Company. 

George  L.  Ratcliffe  has  been  made  general  su- 
perintendent of  the  Cleveland  Electric  Railway  Com- 
pany's lines,  and  A.  E.  Duty  becomes  assistant 
general  superintendent.  Mr.  Ratcliffe  had  his  first 
experience  in  railroading  as  a  conductor  on  the  old 
Broadway   line   in   Cleveland. 

Cuthbert  Schaefer,  who  for  10  years  was  in  the 
contracting  business  in  New  Orleans,  and  who  for 
the  last  two  years  has  been  in  the  Chicago  office 
of  the  B.  F.  Sturtevant  Company  of  Boston,  Mass., 
on  February  1st  became  assistant  western  manager 
in  the  Chicago  office  of  Evans,  Almirall  &  Co.  of 
New   York. 

Dr.  H.  J.  P.  Sprengel,  the  inventor  of  the  mer- 
cury air  pump,  which,  as  subsequently  improved, 
made  possible  the  commercial  incandescent  lamp' 
and  the  X-ray  tube,  died  in  London  on  January 
14th.  He  was  a  highly  educated  chemist,  born  in 
Germany  in  1S34,  but  long  resident  in  England. 
He  was  elected  a  fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  in 
1878.  He  described  his  air  pump  to  the  Chemical 
Society   in    1865. 

John  F.  Gilchrist  has  been  appointed  by  President 
Blood  of  the  National  Electric  Light  Association 
as  reporter  on  the  free  installation  of  electric  signs. 
Mr.  Gilchrist's  large  experience  with  the  Chicago 
Edison  Company  will  enable  him  to  prepare  an 
interesting  and  instructive  report  on  this  subject 
for  presentation  at  the  twenty-ninth  convention  of 
the  association,  to  be  held  at  Atlantic  City,  N.  J., 
June   5th,   6th,   7th   and  8th   next. 

C.  T.  Mordock  of  Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  has  been 
appointed  by  President  Blood  to  report  to  the 
twenty-ninth  convention  of  the  National  Electric 
Light  Association,  to  be  held  in  June  next,  on 
"Methods  of  Theft  of  Current."  Past-President 
Ernest  H.  Davis  will  make  a  new  compilation  of 
the  laws  of  the  different  states  governing  theft  of 
current,  bringing  the  same  to  date.  This  is  an 
important  subject,  and  the  report  should  be  valu- 
able. 

Benjamin  Kauffman,  who  for  the  last  year  has 
been  assistant  western  manager  of  Evans,  Almirall 
&  Co.  in  their  Chicago  office,  on  February  1st 
became  western  manager  for  the  concern.  He  suc- 
ceeded to  the  position  resigned  by  Frank  N.  Jewett, 
who  went  with  the  Wagner  Electric  Manufacturing 
Company.  Mr.  Kauffman  was  for  several  years 
connected  with  the  Paul  System  Company  and  with 
the  Thomas  &  Smith  Company  of  Chicago,  as 
well  as  with  the  Western  Kieley  Steam  Specialty 
Company. 

Frank  N.  Jewett  has  been  appointed  by  the  Wag- 
ner Electric  Manufacturing  Company  district  man- 
ager for  the  states  of  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  East- 
ern Iowa,  Northern  Illinois 
and  Indiana,  and  Northern 
and  Western  Michigan,  with 
offices  in  the  Marquette 
Building,  Chicago.  The  ap- 
pointment became  effective 
on  February  1st.  Mr.  Jew- 
ett is  a  native  of  New  York 
state,  born  in  1870.  In  1893 
he  graduated  from  Cornell 
University  and  immediately 
entered  the  employment  of 
B.  W.  Payne  &  Sons  of 
Elniira.  N.  Y.,  manufacturers 
of  boilers  and  engines.  After 
two  years  in  the  experi- 
f.  n.  jewett.  mental    department    and    one 

in  the  sales  department  he  went  with  the  West  Side 
Street  Railwav  Company  of  Elmira  and  constructed 
its  power  house.  He  then  entered  the  employment 
of  Evans,  Almirall  &  Co.  of  New  York,   contract- 


February  3,  1906 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


in 


(,rs  for  heating,  ventilating  and  power  plants.  Six 
,.,,n  .  ago  he  opcm  -I  thi  1  ompanj  ■■<  tern  offici 
m  (  hicago  and  ha  been  we  ti  1  n  manager  ever 
>  1 . .  e      In     accepting     the     distrii  1     manage!  hip    of 

[hi     U  agni  r   1  ompan;     Mr.    [1  «  ctl      u I     G 

B,  i',,  iter,  who  1  now  di  trici  managi  1  in  I  hii  ago 
f,,r   the   Allis  Chalmci     <  ompany, 


ELECTRIC  LICHTING. 

\   franchise  will  soon  be  granted  for  an  el 

Ii«lit   plant   in    Broken    \rrow,    I.    I. 

Bonds  for  the  establishment  of  an  elcctrii  lighl 
plant  have  been  voted  by  the  city  of  Red  Cloud, 
Neb. 

The  Consolidated   Light,   Powei   and    I anj 

has  been  granted  a   franchise  for  a  planl   at  Cartcr- 

Mllr.      MO 

Bonds  to  the  amount  of  $10,000  have  been  voted 
to  put  in  a  municipal  electric  light  plant  in  Carring 

ion.  N.  1). 

The  Idaho  Light  and  Power  Company  of  Salt 
Lake  City  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital 
ftock  of  $.10,000. 

The  Cassvillc  Mill  and  Supply  ("ompany  is  about 
lo  install  a  system  of  electric  lights  for  the  city 
of   Cassville,   Mo. 

The  Dewey  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company 
has  been  incorporated  at  Nampa,  Idaho,  with  a 
capital   of  $r,ooo,ooo. 

The  sub-station  of  the  American  Falls  Power, 
Light  and  Water  Company  at  Blackfoot,  Idaho, 
was  destroyed  recently  by  fire.  The  plant  will  be 
rebuilt. 

George  Chambers  &  Co.,  proprietors  of  the  watcr- 
power  mill  near  Calhoun,  Ga.,  have  been  granted 
a  25-year  franchise  for  an  electric-light  system  in 
the  city. 

The  Consumers'  Electric  Lighting  Company  of 
New  Orleans  will  erect  a  six-story  building  on 
Rampart  Street,  near  Common,  to  be  used  as  the 
general   headquarters  of  the  company. 

The  Ottawa  and  Streator  (111.)  Power,  Light  and 
Traction  Company  has  been  incorporated,  with 
headquarters  in  Chicago.  The  capital  is  $50,000 
and  the  incorporators,  M.  Thome,  W.  E.  McLean 
and    M.    W.    Kelly. 

E.  S.  Parker  of  Ottumwa,  Iowa,  has  devised  a 
small  electric  headlight  for  attachment  to  the  tongue 
of  a  buggy  or  wagon  en  dark  nights.  It  is  only 
a  two-candlepower  lamp,  but  the  light  is  so  mag- 
nified by  a  lens  that  the  result  is  said  to  be  a  good 
light  thrown  150  feet  or  more  ahead  of  the  horse. 
The  device  is  about   ilA   inches  in   diameter. 

The  Board  of  Aldermen  of  Yonkers,  N.  Y„  has 
declared  in  favor  of  municipal  ownership  of  the 
city's  lighting  plant.  At  a  recent  meeting  a  resolu- 
tion was  passed  that  the  city  attorney  be  directed 
to  prepare  and  submit  to  the  Common  Council  a 
proposed  act  of  the  Legislature  authorizing  the  city 
of  Yonkers  to  own,  equip  and  operate  a  municipal 
electric-lighting  plant  for  the  purpose  of  lighting 
the  city  streets  by  means  of  electricity.  The  con- 
tracts for  electric  street  lighting  are  held  by  the 
Yonkers  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company,  and 
expire  in  1008  and  1009. 


ELECTRIC  RAILWAYS 

The  Hutchinson  (Kan.)  Interurban  Railway  Com- 
pany has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $100,- 
000. 

The  Indiana  Railway  Commission  has  instituted 
suit  to  determine  whether,  under  the  new  law, 
steam  and  interurban  roads  shall  be  permitted  to 
issue  free  transportation  to  other  than  those  in 
their  employment.  The  railroad  companies  are  mak- 
ing a  fight  more  to  protect  their  own  interests  than 
from  any  desire  to  retain  permission  to  give  passes 
to  the  general  public.  The  case  was  scheduled  to 
be  argued  January  30th.  It  is  also  understood  that 
Governor  Hanley  will  ask  the  Legislature  to  pass 
a    two-cent-a-mile    passenger    rate    for    Indiana. 

The  Detroit,  Flint  and  Saginaw  Electric  Railway 
Company  of  Saginaw,  Mich.,  has  decided  to  estab- 
lish a  museum.  In  the  construction  of  its  line 
through  Bridgeport  an  Indian  burying  ground  was 
encountered.  Some  skulls  were  sent  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Glasgow  in  Scotland.  The  road  was 
asked  to  secure  specimens,  if  possible,  for  the  state 
museum  at  Lansing,  and  from  other  sources  re- 
quests   came    in.     The    company    now    realizes    the 


1 1  ihi    n  lii   ,  ..imI  all   th  -■    in    dug  up 

••■.ill    be    1. 1. on.  .1    and    1  epl    in    a    littlr 

hill   when   ih'    Indian   were  bun.,]   «>n  1.. 

I  he 
the    a!.'  ..I   [he   Lai  1  awanna  and   V. 
Rapid  'Iran  it  1  ompan 

1  !,  prai 

loscd      '       1    ■ 
Icy  Rapid    I  ran 
■ 
and    v  Railroad  Company 

eral    smalli  1    1  ■■•  ther    forming    a    line 

from   Carbondalc   to    vVilkeibarre,   pa    mi'    through 

m  and  I'm  ton.     ITii     ro 
tin    \\ .   1  inghou  '    compai 
1 1  rits  in  electric  ti 

of    various    foil, 

buill  intial   manner,   with  >n 

pound     i'i  l    '  .nl  .     1.  .in    ball 

and    is    snila lil.'    for   '.in  1. 11    b)      l'  mi    ! 

Mi,    line    1     operated    by    the   third-rail    system,   and 
cai        in     run    ov.r    ll     singly    and    in    train,    under 

ll  'I'''-  nun    1  ontrol      \i    i" 

301  vice    mil     iIh     1 1  1    operated    b 

steam  Im  1. im. lo  .      1,.  im-   11  .  i|   for  Ih.'   in  ighl 


AUTOMOBILES. 


Ih'-  1  hicago  .mi bile  show  will  be  held  in  the 

Coliseum    and    Firsi    Regiment    Armory    from    Feb- 
ruary 3d  to  101I1.     Ii  will  be  all  one  show;  tl 
factions    which    exhibited    separately   in    New    York 
will    not    be    in    evidence    here.     General    Manager 
Samuel  A.  Miles  has  planned  a  uniform  schei 
decoration   which   will,  it  is  said,  make  the  exhibil 

and    the    general    view     1.      attractive    than    any 

show  ever  held.  An  extraordinary  fine  lighting 
effect  is  to  be  produced.  TTie  two  buildings  are 
utilized  because  neither  is  big  enough  to  accom- 
modate the  exhibitors. 


PUBLICATIONS. 

The  Fletcher  Manufacturing  Company  of  Dayton, 
Ohio,  is  sending  out  Catalogue  No.  555,  which  con- 
tains a  complete  listing  of  electrical  construction 
supplies,   together   with   prices   and    illustrations. 

Catalogue  No.  16  of  Pass  &  Seymour  of  Solvay, 
N.  Y.,  is  of  pocket  size  and  attractively  prepared. 
In  compiling  the  catalogue  the  object  bas  been 
clearly  and  comprehensively  to  illustrate  and  describe 
the  product,  which  may  be  said  to  have  been  done 
very  effectively.  One  good  feature  is  the  giving  of 
shipping  weights  per  one  thousand  of  each  of  the 
specialties  listed  in  the  catalogue.  These  specialties 
include  tubes,  cleats,  porcelain  knobs,  receptacles, 
rosettes  and  many  other  articles  of  a  kindred 
nature.  A  new  price  list  of  P.  &.  S.  specialties  is 
being  sent   out   at  the  same  time. 


TRADE  NEWS 


The  Wolfe-Lovett  Electrical  Company  of  Omaha, 
Neb.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $25,- 
000. 

The  address  of  the  Memphis  (Term.)  office  of  the 
Columbia  Incandescent  Lamp  Company  has  been 
changed  from  No.  302  Scimitar  Building  to  No. 
480  Randolph  Building. 

The  Navy  Department,  through  the  Bureau  of 
Supplies  and  Accounts,  is  inviting  sealed  proposals 
until  February  13th,  for  furnishing  eastern  navy 
yards  with  the  following:  Schedule  344.  arc  lamps, 
brackets,  etc.,  miscellaneous  electrical  supplies ; 
schedule  345,  bells,  rheostats,  contact  makers,  copper 
wire,  tape  and  other  electrical  supplies ;  schedule  346, 
motors,  incandescent  lamps ;  schedule  348,  electrical 
tape.  Specifications  and  blank  proposals  can  be  ob- 
tained at  the  navy  pay  office  in  New  York  or  upon 
aplication  to  the  Bureau  at  Washington. 

Machado  &  Roller  (Chicago  office.  421  Monad- 
nock  Building)  note  tbat  they  have  closed  one  of 
the  largest  orders  for  instruments  for  an  isolated 
plant  that  has  ever  been  taken  in  this  country. 
This  order  covers  the  instrument  equipment  of  the 
College  of  the  City  of  New  York,  and  calls  for 
illuminated-dial,  round-pattern  and  portable  instru- 
ments of  both  the  direct-current  and  hot-wire  alter- 
nating-current types.  There  are  over  70  illumi- 
nated-dial instruments  in  the  list.  12  of  which  are 
extra    large,    having    scales    27    inches    long. 

It  is  reported  that  the  General  Electric  Company 
has  sold,  to  a  syndicate  headed  by  Lohrke,  Rosen 
&    Co.,    all    its    interest    in    the    preferred    stock    of 


- 

■ 

■ 
organizi 

i.d  hunting  and 

field   and   .inn.'  the  new  non- 

rubbcr 

Broadu 

I'l'-ui.    Edwin    W.    M'  --deTick 

II    '  reve;   secretary, 

II.    S.    V. 

ih    P.    Dcvinc   of    Buffalo,    an    expert 
cuum    drying    ipj 

mpany  has  been  conduct 

;ness  as  a  company,  manufacturing  tr  • 

burg    vacuum    drying    and    impregnating    apparatus 

patent*.     Mr.    W.    Strohn    has 

'•ompany.     He 

a  member  of  the  firm  of  Emil 

Passburg,    Berlin.    Germany,    and   the   J.    P.    Devine 

Company    will    have   the    benefit    of    his   experience 

and   ad  the   assistance   and   advice   of 

the    European    firm    itself,    which    turned    over    its 

entire  interest  in  the  American  business  to  the  new 

Joseph   P.    Devine   Company. 

The   electrical    testing   labor  York 

city    tcsl    everything    electrical    from    dry    • 

generators.      If    too    large    or    in    too    great 

quantity  to  lie  sent  to  tluni.  they  will  send  experts 
10  tin-  factory  and  test  the  goods  before  shipment. 
Manager  Wilson   S.   Hi  It   is  important 

to  know  that  your  specifications  are  fulfilled,  that 
the  goods  arc  exactly  what  you  contracted  for.  If 
you  pay  100  per  cent,  of  the  contract  price,  you 
should  demand  goods  of  the  loo-per  cent,  quality 
and  not  be  content  with  less.  Ii  you  would  main- 
tain the  proper  balance  between  quality  and  price, 
your  contracts  should  be  so  carefully  drawn  that 
goods  which  do  not  conform  strictly  to  the  speci- 
fications agreed  upon  may  be  rejected  by  your  rep- 
resentative after  a  careful  test  for  you  at  the  shop 
of  the  maker.  We  have  for  years  represented 
many  of  the  largest  and  most  successful  central- 
station  companies  in  this  manner  and  have  in- 
spected and  tested  for  them  goods  to  the  value 
of  many  millions  of  dollars,  saving  them  a  consid- 
erable percentage  on  the  purchase  price  by  the 
rejection  of  faulty  or  unsuitable  goods  and  secur- 
ing to  them  the  best  efforts  of  the  manufacturers." 


BUSINESS 


The  excellent  results  obtained  with  Holophane 
reflectors  are  well  known.  The  Holophane  Glass 
Company  of  New  York  city  directs  particular  atten- 
tion to  its  new  Pagoda  reflectors  for  8.  10,  16  and 
32-candlepower  lamps,  which  are  made  in  two 
styles — one  to  concentrate  and  the  other  to  dis- 
tribute the  light. 

The  New  Brunswick  Refrigerator  Company  and 
the  Union  Refrigerator  Company,  both  of  New 
Brunswick,  N.  J.,  have  been  consolidated  under  the 
name  of  the  Brunswick  Refrigerator  Company.  The 
capital  is  $2,000,000.  The  officers  elected  by  the 
new  board  of  directors  include  J.  W.  Johnson  of 
New  Brunswick.  T.  Clark  of  New  York.  T.  G. 
Phinney  of  New  Brunswick  and  Theodore  Fre- 
linghuysen. 

Following  the  entrance  of  the  Allis-Chalmers  Com- 
pany into  the  field  of  steam  turbine  manufacture, 
orders  have  already  been  received  which  will  tax 
the  capacity  of  the  manufacturing  department  until 
the  new  turbine  shops  at  West  Allis  can  be  made 
ready  for  use.  Several  of  the  turbine  generating 
units  of  500-kilowatt  capacity  each  have  recently 
been  contracted  for,  among  them  the  city  of  Jack- 
sonville. Fla.,  which  has  recently  concluded  the  pur- 
chase of  additional  steam  turbine  units  for  the  light- 
ing of  that  city  in  addition  to  a  500-kilowatt  unit 
installed  there  over  a  year  ago.  The  new-  equip- 
ment will  consist  of  two  steam  turbines  coupled  to 
two  500-kilowatt.  three-phase  co-cycle.  2,300-volt 
generators.  These  units  will  be  the  first  steam 
turbines  of  Allis-Chalmers  manufacture  to  be  in- 
stalled in  the  South. 


ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 


Issued  (United  States  Patent  Office)  January  sjt  igo6. 


810,384.  Electric  Lamp  Lighter.  Peter  W.  Ardu- 
ino  and  Amedeo  A.  Arduino,  Stamford,  Conn. 
Application   filed    April   22,    1904. 

Igniting  mechanism  is  carried  by  the  lamp  and  oper- 
ated by  a  battery.  The  battery  comprise  a  jar  having 
an  upper  reduced  portion  and  means  for  holding  the 
lamp  and  battery  with  their  respective  mechanisms  in 
cooperative    relation. 

810,389.    End-cell      Switch.     Joseph      Bijur,      New 


York,  N.  Y..  assignor  to  the  General  Storage 
Battery  Company,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Applica- 
tion  filed    October    14,    1904. 

A  main  contact  arm  controls  the  devices  and  is 
adapted  to  move  in  either  direction.  Reversible  actuating 
means  for  the  arm,  a  reversing  switch,  a  controller  con- 
nected to  control  the  switch  and  electric  circuits  and 
hereby  movement  of  the  controller 
position 


predetermined   position  are 


movement  of  the  : 


810,444.  Electric  Drill.  Charles  W.  Theil.  Milwau- 
kee, Wis.,  assignor  of  one-third  to  Alonzo  D. 
Seaman  and  one-third  to  John  T.  Seaman.  Mil- 
waukee,  Wis.     Application   filed  June  I,   1003. 

Combined    with  a   suitable   case   or   frame    are   a  motor 
armature    and    a   rotary   drill    holder   mounted   coaxiaUy. 


Differential  internal  gears,  fixed  one  to  the  drill  holder 
and  the  other  to  the  case  and  a  crank  fixed  to  the 
armature  shaft  and  provided  with  a  pinion  which  meshes 
with  both  of  the  internal  gears,  the  drill  holder  being 
rotable  and  the  case  stationary  relatively  to  each  other 
and  the  armature  shaft  complete  the  details.      (See   cut.) 

Sio,466.  Process  of  Making  Incandescent  Lamps. 
Frank  H.  Blackburn,  Fostoria,  Ohio,  assignor 
to  the  National  Electric  Lamp  Company,  Cleve- 
land,  Ohio.     Application  filed   March  2,   1905. 

A  process  of  making  tipless  incandescent  lamps  con- 
sists in  taking  a  globe  having  a  neck,  forming  a  small 
opening  in  it  near  the  point  where  the  neck  joins  the 
globe  proper,  sealing  off  by  heat  the  neck  of  the  globe 
just  below  the  opening  and  then  blowing  air  into  the 
globe  through  the  opening  by  means  of  a  tube  unsealed 
thereto,  the  air  blowing  off  the  end  of  the  neck. 

810,473.  Adapter  for  Incandescent-lamp  Sockets. 
Samuel  E.  Doane,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  assignor  to 
the  National  Electric  Lamp  Company,  Cleve- 
land,   Ohio.     Application    filed    March   27,    1905. 

An  adapter  for  incandescent  lamps  embodies  a  sleeve 
formed  to  engage  a  lamp  base  and  contact  members  car- 
ried thereby  to  engage  the  contacts  of  the  socket.  One 
of  the  members  is  rotatable  independently  of  the  other 
and  accessible  from  within  the  sleeve  and  formed  to 
allow  the  application  of  means  within  the  sleeve  for 
rotating  the  member  when  the  sleeve  is  in  the  socket. 


810,491.  Telephone  Toll  Apparatus.  George  A. 
Long,  Hartford,  Conn.,  assignor  to  the  Gray 
Telephone  Pay  'Station  Company,  Hartford, 
Conn.     Application   filed  January  9,    1904. 

Combined  with  a  set  of  telephone  instruments  includ- 
ing a  receiver  and  a  receiver-hook  lever  are  a  toll-collect- 
ing device  comprising  a  coin  channel,  a  coin  stop  pivotally 
supported  at  its  lower  end  forming  a  coin  pocket,  inde- 
pendent plungers  arranged  at  each  side  of  the  coin 
pocket  adapted  to  be  connected  through  a  coin  deposited 
on  the  coin  stop  to  ring  the  bells  at  the  called  station 
and  operative  connections  between  the  coin  stop  and  the 
receiver-hook  lever  for  rocking  the  coin  stop. 

810,501.  Electric  Fire-alarm  and  Thermo  Indicator. 
Alfred  H.  McNeil,  Clapton,  London,  England, 
assignor  to  the  Pearson  Fire  Alarm,  Limited, 
London,  England.  Application  filed  May  1, 
1905. 


being  fixed  inside  the  box  and  normally  closing  the  open- 
ing. An  adjustable  contact  is  also  mounted  "within  the 
box  in  close  proximity  lo  the  spring  contact,  a  thermal 
strip  being  fixed  at  its  ends  outside  the  box.  A  plunger 
is  attached  to  the  thermal  strip  and  arranged  to  project 
into  the  opening  in  the  side  of  the  box  and  to  operate 
the    contact    spring. 

810,522.  Voltmeter  Switch.  George  N.  Eastman, 
Chicago,  III,  assignor  to  the  Minerallac  Com- 
pany, Chicago,  111.  Application  filed  April  26, 
1905. 

Blocks  are  provided  on  corresponding  faces  with  series 
of  contacts,  with  a  binding  post,  for  connection  with  a 
voltmeter,  on  each  block  being  connected  with  the  con- 
tacts thereon.  Blocks  alternating  with  and  spaced  apart 
from  the  first-named  blocks  are  provided  on  correspond- 
ing faces  with  series  of  circuit- terminal  contacts  connected 
with  binding  posts.  A  rotary  shaft  carrying  brushes  is 
mounted   in    the    spaces   between    successive   blocks. 

810,527.  Electrical  Switch.  Joseph  F.  George,  Ne^v 
York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Empire  Electric 
Stage  Lighting  Company.  Application  filed  Oc- 
tober 7,   1904. 

A  pair  of  separated  contacts  inclosed  in  a  protecting 
case  and  a  partition  having  narrow  openings  are  com- 
bined with  a  hinged  cover'  carrying  movable  contacts  ar- 
ranged to  be  thrust  through  the  openings  adapted  for 
joint  operation. 

810,536.  Turning  Switch  with  Lighted  Handle  for 
Electric  Lines,  Hans  Holzer,  Frankfort-on- 
the-Main,  Germany.  Application  filed  April  10, 
1905. 

An  electric  switch  comprises  main  contacts  connected 
with  the  line,  a  pivotally- mounted  switch  member  for 
closing  circuit  through  the  contacts,  the  member  having 
relatively  long  and  short  contact  ends,  a  lamp  for  the 
switch  member  connected  therethrough  with  one  side  of 
the  line  and  an  auxiliary  contact  connected  with  the  other 
side,  the  auxiliary  contact  being  out  of  the  path  of  the 
short  end  and  in  the  path  of  the  long  end  of  the  switch 
member. 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


810,560.  Electric-railway  Signal.  Helen  W.  Parkes 
and  Stella  L.  Vincent,  Cleveland,  Ohio.  Ap- 
plication   filed    October    17,    1904. 

A  conducting  trolley  track  is  mounted  between  the  rail- 
way track.  A  trolley  wheel  borne  on  each  vehicle  en- 
gages the    trolley  track   for  signalling  purposes. 

810,609.  Electrofluid  Pressure  Mechanism  for  Op- 
erating Railroad  Appliances.  Walter  J.  Bell, 
Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  assignor  of  one-half  to  Leon 
F.  Moss,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.  Application  filed 
December    1,    1903. 

An  armature  is  operatively  connected  with  the  valve 
connection  of  the  fluid  pressure  system  on  a  railway 
vehicle.  A  solenoid  magnet  slidably  receives  the  arma- 
ture and  is  electrically  connected  with  the  trolley  wire 
and  an  insulated  section  thereof.  A  second  solenoid 
magnet  slidably  receives  the  armature  and  has  ground 
connection  and  connection  with  a  divergent  branch  of 
the    trolley  wire. 

810,618.  Insulator  Clamp.  Walter  G.  Clark,  Seat- 
tle,   Wash.    Application    filed    April    13,    1904. 

An  insulator  clamp  comprises  a  body  portion  adapted 
to  be  secured  to  the  insulator,  the  body  being  provided 
with  open  wire-holding  loops  formed  in  one  continuous 
piece  with  the  body  and  extending  at  an  angle  to  the 
plane  of  the  body,  the  loops  being  adapted  to  hold  the 
wire  down  upon  the  top  of  the  insulator  when  the  clamp 
is   in    position.      (See    cut) 

810,646.  Observation  Trolley-car  Railway.  Louie 
J.  Harris,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
July    14,    1905. 

Constructional  details  of  a  large  observation  electric 
car  are  set  forth  in  the  patent. 

564.  Attachment  Device  for  Electric  Conduct- 
ors. David  B.  Mills,  East  Orange,  N.  J.  Ap- 
plication filed  April   13,   1905. 

An  attachment  device  for  electrical  conductors  com- 
prises a   ferrule  with  an  opening  in  its   wall,    a  terminal 


NO.    810,705. — ELECTRIC-RAILWAY    BLOCK 
SIGNAL. 


adapted  to  premit  the  passage   of  an  electrical   conductor 
through   the    opening  in    the   two  parts. 

810,674.  Vehicle  Motor-suspension  Mechanism.  Frank 
B.  Rae,  Detroit,  Mich.,  assignor  to  the  Ameri- 
can Electromobile  Company,  East  Orange,  N.  J. 
Application   filed   September   7,    1905. 

A  method  of  suspending  the  motor  on  the  frame  of  an 
electric  automobile  is  described. 

810,687.  System  of  Automatic  Signaling  for  Elec- 
tric Railways.  Fitzhngh  Townsend,  New  York. 
N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General  Railway  Signal 
Company.    Application  filed  November  10,  1905. 

Cross-bonds  for  the  return  conductors  or  rails  of  the 
railway  are  associated  with  means  whereby  the  power 
current  will  be  equalized  in  the  return  conductors  to  the 
source  of  power 


810,705.  Block-signal  System  for  Electric  Railways. 
Abram  L.  Bower,  Boyertown,  Pa.  Application 
fired  January    10,    1903. 

The  track  is  divided  into  blocks  or  sections  with  insu- 
lated rail  sections  between  adjacent  blocks.  A  feed-wire 
extends  along  the  railway,  a  circuit-changing  switch 
being  at  the  end  of  each  block.  Main  signal  wires  extend 
from  one  of  the  switches  to  the  other,  the  switches  ar- 
ranged to  connect  the  main  signal  wires  terminating 
therein  alternately  to  the  feed  wire  and  to  the  common 
return  of  the  power  circuit.  Magnets  operate  the  switch 
and  electrical  means  cooperate  with  a  car  to  energize  the 
magnets  alternately  as  successive  cars  arrive  upon  the 
insulated  track  section  at  the  end  of  a  block.      (See  cut.) 

810,751.  Electric  Circuit-breaker.  Frank  O.  Hart- 
man,  Mansfield,  Ohio.  Application  filed  April 
6,    1903. 

Features  of  primary  importance  are  an  operating  shaft, 
switches  movable  simultaneously  into  normal  position  by 
the  operating  shaft,  a  loose  and  a  fast  disk  carried  by  the 
shaft,  one  of  the  disks  connected  with  the  switches,  the 
other  of  the  disks  adapted  to  operate  the  first-named  disk, 
a  single  locking  device  for  retaining  the  switches  in  nor- 
mal position  and  an  electroresponsive  device  for  effecting 
the  simultaneous  release  of  the  switches. 

810,836.  Electric-light  Fixture.  John  F.  Barrett 
and  Nat  C.  Collins,  Chicago,  III.  Application 
filed   June   3,    1905. 

Combined  with  a  lamp  are  a  socket,  a  drum,  a  frame 
for  holding  the  drum  adapted  to  be  removably  secured 
to  the  socket,  an  electrical  cable  adapted  to  be  wound 
upon  the  drum,  means  for  permitting  the  cable  to  unwind 
and  an  electrical  connection  between  the  lamp  and  socket. 

810,841.  Magnetic  Separator.  Henry  F.  Campbell, 
Melrose,  Mass.,  assignor  to  the  National  Mag- 
netic Mineral  Separating  Company,  Boston, 
Mass.     Application  filed  July  £9,   1902. 

In  combination  in  a  magnetic  separator  are  a  magnet 
and  a  tray  presenting  an  unobstructed  surface  at  a  due 
distance  below  the  magnet,  for  supporting  and  convevinc 
the  material  spread  in  a  film  of  substantially  uniform 
thickness  under  and  past  the  magnet,  and  through  an  un- 
interrupted field  of  the  magnet.  A  cover  for  the  tray 
pievents  the  passage  of  magnetic  particles  to  the  sides  of 
the  magnet  and  other  means  impart  a  transverse  shaking 
to  the  support. 


February  3,   1906 

810,866.  Compass-indicating  Apparatus.  Benjamin 
V.  How,  Weston,  Mass.,  assignor  to  the  Arbe- 
cam  Nautical  Instrument  Company,  Boston, 
Mass.     Application    filed    September    19,    1905. 

A  rotatable  vertical  shaft  is  supported  on  the  binnacle 
top  and  carries  terminally  a  sighting  device  and  a  radial 
indicator,  in  combination  with  a  circular  triangulation 
plate  perforated  centrally  and  graduated  marginally  in 
degrees.  The  plate  is  maintained  frictionallv  and  ad- " 
justably  on  the  compass  dial  beneath  the  indicator  and 
with  a  reduced  downward  extension  of  the  shaft  serves  in 
the  perforation  as  an  axis  of   rotation   for   the  plate. 

810,878.  Selective  Call  for  Telephones  and  Tele- 
graphs. William  Palmer,  Jr.,  Rincon,  N.  M. 
Application    filed    July    18,    1902. 

A  selective  telephone  and  telegraph  call  comprises  a 
subscriber's  instrument  having  a  local  battery  and  two 
local  circuits,  a  step-by-step  escapement  and  a  bell  switch. 
Two  electro-magnets  are  arranged  one  in  each  local  cir- 
cuit, one  for  working  the  step-by-step  escapement  and 
the  other  for  adjusting  the  bell  switch  to  rinering  position. 
A  vibrating  shunting  relay  sends  the  local-battery  current 
through  either  electromagnet  by  a  reversal  of  the  main- 
line current  and  a  switch  under  the  control  of  the  sub- 
scriber enables  him  to  exclusively  introduce  his  tele- 
phone into  circuit  for  private  communication.      (See  cut.) 


810,889.  Process  of  Electrolytically  Preparing  Met- 
als or  Alloys  for  Lithographic  Purposes.  Otto 
C.  Strecker,  Darmstadt,  Germany.  Original  ap- 
plication filed  April  19,  1900.  Divided  and  this 
application   filed   May    12,    1902. 

The  process  for  producing  a  water-retaining  layer  on 
metal  plates  or  alloys  for  lithographic  and  printing  pur- 
poses consists  in  submitting  suitably  prepared  plates,  fur- 
nished with  lithographic  designs,  in  a  suitable  electrolyte 
to  the  action  of  a  continuous  current,  whereby  an  in- 
soluble layer  will  be  formed  by  the  ions  of  the  sub- 
stances in  the  electrolyte  which  will  combine  with  the 
metal  of  the  plate  and  thus  protect  the  plates  against 
lithographic  oil  or  grease    and   retain   the  water. 


PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Following  is  a  list  of  electrical  patents  (issued 
by  the  United  States  Patent  Office)  that  expired 
on  January  29,   1906: 

396,723.     Electrically    Operated    Door    Lock.       C.    B.    Beers, 

Bridgeport,   Conn. 
396,725.     Device     for     Controlling     Electric    Motors.     H.     H. 

Blades,     Detroit,    Mich. 
396,734-     Octuplex     Telegraph.     M.     W.     Dewev,     Syracuse, 

N.   Y. 
396,74s.      Electrical      Railway      Signal.      W.      P.       Kookogey, 

Brooklyn,   N.    Y. 
396,749-    .  Railway      Signal.      W.      P.      Kookogey,      Brooklyn, 

396,750.     Railway      Signal.     W.      P.      Kookogey,      Brooklyn, 

N.    Y. 
396.769-     Secondary    Battery.     J.    S.    Sellon,    Hatton    Garden, 

County    of    Middlesex,    England. 
396,770.      Secondary    Battery.      J.    S.    Sellon,    Hatton    Garden, 

County    of   Middlesex,    England. 

396.791.  Automatic    Switch    for    Electric    Motors.     H.    Whit- 
tingham,    Baltimore,   Md. 

396.792.  Electromagnetic       Transmitter.     J.       T.       Williams, 
Mount   Vernon,    N.    Y. 

396,795-     Electric    Signaling  Apparatus.     J.    Young,    Chicago, 

396,836-      Electric      Lighting      and      Heating      Cars.      J.      F. 

Shawhan,   Dayton,    Ohio. 
396,867.     Dynamo-electric      Machine.      P.      Grant,     Baltimore, 

Md. 

396.870.  Electric     Batterv.      C.     F.     Heinrichs,     New     York, 
N.  Y. 

396.871.  Electric     Battery.     C.     F.     Heinrichs,     New     York, 


J.    Chester   Chamberlain, 
lectric     Machines.     A.     J. 


Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
396,920.      Electric    Cut-out    Devii 

New  York,   N.   Y. 
396,932.     Regulator     for     Dynan 

Holt,    Grand    Rapids,    Mich. 
396,933-      Insulating    Jacket    or    Covering.     W.    J.     Hulford, 

Lawrence,    Mass. 
396,940.     Automatic  Electric  Cut-out.     E.    R.    Knowles,  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y. 
396,942.      Commutator  for    Dynamo-electric  Machines.     E.    R. 

Knowles,  Brooklyn,  N.   Y. 
396,95s.      Secondarv    Batterv.     T.    S.    Sellon,    Hatton   Garden, 

Countv  of  Middlesex,  England. 
396,983-     Railway    Telegraph.      B.    Cede.    Leuisburg.    N.    C. 

397.006.  Regulator     for     Dvnamo-electric     Machines.      J.     F. 
Kester,    Terre    Haute,    Ind. 

397.007.  Dynamo-electric     Machine.     J.     F.     Kester,     Terre 
Haute,    Ind. 

397,049.     Railway  Telegraphy.     B.   Cade,   Louisburg,  N.   C. 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


Vol.  XXXVIII. 


(  llli  AGO,  FEBRUARY   10,   1906 


St.   Gallen-Trogen    Interurban    Railway 
In    Switzerland. 

By   F»anz   K01    in 

( in,'  of  the   most   interesting  and   rcccnl  1  lei  ti  ii 

railway  installations  of  Switzerland   1     thai    running 

from  St.   Gallon  In    rrngen   via  S|ni.lnr       I  In     road 

is  operated   al   two  voltages,  and   has   to  o\ mi 

many    steep    grades    and    -.harp    nir\,  I  hi      total 

length  "f  the  line  is  9.7  kilometers,  using  publii 
streets  principally,  with  the  exception  of  a  small 
percentage  which  traverses  a  private  right  ol  way 
I,.  operate  the  railway,  current  is  derived  from 
a  transformer  station,  receiving  power  at  10,000 
volts  from  the  power  plant  at  Kubel.  This  sub 
Malum,  as  seen   in   Fig.  2,   is   located   at    St.  Gallen, 


hall  toad  87  pi 
the  motor, 

l  hi     witching  room  1      eparatcd  from  thi   motoi 
j ratoi    room  by  a  wall    and  the  switchboard  il 

elf,  and    1      uffii  ii  nl       largi    lo  ■  ontain  additional 
ni  n  urn.  hi     1 foi   a  third   .'•  ii'  ratoi   group 

I  he  apparatu    1    all  mounted  on  whiti 

I  In-  high-ten  1 ipparatu     is  arranged  in  the  first 

story,   wl ;      feed   wires,   well   protected   with 

burn  lightning  arresters,  leave  thi 
I  Ii,  r.    .in    two  feedei 

( iallen  and  the  "'I"  r  to  1  rogan      I  id 

two    "ii  drawn  copper  wires  of  -<<  iquarc  millimc 

irted  on 

1  in     ante  pole    on   w  hich  the  trolley   i      u  ipended. 

Both  trolley   win     an    ol   h  ird  dra  wti  1  1  ppi  r,  eight 


while  tl 
thr  widl 

ar,|         I 
III,-     111, 

•  fol 

there  are  doors  in  thi  all  <>i 

which    an     sliding,       i  !    with 

both   baud   and 
all   eight   wheel!      Thi 
pounds  per   square  ii* 
by  a  chain   from  tin 
equipped  with 
air. 
The  1 


and  contains  on  the  main  floor  two  motor-generator 
sets  receiving  current  at  2,000  volts,  which  is 
stepped  down  by  means  of  150-kilowatt  static  trans- 
formers in  the  basement.  Two  of  these  transform- 
ers are  designed  to  furnish  power  for  the  railway, 
while  a  third  supplies  light,  all  being  interchange- 
able. The  motor-generators,  of  the  Oerlikon  type, 
consist  of  high-tension  synchronous  motors,  direct 
connected  to  shunt-wound  dynamos.  The  motors 
are  of  155  horsepower,  making  50  cycles  at  490  rev- 
olutions a  minute.  The  generators  are  of  104  kilo- 
watts capacity  each,  with  four  poles.  As  seen  in 
the  illustration,  they  are  placed  on  porcelain  insu- 
lators, a  common  practice  in  Switzerland  on  account 
of  the  frequent  electrical  atmospheric  discharges  in 
the  mountains. 

A  battery  of  400  secondary  cells  is  located  in  the 
basement  of  the  building,  and  has  a  capacity  of  198 
ampere-hours.  The  normal  discharge  current  is  121 
amperes.  The  battery  is  divided  into  two  equal 
parts,  connected  in  series  on  discharge  and  in  mul- 
tiple while  charging.  The  efficiency  of  the  battery- 
is,  expressed  in  ampere-hours,  90  per  cent.,  and  in 
watt-hours,  75  per  cent.  The  efficiency  of  the  direct- 
current  generator   at   full   load   is   90  per  cent,   and 


millimeters  in  diameter,  suspended  six  meters  above 
the  rails. 

The  railway  motors  operate  on  two  different  volt- 
ages— from  the  St.  Gallen  station  to  the  so-called 
"Schmidtstube"  550  volts,  and  from  this  point  on 
800  volts,  supplied  by  the  power  plant  at  Speicher. 
The  two  systems  are  connected  by  insulators  40 
millimeters  in  length.  As  this  point  is  on  a  steep 
grade,  and  as  a  loaded  car  weighs  30  tons,  it  was 
found  necessary  to  run  a  third  wire  (see  Fig.  3) 
down  to  the  beginning  of  the  incline,  so  that  in 
ascending,  the  trolley  pole  can  be  switched  over  to 
800  volts.  In  descending  this  is.  of  course,  unnec- 
essary, as  the  momentum  of  the  car  will  carry  it 
past  the  dead  point. 

The  trolley  wires  are  interconnected  every  250 
feet  in  order  to  minimize  the  drop  in  potential,  and 
are  well  protected  by  lightning  arresters.  In  the 
city  districts  the  poles  are  of  iron,  while  in  the 
outlying  districts  they  are  of  wood,  the  latter  being 
thoroughly  saturated  with  blue  vitriol.  All  poles 
are  embedded  in  concrete.  The  suspension  wires 
are  of  galvanized  steel,  and  the  insulators  are  tested 
for  10,000  volts.     The  rails  act  as  returns. 

The   motor  cars,  shown   in   Fig.    I,   which   are  of 


ROCND). 


carry  18  horsepower  for  two  hours,  with  a  tempera- 
ture rise  of  6o°  C,  and  25  horsepower  for  one  hour, 
with  a  temperature  rise  of  70°  C.  The  speed  on 
the  steepest  grade  is  about  eight  miles  an  hour, 
while  on  the  least  it  is  about  15  miles.  The  motors 
are  of  the  four-pole  laminated  type,  with  the  magnet 
frame  in  two  parts,  hinged  and  mounted  on  the 
truck  frame,  the  pinion  of  the  motor  operating  a 
gear-wheel  on  the  axle.  The  controller  (Fig.  4)  is 
designed  for  both  series  and  multiple  operation,  and 
also,  in  exceptional  cases,  for  the  operation  of  a 
single  motor.  The  controller  is  equipped  for  three 
running  positions  with  the  motors  in  series  and  one 
with  the  resistance  all  out.  The  same  is  true  with 
parallel  operation.  The  controller  is  equipped 
with  a  short-circuit  device  operating  a  solenoid 
brake:  also  with  a  rheostat.  The  rheostats  are 
made  up  of  sheet-iron  disks,  mounted  in  a  box  below 
the  car  and  well  insulated  from  the  ground.  The 
cars  are  heated  by  three  units,  operating  in  three 
steps  with  1,200.  2,400  and  3.600  watts.  For  light 
there  are  two  groups  of  six  fixtures,  of  which  five 
always  burn.  Each  fixture  contains  two  incan- 
descent lamps,  one  for  110  and  the  other  for  160 
volts,   in   order  to  operate  on  either  trolley  system. 


U4 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


February   10,    1906 


A  special  automatic  double-throw  switch  is  provided 
for  changing  the  iamp  connections  at  the  point 
where  the  trolley  voltage  changes.  This  provision 
must,  of  course,  also  be  made  in  the  trailers.  As 
these  latter  are  of  a  shorter  length,  the  heating  ele- 
ments are  designed  for  500.  1,000  and  1,500  watts 
only. 

There  are  also  a  number  of  freight  cars  of  six 
tons  capacity.  They  are  equipped  with  two  motors 
developing  25  horsepower  for  two  hours,  with  a  rise 
in  temperature  of  6o°  C,  and  40  horsepower  for 
one  hour,  with  a  temperature  rise  of  750  C.    These 


FIG.    2.       SUB-STATION    AT    ST.   GALLEN, 

cars  are  equipped  with  controllers,  brakes,  etc..  simi- 
lar to  those  on  the  passenger  cars.  All  cars  are 
well  protected  by  lightning  arresters.  To  this  roll- 
ing stock  must  be  added  a  motor-operated  snow- 
plow.  The  entire  electrical  equipment  of  the  plant 
and  rolling  stock  was  designed  and  installed  by  the 
Machinen    Fabrik   Oerlikon,    of    Switzerland. 


The  Proper  Handling  of  Consumers' 
Meters.1 

By  George  A.  Barrett. 

At  the  outset  I  desire  to  say  that  my  experience 
has  been  confined  almost  wholly  to  one  make  of 
meter,  and  what  I  say  in  regard  to  the  general 
care  of  meters  has  reference  to  that  particular 
make.  Broadly  speaking,  all  meters  used  to  any 
considerable  extent  perform  the  same  functions, 
cause  the  same  troubles,  and  in  the  long  run  pro- 
duce, the  same  results,  regardless  of  the  name  plate. 

There  are  a  few  general  principles  which  seem 
to  me  might  be  followed  by  those  in  charge  of  a 
central  station's  meter  department  which  will  prove 
exceedingly  profitable  to  the  company  and  at  the 
same  time  tend  to  inspire  in  the  consumer  n  con- 
fidence  in   the   meter   he   otherwise   might  not   have. 

After  carefully  unpacking  and  numbering  the 
meters,  the  manufacturer's  and  company's  number, 
together  with  the  capacity  and  type  of  each,  are 
recorded    in   a   book    kept    especially    for    that    pur- 


fig.  3.      ST. 


ALLEN-TROGEX    INTERURBAN    L 
TION  FROM  55O  TO  ttOO  VOLTS. 


pose,  the  meters  are  taken  to  the  testing  room  and 
subjected  to   a   reasonably  careful  test. 

The  label  on  the  back  of  the  meter,  "This  meter 
has  been  carefully  tested  on  various  loads  and 
found  to  be  correct,"  does  not  always  mean  just 
what  it  says.  Instances  have  come  under  my  ob- 
servation where  the  various  connections  in  the 
meter  were  not  all  properly  made;  others,  wTiere 
essential  parts  were  entirely  missing,  and  still  others 
where  the  meter  was  so  far  out  of  proper  adjust- 
ment as  to  utterly  preclude  the  possibility  of  a 
careful   test  having   been  made   in   the   factory. 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  by  this  as  saying 
that    these    conditions    exist    to    any    great    extent, 

Electrical  Association 


but  such  things  do  occur  altogether  too"  fre- 
quently. I  would  therefore  urge  that  each  com- 
pany make  its  own  test  of  all  meters  before  placing 
them  in  service  and  not  depend  entirely  on  the 
factory  test.  It-  requires  but  little  time  and  acts 
as  a  check  on  any  mistakes  which  may  be  made 
by  the  manufacturer.  It  is  a  right  beginning,  and 
things  begun  right  are  more  likely  to  remain  so 
and  produce  correct  results  than  things  not  so 
begun. 

Installing  the  Meter.— This  statement  in  itself 
sounds  simple,  but  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  it 
is  the.  source  of  more  trouble  than  apparently  few 
station  managers  appreciate.  Any  Tom,  Dick  or 
Harry  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  install  meters. 
A  man  to  do  this  work  should  have  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  delicacy  of  the  instrument.  In 
handling  a  meter  it  is  always  well  to  bear  in  mind 
that  it  is  not  a  rubber  ball,  nor  a  rag  doll,  nor 
anything  of  the  kind,  but  a  finely  adjusted  piece 
of  mechanism  that  a  slight  jar  will  sometimes 
cause  to  get  out  of  adjustment,  thereby  rendering 
its  readings  faulty.  I  doubt  not  you  will  be  sur- 
prised when  I  say  that  in  my  humble  judgment  a 
hammer  should  never  be  used  in  fastening  a  meter 
to  its  support,  nevertheless  it  is  done  and,  I  fear, 
oftener  than  you  think.  The  old  trick  of  the  car- 
penter hammering  a  screw  three-quarters  or  more 
of  the  way  into  place  and  then  giving  it  a  few  turns 
with  the  screwdriver — provided  the  slot  in  the 
screw  is  not  battered  so  badly  that  the  screwdriver 
cannot  be  inserted — is  one  which  should  never  be 
resorted  to  in  installing  a  meter.  The  proper  tools 
and  screws  should  always  be  at  hand  so  that  the 
meter  may  be  securely  fastened  with  the  least  pos- 
sible jar. 

So  much  has  been  said  and  written  about  select- 
ing the  best  location  for  the  meter  that  I  hesitate 
to  take  your  valuable  time  in  discussing  it  here.  I 
will  only  say  in  passing  that  the  wonder  is  that 
you  central-station  managers  have  not  given  this 
subject  the  attention  it  deserves.  Think  of  the 
time  lost  by  meter  readers  and  testers  hunting  step- 
ladders,  carrying  them  up  and  down  several  flights 
of  narrow  stairs  to  say  nothing  of  the  extra  labor 
required  in  the  operation.  I  say  the  wonder  is 
that  you  have  not  given  the  subject  more  thought 
and  applied  the  remedy,  which  is  so  simple — issue 
instructions  to  your  men  to  install  no  meter  until 
the  wireman  completes  his  work,  which  among 
other  things  would  include  the  running  of'  wires 
to  some  suitable  location  in  the  building  fcr  the 
installation  of  the  meter.  In  installing  a  two-wire 
meter  where  the  system  has  a  grounded  neutral, 
great  care  should  be  exercised  to  see  that  the  out- 
side wire  is  connected  to  the  fields  of  the  meter, 
for  if  the  neutral  in  the  building  becomes  grounded 
the  _  registration  will  be  very  small,  if  anything  at 
all.  This  I  think  cannot  be  too  strongly  empha- 
sized 

After  the  meter  has  been  installed  and  in  serv- 
ice it  should,  ordinarily,  give  satisfactory  results 
for  a  period  of  six  months,  when  it  should  be  in- 
spected and  cleaned  and  so  far  as  possible  brought 
to  its  original  condition.  In  this  I  wish  to  be 
understood  as  saying  that  under  ordinary  condi- 
tions twice  a  year  is  sufficient  to  clean  up  and 
inspect  meters. 

We  now  come  to  what,  to  me,  is  one  of  the  most 
difficult  problems  confronting  the  company,  that  is, 
taking  care  of  customers'  complaints.  A  cus- 
tomer comes  into  the  company's  office  and  makes 
complaint  on  the  amount  of  his-  bill,  and  should  be 
listened  to  attentively,  and  unless  some  reasonable 
explanation  can  be  given  to  him  by  the  office  man, 
such  as  his  bill  covering  a  period  of  possibly  five 
or  six  weeks  on  account  of  the  date  of  the  instal- 
lation or  his  meter — the  complaint  should  be  turned 
over  to  the  meter  department  for  adjustment. 

A  man  to  adjust  complaints  of  this  kind  must, 
in  the  first  place,  be  intelligent ;  he  must  have  tact, 
be  polite  and  gentlemanly  under  any  and  all  cir- 
cumstances, be  able  to  convince  the  customer — if 
he  be  open  to  conviction — that  he  understands  his 
business.  Approach  him,  if  possible,  in  a  manner 
that  will  gain  his  confidence,  discuss  the  matter 
with  him  openly  and  frankly,  explain  to  him  the 
previous  test  of  his  meter,  how,  when  and  where 
made,  the  result  of  such  test.  Inform  him  what 
you  propose  to  do,  invite  him  to  accompany  you 
and  assist  in  the  test  if  he  cares  to;  in  other 
words,  get  him  interested  in  the  operation  of  his 
meter.  Avoid  as  far  as  possible  all  technical  terms 
and  phrases,  which  are  Greek  to  the  average  man 
vand  in  which  he  has  little  or  no  interest.  He  is 
under  the  impression  that  that  particular  meter  is 
20,  30,  40,  yes,  sometimes  as  much  as  100  per  cent, 
fast. 

Take  the  cover  off  the  meter  and  by  turning  on 
one,  two,  three,  or  any  number  of  lamps  and 
counting  the  number  of  revolutions  made  by  the 
disk  in  say,  60  seconds,  you  can  very  readily  tell 
whether  the  meter  is  very  far  out  of  the  way  or 
not.  Having  ascertained  this,  then  ask  him  to 
turn  on  any  number  of  lamps  he  chooses  and  you 
tell  him  from  the  speed  at  which  the  meter  is 
running  the  number  of  lamps  turned  on  or  burn- 
ing. Repeat  the  test  with  more  or  less  lamps 
burning  and  tell  him  how  many  he  turned  on  or 
off  as  the  case  may  be. 

You  will  be  surprised  to  find  the  interest  he  will 
immediately  take  in  the  test  and  set  about  trying 
to    ensnare    you    in    error.     Even    though    now    and 


then  you  make  a  mistake  of  a  lamp  or  two,  the 
error  will  be  so  small  as  to  not  make  any  appre- 
ciable difference  in  his  bill,  which  of  course  is  the 
object  sought.  Should  it  be  found  that  the  meter  is ' 
to  some  extent  fast,  then  make  a  more  careful  test 
by  using  an  indicating  watt  meter,  or  a  volt  and 
ampere  meter,  or  any  of  the  various  methods  used 
by  the  craft.  Find  out  the  exact  per  cent.  fastJJk 
readjust  the  meter  to  run  accurately,  and  of  course 
discount  the  bill  to  the  proper  amount.  On  the 
other  hand,  should  the  meter  prove  to  be  slow, 
which  will  more  frequently  be  the  case,  especially 
on  one  or  two  lamps,  by  the  use  of  a  little  tact 
you  will  still  be  able  to  readjust  it  without  incur- 
ring the  ill-will  of  the  customer.  Now,  while 
you  have  him  interested,  instruct  him  how  to  make 
a  rough  lamp  test  of  his  meter,  urge  him  to  do  ". 
so  frequently,  and  to  read  his  meter  at  least  once 
a  week  or  oftener — in  other  words,  show  him  that 
it  is  to  his  interest  to  become  as  familiar  as  possi- 
ble with  his  meter.  In  a  very  little  while  he  will 
become  convinced  that  the  meter  can  be  relied  on 
implicitly,  and  a  good  friend  has  been  made  out 
of  what  might  otherwise  have  been  a  ''chronic 
kicker." 

Have  any  of  you,  I  wonder,  ever  been  trying  to 
adjust  something  of  this  kind  when  another  one  of 
your  customers  happened  along,  and  hearing  the 
accuracy  of  the  meter  being  questioned  by  his 
business  friend  would  relate  to  him  his  own  ex- 
perience which  was  not  unlike  the  present  griev- 
ance; indeed,  are  they  not  all  pretty  much  alike? 
How  he  was  sure  he  was  being  robbed,  that  he 
burned  less  light  this  month  than  last;  yet  his  bill 


is  considerably  higher :  that  his  neighbor  burned 
twice  as  much  light ,  as  he.  yet  his  bills  were 
smaller.  How  he  had  kicked,  and  kicked,  yet  it 
did  no  good,  till  finally  in  desperation  he  ordered 
the  meter  taken  out  entirely,  that  he  positively 
refused  to  be  held  up  longer.  Then  came  the 
company's  trouble  man  on  the  scene,  and  lo !  all 
was  changed,  the  crooked  was  made  straight,  the 
dark  made  light,  and  the  mysterious  was  greatly 
simplified.  He  learned  how  to  read  and  test  his 
meter  himself,  and  does  so  frequently,  and  knows 
it  to  be   perfectly   reliable. 

Gentlemen,  I  need  not  say  to  you  that  a  few 
such  people  can  do  wonders  along  this  line,  and  I 
find  that  they  not  only  can,  but  they  do,  and 
will,  in  fact  most  of  them  are  anxious  to,  whenever 
the    opportunity    presents    itself. 

I  do  not  suppose  that  complaints  of  this  kind 
will  ever  be  entirely  eliminated  from  the  business, 
but  by  educating  the  public  along  some  such  lines 
as  these  they  can  be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

To  keep  between  1,500  and  2,500  meters  register- 
ing accurately  on  light  loads  is  no  small  task.  To 
clean  and  give  any  kind  of  a  thorough  test  at  all, 
a  man  cannot  average  more  than  eight  or  10  meters 
a  day,  if  indeed  he  can  do  that  much,  which  means 
not   more   than    250   meters    a    month. 

Two  thousand  meters  would  therefore  require 
eight  months'  time  to  cover  the  entiFe  system — that 
is  to  say,  a  man  giving  his  whole  time  every  day. 
with  no  other  duties  to  perform,  would  not  be  able 
to  visit  each  meter  twice  a  year  as  has  been  sug- 
gested would  be  good  practice.  But  the  question 
arises,  is  it  necessar\"  in  the  great  majority  of 
cases  to  more,  than  clean  up  and  adjust  for  light 
load.  I  think  not.  A  meter  on  full,  or  even  a 
medium  load,  is  usually  not  far  from  correct ;  it 
is  nearly  always  the  light-load  accuracy  that  gives 
the  central-station  manager  cause  for  worry.  The 
revenue  lost  from  this  source  alone  must  be  con- 
siderable. 

Let    a   man    take   a   voltmeter — and    I    speak   now 


Pebruai")    10,   1906 

of  lighting  loads  exclusively,  nol  powct     I  know 

ing   ilf     voltagi    .11    whii  h    the   lam|)     an    1 

In    1 , rive  ai   appro  ■  imati  Ij    tin    ai 11    ol   cut 

rem  ip.is^ihk  through  the  metci  and  by  the  aid 
oi  a  stop  wati  li  can  in  a    ,'crj     horl   timi    im 

tile     III'  tCI      I       'I g         ll       "in       I nil 

i<>  make  a   laboratory  te  1   ol   1  ai  h   mi  10     it  cvci 

visit,      Id  clean   the  co itator,   remove  all   .In  1, 

1  obwi  b      •  i'  ,    c>  amini     thi     ii  wi  I    and    pivol    an, I 

insert    new ■    where     nei  1     ary,    ami      ,      1 

rough  tesl  such  as  described  above  ought  nol  i" 
occupy  or  exceed  from  20  i"  30  minuti  I  In  thi 
other  hand,  if  he  must,  in  addition  t"  cleaning  ami 

11  i"  <  iinn    tin'    meti  1 ,   di  ii  onneel    11    from    Hi 

mil,  connect  in  his  indicating  instrumcnl  ami 
a  careful   list   on  all   loads,   the   time  consumed   in 
the    operation    will    l«-   probably    double   that    ivhich 
ii   was  in  the  othet   case,     Ami  even  then  the  tc  1   1 
often    very    unreliable    unless    there    are    two    men 

present,  one   to   read   the   indicating   instru nl   and 

note   the   fluctuations,    the   other   to    time   the    rcvo 

lutions  .if   the   disk   of   the   tor   under   test.      Ii    1 

line  thai  such  tests  are  often  found  necessary,  ami 
,1  course  should  be-  made,  Inn  in  the  large  majorit; 
..I  cases  tin-  simpler  method  will  In-  found  to 
answer  the  purpose  very   well. 

In  mosl  ii  nut  all  nl  the  large)  plants  where  it 
is  nol  feasible  for  the  manager  in  give  the  timi 
In  it.  some  system  of  inspection  should  I"  fol 
lowed  l'.\  some  one,  preferably  by  the  head  "f  tin 
meter  department,  who  lias  an  intimate  knowledge 
nf  the  varicnis  conditions  under  which  the  meter 
or  its  readings  may  be  faulty.  The  ordinary  bill 
clerk  takes  the  readings  as  they  an-  handed  In  linn 
by  the  meter  readers,  enters  them  in  the  record 
book  and  makes  out  the  bill  whether  large  or 
small,  except  possibly  in  extreme  eases.  Tins  would 
nut  be  so  serious  if  we  were  to  hear  nf  the  low 
readings  as  quickly  as  we  do  the  high  ones.  The 
customer  can  be  depended  on  to  notify  of  over 
readings  or  fast  meters,  but  the  slow  ones,  that  is 
another  story.  For  instance,  the  jewel  becomes 
cracked  or  chipped,  which  would  cause  the  meter 
to  record  less  than  it  ought  to ;  this  is  not  detected 
by  the  bill  clerk,  the  damaged  jewel  is  rapidly  get- 
ting in  worse  condition,  the  readings  become  less 
and  less,  till  finally  the  meter  stops  entirely.  Then, 
and  not  till  then,  in  too  many  cases  is  it  turned 
over  to  the  meter  department  to  locate  the  trouble. 
Now,  if  some  plan  were  adopted  whereby  every 
reading  is  scrutinized  very  carefully  by  some  one 
having  particular  knowledge  of  the  meter  and  its 
weaknesses,   very   material   saving  would   result. 

Supposing  a  meter  having  a  constant  of  two 
should  get  into  the  record  book  as  having  one-half 
for  its  constant — a  not  unheard-of  occurrence — the 
bill  would  of  course  be  only  one-quarter  of  what 
it  should  be.  An  error  such  as  this  having  been 
made  might  be  carried  along  for  months  or  years 
even,  without  detection  where  the  inspection  is 
loosely  or  carelessly  done.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
man  in  charge  of  the  meter  department  being  pecu- 
liarly fitted  for  this  class  of  work  should  readily 
detect  the  error.  It  is  his  business  to  know,  and  in 
fact  he  usually  does  know  the  various  constants  on 
different  sizes  and  types  of  meters.  Very  often  the 
company's  number  on  the  meter  serves  as  a  guide 
to  him  in  determining  its  type. 

Meter  manufacturers  of  late  seem  to  be  tending 
toward  the  kilowatt-hour  meter  in  place  of  the  watt- 
hour.    This  is  bound  to  cause  confusion  and  perhaps 


fERN     ELECTRICIAN 

■  i...    1 

1    ahl gh   you    may   bi 

consci md  intelligent  care  from 

i.ni.  I.     maid  1    ■  h.:i.   ■ 

m   ha      aid,  '  I  h«  n  1 

;oldi  11  •' 
planl 

Additions    to    DeCew    Falls    Power 
Plant. 

1:.   '  1    1      1     1 
I  lie  I  [amilton   Elei         1 
1  lomp  He.    Im     i"  ■  n   mal  ing   nol  ibli     idi 
in  tallatioi 1      


l  :■ 


mtaining  al*out   50,0x1,000  cti- 
I    brirk. 

.11      tile 

iding  from  tin  .  of  tlit  cv:ar|>- 

meiit,    fully    .■  ■ 


Ont.  This  pdwer  house  is  located  in  "Power  Glen," 
iVi  miles  from  St.  Catharines.  Last  year  the  com- 
pany installed  two  5,000-kilowatt  three-phase  2,200- 
volt  Westinghouse  generators,  that  make  28G  rev 
olutions  per  minute,  and  are  direct  connected  to 
hydraulic  turbines  of  7,100  horsepower,  built  by 
J.  M.  Voith  of  Heidenheim,  Germany.  Now  the 
company  is  installing  two  6,400-kilowatt  three-phase 
2,400-volt  Westinghouse  generators  of  286  revolu- 
tions per  minute,  and  which  also  are  direct  con- 
nected to  Voith  wheels.  The  revolving  fields  nf 
these    new    generators    weigh     37    tons.     They    are 


"ir  the  outside.  In  passing  down  the  hillside  the 
direction  of  the  pipes  changes  to  correspond  with 
the  face  of  the  bluff,  making  small  angles  with  the 
horizontal  for  a  short  distance,  as  will  he  seen  in 
the    accompanying    illustration. 

At  the  power  house  the  pipes  pass  underneath 
the  main  floor  to  the  waterwheels.  that  stand  in 
a  row  along  the  side.  The  wheels  and  generators 
are  in  the  same  room,  and  each  generator  has  it- 
individual  wheel  direct  connected  mi  a  horizontal 
shaft.  The  Twelve  Mile  Creek  serves  as  the  tail- 
race     fur    the    discharge    water.      The     roof    of    the 


line  37-ton  Revolving  Field  of  Alterna 


serious  loss  to  the  company  unless  watched  very 
closely  or  the  system  of  keeping  records  to  some 
extent  changed.  Companies  which  have  been 
heretofore  accustomed  to  reading  the  first  dial  of 
the  meter  or  fractions  of  a  kilowatt  may  omit  it 
altogether  on  all  meters,  and  all  will  then  read  in 
kilowatt-hours  and  the  danger  from  this  source  be 
eliminated  entirely. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  an  effort  is  made  to 
keep  them  separated  there  is  every  possibility  of 
the  two  becoming  mixed  and  bills  ridiculously  small 
or  excessively  high  being  rendered,  either  of  which 
should  and  can  be  avoided.  There  are  some  im- 
portant details  connected  with  this  branch  of  the 
business  left  untouched,  such  as  the  proper  meter- 
ing of  large  installations,  hotels,  theaters,  churches, 
etc.,   and   meter   readers   who   can   and    who    cannot 


ADDITIONS  TO  DE  CEW   FALLS  POWER  PLANT. 

shipped  by  rail  to  St.  Catharines,  Out.,  and  from 
the  Grand  Trunk  freight  house  they  are  transported 
by  wagon  to  the  power  house.  The  final  31  _•  miles 
of  the  trip  of  these  mammoth  pieces  of  machinery 
is  difficult,  as  the  wagon  carrying  the  machinery  has 
to  be  drawn  over  the  country  roads.  In  making 
the  haul  n  teams  of  horses  were  employed,  and 
in  descending  the  hill  to  the  power  house  nine  of 
the  teams  were  employed  in  holding  the  load  back, 
while  two  teams  were  on  the  wagon  pole  to  steer. 
In  addition  to  this,  the  precaution  was  taken  to 
snub  the  wagon  with  ropes  on  each  side,  and  in 
this  way  the  fields  were  safely  landed  at  the  station. 
This  work,  and  also  the  erection  of  the  generat- 
ors,   was    in    charge    of    Mr.    J.    Simmons,    erecting 


37-ton  Field  Down  a  Steep  Grade  in  the  Road. 

power  bouse  is  supported  by  steel  trusses,  and  an 
electric  traveling  crane  can  be  operated  at  any  point 
over  the  wheels  or  generators,  proving  a  material 
aid   in   the   installation   of  the   new   machines. 

In  addition  to  the  installation  above  described, 
there  are  two  Stilwell-Bierce  single-runner  single- 
discharge-type  wheels,  each  rated  at  1.700  horse- 
power and  400  revolutions  per  minute.  To  each 
of  these  is  connected  a  Royal  Electric  inductor 
alternator,  rated  at  1,000  kilowatts.  There  are  also 
two  wheels  of  the  A.  Riva  Manneret  make,  single- 
runner  single-discharge  type,  rated  at  286  revolu- 
tions per  minute  and  3.300  horsepower.  To  each 
of  these  is  connected  a  Canadian  General  Electric 
alternator    of   2.000    kilowatts    capacity.     All    of    the 


n6 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


February  10,   1906 


wheels  operate  under  a  head  of  268  feet,  approxi- 
mately. 

The  Westinghonse  company  has  also  installed  in 
this  station  nine  3,400-kilowatt  2,200  to  40,000-volt 
transformers,  equipped  with  the  latest  type  C  oil 
switches ;  also  three  motor-generator  sets  of  100 
kilowatts,  used  as  exciters. 

Power  from  this  station  is  transmitted  to  St. 
Catharines,  a  few  miles  away,  and  to  Hamilton, 
Ont.,  a  distance  of  33  to  35  miles.  The  Welland 
Canal  is  lighted  for  its  entire  length  by  power  from 
this  station.  Two  transmission  lines  run  from  the 
terminal  station  to  Hamilton.  One  of  these  takes 
the  low  level  at  the  foot  of  the  Niagara  escarp- 
ment, and  is  33  miles  long.  This  is  referred  to  as 
circuit  No.  I,  and  the  conductors  are  of  stranded 
aluminum,  three  in  number  and  having  a  cross- 
section  of  320,000  circular  mils.  The  circuit  known 
as  No.  2  extends  along  the  top  of  the  Niagara 
escarpment,  and  has  six  copper  conductors,  three 
of  which  are  solid  and  three  stranded.  The  volt- 
age of  transmission  is  40,000.  Energy  from  these 
transmission  lines  is  delivered  to  two  sub-stations 
in  Hamilton,  and  to  sub-stations  in  the  towns  of 
Beamsville  and  Grimsby,  the  electrical  equipment 
of  all  the  sub-stations  being  very  complete.  In 
Hamilton  several  large  manufacturing  plants  have 
fine  motor  equipments  operated  with  power  fur- 
nished  by   the    power    company. 


Lamme  Alternating-current  Motor. 

Benjamin  G.  Lamme  of  Pittsburg,  as  is  well 
known,  is  one  of  the  foremost  in  the  development 
of  the  single-phase  motor  which  is  adapted  particu- 
larly to   railway  service.     Mr.  Lamme  was   recently 


granted  a  patent  (assigned  to  the  Westinghouse 
Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company)  on  a  type 
of  alternating-current  motor,  and  the  description 
which  he  gives  of  the  machine  in  the  patent  speci- 
fications  is   interesting. 

Direct-current  motors  may  be  operated  by  either 
single-phase  or  polyphase  alternating  currents  pro- 
vided the  reversals  of  magnetism  in  the  armature 
and  in  the  field  magnet  occur  simultaneously;  but 
if  a  motor  of  the  direct-current  type  is  to  be  oper- 
ated continuously  by  alternating  currents  its  mag- 
netic circuits  should  be  laminated  throughout  and 
other  minor  alterations  should  also  be  made. 

The  self-induction  of  the  armature  of  a  motor 
of  the  direct-current  type  when  supplied  with  alter- 
nating currents  causes  the  current  in  £hat  member 
to  lag  behind  the  impressed  electromotive  force, 
and  unless  such  lag  is  neutralized  the  efficiency  of 
the  motor  is  impaired.  Mr.  Lamme  proposes  par- 
tially to  neutralize  the  self-induction  of  the  arma- 
ture of  an  alternating-current  motor  by  means  of 
a  stationary  winding  located  in  slots  in  the  faces 
of  the  field-magnet  pole  pieces,  and  connected  in 
series  with  the  armature  winding,  being  so.  dis- 
tributed that  the  number  of  its  ampere-turns  in 
each  pole  face  is  equal  to  the  number  of  ampere- 
turns  in  that  part  of  the  armature  which  is  covered 
by  the  winding  in  such  pole  face.  He  proposes 
also  to  apply  a  current  of  one  phase  to  the  arma- 
ture and  neutralizing  windings  and  a  current  of  a 
different  phase  to  the  field-magnet  winding.  It 
follows  from  the  disposition  and  arrangement  of 
windings  that  the  neutralizing  effect  of  the  station- 
ary windings  connected  in  series  with  the  arma- 
ture is  instantaneous,  that  it  is  equal  or  propor- 
tional to  the  self-induction  of  the  armature,  and 
that    the    magnetic    relations    of    the    armature    and 


field    magnet    are    not    otherwise    modified    or    dis- 
turbed. 

In  the  construction  of  motors  having  commutators 
and  intended  and  adapted  for  operation '  by  alter- 
nating currents  it  has  been  found  to  be  advisable 
to  provide  definite  field-magnet  pole  pieces  be- 
tween which  are  definite  interpolar  spaces,  substan- 
tially as  in  ordinary  direct-current  machines,  and 
in  order  to  insure  a  satisfactory  power  factor  in 
motors  of  this  character  it  has  been  found  desir- 
able to  provide  armature  ampere-turns,  the  number 
of  which  shall  be  relatively  large  as  compared  with 
the  number  of  ampere-turns  required  to  magnetize 
the  field  magnet.  Under  such  conditions  the  field 
distortion  caused  by  the  armature  ampere-turns 
would  be  very  great  if  it  were  not  for  the  neutral- 
izing winding  in  the  field-magnet  pole  faces,  and 
even  where  such  windings  are  employed  they  do  not 
neutralize  the  armature  ampere-turns  in  the  inter- 
polar spaces.  In  the  case  of  direct-current  motors 
armature  magnetomotive  force  in  the  interpolar 
space  is  relatively  so  small  that  it  has  but  little 
effect  on  the  operation  of  the  motor.  But  in  the 
case  of  an  alternating-current  motor  having  cur- 
rents supplied  to  the  armature  that  differ  in  phase 
from  those  supplied  to  the  field  magnet  and  having 
a  large  number  of  ampere-turns  in  the  armature 
as  compared  with  the  number  of  field  ampere-turns 
the  armature  magnetomotive  forces  exerted  in  the 
interpolar  spaces  may  be  relatively  large.  Experi- 
ence has  demonstrated  that  this  effect  may  be  so 
great  under  certain  conditions  as  to  set  up  a  hunting 
action  in  .the  machine,  during  which  the  armature 
current  rises  and  falls  periodically.  In  such  opera- 
tion the  magnetic  effect  in  the  interpolar  spaces 
will  also  rise  and  fall  periodically,  and  there  will  be 
a  distorting  effect  in  the  field  which  will  tend  to 
cause  the  hunting  action  to  continue.  In  order  to 
eliminate  this  hunting  effect  Mr.  Lamme  proposes 
to  place  conducting  plates  of  comparatively  large 
cross-section  and  very  low  resistance  between  the 
pole  pieces  of  the  motor.  These  plates  act  as  sec- 
ondaries to  the  interpolar  field  set  up  by  the  arma- 
ture currents,  and  therefore  reduce  the  field  to  a 
comparatively  small  value,  the  hunting -tendency 
being  thereby   substantially    eliminatecL,^^^ 

Fig.  I  is  a  view  in  end  elevation  (TfTmotor  em- 
bodying the  invention,  one-half  of  the  end  cap 
being  removed.  Fig.  2  is  a  face  view  of  one-half 
of  each  of  two  adjacent  pole  pieces,  their  windings, 
and  the  plate  located  between  them.  Fig.  3  is  an 
end  view  of  a  motor  constructed  in  accordance 
with  the  invention  and  showing  the  supply  circuits 
as  well  as  the  neutralizing  windings  and  plates 
and  is  mainly  diagrammatic. 

While  the  invention  is  not  limited  to  a  motor 
haying  a  specific  number  of  poles,  there  is  here 
indicated  a  four-pole  motor,  each  of  the  laminated 
pole  pieces  (4)  of  which  is  provided  with  eight 
slots  (5)  adjacent  to  its  face,  in  which  are  located 
neutralizing  conductors.  One-half  of  the  neutral- 
izing conductors  in  each  pole  piece  are  connected 
to  the  neutralizing  conductors  which  are  located 
in  the  slots  of  the  adjacent  half  of  the  adjacent 
pole  piece  by  means  of  connections  (7),  which  may 
be  either  integral  extensions  of  the  conductors  that 
arc    located    in    the    pole-piece    slots    or    separately 


constructed  connectors  that  are  suitably  fastened 
to  the  projecting  ends  of  said  core-slot  conductors. 
In  order  that  the  end  portions  may  not  interfere 
with  the  application  and  removal  of  the  magnetiz- 
ing coils,  they  are  bent  outward  in  a  plane  sub- 
stantially parallel  to  the  end  of  the  motor  and 
then  around  the  adjacent  space  between  the  pole 
pieces   so  that  none   of  them   cross   such   space. 

As  shown  in  Fig.  3,  the  neutralizing  windings 
(6)  (7)  are  connected  in  series  with  the  armature 
winding  by  means  of  the  brushes   and  commutator 


cylinder,  and  these  series-connected  windings  are 
supplied  with  current  from  the  secondary  of  a 
transformer  (12),  the  primary  of  which  is  con- 
nected to  conductors  corresponding  to  one  phase 
of  a  two-phase  circuit,  and  the  magnetizing  field- 
magnet  coils  (8)  are  supplied  with  current  from 
the  secondary  winding  of  a  transformer  (14),  the 
primary  of  which  is  supplied  with  current  from 
the  conductors  corresponding  to  the  other  phase  of 
the  two-phase  system.  This  arrangement  is  such 
that  the  armature  self-induction  is  effectually  neu- 
tralized except  in  the  interpolar  spaces.  Since  the 
self-induction  of  the  armature  is  thus  neutralized 
the  current  of  the  phase  which  is  supplied  to  the 
armature  is  maintained  in  phase  with  the  impressed 
electromotive  force ;  but  the  self-induction  of  the 
field  magnet  causes  the  current  of  the  phase  which 
is  supplied  to  that  member  to  lag  approximately  90 
degrees  behind  the  impressed  electromotive  force, 
so   that   the   currents   in   the   two    windings   are   ap- 


proximately 1S0  degrees  apart  and  the  reversals  of 
the  magnetism  in  the  armature  and  the  field-mag- 
net occur  simultaneously,  this  being  the  proper  con- 
dition for  satisfactory  operation. 


High-pressure  Electric  Fire  Pumps  for 
New  York  City. 

As  a  result  of  the  recent  ordinance  authorizing 
the  building  of  two  new  fresh  and  salt-water 
pumping  stations  for  the  Borough  of  Manhattan, 
bids  were  recently  closed  and  contracts  awarded 
to  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company  of  Milwaukee  by 
the  Commission  of  Water  Supply,  Gas  and  Elec- 
tricity. The  equipment  to  be  furnished  consists  of 
10  multi-stage  electrically  driven  centrifugal  pumps, 
identical  in  design  to  those  built  by  the  Escher- 
Wyss  Company  of  Zurich,  Switzerland,  and  whose 
rights  for  this  country  are  owned  by  the  Allis- 
Chalmers   Company. 

This  equipment  will  be  installed  in  two  stations 
now  in  course  of  construction,  one  at  the  north- 
east corner  of  Gansevoort  and  West  streets,  called 
the  Gansevoort  Station,  and  the  other  located  at 
the  northwest  corner  of  Oliver  and  South  streets, 
called  the  Oliver  Street  Station.  The  two  stations 
are  identical  in  every  way,  even  to  the  arrangement 
of  the .  interiors.  These  plants  will  be  laid  out  to 
accommodate  eight  pumping  units,  the  piping  being 
so  arranged  that  when  the  three  future  pumps  are 
installed  it  will  only  be  necessary  to  remove  the 
blank  flanges  from  the  tees  to  make  the  present 
arrangement  of  piping  suitable  for  the  operation 
of  eight  pumping  units. 

The  pumps  will  be  of  the  horizontal  shaft,  multi- 
stage, centrifugal  type,  connected  to  Soo-horsepower 
induction  motors.  Each  pump  will  be  constructed 
with  six  runners,  i.  e:,  the  water  will  be  handled 
in  six  stages,  each  stage  raising  the  total  required 
amount  of  water  through  one-sixth  of  the  total  re- 
quired head.  The  pumps  are  designed  to  give  their 
maximum  efficiency  when  delivering  3,000  gallons 
of  sea  water  each  per  minute  at  a  speed  of  approxi- 
mately 735  revolutions  per  minute  and  delivering 
against  a  discharge  pressure  of  300  pounds  per 
square   inch. 

The  induction  motors  are  of  the  Allis-Chalmers 
type,  in  which  resistance  can  be  inserted  at  starting 
to  limit  the  current  taken  from  the  supply  lines. 
The  motors  are  built  in  accordance  with  the  speci- 
fications of  the  Department  of  Water  Supply,  Gas 
and  Electricity,  and  it  is  expected  that  the  stations 
will  be  in  operation  by  the  first  of  October. 


Subterranean  Wireless. 

Preparations    are    reported    to    be    under    way   by 
Father    Joseph     Murgas     of    Wilkesbarre,     Pa.,    to 

test  his  theories  on  space  telegraphy.  He  believes 
that  messages  may  be  transmitted  through  the  earth 
as  well  or  better  than  through  the  atmosphere,  and 
to    test    this    theory   hopes    to    be    able    to    dig   two 


February    to,   1906 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


shafts,   eai  li    |,oi  q    feci    deep,  and   lined     ■■  ill 

en  i' .  one     haft    in   the   |  fniti  d   Stal I 

Europe,     'I  he    iy  item  whii  h   hi    ■.-.  ill  •  mploj    i     oni 

In-  has  been  working  on   for    o ,eat      and  will 

be   the   same    in    pi  incipli    a     thi    ordinal  .      p 

telegraph    apparatu  ,    « ith    th      exci  pi tl 

signals   will    be  given   in   mu  ical    torn   .   each   i 

representing  a   letter  ol  the  alphabel 


An  Experimental  Gasoline-electric  Car. 

In    conjunction    «  ith    the     \ in    I 1 1 . 

Works  the  General  Electric    Company  recently   - 

pleted    .'in    '  ■  pei  i tal    ga  olinc  i  Id  I  rii     -  ai .    di 

signed  as  a  self  contained  nun  to  mcel  the  po    ibli 
demand    for    railway    service    on    branch    lines    01 

other    localities    where    the    trafl lighl    . 

in   prohibit    the    invcstmenl     iufficienl    foi    a     ti  am 

or  purely  electric   line.    The  first   trial   n i   thi 

novel  car  took  place  February  3d,  when  1 
cessful  trip  was  made  from  Schenectady  to  Sara 
toga,  V.  V.,  and  return,  over  the  lines  of  the  Dcla 
ware  and  Hudson  Railroad.  During  the  trip 
era]  features  of  this  method  of  driving  were  demon 
strated,  While  the  car  was  not  designed  for  high 
speed,  the  average  running  time  was  about  35 
miles  'in  hour,  and  several  times  the  car  attained 
.1  speed  of  -)n  miles  an  hour.  The  smooth  and  rapid 
acceleration   was   favorably   commented   upon   by  the 

engineers   present,   as   well   as   the   c plete   al    enci 

of  vibration,  which   might   be  thought   I"  accompany 
the  use  of  a  gasoline  engine. 

The  equipment  consists  essentially  of  a  gasoline- 
driven  electric  generator  furnishing  current  to  elec- 
tric motors  geared  to  the  driving  wheels  and  con- 
trolled by  a  method  similar  to  that  employed  in 
the  ordinary  elcctrie  car  equipment.  The  ear  in 
question,  as  shown  in  the  illustration  (Fig.  11,  is 
of  the  combination  type,  comprising  a  passenger 
compartment,  smoking  room,  a  baggage  room,  en- 
gine room,  one  toilet  and  a  motorman's  compart- 
ment. It  is  65  feet  long  over  buffers,  and  when 
equipped  weighs  65  tons.  A  complete  controller 
equipment  is  located  at  each  end  of  the  car,  one 
controller  being  located  in  the  engine  room  and 
a  similar  controller  in  a  compartment  at  the  other 
end.  The  car  has  seating  capacity  for  40  passen- 
gers, including  seats  for  12  in  the  smoking  room. 
In    general    it    is    built    on    the   lines   of    a    standard 


Hitherto,   difficult)    ha 

the  initial  cl 

nrholi    being 

pi '    ided 

1  hi 

I    pari 
of  the  cngim      Eai      1  irhun  li  r     upplica  thi 
quipped    with   two   flo 


■ 
borough    • 


bers.  The  chambers  arc  identical,  and  arc  of  the 
usual  needle-valve  type.  Very  flexible  arrange- 
ments are  provided  to  govern  the  air  supply, 
that  it  may  be  taken  from  the  aim, -sphere  or  from 
the  crank  chamber,  or  from  both,  according  to  the 
conditions  required.  The  mixture  is  heated  to  the 
required  temperature  in  a  small  chamber,  which 
itself    is    warmed    by    the   exhaust. 

In  all  details  the  engine  is  very  complete.  The 
lubrication  is  especially  so,  being  force  feed  for 
main  bearings  and  pistons  and  drip  feed  for  all 
other  working  parts.  Gasoline  is  stored  in  steel 
tanks    beneath    the    car,    and    the    burnt    gases    pass 


FIG.    2.      ENGINE,    GENERATOR   AND    EXCITER 

Delaware  and  Hudson  passenger  coach,  and  is  hand- 
somely finished.  Within,  the  passenger  compart- 
ment is  decorated  in  mahogany,  with  a  birch  wains- 
coting, the  smoking  room  in  quartered  oak,  and 
both  the  baggage  and  engine  rooms  in  painted  pop- 
lar. The  outside  of  the  car  is  painted  and  lettered 
in  the  standard  Delaware  and  Hudson  style,  and 
Gould  pattern  bumpers  and  drawbars  are  provided. 
The  gasoline  engine  for  this  car  was  built  by 
the  Wolseley  Tool  and  Motor  Car  Company  of 
Birmingham,  England,  and  is  considered  the  most 
powerful  unit  yet  constructed  for  this  class  of  work. 
It  develops  160  brake  horsepower  when  running 
at  450  revolutions  per  minute.  The  cylinders  are 
horizontal,  opposed,  six  in  number,  nine-inch  diam- 
eter and  10-inch  stroke.  All  valves  are  mechan- 
ically operated,  and  the  cylinders   are  water-cooled. 


IN    EXPERIMENTAL    GASOLINE-ELECTRIC    CAR. 

through  the  roof  into  mufflers,  from  which  they 
exhaust  into  the  air.  The  cooling  system  for  the 
cylinders  consists  of  two  sets  of  radiating  tubes, 
one  located  on  the  top  of  the  car.  Water  for  cool- 
ing is  contained  in  the  engine  base.  For  heating 
the  car  a  three-way  cock  is  provided,  which  by- 
passes the  circulating  water  through  the  usual  pipe- 
heating  system  within  the  car. 

Coming  now  to  the  electrical  equipment,  the  main 
current  is  furnished  by  a  120-kilowatt  direct-con- 
nected General  Electric  six-pole  generator,  designed 
for  600  volts.  This  generator  is  provided  with 
comnmtating  poles,  which,  in  connection  with  the 
method  of  voltage  control,  permit  a  very  flexible 
operating  system.  The  advantage  of  commutating 
poles  is  evident  when  it  is  considered  that  the  field 
excitation    at    starting    is    weak,    and    a    large    cur- 


words,  the  -pud  of  the  car   1-  governed 
by    varying    the    field    strength    of    the    generator. 
With  this  method  the  speed  of  the  engine  remains 
constant  after  acceleration.     The  controller  is  semi- 
automatic,   and    can    be    sct    for    any    predetermined 
maximum    acceleration.     It    is   arrang 
parallel      control,      the      motor     connections     being 
changed    from    series    t,,    parallel    by    the    reversing 
handle.      This     latter     has     five     positions 
ahead,"  "parallel  ahead."  "off,"  "series  revel 
"parallel    reverse."     Arrangements    are    provided    to 
prevent  the  motor  connections   from  being  changed 
from    series    to    parallel    until    the    resistance    is    put 
in   the   field  circuit  of  the   generator. 

Further  operating  details  comprise  a  General  Elec- 
tric combination  straight  and  automatic  air-brake 
equipment  and  a  special  lighting  equipment.  The 
headlight-  are  supplied  with  IOO-candlepower  incan- 
descent lamps  of  the  stercopticon  type,  one  for  each 
end  of  the  car. 

The  trial  trip  of  this  car  demonstrated  the  prac- 
ticability of  this  equipment,  and  was  entirely  sat- 
isfactory to  the  engineers  and  offici:, 
far  as  the  tests  indicated.  The  opinion  was  ex- 
pressed that  this  was  merely  a  step  toward  the 
final  electrification  of  all  service.  A  gasoline  car 
would  be  useful  in  establishing  a  passenger  traffic, 
but  eventually  the  motive  power  for  operation  would 
be  electricity. 

Fig.  1  is  a  reproduction  of  a  photograph  of  the 
car,  taken  after  the  arrival  in  Saratoga.  Among 
the  officials  present  from  the  Delaware  and  Hudson 
company  were  Axel  Ekstrom,  consulting  electrical 
engineer;  J.  H.  Manning,  superintendent  of  motive 
power;  J.  W.  Burdick.  passenger  traffic  manager: 
James  McMartin,  chief  engineer;  J.  B.  Dixey.  as- 
sistant to  second  vice-president;  W.  J.  Mullin,  as- 
sistant to  second  vice-president:  D.  F.  Wait,  su- 
perintendent Susquehanna  division :  E.  F.  Peck, 
manager    Schenectady    Railway    Company. 

From  the  General  Electric  Company  the  party- 
included  E.  W.  Rice.  Jr.,  technical  director:  \V.  B. 
Potter,  chief  engineer;  J.  R.  Loveioy.  general  man- 
ager railway  department;  J.  G.  Barry,  assistant 
manager  railway  department :  "W.  J.  Clark,  manager 
transportation  department :  E.  D.  Priest.  A.  F. 
Bachelder  and  H.  G.  Chataine  of  the  railway  engi- 
neering department,  and  F.  H.  Gale,  advertising  de- 
partment. 


The  Interstate  Electric  Railway  Association,  com- 
posed of  electric-railway  men  in  Northern  Illinois 
and  Southern  Wisconsin,  held  a  meeting  in  Toliet  a 
lew  days  ago.  at  which  C.  L.  S.  Tingley  of  Joliet 
was  elected  president  and  F.  E.  Fisher  of  Joliet  sec- 
retary. Suggestions  for  making  interurban  travel 
more  convenient  were  discussed  at  the  meeting,  and 
the  use  of  interchangeable  mileage  was  fully  de- 
cided upon.  Mileage  books  sold  by  one  company- 
will  be  good  on  any  other  of  the  "roads  belonging 
to  the  association.  Included  in  the  membership" are 
the  Rockford  and  Interurban.  the  Elgin.  Aurora 
and  Southern,  the  Aurora.  Elgin  and  Chicago,  the 
Joliet.  Plainfield  and  Aurora,  the  Chicago  and 
Joliet.  the  Illinois  Valley  Railway,  the  Illinois  Trac- 
tion Company-  and  the  Bloomington.  Pontiac  and 
Joliet  road. 


n8 

WESTERN   ELECTRICIAN 

EVERY    SATURDAY. 

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quested, the  old  address  as  well  as  tbe  new  should  be  given. 

CORRESPONDENCE  relating  to  electricity  or  any  of  its 
practical  applications  is  cordially  invited,  and  the  co-operation 
of  all  electrical  thinkers  and  workers  earnestly  desired.  Clear, 
concise,  well  written  articles  are  especially  welcome;  and  com- 
munications, views,  news  items,  local  newspaper  clippings,  or 
any  Information  likely  to  interest  electricians,  wiil  be  thank- 
fully received  and  cheerfully  acknowledged. 

ADVERTISING.— The  Western  Electrician— the  only 
general  electrical  paper  published  in  the  West— thoroughly 
covers  a  territory  exclusively  it*  own.    This  is  a  cl.ii.si  which 

United  States.  Electrical  merchants  and  manufacturers 
desiring  western  trade  will  appreciate  the  ttnequaled  va^tte 
of  this  journal  as  an  advertising  medium  in  its  special  field. 
Advertising  rates  are  moderate,  and  will  be  furnished  en 
application. 

REMITTANCES.— All  checks,  drafts  and  other  remit- 
tances should  be  made  payable  to  the  order  of  the  publishers, 
the  Electrician  Publishing  Company,  and  addressed  to  the 
offices  of  publication,  Suite  510,  Marquette  Building  (204 
Dearborn  Street),  Chicago,  Illinois,  Tj.  S.  A. ^^^^^^ 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

St.    Gallen-Trogen  Interurban   Railway   in   Switzerland.     By 

Franz  Koester.     Illustrated "3.  H4 

The  Proper  Handling  of    Consumers'  Meters.      By  George  A. 

Barrett II4,  IIS 

Additions  to  DeCew  Falls  Power  Plant.      By  Orrin  E.  Dunlap. 

Illustrated "5-  II6 

Lamme  Alternating-current  Motor.     Illustrated "■  -  "6 

High-pressure  Electric  Fire  Pumps  for  New  York  City 116 

Subterranean  Wireless Il6-  "' 

An  Experimental  Gasoline-electric  Car.     Illustrated "7 

Editorial Il8 

Deterioration  in  Storage  Batteries.     By  G.    D.    Aspinall  Parr. 

Illustrated IIQ 

Power  Plant  Economics.    By  H.  G.  Stott.    Part  II.    Illustrated. 

With  discussion IZ0-  121 

Electrical  Exports  for  the  Year  1905 121 

1,800-horsepower  Gas  Engine  Direct-connected  to  Alternator. 

Illustrated I22 

Advertising  Exhibit  for  Atlantic  City 122 

Electric  Hoisting  Machinery.     Illustrated 122 

Searchlights  to  Aid  Firemen I2z 

Not  How  Flat  but  How  Steep "2 

The  Arc  Light  on  Candlemas  Day.     Illustrated 122 

Knostrain  Socket  Bushing.     Illustrated 123 

A  Trolley  Wheel  of  Pure  Copper.     Illustrated 123 

Interborough  Rapid  Transit  Company's  Test  of  Subway  En- 
gines   123 

Convention  of  Crocker-Wheeler  Officials.     Illustrated 123 

Electrification  of  Victorian  Railways  in  Australia 124 

Pabst  Brewery  Power  Plant I2+ 

Niagara  Power  Proposed  for  Cleveland 124 

The  Erie  Railroad  Electrification 124 

Searchlight  "Morse"  for  Announcing  Election  Returns 124 

Engineers'  Club  of  Chicago 124 

Large  Induction  Motors  for  Anaconda 124 

Cheaper  to  Buy  Current 124 

Step-by-step  Party-line  Selective  Telephone   System.      Illus- 
trated  I2«.   125 

To  Test  Telephone-rate  Law  in  Wisconsin 125 

Indiana  Telephone  Items 125 

Southeastern  Telephone  Developments ■   125 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes 125 

The  Telephone  on  the  Pacific  Slope 125 

Telephone  News  from  the  Northwest 125.  126 

New  Companies '- 126 

Telephone  Men - 12? 

Southern  Indiana  Telephone  Men  Meet 126 

General  Telephone  News 126 

Manufacturers  and  Dealers 126 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence 126,  127.  128 

Great  Britain 126 

New  York 127 

New  England 127 

Southeastern  States 127 

Ohio '27.  128 

Indiana I2° 

Mexico 128 

Northwestern  States 128 

Pacific  Slope 128 

Personal I28.  129 

Electric  Lighting **9 

Electric  Railways 129.  130 

Power  Transmission 130 

Publ  ications 130 

Societies  and  Schools 130 

Telegraph *30 

Miscellaneous 130 

Trade  News 130.  131 

Business *3i 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record 131.  132 

DATES  AHEAD. 

Telephone    Association    (annual    convention),    Cham- 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

As  AN  encouragement  to  small  industries  the 
"industrial  building"  has  often  been  suggested  and 
has  been  tried  in  several  instances  with  success. 
An  "industrial  building,"  like  the  office  building, 
is  designed  to  accommodate  a  number  of  tenants, 
these  tenants,  however,  being  small  manufacturing 
concerns  which  would  find  the  expense  of  building 
a  factory  of  their  own  burdensome  or  prohibitive. 
In  the  "industrial  building"  all  the  conveniences  of 
a  large  factory  may  be  obtained,  in  the  way  of 
electric  power  and  light,  good  ventilation,  ample 
space,  elevator  service,  etc.  A  branch  telephone 
exchange  may  be  operated  by  the  landlord  for  the 
benefit  of  the  tenants.  Indeed  such  a  building 
gives  the  small  manufacturer  the  conveniences  of 
his  larger  competitors  and  at  a  cost  which  will  en- 
able him  to  turn  the  proceeds  of  his  business  in 
channels  which  will  tend  toward  its  expansion 
rather  than  into  the  construction  of  a  private  fac- 
tory building,  the  cost  of  which  his  business  may 
not  warrant.  Though  perhaps  not  practicable  in  a 
small  city,  such  a  building  in  a  large  city, is  a  pay- 
ing proposition,  and  central-station  managers  may 
well  give  more  of  their  attention  to  the  promotion 
of  such  enterprises  as  a  promising  field  for  the 
sale  of  current.  It  would  be  well  if  all  the  small 
manufacturing  concerns  were  housed  in  commo- 
dious and  convenient  "industrial  buildings,"  taking 
their  light  and  power  from  the  central  station 
rather  than  from  scores  of  small  and  inefficient 
plants.  :=r=^=^= 

Electricity  cannot  be  adulterated.  There  is  no 
way  of  substituting  an  inferior  brand  for  the  simon- 
pure  article.  It  is  true  that  fluctuations  in  the  elec- 
tromotive force  sometimes  occur,  so  that  lights  may 
go  dim  momentarily,  but  the  quality  of  the  cur- 
rent is  always  the  same;  the  trouble  is  caused 
by  some  temporary  difficulty  in  forcing  enough  of 
it  through  the  w-ires  to  the  point  of  consumption. 
In  these  days  of  widespread  adulteration  and  sub- 
stitution in  articles  of  food  and  drink,  in  drugs,  in 
textile  fabrics  and  in  many  other  products,  it  is 
a  comfort  to  reflect  that  the  "juice"  furnished  by 
the  electric-light  companies  cannot  be  imitated  or 
counterfeited  in  any  way.  It  is  hinted  that  some- 
times the  gas  companies  allow  a  little  air  to  get 
in  their  pipes  or  mix  one  kind  of  illuminant  with 
another  which  is  cheaper  to  make  and  of  inferior 
quality.  This  suspicion  may  be  unfounded,  but  the 
central-station  man  has,  with  all  his  troubles,  the 
advantage  that  a  similar  accusation  is  never  lev- 
eled at  him.  The  grocer  may  sand  his  sugar,  the 
milkman  water  his  milk,  but  the  electrical  man 
deals  with  a  product  that  is  absolutely  pure  and 
never  questioned.  Electricity  is  as  fundamental 
as  the  attraction  of  gravitation.  It  is  the  same  in 
Tibet  and  in  New  Jersey  (for  of  course  "Jersey 
lightning"  belongs  to  quite  a  different  category). 
\\  hoever  utilizes  it  to  help  him  in  his  work  may 
rely  with  confidence  on  the  knowledge  that  he  is 
rsing  something  that  men  cannot  analyze  or  imi- 
tate, although  they  are  permitted  to  direct  it  into 
channels  of  useful  employment. 


February  10.  1906 

Thornton  thinks,  also,  that,  for  safety,  no  machine 
below  ground  should  be  worked  at  more  than  650 
volts  and  that  every  mining  switchboard  should  be 
provided  with  an  indicator  to  show  abnormal  leak- 
age anywhere  on  the  cables  or  machines.  On  the 
appearance  of  a  leakage  signal,  which  should  rarely 
happen,  warning  should  be  at  once  issued. 


berlain    Hotei,    Des  Moines.    March    13th,      . 

Indiana  Independent  Telephone  Association  (first  annnai 
meeting*,    Indianapolis.    Ind..    May    17th. 

National  Electric  Light  Association  (annual  convention), 
Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  June  5th  to  8th,  inclusive. 

National  Electrical  Contract..]-*'  Association  1  annual  con- 
vention), Cleveland,  Ohio,  July  18th. 


Writing  on  the  use  of  electricity  in  mines.  Dr. 
\Y.  M.  Thornton  makes  an  interesting  comparison 
of  direct  and  polyphase  alternating  current  in  the 
course  of  an  article  in  the  London  Times  Engi- 
neering Supplement.  "As  regards  all-round  elec- 
trical efficiency,"  he  says,  "there  is  little  to  choose 
1  etween  direct  and  three-phase  current,  but  sim- 
plicity of  construction,  lower  cost  of  cables  and 
less  need  for  skilled  attention  are  in  favor  of  the 
latter.  Where  much  variation  in  speed  is  required, 
direct  currents  must  be  at  present  employed.  Since, 
however,  the  conditions  of  motor  running  are  much 
the  same  in  traction  and  mining,  the  new  series- 
wound  single-phase  traction  motors  might  prove 
more  immediately  useful  in  mining  than  in  railroad 
work.  The  generating  and  controlling  machinery 
is  simpler  and  requires  less  attention  than  any  other 
system,  though  the  efficiency  is'  not  quite  so  high. 
The  cost  of  cables  is  about  the  same  as  for  direct 
currents  at  the  same  pressure,  and  there  is  the 
possibility  of  transmitting  at  high  pressure,  trans- 
forming to  lower  voltage  where  desired.  Any  col- 
liery at  present  using  single-phase  current  for  light- 
ing might  make  the  experiment."  Loose  connec- 
tions are  said  to  cause  nine  out  of  every  ten  of 
the    difficulties    of    electric    working    in    mines.     Dr. 


Niagara  power  will  be  delivered  in  Syracuse,  it 
is  promised,  next  month.  This  will  mark  the  far- 
thest limit  of  power  transmission  from  the  great 
cataract  yet  reached,  the  distance  being  about  155 
miles.  For  several  years  electrically  transmitted 
power  from  Niagara  Falls  has  been  distributed  to 
no  greater  distance  than  Buffalo,  22  miles  from  the 
point  of  generation.  But  more  ambitious  plans  are 
now  afoot,  and  a  contract  to  deliver  power  as  far 
as  Syracuse  has  been  entered  into.  There  is  talk, 
also,  of  extending  operations  to  the  west,  and  the 
possibility  of  transmitting  current  to  Cleveland, 
nearly  200  miles  from  the  Falls,  is  given  considera- 
tion. Cleveland  is  the  center  of  an  important  elec- 
tric-railway development,  and  if  it  is  economically 
feasible  to  transmit  the  current  that  distance  (for 
no  engineering  difficulty  is  apprehended),  no  doubt 
the  power  will  be  largely  utilized  in  railway  work. 
At  Syracuse,  also,  the  current  is  to  be  used  for 
railway  operation,  the  New  York  Central  agreeing, 
it  is  said,  to  take  25.OCO  horsepower.  The  power 
for  this  important  transmission  is  generated  on  the 
Canadian  side  at  Niagara  Falls  by  the  Ontario 
Power  Company,  but  is  sold  in  bulk  to  the  Niagara. 
Lockport  and  Ontario  Power  Company  on  the 
American  side.  Thus  Niagara  is  coming  to  be  the 
center  of  a  hydro-electric  development  remarkable 
for  length  of  transmission  as  it  has  been  for  many 
years    for    the    amount   of    power    developed. 


Electrical  exports  from  the  United  .States  con- 
tinue to  increase  steadily.  Official  returns  for  the 
month  of  December  and  the  year  1905  are  now  at 
hand,  and  the  total  valuation  of  such  exports  is 
$13-057.677.  Of  this  amount  $7,400,242  is  credited 
to  electrical  machinery  and  $5,648,435  to  electrical 
appliances,  including  telegraph  and  telephone  in- 
struments. The  total  is  over  $2,000,000  larger  than 
the  valuation  of  electrical  exports  for  1904,  which 
was   the    largest    up    to   that   time. 

The  exports  of  electrical  machinery  to  the  United 
Kingdom  continue  to  show  a  falling  off,  which  is 
perhaps  to  be  expected, .owing  to  the  improved  con- 
dition of  electrical  manufactures  in  that  country, 
while  the  figures  for  British  North  America  and 
Mexico  exhibit  good  gains  over  1904.  The  exports 
of  electrical  machinery  to  all  South  American  coun- 
tries increased  slightly — from  $474,234  to  $520,790, — 
which  is  encouraging,  although  the  volume  of  busi- 
ness should  be  much  greater.  China  took  less  elec- 
trical machinery  from  the  United  States  in  1905 
than  in  1904,  the  respective  valuations  being  $11,- 
S39  and  $28,911.  This  showing  is  no  doubt  largely 
due  to  the  boycott  of  American  goods,  which  we 
hope  has  been  or  will  speedily  be  removed.  The 
Chinese  Empire  is  destined,  we  believe,  to  be  a 
large  consumer  of  electrical  apparatus  within  a  few 
years,  and  the  American  electrical  manufacturers 
should  make  every  effort  to  secure  this  valuable 
market.  Japan  increased  its  quota  slightly,  but  now 
that  the  war  is  over  we  may  expect  the  energetic 
Japanese  to  make  everything  possible  in  their  own 
factories,  and  it  is  likely  that  future  years  will  show 
no  great  increase  of  American  electrical  exports 
to  the  mikado's  country,  but  rather  a  falling  off. 
China  offers  a  much  more  promising  field  to  the 
far-sighted  electrical  exporter,  although,  of  course, 
Japan  is  not  to  be  neglected,  since  it  was  our  third 
best  customer  for  electrical  machinery  in  1904  and 
our  second  best  in  1905.  British  North  America 
occupied  first  place  in  both  years,  the  United  King- 
dom being  second  in  1904  and  Mexico  third  in  1905. 

The  figures  of  the  year's  foreign  electrical  trade 
are  given  in  greater  detail  elsewhere  and  are  worthy 
of  careful  attention.  Our  electrical  exports  have 
now  risen  to  very  respectable  proportions,  and 
every  effort  should  be  made,  by  careful  study  and 
systematic  endeavor,  to  keep  up  the  constant  in- 
crease which  the  last  few  years  have  so  happily 
witnessed.  Especially  should  we  see  to  it  that  the 
countries  on  the  American  continent  and  bordering 
on   the   Pacific   are   carefully  cultivated. 


[go6 


VVIiSTKKN     KI.K'   II-: 


Deterioration  In  Storage  Batterioa. 


,,f      IK. 

Of     ll" 


I,  Fin 


i     upon   'I,. 


[mpiintii 
iuni  of  the   plates,  o 

v  reasi f  the  salts 

ell  connections  droppii 


cell    ind    -i 
n     to  t 

ili,.  lead  lufphurii  ai  id  i  eli,  a  i  full;  r<  alized,  bill 
Icnowledgi    of   the   i  <acl   amount    ol   cai  h   i  n 

admissible   1 1   indefinite    and   pi  II     a   mattci    ol 

conjecture      \   gri  al   di  il  ol   int<  n   I    thci 

laches  i"  a  papi  i    ■■■■  hii  li  wa     read  n   cntly  by  CJ    I ' 

v '.in    before   the    Lecd     I 

the   Briti  h   in  tittttion  of  Elci  ti  ii  al   I  ng  nci 

paper    i     ba  cd   ii| a     c f  tesl     rccenl 

menccd    by    Mr     Parr,    which    throw 

lighl    upon   ilii  i   hithci  to    littli   I  nov  n     ubji  i  i       Vn 

abstract  of  the  papci   appcan  'I  in  tin    I  ondon   I   ■ 

.hi,   f which  the   following   inl 

taken: 
I!,, ih    the    efficient  j     and    ■  apa  it;     nl      i  condary 

cells  graduallj    'I i  >h   with  the   time   of  usi 

falling   ,,n    being   due    to    (a  I    natural    can  cs,    (b) 
unnatural   causes,   which   embrace   tin    effccl     ol    ill 
treatment  and  impuritic  ,  n    pectivelj      I  Indi  r  head 
ing    In)    we   have   loss   "i   active   material    and    I" 
of   porosity,   and    under    i  b)    we   have,    fii  t,    the    ill 

effects    of    excessive    charge    and    dischi ati 

I circuits,    and    those    due    to   allowing    cells    to 

i,.si  in  a  discharged  condition  and  nevi  i  fullj 
charging  them  up;  second,  the  ill  effects  of  im 
purities  in  the  cell,  which  is  the  main  subji  cl  ol 
the  present   paper. 

introduced    through    the    mc 

through   the   cli Ij  tc,   01 

formed  by  corrosion  ol   the 
into  the  solution.     Plates 

of  the    Plante,  or  non  pasted  type,  arc  given   1 

itv  in  the  course  of  manufacture  by  treatment  in 
some  oxidizing  or  so-called  pickling  solution,  con- 
taining nitrogen  compounds— for  example,  nitric 
acid,  ammonia,  nitrates  of  sodium,  potassium,  am 
moniuni  and  ammonium  sulphate.  Manufacturers 
of  such  plates,  however,  take  precautions  to  elimi- 
nate all  traces  of  these  compounds  before  the  plates 
leave  the  works,  and  this  is  not  difficult  I"  do. 
Assuming  that  this  is  done,  it  remains  for  us  to 
consider  the  main  squrce  of  trouble— namely,  the 
impurities  liable  to  be  introduced  through  the  me- 
dium of  the  electrolyte.  These  may  be  present  in 
either  the  sulphuric  acid  (the  same  grade  of  which 
from  the  same  maker,  varying  greatly  in  purity) , 
or  the  water  with  which  it  is  mixed.  According 
to  Dr.  G.  Lunge,  the  greatest  living  authority  on 
sulphuric  acid,  the  concentrated  acid  of  commerce 
may   contain : 

Sodium  sulphate  (13s  parts  in  a  million):  potas- 
sium sulphate  (more  rarely)  ;  calcium  sulphate 
(58  parts  in  a  million);  ferrous  sulphate  (291 
parts  in  a  million);  lead  sulphate  (520  parts  in  im- 
pure and  172  parts  per  million  in  pure  acid)  ;  alum- 
inum sulphate;  sulphate  of  ammonia  (very  largely)  ; 
copper,  zinc  and  other  metals  (rarely)  ;  selenium ; 
arsenic  (500  to  1,420  parts  per  million)  ;  hydro- 
chloric acid;  hydrofluoric  acid;  sulphurous  acid; 
antimony  (80  parts  per  million) :  arsenious  acid 
(1,420  parts  in  impure  and  31  parts  per  million  in 
pure  acid)  ;  compounds  of  nitrogen  (always  pres- 
ent). 

Ammonia  has  been  found  in  acid  to  the  extent 
of  6.700  parts  per  million,  but  it  is  often  present  in 
3.6  parts  per  million,  and  is  the  most  common  im- 
purity. Sulphuric  acid  is  prepared  either  from  sul- 
phur by  heating  it  in  a  current  of  air  to  form  sul- 
phur dioxide  or  from  sulphide  of  iron  (iron  py- 
rites). The  former  method  gives  what  is  known 
commercially  as  "brimstone"  acid,  the  latter  method 
an  acid  which  (unless  very  carefully  purified)  con- 
tains traces  of  iron,  arsenic  and  other  metals.  It 
is.  therefore,  safest  to  use  "brimstone"  (which  is 
usually  free  from  arsenic)  acid  for  storage  battery 
purposes,  unless  careful  analysis  is  resorted  to. 
Both  kinds  of  acid  are  liable  to  contain  traces  of 
nitrogen  compounds. 

According  to  Dr.  R.  A.  Smith,  in  his  standard 
work  "Air  and  Rain,"  1872,  rain-water  has  been 
known  to  contain  the  following  impurities  to  the 
maximum   extents   given — namely: 

Hydrochloric  acid  (chlorides,  560  parts  per  mil- 
lion), greatest  at  the  sea  coast;  sulphates  (1,226 
in  a  million),  greatest  in  large  cities;  ammonia 
(Loudon — 32  parts  per  million;  Glasgow— 9  per 
million)  ;  albuminoid  ammonia  (London — 1.08  parts 
in  a  million  ;  Liverpool — 0.66  in  a  million")  ;  nitric 
acid  (London — 25  parts  per  million)  ;  nitrites.  Other 
substances  found  in  rain  are  organic  substances, 
soda,  potash,  magnesia,  alumina,  carbonic  acid,  lime, 
oxide  of  iron  and  manganese. 

Over  100  parts  per  million  of  foreign  matter  have 
been  found  in  rain. 

Water  from  town  mains  may  contain  sodium 
chloride,  sulphureted  hydrogen,  sulphates^  of  ammo- 
nium and  potassium,  magnesium  and  calcium,  which 
latter  two  make  the  water  hard  but  drinkable.  Most 
impurities  would  be  alternately  oxidized  and  reduced 
with  succeeding  charges  and  discharges,  and  would 
thus  help  to  discharge  the  cell  irrespective  of 
whether  it  is  sending  a  current  externally  or  not. 
It  is  well  known  that  cells  standing  idle  slowly 
discharge,  the  density  of  the  acid  becoming  weaker. 
This  loss  of  charge  in  a  good  cell  amounts  to  from 
one  to  two  per  cent,  of  its  total  capacity  per  day, 
but  may  amount  to  from  40  to  SO  per  cent,  if  the 
cell  contains  impurities.  Impurities  in  the  form  of 
metals    which    are    more    electronegative    than    lead 


lead;   i.'i   I  In 

Willi       till 

material  of  Ihi 
upporl 

11  ■ 

.,    ipi  1  ifii 

[..  J. im. m  find     thai   high  1 

and    then  foi  ■     that     [I 

.  .1  bj   making  I 

than  thai  of  i! 
n  ..         1  in   1I1.    other   band.  Ih 
metal 
I ...  1  in    in    thi       .i-i.i.        i   1 

with  as  11.]. 11.  il     in   !■■!'  — 

owing  to  !  at   the 

.    plate,   and   to 

of  the  oxyg. h      ictivc  matci     I  ol 

From  remarks    it    would   appear   thai 

crahlc    risk    is    run    by    the    use   of   either    rain 
water   01    tov  n     vatci     and     tenci     thi    onl 
option    is    to  '  tilled    water. 

unfortunate    in   0 
11,  but   when  carcfullj  trifling  com- 


.        Atwmv 


In    the 

form  <•; 

-     ; 
showed 

harges,   in    No 

of  all   thi 


2-9 

1 

f 

,y 

f/w/xtf 

fjv 

T'"'f' 

Uftrked  ( 

1  b-3Qr 

J 

a2'8 

J 

2-2 

U^ 

5fe 

Jiji, 

%- 

^-ii 

">-; 

' 

Discharge  Carrel 

Hours. 
Fin  1.    Charne  and  Discharge  Curves. 

DETERIORATION 

pared  with  the  cost  of  a  new  battery,  which  the 
use  of  impure  water  might  entail.  The  practice 
which  some  central-station  engineers  adopt  of  using 
the  condensed  steam  from  the  boilers  is  dangerous, 
because  boiler  water,  in  addition  to  its  natural  im- 
purities, often  contains  some  special  alkaline-soften- 
ing fluid.  Another  equally  dangerous  custom  with 
some  engineers  is  to  add  from  one  ounce  to  two 
ounces  of  ammonium  sulphate,  sodium,  sulphate  or 
sodium  carbonate  per  gallon  of  the  electrolyte, 
with  the  object  of  improving  the  condition  of  the 
cells.  This  practice,  while  giving  a  rich  color  to 
the  plates,  in  time  acts  detrimentally  on  them, 
diminishing  both  capacity  and  efficiency.  Accepting 
the  limitations  put  by  battery  makers  on  the  amount 
of  impurities  allowable  it  would  seem  that  the 
electrolyte  should  be  free  from  arsenic,  nitrogen 
compounds,  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  sulphurous  acid 
and  organic  matter,  and  that  it  should  contain  only- 
mere  traces  of  hydrochloric  acid  and  iron.  Mr. 
R.  W.  Vicarey  has  recently  found  that  from  10  to 
0.1  per  cent,  of  ammonia  added  to  the  solution  de- 
creased the  capacity  immediately  by  some  20  to  31 
per  cent.,  thus  showing  the  deleterious  effect  of 
nitrogen  compounds.  The  ammonia  has  a  strong 
affinity  for  water  and  tums  to  nitric  acid  on  the 
passage  of  a  current. 

The  author  of  this  paper  has  recently  commence. 1 
a  series  of  tests  with  a  view  to  determining  the 
maximum  amount  of  any  given  impurity  which  may 
be  present  in  a  secondary  cell  without  seriously 
affecting  its  capacity  and  efficiency.  The  tests, 
which  will  continue  for  many  months  and  are 
at  the  present  time,  therefore,  obviously  incomplete. 
are  being  operated  on  14  exactly  similar  cells.  Each 
cell  has  one  positive  and  two  negative  plates,  all  of 
the  Plante  type,  -and  five  by  five  by  0.25  inches  in 
size,  contained  in  a  glass  box  6%  by  51  -  by  two 
inches  inside.  The  normal  charging  rate  is  listed 
as  two  amperes  and  the  discharge  rate  as  1.5  am- 
peres for  10  hours  (normal  capacity  15  ampere- 
hours)  :  two  amperes  for  six  hours  and  3.5  amperes 
for  three  hours,  with  an  electrolyte  of  a  specific 
gravity  of  1205.  The  manufacturers  were  asked  to 
make  "them  all  under  the  same  conditions,  and  par- 
ticularly to  ensure  the  elimination  of  all  nitrogen 
compounds,  both  of  which  requests  were  carefully 
attended  to.  The  sulphuric  acid  and  the 
water  were  analyzed  and  no  impurities  were  found. 

Eleven   of  the  commonest  impurities   in   sulphuric 
acid  and  in  water  have  been  chosen,  and  in  amounts 


//•■■;.  ■ 
Fin.  2.     Charge  and  Discharge  Cutuv 
STORAGE    BATTERIES. 

ing    points    of    the    charge    and    discharge :    that    of 
No.  x   was,  however,  very  low  for  both.    D' 
the  effects   will   become  more   marked  as  the  length 
of  the  tests  proceed,  and  I  much  regret  the  incom- 
plete nature  of  the  results  at  this  stage. 

I  now  venture  to  give  some  curves  showing 
the  results  of  a  lengthy  series  of  tests  which  I  made 
some  time  ago  for  a  storage  battery  company  on 
several  large  nine-plate  storage  cells  having  four 
Plante  positives  and  five  pasted  negatives.  Ihc 
results  are  interesting  and  instructive  as  showing 
the  effect  of  a  variation  in  the  charge  and  dis- 
cbarge rates  on  the  capacity  and  efficiency  of  the 
cells  which  I  have  given  in  the  accompanying  table: 


Discharge. 

tssr 

Watt- 

Efficiency. 

Rale 

Limit 

Current 

In- 

Out- 

In- 

Out- 

'ho™?)" 

IWatt- 

Hours. 

Volts. 

peres. 

pnl. 

put- 

Quan. 

Encrey. 

K.85 

■ 

290 

-64 

S7< 

-- 

-s.i 

_■-.- 

SS.5 

*i.So 

3tH 

89.3 

-••  = 

.so 

63. 8 

1 

1.70 

134-0 

tea 

13* 

414 

-J" 

80.0 

S9-7 

The  normal  charging  current  equals  }2  amperes. 
discharging  current  equals  29  amperes  at  the  10- 
hour  rate,  and  134  amperes  at  the  one-hour  rate. 
Fig.  1  shows  very  clearly  that  the  higher  the  dis- 
charge rate  is  the  shorter  the  time  of  charging  and 
the  smaller  the  output.  Fig.  2  shows  that  within 
the  current  limits  taken  the  charging  rate  has  but 
little  or  no  effect  on  the  output  of  the  cell  at  the 
particular  discharging  rate  taken.  All  the  carves 
of  Figs.  1  and  2  are  the  means  of  the  last  two  or 
three  out  of  some  10  charges  and  discharges  at  the 
particular  rate  shown.  The  cells  had  therefore 
arrived   at  a   normal   state   for  each   rate. 


Northwestern  University  of  Evanston,  111.,  is  to 
have  a  school  of  technology,  the  nucleus  of  the 
fund  for  this  purpose  being  the  sum  of  $150,000 
donated  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edward  Swift.  This  will 
be  one  of  the  first  undertakings  of  the  new  presi- 
1  the  university.  Dr.  A.  W.  Harris,  who 
will  be  installed  in  July.  Dr.  Harris  has  been 
president  of  the  University  of  Maine  and  is  now 
oresident  of  the  Jacob  Tome  Institute  of  Port 
Deposit.   Md.     He  is  a  graduate  of  Wesleyan. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


February   10,   1906 


Power  Plant  Economics. 

By  H.  G.  Stott. 


New    Type  of  Plant. 

Over  a  year  ago,  while  watching  the  effect  of 
putting  a  large  steam  turbine  having  a  sensitive 
governor  in  multiple  with  reciprocating  engine- 
driven  units  having  sluggish  governors,  it  occurred 
to  the  author  that  here  was  the  solution  of  the 
gas-engine  problem,  for  the  turbine  immediately 
proceeded  to  act  like  an  ideal  storage  battery; 
that  is,  a  storage  battery  whose  potential  will  not 
fall  at  the  moment  of  taking  up  load,  for  all  the 
load  fluctuations  of  the  plant  were  taken  up  by 
the  steam  turbine  and  the  reciprocating  units  went 
on  carrying  almost  constant  load,  while  the  turbine 
load  fluctuated  between  zero  and  8,000  kilowatts  in 
periods  of  less  than  10  seconds. 

The  combination  of  gas  engines  and  steam  tur- 
bines in  a  single  plant  offers  possibilities  of  im- 
proved efficiency,  at  the  same  time  removing  the 
only  valid  objection  to  the  gas   engine. 

A  steam-turbine  unit  can  easily  be  designed  to 
take  care  of  100-per  cent,  overload  for  a  few  sec- 
onds, and  as  the  load  fluctuations  in  any  plant 
will  probably  not  average  more  than  25  per  cent., 
with  a  maximum  of  50  per  cent,  for  a  few  seconds, 
it  would  seem  that  if  a  plant  were  designed  to 
operate  normally  with  50  per  cent,  of  its  capacity 
in  gas  engines  and  50  per  cent,  in  steam  turbines, 
any  fluctuations  of  load  likely  to  arise  in  practice 
could  be  taken  care  of. 

We  have  seen  that  the  thermal  losses  in  the 
gas-engine  jacket  water  amounted  to  approximately 
19  per  cent.,  and  as  the  water  is  discharged  at  a 
temperature  above  100  degrees,  it  can  be  used  to 
advantage    for    boiler    feed. 

The  jacket  water  necessary  for  an   internal-com- 
bustion   engine    will    probably   be    about   40   pounds 
a    kilowatt-hour,    assuming    that    the    jacket    water 
enters   at   50°    F.      Then   the   discharge   temperature 
19X12,500 

will  be  50  -) =  109.40  F. 

40X 100 

As  the  steam  turbine  will  require  only  about  15 
pounds  a  kilowatt-hour,  including  auxiliaries,  it  is 
evident  that  only  37.5  per  cent,  of  this  heat,  or 
7.1  per  cent,  of  the  jacket-water  loss  can  be  util- 
ized. The  other  loss  in  the  exhaust  gases  of  30 
per  cent,  can  be  utilized  either  in  economizers  or 
directly  in  boilers  or  superheaters.  Thus  by  util- 
izing the  waste  heat  in  the  gas  engines  for  the 
purpose  of  assisting  to  make  steam  for  the  turbines, 
there  can  be  saved  approximately  37  per  cent,  of 
the  total  heat  loss  in  the  gas  engine. 

In  the  summary  of  analysis  of  heat  balance  it 
was  shown  that  one  can  reasonably  expect  to  bring 
the  reciprocating-engine  plant  up  to  a  maximum 
total  thermal  efficiency  of  14.44  per  cent.,  or  pos- 
sibly with  steam  turbines  using  superheat  to  15 
per  cent. 

Referring  now  to  Table  I.  [Part  I.]  it  will  be 
noted  that  in  item  2  the  loss  in  ashes  was  2.4  per 
cent.,  and  the  loss  to  stack  in  item  3  was  22.7  per 
cent.  Now  with  the  hot  gases  from  the  gas-engine 
exhaust  it  is  evident  that  the  loss  in  item  2  will 
not  exist,  and  that  item  3  will  be  reduced  from  22.7 
per  cent,  to  about  five  per  cent.,  as  the  process  of 
combustion  is  completed  in  the  gas  engine.  The 
total  efficiency  of  conversion  of  this  30  per  cent, 
of  heat  from  the  waste  gases  when  used  in  the 
turbine  plant  would  then  be  15.0  +  2.4  +  (22.7  —  5) 
=  35.1  per  cent. 

The  heat  recoverable  from  the  jacket  water  was 
shown  to  be  7.1  per  cent,  of  the  total  heat  in  the 
coal  so  that  there  is  30  per  cent,  -f-  7.1  per  cent.  = 
37.1  per  cent,  of  the  original  heat  in  the  fuel  re- 
turned from  the  gas  engine,  and  this  can  be  con- 
verted into  electrical  energy  at  an  efficiency  of  35.1 
per  cent. 

For  each  kilowatt  delivered  by  the  gas-engine 
plant,  3,918  B.  T.  U.  will  be  simultaneously  turned 
over  to  the  steam  plant,  and  this  in  turn  will  give 
403  watts  to  the  steam  plant  free  of  cost.  The 
steam  plant  will  then  have  only  to  furnish  1,000  — 
403,  or  597  watts  per  kilowatt  at  a  thermal  effi- 
ciency of  15  per  cent.;  in  other  words,  the  econ- 
omy  of  the  steam  part  of  the  plant  will  be  raised 

IS 

to —  25   per  cent. 

0.597 

The    average    total    thermal    efficiency    of    such    a 
24  +  25 
combination   plant   would  then  be =  24.5   per 


cent. 


Load  Factor  and  Investment. 


In  Fig.  12  the  interest  depreciation  and  taxes  on 
a  plant  costing  $130  per  kilowatt,  which  may 
be  taken  to  represent  a  first-class  steam  or  internal- 
combustion  plant,  is  shown  plotted  in  conjunction 
with  various  load  factors. 

Another  curve  is  plotted  showing  the  minimum 
investment  with  a  plant  in  which  the  prime  mover 
would  be  steam  turbines  and  designed  otherwise 
without  regard  to  efficiency,  leaving  out  economizers, 
feed-water  heaters,  etc.,  and  thus  reducing  the  in- 
vestment to  $90  a  kilowatt.  This  cheap  and  rela- 
tively  inefficient   part    of   the   plant    would    only    be 


■   S  S 

«  a 

Recip- 

Steam 

o'sj;  - 

Gas  En- 

K"! 

inc  En- 

Tur- 

gine 

-S.SS5H 

"fch 

1.  Engine     room    me- 

chanical  

2.  Boiler  room  or  pro- 

4.61 

3.  Coal  and  ash-hand- 

0.58 

5.  Coal  and  ash-hand- 

2.26 

C.   Removal  of  ashes  .. 

1.06 

O.8O 

7.  Dock  rental 

8.  Boiler-room  labor.. 

6.68 

5.46 

9.  Boiler-room  oil, 

0.17 

0.17 

46.87 

26.ll 

jo    Coal 

7.14 

0.71 

5-4& 

3-57 

12.  Engine-room       me- 

6.71 

0.35 

I'll 

15.  Electrical  labor 

2.52 

2.52 

2.52 

2.52 

2.52 

Relative  cost  of  main- 

46.32 

Relative   investment  in 

100.00 

82.50 

77.00 

100.00 

91.20 

operated  on  peak  loads  of  two  or  three  hours'  du- 
ration, corresponding  to  a  load  factor  of  0.1  or  less 
found  in  possibly  40  per  cent,  of  the  output  of  our 
lighting    plants. 

In  Table  II.  will  be  found  a  tabulation  of  the 
relative  values  of  the  various  items  necessary  in 
the  maintenance  and  operation  of  a  power  plant. 
The  first  column  covers  a  plant  with  compound 
condensing  reciprocating  engines  without  superheat, 


1  I      1  1  i    1                    1 

T                  ± 

i_ 

T" 

44-                                       +                     ^-t 

«    A\                                            -t- 

"    11 

,H 

5*T$                                            "1 

r^--  lz — -r     'I        _L 

and  is  derived  from  a  year's  record  of  actual 
costs  of  a  targe  plant  operating  with  a  load  factor 
of  approximately  50  per  cent. ;  load  factor  in  this 
case  being  defined  as 

Actual  output 


Maximum  hour's  load  X  -4 

The  values  in  the  other  columns  have  in  the 
main  been  estimated  from  the  first  column,  but 
wherever  possible  actual  data  derived  from  various 
sources,  both  domestic  and  foreign,  have  been  used ; 
but  in  all  cases  all  values  have  been  reduced  so  as 
to  make  them  directly  comparable  with  the  first 
column  and  with  one  another.  The  values  in  main- 
tenance and  operation  of  steam  turbines  are  derived 
from  actual  costs. 

Summary. 

*.  The  present  type  of  steampower  plant  can  be 
improved  in  efficiency  about  25  per  cent,  by  the 
use  of  more  scientific  methods  in  the  boiler  room, 
by  the  use  of  superheat  and  by  running  the  pres- 
ent types  of  reciprocating  engines  high  pressure 
and  adding  a  steam  turbine  in  the  exhaust  be- 
tween the  engine  and  the  condenser.  At  the  same 
rime  the  output  of  the  plant  can  be  increased  to 
double  its  present  capacity  at  a  comparatively 
small   cost  for  turbines   and  boilers. 

2.  The  steam-turbine  plant  has  an  inherent  econ- 
omy 20  per  cent,  better  than  the  best  type  of  re- 
ciprocating-engine plant,  not  so  much  due  to  its 
higher  thermal  efficiency  as  to  a  variety  of  causes 
shown  in  Table  II. 

3.  An  internal  combustion-engine  plant  in  com- 
bination with  a  steam-turbine  plant  offers  the  most 
attractive    proposition    for    efficiency    and    reliability 


today,    with    the    possibility   of   producing    the    kilo- 
watt-hour for  less  than  one-half  its  present  cost. 

In  conclusion,  the  author  wishes  to  acknowledge 
the  kindness  of  the  Westinghouse  Machine  Com- 
pany, the  General  Electric  Company  and  the  Allis- 
Chalmers  Company  in  furnishing  data  on  steam 
turbines  and  gas  engines,  and  also  the  work  of  his 
assistant,  Mr.  W.  S.  Finlay,  on  data  and  in  prepara- 
tion of  curves. 

Discussion    (in   Abstract). 

F.  E.  Junge,  New  York :  In  contributing  to  the 
discussion  of  the  highly  instructive  paper  presented 
by  Mr.  Stott  a  few  remarks  on  the  prime-mover 
end  of  the  problem,  with  reference  to  German  prac- 
tice. I  want  you  to  bear  in  mind  that  inequalities 
and  conditions,  whether  they  be  geographical, 
economical  or  governmental,  must  always  largely 
affect  the  point  of  view  and  the  judgment  on  ques- 
tions that  are  of  common  interest  in  engineering 
matters,  and  especially  so  when  the  comparison 
concerns  the  practice  of  two  countries,  as  the 
United  States  and  Germany,  wherein  the  specific 
circumstances  governing  the  problem  in  question 
are  so  utterly  divergent. 

Beginning  with  the  geographical  conditions  pre- 
vailing on  the  Continent,  I  want  to  say  that  in  a 
small  country  with  limited  natural  resources,  but 
which  are  more  closely  located  and  more  evenly 
distributed,  and  which  have  to  supply  a  largely 
concentrated  sphere  of  industrial  activity,  indus- 
tries will  naturally  be  attracted  to  locate  within  the 
coal-mining  and  iron-producing  districts,  and  for 
the  emplo3'ment  of  high-tension  electricity  will 
easily  extend  the  commercial  radius  of  power  dis- 
tribution over  the  whole  area  of  the  country. 

The  possibility  of  utilizing  the  surplus  power 
generated  from  waste  gases  by  distributing  and 
selling  is  in  the  neighboring  industrial  districts  or 
cities  for  light  and  other  purposes,  forces  the  Ger- 
man engineer  to  place,  in  the  determination  of  the 
commercial  economic  coefficient  for  a  heat  power 
plant,  a  more  pronounced  value  on  the  factor  of 
heat  cost  than  can  be  imparted  to  it  under  the 
conditions  prevailing  in  this  country.  How  seri- 
ously the  difference  in  the  valuation  of  this  factor 
effects  the  prime-mover  problem  in  central  stations 
can  best  be  seen  by  comparing  the  results  of  an 
estimative  calculation  made  by  Inland  to  determine 
the  respective  merits  of  various  engine  drives  for 
a  combined  coke,  iron  and  steel-melting  plant, 
where  the  coal  mines  are  so  closely  located  as  to 
fall  into  the  commercial  distribution  radius  of  the 
electrical  central  station  and  are  operated  from 
such.  The  normal  power  required  by  all  engines 
together  is  42,200  horsepower;  therefore  the  maxi- 
mum simultaneous  capacity  which  the  plant  must 
be  able  to  carry  permanently  is  21,000  horsepower, 
which  is  produced  from  the  waste  blast  furnace  and 
coke   oven   gases. 

We  shall  only  consider  two  cases.  First,  the 
gas-engine-driven  central  station,  and  second,  a 
steam-turbine-driven  central  station.  The  auxiliary 
machines  are  all  operated  from  the  central  station. 
On  account  of  the  difference  in  consumption  of 
the  reversible  and  non-reversible  machines  the  total 
capacity  of  the  central  station  required  is  found 
to  be  25,000  kilowatts,  it  being  advisable  with  com- 
plete centralization  to  provide  for  an  ample  reserve. 
The  power  equipment  in  case  1  consists  of  eight 
gas  engines,  having  each  6.000  horsepower  normal 
capacity  and  4,000  effective  kilowatts    (cos  p  =0.8). 

In  case  2,  of  five  steam  turbines,  each  having 
10,000  horsepower  normal  capacity  and  direct  con- 
nected to  alternating-current  generators  of  6,Soo 
effective  kilowatt  capacity  (cos  p  =0.8).  The  nor- 
mal capacity  of  the  gas-engine-driven  central  sta- 
tion is  therefore  32,000  kilowatts  total;  of  the 
steam-turbine-driven  station,  34.000  kilowatts.  Most 
of  the  machines  used  on  the  plant  are  in  constant 
operation  all  the  year  round. 

Now,  assuming  that  the  waste  gases  had  no  com- 
mercial value  whatsoever,  then  the  actual  cost, 
including  initial  capital  outlay  and  operating  ex- 
penses for  generating  one  brake  horsepower-hour, 
comes  out  as  follows : 


j-drii 


ntral  < 


For  steam-turbine-driv 

For  purposes  of  comparison  I  give  the  figure 
that  would  be  obtained  with  pure  steam-engine 
drive  throughout.  One  brake  horsepower-hour 
would  then  cost  0.75  cents.  In  this  case,  then, 
the  steam  turbine  would  be  the  most  econom- 
ical prime  mover  that  could  be  selected.  However, 
the  assumption  that  the  blast  furnace  and  coke- 
oven  gases  are  given  for  nothing  is  erroneous. 
The  gases  must  first  be  cleaned,  because  this 
increases  their  heating  capacity  and  makes  them 
applicable  for  use  in  gas  engines,  but  this  process 
requires  an  expenditure  of  one  cent  per  30,000 
cubic  feet;  moreover,  they  actually  have  a  value  as 
fuel  for  steam  raising.  In  the  plant  under  consid- 
eration we  shall  therefore  compare  the  power  value 
of  the  waste  gases  when  used  in  gas  engines  to 
what  obtains  wdien  burned  under  boilers,  and  so 
we  must  appraise  the  gas  at  a  rate  corresponding 
to  the  reduction  of  the  coal  bill.  If  power  can  be 
distributed  abroad  the  appraising  of  the  gas  de- 
pends on  the  salability  of  the  surplus  power  and 
varies  with  the  localities.  Now,  if  we  figure  $2.50 
per  ton  for  coal  and  assume  that  seven  kilogrammes 
of  steam  are  raised  from  one  kilogram  of  coal, 
then  the  value  of  the  blast-furnace  gases  which  are 


!  ebruary   to,   tgo6 


WKSTi-.k.'.'     hl.KGTRICIAN 


121 


to  l,r  used  in  gas  engines  is  $1  ',<>,<>"      I  h 

, , |   ii„.   I, in  i  mi  ii,"  <    and   col 

,,,,    i g     i.  am   i         ■   Ill  this  '  aluation 

the  foi  mei   re  ull    ai  i    i lifii  da     Eol 

ii 
i 

,. i 

i n  ii   ii 

\\  ,ti,  pure  i'  'in  •  ngim  di  i  i  thi  cosl  vould  be 
(M)s  cents.  I  he  correct  valuation  ol  thi  fui  I  up  1 1 
,1,,.    formei    re  ull     i  ntin  Ij    in    favoi    ol    thi 

i  nginc  -ii  h ral     t: B  i  ing    thi 

,,,,'  [hi    i    i lui  t pei    ton   ol    marl  i  I  ibli 

..,.,  ,|   ,   of   which    I  In-   plant      ill      ,v*>.<»»>   '""     a    '     ii 

the     following     is    arrived     al        I  ■ ini  driven 

a]    station,    $-■    without,    and    $2.48    with    ap 

praising   the   ga  ,     b  ■ trbim   driven   o  nti 

linn,    $1.93,    and    $3.02,    respectively,      With    pure 

ite :ngine    drive    the   cosl    would    be    $3.35    and 

L  (2,  re  m  '  tivi  1-.      11   1      sen  thai   the  gi ffe  ti  d 

bj    iln    selection   of   gas   engine     1 1  ol     t<  un 

turbines  for  thi  central  station  amounts  to  50  cenl 
per  ton  of  annual  capai  itj  I  he  figures  arc  ol 
.pi-i-ial    ^  1  •_;  1 1  i t i ■  ■ : 1 1 1  < •  > ■ .   as   they     :how    how    much    thi 

whole  prime  mover  question  hingi  1  on  the   /alual 

0f  the  factor  of  heal  cost.      I  he  condil change, 

oi  nun  se,  ii  a  planl  c    otilj  capacity  for  iron 

and  steel  smelting  and  has  rolling  mills  bul  no 
coal  mines  attached  to  it,  and  they  arc  again 
different  when  we  consider  a  steel  plain  with 
rolling  niil^  but  without  coal  mines,  blasl  furnaces 
and  coke  ovens.  Ii  is  only  in  the  lasl  named  cases 
that  pure  gas-engine  drive  that  is,  gas  engine  cen- 
tral station  and  scattered  gas-engine  auxiliaries— is 
the  must  economical  method,  but  it  is  only  by  a 
combination  of  coal  mines,  blast  furnaces,  steel- 
smelting  plants  and  rolling  mills  that  an  efficient 
production  is  possible,  as  we  can  hereby  avoid 
paying  the  duty  imposed  by  the  protective  tariff 
on  raw  materials,  pig-iron  and  half-finished  goods. 
Mr.  Rice:  If  the  steam  engineer  only  had  the 
equivalent  of  the  ammeter  and  voltmeter,  I  feel 
confident  that  the  efficiency  of  the  steam-engine 
plant  could  he  greatly  increased  at  the  present 
time.  In  connection  with  this  point  it  is  interest- 
ing 10  note  the  large  saving  which  may  be  effected 
in  item  3,  losses  through  stack,  in  Table  I.  [Part  I], 
by  intelligently  following  out  of  the  indications 
given  by  the  CO,  recorder,  a  most  admirable  in- 
strument. The  author  shows  quite  conclusively  the^ 
high  efficiency  of  steam  auxiliaries.  This  naturally 
follows  from  the  fact  that  the  latent  heat  can  be 
usefully  employed  to  raise  the  temperature  of  the 
feed  water.  It  is  evident  in  a  case  where  the  heat 
of  exhaust  can  be  usefully  employed  the  me- 
chanical power  can  be  obtained  at  high  efficiency 
by  using  steam  in  a  steam  engine  between  boiler 
pressure  and  atmospheric  exhaust.  Familiar  illus- 
trations of  this  are  to  be  found  in  the  use  of 
exhaust  steam  from  high-pressure  engines  in  the 
heating  of  factory  buildings.  During  the  period 
and  to  the  extent  that  such  exhaust  steam  can  be 
utilized  in  the  heating  of  factory  buildings,  or  for 
other  manufacturing  purposes,  mechanical  power 
may  be  obtained  at  high  efficiency  by  the  use  of 
simple  or  compound  engines  operating  from  boiler 
pressure  down  to  the  pressure  of  the  exhaust.  The 
engine  in  this  case  may  be  considered  as  a  simple 
reducing  valve,   reducing  the  pressure. 

No  doubt  there  is  much  to  be  said  in  favor  of 
electrically  driven  auxiliaries  from  the  standpoint 
of  convenience,  simplicity,  reliability,  avoidance  of 
unnecessary  steam  pipes,  but  they  cannot  compare 
in  heat  efficiency  with  steam-driven  auxiliaries.  It 
'  is  unfortunate  that  no  way  is  known  at  present  of 
eliminating  the  enormous  losses,  some  60  per  cent, 
of  heat  units  rejected  to  the  condenser.  It  em- 
phasizes the  importance  of  working  with  the  high- 
est possible  vacuum. 

I  am  not  quite  sure  Mr.  Stott  recommends  the 
combination  of  reciprocating  engine  and  steam 
turbine  in  the  exhaust  as  a  type  to  be  considered 
in  laying  out  a  new  station.  If  so,  it  does  not 
seem  to  me  that  the  advantages  gained  by  such  a 
combination  would  offset  the  added  complexity. 
I  believe,  however,  it  is  a  most  excellent  means 
of  increasing  the  economy,  and  particularly  to 
add  to  the  output,  of  existing  reciprocating-engine 
stations. 

Charles  E.  Lucke,  New  York:  Mr.  Stott  has 
mentioned  as  one  of  the  strong  points  in  his  paper 
a  sort  of  wonder  as  to  why  the  gas  engine  had  not 
develooed  faster  than  other  units— for  instance, 
the  turbine.  I  think  that  if  there  were  more  men 
of  Mr.  Stott's  fairmindedness  and  judiciousness  this 
would  have  happened.  The  gas  engine  has  had 
a  hard  road  to  travel.  It  has  had,  undoubtedly, 
from  the  very  first  a  high  thermal  efficiency,  but 
by  reason  of  the  ignorance  of  operators  or  the 
superstition  of  operators  and  by  reason  of  their 
love  for  their  old  friend,  the  steam  engine,  the 
gas  engine  has  been  called  a  tricky  machine  and 
has  not  had  a  fair  chance.  I  think  also,  in  fair- 
ness, I  ought  to  point  out  in  this  connection  that 
the  gas-engine  builders  in  the  past  have  probably 
been  as  great  enemies  to  the  development  of  their 
own  machinery  as  some  of  these  so-called  super- 
stitious and  ignorant  persons  who  handled  them. 
They  have  claimed  everything  on  earth  for  the 
gas  engine;  that  it  required  only  a  child  to  run 
it;  that  it  ran  on  so  little  coal  that  shortly  it 
would  be  making  coal,  and  people  bought  these 
machines  and  were  inevitably  disappointed  and  com- 


iboul     il    and    told    all    ihrir    friendf,    and  to  ice  thai   I   . 

could    ii"1    ' 

- 

problem    m 

id    I    think    M 



Ii!-' =^==^= 

Electrical    Exports  for  the   Year  1905. 
ating 

I. :,     ol 

1     inn.  ii.  almo  1.  in  fai  I 
plant,   and   that,    with   thi 

still   greati  1    ccono  n 

'  . 

hcrthat. 

number    of  Irical  export!    for   Ihi 

h,  ,  m  at  hand  an 

i. in.. 11     1     1 

neratcd      n    thi  and   machinery. 

all  our  mill     and  .,5  an,| 
which    applj    i"      ui  h 

cost      tation    .-.-    this    would    n  I  .■■-'<-'. 

to    s of    1 1.  '                              arc   end.-  I  he    total 

lions   for  ever}    in  tall  ition   which   will   undoub  1 

determine   il     type,  and   thii        ■  ■                         and  %\%p$jfr                                                        "'•    T,lc 

I    might    almo  1      aj        1.        Id  m     ■    :i  following  tabli                                             I   electrical 

,,f  high  economy  or  thermal  efficiency.  exports  for  I 

Mr.    Stott    points    oul    for    our    consideration    a 

load    curve,    rather    a    load-economy    curve,    for    a  Electrical  appliaw 

gas    engine,   and    draws   the   conclusion    that    a    c,as      Electrical  macbuien        5.104.502      6.670. 766      7.100.  m 

engine  having  this  load  economy  curvj    sh 'I    101  ms.«;  iii.o»,?0  iu/k 

be  used  at  anything  less  than  hall  load,  1"  ci  11  1    il 

,.1 ,„  ,,    fall     "ii    so    .'"•    much   toward    no   load  Details  as  to  the  destinatu 

["he  conclusion   is  entirely  justified   with   respect   to  from    the    United    States    can    only    Ik    g 

ibis   particular  engine  that   produced  this   particular  goods  classed  as  electrical  machinery.    Considering, 

curve,  or  the  particular  type  of  engine  which   pro-  therc(ore    electrical    machinery   only,    British    North 

duced   that   curve,   but   ,1    is   not  justified    with    re-  purchaser  from  the  United 

^"«VZtt&£F£*n£  S-es  in    ««.   having   h'eld   ,,, 

with     load     is     to     be     found     in     the     governing  1904.     Previous   to    1004   the    I  rated   Kingdom   had 

mechanism.       This    is    caused    when    the    governor  always    held    first    place,    but    the 

of     the     gas     engine     acts     as     a     throttle     on     the  ,,orts    frorn    this    country    has    gradually    fallen    off 

mixture,     which     is     the     case     with     the     engine  fron]   j,,,_,4,^,  „,    ,,,,..  to  $885,095  in   1905.    Japan 

quoted,    although    the    name    is   not    given      In    that  the   second    largest    purchaser   during   the   vcar 

case    for   the    entire    suction    stroke    of    the    engine.  }            sud 

which    s  the  charging  stroke,  the  piston  must  work  'Vs.             ■""''         "              .                   i             1 

against   the    constantly    increasing    vacuum    clear   to  denly   jumped    from  a   minor   importer  of  our  elec- 

the  end,  and  that  means  there  will  be  a  loss,  work-  trical    machinery    to    the    third    nom    the    top,    and 

ing  away  below  the  atmosphere  line,      Now   it   does  tne    ,,,05   figures   show    a  considerable   incn 

not    necessarily    follow    all    gas    engines    will    have  ,,-,04      ]t    ;s    aiso    interesting    to   note    that    the    ex- 

this  type  of  governor,  or  that  any  gas  engine   will  ts    ,(|    Cuba    s|inw    an    jncrcaSe    from    $35,195    in 

have    this    type   of   governor   some   time    in   the   fu-  $               •„ 

lo^t'u-kng  ST  ehnain,e\ns  ettf  d  ny  the  'classified  according  to  destination  the  following 
position  of  the  governor,  or  governor  action,  is  figures  show  the  value  of  electrical  machinery  ex- 
eliminated  or  reduced  to  a  minimum,  or  kept  stand-  ported  from  the  United  Slates  in  the  years  1004 
ing,   the  economy  load   curve   will   be   perfectly   flat,  al,d  1905,  respectively: 

and    this    curve    becomes    then,    not    a    criticism    of  ,.._..                                             5,  ^°4iOD      <  'g?.5' 

the    gas-engine    economy,    but    a    criticism    of    that  U°«£ Ku,l!dom;;;::;;;                                 S£S      '  ££& 

particular   type   of   governor   which    I    am    confident      Germany 

will     rlisinnear     in    time  Other  European 

"11.  V    R.    Emmet.    Schenectady.    X.    Y. :     One    of  gj^»fi!^^^B^  H-: '** 

the    great    things    which    this    paper    of    Mr.    Stott         dura* 

makes   clear   is   the    great    saving  in   investment    111-      Merico 

cident   to  the   use  of   steam  turbines,      tie    shows    a  other  West indies  and  Bermuda 5.538 

curve    of    performance    of    a    steam    engine    which  Areentina 

shows    a    very    abrupt    rise    in    the    rati    oi    steam  B™^, 

consumption    with    increase   of  load.     We   all   know      oiher  South' America 

that  what  a  man  pays  for  when  he  equips  a  steam      Chinese  Empire As"  »*» 

plant   is   capacity   to  carry   his  peak  load.     The   re-      Brunh ^ast tnd.es ......^ ............     .£0.8  .£9« 

ciprocating    steam    engine,    particularly    111    the    case  Japan 1.187.60; 

of  large   units,  is   undesirable  from  this  standpoint,      British  Australasia 

for   the    reason    that   the    problem    111   building   very  V^J^r. '^"ccear.ir                                   Z&A 

large    steam    engines    is    to    take   care   of   the   great  British  Africa I3"5<; 

weights  involved   in  the  low-pressure  cylinders   and  All  other  Africa "•*"'       "' 

valves.    Consequently,  these  very  large  steam  engines  Tola, s6.6-5.766      - 

have  z  tendency  to  be  uneconomical  at  overload,  be-  n-_.,„,—    mr>- 

cause  the  temptation  to  the  engine  builder  is  always  electrical  Exports  for  December.  190, 
to  make  the  low-pressure  cylinder  small,  in  order  Electrical  experts  from  the  I  mted  States  for 
that  he  can  get  good  economy  at  certain  loads  t]]e  monti,  0f  December.  100;.  amounted  t 
and  can  just  barely  get  through  without  mechanical  va)ue  of  «  lhi,  was  the  iargest  figure 
difficulties.  Now  this  curve  of  Mr.  State,  instead  5ingle  month  in  the  rear,  and  was  greater 
n,rb,nenmo!  Z  lootTqu  h't^wn  £  an^ier  by  S4e*,c.o\han  the  figures  for  the  corresponding 
curve  it  would  kfep  along  straight  from  that  over-  month  in  1904.  The  exports  for  December  in  both 
load  'point,  or  there  would  be  a  very  small  rise.  classes  of  goods— electrical  appliances  (including 
The  result'  would  be,  at  some  maximum  output  of  telephone  and  telegraph  apparatus)  and  electrical 
the  boilers  the  turbine  would  have  anywhere  from  machinery — were  more  than  for  any  other  month 
20  to  25  per  cent,  more  capacity,  more  maximum  ;„  t]le  year.  Both  classes  also  show  a  large  gain 
capacity  than  the  engine.  Now,  the  meaning  of  over  December.  1904,  as  follows:  Electrical  apph- 
that  is  that  you  are  buying  for  so  much  money  ances — December,  1904,  $433,6Sl ;  December,  1905, 
20  per  cent,  "more  power.  The  power  is  costing  $685,425 ;  electrical  machinery— December.  1904. 
vou  possibly  in  the  case  of  this  station  $150  a  $603,846;  December.  1905.  SS40.292. 
kilowatt,  20  per  cent,  of  that  is  $30  a  kilowatt;  Considering  now  electrical  machinery 
that  is, '  the  increased  value  which  is  represented  following  countries,  with  the  amount  of  their  pur- 
bv  the'  turbine  in  overload  capacity  is  more  than  chases,  were  the  principal  buyers  of  electrical  ma- 
llie  total  cost  of  the  turbine.  chinery  from  the  United  States  in  December.  1905: 
One  of  the  important  things  in  turbines  is  ob-  British  North  America.  ^240.064:  Lmted  Kingdom, 
viously,  the  use  of  high  vacuum.  A  great  deal  of  $144,490;  Cuba  $111,755;  Mexico,  $100.790 :  Japan 
attention  is  devoted  to  this,  and  it  is  astonishing  $59,845;  British  Africa,  $42,099;  Brazil  $24,829 , 
how  successful  high  vacuum  has  been  in  com.ee-  France.  $22,240;  Germany.  $10300;  Bnbsh  Auc- 
tion with  steam  turbines.  There  is  practically  no  tralasia,  M0.153:  Philippine  Islands,  $4,886.  Ar- 
a°r  leakage  an™  you  get  almost  theoretical  condi-  gentina.  $4,141:  British  East  Indies.  $2,805;  C»- 
tions    and  if    "ne -investigates  the  theory,  it  is  easy  tral   American   states   and  British  Honduras,  $1,361. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


February   10,  1906 


1,800-horsepower  Gas   Engine   Direct- 
connected  to  Alternator. 

The  new  Crystal  City  Works  of  the  Pittsburg 
Plate  Glass  Company  now  under  construction  at 
Crystal  City,  Mo.,  will,  when  completed,  occupy 
a  unique  position  among  industrial  plants  from  the 
remarkable  size  of  the  lighting  and  power  units 
installed  there.  This  plant  will  be  the  largest  of 
its  kind  in  the  United  States  driven  by  electrically 
transmitted  power,  its  design  embodying  many  new 
features  specially  devised  to  meet  production  con- 
ditions. 

A    notable    feature    of    the    power    equipment    for 


that  have  sprung  up  lately  to  supply  the  smaller 
stations  with  this  class  of  matter,  many  of  which 
have  already  done  very  effective  work.  In  addition 
to  this,  a  display  will  be  made  of  posters,  large 
newspaper  advertising  and  the  original  drawings 
and    sketches    employed    in    the    bulletins. 


Electric  Hoisting  Machinery. 

Electrical  hoists  have  demonstrated  their  supe- 
riority over  steam-driven  apparatus  for  raising 
building  materials,  quarrying  stones,  erecting  steel 
work,  etc.,  a  convenient  source  of  electrical  power 
being,  of  course,  necessary.  The  fact  that  the 
power  is  brought  to  the  motors  through  two  small 


correspondent  of  the  Western  Electrician  says  that 
the  electric-supply  companies  are  taking  the  matter 
up,  and  he  thinks  something  should  certainly  come 
of  it.  for  in  the  center  of  London  electricity  is 
available  in  every  street. 


Not  How  Flat  but  How  Steep. 

The  following  paragraph  from  an  article  in  a 
daily  newspaper  in  a  western  city  is  rather  amusing. 
It  is  so  laboriously  sarcastic  that  no  doubt  most 
readers  will  regard  it  as  a  mere  burlesque  and 
attach,  no  serious  importance  to  it.  But  such  pul>- 
lications  as  these  can  have  no  good  effect  on  the 
business  of  the  central-station  company,  and  may 
have  some  bad  effect.  It  should  be  part  of  the 
business  of  the  electric-light  company  to  cultivate 
good    relations    with    the    daily    newspapers,    which. 


ELECTRICALLY    OPERATED    HOIST    WITH    REVERSIBLE    DRUM    CONTROL 


the  new  plant  is  the  installation  of  an  1,800-brake- 
horsepower  Allis-Chalmers  gas-engine  unit,  direct- 
connected  to  a  1,000-kilowatt  generator.  This  en- 
gine is  of  the  well-known  four-cycle  double-acting 
Nuremberg  type.  It  is  a  horizontal  four-cylinder 
twin-tandem  engine,  with  a  42-inch  stroke  and  a 
speed  of  107  revolutions  a  minute.  The  unit  is 
designed  to  operate  from  producer  gas,  generated 
from  "Big  Muddy"  (111.)  bituminous  coal.  All 
moving  parts  are  arranged  for  automatic  and  con- 
tinuous lubrication  under  pressure.  The  gas  engine 
and  alternator  will  be  arranged  to  run  in  parallel 
with  other  units. 

The  alternator  is  of  the  Allis-Chalmers  revolving- 
field  engine-type  three-phase  25  cycles,  and  mounted 
directly   on   the   crank   shaft  between   the    twin    gas 


I,8oO-HORSEPOWER    GAS   ENGINE  DRIVING    ALTERNATOR. 

engines.  This  unit  will  be  installed  in  the  same 
power  house  with  the  5,000-horsepower  Allis-Chal- 
mers engine  recently  purchased,  and  which  will  be 
recalled  by  visitors  at  the  St.  Louis  Exposition, 
where  it  carried  the  entire  lighting  load  for  the 
illumination  of  buildings  and  grounds,  and  where, 
because  of  continued  good  service,  it  was  named 
the   "Big   Reliable"   by   the    exposition    attendants. 


Advertising  Exhibit  for  Atlantic  City. 

In  connection  with  the  twenty-ninth  convention 
of  the  National  Electric  Light  Association,  to  be 
held  at  Atlantic  City,  June  5th,  6th,  7th  and  8th 
next,  it  is  proposed  to  repeat,  on  a  more  extensive 
scale,  the  exhibit  of  central-station  advertising  that 
was  given  with  so  much  success  last  year  at  Den- 
ver for  the  first  time.  Steps  are  now  being  taken 
to  carry  out  this  purpose,  and  it  is  believed  that 
the  exhibit  will  prove  attractive  and  instructive  to 
central-station  managers.  It  is  proposed  to  divide 
the  exhibit  into  two  sections,  one  showing  the  work 
done  by  the  larger  companies,  which  maintain  their 
own  force  for  such  work,  and  issue  and  prepare 
their  own  bulletins,  and  the  other  showing  bulle- 
tins   and    material    furnished   by    the    new    concerns 


cables  makes  the  erection  of  the  hoisting  apparatus 
a  matter  of  small  moment.  On  board  ship,  for 
handling  cargos,  sails  and  boats,  or  for  warping 
the  ship  into  dock  or  changing  its  position  along 
the  wharf,  drum  hoists  provided  with  a  winch 
head  are  of  special  service.  Apparatus  of  this 
nature  is  manufactured  extensively  by  the  Crocker- 
Wheeler  Company  of  Ampere,  N.  J.,  and  the  two 
illustrations  herewith  show  examples  of  its  product. 

Fig.  1  is  a  standard  electric  hoist  provided  with 
a  winding  drum  driven  by  the  motor  through  a 
double  run  of  spur  gearing.  This  drum  is  free 
to  revolve  on  the  shaft,  but  is  thrown  into  engage- 
ment with  the  gearing  by  means  of  a  friction 
clutch  operated  by  a  hand  lever.  When  the  drum 
is  disengaged  from  the  clutch  its  motion  may  be 
regulated  or  stopped  by  means  of  a  band  brake 
operated  by  a  foot  lever.  This  lever  is  counter- 
balanced so  that  the  brake  is  instantly  released  as 
soon  as  the  foot  is  removed  from  the  lever. 

The  motor  is  operated  by  a  reversible  drum  con- 
troller, providing  12  or  more  speeds  in  either  direc- 
tion, and  the  location  of  the  controller  handle,  foot 
lever  and  friction  lever  is  such  as  to  place  them 
all  within  convenient  reach  of  the  operator.  The 
motor  is  of  the  fully  enclosed  I  type,  having  a  com- 
pound winding  especially  suited  to  this  class  of 
work.  In  operation  the  motor  may  be  run  con- 
tinuously and  the  motion  of  the  drum  controlled  by 
means  of  the  friction  clutch  and 'band  brake,  or, 
when  the  class  of  service  demands,  the  friction 
clutch  may  be  engaged  and  the  motion  of  the  drum 
regulated  by  the  controller. 

The  electric  winch  illustrated  in  Fig.  2  is  de- 
signed to  carry  two  winch  heads,  one  being 
mounted  on  either  end  of  the  main  shaft.  The 
heads  are  keyed  'to  this  shaft,  and  the  drive  from 
the  motor  is  through  a  double  run  of  spur  gearing. 
The  winch  heads  are  ribbed  so  as  to  provide  a 
secure  hold  on  the  rope,  and  a  friction  band  brake 
is  applied  to  the  side  of  the  gear  upon  the  main 
shaft.  This  brake  is  controlled  by  two  levers,  so 
that  it  may  be  operated  from  either  side  of  the 
winch. 

The  motor  equipment  and  controller  are  the  same 
as  are  furnished  with  the  standard  hoists,  but  the 
controller  is  in  this  case  placed  at  the  rear  so  that 
the  operator  when  he  stands  at  the  controller  is 
able  to  handle  a  rope  coming  from  either  winch 
head.  In  operation  the  motor  may  be  run  con- 
tinuously or  its  speed  may  be  regulated  as  de- 
sired by  means  of  the  drum  controller. 


Searchlights  to  Aid  Firemen. 

At  the  time  of  the  recent  collapse  of  a  London 
railway-station  roof  the  electric  searchlights  lent 
by  the  Electrical  Engineers  Volunteers  were  a 
great  aid  in  helping  to  clear  away  the  debris. 
This  fact  has  brought  into  prominence  the  great 
possibilities  that  lie  in  this  direction.  Consequently 
the  London  County  Council  is  giving  attention  to 
a  proposition  that  its  fire  engines  shall  be  equipped 
with  portable  searchlights,  which  could  be  supplied 
with  electricity  from  street  boxes,  much  in  the 
same  way  that  water  is  now  provided.    The  London 


with  all  their  shortcomings,  wield  a  tremendous 
influence.  These  jibes,  then,  are  cited  to  show 
what  an   ill-natured  newspaper  can    do: 

"It  is  really  too  bad  that  the  electric  company 
decided  a  few  months  ago  to  install  new  meters 
all  over  town.  The  old  meters  were  doing  all  that 
could  reasonably  be  expected  of  them  in  the  way 
of  piling  up  monthly  light  and  power  bills,  and 
even  the  flat  rate  was  not  quite  so  flat  as  it  was 
steep.  But  all  at  once  the  company  learned  that 
somebody  had  invented  a  new  kind  of  meter,  a 
cunning  little  device,  which  not  only  registered  the 
current  that  passed  through  it,  but  a  good  deal 
more.  Just  for  the  sake  of  giving  the  people  a 
change,  and  confident  of  its  ability  to  hold  the 
things  down  within  the  limit  of  the  speed  ordi- 
nance, the  company  put  them  in  the  homes  and 
business  houses  of  the  dear  public,  and  now  there 
is  no  end  of  trouble.  For,  as  we  have  just  re- 
marked, people  are  so  unreasonable.  They  seem 
incapable  of  appreciating  the  altruistic  motives  of 
those  public-utility  corporations  which  have  no 
competition.  Hence,  the  intimation  that  the  com- 
pany willfully  speeds  up  the  meters,  merely  to 
gratify   a   vulgar   desire  to   increase   its  profits." 


The  Arc  Light  on  Candlemas  Day. 

The  accompanying  illustration  is  a  reduced  re- 
production of  a  cartoon  by  McCutcheon  which 
appeared  in  the  Chicago  Daily  Tribune  of  February 
2d.  Tradition  says  that  if  the  groundhog  sees  his 
shadow  when  he  emerges  from  his  subterranean 
abode  on  February  2d  he  will  go  back  and  there 
will  be  six  weeks  more  of  winter  weather.     It  will 


be  noticed  in  the  cartoon  that  the  coal  man  has  a 
large  pile  of  coal  left,  and  so  determined  is  he  to 
get  rid  of  it  that  he  has  prepared  for  the  occa- 
sion. If  the  sun  fails  to  shine  the  arc  lamp  will 
furnish  the  necessary  light  to  send  the  ground- 
hog back  for  six  weeks  of  cold  weather. 


Februan    to,   [906 


WESTERN     I-.I.J-'  'II'IUAN 


The  Knostraln  Socket  Bushing. 

I  he    National    Board   of   Fire   1 
demand     1 1  ulc    i8,      ction   '  ■  i    thai    thi 

a     ii  pendct]     ;o<  ki  i    and    lamp    shall    I"-    I I) 

nomc   approved   di  i  ici     which    will    taki    tin      train 
from  iIh    connei  tion    01   binding     crew     both 

ockcl   and   rosette  and  al   il im     foi  m   an 

in  ulatoi  or  bushing,      l'o  ■ ipli  h 

i  odi    n  inforccd   w  indow   •■■.    i  odi    I  *  i  ted  i  ord 

ii   is  necc  .  lai  ■■   ll ighth  im  h    ockel 

;,  H,  .rii,    u  nil  ,i   i.n  :■•     i  ■,    hof    'ii  iii-    i  an 

To    fulfill     iii' ii ' "'      ii"      i  rani      1 1 

Stewarl     Electric    Companj    ol     i,    North    Seventh 


to  thai  of  ihi 
Irolli  v    wheel    bu  hinj      tvhii 

•■•  nli  a  '  hkiIi  of  aboul 

'"  tin     ■•■  ductility  and   I 

uch   thai   ii  v.  ill   ii,!   i  rai  v    whi  n  disl 

load      Ii    i  much    harder    than    a    gold   coin,   and 

when  placed  in  a  i>"  ition   ■■■ 

ibli     i"    (vi .-!        i  hi   '     bu  h  no  ■  d    with 

pi ,  I.,  ii 

i  ii  lional  bul 


InterborouKh  Rapid   Transit  Company's 
Teat  of  Subway  Engines. 

\n  mi' 
tv,  In     vertii  al  horizontal     Ri  ■■  ■ 

|    '      .  i  I  l  |  I         '  .      :' 

in  "i"  >. it al  iii'    i  in    n  ■  of  the 

l  nt,  i  borough    Rapid     Pi  I  York 

city,     S ','    '  ■  '""  ludl  'I     I  lei  ■  i"l  •  r     15th. 

I  he    tests    wen  bj     the     [ntcrborough 

Rapid    rransil   Company  and  rc| ntati  i     "i  the 

\lh  i  i  li.ilm,  i      t  "mi, .'H'.    ,i     a    final    determination 

■  i    the    fulfill t    the   builder's   guaranti 

formally  provided  for  in  the  original  coi 
II, nv  well  tin  ti  i  "i  engim  No  '■-'.  whi 
selected  as  representing  all  the  engines  in 
fulfilled  the  claims  made  f"r  it.  may  I" 
ascertained  from  the  following  data,  giving  a 
,is  of  the  completed  tests. 

As  per  agreement,  on  account  of  the  in 
bility  of  keeping  a  constant  load,  the  powci 
determined    bj    the    readings    of    tested    integrating 


for  ibai 

have  Im  ■- 

per  ind 

i 

•    Frank 

I  ifty-ninth     Stn 

strument   man :   W.   1. 

piny — 
\    II     M 
in.  i      upcrinti  tion;    T.    'I      Hubbard. 

tion  dc- 
partment;  \  F  Roll  and  F  Buch,  electrical  rcprc- 
sentativi 

Convention    of    Crocker-Wheeler   Offi- 
cials. 
Branch    managers,   officers    and   department    heads 
,  i    the    Crocker-Wheeler    Company    met    in    their 
annual   convention   at   the   hoi  \mpcre. 


Street,  Philadelphia,  is  placing  on  the  market  a 
new  device  known  as  the  Knostrain  socket  bush- 
ing, designed  to  take  the  strain  off  electrical  con- 
nections in  three-eighth-inch  sockets  and  ceiling 
rosettes.  One  type  can  also  be  used  as  a  handle 
hushing. 

The  bushings,  as  seen  by  the  accompanying  cut, 
are  made  in  two  pieces  with  corrugated  grooves, 
so  arranged  that  they  firmly  grip  ordinary  lamp 
and  show-window  cord  and  act  as  an  insulator  at 
the  same  time.  The  type  known  as  the  Knostrain 
rosette  or  handle  bushing,  not  here  illustrated,  is 
much'  similar  in  construction  and  securely  grips 
No.   16  or  18  new  cord. 


A  Trolley  Wheel  of  Pure  Copper. 

In  the  manufacture  of  trolley  wheels  such  ma- 
terials as  arsenic,  antimony,  bismuth,  tin.  lead  and 
spelter  are  sometimes  combined  with  copper,  and 
these  elements  (even  if  used  only  in  very  small 
quantities)  seriously  affect  copper  as  a  conductor  of 
electricity,  and  hence  shorten  the  life  of  the  wheel. 
Alloying  copper  with  these  metals  also  renders  the 
metal  harder  and  greatly  diminishes  its  ductility. 
As  a  result  the  trolley  wheels  cut  the  wire  and 
both  the  wheels  and  the  overhead  construction  re- 
quire frequent  replacement.  To  obviate  these  diffi- 
culties the  H.  W.  Johns-Manville  Company  has 
recently  placed  on  the  market  a  new  wdieel  made 
of  absolutely  pure  copper,  which  is  purified,  hard- 
ened and  made  tough  by  a  special  treatment  known 
and  used  only  by  itself.  These  wheels  have  been 
subjected  to  severe  tests  in  actual  service.  The 
salient    feature  of  the  J-M  pure   copper  wheel   that 


appeals  to  the  operating  railroad  man  is  economy. 
The  mileage  is  said  to  be  far  greater  than  hereto- 
fore obtainable  by  the  use  of  any  known  metal  or 
combination  of  metals.  The  wheels  also  wear 
smooth  and  even  and  will  not  pit,  arc  or  burn. 

In  the  manufacture  of  these  wheels  only  the 
best  grade  of  pure  Lake  copper  is  used,  and  this 
material  is  treated  chemically  so  as  to  reduce  to  a 
minimum  any  ingredients  there  may  be  in  the  cop- 
per in  its  crude  state.  By  a  further  chemical 
process  the  action  of  the  atmosphere  is  excluded. 
Subjecting  the  copper  to  the  action  of  carbon 
removes  the  oxygen  and  renders  the  copper  solid 
when  cast,  thus  increasing  its  malleability  and 
durability.  A  still  further  process  toughens  the 
metal  without  hardening  it.  and  the  result  is  that 
the    wear   is    reduced   to    a   minimum   and   the   con- 


BRANCH     MANAGERS    AND    OFFICERS    OF    CROCKER-W1 

wattmeters.  These  readings  were  reduced  to  indi- 
cated horsepower  by  running  the  generator  as  a 
synchronous  motor,  and  adding  the  electrical  input 
to  the  switchboard  readings  when  developing  power, 
to  obtain  the  power  exerted  by  the  engine.  The 
result  of  the  test  so  made,  under  conditions  ap- 
proximating the  contract  requirements  of  7.500 
horsepower,  75  revolutions  per  minute,  175  pounds 
steam  pressure  and  26-inch  vacuum,  was  a  con- 
sumption of  11.06  pounds  of  dry  saturated  steam 
per  indicated  horsepower-hour,  or  well  within  the 
guarantee  of  12.25  pounds.  The  steam  consumption 
per  kilowatt-hour  at  the  switchboard  was  17.34 
pounds      Following   is  the  general  data  of  the  test. 

Duration        *5  hours 

Load '.'.".'.'.'. 5.079.2  kilowatts 

Friction  ami  Keneralor  losses 417.3  Kw.-559.41  H.  P. 

Total  load 5.496.5  kilowatts 

j _  H,  p 7.365.3  horsepower 

R.P.M. '.'.!. 75.02 

Steam  pressure 175-iS  pounds 

R.H.  Receiver "91  pounds 

L.  H.  Receiver  10.27  pounds 

Vacuum...  26.02  pounds  (actual) 

Temperature  Injection  Water.  43.36  degrees 

Temperature  R.  H.  Discharge -4.05  degrees 

Temperature  L.  H.  Discharge 77.3S  degrees 

Barometei 30.50  pounds 

Water  per  hour... ' 39.906  pounds 

Drips  per  hour 512  pounds 

Leakage  per  hour  .boiler) 1.47  pounds 

Boiler  level  correction 60  pounds 

Net  water  per  hour 87.S64  pounds 

Qualitv  of  steam. ...'. 100.28  percent 

Dry  steam  per  hour S8.no  pounds 

Drv  steam  per  kilowatt  hour 17.34  pounds 

Dry  steam  per  indicated  horsepower..      11.96  pounds 

The  final  results  allow  for  boiler  leakage,  which 
was  determined  by  a  separate  test  of  24  hours'  du- 
ration. The  steam  was  very  slightly  superheated 
during  the   test,  as  being  easier  to  make  allowance 


:eeler  companv  in  convf.ni 


at  ampere,  n.  j. 


X.  J..  January  24th  to  27th  Mr.  Julian  R'oe.  man- 
ager of  the  Chicago  office  territory  of  the  company, 
attended  the  convention  and  reported  that  the  com- 
pany had  done  more  business  through  his  office 
during  1005  than  in  any  former  year  since  the  office 
was  opened.  He  also  declared  that  the  reputation 
of  the  Crocker-Wheeler  Company  motors,  small  and 
large,  and  both  direct  and  alternating-current  gen- 
erators,   was    unsurpassed. 

The  Crocker-Wheeler  Company  has  made  during 
the  last  year  a  great  record  in  alternating-current 
manufacture  and  has  built  and  marketed  a  line  of 
core-type  transformers  that  are  new  to  the  Ameri- 
can market  and  have  already  earned  a  satisfactory' 
popularity.  The  branch  managers  expressed  their 
enthusiasm  for  this  line  of  machine  and  for  two 
other  new  lines  of  electrical  apparatus  the  com- 
pany is  about  to  place  upon  the  market. 

On  Thursday  evening.  January  25th.  the  branch 
managers  and  department  heads  were  the  guests  oi 
Dr.  Schuyler  Skaats  Wheeler,  president  of  the 
companv.  at  dinner  at  the  University  Club.  Xew 
York. 

A  photograph  was  taken  of  those  in  attendance 
at  the  convention  which  is  reproduced  herewith. 
From  left  to  right  the  names  of  those  in  the  top 
row  are  as  follows :  F.  W.  Kreps.  W.  C.  Apoie- 
ton.  H.  M.  Gassmann.  H.  Fuller.  B.  A.  Schroder. 
S.  Russell.  Jr..  C.  W.  Startsman.  T.  R.  Wilson. 
H.  A.  Brown,  H.  J.  Sage.  H.  C.  Petty,  H.  C.  Baker. 
Harold  Lomas.  R.  N.  C.  Barnes,  H.  B.  Hussev. 
Julian  Roe.  L.  M.  Ward.  C.  X.  Wheeler.  M.  E. 
Weissblatt,  L.  S.  Horner.  E.  Heitmann.  A.  Hart- 
mann,  W.  E.  Sullivan.  H.  Pikfer.  In  the  second 
row  from  left  to  right  the  gentlemen  are  J.  B. 
Milliken.  H.  B.  Patteson.  W.  L.  Brownell.  A.  L. 
Doremus.  S.  S.  YUieeler.  G.  S.  Dunn.  W.  A.  Doble, 
F.  B.  DeGress  and  G.  W.  Bower. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


February   10,   1906 


Electrification  of  Victorian  Railways   in 
Australia. 

According  to  information  from  Melbourne,  Aus- 
tralia, as  reported  in  the  London  Times  Engineer- 
ing Supplement,  work  of  a  considerable  magnitude 
has  been  planned  in  connection  with  the  electrifica- 
tion of  the  Victorian  railways  which  include  sid- 
ings and  all,  4,264  miles,  and  are  owned  and  oper- 
ated by  the  state.  Mr.  Thomas  Tait,  chairman  of 
the  railway  committee,  has  just  submitted  to  the 
government  a  statement  in  which  he  says  that,  not- 
withstanding the  serious  increase  in  maintenance 
which  would  follow  such  a  course.,  the  board  was 
not  averse  to  the  electrification  of  the  railways, 
which  are  now  being  worked  by  steam,  provided 
it  could  be  shown  that  the  new  system  would  pro- 
duce an  additional  revenue  equivalent  to  the  inter- 
est on  the  capital  involved  for  conversion  of  lines 
and  rolling  stock.  The  proposals  immediately  un- 
der consideration  deal  with  the  conversion  of  the 
railway  from  Melbourne  to  St.  Kilda,  12  miles, 
and  provide  also  for  six  electric  street-railway 
lines.  A  general  power  house,  with  the  necessary 
plant,  rolling  stock  and  conversion  of  tracks  are 
estimated  to  cost  £256,559.  The  commissioners  do 
not  think  that  existing  railways,  or  railways  which 
may  be  built  in  the  future,  would  injure  the  finan- 
cial success  of  their  lines,  even  if  running  parallel 
with  them.  Their  suburban  lines,  which  have  a 
length  of  147  miles,  with  293  miles  of  single  track, 
during  the  year  ended  June  30th  carried  the  ex- 
traordinary number  of  54,470,000  suburban  passen- 
,  gers.  The  popular  feeling  appears  to  be  greatly 
in  favor  of  the  electrification  of  these  lines,  for 
Melbourne  is  very  poorly  provided  with  other 
means   of  transit. 

The  Melbourne  street  railways,  which  are  on  the 
underground  cable  system,  extend  over  150  miles. 
During  the  first  nine  months  of  1905  they  carried 
42.177,744  passengers  over  7,666,081  car-miles  for 
a  revenue  of  £375,887.  both  mileage  and  receipts  be- 
ing  on    the    decrease. 


Pabst  Brewery  Power  Plant. 

In  response  to  a  demand  for  more  power  in  its 
large  brewing  plant  at  Milwaukee,  the  Pabst 
Brewing  Company  has  recently  placed  an  order 
with  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company  for  additional 
steam  and  electrical  units.  There  are  three  en- 
gines in  all — one  of  the  single-cylinder  non-con- 
densing type,  cylinders  20  by  36  inches,  and  two 
of  the  cross-compound  non-condensing  type,  iS  and 
30  by  36  inches,  all  vertical  and  of  the  heavy  duty 
pattern  for  direct  connection  to  electrical  machines. 
The  electrical  equipment  will  consist  of  three  re- 
volving-field type  alternating-current  generators,  25 
cycles — one  for  300-kilowatt  and  two  for  400-kilo- 
watt  capacity.  Two  exciter  sets,  consisting  of  di- 
rect-current constant-potential  compound-wound  gen- 
erators, coupled  direct  to  three-phase  synchronous 
motors  and  fitted  with  induction  type  of  starting 
motors,  will  be  installed;  also  one  exciter  set,  con- 
sisting of  a  direct-current  generator  of  the  same 
type   as   above,   for   steam   drive. 

A  feature  of  the  new  installation  will  be  a  spe- 
cial governing  device  consisting  of  an  electrical 
adjusting  or  synchronizing  attachment  by  which  the 
speed  of  the  engines  may  be  varied  within  certain 
limits  while  they  are  in  operation,  the  device  being 
under  control  of  the  operator  at  the  switchboard. 
It  is  expected  that  the  first  of  the  new  units  will 
be  in  operation  by  the  first  of  May. 

Mr.  C.  A.  Chapman  of  Chicago  acted  as  consult- 
ing engineer  for  the  Pabst  Brewing  Company. 


Niagara  Power  for  Cleveland  Proposed. 

The  Ohio  correspondent  of  the  Western  Elec- 
trician says  that  it  is  rumored  in  Cleveland  that 
the  Niagara,  Lockport  and  Ontario  Power  Company 
is  considering  the  possibility  of  building  a  trans- 
mission line  from  Niagara  Falls  to  that  city.  He 
continues:  "Cleveland  is  but  40  miles  farther  from 
the  source  of  power  than  Syracuse,  where  a  con- 
tract has  already  been  made.  The  trolley  men  be- 
lieve that  it  would  be  entirely  feasible  to  transmit 
power  that  distance  to  advantage.  Nothing  has 
been  done,  so  far  as  known,  but  the  matter  has 
been  under  discussion  in  electrical  circles."'  Cleve- 
land, it  may  be  added,  is  about  190  miles  from 
Niagara  Falls. 


Searchlight    "  Morse "    for    Announcing 
Election  Returns. 

During  the  recent  general  election  in  Great  Brit- 
ain many  and  diverse  were  the  schemes  devised  by 
the  London  and  other  daily  newspapers  to  make 
the  public  early  acquainted  with  the  polling  results. 
"The  majority  of  these  efforts/  says  the  London 
correspondent  of  the  Western  Electrician,  writing 
under  date  of  January  24th,  "have  been  witnessed 
in  London.  In  most  cases  the  organizers  were  sat- 
isfied with  the  commonplace  cinematograph  result 
thrown  upon  a  white  screen,  but  the  Daily  Mail 
devised  a  scheme  by  which  the  results  were  thrown 
into  the  dark  night  atmosphere  in  the  Morse  tele- 
graphic code  by  means  of  searchlights  of  the  army 
type.  The  modus  operandi  was  to  select  three  or 
four  of  the  highest  parts  of  London,  at  the  various 
points  of  the  compass,  and  there  install  a  powerful 
searchlight.  From  a  point  in  the  center  of  London, 
the  results,  as  they  were  received  from  the  various 
parts  of  the  country,  were  signaled  out,  and  wTere 
taken  up  by  the  watchers  in  the  outskirts  and 
repeated.  The  dots  and  dashes  were  produced  by 
working  a  shutter  in  front  of  the  carbons.  The 
unfamiliarity  of  the  general  public  with  the  Morse 
code  necessitated  an  elaborate  coaching  in  the  pages 
of   the   journal   in   question." 


The  Erie  Railroad  Electrification. 

It  has  been  announced  by  the  Erie  Railroad  Com- 
pany that,  in  all  probability  the  250  miles  of  sub- 
urban tracks  of  the  company  entering  New  York 
city  will  be  equipped  with  electric  traction  within 
two  years.  The  electrical  commission  authorized 
by  the  directors  and  formed  by  Vice-president  Gra- 
ham is  examining  the  details  of  the  different  elec- 
tric-traction systems,  and  will  soon  decide  what 
branch  shall  be  used  for  experimental  purposes. 
The  proposition  involves  not  only  the  electrifying 
of  the  lines,  but  the  purchase  of  entire  new  equip- 
ment to  conform  to  the  necessities  of  electrical 
power,  and  the  cutting  of  a  way  for  four  tracks 
through  Bergen  Hill,  near  the  present  tunnel  and, 
possibly,  the  rearrangement  of  the  present  Jersey 
City  terminal. 


Engineers'  Club  of  Chicago. 

One  of  the  newer  organizations  of  technical  men 
in  Chicago  is  the  Engineers'  Club,  which  has  as  its 
object  the  promotion  of  social  intercourse  and  good- 
fellowship  among  the  engineering  profession  in  Chi- 
cago. The  club  has  seven  simple  rules  and  is 
managed  by  an  executive  committee,  of  which  On- 
ward Bates  is  chairman.  It  has  no  permanent  quar- 
ters now,  but  may  have  before  long,  as  it  has  ac- 
cumulated a  fund  for  the  purpose.  The  resident 
membership  is  limited  to  ioo_,  and  the  list  is  about 
full.  Any  engineer  or  person  interested  in  the  ad- 
vancement of  engineering  is  eligible,  but  a  negative 
vote  of  three  per  cent,  of  the  resident  members,  by 
secret-letter  ballot,  will  exclude  any  candidate. 
Among  the  members  are  the  following-named  gen- 
tlemen : 

John  B.  Allen.  B.  J.  Arnold,  Onward  Bates, 
George  M.  Brill,  William  H.  Finley,  Charles  H. 
Fry,  E.  M.  Hagar,  Robert  W.  Hunt,  William  S. 
Love,  Arthur  F.  MacArthur,  Ralph  Modjeski,  W. 
Morava,  E.  S.  Nethercut,  George  P.  Nichols,  A.  T. 
Perkins,  Isham  Randolph,  E.  C.  Shankland,  Theo- 
dore W.  Snow,  Adolph  Sorge,  Jr.,  Charles  L.  Stro- 
bel,  J.  W.  Walsh,  Chicago;  A.  S.  Crane,  New  York; 
Prof.  D.  C.  Jackson,  Madison,  Wis.;  Alfred  Noble, 
Xew  York;  H.  U.  Wallace,  New  York,  and  John 
F.   Wallace,   Flossmoor,  111. 


Large    Induction    Motors  for  Anaconda. 

What  are  said  to  be  four  of  the  largest  induc- 
tion motors  ever  installed  in  the  West,  and  some 
of  the  largest  in  the  country,  with  the  exception 
of  those  installed  at  Niagara,  will  be  used  to  fur- 
nish power  at  the  $9,coo,coo  reduction  plant  of  the 
Anaconda  Copper  Mining  Company,  Anaconda, 
Mont.  Each  of  the  big  induction  motors  will  weigh 
ever  40_  tons,  the  weight  of  the  entire  equipment 
when  ready  for  shipment  being  approximately  259 
tons.  The  motors  will  be  used  in  the  concentration 
building,  which  is  600  feet  long,  through  which  a 
main  line  shaft  extends  the  entire  length.  The  mo- 
tors will  be  rope-connected  to  this  shaft  and  will 
earn'  the  entire  powrer  load. 

The  Allis-Chalmers  Company  of  Milwaukee  will 
furnish  the  electrical  equipment  for  the  8,000-ton 
concentrator  and  the  street-railway  company  at 
Anaconda.  The  concentrator  equipment  will  con- 
sist of  the  four  1,200-horsepower  induction  motors 
under  consideration,  three  300-kiIowatt  motor-gen- 
erator sets,  together  with  the  usual  auxiliary  ac- 
cessories. This  order  is  one  of  several  which  will 
follow  the  determination  of  the  Anaconda  company 
to  substitute  Missouri  River  power,  transmitted  90 
miles  at  70,000  vollts,  in  place  of  the  present  power 
system    installed. 


Cheaper  to  Buy  Current. 

The  Grand  Rapids  (Mich.)  Press  of  recent  date 
says :  "The  action  of  the  Grand  Rapids  Railway 
Company,  following  that  of  the  Grand  Rapids-Grand 
Haven  and  Muskegon  interurban,  in  deciding  to 
purchase  power  from  an  electrical  company,  adds 
force  to  the  suggestion  of  General  Manager  Fresh- 
ney  that  the  municipality  seriously  consider  the 
matter  of  buying  electric^,  instead  of  making  it 
at  the  lighting  plant.  When  private  corporations 
managed  as  shrewdly  as  the  street  railway  and  the 
Muskegon  interurban  can  see  that  it  is  to  their 
advantage  to  buy  electricity  generated  by  water- 
power  in  preference  to  transforming  coal  into  elec- 
tricity at  their  own  plants,  the  city  can  afford  to 
turn  its  attention  in  the  same  direction." 


Step-by-step    Party-line    Selective 
Telephone  System. 

Party-line  selective  systems  may  be  divided 
roughly  into  two  classes,  one  of  which  makes  use 
of  different  degrees  of  current  strength  or  different 
polarities  sent  out  from  the  central  station  and  the 
other  employing  selective  apparatus  at  the  subscrib- 
er's station,  which  may  be  operated  from  the  cen- 
tral exchange.  This  latter  class  of  mechanism 
makes  use  of  some  form  of  step-by-step  apparatus 
to  select  the  subscriber  desired,  and  usually  strong 
current  is  necessary  to  operate  all  the  mechanisms 
that  are  on  the  line  at  once.  A  party-line  selective 
system  of  the  latter  class,  but  which  is  said  not  to 
have  the  disadvantage  of  requiring  a  heavy  current 
to  operate,  is  the  basis  of  a  patent  recently  issued 
to  Frank  B.  Hall  and  Arthur  F.  Poole  of  Wheeling. 
W.  Va.  The  system  ma)-  be  adapted  to  any  party 
line,  and  the  mechanism  at  each  station  is  a  du- 
plicate of  that  of  all  other  stations. 

The  invention  consists  of  connecting  each  station 
with  a  continuous  line  on  one  side  and  with  a 
normally  broken  line  on  the  other  side.  The  mech- 
anism is  so  arranged  that  it  is  possible  for  the  oper- 
ator to  build  up  or  complete  the  broken  line  to  any 
station  desired  and  thus  complete  the  circuit  through 
that  station.  Each  station  is  normally  connected  to  . 
ground,  and  an  automatic  switch  at  each  mechanism, 
when  actuated  by  current  sent  over  the  broken  line 
to  ground,  will  open  the  ground  circuit  and  con- 
nect the  broken-circuit  sections  between  the  several 
stations  to  form  a  continuous  metallic  line  to  the 
station  desired. 

By  reference  to  the  diagram  on  the  opposite  page 
the  operation  of  the  system  will  be  apparent.  Start- 
ing with  the  line  and  apparatus  in  their  normal  con- 
dition, as  shown  in  full  lines,  suppose  that  central 
wishes  to  call  station  (C).  She  inserts  her  plug 
in  the  jack  and  presses  the  key  (43)  to  establish 
the  circuit  from  the  negative  side  of  battery  (57)  to 
binding  post  (32)  of  the  indicator,  through  the  in- 
dicating electromagnet  (66)  to  binding  post  (33), 
through  switch  (43),  to  cord  strand  (55),  to  the 
sleeve  of  the  plug,  to  the  test  thimble,  jack  con- 
ductor (42),  to  line  (G),  to  armature  pivot  (7), 
to  armature  (5),  to  contact  (8),  through  electro- 
magnets (2)  and  (4),  to  ground,  and  through  the 
ground  conductor  at  central  to  the  positive  side  of 
battery  (57).  Current  flowing  in  this  direction  will 
not  operate  the  polarized  electromagnet  (2),  but  will 
energize  magnet  (4),  causing  armature  (5)  to  be 
moved  to  its  alternate  position  to  engage  the  alter- 
nate contacts  (23)  and  (9).  As  the  circuit  is  mo- 
mentarily broken  as  the  armature  passes  to  its  alter- 
nate position,  the  indicator  electromagnet  (66)  at 
the  central  station  becomes  momentarily  de-ener- 
gized to  allow  its  armature  to  be  attracted  to  re- 
volve the  ratchet  wheel  (63)  one  division — that  is, 
to  bring  the  pointer  to  position  (1)  on  the  indica- 
tor to  show  the  operator  that  the  connections  at 
the  first  station  have  been  successfully  completed. 

Upon  attraction  of  armature  (5)  at  substation  (A) 
the  circuit  through  electromagnets  (2)  and  (4)  is 
broken,  as  also  the  ground  connection,  the  current 
from  the  line  wrire  (G)  passing  directly  into  the 
next  section  of  the  line  wire  (G),  connecting  station 
(A)  with  station  (B),  the  same  operation  taking 
place  at  station  (B)  as  has  taken  place  at  station 
(A),  and  so  on.  Central  now  opens  the  key  (43) 
and  closes  switch  (45),  whereby  current  from  the 
signaling  generator  (30)  passes  through  substation 
(C)  to  generator  (30)  at  central.  The  current  from 
generator  is  alternating,  and  polarized  electromag- 
net (2)  will  now  be  operated  to  attract  armature 
(6),  and  armature  (5)  will  also  be  attracted  to  its 
alternate  position  by  electromagnet  (4).  The  opera- 
tor now  opens  switch  (45)  and  again  closes  switch 
(43)  to  bring  the  remaining  armatures  (5)  on  the 
line  to  their  alternate  position,  whereupon  switch 
(43)  is  again  opened.  It  will  be  seen  that  there  is 
now  a  complete  metallic  continuous  line  between 
central  and  the  subscriber's  signaling  apparatus  at 
sub-station  (C).  Upon  closure  of  switch  (45)  sub- 
scriber (C)  may  now  be  signaled.  This  circuit  is 
entirely'  metallic,  the  grounds  at  all  these  sub-stations 
having  been  removed  by  the  attraction  of  armatures 
(5)  to  their  alternate  position.  Upon  being  thus 
signaled  subscriber  (C)  removes  the  receiver  from 
the  hook  and  central  connects  her  talking  circuit  to 
the  line,  the  battery  (68)  supplying  current  for  both 
the  subscriber  and  the  operator,  the  circuit  from 
the  battery  to  the  subscriber  after  the  removal  of 
the  receiver  from  the  hook  being  traced  as  follows : 
From  one  side  of  the  battery  (68)  through  the 
clearing-out  electromagnet  (27),  through  cord 
strand  (56),  to  jackspring  (41),  line  wire  (F),  pri- 
mary winding  (19)  of  the  induction  coil  at  sta- 
tion   (C),  transmitter   (18),  switch  hook    (17),  con- 


Fl   litU.li 


rgo6 


tad    mi.    contai  I    I  i  |),    arm; ■     f6) 

ii. i,   Ihrougl tii   i      (23)     Hid 

iii (B)    and    1  A ),    lo    iai  I     h  ctoi      (42) 

I    trand  (55),  and  llic  othei     irli   of  h 

All  the  othei     nb  1  1  il In 

from  Ii  tcning  in  on  the  line,  n     tin    armatu 

.11   ii thi  1     1. iihin     .11 1   ,■■  ,  1  with 

1I1     contai  1      1  1  1 1     11  'l    (13),    leading    to   thi      ub 

Liin.ii      ignaling    and     talking     appai  1 

having  asi  ei  taincd    the   pel   on   to     .  h In    .  .illin^ 

Btibscriber  n  1  In     lo  tall    1     tin    pi  ig    (72)  in  tin 

jack  of  the  called   subscriber.     Should   thi    calling 

111'  -  .  'i"  1   di   in    to  1. ill    to In  -      ibsci  In  1    '.■.  ho 

1  .  pai  i\   i"  iIh    line  to  which  in    1    ted,  he  1 

notified   by   central   to   pi  1        tin    button    (50)     thu 
.  .hi  hi"   the  brcal  in  ;  oi   the  cin  nil    l<  ading   t. 

1. 1   1 1 '  1    1 In    I""'   win     (F)      1  <  11i1.1l   iii.v. 

■  I"  1       the    switch     1 46)     to    coi 1    battel  •■     (24) 

tin    Inn    «  in      1  I'  )   .111.1    1 1 . 1      I'  lei  tromag 

1.  1     1  1  ;  1    ..  Iii.  Ii  arc  bridged  aero      the     idi     ol   1  hi 

line,  arc  adapted  to  rcsp I  to  currenl   flowing   from 

battery  (24)  to  attracl  the  armatures  (5)  to  i<  ton 
ili.-i  to  their  normal  position,  breaking  the  conti 
tiuity  nf  the  line  wire  (G)  and  to  establish  ground 
connections  al  each  of  the  sub-stations  with  tin 
ception  of  sub  station  (C),  whifh  by  pressure  of 
button  (so)  has  become  disconnected  from  the  line. 
Switch    1  i'n    is   now  open  and   switch    (43)    closed. 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

Indiana  Telephone  Items. 

lb.    1 

man,  Gcorgi 

1      i'     i' 

I  hi 
1 

■ 

■  'ii.   or    to   com  ■ 

ti  in      .1 

ili.    county  without   1 
Indian  1  is  to  b 

1 

1 
Del.,  with  a 
pany    wil 

I     1  1     1  •!  Ky.,    hi. I  .1    1 

Montclcith    ol     Bloomington,    Ii 
incorporators.    The   proposed    line   will   be 
1 " '  tii  11    with    E     I.     Barlx  r's    lini      in    K.-n 

Toll    lines    now    bind    all    the    Indi 


STEP-BV-STKI'    I'AKTV-I.IM':    StLKCTI 


whereby  current  from  battery  (57)  is  led  into  the 
ground  and  to  line  wire  (G)  to  select  the  person 
desired  to  be  talked  to  by  sub-station  (C),  the  cir- 
cuits being  the  same  as*  before  traced.  After  .the 
subscribers  have  finished  their  conversation  the 
hanging  up  of  the  receivers  momentarily  breaks  the 
talking  circuit  as  the  switch  hook  passes  from  con- 
tact (16)  to  contact  (11),  and  the  clearing-out  mag- 
net (27),  included  in  the  talking  circuit,  momen- 
tarily becomes  de-energized,  allowing  the  retractile 
spring  to  restore  the  armature  (38)  to  its  normal 
position,  thus  indicating  to  the  operator  that  con- 
versation is  ended,  the  operator  upon  such  signal 
removing  the  plug  from  the  jack.  The  operator  now 
closes  the  switch  (46)  to  again  apply  current  from 
battery  (24)  to  the  line,  and  electromagnets  (3), 
responsive  to  the  current  from  the  battery,  attract 
the  armatures  (6)  and  (5)  at  the  sub-stations  to  re- 
turn them  to  their  normal  position,  and  the  line  is 
now  readv  for  further  connections. 


To    Test  Telephone-rate    Law    in    Wis- 
consin. 

Attorney-general  L.  M".  Sturdcvant  of  Wiscon- 
sin has  filed  a  suit  against  the  Wisconsin  Telephone 
Company  for  $500  for  alleged  violation  of  the  law 
of  1905  forbidding  telephone  companies  charging 
higher  rates  in  one  city  in  the  state  than  in  another 
of  the  state  of  the  same  class.  The  complaint 
comes  from  Beloit,  it  being  charged  that  the  de- 
fendant unlawfully  charged  a  greater  rental  in  that 
city  for  its  usual  service  than  it  charged  in  Janes- 
ville,  a  near-by  city  of  the  same  class.  The  Inde- 
pendent telephone  companies  of  the  state  secured 
the  passage  of  this  law. 

President  Alonzo  Burt  of  the  Wisconsin  Tele- 
phone Company,  is  quoted  as  follows  on  the  suit: 
"The  suit  brought  against  this  company  to  enforce 
compliance  with  the  new  law,  in  Beloit.  is  a 
scheme  upon  the  part  of  the  opposition  at  Madison 
and  Janesville  to  make  this  company  base  its 
rates  for  service  entirely  upon  the  population  of 
a  town  or  city.  We  have  not  obeyed  it  because 
we  believe   it   unconstitutional." 


phone  companies  of  Indiana  into  one  large  system, 
and  this  has  increased  the  demand  for  telephones 
and  toll  lines  to  the  extent  that  the  leading  com- 
panies of  the  state  are  perfecting  plans  for  an 
expenditure  of  money  in  adding  to  and  extending 
present  systems.  Over  their  own  lines  the  Inde- 
pendent telephone  companies  are  furnishing  serv- 
ice out  of  Indiana  to  points  in  Illinois,  M 
Kansas,  Kentucky,  Ohio,  West  Virginia  and  Michi- 
gan. 

Supply  men  say  that  present  prospects  indicate 
that  Indiana  will  spend  more  money  in  telephone 
equipment  this  year  than  last,  when  oxer  $4,000,000 
was  invested,  and  that  their  sales  thus  far  have 
exceeded  that  of  any  corresponding  period  during 
their   canvass   of   the    Indiana    field. 

The  co-operating  telephone  lines  entering  at  lu.l- 
son  have  reorganized  into  an  association  known 
as  the  Judson  Switchboard  Association.  The  neces- 
sity of  the  plan  grew  out  of  ihe  new  contract 
made  with  the  Parke  County  Telephone  Company. 
By  the  terms  of  the  new  agreement  the  patrons 
of  the  Parke  County  Telephone  Company  will  pay 
a  line  charge  of  five  cents  per  call  for  the  use 
of  the  Judson  line,  which  will  be  collected  by  the 
Parke  County  Telephone  Company  and  paid  to  the 
Judson   company. 

The  Harrison  County  Telephone  Company,  with 
home  office  in  Corydon.  is  extending  its  lines  to 
the  Floyd  Count}*  line,  near  Georgetown,  where 
connection  will  be  made  with  the  line  of  the  Home 
Telephone    Company    of    New    Albany    and    Louis- 


Southeastern  Telephone  Developments. 

The  Southern  Bell  Telephone  Company  has  pur- 
chased a  site  in  Columbia,  S.  C,  for  $8,500.  anil 
it  is  reported  that  a  modern  exchange  building 
will  be  erected  on  the  site  thus  secured. 

The  stockholders  of  the  Cumberland  Telephone 
and  Telegraph  Company  at  a  meeting  at  Hopkins- 
ville,  Ky.,  authorized  an  issue  of  $3,300,000  addi- 
tional   stock,    making   a    total   of  $17,000,000. 

The  heavy  sleet  in  the  Carolinas  last  month 
worked  about  $50,000  damage  to  the  wires  and 
lines  of  the  Southern  Bell  Telephone  Coi 
In  nearly  every  town  and  city  in  the  western  por- 
tion of  the  Carolinas  many  telephones  were  put 
out  of  business  temporarily  and  hundreds  of  pole* 
were  down.     Scores  of  linemen  and  assistants  were 


Ohio  Telephone  Notes. 

think    I 

other,     [n    all, 

built  to 

them  connection   with 

ilon    thi 

land    and    a    through    lil 

linburg  which  connects  with  thi 
lines. 

Columbus  and   Akron    : 

Akron  and  Columbus  Railway  Company.     'I ': 

will  he  used   for  both   telephone  and   I 

The   annual    statement   of  the    Newark    '1 1 ' 
Company    of    Newark    shows    Ihe    r< 
■  75       After    paying    all    ex- 
Is  and  dividend 
stock   an   additio  ■-  000  was  mad. 

surplus. 

By    the    merging    of    the    Caldwell    bide] 

me  Company,  the  Farmer-'  Independent  Tel- 
y  and  the  Summcrficld  Independent 
Telephone  Company  the  Noble  County  Telephone 
Company  of  Caldwell  has  been  formed,  with  about 
1,000  telephones  and  over  2.oco  miles  of  line.  The 
new  company  will  be  Independent  and  operate  with 
the  other  systems  of  the  state.  The  capital  stock 
is  Jioo.oon.     H.  W.   Kuntz  heads  the  incorj.  - 

The    Citizens'    Independent    Telephone    Company 
of    New    Lexing  with    a 

capital    oi"   $50,000   by    1     B     Rhoads,   T.   J.    Smith. 
C.  II.  Bell.  r.  W.  Frv  and  T.  G.  Morris.      '  C. 


The    Telephone    on    the    Pacific   Slope. 

The  Northwestern  Long-distance  Telephoni 
pany    of    Los    Angeles.    Cat.    has    filed    an 
incorporation    at    Olympia.    Wash.,    preparav 
going    into    business    in    that    state.      The    company 
nging  to  build  lines  exl  -]i  Ore- 

gon   and   Washington.     Lines  will  be  built  connect  - 
d,    Baker    City.    Corvalis,    Al- 
bany,    Seattle,     Aberdeen.     Pendleton.     Bcllingham. 
and  A'ancouver,  B.  C. 

The  Pacific  States  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company  is  continuing  its  extensive  reconstruction 
work  at  various  points  on  the  coast.  At  Portland, 
Ore.,  preparations  are  under  way  to  build  three- 
new  stations  at  a  cost  of  $150,000  on  the  east  side 
district.  The  entire  system  of  Portland 
to  be  remodeled  and  brought  up-to-date.  In  Baker 
City.  Ore.,  the  company  is  arranging  to  put  up  a 
new    office    building    and    statii  of   ap- 

proximately $20,000.  In  Baker  City  all  the  com- 
pany's lines  are  to  be  put  underground.  In  San 
Francisco  preparations  are  under  way  for  installing 
what  is  claimed  to  be  the  largest  multiple  im] 
switchboard  in  ihe  United  States  outside  of  New 
York  and  Chicago.  It  is  capable  of  accomm 
22.500  telephones.  The  company*  hopes  to  get  its 
improved  service  in  San  Francisco  in  operation  by 
the  end  of  March.  A. 


Telephone   News  from    the    Northwest. 

The  Sharon  I  N.  DA  Rural  Telephone  Company- 
has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $5,000.  I 
K.   Bakken   heads  the   list  of   incorpor 

The    Edmunds    County    Mutual    Telephoni 
pany   will    establish   an   exchange  at  Leola.   S.   D. 

The  Langford  1 S.  D.)  Telephone  Company  has 
been    incorporated    with    a    capital    stock   of    - 

The  Hokah  Telephone  Company-  of  Hokah.  Minn., 
has   been    granted   a   20-year   exclusive   franc 
that   village. 

The  Gregory  County  Telephone  Company  of 
Bonesteel,  S.  D..  has  been  incorporated  with  $100.- 
oco   capital. 

The  District  Court  at  Albert  Lea.  Minn.,  has 
held  that  portion  of  the  city-  ordinance  which  re- 
quired telephone  companies  to  connect  with  each 
other,  and  to  grant  connections  to  all  comers,  to  be 


126 

unconstitutional.  Also  the  clause  permitting  the 
ordering  out  of  pole  lines.  The  court  suggests 
that,  under  proper  safeguards,  the  provision  for 
only  one  pole  line  on  any  street  might  he  valid, 
although,  as  found  in  the  ordinance,  it  was  in- 
valid. The  Northwestern  Telephone  Exchange 
Company  secured  an  injunction  to  restrain  the  city 
from  interfering  with  its  construction  of  an  ex- 
change and  has  rushed  the  work  through,  so  that 
it  is  about   completed. 

The  Fall  River  Rural  Telephone  Company  of 
Hot  Springs,  S.  D.,  has  been  incorporated  with 
$30,000  capital.  D.  O.  Kimball  and  others  are 
interested. 

The  Zenith  Telephone  Company  of  Duluth  shows 
a  profit  of  nearly  $20,000  for  the  last  year.  The 
cost  of  the  plant  is  given  at  $379,597-  The  revenue 
was  $62,437  and  the  expense  $43,9»8.  The  com- 
pany expended  $13,887  for  overhead  and  $S23  for 
underground   material. 

The  City  Council  of  Wymore,  Neb.,  has  granted 
a  franchise  for  an  Independent  telephone  system 
to    Frank   M.    Smith. 

The  Western  Electric  Telephone  Company  will 
expend  about  $200,000  on  its  lines  in  Iowa  this 
vcar,    it    is    said. 

The  Fort  Dodge  (Iowa)  Telephone  Company  has 
purchased  the  lines  formerly  controlled  by  Ware 
&    Leland.    and    will    install    a    new    switchboard. 

R. 


NEW  COMPANIES. 


The  Bernice  (La.)  Telephone  Company  has  been 
incorporated   with    a   capital    stock   of  $5,000. 

The  South  Side  Rural  Telephone  Company  of 
Oklahoma  City,  Okla.,  has  been  incorporated  with 
a  capital  of  $3,000  by  A.  Spencer  and  others. 

The  Klein  Rural  Telephone  Company  of  Rick 
Valley,  Iowa,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital 
stock   of   $2,000   by   J.    E.    Quintan    and    others. 

The  Clarksfield  Telephone  Company  of  Clarks- 
field,  Ohio,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital 
stock  of  $9,500.  E.  E.  Rowland,  Dennis  Ross,  F. 
E.    Weeks    are    among    the    incorporators. 

The  Navajo  Telephone  Company  of  Headrick, 
Okla.,  has  been  incorporated  to  build  a  telephone 
line  from  Headrick  to  Warner.  The  capital  stock 
is  $1,000,  and  the  incorporators  are  W.  J.  Hastings, 
Jonathan   F.  Knox  and  others. 

The  New  State  Telephone  Company  has  been  or- 
ganized under  the  laws  of  Iowa,  with  principal  place 
of  business  in  Sioux  City.  It  is  said  the  new  com- 
pany will  build  through  Nebraska  and  into  Omaha 
if  possible.  The  articles  state  that  it  can  do  a  gen- 
eral telephone  business  and  establish  lines  in  the 
states  of  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Nebraska,  South  Dakota, 
North  Dakota,  Kansas,  Missouri  and  Illinois.  The 
capital  is  $1,000,000  and  the  incorporators  include 
Charles  G.  Cockerell  and  M.  M.  Hood  of  Jefferson, 
T.  C.  Hammond  of  Mapleton  and  Joseph  Mattes  of 
Odebolt. 


TELEPHONE  MEN. 

Dudley  E.  Waters  of  Grand  Rapids  has  been 
elected  to  the  office  of  vice-president  of  the  Michi- 
gan   State   Telephone    Company. 

H.  B.  Willard,  superintendent  of  the  Duluth 
(Minn.)  Telephone  Company,  has  been  transferred 
to  Minneapolis  to  a  position  witn  the  Northwestern 
Telephone  Exchange  Company.  He  is  succeeded  at 
Duluth  by  George  A.  French,  formerly  with  the 
Southern    New   England  Telephone  Company. 

William  B.  Woodbury,  assistant  general  manager 
of  the  Cuyahoga  Telephone  Company  of  Cleveland, 
has  resigned  his  position,  to  take  effect  on  Febru- 
ary 15th,  when  he  will  go  to  Detroit  to  superintend 
the  construction  of  a  large  telephone  system  that 
will  be  built  by  the  Kaehler-Brailey  syndicate, 
which  also  owns  the  Kansas  City  plant.  It  is  said 
the  syndicate  will  spend  $5,000,000  on  this  system, 
which  is  expected  to  be  one  of  the  finest  in  the 
country.  The  property  of  the  Co-operative  Tele- 
phone Company  has  been  purchased  and  this  will 
be  used  as  a  nucleus.  The  wire  construction  will 
all  be  underground.  Mr.  Woodbury  has  been  with 
the  Cuyahoga  Telephone  Company  since  October, 
1 901. 

Theodore  Spencer,  vice-president  and  general 
manager  of  the  Bell  Telephone  Company  of  Phila- 
delphia and  of  the  Delaware  and  Atlantic  Telephone 
and  Telegraph  Company,  died  at  his  home  in  Phila- 
delphia on  January  28th.  He  had  been  ill  only 
a  few  days,  the  cause  of  death  being  acute  Bright's 
disease.  Mr.  Spencer  had  been  with  the  Bell  com- 
pany in  Philadelphia  since  1S94,  serving  succes- 
sively as  superintendent  of  installation,  engineer, 
general  superintendent  and  general  manager.  Re- 
cently he  had  been  elected  a  director  and  vice-presi- 
dent. To  bis  ability  largely  is  attributed  the  present 
development  which  the  company  has  reached.  Mr. 
Spencer  was  born  in  1870  at  Fort  Snelling,  Minn. 
He  graduated  from  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of 
Technology  in  1891  as  an  electrical  engineer  and 
then  entered  the  employment  of  the  General  Elec- 
tric Company  in  Lynn,  Mass.  Soon  after  he  went 
to  the  American  Bell  company  in  Boston  and  later 
to  Philadelphia.  He  was  an  associate  member  of 
the  American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers.  A 
widow   and   two   children    survive   him. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


Southern  Indiana  Telephone  Men  Meet. 

The  third  quarterly  meeting  of  the  ninth  district 
of  the  Indiana  Independent  Telephone  Association 
was  held  in  Evansville  on  February  1st.  W.  D. 
Curl  of  Petersburg,  vice-president  of  the  state  as- 
sociation from  the  ninth  district,  presided,  and 
Philip  Dilly  of  Huntingburg  acted  as  secretary. 
There  were  26  companies  represented  by  the  dele- 
gates present,  and  upward  of  12,000  telephones  were 
reported  in  operation  at  this  time  in  the  territory 
immediately    surrounding  Evansville. 

'1  he  situation  at  Evansville  was  the  principal  sub- 
ject before  the  meeting.  Allen  Gray  of  Evansville, 
president  of  the  Pocket  Long-distance  Telephone 
Company,  presented  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
the  immediate  securing  of  a  foothold  in  that  city. 
He  stated  that  the  Pocket  Long-distance  Telephone 
Company  had  not  yet  presented  its  application  to 
the  Board  of  Works  for  a  franchise  in  Evansville. 
The  discussion  of  Mr.  Gray's  analysis  of  the  situa- 
tion resulted  in  the  adoption  of  a  memorial  to  the 
mayor  of  Evansville  that  ho  franchise  be  granted 
to  an  Independent  company  except  to  one  possessed 
with  the  financial  ability  to  establish  a  modern 
telephone  system  and  one  able  to  make  connection 
with  the  Independent  system  contributory  to  Evans- 
ville and  throughout  Indiana  and  the  Central  States. 

An  interesting  and  profitable  discussion  was 
brought  out  by  the  presentation  of  a  paper  on 
"Service  Between  Exchanges,"  by  W.  H.  Moore, 
manager  of  the  Knox  County  Home  Telephone 
Company  of  Vincennes. 

The  Ninth  District  companies  seem  to  be  in  good 
condition  and  on  a  paying  basis.  It  was  agreed 
that  a  foothold  in  Evansville  was  the  key  to  a 
still  greater  development  in  the  district,  and  this 
advantage  is  thought  to  be  attainable  in  a  short 
time. 

Among  those  present  were  Henry  Landgrebe  of 
Huntingburg,  C.  F.  Stevens  of  Plainville,  W.  A. 
McGregor  of  Mt.  Vernon,  W.  D  Curl  of  Peters- 
burg, R.  N.  Parrett  of  Princeton,  W.  G.  Turpin 
of  Palmyra,  W.  H.  Moore  of  Vincennes,  W.  H. 
Wallace  of  Washington,  H.  G  O'Neal  of  Hazelton, 
Allen  Gray  of  Evansville  and  C.  S.  Norton  of 
Indianapolis. 


GENERAL  TELEPHONE    NEWS 

Miller  Bros,  have  purchased'  the  telephone  busi- 
ness of  the  Colman  Electric  Company  in  Colman, 
S.   D. 

J.  H.  Fraley,  city  clerk  of  Morehead,  Ky.,  is 
receiving  bids  for  the  construction  of  a  telephone 
system.  The  franchise  will  be  awarded  to  the 
highest  bidder. 

Following  the  sleetstorm  of  January  21st  and 
22d,  when  communication  by  wire  out  of  Chicago 
to  the  east,  west  and  south  was  practically  pros- 
trated, the  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company  was  able  to  communicate  to  New  York 
from  Chicago  only  by  an  unusually  roundabout 
way.  On  January  22d  and  23d  direct  communica- 
tion east,  south  and  west  was  impossible,  but  the 
company  was  able  to  maintain  and  operate  two 
first-class  Morse  circuits  from  Chicago  to  New 
York  via  Milwaukee,  Minneapolis,  Waterloo,  Des 
Moines,  Omaha,  St.  Joseph.  Kansas,  St.  Louis, 
Terre    Haute,    Indianapolis    and    Pittsburg. 


MANUFACTURERS    AND    DEALERS. 

H.  S.  Durant  of  Chicago  has  taken  a  partner- 
ship interest  in  the  firm  of  George  W.  Conover  & 
Co.  of  this  city,  who  are  purchasing  and  forwarding 
agents  for  Independent  telephone  companies.  Mr. 
Durantj-has  resigned  his  position  with  the  Auto- 
matic Electric  Company  after  having  been  identified 
with  its  sales  department  for  the  last  three  years. 

The  International  Telephone  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany of  Chicago  has  recently  built  for  the  Illinois 
Traction  Company  what  is  asserted  to  be  one  of 
the  most  convenient  dispatcher's  telephone  switch- 
boards ever  constructed.  The  board  was  installed 
in  the  offices  of  the  St.  Louis  and  Springfield  Rail- 
way Company  at  Staunton,  111.  The  International 
company  also  reports  a  heavy  demand  for  its  new 
permanently  adjusted  horseshoe  magnet  receiver, 
which  it  is  furnishing  in  any  quantity.  This  is  a 
simple,  neatly  designed  and  durably  constructed  in- 
strument. 

Speaking  of  the  Chicago  Electrical  Show,  J.  P. 
Cracraft,  Chicago  manager  of  the  Stromberg-Carlson 
Telephone  Manufacturing  Company,  says :  "More 
worthy  and  interested  people  visited  and  examined 
critical!)'  our  exhibt  at  the  Electrical  Show  than 
have  ever  interested  themselves  in  any  of  our 
former  exhibits.  Chicago  people  were  greatly  inter- 
ested in  Independent  telephone  equipments  being 
made  for  other  cities,  and  practically  all  of  the 
telephone  men  from  the  middle  western  states  were 
in  at  some  time  or  other  during  the  show  to  ex- 
amine a  section  of  the  largest  switchboard  in  the 
world  that  we  are  now  building  for  the  Kinloch 
Long-distance  Telephone  Company  of  Missouri  for 
its  St.  Louis  office.  In  fact,  there  were  so  many 
out-of-town  telephone  men  in  the  city  that  it  was 
necessary  for  us  to  telegraph  for  eight  of  our  trav- 
eling salesmen  to  come  in  before  the  first  week  was 
over,  and  we  were  all  busy  from  early  morning 
until  late  at  night.  We  consider  the  show  a  great 
success    from    every   standpoint." 


February   10,   1906 
CORRESPONDENCE, 

Great  Britain. 

London,  January  24. — Those  engaged  in  auto- 
matic signaling  on  railways  will  read  with  interest 
a  report  which  has  just  been  issued  by  the  Board 
of  Trade  with  regard  to  an  accident  which  oc-  :t 
curred  upon  a  portion  of  the  District  Railway 
where  automatic  signaling  was  employed.  The  re- 
port certainly  comes  at  an  inopportune  moment,  for 
the  District  company  is  making  great  efforts  to 
increase  the  use  of  such  arrangements,  in  order  to 
accelerate  the  service,  and  so  meet  the  great  outcry 
which  is  being  made  as  to  overcrowding.  The 
system  in  use  at  the  time  of  the  accident  was  the 
Westinghouse  electropneumatic  system,  and  the  trip 
gear  on  the  train  having  become  disarranged,  the 
train   passed  a  signal  which  stood  at  danger. 

In  a  somewhat  lengthy  report  the  following  rec- 
ommendations are  made :  The  trip  gear  should  be 
directly  attached  to  the  axles  of  the  cars,  to  pre- 
vent their  movement  by  the  swing  of  the  frames; 
two  triggers  should  be  employed,  in  case  one 
failed,  both  triggers  might  be  attached  to  one  car; 
at  all  terminals  and  other  places  where  brakes 
arc  tested,  car  examiners  as  well  as  the  motorman 
should  actually  test  the  movement  of  the  striking 
triggers  by  moving  them  until  the  air  valves  are 
fully  open.  The  report  adds  that  the  railway  au- 
thorities are  fully  aware  of  the  importance  of  the 
efficiency  of  the  tripping  arrangements,  and  either 
have  been  or  are  making  improvements  in  the  di- 
rections  named. 

The  fire  insurance  offices  have,  after  a  long  pe- 
riod, decided  to  recognize  the  various  patent  fire- 
alarm  systems,  and  will  reduce  the  premiums  for 
buildings  equipped  with  such  systems.  The  May- 
Oatway,  the  Pearson  and  other  systems,  such  as 
the  auto-pyrophone,  have  made  very  rapid  strides 
during  the  last  few  years,  and  one  of  them,  at 
least,  has  been  recognized  by  the  fire  offices  abroad 
for  a  year  or  two.  The  Glasgow  Corporation  was 
instrumental  in  prevailing  upon  the  offices  to  fol- 
low the  line  of  action  that  they  have  done,  although 
the  actual  rebate  to  be  allowed  has  not  yet  trans- 
pired. 

The  Sheffield  Corporation,  which  has  been  threat- 
ened with  legal  proceedings  by  the  Electrical  Con- 
tractors' Association  if  it  does  not  abandon  its 
electric  wiring  business,  has  made  a  reply  to  the 
charges  against  it.  The  argument  of  the  corpora- 
tion is  that  it  purchased  the  electric  wiring  depart- 
ment some  years  ago  when  the  Sheffield  Electric 
Light  and  Power  Company  was  absorbed,  and  that 
the  work  carried  out  is  only  for  persons  who  are 
actually  consumers  or  who  are  about  to  become 
such.  The  corporation  further  argues  that  all  elec- 
trical contractors  in  Sheffield  have  come  into  being 
since  the  department  in  question  was  established, 
and  that,  in  short,  it  refuses  to  abandon  the  branch. 
A  full  investigation,  it  states,  of  the  complaints  of 
the  wiring  contractors  has  failed  entirely  to  sub- 
stantiate them.  In  these  days  of  increasing  mu- 
nicipal competition,  the  case  is  an  important  one, 
and  the  result  may  be  reflected  throughout  (he 
country,  for  a  large  number  of  electric-light  com- 
panies having  the  widest  possible  powers  under  their 
articles  of  association,  have  been  acquired  at  vari- 
ous times. 

With  the  enormous  majority  which  the  liberal 
and  municipalist  party  now  has  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  some  fears  are  being  expressed  as  to 
the  fate  of  the  various  electric  power  bills  affecting 
London,  which  have  been  promoted  by  companies. 
The  cry  of  the  municipalist  party  against  the  late 
administration  was  that  it  was  true  to  its  friends, 
the  trusts,  and  anything  in  the  nature  of  a  fairly 
large  company  was  dubbed  a  trust.  In  the  flush 
of  victory,  and  in  the  possession  of  such  a  huge 
majority,  it  will  need  cool  thinking  on  the  part 
of  the  responsible  leaders  to  curb  the  inclinations 
of  a  large  number  of  the  rank  and  file,  and,  from 
the  companies'  point  of  view,  the  presence  of  no 
less  than  30  members  of  the  London  County  Coun- 
cil (itself  promoting  an  electric  power  bill)  in  the 
House  of  Commons  is  of  itself  a  disturbing  ele- 
ment, to  say  the  least.  All  the  bills  are  well  for- 
ward, however,  and  there  will  be  no  delay  conse- 
quent on  the  change  of  ministry,  which  must  have 
been  inevitable  had  the  election  taken  place  at  any. 
other  time. 

The  various  fruit  and  horticultural  associations  in 
the  United  Kingdom  have  for  some  time  past  been 
agitating  for  a  better  telephonic  service  to  the  many 
out-of-the-way  places  which  are  the  centers  of  the 
fruit-growing  industry  in  Great  Britain.  The  Board 
of  Agriculture  has  taken  the  matter  up,  and  as  a 
consequence  the  postmaster-general  has  promised  to 
take  the  matter  seriously  in  hand  if  he  is  informed 
of  the  localities  where  the  needs  of  the  telephone 
are  most  pressing  for  the  purposes  of  the  fruit 
industry.  In  1904  the  late  Parliament  granted  spe- 
cial  funds   for  this   purpose. 

A  serious  accident  happened  yesterday  to  one  of 
the  tram  cars  on  the  Liverpool  Corporation  serv- 
ice through  the  failure  of  the  brakes  to  act,  for 
some  reason,  on  a  very  steep  incline.  The  number 
of  injured  is  large,  which  may  be  accounted  for 
by  the  fact  that  the  car,  which  overturned,  was  a 
double-deck  one  with  covered-in  top.  I  believe  this 
is  the  first  accident  to  a  covered-in  top-deck  car  in 
England.  G 


ebruai  \    <<>,  1906 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


'27 


New  York. 

New    York   city,    Fcbruarj    3      ["In     iftci  math   "f 

1I1,.     rapid  n  an  il     merger     ha       I ' 

'I  he   In'1  rborough   Rapid    I  ran  il   I  oipi 

mated   i,,   ih,    rapid    trail  il    1 01 

downtown     nbwaj    ti alrcad       0    1 

thai    il ■iginal    idea   of   bidding    foi    a    I  i    ington 

Avenue   exten  ion    I I and   I  al 

would    be    impracticable    and    thai    an    i  ntin  I      in  ■ 
i„, iih    .ni,l      ..mil     subway     route     would     1"      mori 

, ., ,.  iccable.       'I  he     Lexington      ' uti 

originally  laid  oul  by  the  i  onu i      i  ith  a  view 

to  attracl   a   competitive   bid    from   tin     Metropolitan 
people.     General!)    9peaking,   and    withoul    atti 

|ng   to  record   or  analyze  all   th.    cu II    and 

in there     - i    be    a    tli  po  ition    on    the 

pari   of   the   transit   companies   to   outflatnl     tin     mu 

nicipal  ownership   moven bj    offei  ing    fairlj 

isfactory    terms    to    the    city    for    the    fram  hi  c     ol 
,.,.„    routi         Uigu  i    Belmont,   in   a   long   letti  i    ad 
dressed   to  the   president    of   the   commi    ion,     tati 
thai    he    would    not    have   consented    to   the    merger 
ii    he   had   nol    thought    that    its  effect    would   be   to 
hasten    subway    construction    and    result    in    a    vei 
substantial  enlargement   of  the  trat  cling    fai  ilitii      in 
fee  two  boroughs. 
Several    bills    have    been    introduced    al      \lhanj 

affecting    the    merger    directly    or    indirectly.      S : 

appear  to  be  merely  of  the  usual  blackmailing  sorl 
;ii„|  intended  to  be  withdrawn  or  modified.  Othei 
are  engineered  by  municipal  ownership  interests  and 
designed  to  hamper  or  restrain  the  merge:  ;  while 
Others,  introduced  by  transit  represcntativi  .  an 
seeking  to  validate  and  strengthen  various  (ran 
Chises.  Meanwhile  Theodore  W.  Meyers  is  wag 
ing  a  bitter  contesl  against  the  Belmonts  on  be 
half  of  the  minority  shareholders,  and  he  points 
oul  that  under  the  scheme  of  organizing  the  new 
holding  company  the  minority  stockholders  are 
asked  In  part  with  their  stocks  at  one  third  the 
equivalent  at  which  they  could  have  been  sold  in 
the    open    market. 

I  lie  outstanding  legal  suits  to  decide  whether  the 
Board  of  Estimate  or  the  Board  of  Aldermen  is 
empowered  to  have  the  last  word  in  regard  to 
new  subway  transit  routes  are  advanced  this  week 
by  the  appointment  by  the  appellate  division  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  three  special  commissions  io 
investigate  and  report  upon  the  questions  in  dis- 
pute. The  three  commissions  will  deal  'respectively 
with  the  Third,  Lexington  and  Eighth  Avenue 
routes.  As  a  contribution  to  the  discussion,  a  bill 
has  been  introduced  at  Albany  to  create  a  New 
York  City  Railroad  Commission  to  deal  with  local 
matters  now  within  the  province  of  the  state  com- 
mission. 

The  Chinese  High  Commissioners  visited  New- 
York  this  week  and  took  rides  in  the  subway  and 
on  the  elevated  lines  yesterday.  The  engineering 
features  of  the  system  were  explained  to  one  of  the 
party. 

The  new  bridge  commissioner,  James  W.  Stevens, 
has  reached  several  points  of  agreement  with  the 
Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit,  which  if  carried  out  will 
materially  facilitate  the  rush-hour  traffic  on  the 
Brooklyn  and  Williamsburg  bridges.  Mr.  Stevens 
has  been  voted  an  appropriation  of  $750,000  to 
carry  out  improvements.  The  commissioner,  who 
really  seems  to  be  wide-awake  to  present-day  condi- 
tions, is  also  considering  a  scheme  for  a  moving 
platform   over   the   Williamsburg  Bridge. 

The  Mohawk  (N.  Y.)  Valley  Company,  having 
purchased  the  Rochester  trolley  lines,  now  con- 
trols a  complete  system  of  electric  railways  across 
the  middle  of  the  state,  starting  from  Schenectady. 
The  New  York  Central  railroad  has  some  interest 
in  this  amalgamation. 

Lighting  Commissioner  Ellison,  having  examined 
the  new  bids  for  public  lighting,  announces  that 
the  need  for  proceeding  with  plans  for  a  munici- 
pal lighting  plant  is  not  so  obvious,  for  the  Edison 
company  has  submitted  a  sliding  scale  and  will 
supply  arc  lamps  per  annum  at  a  maximum  price 
of  $80.  as  against  $126  of  former  contracts.  Lhe 
original  report  of  Consulting  Engineer  Cary  T. 
Hutchison  placed  the  cost  of  arc  lamps  at  $64  per 
annum  if  operated  by  the  city,  but  this  estimate  is 
affected  by  the  eight-hour  law  and  civil-service 
regulations. 

The  Secor  Engine  Company  has  an  ingenious 
method  of  displaying  the  efficiency  of  its  gas  engine 
when  coupled  direct  to  a  dynamo.  A  large  electric 
'  meter,  properly  authenticated,  is  on  view  in  the 
show  room  of  the  company  on  Liberty  Street,  and 
visitors  can  see  how  steady  the  index  is  when 
switched  onto  the  dynamo  circuit. 

Scranton  (Pa.)  capitalists  have  organized  the 
Northern  Electric  Railway  Company  of  Millbrook, 
N.  Y,  with  a  capital  of  $600,000,  for  the  purpose 
of  constructing  railways  and  rolling  stock. 

Henry  Blank,  R.  C.  Bennett  and  G.  M.  Treiber 
of  Brooklyn  have  incorporated  as  the  United  States 
Electric  Production  and  Construction  Company 
with   a   capital   of  $30,000. 

Applications  are  returnable  at  Albany  on  Feb- 
ruary 12th  for  the  position  of  assistant  electrical 
engineer  for  the  state  hospital  department.  The 
usual  salary  for  this  position  is  from  $50  to  $75 
a  month  and  maintenance.  The  examination  will 
be  held  at  various  points  on  February  17th. 

Plans  for  the  terminal  station  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad,  to  be  built  on  the  blocks  bounded 
by    Seventh    and    Eighth    avenues    and    Thirty-first 


and    771    fl 

lunicipal   An    I 

an  in .  1   >' 

will  be  cxhibiti 

February   27th 

1 1   V 


New  England. 
1: 11     Pebi  ua 

\,u    11. ,,,  11    .111,1    1 1  mm. .n!    Ra  I  road    1 

1 ed    1 1 

. 
dii  ati       lectri    1 
or.  in  tin 

\    l.ii  -  1     1 

.  .        I  I  ,  I  I  r  I  I      .     I  I  II      I  M 

I,, ,  11   .1,  q id    by  the  1  Cora 

pan        '    1  1    1 ■ 
1  anj    foi    ili'     big 

.  lei  11  ii     ysb  in     ■•■  in.  li  ii 1    in  'i       n 

I  lartford  and   Woro   tcr,  thi 

ih,     1 1  .iiir.i.l,     vl  mi  '..    ti  1        nd     Rocl 

railwa)  1  omp  tnii         '.1  thi   annual  mi  1 1  rip    January 

30th,  i  hub's  S.   Mcllcn  was  chosen  pi 

Competition  on  a  through  line  to  New  York,  for 
which  Mi"  Slum  were  supposed  to  be  gradually 
reaching  out,  is  checked  by   this  absorption 

1, road's  intcrurban  competitors.     It  i 

thai    ih.-    Boston   and   Worcester  electric  railway,   a 
splendidly  equipped  high-speed  interurb; 

'  ■   ■       1.1   1. 11  gc   pari   "i    thi    disl    •  ■ 

wav,  is  likel)    i"  pass  also  from  the  Shaw  -   . 
ship  and  under  tin    control  of  thi    »ti  am   road 

Incidentally,  there  ci •  al  this  time  1  umoi     from 

\\  orcester  of  the  transfei  of  control  ol  thi  to 
,1  ih,  Marlboro  and  Worcester  street  railway  Ii 
is  not  disclosed  as  yet  for  what  purpose  01  b) 
whom  the  deal  has  been  engineered.  Rumoi  con 
necled  the  Worcester  Consolidated,  which  1 
most  of  the  roads  centering  in  that  city,  with  the 
transaction,  but  President  Dewey  quickly  denied 
this  report.  The  Boston  Suburban  Electric  Com- 
pany, which  operates  from  Newton  in  the  direction 
of  Worcester,  was  al-o  mentioned  as  the  possible 
absorber.  Nor  was  it  considered  wholly  improb- 
able that  the  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford 
had   the   coup    up    its    sleeve. 

The  Massachusetts  railroad  commissioners  made 
a  ruling  this  week  which  served  notice,  so  to  speak, 
on  all  the  electric  railways  which  are  calculating 
to  do  a  freight  and  express  business.  It  was  to 
the  effect  that  freight  business  on  the  interurban 
lines  in  the  commonwealth  must  be  subordinated 
to  passenger  business,  and  must  not  be  permitted 
to  crowd  out  or  otherwise  displace  the  passenger 
service  to  be  rendered  under  the  charter.  The  Old 
Colony  Street  Railway  Company  was  the  petitioner 
in  this  instance.  The  company  has  three  special 
cars  ready  for  service. 

By  a  settlement  just  effected  with  the  city  of 
Boston,  the  Boston  Electric  Light  Company  will 
receive  payment  of  $38S,000  on  judgments  on  land 
suits.  The  land  involved  was  the  site  of  the  com- 
pany's plant  some  time  ago  on  Summer  Street,  ab- 
sorbed   by   the   city. 

Recent  new  incorporations  include  the  Frank  Rid- 
lon  Company  of  Boston,  electric-railway  supplies; 
capital.  $75,000;  directors,  Frank  Ridlon.  Oren  S. 
Hussey,  Edmund  W  Kellogg.  Charles  W.  Whitney. 
Jr.       "  B. 

Southeastern  States. 

Charlotte,  N.  C.  February  3.— Because  of  the  fact 
that  the  city  of  Albany,  Ga.,  owns  its  own  electric- 
light  plant,  the  municipality  has  rejected  the  appli- 
cations of  private  persons  for  gas  privileges,  it  not 
being  desired  that  the  city  shall  have  competition 
in   the   lighting  business. 

A  public-ownership  plan  presented  in  Baltimore. 
Md..  by  George  Stewart  Brown,  who  appeared  be- 
fore the  Second  Branch  of  the  City  Council,  has 
been  defeated,  this  in  connection  with  the  franchise 
ordinances  of  the  United  Railways  and  Electric 
Company  and  others  that  had  been  favorably  re- 
ported by  the  committee  on  railways.  Mr.  Brown 
next  offered  amendments  aimed  to  retain  for  the 
city  the  right  to  regulate  and  prevent  future  legal 
difficulties,  all  of  which  amendments  were  de- 
feated. Amendments  providing  that  new  fran- 
chise rights  to  the  United  Railways  Company  on 
certain  streets  shall  expire  in  1919,  when  the  old 
City  Passenger  Railways  Company  franchises  ex- 
pire, yvas  also  voted  down.  The  council  also  went 
on  record  as  opposed  to  the  municipality  building 
a  terminal  for  the  Washington,  Baltimore  and  An- 
napolis   Company. 

At  Norfolk,  Ya.,  R.  B.  Fentress  is  quoted  as 
saying  that  he  will  not  bid  on  the  light  and  heat- 
ing franchise  as  now  amended,  and  that  he  will  not 
accept  the  franchise.  The  matter  has  been  in  the 
hands  of  a  special  committee  of  the  City  Council. 

The  North  American  Company  is  an  applicant 
for  a  franchise  for  lighting  and  heating  privileges 
in   Louisville.    Ky. 

An   authorized   capital    of  $5,000,000   is   asked   for 


Kol.i  H 
.ral   manager  of   the   Binning  R  ulway. 

Light 
trip  North,   w! 

lines   in   and   about    Binning!. 

will  be  held  to  adopt  plan,  as  outlini 

work. 

It    1  1    plans    have   been    completed 

f,,r    ihe   stringing   "i 
from   Grcal    balls   waterpower,  being  develoj 

■  ompany  of  Cbarlotti 
and  that  the  current  will  be  offered  for  -ale  in  that 
city  and  many  others.     At  the  falls  there  arc  three 
:ih    about    75,000  power.      There 

will   be   a    storage   reservoir   two   mile-    long   and  a 
quarter   of   a    mile   wide   parallel   to  the   river.     At 
let  end  will  be  a  powerful  retaining  wall  and 
twin    hydraulic    turbines    will 
:  revolu- 
tions   per    minute    1n.n1    a    7j  i    water. 
There   will   also   be   two  700-horsepower   twin   hori- 
hydraulic  exciter  turbines  running  at  a  speed 
of  450  revolutions  per  minute  from  the  same  head. 
I  In-    plant    will    be    one    of    the    large-t    single    elec- 
tric  waterpower   developments   in   the    South.  L. 


Ohio. 

Cleveland.    February    3— At    the    annual    meeting 

of    the    directors    of    the    Toledo    and    Western    at 

a,    Ohio,    a    lew    days    ago   Judge    Carlo-    M. 

Stone    ol    Cleveland    w  a-    clu -ell    president    to   succeed 

ihe  late  Luther  Allen  J.  R.  Seagrave  wa-  elected 
vice-president,  and  C.  F.  Franklin,  general  man- 
ager.     The  total  mileage,  including  sidings. 

The  City  Council  of  Girard  has  contracted  with 
the  Youngstown  Consolidated  Gas  and  Electric  Com- 
pany to  light  the  Streets,  with  the  understanding 
that  at  the  end  of  the  year  the  village  may  purchase 
the  pule-,  wires  and  fixture-,  which  will  lie  turned 
over  to  a  local  company  that  is  preparing  to  op- 
erate a  lighting  and   waler  plant. 

I  he  bid  of  the  Union  Light.  Heat  and  Power 
Company    for    street    ligl  en    accepted   by 

the  council  of  Newport,  Ky.  The  price  for  com- 
mercial lighting  is  8Ji  cents  per  kilowatt,  with  very 
liberal  discounts,  according  to  the  size  of  the  bill, 
and  ri\e  per  cent,  off  that  for  cash.  The  same 
company  is  negotiating  with  the  council  of  Cov- 
ington With  the  idea  of  building  a  plant  in  that 
city. 

A  schedule  of  one  hour  and  45  minutes  between 
Lima  and  Fort  Wayne,  a  distance  of  63  miles,  has 
been  arranged  for  the  Fort  Wayne.  Van  Wert  and 
Lima  electric  railway.  This  is  fast  service,  but  the 
roadbed  and  tracks  on  this  line  have  been  pro- 
nounced of  the  highest  grade.  The  time  between 
Lima  and  Indianapolis,  in  connection  with  the  Wa- 
bash Valley  and  Union  Traction  Company,  will 
be  six  hours  and  five  minutes.  10  minutes  less  than 
the  fastest  steam  road  makes  il  now.  The  time 
between  Fort  Wayne  and  Dayton  by  way  of  the 
Western  Ohio  will  be  four  hours  and  15  minutes. 
The  Western  Ohio  has  heretofore,  bad  the  fastest 
service  in  this  section,  and  as  soon  as  the  ballast- 
ing is  completed  it  will  put  on  trains  between  Lima_ 
and  Findlay.  53  miles,  to  make  schedule  time  of 
one  hour   flat. 

Rumors  are  now  arloat  to  the  effect  that  the 
Lake  Shore  electric  railway  will  be  double-tracked 
between  Cleveland  and  Lorain.  The  line  between 
Lorain  and  Elyria  is  also  to  be  similarly  improved 
as  soon  as  possible.  The  Cleveland  and  South- 
western has  ordered  new  cars  to  strengths 
service,  and  it  looks  as  if  competition  was  getting 
rather  sharp. 

The  House  of  Representatives  will  consider  the 
Bassett  bill  next  week.  It  provides  than  canal 
banks  shall  not  be  leased  to  electric-railway  com- 
panies, and  has  been  recommended  for  passage  by 
the  committee.  This  bill  is  for  the  purpose  of 
blocking  plans  which  have  been  made  to  secure 
the  use  of  the  canal  banks  at  Toledo. 

The  Northern  Ohio  Traction  and  Light  Company 
has  closed  a  contract  with  the  Cleveland  Construc- 
tion Company  to  build  an  extension  to  its  line  from 
Barberton  to  Seville,  a  distance  of  161-  miles.  It 
will    pass    through    Wadsworth,    Rittman    and    Mer- 


128 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


February  10,   ic 


ling,  and  at  Seville  will  connect  with  the  Cleveland 
and  Southwestern. 

A  bill  will  be  introduced  in  the  present  Legis- 
lature to  enable  cities  to  engage  in  commercial- 
lighting   business. 

It  is  probable  that  the  Columbus  City  Council 
may  be  asked  for  a  bond  issue  of  $100,000  to  pur- 
chase additional  machinery  for  the  municipal  plant. 
A  few  days  ago  the  plant  broke  down  because  of 
being  crowded  too  hard.  It  is  also  said  that  coun- 
cilmen  believe  that  the  Public  Service  Company  is 
planning  to  give  cheaper  lights  for  the  city,  as  well 
as  for  outside  places. 

The  Reynolds  bill,  requiring  heated  vestibules  for 
motormen,  and  the  Lersch  bill,  requiring  street- 
railway  companies  to  sprinkle  their  rights-of-way 
in  municipalities,  have  been  passed  by  both  houses 
of  the  General  Assemblv.  and  await  the  signature 
of    the    governor. 

The  people  of  Georgetown  have  voted  for  a  bond 
issue  of  $15,000  for  the  construction  of  an  electric- 
light  plant.  O.  M.  C. 


Indiana. 

Indianapolis,  February  3. — S.  C.  Dickey,  presi- 
dent of  the  Winona  Interurban  Railroad  Company 
of  Warsaw,  announces  that  the  management  will 
build  the  Peru-Warsaw  division  by  letting  the 
work  out  in  small  sections  to  contractors  instead 
of  letting  a  general  contract  to  a  construction  com- 
pany. Bids,  however,  will  be  in  order  for  the  equip- 
ment. It  is  proposed  to  build  a  substantial  line 
with  the  best  equipment  for  high-speed  passenger 
and  freight  traffic. 

The  work  of  making  the  final  survey  and  estab- 
lishing the  line  for  the  extension  of  the  Portland 
and  Muncie  traction  line  from  Portland  to  Celina, 
Ohio,    was   begun   last  week. 

The  Northern  Indiana  Railway  Company  has 
.filed  a  trust  deed  at  Laporte  in  favor  of  G.  M. 
'Cummings,  trustee,  and  the  United  States  Mortgage 
and  Trust  Company  to  secure  the  issuance  of 
$4,ooo,oco  five-per  cent,  bonds.  The  instrument 
covers  all  rights,  franchises,  tracks,  rolling  stock 
and  property  of  the  company  in  Laporte,  St.  Joseph 
and  Elkhart  counties,  including  the  interurban  lines 
now  in  operation  between  Laporte,  South  Bend  and 
Michigan  City.  The  money  derived  will  be  ex- 
pended in  acquiring  a  few  connecting  lines  and 
completing  and  equipping  the  lines  now  under  con- 
struction, which  will  include  a  large  central  power 
plant  and  a  number  of  sub-stations. 

Frank  D.  Norvall,  general  freight  agent  for  the 
Indiana  electric  railways  which  were  merged  re- 
cently, states  that  the  interchange-freight  service 
just  inaugurated  over  the  lines  is  producing  highly 
gratifying  results.  Carload-lot  shipments  were 
offered  at  once  and  they  were  handled  with  such 
facility  and  promptness  as  to  occasion  the  service 
to  grow  until  the  management  finds  the  need  of 
more  freight  cars,  which  were  ordered  at  once. 

Mayor  Boehne  of  Evansville  has  issued  a  state- 
ment to  the  effect  that  any  franchises  granted  to 
traction  lines  during  his  administration  must  guar- 
antee the  city  a  percentage  of  the  gross  earnings 
of  the  road. 

The  Northwestern  Traction  Company  has  made 
such  inroads  on  the  Big  Four  traffic  at  Zionsville, 
a  prosperous  town  20  miles  north  of  Indianapolis, 
as  to  occasion  the  closing  of  the  Big  Four  station 
agency.  The  Big  Four  will  straighten  its  line 
in  this   vicinity   and  eliminate   Zionsville   altogether. 

The  Town  Council  of  Fortville  is  negotiating 
with  the  Indiana  Traction  Company  to  furnish  the 
town  electric  light  and  power.  If  this  is  not  done 
a  local  company  is  ready  to  put  in  a  plant. 

The  Alexandria  Electric  Light  and  Power  Com- 
pany has  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Ander- 
son" Trust  Company  as  receiver.  The  company  is 
solvent,  but  there  is  a  difference  among  stockhold- 
ers relative  to  improvements.  It  is  thought  the 
court  will  order  the  receiver  to  make  necessary  im- 
provements and  install   some  new   machinery. 

S.  S. 


Mexico. 


City  of  Mexico,  February  1. — Henkel  Bros,  of 
Toluca,  railroad,  mining  and  lumber  men,  have 
obtained  a  concession  from  the  federal  government 
for  the  construction  of  an  electric  ■  railway  from 
Toluca  to  Zihuatanejo,  situated  on  the  Pacific  coast 
of  Mexico.  The  proposed  line  has  already  been 
surveyed  and  all  preliminary  arrangements  are 
made  for  its  early  construction.  The  power  to 
operate  the  line  will  be  obtained  from  the  Nevado 
de  Toluca  River.  The  Maninaltenango  Falls. 
where  the  generating  plant  will  be  located,  is  said 
to  be  capable  of  furnishing  20,coo  horsepower,  and 
at  other  places  on  that  stream  almost  equal  energy 
can  be  obtained. 

Governor  Miguel  Ahumada  has  approved  the 
plans  of  Compania  Industrial  de  Guadalajara,  the 
French  light  and  power  company  of  Guadalajara, 
for  the  construction  of  an  electric  street-railway 
svstem  in  the  city. 

"  The  Mexican  Light  and  Power  Company  is  con- 
structing a  new  transmission  line  from  its  power 
plant  at  Necaxa  to  Apizaco  and  Puebla.  The 
line,  including  the  receiving  and  distributing  sta- 
tions at  Puebla,  will  necessitate  an  expenditure  of 
about  S2.0c0.000  Mexican  money.  The  construc- 
tion of  the  line  is   in  charge   of  Lewis  W.   Henry, 


superintendent  of  the  transmission  department,  and 
the  work  of  installation  at  Puebla  will  be  under 
the  direction  of  Melton  Ulmer,  assistant  general 
manager  of  the  company.  It  is  expected  that  the 
line  will  be  completed  and  electrical  energy  be 
furnished  the  city  of  Puebla  in   about   six   months. 

The  Mexican  Light  and  Power  Company  will 
begin  to  supply  the  Mexican  Tramways  Company 
with  electric  power  for  the  operation  of  its  ex- 
tensive street-railway  system  in  the  City  of  Mexico 
on  October  1st.  W.  W.  Wheatley,  general  man- 
ager of  the  tramway  company,  has  selected  the 
sites   for  the  four  proposed  sub-stations. 

The  Mexican  Light  and  Power  Company  of  the 
City  of  Mexico  is  still  having  trouble  with  thieves 
w-ho  do  not  hesitate  to  cut  and  carry  off  sections 
of  the  transmission  cable  which  runs  from  Necaxa 
to  the  city.  Recently  this  cable  was  cut  and  por- 
tions of  it  which  weigned  1.5CO  pounds  were  car- 
ried away  by  the  thieves.  The  theft  caused  a 
serious  interruption  of  the  service  of  the  company. 

La  Electra,  S.  A.,  the  Spanish  light,  pow-er  and 
street-railway  company  of  Guadalajara,  has  let 
the  contract  for  the  construction  of  a  combined 
general  office  building  and  central  car  station  to 
Manuel  de  la  Mora.  The  buildling  will  cost  about 
$300,cco.  W.  D.  II. 

Northwestern  States. 

Minneapolis,  February  3. — E.  A.  Lee  of  Afton, 
Iowa,  will  receive  bids  until  February  12th  for  the 
construction  of  an  electric-light  system  for  that 
town.  A  gasoline  engine  may  be  used  to  furnish 
power. 

F.  A.  Bonebright  will  erect  a  large  brick  build- 
ing at  Webster  City,  Iow-a,  for  an  electrical  supply- 
house. 

The  Belle  Fourche  (S.  D.)  Electric  Light.  Heat 
and  Power  Company  has  been  incorporated  with 
a  capital  stock  of  $25,000.  A.  A.  Moody  is  presi- 
dent and  J.   S.   Moody  secretary   and  manager. 

The  Minnesota  Light  and  Power  Company  of 
Winona,  Minn.,  is  planning  extensive  improve- 
ments and  additions  to  its  power  plant  at  Minne- 
sota  City. 

J.  H.  Coulter,  president  of  the  Wisconsin  Power 
Company  of  Rice  Lake,  Wis.,  has  sold  his  interests. 
W.  C.  Ribenack  of  Menomonie  succeeds  him  as 
president. 

The  Wisconsin  Rapid  Transit  Company  of  Mil- 
waukee will  begin  work  early  in  the  spring  on  an 
interurban  line  from  Milwaukee  to  Fond  du  Lac. 
A  deed  of  trust  for  $2,000,000  has  been  filed,  and 
the  line  is  guaranteed  to  be  in  operation  by  De- 
cember  1,   1906. 

A  franchise  has  been  granted  at  Biwabik,  Minn., 
to  the  Mesaba  Range  Traction  Company.  The  esti- 
mated cost  of  the  road,  which  will  be  about  40 
miles   long,   is   $8co,ooo. 

Articles  of  incorporation  have  been  filed  for  the 
Beloit  (Wis.)  Gas  and  Electric  Power  Company, 
with  a  capital  of  $£00,000.  This  brings  the  three 
public  utilities  under  one  management,  Cincinnati 
capital    being    behind   the    merger. 

The  electric-light  plant  of  the  Creston  (Iowa) 
Gas  and  Electric  Company  was  recently  destroyed 
by  fire.  The  company  may  sell  what  is  left  of 
the  system  to  the  new-  Mutual  company  which 
is  to   put   in   a  plant,  at   Creston. 

The  Virginia  (Minn.)  Light  and  Water  Com- 
pany has  purchased  a  new  300-kilowatt  generator 
and    will    start    a    24-hour    service. 

The  Wester  Gas  and  Investment  Company  has 
decided  to  build  a  new  brick  building  at  Still- 
water. Minn.,  as  a  station  for  the  electric-light 
system  and  for  the  Apple  River  pow-er  plant. 

The  Keokuk  (Iowa)  Electric  Railway  and  Power 
Company  is  planning  to  extend  its  interurban  sys- 
tem to  Hamilton  and  to  Carthage.  R 


Pacific  Slope. 

San  Francisco,  February  2. — The  Siskiyou  Elec- 
tric Power  Company,  which  is  operating  in  the 
vicinity  of  Yreka,  Cal.,  has  completed  its  branch 
transmission  line  to  Hornbrook  and  is  now  supply- 
ing power  to  that  town.  A  1 , coo-kilowatt  gener- 
ator is  to  be  installed. 

The  California  Supreme  Court  has  declared  the 
bond  issue  of  the  city  of  Stockton,  amounting  to 
$160,000,  authorized  by  popular  vote  some  time  ago 
for  the  construction  of  an  electric-light  plant,  to  be 
illegal.  The  mayor  and  City  Council  have  been 
enjoined  from  selling  the  bonds.  Immediately  upon 
announcement  of  the  decision  the  City  Council  met 
as  a  committee  of  the  whole  and  decided  to  call 
an  election  to  vote  on  the  proposition  of  issuing 
bonds  to  the  amount  of  $700,000,  a  portion  of 
which  is  to  be  used  for  the  construction  of  an 
electric-light  plant  and  a  portion  for  the  construc- 
tion of  other  public  utilities. 

The  Rio  Vista  Light  and  Power  Company  of 
Rio  Vista,  Cal.,  has  been  granted  a  franchise  to 
build  and  operate  a  lighting  and  pow-er  plant  at 
that  place. 

The  Mono  Power  Company,  which  was  incor- 
porated in  San  Francisco  a  few  weeks  ago  by  the 
persons  controlling  the  Owens  River  Power  Com- 
pany, has  begun  work  on  Owens  River,  near  Bishop, 
Cal.  The  company's  plans  are  to  generate  elec- 
tricity to  furnish  pow-er  and  light  to  various  dis- 
tricts in  California.  Nevada  and  Arizona.  It  has 
taken   over  the   rights   of  the   Owens   River    Power 


Company  and  several  individual  rights.  H.  W. 
Leffingwell  is   in  charge  of  the  engineering  work. 

A.  Welch  of  Salem,  Ore.,  has  purchased  the 
plant  and  property  of  the  Corvalis  Electric  Light 
and   Power  Company  of  Corvalis,  Ore.,  for  $18,000. 

M.  R.  Hanger  and  George  Thompson  of  Co- 
lumbia County,  Wash.,  are  organizing  a  company 
to  build  an  electric  railway  from  Covelo  to  Wal- 
lula  on  the  Columbia  River. 

The  Los  Angeles  Pacific  Company  has  awarded 
a  contract  to  Hunt.  Mirk  &  Co.  of  San  Francisco 
for  a  2,750-kiIowatt  50-cycle  Westinghouse-Parsons 
turbo-generator  which  is  to  be  installed  as  an  ad- 
dition to  the  electric-railway  power  plant  in  Los 
Angeles.  A  condenser  with  9,000  square  feet  of 
surface,  pumps,   etc.,   were  also  ordered.  A. 


PERSONAL 


Amos  P.  Mack  has  resigned  as  superintendent 
of  the  municipal  lighting  plant  at  Ashtabula,  Ohio, 
and  Chase  Palmer  has  been  chosen  to  succeed  him. 

Andres  Horcasitas  of  the  City  of  Mexico,  Mex- 
ico, has  resigned  his  position  as  government  in 
spector  of  electric-light  plants.  His  successor  has 
not  yet  been  appointed. 

Thomas  G.  Grier  of  Chicago  is  about  to  leave 
for  Cuba  on  a  combined  business  and  pleasure  trip. 
He  will  be  gone  from  six  weeks  to  two  months 
and   will   visit   Mexico   during  his  outing. 

J.  C.  Hoffman,  who  has  been  chief  engineer  of 
the  Northern  Texas  Traction  Company's  lines  since 
July  last,  has  resigned  his  position  in  Fort  Worth, 
Texas,  to  accept  a  railroad  position  at  Memphis, 
Tenn. 

D.  G.  Edwards,  traffic  manager  of  the  Schoepf 
electric  roads  in  Ohio,  has  recently  returned  from 
a  trip  to  Europe.  He  will  have  charge  of  the 
freight  and  passenger  traffic  on  all  the  roads  in- 
cluded  in  the   Schoepf  syndicate  properties. 

Frank  C.  Folsom,  who  recently  resigned  as  super- 
intendent of  transportation  of  the  Fort  Wayne  and 
Wabash  Valley  Traction  Company,  has  accepted 
the  position  of  superintendent  of  the  Atlantic  City 
and  Suburban  Traction  Company,  with  headquar- 
ters in  Atlantic  City,   N.  J. 

The  death  is  reported  of  Jules  Despecher  of 
Paris,  France.  Mr.  Despecher  had  been  the  repre- 
sentative in  Paris  of  the  Eastern  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, and  he  was  one  of  the  first  men  in  that 
country  to  take  part  in  the  promotion  of  cable 
communication  between  Europe  and  America.  He 
was    S3    years    of    age. 

Brigadier-general  A.  W.  Greely-,  chief  signal  offi- 
cer of  the  United  States  Army,  has  been  nomi- 
nated by  President  Roosevelt  to  be  major-general 
of  the  line,  to  succeed  General  Bates  as  major- 
general.  Col.  James  Allen  is  to  be  brigadier-gen- 
eral and  chief  of  the  Signal  Corps,  to  succeed 
General  Greely.  These  changes  are  brought  about 
by  the  retirement  of  Lieutenant-general  Adna  R. 
Chaffee,  and  the  nomination  of  Major-general  John 
C.   Bates,   chief  of  staff,  to  be   lieutenant-general. 

In  pursuance  of  a  resolve  made  many  years  ago 
to  retire  from  active  business  at  his  present  age 
Mr.  E.  H.  Valentine,  president  of  the  Valentine- 
Clark  Company  of  Chicago,  has  disposed  of  his 
interests  in  the  company  to  Mr.  E.  L.  Clark,  for- 
merly secretary  and  treasurer,  and  who  now  suc- 
ceeds him  as  president,  the  corporate  name  of  the 
company  continuing  as  heretofore.  Mr.  Clark  has 
been  identified  with  the  company  since  its  forma- 
tion and  enjoys  an  extensive  acquaintance  with 
producers  and  consumers  of  cedar  poles,  in  which 
the  company  deals. 

Mr.  William  J.  Ferris,  one  of  the  best  know-n 
and  most  popular  salesmen  connected  with  the  Chi- 
cago office  of  the  General  Electric  Company,  has 
resigned  his  position  with  that  company  to  accept 
the  important  position  of  assistant  manager  of  the 
Illinois  Traction  System, .  with  headquarters  at 
Champaign,  III.  This  system  is  controlled  by  the 
McKinley  syndicate  and  operates  some  300  miles 
of  electric  railway  in  Central  Illinois,  connecting 
Danville  and  Champaign,  Bloomington  and  De- 
catur, Springfield  and  East  St.  Louis  and  a  number 
of  other  cities  and  villages.  On  the  evening  of 
February  2d  Mr.  Harry  L.  Monroe,  manager  of 
the  railway  department  of  the  Chicago  office  of  the 
General  Electric  Company,  gave  a  dinner  at  the 
Hotel  Vendome  in  honor  of  Mr.  Ferris.  Those 
present  at  the  dinner  were  old-time  friends  of  the 
guest  of  honor  and  included  Messrs.  B.  E.  Sunny, 
F.  M.  Bover,  J.  Scribner,  J.  W.  Johnson,  George 
P.  Townsend,  J.  W.  Buell,  W.  A.  Colman,  S.  F. 
Dibble  and  L.  G.  Crawford.  .After  the  dinner 
there  were  a  number  of  heartfelt  speeches,  the 
theme  being  "The  Tie  that  Binds,"  and  they 
showed  clearly  the  genuine  regard  in  which  Mr. 
Ferris  is  held  by  his  former  associates.  At  the 
close  that  gentleman  was  presented  a  handsome 
silver  loving-cup  as  a  token  of  esteem  and  friend- 
ship. Mr.  Ferris  is  a  native  of  Scotland,  but  came 
to  the  Lmited  States  at  the  age  of  18.  He  entered 
the  service  of  the  Western  LTnion  Telegraph  Com- 
pany- in  Boston  in  1883.  He  gradually  became  in- 
terested in  other  branches  of  the  electrical  indus- 
try  and    in    1891    joined    the    forces    of  the    Edison 


Febi ii.M  j    [O,  [go6 

i  !i  ni  ral    El I  'ompany    in    the     upplj    deparl 

in.  ni    ni    '  In.  ii li  i     I"1!"    i     B 

ha     n  majned   wiili  thai   p it!   il 

the    I .-I    Elci n       unl  il    thi 

time,     'ili    Ferris  hi      ■■ hi 

i  ii  i ,    -  ompi  ;  i"  '     and   ai  qi n 

In    integi  ii  i   and  te  j 


ELECTRIC  LIGHTING 

William   Bu  ibj    ha     l ranted 

i  in       foi     in   clcctrii  lighl     -  te I  lugo,    I     I 

l  he    Will  Creel     I  la  ti  ii    In  hi   and    Powi  i    I  

|.:,iu  is  in  put  iii  a  lighting  planl  al  Mill  '  reek, 
I.   T. 

Mr,   I  in.. I. ■'.    i      arcastic      In  i li    ■  i  tation 

he  refers  to  "iir  electhrii  lighl  thai  ebbs  an' 
flows." 

The   Winnficld    Electric    Lighl    and    Powei    l     m 

p.-mv    has    been    granted    a    ir.un  hisi     i I    

operate  an  elcclnc-light  and  powi  i  planl  in  Winn- 
field,   La. 

Suit  of  the   Ml    Sterling   U  ati  i    and   Lighl   

puny  against  the  city  of  Mi.  Sterling,  Ky .  has 
been  compromised  I  In-  company  will  pay  all  costs 
and  will  install  a  new  plant  and  put  in  new  street 
lights. 

The  election  to  vote  bonds  for  the  construi  tion 
..I  waterworks  and  electric-light  plant  in  Stroud, 
Okla.,  resulted  in  an  almost  unanimous  vote  for  the 
bonds.  The  water  and  light  plant  will  be  operated 
In    the  city. 

The  property  of  the  Mobile  Electric  Company, 
which  does  the  electric  lighting  in  Mobile,  Ala.,  is 
.ml  to  have  been  bought  by  Charles  II.  Daws  and 
associates  of  Chicago.  The  consideration  is  given 
as   $1,500,000. 

The  Holton  Electric  Company  of  El  Centra,  Cal., 
recently  concluded  the  purchase  of  new  electrical 
equipment  consisting  of  Allis-Chalmers  induction 
motors,  transformers  of  the  oil-tilled  water-cooled 
type  and  transformers  of  the  self-cooled  type. 

A    franchise    for    an    electric    street-railway    and 
lighting  plant   in   Hopkinsville,   Ky.,   has   been   sold 
10  H.  M.  Dalton.     Work  is  to  begin  on  the  system 
within    go   days,    and    five    miles   of    track   must   be- 
completed  and  in  actual  operation  within  one  year. 

The  Memphis  Electric  Company  of  Memphis, 
Tenn.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $5, coo  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  and  operating 
an  electric-light  plant.  The  incorporators  are  W. 
S.  Counsell,  Fred  Clayton,  T.  O.  Isele  and  H.  H. 
Bonner. 

Ed  L.  Mealy  of  Red  Lake  Falls,  Minn.,  is  about 
to  install  an  electric-light  plant  at  Red  Lake  Falls, 
where  he  has  a  waterpower  site  capable  of  devel- 
oping 3. coo  horsepower.  Current  will  be  trans- 
mitted to  Grand  Forks,  N.  D.,  for  light  and  power 
purposes. 

A  company  has  been  incorporated  for  the  pur- 
pose of  supplying  an  efficient  electric-light  and 
power  system  for  Murray,  Utah,  and  adjacent  sub- 
urbs, and  also  to  supply  consumers  in  Salt  Lake 
City.  M.  M.  Murray  is  president  and  F.  M.  Lyman. 
Jr.,  secretary. 

Bids  will  be  received  until  February  21st  for 
the  construction  of  a  complete  water  system  and 
an  electric-light  plant  in  Gunnison,  Colo.,  including 
all  necessary  buildings.  Plans  are  on  file  at  the 
office  of  John  Huddart  of  Gunnison  and  at  41 
Bank    Block,    Denver,    Colo. 

Sealed  bids  will  be  received  until  February  19th 
for  furnishing  all  materials,  tools  and  labor  neces- 
sary to  install  a  complete  water  and  light  plant 
in  Jackson,  Mo.  Plans  and  specifications  are  on 
file  with  the  city  clerk  of  Jackson,  Mo.,  and  Hiram 
Phillips,  consulting  engineer,  615  Frisco  Building, 
St.    Louis. 

At  Decatur.  111.,  a  new  city  electrician  has  been 
appointed  and  the  change,  it  is  reported,  has  re- 
sulted in  considerably  raising  the  standard  for  wir- 
ing. The  local  inspector  desires  that  National  Code 
requirements  be  complied  with  in  every  particular. 
The  newly  appointed  superintendent  of  the  lighting 
company    is    co-operating   with    the    inspector. 

The  Merchants'  Electric  Heat  and  Light  Com- 
pany of  York,  Pa.,  has  been  awarded  the  contract 
for  lighting  the  borough  of  North  York  for  the 
ensuing  year.  The  cost  of  each  light  will  be  11 
cents  per  night,  or  three  cents  less  on  each  light 
than  the  borough  is  at  present  paying.  There  were 
only  two  bids  for  the  contract  considered,  the 
other  being  from  the  Edison  Electric  Light  Com- 
pany. 

The  Belle  Fourche  Electric  Light,  Heat  and 
Power  Company  of  Belle  Fourche,  S.  D.,  recently 
placed  orders  for  extensive  new  equipment  for  its 
plant.  The  new  machinery,  to  be  furnished  by  the 
Allis-Chalmers  Company,  will  consist  of  a  16  by  42- 
inch  heavy  duty  Reymolds  Corliss  engine,  adapted 
for  right-hand  drive,  two  new  66  by  16-foot  Chand- 
ler &  Taylor  boilers,  duplex  feed  pumps,  feed-water 
heater,  etc.  The  new  engine  will  be  belted  to  a 
counter  shaft  to  drive  a  150-kilowatt  alternator,  the 
load    being    practically    all    lighting.      Mr.    A.    A. 


WESTERN     ELECTRIi 

Power  .unl    U  ..1 

W'uli     u5 
..1    thai    .1".,    1 

1I1.    utilitj 

Duluth 

1 
with  a  1  - 

I   li.       ■■■       : 
1    

' pan;  mpany  will  reduce  the  bonded 

il.  1.1    11.  i 

1     in    adopting 

\    1 ■ 

intended   For 

f"i-    Captain    Bei  I  In-    method 

1  ibed  in   i"i.'  1  ...l.l  combina 

linn.      A    windmill    operating    when    tin-    win 

inits  corn] 

■  ni   inn.  a  tor,  win.  h  in  iiirn  operate:  a  dynamo. 

1  I-.  1 1 H  ni    e.  nerated    by    the    dynamo    1 
accumulator.      Finally    the    accumulator     fi 
current    for  the   lamp 

I  In-  Empire  Elei  trii    Powei   and   Supplj   1  ompany 
..I'   Carthage,    Mo.,   has    increased   its   capital    stuck 
from  $10,000  tn  $25,000,   and   will   enlarge 
ness   accordingly.    The  company  will  equip  ti 
erate  u  3  own  electric  power  and  w  ill 
lion  with  the  Southwesl    Hi     mri    Elecl        ' 
Company,    from    which    11    now    secures    it-   current. 
Eight   thousand    dollars'   worth   of   new    machinery 
is  to  be   installed,   including  a   iso-horsepower   nat- 
ural-gas engine.     With  the  new  equipment  the  com 
pany    will    be    able    to    handle    all    the    business    that 
Carthage    and    vicinity   can    afford. 

■The  contract  for  lighting  the  courthouse  in  Seat- 
tle, Wash.,  has  been  let  to  the  Seattle  Electric  Com- 
pany fur  the  ensuing  year.  The  rate  granted  is 
said  to  be  perhaps  the  lowest  ever  offered  for 
similar  lighting  in  the  Northwest — >"j  cents  per  kilo- 
watt-hour. The  Scattle-Tacoma  Power  Company 
also  hid  on  the  lighting.  The  lowest  figures  of 
this  company  were  three  cents  a  kilowatt-hour, 
or  a  minimum  of  $130  per  mouth,  or  a  Hat  rate 
of  $144.50.  The  flat  rate  offered  by  the  Seattle- 
Electric  Company,  which  was  not  accepted,  was 
$1,200  a  year,  based  on  a  maximum  demand  foi 
30  horsepower,  and  $40  per  additional  horsepower. 
The  courthouse  has  been  lighted  for  several  years 
with  gas.  Some  time  ago  the  old  electric  wiring 
was  condemned,  and  the  commissioners  had  the 
building  rewired.  This  work  was  done  by  the 
Seattle  Electric  Company  for  $i,oco.  P.  J.  Smith. 
chairman  of  the  hoard,  said  that  the  gas  has  been 
costing  $250  a  month,  besides  eight  to  10  cents  a 
kilowatt  for  electric  lights  in  the  vaults.  He  ex- 
pects to  save  the  cost  of  wiring  the  building  in 
one  year.     About  300  lights  will  be  used. 


ELECTRIC  RAILWAYS 

The  charter  for  the  Corinth  and  Shiloh  Electric 
Railway  Company  has  been  issued.  This  company- 
proposes  to  construct  and  operate  an  electric  rail- 
way through  the  streets  at  Corinth,  Miss.,  and  on 
to  the  Tennessee  River,  touching  at  a  point  near 
the  Shiloh  National  Park,  at  or  near  Pittsburg 
Landing. 

The  big  new  car  barns  of  the,  Canton-New-  Phil- 
adelphia electric  road,  located  at  Canal  Dover.  Ohio, 
were  completely  destroyed  by  fire  a  few  days  ago. 
The  loss  is  estimated  at  $100,000,  with  about  $60,000 
insurance.  Ten  of  the  70-foot  interurban  cars  were 
in  the  building  and  were  destroyed.  The  sub-sta- 
tion was   also  damaged. 

The  Central  Pennsylvania  Traction  Company  of 
Harrisburg,  Pa.,  recently  contracted  for  three 
Reynolds  horizontal  heavy  duty  cross-compound 
engines,  with,  cylinders  22  by  48  inches  in  diameter 
and  42-inch  stroke,  for  direct  connection  to  three 
650-kilowatt  railway-type  generators,  600  volts. 
Both  engines  and  generators  will  be  furnished  by 
the  Allis-Chalmers  Company  of  Milwaukee. 

It  is  reported  in  Austin,  Texas,  that  an  organi- 
zation has  been  formed  among  Texas  men  with  a 
large  capital  for  the  purpose  of  controlling  most 
of  the  street  railways  in  the  state  and  for  the 
further  purpose  of  constructing  something  like  700 
miles  of  electric  interurban  lines  connecting  Dal- 
las, Sherman,  Denison,  Fort  Worth.  Cleburne, 
Waco  and  Austin  and  many  other  smaller  Texas 
towns.  It  is  also  rumored  that  the  syndicate  will 
undertake  the  construction  of  the  interurban  con- 
necting Austin  and  Lockhart.  The  syndicate  at 
the  present  time  is  said  to  control  something  like 
2,500  miles  of  electric  lines  in  the  different  cities 
of  the  state,  and  now  the  plans  are  to  connect  these 


■■ 

upon  (I 

earning 

1  ■ 

lectric- 
tramway 

by   Franco-Belg 

line  will  be  transformi 

1   per   cent,    of    it    doub 
tried  apparatus  will  1. 
lured    in    Paris    by    the    Thoi 
Further    information    can    In-    secured    from 
-lire  the  Grccl  mpany. 

Electric     cars     have     replaa  ins     on 

Twelfth    Street   in   Kansas   City.    Mo.    The 
of    '.he    Twelfth    Street    line    mark-    the    en.! 
cable   as  the   motive   power   for   street-cat   | 
.   with   tiie   exception   of  ti 
down   tin-  incline  and  in   the   West    i: 
Within   the  comparatively   'hurt   limi 
electricity   as    a    motive    power    has    tnken    th 
of  the   cable,   which   at   that   time   pulled  practically 
treet  car  in  Kansas  City  up  the  steep 

The  City    I  Atlantic  City,  in  granting  an 

entrance  into  the  city  of  the  Atlantic  City  an  I  - 
Railroad,  which  is  to  electrify  and  operate  th  - 
ers    Point    division    of     the    V  Railroad, 

stipulated  that  the  franchise  should  he  limit 
30  years.  At  the  end  of  the  term  the  company  is 
10  pay  a  fixed  lax  lor  each  foot  of  the  public  high- 
way  used,  t-.  abolish  grade  d — ii  gs  when  the  coun- 
cil so  directs,  teal  the  cars  and  p 
lighting  and  pave  and  maintain  the  street  where 
used. 

The    Merchants'   and    Businc!  is  ciation 

f  West  Chester,  Pa.,  believes  that  the  regular 
transportation    of    freight    over    trolley    lines 

prove  beneficial   to  the  commercial  and  agricultural 
interests   of    the    community,   as    well    as   the   entire 

state,  and  declares  itself  to  he  desirous  of  legisla- 
tion which  will  grant  to  trolley  companies  the  right 
to  conduct  such  business.  The  association 
the  governor  and  representatives  to  use  every"  en- 
deavor to  secure  the  prompt  enactment  of  such  leg- 
islation. 

From  many  localities  come  expressions  that  the 
continued   mild    weather  something 

bonanza    for   electric   railways.     Operating   <. -. 
are  kept  down  to  almost  the  summer  basis.     There 
has   been    no   call    for   the    snow   plows,   and    tracks 
have  been  clear  without  interruption  in  many 
The  mild  weather  has  stimulated  iraffic.     The  month 
of   January    in    many    quarters    has    witnessed    none 
of   the    difficulties    oi   operation    usual    at   that    time 
of  the  year,  and  it  is  estimated  that  the  ear;-     . 
January   will    prove   a    surprise.. 

The  Manila  1  P.  I.'i  Electric  Railway  Company. 
which  obtained  its  franchise  in  1003.  and 
its  line  in  April.  IQ05.  has  now  40  miles  of 
in  operation  and  some  additional  mileage  under 
construction.  The  earnings  oi  the  property  have 
more  than  fulfilled  expectations.  When  the  Philip- 
pines passed  to  American  control  Manila,  although 
about  the  same  size  as  New  Orleans  or  Washington. 
D.  C.  had  a  horse-car  line  only  13  miles  long, 
operating  two  dozen  diminutive  cars  seating  eight 
to  12  persons  each.  This  inadequate  service  made 
necessary  the  use  of  the  native  cabs — "carromatas" 
and  "calesas" — of  which  there  were  in  Manila  at 
the  time  of  the  building  of  the  Manila  street  rail- 
way upward  of  10.000. 

A  serious  accident  occurred  to  the  plant  of  the 
Bloomingtou.  Pontiac  and  Joliet  (III.)  single-phase 
interurban  railway  on  January  25th.  the  flywheel 
oi  the  engine  bursting  and  completely  wrecking 
the  engine  besides  doing  other  damage.  This  plant 
it  will  be  remembered,  was  described  in  the  West- 
ern Electrician  of  March  25.1905.    The  railway  gen- 


1 30 

erating  apparatus  was  located  in  the  plant  of  the 
Pontiac  Light  and  Water  Company  and  consisted 
of  a  5co-horsepower  engine  belted  to  the  railway 
generator.  Damage  done,  outside  of  that  to  the 
engine,  was  not  great,  and  no  one  was  hurt.  There 
were  four  panels  broken  in  the  switchboard  and 
two  or  three  holes  made  in  the  building.  A  new 
engine  is  being  installed,  and,  with  no  unforeseen 
delay,  the  plant  will  be  in  operation  again  by 
February   ioth.     The  total   loss  was   about  $5,000. 


POWER  TRANSMISSION. 

E.  E.  Carpenter  of  Beloit,  Wis.,  has  a  proposi- 
tion under  consideration  for  the  operation  of  an 
electric  railway  from  Sioux  City,  Iowa,  to  Sioux 
Falls,  S.  D.,  and  to  furnish  light  to  the  various 
stations  along  the  line.  His  proposition  is  to  utilize 
the  waters  of  the  Big  Sioux  River  for  the  gener- 
ating of  electricity.  Mr.  Carpenter  has  already  se- 
cured control  of  the  waterpower  and  mill  at  Can- 
ton,   S.    D.. 

J.  E.  Russell  of  San  Francisco  is  said  to  have 
submitted  a  proposition  to  supply  San  Francisco 
with  water  and  electrical  energy,  to  be  secured 
from  the  American  River  near  Auburn.  Mr.  Rus- 
sell's property  has  reservoir  sites,  which  he  says 
could  be  developed  to  solve  San  Francisco's  water 
problem,  and  besides  have  enough  for  developing 
electrical  energy  for  use  in  the  city.  A  power 
plant  and  reservoir  could  be  built  for  $500,000,  he 
says. 

A  large  and  complete  power  equipment  consist- 
ing of  eight  3,000-kilowatt  waterwheej-type  alter- 
nators, with  a  complement  of  transformers,  ex- 
citers and  switchboards  was  recently  ordered  by 
the  Southern  Power  Company  of  Charlotte,  N.  C. 
This  is  said  to  be  the  largest  contract  for  elec- 
trical apparatus  placed  in  the  South  for  some 
years.  The  Southern  Power  Company's  plant  be- 
ing situated  in  the  midst  of  the  cotton-mill  district, 
will  open  up  opportunities  for  the  use  of  electric 
drive  by  the  surrounding  cotton  mills  and  other 
industrial  plants  which  have  heretofore  been  im- 
possible because  of  the  lack  of  cheap  electric  power 
in  that  vicinity.  The  company  has  full  assurance 
that  the  cotton  mills  and  other  industries  in  the 
adjoining  territory  will  make  liberal  use  of  the 
cheap  power  thus  placed  at  their  disposal.  The 
Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company 
will   furnish  the  equipment. 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

The  application  of  electricity  to  the  mining  indus- 
try are  many  and  varied,  and  the  appliances  which 
this  company  manufactures  cover  a  large  part  of 
the  held.  Prominent  among  the  things  described 
in  the  bulletin  are  Jeffrey  mining  and  gathering 
locomotives.  There  are  also  various  types  of  coal- 
cutting  and  shearing  apparatus,  power-plant  appa- 
ratus,   drills,    etc. 

That  the  "Proof  of  the  pudding  is  in  the  eating" 
everyone  knows.  The  old  adage  is  hit  upon  in  a 
happy  manner  by  James  L.  Robertson  &  Sons  of 
New  York  in  a  folder  they  have  just  issued  on 
Provin  the  Puddin'."  The  proof  of  Eureka 
packing  lies  in  the  enviable  reputation  which  it  has 
built  up  for  itself  since  its  introduction  to  the  trade 
about  ''waist  deep  in  the  seventies."  The  folder 
says:  Play  ignorance  and  ask  any  reliable  engi- 
neer the  name  of  the  best  soft  piston-rod  packing 
on  the  market— perhaps  one  in  a  thousand  will  give 
some  other  name  than  Eureka." 

Electric  fans  are  now  considered  necessary  de- 
vices for  all  seasons  of  the  year;  therefore  the  fan- 
motor  catalogue  is  apropos  in  summer  or  winter 
1  wo  admirable  examples  of  catalogues  of  this  class 
come  from  the  Emerson  Electric  Manufacturing 
Company  of  St.  Louis,  one  devoted  to  the  Troian 
tan  motors  for  1906  and  the  other  to  1906  models 
in  general.  Desk,  bracket,  column  and  ceiling  fans 
are  included  in  the  Trojan  class,  and  there  are 
also  described  in  the  catalogue  devoted  to  this  type 
some  artistic  combination  ceiling  fans  and  incan- 
descent-lamp fixtures.  The.  other  catalogue  is  de- 
voted to  various  types  of  alternating-current  fan 
motors  for  high  and  low  frequency;  also  a  line  of 
exhaust  fans.  Both  catalogues  are  handsome  in 
appearance,  and  the  descriptive  matter  is  well  pre- 
nared. 


February  10,   1 906 


PUBLICATIONS. 

The  National  X-ray  Reflector  Company  of  Chi- 
cago is  sending  out  a  folder  which  describes  its 
"poke  bonnet"   reflectors  and  illustrates  their  use. 

Machinery  manufactured  by  the  flour-mill  de- 
partment of  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company  of  Mil- 
waukee is  fully  described  in  a  new  bulletin  enti- 
tled  "Allis   Roller  Mills." 

Bulletin  No.  1409  of  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company 
describes  McDougall  roasting  furnaces  and  shows 
some  very  interesting  illustrations  of  a  plant  in 
operation  equipped  with  these  furnaces., 

Pass  &  Seymour  of  Solvay,  N.  Y.,  came  to  the 
front  during  the  Electrical  Show  held  in  Chicago 
with  a  handsomely  embossed  calendar  which  they 
distributed.  The  calendar  represents  the  beautiful 
painting  "Determination,"  by  Goldschrader,  and  is 
a  work   of  art. 

A  page  in  the  January  issue  of  Wesel's  Message 
to  Printers,  published  by  the  F.  Wesel  Manufac- 
turing Company  of  Brookyn,  N.  Y.,  is  devoted  to 
electric  welded  chases.  It  is  asserted  that  these 
chases  are  always  true,  do  not  break  at  the  corners, 
and  will  stand  more  strain  without  deterioration 
than    any   other   kind. 

The  Pittsburg  Transformer  Companv  of  Pitts- 
burg, Pa.,  manufactures  a  line  of  annealing  fur- 
naces which  arc  described  in  a  leaflet  now  being 
distributed.  Another  welcome  piece  of  advertising 
literature  which  it  is  sending  out  at  the  same  time 
is  the  February  number  of  its  series  of  monthly 
calendars,  the  reputation  of  which  was  made  many 
moons   ago. 

The  A.  D.  Granger  Company  of  New  York  city 
has  issued  a  new  bulletin  descriptive,  in  a  general 
way,  of  what  the  company  is  prepared  to  do.  in  the 
way  of  the  construction  of  complete  power  plants. 
A  large  part  of  the  company's  business  is  the  exe- 
cution of  complete  contracts  under  the  specifications 
and  supervision  of  consulting  engineers,  its  field 
being  entirely  that  of  a  contractor  and  not  a  con- 
sulting   engineer. 

The  latest  advertising  novelty  produced  by  W.  H 
Schott,  engineer,  Chicago,  is  an  elaboration  upon 
the  handsome  design  printed  on  the  back  cover  of 
the  New  Year's  number  of  the  Western  Electrician. 
The  space  within  the  arch  has  been  supplied  with 
a  woman  of  striking  figure  pointing  to  the  inscrip- 
tions above  which  tell  of  the  advantages  claimed 
for  the  Schott  system  for  central-station  heating 
plants.     The  whole  forms  an  attractive  wall  hanger. 

Interesting  descriptive  and  pictorial  matter  con- 
cerning the  application  of  electricity  to  mining  is 
characteristic  of  bulletin  No.  11,  issued  by  the  Jef- 
frey   Manufacturing    Company    of    Columbus,    Ohio. 


SOCIETIES  AND  SCHOOLS. 

The  St.  Louis  Electrical  Contractors'  Association 
held  its  regular  meeting  recently.  The  following- 
named  officers  were  elected:  President,  R  H  Rob- 
inson; vice-president,  I.  Elkas ;  secretary,  Edward 
I.  Cooke;  treasurer,  S.  A.  Van  Noort;  serjeant- 
at-arms,  Emil  Haas;  directors,  C.  F.  Smith  "F  B 
Adam,    R.    H.   Robinson   and    S.   A.   Van   Noort. 

The  National  Electrical  Contractors'  Association 
of  the  United  States  will  hold  its  next  convention 
in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  on  July  18th.  Special  trains 
and  rates  from  both  the  east  and  west  will  be 
arranged.  Alex.  Henderson,  26  Cortlandt  Street. 
New  York  city,  is  master  of  transportation.  In- 
formation concerning  hotel  accommodations,  etc 
can  be  obtained  from  him. 

President  James  of  the  University  of  Illinois  has 
announced  the  establishment  at  Urbana  of  a  new 
school  of  railway  engineering  and  administration 
It  will  be  opened  for  work  in  September  of  this 
year.  The  problems  of  construction  and  mainte- 
nance of  way  will  be  treated  in  one  division  The 
subject  of  power  and  its  application  and  ail  that 
is  ordinarily  included  in  mechanical  and  electrical 
engineering  will  be  treated  in  another  division.  The 
problems  of  operation,  of  organization,  of  financier- 
ing, rate  making,  and  everything  which  has  to  do 
with  the  actual  formation  and  management  of  a 
railway  company  will  be  treated  in  a  third  division. 


at  the  offices  of  the  latter  company  in  New  York 
rhe  new  acquisition  will  be  paid  for  from  the  pro- 
ceed;, ot  the  issue  of  $5,500,000  worth  of  stock  of 
the  American  Light  and  Traction  Company,  which 
was  recently  authorized  and  offered  to  stockholders 
at   par. 

The  newspapers  have  another  of  those  marvelous 
electrical  items  that  frequently  appear.  Harrv 
Howse  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  is  said  to  have  contrived 
a  simple  electrical  device,  which,  applied  to  hens' 
roosts  at  night,  so  stimulates  and  strengthens  the 
egg-bearing  functions  of  hens  that  each  one  lays 
an  egg  a  day  regularly.  Mr.  Howse  calls  his  in- 
vention the  eggometer— admirable  name !— and  it  is 
said  to  have  accomplished  the  desired  results  in 
practical  tests  at  Petoskey,  Mich.  The  apparatus 
with  a  battery,  is  attached  to  the  roosts  (not  to 
the  rooster),  and  an  electric  current  is  passed 
through    the   bodies   of  the   hens   at   night. 

Electrically  driven  mine  haulage,  electric  light 
and  the  use  of  electric  power  tools  for  mining 
coal  is  every  day  becoming  a  more  and  more 
familiar  sight  throughout  the  coal-mining  areas 
1  he  latest  instance  of  this  kind  is  the  installation 
of  a  new  equipment  for  the  McKell  Coal  and  Coke 
Company  of  Glen  Jean,  W.  Va.,  at  is  properties 
at  Kilsyth,  W.  Va.  The  new  equipment  will  con- 
sist of  a  26  by  42-inch  heavy-duty  Allis-Chalmers 
engine  and  generator  unit,  500-kilowatt,  25  cycles 
with  switchboard,  lightning  arrester,  rotary 'con- 
verter and  transformer  equipment  complete  The 
plant  at  Kilsyth  and  the  sub-stations  are  expected 
to  be  ready  for  operation  in  April. 

A  new  transportation  problem  was  recently  pre- 
sented to  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company,  Milwaukee 
in  the  form  of  a  large  engine  bed  plate  weighing 
approximately  80  tons  and  forming  part  of  till 
blowing  engine  purchased  some  time  ago  for  the 
Carnegie  Steel  Company's  plant  at  Sharon,  Pa 
J  he  weight  of  this  casting  alone  is  several  thou- 
sand pounds  greater  than  the  maximum  capacity 
of  the  heaviest  cars  available.  To  carry  these 
heavy  pieces  orders  have  been  placed  for  two  16-  ' 
wheel  flat  cars  with  a  capacity  of  100  tons  each, 
the  first  of  their  kind  in  existence.  They  will 
measure  41  feet  in  length,  or  more  than  10  feet 
onger  than  the  older  standard,  with  bolsters  not 
ess  than  six  feet  from  the  ends.  They  will  be 
built  as  low  as  practicable  in  order  to  furnish  all 
u  e  clearance   room  necessary. 


TRADE  NEWS 

The  Ford  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company 
?,,.  bL  Jr,ouls.  "as  changed  its  name  to  the  Ford- 
UJiver   Electric  and    Manufacturing   Company. 

James    R.    Hemphill    of    the    Colonial  Sign    and 

insulator  Company  has  left  for  Cuba  to  look  after 

the  company's  growing  interests  there  in  porcelain - 
sign  letters. 


The  Badger  Electric  Company  of  Green 
Wis.,  has  been  dissolved.  J.  P.  Nugent  ha 
tired  from  the  firm  and  the  business  will  be 
turned  by  Len.   A.  LeClair. 


Bay, 


TELEGRAPH. 

A  bronze  statuette  of  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  said 
to  be  an  excellent  likeness,  the  work  of  an  un- 
known sculptor,  has  been  presented  by  the  Dutchess 
County  Society  to  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of 
Art,  New--York,  through  its  director,  Sir  Caspar 
Purdon  Clarke,  to  be  placed  among  the  collection 
of  original  Morse  telegraphic  instruments.  The 
statuette,  believed  to  be  of  French  origin  was  dis- 
covered by  William  F.  Kanerberg  in  the  cellar  of 
a  London  art  dealer,  where  it  had  lain  for  20 
years,  having  belonged  to  the  estate  of  an  English 
nobleman. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 

r-  ?■  B>,  Miner  0W11S  a  lar§e  farm  near  Oriskany 
falls,  N.  Y.  The  Oriskany  Creek  passes  thmnoh 
the  property,  and  Mr.  Miner  utilizes  the  water- 
power  to  generate  electricity  for  light,  heat  and 
power  purposes  on  the  farm.  Mr.  Miner  gets  15 
to  18  horsepower  from  the  creek,  and  the  plant  is 
said  to  be  working  well. 

In  Philadelphia  the  merchants  of  Chestnut  Street 
have  adopted  a  new  means  of  advertising.  Phono- 
graphs are  placed  beneath  the  sidewalk,  and  from 
the  coal-hole  gratings  the  records  grind  out  in  loud 
tones  tempting  bargain  offers.  Many  pedestrians 
stop  in  wonderment  and  investigate  the  sounds  com- 
ing from  beneath  their  feet. 

Reports  that  the  new  Central  Heating  Company 
of  Milwaukee,  which  has  secured  a  franchise  from 
the  council,  will  receive  its  steam  from  the  Mil- 
waukee Electric  Railway  and  Light  Company,  have 
been  confirmed  both  by  President  Beggs  of  the 
street-railway  company  and  officials  of  the  heating 
concern.  This  will  obviate  the  necessity  of  the 
latter  company   building  a   plant. 

The  purchase  of  the  Detroit  (Mich.")  City  Gas 
Company  for  $5,500,000  by  the  American  Light  and 
Traction   Company  was  announced   a   few   days  ago 


Hie  Cherokee  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany of  Cherokee,  Okla.,  has  been  incorporated  with 
a  capital  stock  of  $25,000.  J.  W.  Howard,  A  J 
Henderson,  W.  R.  Ross  and  E.  J.  Dixon  are  among 
lue    incorporators. 

In  manufacturing  development  Japan  is  making 
progress  111  production  of  iron,  steel,  electric-light 
appliances,  wire,  rails  and  cars,  cotton  goods,  and 
in  a  great  variety  and  diversity  of  lines.  The  de- 
velopment will  be  especially  marked  in  all  lines  that 
require  delicate   and   artistic  handiwork. 

■  Th,e  i!;Port  of  J°hn  T-  Beggs,  trustee  of  the  Na- 
tional Electric  Company  of  Milwaukee,  dated  De- 
cember 31,  1905,  places  the  total  assets  of  the  plant 
at  $4,987,949.44  and  the  liabilities  at  $4,69 5  800  ?i 
leaving  a  surplus  of  $292,149.23.  This  represents 
a  gam  over  the  surplus  as  reported  October  1st 
°f  $1,543-66,  although  there  has  been  a  decrease  in 
the  amount  of  cash   on   hand   of  $S,467.S6. 

Under  date  of  February  1st  the  Varley  Duplex 
-Magnet  Company  of  Providence,  R.  I  issues  a 
circular  notice  which  reads  as  follows-  "The 
American  Electrical  Works  will  discontinue  the 
manufacture  of  our  patented  windings  on  Monday 
next,  February  5th.  The  Acme  Wire  Company, 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  our  new  licensee,  is  prepared 
to  promptly  and  properly  take  care  of  all  business 
entrusted    to   it. 

If  paper  can  be  made  from  wood,  why  not  make 
wood  from  paper?— at  least  some  product  which 
wil  take  the  place  of  wood.  This  question  the 
Vulcalose  Company  of  Chicago  believes  that  it  has 
answered  satisfactorily  in  the  affirmative  This 
company  expects  to  manufacture  from  waste  paper 
by  a  special  process  a  material  which  will  be  in 
every  way  the  equal  of  wood  for  building  purpose^ 
and  it  owns  the  United  States  and  foreign  patent's 
on  the  process.  The  artificial  "wood,"  it  is  said  will 
not   warp,   split,   crack   or   be   affected   by  heat,'  cold 

Wilbur  H.Traver,  formerly  connected  with  the 
kand  Drill  Company  for  a  period  of  12  years,  as 
manager  of  the   Chicago  territory  until  the  consoli- 


February   to,   1906 

dation  ol   the   Ingi  i  oil   and    r  mci   n 

whii  li    time    lie    wa     managei    ol    thi    i  lilroad    tie 
pari  in-  hi,    wiili   headquarter     mi    Chicago 
,  ..   ed     hi      '  onncction     with     tin      Ingi  i  oil  Rand 
<  lompany   and    aci  cpted     ei  ,  ii  •     v  ith    thi    Chii  igo 
Pncumatii    Tool  Company  as  manager  of  thi 
inn    ami    contrai  i    di  pai  tmi  nl        ai      ["ravci     « ill 
-l.  \ otc    his    time   and    attention    prim  ipall 
.sale    of   air    i p .    roi  1     di  ill     and 

iii.m  him  iy. 

I  he   imporl  i    into   the    I  niti  'I    !  Itati      ha  i     prai 

li>.    doubled    in    value    in    thi     lasl     

I  he   total   value  of  imporl  .  a      ho  ■  n   bj    tl 

partmcnl    of    i  ommc 'I     Laboi .    throui 

Bui  ■  i i     Stati  in   .    tva      in    thi     calcndai 

n;i)5,  $1,179,000,000,  and   in  the  call  ndai 
seven  years  earlier,  was  bul  $635,000,000      1 

nir     ,ii   [898  included,  of  coui  e,  men  handi  

Porto  Iv'1"  and  Hawaii,  which  arc  now  cu  torn 
di  tricl     ol   the   United   States.     If   the   value  of   the 

merchandise    brought    from    those    isl Is    in    1005 

I"    acldi  d,    the   grand    total    would   l»    $1,23 1,000,000, 
or   practicallj    twice   as   great    in   value   as   thai    1 
[898. 

The     Chicago     Fuse     Wire    and     Manufacturing 

1  1  mpanj    of  {  hicag 1  ed   to  its  office   on    Feb 

ruary  isl  to  1711  South  Clinton  Street,  where  it  is 
now  located  with  the  new  factory  recently  >  tab 
lished.  I  Ins  was  done  in  order  to  furnish  more 
easily  the  western  and  southern  trade  with  well- 
known  specialties  such  as  fuse  wire,  fuse  strip, 
fuse  links,  Union  enclosed  fuses.  Union  switch 
boxes,  etc.,  and  will  insure  prompt  shipments. 
\V.  \V.  Merrill,  who  has  been  connected  with  the 
business  for  the  hist  12  years  and  in  the  capacity 
of  western  manager  for  a  number  of  years,  remains 
in  charge,  He  is  also  interested  in  the  company 
as  stockholder  and  director. 

A  good  plan  has  been  adopted  by  some  central 
.stations  which  results  in  much  benefit  to  themselves 
and  to  manufacturing  concerns.  It  is  to  place  on 
the  companies'  letterheads  printed  data  concerning 
their  plants,  such,  for  instance,  as  the  kind  of 
current  used,  voltage,  phase  and  cycles,  whether 
there  is  a  day  circuit,  kind  of  incandescent-lamp 
t>ase  used,  etc.  This  information  greatly  helps  the 
supply  house  to  which  a  letter  is  written,  as  the 
writer  may  fail  to  state  certain  important  facts^ 
concerning  his  plant  which  may  be  ascertained  by 
consulting  the  letterhead.  In  many  cases  this 
printed  letterhead  would  save  the  purchaser  time 
and  annoyance  in  making  explanations  by  mail  or 
telegraph.  The  idea  is  advocated  by  the  Wesco 
Supply  Company  of   St.   Louis. 

Important  changes  have  been  recently  made  by 
the  Le  Valley  Vitas  Carbon  Brush  Company  of 
New  York  city  both  in  the  factory  and  in  the 
-office  organization.     This  company  built  up  a   large 


WESTERN     l-.l.l.'  'II'IHAN 


1 

[  the  1 

woman  )•>  conduct  thi 

mpany. 

I  he  1  ii.ii.ii   ' 
Februai 
1  1  11     bu   1   1 
which    v 
February  1 1.  »oos,  it    old  building  or 

bul   he 

porary  quarto 

old   stamping  ground, 
'Now   that    ■.'■• 
tied,   and    thi    1 

thing    "i    thi     1 .1  I,   w  make 

amend  1   for  anj    im  on  1 

tu  ed    you,   and   shall    appreciate    having   you   call 
and   inspeel   our   facilitii        V\  il 
proximating   So.coo  I  lent  that 

includi      evei  .    modi  rn  1    facilitate    the 

proper    and    prompt    handling    of    business,    and    a 

i"'  I     "i    g I     -  ompli  t      "    every    detail.    11 

odds  of  no  one,  and   are   starting   out    i"   make   a 
new   record  for  the  quick  shipment  of 

Progres,  on  the  construction  on  the  $3,000,000 
extension!  to  the  V\  1  1  Vlli  W  !  ol  he  Allis- 
Chalmers  Company,  in  spite  of  delays  of  various 
kinds,  is  steadily  advancing.  Some  idea  1 
usual  si/.-  of  the  new  slructure.  which  will  bring 
the  total  floor  space  for  the  entire  plant  10  1.513,- 
000  square  feet,  may  be  gathered  from  the  bill  of 
material  used  in  construction.  Some  of  the  largi  i 
individual  orders  ever  placed  by  a  Milwauki 
cern  have  been  given  for  material  used  in  the  build- 
ing operations.  Nineteen  thousand  barrels  of  Port- 
land cement  will  be  required  for  the  concrete  work  : 
785,000  feet  of  roof  sheathing  will  help  cover  the 
works,  and  850,000  feet  of  yellow  pine  and  white 
oak  will  support  the  huge  weight  of  structures 
and  equipment.  Even  the  scaffold  lumber  used  only 
temporarily  during  construction  will  aggregate  10.- 
800  pieces.  Over  y/2  acres  of  wire  glass  v.  ill  be 
used  in  skylights  and  windows,  while  the  weight 
of  new  equipment  for  the  interior  of  machine  shops 
will    aggregate   3,080    tons. 

Trade  of  the  United  States  with  Russia,  includ- 
ing the  Asiatic  part,  during  the  fiscal  year  1005, 
as  shown  by  the  records  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics, 


'3' 


■ 


the 


BUSINESS 
Emil    R     II 

ntal  work  of  I 

An   appropri 

king    line    w 

Show 
Company.     It 
ally     cooked     cookie* 
neatly  packed  in  a  tin  box. 

The  Westinghousc  Electric  and  Manufacturing 
Cbmpan;  I    an    order    from    the    United 

Railways    and    Elcctrii 
[00  No.  toi-B  four-motor  equipments,  complete  with 

ils.     'Ibis    is    in    addition    to   a    recent   order 
for  200  motors  "i  tin 

The  Electric  Storage  Battery  Company  has  be- 
gun a  suit  against  the  Universal  Storage  Battery 
Company  for  damages  to  the  amount  of  $50,000 
for    alleged    infringement    of    the    Ki 

ttery  Company. 
Suit  has  been  brought  in  Wilmington.  Del.,  the 
Universal  company  being  a  Delaware  o>r|v  11 

The  Butterfield  Construction  Company  of  Chi- 
cago, well  known  as  contractor  for  underground 
conduit  and  underground  and  aerial  cable  work, 
announces  that  it  is  continuing  its  business  as  in 
the  past,  with  Mr.  H.  E.  Butterfield  as  pr 
succeeding  Mr.  J.  F.  Butterfield,  whose  death  was 
recorded  in  the  Western  Electrician  last  Septem- 
ber. This  company  has  a  good  reputation  in  the 
line  of  work  which  it  makes  its  specialty,  and  it  is 
its  intention  to  keep  up  to  the  standard  in  every- 
way. 


ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 


810,912.  Automatic  Non-interfering  Repeater  for 
Fire-alarm  Circuits.  Frederick  W.  Cole,  New- 
ton,   Mass.     Application   filed   January   31,    1905. 

Street  circuits,  each  embracing  a  magnet  and  a  mov- 
ing device  which  controls  means  for  repeating  the  sig- 
nal over  the  circuits,  contain  mechanically  controlled  lock- 
ing devices,  the  moving  devices  being  normally  unlocked. 
Means  actuated  by  each  impulse  received  lock  out  all  of 
the  moving  devices  in  the  normal  position  when  a  moving 
device  is  in  abnormal  position. 


3io,QT4.  Protective  Apparatus.  Frank  B.  Cook, 
Chicago,  111.     Application  filed  December  4,  1903. 

An  electric  protective  device  embodies  a  thimble  adapted 
to  grasp  the  device  and  normally  hold  it  in  a  fixed  posi- 
tion, means  adapted  to  engage  the  device  and  tending  to 
operate  it,  the  operation  of  the  device  causing  a  circuit 
to^  be  controlled,  and  means  adapted  to  move  the  device 
within   the    thimble    to    operative    position    after    operation. 

Sio,9i5.  Automatic  Cut-out  Mechanism  for  Elec- 
trically Operated  Bulkhead  Doors.  William  B. 
Cowles,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  assignor  to  the  ''Long 
Arm"  System  Company,  Cleveland,  Ohio.  Ap- 
plication filed  July  11,   1904. 


against  the  spring  when  the  load  1 


Issued  (United  States  Patent  Office)  January  jo, 

the    gearing    exceeds    a    predetermined    limit.       A    cut-01 
switch    controlled   by    the    yielding  of  the  arm   against   tl 
spring  cuts  off  the  current  from  the  motor. 
810,929.     Storage     Battery.      William     Fennell     an 

William    P.    Perry,    Leytonstone,    England. 

plication   filed   March    17,    1904. 

In    an    electric    accumulator    arc    a    honeycombed 
an   active   material    on    the    exposed    surfaces   of  the 

and    unobstructed    passageways    formed    therein   beside: 
interstices  of  the  mass  for  the  egress  of  gas. 


Ap- 


311,226.  — L 


;;htning   arrkster. 


810.930.  Storage  Battery.  William  Fennell  and 
William  P.  Pern;,  Leytonstone,  England.  Ap- 
plication  filed   March   6.    I9Q5- 

An  electrode  comprised  of  a  non-conducting  mass  in- 
soluble in  electrolyte  is  pierced  in  more  than  one  direc- 
tion with  inter-communicating  passages,  the  walls  of  the 
passages  being  lined  with  active  material. 

810.931.  Alarm  for  Incubators.  Willard  S.  Free- 
man, St.  Cloud,  Minn.  Application  filed  May 
6,    1905. 

An  electric  alarm  bell  controlled  by  a  thermostat  is 
arranged  to  ring  when  the  temperature  in  the  incubator 
passes  a  predetermined  point. 

810,958.  End-cell  Switch.  Lamar  Lyndon.  New 
York,  N.  Y-,  assignor  to  the  General  Storage 
Battery  Company,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Applica- 
tion   filed    October    17,    1904. 


Combined    with    the    end    cells   of  a    storage   battery 
reversible   charging   means   having  a  switch   brush,  circi 
and  connections   for  automatically  controlling   the  charging 
means    in    accordance    with    the    electric    condition    of    the 
end  cells,  whereby  the  brush  is  moved  in  either  direction. 
and    means    for    automatically    determining    the    position    of 
the    brush    in    accordance    with    the    electric    cot:.; 
the   end  cells.      (See  cut.) 

810,963.     Electric      Igniter.     Homer     X.     M 

Pendleton.  Ind..  assignor  to  the  Motsinger  De- 
vice Manufacturing  Company.  Pendleton.  Ind. 
Application    filed    May   3r,    1904. 

Details  are  described. 

81 1,020  Telephone  for  Ships.  Mines,  etc.  Arthur 
F.  Boardman,  Somerville,  Mass..  assignor  to 
the  Electric  Gas  Lighting  Company.  Boston. 
Mass.     Application    filed    April    10,    1905. 

The    device   embodies  a  compact   telephone  scl  enclosed 
m  a  moisture-proof  case. 

Si  1,037.  Danger  Signal.  William  C.  Creveling,  St. 
Louis,  Mo.     Application  riled  December  S.   1904. 

A  car  provided  with  a  lamp  circuit  carries  also  a  stor- 
age battery.  A  storage-battery  circuit,  a  signal,  a  signal 
circuit,  a  switch  for  throwing  the  storage  liatterv  circuit 
into  the  lamp  circuit  and  for  including  the  signal  circuit 
in  the  storage-battery  circuit  and  a  separate  cut- 
breaking  the  storage-battery  circuit  when  the  switch  is  in 
position  to  include  the  storage-ba ttery-  circuit  in  I 
circuit   :ire   other  essential    features. 

St  1.052.  Telephone  Call.  Peter  T.  Geverman, 
Brewster.  Minn.  Application  filed  March  14. 
1905- 


Selective   ringing  mechani: 
;  described  in  the  patent. 


tagncto-tcle phone  set 


Si  1.057.     Electric    Sign.     Carl    Haller.  Chicago,  111. 
Application   filed  April  29,   1905. 

In  an  electric  sign  are  a  foundation  plate,  letter  outline 
and  shells  consisting  of  strips  of  sheet  metal  ben: 
outline,  the  rear  edge  of  each  strip  being  bent  to  form  a 
flange  for  attachment  to  the  foundation  plate  and  the 
front  edge  of  the  strip  being  beaded  over  for  st:nr.css. 
Lamp  sockets  are  secured  to  the  foundation  plate. 

Sii,05S.     Electric    Sign.     Carl    Haller,    Chicago,    111. 
Application   filed   April  29,    1905. 

t-raetal  shell  forms  the  outline  of  a  letter,  and 
a  diaphragm  extends  from  wall  to  wall  of  the  shell,  the 
shell  having  a  ridge  formed  therein  between  the  fr  at 
and  back  edges  for  supporting  the  diaphragm. 


132 

8i  1,059.  Electric  Sign.  Carl  Haller,  Chicago,  111. 
Application  filed  April  29,  1905. 

A  sheet-metal  shell  forms  the  outline  of  a  letter  and 
has  a  ridge  formed  between  its  front  and  rear  edges.  A 
diaphragm  is  adapted  to  fit  within  the  shell  and  lie  against 
the  ridge  therein    and  carry  lamp   sockets, 

811,064.  Air  Brake.  Edwin  T.  Hughes,  Gladstone, 
Colo.,  assignor  of  one-fourth  to  Vincent  J. 
O'Brien,  one-fourth  to  Willis  Z.  Kinney  and 
one-fourth  to  James  M.  Rogers,  Silverton,  Colo. 
Application  filed  October  9,   1905. 

Electromagnetic  devices  operate  the  valve  of  the  exhaust 
passage  leading  to  the  triple  valve  in  which  the  air  pres- 
sure  is   sometimes  reduced. 

811,083.  Annunciator.  Halvor  M.  Olsen,  Chicago, 
111.,  assignor  to  the  American  Electric  Tele- 
phone Company,  Chicago,  111.  Application  filed 
May   16,   1901. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


to  expose  the  face  of  the  target.  The  curvature  of'  the 
cover  corresponds  to  the  arc  described  bv  the  forward  end 
or  face  of  the  target,  and  an  armature  is  arranged  to 
raise  the  forward  end  of  the  target. 

811,088.  Electric  Drying  and  Ironing  Apparatus. 
George  W.  Richardson,  Wissahickon,  Pa.,  as- 
signor of  one-half  to  Stephen  T.  Major,  Nor- 
ristown,   Pa.     Application   filed   March  28,    1905. 

Drying  and  ironing  mechanism  comprises  a  number  of 
rollers  coacting  to  press  and  dry  material  passed  there- 
through, each  of  the  rollers  comprising  a  brass  ironing 
cylinder,  a  resistance  coil  therein,  bearings  for  the  rollers, 
a  conductor  connected  to  and  revolving  with  each  of  the 
rollers,  means  for  insulating  each  of  the  conductors  from 
the  respective  cylinders  and  bearings  and  a  brush  making 
contact  with  each  of  the  conductors  in  combination  with 
a  casing  having  end  walls  disposed  between  the  ironing 
cylinders  and  brushes.      (See  cut.) 

811,098.  Telephone  Transmitter.  Michael  Setter, 
Chicago,  111.,  assignor  to  the  American  Electric 
Telephone  Company,  Chicago,  111.  Application 
filed  December  30,   1904. 

A  telephone  transmitter  comprises  a  front  plate  com- 
posed of  two  sheet-metal  parts  pressed  into  the  desired 
shapes  and  rigidly  secured  together,  one  of  the  parts  hav- 


ing an  internally  threaded  boss.     A 


uthpic 


into    the   boss,    a    diaphragm    having    its    marginal    portions 
resting    against   the    other    sheet-metal    part.      A    bridge    is 

diaphragm  1 

of  the  sheet-metal  part  to  which  the  bridge 

a    microphone    device    connecting    the    diaphragm    to    the 

811,105.  Railway  Signaling.  Samuel  D.  Strohm, 
Philadelphia,  Pa.  Application  filed  August  29, 
1891. 

A  railway  having  station  electromagnetic  devices  is  pro- 
vided with  contact  plates  and  circuit  connections,  a  sema- 
phore, electromagnetic  devices  for  setting  the  semaphore 
to  one  position,  separate  locking  mechanism  for  holding 
the  semaphore  in  position  and  electromagnetic  devices  for 
releasing  the  locking  devices  for  returning  the  semaphore 
to  normal  position,  the  electromagnetic  locking  and  releas- 
ing devices  being  included  in  the  circuits  of  the  station 
electro: 


811,127.  Telegraphy  and  Telegraph  Apparatus. 
John  Burry,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  of 
one-half  to  James  E.  Munson,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Application  filed  October  7,   1893. 

The  combination  consists  of  a  series  of  members  from 
which  one  is  to  be  selected,  a  series  of  selectors  deter- 
mining the  member  to  be  selected,  a  magnet  controlling 
the  selectors  according  to  the  impulses  received  and  means 
for  sending  impulses  to  the  magnet  varying  in  combination 
with  periods  of  rest  according  to  the  member  to  be 
selected. 

311,137.  Electric  Riveter.  Samuel  S.  Eveland, 
Philadelphia,  Pa.  Application  filed  September 
13,    1904. 

An    electric  riveter  is  provided   with  an  electrode,    con- 
stituting   a    header,    means    for    rotating    the    electrode    to 
localize  the    heating  effect  at  the  end  of  a  rivet,  an  elec- 
support    for    the    rivet    and    devices 
to    head  up 


for  causing   the  electrodes   to    approach 
the  hot  end  of  the  rivet. 


811.153.  Trolley  Pole.  John  E.  Lagergren,  New 
York,   N.   Y.     Application  filed   May  25,   1905. 

A  base,  a  spring-pressed  pole  mounted  thereon,  an  auto- 
matic friction  lock  or  clutch  mechanism  whereby  the 
pole  is  normally  locked  in  relation  to  the  base,  a  movable 
trolley  head  and  means  actuated  bv  the  trolley  head 
whereby  pressure  on  the  head  will  "release  the  lock  or 
clutch  are   the  patentable  features. 

811.154.  Dynamo-electric  Machine.  Pierre  A.  J. 
Lapeyrade,  Paris,  France.  Application  filed 
February   8,    1904. 

Details  are  described. 
811,161.     Incandescent-lamp    Socket.     Norman    Mar- 
shall,   Newton,    Mass.     Application    filed    March 
31,    1904. 

A  casing  for  incandescent-lamp  sockets  consists  of  a 
telescoping  shell  and  cap  of  sheet  metal,  one  or  more 
radially  extending  integral  cylindrical  lugs  on  one  part 
internally  screw  threaded  to  receive  body  holding  screws 
and  a  slot  or  slots  in  the  other  part  co-operating  with  the 
lugs  to  hold  the  parts  of  the  casing  together. 

811,186.  Cleat  and  Socket.  Charles  M.  Wake  and 
Charles  F.  Fralick,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation filed  April   14,   1905. 


Combined  with  a  two-part  cleat  are  a  socket  carried 
by  one  side  of  the  cleat,  terminals  arranged  in  the 
socket  and  a  pair  of  weatherproof  rings,  one  of  which 
lies  between  one  of  the  terminals  and  the  wall  of  the 
socket,   and   the   other  of  which   encircles  the   socket. 

811,200.     Electric  Lighter     and     Extinguisher     for 

Gas    Burners.  Oreste    Candi    and    Cesar   Candi, 

Genoa,  Italy.  Application  filed  November  17, 
1904. 

A  device  operated  by  electromagnets  operates  to  turn 
the  gas  of  a  gas  burner  on  or  off,  a  sparking  mechanism 
lighting  the  gas. 

811,226.  Lightning  Arrester.  Walter  C.  Jones,  Chi- 
cago, 111.,  assignor  to  the  Garton-Daniels  Com- 
pany, Keokuk,  Iowa.  Application  filed  Decem- 
ber   7,    1901. 

^In    a    lightning    arrester    are    two    continuous   paths    for 
'  jtance   arranged    in   one    of 
and  a   resistance    arranged 
in   preceding  page.) 

811,231.  Alternating-current  Motor.'  Benjamin  G. 
Lamme,  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  assignor  to  the  West- 
inghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company, 
Pittsburg,   Pa.     Application   filed  June  30,    1904. 

Combined  with  a  source  of  multiphase  electrical  energy 
is  a  motor  having  a  field-magnet  winding  supplied  from 
the  source  with  current  of  one  phase  and  an  armature 
winding  supplied  from  the  source  with  current  of  a  dif- 
ferent phase.  Field-magnet  pole  pieces  are  provided  with 
slots  parallel  to  the  armature  axis,  a  neutralizing  winding 
being  located  in  the  slots  and  connected  in  series  with  the 
armature  winding.  Plates  of  low-resistance  conducting 
material  are  located  in  the   interpolar  spaces. 

811,238.  Signal.  Karl  Moller,  Charlottenburg, 
Germany,  assignor  to  the  General  Electric  Com- 
pany, Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  June 
12,    1905. 

A  solenoid  is  adapted  to  shift  the  signal  and  has  two 
windings.  A  local  circuit  comprises  one  of  the  windings 
and  a  local  source  of  current.  A  control  circuit  includes 
the  other  winding  and  a  distant  control  station.  Means 
controlled  from  the  station  close  the  local  circuit,  and 
means  controlled  by  the  movement  of  the  signal  open  the 
local  circuit. 

811.247.  Electrically  Operated  Typewriter.  Willis 
J.  Roussel,  New  Orleans,  La.,  assignor  of  one- 
eighth  to  Alphonse  King,  Chicago,  111.  Appli- 
cation filed  March  28,  1903.  Renewed  July  29, 
1504. 

Combined  with  a  motor  is  a  shaft  operated  by  the  motor. 
A  type-wheel  is  loosely  mounted  upon  the  shaft  with 
means  for  locking  the  wheel  to  the  shaft.  Teeth  upon 
the  wheel,  a  pawl  normally  engaging  one  of  the  teeth,  a 
magnet  and  an  armature  for  the  magnet,  the  armature 
being  connected  to  and  adapted  to  operate  the  pawl  and 
locking  means  complete  the  apparatus.      (See  cut.) 

811.248.  Magnetic  Needle.  George  N.  Saegmuller, 
Rochester,  N.  Y,  assignor  to  Bausch,  Lomb, 
Saegmuller  Company,  Rochester,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation  filed  August  24,    1905. 

A  magnetic  needle  comprises  an  elongated  substantially- 
tubular  body  having  a  bearing,  the  walls  of  the  body  being 
magnetized.  A  post-receiving  opening  is  alined  with  the 
bearing. 

811.249.  Governing  Mechanism  for  Elastic-fluid 
Turbines.  Frederick  Samuelson,  Rugby,  Eng- 
land, assignor  to  the  General  Electric  Company, 
Schenectady,     N.    Y.     Application    filed    March 

1005- 


In 


governing  mechanism    for    an   elastic-fluid    turbine 
number  of   discharge  passages    having    different   ca- 
pacities,   individual    valves    for    controlling   the   passage    of 
1    an    electrical    means    for  effecting 
of    the    valves    to    compensate    for 


fluid  therethrough 
:  combi  ' 
loads  on  the  turbin 


811,253.  Socket  for  Incandescent  Electric  Lamps. 
Albert  P.  Seymour,  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  assignor 
to  Pass  &  Seymour,  Incorporated,  Solvay,  N.  Y. 
Application   filed   January   30,    1905. 

An  inclosing  shell  of  an  incandescent-lamp  socket  is 
described. 

811,265.  Protection  Against  Reversal  of  Energy. 
Leonard"  Wilson,  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  assignor  to 
the  Stanley  Electric  Manufacturing  Company, 
Pittsfield,  Mass.     Application  filed  May  2,   1904. 

In  combination  with  a  main  alternating-current  circuit 
are  a  local  circuit  in  which  the  current  varies  in  phase 
with  variation  of  phase  of  the  current  in  the  main  circuit, 
a  commutator  in  the  local  circuit  rotating  synchronously 
with  the  cycles  of  the  electromotive  force  of  the  main 
circuit,  a  device  having  relatively  movable  members,  one 
of  the  members  being  energized  by  the  commutated  cur- 
rent in  the  local  circuit  and  the  other  member  being  ener- 
gized by  a  constant  flux,  and  a  switch  in  the  main  circuit 
controlled  by  the  device. 

811,277.  Electromagnet.  Fred  B.  Corey,  Schenec- 
tady, N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General  Electric 
Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
July    15,    1904. 

Associated  with  a  number  of  devices  to  be  moved  are 
a  magnet  winding,  a  lever  arranged  to  be  actuated  thereby, 
dogs  earned  by  the  lever  and  adapted  to  engage  the  de- 
vices, means  for  holding  the  dogs  normally  out  of  en- 
gagement with  the  devices  and  selector  magnets  adapted 
and  arranged  to  move  the  dogs  selectively  into  engage- 
ment with  the  devices. 

811,284.  Electric  Race  Track.  Thomas  F.  Gaynor, 
New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Electric 
Amusement  Company.  Application  filed  March 
14,    1905- 

Electrical  features  of  an  amusement  device  are  the 
basis  of  this  patent. 

811,304.  Alternating-current  Machine.  Marius  C. 
Latour,  Paris,  France,  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation  filed  June  25,    1904. 

In  an  alternating-current  machine  are  a  multipolar 
field  magnet,  a  wave-armature  winding,  a  commutator  com- 
posed of  alternate  live  and  dead  segments  and  brushes 
of  each  polarity  distributed  around  the  commutator, 
the  width  of  a  brush  being  not  greater  than  that  of  a  seg 


February  10,   1906 

811,312.  Dynamo-electric  Machinery.  John  H.  St. 
Hill  Mawdsley,  Taunton,  England.  Application 
filed  November  30,  1903. 

Dynamo-electric  machines  of  the  type  described  have 
magnetizing  coils,  each  surrounding  a  pole  niece  placed 
with  their  sides  in  the  neutral  zones  and  close  to  their 
armatures  and  at  or  about  the  middle  of  the  interpolar 
spaces    of    contiguous    poles    and    spaced    away    from    the 

811,323.  Electric  Meter.  Edwin  H.  Porter  and 
Burleigh  Currier,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  Application 
filed   June    17,    1904. 

The  electric  meter  has  a  crystalline-stone  bearing,  the 
meter  spindle  having  an  end  of  similar  crystalline  stone 
engaging  the  bearing. 

811,340.     Attachment   for  Electric  Controllers.     Fer- 
dinand   Volk.    Pittsburg,    Pa.     Application    filed 
September    12,    1005. 
Mechanical  features  of  a  controller  are  described. 

811,405.  Electric  Motor.  Paul  Jigouzo,  Vanves, 
France.     Application    filed    October    18,    1904. 

A  device  for  automatically  and  progressively  starting 
monophase  or  polyphase  motors  with  a  rotating  field,  in 
which  the  current  is  induced  in  the  armature  by  short 
circuiting  its  coils,  embodies  an  armature  of  conducting 
rings  adapted,  when  connected,  to  short  circuit  the  arma- 
ture. A  series  of  flexible  bars  or  conductors,  supported 
adjacent  to  the  rings,  are  adapted  when  the  motor  is 
started  to  be  pressed  against  one  of  the  rings  by  cen- 
trifugal action  to  electrically  connect  them  and  thus  short 


,247. ELECTRICALLY    OPERATED    TYPEWRITER. 

811,415.  Regulation  of  Electric  Motors.  Johan  G. 
V.  Lang,  London,  England,  assignor  of  one- 
half  to  Edward  Hibberd  Johnson,  London,  Eng- 
land.    Application  filed  June  28,    1904. 

Regenerative  motor-controlling  means  employs  the  main 
controller  cylinder  and  the  field-change  ctlindcr,'  and  mean* 
whereby  the  field-change  cylinder  will  automatically  change 
the  motor  from  its  compound  or  shunt  condition  to  its 
series  condition,  whenever  the  regenerated  current  of 
the  motor,  while  in  its  compound  or  regenerative  condi- 
tion,  falls  below  a  predetermined  value. 

811,435.  Telegraph  or  Telephone  Pole.  James  M. 
Perdue,  Matthews,  Ga.  Application  filed  July 
11,    1905. 

Mechanical  features  of  a  three-legged  steel  telephone 
or  telegraph  pole  are  set  forth. 

811,442.  Dental  and  Surgical  Lamp.  Clarence  F. 
Rodgers,  Conneaut,  Ohio.  Application  filed 
February   24,    1905. 

A  small  incandescent  lamp  with  special  reflector  for 
use   in   dental  or  surgical  work  is  described. 

811,519.  Electric  Switch  for  Street  Railways, 
James  A.  Posey,  Midlothian.  Texas,  assignor 
to  the  Posey  Automatic  Switching  Company. 
Application   filed    March    14,    1905. 

Electrical  devices  are  so  arranged  in  the  apparatus  that 
the  motorman  upon  a  passing  car  can  cause  either  lever 
ot    the    switch-moving   mechanism    to    be    actuated   at    will. 

PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Following  is  a  list  of  electrical  patents  (issued 
by  the  United  States  Patent  Office)  that  expired 
on    February   5,    1906: 

379,109.  Switch  and  Cut-out  for  Electric  Light  and  Other 
Electrical    Devices.      O.    S.    Bussmann,    Somerville,    Mass. 

397,111.     Galvanic    Battery.      E.   J.    Colbv,    Chicago,    111. 

397,116.      Galvanic    Battery.      C.    E.    Egan,    Columbus,    O. 

397,176.  Telephone  or  Analogous  Electric  System.  A.  B. 
Ferdinand,   Oshkosh,  Wis. 

397,194-  Multiple-signal  Transmitter.  M.  Martin,  Maiden, 
Mass. 

397,218.      Insulating  Pipe  Coupling.     S.  Bergmann,  New  York, 

397,235.      Method'  of    Forming    Secondary-battery    Electrodes. 

B.    M.    Hunter,    Philadelphia,  Pa. 
397,260.     Electric    Stop    Valve.      R.    Wellens.    Pittsburg,    Pa. 
397.270.     Electric  Railway  Signal.     A.  Z.  Boda,  Columbus,  O. 
397,284.     lekphone    Call    Box.      A.    Griffith.    S,„-iuetieId,    and 

H.    A.    Burbank,    Westfield,    Mass. 
397,300.      Electric-wire  conduit.      W.    B.   Mack,  Boston.   Mass. 
397,331-      telephone    Circuit   and    Apparatus.      T.    A.    Barrett, 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
397,364.      Electric    Communicating  System.      A.    G.  Holcombe, 

New  York,    N.   Y. 
397,38s-      Cable    or    Electric    Street    Railway.      YV.    S.    Phelps, 

San  Francisco,  Cal. 
397,392.      Armature    for    Dynamo-electric    Machines.       O.     B. 

Shallenberger,   Rochester,    N.   Y. 
397,4,;?'      Appara<us     for     Purifying     Sewage     bv     Electricity. 

W.    Webster,   Jr.,  Lee   Park,   Lee,   County  of  Kent,   Eng- 

397,418.      Protector    for    Electrical    Instruments.      T.    E.    Cran- 

dall,    Washington,    D.    C. 
397,424-      Connection    of    Electrical     Circuits.       W.     W     Cris- 
com      Haveford     College,     and     H.     N.     Weidner,  '  Phila- 
delphia,   Pa. 
397,439-      Dynamo-electric    Machine    and    Motor.      F.    T.    Pat- 
ten, New  York,   N.    Y. 
397,443-      Secondary    Battery.      W.    A.    Shaw,    Brooklyn     N     Y 
397,461.      Electric   Convenor.      L.    Gutmann,    Fori    Wayne    Ind 
397,466.     Printing   Telegraph.      A.    T.    McCoy,    Boston,    Mass. 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


Vol.  XXXVIII. 


CHK     GO,  FEB!  <:■  1906 


The  Newest  Branch  Telephone  Ex- 
change In  Chicago. 
Among  the  many  brani  h  -  1  hangc  oi  thi  I  hi 
cago  Telephone  Company,  the  new  Humboldt  Ex- 
change, located  on  Western  Avenue,  near  North 
Avenue,  is  one  of  the  finest,  both  in  an  hiti  1  tural 
design  and   in  equipment,     ii    was  opened  early   in 

December,    and    is    fitted    with    the    latest    ty| 

telephone  apparatus,  to 
pn speed  and  accu- 
racy of  service.  In  cutting 
in  this  office  many  of  the 
subscribers  of  West  Ex- 
change were  transferred  to 
Humboldt,  making,  all  told, 
about  2,300  incoming  lines 
as   the    present    equipment. 

Built  in  colonial  style,  of 
chocolate-colored  brick,  the 
building  presents  a  pleasing 
appearance,  as  sh  0  w  n  in 
Fig.  3.  It  is  a  two-story 
and  basement  fireproof 
structure,  the  interior  being 
finished  entirely  in  Flemish 
oak,  with  the  exception  of 
the  main  operating  room 
(Fig.  1),  where  mahogany 
is  used,  to  conform  to  the 
woodwork  of  the  switch- 
boards. 

The  first  floor  is  devoted 
to  the  distributing  frames 
and  power-plant  room  (Fig. 
2)  and  to  a  clubroom  used 
by  the  maintenance  depart- 
ment of  the  company  as  a 
gathering  place  for  one  of 
its  technical  clubs.  There 
are  now  four  of  these  clubs 
in  different  sections  of  the 
city,  where  those  employes 
wdio  are  interested  in  the 
technical  or  maintenance 
departments  of  telephone 
work  meet  from  time  to 
time  and  discuss  questions 
bearing  upon  their  work. 

On  the  second  floor  of 
the  building  are  located  the 
switchboard  room,  a  lunch 
room  for  the  operators 
(wdiere  appetizing  food  and 
drink  are  furnished  them 
free  of  cost)  and  a  com- 
fortable and  well-lighted 
rest  room,  where  the  oper- 
ators may  comfortably  en- 
joy intervals  of  rest  during 
the  periods  they  are  off 
duty  during  the  morning 
and    afternoon. 

Fig.  4  is  a  view  in  the 
rest  room.  In  the  treat- 
ment of  the  furnishings 
and  decorations  of  this 
room  the  Mission  type  pre- 
dominates. The  lighting 
fixtures  are  of  wrought 
iron  of  special  design.  The 
south  outlook  is  upon  the 
garden  at  the  rear  of  the 
exchange,  which  is  cared 
for    by    the    operators 

themselves.  Books  and  the  current  periodicals  are 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  operators.  In  the 
adjoining  portion  of  the  room,  and  separated  from 
it    by    screens,    is   the    lunch    room. 

In  the  basement  is  located  the  heating  plant, 
which  is  the  hot-water  system;  also  the  storage 
battery,  which  is  placed  in  a  separate  and  well- 
ventilated  compartment,  so  that  there  is  no  annoy- 
ance from  the  fumes  arising  frorh  it.  The  rest 
of  the  basement  space  is  used  for  storage  purposes. 
Taking  up  the  telephone  equioment  of  the  ex- 
change, it  is  simplest  to  follow  it  from  the  en- 
trance of  the  cables  to  the  switchboard.  The  tele- 
phone conductors  are  brought  into  the  building 
from    underground    conduits    through    lead-covered 


ii Ii  ctoi  ributing 

1 1 I 

II!     I    I"      2  I   I  1 

rai  I.     are     loi  iti  d     bai  I 
shown    in    thi     1 

1  able     p thi      ntcrmed 

switchboard 


ch beard  and  Chief  Oper: 


changes.  This  part  of  the  work  is  all  standard, 
with  the  exception  of  the  method  of  running  the 
cables  between  the  frames.  Instead  of  running 
them  all  in  one  large  chute,  as  is  commonly  prac- 
ticed, the  cables  are  run  in  a  number  of  small 
groups  from  one  frame  to  the  other,  it  being 
thought  that  by  this  method  the  cables  might  be 
more  easily  installed,  and  the  sapce  above  the 
frame  would  not  be  used  for  other  purposes  any- 
way. The  frames  themselves  are  also  arranged  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  allow  of  their  growth  in  either 
direction. 

Another  feature  of  the  cable  work  which  may  be 
pointed  out,  is  the  running  of  the  cables  to  the 
terminal  blocks  on  the  distributing  frame  vertically 


eral   ten 

the   (rami  n  only. 

Ic  for 

wall 

with  ' 

plicate 
motoi 

.  ng    the    batter., 
duplicate    ringing  ma 

of    the    ringing    ma- 

duction    motor,    which    rc- 
urrent   from  the 
,   and   the 
■  quipped    with    a 
direct-current  motor,  which 
may    lie    connected    to    the 
storage    battery.     The    mo- 
tor-generators for  charging 
the  batteries  are  ordinarily 
driven    by    Edison    current, 
but    are    arranged    so    that 
either    may    be    driven    by 
1—  ,       a  gas  engine,  which  is  held 

V   ~  I       in      reserve.      By     the     ar- 

rangement described  it  may 
be  seen  that  only  under  the 
most  extraordinary  circum- 
stances could  the  ringing 
or  battery  current  be  in- 
terrupted. The  power 
switchboard  is  shown 
prominently  in  Fig.  2. 

Coming  to  the  tele- 
phone switchboard  equip- 
ment, there  is  not  a  great 
deal  to  differentiate  it  from 
the  standard  Bell  apparatus 
which  has  been  thoroughly 
described  in  previous  arti- 
cles in  the  Western  Elec- 
trician. As  shown  in  Fig. 
1.  there  are  six  eight-panel 
sections,  or  the 
"A"  board  and  three  trunk 
sections,  or  the  "B"  boards 
arranged  on  three  sides  of 
the  operating  room.  One 
the  trunk  board 
is  used  as  a  "hospital*1  sec- 
tion. The  -  ions 
among  the  largest  built  by 
the  Western  Electric  Com- 
pany and  have  an  ultimate 
capacity  of  q.Oco  stations. 
They  have  three  positions 
each  and  are  equipped  with 
standard    apparatus. 

In  the  installation  of  ex- 
changes of  this  type  a 
question  of  policy  arises. 
as  to  the  trunking  of  calls 
from  the  "A"  board  to  the 
"B"  board,  and  the  use  of 
multiple  jacks  in  the  for- 
mer. Obviously,  if  all  calls  originating  in  an  ex- 
change were  destined  for  subscribers  whose  lines 
terminate  in  that  exchange  the  use  of  trunk  lines 
would  be  unnecessary  and  no  "B"  or  trunk  board 
would  be  needed.  On  the  other  hand,  if  all  calls 
originating  in  an  exchange  were  destined  for  sub- 
scribers in  another  exchange,  trunk  lines  would  be  " 
used  exclusively  for  completing  the  desired  c 

I  no  multiple  would  be  required.  It  is  equally 
clear,  too,  that  somewhere  between  there  would  be  a 
certain  value  to  the  proportion  between  trunk  calls 
and  calls  which  might  be  completed  directly  at 
which  it  would  be  equally  as  economical  to  use 
multiple  on  the  "A"  board  for  completing  con- 
nections   local    to    that    particular    exchange    as    to 


134 

complete  those  calls  through  the  trunk  board. 
There  are  various  determining  factors  in  this  prob- 
lem which  must  be  considered  in  detail  before  the 
method  to  be  adopted  is  determined  upon.  In  mak- 
ing local  connections  through  the  use  of  multiple 
jacks  there  is  the  great  initial  cost  of  the  multiple 
to  be  considered.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  local 
connections  are  all  to  be  made  through  the  medium 
of  the  "B"  board  there  must  be  considered  the 
greater  number  of  operators  that  will  be  required, 
the   extra    cost   of   "B"   board    equipment,    etc. 

After  taking  all  things  into  consideration,  the 
method  adopted  at  the  Humboldt  Exchange  is  to 
complete    all    calls    through    the    trunk    board,    both 


local  and  those  destined  for  other  exchanges  in 
the  city.  The  proportion  between  the  number  of 
calls  which  could  be  handled  exclusively  by  Hum- 
boldt and  those  which  would  require  trunking 
to  other  offices  was  estimated  to  be  such  that  this 
plan  seemed  the  more  feasible.  Therefore  there  are 
no  "A"  board  multiples.  In  addition  to  other  ad- 
vantages this  method  insures  greater  accuracy  in 
making   connections. 

One  of  the  circuits,  which  is  comparatively  new, 
is  shown  in  Fig.  5  and  is  the  one  used  in  the  10- 
party-line  trunk  positions.  A  close  study  of  this 
circuit  will  show  that  the  ringing  of  the  subscriber 
is  done  by  a  special  commutator,  on  the  regular 
office  ringing  machine.  All  calls  for  10-party  sub- 
scribers, whether  from  the  local  office  or  from 
an  outside  office,  are  trunked  direct  to  these  posi- 
tions. The  subscriber's  lines  terminate  in  a  special 
multiple  on  two  jacks,  the  tip  and  ring  of  one 
being  reversed.  The  ringing  key  has  five  buttons, 
each  button  being  connected  to  one  of  five  com- 
mutator rings.  Each  revolution  of  the  commutator 
gives  one,  two,  three,  four  or  five  impulses  be- 
tween the  pick  up  and  the  trip  segments.  The 
pickup   relay   in    the   cord   circuit   must    close   before 


FIG.    4.       OPERATORS     REST   ROOM  IN  HUMBOLDT    EXCHANGE. 

the  ringing  impulse  is  given  over  the  line.  This 
prevents  starting  the  ring  at  the  wrong  time  and 
calling  the  wrong  party.  The  operator  only  has 
to  press  the  button  corresponding  to  the  last  figure 
of  the  called  number,  and  the  machine  in  connec- 
tion with  the  pickup  relay  rings  the  proper  station. 
As  soon  as  the  commutator  has  completed  one  rev- 
olution a  trip  relay  operates  and  automatically  cuts 
off  the  source  of  the  ringing  current.  This  method 
gives  a  uniform  and  positive  ring  to  all  subscribers, 
and  is  a  great   improvement   over   the  manual   key. 

Keyless  trunks  were  installed  in  this  office  at  the 
beginning,  which  makes  Humboldt  the  first  office 
in  the  system  to  put  in  this  equipment  as  a  part 
of  its  original  plant.  Other  offices  have  installed 
this  system  at  various  times  by  tearing  out  oLl 
equipment. 

The  new  office  is  in  the  western  division  of  the 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

telephone  company  and  under  the  management  of 
Mr.  R.  W.  Sullivan,  whose  office  is  located  at 
West  Exchange.  Mrs.  M.  Regan  is  the  chief  op- 
erator and  has  from  her  desk  a  direct  line  to  the 
manager's  office,  so  that  he  is  practically  in  as 
close  touch  with  Humboldt  as  if  he  were  there  all 
the    time. 


How  May  Niagara  Falls  Best  Serve  the 
Interests  of  Mankind? 

By  Orrin  E.  Dvnlap. 
Twenty-five  years  ago  the  world  was  wondering 
if  ever  a  plan  would  be  discovered  whereby  the 
immense  power  of  the  Falls  of  Niagara  couid  be 
developed  for  the  use  of  mankind.  The  hydraulic 
canal  flowed  through  the  then  village  of  Niagara 
Falls,  but  the  power  de\?lopmewt  connected  with  it 
had  not  commanded  very  great  attention,  as  there 
were  only  a  few  mills  using  the  power  along  the 
high  bank  of  the  lower  river.  The  plan  of  the 
late  Thomas  Evershed  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  for 
the  construction  of  a  wheel-pit  and  tunnel  tail- 
race  was  presented  for  the  consideration  of  capital, 
and  on  October  4,  1890,  ground  was  broken  by  the 
Niagara  Falls  Power  Company  for  the  first  de- 
velopment of  this  kind  at  Niagara.  The  progress 
made  in  electric  science  was  the  incentive,  and  the 
hope  was  great  that  electric  power  might  be  trans- 
mitted many  miles  successfully.  The  Niagara  Falls 
Hydraulic   Power  and  Manufacturing  Company  felt 


February   17,   1906 


He  sentiment,  wisely  or  foolishly  created,  seemingly 
demands  a  stoppage  along  these  lines  of  progress. 
The  public  health  is  not  menaced;  lives  are  not 
being  lost;  morals  are  not  being  corrupted;  the 
welfare  of  the  country  is  not  threatened,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  every  horsepower  developed  adds  to 
the  industrial  glory  of  the  United  States  or  the 
Dominion  of  Canada.  If  quantity  means  cheapness, 
as  it  does  with  many  things  that  are  sold,  every 
additional  horsepower  would-be  an  intimation  of 
greater  good  to  a  greater  number,  either  by  per- 
sonal application  and  use  or  through  labor  de- 
veloped in  manufacturing  plants.  More  important 
than  all  these,  however,  appears  to  be  the  public 
desire  to  feast  its  eyes  on  the  scenic  spectacle  of 
the  great  flood  of  waters  dropping  from  one  level 
to  another  at  Niagara.  History  shows  that  won- 
derful and  remarkable  waves  of  sentiment  have 
swept  across  the  American  Continent,  recorded  by 
the  votes  at  national  elections  and  in  other  ways, 
that  serve  to  indicate  how  people  are  stirred.  Res- 
olutions passed,  from  Maine  to  California,  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Falls  of  Niagara  demonstrate 
that  a  similar  wave  has  agitated  the  feelings  and 
sentiments  of  many  people.  Many  who  have  viewed 
the  cataract  of  Niagara  have  written  of  its  "sub- 
limit3r,"  have  pictured  its  ''grandeur"  and  have  re- 
lated its  "imprcssiveness,"  or  told  of  its  "awe- 
inspiring''  features.  Its  "tranquility"  and  "horrors" 
have  been  portrayed  in  verse  and  prose,  while  its 
"awful"  and  "chaotic"  manner  have  found  admirers 


FIG.    5.       CORD    CIRCUIT 

the  approach  of  the  electrical  era,  and  began  the 
erection  of  a  power  station  at  the  water's  edge  in 
the  gorge.  Sitting  in  London,  England,  the  Inter- 
national Niagara  Commission  decided  that  the  unit 
of  development  in  the  station  of  the  Niagara  Falls 
Power  Company  should  be  5,000  horsepower,  the 
largest  at  that  time  attempted. 

From  the  very  first  the  Niagara  development 
has  been  a  very  great  factor  in  stirring  up  other 
sections  of  the  country  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
force  of  nearby  waterpowers,  and  it  might  be  said 
to  be  impossible  to  trace  out  the  vast  benefit  the 
Niagara  power  development  has  been  in  arousing 
the  ambition  of  capital  and  engineers.  The  work 
at  Niagara  was  the  illustration  of  what  might  be 
accomplished,  and  electrical  engineering  must  realize 
how  that  profession  has  benefited  largely  by  the 
Niagara  enterprises.  A  marvelous  fact  is  the  man- 
ner in  which  capital  has  been  invested  in  the  hydro- 
electric field  of  development  in  a  comparatively  few 
years.  The  plants  manufacturing  electrical  appa- 
ratus have  attained  mammoth  proportions,  and  there 
has  been  a  large  number  of  young  men  attracted 
to  this  field  of  research  and  labor.  Educational 
institutions  have  been  forced  to  add  new  depart- 
ments of  instruction,  and  in  many  ways  general 
business  methods  have  been  affected. 

In  less  than  t6  years  since  the  tunnel  power  de- 
velopment of  Niagara  was  begun  a  mighty  pro- 
test comes  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States  and 
the  Dominion  of  Canada  against  the  further  diver- 
sion of  the  waters  of  the  Upper  Niagara  for  power 
purposes.  All  that  has  been  accomplished  marks 
the  enterprise  and  vigor  with  which  American  en- 
ergy has  entered  into  the  projects  of  development, 
and  here  is  found  much  that  is  creditable  in  the 
development  of  the  world's  resources ;  but  still,  pub- 


-PARTV    LINES    IN    HUMBOLDT    EXCHANGE. 


equal  in  number  to  those  who  love  its  "docile" 
and  "quieting"  affects.  Thus  there  is  a  tremendous 
conflict  of  opinion  as  to  why  Niagara  is  great, 
outside  of  its  volume,  and  yet  human  eyes  long  to 
view  the  Horseshoe — this  great  "central  solemnity 
and  shudder-fraught  miracle  of  the  monstrous  up- 
roar and  glory  that  is  rendered  exquisite,  repose- 
ful and  soothing  by  the  lovely  rainbows  hanging 
over  the  turmoil  and  clamor."  Beyond  the  fact 
that  it  is  beautiful,  there  appears  no  argument  for 
preserving  Niagara  as  a  scenic  spectacle.  Could 
it  be  shown  that  the  falling  waters  are  an  inspira- 
tion to  higher  actions,  nobler  deeds  or  helpful  to 
humanity,  the  strength  of  the  argument  would  be 
intensified- 

While  the  Falls  of  Niagara  are  known  to  have 
existed  for  centuries,  up  to  1890,  when  the  big 
power  development  was  started,  the  territory  now 
within  the  limits  of  the  city  of  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y., 
had  a  population  of  about  11,000.  In  the  last  15 
years  it  has  increased  to  25,000  or  30,000.  Millions 
upon  millions  of  dollars  have  been  invested  in  de- 
veloping power,  and  many  other  millions  have  been 
invested  in  great  manufacturing  plants,  operating 
processes  that  are  of  untold  benefit  to  various  parts 
of  the  world,  in  that  their  products  are  helpful 
to  industries  far  away  from  Niagara,  even  across 
the  ocean  in  other  countries.  The  application  of 
Niagara  power  to  the  operation  of  several  of  these 
industries  has  resulted  in  a  cheapening  of  their 
products,  to  the  benefit  of  the  many.  Consider  the 
increased  output  of  aluminum,  the  cheapening  of 
the  price,  making  it  available  for  the  manufacture 
of  so  many  articles  used  in  the  home.  The  manu- 
facture of  carborundum  and  of  artificial  graphite 
have  both  been  developed  as  a  result  of  the  plenti- 
ful   supply    of    Niagara    power,    making    it    possible 


February   17,   [906 

for  Hi"   product   of  these   plant!  to  med   the  com- 
pi  tition  '•)  articles  u  ed   for  1  imilai   pui  post   , 

On   the   New   York    side    thi    pow<  1    d< 
to    dati     1  ■    aboul     1  ;o,ooo    hoi  cpowi  1 ,    vi  title    the 
po  isibilii  ic  ■   "i    development    of  the  I 

that    are    Operating    plants   amount    \>.   ;i1 i     >,  "..*,, 

horsepower,    which    includes    the    pn  n  nl    di    -  lop 

ment.    ( >n    the    '  anadian    sidi  ,    mai  1 for    the 

,i-  ■_■  |i .[  men!  1  >f  aboul  80,000  hor  1  pow  ei    h 
installed,  but   the   franchi  e     granted    for  the  devel- 
opments in  Victoria  Park  permit  ol   a   total  devel- 
opment   of   about   405,000    horsepower,    made   up   as 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

1 

R 

1 

countrii 

■ 

;    in   the 

that    ha 

I 
bill    rule   upon   the 


follows:  The  Canadian  Niagara  Power  Company, 
100,000  horsepower;  the  Ontario  Power  Company, 
iSo.ooo  horsepower;  the  Electrical  Development 
Company  of  Ontario,  Limited,  125,000  horsepower. 
In  addition  to  these  developments,  there  are  sup- 
posed to  be  six  other  franchises  in  existence  that 
permit  of  other  developments,  but  not  immediately 
at  Niagara  Falls,  the  plan  of  all  of  them  being 
to  use  the  fall  at  the  Niagara  escarpment  on  each 
side  of  the  Niagara  River.  It  is  not  known  how 
many  of  them  will  develop  life  enough  to  effect 
a  power  development,  but  it  is  quite  certain  that 
all  of  them  will  not  establish  works,  and  it  is 
possible  that  none  of  them  will,  as  they  have  done 
practically  nothing  in  the  period  they  have  held 
charters. 

Thus  about  all  of  the  upbuilding  and  develop- 
ment in  the  Niagara  locality ;  all  the  influence  the 
great  works  have  exerted  on  the  workshops  of 
many  places ;  all  the  influence  exerted  on  the  lives 
of  the  great  number  who  are  profiting  by  the  Niag- 
ara development  is  the  result  of  the  first  150,000 
horsepower.  It  is  shown  that  the  possibilities  of 
development  are  525,000  horsepower  more  than  the 
amount  for  which  machinery  has  been  installed;  but 
to  this  must  be  added  the  80,000  horsepower  not 
yet  utilized  on  the  Canadian  side,  and  we  have 
605,000  horsepower,  through  the  development  and 
use  of  which  similar  influences  may  yet  be  exerted. 
So  that,  should  the  development  be  stopped  with 
the  franchises  now  existing,  the  Niagara  locality 
is  assured  a  wonderful  supply  of  electric  power. 
This  supply  at  least  appears  very  large  today,  but 
how  can  the  demand  of  the  future  be  estimated? 
Up  to  this  time  the  output  of  the  Niagara  power 
houses  has  been  confined  to  a  radius  of  34  miles ; 
practically  to  25  miles.  Now  transmission  lines  are 
being  erected  to  carry  the  power  to  Syracuse,  160 
miles  from  the  point  of  development,  and  to  To- 
ronto, Ont.,  85  miles  away.  Between  these  points 
and  Niagara  there  are  numerous  available  markets 
of  considerable  size,  so  that  for  the  entire  distance 
on  either  side  of  Niagara  there  may  be  a  demand 
for  the  transmitted  power.  The  possibilities  of  eco- 
nomical transmission  of  electrical  power  should  in- 
crease, and,  if  so,  then  the  assault,  if  such  it  may 
be  termed,  that  is  today  being  made  on  the  power 
development  interests  is  of  importance  to  a  still 
wider  circle  than  that  outlined,  and  the  future 
industrial    prospects    are    threatened. 

Never  before  have  the  scenic  and  industrial  in- 
terests of  the  Niagara  locality  been  so  aired  and 
agitated.     The  United    States  and  the   Dominion   of 


PRESERVATION 


SO    MUCH     1NTKK1>1  . 


ties  for  infringement  of  the  rule.  It  further  speci- 
fies that  no  company  shall  use  more  water  from 
the  river  above  the  falls  for  commercial  purposes 
than  is  allowed  by  its  charter.  The  first  of  the 
penalties  the  bill  would  impose  is  that  the  com- 
pany shall  forfeit  its  charter;  the  second  that 
fine  of  $50  per  horsepower  for  each  excess  horse- 
power may  be  charged ;  third,  that  the  people  may 
get  an  injunction  against  any  company  guilty  of 
the  offense,  and,  fourth,  the  offending  companies 
shall  be  prohibited  from  doing  business  in  New 
York  state.  It  is  further  provided  that  all  of  these 
penalties    may   be    put    in    force    at    the    same    time. 


•  ,(     'I  ..: 
Ilydp . 

profit    to  u   $1- 

|.-r    hor  ■  power     U  ill 

re    may 
Cana- 
dian-Nil 

At    th  wr   companies 

has  made  any  • 

but  then  ...ill  have  their 

inning    shortly.     The    q  r.ly   the 

New     i  t,   and 

'.f  the  province  of  Ontario.  'I  lv_-  effects  of  the  de- 
velopment madi  iar-reaching,  and  so 
must    the    results    be    in   any 

ara's  greatness.  IjjH  Kelvin  said:  "I  do  not  my- 
self believe  that  any  such  limit  (450,000  horse- 
power; will  bind  the  use  of  this  great  natural 
gift,  and  I  look  forward  to  the  time  when  the 
whole  water  from  Lake  Erie  will  find  its  way 
to  the  lower  level  of  Lake  Ontario  through  ma- 
chinery, doing  more  good  for  the  world  than  that 
great  benefit  which  we  now  possess  in  the  con- 
templation of  the  splendid  scene  which  we  have 
presented  before  us  at  the  present  time  by  the 
waterfall  of  Niagara.  I  wish  I  could  think  it 
possible  that  I  could  live  to  see  this  grand  de- 
velopment." 

Considering  Niagara  as  a  great  natural  gift,  the 
question  is.  How  was  it  intended  that  it  should 
serve  man  ?  Was  it  designed  to  be  a  luxury,  an 
eye-feast  to  coax  travel,  or  was  it  intended  that 
when  man  had  become  sufficiently  skilled  he  should 
conquer  the  power  of  the  waterfall  and  apply  it 
for    the    world's    benefit  ? 


Electricity  in  Horticulture. 
Hon.    "Warren     W.     Rawson.    a    prominent     seed 
dealer  of  Boston,  recently  delivered  an  acklr 


AP   OF    LONG- 


CE    POWER-: 


On  the  Canadian  side  of  the  river  the  boards  of 
trade  are  asking  the  government  to  prohibit  man- 
ufacturers of  electrical  power  at  Niagara  Falls 
either  selling  or  transmitting  the  same  across  the 
line  to  any  American  points  under  any  contract 
not  terminable  on  one  year's  notice.  They  point 
out  that  as  Canada  is  largely  dependent  on  foreign 
coal  for  industrial  developments,  there  should  be 
no  interference  with  Canada's  rights  to  develop 
waterpower  at  Niagara  Falls  or  any  other  point 
along  the   international   boundary. 

This    opposition    on    the    part    of    the    Canadians 
to   the    transmission     of     Canadian-Niagara    power 


JES   FROM    NIAGARA   FALLS.. 

"Vegetable  Growing"  before  the  Massachusetts  Hor- 
ticultural Society,  in  which  he  briefly  referred  to 
his  experiments  in  introducing  electric  currents 
into  the  soil  for  the  purpose  of  furthering  the 
growth  of  vegetables.  He  believes  that  the  idea 
will  prove  practical.  He  is  experimenting  in  two 
greenhouses — one  400  and  the  other  200  feet  long — 
and  he  reported  a  very  noticeable  difference  between 
two  beds  of  lettuce,  one  of  which  had  been  elec- 
trically treated.  He  said  that  the  lettuce  has  grown 
excellently  in  the  bed  charged  with  electricity,  but 
that  the  great  difficulty  had  been  in  getting  too 
much  electricity  into  the  ground. 


136 

Protection  of  Alternating-current  Gen- 
erators Against  Reversal  of 
Energy. 

Where  generators  are  connected  in  parallel  to 
common  bus-bars,  reversal  of  energy  in  one  of  the 
machines,  due  to  failure  of  the  apparatus  to  work 
properly,  may  and  very  often  does  result  seriously. 
It  is  therefore  advisable  to  open  the  circuit  of  the 
apparatus,  which  is  reversed  in  the  quickest  time 
possible,  preferably  by  some  automatic  means.  A 
device  for  accomplishing  this  end  has  been  pat- 
ented by  Mr.  Leonard  Wilson  of  Pittsfield,  Mass., 
and   it   possesses   some  points   of  merit. 

Referring  to  Fig.  1,  (A)  represents  the  sta- 
tionary armature  of  an  alternating-current  gener- 
ator carrying  the  armature  coils  (a).  (F)  repre- 
sents the  revolving-field  structure,  carrying  the 
field  poles  (f),  and  mounted  on  the  shaft  (S). 
(ss)  represent  collector  rings  on  the  shaft,  by 
means  of  which  current  is  led  to  the  field  winding 
from  the  exciter  (E)  or  other  source  of  current. 
The  armature  terminals  of  the  generator  are  con- 
nected to  the  mains  or  bus-bars  (X).  It  is  evident 
that    if   other    sources   of   current   are   connected   to 


the  bus-bars  and  if  the  generator  drops  out  of 
synchronism,  or  if  its  field  circuit  becomes  open 
from  any  cause,  a  reversal  of  energy  will  take 
place  and  current  will  flow  from  the  bus-bars  to 
the  generator,  which,  if  allowed  to  continue,  may 
result  in  the  damage  or  destruction  of  the  gener- 
ator. Furthermore,  as  in  the'  case  of  a  failure  of 
the  field  circuit,  the  potential  at  the  generator  ter- 
minals may  fall  to  a  very  small  value,  since  the 
armature  will  act  as  a  practical  short-circuit  across 
the  bus-bars.  For  this  reason  a  reverse-current  cut- 
out operating  upon  the  shunt-motor  or  wattmeter 
principle  is  not  reliable.  Consequently  in  place  of 
utilizing  in  any  way  the  potential  at  the  generator 
terminals,  Mr.  Wilson  employs  merely  the  current 
in  the  generator  leads,  and,  by  properly  commutat- 
ing  it,  introduces  it  into  one  winding  of  a  direct- 
current  relay.  Thus  (C)  represents  a  commutator 
or  rectifier  mounted  on  a  shaft,  two  brushes  of  which 
(bb)  are  connected  to  the  secondary  of  a  series 
transformer,  the  primary  of  which  is  connected  in 
one  of  the  generator  leads.  A  second  set  of 
brushes  (b')  is  connected  to  the  winding  on  the 
movable  element  (d),  of  the  polarized  relay  (D), 
the  other  element  of  which  has  its  winding  (d') 
energized  from  a  source  of  constant  current,  such 
as  battery,  or,  if  preferred,  this  element  may  be 
formed  of  a  permanent  magnet  and  the  field  wind- 
ing (d')  omitted.  The  movable  member  (d)  of 
the  relay  carries  an  arm  (H),  which  when  the  mov- 
able member  tends  to  turn  in  a  counter-clockwise 
direction  is  restrained  by  the  stop,  but  which  when 
the  armature  tends  to  turn  in  a  clockwise  direction 
bridges  the  contacts  (h),  closing  a  circuit  from  the 
battery  through  a  tripping  coil  of  a  switch  (G), 
arranged  to  open  the  circuit  of  the  generator. 

Referring  to  the  diagrams  the  action  of  the  com- 
mutator will  be  explained.  In  Fig.  2,  (a)  represents 
diagrammatically  the  armature  winding  and  (f  f ) 
the  field  poles.  (C)  (Fig.  1)  represents  the  commu- 
tator, which  is  carried  by  the  shaft  and  rotates  with 
the  field  poles  (f).  The  two  sets  of  brushes  (bb) 
and  (b'  b')  are  shown  connected  to  the  second- 
ary of  transformer  (T)  and  the  armature  of  relay 
(D),  respectively.  With  the  brushes  arranged  as 
shown,  it  is  evident  that  the  direction  of  current 
through  the  armature  of  relay  (D)  will  be  re- 
versed relative  to  that  in  transformer  (T)  whenever 
the  brushes  (b  b)  pass  from  one  section  of  the 
commutator  to  the  other.  Moreover,  with  the 
brushes  fixed  in  any  given  position  it  is  evident  that 
the  time  of  this  reversal  is-  fixed  relative  to  the 
position  of  the  field  structure,  since  the  commuta- 
tor revolves  with  the  field  structure.  Conse- 
quently this  reversal  is  fixed  relative  to  the  poten- 
tial   induced    in    the    armature    winding    (a),    since 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

this  potential  depends  upon  the  position  of  the  field 
poles  (f).  If  the  brushes  (bb)  are  so  placed  that 
they  pass  from  one  section  of  the  commutator  to 
the  other  at  the  instant  that  the  field  poles  (f)  are 
in  the  position  of  zero  induced  electromotive  force 
in  the  armature  winding  (A),  and  if  the  current 
in  the  secondary  of  transformer  (T)  is  in  phase 
with  or  in  opposition  to  the  induced  electromotive 
force  in  winding  (a)  the  current  curve  in  the  arma- 
ture of  relay  (D)  may  be  represented  by  the 
curve  (i)  in  diagram  ix  of  Fig.  3,  the  induced 
electromotive  force  in  armature  (a)  being  repre- 
sented by  the  curve  (e)  in  the  same  figure.  That 
is,  the  current  through  the  armature  of  the  relay  is 
a  pulsating  unidirectional  current  and  coacting 
with  the  constant  field  of  the  relay  will  produce 
a  torque  in  a  given  direction.  Now  assuming  that 
the  brushes  remain  fixed  in  the  same  position,  if 
the  current  in  the  secondary  of  transformer  (T)  is 
90  degrees  out  of  phase  with  the  induced  electro- 
motive force  in  the  armature  (a)  the  current  curve 
of  the  armature  of  the  relay  will  be  represented 
by  the  curve  (i)  in  diagram  2x.  The  point  of 
commutation  of  the  current  is  shifted  90  de- 
grees relatively  to  the  current  curve  from  that  in 
diagram  ix  and  no  torque  can  be  produced  in 
relay  (D).  The  diagram  2x  would  also  repre- 
sent the  current  curve  if  the  current  in  the  second- 
ary of  transformer  (T)  were  of  the  same  phase 
as  in  diagram  ix,  but  the  brushes  shifted  90  de- 
grees, or,  in  other  words,  the  change  of  the  cur- 
rent curve  in  diagram  2x  may  represent  either  a 
shifting  of  the  current  phase  or  a  shifting  of  the 
brushes.  Consequently  it  will  be  seen  that  by 
properly  adjusting  the  brushes  the  current  curve 
of  diagram  ix  may  be  obtained  with  any  phase  re- 
lation of  the  current  in  the  secondary  of  the  trans- 
former to  the  induced  electromotive  force  in  arma- 
ture winding  (a).  Now  assume  that  the  brushes 
(bb)  are  properly  placed  relative  to  the  field 
poles  (f),  so  that  the  diagram  ix  represents  the  cur- 
rent curve  in  the  armature  of  the  relay  when  the 
current  in  the  primary  of  transformer,  or,  in  other 
words,  the  current  in  the  winding  (a)  is  in  phase 
with  the  induced  electromotive  force,  this  would 
be  the  condition  of  unity  power  factor.  With  the 
brushes  maintained  fixed  in  position,  diagram  2x 
would  represent  the  conditions  for  zero  power 
factor,  and  diagram  3x  would  represent  the  condi- 
tions for  a  complete  reversal  of  current — that  is, 
when  the  current  is  180  degrees  out  of  phase  with 
the  induced  electromotive  force.  In  comparing  dia- 
grams ix  and  3X,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  current 
curves  in  both  represent  a  pulsating  unidirectional 
current;  but  the  direction  of  current  is  reversed. 
Consequently  a  reversal  of  current  in  armature 
winding  (a)  relative  to  the  potential  produces  a 
reversal  of  the  direction  of  the  torque  of  the 
armature  of  relay  (D)  and  a  consequent  opening 
of  the  generator  circuit  by  means  of  the  arrange- 
ment shown  in  Fig.  1.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
operation  of  the  relay  is  in  no  way  dependent  upon 
the  potential  across  the  terminals  of  the  generator, 


and  consequently  its  operation  is  in  no  way  affected 
by  a  drop  in  this  potential. 

As  has  been  said  heretofore,  a  reverse-current 
relay  of  the  wattmeter  type  is  subject  to  the  objec- 
tion not  only  of  failure  of  current  in  the  potential 
winding  upon  a  short  circuit,  but  also  to  a  possi- 
ble overpowering  of  the  potential  flux  upon  the 
flow  of  a  heavy  short-circuit  current.  A  protective 
device  arranged  in  accordance  with  this  invention 
is,  according  to  Mr.  Wilson,  not  liable  to  the  first 
objection,  and  in  order  to  avoid  the  second  he 
designs  the  series  transformer  so  that  it  will  be- 
come saturated  at  a  small  fraction  of  normal  full- 
load  current.  The  amount  of  current-flow  of  the 
secondary  of  the  transformer  is  consequently  limited 
and   can   never   reach   an   amount  liable  to  produce 


February  17,  1906 

a  false  operation  of  the  relay  on  an  overload  or  a 
failure  to  operate  upon  a  reverse  short-circuit  cur- 
rent. The  employment  of  a  saturated  transformer 
has  the  further  advantage  that  a  practically  uniform 
torque  of  the  device  (D)  is  obtained  over  a  wide 
range,   thereby   enabling  the   relay  to  operate   upon 


zx 


•5X 


a  comparatively  small  reverse  current,  at  the  same 
time  being  reliable  upon  a  heavy  short-circuit  cur- 
rent. 


Chicago  Automobile  Show, 

In  variety  and  number  of  exhibits  and  in  point 
of  attendance  the  Chicago  Automobile  Show  of 
1906  distanced  all  its  predecessors.  The  exhibition 
was  held  in  the  Coliseum,  with  an  overflow  in  the 
First  Regiment  Armory,  a  short  distance  away, 
both  buildings  being  crowded  to  their  full  ca- 
pacity. The  show  was  held  one  week,  from  Feb- 
ruary 3d  to  10th,  and  the  number  and  value  of 
sales  made  are  said  to  have  reached  exceptionally 
high  figures.  The  show  was  given  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  National  Association  of  Automobile 
Manufacturers,  of  which  E.  H.  Cutler  of  Spring- 
field, Mass.,  is  president  and  S.  A.  Miles  of  New 
York  general  manager.  There  were  all  told  about 
250  manufacturers  of  automobiles  and  accessories 
represented.  Every  type  of  motor  vehicle  was  to  be 
seen  at  one  or  another  of  the  numerous  exhibits — 
touring  cars,  both  gasoline  and  steam,  electric  pleas- 
ure vehicles,  electric  trucks,  racers,  and  even  the 
motor  cycle  pushed  itself  boldly  to  the  front. 

In  both  buildings  the  decorations  were  uniform 
in  color  and  design  and  lent  to  the  interiors  a 
handsome  appearance.  The  decorations  were  in 
blue  and  yellow,  and  the  signs  indicating  the 
booths  of  the  exhibitors  were  done  in  letters  of 
uniform  size.  The  lighting  was  particularly  effect- 
ive, there  being  added  to  the  arc  and  incandescent 
lights  handsome  column  clusters  with  opalescent 
globes  which  marked  the  various  sections  in  the 
buildings. 

Foreign  machines,  though  more  numerous  than 
last  year,  were  not  as  many  in  proportion  to  the 
total  number  as  formerly.  Prices  remain  nearly 
as  high  as  heretofore,  though  there  were  some  very 
creditable  small  runabouts  which  were  to  be  had 
for  a  reasonable  sum.  One  of  the  noticeable 
changes,  or  fashions  rather,  that,  has  grown  up 
during  the  last  year  is  the  use  of  leather  exclu- 
sively as  the  covering  for  the  tops.  Canvas  is  a 
thing  of  the  past. 

Electric  pleasure  vehicles  were  exhibited  by  seven 
different  concerns,  and  the  group  picture  on  the 
next  page  shows  some  of  the  latest  and  most  stylish 
designs  of  such  vehicles.  The  Woods  Motor 
Vehicle  Company  of  Chicago  and  New  York  was 
the  largest  exhibitor  of  electrics,  and  its  particular 
favorite  with  the  public  was  a  Queen  victoria  with 
detachable  brougham  top.  It  is  shown  in  the 
picture  with  the  top  in  place. 

A  Pope  model  65  stanhope,  made  by  the  Pope 
Motor  Car  Company  of  Indianapolis,  is  also  shown 
in  the  picture.  This  vehicle,  on  account  of  its 
graceful  lines  and  substantial  construction,  attracted 
much  attention. 

A  Columbia  electric  hansom  made  by  the  Elec- 
tric Vehicle  Company  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  is  de- 
signed along  original  lines.  It  is  finished  on  the 
inside  in  a  very  pale  lavender-colored  cloth  im- 
ported from  Paris,  giving  the  carriage  a  particu- 
lar^ rich  appearance. 

The  Vehicle  Equipment  Company  of  Long  Island 
City,  N.  Y.,  showed  among  others  a  landaulet,  seat- 
ing four  persons.  This  machine  has  a  speed  of 
12  to  14  miles  an  hour  and  a  radius  on  one  charge 
of  40  miles. 
The     Babcock     Electric     Carriage     Company     of 


February   17,  1906 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


Bufl  'I"  pri  enti  d  a    its  1  attrai  tiv<    irehi 

stanlioi idcl   .3. 

A    high-class    vehicle    was    the    Bakei    luburban, 
ng    r,7SO  poundi ,   with   a   speed   of    I  | 
miles  an   hour,     11    i  1  fitted   •■■■  ith     ii  toi  ia   top  and 
has  .-i  radiui   on  1 h: I    |0  mill 

Studcbaker    auto bill  ell     represented, 

there  being  among  tl ;i  number  of  electrii    pi 

are    vehicles, 

Many   manufacturers  of  electrical   apparati 


Space   Telegraphy  In  the  Dutch  Indies. 

The  v 
•  1  f  v.  irel 
fur  thai  ite  hail 


nuMk   i:lk    1 


LIRE    VEIIIi   LES    SHOWN    AT    CHICAGO 


Columbia  Electric  Hansen 
Closed  Landaulct  of  Vehicle 
Equipment  Company. 
AUTOMOBILE   SHOW. 


hibited  such  of  their  apparatus  as  is  connected  with 
the  automobile  industry.  The  list  is  as  follows: 
John  A.  Hensel  &  Co.  of  Chicago;  Remy  Electric 
Company  of  Anderson,  Ind. ;  Heinze  Electric  Com- 
pany of  Lowell,  Mass. ;  Tritt  Electric  Company 
of  Union  City,  Ind. ;  Franco-American  Auto  Supply 
Company  (agent  of  J.  Lacoste  &  Co.  of  Paris), 
Chicago;  M.  &  W.  Auto-clock  Company  of  Detroit, 
Mich. ;  Hutchison  Electric  Horn  Company  of  New 
York  city;  Never-miss  Spark  Plug  Company  of 
Lansing,  Mich.;  Nungesser  Electric  Battery  Com- 
pany of  Cleveland,  Ohio;  R.  E.  Hardy  Company  of 
New  York  city;  Warner  Instrument  Company  of 
Beloit,  Wis. ;  Duplex  Ignition  Company  of  New 
York  city ;  Byrne,  Kingston  &  Co.  of  Kokomo, 
Ind. ;  National  Carbon  Company  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio;  C.  F.  Splitdorf  of  New  York  city;  Chicago 
Battery  Company  of  Chicago;  American  Electrical 
Novelty  and  Manufacturing  Company  of  Chicago; 
Dayton  Electrical  Manufacturing  Company  of  Day- 
ton, Ohio;  Motsinger  Device  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany of  Pendleton,  Ind. ;  Hicks  Speed  Indicator 
Company  of  Brooklyn;  C.  H.  Lang  of  Chicago; 
Motor  Car  Supply  Company  of  Chicago,  and  the 
Autocoil    Company    of    Jersey    City,    N.    J. 

Connected  with  its  exhibit,  the  Reo  Motor  Car 
Company  showed  a  complete  gasoline  automobile 
built  one-eighth  of  full  size.  This  was  a  machine 
that  would  and  had  run,  although  it  weighed  but 
242  pounds  and  carried  but  two  horsepower.  It 
has  made  a  speed  of  two  to  eight  miles  an  hour. 


not  undertaken  any  steps  toward  fulfilling  its  prom- 
ises, the  Wireless  company  was  afforded  an  op- 
portunity of  demonstrating  its  stations  in  practical 
operation  and  under  the  most  difficult  climatic 
conditions.  The  local  government,  which  is  taking 
a  lively  interest  in  the  question,  furthered  the  un- 
dertaking in  many  ways,  appointing  two  marine 
officers,  in  addition  to  four  sailors  and  telegraphers, 
to  take  a  part  in  the  experiments. 

The  two  localities  at  first  chosen  were  Vlakke 
Hoek  and  Anjer,  the  former  being  200  kilometers 
distant  from  the  nearest  large  harbor,  while  the 
other  is  quite  a  small  town  at  six  hours'  distance 
from  Batavia.  Complying  with  the  wishes  of  the 
Dutch  Marine  and  Royal   Parcel  Service,  therefore, 


I 

Wilhelmina,    equipped 

■nor      In   a'!- 
yal    Mail    Service   is 
rding  the  Batavia  land 

dwell  there  in  II 

tavia. 
I  he   station,    which   it   here   shown   in   course  of 
mboo  through- 
I'-tcrs    high.      The    w\ 
'.    out   by   30  Japanese    work- 
nder   the   supervision   of    Mr 
1    of   the    company.     [1 
use  is  to  be  seen  to  the  right.    The  station 
impleted  by  th'-  r  and  is  being 

i  Javanese  native   iiving  in  a  cottage 
to    the    engine    house.    This    man    has    been 
acquainted   with  the  manipulation  of  the  apparatus, 
fully  able  to  attend  to  the   telegraph   serv- 
I ■r  on  to  operate  the  station  installed 
on   board   the   steamship   Carpcnticr. 

As  lo  the  other  overland  station,  the  g 
of  the  province  was  courteous  enough  to  place  at 
the  disposal  of  the  company  part  of  his  own  lot 
for  the  erection  of  the  station.  This  is  situated 
outside  of  the  town  of  Cheribon,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  shallow  ground,  and  at  about  700  meters 
distance  from  the  seaside.  Though  this  station  has 
no  doubt  been  completed  by  now,  no  particulars 
as  to  its  construction  are  as  yet  available. 

In  order  to  appreciate  the  difficulties  to  be  over- 
come in  installing  wireless  stations  in  those  far- 
away countries,  it  should  be  remembered  that  hy- 
gienic considerations  play  an  important  part  in  the 
choice  of  the  ground.  The  coast  is  mostly  so  un- 
wholesome after  sunset  that  Europeans  are  not 
able  to  dwell  there.  The  boggy  ground  and  arti- 
ficially innundated  rice  fields,  which  are  found  in 
the  neighborhood  of  most  cities,  are  another  danger 
to  the  health  of  Europeans. 


Chicago  Gas  Situation. 

At  a   special  meeting  last  week  the  City  Council 
of  Chicago,  by  a  vote  of  58  to  9,  passed  an  ordi- 


25,000-kilowatt  Units  Predicted. 

Mr.  B.  A.  Behrend,  chief  electrical  engineer  for 
the  Allis-Chalmers  Company  of  Milwaukee  and 
Cincinnati,  recently  delivered  an  address  at  the 
University  of  Wisconsin  on  "High  Speed  in  Mod- 
ern Engineering."  Mr.  Behrend  laid  stress  upon 
the  remarkable  change  that  has  been  wrought  dur- 
ing the  last  10  years  in  the  field  of  prime  movers 
and  the  fact  that  the  reciprocating  steam  engine, 
which  held  its  own  for  over  100  years,  has  gradu- 
ally yielded  in  a  number  of  important  fields  of 
operation  to  the  rotating  steam  turbine — a  change 
so  radical  that  it  may  be  said  to  have  inaugurated 
a  new  epoch  in  engineering. 

Mr.  Behrend  discussed  the  conditions  to  be  ful- 
filled for  grappling  with  the  difficult  task  of  de- 
signing machinery  for  such  high  peripheral  speeds 
as  three  and  four  miles  a  minute,  and  he  showed 
how  rotating  bodies  had  to  be  shaped  in  order  lo 
uniformly  distribute  the  stresses  and  minimize  them 
so  as  to  meet  these  conditions.  The  lecture  was 
illustrated  with  slides  representing  the  stresses  in 
rotating  discs  and  details  of  steam  turbo-generators. 

The  lecturer  made  the  statement  that  the  size 
of  the  generating  unit  in  large  power  plants  is 
going  to  increase  considerably,  and  that  during  the 
next  few  years  units  of  from  10,000  kilowatts  to 
25,000  kilowatts,  wound  for  potentials  of  from  10,000 
to  30,000  volts,  are  likely  to  be  installed,  as  the 
steam  turbine  and  generator  lend  themselves  par- 
ticularly well  to  units  of  very  large  capacity,  and 
units  of  such  capacity  can  be  more  readily  wound 
for  high  potentials. 


PH    STATION    AT    BATAVIA,    JAVA,    DURING    CONSTRUCTION. 


it  was  eventually  decided  to  install  one  of  the 
stations  in  Batavia  and  the  other  at  Cheribon, 
190  kilometers  distant,  the  intervening  ground  be- 
ing flat  and  boggy.  In  selecting  these  places  the 
wishes  of  the  Marine  were  taken  into  considera- 
tion, for  Cheribon  is  a  harbor  on  the  north  coast 
of  Java,  where  warships  are  frequently  crossing, 
while  the  vessels  of  the  Royal  Mail  Service  touch 
there  several  times  each  week.  A  military  expedi- 
tion was  dispatched  to  Boni,  Celebes  Island,  in  the 


nance  fixing  the  price  of  gas  to  consumers  at  S5 
cents  a  thousand  cubic  feet.  This  rate  was  to  stand 
for  five  years.  The  ordinance  was  passed  with 
practically  no  amendments.  It  had  been  drawn  up 
by  the  council  committee  on  gas,  oil  and  electric 
light,  and  its  terms  were  accepted  by  the  gas  com- 
panies, as  stated  in  the  Western  Electrician  of 
February  3d.  But  Mayor  Dunne  vetoed  the  ordi- 
nance, on  the  ground  that  the  price  should  be  75 
cents  and  that  free  gas  for  street  lighting  should 
he    furnished   the   city. 


138 


WESTERN   ELECTRICIAN 


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,  Tj.  S.  A. 


CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

The  Newest  Branch  Telephone  Exchange  in  Chicago.      Illus- 

How  May  Niagara  Falls  Best  Serve  the  Interests  of  Mankind? 

By  Orrin  E.  Dunlap.     Illustrated 134, 

Electricity  in  Horticulture 

Protection  of  Alternating-current  Generators  Against  Reversal 

of  Energy.     Illustrated 

Chicago  Automobile  Show.     Illustrated 136,  : 

25,000-kilowatt  Units  Predicted : 

Space  Telegraphy  in    the    Dutch    Indies.       By    Dr.    Alfred 

Gradenwitz.     Illustrated 

Chicago  Gas  Situation 

Editorial 

Third  Rail  versus  Single  Phase  in  England 

Erie  Railroad  Electrification 

Central  Electric  Railway  Association 

Cincinnati  Branch  of  the  Institute ' : 

Electric-light  Rate  Inquiry  in  Chicago : 

Notes  of  Progress  from  Illinois  Cities : 

John  Burns  on  an  Incognito  Visit ] 

Navy  Wireless  Contract  Awarded- : 

All-steel  Insulator  Pin.     Illustrated : 

Electrically  Operated  Electrolytic  Copper  Plant 

Some  Things  to  Avoid  in  Construction  Work : 

The  Atlantic  City  Convention : 

Some  Large  Engines.     Illustrated : 

Will  Not  Build  Municipal  Light  Plant  in  New  York  City 

Light  on  Dalrymple  Report : 

Lincoln  Variable-speed  Motor-     Illustrated 1 

Sons  of  Jove  Increasing  Rapidly 1+1,  : 

Rubber  Shoes  or  Rubber  Gloves? ] 

Theater  Excursions  by  Trolley : 

The  Allis-Chalmers  Club 

Motive  Power  Statistics  of  Maryland : 

Technical  Education  in  Germany  Overdone : 

Book  Table : 

Independent  Telephone  Service  in  Cleveland 

The  Mercury-arc  Rectifier  for  Telephone  Work.     Illustrated.  : 

Canadian  Telephone  News : 

Michigan  Telephone  Matters 143,  : 

Indiana  Telephone  Items i 

Telephone  News  from  the  Northwest : 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes 1 

Cheaper  Telephone  Service  for  Chicago ; 

Independent  Companies  Active  in  New  York ] 

General  Telephone  News : 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence m.  145.  u6. 

Great  Britain : 

New  York 144.  : 

New  England 

Dominion  of  Canada 1 

Southeastern  States ] 

Ohio 145,  1 

Indiana 1 

Michigan ] 

Northwestern  States 146,  ] 

Pacific  Slope ] 

Personal 1 

Electric  Lighting ] 

Electric  Railways ' 147.  1 

Publications ] 

Miscellaneous 

Trade  News 148.  : 

Business 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record 149,  : 


DATES  AHEAD. 

Iowa    Telephone    Association    (annual    convention).    Cham- 
berlain  Hotel,    Des   Moines,   March    13th,    14th  and    15th. 

Central    Electric    Railway    Association    (next    meeting),    In- 
dianapolis, Ind.,   March  23d. 

Indiana    Independent   Telephone    Association    (annual   meet- 
ing), Indianapolis,   Ind.,  May   17th. 

National    Electric    Light    Association    (annual    convention), 
Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  June  5th  to  8th,  inclusive. 

National    Electrical    Contractors'    Association    (annual    con- 
vention), Cleveland,  Ohio,  July  18th. 

Ohio    Electric  Light  Association  (annual  convention),    Put- 
in-Bay, Ohio,  August  21st  to  23d. 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

1  he  electric  automobile  has  a  certain  grace 
and  distinction  which  the  gasoline  and  steam 
vehicles  seem  unable  to  reach.  This  declaration  is 
borne  out  by  the  group  picture  given  on  page  137 
of  this  issue  in  connection  with  the  report  of 
the  Chicago  Automobile  Show  of  last  week.  With 
other  desirable  features,  appearance  is  certainly  in 
favor  of  the  electrics. 


In  commenting  a  couple  of  weeks  ago  on  the 
statement  of  a  correspondent  of  an  English  elec- 
trical journal  to  the  effect  that  the  United  States 
might,  as  a  retaliatory  measure  in  a  tariff  conflict, 
impose  an  export  duty  on  copper  and  other  raw 
materials,  we  overlooked  the  fact  that  this  country, 
under  its  fundamental  law,  is  prohibited  from  lay- 
ing export  duties.  In  Section  9  of  Article  I.  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  it  is  expressly- 
provided  that  "no  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on 
articles  exported  from  any  state."  It  is  possible,  of 
course,  to  amend  the  Constitution,  but  this  con- 
tingency is  so  remote  that  it  is  not  necessary  to 
consider  it.  However,  Congress  has  power  "to 
regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,"  so  that, 
although  no  direct  export  duty  may  be  imposed, 
means  could  no  doubt  be  found  in  case  of  grave 
necessity  to  restrict  or  possibly  altogether  prohibit 
the  exportation  of  raw  materials.  But  it  is  hardly 
conceivable  that  such  an  emergency  will  arise.  The 
interesting  point  to  the  discussion  is  the  great 
strength  conceded  to  the  United  States  in  pos- 
sessing unbounded  stores  of  raw  materials,  many 
of  which  foreign  nations  must  have.  The  fact  that 
this  country  is  by  far  the  largest  producer  of  cop- 
per gives  its  electrical  manufacturers  an  advantage 
which  may  possibly  have  been  overlooked. 


Me.  Dunlap's  article  on  the  Niagara  power  situa- 
tion which  we  publish  in  this  issue  is  of  much 
interest.  The  author  puts  the  case  for  the  power- 
developing  companies  strongly;  and  indeed  in  the 
hard-and-fast  logic  of  the  situation  Utility  seems 
to  have  Beauty  beaten.  But  human  nature  is  so 
constituted  that  emotion  and  sentiment  very  often 
have  a  stronger  influence  on  conduct  than  pure 
reason.  Thus  we  can  imagine  many  millions  of 
Americans  and  Canadians  saying,  "Yes ;  what  you 
say  about  Niagara  Falls'  best  gift  to  the  race  being 
their  power  possibilities  is  very  plausible;  we  shall 
not  attempt  to  controvert  your  arguments ;  never- 
theless, we  prefer  the  cataract  as  it  is,  without  fur- 
ther diminution  of  the  volume  of  water  plunging 
over  the  crest.  We  are  indifferent  to  the  money 
profits  of  the  power  distributers  and  power  users 
of  the  Niagara  region.  We  are  moved  in  this  mat- 
ter by  considerations  of  a  different  sort — more 
worthy,  we  are  persuaded — and  to  them  we  shall 
steadfastly,  even  passionately,  adhere."  President 
Roosevelt's  declaration  on  the  subject  last  Decem- 
ber, it  will  be  recalled,  was  incisive :  "Nothing 
should  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  preservation 
of  Niagara  Falls  in  all  their  beauty  and  majesty." 
Probably  this  sentiment  coincides  with  that  of  the 
great  majority  of  his  fellow-citizens  and  perhaps 
with  that  of  their  cousins  in  the  Dominion. 

With  public  opinion  resolutely  opposed  to  further 
"desecration"  of  the  Falls,  as  it  undoubtedly  is  in 
the  United  States  (although  in  Canada  the  matter 
is  more  doubtful),  it  may  be  well,  by  international 
agreement,  to  prohibit  all  further  diversion  of  the 
water  of  the  Upper  Niagara  River  for  a  period  of, 
say,  10  years.  During  that  time  all  charters  of 
dormant  power-development  companies  might  be 
summarily  revoked,  while  the  projects  of  existing 
bona-fide  companies  might  be  gradually  extended  to 
the  full  amount  now  authorized.  The  result  should 
be  carefully  watched  by  the  international  commis- 
sion, which  should  be  continued  during  the  period. 
At  the  end  of  the  decade  we  may  assume  that  all 
of  the  750,000  horsepower  now  authorized  will  be 
utilized,  and  it  should  then  be  possible  to  determine 
whether  more  water  may  safely  be  taken  from  the 
Falls  without  seriously  interfering  with  their 
grandeur  as  a  spectacle.  The  rational  compromise 
is  to  permit  the  power  companies  to  draw  from  the 
river  until  a  reasonable  and  predetermined  limit 
is  reached.  The  total  permissible  amount  should 
be  equally  divided,  too,  between  the  bordering  na- 
tions, else  some  international  jealousy  might  be 
evoked,  and  the  appearance  of  an  apple  of  discord 
might   alarmingly  complicate  the   whole   situation. 


February  17,  1906 

Public  ownership  received  a  setback  recently  in 
the  report  of  the  commission  appointed  by  the  New 
Jersey  Legislature  to  investigate  the  question  of 
limited  franchises  and  the  taxation  of  public-util- 
ity companies.  The  report  declares  municipal  oper- 
ation of  public-utility  plants,  especially  electric  rail- 
ways, impracticable.  Limited  franchises  are  recom- 
mended. But,  fortunately  or  unfortunately,  ac- 
cording to  one's  point  of  view,  the  reasoning  of  a 
New  Jersey  commission  has  only  a  moral  effect, 
and  perhaps  not  very  much  of  that,  in  the  city  of 
Chicago.  The  street-railway  situation  in  this  city 
now  waits  on  the  April  elections,  when  the  pro- 
posed issuance  of  Mueller-law  certificates  to  the 
amount  of  $75,000,000,  to  provide  funds  for  munici- 
pally owned  and  operated  railways  in  many  of  the 
streets,  will  be  submitted  to  the  approval  of  the 
voters.  Very  likely,  judging  from  former  elec- 
tions, the  electors  will  indorse  this  issue  of  certifi- 
cates, but  after  that  the  way  still  bristles  with 
difficulties  for  municipal  ownership,  for  buyers  must 
be  found  for  the  certificates,  the  validity  of  which 
will  first  have  to  be  established,  undoubtedly,  by  the 
courts.  There  are  other  legal  complications  in 
sight  and  always  the  chance  of  any  sort  of  a  po- 
litical surprise,  so  that  he  would  be  a  wise  prophet 
indeed  who  would  undertake  to  foretell  the  outcome 
of  the  long  drawn-out  controversy.  It  would  be  a 
business-like  proceeding  to  give  the  companies  20- 
year  franchises,  providing  for  first-class  service, 
with  suitable  compensation  to  the  city,  including 
the  surrender  of  all  rights  under  the  "99-year  act." 
During  this  time — it  would  pass  soon  enough ! — 
the  people  would  enjoy  first-class  transportation 
facilities  and  have  leisure  to  study  the  problem 
carefully.  The  public-franchise  rights  of  the  com- 
panies would  cease  conjointly  on  a  given  day,  and 
the  city  government  of  that  time  could  proceed 
in  its  wisdom  with  a  clean  slate.  But  what  with 
impracticable  theory  on  one  side  and  unenlightened 
selfishness  on  the  other,  such  a  sensible  composition 
does  not  appear  to  be  in  sight. 


There  are  two  entirely  different  ideals  as  to  what 
the  work  of  a  technical  institution  should  be — two 
conceptions  that,  while  not  directly  opposed,  are 
to  a  certain  degree  contradictory.  According  to 
President  Henry  S.  Pritchett  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Institute  of  Technology  of  Boston,  one  of 
these  ideals  demands  that  a  technical  college  or 
department  of  a  university  shall  remain  an  under- 
graduate institution,  offering  to  students  fixed  and 
rather  rigid  courses  of  undergraduate  study  lead- 
ing to  the  professional  work  of  the  engineer,  the 
chemist  and  the  architect.  A  course  of  this  nature 
tends  toward  the  disciplinary  rather  than  the  edu- 
cational side,  teaching  the  student  the  necessity  of 
continued  and  energetic  application  along  certain 
fixed  lines  until  the  object  in  view  has  been  at- 
tained. The  second  conception  has  for  its  ideal 
an  institution  which  shall  preserve  the  undergradu- 
ate work  as  its  heart  and  center,  making  this  de- 
partment, however,  the  foundation  for  a  great 
school  of  professional,  graduate  and  research  work. 

As  Dr.  Pritchett  points  out,  this  choice  of  an 
educational  policy  is  one  which  every  technical  insti- 
tution has  to  face;  each  school  must  lend  itself  to 
one  or  the  other  of  the  two  conceptions  mentioned. 
Each  has  its  advocates,  who  are  provided  with 
abundant  arguments.  The  undergraduate  courses 
are,  and  must  of  necessity  be,  the  real  heart  of  an 
institution,  and  the  standard  in  this  department 
must,  at  all  costs,  be  maintained  uniformly  high. 
If  the  resources  of  the  institution  do  not  permit 
of  the  successful  carrying  on  of  both  undergradu- 
ate and  graduate  work,  the  latter  should  be  sacri- 
ficed. On  the  other  hand,  if  it  is  a  financial  pos- 
sibility to  maintain  the  undergraduate  and  graduate 
courses  both  on  an  efficient  basis,  this  plan  seems 
to  be  the  one  which  promises  the  greatest  results 
in  leadership  and  power.  Opportunity  for  research 
work  is  what  attracts  the  more  mature  men  and 
those  who  demand  a  larger  measure  of  elasticity 
in  their  choice  of  work  and  more  abundant  facili- 
ties for  carrying  it  out.  Men  of  this  stamp  are 
usually  the  ones  who  in  professional  life  will  con- 
tribute most  to  the  reputation  of  their  alma  mater 
and  should  be  attracted  to  the  institution  if  it  is 
possible  to  do  so  without  sacrificing  the  interests 
of  the  undergraduate. 


February    17,   [906 

Third    Rail    versus   Single    Phase    in 
England. 

[From  the  London  corrcupondent  of  the  Western  Eli  < 

London,  January  31.    Although    10  man) 
companies  in  Grcal    Britain  have  adopted  1  Hi;  thinl 

rail   low  prcs  11 ntinu tcm    thai    il 

,      almoi  1    1  omc   to  bi    1  eg  rded    a     the     tandai  'I 

system,  it  is  cvidcnl  thai  ther be  a  big  agita 

tinn  in  favor  "i  ingle  pha  1  alti  1  n  tting  1  tn  rent  al 
high  pri  .  in . 

Ever  since  the  famou     arbitral 1     to  thi 

ti  in  i"  be  adopted  upon  the  li 1  ircle, 

have  not  been  wauling  fur  tin-  introduction  of  an 
overhead  system  at  several  thousand  volts  pressure, 

in    interesting    experiment     with    a    6,000-voIt 

single-phase  system  is  about  to  be  carried  out  in 
London,  It  will  not  do  to  treat  the  expi  1  imi  nt 
lightly  or  in  anything  bul  a  serious  manner,  a  maj 
be  probable,  for  it  is  suppot  ted  b)  m  h  1  mini  nl 
men  as  Mr.  A.  P.  Trotter,  the  electrical  adviser  to 
the  Board  of  Trade,  and  Prof.  Silvanus  P.  Thomp 
son,  to  mention  only  two. 

I  liis  question  of  railwa}  electrification  is  receiv- 
ing much  attention  here  just  at  present,  and  a 
paper  by  Mr.  Carter,  who  is  well  acquainted  with 
the  work  done  in  America,  in  which  he  rather 
deprecates  single  phase,  was  read  before  the  Insti 
tion  of  Electrical  Engineers  last  week.  The  paper 
will  no  doubl  lead  to  one  of  the  most  interesting 
discussion  on  this  subject,  and  the  advocates  of 
single  phase  are  already  strenuously  opposing  the 
views    expressed    in   the    paper. 

Mr.  Philip  Dawson,  the  consulting  engineer  to 
the  London,  Brighton  and  South  ("oast  Railway 
Company,  discussed  the  paper  at  great  length,  and 
produced  figures  to  prove  that  the  single-phase 
motors  which  will  be  used  on  this  line  arc  even 
now  almost  as  efficient  as  direct  current,  and  that 
in  other  respects,  such  as  acceleration,  etc..  the  re- 
Suits   were   more   favorable. 

Thus  once  more  the  old  uncertainty  in  the  minds 
of  railway  managers,  which  was  engendered  a  few 
years  ago  by  the  differences  of  opinion  between 
electrical  engineers,  has  been  resuscitated,  and  the 
results  are  already  apparent.  One  London  suburban 
railway  at  present  has  intercommunication  with  the 
Inner  Circle,  which  is  now  working  on  the  direct- 
current  system,  and  also  with  the  Brighton  Railway 
Company's  suburban  lines,  on  which  single-phase 
traction  is  to  be  adopted.  In  this  company's  unfor- 
tunate dilemma  as  to  which  system  it  should  adopt, 
it  must  be  agreed  that  it  has  adopted  the  policy 
to  be  expected;  that  is,  to  sit  still  and  await  de- 
velopments. 


Erie  Railroad  Electrification. 

The  commission  which  has  in  charge  the  en- 
gineering work  for  the  electrification  of  the  subur- 
ban and  semi-suburban  service  of  the  Erie  Railroad 
near  New  York  city  is  entitled  the  Erie  Railroad 
Electric  Traction  Commission  and  is  composed  of 
J.  M.  Graham,  Bion  J.  Arnold,  Lewis  B.  Stillwell, 
A.  J.  Stone,  E.  A.  Williams  and  C.  H.  Morrison. 

Mr.  Graham  is  third  vice-president  of  the  Erie 
Railroad  and  chairman  of  the  commission.  Mr. 
Arnold  is  one  of  the  foremost  authorities  on  elec- 
tric traction  in  the  United  States.  He  is  past-presi- 
dent of  the  American  Institute  of  Electrical  En- 
gineers, a  member  of  the  electrification  commission 
of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad,  consulting  en- 
gineer of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  Company  for 
the  Sarnia  Tunnel  electrification,  consulting  engi- 
neer for  the  Chicago  City  Council  in  the  traction 
problem  and  advising  engineer  for  the  Temiskam- 
.ing  and  Northern  Ontario  Railway  Commission  of 
the  province  of  Ontario,  Canada,  which  is  consider- 
ing the  possible  electrification  of  the  road  men- 
tioned. Mr.  Stillwell  is  also  a  distinguished  elec- 
trical engineer,  his  work  on  the  original  hydro-elec- 
tric development  at  Niagara  Falls  and  as  electrical 
director  of  the  New  York  Subway  having  attracted 
wide  -attention.  Mr.  Stillwell  is  also  electrical 
director  for  the  Hudson  Companies — a  corporation 
engaged  in  the  extensive  McAdoo  tunnel  projects 
at  New  York  city.  Mr.  Stone  is  assistant  general 
manager  and  Mr.  Williams  is  general  mechanical 
superintendent  of  the  Erie  Railroad.  Mr.  Morrison 
is  an  engineer  in  the  railroad  organization  and  is 
the  secretary  of  the  commission. 

The  Erie  Railroad  operates  by  steam  locomotives 
a  complicated  system  of  railroad  lines  in  Northern 
New  Jersey,  radiating  from  Jersey  City.  The 
length  of  single  track  which  will  probably  be 
electrified  is  about  250  miles.  One  of  the  first  du- 
ties of  the  commission  will  be  to  select  one  branch, 
probably  about  35  miles  long,  for  electrification. 
If  the  tests  prove  successful  on  this  line,  as  is 
apprehended,    the    whole   trackage    in    the    zone   of 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

tion      B 

hi  i 
while  the    lervii  ■■  will  1"-  greatly  ii 

Central    Electric    Railway    Association. 

Permai  1 
Kailwa 
Terminal  Building  in   lndiana| 

1  ill  of   Lima,  1  - 
of  1  1  ill    be    in   1  hat 

connection    vitl    I 

1 1      ■•  •  1  ■    di  in  1  ■       detent 

thi   offii  et     of  thi 
olis  last  weel 

di  in     I'     '  rles     I. 

I  lenrj    and    F.   D.   1  .   and   the    foil 

named  members  of  thi 
ols  of   Anderson,    Will    Irw  in   ol    '  olumbi 
C,   1 '.   Ri  ynold    of   Indianapoli     Gan  im  1     1 
I  erre   Hauti  ,11     P.  I  legs  ol  Daytot 
Willi,-  ■  1  1     Sloal   of    Hamilton, 

Ohio,  and  J.   II.    Brown  ol   Collin  villc,   Pa.    Indi 
anapolis    was    selected    foi     11 
1  an  e  11    v..!     '  mi  idi  red   thi    mi    1     enti    I   p 
view   of   the    fact    that   the   electric-railway    associa- 
tions of  Illinois  and   Kentucky  have  signified  their 
intention  of  joining  the   <     1111    1     1         i.ation. 

Secretary  Merrill,  who  will  be  in  charge  ol 
quarters,  is  well   known   in  tractio  .   having 

bad    10  years'   expel  ii  ncc    in    thi     btl 

been    c ected    with    the    Western    Ohio    ["ract 

Company,  ami  for  two  years  has  been  chairman  of 
the  transportation  committee  of  the  Ohio  [nterurban 
Association,  which  merged  with  the  Indiana  as- 
sociation to  form  the  Central  Electric  Railway  As- 
sociation. He  is  the  author  of  the  interchangeable 
mileage-coupon  book.  The  next  meeting  of  ih 
Central  association  will  be  held  in  Indianapolis  on 
March   22d. 


Cincinnati  Branch  of  the  Institute. 

The  first  monthly  meeting  of  the  Cincinnati  chap- 
ter of  the  American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineer, 
was  held  at  the  Grand  Hotel,  Wednesday,  February 
7th.  Prof.  C.  W.  Marx,  consulting  engineer  of  the 
new  Sinton  Hotel  of  Cincinnati,  gave  a  talk  on 
"Engineering  Practice  in  Modern  Hotels."  He  said 
he  had  visited  the  principal  hotels  and  office  build- 
ings in  New  York  and  Chicago  to  see  how  success- 
fully the  requirements  at  these  places  were  met. 
The  power  plant  for  the  Sinton  Hotel,  including 
lighting,  power,  heating,  ventilation  and  refrigera- 
tion,  will   cost   over  $200,000. 

The  proposition  w-as  presented  to  affiliate  with 
the  local  chapter  of  the  American  Society  of  Archi- 
tects, American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers 
and  the  Engineers'  Club.  The  local  branch  voted 
to  favor  the  affiliation.  The  articles  of  agreement 
provided  that  each  organization  shall  retain  its  indi- 
viduality, and  that  all  the  members  of  the  affiliated 
bodies  shall  be  invited  to  the  meetings  of  each 
organization  at  which  professional  subjects  are  un- 
der discussion.  It  is  intended  to  secure  a  suitable 
building  at  which  all  meetings  can  be  held  and 
which  shall  be  accessible  to  the  members  for  in- 
formal meetings.  It  is  further  intended  to  create 
a  library,  which  shall  be  available  to  all  the  mem- 
bers. 

The  new  officers  of  the  local  chapter  are  as  fol- 
lows :  President,  C.  S.  Reno,  chief  engineer  of  the 
Triumph  Electric  Company ;  vice-president,  A.  G. 
Wessling,  engineer  of  the  Bullock  Electric  Manu- 
facturing Company;  secretary  and  treasurer,  Laur- 
ent Lowenberg  of  the  Reliance  Engineering  Com- 
.  pany. 


Electric-light  Rate    Inquiry    in  Chicago. 

The  committee  on  gas,  oil  and  electric  light  of 
the  Chicago  City  Council,  which  is  going  to  take 
up  the  subject  of  electric  light  and  power  rates 
in  Chicago,  has  had  its  preliminary  meeting.  The 
committee  has  already  learned  that  general  rules 
cannot  be  applied  to  the   electric-light  business. 

William  G.  Beale,  general  counsel  for  the  'Chi- 
cago Edison  Company  and  Commonwealth  Electric 
Company,  has  told  the  committee  that  the  com- 
panies voluntarily  reduced  their  charges  as  rapidly 
as  the  increase  in  business  permitted.  The  busi- 
ness operations  of  both  companies  in  Chicago  had 
been  beyond  reproach.  He  told  the  aldermen  that 
it  was  impossible  to  charge  all  customers  the  same 
rate  on  account  of  the  varying  conditions. 

"From  10  to  15  per  cent,  of  our  customers  get 
their  current  from  us  under  conditions  which 
make  it  cost  us  17  cents  per  kilowatt-hour  and  we 
sell  it  to  them  for  16  cents,"  said  Mr.  Beale.  "Fifty 
per  cent,  of  our  customers  cost  us  nearly  as  much 
as  the  highest  rate  we  charge.  Yet  we  are  re- 
ducing rates  voluntarily  as  rapidly  as  it  can  be  done. 
It  is  not  long  since  we  made  a  voluntary  reduction 
of  20  per  cent.  Nothing  was  said  about  it.  We 
simply  inclosed  a  note  to  each  customer  announcing 
that  the  reduction  had  been  put  in  effect.  On 
the  average  we  use  only  30  per  cent,  of  our  plant, 
and  there  are  only  24  hours  in  the  year  when  we 
use  all  the  plant  continuously  to  its  full  capacity. 
Yet  we  have  to  have  it  for  those  24  hours." 


Note*  of   Progress   irom   Illinois  Cities. 

In  I  h 
providii  . 

under-.-.  • 
an   acn  . 

■   the   arrange; 

a  trifle  embarrassed  in  his  efl 
wiring  into  full  compliance 
requirements,  I 

ns,  which  can  I 

to  liim  in  bring 
defective    wiring    will 

believed  to  be  a  step  in  the  right  die 
and    objectionable    features    will    be    climin  il 

In  Danville  a  considi 
tion  ordinance 

in    the    office    of    the    city     electrician,    the 
incumbent  having  been  in  charge  but  a  short  time. 
ems  to  be  no  act  n  to  the  pro- 

posed measure,  and  the  reliable  electrical  cot;- 
are  said  to  be  in  favor  of  it.     The  material,  d 
and  workmanship  employed  in   all  new  equipments 
installed   by    the   established    firms    will    grade    very 
fair,   the  object   of  the  ordinance   being  to   prevent 
incompetent  workmen   from  interfering  with 
already  in  place  or  from  making  installations  which 
may  be  defective.     On  invitation  of  the  mayor  the 
underwriters'  inspector  addressed   the  City  Council, 
explaining   the    operation    of   a    municipal    electrical 
inspection  department,  together  with  its  effect  upon 
electrical    construction    work. 

Jacksonville  reports  that  the  supervision  of  elec- 
tric wiring  has  been  transferred  from  the  city  engi- 
neer's office  to  that  of  the  superintendent  of  the 
municipal  street-lighting  plant,  and  the  change  is 
reported  as  being  beneficial.  Under  present  condi- 
tions one  man  will  make  all  inspections,  and  con- 
siderable  improvement   is   already   apparent. 

The  mayor  of  Springfield  has  been  prevailed  upon 
to  order  the  electrical  inspection  department  to 
discontinue  the  approval  of  porcelain  link  fuse  cut- 
outs, weatherproof  wire  for  inside  work  and  paper 
conduit.  The  ruling  prohibiting  the  use  of  unlincd 
conduit  was  verbally  rescinded  some  time  ago.  The 
grounding  of  transformer  secondaries  was  consid- 
ered by  the  lighting  company,  which,  owing  to 
infrequency  of  accidents,  is  inclined  to  doubt  the 
advisability  of  such  a  step.  The  company,  however. 
is  desirous  of  keeping  abreast  of  the  times,  and 
will  consider  the  matter  further.  The  city  elec- 
trician has  permitted  the  installation  of  several 
motors  connected  with  the  grounded  troll  < 
tern,  and  a  formal  protest  will  be  made  to  the 
mayor    by    the    insurance    people. 


John  Burns  on  an  Incognito  Visit. 
A  recent  writer  in  the  Boston  Transcript  says 
that  a  few  weeks  ago  he  found  John  Burns,  the 
Labor  member  of  the  new  British  cabinet,  "prowl- 
ing about  the  East  Side  of  New  York."  The  jour- 
nalist saluted  Mr.  Burns  in  surprise,  and  was  told 
that  the  latter  had  been  for  eight  weeks  traveling 
incognito  in  America  without  having  been  recog- 
nized by  a  soul.  He  was  investigating  labor  con- 
ditions, and  he  did  not  want  public  recognition. 
When  asked  where  he  had  been  and  what  he  had 
seen,  he  said :  "I  traveled  1.600  miles  out  of  my 
way  to  meet  again  the  only  saint  America  has  pro- 
duced— Jane  Addams."  But  Jane  Addams  of  Hull 
House,  Chicago,  was  not  all  he  had  seen  even  in 
Chicago.  He  is  deeply  interested  in  the  principle 
of  municipal  ownership,  and  Chicago's  attempts  to 
apply  the  principle  on  a  larger  scale  was  one  object 
cf  his   investigations  here. 


Navy  Wireless  Contract  Awarded. 

[Special  dispatch  to  the  Western  Electrician.] 

Washington,  D.  C.  February  13. — The  Interna- 
tional Telegraph  Construction  Company  has  been 
awarded  the  contract  at  $19,500  for  furnishing  six 
sets  of  space-telegraph  apparatus  for  the  Navy 
Department.  The  other  bidders  were  the  Clark 
Electrical  Engineering  Company,  the  Marine  Trans- 
mission Company,  the  Massie  Wireless  Telegraph 
Company,  the  National  Electric  Signaling  Company, 
the  Stone  Telegraph  and  Telephone  Company  and 
the  Telefunken  Company,  T. 


140 

All-steel  Insulator  Pin. 

One  of  the  latest  additions  to  the  construction- 
material  list  to  be  patented  is  an  all-steel  insulator 
pin,  the  invention  of  Frank  MacKean  of  Chicago, 
who  has  succeeded  in  bringing  out  an  article  that 
does  away  with  the  annoying  wood  ends,  segments 
and  other  devices  that  have  heretofore  been  the 
adjuncts  of  metal  pins  other  than  the  heavy,  rigid 
cast  and  malleable  ones.  It  is  believed  by  many 
that  the  era  of  the  wooden  pin  is  fast  passing 
away,  locust  becoming  each  year  higher  priced  and 
more  difficult  to  obtain,  while  other  woods  are  not 
so   suitable    for   this    work. 

The  unique  feature  of  the  construction  of  the 
MacKean  all-steel  pin  is  that  it  is  composed  of 
one  strip  of  metal  sheet,  which  is  stamped  into 
a  pin  with  perfectly  formed  threads,  ■  a  base  and 
a  rounded  stem,  so  shaped  as  to  make  it  amply 
strong  to  carry  the  strains  of  the  heaviest  line 
work.  Ready  adaptation  to  all  the  different  forms 
of  brackets,  as  well  as  to  the  numerous  styles  of 
special  pins  that  have   come  into  general  use   with 


ALL-STEEL    INSULATO 


the  advent  of  high-tension  transmission,  will,  Mr. 
MacKean  believes,  quickly  make  it  a  general  fa- 
vorite with  the  construction  man,  whether  he  be 
building  a  rural  telephone  line,  a  village  lighting 
system    or    a    40,000-volt    power-transmission    line. 

Illustrated  herewith  are  two  adaptations  of  this 
pin,  one  to  cross-arm  construction  and  the  other  to 
a  bracket.  Any  standard  carriage  or  machine  bolt 
can  be  used  to  place  this  pin  on  a  cross-arm,  or 
it  can  be  fastened  readily  to  any  surface  by  such 
a  bolt,  or  a  lag  screw,  using  a  socket  wrench  for 
the    last-named    method. 

It  is  declared  that  the  lines  of  this  pin  insure 
ample  strength  and  resilience.  Any  glass  or  porce- 
lain insulator  fits  it,  while  the  extremes  of  heat 
and  cold  do  not  add  any  extra  strain  to  the  in- 
sulator. The  split  sections,  with  only  their  top 
points  engaging  each  other,  makes  a  pin  that,  it  is 
said,  will  save  its  first  cost  annually  in  insulators, 
as    well    as    annoying    breakdowns. 

George  D.  Wilson,  30  North  Desplaines  Street, 
Chicago,  is  the  manufacturing  and  sales  agent  for 
this    article. 


Electrically  Operated   Electrolytic  Cop- 
per Plant. 

The  Nevada  Consolidated  Copper  Company,  San 
Francisco,  whose  properties  are  located  near  Ely, 
Nev.,  where  a  new  1,000-ton  concentrating,  roast- 
ing and  smelting  plant  is  in  process  of  construc- 
tion, has  recently  let  the  contracts  for  the  entire 
equipment  to  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company  of  Mil- 
waukee. The  new  works,  when  completed,  will 
constitute  one  of  the  most  carefully  equipped  and 
thoroughly  modern  plants  in  the  United  States. 
The  product  from  the  plant  will  be  electrolytic  cop- 
per. Up  to  the  present  time  the  work  on  the 
company's  properties  has  been  largely  that  of  de- 
velopment, awaiting  the  completion  of  a  plant  with 
adequate  capacity  to  handle  the  output.  The  process 
of  treatment  will  consist  in  the  concentration  of 
ores,  which  concentrates  will  be  passed  to  the  Mc- 
Dougal  roasters  and  thence  to  the  reverberatory 
furnaces  and  converters  in  the  usual  manner. 

One  of  the  features  of  the  equipment  will  be 
the  battery  of  six  McDougal  roasting  furnaces,  each 
standing  19  feet  six  inches  high  and  18  feet  in 
diameter.  The  main  shafting  for  the  entire  group 
of  six  furnaces  will  be  driven  from  a  20-horsepower 
Bullock  induction  motor  running  at  a  speed  of  850 
revolutions  per  minute.  The  operator  will  be  en- 
abled to  control  the  operation  of  each  furnace  from 
any  one  of  three  floors  or  stages  about  them.  The 
power-house  equipment  consists  of  two  22  and  48 
by  48-inch  compound-condensing  heavy  duty  engine, 
a  blowing  engine  with  cylinders  16  by  32  inches  to 
deliver  6,000  cubic  feet  of  free  air  per  minute ; 
and  electrical  machinery  as  follows:  Two  800- 
kilowat  Allis-Chalmers  alternators,  two  exciters  and 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

seven  motors,  ranging  from  20  to  100  horsepower 
for  the  operation  of  the  various  ore-reducing  de- 
vices, furnaces,  etc.  Mr.  Thomas  W.  Cox  is 
engineer  of  the  company.  It  is  expected  that  the 
new  plant  will  be  ready  to  begin  operations  by 
early  summer. 


Some    Things  to  Avoid   in   Construction 
Work. 

The  subjoined  list  of  defects  found  to  exist  in 
the  electrical  equipment  of  various  towns  and 
cities  in  the  West  by  the  Underwriters'  Electrical 
Bureau  may  prove  of  interest  to  contractors  and 
other  electricians.  It  is  not  intended  as  a  "counsel 
of  perfection,"  but  points  out  possible  weaknesses 
which  should  be  carefully  watched. 

1.  Wires  too  near  roof. 

2.  Wires  not  properly  insulated  from  cornice, 
awning  frames,  etc. 

3.  Service  wires  not  properly  installed  and  insu- 
lated. 

4.  Wires  undersized. 

5.  Circuit  or  line  wires  overloaded. 

6.  Wires  not  properly  bushed  through  floors, 
walls  or  partitions. 

7.  Wires  not  protected  from  mechanical   injury. 

8.  Wires   not  properly  installed   in   elevator   shaft. 

9.  Wires  do  not  have  sufficient  support. 

10.  Wires  supported  by  wood  cleats,   staples,   etc. 

11.  Wires  not  properly  bushed  at  outlets. 

12.  Wires  do  not  have  approved  insulated  cover- 
ing. 

13.  Wires  crossed  or  are  in  contact  with  gas  or 
water    pipe. 

14.  Lamp  cord  used  in   show   windows. 

15.  Use    of    unapproved    lamp   cord. 

16.  Lamp  cord  used  for  circuit  wires  or  excess 
lengths  of  cord. 

17.  Lamp   cord    used   to   support   clusters. 

18.  Lamp  cord  subjected  to  moisture  or  corrosive 
vapors. 

19.  Pendant  wires  not  supported  independently  of 
line  wires. 

20.  Joints  and  splices  not  properly  soldered  and 
taped. 

21.  Signal-service  wires  not  properly  installed  and 
bushed. 

22.  No  protective  device   for   signal   wires. 

23.  Signal  wires  not  properly  installed. 

24.  No  service  cut-out. 

25.  Use  of  open  cut-outs. 

26.  Cut-outs  not  properly  protected  against  me- 
chanical injury. 

27.  Change  in  size  of  wires  without  fusible  protec- 
tion. 

28.  Use  of  canopy  cut-outs  in  fixtures. 

29.  Outside  cut-out  not  properly  protected  against 
the  weather. 

30.  Cut-out  cabinet*  unlined. 

31.  No  service  switch. 

32.  No  service  switch   for  series  arc  lighting. 

33.  Knife   switches  not  properly  installed. 

34.  Flush  switches  not  provided  with  iron  or 
steel  boxes. 

35.  Snap  switches  not  provided  with  a  sub-base. 

36.  Outside  switch  not  properly  protected  against 
the  weather. 

37.  Fixtures  wired  with  unapproved  wire. 

38.  No  insulating  joint  for  combination  fixtures. 

39.  Wood  hanger  boards. 

40.  No  spark  arrester  for  arc  lamp. 

41.  Incandescent  lamps  too  near  inflammable  ma- 
terials. 

42.  Unlined  or  broken  sockets. 

43.  Use  of  metal  sockets  in  damp  places. 

44.  Sockets  not  properly  protected  from  inflam- 
mable gases. 

45.  Sockets  not  provided  with  bushings. 

46.  Wooden,  broken   or  unapproved   rosettes. 

47.  Use  of  fused  rosettes  in  places  containing 
dust  or  gases. 

48.  Use  of  untreated  or  improperly  constructed 
molding. 

49.  Molding  used  in  damp  places. 

50.  Molding  not  properly  installed  on  walls. 

51.  Transformer  in  or  on  building. 

52.  Wood  rheostat. 

53.  Rheostat  not  properly  protected  from  com- 
bustible materials. 

54.  Unlined  snap   switch. 

55.  Uninsulated  fixture  canopy. 

56.  No  magnetic  release  for  rheostat. 


The  Atlantic  City  Convention. 

The  annual  convention  of  the  National  Electric 
Light  Association  will  be  held  at  Atlantic  City  on 
June  5th,  6th,  7th  and  8th  next.  The  meeting  hall 
will  be  in  the  small  auditorium  of  Young's  Pier, 
and  the  large  exhibition  room  on  the  front  of  the 
pier  has  been  secured  for  the  exhibits  of  the  asso- 
ciate members.  The  present  programme  is  to  open 
the  exhibition  hall  on  Monday  evening,  to  hold  a 
reception  and  ball  in  the  New  Blenheim  on  Tues- 
day evening,  and  a  banquet,  at  which  will  be  pres- 
ent the  governor  of  the  state  and  many  other 
notables,  on  Thursday  evening.  A  part  of  the  en- 
tertainment of  the  ladies  will  consist  of  a  trip  to 
Philadelphia  in  a  special  car,  lunching  at  the  Belle- 
vue-Stratford,  and  returning  in  the  late  afternoon. 
The  entertainment  of  the  members  will  be  confined 
to    other    than    meeting    hours,    as    it     is     intended 


February  17,  1906 

that  this  shall  be  a  working  convention.  A  fea- 
ture of  the  banquet  will  be  the  cooking  of  the 
menu  by  electric  current.  This  is  now  being  ar- 
ranged, and  it  is  expected  that  all  the  prominent 
manufacturers  of  electrical  heating  devices  will  take 
part.  The  attendance  during  the  last  two  con- 
ventions has  been  about  1,300,-  and  it  is  expected 
that  Atlantic  City  will  increase  the  number  to  not 
less  than  3,000.  It  is  hoped  that  many  ladies  will 
be    in    attendance. 


Some  Large  Engines. 

"Allis-Chalmers  Engines  at  Home  and  Abroad" 
is  the  title  of  a  rather  unique  bulletin  about  to  be 
issued  by  the  Milwaukee  company  whose  name  is 
given.  It  is  unique  from  the  fact  that  it  contains 
68  pages  without  reading  matter,  except  brief  de- 
scriptions underneath  the  cuts  and  a  list  of  the 
company's  products  at  the  end.  The  title-page 
illustration,  a  reproduction  of  which  is  given  here- 
with, represents  a  row  of  large  and  imposing 
engine-generators  installed  in  the  power  house 
of  the  Twin  City  Rapid  Transit  Company,  Min- 
neapolis. Other  plants  shown  are  those  of  the 
New  York  Interborough  Rapid  Transit  Company, 
New  York  City  Railway  Comoany,  Brooklyn  Rapid 
Transit  Company,  Chicago  Metropolitan  West  Side 
Elevated  Railway  Company,  Central  London  (Eng- 
land) Underground  Railway,  London  United  Tram- 
ways, Dubin  (Ireland)  Tramways,  Cincinnati  Gas 
and  Electric  Company,  St.  Louis  Union  Electric 
Light  and  Power  Company,  Barcelona  (Spain) 
Tramway  Company,  Sidney  (New  South  Wales) 
Government  Tramways,  Buenos  Aires  (Argentina) 
Compania  Alemana  Transatlantica  de  Electricidad, 
and  other  well-known  companies.  Pumping  en- 
gines, a  number  of  which  hold  world's  records  for 
economy  and  efficiency  in  their  respective  fields  of 
operation,  are  shown  installed  in  various  plants  in 
American    cities.      Blowing   engines    are    represented 


by  impressive  lines  at  furnaces  of  the  Carnegie 
Steel  Company  and  the  American  Steel  and  Wire 
Company;  air  compressors  by  machines  in  opera- 
tion for  the  Anaconda  Copper  Mining  Company 
and  the  Atlas  Portland  Cement  Company,  and 
hoisting  engines  by  numerous  mining  installations, 
prominent  among  which  is  that  of  the  famous  Le 
Roi  mine  at  Rossland,   B.   C. 


Will  Not  Build  Municipal  Light  Plant  in 
New  York  City. 

Recent  interviews  with  Mayor  McClellan  of  New 
York  city  are  said  to  indicate  that  he  has  no 
thought  of  pressing  to  completion  the  plans  for 
the  construction  of  a  municipal  street-lighting  plant 
for  that  city.  The  mayor  is  quoted  as  saying: 
"Municipal  ownership  and  operation  are  to  be  con- 
sidered only  when  private  interests  fail  to  provide 
suitable  service  for  a  price  within  which  the  city 
could  do  the  work  itself.  I  am  not  certain  that 
the  lighting  companies  have  reduced  their  figures 
for  the  next  year  to  this  point,  but  I  understand 
they  are  much  lower.  I  shall  take  no  action  until 
I   am  thoroughly  informed  on   every  point." 

It  is  reported  as  probable  that  the  bids  of  the 
electric-light  companies  will  be  accepted  and  con- 
tracts entered  into.  In  this  case  nothing  further 
will  be  done  with  the  sites  which  the  city  owns 
on  which  it  was  proposed  to  erect  municipal  plants. 
It  is  said  the  city  will  endeavor  to  abandon  all 
of  the  gas  street  lamps  now  in  use  and  to  sub- 
stitute generally  arc  lamps  in  their  stead.  This 
move  will  bring  the  number  of  arc  lamps  up  to 
more  than  15,000  in  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  and 
to  the  same  figure  in  Brooklyn,  and  thus  enable 
the  city  to  get  the  minimum  rate  of  $80  per  lamp 
bid    by    the    companies. 


February   17,  1906 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


Mi 


Light  on  Dalrymple  Report. 

Although   Mayor   I  >i >f  1  hii  ago  still   1 

to  make   public  the   reporl   of  Jamc     I  'all  >.  mpli 

Glasgow,  concerning  the  Chic: traction   situation, 

information    revealing    what    may   be    taken   as   the 

essem  c  ol   ihc   1 1 1    ha  ,  ln-cn   ■•  >iln  ml    1 1 

rr.il  souro  s.  Mi  I  tali  1  mplc  m  >l  0  it  plain  thai 
he  and  the  Ciiy  Council  of  Glasgow  supposed  as  a 

rnatter  of   c s<    thai    whati  vi  1    hi    had   to     aj    on 

lln-  subjeel  was  for  the  benefit  of  the  Ciiy  Council 
.-mil  people  of  Chicago.  If  ii  had  beer  anticipated 
thai  Mayor  Dunne  would  withhold  the  reporl  as 
private  property  Mr.  Dalrymple,  who  is  manager 
.if  the  Glasgow  municipal  street-railway  system, 
would    nol    have   been   permitted   to   visit  Chicago. 

To  make   the   public    familiar   with   the   Gla 
manager'     views  on  the  municipal-ownership  propo 
sition  in  Giicago  il  will  hardly  be  necessary  to  pub 
lish    the    report,   as    the    trend    of    Mr.    Dalryinplc's 

C hi, ions  are   now   well   known.      However,  as  the 

mailer  now  stands,  unless  Mayor  Dunne  gives  some 

d  and   sufficient   reason   to  the   Glasgow   council 

why   il    should   not  be   clone,   that   body,   it  is   said, 


Lincoln  Variable-speed  Motor. 

A     lie    tOI 

Manufacturing  I 

lure   is   wound  ire   in    any 

llmtra- 

tiori      how   tie 

Speed   variation   1     obtained   by  withdraw 

an in 

the  armal  di  awn,  the  magi  ■ 

11  the  field  poles  and  the  armature   in 
1  1,    -i:  crea  ini 
the     i"  1  'i 

11   1     po    ibl 
peed    with   a 

armature   slightly  conical.    V  i  arma 

lure  is  used,  the  withdrawal   of  thi 
creases    the  area  of  the  air  gap  in   the      one   pro 
portion   as   ii   would  if  a  cylindrical  armatui 
11     d,    but    at    the    sam  length 


Sons  of  Jove  Increasing  Rapidly. 
At  ti  !  Sont 

■ 

Building 

■ 

full 


M.    B.    Atu 


B.  K 
II     W 

I!     II.     I. 


Company,     Madiion,    Wit;     J.    A.   Campbell,    "Elcctrocran/1 


LINCOLN    VARIABLE-SPEED    MOTOR. 

will  mail  a  copy  of  the  Dalrymple  report  to  the 
Chicago   City   Council. 

The  Engineer  and  Iron  Trades  Advertiser  of 
Glasgow  reports  a  lecture  in  that  city  last  month 
by  Mr.  Dalrymple  on  the  subject,  "Tramways  in 
Glasgow  and  Elsewhere."  It  says  in  part:  "Re- 
ferring to  the  Chicago  tramway  system,  he  said 
that  the  city  had  an  area  of  194  square  miles — 
exactly  ten  times  the  size  of  Glasgow — and  a  tram- 
way system  extending  to  700  miles  single  line, 
serving  a  population  of  2,000,000  people.  It  was 
his  opinion  that  there  was  the  making  of  the 
largest  and  finest  tramway  system  in  the  world  in 
Chicago.  He  had  visited  many  cities  both  in 
Europe  and  America,  but  the  system  at  present 
existing  in  Chicago  was  the  worst,  in  almost  every 
respect,    he   had   ever  seen." 

The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  municipal  owner- 
ship of  street  railways  in  Chicago  and  his  views 
of  the  Chicago  traction  situation  are  contained  in 
a  statement  dictated  by  Mr.  Dalrymple  for  the 
Chicago  Daily  Tribune  and  published  in  that  paper 
on  February  oth.  The  following  is  the  essence  of 
the  interview : 

1.  The  Chicago  street  railways  to-day  are  in 
wretched  condition.  The  entire  plant  is  utterly 
worn  out. 

2.  The  companies  have  no  inducements  to  spend 
money  on  betterments  owing  to  their  uncertain 
position. 

3.  As  to  the  best  and  quickest  way  of  bringing 
about  municipalization,  the  proposals  made  by  the 
companies   are   fair   and   reasonable. 

4.  If  the  city  will  not  extend  the  franchises, 
the  proposal  of  the  companies  that  the  city  acquire 
the  entire  system  gradually  is  fair.  This  would 
surmount  the  difficulties  of  the  long  franchises 
owned  by  the  companies. 

5.  If  the  city  insists  in  taking  over  all  the  lines 
at  once  $75,000,000  would  be  only  a  starter.  Enor- 
mous sums  would  have  to  be  spent  to  bring  the 
lines  up  to  a  state  of  efficiency. 

6.  Glasgow  under  municipal  ownership  does  not 
operate  street  cars  any  cheaper  per  car-mile  than 
do  the  private  companies  of  Chicago.  Wages  are 
lower  in  Glasgow,  but  hours  are  shorter.  Glasgow 
cars  do  not  run  so  fast. 


The  council  of  the  Armstrong  College,  Newcas- 
tle-on-Tyne.  England,  has  resolved  to  establish  a 
chair  of  electrical  engineering,  and  voted  a  sum 
of  £2,600  toward  forming  new  electrical  engineering 
laboratories.  It  has  also  decided  to  offer  for  com- 
petition two  scholarships,  each  worth  £125,  annu- 
ally, to  be  held  by  graduates  at  the  college  on  the 
condition  that  they  spend  their  time  in  the  prosecu- 
tion  of    definite    research. 


of  the  air  gap,  which  would  not  occur  with  the 
cylindrical  armature.  Thus  the  increase  in  the  re- 
sistance of  the  air  gap  is  more  rapid  with  a  conical 
armature  than  with  a  cylindrical  armature,  so  that 
a  given  variation  in  speed  can  be  more  readily 
obtained  with  a  conical  than  with  a  cylindrical 
armature. 

As  the  armature  is  withdrawn,  the  speed  in- 
creases. Special  cdmmutating  poles  are  provided, 
under  the  influence  of  which  the  armature  comes 
as  it  is  withdrawn  into  its  positions  of  high  speed. 
The  special  commutating  poles  produce  sparkless 
commutation  at  all  loads  from  no  load  to  100  per 
cent,    overload. 

The  special  feature  of  advantage  in  this  motor 
is  in  the  extraordinary  wide  ranges  of  speed  which 
are  obtained.  A  variation  of  10  to  r  is  easily  ob- 
tained, and  wider  variation  can  be  obtained  if  there 
is  a  demeand  for  it.  The  reason  why  this  motor 
can  obtain  such  wide  variation  in  speed  is  that 
there  is  no  more  distortion  of  the  main  flux  at 
high  speeds  than  there  is  at  the  low  speeds.  This 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  full  field  strength  is 
used,  no  matter  what  the  speed  of  the  motor  may- 
be. 

A  hand  wheel  is  used,  in  connection  with  a  screw 
mechanism,  to  move  the  armature  laterally,  and  by 
means  of  this  hand  wheel  it  is  possible  to  get 
an  infinite  variety  of  speeds,  from  the  lowest 
to  the  highest  speed.  The  magnetic  pull  of  the 
armature  is  carried  on  ball-thrust  bearings,  which 
eliminate  all  friction.  The  brushes  are  carried  on 
the  thrust  bearing,  and  as  the  thrust  bearing,  arma- 
ture and  commutator  all  move  together,  there  is 
no  relative  lateral  movement  between  the  com- 
mutator and  brushes. 

At  all  speeds  the  motor  can  be  overloaded  100 
per  cent,  without  sparking,  and  at  low  and  inter- 
mediate speeds  the  motor  will  carry,  for  a  short 
period,  even  a  greater  load  than  this.  The  fields 
and  the  armature  coils  are  shaped  and  treated  so 
as  to  provide  the  best  ventilation  and  heat  radia- 
tion, so  that,  notwithstanding  the  exceptional  small 
size  and  weight  of  the  motor,  the  heating,  even  at 
very  low  speeds,  is  well  within  the  margin  of 
safety.  The  efficiency  is  said  to  be  high,  and  the 
horsepower  capacity  throughout  the  range  is  con- 
stant. 


A  Cook  County  coroner's  jury  which  heard  evi- 
dence presented  at  the  inquest  over  the  body  of 
a  schoolgirl  who  had  been  killed  by  a  street  car. 
recommended  that  an  ordinance  be  introduced  in 
the  Chicago  council  compelling  street-railway  com- 
panies to  bring  their  cars  to  a  full  stop  100  feet 
on  each  side  of  a  school  building  during  the  time 
school  is  in  session. 


LE-SPEED    MOTOR    DRIVING 

Detroit,  Mich.;  Jas.  Clark,  Ir..  J.  Clark.  Tr..  Co..  Louisville, 
Ky.;  \V.  P.  Crockett.  W.  P.  Crockett,  Chicago,  111.;  J.  Rob- 
ert Crouse,  Co-Opcrativc  Electrical  Development  Association, 
Cleveland,  Ohio;  W.  M.  Dcming,  Electric  Supply  Company, 
Memphis,  Tcnn.;  S.  A.  Dinsmore,  Electric  Appliance  Com- 
pany, Chicago,  ill.:  B.  B.  Downs,  St.  Paul  Electric  Com- 
pany, St.  Paul.  Minn.;  A.  S.  Doxsec,  Doxsee-B.  Electric 
Company.  St.  Louis,  Mo.;  W.  H.  Fairclough,  Jr.,  Chicago 
Edison  Company,  Chicago.  111.;  T.  II.  Fcnton.  Electrical  In- 
spector, M.  Louis,  Mo.;  E.  H.  Fox,  Phoenix  Glass  Companv, 
Chicago.  III.;  H.  M.  Frantz.  H.  \V.  Johns-Manville  Com- 
panv, Chicago.  III.;  C.  C.  Frickc,  Phcenix  Glass  Companv. 
Chicago,  111.;  \V.  R.  Garton.  W.  R.  Carton  Company.  Chi- 
cago, 111.:  F.  W  Godfrey,  Brvan-Marsh  Companv,  Chicago. 
III.;  W.  S.  Goll.  Fort  Wayne  Electric  Works.  Chicago.  111.: 
T.  G.  Grier.  American  Circular  Loom  Companv.  Chicago, 
111.;  J.  A.  Haines,  3=4  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago.  111.:  E.  M. 
Hamlin,  Lord  Electric  Companv,  Boston.  Ma?s ;  \V.  F. 
Hessel,  Pass  &  Seymour,  Incorporated.  Chicago,  III.:  P.  C  P. 
Holmes.  Chicago  Edison  Co..  Chicago.  III.:  E.  H.  Haughton. 
Bryan-Marsh  Companv.  Chicago.  111.;  C.  A.  S.  Howlett, 
Western  Electric  Companv.  Chicago.  111.;  R.  E.  Hull. 
O'Kanc-Hull  Company,  Columbus,  Ohio:  E.  W.  Hurst.  Farr 
Telephone  and  Construction  Company.  Chicago.  111.;  G.  W. 
Tohnston.  Western  Electrical  Comnanv,  Omaha.  Neb.;  R.  L. 
Kimble.  Central  Electric  Company.  Flint.  Mich.:  M.  F. 
King.  American  Circular  Loom  Company.  Detroit,  Mich.: 
H.  B.  Kirkland.  American  Circular  Loom  Company,  Chelsea, 
Mass.:  A.  H.  Kling,  Peru  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany. Peru,  Ind. ;  G.  A.  Knoche,  Wesco  Supply  Comnany. 
St.  Louis.  Mo.;  H.  G.  Landis.  Landis  Electric  Company, 
Wichita,  Kan.:  E.  W.  Lathrop.  622c  Jefferson  Ave.,  Chicago, 
III.;  G.  Lone.  American  Steel  and  Wire  Companv.  Chicago. 
111.;  W.  W.  Low.  Electric  Appliance  Companv.  Chicago.  111.: 
P.  F.  Lyons.  National  India  Rubber  Comnanv,  Bristol.  R.  I.; 
T.  B.  McCarthy,  "Eleetrocraft,"  Detroit.  Mich.;  S.  D.  Mac- 
Donald,  Electric  Appliance  Companv.  Chicago.  111.;  J.  H. 
McGill,  Crescent  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company,  Val- 
paraiso, Ind.:  T.  B.  McMullin.  Electric  Apoliancc  Companv, 
Tomah,  Wis.:  Geo.  MacElwee.  of  H.  T.  Paiste  Com- 
pany, Philadelphia.  Pa.;  E.  P.  Magoon.  Illinois  Electric 
Companv.  Chicago.  111.:  S.  Mankowitz.  Monarch  Electric 
and  Wire  Company.  Chicago.  III.:  D.  L.  MarVIe.  Mark 
Manufacturing  Company,  Chicago,  111.:  D.  A.  Merriman, 
American  Steel  and  Wire  ComDany,  Chicago.  TIL:  C.  Messer, 
Dearborn  Electric  Companv.  Chicago, "111.;  M-  Mill,  E-.vir.c- 
Merklc  Electric  Company,  St.  Louis,  Mo.:  A.  I-  Millard. 
Westinchouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company,  Chi- 
cago,  111.:  E.  E.  Nash.  Warren  Electric  and  Supply  Com- 
panv. Warren,  Ohio:  H.  E.  Niesz.  Chicaco  Edison  Com- 
pany. Chicaco.  111.:  T.  B.  Olson.  I.  R.  &  G.  V.  Insulating 
Company.  New  York:  W.  T.  Osborne.  W.  T  Osborne  Com- 
panv, Kansas  Cite.  Mo.:  F.  Ovcrbach.  Overbagh  &  Ayres 
Manufacturing  Companv.  Chicago,  HI.;  E.  K  Patton, 
Bryant  Electric  Companv,  Chicago.  III.;  H.  A.  Petersen, 
H.  A.  Petersen  Manufacturing  Companv,  Chicaco.  111.:  T.  W. 
Phelps.  Solar  Electoc  Company.  Oak  Park.  Til.:  F.  D. 
Phillips,  American  Electrical  Supply  Company,  Chicago,  111.: 
W.  R.  Pinckard,  Westinchouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing 
Companv.  Chicago.  111.;  S.  A.  Rail.  I.  A.  Bennett.  Chicago. 
TIL:  F.  'Raymond,  Manufacturers'  Agent,  Chicaco.  EL:  G.  A. 
Roth.  Roth  Bros.  S:  Co.,  Chicago,  111.:  R.  A.  Schoenberg, 
Sarco  Company.  New  York:  R.  Schrumff,  Beardslce 
Chandelier  Manufacturing  Companv,  Chicago,  Til.;  F.  D. 
Schwartz,  Electric  Appliance  Company.  Chicago.  111.:  R. 
Schi  ■-.:'.  Crawfordsville  W.  S:  N.  Company,  Crawfords- 
villc.  Ind.;  G.  S.  Spearing,  Hart  &  Heceman  Manufacturing 
Companv.  Chicago.  111.:  F.  G.  Simpson.  H.  W.  Johns-Man- 
ville  Company,  "Chicago.  111.:  W.  S.  Sisson.  D.  S:  W.  Fuse 
Companv,"  Providence,  R.  I.:  F.  F.  Skeel,  Crouse-Hinds 
Companv.  Chicago.  111.:  T.  C.  Smith.  Solar  Electric  Com- 
panv. Oak  Park.  111.:  W.  M.  Smith.  Chicago  Insulated  Wire 
Company,  Chicago,  TIL:  W.  T.  Spranlev,  Spranlev  & 
Reed.  New-  Orleans.  La.;  P.  Stem.  Interstate  Electric  Com- 
oTew  Orleans.  La.;  C  T.  Sutter.  Electrical  Con- 
tractor. St.  Louis.  Mo.:  A.  B.  Thomson,  Stanley  S:  Patter- 
son, New  York;  H.  Tideman,  Menominee  Electrical  Manu- 
facturing Company,  Menominee,  Mich.;  O.  C.  Turner,  South- 


llenianiin  Electric  Manufacturing  Company,  Chicago,  111.; 
J.  A.  White,  Electric  Storage  Battery  Company,  Chicago, 
111.;    F.    S.   Wdmeyen    Fort  Wayne   Klcolric  Work'?,    Chicago, 


Rubber  Shoes  or  Rubber  Gloves? 

The  London  Electrical  Review  advises  the  use  of 
rubber  boots  or  shoes  for  the  protection  of  elec- 
trical workers  rather  than  rubber  gloves.  Dis- 
cussing the  subject,  Mr.  G.  W.  Partridge,  engineer 
for  the  London   Electric   Supply   Corporation,   says : 

"It  has  been  the  rule  for  a  great  many  years  in 
this  corporation  that  all  employes  in  our  sub-sta- 
tions wear  rubber  shoes;  also  that  under  no  circum- 
stances whatever  are  rubber  gloves  to  be  used,  ex- 
cept under  the  direct  supervision  of  an  engineer 
who  has  to  be  personally  responsible  that  the  gloves 
used  are  in  proper  condition. 

"From  my  experience,  rubber  shoes,  besides  min- 
imizing the  chance  of  a  man  getting  a  dangerous 
shock  to  earth,  very  often  prevent  him  slip- 
ping and  falling  against  live  terminals.  Hand-to- 
hand  shocks  are  very  rare ;  and,  after  some  17 
years'  experience  of  working  with  high-tension  cur- 
rent, I  have  seldom  had  a  serious  case  of  this  kind 
brought  to  my  notice. 

"I  am  afraid  your  suggestion  that  rubber  boots 
should  be  put  on  'outside  the  ordinary  footwear' 
will  hardly  work  in  practice,  as  the  boot  of  the 
ordinary  lineman,  what  with  nails,  etc.,  forms  a 
fairly  good  metallic  contact  with  the  foot  itself, 
especially  after  the  owner  has  walked  from  home 
on  a  rainy  morning. 

"All  switchmen  and  assistants  should  be  made 
to  change  their  boots  when  they  come  on  duty,  and 
I  find  this  system  works  exceedingly  well.  For 
outside  work  I  am  afraid  rubber  boots  are  out  of 
the  question ;  but  even  here  I  should  prefer  a  port- 
able insulated  platform  to  rubber  gloves. 

"Now  that  the  example  set  by  Deptford  15  years 
ago  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  of  generating  at  a 
pressure  of  10,000  volts,  has  been  followed  by  other 
engineers  in  this  country,  thereby  bringing  into  use 
a  large  number  of  sub-stations,  etc.,  the  question 
of  protecting  one's  employes  from  shock  is  a  very 
serious  one.  I  find  that  men  at  times,  either  from 
carelessness  or  absent-mindedness,  touch  live  ter- 
minals which  they  have  known  for  years  to  be 
alive  and  dangerous,  although  there  is  a  danger 
plate  and  pilot  lamp  staring  them  in  the  face  at  the 
time,  to  say  nothing  of  printed  rules  which  have 
been  before  them  for  years  with  their  signature 
attached  as  having  been  read  and  noted  by  them. 

"I  anticipate  that,  if  this  matter  is  taken  up  in 
your  columns,  you  will  have  numerous  letters, 
probably  from  makers  of  switchgear,  to  say  that 
if  their  system  is  used  such  accidents  are  impos- 
sible; but  I  have  had  some  experience  in  switch- 
gear  myself,  and,  no  matter  what  precautions  are 
taken,  or  how  much  money  is  spent,  some  unfor- 
tunate man  sooner  or  later  gets  a  severe  shock; 
and  when  asked  why  he  broke  the  rules  or  de- 
liberately removed  an  earthed  shield  and  touched 
a  line  terminal,  he  savs  he  cannot  account  for  it." 

Mr.  G.  C.  Allingham  of  Cardiff  adds  this: 
"With  regard  to  your  leaderette  on  india-rubber 
boots  in  your  issue  of  January  26th,  I  also  have 
often  wondered  that  these  are  not  more  used.  For 
some  years  I  have  worn  ordinary  American  rubber 
overshoes  or  goloshes  when  inspecting  accumula- 
tors. These  shoes  are  of  course  made  of  very  poor 
rubber  and  would  not  be  good  enough  for  high- 
voltage  work,  but  I  have  found  them  satisfactory 
for  anything  up  to  500  volts,  and  they  are  very 
convenient,  for  as  long  as  they  are  kept  fairly  dry, 
one  can  touch  any  part  of  a  battery,  or  even  dip 
one's  finger  into  the  acid,  without  getting  the 
slightest  shock.  From  my  own  experience  I 
should  judge  that  slippers  or  boots  made  of  good 
rubber,  of  a  fair  thickness,  would  be  extremely  use- 
ful and   convenient  for  high-tension  work.". 


Theater  Excursions  by  Trolley. 

In  an  article  in  The  World  Today  entitled  "The 
Trolley  Car  as  a  Social  Factor"  Karl  Edwin  Har- 
riman  says  that  every  trolley  line  radiating  from 
the  Campus  Martius  in  Detroit  runs  regular  theater 
excursions,  and  the  interesting  feature  of  the  plan 
is  that  these  theater  cars  are  not  operated  so  much 
for  the  benefit  of  dwellers  in  the  outlying  terminal 
towns  as  they  are  for  the  farm  households  along 
the  right-of-way.  Indeed,  the  theaters  of  Detroit 
have  for  some  years  carried  advertisements  in  the 
village  newspapers  published  within  30  miles  of  the 
city.  Mr.  Harriman  quotes  James  A.  Bailey,  pro- 
prietor of  the  Barnum  and  Bailey  Circus,  as  fol- 
lows: 

"Ten  years  ago  this  country  was  the  richest  circus 
country  in  the  United  States.  It  still  is,  for  that 
matter,  yet  circus  receipts  have  fallen  off  appre- 
ciably here  in  the  last  seven  years.  I  blame  the 
innumerable  trolley  systems  you  have  in  this  sec- 
tion for  it.  They  have  placed  the  farmers  in  easy 
touch  with  the  towns,  and  this  has  resulted  in 
their  paying  fairly  frequent  visits  to  the  town  the- 
aters. The  familiarity  with  professional  entertain- 
ments has  served  to  lessen  their  interest  in  the 
circus  which,  10  years  ago,  offered  them  the  only 
entertainment   it   was   possible   for   them   to    enjoy." 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

The  Allis-Chalmers  Club. 

The  Allis-Chalmers  Club  of  Milwaukee,  Wis., 
has  issued  an  attractive  little  brochure  containing 
its  constitution  and  by-laws,  which  are  complete 
and  concise.  The  printing  of  these  rules  is  not  in 
itself  particularly  noteworthy;  but  it  calls  atten- 
tion to  a  class  of  organizations  growing  up  in  con- 
nection with  some  of  the  largest  manufacturing 
and  industrial  plants  of  the  country — clubs  de- 
signed to  contribute  to  the  comfort,  social  inter- 
course and  efficiency  of  employes.  The  Allis-Chal- 
mers Company  has  established  for  its  office  men, 
superintendents  and  foremen  a  well-appointed  club, 
occupying  quarters  in  a  former  mansion  house  near 
the  works,  where  for  a  nominal  yearly  fee  mem- 
bers are  given  all  the  benefits  usual  to  such  organi- 
zations. During  the  noon  hour  a  course  dinner  is 
served  at  approximately  what  the  service  actually 
costs,  and  supper  may  also  be  had  by  those  who 
are  obliged  to  stay  late  at  the  office. 

As  the  club  building  stands  in  a  residence  dis- 
trict and  is  easily  accessible  from  all  parts  of  the 
city  it  is  kept  'open  every  evening  for  the  benefit 
of  members,  who  make  free  use  of  the  periodicals, 
games,  etc.,  contained  in  .the  reading  room.  Nights 
are  also  frequently  set  apart  for  general  receptions 
and  entertainments  given  separately  by  members  of 
either  sex,  the  annual  dues  being  devoted  to  a  fund 
for  such  purposes. 

The  club  has  a  beneficial  .effect  on  employes. 
One  of  the  greatest  of  the  advantages  is  from 
bringing  men  in  different  departments  together  at 
least  once  a  day,  thereby  tending  to  establish  more 
of  a  feeling  of  fellowship  and  consequently  closer 
co-operation  between  them.  David  Harlovve  is 
president  and   Max  W.   Babb  secretary. 


Motive  Power  Statistics  of  Maryland. 

The  census  enumeration  of  manufactures  in  the 
state  of  Maryland  shows  a  large  increase  in  motive 
power  employed  during  the  last  five  years.  The 
total  number  of  establishments  reporting  power 
used  in  1900  was  2,074,  increasing  to  2,177  m  IQ05. 
The  total  horsepower  reported  in  1900  was  135,- 
493,  and  in   1905,   180,787. 

The  number  of  steam  engines  reported  under 
private  ownership  in  1900  was  2,153,  with  115,590 
horsepower."  In  1905  the  number  is  only  2,121,  with 
an  increased  horsepower,  however,  of  142,096.  Gas 
or  gasoline  engines  reported  under  private-  owner- 
ship in  1900  numbered  332,  with  3,139  horsepower. 
In  1905  the  number  had  increased  to  398,  with  4,377 
horsepower. 

Waterwheels  decreased  in  number  and  increased 
in  power,  323  wheels,  with  10,415  horsepower,  be- 
ing in  use  in  1900,  against  265  at  10,613  horsepower 
in  1905.  No  water  motors  were  reported  in  1900, 
whereas  in  1905  six  are  reported  at  167  horsepower. 

Electric  motors  show  the  most  marked  increases. 
In  1900  there  were  installed  under  private  owner- 
ship 229  electric  motors,  with  3,441  horsepower,  or 
2.5  per  cent,  of  the  total  power  used.  In  1905 
there  were  800  electric  motors  reported,  with  a 
total  of  15,314  horsepower,  or  -8.5  per  cent,  of  the 
whole  horsepower  used  throughout  the  state  and 
installed  under  individual  ownership.  There  were 
in  addition  to  this  46  other  motors  of  various  kinds 
with  a_-horsepower  of  3,561,  as  against  eight  at 
525    horsepower    in    1900. 

Rented  electric  power  shows  an  increase  from 
733  horsepower  in  1900  to  3,300  horsepower  in  1905, 
while  of  other  kinds  of  power  there  has  been  a 
decrease    from    1,650    to    1,359    horsepower. 


Technical  Education  in  Germany  Over- 
done. 

Mr.  Harris,  the  United  States  consul  at  Mann- 
heim. Germany,  says  that  the  German  empire  is 
rapidly  building  up  a  class  of  men  for  whom  it 
has  no  employment  at  fair  wages,  and  for  whom 
the  demand  does  not  increase  as  fast  as  the  sup- 
ply. The  question  of  erecting  a  school  for  the 
building  trades  in  Mannheim  being  at  present  un- 
der discussion,  a  prominent  constructing  engineer 
has  contributed  an  article  to  a  leading  newspaper 
of  the  city,  in  which  he  aims  to  show  that  tech- 
nical education  in  Germany  has  gone  beyond  actual 
needs.  He  contrasts  the  number  of  those  taking 
such  training  with  the  number  in  other  profes- 
sions, and  concludes  that  the  ranks  of  the  tech- 
nically trained  are  at  present  much  overcrowded. 
The  number  of  those  studying  in  the  technical  high 
schools  in  Germany  in  the  winter  of  1800-91  was 
5,432,  and  in  the  winter  of  1904-5  15,866,  or,  in 
other  words,  there  was  an  increase  of  about  200 
per  cent.  In  the  scientific  technical  branches  of 
the  departments  of  philosophy  in  the  advanced 
schools  (as  the  universities),  which,  as  shown  by 
experience,  prepare  a  large  percentage  of  tech- 
nically trained  students,  the  number  of  such  stu- 
dents in  the  winter  of  1901-2  was  1,100,  and  in  the 
winter  of  1903-4,  3,015.  One  consequence  of  this 
great  influx  of  technically  trained  men  is  that  sal- 
aries are  kept  at  a  very  low  level. 


February  17,  1906 

BOOK  TABLE. 

Practical  Pattern  Making.     By  F.  W.   Barrows. 

New  York :     The  Norman  W.  "Henley  Publishing 

Company.    1906.    Pp.   (5  by  7^  inches)   326,  with 

149  illustrations.     Price,  $2. 

Pattern  making  either  for  the  professional  or 
amateur  is  described  in  detail.  The  materials  of 
the  pattern  maker,  the  tools  he  uses — both  the  hand 
tools  and  the  more  interesting  machine  tools — and 
the  products  of  the  art  are  all  taken  up  in  their 
proper  relationship.  A  section  is  devoted  to  rules 
and  formulas  which  will  be  found  useful  in  esti- 
mating weights  with  the  accuracy  required  for 
quotations  to  prospective  customers.  The  final  sec- 
tion of  the  book  will  be  found  of  value  in  keep- 
ing down  the  cost  of  patterns,  including  as  it  does 
plain  rules  and  complete  systems  for  checking  and 
the  marking  of  patterns.  This  section  concludes 
with  an  original  and  practical  method  for  the  in- 
ventory and  valuation  of  patterns. 

Electric-wiring  Diagrams  and  Switchboards.  By 
Newton  Harrison.  •  New  York :  The  Norman 
W.  Henley  Publishing  Company.  1906.  Pp.  (5  by 
7H  inches)  272,  with  105  illustrations.  Price, 
$i.SO. 

Contractors,  engineers,  architects  and  others  will 
appreciate  this  book  as  a  practical  guide  in  the 
matter  of  wiring,  and  also  as  treating  the  important 
features  to  be  found  in  all  large  power  and  light- 
ing plants.  There  are  special  chapters  on  the  design 
of  switchboards  for  light  and  power  and  on  the 
sizes  of  wire  for  alternating-current  circuits  of 
single,  two  and  three-phases,  with  various  degrees 
of  inductance.  The  diagrams  are  simple  and  clear 
and  are  accompanied  by  adequate  explanatory  mat- 
ter! _  To  show  the  means  of  calculating  the  drop, 
finding  the  circular  mils  and  arriving  at  the  num- 
bered gauge  of  the  wire  for  a  given  installation 
may  be  said  to  be  the  primary  object  of  the  book. 
The  further  expansion  of  the  simple  circuit  into 
those  of  a  more  complex  nature  is  the  next  stage; 
while  from  this  step  the  subject  matter  leads  into  a 
consideration  of  switchboard  design,  with  reference 
to  shunt  and  compound-wound  generators. 

Practical  Talks  on  Electricity.  By  William 
Baxter,  Jr.  (Parts  I.  and  II.)  Chicago:  The 
Engineer  Publishing  Company.  1905.  Pp.  (454 
by  6J4)  362,  with  233  illustrations.  Price,  $2.50. 
This  book  has  been  written  for  the  operating 
engineer  and  fills  admirably  the  particular  require- 
ments of  such  a-  work.  It  is  in  two  parts,  Part  1. 
being  devoted  to  the  principles  and  construction 
of  dynamos  and  switchboards,  and  Part  II.  to  the 
care  and  management  of  dynamos  and  motors. 
The  two  parts  may  be  obtained  separately  or  bound 
together  in  one  volume.  Briefly,  the  object  of  the 
work  is  to  explain  to  the  operating  engineer  or 
electrician  the  things  he  desires  to  know  concern- 
ing the  operation  of  electrical  machinery  in  the 
power  plant,  such  as  dynamos,  motors,  switch- 
boards, storage  batteries,  motor  controllers,  measur- 
ing apparatus,  etc.  Starting  with  the  elementary 
principles  of  electricity  and  magnetism,  explana- 
tions concerning  dynamo-electric  machinery,  its 
construction  and  operation,  are  gone  into  thor- 
oughly and  the  details  of  connections  explained. 
Tn  the  same  way  switchboards  are  taken  up  and 
the  operation  of  measuring  instruments.  Con- 
trollers and  starters  for  regulating  the  speed  of 
motors  and  insuring  safety  of  operation  are  fully 
treated.  The  book  is  durably  bound  in  cloth,  with 
full  and  convenient  indexing. 

The  Practical  Engineer's  Handbook — The  Care 
and  Management  of  Electric  Power  Plants. 
By  Norman  H.  Schneider.  New  York:  Spon  & 
Chamberlain.  (London:  E.  &  F.  N.  Spon.)  1906. 
Pp-  (4M  by  7J4)  274,  with  203  illustrations. 
Price,   $1.50. 

This  is  the  second  edition  of  the  handbook,  some- 
thing over  a  year  having  passed  since  the  first  edi- 
tion made  its  appearance.  The  manual  is  intended 
as  a  handbook  of  practical  information  to  these 
who  are  called  upon  to  operate  a  commercial  or 
military  electric  plant  without  having  had  the 
proper  preliminary  training.  One  commendable 
feature  of  the  book  is  the  manner  in  which  the 
first  principles  are  treated.  Space  is  not  wasted  on 
long  explanations  of  magnetism  and  the  lines  of 
force,  why  electricity  flows  in  a  wire  (if  it  does 
flow),  etc. — things  which  are  very  well  in  a  book 
which  is  intended  as  a  text  rather  than  a  pocket 
guide  for  the  practical  man.  Almost  at  the  start 
the  subject  of  "Standard  Wiring"  is  taken  up  with 
instructions  as  to  the  use  of  the  wiring  table.  Gen- 
erators and  motors  are  treated  in  two  separate 
chapters  and  form  the  subject  matter  of  a  large 
portion  of  the  book.  The  directions  given  apply 
to  all  the  latest  types  of  apparatus.  Testing  and 
measuring  is  given  attention,  as  is  also  the  stor- 
age battery.  That  important  adjunct  to  the  effi- 
cient operation  of  a  lighting  plant — the  incandescent 
lamp — is  treated  in  a  chapter  by  itself.  Too  often 
in  a  book  of  this  nature  the  incandescent  lamp  is 
supposed  to  be  so  well  understood  and  so  simple 
as  to  require  no  treatment.  There  is  much,  how- 
ever, which  can  be  said  of  an  extremely  practical 
nature  as  to  the  photometry  of  lamps,  "length  of 
life,  plotting  of  test  curves,  etc.,  all  of  which  are 
given  some  space  in  this  book. 


February  17,  1906 

The  Independent  Telephone  Service  In 
Cleveland. 

The   annual   report   of    Preaidenl    E     S    Dii  1 

i„    ih,.    stockholdei      ol    the    I  uyahog  1     rdi  phom 

1 Miiy    1  [ndepi  ndcnl )    oi    I  li  vcl 1     how     th( 

fr.mprniy  In  !»■    m   a   1  •  i '  ■  I"  mil     i  ondil nd    popu 

lar  with  the  public,     Di B  lL     I »  i    7'9>502 

u;r      pen!    in   the  developmenl   of  the   planl 
,...  p,  ndituri    i  nablcd  the  company  to  add  6,070  tele 
phones   to   its   sj  ti  m,    to  add     i       » tions   to   the 
central-exchange   switchboard,   to   increaae   the    pri 

yate  -branch  exi  hi witi  hboard     bj     19   and   the 

inti  n  0 mnicating  office    iysti  m  by    t6,  bi   idi     in 

,  1, .,  mm'    the    switchboard    capai  itj     in    the    Shore, 

I  Ii.-ikiiii       I'. ,11  „       1 1  >«  1  •  1 1,  n,  ■       :iu,l       \l  n  field      1 

hangci .     Rec< nendation   1     madi    to  the  d 01 

for  ,-ni  expenditure  of  $600,000  for  developmenl 
work   in   1906. 

The  total  number  of  telephone  1  in  sei  \  11  e  al  the 
ni, I  of  tcjos  was  20,440,  an  increase  for  thi  ycat 
of   6,070.    Although    a    new    rate    has    been    estab 

liehed    i'" ensurate    with    a    broader    and    I"  ti  1 

service,  subscribers  are  readily  signing  the  new 
contracts.  The  year  closed  witK  725  pay  stations, 
yielding  a  return  of  $33,735— an  in'"TV;l  '  "'■•'  ll" 
preceding  year  of  232  stations  and  $13,627.  There 
were  133  private-branch  exchanges  in  service  at 
the  close  of  the  year  and  the  average  receipts  from 
each   was  $317.18-  .    ,    , 

The  Electric  Building,  owned  and  occupied  by 
the  company,  yielded  a  fair  return,  The  total  renl 
als  was  $51,170.  and  expenses,  taxes  and  ground 
rental  aggregated  $.10,230. 

Gross  earnings  for  the  year  1905  were  $587,487. 
compared  with  $435,274  for  1904.  The  earnings  in- 
cluded: Telephone  rentals,  $488,451;  long-distance 
to II  service,  $8,161,  suburban  toll  service,  $2,404; 
exchange  toll  service,  $33,735.  The  expenses  are 
accounted  for  ■  in  this  way :  Operating,  $77.577 ; 
maintenance,  $135,058;  general,  $82,299;  extraordi- 
nary, $11,014;  total,  $306,848;  total  with  taxes,  $332,- 
r33.  The  net  earnings  are  thus  $255,354.  The  per- 
centage  of  gross  earnings  paid  out  for  expenses 
is  placed  at  52.23.  The  deductions  from  net  earn- 
ings, principally  for  bond  interest,  amount  to  $159,- 
459,  leaving  a  surplus  of  $95,895-  From  tllis  was 
paid  $51,398  in  dividends  on  preferred  stock  and 
$13482  as  employes'  share  of  profits,  leaving  a  bal- 
ance of  $31,014.  The  total  surplus  at  the  beginning 
of    1906    was    $58,324-  .      ,.„.     , 

Mr.  Dickson  says  that  it  is  difficult  to  make  a 
comparison  of  the  Cuyahoga  company  with  its 
rival,  the  Cleveland  Telephone  Company  (Bell). 
The  November  directory  of  the  Cuyahoga  company 
contained  330  more  names  than  the  October  book 
of  the  Be'll.  A  representative  of  the  Merchants' 
Association  of  New  York  city,  who  made  an  in- 
vestigation of  the  telephone  situation  in  Cleveland, 
is  mentioned  by  Mr.  Dickson  as  authority  for  the 
figures  which,  on  July  1,  1905,  gave  16.342  sub- 
scribers to  the  Bell  system  and  16,745  to  the  Cuya- 
hoga company   in  the  city  of  Cleveland. 

The  president  pays  a  high  compliment  to  the 
employes  of  the  company.  He  says  the  corporation 
is  in  excellent  condition,  its  employes  are  loyal, 
enthusiastic  and  capable,  and  the  business  is  thor- 
oughly systematized.  The  gratifying  growth  of  the 
business,  he  says,  has  been  largely  due  to  the  en- 
ergy, wisdom  and  efficiency  of  Mr.  W.  B.  Wood- 
bury,  who  had   charge  of  the  contract   department. 

The  average  time  for  the  Cuyahoga  exchange 
to  answer  a  call  is  four  seconds;  it  takes  six  sec- 
onds more  to  complete  the  connection  and  ring, 
and  the  subscriber  called  consumes  14  seconds  in 
getting  ready  to  answer.  It  is  said  that  88J4  per 
cent  secure  an  answer  on  the  first  call.  In  10  per 
cent,  of  the  calls  the  line  is  noted  as  "busy,"  1.3 
per  cent,  fail  to  answer  the  bell,  and  in  two-tenths 
of  one  per  cent,  some  line  trouble  interferes.  As 
37  people  every  day  leave  their  receivers  off  the 
hook,  a  portion  of  the  "busy"  trouble  is  accounted 
for.  On  an  average  2,050  people  ask  daily  for  the 
time  of  day,  136  wish  to  know  the  weather  fore- 
casts, 3,1  T 1  ask  for  football  returns  in  season  and 
4790  wish  to  know  of  baseball  scores,  while  37,839 
subscribers  asked  for  election  returns  in  one  day 
fast  November  and  got  what  they  wanted.  Seventy- 
five  subscribers  ask  daily  to  be  wakened  at  a  cer- 
tain hour  in  the  morning.  From  the  careful  counts 
taken  periodically  during  1905  the  total  number  of 
calls  cared  for  by  this  company  reached  the  number 

At  the'  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders  the 
following-named  directors  were  chosen  :  B.  Mahler, 
F  S.  Dickson,  H.  A.  Everett.  R.  A.  Harman,  W.  H. 
Lamprecht.  E.  W.  Moore,  H.  R.  Newcomb,  Cala- 
vary  Mooris.  F.  M.  Stearns,  C.  W.  Wason,  H.  P. 
Mcintosh,  J.  B.  Hoge,  Joseph  S.  Brailey,  Jay 
Secor  and  W.  F.  Robinson.  The  stockholders  or- 
ganized by  the  election  of  the  following-named 
officers  :  President,  Frederick  S.  Dickson  ;  vice-presi- 
dent, H.  A.  Everett;  secretary,  W.  L.  Carey,  Jr.; 
treasurer,  R.  W.  Judd.  James  B.  Hoge  retired  as 
secretary  of  the  company,  after  a  long  service,  on 
account  of  his  time  being  taken  up  with  other  mat- 
ters.   r:= 

The  Indiana  Independent  Telephone  Association 
will -hold  its  first  annual  meeting  at  Indianapolis 
on  May  17th.  The  various  districts  of  the  state 
should  choose  their  delegates  to  the  meeting  soon. 
One  delegate  from  each  district  is  also  to  be  chosen 
to  represent  the  Indiana  association  at  the  National- 
Interstate  convention  in  St.  Louis  in  June. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

The    Mercury-arc    Rectifier    for    Tele- 
phone   Work. 

I  lllll'  I  1 

' 

bci  n   fem 

imol 

low 

panel, 

and  thi 

it..    General  Eli 
The  m 

,11      c thi  m  "f  a 

30  ampi  re  rc<  tificr  outfit,     I'  cj in  is!    of  a  ■ 

...  mi,  1    ml.-     tinted    ..n    a    black    enameled 


MERCURY-ARC   RECTIFIER    SET    FOR   TELEPHONE   WORK. 

slate  panel  with  switches,  instruments,  etc.,  and  the 
necessary  reactance  coils.  This  panel  stands  76 
inches  high  and  is  24  inches  wide,  and,  as  it  need 
stand  but  24  inches  from  the  wall,  is  compact  and 
self-contained.  In  the  center  of  the  panel  the  recti- 
fier is  mounted  in  a  substantial  holder  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  shake  necessary  to  start  the  tube 
in   atcion   can   be   easily   given. 

Grouped  about  the  rectifier  are  the  switches  and 
instruments,  the  whole  presenting  a  neat  and  at- 
tractive appearance.  The  switches  include  start- 
ing, alternating  and  direct-current  line  switches  and 
load  switches.  A  circuit-breaker  is  also  included 
in  the  direct-current  line.  High-grade  instruments 
are  supplied,  the  ammeter  having  its  zero  at  the 
center  of  the  scale,  so  as  to  read  in  either  direction. 
There  is  also  provided  an  external  shunt  with  30- 
foot  leads  so  that  the  current  may  be  measured 
at  any  convenient  point  desired.  A  small  selective 
switch,  shown  at  the  left  center  of  the  panel,  is  so 
connected  that  the  direct-current  voltage  may  be 
conveniently  taken  across  the  battery  terminals, 
rectifier    terminals,    etc. 

On  the  floor  beneath  the  panel  proper  is  located 
the  reactance  coil  for  adjusting  the  alternating- 
current  supplv.  thereby  controlling  the  direct  cur- 
rent. In  addition  the  company  furnishes  with  this 
outfit  a  suitable  reactance  which  is  so  connected 
that  it  reduces  the  humming  on  the  telephone  cir- 
cuits to  a  minimum.  Tests  of  this  rectifier,  made 
by  the  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, indicate  that  there  is  no  noise  on  the  line 
when  the  batteries  are  being  charged.  This  is  a 
point  of  great  importance  in  the  satisfactory  opera- 
tion of  any  charging  device  for  telephone  service. 

A  number  of  these  mercury  arc  rectifier  outfits 
are  in  successful  commercial  operation  in  telephone 
exchanges.  The  space  required  for  an  installation 
of  these  rectifiers  is  but  one-third  of  that  neces- 
sary with  the  ordinary  equipment,  and  the  efficiency 
is  undoubtedly  higher  than  any  other  method  of 
transforming    alternating   to    direct   current. 


Canadian  Telephone  News. 
A  bill 

cuss  and   inspect   at  <'. 

r  plant 

installing    of    a    plant 

intention   of   ti  •  stance 

a  line 
nd  run  north 
and  connect   with  th,-  main  line. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  government  of 
Manitoba 

the-    pr,  which 

now  has  85  exchanges  and  toll  offices  in   Manitoba, 

been 
made    for   delivery    thi 

use    in    this   province   ihe   com  1  md   the 

company  expects   to  traction 

outside  of   Winnipeg.  Winnipeg  holds 

the  highest   calling   rate  of  any  city   in   Can 
average    per    subscriber   being    20  calls    a    day.      In 
witchboard  for  4,000  put  in 

with    the    expectation    that    it    would    last    10 
but  the  company  is  now  arranging  to  put  in  a  new 
which   will   connect    10.000  instruments. 

The  Grand  Trunk  railway  has  not  renewed  its 
contract  with  the  Bell  Telephone  Companj 
long-distance  service,  it  being  the  intention  of  the 
railway  company  to  install  a  long-distance  service 
of  its  own.  It  has  short  services  now  from  To- 
ronto to  outside  towns  with  little  expense  attached 
to  the  operation,  and  will  also  extend  over  the 
lines  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  as  fast  as  the 
railway  is  built  and  put  in  operation. 

The  Bell  Telephone  Company  has  completed  its 
long-distance  line  from  Indian  Head  to  Kcgina  and 
from  Winnipeg  to  Moosemin. 

The  Bell  Telephone  Company  has  built  two  addi- 
tional metallic  circuits  between  Toronto  and  Hamil- 
ton, which  will  relieve  the  congestion  of  traffic. 
The  company  is  arranging  with  F.  C.  Patterson,  the 
general  manager  of  the  company's  western  branches. 
and  Mr.  Bull  of  Calgary,  manager  of  the  com- 
pany's Albertas  branches  to  connect  the  long-dis- 
tance wires  of  the  company  with   Edmonton. 

The  Bell  Telephone  Company  of  Canada  is  ap- 
plying to  the  Dominion  Parliament  for  authority 
to  increase  its  capital  over  and  above  the  present 
authorized  amount  of  $10,000,000.  At  present  the 
company  has  issued  $9,000,000  of  common  stock,  hut 
that  will  not  be  fully  paid  up  until  next  July.  The 
last  issue  was  $1,000,000.  made  on  May  31.  1905. 
Bell  telephone  stock  has  not  moved  very  much  of 
late  on  the  Montreal  Stock  Exchange,  although 
there  has  been  a  little  investment  demand  3round 
157.  In  recent  years  the  stock  was  as  high  as  103. 
in  December,  1899.  and  as  low  as  132  in  March. 
1904.  The  company's  net  earnings  in  1004  were 
$701,905  against  $582,152  the  year  previous.         H. 

Michigan  Telephone  Matters. 

The  Citizens'  Telephone  Company  of  Grand 
Rapids  is  now  using  its  own  power  for  lighting 
the  Exchange  Building.  The  new  gas-producing 
engine  has  proved  satisfactory,  but  the  company,  it 
is  said,  has  contracted  with  the  Edison  company  for 
emergency  power. 

It  is  said  that  the  Michigan  Telephone  Company- 
has  decided  to  enlarge  its  -present  building  at  the 
corner  of  Ionia  and  Fountain  streets  in  Grand 
Rapids.  It  is  proposed  to  build  an  addition  which 
will  cover  the  entire  lot,  and  a  new  switchboard 
will  also  be  installed. 

Daniel    I.    Dixon,    wire    chief    for    the    Michigan 
Telephone  Company  in  Menominee,  and  Miss 
Strauss  were  married  some  time  last   fall,   the  tact 
of  the  wedding  having  been   kept  a   secret   until  a 
few  days  ago. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the 
Lake  Shore  Telephone  Company  at  Hart  it  was 
voted  to  lower  the  rate  on  rural  telephones,  and 
resident  telephones  from  $15  to  S12  per  year,  begin- 
ning the  first  of  next  April  They  also  decided 
to  sell  their  rural  lines  to  the  farmers  and  make 
a  suitable  arrangement  to  do  the  switching  for 
them.  The  Mason,  division  of  the  svstem  will  be 
sold  and  the  whole  energy  of  the  company  spent 
on  the  Oceana  division.  The  rate  charge  for  busi- 
ness telephones  is  $20  a  year. 

A.  A.  Shephard  of  Iron  Mountain,  district  man- 
ager of  the  Michigan  State  Telephone  Company, 
ha;   received   approved  estimates  for  the  rebuilding 


144 

of  the  cable  lines  of  the  company  in  Iron  Mount- 
ain, the  reconstruction  of  the  pole  leads  in  the 
city  of  Norway  and  the  rebuilding  of  the  toll  lines 
between  Iron  Mountain,  Powers  and  Iron  River, 
which  will  mean  an  outlay  of  over  $17,000  in  the 
range   district.  B. 

Indiana  Telephone  Items. 

The  Mutual  Telephone  Company  of  Shipshewana 
has  filed  articles  of  incorporation  and  proposes  to 
build  an  exchange  in  Shipshewana  and  extend  lines 
throughout  LaGrange  County.  David  A.  Platz 
and   others   are  the  incorporators. 

The  Central  Union  Telephone  Company  has  com- 
promised three  claims  for  damages  aggregating 
$17,000  by  the  payment  of  $7,000.  The  suits  were 
of  a  peculiar  character  and  were  brought  by  the 
representatives  of  wiremen  who  were  killed  or 
injured  by  the  explosion  of  dynamite  which  the 
men  had  in  the  repair  wagon  on  which  they  were 
sent  out  to  make  repairs  in  Bedford. 

The  Independent  telephone  companies  of  Boone 
County  have  organized  the  Protective  Telephone 
Association,  with  P.  B.  Little  of  Whitestown,  presi- 
dent; B.  F.  Stoner  of  New  Brunswick,  vice-presi- 
dent, and  George  Lyster  of  Thorntown,  secretary. 
The  purposes  of  the  association  are  to  devise  plans 
of  mutual  protection,  to  establish  uniform  rules  and 
to  improve  the  telephone  service  and  relation  of 
the  companies  throughout  the  county. 

The  Northern  Indiana  Toll  Line  Association  was 
scheduled  to  hold  its  first  annual  meeting  in  Elk- 
hart on  February  13th.  This  association  is  the 
outgrowth  of  the  merging  of  the  several^  com- 
panies in  St.  Joseph  and  surrounding  counties  for 
toll-line  service.  Theodore  Thorward  is  president 
and    M.    A.    Crow    secretary. 

The  Board  of  Public  Works  of  the  city  of  Evans- 
ville  has  granted  a  35-year  franchise  to  the  Cum- 
berland Telephone  Company.  It  is  thought  the 
council  will  ratify  the  grant  at  its  next  meeting. 
The  citv  will,  according  to  the  terms  of  the  fran- 
chise, get  three  per  cent,  of  the  gross  receipts,  and 
the  telephone  company  will  also  pay  the  city  for 
the  last  three  years  it  has  been  operating  without 
a  franchise  and  will  stand  the  cost  of  the  three 
years'  litigation,  which  amounts  to  almost  $75,000. 
An  attempt  was  made  to  secure  an  exclusive  fran- 
chise, but  this  provision  was  eliminated.  It  is 
thought  an  Independent  company  will  also  receive 
a   franchise. 

Theodore  Thorward,  president  of  the  Home  Tele- 
phone Company  of  South  Bend,  reports  that  his 
company  has  tried  the  experiment  of  employing  500 
automatic  electric  telephones  in  connection  with 
a  2,400-line  manual  system  and  that  the  two  systems 
are  interworking  very  satisfactorily.  S. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

ment   arrived   and   began   to  throw   water,   but   Mr. 
Cole    stopped    them,    and    thus    saved    the    delicate 

mechanism.  C. 


Telephone   News  from    the    Northwest. 

The  Brown  County  Telephone  Company  has  com- 
pleted its  system  at  Green  Bay,  Wis.,  and  opened 
for  business. 

The  Northwestern  Telephone  Exchange  Company 
is  extending  a  toll  line  from  Cambridge,  Minn., 
to    Grandy,    Stanchfield,    Braham    and    Rush    City. 

The  Farm  and  Home  Telephone  Company  of 
Wragner,  S.  D.,  has  been  incorporated  with  $5,000 
capital  stock. 

The  Northwestern  Telephone  Exchange  Com- 
pany will  install  a  new  switchboard  at  Excelsior, 
Minn.,  for  its  system  at  Lake  Minnetonka.  Among 
other  changes  will  be  a  system  of  connections 
whereby  the  lake  steamers  can  plug  in  at  docks 
and  secure  information  of  passengers,  and  similarly 
passengers  can  secure  information  of  boats'  move- 
ments. 

W.  E.  Glotzbach  seeks  a  franchise  at  Anamoose, 
N.  D.,  for  a  local  telephone  exchange. 

The  headquarters  of  the  Peoples'  Mutual  Tele- 
phone Company  will  be  moved  from  Hampton  to 
Sheffield,  Iowa.  E.  N.  Egge  of  Rockwell  has  suc- 
ceeded to  the  position  of  manager  of  the  company. 

An  ordinance  compelling  telephone  companies  to 
put  their  wires  underground  has  been  proposed  at 
Clinton,  Iowa.  R- 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes. 

J.  S.  Eaton  has  been  in  Cincinnati  giving  dem- 
onstrations of  Dr.  Poulson's  telegraphone,  and  it 
is  said  that  the  Cincinnati  and  Suburban  Bell  Tele- 
phone Company  may  take  up  the  invention  and  put 
it  into  use.  The  instrument  records  sound  re- 
ceived over  the  telephone  for  future  reproduction. 

Another  restraining  order  has  been  issued  against 
Sol  P.  Kineon  to  prevent  him  from  building  a  line 
through  Covington,  Ky.,  and  Kenton  County,  to 
connect  his  long-distance  line  with  Cincinnati. 
Other  telephone  companies  are  interested  in  pre- 
venting him  from   doing  this. 

Most  of  the  preferred  stock  recently  issued  by  the 
Newark  Telephone  Company  of  Newark  has  been 
sold  to  Columbus  people. 

Wire  Chief  Harley  Cole  saved  the  new  auto- 
matic switchboard  of  the  Bell  company  at  Char- 
don  from  destruction  a  few  days  ago  at  the  risk 
of  his  life.  The  wires  became  entangled  with  a 
trolley  wire  and  were  grounded  at  the  exchange. 
Mr.  Cole  caught  a  red-hot  wire  and  broke  it  in 
two  and  then  began  to  put  out  the  fire  in  the 
building  with  a  bucket  of  water.     The  fire  depart- 


Cheaper  Telephone  Service  for  Chicago. 

The  Chicago  Telephone  Company  has  told  the 
Chicago  Council  committee  on  gas,  oil  and  electric 
light  that  it  is  willing  to  expend  $15,000,000  in  ex- 
tensions and  improvements,  to  reduce  the  charges 
for  telephone  service  in  the  city  and  to  abolish  toll 
charges  in  the  city  limits,  but  to  do  this  the  com- 
pany must  have  a  20-year  extension  to  its  fran- 
chise, which  expires  in  three  years.  Besides  this 
the  company  offers  to  pay  three  per  cent,  compen- 
sation to  the  city  on  all  business  done  within  the 
city  limits.  The  proposition  of  the  company  is  to 
substitute  the  measured-service  system,  almost  en- 
tirely for  the  flat-rate  system,  the  exception  being 
only  for  residence  service. 


Independent  Companies  Active  in  New 
York. 

The  Great  Eastern  Telephone  Company  (Inde- 
pendent) has  made  an  application  to  Commissioner 
Ellison  of  New  York  city  to  open  the  streets  to 
lay  new  subways  under  the  franchise  recently  de- 
clared valid  by  Attorney-general  Mayer.  D.  A. 
Reynolds,  president  of  the  company,  is  quoted  as 
saying:  "We  secured  over  29,000  contracts  for  tele- 
phones during  January,  and  now  have  more  than 
67,000  as  the  result  of  14  weeks  canvass.  We  have 
filed  maps  with  the  department  for  one  exchange 
in  Lower  Manhattan  and  one  in  the  Bronx,  which 
will  be  followed  by  others.  Our  orders  for  material 
will  be  placed  at  once  upon  receiving  our  permit." 


GENERAL  TELEPHONE  NEWS, 

The  Du  Boise  Telephone  Company  of  Du  Boise, 
Neb.,  at  its  annual  meeting  reduced  its  telephone 
rates  to   $1    a  month. 

John  Harris,  George  Medlar  and  Samuel  Harris 
have  incorporated  as  the  Oregon  Mutual  Telephone 
Company  of  Oregon,  111.     The  capital  is  $6,000. 

W.  Balder,  formerly  with  the  Northwestern  Tele- 
phone Exchange  Company,  at  Albert  Lea,  Minn., 
has  been  made  manager  of  the  exchange  of  the 
Melrose    Telephone    Company    at    Melrose,    Minn. 

C.  R.  Messenger,  manager  of  the  local  telephone 
exchange  at  Wadena,  Minn.,  has  resigned,  to  take 
effect  March  15th,  and  will  remove  to  Aberdeen, 
S.  D.,  where  he  will  become  district  manager  for 
the    Dakota   Central   Telephone   Company. 

The  number  of  the  New  York  Telephone  Com- 
pany's telephones  in  service  in  Manhattan  and  the 
Bronx  is  reported  to  have  increased  last  month  by 
3,231.  This  is  1,012  more  than  the  gain  in  the 
corresponding  month  last  year.  More  than  180,000 
telephones   are  now   in   use  in  the  two  boroughs. 

The  Iowa  Telephone  Association  will  hold  its 
annual  meeting  at  the  Chamberlain  Hotel,  Des 
Moines,  on  March  13th,  14th  and  15th.  Charles  C. 
Deering  of  Boone  is  secretary  of  the  association, 
S.  S.  Lichty  of  Vinton  is  president  and  J.  S. 
Bellamy  of  Knoxville  heads  the  executive  com- 
mittee. 

Henry  T.  Scott,  who  was  the  choice  of  the  direct- 
ors of  the  Pacific  States  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company  to  fill  the  position  formerly  held  by  the 
late  John  I.  Sabin,  was  duly  elected  president  of 
that  corporation  by  the  new  board  of  directors  fol- 
lowing the  annual  meeting  of  stockholders  held  at 
Portland,  Ore.,  on  February  8th.  The  number  of 
directors  was  increased. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Southern  New 
England  Telephone  Company,  held  recently,  it 
was  voted  to  increase  the  capital  stock  from  $5,000,- 
oco  to  $6,000,000.  The  Legislature  has  authorized 
an  increase  to  $10,000,000  as  needed.  The  annual 
report  of  the  company,  which  operates  in  Con- 
necticut, shows  gross  earnings  for  1905  amounting 
to  $1,563,610,  and  net  $307,500.  Dividends  were 
$277,500,   surplus  $30,000;   total   surplus,  $112,800. 

The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  is  improving  the 
telephone  circuits  along  its  line  between  Chicago 
and  Fulton,  Ky.  They  were  originally  strung  with 
copper  wire  weighing  166  pounds  to  the  mile,  and 
this  is  being  replaced  with  435-pound  wire.  The 
work  is  being  done  by  the  railroad  company,  and 
it  has  a  contract  with  the  Cumberland  Telephone 
and  Telegraph  Company  for  an  exclusive  metallic 
circuit  between  Fulton  and  New  Orleans,  via  Mem- 
phis,   Vicksburg    and    Baton    Rouge. 

W.  H.  Hayes,  district  manager  of  the  Canadian 
Bell  Telephone  Company  at  Windsor,  Ont.,  has 
been  promoted  to  be  district  manager  for  Mani- 
toba, including  the  city  of  Winnipeg.  He  is  suc- 
ceeded by  William  Quinn  of  Sarnia,  Ont.  Mr. 
Hayes  is  one  of  the  oldest  telephone  men  in  the 
Bell  service,  having  started  in  the  London  office 
as  messenger  and  worked  his  way  up  to  be  assistant 
manager  in  that  city.  He  was  transferred  to 
Windsor  a  few  years  ago  and  later  was  made  dis- 
trict manager. 


February  17,  1906 
CORRESPONDENCE. 

Great  Britain. 

London,  January  31. — The  interest  with  which 
the  opening  of  Parliament  this  session  is  awaited 
by  those  interested  in  the  electrical  industry  is 
greater  than  for  very  many  years.  The  remarkable 
change  in  the  composition  of  the  government  has 
created  many  misgivings,  and  the  fact  that  all  the 
London  electric  power  bills  are  to  commence  in 
the  House  of  Commons  lends  color  to  the  sugges- 
tion that  the  House  authorities  are  indulging  in 
a  little  intelligent  anticipation.  It  would  not  be 
improbable,  so  strong  is  the  municipalist  party,  that 
all  the  companies'  bills  were  rejected  at  a  very 
early  stage,  and  only  the  London  County  Council 
bill  allowed  to  proceed — a  calamitous  result  from 
every  point  of  view,  but  for  the  reflection  that 
there  still  exists  a  House  of  Lords;  which  may 
always  be  depended  upon  to  check — very  often  un- 
ceremoniously— any  flagrant  disregard  of  economic 
principles  such  as  this.  Therefore,  unless  a  royal 
commission  is  appointed,  there  is  every  prospect 
that  the  session  may  again  bring  forth  no  definite 
issue  in  this  matter,  while  even  in  the  former  event 
an    unwarranted    delay   would    be    occasioned. 

The  quarrel  between  the  City  of  London  Corpo- 
ration and  the  Electric  Supply  Company  as  to  the 
electric  lighting  of  the  streets  has  not  been  allowed 
to  rest  at  the  granting  of  a  contract  to  the  gas 
company.  The  city  authorities  have  made  it  their 
proud  boast  that  they  wish  to  get  the  best  system 
for  the  ratepayers.  The  City  of  London  Electric 
Lighting  Company  has  made  an  offer  which  cannot 
be  passed  over  without  good  reason.  It  is  that  the 
company  shall  carry  out  a  demonstration,  at  its 
own  expense,  of  street  lighting  on  the  most  modern 
system.  So  far,  the  electric-lighting  company  has 
been  refused  the  offer  to  submit  a  tender  com- 
petitive with  the  gas  company,  but  its  latest  sug- 
gestion goes  a  good  deal  farther. 

The  General  Post  Office  telephone  system  in 
London  has  progressed  at  such  a  rapid  rate  that 
it  has  been  found  necessary  to  build  an  additional 
switchboard  in  the  original  exchange  buildings. 
The  original  board  gave  accommodations  for  nearly 
15,000  subscribers,  and  the  new  board  has  been 
designed  for  a  similar  number.  The  new  board  has 
many  features  of  interest,  which  could  not,  how- 
ever, be  treated  in  .these  brief  notes.  The  system 
now  necessitates  the  use  of  a  power  plant,  which 
is  the  largest  used  in  connection  with  any  other 
exchange   in    this   country. 

In  view  of  the  increasing  importance  of  the  ques- 
tions arising  in  connection  with  locomotives  in  Lon- 
don, the  London  County  Council  has  resolved  to 
appoint  a  special  traffic  committee  to  watch  these 
matters.  The  council  also  intends  in  a  few  months 
time  to  commence  the  reconstruction,  for  electric 
traction,  of  the  old  horse  tramways  in  the  north 
of  London. 

Foreign  competition  is  always  more  or  less  with 
us,  and  the  directors  of  the  District  Railway  Com- 
pany have  been  largely  blamed  for  placing  orders 
for  rolling  stock  in  America,  in  defiance  of  Mr. 
Yerkes'  promise  years  ago  in  the  committee  rooms 
of  Parliament  that  the  contrary  would  be  the  case. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Metropolitan  company,  the 
joint  owner  of  the  Inner  Circle  with  the  District 
company,  has  placed  all  its  orders  with  British 
firms,  and  is  convinced  that  it  has  paid  no  more 
than  if  it  had  gone  abroad.  But  it  is  one  of  those 
matters  in  which  there  is  no  finality,  so  I  will  not 
discuss   it.  G. 


New  York. 


New  York  city,  February  10. — The  New  York 
Central's  electric  locomotive,  No.  6,000,  was  tried  at 
Schenectaday  yesterday  over  snowbound  tracks,  and 
succeeded  in  making  between  60  and  70  miles  an 
hour  easily  on  the  experimental  line  of  the  General 
Electric  Company.  No  troubles  were  caused  on 
account   of   the   power   rail. 

Traction  affairs  have  been  prominent  at  Albany 
all  through  the  week.  An  attack  on  the  Inter- 
borough-Metropolitan  merger  has  been  headed  off 
and  the  Elsberg  measure  referred  to  the  railroad 
committee.  The  true  purport  of  the  latter  measure 
is  not  yet  entirely  revealed.  According  to  its  op- 
ponents, it  is  in  reality  a  municipal-ownership  meas- 
ure. Other  pending  bills  affect  claims  for  subway- 
construction  damages,  the  consolidation  of  suits 
arising  out  of  refusals  to  grant  transfers,  and  for 
the  compulsory  placing  of  guard  rails  at  subway 
stations.  William  Barclay  Parsons,  who  was  the 
chief  engineer  of  the  present  subway,  in  giving 
evidence  before  the  state  Senate  committee,  prophe- 
sied that  the  cost  of  construction  of  future  subways 
would  be  50  per  cent,  greater  than  the  existing 
system.  A  West  Side  subway  from  the  Battery 
to  the  Bronx,  he  said,  would  cost  $85,000,000,  and 
a  similar  amount  for  a  subway  on  the  East  Side. 

The  Metropolitan  Railway  Company  is  experi- 
menting on  the  Sixth  Avenue  surface  lines  with 
a  new  type  of  car  fender  which  comes  almost  to 
a  point  in  front  and  runs  back  alongside  the  wheels 
of  the   forward   truck.  ■ 

Bridge  Commissioner  Stevenson  announces  a 
scheme  to  double  trolley  facilities  at  the  Manhattan 
end  of  the  Williamsburg  Bridge  by  increasing  the 
number  of  stopping  places  and  making  the  roadway 


February  17,  1906 


WE    1  i.r  •     I  I 


'45 


wider.  A  timber  trestli  tracl  ia  suggi  ted,  pend- 
ing iii<   pli  tion  of  Hi'    undi  1  gri 1   

this   point. 

'I  he    I  toboki  n   and    Manhattan    1  unm  1    <  omp 
has  been  permanently  enjoined  by  thi  1 

courts  from  invading  thi  ti  1 1  itoi  j  ol  the  Public 
Service  Corporation  oi    New    1 

President    L    B,    Mark:     '.■. ill    mil  1     an 
before  the  meeting  "i   ii"    Societj    "i    illuminating 
I'  ngim  '  1 B  hi   the   I  toti  1    \  1 n    Cm   da;    

A 1 eting  "i  Hi.    Board    oi    1  radi    1  1    B I 

|yn  ii  was  proposed  to  build  an  indcpendi  nl 

road   to pete   with   thi    Brooklyn   Rapid    I  ran  il 

i  lompany   to    East    New    York.     Plan     and     ugg 
1 i"  attain  this  purpose  were  advanced, 

'I  in-  new   police  commissi :r,  1 1cm  ral    Bii 

has  abolished  the  police  ti  leph quad,  and  nei  1 

after  will  employ  civilians  for  police  telephom 
unil,  ,ii  lower  salaries,  I  his  ordei  reli ...  128 
policemen   for  much   needed   patrol   duties. 

The  reduced  terms  offered  by  the  lighting  com- 
panies f.n-  public  lighting  has  led  Mayor  McClel  in 
to  intimate  that  he  will  not  push  the  project  for 
a  municipal   lighting  plant. 

The  New  York  Hdison  Company  reports  a  total 
of  19,860  separate  contracts  for  electrical  service, 
involving  current  equivalent  to  1,657,408  16-candle 
power  lamps. 

The  Thomas  F.  Ward  Coal  Company  at  West 
Seventy-ninth  Street  lias  recently  erected  an  elec- 
trically operated  hoist.  The  weight  of  tile  loaded 
bucket  is  3,300  pounds,  and  the  cost  of  handling 
coal   per   ton    is   less    than    three   cents. 

Tin-  Male  horse  groomer,  an  ingenious  electrically 
operated  hrush  mechanism,  has  been  introduced  into 
this   city. 

The  Hudson  River  and  Eastern  Traction  Com- 
pany has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $400,- 
000  to  operate  an  electric  road  nine  miles  long  near 
Ossining. 

The  Dobbs  Ferry  Traction  Company  has  been 
incorporated  to  operate  an  electric  street  railway 
from  Hastings  to  Dobbs  Ferry,  Westchester  County, 
X     Y.     The    capital    involved    is   $30,000. 

J.  P.  Grant  and  associates  have  incorporated  as 
the  West  Branch  Light  and  Power  Company,  with 
headquarters  at  Stamford,  N.  Y.,  with  a  capital 
of    $50,000. 

The   Railway    Electric    Signal    Company   has   been 
incorporated    with    a    capital    of    $50,000    and    head-" 
quarters  in  Jersey  City,  N.  J.  D.  W.  W. 


New  England. 

Boston,  February  10. — The  rules  committee  of  the 
Massachusetts  House  of  Representatives  seems  dis- 
posed to  report  against  a  suspension  of  the  rules  to 
admit  the  bills  for  the  incorporation  of  the  Boston- 
Lowell  Intcrurban  Street  Railway  Company  and  the 
Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  Electric  Street 
Railway  Company.  These  companies  have  been 
meeting  considerable  opposition.  The  Boston-Low- 
ell company  proposes  to  build  a  high-speed  electric 
railway  between  Boston  and  Lowell,  Mass.,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  26  miles,  and  seems  to  be  honestly 
endeavoring  to  establish  a  first-class  electric  service 
between  Boston  and  the  important  manufacturing 
city  of  Lowell.  The  Massachusetts  and  Rhode 
Island  company  proposes  to  connect  Boston  and 
Providence,  R.  I.,  with  an  interurban  electric  rail- 
way, largely  built  on  private  rights-of-way.  The 
people  interested  in  this  company  attempted  to  get 
an  incorporation  bill  passed  by  the  Legislature  of 
1905,  but  other  persons  offered  similar  petitions,  and 
when  the  legislative  committee  had  prepared  a 
"compromise"  bill  the  question  of  taking  land  by 
eminent  domain  came  up  and  tended  to  complicate 
matters  so  that  no  bill  was  passed.  Of  course  the 
New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford  Railroad 
Company  would  suffer  from  the  competition  of 
such  a  road. 

The  Beacon  Manufacturing  Company  of  New 
Bedford,  Mass.,  has  contracted  for  a  Westinghouse 
steam  turbine  of  1,000  kilowatts  capacity  for  its 
plant. 

The  Boston  Common  Council  has  refused  to 
pass  an  order  providing  for  the  municipal  owner- 
ship of  lighting  plants.  It  required  a  vote  of  two- 
thirds  of  "the  membership  of  the  body  to  pass  the 
order,  or  50  votes.  The  ballot  resulted:  Yeas,  42: 
nays,  16;  absent  or  not  voting,  17.  The  matter  will 
come  up  on  a  question  of  reconsideration  at  the 
next  meeting  of  the  council.  The  debate  on  the 
order  lasted  over  four  hours. 

The  Taunton  and  Buzzard's  Bay  Street  Railway 
Company  has  stopped  running  cars  over  its  road. 
Officials  of  the  company  state  that  the  earnings  have 
not  been  sufficient  to  pay  the  running  expenses. 
The  company  has  obtained  the  power  for  its  elec- 
tric railway  from  the  New  Bedford  and  Onset 
Street  Railway  Company,  and  a  Taunton  and  Buz- 
zard's Bay  Company's  official  says  that  differences 
in  regard  to  the  amount  to  be  paid  for  this  power 
have  been  an  important  factor  in  the  decision  to 
suspend  operations.  The  Taunton  and  Buzzard's 
Bay  Company  was  organized  to  buy  and  operate 
the  financially  embarrassed  Middleboro,  Wareham 
and  Buzzard's  Bay  Street  Railway  Company's  prop- 
erty, which  comprised  25  miles  of  electric  railway 
between  Middleboro  and  Monument  Beach,  Mass., 
via  Onset  Bay  and  Buzzard's  Bay,  covering  con- 
siderable summer-resort  territory. 
A   new   electrical    engineering  laboratory  is   to  be 


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allow    its    cars    i"    make    uninterrupted    nu 

twecn  stop  ,  savins  vear  and 

tear  incident  to  "si  m  ,  etc. 

A   mass    meeting    in  recently 

voted  i"  appoint  a  committee  oi  threi   men  to  inves- 
tigate  the   subject   of  municipal   lighting  and 
at    the    annual    town    meeting.      The    meeting    was 
called   to   protest   against   alleged   excessive   charges 
by  the   Edison   Electric    Illuminating  Company. 

The  Massachusetts  railroad  commissioners  are 
taking  observations  on  the  Boston  and  Worcester 
and  the  Natick  and  Cochituate  street-railway  com- 
panies'  searchlight  headlights,  of  which  1!:. 
lesley  (Mass.)  people  have  complained,  claiming 
that  they  were  dangerous  because  they  blinded 
people  and  horses  and  caused  them  to  become  con- 
fused. The  commissioners  have  been  asked  to 
compel  the  adoption  of  such  headlights  by  com- 
panies operating  electric  railways  in  some  towns  in 
other  parts  of  the  state,  and  they  desire  to  form 
some  regulation  which  will  prevent  the  annoyance 
of  which  the  Wcllesley  people  complain  without 
lessening  the  protective  effect  of  the  lights. 

The  Burlington  (Vt.)  municipal  and  electric- 
light  plant  is  to  be  enlarged,  the  city  government 
having  appropriated  $25,000  for  the  purpose.  More 
will  be  appropriated  as  it  is  needed.  The  enlarge- 
ment is  necessitated  by  the  heavy  demand  for  com- 
mercial   light   and   power. 

The  directors  of  the  Consolidated  Lighting  Com- 
pany of  Montpelier,  Vt.,  have  voted  to  expend 
$ico,ooo  in  improving  and  extending  the  com- 
pany's system.  Additional  waterwheels  giving  7,200 
horsepower  will  be  installed  at  Bolton  Falls. 


Dominion  of  Canada. 

Ottawa,  February  10. — The  City  Council  of  Sher- 
brooke,  Que.,  has  decided  to  instruct  the  city 
solicitor  to  take  proceedings  to  force  the  Power. 
Light  and  Heat  Company  of  Sherbrooke  to  sell  its 
plant  to  the  city  at  a  price  to  be  fixed  by  arbitra- 
tion. 

The  report  of  the  light  department  of  the  city 
of  Kingston,  Out.,  shows  that  the  city's  light,  heat 
and  power  plant  earned  a  surplus  over  all  expendi- 
tures of  $5,674  for  the  year  1005.  During  the 
year  there  was  spent  out  of  the  earnings  $25,000 
on  capital  account  and  $10,000  for  repairs  and  bet- 
terment of  the  plant;  at  the  same  time  there  was  a 
reduction  in  price  of  light,  heat  and  power  to  con- 
sumers from  the  rates  charged  by  the  private  com- 
pany of  $4,500. 

A  cable  from  London,  Eng.,  states  that  the  Sper- 
ling company  is  offering  through  the  Bank  of 
Scotland  and  the  Bank  of  Commerce  11.000  shares 
of  $100  each  in  the  Canadian  General  Electric  Com- 
pany at  i42T-<  per  share.  This  block  of  stock  was 
sold  to  the  British  syndicate,  which  undertook  not 
to  offer  it  on  the  market  on  this  side  of  the  ocean. 
The  price  paid  for  the  block  was  $1,320,000,  which 
was  a  premium  of  20  per  cent,  net  above  par  after 
payment  of  all  cost  and  charges  incidental  to  the 
stock  being  placed   upon  the  London  market. 

The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company  is  to 
spend  $25,000  this  year  in  the  construction  of  new- 
telegraph  lines  in  the  Canadian  Northwest.  The 
exceptional  activity  that  is  likely  to  be  character- 
istic of  the  coming  summer  in  railway  building 
renders  several  hundreds  of  miles  of  new  wire 
imperative.  The  company  is  also  to  have  a  new- 
direct  copper  wire  from  Winnipeg  to  Montreal  this 
year,  giving  a  service  of  half  a  dozen  direct  wires. 

Hauling  by  electric  locomotives  is  no  experiment 
in  Canada.  Already  the  Canadian  Pacific  railway 
freight  cars  and  freight  are  hauled  by  electric  loco- 
motives from  Gait  to  Oreston.  Hespeler,  Berlin 
and  Waterloo,  iji  the  province  of  Ontario.  In  the 
province  of  Quebec  the  problem  of  substituting 
electricity  for  steam  on  the  Montreal-Quebec  sec- 
tion is  now  under  consideration  of  the  railway  offi- 
cials, who  are  consulting  with  experts  as  to  the 
advisability  and  probable  cost  of  the  change,  which, 
if  decided  upon,  will  be  begun  within  the  next  six 


'he   whole 

■ 


power 

ny  hat 
•-    from 

numbei 

profit    in 

Can- 
ada,   the    Montreal    road    coming   next    with    a 
ccntagc  of  11.25. 


Southeastern  States. 


C.     February     10. — The     \'. 
company  has   in   hand   the  contract    : 
plying  machinery    for  the  $2,000,000  d 

Great  Falls  waterpower  on  the  Catawba  River 
by  the  Southern  Power  Company  of  Charlotte. 
N.  C,  There  will  be  available  about  45.000  horsc- 
ihc  three  falls,  and  this  will 
be  developed  first.  While  a  good  part  of  the  power 
will  be  used  for  commercial  purposes,  it  is  likely 
that  many  cotton  mills  and  probably  additional 
towns  will  use  the  current  for  lighting  streets  or 
private    property. 

A  great  deal  of  argument  has  been  precipitated 
in  Louisville,  Ky..  over  the  question  of  a  fran- 
chise to  a  new  lighting  company,  headed  by  Peter 
Lee  Atherton.  Argument  has  been  made  before  the 
gas  and  water  committee  by  representatives  of 
the  Louisville  Gas  Company,  to  prevent  the  passage 
of  an  ordinance  preventing  the  Louisville  Lighting 
Company  from  bidding  on  the  franchise  to  sell 
light,  heat  and  power  in  the  central  portion  of  the 
city.  It  was  predicted,  however,  that  the  ordi- 
nance   would    be   passed   by   the   General    Council. 

The  Harmony  Grove  cotton  mills  of  Commerce, 
Ga.,  have  made  a  bid  for  lighting  the  stri 
the  town  with  electricity  generated  in  connection 
with  the  mill's  electrical  plant,  and  it  is  expected 
that  the  proposition  will  be  accepted.  The  bid  is 
for    both    municipal    and    private    lighting   in    Com- 

The  town  of  Ensley,  Ala.,  has  granted  a  fran- 
chise to  the  Birmingham  Railway.  Light  and  Power 
Company  to  build  an  electric  road  connecting  Ens- 
lev  and  Jonesboro. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Aiken-Augusta  Elec- 
tric railway  was  held  in  Jersey  City  on  February 
5th,  at  which  2r,000  out  of  22.000  shares  were 
represented.  A  resolution  was  passed  to  merge  all 
of  the  companies  into  the  Augusta  and  Columbia 
1  S.  C.I  Railway  Company.  Improvements  were 
planned   for  Augusta. 

A  bill  to  apply  the  Jim-crow  law  to  street  rail- 
ways in  the  state  of  Kentucky  has  been  defeated 
in  the   Senate. 

The  Alcorn   Electric  Company  of  Corinth, 
is   chartered   with   $25,000   capital.    J.   H.   Jones   is 
among  the   incorporators. 

The  United  Railways  and  Electric  Company  of 
Baltimore  will  probably  ask  for  bids  soon  for  the 
car-trust  certificates  to  be  issued  to  cover  the  cost 
of  100  new  cars  to  be  ordered,  according  to  a 
recent  report  from  that  city.  The  new  c  1 
cost  about  $5,000  each,  and"  will  be  built  by  the 
J.  G.  Brill   Company.  *  L. 


Ohio. 

Cleveland.  February'  10. — The  Legislature  has 
enacted  a  law  that  will  compel  steam  roads  I 
passengers  at  the  rate  of  two  cents  a  mile.  By- 
some  it  was  thought  that  this  would  injure  the 
business  of  the  electric  roads,  but  a  number  of 
managers  interviewed  said  they  thought  it  would 
have  no  effect.  The  convenience  of  electric-rail- 
way travel,  the  cleanliness  and  frequency  of 
will  be  factors  in  holding  the  business.  Most  of 
the  roads  are  now  charging  less  than  two  cents 
a  mile,  and  this  difference  will  still  cut  a  figure. 
The  average  rate  would  perhaps  have  been  in- 
creased later  on,  as  there  has  been  talk  of  that 
at  the  meeting  of  the  associations,  but  this  may 
not  be  done  now. 

At    a    meeting   of   the    representatives    of   electric 
roads    forming    a    through    route    between    Detroit, 
and    Dayton,    Ohio,    held    in    Toledo    a    few- 
days   ago,  a  decision  was  reached  that  the  various 
lines     would     co-operate     in     forming     continuous 


146 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


February  17,   1906 


through  lines  to  the  various  points  that  may  be 
reached.  C.  C.  Collins,  general  freight  agent  of 
the  Western  Ohio,  and  C.  M.  Paxton  of  the  Dayton 
and  Troy,  were  appointed  to  arrange  a  passenger 
and  freight  traffic  rate.  Tickets  will  be  sold  be- 
tween Detroit,  Toledo,  Dayton,  Springfield,  Colum- 
bus, Newark,  Cincinnati,  Richmond,  Indianapolis 
and  all  intermediate  points. 

An  ordinance  has  been  introduced  in  the  City 
Council  at  Columbus  providing  for  a  bond  issue 
of  $140,000  to  increase  the  capacity  of  the  munici- 
pal light  plant.  The  estimate  furnished  is  as  fol- 
lows: Generators,  $70,000;  condenser,  $15,000;  boil- 
ers, $25,000;  piping,  $5,400;  stokers,  $5,000;  founda- 
tions and  ash  pits,  $2,000;  coal  bins,  $3,000;  addition 
to  switchboard,  $2,500;  incidentals,  $2,500;  300 
lamps,  $9,000. 

Judge  E.  P.  Middleton  of  the  Common  Pleas 
Court  of  Champaign  County  has  decided  that  the 
contract  existing  between  the  city  of  Urbana  and 
the  Urbana  Light  Company  is  illegal. 

The  bills  requiring  that  motormen's  vestibules 
be  heated,  and  requiring  street-railway  companies 
to  sprinkle  their  rights-of-way,  have  been  enacted 
into  laws  and  signed  by  the  governor. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  the 
Sandusky  Southern  Electric  Railway  Company  at 
Lima  a  few  days  ago  it  was  announced  ■  that  the 
receivership  would  be  lifted  within  a  short  time,  as 
all  the  claims  had  been  satisfied.  The  branch  of 
trie  road  between  Lima  and  Bellefontaine  will  be 
completed  first,  it  is  stated,  that  between  Wapa- 
koneta  and  Kenton  being  taken  up  later. 

The  Forest  City  Incandescent  Light  Company  of 
Cleveland  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $10,000  by  A.  Louis  Betz,  Albert  E.  Green, 
John  M.  Garfield  and  others.  O.  M.  C. 


Indiana. 

Indianapolis,  February  10. — An  extension  of  the 
Wabash  Valley  Traction  Company's  line  will  be 
made  along  the  line  of  the  old  Wabash  and  Erie 
Canal.  While  the  persons  now  obtaining  the  right- 
of-way  from  the  owners  of  the  canal  lands  are  not 
interested  directly  in  the  Wabash  Valley,  they  are 
understood  to  be  acting  for  the  latter.  The  plan 
is  to  parallel  the  Wabash  railroad  from  Fort  Wayne 
to  Toledo,  Ohio,  95  miles,  connecting  at  Toledo 
with  all  the  Ohio  interurban  systems  and  forming 
a   direct  line   from   Detroit  to   Indianapolis. 

A  steam  road  in  this  state  has  granted  to  a  com- 
peting electric  railway  the  free  right  to  use  its 
track  in  crossing  another  steam  road  at  a  junction, 
and  the  State  Railroad  Commission  has  set  the 
seal  of  approval  on  the  arrangement,  which,  as 
Union  B.  Hunt,  the  head  of  the  commission,  says, 
is  one  entirely  new  to  railroading.  This  arrange- 
ment has  been  entered  into  between  the  Big  Four 
Railroad  and  the  Winona  Interurban  Railway  Com- 
pany, which  is  building  an  electric  line  to  parallel 
the  Big  Four  road  between  Warsaw  and  Goshen. 
The  Big  Four  officials  are  friendly  toward  the 
electric  line,  partly  because  the  Winona  line  con- 
trols the  only  outlet  for  the  Big  Four  through- 
traffic  to  the  Winona  Assembly  grounds.  The  Bal- 
timore and  Ohio  steam  road  has  shown  a  dispo- 
sition to  be  hostile  to  the  idea  of  the  electric  rail- 
way  crossing  its   tracks   at   Milford  Junction. 

The  Indianapolis  Star  has  inaugurated  a  novel 
plan  of  conducting  free  excursions  to  Indianapolis 
over  the  interurban  lines.  The  managers  of  the 
Star  sent  out  2,632  free  tickets,  good  for  trans- 
portation coming  into  the  city  and  also  good  for 
the  return  trip,  providing  the  holders  had  their 
tickets  stamped  by  three  Indianapolis  stores  adver- 
tising in  the  Star.  The  first  excursion  was  run 
Thursday,  and  the  interurban  lines  were  surprised 
at  the  large  crowd  brought  in.  One  store  stamped 
i,oij  tickets,  and  other  stores  are  loud  in  their 
praise  of  the  scheme.  Traction  service  has  placed 
cities  and  towns  distant  50  to  100  miles  from  In- 
dianapolis in  as  close  touch  with  the  city  as  the 
suburbs  were  15  years  ago,  before  the  modern  and 
rapid  trolley  lines  were  put  in  operation.  Mer- 
chants estimate  that  the  crowd  of  shoppers  brought 
to  the  city  free  of  cost  expended  $25,000  while  in 
the   city   for  a  single   day. 

The  interurban  railways  operating  in  Indiana 
are  making  preparation  for  the  threatened  strike 
of  the  coal  miners  and  will  store  large  quantities 
of  steam  coal.  The  recent  tests  made  of  Indiana 
coal  by  the  government  at  the  testing  plant  at  St. 
Louis  have  demonstrated  that  the  Indiana  coal  is 
the  greatest  steam-making  coal  in  the  country. 
This  one  fact  has  attracted  the  attention  of  inter- 
urban and  other  electric  power  companies  all  over 
the  country.  Steps  have  been  taken  by  some  of 
the  Indiana  traction  companies  to  mine  their  own 
coal.  To  this  end  the  United  Traction  Coal  Com- 
pany has  been  incorporated,  with  headquarters  in 
Indianapolis.  The  company  is  capitalized  at  $300,- 
000  and  will  open  mines  in  Sullivan  and  Greene 
counties  soon,  to  be  reached  by  traction  lines. 

The  Lafayette  and  State  Line  Traction  Company 
filed  articles  of  incorporation  on  February  6th. 
The  capital  is  $10,000.  It  proposes  to  build  electric 
roads  in  Lafayette  and  State  Line  City,  and  con- 
necting these  cities,  passing  through  Attica,  Will- 
iamsport,  West  Lebanon.  Marshfield  and  Johns- 
field.  Headquarters  will  be  in  Williamsport.  Free- 
mont  Goodwine,  W.  S.  Nail  and  John  Hover  are 
among   the    incorporators. 

The   Niles  and   Buchanan   Railway   Company  and 


the  South  Bend  and  Michigan  Southern  Railway 
Company  have  consolidated  and  reincorporated  un- 
der the  name  of  the  Southern  Michigan  Electric 
Railway  Company,  with  headquarters  in  South 
Bend.  These  properties,  lines,  power  houses,  etc., 
will  hereafter  be  operated  jointly  and  the  con- 
struction work  now  on  hand  and  the  extensions 
contemplated  will  be  conducted  by  the  newly  con- 
solidated company.  Mortimer  ^eed,  James  B.  Mc- 
Cance,  William  Babcock  and  E.  F.  Gaffrey  are  at 
the    head    of    the    new    company. 

The  next  interurban  line  to  be  completed  to 
Indianapolis  is  the  Indianapolis  and  Western,  and 
April  1st  is  the  date  set  by  the  contractors.  This 
line  will  be  of  great  importance,  because  it  will 
not  only  connect  Danville,  Green  Castle,  Brazil  and 
Terre  Haute,  but  will  enter  the  coal  fields.  A 
specialty    of   freighting   coal    is   to   be   made. 

The  officials  of  the  Indiana  Union  Traction  Com- 
pany have  rejected  all  the  bids  submitted  for  the 
construction  of  a  new  traction  station  at  Kokomo 
and  announced  that  some  changes  would  be  made 
in  the  specifications  at  once  and  new  bids  asked 
for    in    a    short   time. 

D.  G.  Edwards,  general  traffic  manager  of  the 
recently  merged  traction  lines,  has  entered  upon 
his  duties  and  is  out  making  an  inspection  of  the 
Indiana    lines    over    which    he    has    jurisdiction. 

G.  K.  Jeffries,  formerly  superintendent  of  -  the 
Indianapolis  and  Northwestern  electric  railway, 
has  been  made  superintendent  of  the  Indianapolis 
and  Eastern,  and  C.  E.  Morgan,  formerly  with  the 
Indianapolis  and  Eastern,  has  been  made  superin- 
tendent of  the  Indianapolis  and  Martinsville  and 
Indianapolis   and   Plainville   lines. 

The  Waterloo  Electric  Light  and  Water  Works 
Company  of  Waterloo  has  been  incorporated,  capi- 
talized at  $25,000.  The  object  of  the  corporation 
is  to  construct  and  operate  a  combined  electric-light 
and  waterworks  plant  in  Waterloo.  Charles  A. 
Wilding,  John  Dreibelbiss  and  W.  J.  Vesset  are 
the  incorporators.  S.  S. 


Michigan. 

Grand  Rapids,  February  10. — The  Boyne  City 
Electric  Light  Company  of  Boyne  City  has  just 
closed  a  deal  whereby  it  secured  three  acres  of 
land  along  the  river  front.  The  company  will  be- 
gin the  erection  of  a  new  power  plant  early  in 
April.  Prominent  Grand  Rapids  capitalists  are  in- 
terested  in  this   enterprise. 

The  St.  Clair  aldermen  who  caused  a  deadlock 
in  the  council  for  seven  weeks  by  objecting  to 
enter  into,  a  contract  to  buy  electric  power  for 
the  operation  of  the  waterworks  were  finally  voted 
down,  the  mayor  casting  the  deciding  ballot.  The 
men  held  out,  believing  that  to  purchase  power 
would  be  to  compromise  the  municipal-ownership 
idea.  The  other  aldermen  and  mayor  took  a  dif- 
ferent view,  believing  it  would  be  cheaper  to  pur- 
chase electric  power  than  generate  steam   power. 

Mayor  Fleming  of  Muskegon  has  proposed  that 
the  old  waterworks  building  be  equipped  for  a 
lighting  plant  at  an  expense  of  perhaps  $15,000. 
The  cost  of  operation,  he  says,  would  not  exceed 
$10,000  a  year,  and  the  present  contract  for  city 
lighting  calls  for  a  payment  of  $15,000  a  year. 

The  village  of  L'Anse  will  within  the  next  few 
weeks  have  the  distinction  of  being  the  only  mu- 
nicipality in  the  copper  country,  having  its  own 
electric-light  plant.  The  machinery  is  being  in- 
stalled and  everything  is  practically  in  shape  to 
commence  active  operations. 

Dr.  Fred  J.  Corliss  of  Kalamazoo  had  full  charge 
of  the  electrical  effects  and  lighting  at  the  junior 
ball  of  the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor 
on  February  9th.  Dr.  Corliss  furnished  two  flood 
lights  of  several  thousand  candlepower  each,  slides 
for  the  "Men  of  Yost,"  the  electrical  effects  for  the 
orchestra  and  the  entire  lighting  of  the  hall.  Pre- 
vious to  this  time  the  lighting  had  ben  done  by 
Detroit   and    Chicago   concerns. 

Because  of  the  washing  out  of  the  electric-light 
company's  dam  at  Big  Rapids  a  contract  for  fur- 
nishing power  for  commercial  lighting  has  been 
made  with  Jones  &  Green.  This  power  will  be 
for  the  incandescent  and  not  for  the  arc  lights. 
The  plant  is  out  of  commission  for  an  indefinite 
length    of   time. 

With  the  completion  of  the  Niles-St.  Josepeh 
branch  of  the  Indiana  Railway  Company's  lines 
the  company  and  the  Graham  &  Morton  Trans- 
portation Company  of  Benton  Harbor  and  St. 
Joseph  will  co-operate  in  the  handling  of  freight 
and  passengers  between  Chicago  and  Goshen,  Ind., 
and  the  intervening  points.  The  Indiana  Railway 
Company  has  purchased  the  right-of-way  of  the 
old  Michigan  Central  roadbed  between  Niles  and 
Buchanan.  A  franchise  has  been  asked  fort  to 
cross  the  St.  Joseph  River  in  Niles,  and  it  is  now 
up  to  the  City  Council. 

In  all  probability  verbal  and  memorandum  terms 
for  the  sale  of  the  Detroit,  Monroe  and  Toledo 
Short  Line  electric  railway  have  been  made.  This 
was  a  definite  story  circulated  in  Griswold  Street, 
Detroit's  commercial  center,  this  week.  The  gen- 
eral belief  among  those  who  come  in  contact  with 
the  managers  of  these  properties  or  their  securities 
is  that  the  closing  of  a  sale  of  the  Detroit  and 
Toledo  Short  Line  to  the  Detroit  United  Railway 
is  now  only  a  matter  of  detail. 

J.  G.  Emery  of  Grand  Rapids,  one  of  the  direct- 
ors  of   the   Grand    Rapids-Muskegon    Watef    Power 


Electric  Company,  states  that  everything  will  be 
in  readiness  to  deliver  power  in  Muskegon  by 
March  1st.  It  is  expected  that  some  time  in  April 
this  company  will  begin  its  service  for  the  Grand 
Rapids,  Grand  Haven  and  Muskegon  Electric  Rail- 
way Company.  It  is  said  that  the  main  feed  lines 
will  connect  the  road  at  Walker  or  Fruit  Port. 

The  St.  Joseph  River  Traction  Company  of  Ben- 
ton Harbor,  organized  to  build  a  road  from  Benton 
Harbor  to  Niles,  Dowagiac  and  Kalamazoo,  has 
been  consolidated  with  the  Southern  Michigan 
Light  and  Power  Company  under  the  name  of  the 
Benton  Harbor  and  St.  Joseph  Electric  Railroad 
and  Light  Company.  The  capital  of  the  new  or- 
ganization is  $1,000,000.  Colonel  W.  W.  Bean,  for- 
mer owner  of  the  Benton  Harbor  and  St.  Joseph 
street-railway  and  lighting  system,  has  turned  over 
the  property  to  the  new  owners.  James  G.  Mc- 
Michael,  vice-president  of  the  merged  companies,  is 
president  of  the  Atlas  Railway  Supply  Company 
of  Chicago.  The  other  officers  are  Charles  K. 
Minary  of  Springfield,  111.,  president;  L.  W.  Botts 
of  Louisville,  secretary;  Frank  M.  Mills  of  Benton 
Harbor,  treasurer;  Henry  C.  Mason,  general  man- 
ager, and  H.  S.  Gray  of  Benton  Harbor,  attorney. 
The  company  has  purchased  the  steel  for  the  ex- 
tension of  the  line  to  Kan  Claire  by  the  way  of 
Fair  Plain  and  Tabor's.  The  grading  for  this  line 
is  now  completed  and  it  is  the  expectation  that  all 
bridges  will  be  built  and  the  road  ready  for  opera- 
tion to  Eau  Claire  by  the  middle  of  June.  The 
company  expects  to  be  operating  its  line  to  Fair 
Plain  in  April.  Besides  the  line  to  Eau  Claire 
the  company  has  in  contemplation  a  road  to  Kala- 
mazoo, and  unless  some  other  company  begins 
construction  of  such  a  line  this  spring  it  will  under- 
take the  work  later  in  the  season.  The  new  power 
from  Buchanan  is  expected  to  be  put  in  use  in  two 
weeks.  With  its  installation  the  rates  for  light  and 
power  will  be  reduced  and  better  service  will  be 
given.  Colonel  Bean,  who  retires  from  the  com- 
pany, will  take  a  well-earned  vacation.  He  located 
at  Benton  Harbor  17  years  ago,  coming  from  Day- 
ton, Ky.,  where  he  sold  a  horse-car  line.  He 
bought  the  street-railway  line  between  Benton  Har- 
bor and  St.  Joseph.  The  equipment  consisted  of  a 
few  horses  and  a  few  second-hand  street  cars. 
Colonel  Bean  equipped  the  road  with  electric  power, 
secured  the  construction  of  the  Wayne  Street  Via- 
duct in  St.  Joseph  and  made  the  road  one  of  the 
best  and   most   profitable   in   the   state. 

In  1905  the  Detroit  United  Railway  system,  in 
which  the  Rapid  and  Sandwich,  Windsor  and 
Amherstburg  railways  are  not  included,  carried 
92,838,540  revenue  passengers,  27,593,325  transfer 
passengers  and  4,193,445  employe  passengers.  For 
betterments  $1,139,338  was  expended.  Of  this  nearly 
$i,ooo,oco  was  spent  on  the  Detroit  city  system. 
The  gross  earnings  for  all  the  lines — Detroit  United 
Railway,  Rapid  and  Sandwich,  Windsor  and  Am- 
herstburg— were  $5,125,563.  Deduction  of  operating 
expenses  and  taxes  left  $2,128,116  net. 

L.  W.  B. 


Northwestern  States. 

Minneapolis,  February  10. — Calls  for  bids  for  the 
new  transforming  station  on  Lake  Street,  Minne- 
apolis, are  out.  The  new  building  will  cost  about 
$10,000  and  is  to  be  completed  by  the  first  of  June. 
This  new  station  will  receive  power  at  high  tension 
from  the  main  power  house  and  will  distribute  it 
for  service  at  a  low  voltage  over  the  system  in 
that  portion  of  the  city.  It  will  also  furnish  cur- 
rent for  the  new  Lake  Street-Marshall  Avenue 
interurban  to  St.  Paul.  It  is  the  intention  of  the 
Twin  City  Rapid  Transit  Company  to  establish  a 
trolley  express  service  on  this  line. 

Charles  D.  Smith,  president  of  the  Wisconsin 
Rapid  Transit  Company,  has  announced  that  suffi- 
cient capital  has  been  secured  to  warrant  starting 
work  on  the  proposed  electric  road  from  Milwau- 
kee to  Port  Washington  and  Fond  du  Lac.  The 
estimated  cost  of  the  new  line  is  $1,500,000. 

The  option  held  by  the  Newton  and  Northwest- 
ern Railway  Company  oq  the  purchase  of  the  Fort 
Dodge  (Iowa)  street-railway  system  has  been 
closed   and   the   purchase   made. 

The  Minnesota  Water  Works  Company  of  Brain- 
erd,  Minn.,  proposes  to  dam  the  Crow  Wing  River 
and  build  a  large  power  plant  for  the  waterworks 
system  for  a  new  electric-light  plant.  The  pro- 
posed plant  would  cost  $225,000,  and  its  construc- 
tion is  contingent  on  the  extension  of  the  water- 
works  franchise. 

A  company  is  being  organized  at  Hibbing.  Minn., 
for  the  purpose  of  building  an  independent  tele- 
graph line  from  that  and  other  Range  towns  to 
Duhith,   Minn. 

The  Council  at  Fort  Pierre,  S.  D..  has  granted 
a  franchise  for  a  street-railway  and  interurban  sys- 
tem to  F.  G.  Fisher  of  that  city  and  H.  Newbanks 
of  Pierre.  A  similar  proposition  is  pending  in  the 
Pierre   Council. 

The  Madison  (Wis.)  Interurban  Traction  Com- 
pany will  extend  a  line  to  South  Madison  at  a  cost 
of  $50,000.    A  new  power  house  is  also  planned. 

The  electric-light  plant  at  Reinbeck,  Iowa,  has 
been    damaged  by   fire. 

The  Council  at  Creston,  Iowa,  proposes,  it  is 
said,  to  purchase  the  new  electric-light  plant  at 
that  city  and  operate  it  under  municipal  ownership. 

The  Charles  City  (Iowa)  Water  Power  Company 
has  sold  its  plant  to  E.   S.  Marrenner  of  Chicago. 


February  17.  1906 

He  will  develop  the  property  al  oni  1    bj   pu 

• 11  reti    dam  and  1! I'"1 ■""      h 

I,:,,  been  idle  sinci    il   burned  la  I     1 B      I " 

ideration  was  -i  1  i,ooo 

n   1 .    aid  thai   il   will  1 po     Mi    foi    tin 

,,|-    Aberdeen,  S.   D.,  to  dji  p '    -    '  ir'  '"• 

[ighi    bonds  '  for    the    rea  ion    thai    thi    1  il  ■    ha     al 
read,    reai  hed  the  limil  ol   il     li  gal   indi  bti  dm 

j>j    a    I  toffard,  •■ i'v  auditor,  will  •     •  ■•'■  d 

yd:    until   March  6th  E01    in  tailing  an  elestrii   light 

planl   in  the  cottrthou  <    : 1   ton,    rfinn      Eai  h 

bidder   musl    furnish   his   own    plan     I     


\i,  electrii  lighl  )  iti  m 
Bertha,  Minn. 

Il  has  been  decided  to  0 
1 . 1 . , <  1 1   ai    Sebeka,   Minn. 


be    installed    al 

an  el lighl 

R 


Pacific  Slope. 

San  Francisco,  Cal.,  February  9,     I  be  I Iri 

Electric    Power   Company,  which   operates  an   elec 

tric  lighi    piani    ai    the    I ' n    Lumber    Companj 

mill    ai    Fori    Bragg,   Cal.,   has   purchased,   through 

a  San   Francisco  agency,  an  additi il  300-kilowatl 

alternating-currenl  generator  and  a  direct-con d 

eneine      Arrangements    have   bee ade   to    furnish 

electric  power  to  the  Mendocino  Electric  Lighl  and 

Power  Company,  at  a  price  below  the  prese 

of  generation  al  Mendocino,  Cal.  H  will  bi  neci 
Sary  to  build  a  ro-mile  pole  line  down  the  coa  1 
from  Fori  Bragg  to  Mendocino  to  till  the  contract, 
VV  J.  Patterson  is  the  promoter  of  a  30-mile 
electric  road,  which  is  to  be  constructed  at  a  cost 
of  $500000, '  in  the  territory  tributary  to  Baker 
City  Ore  skirting  Eagle  and  Pine  Valleys.  It  is 
reported  that  financial  arrangements  have  been  con 
summated  for  building  the  road.  It  is  proposed 
to  construct  a  hydro-electric  plant  on  Eagle  Creek 
for  the  operation  of  the  ears.  I  he  reclamation  of 
so.ooo  acres  of  land  is  also  included  in  the  plans. 
The  site  for  the  power  plant  is  to  be  furnished 
by  State  Senator  Pierce  of  Umatilla  County,  J.  I\. 
Romig  and  others. 

The  Inland  Power  and  Electric  Company  of 
Spokane  Wash.,  has  filed  articles  of  incorporation 
which  authorize  it  to  construct,  acquire  and  operate 
railroads,  irrigation  systems  and  electric  power 
transportation  business.  The  capital  stock  is  given 
at  $1,000,000.  The  incorporators  are  Arthur  Phil- 
lips, F.  P.  Waters  and  C.  A.  Lunceford  of  Spokane. 
The  Forest  Grove  Transportation  Company  has 
been  organized,  capitalized  at  $10,000,  and  proposes 
to  build'  an  electric  road  in  the  principal  business 
center  of  Forest  Grove,  Ore.  The  road  is  to  be 
completed  this  summer.  The  power  to  operate  the 
line  will  be  furnished  by  E.  VV.  Haines  water- 
power  plant,  12  miles  west  of  Forest  Grove,  the 
following  officers  have  been  chosen  for  the  ensuing 
year:  E.  W.  Haines,  president;  Judge  Hilhs,  sec- 
retary;   J.   E.    Loomis,    treasurer.  . 

J  S  McDonald  has  been  granted  a  franchise  tor 
an  electric-light  and  power  line  along  certain  streets 
in   Napa,   Cal.  . 

A  company  has  been  formed  at  Colonia  Juarez, 
Mexico,  to  establish  an  electric-lighting  plant.  Au- 
gust A.'  Wilson,  electrical  engineer,  has  drawn  plans, 
which    have    been    accepted. 

The  new  owners  of  the  San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara 
Electric  Railroad  Company  have  made  application 
for  a  50-year  franchise  in  Santa  Clara,  Cal.,  tor 
a  double  track  along  Franklin  Street,  to  the  termi- 
nus of  the  present  road. 

Work  has  commenced  at  San  Diego,  Cal.,  on  the 
construction  of  a  new  electric  plant  for  the  San 
Diego  Consolidated  Gas  and  Electric  Company. 
R.  J.  Hill,  engineer,  of  Chicago,  is  supervising  the 
job. 

PERSONAL 

Stephen  L.  Coles,  formerly  well  known  in  elec- 
trical journalism,  is  no  longer  connected  with  Kail- 
way  and   Marine   News   of   Seattle.    Wash. 

George  D.  MacMillan,  president  of  the  La 
Crosse  (Wis.)  Gas-  and  Electric  Company,  died  on 
February '  12th.  Besides  his  activity  in  business 
affairs  Mr.  MacMillan  was  active  in  politics  and  111 
the  local  and  state  organization  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.     He   was   61    years   old. 

Eugene  N.  Foss  has  been  elected  a  director  of 
the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  Company,  vice  R. 
Somers  Hayes,  deceased.  He  is  the  head  of  the 
B  F  Sturtevant  Company  and  has  been  very  prom- 
inent in  advocating  Canadian  reciprocity  having 
unsuccessfully  attempted  to  "be  elected  Congress- 
man on  that  issue. 

George  P.  Hutchins  has  resigned  from  the  ad- 
vertising department  of  the  Joseph  Dixon  Crucible 
Companv  of  Jersey  City  and  has  opened  an  orhce 
at  120  Liberty  Street,  New  York  city,  to  serve  in 
the  capacity  of  advertising  manager  for  manufac- 
turers whose  publicity  work  lies  within  the  me- 
chanical  and   engineering  fields. 

Henrv  M.  Sperry  has  been  appointed  resident  man- 
ager in  New  York  for  the  General  Railway  Signal 
Company.  He  succeeds  W.  G.  Hovey  who  has 
been  appointed  construction  manager.  Mr.  bperry 
is  well  known  as  a  man  of  large  experience  in 
General  railroad  and  signal  engineering,  having  been 


ELECTR] 

Pcnn 

ii 

fwenl 
of  JEIcci 

uc|      hi  li   m     11    I 
thi     B 1     1     P 

lituti       1  'i  '  intended  on  thi 

ol   in      '    rl     fi 

ion  'i     tanditi  1 
Robert    I.     1 
both  01  '  hi I    "don,  England, 

on  Fi  l.ruary   71I1.      Ml      1 

11,1      ttorncj     fo 
1 1,-   p.,     in  ,11.    ,1  ii  nd  ''■    I"1" 

.  1         Fowler   i 

itjng    in    1 Ion    1  '  "K  the 

wedding    al    the  H         '  ' 

and    bn  akfasl        :|    1     I  ''"''  "' 

m,        Fowler1      Englisl      I  '     '':'rk 

terrace      Wi     and    kit      Elliol  cd  to  be 

in     II  llj     .hi     lin  11 

Mi       I        F       BOV      1      ii 

,,i   thi     \lli    1  halmi  1     1  tompany  of  Milwaul  - 
1 1 ,  ding   Mi     I     \    Milni     ..  h     h  1     beco 

,    Mil    1  hal Bull'  ck  Comp         Ltd.,  1 

real,   as  noted  below     Mr.    Bo         graduati  d   from 
\\ ,   1,  van  University  mi,1      1 

viou  i    i"    190]    hi     '■' itary   and    trca  1 

the   Dickson    Manufai  tin  ing    I  omp 
Pa     which  was  at  thai  time  ab  ■  rbi  tl  b]    thi 
Chalmers   Company,   and   on   April    1.   1904, 
transferred  to  the  electrical   department  at  Cincin- 
nati, of   whii  li  he   became  manager. 

Frederick  I  I  owne,  gem  ral  sup<  <  inti  nd 
the  Yale  &  ["owne  Manufacturing  Company,  died 
in  Stamford,  Conn.,  on  February  4th.  He  . 
stricken  with  acute  Bright's  diseasi  the  evening 
before,  while  making  a  speech  to  employes  of  the 
works  at  an  award  of  prizes  for  suggestions.  Mr 
Towne  was  a  graduate  of  the  Massachusetts  Insti- 
tute of  Technology.  He  was  only  .14  years  old,  and 
a  son  of  Henry  R.  Towne,  the  company's  president. 
He  was  a  man  of  ability  and  high  character  and 
was  held  in  much  esteem  by  all  who  knew  bun. 
He  is  survived  by  a  widow  and   two  sons. 

Dr.  William  F.  Ostwald  of  Leipsic,  Germany, 
was  tendered  a  reception  by  the  New  York  sec- 
tion of  the  American  Electrochemical  Society  at 
the  Chemists'  Club  on  the  evening  of  February  2d. 
Dr  Joseph  W.  Richards  welcomed  Dr.  Ostwald 
on  behalf  of  the  American  Electrochemical  Society 
and  Prof.  C.  F.  Chandler  performed  a  like  duty 
for  the  American  Chemical  Society  and  the  Society 
of  Chemical  Industry.  A  number  of  men  promi- 
nent in  chemical  and  electrochemical  circles  spoke. 
\fter  the  formal  exercises  of  the  evening  were 
closed  the  guests  remained  to  meet  the  distinguished 
chemist  Dr.  Ostwald  has  been  giving  a  series  of 
lectures  at  Harvard  University  and  has  just  com- 
pleted a  course  of  six  lectures  at  Columbia.  He 
sailed  on  his  return  journey  to  Germany  on  heb- 
ruary  6th. 

Mr.  James  A.  Milne,  who  for  a  number  of  years 
has    been    comptroller    of   the    Albs-Chalmers    Corn- 
accepted  the  position  of  gen- 
eral   manager    of    Allis-Chal- 
mers-Bullock.  Ltd.,  Montreal. 
Canada,    to    become    effective 
on   or   before   May   1st.     Mr. 
Milne  is  a  native  of  Canada, 
having    ben   born    at    Water- 
down,    Ontario,    in    1S72. 
After    completing    a    public- 
school    and    collegiate   course 
he  began  his  business  career 
at  Toronto  in  1888.     In  1892 
he   removed   to   Chicago,   en- 
tering    the     employment     of 
Carson,    Piric.    Scott    &   Co. 
Subsequently  he   worked   for 
Reid,    Murdock    &    Co.    and 
the     Chicago     Packing     and 
Provision    Company — for   the 
latter    as    chief    accountant.     Then    he    became    as- 
sociated   with    Jones,    Cjesar    &    Co.,    chartered    ac- 
countants, and  it  was  this  connection  which  brought 
him    into   touch   with   the   Allis-Chalmers    Company. 
In    August     1 901,    he    entered    its    employment    as 
chief  cSst  clerk,  and  one  month  later  was  appointed 
acting    comptroller,    being    formally    elected    to    that 
position    at   the   meeting  of  the   board   of   directors 
in  May    1902.     Since  the  early  part  of  last  autumn 
Mr    Milne  has  been  one  of  the  directors  of  Alhs- 
Chalmers-Bullock,    Ltd..    and    the    fact   that   he    still 
retains   Canadian  citizenship  and   is   deeply  attached 
to    his    early    associations    has    been    an    important 
factor   in   influencing    him   to  heed    a   recall    to   the 
Dominion.      The    Alhs-Chalmers-Bullock     Ltd      ot 
Montreal,    is    an    allied    interest    of   the    Alhs-Chal- 
mers    Companv    and    owns    a    large    manufacturing 
plant    located   at   Montreal,    the    direct   management 
of  which  will  now  be  assumed  hy  Mr.  Milne,    the 
Canadian  company  is  conducted  as  an  entirely  sep- 
arate organization,  but,  in  addition  to  its  own  Pro- 
duction,   sells    the    products    of    the    Alhs-Chalmers 
Company  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 


pany,   Milwaukee,  ha: 


ELECTRIC  LIGHTING 

■ 
hljlil    plain 
pany    il 

The    G 

■  • 

and  Sinclair  Mainland 

Thomas    Brown,  manager 
trie   Lighl    (  om\ 

■ii  the  Iteam  power  plant  in  Ri 
and    will    operate    his    plant  1    from 

Glenwood. 

The    Logan    Electric    Lighl    I 

I     \    Felthou"  of  Si    Pa  il,        0   .-.ill  take 
11  about  March    1st.      I 
$85,000  and   several  tracts  of  Canada  land. 

John  \\ .  Shaw,  receiver  for  the  Hal 
Water.  Lighl  and  power  Company,  Harrisburg. 
111.,  by  permission  of  the  court  has  undertaken  an 
to  the  company's  present  electrical  planl. 
consisting  of  a  no-kilowatt  single-phase  i.ioo-volt 
belted  alternator  with  exciter.  This  will  be  used 
to  carry  the  lighting  load  of  the  city.  The  new- 
equipment  will  be  furnished  by  the  Allis-Chalmir* 
Company,   Milwaukee. 

Citizens  in  a  section  of  the  West  End  of 
111.,  have  become  impatient  with  the  delay  of  the 
lighting  company  to  extend  its  electric-light  cir- 
cuits to  their  houses  and  have  decided  to  build  a 
small  plant  of  their  own.  A  local  paper  of 
says  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  the  dis- 
trict $2,sco  was  raised,  a  lot  was  selected  and 
plans  were  made  to  install  a  gasoline-engine  plant. 
"Twenty-five  customers  have  already  been  signed 
up.  and  it  is  fondly  hoped  that  eventually  as  many 
as  40  seekers  of  the  true  light  may  put  down  their 
names  on.  the  list,"  says  the  account. 

Consul  Riiffin  of  Asuncion  has  transmitted  a 
copy-  of  the  recent  act  of  the  Paraguayan  C 
calling  for  bids  for  the  electric  lighting  of  the 
capital  city  and  for  motive  power.  The  at. 
cision  to  give  the  lighting  over  to  a  private  com- 
pany is  thus  rescinded  and  the  city  ordered  to  ask 
for'  public  bids,  which  will  be  opened  April  2d. 
This  will  afford  an  opportunity  not  only  to  Ameri- 
can contracting  electrician,  but  to  a  line  of  electric 
appliances  for  buildings  and  industrial  plants  as 
well.  The  complete  translated  text  of  ihe  electric- 
lighting  law  can  be  examined  at  the  Bureau  of 
Manufactures    in    Washington. 


M1LX1 


ELECTRIC  RAILWAYS 

The  Consolidated  Railway  Company  has  been 
granted  a  franchise  for  an  electric  street-railway 
system   in  Cottonwood   Falls.  Kan. 

E.  S.  Alnut  of  Pueblo.  Colo.,  has  been  granted 
a  franchise  for  an  interurban  street  railway  enter- 
ing Salina.  Kan. 

The  Citv  Council  of  Fort  Smith.  S.  D..  has 
granted  a  "franchise  for  a  street-railway  system  to 
Newbanks  S:  Fisher. 

Traffic  of  the  Chicago  and  Oak  Park  Elevated 
railway  for  January  continued  the  good  record  of 
1005.  'The  daily  average  of  passengers  carried  was 
47.921.  against  '44,668  for  the  corresponding  month 
last  year.     The   increase   was   7.28  per   cent. 

The  transaction  by  which  the  Illinois  Traction 
Svsteni  comes  into  possession  of  the  Engel  Manu- 
facturing Company's  site  in  Peoria.  III.,  has  been 
concluded  and  work  on  a  large  new  power  house 
for  the   interurban  company  will  be  begun  soon. 

In  the  annual  report  of  a  German  street-railway 
companv  appears  the  following  paragraph:  "Dur- 
ing the  year  1905  our  cars  have  run  over  and 
killed  five  sparrows,  three  dogs,  one  fowl:  since 
the  opening  of  the  various  lines  the  street  cars  have 
run  oyer  16  sparrows,  seven  docs,  one  cat.  one 
goose,   two  ducks  and  one  fowl. 

The  Detroit  L'nited  Railway  Company  of  Detroit. 
Mich.,  reports  gross  earnings  for  the  year  1005  of 
$5,125,563,  compared  with  $4,541,805  the  year 
Operating  expenses,  taxes,  etc..  were  $3,041,523  and 
Si -6500-  respectively,  for  1005  and  1004.  The  car 
mileage  in  IQ05  was  23.4S8.285.  against  2i<  72, 
in    1904.      Earnings    per   car-mile    were   0.21& 


148 

in  1905,  against  0.2067  cent  in  the  previous  year. 
Expenses  per  car-mile  were  0.1295  cent,  against 
0.1257  cent.  Net  earnings  per  car-mile  were  0.0887 
cent,  against  0.810  cent  in    1904. 

The  Southern  Traction  Company  of  Illinois  has 
been  incorporated,  with  principal  office  in  East  St. 
Louis.  It  is  proposed  to  build  in  St.  Clair  County 
and  through  Washington,  Clinton,  Randolph  and 
Perry  counties,  to  Pickneyville,  111.  The  incorpo- 
rators include  H.  C.  Eegole  of  Belleville  and  W.  E. 
Trautmann  of  East  St.   Louis. 

Extensive  improvements  are  under  way  and  in 
contemplation  by  the  Memphis  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany of  Memphis,  Tenn.  The  road  is  to  be  ex- 
tended to  East  End  Park,  a  summer  theater,  and 
a  large  number  of  new  cars  are  to  be  put  on. 
A  new  power  house  is  to  be  erected  and  a  2,000- 
kilowalt  generator  will  be   installed. 

There  are  only  three  small  street-car  lines  in 
Porto  Rico — one  in  San  Juan,  one  in  Ponce,  and 
a  very  small  line  in  Mayaguez.  The  lines  in  San 
Juan  and  Ponce  use  electric  power.  The  number 
of  men  employed  is  extremely  small.  The  pay  of 
conductors  ranges  from  91  cents  to  $1,231/  a  day, 
and  the  motormen  receive  from  82  cents  to  $1.15  a 
day. 

G.  W.  Thompson  and  F.  J.  Randolph  of  Lewis- 
ton,  J.  W.  Ramey  and  A.  C.  Eitzen  of  Nez  Perce 
and  Robert  Jones  of  Grangeville,  Idaho,  are  work- 
ing in  the  interests  of  the  Lewiston  and  Southern 
electric  railway.  They  say  that  it  is  definitely  de- 
cided to  install  a  power  plant  on  the  Salmon  River, 
where  a  site  has  been  selected.  Early  commence- 
ment   of   construction    work    is    promised. 

.  The  charter  of  the  San  Marcos-Luling  Traction 
Company,  with  office  at  San  Marcos,  Texas,  has 
been  filed.  It  has  a  capital  stock  of  $500,000  and  its 
purpose  is  to  build  and  operate  an  interurban  elec- 
tric railway  between  San  Marcos  and  Luling.  Judge 
J.  W.  Scott  of  St.  Louis  and  a  number  of  local 
capitalists  of  San  Marcos  and  Luling  are  the  in- 
corporators. It  will  be  about  23  miles  long  and  will 
traverse  the  valley  of  the   San   Marcos   River. 

Birmingham  (England)  is  committing  itself  fur- 
ther and  further  in  its  electrical  undertakings.  Ap- 
plication now  has  been  made  for  permission  to 
expend  £132.690  more  upon  them.  When  the  cor- 
poration took  over  the  tramways  there  were  then 
about  33  miles  of  single  line  in  operation;  by  the 
time  this  money  is  expended  there  will  be  64  miles. 
This  work  will  all  have  to  be  executed  during  the 
next  iS  months,  as  the  corporation  is  to  have  the 
lines   in   operation   within   that   period. 

The  Winona  Interurban  Railway  Company  of 
Winona  Lake,  Ind.,  will  operate  an  electric  railway 
from  Warsaw  to  Goshen,  Ind.,  about  27  miles,  for 
which  the  right-of-way  has  been  acquired  and  the 
grading  completed.  The  Allis-Chalmers  Company 
of  Milwaukee  will  furnish  the  electrical  equipment 
for  the  proposed  line  through  the  Electrical  In- 
stallation Company  of  Chicago,  in  charge  of  the 
actual  construction  and  installation.  It  is  expected 
that  the  line  will  be,  in  operation  by  April. 

The  executive  committee  of  the  American  Street 
and  Interurban  Railway  Association  held  a  meeting 
at  the  association  headquarters,  60  Wall  Street,  New 
York  city,  on  February  6th.  The  meeting  was 
called  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  a  number  of 
important  matters  relating  to  the  association  and 
affiliated  bodies.  Secretary  B.  V.  Swenson  pre- 
sented a  report  covering  the  affairs  of  the  associa- 
tion. At  this  meeting  the  committee  approved  the 
constitutions  and  by-laws  of  the  affiliated  associa- 
tions. Other  matters  considered  related  to  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  printed  proceedings  of  the  current 
year,  the  binding  of  past  volumes  and  the  privi- 
leges of  associated  membership. 

The  Illinois  Traction  System,  which  owns  and 
operates  the  Danville  Street  Railway  and  Light 
Company,  the  Danville,  Urbana  and  Champaign 
Railway  Company,  the  Urbana  and  Champaign  Rail- 
way, Gas  and  Electric  Company,  the  Decatur  Rail- 
way and  Light  Company,  the  Illinois  Central  Trac- 
tion Company  and  the  St.  Louis  and  Springfield 
Railway  Company,  has  recently  purchased  the 
Springfield  and  Northeastern  Railroad  Company,  an 
unfinished  interurban  line  between  Springfield  and 
Bloomington,  111.,  about  60  miles,  of  which  30  miles 
have  been  graded.  Construction  will  begin  "at  once 
between  Springfield  and  Lincoln,  thus  completing 
another  link  in  the  line  this  company  is  building 
from   St.   Louis  to  Springfield. 

The  Buffalo  Subway  Railroad  Company  of  Buf- 
falo, N.  Y.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital 
of  $1,000,000  to  operate  a  street  railroad,  wholly 
or  partly  underground,  by  electricity  in  Buffalo. 
The  road  is  to  extend  from  a  point  on  Carolina 
Street  southwest  of  the  lands  of  the  New  York 
Central  and  Hudson  River  Railroad  Company, 
thence  easterly  beyond  the  easterly  city  line  to  a 
point  about  2,000  feet  beyond  the  lands  of  the  Ter- 
minal railway  of  Buffalo  in  the  town  of  Cheek- 
J?,^?.ga-  JS  branch  will  run  from  the  main  line  at 
William  Street  and  Fillmore  Avenue  to  the  inter- 
section of  Curtiss  and  Lovejoy  streets.  The  direct- 
ors are  Albert  W.  Bonvnge  and  Theodore  B  Chan- 
cellor of  Hoboken,  N.  J.;   Frederick  B.  Bard    Hen- 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

derson  Peck  Roscoe  P.  Peck,  Edward  Mclnnes 
and  Harry  M.  Spencer  of  New  York  city,  and 
frank  S.  McGraw  and  William  B.  Cutler  of  Buf- 
falo. 


PUBLICATIONS. 

The  Westinghouse  Companies'  Publishing  Depart- 
ment has  issued  in  pamphlet  form  three  important 
papers,  one  upon  "Gas  Power  for  High-pressure 
City  fire  Service,"  by  J.  R.  Bibbins,  and  both  the 
others  upon  the  subject  of  gas  power  in  electric- 
railway  work.  The  last  two  are  papers  that  were 
read  before  the  American  Street  and  Interurban 
Railway  Association  at  the  Philadelphia  convention, 
lliey  are  Notes  on  the  Design  of  Large  Gas 
iungmes  with  Special  Reference  to  Railway  Work" 
by  Arthur  West,  and  the  "Application  of  Gas 
Power  to  Electric  Railway  Service,"  by  J.  R.  Bib- 
bins  The  two  are  bound  in'  one  pamphlet  and 
the  discussion  upon  the  two  papers  is  included. 

The  Aiton  Machine  Company  of  126  Liberty 
Street,  New  York  city,  has  just  issued  its  bulletin 
Wo.  2  describing  its  eight-drum  stranding  machine 
this  machine  carries  spools  12  by  eight  inches  at  a 
speed  of  200  revolutions  per  minute.  The  entire 
machine  is  mounted  on  a  stiff  bed  plate  and  is 
equipped  throughout  with  cut  gearing. 

The  Allis-Chalmers  Company  is  about  to  issue 
bulk-tin  No.  1051,  "Alternating-current  Generators, 
Belted  type.  While  direct-connected  alternators 
have  largely  displaced  belted  machines  in  modern 
power  stations,  there  are  many  places,  particularly 
m  comparatively  small  installations,  where  belted 
units  are  desired.  Belted  machines  are  easily  con- 
nected to  the  existing  source  of  power,  as  for 
example,  a  line  shaft  used  for  driving  other  ma- 
chinery, and  for  these  installations  of  lesser  size 
they  are  lower  in  first  cost  than  direct-connected 
apparatus.  The  Bullock  machines  described  in  this 
bulletin  are  adapted  to  a  wide  range  of  output 


February  17,  1906 

against  sickness,  accident,  disability,  old  age,  death 
and  unemployment.  The  bureau  is  endeavoring 
to  secure  information  concerning  mutual  relief  or 
insurance  funds  organized  and  maintained  by  the 
employes  of  an  industrial  establishment,  or  relief 
funds  supported  either  wholly  or  in  part  by  the 
employers  themselves.  It  is  desired  to  obtain, 
wherever  possible,  copies  of  constitutions,  rules  and 
by-laws,  blank-certificate  forms  and  any  other 
matter  relating  to  funds  of  this  character.  In  the 
absence  of  other  data  the  name  and  location  of 
establishments  in  which  such  funds  exist  are  de- 
sired. Information  should  be  sent  to  Charles  P 
Neill,  commissioner,  Bureau  of  Labor,  Department 
of  Commerce  and  Labor,  Washington,   D.   C. 

An  interesting  method  of  cutting  an  irregular 
brox  ca™  is  described  by  the  Chicago  Pneumatic 
Tool  Company.  The  cam  was  to  be  cut  in  the 
Cleveland  plant  of  the  company,  and  as  the  groove 
was  located  very  close  to  the  center  of  the  gear 
at  one  point  and  close  to  the  rim  at  another,  no 
single  tool  could  be  used  to  cut  it,  as  it  w-as  neces- 
sary to  have  the  sides  absolutely  parallel.  Not  hav- 
ing a  machine  particularly  adapted  to  the  work,  an 
emergency  method  was  devised  consisting  of  a 
block  mounted  on  the  slide  of  an  engine  lathe 
in  which  a  milling  cutter  was  free  to  revolve.  A 
master  cam  was  attached  to  a  mandrel  with  a  gear 
m  proper  relation  to  it.  As  the  lathe  revolved 
slowly  (the  slide  rest  having  previously  been  dis- 
connected from  the  cross-feed  screw)  the  milling 
cutter  arbor  was  kept  in  contact  with  the  master 
cam  by  means  of  a  weight  fastened  to  the  end  of 
the  cross-feed  slide.  The  cutter  arbor  in  contact 
with  the  master  cam  was  the  same  diameter  as  the 
milling  cutter  used;  this  insured  an  absolutely  par- 
allel slot.  A  Little  Giant  drill  was  used  for  driv- 
ing  the    cutter. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 

An  authority  in  the  United  Kingdom  says  that 
it  seems  probable  that  the  future  development  of 
the  electric  furnace  will  be  in  combination  with 
some  form  of  continuous  open-hearth  process,  in 
which  molten  pig  iron  is  first  converted  into  "mol- 
ten scrap  steel"  in  a  gas-fired  furnace  and  then 
transferred  in  the  molten  state  to  the  electric  fur- 
nace for  final  purification. 

The  ship  physician  of  the  Hamburg- American  liner 
Patricia  publishes  his  account  of  a  method  for 
treating  seasickness  by  means  of  an  electric-vibra- 
tion chair.  Six  of  these  chairs  were  placed  aboard 
the  Patricia  and  connected  with  the  electric-light 
circuit.  The  sedative  effect  on  the  patient  when 
vibrated  m  the  chair  was  noticeable,  reducing  the 
pulse  and  nervous  excitement.  The  use  of  these 
electric  chairs  will  be  extended  to  other  steamers 
it    is    said. 

A  new  world's  record  for  automobiles  was  made 
by  H.  B.  Marriott  in  a  Stanley  steam  car  at  Or- 
mond,  Fla.,  recently.  One  mile  was  made  in  28  1-5 
seconds,  or  at  the  rate  of  127.66  miles  an  hour. 
This  is  probably  the  fastest  official  time  on  record 
for  any  contrivance  driven  by  man.  During  the 
high  speed  electric-railway  trials  of  the  German 
government  near  Zossen,  Germany;  in  an  unofficial 
trial  131  miles  an  hour  was  reached.  The  highest 
official  speed,  however,  was  four  or  five  miles  at 
the  rate  of  125  miles  an  hour. 

The  United  States  Circuit.  Court  of  Appeals  has 
decided  that  the  city  of  Indianapolis  has  a  legal 
right  to  purchase  and  operate  the  plant  of  the 
Consumers'  Gas  Trust  Company,  and  reversed  the 
decree  of  the  court  in  Indianapolis  which  restrained 
the  city  from  purchasing  the  plant.  The  franchise 
of  the  company  has  expired,  and  suit  to  wind  up 
its  business  was  started  by  Byron  C.  Quinby.  The 
decree  in  this  suit,  allowing  the  termination  of  the 
business  of  the  company,  the  natural  gas  having 
been  exhausted,  was  confirmed  by  the  Court  of 
Appeals.  The  city  of  Indianapolis  asserted  the 
right  to  become  the  exclusive  purchaser  of  the  "as 
plant.  ° 

A  prize  contest  has  been  organized  by  the  Hy- 
draulic Power  Syndicate  of  Grenoble,  France  re- 
lating to  a  current-limiting  device  for  use  in  elec- 
tng-light  or  power  stations.  In  a  system  of  dis- 
tribution, branch  circuits  to  subscribers  are  to  be 
limited  to  a  certain  power  the  maximum  of  which 
is  determined  in  advance.  If  the  maximum  is  ex- 
ceeded the  device  must  notify  the  subscriber 
that  he  may  return  to  the  condition  of  his  contract 
without  causing  trouble  upon  the  whole  system 
A  complete  description  is  to  be  sent  before  April 
1st  to  the  Siege  Social  du  Syndicat  des  Forces 
Hydrauliques,  63  Boulevard  Haussmann,  Paris- 
also  (if  accepted)  two  apparatus,  which  are  to  be 
tested  on  the  line  and  in  the  laboratory.  A  prize 
of  2,coo  francs  ($400)  is  to  be  awarded  for  the  best 
device. 

The  Bureau  of  Labor  is  preparing  a  report  cov- 
ering the  various  systems  of  workingmen's  insur- 
ance and  employers'  liability  both  in"  this  country 
and     abroad.       The     report     will     cover     insurance 


TRADE  NEWS. 

Curtis  &  Curtis  of  Chariton,  Iowa,  have  sold 
their  electrical   supply  business   to   Veirs   Bros. 

Announcement  is  made  of  a  change  in  address 
of  the  Salt  Lake  City  branch  office  of  the  Allis- 
Chalmers  Company,  of  which  Mr.  Frank  E. 
Marcy  is  district  manager.  The  offices  have  been 
removed  to  the  Dooly  Building  at  117-119  East 
Second  South  Street,  where  they  are  centrally 
located. 

On  March  1st  Dodge  &  Day  will  remove  to 
their  new  offices,  located  in  the  Drexel  Building, 
Fifth  and  Chestnut  Streets,  Philadelphia,  in  order 
to  be  nearer  to  the  financial  center  as  well  as  to 
obtain  more  commodious  quarters.  This  step  is  the 
natural  result  of  the  rapid  growth  of  their  engi- 
neering  business. 

The  Westinghouse  Machine  Company  filed  a  bill 
of  complaint  on  February  9th,  in  the  Circuit  Court 
of  the  United  States  for  the  District  of  New  Jer- 
sey, against  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company,  alleging 
that  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company,  in  the  manu- 
facture and  sale  of  its  turbine,  is  infringing  patent 
No.  655,414,  issued  to  Mr.  Charles  A.  Parsons,  on 
August   7,    1900. 

Dossert  &  Co.,  manufacturers  of  connections  for 
electric  wires,  gas  and  water  pipes,  announce  their 
removal  to  their  new  factory  and  offices  at  242 
West  Forty-first  Street,  New  York,  where  they 
will  have  quarters  more  suitable  to  their  increasing 
business.  They  are  making  radical  changes  and 
installing  many  improvements  in  their  manufactur- 
ing system  that  will  largely  increase  production, 
improve  the  quality  of  the  goods  and  enable  the 
firm  to  make  prompt  deliveries  hereafter  of  all 
orders. 

The  American  Electric  Company  of  New  Jersey 
mid  the  Missouri  American  Electric  Company  of 
Missouri  announce  that  they  have  arrived  at  an  un- 
derstanding with  the  General  Electric  Company  and 
the  Edison  Electric  Light  Company,  whereby  all  liti- 
gation between  the  parties  has  been  terminated,  the 
first  two  companies  having  the  right  to  use  all  the 
patents  used  by  the  licensed  manufacturers  of  in- 
candescent lamps.  The  American  and  Missouri 
companies  add  that  they  are  "entirely  and  abso- 
lutely free  from  entangling  alliances,"  their  "claim 
of  independence  being  fully  and  unalterably  estab- 
lished." 

The  Interborough  Rapid  Transit  Company  of 
New  York  has  just  placed  an  order  with  the 
Electric  Cable  Company  of  New  York  for  15 
miles  of  cables  insulated  with  Voltax,  the  new 
potential  insulating  compound  which  has  just  been 
placed  on  the  market.  This  compound,  which  for 
the  last  eight  years  has  been  given  severe  tests,  is 
rapidly  coming  into  prominence.  Recent  tests  of 
the  material  made  by  the  Electrical  Testing  Labor- 
atories of  New  York  show,  it  is  said,  that  this 
material  can  withstand  a  voltage  100  per  cent, 
greater  than  rubber  insulation  and  has  withstood 
high-potential  insulation,  resistance  and  melting- 
point  tests  that  no  other  compound  yet  discovered 
has  withstood. 

Following  the  custom  of  several  years  past  the 
branch  managers  and  salesmen  of  the  H.  W.  Johns- 
Manville  Company  met  in  New  York  last  week  for 


February   17,    [906 

llicir    iiiiiiiimI    convi-nl  inn    .-mil    l,riin|ii'-l.       Aboul      1    <. 

iiicn   were   present.     1  he   objecl    » ■  1   the  convention 

w;is  for  the  purpose  of  general  discussions  in 
reference  to  the  business  of  the  company  and  i" 
enable  the  various  representatives  to  Ret  acquainted 
with  one  another.  After  ■■■■  u'ona  la  ting  fmir  days 
the  convention  wound  up  with  a  farewell  dinner 
at  the  New  York  Athletic  Club  on  Friday  evening, 
February  21I.  'I  lie  II.  W.  Johus-Maiwilb-  1  " 
pany  is  well  known  as  a  manufacturer  of  a  be  ton 
and  magnesia  products  and  electrical  material 
l\r|in  (iii.ii ivi".  were  i»"'  enl  from  the  branches  in 
Milwaukee,  Chicago,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  St.  Louis, 
Pittsburg,  Cleveland,  San  Francisco,  Los  Angeles, 
Seattle,  Kansas  City.  Minneapolis,  Little  Rod  and 
New  Orleans.  The  headquarters  of  the  compan; 
are  in  New  York  city. 

The  fmirlli  annual  report  of  the  president  to  the 
shareholders  of  the  Chicago  Pneumatic  Tool  Com- 
pany for  the  year  ended  December  31,  1905,  shows 
the  largest  sales  since  the  company  was  organized. 
Profits  realized  amounted  to  9.15  per  cent.,  available 
for  dividends,  of  which  four  per  cent,  has  been 
appropriated  for  dividends  declared,  and  the  re- 
mainder, amounting  to  $315,134.39,  has  been  carried 


WESTERN     ELEi  TRICIAN 

to   surplus   account    as    additional    working 

I  on 

;■!       11 
: I  D 

I'ii.  umatic    1  »  I   1 

■  I.  m  loping    thi 

plant,   Scotland,  and   1 

al   the  pre  icnl    timi 

Fori  ign    ■ 

during  the  la  it  year  bj 

ti  1 11  itional   1  omj  cssea 

Bi  1  lin,    whii  h    pai 

Isaac    G.    I  ■  1 

nental   opi  ration  .    The  comp 
ai  quil  1  'I  the  businei  s  of  the  Philadi  ' 
Tool  Con  li  Iphia,  and   I 

planl    ni    ili'    1  1  ompany, 

Ltd.,    Montreal,    Canada,    which    company 
conducting  the  Canadian   bu  author- 

ized  1    ui    "i   $2,500,000  bond  ,   £200,000  are  in  the 
treasury  and   $208,000  have   be.  or   sink- 

ing-fund   purposes,    leaving    the    outstanding 
$2,092,000.      In     addition     to    the     assets    acquired 
through    the    foreign    organizations,    approximately 
$350,000  have  been  spent  in  1  rments 

to  plants,  all  of  which  has  added  to  thi 


funnei 


BUSINESS 

>  gland. 

drills,   i 

I  he   Wc  tinghousc  Machine  Company  ha* 
■ 
American  Building.     II  of  tfail  office 

■!    by    rapidly   expanding   bu 
this  territory,  particularly  in  gas  engine*  an  : 
inghousc-Parsons    steam    turbine*,    and    i»    in    line 
with    the    progressive    policy    of    the    company    to 
establish   headquarters   in  all   large  industrial  cities. 


ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 


8*  r»533-     Control    of    Automobile    Motors.     Edward 
H.    Anderson,    Schenectady,    N.    Y.,   assignor  to 
the     General      Electric    Company,    Schenectady, 
N.    Y.     Application    filed    June    29,    1905. 
The  vehicle   motor  has  two  field  windings, 

oiler    having  contacts,    being  arranged    to 


nect  the  motor  to  the  source  of  current  supply  with  the 
field  windings  in  series  with  each  other,  then  connect  the 
field  windings  in  parallel  with  the-  resistance,  then  shunt 
one  of  the  field  windings,  then  remove  the  resistance  and 
cut  out  the  latter  field  winding  without  opening  the  shunt 
and  finally  connect  the  idle  field  winding  in  parallel  with 
the  remaining  field  winding. 

Si  1,538.  Electrolytic  Electricity  Meter.  Charles  O. 
Bastian,  London,  England,  assignor  to  the  Bas- 
tian  Meter  Company,  Limited,  London,  England. 
Application   filed   March   10,   1904. 

In  an  electrolytic  meter  are  combined  an  elctrolyte, 
electrodes  mounted  therein  and  a  scale  supported  by  the" 
electrodes  and  arranged  to  measure  the  column  of  the 
electrolyte. 


Issued  (United  States  Patent  Office)   February  6,   igo6. 

In  an  electric-wave  detector  arc  electrodes  in  a  magnetic 

field     and     bridged     by     iti;i'.:nHi,Mljlr ■  1  ■ 

with   means  of  producing  motion  between    the  electrodes. 

811,656.  Spark  Coil.  Charles  P.  L.  Noxon,  Syra- 
cuse, N.  Y.  Application  filed  September  26, 
1904. 

Aprimary  circuit,  a  secondary  circuit,  means  for  inter- 
rupting    the     current   in   the  primary   circuit,    means     for 
holding  the  first-mentioned  means  in  its  position  assumed 
when    the   current    is    interrupted    thereby    and    mechanical 
for    making    and    breaking    the    primary    circuit   are 


the  character 


fcatu 


811,673.  Eleclrical  Brush  Holder.  Moffat  St.  Clair, 
Fort  Wayne,  Ind.  Application  filed  March  27, 
1905. 

A  supporting  casting  has  in  connection  with  it  a  rest, 
a  guide  slot  in  the  rest,  a  contact  plate  in  connection  with 
a  brush,  the  former  ranging  in  the  slot  and  the  latter 
seated  upon  the  rest,  a  retracting  spring  having  connec- 
tion with  the  casting  and  also  with  the  contact  plate  and 
acting  to  hold  the  brush   against  the   rest,   and  an  adjust- 


In  combination  with  a  vehicle  having  a  number  of  in- 
duct icn  motor*  mechanically  connected  lo  the  driving 
wheels  of  the  vehicle  are  meant  under  the  control  of  the 
motorman  for  controlling  the  motor*  timultanrouftly  and 
means   for  adjusting  the   relative  lorqnca  of  the  n 

$1  1,759.  Elcctrodeposition.  William  C.  Arscm,  Schen- 
ectady, N.  Y„  assignor  to  the  General  Electric 
Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
July   25,    1904. 

The  process  of  clectrodcposi.ion  consists  in  passing  an 
alternating  current  between  electrodea  immersed  in  a  solu- 
tion of  a   platinum   salt,   thereby  depositing  platinum,   the 

_.   :be 
metal. 

811,766.  System  of  Motor  Control.  Fred  B.  Corey, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation   filed    October    1,    1004. 


NO.  811,644. — SINGLE-PHASE 
ALTERNATING-CURRENT  MOTO 


811,539.  Electrical  Control  System.  Ralph  E.  Bates, 
Wilkinsburg,  Pa.,  assignor  to  the  Westinghouse 
Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company,  Pittsburg, 
Pa.     Application  filed  February  1,  1905. 


ments  that  are  respectively 

the  electromagnets    and    th 

from   each    other  and    engage  all   but  1 

pieces. 


of   the  terminal 


Sii,58g.  Electric  Time  Switch.  Gyde  O.  Shatto, 
Sharon,  Pa.,  and  Linus  S.  Denison,  Ravenna, 
Ohio.     Application   filed   June    18,    1903. 

Details   are    described. 

811.644.  Single-phase  Alternating-current  Motor. 
Benjamin  G.  Lamme,  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  assignor 
to  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  Pittsburg,  Pa.  Application  filed 
February  27,   1904. 

A  single-phase  induction  motor  has  a  main  primary 
winding  comprising  two  portions,  means  for  connecting 
the  portions  in  series  for  starting  and  in  parallel  for 
running  and  at  the  same  time  changing  the  number  of 
magnetic  poles  produced  by  the  winding,  and  an  auxiliary 
winding  having  a  different  time  constant  from  that  of 
the  main  winding.     (See  cut.) 

811.645.  Electrical  Measuring  Instrument.  Edwin 
E.  Lehr,  Wilkinsburg,  Pa.,  assignor  to  the 
Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, Pittsburg,  Pa.  Application  filed  Novem- 
ber   21,    1903. 

In  an  electrical  measuring  instrument  are  an  iron  core 
comprising  two  approximately  concentric  rings  connected 
together  at  one  side  and  a  stationary  winding  on  a  portion 


811,680.  Controller  for  Sparking  Devices  of  Gas 
Engines.  Daniel  B.  Willix,  Alexandria  Bay, 
N.  Y.,  assignor  of  one-half  to  George  W.  Wil- 
lix, Alexandria  Bay,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
April    24,    1905. 

In  a  gas  engine  are  means  for  controlling  the  current 
to  the  igniters,  comprising  a  set  of  contact  terminals  for 
each  igniter,  each  set  consisting  of  contact  terminal  con- 
nected in  a  primary  circuit  of  an  induction  coil,  and  con- 
tact terminals  connected  in  the  secondary  circuit  of  the 
coil  and  to  the  igniter.  All  of  the  contacts  are  arranged 
in  a  single  row,  and  means  operating  with  the  main  shaft 
of  the  engine  close  the 


811.691.  Party  Telephone  Line.     Edward  A.   Buell, 
Dekalb,    111.     Application    filed    March    17,    1905. 

Each  of  the  subscribers'  stations  of  the  party  line  in- 
clude selecting  switching  mechanism  having  a  magnet  in 
circuit  relation  with  the  line,  a  ratchet  wheel,  a  pawl 
operated  by  the  magnet  to  escape  the  teeth  of  the  ratchet 
wheel,  a  spring  operating  upon  the  pawl  to  cause  it  to 
move  the  ratchet  wheel,  and  a  second  magnet  governing 
the  circuit  of  the  first  magnet. 

811.692.  Party  Telephone  Line.     Edward  A.   Buell, 
Dekalb,    111.     Application    filed    May    1,    1905. 

A  subscriber's  station  equipment  includes  a  signal  re- 
ceiver, a  signaling  generator  normally  in  operative  rela- 
tion   with    the    signal    receiver    and    switching    mechanism 


NO.   011,972. — TELEPHONE    SYSTEM. 


A  switch  for  determining  the  direction  in  which  current 
passes  through  the  motors  and  for  controlling  the  series 
and  parallel  motor  connections  is  associated  with  a  num- 
ber of  operating  devices  acting  in  succession  to  produce 
successively  series  and  parallel  motor  connection,  the 
order  in  which  the  operating  devices  are  actuated  deter- 
mining the  direction   of  rotation  of  the  motors. 

811,773-  System  of  Distant  Electrical  Control.  Joel 
Gomborow,  Lynn,  Mass..  assignor  to  the  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company.  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Ap- 
plication   filed    September    14,    1904. 


_   simultaneously  vary-  the  rheostaU  ... 
There  is  also  a  rheostat  in  circuit  with  both   .. 
for    automatically    varying    the    portion 


Si  1,7/8.     Insulating  Material      Charles   C.  Hall.  Al- 
exandria,  Ind.     Application   filed  May   n,   1905. 


able   coil  and 


for 


ndicating  the   degree 


811,654.  Electric-wave  Detector.  Thomas  J.  Mur- 
phy, New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  De- 
cember 17,  1904. 


with  the   Hi 

Si  1,702.  Initiating  Apparatus.  Lewis  D.  Cook, 
Mount  Holly  Springs,  Pa.  Application  filed 
April    10,    1905. 

Electric    lamps    form    a    part    of    the    initiating    device, 
being  displayed  by  the  rotation  of  a  revcluble  member. 

Si  1,758.  Induction-motor  Control.  Albert  H.  Arm- 
strong, Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y. 
Application  filed  June  28,  1905. 


ated  througho 

811,792.  Dynamo-electric  Machine.  Henry  G.  Reist, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Companj-,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation filed  May  7,   1904. 


ring  being  supported  by  the  brackets  against 
which  the  projecting  conductors  rest.  A  ring  concentric 
with  and  surrounding  the  first-mentioned  ring  engages  the 
outer  edges  of  the  conductors. 

3n,795.  Wall  Receptacle.  Howard  R.  Sargent 
Schenectady,  N.  Y..  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation  filed   November    19,   1002. 


*5o 


in  each  of  the 
d  electrically    connected   to   the   sleeve  and 

res  JL-ctivL-lv,   and  a  face  plate  is  connected 


•  the  base  and  provided  "with  a  central  opening  and  a  lid. 

811,796.  Snap  Switch.  Howard  G.  Sargent,  Sche- 
nectady. N.Y.,  assignor  to  the  General  Electric 
Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
July  5,   1904. 


In  a  quick-break  switch  are  combined  a  contact  post 
and  a  clip  secured  to  the  top  of  the  post,  and  consisting 
u£  a  middle  portion  having  integral  overlapping  end  por- 
tions folded  over  in  opposite  directions. 

8ii,Si9.  Thermoelectric  Couple.  William  H.  Bris- 
tol, New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  June 
30,    1905. 

Associated  with  an  indicating  or  recording  instrument 
is  a  thermo-electric  couple  comprising  a  primary  sec- 
tion and  a  secondary  section  and  means  adapted  to  con- 
nect thi-'  primary  and  secondary  sections  between  the  hot 
and  cold  ends  of  the  couple. 

811,822.  Automatic  Circuit-breaking  Safety  Appli- 
ance for  Use  in  Trolley-wire  Systems  for  Elec- 
tric Traction.  James  Carter,  Stalybridge ; 
George  Hall,  Manchester,  and  Arthur  Parsons, 
Leeds,  England.  Application  filed  October  29, 
1904. 

The   mechanical    features  are    described. 

811.836.  Electrical  Hose-signaling  Apparatus.  Will- 
iam Fowler,  Colorado  Springs,  Colo.  Applica- 
tion filed  June  14,  1904. 

An  arrangement  by  which  signals  may  be  transmitted 
electrically  along  a  line  of  hose  is  described  m  the  patent. 

811.837.  Support  for  Incandescent  Lamps.  Edwin 
R.  Gill,  Yonkers,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  Jan- 
uary 17,  1905. 

Features  of  a  wall  or  ceiling  socket  are  set  forth. 

811,859.  Electric  Resistance  Element.  Albert  L. 
Marsh,  Lake  Bluff,  111.,  assignor  to  the  Hoskins 
Company,  Chicago,  111.  Application  filed  March 
15,   1905- 

An  electric  resistance  element  is  composed  of  a  metal 
alloy  consisting  of  one  of  the  metals  of  the  chromium 
group,  in  the  proportion  of  less  than  50  per  cent  of  the 
element,  and  more  than  50  per  cent  of  metal  having  the 
properties  of  nickel  and    cobalt. 

811.865.  Centrifuge  Attachment  for  Electric  Fans. 
William  L.  Moore,  Honolulu,  Hawaii.  Applica- 
tion filed  June  15,  1905- 

An  attachment  for  electric  fans  comprises  a  socket  to 
receive  a  test  tube  and  means  for  securing  the  socket  to 
a  fan  blade. 

811,903.  Announcing  Device  for  Railway  Cars.  Ar- 
thur D.  Cloud,  Davenport,  Iowa.  Application 
filed  April   I,    1905. 

A  car  provided  with  a  laterally  swinging  trolley  pole 
carries  an  electrically  actuated  announcing  device,  a 
switch  for  controlling  the  circuit  that  operates  the  an- 
nouncing device  and  an  electromagnet  carried  by  the 
trolley    pole    for   operating   the    switch. 

811,906.  Electric  Coupling.  John  J.  Dossert,  New 
York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  Dossert  &  Co.,  New 
York,  N.  Y.     Application  filed  August  17,  1904. 


nductor-receiver  opening.  Split  sleeves  having 
oppositely  tapered  ends  are  housed  between  each  of  the 
end  coupling  sections  and  the  intermediate  section  and 
means  for  drawing  the  end  sections  toward  the  interme- 
diate section  to  compress  the  split  sleeves  and  force  them 
into  close  mechanical  and  electrical  contact  with  conductor 
ends   are  provided. 

811.907.  Branch  Coupling  for  Electric  Conductors. 
John  J.  Dossert,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to 
Dossert  &  Co.,  New  York.  Application  filed 
February  9,  1905. 

A  branch  coupling  for  electric  conductors  consists  of 
a  hook  provided  with  a  shank,  the  hook  constituting  one 
member  of  a  clamp.  A  member  mounted  on  the  shank 
and  formed  with  a  clamping  portion  directly  opposed  to 
the  hook  is  movable  to  bring  the  clamping  portion  in 
clamping  relation  to  the  hook.  Means  are  provided 
whereby  the  member  is  removable  from  the  shank  by 
lateral  movement  with  relation  thereto  and  means  on  the 
shank  to  move  the  member. 

811.908.  Split-sleeve  Connector.  John  J.  Dossert, 
New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  Dossert  &  Co., 
New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  February 
9,    1905. 

As  an  element  of  a  coupling  for  the  ends  of  conducting 
wires  or  cables,  a  conducting  split  sleeve  is  formed  in 
interlocking  sections,  each  section  composed  of  segments 
having  flexible    connections  between  them. 

811,913.  Electric  Gun.  Samuel  T.  Foster,  Jr.,  Vic- 
toria, Mexico,  assignor  of  three-fourths  to  Obed 
C.  Billman,  Lodi,  Ohio.  Application  filed  De- 
cember   10,    1902. 

A  series  of  electromagnets  along  the  barrel  of  the  gun 
furnish   the   necessary  propelling   force    for   the   projectile. 

811,919.  Trolley  Replacer.  Robert  B.  Higgins,  St. 
Louis,    Mo.     Application   filed   August    14,    1905. 

Combined  with  a  trolley  wire  is  a  member  having  a 
shoulder  extending  longitudinally  thereof  and  adjacent  to 
and  below  the  wire,  the  shoulder  widening  laterally 
throughout  its  length  and  provided  along  its  outer  longi- 
_  tudinal  edge  with  a  downturned   flange. 

811,956.  Electrical  Measuring  Instrument.  Maurice 
C.  Rypinski,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
March   15,  1905. 

In  an  electrical  measuring  instrument  there  are  a 
stationary  coil,  a  receptacle  containing  a  damping  fluid 
supported  within  the  coil,  a  moving  system  comprising 
magnetic    members    suspended    within    the    receptacle    and 

an  indicating  needle  supported  exteriorly  of  the  receptacle. 

Si  1,959-  Automatic  Controlling  Device  for  Gas 
Stoves.  William  B.  Schofield  and  Millard  P. 
Osbourn,  Merchantville,  N.  J.  Application  filed 
February  27,  1905. 

Combined  with  a  bracket  having  a  clamping  device  for 
detachable   attachment    to   the   stove  is  a   movable  primary 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


actuating  device  carried  by  the  bracket  and  adapted  to  be 
actuated  by  the  weight  of  a  vessel  placed  upon  it.  A 
valve  controls  the  fuel  supply  to  the  burner  and  there  are 
power  transmitting  connections  between  the  valve  and 
movable  primary  actuating  device.  Igniting  devices  car- 
ried by  the  bracket  are  controlled  by  the  movement  of 
the  primary  actuating  device. 

811,972.  Telephone  System.  Elmer  A.  Terpening, 
Geneseb,  111.  Application  filed  September  3, 
1903. 

teleplu 


NO.    812,171. MAGNETIC    ORE    SEPARATOR 


811,996.  Relay.  John  C.  Barclay,  New  York,  N.  Y., 
assignor  to  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  July 
11,    1905- 

Associated  with  an   armature  lever  and  means  compris- 
ing   an    electromagnet    for    operating    it    are    a    vibrating 

member  separately  mounted  but  having  a  driving  connec- 
tion with  the  armature  lever,  and  projecting  contact  pieces 
carried  thereby  and  insulated  from  each  other.  Contact 
devices  against  which  the  contact  pieces  of  the  vibrating 
member  play  as  the  latter  vibrates,  thereby  making  and 
breaking  contact,    are  provided. 

812,025.  Signal.  Charles  R.  Dowler,  Lamar,  Colo., 
assignor  to  the  Colorado  Railway  Signal  Com- 
pany. Application  filed  January  14,  1905.  Re- 
newed December  18,   1905. 

In 
fluid  may  « 

closer  adapted  for  operation  through  rising  action  of  the 
float,  an  electrical  circuit  having  a  battery  and  signal 
whereby  the  circuit  closer  may 


2,038.  Regulation  of  Electric  Currents  which 
Feed  Electric  Arcs.  Johannes  Hessberger,  Lud- 
wigshafen-on-the- Rhine,  Germany,  assignor  to 
Badische  Anilin  and  Soda  Fabrik,  Ludwig- 
shafen-on-the-Rhine,  Germany.  Application  filed 
November  22,   1904. 

The  process  of  supplying  currents  to  a  number  of 
circuits  containing  arcs  suitable  for  the  production  of 
compounds  of  nitrogen  and  oxygen  _  with  the  minimum 
displacement  of  phase  consists  in  generating  an  alternat- 
ing current,    supplying  therewith    the  primary 


froir 


'ith   the 


812,089.  Electric  Transformer  and  Connections. 
Herbert  F.  Provandie,  Melrose,  Mass.  Applica- 
tion filed  November  11,  1904. 

Details  of  a  high-power  induction  coil  are  set  forth. 

812,117.  Electrically  Actuated  and  Controlled  Self- 
playing  Musical  Instrument.  George  H.  Davis, 
West    Orange.    N.    J.    Application    filed    March 

29,  1904. 

An  electrically  controlled  playing  attachment  for  musi- 
cal instruments  embodies  a  number  of  electromagnets,  a 
dynamo  forming  a  part  of  the  attachment,  circuit  con- 
nections between  the  dynamo  and  the  magnets  and  a 
prime  motor  for  driving  the  dynamo. 

812.125.  Telephone-transmitter  Arm.  William  D. 
Gharky,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  Application  filed 
March  7,   1901. 

Mechanical   features  are    set    forth. 

812.126.  Lightning  Arrester.  William  Gifford,  Thomp- 
*   sonville,   Mich.,    assignor   of  one-half   to   E.    M. 

Dixon,  Thompsonville,  Mich.  Application  filed 
May  25,  1905. 

The  lightning  arrester  is  made  up  of  a  series,  of  insu- 
lating tubes  adapted  to  hold  a  non-inductive  material, 
metallic  caps  fitted  to  the  ends  of  the  tubes  and  a  bar 
connected  to  corresponding  caps.  A  binding  post  pro- 
jects from  the  bar  and  a  line  wire  is  connected  to  'the 
post.  Means  are  provided  for  holding  the  bar  to  the 
caps,  a  series  of  plugs  having  shank  portions  being  fitted 
to  the  caps  at  the  lower  ends  of  the  tubes.  A  carbon 
rests  upon  the  bottom  of  the  tubes,  and  carbon  dishes 
screw  into  the  ends  of  the  tubes. 

812,142.  Facsimile  Telegraph.  Edward  E.  Klein- 
schmidt,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  Fred- 
erick Kleinschmidt,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Applica- 
tion filed   January   18,    1901. 


February  17,   ic 


for  connecting 

812,164.  Contact  Box  for  Electric- railway  Systems. 
George  L.  Campbell,  Williamsport,  Pa.,  assignor 
to  the  Railways  Surface  Contact  Supplies  Com- 
pany.   Application  filed  December  30,   1904. 

In  contact  boxes  for  electric  railway  systems  are  a 
casing  formed  with  internal  lugs,  a  box  within  the  casing 
and  insulated  therefrom,  the  box  having  means  co- 
operating with  the  lugs  to  hold  it  and  the  casing  in 
proper  relative  position,  and  the  spaces  between  the  box 
and  casing  being  filled  with  an  insulating  ~:- 


812,170.  Apparatus  for  Magnetic  Separation  of  Iron 
Ore.  Gustaf  Grondal,  Djursholm,  Sweden. 
Application   filed   November    12,    1903. 

Apparatus  for  magnetically  separating  ores  consists  of 
a  magnet,  a  moving  surface  under  the  magnet  pole  and 
two  compartments.  The  first  .compartment  is  adapted  to 
receive  the  ore  suspended  in  water  and  to  overflow  it  into 
the  second  compartment,  the  two  adapted  to  maintain  the 
body  of  liquid  with  a  surface  level  in  proximity  to  but 
out  of  contact  with  the  moving  surface  under  the  magnet 
pole.  An  outlet  for  the  non-magnetic  material  from  the 
part  of  the   second   compartment  and  a   chan     " 


812,171.  Magnetic  Ore  Separator.  Gustaf  Grondal, 
Djursholm,  Sweden.  Application  filed  Novem- 
ber 3,   1904. 

A  magnetic  separator   for  ore  suspended  in   water  com- 
prises   an   electromagnet     with     its     pole   pieces     directed 
downward,  a   horizontal  rotary  disk  beneath  the  poles  and 
for    feeding   ore   suspended    in   water    upward    from 


A  facsimile  telegraph  compri 
message  sheet,  a  number  of  sty] 
a  straight  line  over  a  single  ; 
arate  line  of  the  message,  mea 
lines  of  the  message  to  be  inter 


es  means  for  holding  a 
ses  arranged  to  travel  in 
idividual  and  legibly  sep- 
s  for  causing  successive 
ittently  presented  to  and 


812.172.  Magnetic  Separation  of  Iron  Ore.  Gustaf 
Grondal,  Djursholm,  Sweden.  Original  appli- 
cation filed  November  12,  1903.  Divided  and 
this    application   filed   December  3,    1904. 

The  process  of  separating  pulverized  ore  consists  in 
suspending  the  ore  in  a  body  of  liquid,  maintaining  the 
surface  level  of  this  liquid  substantially  horizontal  under 
a  moving  surface  in  proximity  to  but  free  from  contact 
with  the  surface  of  the  liquid  and  magnetically  lifting  the 
more    magnetic  particles   out  of  the   water   to  the   moving 

812.173.  Magnetic  Ore  Separator.  Gustaf  Grondal, 
Djursholm,  Sweden.  Original  application  filed 
November  3,  1904.  Divided  and  this  application 
filed   April   7,    1905., 

A  magnetic  separator  for  powdered  ore  suspended  in 
water  contains  an  upright  cylindrical  electromagnet  hav- 
ing its  pole  pieces  directed  downward  in  the  shape  of 
concentric  rings,  beneath  the  pole  pieces  a  rapidly  rotating 
disk  mounted  on  a  vertical  shaft  and  beneath  the  disk 
two  annular  vessels  concentric  to  each  other,  an  inlet  for 
the  fluid  to  the  outer  vessel  and  an  adjustable  discharge 
at  the  bottom  of  the  inner  vessel,  the  space  inside  the 
inner  annular  vessel  being  provided  with  an  outlet  for 
the  fluid. 

Reissue. 

12,449.  Electrically  Propelled  Vehicle.  Russell 
Thayer,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  Application  filed 
July  29,  1905.  Original  application  dated  July 
5,   1904- 

An  automobile  provided  with  an  electric  motor  and  a 
storage  battery  has  wheels  constructed  and  arranged  to 
traverse  the  tracks  of  a  railway  supply  system,  with  the 
motor  in  operative  connection  with  the  system  and  the 
battery  connected  to  be  charged  thereby.  At  other  times 
the  vehicle  traverses  a  trackless  roadbed  independently 
of  the  system,  with  the  motor  in  operative  connection  with 
the  batter^ 


PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Following  is  a  list  of  electrical  patents  (issued 
by  the  United  States  Patent  Office)  that  expired 
on   February   12,   1906: 


Meter^     H.   H.    Cutler,  Newton,  Mass 

397.548.  Telethcrmonicter.  C.  G.  Hoffmann,  Leipsic,  Sax- 
ony,   Germany. 

307.550.  Dynamo-electric  Machine.  R.  M.  Hunter,  Phila- 
delphia   Pa. 

397.553-  Llectric  Coupling  for  Railway  Train  Signaling. 
W.  C.  Johnston,  Jr.,  Lynn,  Mass. 

397.557-      Secondary  Battery  Plates.      E.    R.   Knowles,   Brook- 

iin    Scale.      W.    A.    Holley    and 
Electrodes     for     Secondary 


397,616.  Regulating  and  Motive  Device  for  Alternating  Cur- 
rents.     E.   Thomson,  Lynn,   Mass. 

397,650.  Secondary  Battery.  W.  Kingsland,  Gunnersbury. 
Countv    of  Middlesex,    England. 

397,702.      Electric  Motor.     J.   F.   Denison,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

397,705.  Mi-thi.'d  ...f  Winding  Field  Magnets.  T.  E.  Edison. 
Llewellyn    Park,    N.  J. 

397.715-  Safety  Device  for  Electrical  Circuits.  W.  J.  Ham- 
mer, Boston,  Mass. 

397.729.     Automatic    Switch    for    Electric  Arc   Lamps.      E.    R. 


397.-773-  Kilt;. kuing  Switch  for  Electric  Motors.  H.  H. 
Uladesj   Detroit,    Mich. 

397.790.  Electromagnetic  Attachment  for  Eve  Glasses.  V. 
Fear,   New  York,   N.   Y. 

397,706.  Storage-battery  Plate.  C.  D.  P.  Gibson,  New  York, 
N.  Y. 

397. S06.  Battery  for  Electric  Belts.  W.  G.  Johnson,  Lon- 
don,   England. 

397, S17.  System  of  Synchronizing  Electric  Motors.  F.  J. 
Patten,   New   York,  N.    Y. 

397, S26.      Electric     Switch.       A     Edwin    Andrews,     Hartford, 

107. S  ;S.      Electric    Signaling    and    Alarm    Apparatus.      W.    L. 

Denio.   Rochester,  N.  Y. 
397,857-     Apparatus  for  Heating  Cars  by  Electricity.     R.   M. 

,875U"  Ov 
Sprague,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


Vol.  XXXVIII. 


CHIl     GO,  FEBR1    VRV  24    1906 


Transmission   Line  from   Niagara  Falls 
to  Syracuse. 

By   Ouiiin    I1"..   I  >i'Nl  .\i- 
A   power-transmission   line  thai    may   become   the 

greatest    in   the   1  Hit..!   States   is  bi  ini trui  b  d 

from  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y,  to  Syracuse  in  the 
same  slate.  Syracuse  is  157  miles  east  from  Niag 
ara  Falls,  and  for  this  entire  distance  the  new 
transmission  line  will  run  through  a  thickly  popu 
lated  section  of  country  in  which  there  arc  numer- 
ous lilies  and  villages  that  would  like  to  be  sup 
plied  with  electricity  from  Niagara.  This  power 
line  is  being  erected  by  the  Niagara,  Lockport  and 
Ontario    Power   Company,    which   company    will    rc- 


Ige  of  the  trai 

Icel  towei     I 
11. 1 1.  d    b;     ■■.  in 
.!,,  p'p    ■■   ...    to  ili"  trai  1:   in 
He    top  ol   thi  ''■'■  •■"''■' 

ihi    1  ibli     pa      i"   poll  !  to  a  double 

row  of  steel  tow<rs  that  1 
.hi     'i  he  1    towi  1      ri    placed 

feet,   I   an    of  trip: 

leg     being  of  2j4-inch   tubing  filled   with 
and    mil    five  feet  ground 

in    concreti     Footing       rhi     total    weight    ol 
tower   is  about  2,800  pound       It    1        :>l    that   the 

Kri  ati   ible   strain    to   which   the    towers    will 

bi       hi ed    1      .'I.  'in     1  , m  Is, 


From    ihi*    ital  ';   boi,t 

th  Buf- 

Atbioo, 

port  the  niam  -.inch  running  toward 

I   the    main   line    again    v>uth 
heater  at  Mortimer,  a  *mall  nation.     A  «ub- 
I    at    Mortimer,  and   i- 
point  tl  extend  along  1 

e.     The 

frames    arc    nearly    50    feet    high   and    will    be   *et 

•    apart       1  he    frames   take  their   name   from 


Copyright,  1S06,  by  O.  E.  Dunlap. 
ALUMINUM    CABLES   TO    TRANSMIT   ELECTRIC   POWER    GENERATED    AT   NIAGA 


FALLS   FROM    CANADA   TO   THE   UNITED ,  STATES   OYER   NIAG 


ceive  its  power  supply  from  the  station  of  the 
Ontario  Power  Company  at  the  water's  edge  in 
the  gorge  on  the  Canadian  side  of  the  river.  The 
Ontario  Power  Company  is  understood  to  be  under 
contract  with  the  Niagara,  Lockport  and  Ontario 
Power  Company  to  deliver  it  power  in  large  blocks 
at  the  international  boundary  line.  Extending  from 
the  transformer  or  distributing  station  of  the  On- 
tario Power  Company  on  the  Canadian  side  of  the 
river,  the  Ontario  Power  Transmission  Company, 
Limited,  has  built  a  transmission  line  northward 
beyond  the  city  of  Niagara  Falls,  Ont„  to  a  point 
below  Foster's  Flat,  on  the  Canadian  side,  or 
better  known  by  the  name  of  "Devil's  Hole"  on 
the   New  York   side. 

At  this  point  the  cables  of  the  line  drop  from  the 
towers  to  cantilever  arms  that  project  out  from 
the  edge  of  the  high  bank  and  then  drop  to  steel 
towers  located  near  the  water's  edge  in  the  gorge. 
From  the  top  of  the  towers  on  the  Canadian  side 
to  the  top  of  similar  steel  towers  on  the  New 
York  side,  the  span  is  about  600  feet,  and  the 
cables  are  stretched  over  the  river.  Passing  the 
towers  on  the  New  York  shore,  the  cables  run 
up  to  cantilever  arms  projecting  over  the  edge  of 
the  high  bank.  At  this  point  the  cables  pass  over 
the  Lewiston  track  of  the  New  York  Central,  built 
midway  between  the  top  of  the  high  bank  and  the 


siders  the  weight  of  the  cables,  a  wind  of  100  miles 
an  hour,  and  a  coating  of  ice  or  sleet.  From 
Niagara  Falls  to  Lockport  the  company's  right-of- 
way  is  300  feet  wide.  From  Lockport  to  Rochester 
it  is  200  feet  wide,  and  from  Rochester  to  Syra- 
cuse it  is  100  feet  in  width.  In  all,  there  will 
be  about  1,500  steel  towers  on  the  work,  and  in 
addition  to  these  there  will  be  something  like  2,500 
"A"  frames  between  Rochester  and  Syracuse,  which 
will  serve  in  place  of  the  towers  for  the  cable 
supports,  along  a  railroad,  until  the  private  right- 
of-way  has  been  perfected.  The  steel  towers  are 
about  55  feet  high,  and  at  a  height  of  49  feet 
they  have  an  arm  which  supports  two  insulators, 
the"  third  insulator  being  on  the  apex  of  the  tower, 
as  seen  in  the  accompanying  illustration.  The  in- 
sulators have  two  petticoats  and  a  hood,  the  latter 
being  the  largest,  and  having  a  diameter  of  14.5 
inches.  Each  insulator  is  about  2S  inches  high 
and  has  a  weight  of  about  75  pounds. 

The  cables  on  this  transmission  line  are  of  alumi- 
num, and  where  they  cross  the  Niagara  River  are 
nine  in  number.  Each  cable  is  made  up  of  19 
No.  5  wires.  The  nine  cables  provide  for  three 
three-phase  transmission  systems,  and  up  to  the 
present  time  six  cables  have  been  run  eastward 
from  Niagara  Falls  to  Lockport.  where  a  trans- 
former  station   is  being  built   on  the   Ernest   farm. 


RIVER.       (THE   SPAN    IS   OOO   FEET). 

their  shape.     Other  transformer  or  distributing  sta- 
tions will  be  located  at  desirable  points. 

As  there  are  19  aluminum  wires  in  each  cable, 
it  will  be  interesting  to  know  the  number  of  miles 
of  wire  to  be  used  in  all  the  cables  to  be  erected 
on  the  main  and  branch  lines,  and  it  is  safe  to 
assume  that  it  will  be  10,000  or  12,000  miles,  pos- 
sibly more.  The  aluminum  cables  of  this  transmis- 
sion across  the  Niagara  gorge  are  the  only  cables 
that  cross  or  span  the  gorge  in  this  way.  3s  the  con- 
nection between  the  stations  of  the  Niagara  Falls 
Power  Company  and  the  station  of  the  Canadian 
Niagara  Power  Company  is  made  by  cables  run 
across  the  upper  steel-arch  bridge.  A  bill  has  been 
introduced  in  the  New  York  state  Legislature  pro- 
viding for  the  construction  of  a  bridge  across  the 
river  near  where  this  transmission  line  crosses,  but 
the  men  named  as  commissioners  of  the  company 
have  no  connection  with  the  power  interests.  How- 
ever, should  the  bridge  be  built,  provision  might  be 
made   for   carrying  transmission   cables   over   it. 

It  is  intimated  that  in  transmitting  Niagara 
power  to  Syracuse,  it  is  not  expected  to  have  a 
loss  of  more  than  7V2  per  cent.  The  agreement 
the  Ontario  Power  Company,  as  well  as  the  other 
Canadian  Niagara  power  companies,  has  with  the 
Ontario  government,  through  the  commissioners  of 
Victoria   Park,  permits  of  the  transmission  of  one- 


152 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


February  24,  1906 


half  of  its  product  to  the  United  States,  but  the 
agitation  in  the  United  States  for  the  preservation 
of  Niagara  has  aroused  some  of  the  residents  of 
the  Dominion  to  believe  that  the  United  States 
has  no  right  to  ask  that  the  power  development 
on  the  Canadian  side  be  stopped. 


A  Canadian  View  of  the  Niagara  Power 
Situation. 

The  Western  Electrician  has  received  from  Mr. 
J.  A.  Macdonald  of  Ottawa,  Canada,  a  communi- 
cation in  relation  to  the  Niagara  power  situation 
which  gives  a  Canadian  view  and  seems  to  hint  at 
future  international  bargaining.  While  the  case  is 
not  so  one-sided  as  this  gentleman  seems  to  think, 
the  statement  and  argument  given  are  at  least  inter- 
esting and  will  be  read  with  attention. 

Beginning  with  the  announcement  that  the  Ot- 
tawa Board  of  Trade  will  soon  put  itself  on  record 


ara  power  swiftly  increases,  and  will  probably  in- 
crease more  swiftly.  It  may  not,  during  the  next 
few  years,  overtake  the  supply  of  615,000  electrical 
horsepower  that  could  be  collectively  generated  by 
the  various  plants  now  installed  or  in  course  of 
installation.  But,  meantime,  imminent  competition 
seems  likely  so  to  lower  the  price  of  electric  power 
as  to  attract  to  the  Niagara  region  many  of  the 
new  industrial  establishments  that  are  ever  arising 
from  the  rapid  increase  of  population  in  the  re- 
public and  in  the  Dominion,  as  well  as  many  of  the 
going  concerns  whose  owners  contemplate,  from 
time  to  time,  renovation  or  enlargement  of  plant. 
"Again,  because  the  Niagara  region  is  populous, 
steam  railways  within  it  run  many  trains  daily, 
and  are  therefore  likely  to  take  to  electric  trac- 
tion soon.  That  would  magnify,  perhaps  double, 
the  existent  demand  for  Niagara  power.  Then  the 
total  interest  in  further  exploitation  of  the  water 
would  probably  be  strong  enough,  not  only  to 
smash  any  political  force  favorable  to  Niagara  con- 


NEW    NIAGARA    TRANSMISSION     LINE     CARRIED    BY     CANTI- 
LEVER   ARMS    ON    NEW    YORK    BANK  OF    NIAGARA 
RIVER    OVER    RAILROAD    TRACK. 

as  being  strongly  opposed  to  allowing  power  at 
Niagara  Falls  to  be  transmitted  across  the  border 
except  under  short  contracts,  Mr.  Macdonald  pro- 
ceeds : 

"The  complication  of  interests  concerning  water 
from  Niagara  Falls  is  much  more  intricate  than 
seems  generally  understood.  Everybody  knows  that 
the  flow  over  the  cliff  has  been  slightly,  even  per- 
ceptibly, diminished;  that  it  is  likely  to  be  much 
more  notably  lessened  soon,  and  that  the  industrial 
interests  may  divert  all  the  water  in  time,  if  not 
prevented.  But  the  people  do  not  know  that  the 
popular  demand  for  preservation  is  often  loudly 
voiced  by  persons  stimulated  by  the  existing  power 
companies,  who  are  striving  to  consummate  and 
maintain  a  monopoly,  and  are  sure  to  go  in  for 
further  exploitation  later  if  they  are  not  barred 
off  perfectly.  But  it  is  not  in  the  esthetic  nor 
the  public  interest  that  opinion  should  become 
prejudiced  against  projects  for  taking  Niagara 
water  by  canal  to  some  point  near  Lockport,  and 
there  employing  it  at  much  greater  head  than  is 
now  employed  in  using  Niagara  water.  The  ulti- 
mate problem  of  conserving  the  Falls  must  be 
very  much  that  of  using  a  greater  head  than  is 
now  utilizing  the  amount  of  water  already  or  soon 
to  be  diverted.  It  is  being  wasted  by  use  at  from 
130  to  135  feet  head ;  it  could  be  used  at  250  to 
300  feet  head.  Were  it  thus  used  the  water  now 
granted  would  supply  all  the  power  likely  to  be 
sought    for    a    long    time. 

"There  is  a  lot  of  loose  talk  about  an  interna- 
tional treaty  for  Niagara  preservation.  This  comes 
of  the  obvious  lack  of  power  in  New  York  state 
and  in  Ontario  to  agree  firmly  and  permanently 
upon  a  preservative  policy.  It  is  preposterous  to 
imagine  that  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  will  fail  to  bar- 
gain shrewdly  and  tenaciously  for  those  material 
and  political  interests  that  would  be  given  away 
by  an  international  agreement  securing  the  present 
power  situation,  or  by  conceding  gratis  to  New 
York  or  to  the  United  States  an  equality  in  Niag- 
ara   exploitation. 

"About  one-thirteenth  of  the  river  minimum  flow 
is  being  diverted  from  the  cliff,  and  passed  around 
the  falls  into  the  lower  river  by  tunnels.  The 
power  companies  are  now  rapidly  installing  more 
plants,  with  design  to  utilize  soon  one-fifth  of  the 
minimum  flow.  Such  additional  concessions  are 
sought,  and  such  sites  for  future  water  drafts 
authoritatively  located,  that  diversion  of  67  per  cent, 
of  the  minimum  or  50  per  cent,  of  the  maximum 
flow    is   clearly   meditated.     The   demand   for   Niag- 


servation,  but  strong  enough  to  effect  revision  of 
any  international  treaty  made  to  save  the  Falls.  To 
suppose  that  the  industrial  interest  can  be  perma- 
nent must  seem  exceedingly  improbable  to  the  Ca- 
nadian   government. 

"Hence  that  government  is  bound  to  proceed  for 
the  conservation  of  all  the  advantages  of  situation 
which  the  Canadian  side  of  the  Falls  enjoys  by 
nature  in  respect  of  water  exploitation.  The  greater 
part  of  the  existing  plant,  or  that  soon  to  be 
operated,  is  on  that  side.  To  that  side  the  water 
runs  naturally,  so  much  so  that  fully  70  per  cent, 
of  the  total  exploitation  possible  without  a  limiting 
treaty  would,  it  is  credibly  stated,  necessarily  be 
on  the  Canadian  side,  if  that  total  exploitation 
were  effected.  No  Canadian  government  could 
venture  to  -give  this  natural  advantage  away  for 
nothing.  A  future  Canadian  interest  of  great  mag- 
nitude would  be  sacrificed  by  a  treaty  unless  the 
treaty  contained  provisions  for  securing  to  Canada, 
at  any  future  time  when  Niagara  exploitation  may 
be  enhanced,  the  proportion  of  natural  advantage 
Canada  now  has  by  the  natural  'lay  of  the  land' 
or   river  bed. 

"The  advantage  is  not  merely  in  respect  of 
water-taking  power.  It  is  largely  in  respect  of  a 
future  Canadian  power  to  tax  Buffalo,  Niagara 
Falls,  N.  Y.,  and  all  places  and  plants  on  the 
American  side  which  may  use  electrical  horsepower 
derived  from  generators  on  the  Canadian  side.  No 
one  who  goes  to  Niagara,  looks  over  the  ground, 
and  reflects  on  the  manufacturing  progress  visible 
there,  is  likely  to  doubt  that  the  greatest  of  Ameri- 
can manufacturing  regions  must  be  there  within 
50  years.  Quite  likely  it  will  be  the  greatest  man- 
ufacturing region  in  the  world.  Such  is  the  at- 
tractiveness of  cheap  electrical  power.  Well,  that 
prodigiously  busy  American  city  or  region  must  de- 
pend on  the  Canadian  side  for  a  large  proportion 
of  its  power.  The  bigger  the  manufacturing  de- 
velopment, the  more  dependence  on  generators  in 
Canada,  no  matter  whether  owned  by  Americans 
or  Canadians.  Now  every  horsepower  transmitted 
from  Canada  may  be  made  subject  to  a  Canadian 
export  duty.  A  New  York  state  legislator  talked 
lately  of  the  propriety  there  would  be  in  some  sort 
of  state  tax  on  power  transmitted  from  New  York 
to  Ontario.  There  is  at  present  little  such.  He 
did  not  seem  to  have  any  notion  that  much  the 
greater  power  to  tax  electricity  transmitted  across 
the  river  will  very  soon  be  in  the  Dominion  gov- 
ernment. 

"It   is   not   merely   in   power  to   raise   revenue   by 


an  export  duty  on  electrical  horsepower  that  Can- 
ada's advantage  lies.  That  connotes  power  to  levy 
on  future  American  plants  so  heavily  that  it  might 
be  expedient  for  many  of  these  to  move  across 
the  river  into  Ontario,  and  thus  get  untaxed  elec- 
trical horsepower.  And  that,  in  its  turn,  signifies 
an  important  addition  to  the  strength  of  Canada's 
position   in  any  future  bargaining  for  reciprocity. 

"If  all  this  be  correct,  the  problem  of  Niagara 
conservation  involves  not  only  bringing  the  Wash- 
ington and  Ottawa  governments  to  conference  for 
a  truly  preservatory  treaty;  but  the  education  of 
the  American  public  to  a  perception  that  Canada 
may  fairly  claim  some  important  concessions  in 
return  for  agreeing  so  to  limit  exploitation  that 
no  more  Niagara  water  may  be  taken  than  has 
been  conceded  already.  Were  such  an  agreement 
internationally  made,  then  surely  the  existing  con- 
cessionaires ought  to  be  smartly  taxed  for  the 
monopoly  thus  secured  to  them  in  nominal  per- 
petuity." 


[A  further  communication  on  the  subject  of  the 
preservation  of  Niagara  Falls  will  be  found  on 
page  159-1 


Armstrong's  Method  for  the  Control  of 

Induction  Motors  for  Railway 

Purposes. 

Induction  motors,  although  they  have  been  put 
forward  as  one  of  the  means  whereby  alternating 
current  may  be  utilized  for  purposes  of  electric 
traction,  have  not  met  with  the  success  that  the 
single-phase  series  alternating-current  motor  has 
achieved.  Several  reasons  for  this  are  apparent; 
for  instance,  their  inability  to  start  under  load 
without  some  extraneous  means  and  the  difficulty 
of  maintaining  an  equal  distribution  of  load  on 
several  motors  at  all  times.  Their  possibilities, 
however,  have  not  been  lost  sight  of,  as  is  shown 
by  the  recent  issuance  of  a  patent  to  Albert  H. 
Armstrong  of  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  upon  a  method 
of  controlling  induction  motors  for  car  operation. 
Mr.  Armstrong  is  well  known  in  the  field  of  elec- 
tric traction,  and  the  patent,  which  he  has  assigned 
to  the  General  Electric  Company,  was  applied  for 
on  June  28,   1905. 

Mr.  Armstrong  says  that  an  efficient  induction 
motor  is  substantially  a  synchronous  machine — that 
is,  it  operates  normally  with  a  small  slip.  Conse- 
quentry,  if  the  driving  wheels  of  a  vehicle  are 
of  unequal  size,  as  may  frequently  be  the  case, 
due  to  unequal  wear,  or  if  two  cars  or  locomotives 
with  wheels  of  different  size  are  coupled  together 
in  a  train  the  synchronous  characteristic  of  the 
motors  produces  an  unequal  distribution  of  load. 
Thus,  for  instance,  if  the  motors  operate  at  full 
load  with  a  five  per  cent,  slip  and  if  one  driving 
wheel  is  five  per  cent,  smaller  than  another,  the 
motor  geared  to  the  larger  wheel  may  be  operating 


ARMSTRONG  S    METHOD    OF    INDUCTION-MOTOR    CONTROL. 

at  full  load  with  five  per  cent,  slip,  while  the  mo- 
tor geared  to  the  smaller  wheel  may  be  running 
at  synchronism,  and  consequently  doing  no  work 
whatever.  If  the  inequality  between  the  wheels 
is  greater  than  the  slip,  the  motor  geared  to  the 
smaller  wheel  may  even  be  operating  as  a  gen- 
erator, returning  power  to  the  line,  and  thereby 
acting  as  a  brake  to  overload  further  the  other 
motors. 

The  invention  in  its  broadest  aspect  consists  in 
providing  means  for  independently  adjusting  the 
torque  of  the  several  motors,  so  that  the  load  may 
be  equally  distributed  at  all  times.  It  consists,  in  the 
combination  with  a  number  of  motors,  of  a  switch 
for  controlling  them  simultaneously  and  independ- 
ent adjustable  resistances  placed  near  the  motors 
and  connected  in  series  with  the  secondary  wind- 
ings of  the  several  motors,  respectively.  With  this 
arrangement,  if  the  adjustable  resistance  in  series 
with  the  rotor  winding  of  the  motor  which  is  con- 
nected to  the  smallest  wheel  is  completely  cut  out 
while  a  certain  amount  of  resistance  is  left  in  the 
secondary    circuit    of    the    motor    connected    to    a 


February  24,  1906 

larger  wheel,  the  slip  ol  thi  latt  motoi  ■■■/ill  be 
hh  rca  1  d   so   thai    thi    torq b 

1 :■■   the 

,\  I.  I 

lii  the  ao  om 

■  ■1  am  "i  1I11    1  in  nil  ion    ol     [1 

device,    1  lie     •■■■  itch    (C)    in    the    pi  im  irj I 

.  an  ai la      1  rcvei   ing 

(C)    i'<   arranged   to  1  om  1 

re:  istancc   1  l< )   in  circuit   «  ith  11 1  iry  wind 

ing    oi  thi    motoi  .  '/.In'  ii  ■ ted  in  parallel. 

1  h,    pi  limn  v  v.  ind 1   tl tors  are   ind 

1    and    (M  I,   re   pecti  ely,     nd   thi 
ary  winding  1  by    1  m'  1   and    (m')      I  R'  1    ind    I  \<  > 

,  |,i .   "Hi     independent    adju  tabli     n   1  tarn  es    

nected  in  thi     c dary  circuil    ol  the  motors.    The 

1,  1  [ancc  (R'),  which  is  in  Ihc  secondary  circuit 
of  the  motor  (\\'),  which  is  supposed  to  be  con- 
nected i"  the  smallci  driving  «  heel,  i  1  show  a  en 
tirely  cut  oul  of  the  circuit,  while  a  portion  ol 
the  resistance  <IO  is  left  in  circuit  with  the  sec- 
ondary winding   (m').    With   ibis  arrangement   the 

tors  will  have  equal  torques  al     peeds  dil 

fering  in  amount,  depending  on   the   design  of  the 

im  .   and    the   amount   of   resistance    (R')    in   the 

secondary    winding    (in). 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

I   ihrik. 

Italian 
would  bi 


«S3 
nd    if 

the  en:  1 

'rains. 


New  Slmplon   Tunnel  Electrical   Equip- 
ment. 
By  Frank  C.   Perkins. 

(in,  of  the  accompanying  illustrations  shows  one 
of  the  first  two  three-phase  Brown-Boveri  electric 
locomotives  for  the  Simplon  Tunnel.  These  heavy 
electric  engines  operate  at  a  pressure  of  3,000  volts 
and  are  equipped  with  two  450-horsepower  electric 
motors  of  the  Swiss  type,  constructed  at  Baden,  for 
a  frequency  of  15  cycles  a  second.  The  mechanical 
portions  of  these  locomotives  are  constructed  by 
the  Societa  Svizzera  per  la  Construction  di  Loco- 
motive e  Macchine.  An  electrically  driven  air  com- 
pressor is  provided  in  the  cab  for  supplying  the 
necessary  air  for  the  brakes,  for  operating  the  con- 
troller mechanism  and  for  raising  and  lowering  the- 
collector  from  the  trolley  wires.  The  two  motors 
operate  in  parallel,  the  cascade  system  not  being 
used  on  these  locomotives.  The  two  speeds  desired 
are  obtained  by  two  sets  of  windings  on  the  motors. 

It  is  asserted  that  the  most  eminent  engineers 
were  finally  brought  around   to  the  idea   that  elec- 


SL 

10  r  r 

m 

/yJ.t- 

■~i  ••  ■ 

"^3 

*'- 

"^w*WHK|rfi^  ** 

NEW  ELECTRIC  LOCOMOTIVE  FOR  SIMPLON  TUNNEL. 


motives  in  time  for  the  opening  of  the  Simplon 
tunnel,  these  engines  were  transferred  for  use  on 
the  Simplon  Tunnel  railway,  three-phase  traction 
having  been  adopted,  and  the  consent  of  the  Italian 
railway   authorities   having   been   obtained. 

At  the  Brigne  or  Swiss  end  of  (lie  tunnel. 
as  well  as  at  the  south  end  at  Iselle,  Italy,  there 
are  hydraulic  power  stations  which  have  here- 
tofore been  employed  for  supplying  power  to  the 
large  plants  used  in  the  construction  of  the  won- 
derful 20-kilometer  tunnel.  These  hydraulic  in- 
stallations will  ultimately  supply  the  current  for 
operating  the  electric  locomotives,  and  are  now  be- 
ing enlarged  and  altered  as  required,  several  tur- 
bines having  already  been  shipped  by  Escher,  VVyss 


with  a  system  of  connecting  ted  by 

power  three-phase  motors,  no  cog 
wheels  being  employed  in  transmitting  the  power 
to  the  axles.  The  motors  arc  arranged  with  two 
sets  of  coils,  and  when  receiving  the  3,000-volt 
three-phase  current  may  be  made  to  operate  the 
train  at  a  speed  of  34  kilometers  an  hour  or  at  a 
higher  speed  of  68  kilometers  an  hour,  as  desired. 
Each  of  these  locomotives  has  a  draw-bar  pull  of 
us  at  the  high  speed  and  six  tons  at  the 
slow  speed,  while  the  total  weight  of  the  locomotive 
is  62  tons,  the  weight  on  the  driving  wheels  being 
42  tons. 

When  the  trains  arrive  at  the  Brigue  station  end 
of  the  Simplon  Tunnel  from  Lausanne  the  steam 
locomotives  will  be  removed,  and  the  electric  loco- 
motives will  haul  them  through  the  tunnel  to 
Iselle.  At  this  point  the  steam  locomotives  will 
haul  the  trains  the  remainder  of  the  journey,  the 
electric  locomotives  being  held  at  the  south  end  to 
haul   other  trains   through  the  tunnel   to   Brigue. 

From  the  center  of  the  tunnel  to  the  Iselle  end 
there  is  a  down  grade  of  about  seven  per  cent., 
while  only  two  per  cent,  is  the  maximum  grade 
on  the  northern  end  from  Brigue  to  the  center  of 
the  tunnel. 

The  official  opening  will  probably  not  be  earlier 
than  June,  although  reports  have  been  made  that 
trains  would  be  operating  before  this  time.  The 
Milan  Exposition  is  scheduled  to  be  opened  on 
April  1,  1006.  and  undoubtedly  trial  trips  may  be 
made  during  April  and  May:  but  it  is  stated,  on 
excellent  authority,  that  the  tunnel  will  not  be 
ready    for    regular    service   before   June. 

The  electric  locomotives  will  haul  passenger  trains 
from  Brigue  to  Iselle  in  about  20  minutes,  while 
at  least  a  half  hour  will  be  taken  in  the  reverse 
direction.  The  freight  trains  will  be  operated  at 
a  still  slower  speed.  Freight  trains  weigh! 
tons  will  require  about  40  minutes  to  make  the 
trip  through  the  tunnel.  It  is  expected  that  pas- 
senger trains  weighing  465  tons  can  be  handled 
on  the  regular  schedule  time  above  mentioned  with- 
out  difficulty. 


APPROACH   TO   SIMPLON   TUNN 

trie  traction  was  the  only  safe  and  sure  method  of 
operation  of  the  Simplon  Tunnel  railway,  largely 
on  account  of  its  great  length  (20  kilometers)  and 
the  difficulty  of  properly  ventilating  the  tunnel  were 
steam  locomotives  employed.  It  was  also  clearly 
shown  by  the  Swiss  electrical  engineers  and  emi- 
nent mechanical  engineers  that  electric  motive 
power  could  be  used  unhesitatingly,  even  on  rail- 
ways of  the  greatest  importance. 

The  decision  in  favor  of  electric  traction  for 
the  Simplon  Tunnel  was  finally  made  after  careful 
examination  of  the  Valtellina  line  in  Northern 
Italy,  and  other  important  electric  railways.  Sec- 
eral   of  the   Valtellina   three-phase   electric   locomo- 


L   AT  BRIGUE,    SWITZERLAND. 

&  Co.  for  the  Brigue  power  plant,  and  will  soon 
be  installed  with  Brown-Boveri  electric  generators 
for  supplying  three-phase  current  at  15  cycles  and 
3,300  volts,  which  is  to  be  conducted  directly  to 
the  trolley  wires  passing  through  the  tunnel,  no 
transformation   being  contemplated. 

Current  is  conducted  to  two  trolley  wires,  the 
return  current  passing  through  the  rails.  The  con- 
tact line  is  suspended  in  the  tunnel  on  transverse 
suspension  wires,  which  are  fixed  at  about  25  meters 
distance  from  each  other.  A  short  distance  was 
considered  unnecessary  on  account  of  the  constant 
temperature  within  the  tunnel,  little  or  no  varia- 
tion in   the  sag  of  the  transverse  suspension  wires 


Space-telegraph  Stations  in  Canada. 

Canada,  says  a  correspondent  of  the  Western 
Electrician,  possibly  leads  the  world  in  the  utiliza- 
tion of  space  telegraphy  as  applied  to  signaling 
ships  at  sea.  The  marine  department  has  now  in 
operation  10  high-power  and  three  low-power  Mar- 
coni stations.  The  high-power  stations  "cover" 
the  entire  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Atlantic 
Coast  waters  far  seaward  from  Newfoundland  In 
the  Bay  of  Fundy.  Stations  are  situated  at  Fame 
Point.  Que. :  Heath  Point,  Anticosti :  Whittle  Point, 
Labrador :  Point  Amour,  Forteau ;  Belle  Isle,  Point 
Rich,  Cape  Race  and  Cape  Ray.  Newfoundland ; 
Sable  Island,  Camperdown  and  Cape  Sable  Island. 
Nova  Scotia:  Partridge  Island.  New  Brunswick, 
and  Cape  Bear,  Prince  Edward  Island.  The  high- 
power  stations  cost  the  government  SS.Soo  each 
and  the  stations  of  lesser  pow-er  $5,000. 


1 54 

The    Hammetschwand    Electric    Lift   on 

the  Buergenstock  Summit  in 

the  Alps. 

By   Dr.    Alfred   Gradenwitz. 

In  order  to  make  the  Hammetschwand,  which  is 
the  most  remarkable  point  of  view  and  the  highest 
summit  of  the  Biirgenstock  (towering  in  a  prac- 
tically vertical  direction  up  to  1,122  meters  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  and  from  which  the  whole  of 
the  northwestern  portion  of  the  Lake  of  Lucerne 
is  inspected),  an  electrically  driven  lift  has  recently 
been    installed   to  the   top   of  this   mountain    wall. 

This  lift,  as  may  be  judged  by  Fig.  1,  is  re- 
markable for  the  bold  vertical  arrangement  of  its 
tower,  which  readily  strikes  the  eye  of  those  visit- 
ing the  Lake.  Both  this  building  and  the  lift  sup- 
ported by  it  are  illustrated  and  described  in  the 
following,  from  data  kindly  furnished  by  C.  Wiist 
&  Co.  of  Seebach,  Zurich,  the  contractors  for  the 
undertaking. 

The  tower  has  been  fixed  by  means  of  iron  ties 
to  the  central  part  of  the  rock,  while  being  con- 
nected to  the  upper  part  of  the  latter  by  anchorages 
of  up  to  10.5  meters  in  length.  The  lowermost 
part   of    the    rock   finally    includes    a    vertical    shaft. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


THE    ALPS. 


lateral  connection,   the 
,   Fig.   2,   in    which   the 


at  the  bottom  of  which  is 
arrangement  being  shown 
dimensions    are    given    in    meters. 

The  car  and  counterweights  are  guided  and  sup- 
ported up  to  a  height  of  43.50  meters  by  the  walls 
of  the  shaft  and  farther  up  by  the  structure  of 
the  iron  tower.  The  platform  of  the  upper  admis- 
sion footpath,  10.5  meters  in  length,  which  at  the 
same  time  serves  as  top  tie  (Fig.  3),  is  situated 
at  150.85  meters,  the  tower  thus  being  118.15  meters 
in     height,     including     the     upper     cabin     and     roof. 

Owing  to  the  possibility  of  tying  the  structure 
to  the  rock,  the  tower  could  be  given  a  cross-sec- 
tion of  two  by  two  meters  throughout  its  length. 
The  maximum  distance  of  each  two  ties  is  20-24 
meters,  corresponding  to  10-12  times  the  breadth 
of  the  tower.  The  foot  of  the  latter  rests  on  a 
substantial  iron  frame,  which  has  been  laterally  in- 
troduced into  the  wall  of  the  rock  to  such  a  depth 
as  to  work  as  a  tightened  supporting  structure  in 
case  the  portion  of  the  rock  supporting  the  front 
wall  of  the  tower  should  lose   its  bearing  power. 

The  walls  of  the  tower  have  been  designed  as 
double-stay  framework  structures,  the  stays  being 
free  from  any  tension  in  the  case  of  calm  weather 
(when  the  four  supports  will  in  each  cross-section 
be  submitted  to  thrusts  corresponding  to  the  weight 
of  the  cabin  plus  the  counterpoise  and  the  part 
of  the  tower  surmounting  the  cross-section),  while 
in  the  case  of  wind  pressure  the  tower  'will  be 
submitted  to  inflection  thrusts.  The  ties  have  been 
so  constructed  as  laterally  to  maintain  all  of  the 
four    supports.     Each    of    them    has    been    provided 


FIG.    2.       DETAILS  OF 


with  two  pairs  of  joints,  in  order  not  to  interfere 
with  the  expansion  of  the  tower.  The  construction 
of  the  later  did  not  meet  with  any  difficulties  worth 
speaking  of,  and  the  same  method  of  construction 
might   be   applied   to   much   higher   towers. 

The  lift  or  elevator  has  been  calculated  for  eight 
passengers,  or  for  a  live  load  of  about  600  kilo- 
grams. The  car  has  been  made  of  pine  wood  and 
is  lined  with  an  outside  coating  of  sheet  zinc,  to 
protect  against  atmospheric  influences.  Its  floor  is 
1-55  hy  1.80  meters  in  area  and  it  contains  two 
upholstered  benches.  With  a  lifting  speed  of  60 
meters  per  minute,  the  time  of  traveling,  inclusive 
of  the  starting  and  stopping,  is  two  minutes  50 
seconds  to  three  minutes,  according  to  the  pressure 
of   the    current    feeding   the    driving   motor. 

The  lift  is  operated  by  a  15-horsepower  two- 
pole  direct-current  shunt  motor,  susceptible  -of  over- 
load up  to  25  horsepower  in  starting,  and  turning 
at  900  revolutions  per  minute.  This  motor  is  pro- 
vided with  annular  windings  and  cast-steel  inductor; 
the  rotor  is  380  millimeters  in  diameter,  the  breadth 
of  the  iron  being  200  millimeters.  To  an  exten- 
sion of  the  motor  shaft  is  mounted  a  double-screw 
piston  of  the  Wiist  patent,  including  16  teeth  that 
gear  with  an  intermediate  wheel  of  115  teeth.  To 
the  stationary  shaft  of  this  intermediate  gearing  is 
fitted  a  loosely  running  piston  with  14  teeth  gear- 
ing with  the  toothed  rim  of  the  rope  drum  having 
181  teeth.  (See  Fig.  4).  The  rope  drum,  which  is 
made  of  oak,  is  two  meters  in  diameter  and  about 
1,700    kilograms    in    weight.     From    the    drum    start 


February  24,  1906  - 

1S0  kilograms  per  square  millimeter.  The  car,  in- 
clusive of  the  rope,  is  about  1,600  kilograms  in 
weight,  so  as  to  afford  a  24-fold  factor  of  safety 
in  the  case  of  two  ropes,  which  is  amply  sufficient 
for  a  lift  of  such  dimensions. 

The  whole  of  the  driving  mechanism  rests  on 
a  cast-iron  base  plate,  being  screwed  to  a  sub- 
stantially reinforced  wrought-iron  frame  of  U- 
shaped  iron,  cast  into  the  concrete  of  the  founda- 
tion. 

The  operating  plant  ( Fig.  4)  has  been  located 
in  a  room  blasted  into  the  rock  at  the  foot  of  the 
pit.  In  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  lever 
and  brakes  operated  by  the  attendant  there  is  the  ■ 
switchboard.  A  number  of  safety  devices  have  been 
provided,  with  a  view  of  the  extremely  considerable 
lifting  height  and  abnormal  conditions  of  the  ten- 
sion (which  oscillates  between  900-1,200  volts,  the 
current  being  supplied  from  the  power  station  of 
the  Biirgenstock  and  Stanserhorn  Railways).  These 
include   the   following: 

1.  A  speed  regulator  serving  in  the  event  of  the 
speed,  for  some  reason  or  other,  rising  up  to  80 
meters.  This  works  on  the  catch  fitted  to  the  car, 
forcing  the  catching  wedges  against  the  wooden 
guides  of  the  car.  At  the  very  moment  the  catch- 
ing wedges  are  operated,  the  ropes  will  be  slack- 
ened, and  what  is  called  the  "slack-rope  switchout" 
will  be  actuated,  interrupting  the  main  circuit,  thus 
operating  a  jaw-brake  and  smoothly  stopping  the 
whole  of  the  winch  mechanism. 

2.  Another  speed  regulator  has  been  provided,  dis- 
engaging the  main  current  switch-out  at  the  speed 
of  70  meters,  when  the  braking  magnet  being  also 
thrown    out   of  the   circuit,   the  jaw   brake    referred 


FIG.    4. 

LIFT. 

two  ropes,  16  millimeters  in  diameter  each,  running 
across  double-grooved  guiding  rollers  one  meter  in 
diameter,  which  are  fixed  to  the  upper  part  of  the 
tower  below  the  cupola  and  to  the  car.  The  rope 
of  the  counterpoise,  which  is  likewise  16  millimeters 
in  diameter,  leads  from  the  rope  drum  across  a 
guiding  roller  only  900  millimeters  in  diameter,  to 
the   counterpoise. 

The  ropes,  which  are  made  of  the  best  plow-steel 
wire,  include  six  strands  of  19  one-millimeter  wires 
each.  The  rope  thus  possesses  a  breaking  strength 
of    16,000    kilograms    in    the    case    of    a    strain    of 


fig.  3. 


.ATFORM    OF    HAMMETSCHWAND    LIFT. 


to  will  be  made  to  work  on  the  brake  disk  mounted 
to  the  extension  of  the  motor  shaft.  This  second 
speed  regulator  has  been  arranged  in  order  that 
on  exceeding  the  normal  speed,  the  catching  mech- 
anism might  not  have  each  time  to  be  worked: 
in  fact,  it  is  more  convenient  to  disengage  the  main 
current  switch-out,  before  the  catching  wedges  are 
clamped    fast   on   exceeding  the   normal    speed. 

3.  In  order  to  prevent  the  car  running  too  far, 
there  has  been  provided  a  mechanism  by  means  of 
which  the  starting  controller  is  reduced  to  zero,  as 
soon  as  the  car  has  reached  the  point  limiting  the 
rim  that  corresponds  to  its  actual  acceleration. 
This  device  has  been  provided  only  for  the  event 
of  the  operator  meeting  with   some   accident. 

4.  There  is  further  a  horn  lightning  arrester  ter- 
minal switch-out,  being  operated  on  one  hand  by 
the  car  and  on  the  other  by  counterweights,  as 
soon  as  the  car  runs  beyond  its  normal  terminal 
position.  This  terminal  switch  again  cuts  the  cur- 
rent out  of  the  motor  and  braking  magnet,  .thus 
producing  the  effect  mentioned  under   (1). 

5.  To  the  rope  drum  has  been  fixed  a  substantial 
band  brake,  by  means  of  which,  in  the  case  of  a 
fracture  to  some  tooth,  the  rope  drum,  and  ac- 
cordingly the  car,  may  be  immediately  stopped  by 
hand,  while  the  band-brake  lever  at  the  same  time 
switches  out  the  switch-out  referred  to  under  (4), 
thus   interrupting   the   main   current. 

6.  In  order  accurately  to  inform  the  operator  of 
the  moment  at  which  he  should  reduce  the  start- 
ing controller  by  hand  to  zero,  giving  the  car  a 
travel    corresponding   to    its    acceleration,    so    as    to 


February  24,   1906 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


have   11    itop   al    accurately   the    propel    height,   an 
indicator  l>:i-   been  arranged  clo  1    to  thi    m  - 
[and,   which  accurately  record     thi    actual   position 
of  the  car, 

7,  When    the   catching    wi  dgi      ol    tl havi 

been  clamped  fast,  the  clevatoi  can  be  conveyed  to 
ih,  top  by  mcam  of  a  hand  driven  1  rank,  1  en 
ivithoul    any   current    being   available 

K.  For  the  case  "f  failure  in  the 1 

from  ih,'  1  entral    tation,  a    pecial  no  c 1   •   la; 

,«ii,  1 1    h.i     been    arranged,    actuating    tin-    iaw 

brake  al    the   ' ml    the   cm  rem    1     di  continued, 

mill   ilnis    stopping    the   1  lei  atot 

9,  In   case   all   of   the   safetj    de\ fci  red   to 

should    fail   lo   work,   and    il pi  ratoi    mci  1     ■■  itli 

;,„  accident,  a  lever  arranged  in  the  car  itself,  and 
which  is  1111111,'.  ted  to  tin  1  atch,  would  cnabli  tin 
111. in  in  the  car  al  any  moment  immediately  i<>  top 
il„.  lift,  1 lutsidi  "i  the  towi  r  ha  bci  n  ai  rangi  • 
a    s.iftly    ladder,    on    which    the    operator    ma 

to  the   winding   mechanism,   then    1 rj    out   any 

necessary  operations  and  to  conve\    the  car  i"  the 


id-dr 


Chicago  City  Railway  Changes. 

Radical  changes  were  made  bj  the  directors  of 
the  Chicago  City  Railway  Company  in  election  ol 
officers  mi  February  t6th,  and  Presidenl  I  E 
Mitten  was  given  practically  a  new  working  staff. 
General  Manager  Mason  B.  Starring  was  the  onlj 
member  of  the  old  executive  force  lo  be  retained 
Mr  Starring  was  promoted  to  be  first  vice-presi- 
dent and  general  solicitor,  and  for  the  present  will 
also  perform   the  duties  of  general  manager, 

Lawrence   A.   Young   retired   from   the   lirsi    vice- 


in 11 

pei    , .  hi      ; : 

11     ■    cat 

1        1  ii  inn      1  he    20 
now    opi  rated  01 

ing    rebuilt,    rewired,    equipped    with 

modem   el ic  I 

po    iblc    brought    up   to   thi 

i|..in    .1     1  ipidl 

1  mil      1  wo  hundred   and   fifl 
type  ol 
v.  nil    clcctrii  rcrhaulcd    and 

n  1 •  d,  and  dition. 

i  mIh  1     impri ivcmcnl     includi  m    and 

,  quipmi  nt   of  1  lization 

.,1   appro   im  itcly  15,000 

nwi  alth   Eli  ctric  Companj 

1  ...1 1 1   1!..    trad  .  '-■•    and  the  material  ;; 

mi  in   of  thi    in 
During    tin 

fare  pa    i  n .mi,.  ei  pa 

,  I,,.,  1        ii...... 

767  cable  em.,  and     ■  horsi 

184.39   miles    of   elect  rii 
miles  of  cable   tracks, 


. 


T.  C.   PENINGTON. 

presidency,  but  remains  in  the  directorate.  J.  B. 
Hogarth  was  elected  secretary  and  auditor,  C.  N. 
Duffy  having  severed  his  connection  with  the  com- 
pany. Mr.  Hogarth  was  formerly  auditor  of  the 
Denver    City    Tramway    Company. 

T.  C.  Penington,  treasurer,  was  succeeded  by 
J.  P.  Burke.  Mr.  Penington  has  served  the  com- 
pany long  and  faithfully,  his  work  as  treasurer 
extending  over  a  period  of  32  years.  In  recognition 
of  his  loyalty  and  the  efficiency  of  his  past  serv- 
ice he  was  retired  on  half  pay.  Mr.  Penington 
is  very  widely  and  favorably  known  to  traction 
men,  having  been  for  many  years  secretary  of  the 
American    Street    Railway    Association. 

The  stockholders  re-elected  last  year's  board  of 
directors,  which  consisted  of  the  following-  named 
gentlemen :  John  A.  Spoor,  A.  J.  Earling,  Robert 
M.  Fair,  T.  E.  Mitten,  Edward  Morris,  P.  A.  Val- 
entine and  Lawrence  A.  Young.  Mr.  Spoor  and 
Mr.  Morris  were  made  the  executive  committee  of 
the  board. 

Resolutions  were  passed  by  the  board  of  direct- 
ors directing  President  Mitten  to  continue  his  past 
policy  in  making  improvements  to  the  service.  It 
was  decided  to  add  50  new  cars  and  to  make  im- 
provements to  the  Vincennes  Avenue  and  Seventy- 
seventh    Street   station. 

President  Mitten  submitted  his  annual  report, 
from    which    the    following    statistics    are    taken : 

Gross  earnings  for  the  year  were  $7,322,080.18 — 
an  increase  over  1004  of  $653,100.87,  or  9.79  per 
cent.  With  an  increase  of  9.52  per  cent,  in  pas- 
sengers paying  fare,  there  was  an  increase  of  13.09 
per  cent,  in  transfer  passengers.  The  average  fare 
was   3.10  cents   per   passenger  carried. 

The  total  expenses  were  $5,642,606.67 — an  increase 
of  $720,486.49,  or  14.64  per  cent.  This  increase  is 
due  principally  to  the  additional  number  of  cars 
operated,  the  additional  expense  incurred  in  im- 
proving the  heating  facilities  and  sanitary  condition 
of  the  cars,  together  with  the  increased  amount 
necessarily  charged  to  depreciation  to  cover  the 
value  of  a  number  of  the  older  cars  which  have 
been    retired   from  service  and   destroyed.     The   net 


Hydro-electric  Elevator  in  Tudor  Apart- 
ment Building,  Chicago. 

The  accompanying  views  illustrate  the  electrically 
driven    hydraulic   machinery   for  operating   til 
senger  elevator  of  the    didor  Building,  a  fii 
apartment    In. use   situated   a(   the   corner   of 
third  Street  and  Ellis  Avenue,  Chicago.     The  plant 
constitutes   an   interesting  application  of  the   induc- 
tion  motor  to  the  operation   of  hydraulic  pa 
elevators. 

Referring   to   the   accompanying    illustratiot 
1),    the    motor    shown    is    a    [5-horsepOwei 
General    Electric    form-K    induction    motor,    taking 
current     from     the    mains     of     the     Commonwealth 
Electric    Company,    and    is    provided    with    a   special 
high-resistance    rotor    in    order    that    the    starting 
current    may    not    attain    a    high    enough    value    to 
interfere  with   the  voltage  regulation   of  the    supply 
circuit.     The  motor  is  belted  to  an  eight  by  10  ver- 
tical   single-acting    triplex    pump    which    disci 
into   a    compression   tank    against   an   average    pres- 
sure of  80  pounds  to  the  square  inch,  thereby  pro- 


brought   the  pressure  to  the  maximum  the  ■ ' 
makes  three  average  trips  bef  ire   falls 

point    at    which    the    regulator    opet 
start  the  motor.     It  takes  about  three  niinut 
the  motor  1-  started  to  bring  the  pressure  back  t.. 
the   maximum,  and  the   motor  delivei 

rating   against   the   maximum    pres- 
sure. 

Notabli  .bis  installation  are  it-  sim- 

plicity   and    the    fact    that    it    utilizes    standard    ap- 
tbe   only    special    features   King   the   omis- 
ion   of  the  quick-break  spring  from  the  oil  switch 


viding  the  necessary  hydraulic  power   for  operating 
the   elevator. 

At  the  right  in  Fig.  1  may  he  seen  the  weight 
lever  and  weight  of  a  Mason  regulator  which  starts 
and  stops  the  motor  through  the  instrumentality 
of  a  form  I  oil  switch.  Fig.  2  clearly  shows  this 
controlling  apparatus.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
operating  lever  of  the  regulator  is  connected  to 
the  lever  of  the  oil  switch.  The  spring  attachment, 
with  which  the  oil  switch  is  ordinarily  equipped 
in  order  to  give  a  quick  break,  was  removed, 
the  motion  of  the  Mason  regulator  is  positive  and 
gives  a  speed  of  about  eight  inches  per  second 
at  the  operating  lever. 


MP   FOR    OPERATING    HYDRO-ELECTRIC   ELEVATOR. 

and  the  substitution  of  a  high-resistance  rotor  in 
the    otherwise    standard    induction    motor. 

The  installation  was  put  into  service  about  the 
first  of  June  of  last  year  and  has  been  operated 
continuously  ever  since,  with  very  little  attention 
and  with  no  expense,  save  for  current,  which  is 
costing  the  owner  $40  a  month  at  10  cents  a  kilo- 
watt-hour. The  previous  cost  of  operating  i  with 
steam)  was  $95  a  month  for  fuel  and  $45  a  month 
for  night  engineer,  a  total  of  $130  a  month. 

There  are  undoubtedly  many  similar  cases  where 
elevators  can  be  operated  economically  and  satis- 
factorily by  the  method  described,  that  is,  an  in- 
duction motor  driving  hydraulic  elevator  machinery. 


156 


WESTERN   ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY. 


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CORRESPONDENCE  relating  to  electricity  or  any  of  its 
practical  applications  is  cordially  inriied.and  the  co-operation 
of  all  electrical  thinkers  and  workers  earnestly  desired.  Clear, 
concise,  well  written  articles  are  especially  welcome;  and  com- 
munications, views,  news  items,  local  newspaper  clippings,  or 
any  information  likely  to  interest  electricians,  wi41  be  thank- 
fully received  and  cheerfully  acknowledged. 

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general  electrical  paper  published  in  the  West— thoroughly 
covers  a  territory  exclusively  its  own.    This  is  a  c.:.vm  which 

CAN     BE     MADE     BT     NO    OTHER      ELECTRICAL     JOURNAL     IN     THE 

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desiring  western  trade  will  appreciate  the  uneqoaled  V-a-Ite 
of  this  journal  as  an  advertising  medium  in  its  special  field. 
Advertising  rates  are  moderate,  and  will  be  furnished  en 
application. 

REMITTANCES.— All  checks,  drafts  and  other  remit- 
tances should  be  made  payable  to  the  order  of  the  publishers 

the  Electrician  Publishing  Co 

offices  of  publication.  Suite 
Dearborn  Street),  Chicago.  Illii 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

Transmission    Line    from    Niagara    Falls    to    Syracuse-     By 

Orrin  K.   Dnulap.     Illustrated 151,   ; 

A  Canadian  View  of  tbe  Niagara  Power  Situation ; 

Armstrong's  Method  for  the  Control  of  Induction  Motors  for 

Railway  Purposes.     Illustrated 152,  ; 

New   Simplon  Tunnel    Electrical    Equipment.      By  Frank  C. 

Perkins.     Illustrated 1 

Space-telegraph  Stations  in  Canada : 

The    Haminetschwand    Electric    Lift    on    the    Buergenstock 

Summit   in   the   Alps.     By    Dr.   Alfred   Gradenwitz      IIlus- 

Cbicago  City  Railway  Changes .'  i 

T.  C.  Penington.      Portrait j 

Hydro-electric  Elevator  in  Tudor  Apartment  Building.  Chicago. 

Illustrated 

Editorial 

Chicago  Drainage  Canal  Power  to  be  Ready  in  a  Year 

Electric-light  Rate  Inquiry  in  Chicago j 

Hogan  Engineering  Club  of  La  Crosse ] 

The  Electrical  Trades  Exposition .  i 

H.  E.  Niesz.     Portrait 1 

Municipal  Accounting  a  Minus  Quantity 1 

Warren  and  Jamestown  Single-phase  Railway.    Illustrated  158.  : 

Iowa  Electrical  Convention i 

The  Preservation  of  Niagara  Falls.    By  Terry  T.  King.    (Corn- 
Mr.  Rice's  Candidacy 1 

Selling  Electricity 160.  1 

Proper  Handling  of  the  New-business  Department 160,  1 

Are  You  Power-wise? j 

Co-operative  Development ] 

A  Binghamton  Idea 1 

The  First  Electric  Sign 1 

Electric  Motors  in  New  York  City 1 

The  Problems  of  Illuminating  Engineering i 

French  Carbons  in  the  United  States 162.  1 

Alfred  Landau.     Portrait 1 

Westinghouse    Variable-speed    Motor   with   Auxiliary    Poles 

Illustrated ] 

Stanley-G.    I.    Revolving-held     Inductor    Generator        Illus- 
trated   i 

Benjamin  Two-part  Lamp  Guard.     Illustrated 1 

Chicago  Gets  85-cent  Gas 1 

Proposed  Detroit  River  Tunnel ' '.'  1 

Finances  of  International  Electrical  Congress 1 

Attack  the  "Electric  Mule" 1 

Metropolitan  Elevated  Road  to  Buy  Current .'.   1 

Indiana  Telephone  Items 1 

Southeastern  Telephone  Developments 1 

Telephone  News  from  the  Northwest 1 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes j 

New  Companies j 

S175  Telephone  Rate  Illegal  in  Chicago 1 

Bell  Telephone  Finances .    n 

Telephone  Men j 

Resonant-circuit  Telephony.     Illustrated '. 1 

Ohio  Independent  Telephone  Association 1. 

Canadian  Bell  Telephone  Improvements 1 

Work  of  the  National-Interstate  Telephone  Association  1 

General  Telephone  News 1 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence 166   167    1 

Great  Britain '  1 

New  York ."""  j 

Dominion  of  Canada 1 

New  England 166.  1 

Ohio 1 

Indiana 1 

Michigan 1 

Pacific  Slope 167,  1 

Personal 1 

Electric  Lighting 1 

Electric  Railways 1 

Power  Transmission r 

Publications 168,  1 

Societies  and  Schools 1 

Telegraph 1 

Space  Telegraphy 1 

Miscellaneous ....  1 

Trade  News 1 

Business 1 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record 169,  1 


DATES  AHEAD. 

Iowa  Telephone  Association  (annual  convention),  Cham- 
berlain   Hotel,    Des   Moines,    March    13th,    14th  and    15th. 

Central  Electric  Railway  Association  (next  meeting),  In- 
dianapolis, Ind.,   March  22d. 

Ohio  Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  meeting), 
Columbus,    Ohio,    March   30th. 

Iowa  Electrical  Association  (annual  convention),  Kirk- 
ood  Hotel,  Des  Moines.  April    18th  and   totb. 

Indiana^  Independent   Telephone    Association    (annual    meet- 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Faraday  Society  in 
London  a  demonstration  was  given  by  Dr.  J.  A. 
Harker  of  a  solid  electrolyte-tube  furnace,  which  in 
construction  is  not  unlike  a  Nernst  lamp.  The  fur- 
nace was  designed  for  uses  in  which  the  presence  of 
hydrocarbons  or  other  reducing  gases,  inseparable 
from  a  carbon-tube  furnace,  is  undesirable.  One  of 
the  uses  to  which  the  furnace  may  be  adapted  is  the 
calibration  of  thermo-couples  and  also  for  the  deter- 
mination of  the  melting  point  cf  platinum,  which 
Mr.  Harker  gave  as  1,703-1,713°  C.  The  furnace 
consists  of  a  tube  made  of  a  mixture  of  zirconia  and 
10  per  cent,  yttria,  which  is  squirted  through  a  die 
and  then  baked.  The  small  type  shown  in  operation 
was  2'/2  inches  long  between  the  contacts.  When 
taking  one  ampere  at  about  120  volts  a  temperature 
of  i,6oo°  C.  was  attained.  The  tube  is  made  conduct- 
ing either  by  heating  direct,  or  else  by  surrounding 
it  with  an  external  nickel  heating  coil,  separated 
from  it  by  a  layer  of  pure  zirconia,  the  combination 
forming  a  "cascade"  type  of  furnace.  Special  atten- 
tion has  to  be  paid  to  the  contact  of  the  platinum 
leading-in  wires  and  the  tube. 


Utilization  of  the  power  of  the  Chicago  Drain- 
age Canal  for  the  benefit  of  citizens  of  Chicago  and 
of  the  Sanitary  District  is  now  an  assured  fact.  The 
price  at  which  this  power  is  offered  seems  from  all 
points  a  fair  and  equitable  one.  The  trustees  of  the 
Sanitary  District  offer,  in  a  direct  and  businesslike 
manner,  to  furnish  some  15,000  horsepower  to  those 
municipalities  in  the  District  which  care  to  take 
it  from  the  sub-station  at  Forty-eighth  Avenue  and 
the  canal,  and  that,  too,  by  January'  1,  1907.  Power 
will  be  furnished  at  what  it  actually  costs  to  de- 
liver it  at  the  sub-station,  and  careful  estimates  have 
placed  the  price  at  $26.40  a  horsepower  a  year  on 
the  basis  of  24-hour  load.  It  is  probable  that  those 
municipalities  that  cannot  make  use  of  a  24-hour 
load  will  be  given  a  special  price.  In  this  event 
a  12-hour  service  will  probably  be  given  at  the  rate 
of  $20  a  horsepower  a  year.  It  is  gratifying  to 
note,  also  that  the  United  States  Supreme  Court 
in  the  litigation  between  the  city  of  St.  Louis  and 
the  Sanitary  District  has  been  decided  in  favor 
of  the  latter,  and  that  apparently  there  is  no  hin- 
drance in  view  for  the  full  development  of  the 
power  scheme. 


Atlantic  City,   N,  J.,  June  5th  to  8th,   inclusive. 

National    Electrical    Contractors'    Association    (annual 
vention),  Cleveland,  Ohio,  July  18th. 


Rates  and  methods  of  charging  are  always  im- 
portant and  interesting  to  purveyors  and  users  of 
electricity.  It  is  not  easy  for  electric-light  com- 
panies to  hit  on  an  equitable  rate  or  to  convince 
consumers  that  it  is  equitable  when  decided  upon. 
Therefore,  any  intelligent  and  earnest  effort  to  ex- 
plain and  defend  the  practice  of  any  particular 
company  is  of  interest  not  alone  in  the  field  of 
that  company  but  to  all  engaged  in  the  central- 
station  business  as  well.  Such  an  attempt  was 
made,  or,  rather  is  making,  by  Mr.  William  G. 
Beale,  counsel  for  the  Chicago  Edison  and  Com- 
monwealth Electric  companies  in  the  pending  in- 
quiry into  electric-light  rates  by  a  standing  com- 
mittee of  the  Chicago  City  Council.  Mr.  Beale 
exhibited  much  candor  and  skill  in  addressing  the 
committee  on  behalf  of  the  companies  and  undoubt- 
edly made  a  favorable  impression.  Indeed,  it  is 
one  of  the  pleasing  features  of  the  investigation 
that  it  is  instigated  by  no  special  hostility  to  the 
companies,  which  stand  well  in  the  community. 
This  reputation  for  fairness  is  an  asset  of  the 
utmost  value.  For  instance,  Mr.  Beale  frankly 
stated  his  belief  that  it  is  the  right  of  the  public, 
through  some  properly  constituted  authority,  to 
regulate  public-service  corporations.  "All  these 
companies  really  wish  is  a  fair  regulation  and  a 
just  regulation.  We  have  no  objection  to  make  to 
the  principle  of  regulation,  which  is  right  and  just, 
and  undoubtedly  lawful  when  the  Legislature  au- 
thorizes it."  Further,  speaking  of  the  municipal 
electric  street-lighting  plant  in  Chicago,  "The  man- 
agement of  the  city  plants  seems  to  have  been 
good.  The  men  who  have  managed  them  have 
managed  them  honestly,  I  believe.  They  have  re- 
ported what  they  spent,  but  what  they  may  have 
spent  does  not  indicate  the  true  cost  of  the  plants 
and  of  their  operation,  from  a  business  standpoint." 
Mr.  Beale  then  went  on  to  show  how  the  official 
statements  were  misleading,  and  added :  "No  hu- 
man being  knows  the  real  cost  of  municipal   light- 


February  24,    1906 

ing,  nor  ever  has  known.  It  is  not  possible  for 
anybody  to  know."  This  is  -undoubtedly  true,  as 
the  Western  Electrician  has  repeatedly  shown. 

The  statement  was  made  that  the  company  can 
produce  current  at  the  Fisk  Street  station  at  "as 
low  a  figure  as  three  cents  a  kilowatt-hour,"  but 
current  is  furnished  to  some  customers  that  costs 
the  company  25  cents  a  kilowatt-hour.  "Over  half 
of  our  lighting  customers  take  current  which  costs 
the  company  upwards  of  I3'4  cents  a  kilowatt-hour." 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  who  get  a  very  low  rate, 
took  as  much  current,  at  the  time  the  contract  with 
them  was  executed,  as  the  company  supplied  to  the 
whole  of  Chicago  south  of  Thirty-ninth  Street. 
"Now,  could  we  fairly  be  expected  to  charge  the 
same  price  for  supplying  the  wide  territory  south  of 
Thirty-ninth  Street,  where  there  are  many  people, 
where  we  had  to  have  an  extensive  distribution 
system,  a  large  number  of  emplo3-es,  etc.,  that  we 
could  charge  for  supplying  Marshall  Field  &  Co.? 
Of  course  that  would  be  absurd." 

The  average  cost  (and  also  the  average  income, 
taking  account  of  interest  charges,  depreciation,  re- 
serve and  profits)  is  7.24  cents  a  kilowatt-hour 
for  the  entire  output.  This  figure  was  io'/2  cents 
in  1S96.  A  voluntary  reduction  of  20  per  cent,  in 
the  high  rates  was  made  within  a  year.  Net  rates 
range  now,  substantially,  between  four  and  16  cents 
a  kilowatt-hour.  "There  has  been  a  constant  re- 
duction going  on  in  the  business — that  is  the  tend- 
ency. We  have  to  reduce  rates  in  order  to  get 
large  volume  and  long-hour  business,  and  then, 
having  taken  large  business  at  a  close  rate,  the 
smaller  businesses   go   down  in  the   same  way." 

In  relation  to  alleged  discrimination — that  is, 
charging  differing  net  prices  to  different  classes  of 
customers — Mr.  Beale  made  an  acute  and  forceful 
argument  which  station  managers  will  read  with 
attention.     This   is   the   gist   of   it: 

What  is  discrimination?  The  law  does  not  for- 
bid discrimination;  the  law  forbids  an  unjust  dis- 
crimination; just  discrimination  is  right  and  proper, 
as  the  absence  of  it  would  be  unjust.  I  would  be 
a  bold  man  to  stand  up  here  and  say  that  there  is 
not  any  unjust  discrimination  in  the  Chicago  Edi- 
son Company  (I  never  have  yet  seen  any  enter- 
prise where  things  did  not  once  in  a  while  go 
wrong).  I  am  justified  in  saying  that  the  effort 
of  -the  management  is  to  have  no  unjust  discrimi- 
nation, and  they  say  there  isn't  any  so  far  as  they 
know — that  their  discrimination  is  a  fair  discrimi- 
nation due  to  differences  in  conditions.  The  law 
permits  it.  You  haven't  anything  to  do  with  it. 
You  cannot  touch  it.  Nothing  that  you  can  do  will 
prevent  just  discrimination,  and  it  never  will  be 
stopped  by  the  Edison  and  Commonwealth  com- 
panies until  the  highest  legal  tribunal  to  which  it 
is  possible  to  go  says  that  it  has  got  to  be  stopped, 
and  that  never  will  occur.  It  never  will  be  stopped. 
This  is  well  put.  And  in  another  place  the 
practical    result  of  a  uniform   rate  is    shown. 

Suppose,  gentlemen,  that  you  were  to  fix  as  a 
maximum  rate  15  cents  a  kilowatt-hour,  and  a 
would-be  customer  were  to  come  along  and  ask  us 
to  supply  him  with  current  under  conditions  where 
we  could  see  at  once  that  it  would  cost  us  17 
cents  to  do  it.  We  would  refuse  to  supply  him. 
and  he  would  take  it  into  court,  and  what  would 
happen  I  do  not  need  to  argue. 

Counsel  made  one  interesting  statement,  prac- 
tically in  the  nature  of  a  promise,  and  that  "was 
this :  "As  far  as  the  Commonwealth  company  is 
concerned  I  want  to  say  that  it  will  never  be  a 
laggard  whenever  the  city  of  Chicago  wants  to 
remove  all  the  poles  from  the  city  streets.  When- 
ever you  want  all  the  others  to  go  underground,  we 
will  go,  and  we  will  not  raise  any  legal  questions." 
Many  apt  illustrations  were  made  in  the  course 
of  Mr.  Beale's  argument.     Here  is  one : 

Let  us  suppose  that  a  man  owns  a  livery  stable 
in  which  he  has  saddle  horses  for  rent.  Now,  we 
will  suppose  that  the  keep,  maintenance,  board  and 
care  of  a  saddle  horse  is  $2  a  day,  including  fair 
interest  on  the  investment.  If  he  lets  that  horse 
out  for  one  hour  at  $1.50  and  no  more  during  the 
day,  he  has  lost  50  cents.  If  he  rents  him  out 
for  two  hours  at  $1.25  an  hour,  he  has  made  50 
cents.  That  is  perfectly  obvious.  If  he  rents  the 
horse  out  at  75  cents  an  hour,  for  four  hours,  he 
gets  $3,  and  is  ahead  $1.  That  is  an  excellent 
illustration    of   our   system    of   lighting   rates. 

The  inquiry  is  still  on,  and  the  Western  Elec- 
trician will  give  the  conclusions  arrived  at  in  a 
future  issue.  In  the  meantime  we  remark  with 
pleasure  that  the  electric-light  companies  of  Chi- 
cago have  been  happy  in  their  choice  of  counsel  and 
the  lawyer  is  fortunate  in  the  standing  and  reputa- 
tion of  his   clients. 


February  24,   HjoCt 


WESTERN'     hi .!  ■' 


Chicago    Drainage  Canal    Power   to    be 
Ready  In  a  Year. 

Devi  loi '  ■    in    the    I  h 1 ■- 

powi  1    undi  rtal  • I'i'll  1    taking    loi  m,    and 

,i   1     *  : 'I  thai   b     thi    begin!   1 

1  ill  be  a  /ailabli    in   1  hii  1 I 

nil  ipalitii      »  itl bi        initart     D 1 

■  iilim    the    District    an    to    : 
,  igl 1    umi  1  .    '"'I   ■ rdinglt    the   Board  of 

I  1 , .  ;.       ,,1   thi    Sanitai  (    District    ha     ad  h 
each    a    communication \ 

setting  i' 'i  ''1  the  plan     E01    1  hi    disti  ibul  11  m   of  the 

power,     'l  he    mo  1    important    pai  1 1 

niunii'-'tl'"!'     ,in      lh  1 ,      it.  mi,      1        1       - 
inl !      ml : 111-      thi 

power  dcvelopmenl : 

"The  devclo] nt  of  watcrpowcr  created   bj    the 

drainage  channel   ha  .  reached  a  point  thai   1 

Hi,    nil  iti ,     of  the  Sanitary   I  ii  tricl   to  I  I     n 

when    delivery    of    the    eli   1 1  ical    1  m  1  ■      will    be 

in. to    the     nli    t.ii locati  il    nt    tin    1  11  >.    I  ( 'In 

I  limits  ,-11111  the  canal.     I  he  dati    « ill  be  Janu 

II  1  11. 1 17,  and  thi  tru  tci  an  prepared  to  entei 
into  contracts  with  any  and  all  municipalities  within 
1I1-  limits  of  the  Sanitary  Inn  id  fot  ui  h  1  lei 
iiii.i]  energy  as  nn\  be  required  for  municipal  pur- 
poses  at  a  cost  price  of  $26.40  pel  hoi  epower  per 
n  ;i  basis  of  -'.|  hour  service, 

"It    is   probable   thai    s :   of    thi    municipalities 

cannol    make   use   of   power   24   hours   a    day,   and 
in    such    event    a    service   of    12   hours   will   be    fur- 
nished at  a  price  of  $20  a  horsepower   a   year,  and 
the   trustees  of  the  Sanitary   District   will  end 
to  dispose  of  the  power  for  the  remaining  12  hours. 

"The  price  of  $2<">..|o  per  horsepower  for  24-hour 
service  represents  the  true  cost  to  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
n  n  1,  as  shown  ill  the  following  itemized  statement: 

Total  cost  of  development  ami  transmission S3, 500,000.00 

Estimate  -1   Cost. 

Interest  on  investment  at  1  per  rent Si 40.000.00 

1  ,   eal  estate,  buildings,  etc 7,62000 

Depreciation  on  1. nil, lines,  at  1  percent..      3,650.00 

Di  1 lion  1  nv  iterwheels,  atzpercent.      2.027.32 

hi  in,    i.iii,,n  on  generators,  at  2  per  cent.      1.824.60 

Depreciation  on  other  electrical  apparatus, 

1  [percent 3.905,52 

Total  fixed  charges 1G1, 137.94 

For  power  and  substation  labor S  63,240.00 

For  repairs  to  machinery  anil  I, nil, lines. . .       3.700.00 
For  incidental  expenses 1,200.00 

Operating  Tliii  tv-niinh  sheet  pumping  sta- 
tion    120,380.00 

Interest  on  investment,  Thirty-ninth  street 
station,  4  per  cent 15.599.76 

Total  operating  expenses 248,079.76 

Total  cost  per  year  to  Sanitary  District S    409,217.70 

"With  15,500  horsepower  delivered  at  the  sub- 
station the  cost  per  horsepower  will  therefore  be 
$26.40. 

"To  avoid  delays  in  considering  the  application 
of  electrical  power  the  following  data  is  given : 

"Power  will  be  delivered  to  purchasers  at  the 
sub-station  located  at  West  Forty-eighth  Avenue 
and  the  canal.  The  responsibility  and  cost  of 
transmission  from  that  point  must  be  assumed  by 
purchasers.  Power  will  be  measured  at  the  sub-sta- 
tion switchboard,  assuming  746  watts  as  a  horse- 
power. Alternating  current  of  60  cycles  at  either 
6,600,  9,000  or  11,000  volts  will  be  furnished.  The 
current  will  be  suitable  for  alternating-current  mo- 
tors and  arc  and  incandescent  lighting.  If  used  for 
street-lighting  purposes  an  ordinary  arc  lamp  will 
require  about  one  horsepower,  measured  at  the 
station. 

"The  cash  cost  involved  in  maintaining  an  arc 
lamp  for  street-lighting  purposes  should  not  ex- 
ceed the  following  amounts  in  small  cities : 


Carbons S  3.75 

Globes 75 

Repairs  10  lamps 1.25 

Repairs  to  circuits 50 

Total  cash  cost S37.25 

Add  to  the  above  for  other  charges,  as  circumstances  warrant: 

Depreciation  on  cedar  pole  lines 5  per  cent 

Depreciation  on  lamps 5  per  cent 

Depreciation  on  station  switchboard 2  per  cent 

Depreciation  on  station  transformers 3  per  cent 

Interest  on  investment. 

"When  the  full  flow  of  water  is  available  in 
the  canal,  which  will  probably  be  within  six  or 
seven  years,  the  power  can  be  increased  to  31,000 
horsepower  with  an  additional  outlay  of  $450,000. 
The  true  cost  will  then  be  reduced  to  $14.07,  and 
it  is  the  intention  of  making  a  provisional  reduc- 
tion to  this  figure  in  all  contracts  made  at  this 
time,  to  the  effect  that  all  municipalities  entitled 
thereto  may  secure  the  benefit  of  the  power  at  cost 
to   the    Sanitary   District. 

"The  interests  of  the  taxpayers  demand  that  prac- 
tical use  be  made  of  the  power  from  the  date  it 
will  be  ready  for  delivery,  and  such  power  as  may 
not  be  contracted  for  by  municipalities,  for  their 
own  use,  will  be  advertised  for  sale.  Should  the 
aggregate  power  required  by  municipalities  exceed 
that  available  the  supply  to  each  will  be  prorated 
on   an  equitable  basis. 

"If  a  municipality  leases  power  for  a  12-hour 
period,  paying  therefor  the  $20  rate,  the  trustees 
of  the  Sanitary  District  will  make  an  equitable  re- 


11   February   19th  thi 

Kiv<-r    l,y    1' 

1    bearing  on  the   futui 

for    a 
1  ui    would    havi 

for    11. 1 


will     Ix- 


Electrlc-light  Rate   Inquiry  In  Chicago. 
I  lie  inquiry  which   h 
C01 

■  'iii ,i  iterating  and  '1; 

' 

1 

1  -ill  mi  .111,1  Co 

11I   mini,    1,,   deal    fairly   with   each  other 

powi  r,  11  valid,  to  fix  maximum 

supply  of  1  In  1 ' :  '-ity  of 

Chicago  I-    ,1  passed  by  the 

ii-  lature,     With  this  authority  tin-  committee  on 

gas,  oil  and  eli  instructed  to  pi 

to  an  investigation  to  determine  the  cost  of  produc- 

tii  n    with   a   view  to  lowering  the  price  of  electric 

current  to  consumers. 

William  G.  Bcalc,  counsel  for  the  Chicago  Edison 
Company  and  Commonwealth  Electric  Company,  has 
In  in  tin  principal  speaker  before  the  committee.  He 
has  given  the  aldermen  all  information  asked  of  him 
and  has  convinced  them,  apparently,  that  the  fixing 
of  rates  to  a  large  variety  of  consumers,  some  large 
and  ^oine  small,  and  under  varying  conditions,  is  a 
difficult  problem.  The  maximum  net  rate  to  any 
consumer  at  present  is  16  cents  a  kilowatt-hour.  But 
Mr.  Beale  showed  that  to  supply  some  customers  it 
actually  costs  the  company  as  high  as  24  cents.  One 
large  consumer  (Marshall  Field  &  Co.)  gets  current 
at  less  than  four  cents  a  kilowatt-hour.  This  cus- 
tomer employs  its  own  electrician  to  keep  the  dis- 
tribution systems  in  shape  and  furnishes  its  own 
lamps  and  apparatus.  All  the  Edison  company  has 
to  do  is  to  deliver  the  current  to  the  customer's 
switchboards. 

Wishing  to  be  fair  with  the  city,  the  two  com- 
panies mentioned  have  signified  their  intention  of 
making  a  reduction  in  rates  wherever  possible.  At  a 
meeting  of  the  council  committee  scheduled  to  be 
held  at  the  time  the  Western  Electrician  goes  to 
press  the  companies  will  no  doubt  submit  a  schedule 
of  reduced  rates  to  the  committee  as  a  basis  for  an 
agreement  and  understanding  with  the  city.  The 
reduction  is  made  voluntarily  by  the  companies.  Mr. 
Beale  said  frankly  that  it  was  his  opinion  that  the 
city  cannot  do  much,  if  anything,  under  the  statutes. 
in  the  way  of  effecting  a  reduction  of  rates  if  the 
companies  should  not  be  disposed  to  concede  it.  He 
said  the  companies  believe  their  rates  to  be  fair  and 
reasonable  but  are  willing  voluntarily  to  make  reduc- 
tions wherever  possible. 


Hogan   Engineering  Club  of   La  Crosse. 

The  idea  of  maintaining  social  or  technical  clubs 
among  the  employes  of  manufacturing  or  operating 
companies  is  spreading  rapidly.  Employes  and  em- 
ployers alike  see  the  advantage  of  such  organiza- 
tions. A  recent  case  is  that  of  the  employes  of 
the  Wisconsin  Light  and  Power  Company  of  La- 
Crosse,  Wis.,  who  have  organized  the  J.  J.  Hogan 
Engineering  Club,  the  principal  object  of  which 
is  of  an  educational  nature.  The  name  of  J.  J. 
Hogan  was  chosen  because  of  the  prominence  for 
many  years  of  Mr.  Hogan  in  engineering  circles 
in   LaCrosse   and   the    Northwest. 

The  following-named  gentlemen,  associated  with 
the  Wisconsin  Light  and  Power  Company,  were  in 
attendance  and  became  charter  members  of  the  new 
club:  L.  Alexander,  T.  Allen.  T.  F.  Barrv.  W.  D. 
Burford.  R.  B.  Carter.  0.  B.  Cahoon.  C.  A.  Van 
Degrift.  L.  W.  Dickson.  V.  Downey,  W.  W.  Fer- 
ris." Frank  Hanifl.  Paul  Donald.  G.  F.  Mueller. 
August  Meyers.  W.  S.  Pope.  G.  W.  Pitman.  C.  W. 
Reed,  M.  A.  Rybold.  J.  Russell.  Clarence  Stocks, 
S.  A.  Stage.  T.  Thiele,  L.  J.  Weldv.  Charles  P. 
Williams.  W.  M.  Woods.  C.  H.  Williams.  The 
last  mentioned  is   manager  of  the   company. 

The  club  will  meet  in  the  company's  clubrooms 
on  the  first  and  third  Monday  evenings  of  each 
month.  Matters  of  general  engineering  interest  will 
be  discussed  and  papers  will  be  prepared  and  read 
by  members  as  designated  by  a  committee.  A  fea- 
ture will  be  a  "question  box."  wherein  a  member 
may  ask  questions  on  subjects  not  clear  to  him. 
There  will  also  be  occasional  talks  by  outside  tech- 
nical, professional  and  business  men.  It  is  proposed 
to  have  each  member,  whether  from  the  office,  the 


The  Electrical  Trades  E> 


HOME*     E.      MESZ. 

unanimi 

more  elaborate  show  than  that 

At  a  meeting  of  the 

tl    Trades    Exposition    Company,    he' 
ruary    16th,    it    was    <!  '    a    permanent 

lion    to    continue    the    maim, 
and   to  take  up  immediately   the   n 
,11    for  the    second    annual   electrical   show 
to   be   held   January    14-26,    1907. 

It    was    decided    to    abolish    the    Htl 
r"  and  to  substitute  for  it  tin    I 
aging   director."     An   executive  committee   was   ap- 
E.    B.    Overshiner, 
chairman ;   Charles   E.   Gregory  and   Stewart  Spald- 
ing. 

Homer  E.  Niesz  of  the  Chicago  Edison  Com- 
pany was  made  managing  director.  The  appoint- 
which  in  fact 
makes  him  virtually  manager  of  the  next  elec- 
trical show  in  1907,  is  a  well-deserved  tribute  to 
the  executive  ability  of  Mr.  Niesz.  As  is  well 
known.  Mr.  Niesz  is  assistant  to  Vice-president 
Ferguson  of  the  Chicago  Edison  Company.  Dur- 
ing the  "growing  period"  of  several  months  of 
the  recent  electrical  show,  although  an  exceedingly 
man  in  connection  with  his  regular  duties. 
Mr.  Xiesz  nevertheless  devoted  a  great  amount  of 
energy  and  practically  all  his  spare  time  to  fur- 
thering the  interests  of  the  Chicago  electrical  ex- 
hibition. Mr.  Xiesz  is  highly  thought  of  as  an 
officer  of  the  Chicago  Edison  Company  and  de- 
servedly popular  not  only  with  his  associates  but 
with  all  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact  in  the 
general  round  of  business.  Added  to  a  high  ex- 
ecutive ability  he  possesses,  too.  the  qualir" 
of  frankness  and  genuineness  that  win  and  hold 
firm  a  host  of  business  friends.  The  new  man- 
aging director,  backed  as  he  will  be  by  so  ener- 
getic an  executive  committee  as  Messrs.  Over- 
shiner,  Gregory  and  Spalding,  whose  work  for  the 
last  show7  did  them  such  great  credit,  cannot  fail 
to  produce  next  year  an  exposition  that  will  be 
in  many  respects  a  revelation  to  the  Chicago  pub- 
lic. It  is  a  fact  not  generally  known,  too.  that 
already  over  one-half  of  the  floor  space  of  the 
Coliseum  has  been  applied  for  for  next  year's 
show,  and  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  management  to 
take  applications  for  the  remaining  space  at  once. 
The  allotment  of  space  will  be  made  at  a  date  to 
be   announced    later. 


Municipal  Accounting  a  Minus  Quantity. 

At  a  meeting  a  few  days  ago  in  Washington. 
D.  C.  of  city  controllers,  auditors,  treasurers  and 
other  city  officials  interested  in  uniform  classifica- 
tions of  municipal  accounts  artd  municipal  statis- 
tics. S.  X.  D.  Xorth.  director  of  the  Census  Bu- 
reau, said :  "The  most  prolific  source  of  municipal 
graft,  its  securest  hiding  place,  its  most  effective 
instrument  in  seeking  immunity,  is  the  chaos  which 
txists  in  the  classification  of  municipal  accounts 
and  the  absence  of  uniformity  in  municipal  book- 
keeping." Mr.  North  referred  to  the  question  of 
municipal  ownership  of  public  utilities  and  said 
that  definite  standards  by  which  the  comparative 
results  of  private  and  public  management  can  be 
obtained  are  impossible  in  the  existing  chaos  of 
municipal  accounting.  He  said  that  175  cities  of 
the  United  States  with  a  population  of  30.000  or 
more  collect  and  disburse  annually  a  sum  greater 
than  the  annual  cost  of  all  the  state  governments 
and  more  than  the  annual  cost  of  maintaining  the 
national  government. 


Purdue  University  has  established  an  automobile- 
ing    pleasure   and    commercial 
vehicles.     It    is    similar  in   principle   to  the   locomo- 
tive-testing plant   installed'  some   years   ago. 


153 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


February  24,  1906 


Warren   and    Jamestown    Single-phase 
Railway. 

The  electric  railway  which  has  recently  been 
opened  between  Warren,  Pa.,  and  Jamestown,  N.  Y., 
serves  a  total  permanent  population  in  adjacent  ter- 
ritory of  upward  of  65,000  inhabitants.  The  equip- 
ment is  thoroughly  modern,  comprising  horizontal 
gas  engines  as  prime  sources  of  driving  power,  and 
the  single-phase  alternating-current  system  of  the 
VVestinghouse  company.  It  is  believed  to  be  the 
first  instance  of  a  single-phase  electric  railway 
operated  by  gas  engines.  The  current  is  generated 
in  a  power  house  without  a  boiler  plant,  trans- 
mitted at  a  potential  of  22,000  volts  over  bare 
copper  wires  to  transformer  stations  operated  with- 
out attendants,  fed  to  the  central  trolley  section 
at  3,300  volts,  to  the  terminal  sections  within  the 
city  limits  at  550  volts,  and  is  utilized  most  effect- 
ively  in   cars   of   handsome   design. 

Track. 
The  track  is  well  constructed.  The  70-pound 
rails  are  laid  on  ties  of  oak  and  chestnut  and  bal- 
lasted with  gravel.  They  are  connected  by  the 
type-G  form  2  soldered  bonds  of  the  Ohio  Brass 
Company,  and  are  cross-bonded  at  frequent  inter- 
vals. As  the  line  follows  the  winding  course  of 
the    Conewango    it    possesses    many    curves,    which. 


regulation  and  parallel  working  and  which  places 
this  type  of  gas  engine  upon  the  same  plane  with 
large    Corliss   practice. 

The  absolute  necessity  of  accessible  parts  has 
largely  influenced  the  design  of  the  engine  and 
resulted  in  its  elevation  to  such  height  that  all 
parts  are  above  floor  level.  Inspection  and  clean- 
ing, especially  of  cylinders,  is  possible  without  dis- 
mantling the  engine. 

Possibility  of  injury  from  neglect  has  been 
avoided  by  providing  automatic  auxiliaries,  both  oil 
and  cooling  water  being  delivered  under  gravity 
head,  cylinder  oil  by  positive  pressure  and  com- 
pressed air  for  starting  from  storage  reservoirs. 
The  starting  arrangement  has  proven  particularly 
efficient,  and  with  only  two  operations,  viz.,  open- 
ing of  gas  and  air  valves,  the  engine  automatically 
starts  and  comes  up  to  speed  under  its  own  igni- 
tion without  further  attention.  On  large  engines 
considerably  less  than  a  minute  is  required  to 
bring  the  engine  up  to  speed,  and,  if  desirable,  a 
number  of  engines  in  a  station  may  be  simulta- 
neously started  from  one  point  within  this  period 
of    time. 

To  insure  the  greatest  degree  of  reliability  a 
duplicate  system  of  igniters  is  employed,  with  four 
different  combinations  in  each  combustion  chamber. 
Any    igniter   may   be   replaced   while    the    engine    is 


IAS    ENGINE 


'1NG    GENERATOR    FOR    WARREN-JAMESTOWN    SINGLE-] 


together  with  the  grades — one  of  which  is  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  long,  with  an  average  of  3^2  per 
cent,  and  a  short  stretch  of  seven  per  cent. — 
combine  to  bring  out  the  qualities  of  the  operating 
equipment.  The  sharpest  curve  has  a  radius  of  65 
feet.  Four  turnouts  are  now  in  use,  but  this  num- 
ber will  soon  be  increased  to  five. 

The  car  barns  are  at  Warren,  Pa.,  and  Frews- 
burg,    N.   Y.,   the  repair  shop  being  in   the   former. 

Power    Plant. 

The  power  house  is  located  at  Stoneham,  five 
miles  south  of  Warren,  that  site  having  been  se- 
lected by  reason  of  its  proximity  to  the  natural- 
gas  pipe  lines,  from  which  its  fuel  supply  is  ob- 
tained. The  equipment  includes  two  260-kilowatt 
380-volt  25-cycle  alternating-current  generators  of 
the  revolving-field  type,  which  are  direct-connected 
to  horizontal  gas  engines  operating  at  a  speed  of 
150  revolutions  per  minute.  The  two  units  are 
connected  in  parallel  and  run  together  with  re- 
markable smoothness.  The  engines  were  constructed 
and  erected  by  the  Westinghouse  Machine  Com- 
pany, and  the  electrical  machinery  was  furnished 
and  installed  by  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and 
Manufacturing    Company. 

Gas  Engines. 

In  the  new  type  of  horizontal  double-acting  gas 
engine  the  first  representative  of  which  is  now  op- 
erating at  Warren,  the  builders  have  especially 
sought  to  construct  a  prime  mover  best  suited 
from  all  standpoints  to  the  American  market — un- 
complicated in  design,  simple  to  operate,  substantial 
and  permanent  in  construction,  reliable  in  its  work- 
ing and  possessing  the  best  economy  compatible 
with  the  more  necessary  elements  of  simplicity. 
The  resemblance  to  approved  steam-engine  practice 
is  strong;  in  fact,  the  engine  stands  not  as  an  ex- 
ample of  radical  change  in  structure,  but  as  an 
adaptation  to  gas  working  of  the  ample  steam  ex- 
perience of  the  builders  in  Corliss  engines.  Sym- 
metrical design  has  been  adopted  wherever  pos- 
sible, notably  in  the  cylinder  casting,  with  its 
symmetrical   valve   chambers,   and   in   the   pistons. 

A  relay  governing  system  has  been  devised  which 
has    proven    entirely    adequate    in    respect    to    both 


in    service,    and    in    case    of    necessity    any    cylinder 
may  be  isolated    for   repairs   during  operation. 

There  are  two  main  generating  units  at  present 
installed  at  Warren,  with  space  for  a  third  of  equal 
size — that  is,  260  kilowatts,  or  500  nominal  horse- 
power. Single-crank  tandem  units  were  employed 
in  place  of  twin  tandem  units  in  order  to  give 
greater  flexibility  of  operation,  the  former  repre- 
senting the  standard  adopted  by  the  builders.  The 
units  have  solid  couplings  between  engine  and  gen- 
erator and  -operate  in  parallel  on  the  station  load 
in  precisely  the  same  manner  as  ordinary  steam- 
driven  units.  The  familiar  Beau  de  Rochas,  or 
four-stroke  cycle,  is  used,  which,  with  the  tandem 
arrangement,  gives  a  power  impulse  with  each  suc- 
cessive stroke  of  the  engine.  Cylinders  are  21 
inches  in  diameter  by  30-inch  stroke,  the  unit  run- 
ning at  a  nominal  speed  of  150  revolutions  per 
minute.  For  this  particular  service  the  engine  is 
rated  at  470  brake  horsepower,  with  a  maximum 
of  520  brake  horsepower,  giving  a  35  per  cent, 
overload  capacity  on  the  generator. 
Operation. 

The  Warren  plant  was  started  on  October  19, 
1905,  and  has  since  been  in  continuous  service, 
averaging  17^  to  iS  hours  a  day  without  develop- 
ing the  least  trouble  of  a  serious  nature.  Daily 
observations  of  the  gas  consumption  of  the  plant 
furnish  a  striking  indication  of  its  extremely  high 
economy.  During  the  month  of  December,  1905, 
the  cost  of  .gas  consumed  by  the  interurban  system 
averaged  less  than  50  cents  an  hour,  or  about  16 
cents  a  car-hour  for  35-ton  interurban  single-phase 
cars.  At  present  the  large  gas  engines  operate 
both  interurban  and  city  systems,  totaling  10  cars. 
During  the  week  ended  January  12th  the  cost  of 
gas  averaged  less  than  75  cents  per  hour,  or  7^2 
cents  per  car-hour  for  three  interurban  and  seven 
city  cars.  With  this  combined  operation  there  has 
been  realized  a  saving  of  approximately  20  per 
cent,  in  cost  of  gas  over  the  independent  operation 
of  the  interurban  and  urban  plants,  the  former  by 
the  new  horizontal  and  the  latter  by  vertical-type 
engines. 

Fuel  gas  is  available  from  several  different  points 
and    is    clean    and    uniform    in    quality,    averaging 


from  1,000  to  1,100  British  thermal  units  total  per 
cubic  foot.  Gas  is  obtained  at  a  straight  rate  of 
15  cents  per  thousand  cubic  feet,  which  places  the 
cost  of  power  so  far  below  the  usual  figure  that 
any  other  source  of  motive  power  is  out  of  the 
question. 

Electrical  Apparatus. 

From  the  generators  the  current  passes  through 
a  switchboard  of  blue  Vermont  marble  panels,  com- 
pletely equipped  with  apparatus  and  controlling  de- 
vices, to  raising  transformers  of  the  Westinghouse 
oil-immersed  self-cooling  type,  which  transform  the 
potential  from  3S0  to  22,000  volts.  The  two  feed- 
ers which  leave  the  station  are  adequately  pro- 
tected by  circuit-breakers  of  the  fuse  type,  dis- 
connecting switches,  low-equivalent  lightning  ar- 
resters and  choke  coils. 

The  high-potential  lines,  of  No.  6  bare  copper 
wire,  are  carried  on  porcelain  insulators  of  the 
Ohio  Brass  Company,  known  by  the  trade  name 
of  Locke  No.  406,  which  are  supported  on  chestnut 
poles.  Each  feeder  connects  with  a  transforming 
station,  one  of  which  is  located  1%  miles  from 
the  Warren  terminal  and  the  other  il/2  miles  from 
the  end  of  the  line  in  Jamestown. 

Transformer   Stations. 

The  transformer  stations  are  made  of  concrete 
blocks  and  are  of  suitable  size  to  permit  a  wise 
arrangement  of  the  apparatus.  They  are  similarly 
equipped,  each  containing  two  150-kilowatt  22,000- 
3,300-volt  lowering  transformers  of  the  oil-immersed 
self-cooling  type,  which  are  controlled  and  pro- 
tected by  fuse-type  circuit-breakers  and  disconnect- 
ing switches  in  the  high-potential  circuits  and  by 
oil  switches  and  enclosed  fuses  in  the  secondary 
lines,  one  of  which  taps  the  3,300-volt  trolley  sec- 
tion, while  the  other  feeds  the  city  section  of  the 
trolley  line  through  auto-transformers  along  the 
track,  which  reduce  the  potential  from  3,300  to  550 
volts.  Both  high  and  low-potential  feeder  circuits 
are  protected  by  choke  coils  and  low-equivalent 
lightning  arresters,  which  are  mounted  in  the  trans- 
former stations.  The  apparatus  is  symmetrically 
arranged,  that  mounted  on  one  side  of  the  station 
being  exactly  duplicated  on  the  other.  The  two 
transformers  are  connected  in  parallel.  Each  has 
sufficient  capacity  to  carry  the  entire  normal  load 
and  either  may  be  readily  cut  out  of  service. 

The  transformer  stations  are  operated  entirely 
without  attendants,  and  require  only  occasional  in- 
spection. The  building  is  fireproof.  It  contains  no 
moving  machinery  or  apparatus  and  has  adequate 
automatic  protection,  so  that  there  is  no  likelihood 
of  trouble  other  than  the  opening  of  a  circuit- 
breaker  because  of  excessive  load. 

Trolley  Line. 
As  has  been  indicated,  the  trolley  line  is  divided 
into  a  central  and  two  terminal  sections.  The  cen- 
tral section  is  connected  direct  to  the  transformer 
stations  receiving  alternating  current  at  3,300  volts. 
A  No.  coco  figure-8  trolley  wire  is  swung  by 
catenary  suspension  from  a  seven-sixteenths-inch 
messenger  cable,  which  is  carried  on  heavy  porce- 
lain insulators  mounted  on  angle-iron  brackets  sup- 


ported on  the  chestnut  poles.  The  poles  measure 
seven  inches  at  the  top  and  are  35  feet  long. 
They  are  painted  white  and  black,  and  present  an 
attractive  appearance.  The  white  upper  portions 
serve  as  useful  guides  to  the  line  of  the  track  during 
the  darkness  of  night.  All  poles  will  be  numbered 
lo  facilitate  the  location  of  line  faults  and  other 
troubles. 

The  overhead  construction  is  particularly  fine,  as 
may  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  illustration.  A 
nice  detail  is  the  slight  raising  of  one  trolley  wire 
at  switch  turnouts,  as  indicated  in  the  illustration, 
so    that    the    bow    trolley    easily    passes    from    one 


Februar)   24,   1906 

„,,,    10   the   other   wiili.nn     1 ol 

At    frequci ti  1   al     tl ■     1  n bli     i     an 

ehored,    and      lead)    ti  ain    bi  ackcl 

and    mi '        \    few    of    Lin 

11  ti  .1   will I!  ""i 

I  he   catenary    ovci  hi  ad  tin ructioi     1     thoi 

,, uglily   sub  itantial   and   ri  liabli      tnd   I 

the   jlighte  1    troubl tion     V\  itli 

line   3,300  vol!     1      1     easil;    ;  ind  ■  ' 

potential    ol    dircct-currcnl     ■  <    1 

ovi  ili'  ad    1  or  truct 

Within  thi    I I"    ti  1  inin  it  cil 

ley   lines   arc   supplied    with   .'I ating    curn 

the  !"«'  potential  ol  550  voll        '■■   fi  1  d h 

transformer  station   lead  i  to  thri  e  ; ■  ,  I  ilowatl   1 

transform*  1  s,  w  liii  h   ire  locati  'I  along  tin    track,    nd 

,■, ictcd   i"   a    No.   0000     lai )    1  1  dci     ■  nil  h 

upplic  i   the   Irolli  •.       1  In    auto  trail  I ri  dui  ■ 

thi     potential    from    3,300    to    550    toM        i  In        iri 
swung   between    pail     ol    poll 

The   low  potential   trolley   line    1-    supported    from 

pan  wires  by  insulating  hanger  ,  ii rdancc  with 

the    practice     tandard    for   dircct-currcnl    work.     In 

\\ , 1    the   new    1  11      run   ovi  1    the   tracks   of   the 

Warren  Street  Railway  Company,  which  1  equipped 
with  [he  direel  currenl  system.  1  he  two  trolli 
wires,  alternating-current  and  direct-current,  are 
suspended  side  by  side  from  the  same  spans  with 
out  appreciably  complicating  the  structure  or  in 
any  way  impairing  the  sen  ice  ol  eithci  j  ti  m 
Cars. 

The  passenger  cars  are  of  the  double-end,  vesti 
buled,  double-truck   type,   with   33-inch   wheels   and 


BAGGAGE   AND    EXPRESS   CAB    ON*     WARREN  JAMESTOWN 
SINGLE-PHASE    RAILWAY. 

5]  2-incn  axles.  They  measure  52  feet  over  all  by 
nine  feet  in  width,  and  seat  59  people.  The  seats 
are  set  crosswise  along  either  side  of  a  center 
aisle.  They  have  high  backs  and  are  upholstered 
in  green  plush.  The  cars  are  supplied  with  bag- 
gage racks,  signal  circuits  and  many  other  modern 
features.  A  smoking  compartment  is  provided  at 
one  end  and  on  the  side.  They  are  finished  in 
mahogany  and  are  decorated  in  excellent  taste. 

The  operating  company  has  at  present  five  pas- 
senger cars  and  one  baggage  car.  all  of  which  were 
furnished  by  the  St.  Louis  Car  Company.  Each  is 
equipped  with  four  Westinghouse  No.  108  50- 
horsepovver  motors  of  the  single-phase  alternating- 
current,  compensating,  series  type,  mounted  one  on 
each  axle,  and  connected  by  single-reduction  gears. 
The  motors  are  connected  permanently  in  multiple 
and  are  operated  by  the  hand-control  system  by 
means  of  taps  from  an  auto-transformer,  which 
supplies  a  varying  electromotive  force  at  the  motor 
terminals.  The  controllers  are  of  the  drum  type 
and  closely  resemble  those  of  direct-current  prac- 
tice, though  they  occupy  somewhat  less  space  They 
are  mounted  upon  the  platform  at  each  end,  so 
that  the  car  may  be  operated  in  either  direction. 

A  feature  of  this  installation  is  its  great  sim- 
plicity and  the  small  space  required  by  the  elec- 
trical apparatus.  It  consists  only  of  one  bow  trol- 
ley, two  standard  wheel  trolleys,  two  controllers, 
two  canopy  switches,  one  auto-transformer,  two 
preventive  coils  with  resistance,  two  fuse  boxes, 
one  change-over  switch  and  the  necessary  connect- 
ing cable. 

The  bow  trolley  is  used  on  the  3.300-volt  section, 
the  wheel  trolleys  on  the  terminal  sections  of  the 
line.  The  change-over  switch  is  arranged  to  cut 
out  the  bow  trolley  and  transfer  the  connections 
of  the  wheel  trolleys  from  the  low  to  the  high- 
voltage  service  taps  of  the  auto-transformer,  so 
that,  in  case  of  accident  to  the  bow  trolley,  the 
wheel  trolleys,  which  are  mounted  on  heavy  in- 
sulators, may  be  used  on  the  3,300-volt  section  of 
the  line.  The  bow  trolley  is  pneumatically  oper- 
ated, the  controlling  valve  being  mounted  on  the 
platform  within  easy  reach  of  the  motorman.  The 
wheel  trolleys  are  handled  in  the  ordinarv  way 
with  ropes,  in  which  suitable  insulators  have  been 
inserted  to  guard  against  the  possibility  of  ground 
when    used   on   a   high-voltage   circuit. 

The  preventive  coils  and  resistances  eliminate 
arcing  at  the  controller  contacts,  when  passing  from 
one    transformer   connection   to   another. 

The  cars  are  equipped  with  Westinghouse  straight 
air  brakes,  operated  by  means  of  an  air  compressor 
which  is  driven  by  a  single-phase  series-wound  mo- 
tor of  a  construction  similar  to  that  employed  for 
the  main  driving  motors.  Hand  brakes  are  also 
supplied. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

nuipment   but    without 

in, I   :,i   all   ti"  '   with 

lly,   and.   all    in 

mating  current    cquipm 
readily  i"  emergency  demand  ,  n   being  (our 
iblc  to 

Derating  drum 

pa 

either 

>: 
hi.      I  he    run 
mile     is 

20   1 ii'      between    trips 

[•hen  long  the  line  al  whi 

mi-,    be    madi  »  ty    in 

win  Ii    m  thi    line 

I  .    in. 1  [in   11  iei    hour. 

1 1 mpli  ti  linal  to  terminal,  with- 

out stops,  ha 

["hi      li  in m     hi     i""!i    I-    thi 

Irollej     is    ca  lily    aci  omplished  ! 

pi  oai  hi      thi     ti 1  il      tan    n 

hercb 

Icy,    which    aul i 

in    plai '       \1i11    pa 

conductor    places    the    wheel    trollej    

in    the    ordinary     way.     The    change-over    may    be 
made    without    stopping. 

Under   present   arrangements   the  car  i-  run  two 

.1  1.   ,    ■.-.  nil    1  igi    of  246.  and   is   then   b 

in  for  Inspi  ction      1  hi    bow  I  rollej     hoi     arc  found 
1    In",    of   approximately    10,000  miles,     So 
far    there   has   been   no   indication   of   undui 
of  ihe  trolley  wire,  nor  has  there  been  any  trouble 
with   the   overhead    structure. 

The  baggage  car  make.;  three  trips  per  day.  on 
regular  schedule,  leaving  Warren  at  7:2;  a.  m.. 
11:40  a.  m.  and  4:15  p.  m..  and  leaving  Jamestown 
at  9:50  p.  in..  2:30  p.  111    and  7  p.  m. 

The  present  service  of  the  Warren  and  James- 
town Street  Railway  Company  requin  -  a  total  of 
but  eight  employes,  outside  of  the  general  offices 
and  the  car  crews.  Il  is  made  up  of  four  men  in 
the  car  barns,  three  power-house  attendants,  and 
one  lineman.  An  additional  lineman  is  occasionally 
borrowed  from  the  Warren  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany. There  arc  no  attendants  in  the  transformer 
stations. 

Personnel. 

The  officers  of  the  company  are:  President,  D. 
IT.  Siggins;  vice-president.  H.  M.  Preston:  secre- 
tary, S.  Q.  Smith.  Mr.  Siggins  is  assisted  in  the 
management  of  the  property  by  his  son.  H.  A. 
Siggins,  a  director  of  the  company  and  general 
manager  of  the  Warren  street  railway.  To  Presi- 
dent Siggins  the  community  in  which  he  lives  is 
indebted  for  exceptional  transportation  facilities. 
His  clear  mind  early  recognized  the  possibilities 
of  electric  traction,  and  to  his  commercial  courage 
and  untiring  energy  is  due  the  organization  and 
success  of  the  Warren  Street  Railway  Company, 
whose  lines  were  constructed  and  have  since  been 
operated    under    his    personal    supervision. 


■ 
Knl    Stale 

Hoi,       M       I 


Iowa  Electrical  Convention. 

The  sixth  annual  convention  of  the  Iowa  Elec- 
trical Association  will  be  held  in  the  Kirkwood 
Hotel.  Des  Moines,  on  April  18th  and  19th.  A 
large  attendance  is  anticipated,  and  manufacturers 
and  supply  men  are  cordially  invited  to  be  present 
and  display  their  goods.  Austin  Burt  of  Waterloo 
is  president  of  the  association.  The  programme  is 
an  ambitious  one.  The  list  of  contributors  and 
subjects  is  as  follows: 

J.    R.    Cravath,    Chicago — "Report    on    Progress." 

D.  F.  McGee,  Red  Oak— Report  on  "Facts  and 
Factors." 

Frank  B.  Rae.  Jr.,  Detroit — Subject,  to  be  an- 
nounced. 

C.  F.  Freehauf,  Cresco.  Iowa — "Economy  of  Me- 
chanical Stokers  and  Ash  Machinery  in  Small  Sta- 
tions." 

W.  A.  Mall.  Belle  Plaine,  Iowa — "Economy  of 
Condensing   plant    in    Small    Stations." 

L.  W.  Gill.  Manchester.  Iowa— "Effect  of  Boiler 
Compounds  on   Engine   Lubrication." 

J.  A.  limes.  Eagle  Grove.  Iowa— "Line  Losses  and 
Economical    Distribution." 

A.  W.  Zahm,  Mason  City.  Iowa:  H.  G.  Gorr. 
Dubuque,  Iowa — "Care  and  Maintenance  of  Me- 
ters." 

C.  E.  Stanton,  Dubuque,  Iowa:  Niels  Christen- 
sen,  Waterloo,  Iowa — "Some  Practical  Experiences 
with    Steam    Turbines." 

H.  G.  Gorr,  Dubuque,  Iowa:  Thomas  Sloss,  Ce- 
dar Rapids.  Iowa :  W.  P.  Caspar.  Keokuk.  Iowa — 
"Experiences    with    Grounded    Secondaries." 

J,  P.  Jones,  Cedar  Falls.  Iowa  :  F.  H,  Richardson, 
Boone.  Iowa:  W.  J.  Greene.  Cedar  Rapids.  Iowa: 
J.  Walsh,  Davenport.  Iowa — "Effect  of  a  Day  Load 
on   Station   Economy." 

Prof.  George  D.  Shepardson,  Minneapolis — Sub- 
ject to  be   announced. 

W.  S.  Mead.  Parkersburg.  Iowa:  O.  E.  Browned. 


COMMUNICATION. 
The  Preservation  of  NiaK«ra  FallB. 

Mr.    1 1 

the  argument  in 

1,111  the  all-imp  natural 

waterfall    belong 

iduals. 

I  he  neither      hope      ' 

Niagara 

inspiration  ol  its  grandeur,  an 

plants   n 

doubtful    if   he    can 
siiaded  that  such  1-  the  case.     But  though  a  p 
tile    falls    is    di 

exist    the    satisfaction   and    inspiration    whicl 
from  the  knowledge  that,  by  his  effoi 

irn-i    ami    safely   shielded    from   the   encroachments 
mmcrcialism. 

The  argument  that  Niagara,  as  a  - 

the  American 
\-  well  declare  all  public  wardens  and  par: 
less    and    recommend    that    tl  rted,    al 

production  ol 

■ 
soda  era  ■  but  never  at  the  ex- 

pense of  the  inspiration  thai  comes  with  a  _ 
appreciation  and  love  of  nature. 

The  American   people  are  rapidly  coming   I 
that  the  great   falls,  which  belong  to  them  as 
pie.    have    fallen    into   the    h.v  irho   are 

interested  only  in  the  dividends  that  may  be  wrested 
from  their  waters.  A  proper  and  satisfactory  solu- 
tion of  the  problem  seem-  possible  only  by  com- 
bining thi  :  and  utility  features  of  the 
question  in  equal  parts. 

A  large  part  of  the  water  which  now  was 
energy  in  the  swift  current  of  the  river  could  lie 
diverted  for  power-producing  purposes  without  ma- 
terially affecting  the  sublimity  of  the  picture.  It  is 
possible  that  the  depth  of  the  water  at  the  falls  might 
be  decreased  to  a  minimum  during  certain  periods 
..f  the  year,  and  mere  mal  depth  again, 

by  shutting  off  some  of  the  larger  users,  for  periods 
corresponding  to  increased  pleasure  travel  In  this 
way  it  would  be  possible  "to  eat  our  cake  and  have 
it  "too."  and  while  preserving  the  great  natural 
beauty  of  the  spectacle  from  the  grasp  of  dividend- 
hungry  monopoly  to  utilize  its  immense  resources  for 
the   cheaper   proi  common   neces- 

With  the  appointment  -:1c  commission 

having  full  authority  to  enforce  regulations  for  the 
preservation  of  the  falls  the  wave  of  popular  in- 
dignation which  is  spreading  throughout  the  country 
would  speedily  subside.  Terry  T.  King. 

Fort  Wayne,  Ind..  February  [7,  1906. 


Mr.  Rice's  Candidacy. 
Mr.  E.  Wilbur  Rice.  Jr..  of  Schenectady.  X.  Y, 
technical  director  of  the  Genera]  Electric  Company, 
has  consented  to  the  use  of  his  name  as  a  can- 
didate for  the  presidency  of  the  American  Insti- 
tute of  Electrical  Engineers.  He  did  not  seek  the 
honor — which,  however,  he  appreciates — but  was 
persuaded  to  stand  for  the  nomination  at  the 
earnest  solicitation  of  many  of  his  friends  and 
fellow  members.  Mr.  Rice  wits  admitted  to  the 
Institute  in  1887  and  has  been  a  full  member  since 
1888.  His  engineering  qualifications  are  of  the 
highest,  and  he  is  specifically  recommended  for  the 
olace  in  a  circular  signed  bv  Thomas  A.  Edis  in, 
Elihu  Thomson  and  F.  P.  Fish.  John  J. 
chief  engineer  of  the  New  York  Telephone  Com- 
pany, likewise  announces  that  he  is  not  himself  a 
candidate,  but  a  supporter  of  Mr.  Rice,  convinced 
that  the  election  of  the  latter  "would  make  for  the 
best  interests  of  the  Institute  and  would  b< 
appreciated  by  the  membership  of  the  Institute  at 
large." 


A  New  York  dispatch  dated  February  19th 
states  that  "the  combination  of  the  leading  street- 
car building  concerns  which  has  been  banging 
fire  since  last  summer,  being  a  project  of  com- 
l.ining  the  J.  G.  Brill  Company,  the  Barney  & 
Smith  Company,  and  several  other  street-car  build- 
ing concerns  in  a  S56.00o.coo  corporation,  has 
reached  a  point  where  a  final  agreement  is  possi- 
ble. It  is  understood  that  the  financing  of  the 
concern   is  assured." 


i6o 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

SELLING  ELECTRICITY. 


Under  this  headii 


Proper   Handling  of  the   New-business 
Department. 

Profits  to  be  realized  from  the  added  output, 
together  with  the  methods  to  be  devised  and  put 
into  operation  in  the  getting  of  new  business,  cer- 
tainly make  this  part  of  central-station  work  at- 
tractive and  interesting  to  the  manager  who  en- 
ters into  the  work  with  the  right  spirit.  Much  dis- 
cussion of  this  important  subject  was  brought  forth 
at  the  Chicago  meeting  of  the  Northwestern  Elec-' 
trical  Association. 

One  of  the  papers  read  was  by  John  S.  Allen 
on  the  "Proper  Handling  of  the  New-business  De- 
partment." Mr.  Allen  in  treating  the  subject  di- 
vided it  up  under  three  general  heads :  Salesmen 
or   solicitors,   advertising   or   publicity,    and   rates. 

Requirements  in  a  solicitor  consist  primarily  in 
a  love  for  the  business,  loyalty  to  the  company,  and 
an  inborn  and  inbred  taste  for  hard  work.  With 
any  one  of  these  qualifications  missing,  the  com- 
pany had  better  get  a  new  solicitor.  Given  these 
three  qualities,  and  almost  any  young  man  can 
make  a  decided  success  at  soliciting.  The  field, 
from  the  standpoint  of  a  solicitor,  is  an  exceed- 
ingly inviting  one.  In  the  case  of  a  solicitor,  it 
is  his  duty  only  to  inform  a  prospective  customer 
of  the  facts  regarding  the  goods  which  he  has  to 
sell.  A  plain,  straightforward  statement  of  facts 
is  much  more  effective  than  any  kind  of  oratory 
or  dramatic  effect.  A  solicitor  is  always  telling 
-  his  prospective  customer  of  facts  regarding  which 
the  customer  has  very  little  or  no  knowledge.  In 
almost  no  case  is  it  necessary  to  talk  to  anyone 
but  an  interested  and  attentive  listener. 
^  Public-utility  salesmen  should  give  much  atten- 
tion to  local  affairs,  should  study  carefully  the  best 
trade  journals,  and  should  have  on  hand,  in  the 
office  of  the  company,  several  advertising  maga- 
zines and  trade  journals,  generally  read  by  pros- 
pective customers.  Where  but  one  solicitor  is  em- 
ployed, and  this  solicitor  is  expected  to  take  care 
of  the  new  business  in  a  town  of  about  10,000  in- 
habitants it  is  deemed  essential  by  Mr.  Allen  that 
the  company  furnish  for  his  use  an  annual  sub- 
scription to  at  least  six  of  the  leading  magazines. 
Concerning  advertising,  Mr.  Allen  said  that  a 
fundamental  essential  of  a  successful  new-business 
department  consists  in  expending  judiciously  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  money  in  advertising.  In  his  opin- 
ion, a  large  part  of  this  should  go  to  the  local 
newspaper.  Advertising  in  its  various  forms  must, 
of  course,  be  of  great  value,  but  in  the  opinion 
of  the  writer,  there  is  no  way  of  bringing  a  sub- 
ject to  so  many  people  for  the  money  as  by  the 
means  of  newspapers.  That  the  public  naturally 
looks  kindly  upon  large  advertisers '  is  true  in  a 
general    way. 

It  was  recommended  that  no  ad.  appear  more 
than  one  day.  Let  the  copy  be  pointed,  effective, 
and  composed  only  of  interesting  facts.  Use  no 
exclamations  or  other  expressions  intended  to 
"catch,"  but  lacking  in  thought.  Resourcefulness 
of  the  ad.  writers  can  be  exercised  with  great 
freedom  in  making  copy  for  the  ads.  A  certain 
"copy"  man  used  this  expression  in  a  half-page  ad, 
"A  Bunch  of  Bright  Bulbs  Will  Boom  Your  Busi- 
ness Better  than  a  Brass  Band."  Such  a  statement, 
used  in  connection  with  a  thoughtful  and  well- 
rounded    half-page    ad,    was    decidedly    effective. 

It  is  a  good  plan  for  any  company  in  organizing 
a  promotion  department  to  select  some  expression 
which  shall  be  used  very  generally  throughout  all 
its  advertising  matter,  and  which  the  public  shall 
come  to  know  as  well  as  it  knows  the  company's 
name.  In  illustration  of  this,  one  company  uses 
"Electric  Light  Talks."  Another  company  used 
"Electro    Illuminated." 

When  central-station  service  first  assumed  com- 
mercial proportions,  flat  rates  were  naturally  made. 
As  business  grew  it  was  soon  learned  that  this 
method  of  charging  was  unprofitable,  and  un- 
satisfactory to  the  consumer.  From  this  extreme 
the  tendency  went  to  the  opposite,  and  a  few  years 
ago  it  was  the  general  opinion  that  nothing  should 
be  allowed  of  any  kind  except  a  meter  rate.  More 
recently,  however,  it  has  been  learned  that  the  purely 
meter  rate  is  almost  as  unsatisfactory  as  the  old 
flat  rate.  The  middle  ground  is  now  generally 
taken,  and  a  combination  rate  made  which  has 
various  forms,  and  the  instance  is  now  very  com- 
mon where  central  stations  are  making  flat  rates 
on  various  well-defined  kinds  of  lighting,  and  upon 
some  kinds  of  power.  This  middle  ground  has 
become  of  great  value  to  the  central  station  in 
allowing  it  an  income  on  certain  kinds  of  light- 
ing, which  was  utterly  impossible  to  get  under  a 
meter    system. 

Discussion  on  Mr.  Allen's  paper  was  abundant 
and  to  the  point.  Frank  B.  Rae.  Jr.,  took  excep- 
tion to  the  statement  that  the  advertising  space  in 
a  newspaper  should  be  changed  from  one  insertion 
to  another.  As  bearing  out  his  belief,  he  pointed 
to  the  policy  of  advertisers  in  the  large  dailies. 
To  this  Mr.  Allen  answered  that  the  case  is  dif- 
ferent in  the  small  cities,  even  in  towns  of  the 
size  of  Rockford,  111.,  of  40,000  inhabitants.  The 
papers  are  small  daily  papers,  and  the  space  de- 
voted to   actual  news   and   to  prominent   advertise- 


xamples  which  will  be  of  assistance  in  the  constant  effort 
it  and  to  create  new  demands. 

ments  is  so  small  that  much  better  service  is 
obtained  from  the  advertisement  by  changing  the 
space  and  the  location,  that  is,  allowing  the  pub- 
lishers the  utmost  freedom  in  the  location  of  the 
new  ads. 

Regarding  the  question  of  a  solicitor,  P.  H. 
Korst  of  Janesville,  Wis.,  said  that  his  company 
paid  a  salary  and  commission  on  new  business  ob- 
tained. As  to  getting  a  start  with  a  new  customer, 
he  said  that  his  company  has  adopted  one  little 
plan  which  is  of  service,  and  that  is  in  trying  to 
get  house  lighting,  particularly  houses  that  are 
already  equipped  with  gas.  They  find  it  rather 
difficult,  owing  to  the  first  cost  of  installing.  Peo- 
ple say  they  would  like  to  use  electric  light,  and 
will  some  day,  but  they  do  not  care  just  at  the 
present  time  to  equip  their  houses.  Mr.  Korst's 
way  of  getting  at  them  is  this:  His  solicitors  say: 
We  will  put  a  porch  light  in  for  you  at  50  cents 
a  month  flat."  This  has  been  found  something 
that  almost  everybody  wants ;  and  it  is  very  easy 
to  get  them.  After  they  are  started  with  a 
porch  light,  pretty  soon  they  want  a  light  inside 
the  hall,  and  then  the  meter  goes  in.  When  they 
are  started  once,  it  is  just  a  question  of  time  till 
the  whole  house  is  electrically  lighted.  For  the 
porch  light  a  16-candlepower  lamp  is  used,  burned 
till   11  o'clock  at  night. 

Mr.  Jewett  of  Albert  Lea,  Minn.,-and  Chicago  said : 
A  great  many  of  the  small  towns  cannot  afford 
to  put  a  man  on  by  the  year  and  all  the  year 
around.  They  might  secure  temporary  solicitors 
to  canvass  towns,  say  of  5,000  inhabitants  and  un- 
der for  a  period  of  from  two  to  three  months. 
A  new  man  can  get  new  business  that  the  local 
manager  cannot  get.  This  outside  man  going  into 
the  town  could  interest  people  that  the  local  man- 
ager could  not.  Such  a  man  worked  in  a  town 
60  days,  and  secured  75  customers  for  the  com- 
pany. They  paid  him  $75  a  month,  which  was 
considered  merely  enough  to  pay  for  his  living 
expenses,  and  $3  a  customer  secured,  besides.  That 
worked    out    very    satisfactorily. 

Harold  Almert  of  Chicago  said  that  his  company 
used  a  report  which  is  found  very  valuable.  On 
the  right-hand  margin  is  left  a  column  for  the 
name  of  the  agent  who  has  secured  the  business. 
Of  course  that  is  not  necessary  in  a  great  many 
cases,  but  subordinates  like  occasionally  to  get  into 
the  limelight.  By  placing  the  employe's  name  on 
that  report  he  has  an  opportunity  to  show  what 
he  is  able  to  do;  and  at  the  end  of  a  year's  time, 
in  looking  over  these  weekly  reports,  just  what  a 
man  has  done  in  that  line  can  be  ascertained.  On 
the  bottom  of  this  report  are  several  places  in 
which  are  entered  the  connected  load  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  week,  the  amount  disconnected  in 
16-candlepower  equivalents,  the  net  for  the  week 
and  what  has  been  added.  There  are  similar  col- 
umns  for  horsepower  of  motors,  etc. 

R.  N.  Kimball  of  Kenosha,.  Wis.,  remarked  that 
he  had  tried  both  ways  of  paying  solicitors — at 
one  time  on  a  fixed  salary  and  then  on  percentage 
of  sales.  He  found  that  if  he  sent  a  solicitor  out 
on  a  percentage  of  sales  he  often  sold  things  a 
customer  should  not  have.  Then  came  up  the 
question  of  salary.  There  are  certain  times  of 
the  year  when  soliciting  is  profitable  and  at  other 
times  not.  He  found  it  the  best  plan  to  employ  a 
solicitor  all  the  year  round.  The  soliciting  that  a 
man  does  one  year  may  not  be  of  benefit  for  some 
time,  but  very  often  the  solicitor  starts  a  train  of 
thought  that  will  be  of  benefit  afterward.  In  Mad- 
ison, Wis.,  there  has  been  introduced  a  scheme  of 
paying  solicitors  and  grading  the  amounts  paid  on 
different  classes  of  business,  more  particularly  in 
the  gas  line.  Mr.  Kimball  asked  President  C.  H. 
Williams,  who  had  been  superintendent  of  the 
Madison  company,  how  it  had  worked  out. 

Mr.  Williams  said  that  the  town  of  Madison  is 
divided  into  different  territories,  with  a  solicitor 
and  assistant  to  each  territory.  The  gross  reve- 
nue of  each  month  as  compared  with  the  gross 
revenue  of  the  month  of  a  year  ago,  and  7l/2  per 
cent,  gross  increase  in  the  revenue,  has  been  given 
to  the  new  business  department  over  and  above  a 
payment  of  $30  a  month  to  the  solicitor.  This  7^ 
per  cent,  has  been  apportioned  to  the  different 
solicitors  by  means  of  a  point  system.  It  is  just 
as,  advantageous  for  a  solicitor  or  representative  to 
retain  business  in  his  territory  as  it  is  to  get  new 
business.  The  kind  of  business  that  he  would  get 
the  greatest  returns  for  would  be  going  out  and 
getting  a  man  that  is  already  a  consumer  to  in- 
crease his  consumption  without  increasing  his  de- 
mand. Now,  residence  business,  for  which  an 
extension  would  have  to  be  made  and  new  meter 
set,_  would  count  only  one  point.  There  is  some 
business  that  he  can  take  on  onlv  at  an  actual 
loss  on  points  to  himself.  Twelve-o'clock  window 
lighting  or  sign  lighting  counts  7J4  points,  where 
there  is  no  expense  on  the  part  of  the  company 
for  a  meter  and  no  expense  on  the  part  of  the 
company  for  running  a  service;  and  that  scheme 
is  followed  not  only  in  the  gas  line  but  for  elec- 
trical lines  also.  Mr.  Williams  believed  that  the 
result  of  _  that  system  has  shown  a  very  marked 
increase    in    consumption    of    gas    and    electricity. 


February  24,  1906 

The  electrical  output  at  Madison  increased  some 
32  per  cent,  during  last  year,  with  practically  no 
increase  of  demand.  He  believes  that  it  is  due 
very  largely  to  this  system  of  paying  the  solicitors, 
for  the  solicitor  is  placed  in  exactly  the  same  po- 
sition as  the  company.  If  the  business  that  comes 
in  nets  the  company  something,  the  solicitor  gets 
his  proportion;  if  it  is  business  the  company  does 
not  want,  it  is  up  to  the  solicitor  to  either  make 
a  good  consumer  out  of  an  unprofitable  one,  or 
at  least  get  the  consumer  into  some  position  where 
the  company  will  not  lose  any  monev  or  the  in- 
stallation. 


Organization  and  Development  of  the  New- 
business  Department. 
A  paper  which  aroused  much  discussion  at  the 
convention  on  the  general  subject  of  business-get- 
ting for  the  central  station  was  that  of  George 
Williams.  A  written  report  on  this  paper  was 
handed  in  by  Harold  Almert  of  Chicago,  which 
contained  many  excellent  points.  Mr.  Almert  said 
in  part : 

"Much  is  said  and  little  is  done  toward  sugges- 
tions for  the  organization  of  a  new-business  de- 
partment. Let  me  therefore  suggest  a  plan  sim- 
ple enough  and  cheap  enough  for  even  the  smallest 
central    station. 

"First  of  all,  procure  and  maintain  a  respectable 
office,  be  it  ever  so  small;  light  it  well,  maintain 
at  all  times  a  modest  and  attractive  window  dis- 
play. Change  it  frequently,  invite  people  to  come 
to  your  office,  and  when  they  do,  receive  them 
as  they  should  be  received. 

"Secure  a  good  map,  of  suitable  scale,  so  that 
you  can  mark  on  it  approximately  the  correct  loca- 
tion of  each  and  every  building  in  town ;  lay  out 
your  present  distributing  system  by  pins  and  twine 
of  different  colors,  designate  primaries,  secondaries, 
etc.  Take  a  duplicate  copy  of  this  map  and  cut 
it  into  sections  suitable  for  tacking  on  to  a  piece 
of  cardboard. 

"Get  some  slips  printed  about  four  by  six  inches 
on  which  to  record  date,  name,  address,  location 
(whether  house,  flat  or  store,  etc.),  kind  of  illu- 
mination used,  whether  house  is  wired  or  not;  if 
so,  if  it  is  equipped  with  fixtures,  together  with 
space  for  remarks  regarding  distance  from  your 
lines,   etc. 

"Take  a  section  of  your  map  and  a  bunch  of 
these  slips  and  start  up  one  street  collecting  infor- 
mation. Mark  the  location  on  the  map  and  fill 
out  the  information  carefully  on  each  slip.  When 
one  street  is  completed,  tackle  the  next,  and  so 
on  until  the  whole  town  is  covered. 

"Don't  get  frightened  at  the  size  of  the  task;  the 
information  is  absolutely  essential,  and  when  com- 
pleted you  will  be  surprised  at  how  little  of  the 
available   business   you   really   have. 

"For  keeping  records  of  this  sort  a  card-filing 
tray  or  cabinet,  preferably  for  cards  four  by  six 
inches,  seems  desirable.  An  open  card  tray,  as  a 
rule,  has  a  capacity  of  about  1,000  cards,  together 
with  index  and  follow  block.  You  can  then  have 
a  number'of  cards  printed,  call  them  Form  1.  We 
are  now  ready  to  describe  the  method  of  getting 
after   these   prospects. 

"In  filling  out  the  card  particular  stress  should 
be  laid  on  getting  not  only  complete  but  abso- 
lutely correct  records.  Don't  be  satisfied  with  put- 
ting down  the  name  Mr.  Clark  when  the  man's 
name  is  James  B.  Clark.  In  writing  a  man,  if 
you  address  him  incorrectly  by  getting  his  initials 
wrong,  or  spelling  his  name  improperly,  you  are 
storing  up  trouble  for  yourself  in  many  forms. 
The  letter  may  not  reach  him ;  someone  else  may 
get  it;  or,  if  it  does  reach  him,  he  is  very 
apt  to  feel  distant  and  look  upon  your  letter  as  a 
haphazard  circularizing  scheme.  Getting  his  name 
and  address  absolutely  correct  generally  gives 
your  matter  an  audience  at  once.  Equal  care 
should  be  given  to  the  other  details  of  the  record. 
A  complete  and  correct  record  is  always  valuable. 
A  partial  one  oftentimes  is  worse  than  none  at  all. 
"Let  us  assume  now  that  you  have  your  record 
of  James  B.  Clark  complete ;  he  has  a  "comfortable 
residence  located  on  or  near  your  service,  but  his 
house  is  not  wired,  and  he  is  using  oil   lamps. 

"There  are  at  least  four  elements  to  each  and 
every   sale : 

"First — The  introduction  either  for  a  personal 
interview   or  by  letter. 

"Second — The  creating  of  a  desire  in  the  pros- 
pective customer  for  that  which  you  have  to  sell. 

"Third— The     selecting     and     adjusting     of    that 
which  you  have  to  sell  to  his  particular  needs  and 
working   him   up   to  the   point    where    he    will    be 
ready  to  sign. 
"Fourth — The   sale. 

"The  first  can  be  cared  for  by  a.  carefully  drawn 
form  letter,  general  in  character,  calling  his  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  of  your  existence,  and  the  general 
advantages  and  conveniences  of  what  you  have  to 
sell.  The  second  by  more  form  letters,  giving 
more  details,  perhaps,  and  a  personal  interview 
looking  into  his  particular  requirements;  then  spe- 
cial letters  giving  estimates  of  cost  to  fill  his  re- 
quirements. Third,  another  personal  call,  review- 
ing what  has  been  gone  over  before,  adding  desir- 
able features,  and  cutting  out  the  objectionable 
ones,  and  fourth,  during  the  above  interview,  when 
the  ground  has  been  carefully  covered  and  you 
feel  that  you  have  worked  him  up  to  the  psycho- 


February  24,  1906 

logii  il    point    where   hi  1    mind    1     madi    up,  clinch 
the  bargain  by  handing  hira  a  pen  ai 
ignature  to  your  proposition, 

"Lei    11  ■  i'  in the   I"  ginnin 

n.  1     and    ■  cc     how     we    I  now  n 

1  idual    1     i"   be  gii  1  n   atti  1 1,   and    >  ith 

many  of   these   pro:  pi  cl  1  on   hand   how     ■      can   bi 

sure  thai     nun    ■ 

able  file  abo\ 1 1   and  1 rd   ol 

prospeel  1   filed    alphabctii  ally,    u  ing    1  ard    F 1 

\n    alphabetical    index    of    aboul    80    di 
.1,   irable,    thereby    reducing    thi     numb  1    1 
1  •  !    guide   to    in  or    lei  s.      W  hi  n    low    h 
than    i"   card  1    for    cai  h    guidi  ,    con    del 

1  .  wa  i'  d.     We  w  ill  say  thai   we  pii  I    up   I. 1   B 

<  In  I  '     card    and    send    him     1 1    matter 

and  your  first  form  letter  designed  A."  N 
1  made  in  the  proper  column  with  .1  dat  tamp 
mi  Form  2,  which  is  printed  on  the  bad  ol  I 
card.  At  the  same  time  a  clip  or  marker  is  placed 
over  the  date  al  the  top  of  Form  1  a  few  d 
ahead,  or  aboul  the  time  when  you  feel  thai  hi 
should  again  be  given  attention.  Ai  the  bad 
mil  nf  Mm'  lili  .\11i1  place  a  guide  card,  prim,  ,1  1 1 n- 
same  .is  all  the  rest,  but  projecting  to  aboul  the 
height  of  the  alphabetical  index  so  that  thi  dates 
from  1  I"  31  arc  visible  at  all  times.  Say  thai 
today  is  the  171I1  and  thai  you  think  your  pro  peel 
Bhould  1"'  given  attention  again  on  the  jist.  The 
clip  is  then  put  over  21  on  this  card  and  the  card 
again  filed  in  its  proper  place,  according  to  the 
alphabetical  index,  When  thi  2isl  arrives  you 
look  down  the  files  in  line  with  the  21st  day.  and 
wherever  you  see  a  marker  projecting  above  the 
top  of  the  cards  you  know  that  that  prospect  need 
attention.  Looking  on  the  Hack  of  his  card  you 
see  immediately  what  form  or  special  letters  has 
been  sent  him,  and  for  special  letters  you  refer 
to  your  letter  file.  You  then  send  whatever  his 
requirements,  in  your  estimation,  call  for.  and 
the  clip  is  moved  ahead  to  the  date  when  he 
should  again  be  given  attention.  If  a  personal 
call  should  be  made  the  results  of  the  interview- 
ate  noted  on  the  sheet  of  thin  paper  the  same  size 
as  the  card  and  printed  with  the  same  Form  1. 
One  of  these  slips  filled  out  for  each  inter-,  lew  is 
filed  in  back  of  the  card.  In  this  way  yott  have 
a  record  of  each  interview  and,  in  brief,  what 
transpired.  Each  of  these  slips  is  signed  by  the 
person  making  the  call,  and  from  this  file  you  know; 
immediately  the  status  of  each  case,  whether  you 
or  your  solicitor  has  been  handling  the  prospect. 
When  the  deal  is  closed,  the  details,  such  as  are 
desired  to  be  retained,  are  transferred  to  another 
card  printed  with  the  same  Form  1,  but  of  a  dif- 
ferent color,  say  salmon  or  canary.  Then  in  look- 
ing over  your  file  you  will  know  immediately  by 
the  color  whether  he  is  a  customer  or  a  prospect. 
Some  advertising  you  may  send  out  wants  to  go 
to  consumers  and  the  prospects  as  well,  or  to  either 
of  the  two  only;  hence  by  the  colored  designation 
feature  only   one  file  is   necessary   for  both. 

"In  all  systems  of  this  kind  it  is  important  to 
keep  track  of  your  results.  If  you  therefore  mark 
down  on  the  monthly  report  in  the  proper  col- 
umns together  with  the  totals  at  the  bottom  the 
amount  of  printed  matter  sent  out,  the  number  of 
form  letters,  the  number  of  special  letters,  the 
number  of  personal  interviews  and  the  number  of 
customers  secured,  together  with  an  estimate  of  the 
cost,  you  will  then  have  a  record  showing  the 
results  from  month  to  month  and  year  to  year.  A 
comparison  of  the  results  obtained  this  month  with 
that  of  last  month,  or  a  year  ago  this  month,  will 
prove  valuable  data  indeed.  This  together  with  a 
careful  estimate  of  the  time  and  material  required 
will  soon  give  you  the  cost  required  for  securing 
consumers   by   this   method. 

"I  realize  how  hard  it  is  to  break  away  from 
your  daily  routine  and  give  matters  of  this  kind 
your  attention ;  but,  as  already  stated  in  the  be- 
ginning, much  has  been  said  and  little  done.  Dis- 
cussion is  valuable  only  when  it  works  hand  in 
hand  with  accomplishment.  A  single  plan  put 
into  operation  is  worth  100  "mind's-eye"  schemes. 
The  thing  in  hand  is  the  most  important  now. 
Tomorrow  will  take  care  of  tomorrow's  tasks  if 
today's  are  done  today.  On  the  clock  of  time  there 
is  but  one  word — now.  Now  is  the  time  to  begin. 
By  the  sweet  bye-and-bye  one  arrives  at  the  house 
of  never.  Putting  off  means  leaving  off.  and  going 
to   do  becomes   undone.     So  begin   now." 

Frank  B.  Rae,  Jr.,  said  that  when  it  comes  to 
personal  solicitation,  such  solicitation  is  absolutely 
essential  to  gettng  business  for  central  stations.  Ad- 
vertising will  do  nothing  more  than  bring  an  in- 
quiry, and  in  sending  out  solicitors  it  is  absolutely 
essential  that  those  solicitors  shall  not  only  be 
salesmen    but   be    educated    along    electrical    lines. 

When  sending  out  a  solicitor  he  should  be  sent 
out  to  do  something.  It  is  not  enough  that  a 
man  should  be  put  on  the  street  as  a  mixer.  The 
mixer  does  not  sell  goods.  A  man  must  be  put 
out  to  sell  a  specific  thing  to  a  specific  person,  and 
he  has  got  to  be  sent  there.  The  point  simply 
is  that  when  a  customer  has  been  lined  up  and 
interested  the  solicitor  must  know  exactly  what 
the  man  should  have,  not  what  he  wants  particu- 
larly, and  what  is  sold  him  ought  not  to  be  neces- 
sarily the  thing  that  is  going  to  bring  the  com- 
pany the  biggest  revenue,  but  what  will  do  the 
customer  the  most  good.  The  central-station  man, 
if  he  is  going  out  for  new  business,  should  econo- 


WESTERN     ELD  TRIl 

■ 

In   rcga 

:  ic.     Ii  a  drug 
fountain 

propo  itii 

I    n',    in    with 


Are  You  Power-wise? 

Phis  is  a  qui 
1 
il    go 

al-station     crvi  private-plant 

29  poinl     ol 

E  ci  'H'  in     ol     I--  it      paci 

Great      ■    ng  achincry  and  initial  cost 

tallati 1    plant 

\  in  iablc     peed   w  ith  con  1 

Simple   controllers. 

1  'onstant     pi  -  <l    indi  pi  ndi  nl    of   loads. 

[m  rea  ed   outpul    ovci    belt-driven    n    chit 

Standard     di    ign  .  :th     replaceable 

parts. 

Power    consumed    in  to    amount    of 

work    done. 

Unlimited  capacity  as  compared  with  the  Ii 
resources  of  a  private  plant. 

Saving  of  time  and  money  in  absence  of  belt 
n  pairs. 

Location  of  tools  independent  of  the  source  of 
power. 

Friction,  noise,  wear  and  attention  reduced  to  a 
minimum. 

No  slip,  grind  or  jar;  a  positive  drive. 

Fifty  per  cent,  lost  in  shafting  and  belting 
saved. 

All    labor    incidental    to    a    steam    plant    is 
no    labor    required    for    operation    of    an  ■  electric 
motor. 

Absolutely  no  waste — you  pay  only  for  what 
power  you  use. 

Freedom  from  danger  and  obstruction  of  shafting. 

Maintenance  and   repairs   reduced  a  minimum. 

Reliability   of  service. 

Power  available  on  your  premises  24  hours  a 
day,  365  days  in  the  year. 

Instantaneous  availability  of  light  and  power. 

Space  required  for  storage  of  fuel  saved  for 
other  purposes. 

LTnquestioned  superiority  in  the  quality  of  service. 

Immunity  from  total  interruption  because  one 
section  is  out  of  order. 

Cost  of  each  operation  in  manufacturing  may 
be  figured  to  a  certainty.  An  indispensable  attain- 
ment   where    competition    is    keen. 

No    boiler   insurance    necessary. 

Absence    of    vibration. 

A  degree  of  cleanliness  not  possible  on  premises 
where   power    is   made. 

Advantages  in  the  cost  of  producing  power  in 
Portland,  in  comparison  with  other  cities  of  the 
country,  enable  us  to  make  lowest  rates  and  give 
unexampled    facilities    to    manufacturers. 


Co-operative  Development. 

That  energetic  herald  of  a  new  electrical  era, 
Mr.  J.  Robert  Crouse  of  Cleveland,  the  moving 
spirit  of  the  Co-operative  Electrical  Development 
Association  of  Cleveland,  is  sending  to  9,762  elec- 
trical manufacturers,  jobbers,  dealers,  salesmen, 
contractors,  central  stations,  publishers,  societies, 
etc.,  a  brief  statement  of  the  aims  of  the  associa- 
tion, whose  motto  is  "All  together  all  the  time 
for  everything  electrical."  The  opening  paragraphs 
of  this  brochure   are  as   follows : 

"The  Co-operative  Electrical  Development  Asso- 
ciation has  been  organized  for  the  purpose  of 
banding  together — to  such  degree  as  may  be  found 
practicable — the  varied  interests  represented  in  the 
electrical   industries  as  a  whole. 

"These  interests  may  conflict  in  many  regards. 
but  there  is,  undoubtedly,  one  common  ground  of 
agreement.  That  is  the  desire  on  the  part  of  all 
of  us  to  see  electric  current  increasingly  used  by 
more  of  the  people  for  every  purpose  for  which  it 
is  qualified.  If  we  can  all  agree  on  a  practical  way 
of  working  together,  even  in  a  slight  degree,  for 
what  we  all  desire,  should  not  the  resultant  effect 
be   well    worth   while? 

"The  association  will  look  to  the  manufacturers 
of  electrical  apparatus  and  supplies  for  the  working 
funds,  as  being  the  logical  interests  to  initiate  and 
maintain    such    a   movement. 

"It  contemplates,  however,  securing  the  hearty 
indorsement  and  moral  co-operation  of  all  other 
interests,  societies  and  associations  in  the  electrical 
fraternity,    particularly    the    central    stations. 

"This  means  you. 


A  BinRhamton  Idea. 


- 
"M.    - 

of   tin  i:  the  brilliant   light   mak. 

and  brilliantly  I  •  nt  and 

quickly 

■  y    merchant    v.  I 
sell    in  uld    thoughtfully    look   at    the 

window 

attractively  their   ^m.-irt   ->■•■ 
tot    styles    of    winter 
simple   but  app  rly  im- 

Mr.    Merchant,    isn't    this    food    for    1 

These     ads     arc     conspicui  '..     the 

name    of    the    electric-light    company    being    tucked 
away    in    on.-  the    merchant 

made   prominent.     Possibly   this   neigl 
chatty    kind   of    advertising    would    not    \xi   effective 
in   the  largest  cities,  but   in   smaller  towns   the   idea 

rthy    of    attention.      Mr.    Glidden,    h 
does   not   confine   himself  to  this   style  of  advertis- 
ing.    He   also   seeks   business   by   more   direct   ap- 
peals.    For  example: 

"\\  hen  it  comes  to  power  there  is  absolutely 
no  question  that  we  can  run  a  plant  i 
money  than  by  any  other  means.  This  isn't  its 
only  good  feature,  but  it  is  the  one  that  counts  in 
business.  Ask  any  manufacturer  who  uses  our 
power." 

All    the    ads    arc    given    generous    spaces,    from 
half  pages   down. 


The  First  Electric  Sign. 

As  the  observant  walk  about  the  streets  of  any 
city  and  note  the  number  of  electric  sigi 
played,  in  all  their  variety  and  usefulness,  it  must 
seem  almost  incredible  that  the  first  electric  sign 
in  this  country  was  erected  so  recently  as  about 
15    years   ago. 

It  was.  however,  about  1S90  that  the  Long  Island 
Railroad  Company,  to  advertise  Manhattan  Beach, 
and  to  attract  visitors  to  that  seaside  resort,  de- 
termined to  erect  a  huge  electric  sign  at  the  junc- 
tion of  Broadway  and  Fifth  Avenue.  New  York, 
where  now  stands  the  Flatiron  Building.  This  en- 
terprise   deserved   credit    and   brought    due    reward. 

It  was  about  this  time,  or  shortly  afterward, 
that  the  first  electric  sign  was  displayed  in  Chi- 
cago. This  was  in  Clark  Street,  and  bore  the 
single  word,  "Museum."  Thereafter  the  business 
began   to  grow. 

In  Boston  the  first  electric  sign  was  that  of  the 
Columbia  Theater,  erected  in  1S02.  Thus  Boston 
was  a  little  behind  these  other  cities:  but  B 
today  is  foremost  in  the  ranks  of  American  cities 
in  electric-sign  development.  At  least  that's  what 
Edison    Light    of   that    citv    savs. 


Electric  Motors  in  N,ew  York  City. 

The  motor  installations  now  supplied  by  the 
Xew  York  Edison  Company  aggregate  106.T26 
horsepower.  This  means  probably  that  there  are 
more  than"  40.000 — perhaps  50.000 — individual  mo- 
tors on  Manhattan  Island.  They  vary'  in  si 
one-eighth  horsepower,  or  even  one-sixteenth  horse- 
power, to  single  motors  of  several  hundred  horse- 
power. The  service  capacity  of  some  single  build- 
ings reaches  as  high  as  3.000  and  4,000  horsepower. 
with  the  usual  factors  of  reserve,  which,  on  the 
Edison  mains  are  seldom  less  than  100  or  200 
per   cent. 


President  Blood  of  the  National  Electric  Light 
lion  spent  several  days  in  New  York  last 
week,  in  consultation  with  other  officers  of  the  as- 
sociation, regarding  the  development  of  plans  for 
the  Atlantic  City  convention,  to  be  held  in  Tune. 
A  number  of  applications  for  associate  membership 
have  been  received  in  the  last  week  or  two,  owing 
to  the  desire  of  manufacturers  and  supply  com- 
panies to  secure  good  locations  for  their  exhibits. 


1 02 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


February  24,  1906 


The  Problems  of  Illuminating  Engi- 
neering. 

New  York,  February  15.— A  meeting  of  the  Illum- 
inating Engineering  Society  was  held  at  the  Hotel 
Astor,  New  York  city,  February  13th,  when  the 
president,  L.  B.  Marks,  read  an  inaugural  address. 
After  outlining  the  facts  connected  with  the  organi- 
zation of  the  society  last  December  and  mention- 
ing that  150  members  had  been  enrolled,  Mr.  Marks 
went  on  to  speak  of  the  objects  of  the  society, 
which  were  to  bring  together  those  interested  in 
the  use,  as  distinguished  from  the  production,  of 
artificial  light.     He  said  in  part: 

The  electrical  engineer  has  concerned  himself 
with  improving  the  efficiency  of  the  generating 
apparatus  and  cutting  down  losses  in  the  transmis- 
sion of  power,  but  when  his  wires  reach  the  point 
at  which  the  electric  current  is  to  be  transformed 
into  light  his  engineering  skill  has  not,  as  a  rule, 
been  applied.  The  lighting  layout  has  been  left 
largely  to  the  architect,  who  usually  prescribes  the 
number  and  location  of  the  outlets,  specifies  the 
number  and  candlepower  of  the  lamps  and  designs 
6r  selects  the  fixtures.  Very  often  the  specifica- 
tions are  completed  before  the  color  scheme  of 
the  interior  has  been  decided  upon,  with  the  result 
that  the  degree  of  illumination  obtained  may  fall 
far  short  of  what  is  needed  in  cases  of  dark-col- 
ored interiors,  or  be  excessive  in  the  case  of  light- 
tinted  rooms.  The  natural  tendency  of  the  archi- 
tect is  to  make  the  economical  side  of  illumination 
subservient  to  the  aesthetic,  while  on  the  other 
hand  the  tendency  of  the  engineer  is  to  consider 
only  the  question  of  economy.  It  is  an  encourag- 
ing sign  of  the  times  that  the  architect  and  the 
engineer  are  gradually  drawing  closer  together  in 
dealing  with  problems  involving  both  the  scientific 
and  the  artistic  sides  of  illumination. 

Though  much  attention  has  recently  been  given 
to  the  subject  of  globes  and  reflectors,  the  fact 
still  remains  that  unshaded  or  inadequately  shaded 
lamps  are  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception.  The 
practice  of  placing  lights  of  excessive  intrinsic 
brightness  within  the  ordinary  field  of  vision  is 
so  common  that  our  eyesight  is  suffering  per- 
manent injury. 

From  an  economical  standpoint  the  correct  dis- 
position of  the  light  sources  and  the  use  of  the 
most  suitable  reflectors  are  of  commanding  im- 
portance. It  is  not  uncommon  to  find  instances  in 
which  the  adequate  consideration  of  these  two 
questions  would  result  in  largely  increasing,  and 
often  more  than  doubling  useful  illumination. 

Both  electric  and  gas-supply  companies  are  alert 
to  this  situation.  The  far-sighted  manager  of  the 
supply  company  sees,  that  it  is  to  his  ultimate  ad- 
vantage to  assist  the  consumer  in  obtaining  the 
very  best  illumination  at  the  least  expenditure. 
In  view  of  the  above,  it  is  extremely  desirable  that 
complete  and  authoritative  data  be  obtained  as  to 
the  amount  and  character  of  illumination  for  indi- 
vidual conditions.  The  performance  of  lamps  for 
street  lighting  and  large  open  spaces  has  not  been 
adequately  recorded.  In  view  of  the  lack  of  com- 
plete data  upon  this  subject  there  is  a  wide  differ- 
ence of  opinion  today  as  to  which  of  several  illum- 
inants  is  best  suited  for  certain  cases  of  street  and 
country-road  lighting,  illumination  and  economy 
being  considered. 

The  progress  of  invention  in  lamps  and  lighting 
apparatus  has  been  so  rapid  that  engineers  have 
found  it  difficult  to  keep  abreast  of  the  times  in 
the  question  of  illumination.  Only  a  comparatively 
few  years  ago  the  carbon-filament  incandescent 
electric  lamp,  the  arc  lamp  (open  or  enclosed)  and 
the  ordinary  gas  flame  were  the  only  illuminarits 
with  which  we  had  to  deal.  Today  we  have  be- 
sides these,  among  electric  lamps,  the  incandescent 
lamp  of  the  Nernst  type,  the  mercurv-arc  of  the 
Cooper  Hewitt  type,  the  vacuum  tube  lamp  of  the 
Moore  type,  the  tantalum  lamp,  the  impregnated 
carbon  or  flame  arc,  the  magnetite  arc,  etc.  The 
amount  of  light,  and  especially  of  electric  light, 
used  in  the  United  States  has  grown  by  leaps  and 
bounds.  The  consumption  of  gas  for  illumination 
purposes  has  also  largely  increased,  the  introduction 
of  the  mantle  burner  having  given  a  great  stimulus 
to  the  gas-lighting  industry.  The  place  of  the 
acetylene  light  has  been  firmly  established  and  the 
extended  introduction  of  acetylene  plants  in  the 
last  few  years  is  worthy  of  special  note.  The  ap- 
proximate amount  of  money  spent  by  the  consumer 
annually  in  the  United  States  (according  to  a 
census  report)  for  illumination  by  electric  light, 
gas   and  oil  is  as  follows : 

Electric  litrht,  between Sioo.ooo.ooo  and  S120.000.000 

Coal  and  water  gas,  between 35,000,000  and      40,000,000 

Natural  fias 1,700,000 

Acetylene,  between 2,500,000  and        3,000000 

Oil 60,000,000 

At  a  conservative  estimate  the  consumer  is 
spending  a  total  of  over  $200,000,000  for  lighting 
in  the  United  States.  Of  this  amount  I  venture 
to  say  that  fully  $20,000,000  is  absolutely  wasted 
so  far  as  the  amount  of  useful  illumination  deliv- 
ered for  the  money  is  concerned.  No  one  who  has 
made  a  study  of  the  subject  can  fail  to  see  glaring 
examples  of  this  waste  on  every  hand.  Tt  is  not 
at  all  uncommon  to  find  in  electric  lighting  that 
25  per  cent,  of  the  light  that  is  furnished  is  lost, 
so  far  as  any  useful  purpose  is  concerned,  by  rea- 
son of  improper  disposition  of  the  light  sources  or 
unsuitable    lamps,    globes,    shades    or    reflectors.     In 


gas  lighting,  though  the  conditions  are  quite  dif- 
ferent, the  same  criticism  in  a  measure  holds 
true. 

Dr.  Clayton  H.  Sharp,  Xew  York  Electrical  Test- 
ing Laboratory,  opened  the  discussion.  He  did  not 
think  much  more  economy  could  be  gained  with 
existing  types  of  electric-lighting  machinery  with- 
out a  radical  change  in  the  prime  mover.  The 
problems  of  the  illumination  engineer  were  far 
easier  because  he  could  take  hold  of  the  bad  con- 
ditions of  the  present  day  and  produce  considerable 
improvement.  There  was  some  prospect  of  an  im- 
provement in  the  lamp.  He  suggested  that  the 
society  should  settle  questions  of  nomenclature. 
At  present  they  had  such  cumbersome  expressions 
as  candle-feet,  feet-candles  and  candles-feet,  where 
they  might  have  a  unit  of  illumination  with  a  con- 
sistent plural. 

Dr.  Arthur  H.  Elliot.  New  York  Consolidated 
Gas  Company,  did  not  quite  agree  with  the  presi- 
dent's figures  as  to  the  annual  cost  of  illuminants 
in  the  United  States.  He  thought  that  the  total 
gas  consumption  very  nearly  equalled  that  of  elec- 
tric light.  The  society  would  help  gas  men  by 
educating  the  householder  how  to  get  the  best  re- 
sults from  his  illuminant.  Speaking  of  the  oast, 
he  said  that  the  introduction  of  electric  light  into 
New  York  city  had  a  bad  effect  on  gas  at  first, 
but  when  people  got  used  to  the  brighter  illumina- 
tion of  the  streets  they  were  forced  to  go  home 
and  light  more  burners.  The  Consolidated  Gas 
Company  had  gained  150  per  cent,  total  consump- 
tion since  the  introduction  of  electricity.  Neverthe- 
less people  were  no  longer  satisfied  with  the  gas, 
though  it  was  good.  The  candlepower  had  been 
raised  from  16  or  17  to  about  20. 

Arthur  Williams,  contract  department,  New  York 
Edison  Company,  also  differed  with  the  president's 
statements  as  to  the  total  cost  of  electric  light, 
which  was  perhaps  more  nearly  $400,000,000  per 
annum.  Electric  illumination  could  be  considerably 
improved  by  the  use  of  suitable  reflectors.  Refer- 
ring to  the  electrical  signs  on  Broadway,  he  said 
that  some  were  deficient  because  the  lamps  used 
were  of  too  low  a  power  or  were  designed  for 
too  long  a  life.  As  to  the  Edison  plant,  they  had 
from  the  very  first  all  the  best  features  called  for 
now — water-tube  boilers,  underground  circuits,  feed- 
ing systems  and  meters.  The  only  essential  change 
had  been  from  the  open  to  the  closed  street  arc 
lamp.  After  speaking  of  the  various  kinds  of  lamps 
used  commercially,  he  said  he  often  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  advise  the  best  for  any  given  purpose.  This 
was  a  practical  question  which  the  society  should 
consider.  He  advocated  that  the  scope  of  the 
society  should  be  national  and  the  issuance  of  a 
diploma  or  certificate  to  qualified  illuminating  engi- 
neers. 

Prof.  C.  F.  Chandler,  Columbia  University.  Xew 
York,  indulged  in  reminiscences  covering  the  last 
half  century-  He  said  there  was  a  time  when 
sperm  oil  was  the  best  illuminant  that  could  be 
had,  and  sold  at  $1.80  a  gallon.  Then  came  cam- 
phene,  or  refined  spirits  of  turpentine,  but  it  fre- 
quently exploded  and  had  to  be  used  with  a 
chimney.  The  next  development  was  to  mix  cam- 
phene  with  alcohol,  this  combination  being  called 
"burning  fluid,"  requiring  no  chimney  and  giving 
no  smoke.  While  studying  in  Germany  Dr.  Chand- 
ler studied  photogen,  then  a  newly  discovered  hy- 
drocarbon distilled  from  Scotch  cannel  coal.  When 
he  returned  to  America  he  was  told  that  no  such 
oil  would  ever  interest  the  American  public ;  yet 
within  three  years  there  were  coal-oil  factories 
from  Portland,  Me.,  to  Wilmington,  Del.,  and  the 
price  of  sperm  oil  went  down  to  50  cents  a  gallon. 
Then  a  couple  of  Yankees  in  New  Haven  saw  in 
a  museum  a  small  bottle  of  a  liquid  labeled 
"naphtha,"  and  Prof.  Silliman  told  them  that  -the 
Seneca  Indians  collected  it  for  medicinal  purposes, 
but  that  the  oil  had  an  illuminating  value.  The 
enterprising  New  Haven  men  went  down  to  Penn- 
sylvania and  ultimately  struck  oil  by  boring.  Forty 
years  ago  in  New  York  they  had  a  16-candlepower 
gas  at  $3.75  a  thousand  cubic  feet,  and  now  the 
public  complained  of  a  25-candlepower  gas  at  a 
dollar. 

In  1878  Charles  F.  Brush,  with  his  new  dynamo, 
made  the  arc  light  practical,  the  first  experiments 
being  witnessed  by  Mr.  Edison,  Prof.  Barker  and 
himself  at  Ansonia,  Conn.  At  that  time  Mr.  Edi- 
son had  devoted  no  thought  to  electric  lighting, 
having  been  mainly  occupied  with  telegraphy.  Mr. 
Edison  then  said :  "What  we  want  is  not  an  arc 
light  suitable  for  out  of  doors,  but  a  little  light — a 
io-candlepower  light."  and  in  less  than  one  year  he 
had  completed  his  invention  of  the  incandescent 
lamp  and  evolved  a  dynamo,  a  meter  and  a  dis- 
tribution system.  This  was  at  the  very  time  that 
an  English  parliamentary  committee  was  hearing 
evidence  from  Sir  William  Thomson  and  Mr. 
Preece  that  it  was  impossible  to  divide  the  electric 
light,  and  that  even  it  were,  there  was  no  possible 
way  to  distribute  the  current,  and  all  the  time  Mr. 
Edison's  applications  were  in  the  English  patent 
office.  Dr.  Chandler  concluded  by  referring  to  the 
invention   of  the  Wellsbach   mantle. 

T.  C.  Martin  referred  to  the  late  Luther  Stier- 
inger  and  the  first  illumination   engineer  on  record. 

E.  C.  Brown  thought  that  the  gas  consumption 
in  eight  large  American  cities  amounted  to  nearly 
as  much  as  the  total  given  by  Mr.   Marks. 

R.  W.   Searle  spoke  from  the   architectural   point 


of   view    of   the    difficulty    of    pleasing    people    who 
had  green,  pink,  and  blue  rooms  to  illuminate. 

Prof.  W.  d'A.  Ryan,  General  Electric  Company, 
Lynn,  Mass.,  said  that  the  architects  were  begin- 
ning to  appreciate  the  need  of  the  work  of  the 
illuminating  engineer. 

C.  L.  Elliott,  secretary  of  the  association,  said 
that  one  of  the  objects  of  the  society  would  be 
to  unify  the  various  interests.  The  position  of  the 
illuminating  engineer  was  becoming  rapidly  recog- 
nized. 

H.  M.  Lauritzen,  Holophane  Glass  Company,  said 
that  it  had  been  their  endeavor  to  take  the  light 
from  the  direction  in  which  it  had  been  useless  and 
io  bring  it  to  a  point  where  it  was  needed.  By  a 
system  of  horizontal  prisms  the  light  was  distrib- 
uted, and  by  another  system  of  vertical  prisms  it 
was    diffused. 

William  J.  Clarke,  president  of  the  National 
Commercial  Gas  Associations,  New  York,  spoke 
of  the  advantages  of  the  incandescent  mantle.  On 
the  East  Side  of  the  city  they  found  people  using 
flame  burners  consuming  15  feet  an  hour.  In 
order  to  introduce  their  cooking  plates  they  gave 
away  Welsbach  burners,  with  the  result  that  the 
people  saved  enough  on  their  lighting  to  pay  the 
entire  cost  of  their  cooking. 

John  Campbell,  president  of  the  Electric  Auditing 
Company,  Boston,  Mass.,  recommended  that  a  part 
of  the  society's  work  should  be  to  collect  definite 
information  about  the  cost  of  public  lighting.  Pub- 
lic ignorance  of  these  facts  often  led  to  misunder- 
standing. 

C.  H.  Codman,  Boston,  Mass.,  had  a  suggestion 
referred  to  committee,  as  to  the  possibility  of 
founding  local  branches  and  of  holding  meetings 
in  other  cities. 

The  other  speakers  were  W.  J.  Stirling,  lighting 
expert,  Standard  Oil  Company,  and  F.  N.  Alcott 
of  the  Black  &  Boyd  Fixture  Company.  George 
H.   Guv  was  appointed  corresponding  secretarv. 

D.  W.'W. 


ALFRED     LAXDAU. 


French   Carbons   in  the   United   States. 

The  desire  of  the  leading  French  carbon  makers 
to  introduce  their  carbons  in  the  United  States 
has  found  fruition  in  the  establishment  of  the 
French  Battery  Company, 
which  was  incorporated 
recently,  with  headquar- 
ters at  69-75  Wells  Street, 
Chicago. 

French  carbon  is 
universally  acknowledged 
throughout  Europe,  as  be- 
ing of  high  class,  and  is 
employed  upon  the  Con- 
tinent for  all  purposes  re- 
quiring strongest  and 
longest  life  with  the  least 
deterioration.  In  addition, 
a  new  process  has  been 
introduced,  with  success, 
in  the  manufacture  of  dry 
batteries,  enabling  the 
manufacturers  to  produce 
an  article  which  meets  all 
exacting  requirements 
upon  an  economical  basis,  and  which  prevents  rapid 
deterioration. 

In  choosing  a  field  for  their  operations  in  the 
Lhiited  States,  the  gentlemen  who  project  this  en- 
terprise have  recognized  the  fact  that  the  con- 
sumption of  dry  batteries  in  the  Mississippi  Valley 
and  the  great  western  field  is  very  large,  and  they 
have  selected  Chicago  as  being  a  natural  com- 
mercial center  of  this  great  field  in  which  batteries 
are  employed  in  large  quantities.  Chicago  also 
offers  them  exceptional  advantages  because  of  its 
shipping  facilities  and  accommodations,  not  only 
in  regard  to  procuring  raw  material  and  manu- 
facturing the  finished  article  in  rapid  and  satis- 
factory style,  but  also  as  regards  the  receipt  and 
prompt  shipment  of  orders  to  all  sections  of  the 
countrv. 

The  French  Battery  Company  is  said  to  be  backed 
by  leading  French  carbon  manufacturers  and  cap- 
italists, and  is  personally  managed  and  operated 
by  men  of  high-class  European  education  and  ex- 
perience. Mr,  Alfred  Landau,  who  has  supervision 
of  the  new  establishment,  gained  his  knowledge 
of  all  the  essential  details  entering  into  the  battery 
business  by  years  of  study  and  practice  in  Europe. 
Since  then  he  has  spent  considerable  time  in  vari- 
ous portions  of  the  LTniied  States,  familiarizing 
himself  with  the  conditions  of  trade  in  this  country 
before  opening  the  factory.  He  announces  that  bis 
factory  will  be  conducted  absolutely  independent 
of  any  combination.  The  batteries  will  be  manu- 
factured out  of  the  best  French  material  by  the 
new  French  process,  the  merit  of  which  is  declared 
to  have  been  thoroughly  proven.  The  English  and 
German  automobile  trade,  as  well  as  the  French 
dealers,  have  had  gratifying  experiences  with  these 
new-style   batteries. 

T11  regard  to  the  operation  of  the  new  factory 
at  Chicago,  it  is  stated  that  no  expensive  sales- 
men are  to  be  placed  on  the  road,  and  that  the 
factoor  will  sell  direct  to  consumers,  giving  them 
the  benefit  of  this   economy. 

The  French  Batten-  Company  asserts  that  its 
batteries    have    the    highest    amperage,    the    longest 


February  -;  |.   [906 


WESTERN     l.l  E(  l  RIl 


hm|     Btrongi   1     iii'      and     the     1 .- 

|. "'.'.  ■  1  .   and   arc    the    1 1  on a!    to 

Mi'    '  ompany  also   handli     gli  ihu  lai    1 

sizes.     I  ' 1    facturcd 

care,  and  arc  aid  to  git  c  bcttci  ati  fai  tio 
any  product  madi  in  Vmi  1  ii  a  Fla  hlight  b 
of  every  description   will   al  0   be   manufactured   bj 


Westinghouse  Variable-speed  Motor 
with  Auxiliary  Poles. 

In  many  classes  of  work  a   wide     peed   varial 

11  'i :d,  and  :i  1   thi    'I I  1  ol     ui  h     ■  | 

■r   the    Westinghouse    E  lei  ti  ii    and    Vlanufi 

Company    has    developed    a    lim    of    din  cl  cut  re  ni 

lotors  having  a  speed  range  of  four  1 

ingle  voltage       I  hi     1  ai  iation   1     obi id   I".    Hi  Id 

ontrol,  and  the  type  S  A   toi  .  ol    •■■  hii  h 

ere   shown,   arc     aid    to    compare    favorably    with 
te  l"   1  'In ■  cl  current  constant  spi  1  'I  mai  I 

'I  In-  new  motors  are  exactly  similar  mcchanicallj 
ml  electrically  to  the  Westinghouse  type  S  motoi 
xcepl   fur  the  addition  of  auxiliary  poles  and  coil 

hese  an-  introduced   in  order  to  control  the  field 
nrm   during   the   variation   of   field    strength    ncci 
;u\    in   obtain    so    w idc   a    rangi    of    ipeed       I  he 


WESTINGHOUSE    MOTOR    WITH    AUXILIARY    POLES. 

cast-steel  poles  with  machine-formed  coils  are 
placed  midway  between  the  main  poles  and  securely 
bolted  to  the  frame.  The  construction  is  very 
simple  and  introduces  no  complications  whatever, 
nor  does  it  make  difficult  the  removal  of  the  main 
poles  and  field  coils,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
an  auxiliary  pole  and  coil  can  easily  be  taken  out 
without  in  any  way  disturbing  the  main  field  wind- 
ing by  simply  disconnecting  the  coil  connections, 
withdrawing  the  bolts  which  hold  the  pole  to  the 
frame  and  sliding  the  pole  and  coil  out  parallel  to 
the   shaft. 

The  auxiliary  field  winding  is  connected  in 
•series  with  the  armature  and  therefore  produces  a 
magnetizing  effect  which  is  proportional  to  the 
armature  current.  The  auxiliary  coils  are  placed 
as  close  to  the  armature  surface  as  mechanical 
considerations  will  permit,  and  their  turns  are  con- 
centrated at  that  point.  This  arrangement  adds 
materially  to  the  performance  of  the  motor,  as  it 
applies  the  corrective  influences  of  the  auxiliary 
winding  directly  at  the  points  where  the  distorting 
effect  of  the  armature  current  is  strongest.  This 
arrangement  is  much  more  effective  than  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  ampere  turns  along  the  length  of 
the  auxiliary  poles.  The  magnetic  field  of  the 
auxiliary  winding  acts  in  direct  opposition  to  that 
produced  by  the  armature  current.  The  resultant 
field  is  made  up  of  three  components — that  due 
to  the  shunt  winding,  that  due  to  armature  reac- 
tion and  that  due  to  the  auxiliary  windings.  The 
field  distortion  usually  produced  by  armature  re- 
action is  therefore  overcome  and  the  shape  of  the 
magnetic  field  at  the  point  of  commutation  is 
maintained  as  formed  by  the  main  poles,  and  good 
commutation  is  possible  over  a  wide  range  of  speed. 

Type-SA  motors  are  shunt  wound,  which  gives 
a  definite  speed  for  each  point  of  the  controller, 
which  is  nearly  constant  for  all  loads.  Heavy 
overloads  may  be  momentarily  developed  without 
injurious  sparking.  The  motors  are  reversible 
without  danger  and  without  readjustment  of  the 
brushes,  and,  as  the  armature  and  auxiliary  wind- 
ings are  connected  permanently  ill  series,  it  is 
only  necessary  to  change  the  external  armature 
connections  to  reverse  the  direction  of  rotation. 

These  motors  develop  their  full-rated  output 
throughout  their  entire  range  of  speed.  They  will 
carry  full  rated  load  at  any-  speed  within  their 
range  for  six  hours,  with  a  temperature  rise  not 
exceeding  40°  C.  in  armature  and  field,  and  not 
exceeding  450  C.  on  the  commutator,  as  measured 
by  thermometer.  At  all  loads. and  all  speeds  com- 
mutation is  excellent,  and  an  overload  of  25  per 
cent,  may  be  carried  for  one  hour  without  in- 
jurious sparking.  All  motors  are  thoroughly  ven- 
tilated, running  cool  and  at  a  uniform  temperature. 
Their  efficiency  is  high  and  speed  regulation  exact. 


Stanley-G.    I.    Revolvlng-flaW     Inductor 
Generator. 

When  the  '!• 
op 

the   tlcm ' 

demand 
apparatu 

■    would   I"-   " 
mtiltipha  c,  which  could  be  done  without   imp 
11  .     impl 
ope  rati 
that    what    i -.    said   t"   be    Mi-     fil 

of  this  type,  am 

,    1  , 

i'  ■    m 

I  [11        typi 

1      indm  to  ; 

1 
although    thi    field     vinding 

t'p  Id 
coil,  i-.  rotati  d,  and  ii 

armatur*   c  nditctoi     get  ■     :-     in  tin-  armatur 
,'in   alternating   current,    whicl  .lied   by 

thi    design  i    almost  iden- 

tical  »i'f'   thi 

Although    il  thi  machine 

i"  1 ill     introd      'i  11  itry,  the 

'I-   ign    h:      been      tcadil)      |,;    ovi 
.  ption,    and   it   i 


GENERATOR. 

its    more    recent    anil    more   generally    known 
petitor   of   the    so-called    revolving-field    type 

The  Stanley-G.  I.  Company  has  recognized  the 
demand  for  this  latter  mentioned  type,  which  is 
shown  in  the  accompanying  illustration,  and  which 
has  its  particular  advantages  for  certain  classes  of 
work,  notably  low  frequencies  and  engine-type  ma- 
chines of  large  capacity.  It  is.  therefore,  prepared 
to  build  the  commonly  termed  revolving-field  type 
in  all  commercial  sizes,  but  unhesitatingly  recom- 
mends its  inductor  generator  as  a  thoroughly  mod- 
ern, efficient  and  commercial  revolving-field  alter- 
nator, of  the  simplest  construction,  and  of  superior 
design  for  certain  classes  of  lighting  and  power 
work,  notably  for  hydro-electric  transmission  and 
high-speed    belted    or   coupled    units. 

To  substantiate  the  position  which  it  takes,  the 
company  refers  to  the  situation  in  California,  where 
the  brunt  of  the  lighting  and  power  load  through- 
out a  large  portion  of  the  state  is  carried  on 
inductor  generators  installed  on  the  mountain 
streams,  supplying  power  to  San  Francisco,  Oak- 
land, San  Jose,  Stockton.  Sacramento,  Los  Angeles 
and  the  surrounding  towns,  which  comprise  the 
commercial  center  of  the  Pacific  Coast;  also  to 
the  towns  of  Anderson,  S.  C. :  Columbus,  Ga.; 
Montgomery.  Ala. ;  York  Haven,  Pa. ;  Kokomo. 
Ind. ;    Joplin,    Mo. ;    Paris,    111.,    and    elsewhere. 

The  company  says  that  a  prospective  user  of 
electrical  machinery  wrote  to  the  general  manager 
of  a  large  power  plant  in  the  South,  and  in  reply- 
to  his  inquiry  he  received  advice  that  the  power 
company  was  using  five  Stanley  generators  of  a 
thousand  kilowatts  capacity  each.  Three  of  the 
machines  had  been  in  use  about  three  years.  The 
other  two  had  been  recently  installed.  None  had 
ever  given  a  particle  of  trouble,  and  nothing  had 
ever  been  paid  out  for  repairs,  and  he  voluntarily 
expressed  the  opinion  that  they  are  the  best  gen- 
erators made.  This  is  only  one  instance  out  of 
several. 

As  further  proof  of  the  contention  that  the  in- 
ductor generator  is  exceptionally  rugged,  the  Stan- 
ley company  cites  the  following  instance,  taken 
from  a  number  on   record : 

A  power  house  containing  four  S75-kilowatt 
waterwheel-driven  inductor  alternators  was  entirely 
demolished  by  an  unprecedented  ice  flow,  the  wails 
of  the  building  being  razed  to  the  foundations. 
In  looking  at  the  site  of  the  power  house  after 
the  ice  had  stopped  moving,  slight  bumps  in  the 
ice  field  were  the  only  indications  of  the  gener- 
ators beneath.  Several  weeks  passed  before  the  ice 
could  be  removed  and  the  machines  cleared  of 
wreckage.  However,  when  the  waterwheels  were 
again  in  shape  to  drive  them,  it  was  found  that 
but  one  armature  coil  in  all  these  machines  had 
been    seriously    damaged,    and    the    remainder,    after 


' 


efficient 


Benjamin  Two-part  Lamp  Guard. 
The    B 

tried      dl 
lamp   guard. 

..i  the   simplii 

the  article.    «i I   tl 

riinimum   light 
r.t    the   same   1 


NJAMIN    TWO-PART    LAMf   GUARD. 


of   a    lamp    guard    by    offering    a    lamp    prol 
which   is   compli 

The    "Can't    Break"   guard    is    simple   and 
with    few    parts.     It    consists    of    two    halves 
pressed    up    from    sheet    steel,    so   that    then 
solder  to  break  or  wire  to  give  way.     It  b. ii 
paratively    few    joints,    there    being    but    two    hinge 
joints    at    the    top    and    two    locking    joints    at    the 
bottom. 

The   two   parts    with   hinge   joint    a:   the   top  grip 
the  bead  on  the  socket  firmly,  thus   securing  fixed- 
ness and  stability,  and   rendering  all   refractory  un- 
steadiness impossible.     This  precludes  grounding  the 
lamp.     An    auxiliary    spring   wire   centers   the   lamp, 
cushioning    il    gently,    and   keeping  it    from 
the  main  body  of  the  guard.     The  sheet  stc 
ing  the  guard   is   pressed   up  edgewise  radially,  and 
is    tinned    and    bright.     There    is    consequently    little 
shadow,  and   the   loss  of-  light,  is  thus  reduci 
minimum.     The  guard  protects  the  whole  lamp,  in- 
cluding the  tip;    no   part    is   left   exposed   to   break- 
age.    It    is    easily    removed    and    easily    readjusted. 

The  Benjamin  company  asserts  that  the  "Can'i 
Break"  is  one  of  the  simplest,  most  stable  and 
most   practical    lamp   guards   on   the   market. 


Chicago  Gets  S5-cent  Gas. 

The    ordinance    fixing    the    price    of   gas    t 
sinners    in    Chicago    .  1    85    cents    a    thousand    cubic 
feet  was  passed  by  the  City  Council  last  weel 
the  mayor's  Veto  if  57  to   10.     The  com- 

panies affected  had  previously  agreed  to  accept  the 
measure,  and  the  new  rate  will  be  in  force  for 
five  years,  dating  from  February  1,  1006.  The 
mayor's  principal  objection  was  the  price,  which 
he  thinks  should  be  75  cents.  Briefly  stated,  the 
ordinance  authorizes  gas  companies  to  buy  or  sell 
gas  from  or  to  each  other,  or  lease  each  other's 
mains,  plants  or  appliances:  repeals  - 
Ogden  and  Universal  companies'  ordinance 
hibiting  them  entering  into  combination  wit 
other  company  and  dismisses  suit  .against  Ogden 
company  for  forfeiture  of  its  charter  under  this 
section  :  repeals  the  75-cent  gas  ordinance,  but  con- 
tinues the  litigation  to  test  its  validity:  wipes  out 
St.jioo.oco  in  gas  bills  the  city  owes  the  Pi 
company,  and  settles  all  disputed  claims  between 
them ;-  releases  the  People's  Gas  Light  and  Coke 
Company  from  all  obligations  to  pay  the  city  com- 
pensation and  repeals  the  compensation  pr 
of  the  Ogden  company's  ordinance:  provides  that 
the  People's  company  shall  continue  10  pay  five  per 
cent,  compensation  on  natural-gas  sales:  requires 
the  Ogden  company  to  pay  S117.000  compensation 
now  due  the  city,  and  reserves  to  the  city  the  right 
to  fix  the  price  of  gas  again  at  the  end  of  five 
vears. 


i64 

Proposed   Detroit  River  Tunnel. 

Bids  have  been  asked  upon  four  alternative 
plans  for  the  construction  of  a  tunnel  under  the 
Detroit  River  connecting  Detroit,  Mich.,  and 
Windsor,  Ont.  The  Michigan  Central  railroad  at 
present  crosses  the  Detroit  River  by  means  of  a 
ferry.  To  avoid  delays,  however,  the  tunnel  has 
been  planned  and  a  company  known  as  the  De- 
troit River  Tunnel  Company  formed  to  carry  out 
the  work.  Plans  and  specifications  have  been 
issued  under  the  direction  of  an  advisory  board  of 
directors  consisting  of  W.  J.  Wilgus,  chairman, 
H.  A.  Carson  and  W.  S.  Kinnear.  Proposals  for 
the  work  will  be  received  until  March  8th. 

The  tunnel,  which  will  connect  the  two  cities, 
will  consist  of  two  single-track  tubes.  The  sub- 
aqueous portion  will  be  2,625  feet  long,  the  easterly 
approach  tunnel  3,100  feet  long,  and  the  westerly 
approach  tunnel  2,130  feet  long.  Open  cuts  will 
lead  to  the  approach  tunnels.  The  total  tunnel 
length  will  be  7,S55  feet,  and  the  length,  including 
the    cuts,    will   be    12,800   feet.  - 

It  is  proposed  to  draw  the  trains  through  the 
tunnel  electrically  and  the  electrical  zone  will 
make  about  four  miles  of  electrically  operated 
road. 

The  maximum  depth  of  the  river  at  the  pro- 
posed site  is  45  feet  and  the  clearance  of  the  tun- 
nel will  not  be  less  than  41  feet  below  the  sur- 
face where  the  depth  of  water  now  equals  that 
amount.  The  interior  diameter  of  the  tubes  is 
to  be  18  feet,  giving  a  height  above  the  top  of 
the  rail  of  16  feet.  Power  conduits  will  be  located 
on  one  side  of  the  tube  interior  and  telephone, 
telegraph  light  and  signal  wires  on  the  other  side, 
with  a  clearance  of  11  feet  six  inches  between 
them. 

As  stated  above,  there  are  four  designs  pro- 
posed, known  as  "A,"  "B,"  "C"  and  "D."  Design 
"A"  provides  for  filling  the  tunnel  trench  to  a 
depth  of  five  feet,  with  concrete  above  the  shell 
of  the  tunnel  tube,  which  is  itself  of  concrete  two 
feet  thick  and  reinforced  with  steel  rods.  Design 
"B"  provides  for  a  filling  of  concrete  only  up  to 
a  short  distance  from  the  center  line  of  the  tubes, 
the  balance  being  back  filling.  Design  "C"  pro- 
vides for  outer  and  inner  shells  of  three-eighths- 
inch  steel,  the  outer  supported  by  rings  of  10-inch 
I-beams  of  30-pound  section  spaced  four  feet,  cen- 
ter to  center.  Design  "D"  provides  for  a  tube  of 
cast-iron  rings  composed  of  segmental  sections. 

The  cost  of  the  tunnel  is  estimated  at  from 
$~,ooo,coo  to  $8,cco,oco  and  it  is  expected  to  have 
a   capacity   for   handling   4,000,000   cars    a   year. 


Finances  of  International  Congress. 

Mr.  W.  D.  Weaver,  the  treasurer  of  the  Inter- 
national Electrical  Congress  held  in  St.  Louis  in 
1904,  has  presented  an  audited  report.  The  total 
receipts  were  $13,438.90  and  the  total  disburse- 
ments $11,392.53,  leaving  a  balance  in  bank  on 
January  16.  1906,  of  $2,046.37.  The  executive 
committee  of  the  Congress  has  decided  to  offer  this 
sum  to  the  library  of  the  American  Institute  of 
Electrical  Engineers  as  a  fund  commemorating  the 
Congress,  the  annual  proceeds  to  be  applied  to 
the  purchase  of  international   electrical   literature. 

This  pleasing  result  was  brought  about  despite 
the  fact  that  the  amount  realized  from  the  mem- 
bership fees  was  less  than  the  total  expenses. 
When  the  probability  of  a  deficit  became  evident 
a  canvass  was  instituted  for  the  sale  of  copies  of 
the  Transactions  at  $10  a  set,  and  the  result  was 
the  unexpended  balance  now  reported  of  over 
$2,000.  The  record  is  one  which  is  creditable  to  all 
concerned    in   it. 


Attack  the  "Electric  Mule." 

Cleveland  stockholders  of  the  Miami  and  Erie 
Canal  Transportation  Company  ridicule  the  charges 
of  fraud  and  corruption  made  against  them  in  a 
suit  filed  in  the  United  States  court  at  Cincinnati 
by  Rudolph  Kleybolte  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Mr. 
Kleybolte  alleged  that  the  Cleveland  men  floated 
$2,000,000  bonds  and  $3,000,000  stock  on  the  strength 
of  a  paid-up  stock  of  $10,000.  The  defendants,  "he 
alleges,  presented  themselves  with  $990,000  of  the 
stock  and  made  no  payment  for  it.  He  asks  the 
court  to  require  the  men  to  pay  par  for  this  stock 
and  that  the  money  be  used  to  pav  the  debts  of 
the  corporation.  Nearly  all  the  traction  men  in 
Cleveland  are  named  in  the  petition. 

The  company  was  organized  in  1900  to  run  boats 
by  an  electrically  operated  towing  device  on  the 
canal   between    Cincinnati   and   Toledo. 


Metropolitan   Elevated    Road  to   Buy 
Current. 

Directors  of  the  Metropolitan  Elevated  Railway  of 
Chicago  have  given  up  the  idea  of  building  a  power 
house  of  their  own  to  supply  the  additional  electric 
power  to  operate  the  cars.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
directors  of  the  railway  company  a  contract  with  the 
Chicago  Edison  Company  was  ratified,  whereby  the 
latter  will  furnish  the  railway  the  extra  current 
needed.  The  Metropolitan,  in  taking  current  from 
the  Edison  company,  has  followed  the  example  of 
the  Chicago  and  Oak  Park  Elevated  and  the  Chi- 
cago City  Railway  Company. 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

Indiana  Telephone  Items. 

The  Citizens'  Independent  Telephone  Company 
of  Terre  Haute  has  been  reorganized.  A  bond 
issue  of  $i,ooo,oco  was  ordered,  of  which  $200,000 
will  be  used  in  paying  for  the  West  Terre  Haute 
telephone  plant  and  completing  the  central-station 
building. 

There  is  an  apparent  hitch  in  the  reported  Inde- 
pendent telephone  merger  so  far  as  it  concerns 
plants  in  Northern  Indiana.  Experts  have  been 
at  work  for  the  last  two  weeks  examining  plants 
on  which  options  were  taken  at  the  meeting  of 
telephone  interests  at  St.  Louis.  Notices  have 
been  sent  to  the  10  or  12  exchanges  and  toll  com- 
panies that  the  prices  are  too  high  and  that  the 
properties  cannot  be  taken  over  at  the  figures 
quoted. 

The  situation  in  Evansville  is  becoming  more  and 
more  strenuous.  The  Retail  Merchants'  Association 
attended  the  council  meeting  Monday  night  in  a  body 
and  entered  a  vigorous  protest  against  ratifying 
the  grant  by  the  Board  of  Public  Works  of  a 
franchise  to  the  Cumberland  Telephone  Company. 
A.  W.  Funkhauser,  former  city  attorney,  said  the 
Citizens'  Telephone  Company  filed  an  application 
for  a  franchise  three  weeks  before  the  Cumberland 
filed  its  application  and  that  nothing  had  been  done 
with  it.  He  also  said  that  the  Citizens'  franchise 
paralleled  the  Cumberland's  franchise  in  every  re- 
spect, except  that  it  offered  a  lower  rate  to  sub- 
scribers. Mayor  Boehne  is  said  to  favor  the  Cum- 
berland franchise,  and  it  is  thought  the  City  Coun- 
cil will  pass  the  franchise  over  the  protests  and 
then  grant  a  similar  franchise  to  the  Independents. 

The  Indianapolis  Telephone  Company  will  make 
its  application  in  a  few  days  for  an  extended  fran- 
chise containing  a  provision  which  will  enable  the 
company  to  increase  present  rates.  The  officers 
of  the  company  argue  that  they  never  contemplated 
giving  service  outside  the  city  limits  for  the  price 
in  vogue,  whereas  they  are  giving  free  service  to 
all  the  suburbs  and  many  of  the  towns  of  the 
county.  As  an  example  they  charge  $40  a  year  for 
city  service  and  $6  additional  for  outside  service; 
but  frequently  the  subscriber  refuses  to  pav  the 
extra  $6  and  gets  the  service  just  the  same.  It  has 
not  been  deemed  necessary  to  contest  the  matter 
in  the  courts  and  there  will  be  less  inclination  to 
do  so  since  the  Illinois  Supreme  Court  has  de- 
cided that  an  agreement  not  to  increase  rates  for 
service  incorporated  in  an  ordinance  will  be  en- 
forced. 

The  Citizens'  Telephone  Company  of  Kokomo 
will  remove  its  offices  and  exchange  from  the 
Kennedy  Building  to  the  Courtland  Building. 
Secretary  Jay  says  the  company  will  make  im- 
provements, install  some  new  apparatus  and  long- 
distance booths  and  extend  the  lines  and  better 
the   service  generally. 

W.  T.  Blythe,  in  charge  of  the  weather  bureau 
of  Indianapolis,  has  been  ordered  to  send  out  over 
the  telephone  lines  the  weather,  reports  at  a  given 
hour  every  forenoon.  It  is  thought  that  60,000 
people  in  Indiana  will  receive  the  weather  report 
simultaneously  every  day.  S. 


Southeastern  Telephone  Developments. 

The  Piedmont  Telephone  Company  of  Gastonia, 
N.  C,  will  build  an  exchange  at  Grover  and  rebuild 
those  at  Blacksburg  and  at  Yorkville,  S.  C.  Several 
toll  lines  are  also  to  be  built  giving  a  rural  service 
to  a  number  of  counties. 

The  Southern  Bell  Telephone  Company  has  bought 
the  Independent  exchange  at  Rockingham,  N.  C, 
and  will  improve  the  plant.  J.  B.  Maxwell,  iii  charge 
of  the  exchanges  at  Laurinburg,  Hamlet  and  Max- 
ton,  will  be  in  charge  of  the  Rockingham  exchange. 
The  Bryson  City  (N.  C.)  Telephone  Company  has 
been  chartered  with  a  capital  of  $5,000.  R.  L.  Sand- 
ridge  is  one  of  the  incorporators. 

Materia!  for  the  underground  system  of  telephones 
at  Asheville,  N.  C,  has  been  shipped.  Work  "is  also 
being  done  in  preparation  for  the  handsome  new  tele- 
phone building  for  the  Asheville  company. 

The  Homeville  Telephone  Companj'  of  Homeville, 
Va.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$5,oco.  B.  R.  Birdsong  of  Homeville  is  president  of 
the  company. 

The  Southern  Bell  Telephone  Company  is  install- 
ing a  new  system  at  Gadsden,  Ala.,  where  new  tele- 
phones, cables,  etc.,  are  being  put  in  and  the  system 
generally  overhauled. 

M.  A.  Floyd  has  purchased  the  Berkley  telephone 
system  at  St.  Stephens,  S.  C. 

The  Southern  Bell  Telephone  Company,  it  is  an- 
nounced, will  install  an  underground  system  in 
Columbus,  Ga.,  and  will  build  a  handsome  new  ex- 
change building  in  that  town. 

The  stockholders  of  the  Cumberland  Telephone 
and  Telegraph  Company,  at  a  meeting  in  Hopkins- 
ville,  Ky.,  voted  to  increase  the  capital  stock  from 
$13,500,000  to  $17,000,000.  The  proceeds  of  the  new 
stock  will  be  used  for  extensions  and  improvements. 
James  E.  Caldwell  is  president  and  general  mana- 
ger of  the   company. 

L. 


February  24,  1906 

this  the  company  pays  a  gross-earnings  tax  of  three 
per  cent. 

The  City  Council  at  Anoka,  Minn.,  has  finally 
granted  permission  to  the  Tri-state  Telephone  Com- 
pany to  construct  a  line  into  that  city  and  estab- 
lish pay  stations. 

A  Kellogg  switchboard  has  been  purchased  and 
will  be  installed  at  the  exchange  at  Franklin,  Minn. 

The  Hample-Crete  Telephone  Company  has  been 
incorporated  near  Oakes,  N.  D.,  with  $50,000  cap- 
ital. 

The  Minnesota  Central  Telephone  Company  will 
rebuild  the  local  exchange  at  Sleepy  Eye,  Minn. 
Cable  work  will  be  installed  as  well  as  a  central- 
energy  switchboard. 

A  council  committee  in  Minneapolis  is  consider- 
ing the  best  basis  of  proceeding  in  the  matter  of 
requiring    conduits    for    wires. 

The  Pingree  (N.  D.)  Telephone  Company  has 
been  incorporated  with  $50,000  capital. 

The  local  telephone  company  at  Mt.  Vernon, 
Iowa,  is  planning  on  rebuilding  its  lines  throughout. 

The  Farmers'  Mutual  Telephone  Company  of 
Vinton,  Iowa,  may  sell  its  system  to  the  Corn  Belt 
Telephone  Company  of  Waterloo. 

The  Bedford  (Iowa)  Telephone  Company  has 
bought  all  the  toll  lines  running  out  of  Bedford. 

The  Henry,  (S.  D.)  Lmion  Telephone  Company 
has  been  organized  with  J.  T.  Belk  as  president  and 
E.   Reineke  secretary  and  manager. 

The  Northwestern  Telephone  Exchange  Com- 
pany will  put  in  a  central-energy  system  at  Graf- 
ton, N.  D.  R. 


Ohio  Telephone  Notes. 

A  few  days  ago  a  syndicate  headed  by  James  S. 
Brailey  of  Toledo  secured  a  controlling  interest  in 
the  Sandusky  Telephone  Company,  which  has  an  ex- 
cellent system  in  Sandusky  and  some  good  lines  to 
the  surrounding  country.  It  is  supposed  this  is 
only  a  part  of  the  plan  of  grouping  the  companies 
in  Ohio. 

Reports  of  the  officers  of  the  Columbus  Citizens' 
Telephone  Company  at  the  annual  meeting  a  few 
days  ago  showed  the  earnings  have  made  a  splendid 
increase  since  the  exchange  was  completed  in  the 
new  building,  and  the  gain  in  subscribers  has  been 
very  satisfactory.  The  announcement  was  made  that 
the  company  had  leased  the  properties  of  the  Frank- 
lin County  Telephone  Company  as  of  January  1,  1906. 
This  company  has  a  capital  stock  of  $150,000  and 
five  per  cent,  annual  dividends  are  guaranteed  on 
this. 

The  Cincinnati  and  Suburban  Bell  Telephone  Com- 
pany has  sent  out  return  postal  cards  to  all  its  sub- 
scribers, asking  if  they  desire  another  telephone  sys- 
tem in  the  city. 

Earnings  of  the  subsidiary  companies  of  the  Fed- 
eral Telephone  Company  show  good  increases  over 
1904,  in  every  instance.  Gross  and  net  earnings,  re- 
spectively, of  the  various  companies  named  for  1905, 
are  as  follows:  Stark  County  Telephone  Company, 
$81,842  and  $40,697;  Citizens'  Company  of  Fostoria, 
$13,520  and  $5,054;  Columbiana  County  Company, 
$5°,73S  and  $17,372 ;  Lancaster  Company,  $20,475  and 
$7.533 ;  Massillon  Compans',  $20,560  and  $6.797 ; 
Findlay  Home  Company,  $22,200  and  $8.2S8:  Zanes- 
ville  Company,  $31,872  and  $11,542;  Youngstown 
Company,  $55,658  and  $29,088;  United  States  Com- 
pany, $479,463  and  $168,858. 

Officers  of  the  Citizens'  Independent  Telephone 
Company  of  New  Lexington  have  been  elected.  A 
modern  plant  is  to  be  built  at  New  Lexington,  which 
will  supply  the  town  and  the  entire  territory  of  Perry 
County  with  service.  C. 


Telephone   News  from    the   Northwest. 

The  Twin  City  Telephone  Company  has  reported 
to  the  state  auditor  of  Minnesota  earnings  for  the 
year  ended  November  30,   1905,  of  $506,210.62.    On 


NEW  COMPANIES. 

H.  P.  Stumpf  and  associates  of  Waterloo,  111., 
have  incorporated  as  the  Farmers'  Fountain  Tele- 
phone Company  with  a   capital  of  $10,000. 

The  Floraville  Rural  Telephone  Company  of 
Floraville,  111.,  has  been  incorporated  by  L.  I.  Zim- 
belmann,   Philip  Worth  and  Louis  Eckert. 

A  new  telephone''  company  has  been  organized  in 
Fulton,  Ky.,  to  operate  a  telephone  system.  J.  D. 
Kennady  is  president  and  G.  Browder  secretary. 

The  Chester  Telephone  Company  of  Armour, 
S.  D.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $i,coo  by  G.  Funlendorf,  Frank  Groesbeck  and 
others. 

A.  J.  Davis,  W.  H.  Ames  and  S.  A.  Hayward 
have  incorporated  as  the  Peoria,  Pekin  and  Tre- 
mont  Telephone  Company,  with  headquarters  at 
Tremont,    III. 

The  Reeves  County  Telephone  Company  of  Pecos, 
Texas,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  of 
$25,000  for  the  purpose  of  conducting  a  telenhone 
business  in  the  counties  of  Reeves,  Pecos,  Ward, 
Loving,  El  Paso  and  Winkler.  W.  C.  Kelley,  R. 
S.  Johnson  and  R.  D.  Cage  are  among  the  incor- 
porators. 

Among  the  recently  incorporated  telephone  com- 
panies are  the  following:  Sedan  Telephone  Com- 
pany, Sedan,  Minn. ;  Citizens'  Economic  Telephone 
Company,  Fedora.  S.  D. ;  Langford  Telephone  Com- 
pany, Langford,  S.  D. ;  Centerville  Rural  Telephone 
Company,  Excelsior,  Kan. ;  High  Line  Telephone 
Company,  Long  Island.   Kali, 


February  24,  1906 


i  \-.\c.:    m.i-.i  1  i'n 


$  I  75  Telephone  Rate  Illegal  In  ChlcaRO. 

A  decision  by  thi    [llinoi  1  Supri  mi    1 
down  lasl   wi  '■!  ,  holdi    thai   Ch<    I  liii  1 1  li  phom 

I  ompany  1 1 1   ■•  '    rati     abo 

in    li,.    01  d ce   oi    1889,    undi  r  whicl 

II  [ram  hisc.     It  also  hold    thai   i  II 

has   1"  en   anm    ed    to   the   1  il ! ihi 

,,f   the   ordinance    i     subjci  1    to   the   conditi 

1! linani  e.    'I  I"-    maximi ate    in    thi     ordi 

nance  is  $125  ■'   I  '"■"      Several     •  ll n 

pany   began   charging   $175   whei tallii 

were   hi  talli  'I   i"  tal  1    thi    p  led 

feturn    system,    the    high 1    ol    the    1  1 

1 1  ii  e    1 thi     reason    -    en  the    asi 

I  int  ing    this    time    many    suits   have    bi  en    broughl 

again  .1   the  panj    for  rclii  1   he  hi| 

mo  1    ol    them   through   the    [llinoi  1    tfanufai  turei 
\    ,.,  MM, mi.    'I  he  '  ity  ol   1  'In'  ago  also  asserl 

the  c panj   owe     il   somi  thing   lil  e  '•  oo.o  "  ■ 

pensation,    this   amounl    1 g    1  qui  all  nl    to    thrci 

per  cent.  "I  gross  receipts   in  the  outlying   'I 

which  have  been  added  to  the  city  sinci    the  adop 
linn    nf   iln:   ordinance,   hut    in    which    territory    the 

ipanj    contends   that    it    is    nol    required    b      thi 

ordinance  to  pay  c pensation.     I  he  Supri  mi  1 

.,;  ,,    mil's   against   the   charging    of   tolls   to   points 
beyond   the   old   city    limits    bul    now    within    city. 

The  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  is  the  out 
conic  of  quo-warranto  proceedings  started  in  Judge 
Mack's  court  to  oust  the  corporation  from  the 
streets  for  its  failure  to  carry  out  the  provisions 
of    its    franchise    in    the    matter   of   rates. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Chicago  Telephone 
Company  recently  began  negotiations  with  the  city 
for  an  extension  of  its  franchise  (which  expires  in 
three  years),  it  is  likely  that  this  decision,  adverse 
to  the  company,  will  have  a  bearing  on  the  rates 
to  be  named  in  any  future  franchise  grant. 


Bell  Telephone  Finances. 

President  Fish  of  the  American  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company  has  announced  the  sale  of  the 
company's  four  per  cent,  convertible  debenture 
bonds,  amounting  to  $100,000,000,  to  a  syndicate" 
composed  of  J.  P.  Morgan  &  Co.  and  Kuhn,  Loeb 
&  Co.  of  New  York,  Baring  Brothers  of  London 
and  Kidder,  Pcabody  &  Co.  of  Boston.  It  is  under- 
stood that  the  bonds  were  sold  at  about  92.  The 
issue  was  necessitated  by  the  company's  need  of 
funds  with  which  to  expand  and  develop  its  busi- 
ness. The  bonds  will  be  convertible  into  stock  at 
140,  after  three  years,  and  will  mature  in  30  years. 
This  sale  will  provide  for  the  company's  require- 
ments for  at  least  three  years,  including  the  pay- 
ment of  the  five  per  cent,  coupon  notes,  amount- 
ing to  $25,000,000,  which  mature  May  2,  1907,  and 
the  American  Bell  company's  debentures,  amount- 
ing to  $io,oco,ooo,  which  mature  July  I,  1908.  The 
construction  requirements  for  the  Bell  companies 
of  the  United  States  call  for  about  $40,000,000  an- 
nually, of  which  the  parent  company  supplies  $25,- 
000,000  and  the  subsidiary  companies  supply  the 
remainder. 


TELEPHONE  MEN. 


John  C.  Woodbury  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  has  been 
elected  president  of  the  Stromberg-Carlson  Tele- 
phone Manufacturing  Company,  succeeding  Alfred 
Stromberg. 

Officers  and  a  few  employes  of  the  Cuyahoga 
Telephone  Company  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  met  a 
few  evenings  ago  and  presented  to  W.  B.  Wood- 
bury, the  retiring  assistant  general  manager,  a 
handsome  gold  watch,  chain  and  locket  and  a 
leather  upholstered  chair.  Mr.  Woodbury  will  be 
able  to  use  the  watch  to  good  advantage,  hut  his 
work  shows  that  he  has  not  worn  out  many  chairs 
during  the  last  few  years.  He  goes  to  Detroit  to 
superintend  the  construction  of  a  large  Independent 
system,  as  stated  in  the  Western  Electrician  re- 
cently. 

It  is  reported  that  Mr.  F.  S.  Dickson  is  to  re- 
tire from  the  presidency  of  the  Federal  Telephone 
Company  of  Cleveland  and  of  all  the  affiliated  com- 
panies. Mr.  Dickson  is  to  become  Cleveland  man- 
ager for  a  firm  of  brokers  and  will  have  charge 
of  the  business  of  the  office,  while  his  son  will 
look  after  the  stock-exchange  end.  Mr.  Dickson 
is  well  fitted  for  such  a  position,  as  he  is  posted 
on  stocks.  R.  W.  Judd  will  also  retire  as  treas- 
urer of  the  Federal  Telephone  Company  and  will 
later  on  be  connected  with  the  Guardian  Savings 
and  Trust  Company. 


Resonant-circuit  Telephony. 
1  he   fundami  1 

i 

of  the  llux,  , 

gradually  and 

ing,"  thi 

any    time    ■'    di 

but,   on    ; 

'liictioli 

It   is   1  mating 


A  new  telephone  company,  the  Ohio  and  Missisippi 
Valley  Telephone  Company,  has  been  formed  and 
proposes  to  take  over  and  consolidate  the  properties 
of  the  Carbondale,  Anna,  Marion  and  Du  Quoin 
(111.)  telephone  companies.  The  new  company  will 
have  a  capital  of  $100,000,  and  headquarters  will  be 
at  Carbondale.  William  H.  Warder  of  Marion,  Dr. 
F.  W.  Willard  of  Anna,  H.  C.  Miller  of  Du  Quoin 
and  J.  B.  Burdy  of  Carbondale  are  the  men  inter- 
ested. 


RESONAN 

1. 'in  re  1  tance  the  current  flowing  will  be  a  func- 
tion of  the  self-induction  and  the  1  ipacity.  There 
in  certain  values  of  If  induction  and  capacity 
with  which,  for  a  given  frequency,  the  circuit  be- 
comes "resonant"  and  a  cm  rent  n  ,tly  in 
excess   of   the   current    which    would    flow    in   either 

the    self  inducti r    the    condensi  r    alone.      On 

cither  side  of  this  critical  point — that  is  to  say, 
if  the  self-induction,  the  capacity  or  the  fre- 
quency he  varied— the  current  falls  off  rapidly;  but 
the  rate  of  fall  depends,  other  things  being  equal, 
on  the  resistance  of  the  circuit. 

In  practicing  the  invention,  a  simple  form  of 
which  is  shown  in  the  accompanying  illustration, 
it  is  preferable  to  tune  the  transmitter  circuit  so 
that  the  current  is  a  little  below  its  maximum 
value — that  is,  so  that  the  circuit  is  nearly  but  not 
quite  resonant,  and  to  vary  the  constants  of  the 
circuit  by  the  action  of  the  transmitter,  so  as  to 
cause  variations  in  the  current  corresponding  more 
or  less  exactly  to  the  air  vibrations  to  be  repro- 
duced. These  variations  may  be  caused  to  produce 
sound  in  any  suitable  receiver.  This  involves  the 
use  of  a  source  of  alternating  current,  and  it  is 
obvious  that  with  any  commercial  frequency  the 
currents  produced  by  that  source  would  be  heard 
in  the  receiver.  If  the  frequency  were  badly 
chosen  the  sounds  thus  produced  would  be  very 
annoying,  and  it  is  therefore  preferable  to  use  a 
generator  of  a  rather  low  or  rather  high  frequency. 
Though  it  is  in  some  respects  preferable,  it  is  not 
necessary  that  this  frequency  should  be  either 
above  or  below  the  audible  limit.  The  invention 
also  contemplates  multiplexing  the  system  thus  con- 
stituted  and   also   comprises  various   other   features. 


Work  of   the  National-Interstate   Tele- 
phone Association. 

il     W. 

tent  — M.     II 

Ala.;    Edmund 

■  ,iladcl- 

1    ;, "rating     Rules     and     ReguUl 
I.     II.    Casey,    chairman,    St 

Handlan,  Wheeling,  \V.  \'a.;   L   k.   Merrick,   Free- 
port.  111. 

The    association    would    like    to    hear    from    cotn- 

operating  rur: il  :ms  in   regard 

to    the    increased    valui  late    in   country 

due   to  the   introduction   of  the  telephone. 

The   compilation   and   publication   of   statistics   with 

to   this   will  be  of  interest  and  value  to 

all    Independent  operators. 

The  official    Independent  shield  is  being  displayed 
Those   not  yet   using  it   can 
obtain    an    illustrated    catalogue    upon    requ 
headquarters. 


Ohio   Independent  Telephone  Associa- 
tion. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  executive  commitee  of  the 
Ohio  Independent  Telephone  Association  in  Colum- 
bus a  few  days  ago  the  members  spent  the  greater 
portion  of  the  time  in  discussing  legislation.  At 
the  instance  of  the  Independent  people,  bills  will 
be  introduced  in  the  General  Assembly  which,  be- 
sides other  benefits  anticipated,  will  clear  the  way 
for  the  Independents  to  build  a  system  in  Cincin- 
nati and  Hamilton  County,  a  point  they  have  never 
been  able  to  enter  because  of  the  opposition  of 
the  City  Council  and  the  fight  made  by  the  Bell 
company. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Ohio  Independent 
Telephone  Association  will  be  held  in  Columbus 
on  March  30th.  It  is  thought  this  meeting  will 
be  of  more  importance  than  any  in  the  past.  A 
year  ago  a  movement  was  started  at  the  annual 
meeting  for  a  closer  union  of  the  Independent 
companies,  and  this  has  developed  into  a  national 
affair,   with   a   splendid   financial   backing. 


Canadian    Bell    Telephone    Improve- 
ments. 

The  management  of  the  Canadian  Bell  Telephone 
Company  has  completed  arrangement  for  the  ex- 
penditure, this  year,  of  about  $2,000,000  in  general 
improvements  to  its  system  throughout  the  Do- 
minion. The  building  of  the  Uptown  Exchange  in 
Montreal  is  being  proceeded  with,  and  an  order 
has  been  placed  for  a  new  switchboard  costing 
over  $200,000.  A  new  building  is  to  be  erected 
in  Westmount.     In  Toronto  another  large  exchange 


GENERAL  TELEPHONE   NEWS 

R.  E.  Moore  of  Decatur,  Texas,  has  received  a 
franchise  to  operate  a  telephone  system  in  Ravia, 
Indian  Territory. 

The  Pingree  (N.  D.)  Telephone  Company  has 
been   incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $50,000.    James 

Price  is  interested. 

The  Southwestern  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany will  establish  a  telephone  exchange  in  South 
Dallas,  Texas,  next  year. 

The  Cleo.  Cimarron  Valley  and  Western  Tele- 
phone Company  of  Clarion,  Okla.,  has  been  incor- 
porated with  a  capital  of  $5,000.  The  incorporators 
are  James  E.  Ely  and  others  of  Clarion. 

The  name  of  the  Eastern  Telephone  Company  of 
Rockland.  Mass..  has  been  changed  to  the  Maine 
Telegraph  and  Telephone  Company  and  the  capi- 
tal stock  has  been  increased  to  $250,000. 

Negotiations  are  in  progress  for  the  absorption 
at  Anderson,  S.  C,  of  the  Anderson  Telephone 
Company  by  the  Bell  company.  The  Bell  interests 
will  operate  under  the  franchise  of  the  local  com- 
pany,   it   is    stated. 

With  headquarters  at  Mattoon,  111.,  the  Coles 
County  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company  has  been 
incorporated,  capitalized  at  $100,000  I.  A.  Lumpkin, 
W.  C.  Lumpkin  and  John  McXutt.  Jr.,  are  the  in- 
corporators. 

According  to  statistics  compiled  by  Frank  L.  Beam, 
manager  of  the  Ohio  Independent  Telephone  t 
ation,  six  months  after  the  annual  meeting  in  1005 
there  were  227,277  subscribers.  695  exchanges,  1.604 
toll  stations  and  18,239  stockholders  in  the  Inde- 
pendent ranks  in  Ohio.  The  great  growth  of  the 
movement  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  reports  at  the 
last  annual  meeting  showed  that  there  were  196,937 
subscribers,  668  exchanges,  1.604  toll  stations  and 
17,029  stockholders.  At  that  time  it  is  claimed  the 
Bell  companies  had  104,31s  subscribers,  and  six 
months  later  the  number  was  108,991. 

The  Pacific  States  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany which  held  its  annual  meeting  at  Portland.  Ore., 
recently,  and  elected  Henry  T.  Scott  presid 
re-elected  Louis  Glass  as  vice-president  and  general 
manager  and  F.  W.  Eaton,  secretary.  The  old  board 
was  re-elected  and  the  number  increased  to  15 
by  the  addition  of  Henry  T.  Scott  and  Frank  G. 
Drum,  both  of  San  Francisco.  The  company  spent 
over  $4.oco.coo  on  improvements  on  the  Coast  last 
year,  the  greater  part  of  which  was  expended  on  the 
five  new  buildings  and  new  switchboards  throughout 
the  city  of  San  Francisco.  The  offices  of  the  engi- 
neering department  and  several  other  branches  have 
been  moved  from  216  Bush  Street  to  the  fine  new- 
executive  office  building  on  Xew  Montgomery  Street. 


1 66 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


February  24,   ic 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

Great  Britain. 

London,  February  7. — The  campaign  by  a  local 
firm  of  parcels  and  goods  carriers  in  Manchester 
against  the  position  taken  up  by  the  Manchester 
corporation  that  it  was  entitled  to  carry  on  the 
business  of  goods  carriers  in  all  its  branches  has 
been  brought  to  the  courts  and  a  decision  given. 
The  facts  are  these:  Under  various  acts  of  Par- 
liament, ancient  and  modern,  the  Manchester  cor- 
poration was  without  doubt  authorized  to  collect 
and  deliver  parcels  by  its  tramway  system  en 
route.  To  this  extent  no  opposition  could  be  taken, 
but  quite  recently  a  complete  carriers'  organization 
has  been  developed  for  the  general  distribution  of 
goods  throughout  the  area  served  by  the  tramways, 
which  is  much  greater  than  the  Manchester  area 
for  rateable  purposes.  It  follows  that  vans  and 
other  conveyances  were  used  having  no  connection 
whatsover  with  the  tramways,  and  a  large  firm  of 
goods  carriers  in  Manchester,  being  also  large  tax- 
payers, questioned  the  action  of  the  corporation. 
The  decision  of  the  courts  is  a  somewhat  curious 
one,  inasmuch  as  it  would  appear  to  offer  the  cor- 
poration a  loophole.  The  courts  uphold  the  case 
for  the  corporation  in  so  far  as  the  carriage  of 
goods  by  tramways  is  concerned,  but  any  business 
independent  of  the  tramways  is  restrained.  In 
other  words,  every  parcel  must  be  carried  part  of 
its  journey  by  tram  car,  and  then  it  may  quite 
legally  be  transferred  to  a  cart  or  van.  Some 
restriction  is  placed  upon  the  funds  which  may  be 
applied  for  the  purposes  of  this  undertaking,  but 
it  may  be  said  that  in  effect  the  carriers  and  rate- 
payers have  lost  their  case.  On  the  face  of  it 
such  a  competition  appears  distinctly  unfair,  and 
if  municipal  trading  of  such  a  character  is  to  be 
indulged  in  to  any  considerable  extent  throughout 
the  country,  as  it  may  very  well  be  done  under 
this  decision,  then  the  sooner  some  modification  of 
the  rating  laws,  as  applied  to  persons  whose  busi- 
ness is  competed  with,  is  made,  the  better  will 
justice  be  meted  out. 

An  interesting  proposal  has  been  made  to  con- 
struct a  private  right-of-way  between  London  and 
Brighton — the  fashionable  South  Coast  watering 
place,  50  miles  away — for  the  sole  use,  on  the  pay- 
ment of  a  toll,  of  mechanically  propelled  vehicles. 

Probably  no  tramway  promoter  has  met  with 
more  obstruction  than  Sir  Clifton  Robinson,  who 
is  one  of  the  pioneers  in  the  introduction  of  elec- 
tric tramways  in  this  country.  He  is  head  of  the 
company  which  was  the  first  to  commence  electrical 
working  in  and  near  London,  and  his  fight  against 
prejudice  and  wilful  obstruction  led  him  to  make 
some  very  strong  remarks  before  the  traffic  commis- 
sion. Since  then  his  every  proposal  has  been  beset 
with  difficulty,  culminating  in  a  long  inquiry  with 
regard  to  the  effect  of  his  tramways  upon  the  deli- 
cate instruments  at  the  Kew  Magnetic  Observatory. 
The  latest  move  against  the  London  United  Tram- 
ways was  a  petition  to  the  Board  of  Trade  on  the 
ground  that  the  tram  cars  were  too  noisy,  and  after 
a  long  inspection  it  was  said  that  the  cause  of  the 
trouble  was  in  part  loose  brake  gear  and  also 
loose  rail  joints.  The  Board  of  Trade  has  drawn 
the  attention  of  the  company  to  this  matter,  and 
it  will  be  remedied.  Of  course  the  company  is  to 
blame;  but  it  is  an  incident  which  demonstrates  the 
state   of  feeling  in   these  matters  in   some  districts. 

Prof.  Silvanus  Thompson  has  just  completed  a 
course  of  lectures  before  the  Society  of  Arts  on 
the  design  of  high-speed  electrical  machinery  with 
special  reference  to  dynamos  for  turbine  drive. 
Special  attention  is  being  devoted  to  this  subject 
here  just  now,  and  the  lectures  have  indicated  that 
several   important  improvements  are   in  hand. 

The  action  of  municipalities  here  in  engaging 
in  the  electric-wiring  business,  more  or  less  ille- 
gally, has  been  reported  from  time  to  time.  The 
Electrical  Contractors'  Association  is  now  becoming 
very  vigilant  in  regard  to  cases  of  this  kind,  and 
quite  a  number  of  local  authorities  have  discon- 
tinued the  practice  under  a  threat  of  legal  pro- 
ceedings. The  latest  case  is  that  of  Barking,  a 
suburb  of  London,  where  apparently  the  business 
has  been  so  unremunerative  that  the  council  has 
dropped  it  of  its  own  free  will. 

Under  the  terms  of  most  of  the  "electric-power" 
acts  in  the  United  Kingdom  the  power  companies 
are  precluded  from  supplying  in  certain  specified 
towns  unless  by  the  special  request  of  a  customer, 
and  may  even  then  only  do  so  by  the  consent  of 
the  local  authority.  From  the  commencement  the 
suggestion  that  a  local  authority  would  yield  in 
the  circumstances  was  never  entertained,  and  this 
view  has  been  borne  out  in  fact.  During  the  past 
12  months  power  companies  in  all  parts  of  the 
country  have  been  requested  to  give  a  supply  in 
certain  "precluded"  towns,  but  have  met  with  a 
point-blank  refusal  from  the  local  authorities,  who, 
of  course,  own  electricity  works.  If  all  the  com- 
panies take  advantage  of  their  right  to  appeal  to 
the  Board  of  Trade  there  seems  a  good  deal  of 
hard  work  in  store  for  that  department. 

At  its  last  meeting  the  London  County  Council 
decided  to  oppose  every  bill  in  Parliament  this 
year  relating  to  electric  power  supply  or  tube  rail- 
ways, and  also  the  bill  which  proposes  to  install  the 
Batcheler  system  of  parcel  delivery  by  pnuematic 
tubes.  C. 


New  York. 

New  York  city,  February  17. — The  report  of  the 
Interborough  Rapid  Transit  Company  for  the  quar- 
ter ended  December  31st,  filed  at  Albany  on  Mon- 
day, shows  an  increase  of  $708,747  in  gross  earn- 
ings and  of  $123,711  in  net  income  over  the  cor- 
responding period  in  1904.  On  the  subway  division 
the  gross  earnings  were  $1,887,317,  equivalent  to 
a  passenger-total  of  over  37,000,000  for  the  three 
months,  or  more  than  410,000  a  day.  The  net  in- 
come on  the  elevated  lines  was  $150,000,  which  was 
about  $88,000  less  than  for  the  corresponding  period 
of  1904.  An  analysis  of  the  figures,  however,  does 
not  place  the  dividend  possibilities  of  the  recent 
merger  of  the  Interborough-Metropolitan  interests 
in   a  favorable  light. 

The  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  Company  will  soon 
extend  its  old  "City"  line  to  Middle  Village, 
Queens  Borough.  This  is  part  of  a  general  plan 
to  utilize  the  Blackwell's  Island  Bridge  when  built. 
The  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  is  also  to  have  a 
new  car  barn  in  Queens  Borough,  its  present  yards 
at  East  New  York  being  now  deemed  too  valuable 
for   storing   purposes. 

Following  the  action  of  Borough  President 
Ahearn,  President  H.  H.  Vreeland  of  the  New 
York  City  Street  Railway  Company  has  promised 
to  do  something  in  the  way  of  providing  cleaner 
cars,  and  possibly  a  better  service  on  the  East 
Side.  Several  East  Side  educational  bodies  have 
been  assisting  in  the  agitation. 

The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  has  filed  plans  for 
a  four-story  power  house,  •  to  be  located  directly 
opposite  the  Manhattan  terminal.  The  designers 
of  the  generating  station  are  Westinghouse,  Church, 
Kerr  &  Co.,  who  estimate  its  cost  at  $300,000.  The 
building  will  be  of  granite,  to  match   the  terminal. 

At  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  last  Sunday  morning, 
a  fire  destroyed  the  power  plant  of  the  Pough- 
keepsie City  and  Wappinger's  Falls  Electric  Rail- 
way Company.  All  local  trolley  traffic  was  sus- 
pended, but  pending  the  rebuilding  of  the  station  * 
power  will  be  obtained  from  the  Poughkeepsie 
Light,  Heat  and  Power  Company. 

August  Belmont  attended  this  week's  meeting 
of  the  Civic  Federation  and  spoke  on  Welfare 
work  among  traction  employes.  He  outlined  a 
plan  for  housing  the  men  in  suburban  homes. 
President  H.  H.  Vreeland  of  the  New  York  City 
Street  Railway  Company,  told  of  what  had  already 
been  done  in  the  way  of  reading  and  recreation 
rooms  for  the  men  on  his  line.  Several  labor 
representatives    spoke    at    the    meeting. 

The  first  annual  report  of  the  state  Commission 
on  Gas  and  Electricity  shows  that  the  city  of  New 
York  has  3,250  open  arc  lamps,  as  against  2,045 
in  the  rest  of  the  state.  The  city  lighting  industry 
represents  71  per  cent,  of  the  light  capitalization 
and  77  per  cent,  of  the  incandescent  lamps  of  the 
state. 

A  bill  to  compel  the  establishment  of  a  general 
10-cent  telephone  rate  for  New  York  city  has  been 
introduced  at  Albany  by  Assemblyman  Alfred  E. 
Smith. 

The  New  York  Telephone  Company  has  filed 
plans  for  a  new  exchange  building  on  One-hundred- 
and-forty-sixth    Street,  to  cost  $110,000. 

Laborers  of  the  Orange  (N.  J.)  street  depart- 
ment are  removing  telephone  wires  from  the  trees, 
the  New  York  and  New  Jersey  Telephone  Com- 
pany having,  it  is  said,  violated  the  terms  of  its 
agreement  with  the  Common  Council. 

The  Rochester,  Scottsville  and-  Caledeonia  Elec- 
tric Railroad  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital 
of  $500,000,  by  Rochester  men,  to  operate  an  elec- 
tric   railroad    in    Livingston    County,    New    York. 

A.  F.  Gole  and  associates  have  organized  the 
Suttepec  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company  of 
Brooklyn    with    a    capital    of    $200,000. 

The  Mercer  Electrical  Company  has  been  incor- 
porated at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  with  a  capital  of  $100,- 
000. 

The  Hertlein  Silk  Mills  of  East  One-hundred- 
and-forty-eighth  Street  has  abandoned  its  private 
generating  plant,  and  now  takes  the  service  of  the 
Edison  company  for  each  of  its  many  individual 
motors.  The  Century  Club  has  likewise  abandoned 
its   private   installation. 

L.  K.  Comscock,  formerly  of  Chicago,  has  the 
contract  for  the  electrical  equipment  of  a  large 
new  building  at  >he  corner  of  Forty-fourth  Street 
and   Seventh  Avenue. 

New  electrical  work  is  to  be  put  in  at  Public 
School  No.  89,  Brooklyn.  Tenders  for  additional 
electrical  equipment,  to  the  probable  amount  of 
about  $5,oco,  at  the  Manual  Training  High  School, 
Brooklyn,  are  returnable  at  11  a.  m.  Februarv  26th. 
D.  WW. 


expropriate  certain  lands  for  new  terminals  in 
view  of  the  tunnel  being  built  under  the  Detroit 
River  at  Windsor,  Ont.  The  improvements  con- 
templated by  the  railway  company  will  cost  up- 
ward of  $5,000,000.  The  tubes  through  which 
trains  will  run  either  way  at  the  same  time  will  be 
laid  in  specially  prepared  trenches  and  will  be 
lighted  by  electricity.  The  Canada  Southern  road 
is  under  control   of  the   New   York  Central. 

The  new  power  house  of  the  Montreal  Street 
Railway  Company  to  be  erected  in  the  east  end 
of  the  city  and  upon  which  work  will  begin  soon 
will  cost,  it  is  estimated,  about  $1,000,000.  A  like 
sum  will  be  expended  on  new  lines  outside  the 
city.  For  the  latter  an  order  for  6,000  tons  of  T 
rails  has  been  placed,  sufficient  to  lay  50  miles  of 
track.  These  rails  are  all  for  May  delivery  and 
will  weigh  86l/2  pounds  to  the  yard.  The  company 
has  also  under  construction  100  new  cars,  which 
are  to  be  nine  feet  longer  than  any  now  in  use  in 
Montreal.  Rubber  tiling  is  to  be  utilized  for  the 
floors  and  the  cars  will  be  lighted  from  the  sides 
and  heated  by  electricity. 

A  bill  is  now  before  the  Legislature  of  Quebec 
to  charter  the  Southern  Electric  Company  for  the 
construction  through  and  in  the  counties  of  Nico- 
let,  Yamaska,  Arthabaska,  Drummond,  St.  Hy- 
acinthe,  Bagot,  "Megantic,  Wolfe,  Beauce,  Rich- 
mond and  Sherbrooke  of  various  electric  lines  and 
works  for  light,  heat  and  power.  The  powers 
asked  for  are  considered  most  extraordinary,  as 
they  practically  cover  the  absolute  grant  of  valu- 
able franchises  and  control  of  streets  and  high- 
ways within  the  counties.  V 


Winnipeg,  Man.,  February  17. — The  Winnipeg 
City  Council  has  awarded  a  contract  to  Jackes 
&  Co.  (agents  for  Crossley  &  Co.  of  Manchester, 
England)  for  a  gas-producing  plant.  The  price  was 
$114,000.     There    was    only    one   other    bid. 

The  Western  Counties  Power  Company  has  ac- 
quired the  plant  and  stock  of  the  Brantford  (Ont.) 
Electric  and  Operating  Company  and  will  oper- 
ate it.  The  company's  franchise  expires  in  three 
years  and  application  will  then  be  made  for  a  25- 
year  competitive  franchise.  The  company  proposes 
to  bring  Niagara  power  to  Brantford  and  make 
Brantford  a  great  distributing  center.  The  head 
offices  will  be  located  in  Brantford. 

The  Dominion  government  is  making  arrange- 
ments for  the  installation  of  an  electric-light  plant 
for  the  supply  of  electric  light  in  the  Parliament 
buildings.  At  present  the  government  is  paying 
one  of  the  Ottawa  lighting  companies  $4,000  a  year 
for  light.  Minister  of  Public  Works  Reaume  is 
inquiring    as    to    cost. 

The  Toronto  Electric  Street  Railway  Company 
is  preparing  to  order  from  the  Loraine  Steel  Com- 
pany 5,coo  tons  of  girder  steel  rails  to  relay  the 
tracks  of  main  lines  in  the  central  part  of  the  city. 
These  are  of  a  heavier  construction  than  has  ever 
been   used   in    Toronto  on   the   company's   lines. 

The  Winnipeg  Electric  Street  Railway  Company 
has  agreed  to  the  terms  of  the  Winnipeg,  Selkirk 
and  Lake  Winnipeg  Railway  Company,  and  the 
charter  has  been  drawn  up  for  the  transfer  to  the 
Winnipeg  Electric  Company.  This  transfer  has  been 
on  the  tapis  for  some  months  past,  but  there  lias 
been  some  difficulty  in  arriving  at  the  terms.  The 
transfer  will  be  submitted  to  the  shareholders  on 
February   27th    for    ratification. 

The  Ottawa  Electric  Street  Railway  Company's 
net  profit  for  the  last  year  was  $143,000,  or  14.3 
per  cent,  on  the  capital  stock  of  the  company 
($1,000,000).  During  the  last  year  the  number  of 
passengers  carried  was  9,891,000  and  the  receipts 
$449,833. 

A  power  dam  to  generate  2,575  horsepower  is  to 
be  built  on  the  Maitlaud  River  about  four  miles 
from  Goderich  on  Lake  Huron.  J.  T.  Goldthorpe 
has  completed  all  the  financial  arrangements.  The 
power  generated  will  be  used  for  lighting  the 
streets  and  for  a  system  of  radial  electric  railways. 

The  Grand  Falls  Power  Company  of  St.  John, 
N.  B.,  has  deposited  with  the  minister  of  public 
works  of  Canada  plans  of  a  dam  and  other  works 
to  be  built  in  River  St.  John  at  Grand  Falls, 
N.  B.  Work  on  the  big  power  dam  at  Fort 
Frances,  Ont.,  is  being  pushed  rapidly,  the  large 
cable  being  nowr  in  operation.  E.  G.  Penniman, 
Sr.,  of  Fort  Francis  and  E.  W.  Backus,  the  presi- 
dent of  the  company,  have  been  giving  the  work 
personal  attention.  H. 


Dominion  of  Canada. 

Ottawa,  Out.,  February  17th.— The  Railway  Com- 
mission of  Canada  is  considering  the  applications 
of  the  Ontario  Power  Company  and  the  Niagara 
Power  Company  for  authority  to  cross  the  Grand 
Trunk,  Michigan  Central  and  other  railways  with 
their  transmission  lines.  The  railways  opposed  the 
application  on  the  ground  that  the  safety  of  the 
public  is  not  sufficiently  guaranteed.  It  is  prob- 
able that  a  cradlework  to  protect  the  tracks  will 
be  agreed  upon. 

The  Canada  Southern  Raihvay  Company  has  ap- 
plied  to   the   Railway   Commission   for   authority   to 


New  England. 

Boston,  Mass.,  February  17. — In  the  Massachu- 
setts Legislature  petitions  from  the  following- 
named  for  incorporation  have  been  referred  to 
the  next  Legislature:  Boston-Lowell  Interurban 
Street  Railway  Company,  Boston  and  Rhode  Island 
Electric  Railway  Company  and  the  Fitchburg,  Ash- 
burnham  and  Winchendon  Electric  Railway  Com- 
pany. 

The  Edison  Electric  Illuminating  Company  of 
Boston  has  bought  the  block  numbered  416  to  430 
Atlantic  Avenue,  now  occupied  by  a  number  of 
tenants  engaged  in  various  lines  of  business.  The 
property's  assessed  valuation  is  $355,900.  It  con- 
sists of  24,176  square  feet  of  land,  situated  over  .a 
block  away  from  the  company's  Atlantic  Avenue 
Station. 

The    Consolidated    Railway    Company    has    been 


February   24,   [906 


ELECTRK 


di  >  hi"   ill-     hi  1  ability  of  building   an   elect™ 

railway    bi  twi  en    '.I I id    Co 

., i,,l  iii.iiiv  owhci     of  land  along  thi    propo  ed  routi 

l,,n,    .-n.  red   to  givi     p 

company. 

I  he  citizen  i  ol  V\  im  he  iter,  Ma        have  p 

ilic    State    <  ia  1    and    E  lc<  trii     I  .igln    1  m 

to   hold   .'i   hi  :n  "m:  on   tl al 1    prici      1   

[or  elect!  icity   In    tin     Ed Electrii     1 II ■ 

( pan}     whii  li    lighl  1    thai    town       ll    ha      been 

proposed  thai  the  town  buj   il     1  1     al   wholi 

jale   from  thi    Ecli  on  01    tin     Haldi panj   and 

1      11     own    distributing.      I  he mi    1  -ilk   of 

the  town  installing  and  operating   il     own  el 

lighl   plant. 

I  he    Massachusctl  i    railroad    c 1 

approved   the   Springfield  Street   Railwaj    '  

petil im   mill s   to  ."  1 1  1 .11  riei   ol 

baggage  and   freight.      I  In     company    trolled 

by  the  New  York,  N.-w  Haven  and  Hartford  Rail 
road  Company. 

Municipal    ownership    ol    tin     1  hii  opi  e    (W 
electric-light  planl   has  1101   been  a   financial 
during  the  last  year.     The  expenditures  havi    been 
much    greater    than    the    receipts,    and    the    official 
report    makes    no   account    of    depreciation    becau 
tli! .   "has  been  cared   for  by   paynn  nts   foi    repaii 

The    Boston    'I  ransit    Commission    has   advi  rti  ed 

[or   bids   foi    the  itruction  of  the   section   ol    thi 

Washington  Strcel  subway  between  a  point  about 
150  feel  north  of  State  Strcel  and  Hanover  Street, 
The  bids  will  be  opened  al   11  on   March  6th. 

The  Old  Colony  Streel  Railway  Company  has 
petitioned  for  the  Massachusetts  railroad  commi 
sioners'  approval  of  its  riglu  to  curry  freight  in 
Fall  River,  the  municipal  authorities  having  granted 
permission.  The  board  is  still  considering  the 
company's  petition  for  approval  of  a  similar  right 
in  Brockton,  Taunton,  Easton,  Dighton,  Raynham, 
Rehoboth  and  Scekonk. 

The  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford  Rail- 
road Company  is  considering  plans  for  a  tunnel  be- 
tween the  Union  Station  in  Providence,  R.  I.  and 
the  company's  tracks  in  East  Providence,  a  distance 
of  two  miles.  The  company  will  probably  use 
electric  power  ill  the  tunnel. 

Notwithstanding  its  recent  acquisition  of  the 
Hartford.  Manchester  and  Rockville  Tramway 
Company,  the  Consolidated  Railway  Company  is 
proceeding  with  its  arrangements  for  an  additional 
electric  line  between  Hartford  and  Rockville,  Conn. 
The  New  York.  New  Haven  and  Hartford  railroad 
tracks  between  Burnside  and  Rockville  will  be 
equipped  with  an  overhead  trolley  system  and  will 
be  used  for  electric  cars.  The  Hartford  Electric 
Light  Company  is  under  contract  to  furnish  the 
power  and  it  has  erected  the  poles  for  the  trans- 
mission  wires. 

The  documents  completing  the  consolidation  of 
the  Rutland  Street  Railway,  the  Chittenden  Power 
and  the  Vermont  Internal  Improvement  companies 
have  been  filed  with  the  Vermont  secretary  of 
state.  The  company  has  a  capital  of  $2,400,000  and 
it  proposes  to  establish  a  direct  trunk  line  of  elec- 
tric railway  through  Southern  Vermont,  south  of 
Essex  Junction. 

The  DeForest  Occidental  and  Oriental  Wireless 
Company  has  filed  its  certificate  of  incorporation 
with  the"  secretary  of  state  of  Maine.  It  is  a  sub- 
sidiary of  the  American  De  Forest  Wireless  Tele- 
graph" Company  and  it  proposes  to  operate  be- 
tween Kittery,  Me.,  and  any  part  of  the  United 
States. 

The  Johns-Pratt  Company  of  Hartford,  Conn., 
manufacturer  of  electric  insulations  and  supplies, 
has  voted  to  increase  its  capital  from  $150,000  to 
$300,000.  Of  the  company's  surplus  $150,000  will 
be  capitalized  in  the  form  of  a  stock  dividend.  The 
company's  stock  is  quoted  at"  575'  bid,  and  it  will 
continue  to  pay  its  regular  dividends  of  20  per 
cent. 

The  Bryant  Electric  Company  has  awarded  the 
contract  for  the  erection  of  an  addition  to  its 
Bridgeport  (Conn.)  plant,  to  cost  $25,000.  The 
addition  will  be  brick,  three  stories  and  basement, 
60  by  122  feet.     It  will  be  electrically  equipped. 

The  Norwich  and  Westerly  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany has  made  a  contract  for  electrical  equipment 
costing  $100,000,  with  the  Westinghouse  company. 
The  equipment  is  to  be  delivered  in  time  for  the 
company  to  begin  running  its  road  on  July  1st. 

Municipal  ownership  of  gas  and  electric-light 
plants  was  defeated  a  second  time  in  the  Boston 
Common  Council  by  a  vote  of  44  to  15,  with  16 
absent  or  not  voting.  It  required  50  votes  to  pass 
the  order.  This  measure  is  now  killed  unless  it  is 
taken  up  by  the  aldermen  and  sent  by  them  to 
the   Common   Council.  B. 


Ohio. 

Cleveland,  February  17. — Judge  S.  W.  Smith  has 
decided  that  the  Cincinnati  Gas  and  Electric  Com- 
pany has  a  valid  contract  with  the  city  of  Cincin- 
nati to  furnish  natural  gas.  Suit  was  brought  for 
an  injunction  to  prevent  the  consummation  of  the 
contract,  but  the  position  of  the  company  was  up- 
held by  the   court. 

Senator  Howe  has  introduced  his  tax  measure 
in  the  General  Assembly.  It  provides  for  taxing 
the  franchises  of  all  public-service  corporations 
and  the  abolishment  of  the  levy  for  state  pur- 
poses.    His   plan    is   to   tax   the   corporations,    as   at 


to     I,        i 
d 

iturc. 

1  SI,    11     i      il [I  - 

im  ,,1  porati  d  to  bit  Id  tin 

1,000 

I   '.im.  il 

the    Northern    0 

building    the    Mill    Street    bridge.  1  h 

to  I"    returned  t"  the  citj   bj 

Repot  1  luting    depart 

1 1      1  '  hi    Lima    mid 

the    Fori    Wayne,    Van    Wcrl    and  Lima    will    be 

ol    1  -1 1    \\  iyni 

eluding  the  line  thai   1    bi  ing  buill   I 
and   Toledo      I  hi   -    ai  c  all    jchoepl 
A    bill    has   b troi 

emblj    v.  hii  h  «  ill  pro  ition  of 

$25,000   for   installing   an   electi  t  in   the 

tatehouse. 

All   the  din  ctot     and   offio 
the    annual    meeting    of    thi 
Millet     \ih  hoi    1  Company  of   Norwalk      It 
cided    to    increase    the   capital    stock    from   $20,000 

[0,000. 

I  he  I  fenrj  1 ',.  Jai  kson  Electi  ic  Company  of 
Parkersburg,  W.  Va„  has  been  incorporated  with 
a  capital  stuck  of  $50,000  to  conduct  a  general 
electric  business.  Henry  C.  Jackson,  C.  I..  Will- 
iams  and   others   arc   interested    in   the   company. 

li  is  announced  that  the  Canton  and  New  Phila- 
delphia Traction  Company  will  rebuild  the  car 
barns  that  were  burned  some  time  ago.  and  that 
they  will  be  much  larger  than  the  old  ones.  In 
connection  with  this  a  line  is  being  promoted  from 
Canal  Dover  to  Coshocton  and  Zanesville,  and  ihis 
will  increase  the  needs  of  the  company  in  the 
way   "f  car  barns  and  power  property.        ().  M.  C. 


Indiana. 


Indianapolis,  February  17. — The  Columbus  and 
Seymour  Traction  Company  has  filed  articles  of 
incorporation,  capitalized  at  $20,000,  and  proposes 
to  build  an  interurban  line  between  Columbus  & 
Seymour.  The  directors  are  Frank  P.  Smith.  C.  S. 
Baker,  R.  O.  Boyer,  H.  P.  Hughes  and  M.  M. 
Campbell.  It  is  said  the  Indianapolis,  Columbus 
and  Southern  Traction  Company  may  operate  the 
road  when  completed. 

According  to  reports  made  by  the  various  offi- 
cials of  traction  lines  centering  at  Indianapolis  the 
amount  of  freight  handled  during  the  month  of 
January  exceeded  that  of  any  previous  month  in 
the  history  of  the  roads.  The  strides  made  in  the 
number  of  passengers  carried  have  been  almost  as 
great.  The  net  gain  of  the  Consolidated  company 
lines  was  over  100  per  cent,  in  advance  of  that 
of  the  same  roads  in  January.  1005.  The  gross 
gains  of  the  Indiana  Union  Traction  Company's 
freight  department  amounted  to  100  per  cent., 
while  the  net  gains  were  65  per  cent. 

Accidents,  fatal  and  otherwise,  on  the  Indiana 
interurban  roads  have  become  so  prevalent  as  to 
attract  considerable  attention  and  will  likely  lead 
up  to  additional  and  far  more  stringent  legislation. 

The  Central  Manufacturing  Company  of  Con- 
nersville  has  just  opened  its  new  building,  a  one- 
story  structure  540  feet  long.  The  building  is 
equipped  with  the  finest  machinery,  driven  by 
electric  power.  Seventeen  electric  motors  ranging 
from  three  to  30  horsepower  and  haying  a  total 
capacity  of  195  horsepower  have  been  installed. 

The  use  of  electric  current  from  a  traction  wire 
for  heating  and  lighting  his  house  and  barn  and 
running  his -farm  machinery  is  being  experimented 
with  by  W.  H.  Smith,  a  farmer,  who  has  built  a 
handsome  home  on  the  Indianapolis  and  North- 
western electric  railway.  Mr.  Smith  has  erected  a 
power  house  near  his  home  and  tapped  the  wires 
of  the  company.  The  current  is  conducted  along 
underground  wires.  Motors  of  various  sizes  and 
kinds  have  been  placed  for  the  purpose  of  driving 
light  and  power  machinery.  In  the  spring  Mr. 
Smith  will  add  equipment  to  run  his  plows  and 
other  field  implements.  He  thinks  that  the  electric 
service  will  not  be  very  expensive  after  the  first 
cost.  Farmers  of  Indiana  are  deeply  interested  in 
the  question  of  electric  motive  power  for  farms. 
Representatives  of  supply  houses  that  make  a 
specialty  of  motors  for  handling  the  current  from 
traction  wires  have  been  in  the  state  for  some 
time  endeavoring  to  persuade  wealthy  farmers  to 
try  the   experiment. 

Prof.  H.  G.  Robinson,  representing  Munroe  & 
Munroe  of  New  York,  managers  of  the  Marconi 
Wireless  Telephone  Company  of  America,  is  in 
Indianapolis  with  a  complete  equipment  of  wireless 
instruments  and  is  giving  some  interesting  exhi- 
bitions.      He    makes    the    positive     statement    that 


' 


Michigan. 
William 

dam  will  I*.- 
will    rai 

power   will  be 

1     each. 

waiting 
with    inti 
regard  to  furnishing  day  power  from  the  municipal 

lighl  plant.  I 
vorcd  among  the  bu 
run   their   machinery. 

By    request    of    tin 

1    Big  Rapids,  the  committee  on  street  light- 
ing was  instructed  to 
lighting    for  another   term   ol 

nit   of  the    Bay   City    Traction   and    Electric 
1     against  the  city  to  determine  the  right  of 
the   city    to   engage    in    commercial    lighting 
east   siile   of  thi  n   filed   in  the  Circuit 

I  he    company    asserts    that    it    is    impelled 
in   its  action   by   the   fact  that,   as  a  taxpayer,   it    i~ 
entitled    t"    ri- 
'ii    any    injustice    to    it 
city    has    no    authority    to    engage    in    further    com- 
mercial  lighting.     The   company   says  that   it 
-ubject  improper    purposes,    the    ex- 

planation   being    that    if    the    city    spent    moi 
commercial    lighting    it    would    do    so    by    incurring 
indebtedness  for  the  cost  thereof,  and,  as  the  action 
would    be    improper,    the    taxation    would    be    im- 
proper. 

I  he  track  of  the  new  electric  railway  from 
Kalamazoo  to  South  Haven  is  completed  between 
Paw  Paw  and  Kalamazoo,  although  no  trains  have 
yet  been  run.  Until  the  power  houses  can  be 
erected,  the  motive  power  will  be  steam.  When 
the  road  is  completed  and  in  full  operation  it  will 
form  the  last  link  in  an  interurban  line  across 
the  state   from  Detroit  to  South  Haven. 

Several  thousand  dollars  will  be  expended  in 
Pontiac  shortly  in  telephone  construction.  Line- 
men for  the  Peninsular  Telephone  Company  are 
stringing  three  copper  circuits  as  a  part  of  the 
Independent  toll  line  of  that  company.  Next  week 
linemen  for  the  Michigan  State  Telephone  Com- 
pany will  begin  work  and  will  string  five  copper 
circuits  to  Detroit.  L.  W.  B. 


Pacific  Slope. 


San  Francisco.  February  16. — The  Snow  Moun- 
tain Water  and  Power  Company,  which  was  re- 
cently incorporated  here  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$5,000,000  by  W.  R.  Wan  Arsdale.  George  W. 
Scott,  Charles  M.  Felton  and  associates,  will  take 
over  the  interests  of  the  Eel  River  Power  and 
Irrigation  Company.  The  latter  company  is  con- 
structing an  electric  power  system  tS  miles 
Ukiah  and  will  transmit  power  to  Ukiah  and  else- 
where. A  io.ooo-borsepower  plant  is  under  way 
and  is  expected  to  be  in  operation  by  November. 
The  new  company  will  increase  the  scope  of  the 
original  plans  and  will  eventually  serve  a  large 
territory    by    its    transmission    lines. 

The  Inland  Power  and  Electric  Company  has 
been  incorporated  at  Spokane.  Wash.,  to  develop 
waterpower  and  build  electric-railway  systems. 
The  company  has  a  capital  stock  of  Si.ooo.ooo.  the 
incorporators  being  Arthur  Phillips.  F.  M.  Waters 
and  C.   E.  Lunceford  of  Spokane. 

Thomas  McCusker  of  the  Belt  Line  Railway- 
Company  has  asked  for  a  franchise  for  a  broad- 
gauge  electric  railway  on  Front  Street  and  other 
thoroughfares  of  Portland.  The  purpose  of  the 
company  is  to  furnish  terminal  facilities  in  Port- 
land  for  other   railway   companies. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  Benicia  last  week  a  franchise  was  granted  to 
the  San  Francisco.  Vallejo  and  Yaca  Valley  Rail- 
way  Companv  along  the  streets  of  Benicia. 

George  D."  Moffat,  of  Moffat  &  White,  New- 
York,  is  now  in  Portland.  Ore.,  looking  over  the 
situation  as  regards  the  proposed  railway  lines  of 
the  Willamette  Valley  Electric  Company.  He 
states  that  the  company-  proposes  to  build  a 
broad-gauge  ballasted  railway  between  Portland 
and  Salem,  70-pound  rails  being  used.  The  plans 
contemplate    the    expenditure    of    $1,500,000. 


i68 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


February  24,  1906 


The  Cache  Creek  Electric  Company  has  been 
incorporated  at  Napa,  Cal.,  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$i,ooo,coo  for  the  purpose  of  generating  and  dis- 
tributing electricity  for  lighting  and  power  pur- 
poses in  Lake  County  and  in  other  counties  north 
of  San  Francisco  Bay.  The  directors  of  the  com- 
pany are  G.  H.  Winship,  R.  Raymond  and  F.  W. 
Williams. 

H.  G.  Aylsworth,  formerly  San  Francisco  man- 
ager of  the  Kilbourne  &  Clark  Company  of 
Seattle,  which  recently  discontinued  its  electrical 
business  in  San  Francisco,  has  leased  the  third 
floor  of  the  Shields  Building,  571  Mission  Street. 
He  has  organized  the  H.  G.  Aylsworth  Company, 
which  will  have  the  Pacific  Coast  agency  for  the 
Electric  Goods  Manufacturing  Company's  products, 
Simplex  wire  and  a  number  of  other  lines. 

Pacific  Coast  Manager  Oakes  of  the  American 
Electrical  Novelty  and  Manufacturing  Company, 
which  has  leased  the  upper  floors  of  the  large  new 
building  at  572-576  Mission  Street,  San  Francisco, 
is  preparing  to  engage  in  manufacturing  electrical 
goods  here  as  well  as  carrying  a  large  line  of  sup- 
plies. Salesmen  will  be  sent  out  to  travel  over 
the  coast  for  the  Ever  Ready  battery  and  other 
specialties  of  this   company.  A. 


PERSONAL 

Lee  De  Forest,  the  well-known  space-telegraph  in- 
ventor, was  married  to  Miss  Lucile  Sheardown  at 
the  St.  Regis  Hotel  in  New  York  on  February  17th. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  De  Forest  immediately  boarded  the 
Cunarder  Lucania  for  a  trip  to  Europe. 

George  Westinghouse  has  been  awarded  the 
John  Fritz  medal  for  the  invention  and  develop- 
ment of  the  air  brake.  The  award  was  made  not 
only  in  recognition  of  the  rare  mechanical  ability 
exemplified  in  its  construction  but  also  from  the 
humanitarian  aspect  of  the  invention  as  a  direct 
means  of  saving  life. 

Harry  Young,  assistant  passenger  agent  of  the 
Rock  Island  Railroad,  located  in  Cleveland,  has 
been  appointed  general  passenger  agent  of  the  Lake 
Shore  Electric  Railway  Company,  with  headquarters 
in  Norwalk,  Ohio.  Mr.  Young  will  organize  his 
department  and  devote  his  time  to  building  up  the 
passenger   business   of   the    road. 

Arthur  W.  Warnock  has  been  appointed  general 
passenger  agent  of  the  Twin  City  Rapid  Transit 
Company  of  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  a  new  office  just 
created  by  the  company.  This  is  in  line  with  the 
new  policy  of  the  company  to  build  up  suburban 
traffic.  Efforts  will  be  made  to  foster  the  picnic 
and    excursion    business    as    a    revenue    producer. 

Mrs.  James  J.  Wood,  wife  of  the  well-known  tech- 
nical director  of  the  Fort  Wayne  Electric  Works, 
died  very  suddenly  at  the  Hotel  Astor,  New  York 
city,  Saturday  evening,  February  17th,  while  she  and 
her  husband  were  on  a  visit  to  that  city.  The  body 
wras  brought  to  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  her  home,  for 
burial,  and  the  funeral  took  place  on  February  21st. 
Mrs.  Wood  was  devoted  to  her  family  and  home,  but 
her  quiet,  elevating  influence  was  nevertheless  felt 
throughout  a  wide  circle.  She  was  highly  esteemed 
by  all  who  knew  her.  Her  husband  has  the  sincere 
sympathy  of  electrical  and  other  friends. 

P.  A.  Bertrand  of  the  Springfield  (Mo.)  Gas  and 
Electric  Company  has  gone  to  Jefferson,  Mo.,  where 
he  has  secured  an  interest  in  the  Jefferson  City  Light, 
Heat  and  Power  Company,  also  becoming  the  mana- 
ger of  the  plant.  The  Springfield  company  will  be 
under  the  management  of  W.  A.  Bixby  of  Quincy, 
111.,  Mr.  Bixby  has  been  connected  at  Quincy  for 
several  years  with  George  E.  Macomber,  who  has 
recently,  with  his  associates,  purchased  the  traction 
company  and  from  F.  W.  Little  of  Peoria,  secured  a 
controlling  interest  in  the  gas  company.  Mr.  Ber- 
trand has  been  manager  of  the  Springfield  Gas  and 
Electric  Company  for  three  years. 

Clarence  H.  Mackay,  .president  of  the  Postal  Tele- 
graph-cable Company,  who  is  a  member  of  the 
New  York  Racquet  and  Tennis  Club,  a  few  days 
ago  defeated  his  clubmate,  Payne  Whitney,  in  the 
final  round  for  the  Gold  Racquet  Championship  in 
three  straight  sets,  by  scores  of  15 — 12,  15 — 7.  15—5. 
By  his  victory  Mr.  Mackay  adds  a  second  win 
for  the  prize,  valued  at  $500,  and  needs  to  capture 
it  but  once  more  for  it  to  become  his  permanent 
property.  Mr.  Mackay,  in  addition  to  being  the 
holder  of  the  gold  racquet,  is  a  former  national 
champion.  Mr.  Whitney  also  held  premier  national 
honors  a  couple  of  years  ago,  which  placed  the 
two    experts    on    a    comparatively    even    basis. 


ELECTRIC  LIGHTING, 

Osage  City,  Kan.,  is  figuring  on  installing  a 
$15,000   electric-light   plant. 

An  electric-light  plant  will  be  installed  in  Peru, 
Neb.     The  city  clerk  can  give  information. 

The  Kenmare  (N.  D.)  Light  and  Power  Com- 
pany will  install  new  machinery  in  its  plant. 

H.  G.  Uumversagt  of  Omaha,  Neb.,  is  to  install 
an  electric-light  plant  and  waterworks  in  Yellville, 
Ark. 

Bids  will  be  received  until  March  5th  for  light- 
ing the  streets  and  avenues  and  public  buildings 
of    the    city    of    Orange,    N.    J.,    by    electricity    for 


terms  of  three  and  five  years  from  December  I, 
1906.  Edward  Cheetham  is  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee  on   lighting. 

A  franchise  has  been  granted  to  W.  Martin  and 
W.  C.  Bill  to  operate  an  electric-light  plant  in 
Ozark,  Ark. 

The  Wisconsin  Light  and  Power  Company  of 
La  Crosse,  Wis.,  has  been  granted  a  franchise  at 
Onalaska,  Wis. 

The  city  of  Cumberland,  Wis.,  contemplates  the 
issue  of  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $10,000,  to  install 
an   electric-light  plant. 

The  city  of  Punta  Gorda,  Fla.,  is  considering 
issuing  bonds  for  constructing  a  wharf,  waterworks 
and  electric-light  plant. 

The  Hutchinson  Water,  Light  and  Gas  Company 
of  Hutchinson,  Kan.,  is  improving  its  electric-light 
plant,   spending  about  $75,000. 

G.  B.  Ortman  and  associates  contemplate  devel- 
oping the  waterpower  of  the  White  River  near 
Cotter,  Ark.,  for  transmitting  electricity  to  furnish 
light  and  power. 

A  committee  has  been  appointed  by  the  city  of 
Phcenix,  Ala.,  to  investigate  and  obtain  estimates 
on  the  cost  of  installing  an  electric-light  plant  to 
serve  a  population  of  5, coo. 

J.  L.  Breathwit  and  associates  of  Shreveport, 
La.,  have  applied  for  electric-light  franchises  in 
Marshall  and  Mineral  Wells,  Texas.  These  inter- 
ests are  identified  with  several  jother  industries  in 
Texas. 

The  Davis  County  Electric  Light  and  Power 
Company  of  Farmington,  Utah,  has  been  incor- 
porated with  a  capital  stock  of  $40,000.  The  com- 
pany proposes  to  produce  electricity  from  water- 
power. 

The  citizens  of  Albia,  Iowa,  at  a  municipal  elec- 
tion a  few  days  ago  voted  a  franchise  to  A.  R. 
Jackson  to  install  a  light,  heat  and  power  plant 
in  Albia.  The  proposition  that  the  city  issue  bonds 
to  establish  a  municipal  waterworks  system  was 
also  approved. 


ELECTRIC  RAILWAYS, 

The  Chippewa  Valley  Electric  Raihvay  Company 
is  planning  on  extending  its  line  from  Eau  Claire, 
Wis.,  to  Osseo,  via  Altoona. 

The  Cheyenne  Summit  Scenic  Railway  Company 
of  Colorado  Springs,  Colo.,  has  been  incorporated 
with  a  capital  stock  of  $300,000  by  R.  A.  Handy  and 
others.  It  is  proposed  to  build  a  railway  to  the 
summit  of  Cheyenne  Mountain. 

A  few  days  ago  the  car  barns  of  the  International 
Railway  Company,  located  on  the  Canadian  side  of 
Niagara  Falls  at  the  Whirlpool,  wTere  totally  de- 
stroyed by  fire.  There  w7ere  27  summer  cars  in  the 
barns.    The  damage  is  estimated  at  about  $75,000. 

The  Central  Idaho  Development  Company  has  been 
incorporated  at  Lew7iston,  Ida.,  as  a  holding  company 
for  the  Lewiston  and  Southwestern  Electric  Railway 
Compan}*  and  the  Salmon  River  Power  Company. 
G.  W.  Thompson,  one  of  the  heaviest  stockholders 
in  the  new  company,  states  that  construction  work 
on  the  Lewiston  and  southwestern  line  will  begin 
at  once.  It  is  understood  that  Naylor  &  Norlin  will 
be  the  contractors  for  a  portion  of  the  work. 

The  Chicago,  Kenosha,  Milwaukee  and  Lake  Ge- 
neva Electric  Railway  Company  has  been  incorpo- 
rated, with  James  Cavanaugh,  John  L.  Wrattles  and 
Benjamin  O.  Sturgis  of  Kenosha,  Wis.,  as  its  pro- 
moters. It  is  stated  that  the  principal  property 
of  the  company  at  present  is  a  right-of-w'ay  be- 
tween Waukegan  and  Kenosha  running  through 
Zion  City.  The  company  is  now  seeking  a  fran- 
chise in  Kenosha  and  plans  to  run  a  line  westward 
to  the  small  inland  lakes  and  later  to  Lake  Geneva. 

Edward  H.  Harriman  has  just  completed  ar- 
rangements for  the  construction  of  a  10-mile  pri- 
vate trolley  line  to  his  new  mansion  at  Forest  Lake, 
N.  J.  The  line  will  run  from  Newburg  Junction, 
on  the  Erie  Railroad,  through  Tuxedo,  and  thence 
to  Arden  and  the  mountains  above  Greenwood 
Lake,  where  Mr.  Harriman's  summer  home  is. 
The  road  is  to  have  but  two  passenger  cars,  one 
of  these  a  luxuriously  furnished  parlor  car.  It  is 
expected  that  work  on  the  line  will  be  begun  in 
£he   spring. 


POWER  TRANSMISSION. 

The  Salmon  River  Power  Company  of  Lewiston, 
Idaho,  has  been  incorporated  to  furnish  power  for 
the  Lewiston-Grangerville  electric  railway.  The 
company  is  capitalized  at  $2,000,000.  G.  W.  Thomp- 
son  and   T.    S.   Ward  are   interested. 

M.  H.  Pierce  and  P.  B.  Jackson  of  Plains,  Mont., 
have  filed  an  appropriation  of  300  inches  of  water 
from  Clark  Creek,  from  which  they  propose  to 
operate  a  power  plant  to  generate  electricity.  The 
w-ater  from  the  creek  will  be  conducted  in  a  flume, 
48  by  16  inches  in  size,  along  the  bank  a  distance 
of  150  rods  to  a  steep  incline.  Down  this  incline 
it  will  be  carried  in  the  same  manner  for  1,200 
feet    to    the    power    plant,    wdiere    it    will    be    used 


on  a  turbine  directly  connected  to  the  dynamos. 
The  electric  power  generated  will,  for  the  present, 
be  used  in  pumping  water  from  the  river  near 
Plains   for   irrigation   purposes. 

The  California  Gas  and  Electric  Corporation  is 
hauling  supplies  and  material  to  its  site  on  Little 
Deer  Creek,  near  Nevada  City,  Cal.,  where  a  large 
power  house  for  generating  electricity  will  be 
erected.  The  development  includes  the  building  of 
a  big  concrete  dam. 

The  L'nited  Missouri  River  Power  Company  has 
filed  a  certificate  of  incorporation  in  the  office  of  the 
secretary  of  state  at  Trenton,  N.  J.  The  authorized 
capital  stock  is  $5,000,000.  The  incorporators  are 
B.  R.  Higgins,  Samuel  Hartman  and  E.  G.  Graves, 
all  of  New  York.  The  company  is  to  purchase,  im- 
prove, sell,  supply  and  convey  water  and  water  power 
and  electricity. 

The  Albertville  (Ala.)  Light  and  Water  Com- 
pany will  develop  the  waterpower  of  Drum  Creek 
Falls  and  furnish  the  city  with  electric  light  and 
water.  Wraterwheels  and  electrical  equipment  will 
be  installed  and  a  water  tower  and  concrete  dam 
will  be  built.  About  $40,000  will  be  expended. 
Edgar  B.  Kay,  Tuscaloosa,  Ala.,  is  engineer  and 
architect  in  charge. 

The  Michigan  Power  Company  of  Lansing,  Mich., 
has  been  organized  with  a  capital  of  $2,500,000  to 
develop  several  water  powers  along  Grand  River. 
The  company  will  take  over  the  property  of  the 
Piatt  Heating  and  Power  Company  in  Lansing, 
which  owns  the  privileges  also  at  Dimondale, 
Grand  Ledge  and  Eagle.  It  is  announced  that  a 
big  central  heating  plant  will  be  built  in  Lansing 
during  the  coming  year  to  replace  the  present  one. 
It  is  proposed  to  generate  upward  of  15,000  horse- 
power by  means  of  the  dams  already  built  and  to 
be  hereafter  constructed.  The  officers  of  the  new 
company  are:  President,  A.  A.  Piatt;  vice-presi- 
dents, F.  B.  Piatt  and  C.  C.  Carnahan;  secretary, 
D.    0.   Watson;   treasurer,   M.   A.   Devitt. 

Development  of  the  waterpower  of  the  Wiscon- 
sin River  at  the  Dells,  near  Kilbourn,  is  once  more 
attracting  much  local  interest.  A  project  which 
has  been  on  foot  for  some  time  to  connect  Kil- 
bourn and  Devils  Lake  by  an  electric  railway 
resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  Kilbourn-Devils 
Lake  Electric  Railway  Company.  This  company, 
it  is  said,  has  consolidated  with  the  Wisconsin 
Dells  Company,  promoted  by  Philip  Spooner,  Mr. 
Spooner  and  President  Wetzel  of  the  Dells  com- 
pany being  at  the  head  ■  of  the  movement.  It  is 
expected  that  this  consolidation  will  result  in  the 
early  construction  of  an  electric  line  from  the 
Dells  to  Devils  Lake,  the  improvement  including  a 
large  dam  at  Kilbourn.  These  two  resorts  are 
popular  with  tourists  and  they  possess  some  of  the 
finest  scenery  in  the  state— the  Dells  particularly 
having  a  national  reputation.  There  are  at  pres- 
ent, however,  no  transportation  facilities  between 
the  two  places,  which  are  20  miles  apart,  they  being 
on  different  steam  roads. 


PUBLICATIONS. 

Petroleum  lubricating  oils  which  are  extensively 
used  around  an  electrical  generating  plant  are  man- 
ufactured bv  the  A.  W.  Harris  Oil  Company  of 
Providence.  R.  I.,  which  has  recently  issued  an  at- 
tractive booklet  describing  its  product.  On  the  front 
cover  is  a  realistic  representation  of  a  "gushing" 
oil  well.  Inside  is  descriptive  matter  concerning  the 
merits  of  the  various  kinds  of  lubricating  compounds 
for  different  classes  of  machinery. 

Another  of  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company's  taste- 
ful bulletins  describes  Bullock  railway  generators 
for  direct-current  systems.  Along  with  the  descrip- 
tive matter  and  illustrations  relative  to  the  con- 
structional details  of  these  machines,  there  are 
given  several  fine  pictures  showing  actual  installa- 
tions, notable  among  which  are  two  generators  in 
the  Thirtv-second  and  Dauphin  streets  station  of 
the  Philadelphia  Rapid  Transit  Company  and  a 
generator  installed  in  the  power  house  of  the  Oak- 
land   (Cal.)    Transit  Company. 

Wireless  clusters  and  lighting  specialties  of  nu- 
merous designs  are  made  the  subject  of  catalogue 
B-16  issued  by  the  Benjamin  Electric  Manufacturing 
Company  of  Chicago.  The  catalogue  is  comprehen- 
sive in  its  scope  and  well  illustrated.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  to  the  descriptive  matter  and  list  price 
of  each  article  there  has  been  added  the  standard 
package  quantities,  a  feature  which  commends  itself 
to  those  ordering  from  the  catalogue.  Care  has  been 
taken  in  compiling  this  catalogue  to  give  full  infor- 
mation relating  to  each  device  shown,  giving  a  sep- 
arate catalogue  number  for  each  part  or  combination 
of  parts. 

Three  bulletins  from  the  General  Electric  Com- 
pany are  descriptive,  respectively,  of  "General  Elec- 
tric* Switchboard  Instruments,  type  R,"  "Variable- 
speed  Motors"  and  "Arc  Lighting  Apparatus."  The 
last-mentioned  bulletin  is  the  most  complete  of  the 
three  and  contains,  besides  descriptions  of  the  com- 
pany's product  in  this  line,  some  very  good  gen- 
eral" information  on  the  subject  of  illuminating  in 
general,  both  interior  and  outdoor  lighting.  At  this 
rime   the    company   is    also    sending   out    a   number 


February  24,  1906 

of   circulars    and    leaflets   on    il        1      in 

electrical  fitting    and    ici ;  also  a  little 

let    entitled    "J  I thold    Elcctri      Device   ,"    which 

»oei  quite  thoroughly  into  the     lubjeel  of  electricity 
for  the   home, 


SOCIETIES  AND  SCHOOLS. 

The  Iowa  Street  and  fntcrurban  Railway  Asso- 
ciation,  of  which  I.    D.  Mathi  1  of  the  1  fnic  n    I 

trie  Company  of   I  'ubuque   is     eci  etai  v    I 

neatly   printed   and   boundj   the   proceedings   <<f   its 

id   annual  convention,  held   in   Dubuque.   April 

_v>  and  21,  1905.    'II"'  next  convention  will  bi    held 

111     I  >es    Moines    in    April    next. 

Officers  of  the  International  Brotherhood  of  Elec- 
trical Workers  have  been  in  Springfield,  III.,  re- 
cently preparatory  to  moving  the  nation 
ters  from  Washington,  I).  (.'.,  to  Sprint/lh  M  l.r.-ui.l 
President  McNnlty  gave  out  the  statement  lli.it  it 
was  ii"i  improbable  that  the  national  organization 
would  ereel  an  office  building  in  Springfield  suita- 
ble for  its  own  use  and  large  enough  to  accommo- 
date other  tenants.  Others  at  the  meeting  were 
\  ice  presidents  J.  J.  Reed  of  Eric,  Pa.,  M.  J.  Sul- 
livan of  San  Francisco  and  J.  P.  Noonan  of  St. 
Louis. 

The  committee  on  special  schools  of  Philadel- 
phia lias  adopted  a  resolution  asking  the  board  of 
education  to  appoint  three  of  its  members  to  co- 
operate  with  the  superintendent  of  instruction  and 
the  property  committee  for  the  purpose  of  consider- 
ing the  advisability  of  establishing  trade  schools. 
Murrcll  Dobbins,  who  introduced  the  proposition, 
said  that  the  New  York  Trade  School  had  been  a 
great  success.  It  teaches  bricklaying,  plastering, 
plumbing,  electrical  work,  patternmaking,  house 
painting,  steam  fitting,  fresco  painting,  blacksmiths' 
work,   printing,  sign  painting  and  sheet-metal  work. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

rilv  very  hi«h 
'dting    wave    I 

' 

b  ,   with 
. 
been    filed    in     tagu  ta      'I  he    pur].' 
to   b     !  nd   maintaining 

..1 

arc    1  ■  " 

R01  d  of  Detroit. 


TELEGRAPH. 


The  Washington  correspondent  of  the  Chicago 
Tribune  is  responsible  for  the  statement  that  the 
attention  of  General  Grcely  was  called  to  a  report 
that  all  the  cables  the  government  had  planted 
during  the  Spanish  war,  when  taken  up,  were 
found  to  be  practically  worthless  on  account  of 
deterioration.  "When  the  Spanish  war  broke  out," 
General  Greely  is  said  to  have  answered,  "there 
was  only  one  officer  in  the  army  who  knew  enough 
about  submarine  cables  to  prepare  a  scheme  for 
their  use.  This  was  Col.  James  Allen,  my  principal 
assistant.  A  great  many  of  the  cables  for  mining 
and  other  purposes  for  the  Spanish  war  were 
altogether  worthless.  The  officer  in  command  of 
Fort  Totten,  who  received  these  cables  from  the 
Corps  of  Engineers,  told  me  he  had  800  miles  of 
cable  that  was  utterly  worthless  when  taken  up 
and   that  he   did  not  know   what   to   do   with  it." 


MISCELLANEOUS 

I  1     :      1  ■  ;  1    1      1 1 

the   I  niti  d     tat 

ommend   tl tallation   of  turbine   machinery  on 

board  either  the   South   Carolina  or   die   Michigan, 
the  two  batl  leship 

The    Supreme   Court   of   Illinois    ha 
cision    sustaining    the    Chii 

to  thi      tat which 

the  last  General   Assembly  passed  by  the 
of  this  constitutional  ami  ndmenl   are  there! 
clared   valid.     Ii    follows,  apparently,   that  the  giv- 
ing of  the   right    to   the  city   to   regulate  gas  and 
electric-light     rates     rind     authority    to    sell     surplus 
electricity   is  upheld  as  constitutional. 

By  the  aid  of  electricity  large  hides  are  said 
to  have  been  completely  tanned  (altl 
well  as  by  the  ordinary  process)  in  five  0 
days,  A  current  is  passed  through  the 
which  are  contained  within  a  revolving  drum  par- 
tially filled  with  ihe  tanning  solution.  A  current 
of  10  amperes  is  passed  under  a  pressure  of  70 
volts  between  plates  projecting  radially  from  the 
axle  within  the  drum  acting  as  electrodes.  The 
hides  play  the  part  of  porous  electrodes  within 
which  gas,  liberated  by  electrolysis,  inflates  the 
hides  and  facilitates  the  absorption  of  the  tanning 
solution.  The  rapidity  of  thi  action  1-  attributed 
to  the  continual  agitation  of  the  hides,  with  the 
presence  in  the  solution  of  certain  salts  affected  by 
the  current. 


SPACE   TELEGRAPHY, 

By  the  use  of  high-potential  high-frequency  cur- 
rents, the  human  body  may  be  used  as  the  antenna 
of  a  space-telegraph  apparatus.  This  interesting  phe- 
nomenon was  recently  demonstrated  by  Professor 
Ovington  and  an  assistant  at  the  Madison  Square 
Garden  Electrical  Show.  The  current  from  the  ma- 
chine was  passed  through  the  assistant's  body,  from 
whence  the  waves  were  radiated  as  wireless  waves 
in  the  ether.  Messages  were  sent  from  one  part  of 
the   hall   to   another,   and   as  the  potential   and   fre- 


TRADE  NEWS 

Hunter,  Brewer  &  Co.,  incorporated  with  an 
authorized  capital  of  $10,000,  will  engage  in  a 
general  electrical  business  in  Roanoke,  Va.  J.  R. 
Heim  is  president  and  G.  D.  Hunter  secretary  and 
treasurer. 

The  Durling  Electric  Company  of  Baltimore, 
Md.,  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $10,000,  pro- 
poses to  deal  in  and  install  electrical  machinery. 
W.  B.  Turner,  J.  E.  Henderson,  E.  W.  Mclntyre, 
E.  A.  Craig  and  Charles  R.  Durling  are  the  incor- 
porators. 

The  Calvert  Electric  Company  has  been  incor- 
porated to  manufacture  and  deal  in  electric  sup- 
plies .in  Baltimore,  Md.  John  A.  Christ,  614  South 
Patterson  Park  Avenue,  A.  J.  Bramble,  G.  H. 
Wilkins,  N.  P.  Newman  and  C.  D.  Doyle  are  inter- 
ested in  the  company. 

Sealed  proposals  will  be  received  at  the  office 
of  the  supervising  architect.  Treasury  Department, 
Washington,  D.  C,  until  March  14th,  for  the  in- 
stallation of  a  conduit  and  electric  wiring  system 
for  the  postoffice  and  courthouse  at  Ogden,  Utah, 
in     accordance     with     drawings     and     specification, 


■  '•ore  office,  or 
in 

■   Lumber  and  i 
»ry  lit  amounting  to  about 

inquiric 

Company  have 
authorize 

•I     from    $15,000,000    ' 
I 
pany     reports    a     rapidly    ex' 
capital   was   asked   for.  that   additional   f.v 
Ihe  demand  might  be  had. 

ii  with 

tncal  Supply  1 
Erich,  who  is  an  energetic  and  :•  -man. 

n  tary  and  tr-  Sales- 

thc    Chicago   office  of   the   Zcnco    Electrical    Supply 
13   and  pan  of  the  time  on  tie    1 

Mr.  J.  D.  Keai  ,n  the 

ii    the    Central    Electric    Company,    Chicago, 
has   accepted   the   position   of   manager  of   thi 

I  lectrical    Supply    Company,    Chicago.     Mr. 
Kearney's  wide  acquaintance  with  the  elcctri, 
ply  trade  of  the  West,  both  wholesale  and  retail,  and 
his  experience-  in  the  other  intl  .-lectri- 

ake  him  a  valuable  acqu 
new  employers.    The  Zenco  Electrical  Supj,:-. 
pany    was    only    recently    organized,    but    it    already 
carries  an  extensive  new  stock,  and  it  is  located  on 
one   of   the   best   known   electrical   trade  con 
Chicago— the   corner   of    Van    Buren    and     [   fi 
streets      Mr.  Kearney  announces  that  it  is  his  policy 
t"  -tart  with  a  fine  line  of  specially  selected  stock  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  contractors  in  central  sta- 
tion, isolated  plant  and  telephone  construction,  with 
a  view  of  the  importance — in  fact,  necessity — of  the 
very   quickest    shipments   from     stock.      The    Zenco 
Electrical  Supply  Company  will  not  only  do  a  job- 
bing business,  but  will  manufacture  as  well. 


BUSINESS 


The  Davis  Electric  Manufacturing  Companv.  man- 
ufacturer of  electric-railway  and  station  switches, 
invites  the  trade  to  send  for  its  attractive  price- 
list.  The  Chicago  office  of  this  companv  is  located 
at  1501  Monadnock  Block,  in  charge  of  H.  E.  Cobb. 

The  Electric  Cable  Company  of  42  Broadwav, 
New  York,  has  just  received  an  order  from  the  New- 
York  and  Long  Island  Railroad  Companv  for  15 
miles  of  cable  insulated  with  Yoltax,  the  new  high- 
potential  insulating  compound.  This  order  follows 
within  a  week  upon  that  of  the  Interborough  RaDid 
Transit  Company,  which  recently  ordered  from  the 
same  company  an  equal  amount  of  material. 


ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 

Issued  (United  States  Patent  Office)  February   ij,   igo6. 


812,183.  Telegraph  Key.  William  O.  Coffe,  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  assignor  to  Benjamin  F.  Bellows, 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  Application  filed  January  n, 
1904. 

A  gravity  vibrator  is  adapted  to  swing  by  its  own 
tendency  and  thereby  make  and  break  the  circuit.  A 
finger  key  releases  the  vibrator  and  an  adjacent  finger 
key  opens  and  closes  the  circuit  independently  of  the 
vibrator. 

812,192.  Locomotive  Headlight.  Edgar  A.  Edwards, 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  assignor  to  the  Metropolitan 
Trust  and  Savings  Bank,  trustee.  Application 
filed  November  25,   1901. 

Rays    from    an    electric    arc    are    concentrated    by    two 
intersecting     parabolic     reflectors,     having    a     common     focus. 

812,196.  Apparatus  for  Measuring  Electric  Resist- 
ances. Sydney  Evershed,  Streatley,  England, 
assignor  to  himself  and  Evershed  &  Vignoles, 
Limited,  Chiswick,  England.  Application  filed 
February  27,    1904. 

Combined  with  a  hand-operated  dynamo  are  a  direct- 
reading,  moving-coil  ohmeter,  duplex  flexible  conductors 
to  the  moving  coils  of  the  ohmeter,  fixed  clamps  adapted 
to  alternately  clamp  and  release  the  conductors,  means 
for  actuating  the  clamps  and  a  portable  box  inclosing  the 
apparatus. 

812,236.  Jack-cord  Distributer.  Benno  Salzmann, 
Berlin,  Germany.  Application  filed  November 
16,    1905. 

A  jack-cord  distributer  comprises  two  rows  of  binding 
posts  and  a  number  of  cords  shiftablv  connecting  the 
hearing  plugs  in  distribution  switchboards  with  the  bind- 
ing posts  in  one  row  of  the  jack-cord  distributer.  A 
number  of  jack-cnnls  shiftablv  connect  the  jacks  in  the 
connection  switchboards  with  the  binding  posts  in  the 
other  row  of  jack-cord  distributer.  Shiftable  cords  con- 
nect  at    will    the    several    binding   posts   of   one    row    with 


those  of  the  other  row  in  the  distributer,  and  means  are 
supplied  for  fastening  the  ends  of  the  shiftable  cords  on 
the   binding  posts. 

312,279.  Automatic  Engine  Stop.  Nathaniel  C. 
Locke,  Salem,  Mass.,  assignor  to  the  Locke 
Regulator  Company,  Kittery,  Maine.  Applica- 
tion filed  April   10,   1905. 

An  electrically  actuated  valve  controls  the  main  shut-off 


NO.   812,355. — INCANDESCENT    LAMP    HANGER. 

312,355.  Incandescent-light  Hanger.  Robert  D. 
Mclntyre,  Mansfield,  Ohio,  assignor  of  one- 
half  to  Sherman  Harter,  Mansfield,  Ohio.  Ap- 
plication  filed   March  6,    1905. 

The  device  is  made  up  of  two  sections  of  a  casing,  in- 
side of  which  is  a  drum  upon  which  the  conductors  are 
automatically  wound   and   unwound  as  tie   light  is  raised 


812,433.  Electrical  Railway  Signaling  System 
Charles  Mitchell  and  Harry  Millingar.  East  St. 
Louis,  111.,  assignors  of  one-half  to  Harry  E. 
Dickinson,  East  St.  Louis,  111.  Application  filed 
August  8,    1903. 

With  a  block  of  a  .railway  system  are  associated  a  sig- 
naling system  having  a  semaphore  mounted  at  each  end 
-a  ,bloSk>  an  eccentric  connected  to  each  semaphore 
provided  with  a  catch,  oppositely  arranged  electro  ma  guets 
for  moving  the  eccentrics  in  opposite  directions' and 
latching  it  for  operating  the  semaphore  and  electrical 
circuits  for  operating  the  electromagnets  by  the  train  as 
the  train  enters  or  leaves  the   block. 

812,445.  Multipolar  Electromagnet.  Hermann  G. 
Pape,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  May 
17,    1904. 

An  electromagnetic  device  includes  separate  and  distinct 
magnets  spaced  from  each  other,  but  having  all  of  their 
poles  disposed  in  approximately  the  same  direction.  One 
or  more  exciting  coils  are  common  to  the  magnets  and 
interposed  at  least  in  part  between  them. 

812,491.  Telephone  Switch-plug  Mechanism.  Adolph 
C.  Gilgen,  Passaic.  X.  J.,  assignor  to  the  New 
\ork  Automatic  Telephone  Company,  Paterson, 
N.   J.    Application  filed   November  '2^,  1904. 

In  a  switch-plug  mechanism  are  a  plug  having  a  con- 
ical end  and  a  contact  spring  having  a  portion  disposed 
in  the  path  ot"  and  constructed  to  engage  the  plug  fric- 
tionally  and  hold  the  plug  when  the  latter  is  moved  in 
one  direction  and  to  act  upon  the  conical  end  to  com- 
plete the  return   movement  of  the  plug. 

812.500.  Door-releasing  Mechanism.  Edward  Kauntze, 
Hanford,  Cal.  Application  filed  November  "5 
1904. 


170 

812,504.  Primary  Battery.  Charles  E.  Lockwood 
and  George  A.  Lutz,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Ap- 
plication  filed   July    iS,    1004. 

A  battery  element  comprises  perforated  shells  disposed 
one  within  another  providing  a  space  closed  at  opposite 
ends,  a  depolarizer  within  the  space  and  a  binder  soluble 
in  a  battery  liquid  or  solution  serving  to  prevent  the 
depolarizer    from  passing  through   the   perforations    of   the 


shells.      (Sei 


812,505.  Primary  Battery.  Charles  E.  Lockwood 
and  George  A.  Lutz,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Origi- 
nal application  filed  July  18,  1904.  Divided  and 
this  application  filed  March  29,    1905. 

comprises 


A  battery  element  comprises  a  perfora 
taining  a  depolarizer  and  having  a  binder  soluble  in  a 
battery  liquid  or  solution  applied  to  the  wall  of  the 
retainer,  closing  the  perforations  therein  to  prevent  the 
depolarizer  from  passing  through  the  perforation  in  the 
retainer.  The  binder  is  of  a  character  to  not  materially 
effect  the  electrical  efficiency  of  the  battery. 

812,511.  Electromagnet.  Ernest  H.  Miller,  Lan- 
caster, Pa.,  assignor  of  two-thirds  to  John  W. 
Holman  and  Charles  V.  Rote,  Lancaster,  Pa. 
Application  filed  April  25,   1904. 

A  solenoid  having  two  or  more  coils  at  each  side  of  its 
center  is  provided  with  similar  terminals  of  the  center 
coils  electrically  connected.  The  opposite  terminal  of 
one  of  the  center  coils  is  electrically  connected  with  a 
dissimilar  terminal  of  an  outer  coil,  the  latter  having  its 
other  terminal  connected  with  the  feed  wire. 

812,542.  Attachment  for  Keyboard  Machines.  Erl 
V.  Beals,  Boston,  Mass.  Application  filed  Sep- 
tember 25,    1 901. 

In  a  keyboard-actuated  comoosing  machine  are  the 
keyboard,  a  number  of  electrically  selected  actuators  suc- 
cessively selected  by  the  keys  on  the  board,  means  for 
arranging  the  actuators  side  by  side  and  mechanism  coact- 
"ing  with  the  actuators  after  the  selection  of  a  line  is 
completed  for  operating  the  keys  of  the  machine. 

812,557.  Method  of  Receiving  Telegraphic  Signals. 
Stephen  D.  Field,  Stockbridge,  Mass.  Applica- 
tion  filed   June    10,    1905. 

The  method  of  signaling  consists  in  initially  transmit- 
ting high-frequency  waves,  divided  into  separate  impulses, 


^J 


NO.    812,504.- 


BATTERV. 


local   bat- 
iingle 


to  a  coherer,  establishing  a  circuit  including 
tery  through  the  coherer  by  means  of  the 
rents,  whereby  the  currents  are  transformed  into 
impulses  in  the  local  circuit,  subjecting  a  mecha 
vibrator  having  a  gradually  changing  periodicity  to  the 
impulses  and  finally  fixing  "the  periodicity  of  the  vibrator. 
(See  cut.) 

S12.573.  Automobile.  Herman  Lemp,  Lynn,  Mass., 
assignor  to  the  General  Electric  Company, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  June  9, 
1904. 

In  combination  with  a  prime  mover  are  a  differential 
gear,  a  dynamo-electric  machine  connected  through  the 
gear  and  a  magnetic  clutch  in  circuit  with  the  machine 
and  adapted   to  clutch  the  prime   mover   to    the   gear. 

812,597.  Railway  Traffic-control  System.  William 
Rowe,  Marrickville,  near  Sydney,  New  South 
Wales,  Australia,  assignor  to  Rowe's  Patent 
Lock  and  Block,  Limited,  Sydney,  New  South 
Wales,  Australia.  Application  filed  February 
23,    1905- 

In  positive  lock-and-block  railway-control  system  are 
operating  devices  of  a  key  lock;  the  key  is  non-withdraw- 
able except  when  the  block  instrument  is  cut  out  or  ex- 
cluded from  the  system,  and  adapted  to  operate  the  key 
lock  of  manually  operative  devices  or  an  outdoor  sema- 
phore signal.  The  mechanism  is  non- withdrawable  from 
the  latter  key  lock  unless  the  devices  are  locked  in  nor- 
mal danger  position. 

812,607.  Induction  Coil.  John  Splitdorf,  New  York, 
N.    Y.     Application   filed    November    15,    1904. 

A  casing  or  retainer  for  an  induction  coil  has  aper- 
tures through  its  walls  extending  from  an  air  space  about 
the  iron  core   to   the  outer  atmosphere. 

812,609.  Electric  Heater  for  Liquids.  George  E. 
Stevens,  Lynn,  Mass.,  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation  filed  July    19,    1904. 

An  electric  heater  comprises  a  receptacle,  a  hollow 
heating  member  extending  upward  from  the  bottom  of  the 
receptacle  and  open  to  the  exterior  of  the  receptacle  at 
its  lower  end,  an  electric-heating  unit  adapted  to  be  in- 
serted in  and  withdrawn  from  the  member  and  having  its 
resistance  element  in  intimate  thermal  relation  to  the 
walls  of  the  member,  a  lead  extending  from  the  upper 
end  of  the  unit  down  through  its  center  and  a  second 
lead   secured  to  the  lower   end  of  the   unit. 

812,622.  Electric  Igniter  for  Internal-combustion 
Engines.  William  H.  Walter,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Application  filed  March  24,  1902.  Renewed 
April    16,    1903. 

Details   are  described. 

812,669.  Furnace-draft  Controller.  William  Mc- 
Clave,  Scranton,  Pa.,  assignor  to  the  McClave- 
Brooks  Company.  Application  filed  November  * 
3,    1904- 

An  electromagnetic  device  controls  the  pressure  gauge 
of  the  draft  controller. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

812,700.  Rheostat.  George  E.  Stevens,  Lynn,  Mass., 
assignor  to  the  General  Electric  Company, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  October 
12,   1904. 

A  rheostat  comprises  a  fixed  resistance  element,  a  co- 
operating movable  contact,  a  spring  for  returning  the 
parts  to  off  position,  a  fixed  locking  magnet,  a  yieldingly 
mounted  armature  therefor  carried  by  the  movable  con- 
tact and  movable  transversely  to  the  contact  and  means 
for  moving  the  armature  transversely  into  operative  rela- 
tion to  the  magnet. 


February  24,  1906 " 


12,710.  Portable  Electric-lamp  Outfit.  Arthur  Wil- 
son, Berlin,  Wis.  Application  filed  March  28, 
1905. 

In  a  portable  receptacle  are  the  batteries  therein,  a 
second  receptacle  of  less  width  than  the  first  receptacle, 
being  superposed  upon  the  first.  An  electric  lamp,  flex- 
ible electric  connections  between  the  batteries  and  lamp 
extending  through  the  upper  receptacle  and  adapted  to 
be  stowed,  together  with  the, lamp,  in  the  upper  recep- 
tacle and  means  of  electric  connection  with  the  batteries 
arranged  without  the  upper  receptacle  are  the  other 
features. 

812,718.  Telephonic  Repeating  System.  Adolph  J. 
P.  Bertschy,  Woodstock,  111.,  assignor  of  one- 
fourth  to  Charles  H.  Donnelly,  Woodstock,  111. 
Application   filed  June   4,    1904. 

In  a  telephone  repeating  system  are  an  electromagnet 
connected  in  a  receiving  circuit,  a  transmitter  for  con- 
trolling currents  in  the  sending  circuit,  a  vibratory  dia- 
phragm common  to  the  electromagnet  and  the  transmit- 
ter and  an  auxiliary  switching  dt:vi«.x>  controlled  by  the 
diaphragm  to  cause  the  closure  of  a  break  in  the  sending 

812,725.  Surface-contact  System.  Frank  E.  Case. 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation  filed  July  22,    1904. 

In  combination  with  an  electric  generator  and  its 
engine  are  a  valve  for  controlling  the  admission  of  com- 
pressed fluid  to  the  engine,  a  generator  circuit  and  a 
switch  therein,  an  operative  connection  between  the  valve 
and  the  switch,  an  auxiliary  generating  circuit  provided 
with  a  circuit-closing  device  and  interlocking  means  be- 
tween the  valve  and  the  circuit-closing  device  for  hold- 
ing the  valve  against  movement  in  one  of  its  positions. 
(See  cut.) 


NO.  012,725.  —  SURFACE-CONTACT    SYSTEM. 

812,726.  Locking  Device  for  Automobiles.  Alex- 
ander Churchward,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor 
to  the  General  Electric  Company,  Schenectady, 
N.  Y.     Application  filed  June  30,  1904. 

In    an     automobile,     speed-changing     power-transmitting 
>,  mechanism    comprises    two    dynamo-electric    machines  elec- 
trically   and    mechanically   connected   and   means    for   lock- 
ing   the    field    and    armature    of    one  of    the    machines    to- 
gether. 

812,733.  Police  Signaling  Apparatus.  Charles  L. 
Foster  and  Peter  K.  Higgins,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 
Application   filed   July    14,    1904. 

In  combination  with  a  normally  open  signal  circuit  hav- 
ing signals  therein  are  i/unm.l'liniM/ircuit  patrol  boxes 
through  which  the  controlling  circuit  passes,  a  central 
station  and  a  relay  in  the  controlling  circuit  having  one 
side  connected  in  series  through  each  patrol  box  to 
ground  and  the  other  side  connected  to  line  leading  into 
the  central  station.  An  armature  for  the  relay  is  con- 
nected in  the  signal  circuit  and  adapted  to  close  the  cir- 
cuit  when  the  relay  is  energized. 

812,758.  Brake.  Sam  H.  Libby,  East  Orange,  N.  J., 
assignor  to  the  Sprague  Electric  Company. 
Application   filed    September   16,    1904. 

In  a  motor-operated  hoist  are  a  manually  operated  mo- 
tor controller,  a  magnet  winding  in  the  motor  circuit,  a 
member   controlled    by   the   magnet   winding,    a    brake    and 


operative  connections  from  the  brake  both  to  the  con- 
lember.  The  means  are  adapted  to 
ly  upon  the  simultaneous  movement 
a    running  position   and   the  energiz- 


troller 

release  the  brake 
of  the  controller  t 
ing  of  the 


nding. 

812,760.  Electrical  Rosette.  James  A.  Mebane, 
South    Boston,   Va.     Application   filed   April   30, 

1904. 

The  rosette  cap  is  provided  with  a  recess  and  a  wire 
connection  whose  body  portion  is  secured  in  the  recess 
and  whose  end  portions  are  folded  or  bent  upon  each 
other  in  S  shape  and  constructed  with  notches. 

812,773.  ,  Telegraph  Instrument.  Carl  J.  Schwarze, 
Adrian,  Mich.,  assignor  to  the  Schwarze  Elec- 
tric Company,  Adrian,  Mich.  Application  filed 
May  31,   1904. 

The  instrument  comprises  an  electromagnet,  a  vibra- 
tory armature  therefor,  spring  means  controlling  the 
armature  and  holding  it  normally  retracted,  a  stop 
against  which  the  armature  is  normally  held  and  a  closed 
induction  coil  on  the  electromagnet.      (See  cut) 

812,776.  Automatic  Fire  Alarm.  Alfred  Taylor, 
Victoria,  Canada,  assignor  of  one-half  to 
Thomas  Henderson  Home,  Victoria,  Canada. 
Application    filed    May    13,    1905. 

In  an  automatic  fire  alarm  are  the  terminals  of  an 
electric-bell  circuit  and  means  for  establishing  a  connec- 
tion between  the  terminals  and  closing  a  circuit. 

812,781.  Electrically  Conductive  Rail  Joint  and 
Bond  Therefor.  Bancroft  G.  Braine,  New  York, 
N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Rail  Joint  Company, 
New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  April  n, 
1904. 

Combined  with  the  rails  and  splice-bar,  the  latter  hav- 
ing grooves  with  opposite  undercut  walls,  are  con- 
ductive plates  inserted  in  the  grooves  and  projecting  at 
their  opposite   edges  against  the  undercut   side   walls. 

812,790.  Electric-railway  System.  William  N.  Ha- 
ring,  Nyack,  N.  Y.  Continuation  of  abandoned 
application,  filed  May  17,  1902.  This  applica- 
tion filed  October  31,   1903. 

In  an  electric-railway  system  are  a  conduit  constructed 
with  walls  provided  with  projections,  a  hollow  body  in 
the  conduit  and  provided  with  flanges  adapted  to  engage 
the  projections  to  support  the  body,  means  to  engage  the 
flanges  and  projections  to  secure  the  body  in  applied  posi- 
tion, a  terminal  contact  mounted  in  the  bodv,  a  feed 
wire  having  connection  with  the  contact,  a  contact 
the  body  to  engage  the  first-named  contact, 
carried  by  the  last-named  contact  and  means 
mally  separated. 


Mii-luc 


NO.  8l2,773. — TELEGRAPH    INSTRUMENT. 


812,791.  Motor  Controller.  Wiley  E.  Houston, 
Santa  Ana,  Cal.  Application  filed  June  14, 
1905. 

In  combination  with  an  electric  motor  are  a  pump  hav- 
ing a  delivery  pipe,  a  valve  in  the  delivery  pipe  adapted 
to  check  the  downward  flow  of  water,  means  for  con- 
trolling the  flow  of  the  current  to  the  motor  and  means 
connecting  the  valve  with  the  controlling  means,  whereby 
when  the  upward  flow  of  the  water  in  the  delivery  pipe 
is    stopped    the    valve    closes    and    the    current-controlling 

812,797.  Insulating  Attachment  for  Electric  Fix- 
tures. Adolphus  A.  Knudson,  New  York,  N.  Y., 
assignor  of  one-half  to  Frank  H.  Clark,  Brook- 
lyn,   N.   Y.     Application   filed   March   8,    1905. 

An  insulating  material  to  be  wound  around  the  upper 
part  of  the  fixture  and  fastened  is  described. 

812,801.  Electric  Furnace.  Julius  E.  Ober,  Sche- 
nectady, N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General  Elec- 
tric Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application 
filed  July  15,   1904. 

:  a  carbon  tube  and  a  coating 
n  carbide. 

PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Following  is  a  list  of  electrical  patents  (issued 
by  the  United  States  Patent  Office)  that  expired  on 
February  19,  1906: 

397,910.     Electric  Converter.     L.   Gutmann,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
397,945-     Electric    Battery.     E.    A.    Sperry,    Chicago,    111. 
397,953-      Electric-lamp   Hanger.     M.    M.   Wood,  Erie,  Pa. 
397,965-      Electrical    Battery.      W.   Burnley,   North  East,  Pa. 
397,966.     Electric-current    Indicator.     W.    A.    Carey,    Maiden, 

Mass. 
397,969.     Galvanic   Battery.     E.    D.   Cross,   Chicago,  111. 
397,977-     Telegraphy.     C.   E.    Dressier,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
397,992.     Apparatus    for    Manufacturing    Ozone.     G.    H.    Mer- 

kel,    Boston,    Mass. 
398,035-     Floating    Telegraph    Station.      U.    Dieuleveult,    Tre- 

guier,    Cotes-du-Nord,   France. 
398,045.     Apparatus    for    Bleaching   by    Electrolysis.     E.    Her- 

mite,  E.  J.  Paterson  and  C.  F.   Cooper,  London,  England. 
398,075.      Secondary    Battery.      J.    T.    Pedersen,    New    York, 

N.    Y. 
398,101.      Process  of  Purifving   Sewage  by  Electricity.      Will- 
iam    Webster,    Jr.,     Lee     Park,     Lee,     County    of     Kent, 

Equalizer  for  Electric  Currents.     S.  Bergmann,  New 


144.     Door-spring       Connection       for       Electric       Burglar 
Alarms.     J.   Geary,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
3,194-      Secondary    Battery.      I.    A.    Timmis,    No.     2    Great 
George   Street,   Westminster,    County  of  Middlesex,    Eng- 

5,272.  Element  for  Thermo-electric  Batteries.  M.  Mestern, 
Turin,  Italy. 

$,288.  Switch  for  Electric  Circuits.  C.  C.  Stirling,  Hart- 
ford, Conn. 

3,327.  Electric  Spray-producing  Apparatus.  H.  A.  B. 
Huguet   De    Vars,   Paris,   France. 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


Vol.  XXXVIII. 


I  HICAG<  ».  M  \\"  " 


Modern  Central-station    Design  as  Ex- 
emplified in  La  Crosse,  Wis. 

I!v   ('.    II.    Will  [AH 

In  the  building  of  every  central  station  the  design- 
ers slionlil  be  able  to  show  wherein  they  have  i.-iU-n 

advantage  <>f  the  experiei I  othei   ,  bj   bringing 

together   into   harmony   the   be  i    features   "i   other 

di   i"n  .  unci  on   the  c plction  oi   the   woi  I    engi 

ni  ei  s    should    have    one    mi  n  c    e  ampli     i  il    "; I 

practice"    to    which    refi  rence    could    be    made    and 
from   which    suggestions    could    be    taken. 

["here   can    1»:   no   "model    plant"   either   for   thetl 


I  h.-  ituatcd   "u   Ihi 

l':  ■  i      :     North    I       I 
two  bio 

two  diffi  renl  arc  carried  into 

bed 
l  lie   po  lition  "i    ii»    planl    in   ii  i  pre 
w;is  fixi  i    : 

found   in   thi    Black  1 

I       \:    i  I  ■   i       . 


vhou»c 

■ 

gtner- 

machinc    being 

which 


View  ot  Power 

Boiler  Fronts. 

THE   N 


rKNTRAL    STATION 


Fig.  2.     Steam  Turbines.  Generators  and  Condensers. 
Fir.  4.     View  in  Basement,  Showing  Pipinc  and  Auxiliarii 
VISCONSIN    LIGHT   AND    POWER    COMPANY,    LA   CROSSE,    WIS. 


large  or  the  small  electric  company,  for  each  case 
has  its  own  characteristics  and  each  plant  must 
meet  conditions  peculiar  to  itself. 

The  technical  press  has  done  much  to  establish 
that  which  constitutes  "good  practice"  by  placing 
before  its  friends  the  outlines  of  types  of  construc- 
tion which  have  been  adopted  by  engineers  in  their 
work  during  the  last  few  years  and  by  stating  the 
reasons  why  certain  forms  of  construction  were 
made  use  of  under   the  existing  conditions. 

In  this  way  the  writer  has  borrowed  many  ideas 
from  others,  as  found  in  the  description  of  their 
properties,  and  to  the  end  that  some  may  find 
points  of  interest  in  the  general  scheme  which  has 
proved  eminently  satisfactory  to  our  engineers,  a 
general  description  of  the  new  plant  of  the  Wis- 
consin Light  and  Power  Company  follows,  with 
illustrations. 

Location  of  Plant. 

The  plant,  which  is  steam  driven,  has  been  de- 
signed and  constructed  to  supply  the  demands  for 
light  and  power  in  the  rapidly  growing  city  of  La 


uniting  half  a  mile  below  the  present  site.  The 
Black  River  is  an  old  logging  stream  and  has  its 
bed  lined  with  logs  and  bark,  making  a  veritable 
boiler-compound  of  the  water,  relieving  the  boilers 
of  all  troublesome  deposits  of  scale  and  solid  mat- 
ter which  cause  much  trouble  to  users  of  water 
from  the   Mississippi. 

The  tarrangement  for  the  handling  of  fuel  and 
ash  is  excellent,  on  account  of  the  railway  facili- 
ties, and  although  the  district  is  not  congested  at 
the  present  time,  a  larger  number  of  power  con- 
sumers are  locating  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  at- 
tracted by  the  many  advantages  which  the  location 
offers   for  manufacturing  purposes. 

Station  Building. 
The  station  building  (Fig.  i)  is  of  absolutely 
modern  fireproof  construction  of  brick,  concrete 
and  expanded  metal.  It  is  built  high,  light  and 
airy  and  presents  the  appearance  of  being  neat, 
clean-cut  and  substantial,  but  without  "fads  and 
fancies." 


of   the   turbine    and 


apparatus.      Fig.    2    is    ; 
condensing  apparatus. 

Safety  Devices. 

The  rigs  are  equipped  with  all  of  the  late  de- 
velopments in  the  way  of  safety  devices,  having 
the  automatic  engine  stops  which  become  operative 
above  certain  speeds,  the  electric  annunciator  show- 
ing a  failure  of  the  condensing  apparatus  which 
might  allow  the  water  of  condensation  to  rise  to 
a  point  which  would  endanger  the  turbine  blading; 
and  an  electric  alarm  which  operates  when  from 
any  cause  the  level  in  the  oil  well  is  changed 
from  normal,  either  from  the  failure  of  the  pump, 
the  clogging  of  the  apparatus  or  lack  of  the  lubri- 
cant   itself,    through    leakage    or   loss. 

Other  than  these  are  the  automatic  by-pass  valves 
caring  for  excessive  overloads  and  automatic  back- 
pressure valves  for  opening  the  exhausts  to  atmo- 
sphere in  case  of  failure  of  the  condensing  ap- 
paratus. 

In   the    engine    room   and    above    the   machines   a 


172 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


March  3,  1906 


universal  traveling  crane,  fitted  with  two  car- 
riages and  hoists,  serves  the  entire  floor  space  and 
facilitates  the  handling  of  apparatus,  as  by  means 
of  one  of  the  carriages,  machine  frames,  covers  or 
parts  may  be  lifted  out  of  the  way  and  left  sus- 
pended, while  the  remaining  carriage  is  used  to 
move  or  remove  any  parts  without  lowering  the 
first  to  the  floor.  This  effects  a  saving  of  time  and 
still  leaves  the  crane  equipment  with  the  same  ulti- 
mate capacity,  for  the  two  hoists  can  be  worked 
together  as  one  with  the  additional  advantage  of 
making  use  of  double  the  number  of  men  on  the 
chains  where  the  hoists  are  operated  by  hand. 
Condensing  Apparatus. 

The  condensing  water  is  taken  from  the  Black 
River  from  a  driven-pile  crib  properly  protected 
against  foreign  matter  by  suitable  screens,  guards, 
rocks,  etc.,  and  the  water  is  conducted  into  the 
plant  through  a  short  run  of  20-inch  suction  pipe, 
cast  iron  being  used  in  all  cases  above  the  surface 
of  the  water,  with  extra  heavy  spiral  riveted  pipe 
between  the  crib  and  the  shore. 

After  the  cooling  water  has  passed  through  the 
condenser   the   discharge  pipe   is   extended   out   into 


conditions  the  mercury  column  connected  to  the 
exhaust  opening* at  the  low-pressure  blades  shows 
a  vacuum  which  differs  by  not  more  than  half  an 
inch  of  mercury  from  the  barometer  at  the  United 
States  Weather  Bureau  one  mile  away  and  on  the 
same  level. 

Between  the  turbine  shell  and  the  condenser  shell 
is  placed  a  corrugated  copper  connecting  piece  to 
allow  for  the  taking  up  of  any  unequal  expansion 
or  contraction  due  to  changing  temperatures,  and  it 
seems  to  be  a  never-ending  source  of  amusement 
to  the  engineers  on  watch  to  prevail  on  their  un- 
suspecting friends  to  feel  of  this  connection  carry- 
ing the  exhaust,  after  giving  them  the  impression 
that  they  are  going  to  burn  their  fingers.  The 
sensation  is  somewhat  startling  unless  one  stops 
to  think,  for  the  connection  feels  actually  cold  to 
the  hand,  the  temperature  being  but  from  450  to 
55°   F. 

After  passing  through  the  condensing  apparatus 
the  condensed  steam  passes  to  a  hot  well,  where 
it  is  taken  up  by  pumps  and  forced  through  a  sur- 
face heater  and  then  back  to  the  boilers;  while  in 
the  heater  the  water  of  condensation  is  brought 
up  to  2120  F.,  taking  up  the  heat  of  the  exhaust 
from  the  auxiliaries  and  putting  it  back  where  it 
will  do  useful  work. 

Boilers. 

The  boiler  equipment  consists  of  12,000  feet  of 
Babcock  &  Wilcox  high-pressure  boilers  arranged 
for  automatic  stokers.  The  boilers  discharge  their 
flue  products  into  breechings  connected  to  a  steel 
stack  180  feet  in  height  and  eight  feet  six  inches  in 


FIG.  5.   ARRANGEMENT  OF  POWER  HOUSE  OF  W 


the  river,  and  the  water  is  discharged  below  the 
surface  of  the  river,  taking  advantage  of  the  siphon 
effect,  with  the  result  that  the  circulating  pumps 
do  but  a  small  amount  of  work — that  of  moving 
the  body  of  water  against  friction — and  a  test  show- 
ing a  vacuum  of  5]/2  inches  in  the  pipe  on  the  dis- 
charge side  of  the  pumps  is  evidence  of  the  small 
amount  of  work  required  of  them. 

The  condenser  apparatus  is  in  duplicate  and  so 
arranged  that  either  shell,  either  air  pump  or 
either  centrifugal  circulating  pump  can  be  used 
with  either  turbine  rig  separately,  or  the  two  may 
be  worked  together.  One  turbine  unit  and  con- 
denser shell  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  6. 

The  conditions  for  high  economy  on  this  condens- 
ing apparatus  are  ideal,  and  under  ordinary  full-load 


diameter.     A  glimpse  of  the  boiler  fronts   is   given 
in  Fig.  3. 

Six-inch  city  water  mains  are  run  into  the  plant 
and  connected  by  quick-opening  valves  to  the  cir- 
culating pumps  where  the  city  water  could  be  used 
in  case  of  trouble  on  the  plant  intake  or  pumps. 
There  is  a  separate  2^2-inch  pipe  laid  to  the  river, 
connected  to  a  pump  for  supplying  a  35,000-gallon 
tank  suspended  from  heavy  I-beams  above  the  boiler 
room.  This  supply  is  governed  by  a  float  valve  in 
the  tank,  and  the  pump  is  under  steam  at  all  times, 
connected  close  to  the  boilers.  Water  in  this 
tank  supplies  the  deficiency  in  the  heater  if  there 
is  any  and  also  supplies  the  lavatories,  general 
plant  service,  and  is  available  for  priming,  etc.,  in 
case   of  the  failure  of  any  of  the  other   apparatus. 


Fig.  4  is  a  view  in  the  basement,  showing  piping 
and  auxiliaries. 

By  the  system  of  water  piping  and  pumping  the 
boilers  have  four  separate  and  distinct  means  of 
receiving  their  feed  water,  and  this  is  accomplished 
without  any  complication,  and  is  a  condition  of 
circumstances    rather   than   a   prearranged    plan. 

The  feed  pumps  themselves  are  outside-packed 
plunger  pumps  in  duplicate,  each  one  being  capable 
of  caring  for  50  per  cent,  overload  of  the  boilers. 

A    motor-driven   triplex   pump    is   being   installed, 


ONE   TURBINK    I'.N 


CONDENSER 


•  as  during  certain  portions  of  the  24  hours  the 
motor-driven  pump  will  show  a  greater  net  econ- 
omy. All  water  which  is  used  for  oil  cooling 
and  jacket  cooling  is  returned  through  the  heaters 
to  the  boilers. 

Coal  Handling. 

The  coal  coming  into  the  plant  is  weighed  on 
railroad  scales,  and  each  bin  has  a  storage  capacity 
of  200  tons;  there  being  a  total  capacity  under 
roof  for  1,800  tons. 

As  the  coal  is  taken  from  the  furnace  room  it 
is  weighed  on  truck  scales  and  the  weight  of 
each  bin  is  checked  back  with  the  railroad  weights 
to  detect  and  guard  against  any  discrepancy  which 
may  arise. 

A  record  is  kept  of  the  coal  used  on  each  shaft, 
together  with  the  number  of  pounds  of  water  evap- 
orated, and  the  kilowatt  output  of  the  plant,  and 
a  detailed  report  is  made  of  the  number  of  pounds 
of  water  evaporated  per  pound  of  coal  and  per 
pound  of  combustible  (the  .  ash  being  weighed 
back),  and  the  number  of  watts  produced  on  the 
switchboard  per  pound  of  coal  is  determined.  Later, 
when  the  station  is  working  under  established 
normal  conditions,  all  of  the  station  attendants  will 
be  placed  on  a  basis  where  they  will  be  directly 
interested  in  a  financial  way,  in  the  economical  re- 
sults   obtained    in  the   plant. 

Recording  Instruments. 

Recording  instruments  register  the  steam  pres- 
sure, the  absolute  pressure  of  exhaust  on  the  tur- 
bines and  the  electric  pressure  at  the  station  and 
on  the  lines.  Automatic  regulators  control  the 
operation  of  the  stack  dampers,  maintaining  a  very 
good  steam  chart  and  saving  fuel  by  keeping  nor- 
mal furnace  conditions. 

All  boiler  and  steam  piping  is  installed  according 
to  the  specification  for  extra  heav}r  work,  and  every 
inch  of  surface  is  very  effectively  insulated  to  pro- 
tect against  losses  of  heat  from  radiation. 

The  boilers  are  so  cross-connected  that  any  one 
of  them  can  be  used  on  either  turbo-rig  or  all  may 
be  operated  together  as  a  unit,  making  the  system 
of  the  greatest  flexibility,  first  cost  being  duly  con- 
sidered. 

Extensions. 

The  boiler  and  engine  room  are  constructed 
with  the  idea  of  adding  additional  units  as  the  load 
requires,  the  walls  of  the  boilers  being  built  in  at 
the  time  of  the  construction  of  the  building  so 
that  additions  may  be  made  without  other  than 
pro-rata  costs. 

In  laying  out  the  switchboard  all  apparatus  was 
installed  with  an  ultimate  capacity  of  four  times 
the  present  station-generator  capacity,  additional 
generator  and  circuit  panels  being  installed  with 
the  original  installation  to  care  for  future  develop- 
ments. 

Exciters. 

The  exciter  units,  arranged  in  duplicate,  consist 
of  two  motor-driven  units  and  one  steam-driven 
unit,  cross-connected,  so  that  any  exciter  can  be 
used  with  any  turbine  generator,  or  all  can  be  par- 
alleled on  one  set  of  exciter  buses. 
Switchboard. 

The  switchboard  extends  directly  across  the 
plant    building    and    stands    15    feet   from   the   wall, 


March  3,   igo6 

allowing   ample    room    foi    the     witchboard    wiring 

to  be  carried  oul  straight  and  n  gulai    and  1 

plication    or  era    ing  1  arc  m  d  on    11 1  ounl  of 

crowding.     The  l>".-inl  coi 1    1  1     tand 

blue   Vermont    panel     with     ub  bases,    lini  hi  d    with 

ornamental   Bcroll   worl top      H    1     enclosed   al 

the  end:    with  open  grillwork   fitted   with  a   locked 


1  ERN     ELECTRICIAN 

which 
find    theii       <      up   through    iron  pip 

Bcfon 


«73 


door,  so  that  no  one,   not  authorized,  can  come  in 
contact  with  any  high-voltage  current. 

Figs.  7  and  8  show  a  general  view  in  front,  and 
the  arrangement  of  regulators  on  the  rear  of  the 
board. 

Sanitary  Equipment.  , 

Not  forgetting  the  welfare  of  the  men,  on  whom 
depends  the  successful  operation  of  the  plant,  the 
designer  has  found  suitable  places  for  lockers, 
bath-room,  toilet  rooms,  engineer's  office  and  test- 
ing rooms,  all  finished  and  furnished  in  a  modern 
and  comfortable  way,  and  adding  much  to  the 
convenience  of  the  engineers  in  attendance. 
Circuits. 

The  current  is  conducted  from  the  station  by 
three-wire  three-phase  distribution  circuits,  both  for 
light  and  power,  these  being  kept  entirely  separate 
from  one  another  from  the  machines.  Six  such 
circuits  leave  the  station,  and  provision  is  made  for 
four  more,  including  street-lighting  circuits,  for 
which  a  circuit  panel  has  been  installed. 
Regulators. 

Both  light  and  power  buses  are  equipped  with  the 

latest  type  of  automatic  regulators,  and  every  wire 

leaving  the  plant  has  hand  regulators  to  allow  for 

mechanical    adjustments   in   case   of   necessity. 

Station  Cables. 

The  wires  leaving  the  oil  switches  on  the  board 
are  carried  into  a  discharge  head  leading  to  three- 


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each  connected  to  multi-gap  lightning  arresters  in 
the  lightning-arrester  room  (Fig.  9),  which  is  di- 
rectly over  the  switchboard,  and  is  closed  from  dust 
and  protected  from  trespass  by  proper  locked  doors 
and  windows.  Very  direct  ground  wires  of  large 
capacity  are  carried  down  from  the  arresters  to  a 
large  copper  plate  buried  in  charcoal  below  the 
river  level. 

Overhead  Work. 

The  station  is  approximately  10,000  feet  from  the 

commercial  lighting  center,  and  65-foot  Idaho  poles 

carry   the   three-phase   delta   circuits   of    100,000  cir- 


FIG.    10.       OVERHEAD    CONSTRUCTION    IN    LA    CROSSE,     WIS. 

(THE   TALLER   POLES  ARE   65    FEET    HIGH    AND 

CARRY    THREE-PHASE    CIRCUITS.) 

cular  mils  on  special  four  and  two-pin  arms  so  ar- 
ranged that  each  set  of  arms  carries  but  one  circuit 
on  each  side  of  the  pole.  The  circuits  are  con- 
ducted in  this  way  to  a  point  where  the  brick- 
paved  district  begins,  and  here  the  circuits  are  car- 
ried underground.  This  overhead  work  is  well  illus- 
trated in  Fig.   10. 

This  brick-paved  territory  covers  some  40  blocks 
of  business  district,  through  which  the  primaries 
for  light  and  power  are  conducted  in  three-phase 
paper  cable  through  eight  and  six-duct  vitrified- 
clay  conduits  to  distribution  poles,  up  which  the 
three  primaries  for  both  light  and  power  are  car- 
ried in  every  instance.  These  supply  the  three- 
phase  power  in  the  one  case  and  allow  of  easy  bal- 
ancing where  it  is  necessary  to  change  .  lighting 
transformers  from  one  phase  to  another  in  the 
other  case.  [See  Mr.  Burford's  paper  on  page  180 
for    description    of    the    underground    construction.] 

The  primaries  terminate  in  a  discharge  bell  (Fig. 
11),    from    which    special    rubber-covered    cable    is 


on  the  power  circuits,  no  exception  being  made 
to  allow  any  inductive  load  on  the  lighting  system. 
Distribution   S 

The  main  primary  system  of  distribution  is  in 
reality  that  of  a  star,  the  main  primary  feeders 
coming  to  a  center  without  being  tapped,  and  dis- 
trict primaries  are  led  away  from  this  center  in 
every  direction,  care  being  taken  to  balance  resi- 
dence and  commercial  lighting  between  the  three 
phases  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  unequal  voltage 
drops  on  the  line,  on  different  nights  in  the  week, 
where  business  places  are  in  the  one  case  kept 
open,  and  in  the  other  case  closed. 

As  the  natural  center  of  distribution  coincided 
with  the  geographical  center  of  the  business  dis- 
trict, it  was  found  that  the  center  would  fall  within 
the  underground  territory,  so  it  was  also  deemed 
expedient  to  arrange  a  system  of  tieing-in  at  the 
extremities  of  the  points  of  the  distributing  star. 

This  was  done  because  of  the  fact  that,  beyond 
the  brick  district,  it  was  necessary  to  construct 
secondary  trunk  lines,  and  on  the  same  poles  car- 
rying these  lines  the  three-phase  lighting  primaries 
were  conducted,  lieing  them  in  at  the  junction  of 
each  radiating  line  and  the  circumscribed  circuit. 
Outdoor  Oil  Switches. 

Three-phase  outdoor-type  oil  switches  are  used 
in  each  case  where  overhead  conducting  systems 
are  connected  to  underground  work,  with  the  re- 
sult that  any  section  of  either  the  overhead  or  the 


underground  system  can  be  cut  out  without  in- 
terfering, in  any  way,  with  the  remaining  system 
of  distribution,  and  at  several  natural  division 
points  in  the  underground  work  the  three-conductor 
cables  are  spliced  out  into  single  conductors,  which 
are  each  led  through  water-tight  high-tension  junc- 
tion boxes,  to  facilitate  repairs  or  extensions. 
Precautions  Against  Leakage  from  Other  Com- 
pany's Lines. 
Extra  precautions  were  taken  along  these  lines, 
due  to  an  existing  condition,  found  when  the  com- 
pany entered  the  field,  where  several  telephone 
cables    in    underground    districts    were    rapidly    de- 


174 

stroyed  on  account  of  electrolytic  action,  appar- 
ently due  to  excessive  leakage  from  direct-current 
light  and  power  conductors,  consisting  of  bare  cop- 
per wire  drawn  into  ordinary  cotton-covered  hose, 
and  carried  through  underground  conduits.  The 
hose,  rapidly  becoming  a  fair  conductor,  allowed 
a  dangerous  amount  of  current  to  dissipate  itself 
over  water  pipes,  cables  and  conductors,  and  cre- 
ated a  large  amount  of  damage  to  all  such  work 
below  the  surface. 

In  the  installation  of  the  underground  work  for 
the  new  plant  every  precaution  was  taken  to  pro- 
tect against  this  evil,  but  as  leakage  of  stray  di- 
rect current,  to  and  from  the  sheaths  of  the  lead- 
covered  cables  being  installed,  was  still  evident, 
the    above-mentioned    system    of    tieing-in    was    re- 


sorted to,  to  facilitate  the  serving  of  all  con 
in  the  event  of  possible  breakdown. 
Tests. 
Before  the  system  was  made  alive  for  commer- 
cial use  a  strain  of  10,000  volts  was  placed  on  it 
for  a  period  of  five  minutes,  following  which  a 
30-minute  test  at  6,000  volts  was  made,  these  tests 
being  conducted  from  each  conductor  to  ground 
and  from  conductor  to  conductor  within  the  cable — 
no  defects  being  brought  out  on  the  trial,  showed 
that  the  splicing  and  installing  had  been  well  and 
carefully   done. 

Insulators. 

On  the  overhead  work  Idaho  cedar  poles  are 
used  throughout,  the  primary  conductors  occupying 
the  same  relative  position  spoken  of  before,  and 
carried  on  high-tension  insulators.  The  usefulness 
of  these  insulators  may  be  seen  from  the  fact  that 
although  the  main  lead  parallels  a  heavy  telephone 
lead  of  open  work  for  a  mile,  on  the  same  side 
of  the  street  and  but  a  few  feet  distant,  no  trouble 
is  experienced  by  the  telephone  company  at  all, 
due  care  being  exercised  to  prevent  induction 
troubles.  The  high-tension  insulators  prevent  leak- 
age, which  so  frequently  is  looked  upon  as  induc- 
tion trouble  on  noisy  telephone  lines.  The  sec- 
ondary wires  occupy  three  pins  of  a  lower  arm 
and  the  Edison  three-wire  system  of  secondary 
distribution  is  used.  The  pole  line  presents  an  un- 
usually good  appearance,  and  possibly  nowhere  in 
the  Northwest  is  there  to  be  found  a  pole  line 
made  up  of  such  'uniformly  straight,  well-propor- 
tioned, clean-cut  poles  as  these. 
Junction   Boxes. 

Wherever  possible  the  no  and  220-volt  second- 
aries are  tied  together  on  the  Edison  three-wire 
network  of  banked  transformers,  and  junction  fuses 
are  inserted  in  the  secondary  leads  between  trans- 
formers to  facilitate  repairs  and  changes  when 
necessary. 

Transformers. 

Three  sizes  of  transformers  are  used— five,  10 
and  20  kilowatts,  additional  transformers  being  in- 
serted where  districts  become  overloaded.  By  this 
means  the  number  of  sizes  of  fuses  and  supply 
parts  necessary  to  be  carried  in  stock  and  by  patrol 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

men   is   reduced  to  a   minimum,   and   excellent   reg- 
ulation is  secured. 

Lightning  Arresters. 

Lightning  protection  is  placed  on  both  the  pri- 
mary and  secondary  lines  at  intervals  of  1,000  feet, 
special  care  being  taken  to  insure  positive  and 
permanent  ground  connections.  The  neutral  wire 
of  the  three-wire  lighting  system  and  one  leg  of 
the  three-phase  power  secondaries  are  permanently 
grounded  to  protect  against  a  possible  abnormal 
rise   in   secondary   pressure. 

Regulation    and   Load    Factor. 

The  automatic  regulators  on  the  circuits  main- 
tain equal  and  normal  pressure  at  all  time,  making 
possible  the  use  of  high-efficiency  incandescent 
lamps  and  Nernst  lamps,  of  which  free  renewals 
are   furnished   by   the   company. 

Worthy  of  special  note  is  the  load  factor  under 
which  the  station  is  operating.  The  station  was 
put  into  commission  on  the  27th  day  of  November 
last,  at  which  time  no  consumer  was  connected  to 
its  mains.  Sixty  days  later  finds  the  plant  with 
400  consumers  receiving  current,  the  peak  load  be- 
ing but  20  per  cent,  of  the  station  generating  ca- 
pacity, while  the  24-hour  output  shows  a  load  factor 
of  14.2  per  cent,  (load  factor  here  being  station 
output  for  24  hours  divided  by  rated  station  capacity 
times   24  hours). 

An  analysis  of  this  simple  statement  shows  that 
the  nature  of  the  business  which  has  been  taken 
on  is  almost  exclusively  that  known  as  long-hour 
consumption,  and  much  to  be  desired  by  any  plant. 

With  the  high,  class  of  apparatus  installed  the 
best  of  service  is  rendered;  the  operating  costs  are 
kept  at  a  minimum;  the  maintenance  costs  will  be 
extremely  low;  the  ultimate  capacity  of  the  plant 
can  be  multiplied  by  three  with  an  addition  of  but 
a  small  proportional  expense,  and,  finally,  the  en- 
tire system  is  adaptable  to  any  form  of  modern 
power  development  which  the  advancing  times  may 


Interurban    Railway    Development     in 
Central  Illinois. 

One  of  the  principal  builders  and  operators  of 
street  and  interurban  electric  railways  in  Illinois 
is  the  Illinois  Traction  System,  otherwise  known 
as  the  McKinley  syndicate.  Much  has  been  written 
about  the  progress  of  this  company,  both  as  to 
building  new  lines  and  acquiring  others  by  pur- 
chase. The  operations  principally  have  been  in 
Central  Illinois,  and  the  company  is  now  operating 
1 10  miles  of  city  track  and  about  235  miles  of 
interurban  track. 

A  glance  at  the  accompanying  map  will  show 
that  the  McKinley  interests  are  operating  an  al- 
most unbroken  system  from  Danville,  near  the  In- 
diana   state    line,    to    East    St.    Louis    and    Granite 

City,    on    the    Mississippi    River,        

at  the  other  side  of  the  state. 
The  longest  unbroken  stretch  is 
from  Bloomington,  through  De- 
catur and  Springfield,  to  East  St. 
Louis.  The  uncompleted  roadbed 
of  the  Springfield  and  North- 
western railway  between  Spring- 
field and  Bloomington  has  been 
purchased  and  will  soon  be  added 
to  the  line.s  in  operation. 

The  route  between  Blooming- 
ton and  Peoria  is  not  yet  defi- 
nitely settled.  Two  surveys  have 
been  made,  one  running  along 
the  Big  Four  steam  railroad  to 
Mackinaw,  and  from  that  point 
to  Morton,  paralleling  the  Van- 
dalia,  and  from  Morton  across 
country  to  East  Peoria.  The 
other  route  runs  from  Blooming- 
ton to  Congerville  along  the 
Lake  Erie,  from  Congerville  to 
Morton  into  East  Peoria.  The 
route  from  Morton  to  East  Pe- 
oria is  definitely  settled  and  the 
contract  has  been  let  for  the 
grading  work.  The  question  as 
to  whether  the  route  from  Mor- 
ton to  Bloomington  will  be  along 
the  Big  Four  or  Lake  Erie  will 
probably  be  decided  soon.  The 
company  will  build  its  own 
bridge,  of  the  bascule  type,  over 
the  Illinois  River  at  Peoria.  This 
division  will  be  equipped  for 
single-phase  operation  and  will 
connect  with  the  recently  pur- 
chased city  system  in  Peoria  for- 
merly owned  by  the  Central  Rail- 
way   Company. 

Engineers  are  now  locating  a 
route  for  a  line  covering  the  42 
miles  between  Champaign  and 
Decatur.  When  this  is  completed 
it  will  be  possible  to  ride  over 
the  company's  lines  from  Dan- 
ville to  East  St.  Louis,  a  distance 


March  3,   1906 

of  220  miles.  Several  branches  are  also  in  opera- 
tion, as  the  one  from  Danville  to  Ridge  Farm,  and, 
at  the  southern  end,  from  Staunton  to  Mt.  Olive, 
Litchfield  and  Hillsboro.  Another  branch  is  pro- 
posed from  Springfield  to  Jacksonville,  and  a  line 
may  also  be  built  from  Bloomington  to  Champaign. 

The  Illinois  Traction  System  now  controls  the 
following  companies :  Danville  Street  Railway  and 
Light  Company;  Danville,  Urbana  and  Champaign 
Railway  Company;  Urbana  and  Champaign  Rail- 
way, Gas  and  Electric  Company;  Decatur  Railway 
and  Light  Company ;  Illinois  Central  Traction  Com- 
pany; St.  Louis  and  Springfield  Railway  Company; 
Urbana  Light,  Heat  and  Power  Company;  Jack- 
sonville Railway  Company;  Consumers'  Light  and 
Heat  Company;  Jacksonville  Gas  Light  and  Coke 
Company;  St.  Louis  and  Northeastern  Railway 
Company;  Chicago,  Bloomington  and  Decatur  Rail- 
way Company;  Peoria,  Bloomington  and  Cham- 
paign Traction  Company;  Springfield  and  North- 
eastern Railway;  Central  Railway  Company,  Pe- 
oria, and  the  Peoria,  Bloomington  and  Normal 
Railway  and  Electric  Company. 

Officers  of  the  company  are:     President,  William 

B.  McKinley;  vice-president  and  general  manager, 
L.  E.  Fischer;  assistant  manager,  W.  J.  Ferris; 
general   traffic  manager,  B.  R.  Stephens;  engineer,  H. 

C.  Hoagland.  Besides  the  secretary,  treasurer,  audi- 
tors, etc.,  there  are  general  superintendents  in  each 
of  the  larger  cities  included  in  the  company's  system. 

In  connection  with  the  McKinley  developments,  it 
is  interesting  to  note  the  work  of  other  interest 
which  may  become  connected  with  the  Illinois  Trac- 
tion System.  The  Joliet  and  Southern  Traction 
Company,  which  is  expected  to  connect  with  the 
McKinley  system  and  become  a  vital  portion  of 
the  north  and  south  through  service  from  Chicago 
to  St.  Louis,  has  made  application  to  the  City 
Council  of  Joliet  for  franchises  to  bring  into  Joliet 
interurban  lines  from  Aurora,  Morris,  Dwight, 
Kankakee  and  Peotone,  New  Lennox,  Blue  Island, 
and  incidentally  facilities  for  other  interurban  lines 
that  may  hereafter  be  attracted  to  Joliet.  A  union 
station  at  Joliet  for  interurban  cars  is  part  of  the 
project,  and  in  connection  with  it  will  be  a  seven- 
story  office  building,  located  in  the  heart  of  the 
city  and  close   to   the  proposed   new   union   station. 

The  Joliet  and  Southern  Traction  Company  con- 
templates paralleling  the  Rock  Island  to  Blue  Is- 
land. This  line- will  be  built  for  high-speed  serv- 
ice. At  Blue  Island  connection  will  be  made  with 
the  tracks  of  the  Chicago  and  Southern  Traction 
Company,  and  cars  will  run  over  these  tracks  in 
connection  with  the  South  Side  Elevated  and  de- 
liver the  passengers  on  the  elevated  loop  in  the 
heart   of    Chicago. 

A  line  is  also  contemplated  from  Joliet  through 
Manhattan,  Wilton  Center  to  Peotone,  where  con- 
nection will  be  made  again  with  the  Chicago  and 
Southern  Traction  Company  for  Manteno,  Bradley, 
Kankakee,  Lafayette  and  Indianapolis.  The  line 
from  Kankakee  to  Lafayette  will  then  connect  Kan- 
kakee and  lines  east  through  Joliet,  Aurora  and 
Elgin  to  Rockford  and  Janesville,  Wis.,  and  very 
soon  to  Madison. 

The    lines    to    the    south    and    southwest    will    be 


PROPOSED    LINES    OF    ILLINOIS    ELECTRIC     TRACTION 
SYSTEM. 


.March  ,;,    rc)06 


roughl    into  Joli'el    through    Elwood, 

raiawood,  <  iodli  .    Bra  i    illi ,  I  lardni  r  am 

nli   j    branch  line    from   Gardnci    to   South    wil 

lington    and    al  o    I i    ■<    poinl     between     Braid 

ood  and  Wilmington  to  I  >ii id,  Coal  i         I 

hi    Hill    and    Morris.    Ai     Dwighl    u  i  tion   i 

lade   with   the    line    ■••    opi  rating    from    Dwighl 

i   Pontiac,  and   ii   will   be  a   very    ihorl   time  onlj 
iilil   that   line   is  extended   to   Bloomington 


Electrical    Equipment  of   Louisville  and 

Nashville  Railroad  Shops. 

B\     \    G    Wi     lino 

In  the  m  w  shops  ol  tin    l  ill-    and  Nashville 

Railroad   Company   al    South    Louisville,    Ky.,  clcc- 

tricity    has    been    applied    in   a    mi o    inti  1 1   I 

engineers  by  the  eminently  practical  results  pro- 
duced.  So  carefully  has  every  detail  been  planned 
with  reference  both  to  its  particulai  design  and 
to  its  proper  plan-  in  the  general  scheme,  thai 
the  resull  is  evidenl  even  to  the  untrained  lay 
man. 

A  railroad  shop  of  this  kind  includes  at  Icasl  a 
dozen  distinct  lines  of  manufacturing,  everyone  of 
which  is  important.  All  these  units  must  be  effi 
ciently  operated,  and  their  various  products  finally 
broughl  together  and  assembled  into  railway  rolling 
stock     in     the    shape    of     freight    ears,     passenger 


WESTERN     U.I  i   I  RH 
o 

all,  ar.-  motoi  driven, 

in  ii 
ing   appl 

tinning    to  Ihi 

car  I 
wire    multipli 

v.  in.  i.    di  idi 
bj    thi     'H  iin      into    ii 
third    wire,    in    additi. 
ervi      i iplj    ilner  differ. 

,  ...  jo 

ii   i  .  dc  ired   to  •  pi  i  at    .1     ■ 

diffen  hi    voll  ■ 

motor     .ninal  11         1  ,,,      Bull.   -I 

ci  nil. .11,  1  .    .,,,'1     ini   ■ 

above  thi    norm  il    il    140  11     obtained  by  the 

u  c   ".     Imni    field  1 1  ■ 

inch   .Ii  h  ing  wh.  el  latin     Iriven  b 
motor,    operating    on     the     threi 

1  'thei    ■  i" .  .-I    tool      peculiar    to    I 

are  a  three  head   nam.      lotl   1  .  column 


• 


To  the  nortl 
and  electricity  i  1  used  for  '.ich  it 

1  he  drop  for  i.r  rap,  the 


en  Three-column  Radial  Drill. 


EQUIPMENT   OK    LOUISVILLE 


.'ASHVILLK    kAILROAD    SHOPS. 


coaches  and  locomotives.  At  the  South  Louisville 
shops  a  transfer  table  having  a  bridge  100  feet 
long  and  a  transverse  travel  of  1,050  feet  is  the 
center  about  which  the  buildings  are  grouped,  and 
serves  as  the  connecting  link  to  bind  the  various 
departments  together.  The  bridge  is  operated  by  an 
electric  railway  motor  capable  of  driving  it  at  a 
speed  of  12  miles  an  hour.  By  means  of  sliding 
clutches  the  motor  may  be  disconnected  from  the 
bridge  drive  and  connected  to  a  drum  to  pull 
coaches  and  locomotives  onto  and  off  the  bridge. 
Along   the  north    side   of   the    transfer    table    lies 


radial  drill  (the  latter  shown  in  Fig.  3).  These 
tools  are  driven  by  Bullock  variable-speed  motors, 
as  are  also  a  number  of  heavy  lathes  and  other 
tools  of  the  kind  common  to  all  machine  shops. 
The  motors  driving  these  large  tools  are  rigidly 
connected  to  the  machine,  and  the  power  is  trans- 
mitted through  gears.  Such  tools  as  are  operated 
at  constant  speed  are  belted  to  a  line  shaft,  which 
is  driven  by  a  belted  motor. 

In  the  boiler  shop  the  large  punches  and  shears 
are  driven  by  individual  motors,  which  are  belted 
to    the    tools.     Compound-wound  motors    are    used. 


FIG.   4.      THREE    35O-KILOWATT    GENEKATO: 

the  largest  building  of  the  group,  having  a  length 
of  1,000  feet,  and  including  under  one  roof  the 
boiler  shop,  the  general  machine  shop  and  the 
erecting  shop.  The  south  bay  of  this  building  is 
divided  into  40  sections,  and  every  section  has 
a  track  connecting  with  the  transfer  table.  Eleven 
of  these  sections  are  in  the  boiler  shop,  which  is 
separated  from  the  erecting  shop  by  a  brick  wall 
12  feet  high.  The  erecting  floor  is  served  by  a 
100-ton  crane,  provided  with  two  trolleys,  and 
capable  of  carrying  the  largest-sized  locomotives 
from   any  part  of  the   erecting  shop  over   the  wall 


J   IN    SOUTH    LOUISVILLE    RAILROAD    SHOPS. 

The  slipping  of  the  belt  in  starting,  due  to  the 
unusually  large  inertia  of  this  class  of  tools,  allows 
the  motor  to  start  with  much  less  current  than 
would  be  required  if  the  motors  were  geared,  and 
the  compounding  of  the  fields  has  the  same  effect, 
as   it   increases   the  torque   of  the   motor. 

To  the  north  of  the  machine  shop  lie  the  forge 
shop  and  the  wheel  shop.  In  the  forge  shop  motors 
are  used  where  possible,  but,  as  nothing  has  been 
found  thus  far  to  displace  steam  hammers,  the  num- 
ber of  motors  is  not  very  large.  In  the  wheel  shop 
the  machine  tools  are   all   of  a  constant-speed   type 


tance  from  the  power  house  to  the  foundry' is  so  great 
that  no  other  method  of  transmission  could  be  con- 
sidered. 

Placed  along  the  east  side  of  the  foundry  is  a 
runway  supporting  a  traveling  crane,  and  this  run- 
way passes  along  the  side  of  the  wheel  shop,  the  end 
of  ihe  machine  shop,  and  extends  as  far  as  tile  trans- 
fer table.  The  crane  bridge  is  40  feet  long,  thus 
giving  excellent  yard  service  to  the  various  shops, 
and  affording  a  very  satisfactory  method  of  trans- 
porting material  from  one  department  to  another. 

In  the  wood  shop  the  tools  are  operated  at  con- 
stant speed,  and  most  of  them  are  driven  by  belts 
from  line  shafts,  which  are  motor-driven. 

The  power  house  is  located  at  the  south  of  the 
group  of  buildings,  where  the  handling  of  fuel  and 
ashes  can  be  done  most  conveniently.  The  equip- 
ment, as  shown  in  Fig.  4,  includes  three  330-kilowatt 
250-volt  type-I  Bullock  generators,  direct-connected 
to  cross-compound  Buckeye  engines,  running  at  175 
revolutions  a  minute.  Steam  at  125  pounds  pres- 
sure is  supplied  by  a  battery  of  •Stirling  boilers,  pro- 
vided with  mechanical  stokers.  The  coal  elevator  is 
motor-driven.  In  addition  to  the  generators,  the 
engine  room  contains  a  cross-compound  two-stage 
air  compressor  and  a  12  and  18  by  24-inch  fire  pump. 
The  switchboard,  built  by  the  Western  Electric  Com- 
pany, is  equipped  with  Weston  flush-type  instru- 
ments, which  add  greatly  to  its  neat  appearance. 

The  excellence  of  the  plant  as  a  whole  is  due  to 
the  clear  foresight  and  careful  personal  supervision 
of  Mr.  Theodore  H.  Curtis,  superintendent  of  ma- 
chinery. Mr.  Curtis  came  to  the  Louisville  and 
Nashville  from  the  Erie  Railroad  and  was  assistant 
superintendent  at  the  time  the  work  of  building  the 
new  shop  was  inaugurated.  Observing  that  the  origi- 
nal plans  were  not  in  keeping  with  modern  methods 
of  manufacture,  he  made  a  thorough  investigation 
of  the  problem,  and  having  prepared  his  data,  he 
soon  convinced  his  superiors  that  the  plans  should  be 
changed.  Death  having  caused  a  vacancy,  Mr.  Cur- 
tis was  appointed  to  his  present  position,  and  the 
work  has  been  completed  under  his  charge. 


176 


WESTERN   ELECTRICIAN 


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CORRESPONDENCE  relating  to  electricity  or  any  of  its 
practical  applications  is  cordially  incited,  and  the  co-operation 
of  all  electrical  thinker*  and  workers  earnestly  desired.  Clear, 
concise,  well  written  articles  are  especially  welcome;  and  com- 
munications, views,  news  items,  local  newspaper  clippings,  or 
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fully received  and  cheerfully  acknowledged. 

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covers  a  territory  exclusively  its  own.    This  is  a  claim  which 

CAN     BE     MADE     ET     NO    OTHER      ELECTRICAL     JOURNAL     LN     THE 

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Advertising  rates  are  moderate,  and  will  be  furnished  on 
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REMITTANCES.— All  checks,  drafts  and  other  remit- 
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i  h 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

Modern  Central-station  Design  as  Exemplified  in  La  Crosse, 

Wis.     By  C.  H.  Williams.     Illustrated 171,  172,  173,  174 

Interurban  Railway  Development  in  Central  Illinois.      With 

Map 174,  175 

Electrical   Equipment   of  Louisville  and    Nashville  Railroad 

Shops.     By  A.  G.  Wessling.     Illustrated 175 

Editorial 176 

Old  Edison  Plant  in  San  Francisco  Destroyed  by  Fire 177 

Institute  Meetings  in  New  York  and  Chicago 177 

The  Single-phase  Motor  for  General  Power  Purposes 177 

Lower  Electric-light  Rates  Ottered  in  Chicago 177 

St.  Croix  River  Power  Development 177 

80-Cent  Gas  for  Manhattan 177 

Electric  Fans  Discourage  Flies 177 

Electrical  Exports  of  Germany  and  the  United   States  Com- 
pared    178 

Appleyard  Properties  Sold 178 

Comparison  of  Large  Steam  and  Electric  Locomotives 178 

Books  Received 178 

Copper  Market .   170 

Chicago  Street-railway  Situation 179 

Test  of  Underground  Mail-conveying  System  in  Chicago.     Il- 
lustrated       179 

New  German  Metallic-filament  Lamp 179 

Earnings  of  Stone  &  Webster  Properties 179 

Underground  Construction    in    La   Crosse,    Wis.       By    W.    D. 

Burford 180,  181 

Electroliers  Suggested  for  St.  Louis  Streets 181 

Death  of  William  A.  Hovey 181 

Power  Transmission   in  Wales.     Illustrated 181 

Electric  Automobile  Truck.     Illustrated 181 

Large  Waterpower  Developments  near  Utica.  N.  Y 182 

Electrically  Operated  Tunnel  Excavator 182 

Telephone  Engineering.     By  J.  J.  Carty.     Parti 182,   183,   184 

Speech  Reporting  by  Televant 184 

New  Companies 184 

Indiana  Telephone  Items 184 

Telephone  News  from  the  Northwest 184 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes 184 

Tele pli one  Kate  A  l' it  a l inn  in  Chicago 184 

Cumberland   Company  Gets  Telephone  Franchise  in  Evans- 

ville 184 

Bell  Telephone  Output  for  January 184 

General  Telephone  News 185 

Manufacturers  and  Dealers 185 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence 185,  186.  187 

Great  Britain 185 

New  York 185 

Dominion  of  Canada 185.  186 

New  England 186 

Mexico 186 

Southeastern  States 186 

Ohio 186 

Indiana 186,  187 

Michigan 187 

Northwestern  States - ..   187 

Pacific  Slope 187 

Personal 187 

Electric  Lighting 187.  188 

Electric  Railways 188 

Power  Tr.ei-i-M   -;    :i  188 

Publications 188 

Societies  and  Schools 188 

Automobile* 188,   189 

Miscellaneous 189 

Trade  News 189 

Business 189  - 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record 189,  190  " 

DATES  AHEAD. 

Illuminating  Engineering  Society  (next  meeting),  44  West 
Twenty-seventh  street,   New  York  city,  March  9th,  at  8  p.  m. 

Iowa  Telephone  Association  (annual  convention),  Cham- 
berlain   Hotel,    Des   Moines,   March    13th,    14th  and    15th. 

Central  Electric  Railway  Association  (next  meeting),  In- 
dianapolis,  Ind.,   March   22d. 

Ohio  Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  meeting), 
Columbus,    Ohio,    March  30th. 

Iowa  Electrical  Association  (annual  convention),  Kirk- 
wood  Hotel,  Des  Moines,  April    18th  and    19th. 

Iowa  Street  and  Interurban  Railway  Association  (annual 
convention),  Kirkwood  Hotel.  Des  M nines,  April  19th  and 
20th. 

Indiana  Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  meet- 
ing),  Indianapolis,   Ind.,   May   17th. 

National  Electric  Light  Association  (annual  convention), 
Atlantic  City,   N.  J.,  June  5th  to  8th,  inclusive. 

National  Electrical  Contractors'  Association  (annual  con- 
vention), Cleveland,  Ohio,  July  iSth. 

Ohio  Electric  Light  Association  (annual  convention),  Put- 
in-Bay, Ohio,  August  21st  to  23d. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

Water  purification  by  direct  application  of  elec- 
tricity has  attracted  the  attention  of  investigators, 
but  it  remains  to  determine  whether  the  germicidal 
action  of  the  current  is  available  by  some  method 
of  practical  operation  within  such  reasonable  limits 
that  the  installation  of  working  apparatus  will  be 
shown  to  be  worth  while.  It  is  therefore  worthy 
of  note  that  the  City  Council  of  Minneapolis  has 
made  a  small  appropriation  for  the  expenses  of  a 
test  to  be  made  at  the  city  waterworks  in  relation 
to  the  electrical  treatment  of  water  used  for  do- 
mestic purposes.  Preliminary  tests  seem  to  indi- 
cate that  a  comparatively  small  amount  of  elec- 
trical energy,  properly  applied,  will  kill  most  of 
the  bacteria  in  water.  Four  of  the  senior  students 
in  electrical  engineering  at  the  University  of  Min- 
nesota, under  the  direction  of  Prof.  George  D. 
Shepardson,  expect  to  make  some  qualitative  and 
quantitative  tests  to  locate  the  bactericidal  agency 
and  the  best  means  of  applying  the  current.  The 
matter  is  in  the  experimental  stage,  but  the  results 
will  be  awaited  with  interest,  for  it  is  probable 
that  the  electrical  method,  if  practicable,  would 
be  found  useful  in  many  places. 


Why  would  it  not  be  a  good  plan  for  central 
stations  to  make  more  of  the  "electric  lawn-party" 
idea?  In  favorable  seasons  of  the  year  such  out- 
door evening  parties  ought  to  be  very  popular. 
One  hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred  incandes- 
cent lamps  would  make  a  brave  showing  in  an  ordi- 
nary lawn.  They  might  be  strung  in  festoons  or 
placed  on  temporary  standards  or  half  concealed 
in  the  trees.  One  "bower"  might  be  arranged  for 
a  mercury-vapor  light,  by  which  group  photographs 
could  be  taken  by  amateurs  or  professionals.  A 
searchlight  would  add  to  the  entertainment.  The 
supper  might  be  served  al  fresco  and  cooked 
with  electric  utensils.  Electric  fans  could  be  pro- 
vided if  needed.  In  fact,  the  electrical  installation 
could  be  elaborated  to  any  extent  to  meet  the  ideas 
of  the  host.  The  central  station  would  provide  the 
whole  outfit  and  make  the  connections,  also  sup- 
plying one  or  more  suitably  dressed  attendants  to 
look  after  the  installation  and  explain  the  use  of 
the  cooking  and  other  apparatus  to  the  guests. 
The  cost  would  of  course  vary  with  the  amount 
of  time  and  apparatus  used,  but  would  no  doubt 
be  cheerfully  met  by  the  giver  of  the  party,  for 
the  "function"  ought  to  be  a  great  success.  Elec- 
trical appliances  would  be  advertised  and  a  new 
source  of  income  gained  for  the  electric-light  com- 
pany. 


Electrical  trade  between  the  United  States  and 
Germany,  as  we  have  previously  pointed  out,  is 
not  very  large.  Nevertheless,  it  is  pleasing  to 
observe  that  there  will  be  no  "tariff  war"  between 
the  two  countries  for  15  months  at  least.  Germany 
has  voluntarily,  as  we  understand  it,  granted  to 
this  country  for  that  period  of  time,  extending 
from  March  1st,  the  "conventional"  rates  provided 
in  the  new,  or  comparatively  new,  German  tariff. 
These  are  the  rates  enjoyed  by  countries  having 
commercial  treaties  with  the  Fatherland,  and  it  is 
certainly  a  high  tribute  to  the  strong  position  of 
this  country  in  international  trafficking  that  these 
rates  were  granted  to  the  United  States  without 
a  treaty  and  with  only  slight  concessions  on  our 
part,  and  these  relating  to  the  penalty  for  under- 
valuation, which  German  exporters  have  consid- 
ered too  rigorous.  It  is  evident  that  Germany  real- 
ized that  it  could  not  afford  a  tariff  war  with  the 
United  States,  for  it  is  much  more  dependent  on 
us  than  we  are  upon  it.  The  new  duties  are 
higher  than  the  old  ones,  but  not  nearly  so  high 
as  the  "autonomous"  duties  wim  which  we  were 
threatened. 

In  the  electrical  export  trade  Germany  and  the 
United  States  are  chiefly  interested  in  each  other 
as  competitors  in  neutral  markets ;  they  do  com- 
paratively little  dealing  with  each  other  direct. 
For  several  years  the  electrical  exports  of  the  two 
countries  were  about  equal  in  value,  but  last  year 
the  United  States  made  a  conspicuous  increase 
over  the  year  before,  and  is  perhaps  now  ahead. 
An  interesting  article  on  this  subject  appeared  in 
a  recent  issue  of  one  of  the  German  electrical  jour- 
nals, and  a  summary  of  this  comparison  is  given 
elsewhere  in  this  issue. 


March  3,  1906' 

Statistics  of  electrical  industries  are  now  re- 
quired by  law  to  be  collected  and  published  once 
in  every  10  years,  whereas  those  on  general  manu- 
facturing are  required  every  five  years.  In  view 
of  the  phenomenal  development  of  the  electrical 
art  in  the  last  two  decades,  this  appears  to  be 
an  underestimate  of  its  importance.  In  relation  to 
this  matter  Thomas  A.  Edison  says:  "Ten  years 
in  an  electrical  industry  is  equal  to  a  lifetime  in 
most  others,  and  unless  the  figures  are  compared 
oftener  than  once  in  10  years  they  do  not  bear  so 
close  a  relationship  to  each  other  as  the  specialist 
and  the  business  man  could  desire."  During  the 
recent  discussion  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Permanent  Census  Office  Bill,  Representa- 
tive Crumpacker  of  Indiana  made  a  notable  speech 
in  which  he  referred  to  a  clause  in  the  bill  re- 
quiring electrical  statistics  to  be  collected  once  in 
five  years,  and  advocated  strongly  its  adoption. 
He  very  rightly  maintained  that  statistics  collected 
at  intervals  of  so  long  duration  as  10  years  lose 
their  value  for  purposes  of  comparison,  and  he 
quoted  the  above  remarks  of  Mr.  Edison.  In  an 
industry  in  which  many  branches  double  or  per- 
haps increase  manyfold  in  importance  in  a  period 
of  a  single  decade,  statistics  10  years  back  can 
have  little  real  practical  value  when  they  finally 
do  appear.  Statistics  five  years  back  are  unsatis- 
factory enough,  though  they  would  be  some  im- 
provement. 

In  collecting  estimates  of  electrical  manufactures 
for  its  New  Years  numbers  the  Western  Elec- 
trician presents  this  statistical  material  while  it  is 
fresh  and  valuable.  The  proposed  Census  reform 
is    analogous. 


An  important  practical  problem  in  central-sta- 
tion work  is  found  in  the  selection  of  meter  capaci- 
ties for  different  classes  of  service.  With  the 
passing  of  the  flat  rate,  almost  the  entire  income 
of  many  central  stations  is  determined  by  meter 
readings.  Hence  the  imperative  necessity  of  a  wise 
selection  of  sizes  in  meeting  the  variable  conditions 
of  the  consumers'  loads.  The  life  of  the  meter 
and  the  maintenance  of  its  accuracy  are  chiefly  de- 
termined  by   the   judgment   used   in   its    application. 

In  selecting  a  meter  it  is  almost  always  necessary 
to  strike  a  balance  between  the  injury  caused  by 
overloads  and  the  inaccuracy  of  the  instrument  at 
light  loads,  which  results  from  installing  too  large 
a  meter  for  the  average  consumption  encountered. 
It  is  exceedingly  desirable  for  every  central  station 
to'  acquire  accurate  information  in  regard  to  the 
load  factor  of  different  classes  of  consumers.  In 
residence  work  more  than  50  per  cent,  of  the  lamps 
installed  are  rarely  used  at  any  one  time,  a  fair 
average  being  30  per  cent,  in  city  service.  Hence 
a  meter  rated  at  from  30  to  50  per  cent,  of  the 
connected  load  is  generally  desirable  for  residence 
service,  the  increased  light-load  accuracy  compen- 
sating for  the  overload  losses  which  occur  in  the 
rare  occasions  when  social  festivities  require  the 
use  of   every   lamp    in   the    installation. 

It  is  customary  in  good  practice  to  install  meters 
for  power  service  which  have  a  rating  from  25 
to  50  per  cent,  in  excess  of  the  rated  output  of 
the  motors.  This  enables  the  starting  current  to 
be  integrated  with  fair  accuracy  and  gives  a  rea- 
sonable idea  of  the  average  output  without  sacri- 
ficing too  much  in  the  way  of  light-load  accuracy. 
When  a  large  number  of  motors  are  to  be  metered 
it  is  .an  excellent  plan  to  make  tests  of  the  maxi- 
mum, minimum  and  average  power  consumption 
before  selecting  the  permanent  meter.  In  small  mer- 
cantile houses,  saloons,  billiard  halls  and  bowling 
alleys  the  average  load  usually  is  not  far  from  the 
connected  load,  and  in  such  cases  the  meter  should 
have  the  capacity  of  the  installation.  Illumfnated- 
sign  work  falls  under  the  same  category,  the  load 
being  essentially  constant  during  the  hours  of  service. 

In  public  halls,  churches,  department  stores  and 
factories  it  is  desirable  usually  to  install  several 
meters  and  separate  circuits  rather  than  to  force 
all  the  input  through  a  single  instrument,  if  there 
is  any  prospect  that  a  very  small  percentage  of  the 
load  will  be  used  during  the  daytime.  The  first 
cost  of  smaller  meters  is  greater,  proportionally, 
and  the  efficiency  is  lower,  than  with  large  meters, 
but  the  light-load  losses  are  reduced,  and  a  better 
watch  can  be  kept  upon  the  bills  and  registrations 
with   the    departmental    subdii 


Alan  li   3,    [906 

Old  Edison  Plant  In  San  Francisco 
Destroyed  by  Fire. 

1  hi     di   trw  lion    0 Id     1  di  0 

11   "i    the    Pai  iii.    1  la     and    El 1     G 

in     San     li.n ,     .'.  ith     il      1111 

for  ill  itributing    1  to  volt   dirci  1   currci 
the  down  town  'h  trict,  entailed  a  very  he; 
February  22d.      I  he  m  »   di  ti  ibuting     1  ition  from 

Iiik  mi  Jc    ie   l near    I  bird,  wa     dam  1 

' 'I    the    falling    rool       then 

.  rable    in  mn hi    old    pai  1    ol    thi      tat 

which    wa  1    i"    1 1 : i ■.  c    I al |i  med    [ 

Inn    there    was    1  omparatively    little    on    thi 

in' a. -    gcneratoi    Bets    n  ccntlj    ini  tailed       I  he   total 

loss    is  estimated    al    ovei     $.pio,<K)o    :i|    in.    ,nt,    al 

il gh   il <ai  1   amount   ol     ah  agi    ha     not   been 

determined.     'I  here    were   boili  rs    and     1 

di  i'ven    gem  rating    set!     in    thi     .1    troyed    pari    of 

Station   C, 

I  he  fire,  which  wa'  « i i  covered  iboul  12 130 
a,   in.   is   supposed   to  have  originated   from     hort 

al'   of   unknown   origin   In    the   large   cables   in 

the    distributing   tunnel     underneath     the    building. 
These  short-circuits  burned  their   way  back    i"  the 

switchboard,    which    burst    into    H. bel the 

.  ttendanl      .  ould    tal  c    mco  Hires    to    subdui     il 

inl  and  waste  tributed  to  make  one  ol  ilie  hot- 

irsi    fires    ever    known    in    the    city,    and    the    iron 

fs   ■ 11    i.ll   in.     A   number  of  station   employes 

risked  their  lives  plugging  out  the  principal  mi 
euils  su  as  to  cause  as  little  injury  as  possible  to 
the  main  system.  Nearly  the  entire  fire  department 
was  called  into  requisition  to  extinguish  the  flames, 

Tin'  damage  to  the  new  motor-generators  is 
slight,  lint  it  will  lake  some  time  to  replace  the 
distributing  switchboard  for  the  down-town  supply 
of  light  ami  power.  By  working  a  large  force  "i 
men  on  Washington's  Birthday  most  of  the  largi 
lighting,  customers  were  supplied  the  following 
night.  An  official  says  that  20  per  cent,  of  the 
patronage  of  the  company  was  affected  by  the  fire, 
lioth  ilie  Western  Union  and  Postal  Telegraph 
companies  were  crippled  for  a  number  of  hours 
by  lack  of  current  to  drive  the  dynamos  supply- 
ing their  telegraph  circuits. 

Station  A,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city,  has 
a  much  larger  capacity  than  the  5,000-horscpowcr 
-iiii" 11  that  was  destroyed,  but  it  docs  not  furnish 
direct  current.  So  it  was  a  question  of  using  all 
the  motor-generators  and  direct-current  generators 
available  to  supply  lights  and  motors  011  the 
direct-current  mains.  The  Mutual  Electric-light 
Company  offered  its  assistance,  and  several  isolated 
plants,  including  those  of  the  Examiner,  Call  and 
the  Mills  Building,  were  connected  up  with  the 
Pacific  Gas  and  Electric  Company's  mains.  In 
spite  of  these  temporary  makeshifts  there  was  a 
serious  shortage  in  the  supply  of  current  in  the 
manufacturing  district  and  several  hundred  shops 
were  unable  to  operate  on  the  23d  for  lack  of 
power. 


Institute    Meetings    in  New  York   and 
Chicago. 

President  S.  S.  Wheeler  presided,  as  usual,  at 
the  meeting  of  the  American  Institute  of  Electrical 
Engineers  held  in  the  auditorium  of  the  New  York- 
Edison  Company,  West  Twenty-seventh  Street, 
New  York  city,  on  the  evening  of  February  23d. 
Secretary  Pope  announced  that  at  the  meeting  of 
the  board  of  directors  held  in  the  afternoon  62 
associate  members  were  elected,  while  William 
Henry  Blood,  Jr.,  of  Boston,  Louis  Anthyme  Herdt 
of  Montreal,  William  Pestell  of  Worcester,  and 
Hirschel  A.  Benedict  of  Albany  were  elected  to 
full   membership. 

Mr.  John  J.  Carty,  chief  engineer  of  the  New 
York  Telephone  Company,  then  presented  a  paper 
on  "Telephone  Engineering."  Mr.  Carty's  paper 
is  one  of  considerable  length  and  undoubted  im- 
portance. The  discussion  was  opened  by  Thomas 
D.  Lockwood  of  Boston,  advisory  electrician  of 
the  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company, 
who  was  followed  by  Prof.  M.  I.  Pupin  of  Colum- 
bia University,  B.  Gherardi,  chief  engineer  of  the 
New  York  and  New  Jersey  Telephone  Company, 
and  C.  P.  Steinmetz,  electrician  of  the  General 
Electric  Company.  Mr.  Carty's  paper  received 
high  praise  as  a  compendium  of  elemental  tele- 
phone engineering.  It  will  be  printed  in  full  in 
the  Western  Electrician,  beginning  in  this  issue. 
Following  the  paper,  an  abstract  of  the  discussion 
will  be  given  also. 


Chairman  Kempster  B.  Miller  called  to  order 
the  regular  meeting  of  the  Chicago  branch  of  the 
Institute  on  the  evening  of  February  27th.  He 
introduced  Mr.  W.  A.  Layman  of  St.  Louis,  man- 
ager of  the  Wagner  Electric  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, who  read  a  paper  on  the  "Present  Status  of 
the  Single-phase  Motor  in  Central-station  Work." 
Mr.  Layman  briefly  reviewed  the  history  of  the 
development  of  the  single-phase  motor  arid  dis- 
cussed present  types  of  motors  available  for  mis- 
cellaneous power  service.  He  was  well  prepared 
on  the  subject,  and  many  questions  were  asked  him 
as  to  the  application  of  the  motor  for  general  power 
purposes.  Some  of  the  most  important  points 
brought  out  in  the  paper  and  ensuing  discussion 
are   given   in   the   next   column. 


rERN     ELECTRIi 

The    Single-phase    Motor    for   General 
Power  Purposes. 

•  hi  February  .7th.     1 

01 d  b)  -i  pap 

of  Si    I 

'. 
Layman    opened    In     paper,    which 

'.miming    il..-    development 

DI  ginning    .-.      il 

i...    il..     Pati  nl    1 
pati  nts,  this  rnotoi 
lini  .,.1.1,1 

d    thr    modified    polypi 

ticularly  in  certain   i. 
l-'i.i    . . 

work   the   commutatoi    ty| 1   mot 

applicable,   and    the   hulk   of    Mr.    Layman' 
was  given   ui'  ild   and 

Schuler   typi     ..1   motoi  .   which   are   limit   by   the 
W  ."I..  1     I  1. .  n  1  ■  ompany,  *  with 

«  lii.  li  ill     l' '  i  cted 

Slides  showing  v: n     1  pi       ...   iii.     Vrnold  mi 

"i     '     built    by   the    W  tgn 

and   als,,   some   interesting  curves    representing   the 
results  "i   tc  1     madi    by  Pro!  0 

Met. ill   1  im.  1  11  ,    Montreal,  but  of  thi    ' 
of   Nebraska  al   the  titrn    thi    ■    periments  were  car- 
ried   on.     The    tests    w.  1.     madi     I.,     thi      lid    ..f    an 
exploring  coil,  with  the   full   voltage   impressed  on 
the    Held    coils    and    the    armature    circui 
The    flux    curves    drawn     from    this    data    were    111 
tcresting,  sin. wing  that  when  the  armature  was  idle 
the    field    was    merely    a    pulsating    one    without    any 
apparent     shifting.     Other    curves    taken    with    the 
armature    running   indicated   that   under   tin. 
ditions   a   perfect    rotating  field   was  obtained. 

Ibis    type   of   the    Arnold   motor   is   now   1 
the  Wagner  company  as  high  as  40-horsepOW 
pacity,  operating  on  60-cycIc  current.     It  is  not   Inn 
ited    i"   tins    size,    however,   and   when   the   demand 
for   larger   types    is    sufficient   there   is   no   apparent 
reason   why   they   should  not  be  built. 

The  Schuler  type  of  motor,  built  by  this  com- 
pany, is  the  one  which  has  attained  a  considerable- 
degree  of  success  in  elevator  work.  Slides  were 
used  in  the  description  of  this  motor,  showing  the 
machines  with  commutator  on  one  end  and  slip 
rings  on  the  other;  also  slides  showing  dl'agram- 
matically  installations  of  elevator  apparatus.  With 
the  usual  installation  about  150  per  cent,  of  full 
load  torque  is  required  at  starting.  Mr.  Layman, 
in  answer  to  a  query  by  one  of  the  members,  said 
that  for  starting  conditions  requiring,  say  four 
times  normal  full-load  torque,  about  three'  times 
full-load  current  would  be  required.  The  efficiency 
of  these  elevator  motors  is  maximum  at  about  80 
per  cent,  of  full  load  with  a  starting  factor  of 
about  68  per  cent.,  the  latter  climbing  up  on  the 
repulsion   end  to  about   81   or  82. 

In  discussing  the  paper  Mr.  Miller  asked  what 
the  present  feeling  is  regarding  the  use  of  con- 
densers in  circuit  with  single-phase  motors.  In  the 
earlier  forms  of  split-phase  motors  these  were  used, 
but  he  had  not  heard  much  concerning  their  use 
of  late  years.  Mr.  Layman  replied  that  their  use 
was  made  impossible  on  account  of  their  high  cost 
and  their  perishability.  Their  use  with  the  split- 
phase  motors  in  earlier  trials  was  to  bring  the 
line  power  factor  up  to  unity.  His  company  had 
made  some  installations  in  which  condensers  were 
used,  but  he  found  that  in  a  few  months  the  fuses 
had  been  blown  and  the  condensers  put  out  of 
service,  but  the  motors  still  continued  to  operate 
satisfactorily,  and  the  operator  often  did  not  know- 
that   anything   had    happened    to    them. 

Mr.  Rati  asked  if  the  combination  repulsion  and 
induction  type  of  motor  might  not  have  some  ap- 
plication, the  running  qualities  and  starting  torque 
being  good.  Mr.  Layman  said  that  the  Winter- 
Eichberg  motor,  which  belongs  to  this  type,  is  used 
principally  in  railway  work,  and  he  did  not  know 
of  its   application   to  general  power  purposes. 

H.  R.  King  asked  if  a  polyphase  motor  can  be 
run  single-phase  with  the  use  of  a  condenser,  to 
which  Mr.  Layman  answered  that  he  understood 
ihe  manufacture  of  this  type  of  motor  had  been 
discontinued   on   account  of  its   impracticability. 

J.  R.  Cravath  said  that  perhaps  in  the  smaller 
companies  more  than  in  the  larger  ones  the  ap- 
plication of  the  single-phase  motor  assumes  im- 
portance. Many  of  the  companies  in  the  smaller 
cities  and  towns  produce  only  single-phase  current. 
When  they  wish  to  add  a  power  load  they  are 
confronted  with  the  problem  of  putting  in  direct 
current  or  else  finding  a  motor  applicable  to  their 
conditions.  The  single-phase  motor  seems  to  be 
the  thing  that  is  looked  for.  Again,  where  three- 
phase  lines  are  run  out  to  outlying  districts  it  is 
often  more  desirable  to  connect  single-phase  motors 
at  some  little  distance  from  the  line  than  to  tap 
off  al!  three  phases  for  use  in  a  three-phase  motor. 

H.  B.  Gear  of  the  Chicago  Edison  Company  said 
that  they  had  found  the  single-phase  motor  very- 
satisfactory  in  many  classes  of  work,  especially  in 
shops  where  a  large  number  of  sewing  machines 
are  used.  They  have  several  hundred  motors  con- 
nected for  this  w-ork  alone.  As  to  the  elevator 
problem,  he  was  unprepared  to  express  an  opinion. 


. 


Lower  Electrlc-llght    Rates  Offered 
In  Chicago. 

from  1 

roll    "i  "-m    furnishing 

IikIii    1 
William  G    Bcale,  general  1 

ry   27th    iiibmi 

■  n  tboie  win 
hitherto  in   behalf  of  the 

ilowatt-hour,  a  maximum  net  charge 

f"r    il:-  14   cent*    and    ■ 

lowing   • 

$103. 
1 
municip;  wed    that    commercial 

could   hi-   sold   in   ilie   "City  Hall   district"    f  1 

11  hour.     After   Mr.  Carroll  had  sub- 
milted  his  pro]  '  ouncil  comm:- 

and  electric  light  the  commit'., 
thai  Mr  Carroll,  with  Bion  J.  Arnold  and  others, 
make  a  more  comprehensive  statement  showing 
what  it  would  cost  for  the  city  to  furnish  light 
1  it  i.  now  furnished  by  the  two  existing 
companies, 

A    deti  uiation   will  be  given 

in  the   Western   Electrician  next  week. 


St.  Croix  River  Power  Development. 

Mr.  Lee  11.  Parker,  electrical  engineer  with 
Stone  &  Webster,  lectured  before  the  engineering 
students  at  the  University  of  Minnesota  on  Feb- 
ruary 23d  upon  the  development  of  waterpower 
at  Taylor's  Fall-.  St.  Croix  River,  and  its  trans- 
mission to  Minneapolis  by  the  Columbia  Improve- 
ment Company.  The  lecture  was  profusely  illus- 
trated  with  lantern  slides  showing  views  of  the 
work  at  the  waterpower  for  various  stag 
progress,  plan  and  sections  of  power  hous 
tric  circuits,  sub-stations,  etc.  The  first  installa- 
tion of  electric  equipment  will  include  four  3.000- 
kilowatt  revolving-field  three-phase  generators,  with 
transformers  stepping  from  2.300  to  50.000  volts, 
at  which  pressure  power  will  be  carried  41  miles 
over  a  three-phase  line,  consisting  of  No.  0000 
copper  ig-strand  cable  on  a  six-foot  center.  At 
the  outskirts  of  Minneapolis  step-down  transform- 
ers will  reduce  the  pressure  from  43.000  to  13.200 
volts,  at  which  pressure  the  energy  will  be  car- 
ried to  the  main  station  of  the  Minneapolis  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company,  where  it  is  again  reduced 
to  2.300  volts.  The  present  pole  line  is  near  one 
side  of  a  60-foot  private  right-of-way.  leaving 
room  for  a  second  pole  line  to  be  erected  wheo. 
the  installation  is  complete.  fSee  also  Western 
Electrician  of  October  28.   1005.  page  333.) 


SO-cent  Gas  for  Manhattan. 

The  New  York  state  commission  on  gas  and 
electricity  has  ordered  the  fixing  of  the  price  of 
gas  in  Manhattan,  New  York  city,  at  So  cents  a 
thousand  feet,  a  reduction  of  20  cents.  The  Con- 
solidated Gas  Company  and  its  subsidiary  concerns, 
which  are  affected,  will,  it  is  said,  avail  itself  of 
the  right  to  appeal  to  the  Appellate  Division  of  the 
Supreme  Court  within  30  days.  The  order  of  the 
state  commission  is  to  go  into  effect  on  May  1st. 
to  remain  in  force  three  years  from  that  date. 
It  provides  that  the  gas  to  be  furnished  at  the 
reduced  price  shall  be  "of  22  candlepower  and  of 
a   purity-   and   pressure   now    established    by   law." 

It  was  announced  that  a  similar  order  will  be 
issued  forthwith  against  the  Bronx  companies,  the 
Centra!  Union  and  the  Northern  Union.  The  com- 
mission quoted  figures  showing  that  the  c 
the  Consolidated  Gas  Company,  the  largest  of  the 
companies  operating  in  Manhattan  Borough,  of 
manufacturing  and  distributing  gas  for  the  year 
ended  on  March  31,  1005,  was  6c*kt  cents  per  thou- 
sand  cubic   feet. 


Electric  Fans  Discourage  Flies. 

Fan  motors  have  long  been  found  useful  in  keep- 
ing off  flies,  which  will  seldom  settle  where  a 
strong  breeze  is  felt,  but  a  way  is  now  suggested 
to  use  the  fan  as  a  "fly  chaser"  without  employing 
the  direcr  breeze,  which  is  sometimes  objectionable. 
Tie  two  or  three  ribbon  streamers  to  the  center 
of  the  guard  in  front,  and  let  them  blow-  out  over 
the  objects  to  be  protected.  Flies  are  disturbed  far 
more  by  shadows  of  moving  objects  than  by  a 
breeze,  and  the  results  of  this  method  should  be 
more   satisfactory. — Emerson   Monthly. 


i78 

Electrical  Exports  of  Germany  and  the 
United  States  Compared. 

An  interesting  analysis  of  the  electrical  exports 
of  Germany  and  the  United  States  has  been  made 
by  Dr.  Glier  and  published  in  the  Elektrotechnische 
Zeitschrift  of  Berlin,  under  date  of  January  4, 
1906.  The  following  is  taken  from  a  summary  of 
Dr.  Glier's  article  printed  in  the  London  Electrical 
Review. 

It  is  pointed  out  that,  according  to  the  United 
States  census  returns,  the  works  engaged  in  the 
production  of  "electrical  apparatus  and  supplies" 
numbered  76  in  1880,  and  employed  1,271  workers; 
in  1890  there  were  1S9  works,  and  S,So2  employes, 
and  in  1900  the  figures  were  580  and  40,890,  re- 
spectively. In  addition  to  these  the  concerns  oc- 
cupied with  "electrical  construction  and  repairs" 
comprised  1,162  in  1900,  and  employed  5,949  work- 
ers, thus  making  a  grand  total  of  46,839  employes 
in  that  year.  It  is  calculated  that  the  total  value 
of  the  products  of  the  electrical  industry  amounted 
to  £21, 500,000  in  1900,  but  as  the  inland  demand 
is  unable  to  absorb  the  large  output,  the  American 
firms  have  been  compelled  to  enter  the  markets 
of  the  wrorld,  and  this  has  been  done  with  con- 
siderable success  down  to  the  present  time.  The 
author  gives  figures  showing  that  the  exports  of 
electrical  machinery  and  appliances  from  the  United 
States,  which  reached  a  value  of  £964,000  in  1S97- 
8  (the  fiscal  year  ends  on  June  30th),  advanced 
to  £2,155,000  in  1899-1900,  and  to  £2,450,000  in 
1904-5.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were  probably 
slight  imports  of  electrical  machinery,  but  these, 
with  the  exception  of  arc-light  carbons,  are  not 
specially  separated  in  the  official  statistics.  In  the 
case  of  Germany,  the  value  of  the  exports  of  elec- 
trical machinery,  accumulators,  telegraph  and  tele- 
phone apparatus  and  cables  and  conductors  aver- 
aged £2,200,000  in  the  three  years,  1901,  1902  and 
1903,  the  complete  figures  for  1904  not  being  cited. 
The  principal  district  which  the  Americans  for- 
merly contested  the  most  in  rivalry  with  the  Ger- 
mans was  Europe.  Of  the  total  exports  from  the 
United  States,  the  electrical  machinery  shipped  to 
Europe  represented  52  per  cent,  of  the  value  in 
1S97-8,  49  per  cent,  in  1899-1900,  44  per  cent,  in 
1902-3,  27  per  cent,  in  1003-4,  and  23  per  cent,  in 
1904-5.  The  value  of  electrical  apparatus  exported 
to  Europe  was  43  per  cent,  of  the  total  exports 
in  1897-8,  50  per  cent,  in  1899-1900,  34  per  cent, 
in  1902-3,  and  45  per  cent,  in  1903-4.  The  decline 
in  the  American  exports  of  machinery  to  Europe 
has  therefore  been  considerable,  although  it  is  esti- 
mated that  fully  20  per  cent,  of  the  exports  still 
reach  the  Old  World.  As  the  main  market  of 
rivalry  between  the  United  States  and  Germany 
has  hitherto  been  England,  the  following  table  of 
the  values  of  the  electrical  machinery — not  in- 
cluding apparatus — sent  to  the  United  Kingdom  by 
both  countries  should  be  instructive  for  the  period 
of  years  quoted : 

German  Electrical 

Machinery  Percentage  Value 

Exported  to  the  of  Total 

Year.                                             United  Kingdom.  German  Exports. 

1900 £  86,250  8 

1001 120,950  12 

1902 373.350  30 

1903 289,550  27 

United  States  Elec- 
trical Machinery    Percentage  Value 

Exported  to  the  of  Total  United 

Year.  United  Kingdom.  States  Exports. 

1899- 1900 £313.800  36 

1900-1901 552,000  48 

1901- 1902 514,600  48 

1902-1903 451.200  39 

1903"  1904 264,600  23 

19O4-IQO5 2I7.800  15 

The  considerable  advance  in  the  value  of  the 
exports  from  the  United  States  in  the  earlier  years 
mentioned  is  said  to  be  connected  with  the  asso- 
ciation of  the  late  Mr.  Yerkes  with  the  construc- 
tion of  underground  railways  in  London ;  and  the 
author  admits  that  the  Americans  have  badly  beaten 
the  Germans  in  the  English  market.  Next  in  im- 
portance to  the  latter  from  the  German  standpoint 
are  the  markets  of  Belgium,  Russia  and  Italy. 
These  three  countries  combined  absorbed  43  per 
cent.  (£496,250)  of  the  total  German  exports  in 
1900,  40  per  cent,  in  1901,  26  per  cent,  each  in 
1902  and  1903.  and  29  per  cent.  (£313,400)  in  1904. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  American  exports  of  elec- 
trical machinery  to  the  three  countries  in  question, 
which  reached  £47,600  in  1S97-8,  gradually  declined 
to  £20,800  in  1902-3,  but  recovered  to  £30,800  in 
1903-4.  The  author,  in  commenting  upon  his  de-  -: 
tailed  figures,  states  that  while  the  Germans  con- 
tinue to  make  progress  in  Belgium,  the  Americans 
scarcely  come  into  competition  with  them  in  that 
country,  and  that  although  the  Teutonic  exports 
to  Italy  and  Russia  are  declining,  this  is  not  due 
to  American  rivalry,  but  rather  to  a  lessened  de- 
mand in  conjunction  with  a  growth  of  the  native 
industries.  Except  in  the  case  of  France,  American 
competition  is  insignificant  or  non-existent  in  other 
European  countries,  as,  for  instance.  Spain,  Hol- 
land. Sweden.  Norway,  Austria-Hungary  and 
Switzerland.  The  value  of  the  exports  of  United 
States  machinery  to  Germany  was  £25,750  in  1000, 
as   compared   with    only   £5,900  in    1904. 

The  question  of  competition  outside  of  Europe 
is  then  dealt  with  by  Dr.  Glier.  Taking  first  of 
all  the  cases  of  British  Nortli  America,  Mexico 
and  Japan,  it  is  shown  that  these  countries  pur- 
chased electrical  machinery  to  the  extent  of  £80,000 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN' 

from  the  United  States  in  1897-8,  £555,200  in  1903- 
4,  and  £805,600  in  1904-5,  or  20  per  cent.,  49  per 
cent,  and  55  per  cent.,  respectively,  of  the  total 
exports  of  electrical  machinery.  The  exports  of 
electrical  appliances  from  America  to  the  three 
countries  have  also  largely  increased  in  the  same 
period  of  years.  In  contradistinction  to  this  posi- 
tion of  affairs,  the  German  exports  to  the  same 
countries  have  been  inconsiderable,  and  the  author 
submits,  therefore,  that  the  Americans  dominate 
the  trade  of  Canada,  Mexico  and  Japan,  and  that 
the  Germans  are  not  making  progress  in  those 
countries. 

The  markets  of  South  America  also  bring  the 
two  manufacturing  nations  into  strong  trade  ri- 
valry. By  means  of  statistics  it  is  demonstrated 
that  in  general  the  exports  of  machinery  from 
Germany  to  Argentina  and  Brazil  in  the  last  five 
years  have  increased,  but  no  signs  of  development 
are  noticeable  in  regard  to  Chile,  Uraguay  ■  and 
Peru.  As  against  the  German  trade,  the  exports 
of  the  United  States  are  shown  to  be  increasing. 
Among  other  countries,  it  is  mentioned  that  the 
Germans  have  beaten  the  Americans  in  the  Aus- 
tralian market  and  that  neither  Algeria  nor  British 
East  Africa  comes  into  consideration  for  either  of 
the  two  rivals,  but  that  the  keen  contest  in  British 
South  Africa  seems  to  be  tending  in  favor  of  the 
United    States. 

The  question  of  electrical  apparatus  is  treated 
separately  from  that  of  machinery.  It  is  shown 
that  the  American  exports  amounted  to  £841.400 
in  1902-3,  £992,000  in  1903-4,  and  £992,600  in  1904- 
5,  and  that  the  principal  quantity  is  forwarded  to 
Europe.  England  in  particular  buying  very  largely. 
Dr.  Glier  recalls  the  fact  that  the  imports  of  elec- 
trical machinery  into  the  United  States  are  not 
specifically  enumerated,  and  that  presumably  they 
are  very  small.  The  figures  which  he  gives  for 
Germany  are  trivial,  except  in  the  case  of  arc- 
lamp  carbons,  the  value  of  which  averaged  £14.600 
in  the  five  years  ended  with  1904.  In  conclusion, 
he  briefly  summarizes  the  conclusions  which  have 
already  been  set  forth  in  relation  to  the  results  of 
the  industrial  competition  between  the  two  export- 
ing countries  as  represented  by  the  United  States 
and   Germany. 


Appleyard  Properties  Sold. 

Cleveland,  February  24. — A.  E.  Locke  of  Boston, 
who  has  represented  the  bondholders  and  creditors 
of  the  Appleyard  electric  railways  in  Ohio,  has 
purchased  all  the  properties  with  one  exception. 
As  Mr.  Locke  was  a  member  of  the  reorganization 
committee,  the  statement  has  been  made  that  he 
purchased  the  properties  for  the  syndicate  repre- 
sented by  Randall  Morgan  and  W.  Kelsey  Schoepf, 
and  this    is    doubtless   true. 

The  Dayton.  Springfield  and  Urbana  was  sold 
for  $600,000,  just  double  the  upset  price  fixed  by 
the  court.  The  bonded  indebtedness  of  the  com- 
pany is  $750,000  and  the  floating  debt  amounts  to 
about    $65,000. 

As  Mr.  Locke  was  the  only  bidder  for  the  Co- 
lumbus, London  and  Springfield,  he  secured  the 
property  at  the  upset  price  of  $250,000.  It  has  a 
bonded  indebtedness  of  $1,500,000  and  a  floating 
debt  of  perhaps  $100,000.  A  park  and  several  smail 
properties  went  with  the  roads.  The  Springfield 
and  Western  branch  was  sold  to  George  H.  War- 
rington,   representing   the    same    interests,    for   $500. 

On  the  second  day  of  the  sale  Mr.  Locke  pur- 
chased the  Central  Market  line  in  Columbus  for 
$150,000.  Bonds  outstanding  on  this  property 
amount  to  $500,000.  On  the  Columbus,  Grove  City 
and  Sotrfhwestern,  which  Mr.  Locke  purchased  for 
$35,000.  there  are  bonds  amounting  to  $150,000. 
He  was  the  only  bidder  on  these  lines.  The  Cen- 
tral Market  has  valuable  franchises  in  Columbus. 
On  the  third  day  Mr.  Locke  purchased  the  Urbana, 
Bellefontaine  and  Northern,  extending  between  Ur- 
bana and  Bellefontaine.  the  Bellefontaine  city  lines 
and  a  spur  extending  to  Silver  Lake,  at  the  upset 
price   of  $175,000. 

This  completes  the  purchase  of  the  Appleyard 
roads.  The  sales  will  probably  be  confirmed  by  the 
United  States  court  within  a  few  days,  although 
Dayton  stockholders  are  threatening  to  oppose  the 
confirmation  of  the  sale  of  the  Dayton,  Spring- 
field and  Urbana,  on  the  ground  that  it  did  not 
sell  for  enough  money.  So  far  as  known,  no  con- 
tests have  been  thought  of  regarding  the  other 
lines.  George  H.  Warrington  has  purchased  the 
lease  of  the  Dayton,  Springfield  and  Urbana  on  the 
Urbana,  Bellefontaine  and  Northern,  which  goes  to 
show  something  of  the  plans  that  are  in  contem- 
plation. 

Attorneys  have  been  at  work  on  papers  of  in- 
cornoration  for  a  holding  company  for  the  prop- 
erties just  purchased  and  which  are  to  be  turned 
over  to  the  syndicate.  It  is  stated  that  the  capital 
stock  will  not  be  over  $1,000,000.  A  large  amount 
of  monev  is  to  be  spent  upon  imDrovements,  and 
they  will  all  be  put  in  good  condition.  The  new 
lines  will  give  the  svndicate  through  service  from 
Cincinnati  to  Zanesville.  The  Cincinnati  Northern, 
the  Columbus,  Buckeye  Lake  and  Newark,  the 
Columbus.  Newark  and  Zanesville,  the  Lima  city 
lines  and  connection  with  Indiana  properties  are 
owned  by  them.  The  svndicate  is  said  to  have 
made  an  attempt  to  purchase  the  Columbus.  Dela- 
ware and  Marion  line,  but  did  not  succeed.  This 
is  one  of  the  best  lines  in  the  state,  and  will  ulti- 


March  3,   1906 

mately  connect  with  Cleveland.  For  this  reason 
it  is  desirable  as  an  almost  direct  line  between 
Columbus  and  Cleveland.  It  is  owned  by  John  G. 
Webb    and    others. 

Following  these  changes,  a  surveying  party 
started  out  from  Lima  to  run  a  line  between  that 
city  and  Bellefontaine  for  the  Morgan-Schoepf  peo- 
ple. With  this  gap  filled,  the  syndicate  will  have 
a  line  from  Cincinnati  to  Lima,  connecting  with 
the  Ft.  Wayne,  Van  Wert  and  Lima  and  the  Lima 
and  Toledo  line,  the  latter  under  construction.  Con- 
nections with  Indiana  lines  will  thus  be  secured 
for  both  northern  and  southern  Ohio.  The  dis- 
tance between  Lima  and  Bellefontaine  is  23  miles, 
and   it   is   said  the  link  will  be  built  this  summer. 

C. 


Comparison  of    Large  Steam  and  Elec- 
tric Locomotives. 

J.  E.  Muhlfeld,  general  superintendent  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  read  an  interesting 
paper  before  the  New  York  Railroad  Club  recently 
upon  the  subject  of  large  steam  and  electric  loco- 
motives for  heavy  service.  The  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad  has  operated  six  electric  locomotives 
of  large  size,  four  of  them  for  a  period  of  about  ' 
10  years,  and  the  other  two  for  about  two  years.  1 
The  last  two  are  designed  especially  as  helping 
locomotives  for  heavy  freight  service.  They  handle 
through  freight  trains  (and  the  steam  locomotives 
attached  to  them)  at  Baltimore,  from  Camden 
Yard  to  Waverly.  a  distance  of  about  3.4  miles, 
returning  light.  During  the  last  year's  service  the 
combined  mileage  of  these  two  locomotives  was 
121,015,  or  an  average  of  5,042  miles  a  month  for 
each    locomotive. 

During  the  operation  of  the  two  heavy  electric 
locomotives  careful  observation  of  their  perform- 
ance was  made.  From  the  data  obtained  it  was 
possible  to  make  a  comparison  between  the  electric 
locomotive  and  a  large  steam  locomotive  of  the 
Mallet_  articulated  duplex-compound    type. 

Taking  the  results  of  his  observations  into  con- 
sideration, Mr.  Muhlfeld  admitted  that  electricity 
as  a  motive  power  is  superseding  steam  in  many 
places,  and  that  it  may  displace  the  latter  for 
through  passenger  service  in  many  cases.  He 
thought,  however,  that  it  would  be  some  time  be- 
fore electrical  energy  will  supplant  steam  for  hand- 
ling heavy  tonnage  for  considerable  distances,  be- 
lieving that  the  cost  of  electrical  equipment  at  the 
present  time  makes  it  prohibitive  for  such  traffic. 
The   reasons  for  this   he  summarized  as   follows: 

An  electric  locomotive  complete  and  crewed. 
ready  for  operation,  would  require,  for  terminal 
handling,  a  running  repair  shed,  with  drop  pit  and 
auxiliary  facilities,  tracks  and  switches,  inspection 
pit  and  sand,  repair  material  and  general  stores 
supply.  For  maintenance  there  would  be  necessary 
a  general  repair  shop  and  equipment,  and  many  ex- 
pensive extra  parts  for  quick  repairs  and  renewals 
for  locomotive  and  plant.  For  line  operation  there 
would  be  needed  standard-gauge  tracks,  sand-sup- 
ply stations,  power-plant  building  and  equipment. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  steam  locomotive  complete 
and  crewed,  ready  for  operation,  would  require 
for  terminal  handling,  a  running  repair  shed  with 
drop  pit  and  auxiliary  facilities,  tracks  and 
switches,  turntables,  ash  pit  and  coal,  water,  sand, 
repair  material  and  general  stores  supply.  For 
maintenance  it  would  need  a  general  repair  shop 
and  equipment,  with  a  few  inexpensive  parts  for 
locomotive  repairs.  And  for  line  operation  there 
would  be  necessary  standard-gauge  tracks  and  coal, 
water    and    sand    supply    stations. 


Books  Received. 


"Wiring  Handbook."  By  Cecil  P.  Poole.  Pub- 
lished bv  McGraw  Publishing  Company,  New 
York.     Price,  $1. 

"Standard  Telephone  Wiring."  By  James  F. 
Fairman.  Published  by  McGraw  Publishing  Com- 
pany, New  York.     Price,  $1. 

"Electric  Railway  Accounting."  Bv  W.  B. 
Brockway.  Published  by  McGraw  Publishing  Com- 
pany,   New  York.     Price,  $1.25. 

"Practical  Electric-railway  Handbook."  By  Al- 
bert B.  Herrick.  Published  by  McGraw  Publish- 
ing Company.  Newr  York.     Price,  $3. 

"Electric  Power  Transmission."  (Fourth  edi- 
tion.) By  Louis  Bell.  Ph.  D.  Published  by  Mc- 
Graw Publishing  Company.     Price,  $4. 

"Alternating  Currents :  Their  Theorv,  Genera- 
tion and  Transformation."  By  Alfred  Hay.  Pub- 
lished by  the  D.  Van  Nostrand  Companv,  New- 
York.     Price,  $2.50. 

"Motive  Power  and  Gearing  for  Electrical  Ma- 
chinery." By  E.  Tremlett  Carter.  Published  by 
the  D.  Van  Nostrand  Company.  New  York  (The 
Electrician  Printing  and  Publishing  Company,  Lon- 
don).    Price,  $5.00. 

"A  Practical  Treatise  on  the  Steam-engine  Indi- 
cator and  Indicator  Diagrams."  Bv  W.  Worby 
Beaumont.  Published  by  the  D.  Van  Nostrand 
Company.  New  York  "(The  Electrician  Printing 
and    Publishing   Company,    London).     Price,    $2.50. 


March  3,   1906 

Copper  Market. 
"The    markc!    for    copper    hag    had    to 
again  1    a    dull    and    uneventful    period    1 

1.1  1    I.  v.    wci  I  »,"    1  aj  •   '  oppi  1    <  lo   lip   ol    thi 
tional   Conduil   and   <  abli    I  ompanv   under  date  of 

Fi  l.iii.ny    20th,    "In tw  itl.  tanding    thi 

of  the  situation  leading     1  II.  1     lu  ,    nol   given   anj 

open  1  vi. 1. 11.  .■   of   mm  •  mill to    di  pri     ing    influ 

enccs.  There  is,  however,  neithi  r  m  0  it;  foi 
nor  use  in  denying  thai  1  on  idi  rabh  al.  havi 
been    madi     lati  [3     ..1     18    o  nl      E01     elcctrolytii 

Over    againsl    this    fact    may    be    placed    1 thci 

equally    important    one    in     re  pi  1  1  1,    nami  1 

that  some  of  the  largcsl  holders  of  the  metal 
refused  to  change  their  quotation  from  18J  Buj 
ei  are  willing  to  pay  18  cents,  but  it  is  not  every 
seller  who  will  accept  orders  on  thai  basis.  Prices, 
therefore,  have  been  more  or  less  irregular,  a  con- 
dition growing  mil  of  the  rcc.nl  prevailing  dull 
ncss   in   the  market,   and   one   generally   utilized    bj 

certain  operators  lo   further  their  cfforl     1 

a   reactionary   tendency.     The   absence   of  a   vigor 

mis   buving    movement   has   encouraged    il with 

bearish    proclivities    to    work     for    a    rcducti n 

prices  in  London  and  New  York,  and  while  thi  e 
tactics  have  been  partially  successful  in  bringing 
..nl  several  million  pounds  of  cheap  copper,  there 
are  apparently  no  indications  of  any  serious  mar- 
ket slump  in  prospcel  to  bring  demoralization  and 
permanent  unsettlcmcnt.  *  *  *  In  contrasl  to 
the  quiet  trading  in  copper  referred  to,  consump 
linn  keeps  up  at  an  extraordinary  rale,  and  there 
is  neither  let  nor  hindrance  in  the  melting  down 
of  supplies  at  the  big  mills  of  the  country.  The 
leading  plants  appear  to  have  about  all  they  can 
do    turning    out    slacks    of    orders,    and    the    cnor- 


.    lion    by    April     15th.     At  till  . 

igation    in    the    fall    • 

ilieir  top         I  I  ■ 
tion    Comp 

li Ici 

1  ;  1 ;    tioi !   '!.•■  •  ompanj   a 

ibli      no 

l.„i    on    thi 


■       1 


Test  of  Underground    Mall-conveying 
System  In  Chicago. 

An  official   te  1   of  the  eli  1  trii  til)   opi  1  ited  mail- 
con  1    ing 

1  Iffii  ■    11 im  tion  witl 

pany'  lail    to   and    froi 

railroad     1  I  on    Saturday, 

1  .  '.i  uai  1    -'|ih.   under  the  direction  of   Mi     I 
W.   Jackson,   chief   engine.  lanager 

ol    the   tunnel  company.    The 

calls     for     the     compli  ti  in     of    the    un- 

derground    mail     service     ■•  after 

1I1.     pi  in  .    are    appro  cd.    The   ] 

the  railroad     tation     ha  \  1    nol    vi  1   1 

Imi  on  others  the  work  is  well  along,  and  in  one 
instance,  the  La  Salle  Street  tation,  il  is  ex- 
pected that  the  service  will  be  begun  by  March 
10th,  service  to  the  other  stations  following  grad- 
tally. 

The    test   made    last    Saturday    was    on    thi 


ean  be 

The     1 

arrive    in    the 
of   tin- 


New  German  Metallic-filament  Lamp. 

I)r.    I! 

watt    pi 

in    the 
London 

f   It.    Kuzi 

17  can- 
andle- 

currcnt    just    before    the    lamp    bur 

iik    0.472    ampere.      The    filament    in 
the   loop   afi.r    1.010  hour,   burnt  through,   rejoined 


ueh  Center  of  Tunnel  Showinc  Fie.  2 

onveyinE  System. 

TEST   OF    UNDERGROUND    MAIL-CONVEYING    SYSTEM    IN    CHICAGO. 


mous   quantities   of   copper  being  consumed    in   this 
country    should    not   be   underestimated. 

"Producers  report  their  output  well  sold  up  for 
this  month  and  next,  if  not  beyond  these  months. 
Deliveries  on  old  contracts  are  being  well  ab- 
sorbed, and  these  keep  up  a  satisfactory  movement 
from  producer  to  consumer.  The  situation  is  prob- 
ably well  arranged  for  until  April  and  May,  but 
what  the  position  of  the  market  will  be  after  out- 
standing contracts  are  fulfilled  is  the  problem  the 
consumer  is  now  interested  in.  The  wire  drawer 
and  brass  manufacturer  know  what  they  can  do 
with  every  pound  of  ready  copper  on  hand,  but 
what  the  situation  will  be  in  May  and  June, 
should  they  stock  up  at  current  rates,  is  the  knotty 
part  of  the  proposition.  Four  months  ago  we 
were  buying  copper  on  a  rising  scale  of  prices, 
but  at  present  the  question  of  moment  confronting 
consumers  is,  has  the  market  at  18  to  185^2  cents 
reached  its  zenith?  Events  of  1905  showed  clearly 
the  wisdom  as  well  as  the  necessity  of  buying  from 
two  to  three  months  in  advance  of  needs,  and  the 
operation  worked  all  right.  Can  the  same  plan 
be  followed  in  1906  with  as  much  safety  as  last 
year?  Perhaps  this  query  would  call  for  too  great 
prophetic  discernment  to  answer  it  satisfactorily. 
But  this  feature  is  just  the  Chinese  puzzle  of  the 
present  situation,  and  we  simply  suggest  the  ques- 
tion  without   attempting  to   frame   an   answer." 


Chicago  Street-railway  Situation. 

Aside  from  the  rumors  that  the  North  and  West 
Side  street-railway  companies  are  dissatisfied  with 
the  conduct  of  the  Chicago  Union  Traction  Com- 
pany, which  operates  the  two  systems  under  lease, 
and  that  these  underlying  companies  will  try  to 
annul  the  lease,  the  principal  topic  of  discussion 
in  street-railway  circles  just  at  present  is  the  mat- 
ter of  lowering  the  Chicago  River  tunnels  used  by 
the  Union  Traction  Company.  The  date  set  by  a 
federal  order  for  the  lowering  of  the  tunnels  is 
April  15th.  The  Union  Traction  Company  has  sig- 
nified to  the  council  its  willingness  to  "lower  the 
tunnels  at  its  own  expense.  But  to  lower  them 
will  require  the  abandoning  of  the  cable  system, 
and  in  view  of  this  the  company  wants  a  permit 
to  substitute  the  trolley  on  all  its  cable  lines. 
Mayor  Dunne  is  afraid  the  cause  of  municipal 
ownership  will  be  injured  if  permits  to  "trolleyize" 
the  lines  were  granted  and  therefore  refuses  to 
issue  permits  for  any  streets  involved  in  the  99-year 
controversy. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Union  Traction  Com- 
pany says  it  cannot  handle  its  traffic  if  compelled 
to  switch  at  various  points  from  cable  to  trolley 
and  vice  versa,  and  threatens  to  appeal  to  the 
courts  for  an  order  to  compel  the  city  to  grant 
the  trolley  permits. 

W.  W.  Gurley  of  the  Union  Traction  Company, 
in  a  proposition  to  the  mayor,  proposes  to  build 
bulkheads  at  the  ends  of  the  tunnels  and  then 
knock  the  tops  off  in  order  to  comply  with  the 
order    of    the    government    to    remove    the    obstruc- 


veying  apparatus  in  the  Federal  Building,  where 
the  post  office  is  located.  Mr.  Frank  H.  Galbraith, 
superintendent  of  mails,  and  Assistant  Postmaster 
John  M.  Hubbard,  who  witnessed  the  experiments, 
both  agreed  that  the  service  was  satisfactory,  and 
that  when  it  is  inaugurated  the  mail  between  the 
postoffice  and  the  railway  and  sub-stations  will  be 
handled  much  more  rapidly  than  is  now  possible 
with  85  mail  wagons.  This  is  the  first  under- 
ground electrical  arrangement  for  handling  of  mail 
in  the  United  States,  and  the  officials  of  the  Post- 
office  Department  are  watching  the  development 
with   keen   interest. 

The  postoffice  by-pass  in  the  tunnel  is  of  extra 
large  cross-section  (12  by  13  feet),  with  double 
track,  and  extends  from  Jackson  Street  to  Adams 
Street  under  the  Federal  Building.  Fig.  1  is  an 
elevation  through  the  center  of  the  tunnel,  looking 
east,  and  shows  also  the  location  of  the  chutes 
for  dropping  the  mail  down  to  the  tunnel  cars,  and 
the  conveyor  system  for  raising  it  from  the  cars 
into  the  building.  The  mail  pouches  are  thrown 
down  the  chutes  from  the  mailing  platform  in  the 
postoffice  and  are  delivered  upon  the  mailing 
platform  in  the  tunnel,  where  they  are  placed  on 
the  mail  cars  and  sent  to  their  destination.  In- 
coming mail  from  the  depots  and  sub-stations  is 
unloaded  from  the  tunnel  cars  onto  the  tunnel 
platform  and  from  there  placed  on  the  conveyor 
and  taken  up  and  delivered  on  the  mailing  plat- 
form in  the  postoffice. 

The  conveyor  is  a  large  belt  30  inches  in  width, 
motor  driven.  As  shown  in  Fig.  1,  it  travels  hori- 
zontally in  the  tunnel,  for  a  distance  of  90  feet, 
then  it  ascends  on  an  incline  to  a  point  just  below 
the  driveway  under  the  building.  At  this  point 
the  pouches  are  deposited  on  a  cross  belt,  which 
delivers  them  to  the  mailing  platform.  Fig.  2  is 
a  section  of  the  tunnel,  showing  the  conveyors. 
Fig.  3  is  a  cross-section  showing  a  mail  chute 
which  delivers  the  bags  to  the  mailing  platform 
in   the   tunnel. 

For  carrying  the  mail  back  and  forth  between 
the  postoffice  and  the  railway  stations,  a  type  of 
mail  car  is  used  which  was  illustrated  in  the  West- 
ern Electrician  of  November  18,  1905.  During  the 
test  a  train  of  mail  cars  traveled  from  the  post- 
office  to  the  La  Salle  Street  station,  deposited  its 
burden,  and  was  ready  to  leave  on  its  return  trip 
in  three  minutes.  This  distance  is  short,  but  for 
a  team  on  the  crowded  streets  above  to  make  any 
such    time    would    be    out    of   the    question. 

Connections  are  being  made  at  the  Union  Depot 
for  delivering  mail  from  the  tunnel  cars  to  the 
tracks  above,  by  means  of  a  conveyor.  Another 
method  may  also  be  employed  at  this  station,  and 


itself  and  went  on  burning.  The  watts  per  candle- 
power    diminished    gradually    from    1.12    to    1.002 

at  the  end  of  the  life  of  the  lamp,  two  or  three 
readings  showing  some  variation,  however,  from 
this    downward    trend. 

The  second  lamp  was  rated  at  30.25  volts.  12.30 
candlepower,  0.461  ampere  and  1.08  watts  per  can- 
dlepower.  The  lamp  was  still  burning  after  3.537 
hours,  it  having  burned  through  and  rejoined  at 
1.490  hours.  In  this  instance  the  watts  per  can- 
dlepower showed  in  general  a  slight  increase  as 
the  test   proceeded. 

A  test  was  next  made  upon  a  lamp  of  : 
29  candlepower.  1.4S  amperes  and  0.97  watts  per 
candlepower.  After  it  had  burned  for  1,686  hours 
the  current  was  increased  by  raising  the  pressure 
to  about  6b  volts.  In  consequence  the  filament 
burned  through,  but  rejoined,  and  the  lamp  went 
on  burning.  The  amperes  in  this  case  remained 
very  nearly  constant,  as  did  the  watts  per  candle- 
power,  except  of  course  when  the  overload  was 
put  on. 

Another  lamp  of  30  volts.  13.5  candlepower.  0.470 
ampere,  1.05  watts  per  candlepower.  was  still  burn- 
ing after  3.103  hours,  the  amperes  and  watts  per 
candlepower    remaining    practically    constant. 

Two  ether  lamps  tested  showed  practically  the 
same  characteristics.  Two  more  were  overrun  as 
to  current,  one  233  per  cent,  and  the  other  201 
per  cent.,  and  this  without  damage.  In  the  second 
case  the  only  result  was  that  the  normal  candle- 
power  of  iotj  was  increased  to  20}4. 


Earnings  of  Stone  &  Webster  Prop- 
erties. 

Stone  &  \Yebster  of  Boston  have  issued  a  state- 
ment of  the  earnings  of  companies  controlled  by 
them.  The  following  condensed  figures  give  the 
operating  expenses  and  net  ea'rnings  of  some  of 
the  properties  for  the  year  1905 : 

Edison  Illuminating  Company  of  Brockton.  Mass. 
— Operating  expenses.  $111,821;  net  earnings.  $54.- 
15S  (in  1904  the  figures  were,  respectively,  $$1.2^ 
and    $40,505). 

Lowell  Electric  Light  Company.  Lowell.  Mass. — 
Operating  expenses.  $164,726:  net  earnings,  $90.- 
209    (in    1004.   $154,250   and   $85,130) 

Jacksonville  Electric  Company,  Jacksonville,  Fla. 
— Operating  expenses.  $218,722:  net  earnings.  $*.- 
919    (in    1904.   $213,264   and  $77,255). 

Savannah  Electric  Company.  Savannah,  Ga. — Op- 
erating expenses.  S475.721 :  net  earnings,  $110.:  14 
(in     1904,    $442,906    and    $101,238). 

Houghton  County  Electric  Light  Company. 
Houghton,  Mich. — Operating  expenses.  $127,440: 
net  earnings.  $84,283  (in  1904.  $124,164  and  $60,- 
318). 

Tampa  Electric  Company.  Tampa.  Fla. — Operat- 
ing expenses.  $258,019:  net  earnings,  $152,844  (in 
1904,    $241,171    and    $125.4741. 

Terre  Haute  Traction  and  Light  Company.  Terre 
Haute,  Ind. — Operating  expenses,  S536.936;  net 
earnings,  $92,824   (in  1904,  $4S2,S79  and  $86,550). 


i8o 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  3,  1906 


Underground  Construction  in  La  Crosse, 

Wis.1 
By  W.  D.  Burford. 

There  has  recently  been  constructed  at  La  Crosse, 
Wis.,  an  electric-light  plant  which  presents  a  very 
good  example  of  underground  distribution  of  light 
and   power   conductors. 

CSee  Mr.  Williams'  article  on  page  171  of  this 
issue  for  description  of  power  house  and  overhead 
construction.] 

The  conduit  used  is  the  McRoy  salt-glazed  vitri- 
fied clay  conduit  containing  four  or  six  ducts. 
This  conduit  is  laid  in  a  trench  on  a  two  by  two- 
inch  hemlock  plank,  dressed  on  both  sides  and 
treated  with  a  preparation  of  carbolineum,  which 
is  an  excellent  wood  preservative.  On  this  plank 
and  at  right  angles  to  it  are  two  by  two-inch  hem- 
lock cleats  12  inches  long  laid  at  intervals  so  as 
to  bring  them  four  inches  each  way  from  the  joints 
in  the  conduit.  The  conduit  is  then  laid  on  the 
cleats  and  the  joints  between  two  sections  of  con- 
duit are  wrapped  with  a  muslin  strip  four  inches 
wide,  saturated  in  water  and  overlapped  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  cement  into 
the  conduit.  An  iron  mold  eight  inches  wide  and 
two  inches  thick  is  slipped  down  beside  the  con- 
duit and  tamped  into  position.  The  space  thus 
formed  between  the  mould  and  the  joint  is  poured 
full  of  neat  cement  composed  of  equal  parts  of 
clean,  sharp  sand  and  Portland  cement,  when  two 
more  cleats  are  placed  on  top  of  the  conduit  four 
inches  each  way  from  the  joint  and  filled  with 
cement;  this  now  forms  a  complete  bond  _  of 
cement  two  inches  thick  and  eight  inches  wide, 
hermetically  sealing  the  joints  in  the  conduit.  A 
two  by  12-inch  hemlock  plank  is  placed  on  top 
of  the  completed  work  resting  on  the  top  cleat  and 
serving  as  a  protection  to  the  conduit  in  case  of 
future  excavation.  As  the  work  progresses  a 
mandrel  slightly  smaller  than  the  duct  and  fitted 
with  an  iron  ring  in  one  end  is  pulled  through  each 
joint  with  an  iron  rod  to  insure  perfect  alignment. 
In  the  use  of  this  style  of  conduit  this  is  hardly 
necessary,  as  each  section  of  conduit  has  a  small 
hole  in  either  end  which  contains  a  cast-iron  align- 
ing pin,  but  is  done  to  be  doubly  sure  of  alignment. 
All  spaces  and  interstices  are  carefully  filled  and 
tamped  with  dirt  to  prevent  settling;  the  ditch 
is  filled  and  the  street  repaved  in  the  usual  way. 

The  manholes  having  dimensions  five  feet  in 
diameter  by  five  feet  deep  from  the  street  grade 
to  the  bottom  of  manhole  are  built  of  sewer  brick 
laid  in  cement  mortar.  The  circular  brickwork  is 
eight  inches  thick,  resting  on  a  concrete  foundation 
seven  feet  in  diameter  and  six  inches  thick.  The 
bottom  of  the  manhole  is  drained  by  means  of 
three-inch  vitrified  bell-end  pipe  12  inches  long 
imbedded  in  the  center  of  the  concrete  foundation. 
Manhole  covers  are  of  cast  iron  of  the  standard 
size  and  ventilated  type. 

The  lateral  pipes  which  are  used  for  conducting 
the  cables  from  the  manholes  up  the  distributing 
poles  are  three-inch  wrought  iron,  bent  in  a  90- 
degree  curve,  painted  with  asphaltum  varnish,  and 
brought  to  a  point  three  feet  above  the  ground  and 
securely  stapled  to  the  sides  of  the  poles.  They 
are  fitted  with  a  three  by  2jX-inch  reducer  at  this 
point,  and  the  pipes  from  here  up  to  the  discharge 
bells  or  potheads  are  2j^  inches  in  diameter,  painted 
and  stapled  in  the  same  manner.  The  top  of  the 
pipes  are  fitted  with  a  wooden  bushing  which  is 
driven  in  around  the  cable  in  halves  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  water  into 
the  top  of  the  pipe.  These  pipes  are  carefully 
cemented  where  entering  the  manhole  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  make  it  watertight. 

The  cables  were  furnished  bv  the  John  A.  Roeb- 
ling's  Sons  Company  of  Trenton,  N.  J.,  and  are  of 
the  three-conductor  paper-insulated  type,  especially 
designed  for  three-phase  systems  of  an  electromo- 
tive force  of  not  less  than  5,000  volts  between  con- 
ductors. Each  wire  is  separately  insulated  with 
paper  three-thirty-seconds  of  an  inch  thick,  which 
is  saturated  with  a  heavy  insulating  oil.  The  inter- 
stices are  filled  with  jute  and  the  whole  core  is 
protected  from  the  lead  by  a  paper  belt  two-thirty- 
seconds  of  an  inch  thick.  The  lead  sheath  is  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch  thick  and  contains  three  per  cent, 
of  tin.  The  copper  conductors  consist  of  stranded 
wire  to  insure  flexibility  and  are  guaranteed  to 
have  a  conductivity  of  not  less  than  98  per  cent, 
of  that  of  pure  copper.  The  insulation  resistance 
of  these  cables  on  the  reels  was  guaranteed  to  be 
not  less  than  60  megohms  per  mile  at  60  degrees". 
The  cables  were  subjected  to  a  pressure  of  10,000 
volts  for  five  minutes  on  the  reels  in  the  factory, 
and  after  being  installed  and  spliced  were  sub- 
jected to  a  pressure  of  6,000  volts  for  30  minutes, 
tests  being  made  from  each  conductor  to  ground 
and  also  from  conductor  to  conductor  within  the 
cable.  They  stood  this  test  very  satisfactorily, 
showing  no  defects  whatever. 

Cables  are  shipped  on  heavy  reels  averaging 
4,500  pounds  each  and  were  pulled  into  the  con- 
duit with  a  rope  and  winch.  To  get  this  rope 
through  the  duct  a  number  of  three-foot  rods  are 
jointed  together  with  a  patent  coupling  and  pushed 
through  from  .one  manhole  to  the  next.  A  wire  is 
then  attached  to  the  rods  and  they  are  pulled  out 
and    disjointed    until    the    wire    is    reached    at    the 


other  end  of  the  section.  The  rope  is  then  pulled 
in  with  this  wire.  A  heavy  steel  bar  is  passed 
through  the  core  of  the  reel,  which  is  lifted  from 
the  ground  with  a  pair  of  jackscrews  supporting 
the  steel  bar;  this  allows  the  reel  being  revolved 
readily. 

To  attach  the  cable  a  foot  of  lead  sheath  is  re- 
moved from  the  end,  the  wires  exposed  and  stripped 
of  their  insulation ;  they  are  served  up  through  a 
chain  link  three  inches  long,  which  is  made  of 
onerhalf-inch  wrought  iron;  this  link  is  attached 
to  an  eye  in  the  end  of  the  rope  by  means  of  a 
repair  link.  A  cast-iron  mold  fitted  with  a  hole 
at  one  end  of  the  diameter  of  the  cable,  and  at 
the  other  end  with  holes  to  accommodate  the  chain 
link  is  placed  around  the  end  of  the  cable  and 
closed  firmly.  This  mold  is  poured  full  of  hot 
lead  through  suitable  vents  on  the  top  and  then 
removed;  the  cast  is  allowed  to  cool,  and  the  cable 
is  ready  to  be  pulled.  This  lead  cast  serves  a 
double  purpose,  as  it  prevents  any  moisture  which 
may  be  in  the  duct  from  entering  the  cable  and 
also  distributes  the  strain  of  pulling  equally  all 
the  strands  of  the  conductors.  When  assured  that 
the  ducts  are  dry  the  cast  is  unnecessary  on  the 
smaller  sizes  of  cable,  as  with  reasonable  care  the 
ends  can  be  made  up  so  as  to  bring  the  strain 
equally  on  all  three  conductors. 

The  rope  at  the  pulling  manhole  is  passed  over 
a  grooved  pulley  mounted  between  two  heavy  skids 
and  is  adjusted  to  be  in  line  with  the  duct.  The 
rope  passes  over  a  second  grooved  pulley,  which  is 
just  above  the  street  level,  and  from  there  it  is 
passed  around  the  drum  of  the  winch,  which  is 
geared  down  to  a  crank  shaft  fitted  with  two 
cranks  and  operated  by  men.  When  enough  cable 
has  been  pulled  into  the  distant  manhole  to  allow 
for  racking  and  splicing,  the  ends  are  cut  off  in 
both  manholes  and  the  cable  is  carefully  sealed  to 
prevent  the  entrance  of  moisture.  This  is  of  great 
importance,  as  entire  sections  of  cable  are  some- 
times ruined,  due  to  manholes  being  flooded  by 
heavy  storms  and  water  entering  the  cable. 

The  splicing  of  light  and  power  cables  is  a  matter 
of  the  greatest  importance,  as  herein  lies  the  great- 
est danger  of  future  trouble.  The  cables  must  be 
handled  and  bent  with  the  greatest  of  care,  par- 
ticularly in  cold  weather,  for  if  the  cable  is  bent 
at  too  sharp  an  angle  the  paper  insulation  is  apt 
to  crack  and  break  down.  Probably  75  per  cent, 
of  breakdowns  in  high-tension  cables  occur  in  the 
bends.  The  cable  factories  advise  not  bending  the 
cables  in  a  circle  of  less  than  18  inches. 

Preparatory  to  splicing  the  cable  it  is  first  care- 
fully trained  around  the  wall  of  the  manhole  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  occupy  as  little  space  as  pos- 
sible. The  ends  of  the  cable  are  then  sawed  off 
in  such  a  manner  that  the  two  ends  meet.  The 
sheath  is  removed  for  a  distance  of  15  inches, 
eight  inches  from  one  end  and  seven  inches  from 
the  other  end.  A  lead  cylinder  18  inches  long  and 
three  inches  in  diameter  with  three-sixteenths-inch 
wall  is  then  slipped  over  one  end  of  the  cable  and 
back  out  of  the  way.  The  diameter  of  this  cylinder, 
of  course,  is  governed  by  the  size  of  the  cable.  The 
dimensions  given  above  are  for  a  100,000-circular- 
mil  splice.  Paper  tubes  of  sufficient  diameter  to 
fit  closely  over  the  conductors  are  now  slipped  over 
each  conductor  on  the  eight-inch  end  and  a  large 
paper  cylinder  of  sufficient  diameter  to  contain 
these  three  paper  tubes  is  slipped  over  the  whole 
cable  and  back  out  of  the  way.  These  paper  tubes 
are  an  innovation  in  high-tension  cable  splicing  and 
are  manufactured  by  the  Standard  Underground 
Cable  Company,  and  are  made  of  any  required  thick- 
ness of  wall,  according  to  the  insulation  on  the 
cables  on  which  they  are  to  be  used.  They  are 
prepared  by  being  boiled  in  a  heavy  insulating  com- 
pound at  the  factory  to  prevent  the  absorption  of 
moisture.  They  greatly  facilitate  the  making  of 
straight  splices,  as  they  guarantee  a  uniform  thick- 
ness of  insulation  at  "the  splice.  The  next  opera- 
tion after  slipping  these  paper  tubes  over  the  con- 
ductors is  the  removal  of  il/2  inches  of  paper  insu- 
lation from  the  end  of  each  conductor.  The  con- 
ductors are  then  joined  together  by  slotted  copper 
cylinders  2V2  inches  in  length  and  of  a  sufficient 
diameter  to  fit  snugly  over  the  conductors.  These 
connectors  are  carefully  sweated  with  melted  tin 
poured  from  a  ladle,  all  surplus  tin  is  wiped  off, 
particular  care  being  used  to  prevent  the  forma- 
tion of  any  teats  or  needles.  The  joint  is  then 
flowed  to  cool  and  is  painted  with  a  hot  solution 
of  No.  1  minerallac,  which  is  an  excellent  insu- 
lating compound,  and  is  served  with  sufficient  Em- 
pire tape  to  fill  up  the  joints  to  a  level  with  the 
adjoining  paper  insulation.  This  tape  is  a  linen 
tape  cut  on  the  bias  to  increase  its  strength  and 
saturated  with  an  insulating  compound,  and  is  con- 
sidered to  be  the  most  efficient  and  convenient 
form  of  insulating  tape  on  the  market.  After 
taping  the  joints  the  paper  tubes  are  slipped  over 
the  joints  and  the  large  paper  belt  is  slipped  over 
the  entire  work,  binding  the  three  paper  tubes 
firmly  together  and  serving  to  doubly  insulate  the 
connections  from  the  lead  sheath  and  secure  the 
work  against  accidental  slipping  of  the  inner  tubes. 
The  large  lead  cylinder,  previously  mentioned,  is 
now  slipped  over  the  completed  splice,  the  ends  are 
dressed  down  to  a  close  fit  on  the  lead  sheath 
of  the  cable  and  a  regular  plumbers  joint  is 
wiped   on  either  end.     Two  cuts  are  now  made  at 


right  angles  to  each  other  on  the  top  side  of  the 
lead  cylinder  and  about  six  inches  from  one  end, 
which  allows  of  turning  up  a  lip  of  lead.  This 
opens  a  hole  in  the  sleeve  through  which  the  splice 
is  completely  filled  with  No.  2  Minerallac  or  high- 
grade  paraffin.  No.  2  Minerallac  is  a  heavy  black 
insulating  compound,  which  is  considered  excellent 
for  this  purpose.  The  splice  is  allowed  to  cool,  then 
refilled  until  all  air  is  expelled.  The  lip  is  ham- 
mered down  flush  and  securely  sealed  with  a 
soldering  iron.  This  completes  the  splice,  which 
is  suspended  on  the  wall  of  the  manhole  from  suit- 
able cable  supports  which  are  driven  into  holes 
drilled  in  the  brick  wall  of  the  manhole  and  plugged 
with  wooden  plugs. 

If  there  are  a  large  number  of  cables  along  the 
wall  of  the  same  manhole  it  is  more  economical 
to  erect  two  flat  iron  strips,  vertically  mounted, 
punched  with  holes  at  intervals  of  four  inches,  into 
which  fit  a  special  cable  support  equipped  with 
rivet  heads  which  engage  in  the  holes  of  the  ver- 
tical strips  and  thus  allow  the  hanging  of  a  num- 
ber of  cables  without  drilling  a  large  number  of 
holes  in  the  brick  wall. 

These  cable  racks  also  facilitate  the  moving  and 
handling  of  cables  in  case  of  future  additions.  All 
cables  should  be  protected  from  contact  with  iron 
or  other  sharp  corners  by  the  use  of  strips  of 
sheet  lead.  When  splicing  and  racking  is  all  com- 
pleted the  cables  are  all  securely  bonded  together 
with  heavy  copper  conductors  sweated  to  the 
sheath  to  reduce  danger  from  electrolysis.  These 
bonds  should  be  applied  in  every  manhole. 

The  making  of  branch  or  tap  splices  is  a  much 
more  difficult  matter,  requiring  greater  skill  on  the 
part  of  the  splicer.  No  paper  tubes  are  used  in 
these  splices,  the  insulation  being  secured  by  the  use 
of  Empire  tape.  A  special  copper  connector  is  used, 
formed  in  such  a  manner  as  to-  accommodate  the 
three  or  four  conductors,  as  the  case  may  be. 
These  joints  are  made  up  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
be  staggered  at  intervals  of  three  inches  apart 
along  the  splice.  This  prevents  the  splice  becoming 
too  bulky  and  also  insures  a  higher  insulation. 
Great  care  must  be  used  in  making  both  kinds  of 
splices  not  to  bend  the  individual  conductors  ab- 
ruptly, as  there  is  considerable  danger  of  weak- 
ening the  paper  insulation  at  the  point  where  the 
lead  sheath  is  removed.  In  branch  splices  the 
joints  are  wiped  in  the  same  manner  as  previously 
described,  excepting  that  the  joint  wiped  at  one 
end  is  termed  a  Y  joint.  This  work  should  never 
be  attempted  by  any  but  an  expert  cable  splicer,  as 
a  defective  joint  will  allow  the  entrance  of  moist- 
ure, causing  a  breakdown  in  the  cable,  which  is 
generally  very  hard  to  locate. 

The  pulling  of  lateral  cables  up  the  distributing 
pole  is  done  by  means  of  a  rope  threaded  through 
a  snatch  block  hung  on  top  of  the  pole.  The  rope 
is  passed  through  the  pipe  and  into  the  manholes 
by  means  of  a  wire  which  is  generally  threaded 
through  the  pipes  at  the  time  they  are  installed. 
These  cables  are  then  spliced  in  the  manhole  to 
the  main  cable  in  the  manner  just  described. 

The  upper  end  of  the  lateral  cable  is  equipped 
with  a  discharge  bell,  sometimes  termed  a  pot  head. 
The  purpose  of  this  discharge  bell  is  to  seal  the  end 
of  the  cable  hermetically  and  bring  the  conductors 
out  in  a  manner  convenient  for  connections  to  the 
primary  service  boxes.  This  head  is  in  three  parts, 
the  base  being  of  cast  brass  4%  inches  in  diameter, 
with  a  hole  in  the  lower  end  threaded  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  make  a  tight  fit  on  the  cable.  After 
the  cable  is  properly  bent  into  position  five  inches 
of  the  sheath  is  removed.  This  brass  casting  is 
slipped  down  over  the  cable,  with  the  large  end 
up.  It  is  then  screwed  down  on  the  lead  sheath, 
the  threads  cutting  their  way  into  the  lead  for  a 
distance  of  about  one-half  inch  along  the  sheath. 
This  makes  an  air-tight  connection  and  does  away 
with  the  necessity  of  a  wiped  joint  at  this  point. 
The  three  conductors  are  now  bared  for  a  distance 
of  iJ/2  inches  and  are  spliced  to  heavy  rubber-cov- 
ered braided  wire  of  sufficient  length  to  reach  the 
primary  service  boxes. 

The  joints  between  these  rubber-covered  wires 
and  the  cable  conductors  are  spliced  in  exactly  the 
same  manner  as  the  straight  splices,  paper  sleeves 
being  used  of  sufficient  diameter  to  slide  back  over 
the  rubber  insulation.  When  the  splice  is  com- 
pleted, as  described,  a  brass  shell  4%  inches  in 
diameter  and  nine  inches  long,  threaded  at  one  end 
to  fit  a  female  thread  in  the  top  end  of  the  brass 
casting  previously  mentioned,  is  then  slipped  over 
the  ends  of  the  rubber-covered  wire  and  screwed 
into  the  brass  casting.  The  discharge  bell  is  now 
bent  into  an  upright  position  and  fitted  into  the 
wooden  frame  which  is  to  hold  it  permanently  in 
position.  This  frame  is  18  inches  wide  and  24 
inches  high,  made  of  seven-eighths-inch  pine  and 
painted  with  Carbolineum,  the  uppeT  nine  inches 
of  it  being  sawed  in  a  half  circle.  At  right  angle 
to  this  board  and  mounted  on  it  by  means  of  a  pair 
of  iron  brackets  is  a  seven-eighths-inch  pine  shelf 
cut  in  a  half  circle,  nine  inches  wide  and  extending 
across  the  full  width  of  the  backboard.  In  the  cen- 
ter of  this  shelf  is  a  hole  4V1  inches  in  diameter, 
up  through  which  projects  the  brass  shell  of  the 
discharge  bell.  The  backboard  is  then  securely 
screwed  in  position  on  the  pole  and  a  pair  of  iron 
clamps  are  screwed  on  the  backboard  in  such  a  posi- 
tion as  to  securely  grip  the  pot  head  around  the  collar 


March  .3,  1906 


181 


of  the  bras .  casting,  holding   il    in  a  pi  1  mam 
lion  in  the  frame.   A  hard  maple  collar  boiled  in  1 

line is    then    slipped    ovi  1     the    1  ubbi  1 

ends  and   fitti  d  ovci    Mm    top  ol   thi    bra        In  II,   il 

I, rim',    pro\  ided    » ith   a    1: vc   mi    il      undi  1      idi 

..     Hi., 1     1    po  e       1  In     mapli    in  1        di    igncd   to 

prevcnl  the  wire ,  from  1  oming   itai  1   with  the 

1,1.1  s  shell,    The  wires  are  then  ti   ted  oul   bj  

i,f  :,  hank  of  dry  battel  ies  and  a  telepho 

to  gel  Hi"  A    li  and  ' '  phai  c  1  in  then   propi  1    rcla 
tive   position ;   the   wires   I"  ing   bi  nl    dow  n   through 

porcelain  tubes  in  holes  in  the  horiz al     hell  and 

,  in  1 1  d   up   in   a   water   drip  and   connected   to   thi 
,1 .,  [i  1   bo  1  he    'li  -  li.H  gc    bell    1     now    filled 

with  hot  No,  2  Mincrallac  and  allowed  to  cool,  being 
refilled  several  times  until  all  signs  of  settling  have 
I  lappcared.  A  copper  hood  made  of  [6 
jheel  copper  and  formed  in  the  shape  of  a  quarter 
section  of  a  ball  is  slipped  over  the  i"|i  of  the 
frame,  the  lower  edge  of  ii  extending  slightly  be 
low  the  horizontal  shelf  .'11111  being  tacked  in  po 
linn  with  iron  tacks.  This  copper  hood  makes  the 
discharge   bell    absolutely    water,    snow    and    inseel 

1 • 

Twelve  inches  above  the  discharge  lull  frame  is 
mounted  a  set  of  double  cross-arms  of  Washington 
fir,  3J4  inches  by  4J4  inches  by  eight  feel  long, 
hulled  through  the  pole  and  securely  blocked;  30 
inches  above  this  set  of  arms  is  a  similar  set.  These 
arms  carry  the  transformers  and  service  boxes  and 
are  supported  by  heavy  iron  braces  suspended  from 
above.  All  transformers  used  are  Westinghouse 
0  D  type,  being  of  five  to  10  or  20-kilowatt  capaci- 
ties. 

The  primary  service  boxes  were  furnished  by  the 
H.  W.  Johns-Manville  Company  and  consist  of  a 
cast-iron  box  with  a  hinged  cover,  fitted  with  lugs 
which  engage  a  toggle  bolt  and  thumbscrew,  allow- 
ing the  cover  to  be  bolted  firmly  down  on  a  rubber 
gasket.  The  box  contains  a  porcelain  lining,  in 
which  arc  mounted  the  spring  clamps  for  holding 
the  Sachs  Noark  fuses,  the  porcelain  cover  of  the 
inner  box  being  equipped  with  the  lobster-claw 
clutch,  which  permits  of  the  fuse  being  removed 
while  under  load  without  and  danger  to  the  line- 
nnn.  The  inner  box  is  also  fitted  with  rubber 
gaskets,  and  the  rubber-covered  wires  are  led  in 
through  the  bottom  through  porcelain  tubes,  the 
whole  making  a  perfectly  watertight  box. 

All  power  transformers  are  hung  on  the  west  or 
south  side  of  the  distributing  poles,  while  the  light 
transformers  occupy  the  east  or  north  side.  This 
same  rule  is  strictly  adhered  to  in  location  of  the 
cables  in  the  conduit,  thus  making  it  an  easy  mat- 
ter to  trace  any  cable.  In  addition  to  this  all 
cables  are  tagged  with  a  brass  tag  on  which  is 
stamped  "light"  or  "power"  and  the  size  of  the 
conductor  in  the  cable. 

The  transformer  arms  are  mounted  25  feet  from 
the  ground  in  all  cases,  excepting  where  imprac- 
ticable, due  to  the  proximity  of  buildings,  the  object 
of  this  being  to  keep  the  weight  of  the  transform- 
ers as  close  to  the  ground  as  possible.  All  distrib- 
uting poles  are  50  feet,  eight-inch  top,  Idaho  cedar. 
The  service  wires  are  distributed  from  the  tops  of 
these  poles,  in  the  usual  method,  from  two  sets  of 
double  cross-arms  placed  at  right  angles  to  each 
other,  and  the  feeders  are  carried  down  vertically 
to  the  transformer  arms  on  heavy  porcelain  cleats. 
Just  below  the  discharge  bell  is  mounted  a  double 
platform  made  of  heavy  angle  iron  rigidly  braced 
and  equipped  with  a  pine  floor,  making  it  safe  for 
the  lineman  to  work  on  the  service  boxes  while  the 
lines  are  alive.  These  service  boxes  are  so  ar- 
ranged that  the  load  can  be  shifted  at  any  dis- 
tributing pole  from  any  one  phase  to  another  phase 
in  from  one  to  three  minutes,  thus  making  it  pos- 
sible to  equalize  the  load  readily  on  all  phases. 

At  various  points  in  the  outer  limits  of  the  under- 
ground districts  are  lateral  poles,  where  the  cables 
connect  with  long  aerial  lines  supplying  the  resi- 
dence districts.  At  all  such  lateral  poles  the  cables 
are  terminated  in  discharge  bells  as  above  de- 
scribed, the  rubber-covered  leads  being  directly 
connected  to  three-phase  Westinghouse  outdoor- 
type  oil  switches,  which  are  mounted  in  a  similar 
manner  to  the  transformers.  This  allows  the  line- 
men to  kill  any  section  in  case  of  repairs  or  exten- 
sions. 

At  two  points  in  the  underground  system  the 
main  feeder  cables  are  spliced  through  subway 
junction  boxes  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  it 
possible  to  disconnect  various  sections  of  the  under- 
ground systems  for  purposes  of  repair ;  this  is  ac- 
complished by  splicing  out  each  conductor  to  a 
separate  single-conductor  paper-insulated  lead-cov- 
ered cable  which  is  led  through  a  single  line 
subway  box,  and  thence  to  the  other  end  of  the 
main  feeder,  thus  allowing  the  disconnection  of  any 
one  of  the  phases,  while  the  current  is  on.  These 
subway  junction  boxes  are  furnished  by  the  H.  W. 
Johns-Manville  Company  and  consist  of  a  cast-iron 
box  fitted  with  a  cover  which  bolts  down  on  a 
rubber  gasket.  In  the  back  of  the  box  is  a  heavy 
slate  base  on  which  are  mounted  heavy  brass 
clamps,  made  to  engage  Sachs  Noark  fuses.  In 
each  end  of  the  box  is  fitted  brass  couplings  and 
nipples,  which  are  connected  to  the  cable  sheath 
by  a  wiped  joint. 

In  addition  to  bonding  the  cables  in  every  man- 
hole, there  is  a  No.  0000  wire  strung  aerial  from  the 
end  of  the  underground  district  to  the  grounded 
side   of    the    generators    of   the    street-railway    com- 


pany,   1  li  1     ,  on, hi,  lot    1, 


Electroliers  Suggested  for  St.  Louis 
Streets, 
illuminating  thi 

1 kc 

Real   Esl  Samuel 

Bowman  I  he    plan,    il 

install    1  ;  29   ni  *    posts    in   the   downtown   - 

1  in   thi   ,     would    bi    1     ccd 
a  cluster  of  I  llcpov 

John  I.  Bcggs  1  ■'■'-   and 

Power    Comp 
the  bencfil   ol   I 

ih.     co  1    1    fi  the  plan     Mi 

p 1     oul   thai 

■  1 :  r  ■ ,     1 1 . 1   I,,      mum  d  0  and  125 

feet,    re  pi  1  tivclj ,   bctwi 
lished      1  i'i       1 ng      or]      oul     with    about    four 

lamp    posts    to   the   blocl         [Til  would 

burn    all    night    and    the    intermediate    ones    until 
1    a.    m. 

Air.  lieggs  figures  thai  to  ilk ati 

trolii  1  s,   cai  h    gh  ing    250  candli  powi  1     ■■  iul  I 
ih,'    cil v    $171,329.04    a    year.     I  In      takes 
of    the    original    investment    im  idi  mil    to   thi 

1  .dim,  111   of  the  sen  ice  and   its  n  pan  .,  thi 1  el 

cosl     being    estimated   at    $1,500,000.     ["hi 
the    cily    for    lighting    the    same    streets    at 
amounts   to  $266,000  a  year. 

In    arriving    at    the    annual    cost  of    the    prO| i 

new   illumination   Mr.    Begg     1  ubmil     the   foil 
interesting   figures: 

"With    lamps    arranged    in    accordance    with    the 
proposed    specifications,    we    find    there    will    b 
pnsis  carrying  all-night  lights,  and  823  posts  carry- 
ing lights  running  till   1  a.  m.  only. 

"All-night  posts  (906)  at  4,100  burning  hours 
per  annum  equals  a  total  for  all  of  3,714,600  post- 
hours    per   annum. 

"Posts  lighted  till  I  a.  m.  (823)  at  2,416  burning 
hours  each  per  annum  equals  a  total  for  all  of 
1,988,368    post-hours    per    annum. 

"All-night  posts  (906)  with  250  candlepower  per 
post  each  equals  in  all  928,650,000  candlepower- 
hours    per    annum. 

"Posts  lighted  till  1  a.  m.  only  (823).  of  250 
candlepower  per  post,  equals  in  all  497,090,000 
candlepower-bours    per   annum. 

"A  grand  total  of  1,729  posts  as  per  above 
burning  hours  equals  1,427,742,000  candlepower- 
bours   per   annum. 

"At  $0,012  per  caiidlepower-bour,  cost  of  the 
above   is  $171,329.04  per   annum. 

"For  convenience  of  comparison,  would  say  at 
$0,012  per  candlepower-bour,  the  standard  16-can- 
dlepower   lamp  would  cost  $0,192   per  hour. 

"For  further  convenience,*  would  say  that  posts 
of  250  candlepower  each,  spaced  as  above,  would 
cost  about  $11,500  per  mile  per  annum  to  illumi- 
nate. 

"This  estimate  includes  the  entire  investment, 
lamp  renewals,  maintenance  and  current." 


Power  Transmission  In  Wales. 
A    bi 

ami    I  1 

ment  1: 
from  thi 

cale. 
There    il    a    double    pipe    line    from    the    lal 


•Death  of  William  A.  Hovey. 

William  Alfred  Hovey,  special  agent  for  the 
American  Bell  Telephone  Company,  died  on  Feb- 
ruary 18th  at  the  home  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Ed- 
win S.  Webster,  in  Boston.  Mr.  Hovey  was  born 
in  Boston  and  graduated  from  the  Boston  High 
School  in  i860.  After  a  trip  to  Europe  he  became 
associated  with  the  Sanitary  Commission,  continu- 
ing with  that  body  until  1865,  and  becoming  tenth 
assistant  secretary.  He  then  studied  mining  and 
became  engineer  and  superintendent  of  coal  mines 
in  Pennsylvania.  Three  years  later  he  started  a 
weekly  newspaper  in  Chelsea,  Mass.,  but  this  was 
not  a  financial   success. 

In  1872  Mr.  Hovey  became  managing  editor  of  the 
Boston  Commercial  Bulletin,  going  from  there  to 
the  editorship  of  the  Boston  Transcript  in  1875. 
He  left  the  latter  paper  in  1881,  when  he  estab- 
lished the  Manufacturers'  Gazette.  Later  he  be- 
came president  of  the  Merchants*  Electric  Light 
and  Power  Company  of  Boston.  In  April,  1SS4.  he 
became  an  editor  of  the  Electrical  Review,  and  in 
June,  TSS5.  be  accepted  a  position  with  the  Ameri- 
can Bell  Telephone  Company.  He  superintended 
the  preparation  of  that  company's  exhibit  at  the 
Chicago  World's  Fair  and  was  in  charge  of  the 
exhibit  during  the  fair.  His  wife  died  10  years 
ago.     He  left  a  son  and  two  daughters. 

Funeral  services  were  held  at  his  daughter's  resi- 
dence, with  interment  at  Mount  Auburn  Cemetery. 
The  pallbearers  included  Thomas  B.  Doolittle.  as 
representative  of  the  American  Telephone  and  Tele- 
graph Company.  The  company  was  further  repre- 
sented at  the  funeral  by  Thomas  E.  Sherwin,  C.  J. 
H.  Woodbury.  S.  Howard  Mildram.  L.  F.  Rice, 
Jeffries   Wyman   and  James   C.    T.    Baldwin. 

A  stock  company  has  been  formed  at  New  Lon- 
don, Inch,  which  proposes  to  construct  a  clam  in 
Honey  Creek  and  establish  an  electric  plant  to 
furnish  light  and  power  to  towns  and  farms  in  the 
vicinity.  The  dam  will  form  a  large  lake  among 
the  hills  and  the  company  proposes  to  develop  a 
summer  resort  on  the  lake. 


—  WARNING  

TAKE  NOTICE  IT  IS 
DANGEROUS    TO 
TOUCH  THE  WIRES 


RHYBUDD 

DALIER  SYLW  MAE 

YN    BERYGLUS   I 

GYFFWRDD  ARGWIFPAU 
O O 


miles  long  and  dropping  1.150  feet  to  a  power  house, 
where  Pelton  wheels  (made  by  Ganz  &  Co.  of  Buda- 
pest) drive  four  1,500-kilovolt-ampere  three-phase 
io.ooo-volt  generators.  The  transmission  lines  are 
substantially  built  over  a  rugged  country.  Most  of 
the  poles  are  wooden,  but  in  some  places  a  light 
iron  lattice-work  construction  has  been  preferred. 
Where  six  or  nine  transmission  wires  arc  carried 
double    poles   are   used. 

The  safety  precautions  should  be  effectual.  All 
the  poles  on  a  roadway  or  footway  have  a  ring  of 
galvanized  iron  with  sharp  points  about  12  feet  six 
inches  from  the  ground,  and  a  danger-sign  board 
(see  cut)  bearing  an  inscription  both  in  English  and 
Welsh  is  fixed  to  them.  In  such  positions  also  a 
guard  net  is  provided.  A  simple  piece  of  channel 
iron  is  fixed  to  each  pole  with  a  clip,  and  six  gal- 
vanized mild-steel  wires  five  millimeters  in  diam- 
eter are  strung  from  pole  to  pole,  being  fastened  to 
the  eyebolts.  The  net  thus  formed  is  completed  by 
three-millimeter  cross-wires  bound  on  to  the  six 
longitudinal  wires  about  every'  21  inches.  This  guard 
net  is  grounded.  The  iron  lattice  poles  are  also 
grounded  by  a  copper  earth  plate  five  feet  square 
every  fifth  pole,  and  a  six-millimeter  copper  wire 
runs  from  pole  to  pole  above  ground,  so  that  each 
is  effectively  grounded. 

It  is  expected  that  power  will  be  delivered  from 
this  plant  in  two  or  three  months. 


Electric  Automobile  Truck. 
A  serviceable  and  at  the  same  time  neat-appear- 
ing electric  automobile  truck  is  shown  in  the  ac- 
companying illustration.  It  is  a  product  of  the 
Studebaker  Automobile  Company  of  South  Bend, 
Ind.     The  vehicle  has  a  capacity  of  3'i   tons.    The 


STUDEBAKER    3^-TON    ELECTRIC    TRUCK. 

gauge  is  five  feet  11  inches,  with  a  wheel  base  of 
10  feet  10  inches :  the  wheels  themselves  have  a 
diameter  of  three  feet.  Following  are  the  general 
dimensions  of  the  truck:  Length  of  body.  16  feet; 
length  over  all.  17  feet  six  inches:  width  of  body. 
five  feet  two  inches:  width  over  all,  seven  feet  six 
inches;  width  of  seat,  four  feet  two  inches;  height 
of  floor  from  ground,  three  feet  six  inches.  The 
weight  of  the  vehicle  complete  is  9,000  pounds. 


1 82 

Large  Waterpower  Developments  Near 
Utica,  N.  Y. 

Extensive  power  developments  are  contemplated 
by  the  Utica  Gas  and  Electric  Company  of  Utica, 
N.  Y.,  and  in  consequence  of  the  plans  the  capital 
stock  of  the  company  has  been  increased  until  it 
is  now  $3,500,000.  It  is  the  intention  of  the  com- 
pany immediately  to  develope  to  their  fullest  ca- 
pacity the  waterpowers  owned  by  it  at  Trenton 
Falls  and  Prospect,  giving  the  company  at  these 
two  stations,  on  a  very  conservatve  estimate,  a 
total  of  22,000  horsepower,  even  in  seasons  of  the 
greatest   drouth. 

West  Canada  Creek,  in  a  distance  of  3J4  miles 
upstream  from  the  present  Trenton  Falls  power 
house,  has  a  fall  of  400  feet.  The  plant  at  Trenton 
Falls  now  in  operation  utilizes  but  266  feet  of 
this  head.  The  immediate  extensions  planned  will 
make  use  of  the  remainder  of  the  power,  and  to 
do  it  a  new  dam  and  power  house  will  be  located 
about  a  mile  above  the  Trenton  Falls  plant.  Here 
the  conditions  are  ideal,  for  the  stream  at  the 
point  selected  for  these  structures  is  confined  to 
a  narrow  gorge  through  the  limestone  rock,  90 
feet  in  depth,  the  walls  on  either  side  being  almost 
vertical,  and  considerably  less  than  100  feet  distant 
from  each  other.  AH  the  material  necessary  for 
the  erection  of  the  dam  and  power  house,  with  the 
exception  of  cement,  are  within  almost  arm's  length 
of  the  location. 

The  company  also  owns  another  waterpower  and 
a  large  tract  of  land  at  Enos  on  the  Black  River, 
eight  miles  across  country  from  Prospect.  This 
waterpower  has  a  fall  of  125  feet,  and  at  minimum 
flow  will  give,  it  is  estimated,  at  least  3,000  horse- 
power. 

The  capacity  of  the  several  stations  as  planned 
will  be  as  follows:  Trenton  Falls,  16,000  horse- 
power; .Prospect  station,  7,000  horsepower;  station 
at  Enos  on  the  Black  River,  3,000  horsepower. 
The  plans  for  the  Prospect  station  and  dam  have 
been  entirely  completed.  This  station  will  be  a  model 
waterpower  plant  in  every  way,  and  in  its  equip- 
ment fully  equal  to  the  present  plant  at  Trenton 
Falls,  which  has  proved  so  satisfactory  in  its  op- 
eration. 

Among  the  strongest  features  of  this  25,000- 
horsepower  development  will  he  its  availability  and 
reliability.  The  present  transmission  line  from 
Trenton  Falls  to  the  company's  distributing  stations 
in  Utica  is  but  12  miles  in  length.  Another  line 
will  be  built  paralleling  and  duplicating  the  present 
line  from  Trenton  Falls  to  Utica,  on  the  present 
right-of-way  owned  by  the  company.  The  company 
has  just  completed  a  transmission  line  up  the  Mo- 
hawk Valley  from  Utica  to  Rome,  and  another 
transmission  line  will  be  built  across  country  direct 
from  Trenton  Falls  to  Rome,  passing  through  Hol- 
land Patent  and  Stittville.  Eastward,  the  construc- 
tion of  a  transmission  line  to  Frankfort,  Ilion, 
Mohawk,  Herkimer  and  Little  Falls  will  be  begun 
at  once. 


Electrically  Operated  Tunnel  Excavator. 

Mr.  George  W.  Jackson,  chief  engineer  and  gen- 
eral manager  of  the  Illinois  Tunnel  Company, 
Chicago,  has  devised  a  new  electrically  operated 
machine  which,  it  is  expected,  will  fulfill  the  ex- 
acting conditions  presented  in  the  construction  of 
the  tunnels  under  Chicago,  for  which  work  the 
machine  was  primarily  designed.  The  machine 
has  not  yet  been  built  for  practical  use,  but  _  a 
model  has  been  constructed  which  exhibits  its 
essential    features. 

The  excavator  consists  of  a  heavy  movable  base 
adapted  to  be  pushed  ahead  through  the  narrow 
bore  as  the  work  progresses.  Mounted  on  this 
base  is  a  revoluble  platform  which  allows  the 
excavator  to  be  swung  in  a  horizontal  plane  and 
brought  against  the  soil  equally  well  at  the  center 
or  sides  of  the  tunnel.  This  platform  is  operated 
by  gears  controlled  by  the  operator.  The  exca- 
vator proper  consists  of  four  arms  carrying  loop- 
shaped  knives  on  their  extremities  which  are  at- 
tached to  a  revolving  axle  and  project  out  in 
front  of  the  machine.  The  axle  is  carried  cm  a 
frame  which  is  movable  up  and  down  in  a 
vertical  plane,  and  is  also  controlled  by  gears. 
The  horizontal  and  vertical  movements  of  the  ex- 
cavator allow  the  knives  to  cut  into  any  part  of 
the    tunnel    face. 

Motion  is  given  to  the  knives  by  a  worm  gear 
driven  by  the  shaft  of  an  electric  motor  carried 
on  the  machine  and  controlled  by  a  clutch  oper- 
ated by  a  lever  at  the  rear  platform  on  which 
the  operator  stands.  A  motor  of  three  or  four 
horsepower  will  be  all  that  is  necessary  to  operate 
the  machine.  The  dirt  as  it  falls  from  the  knives 
will  be  taken  by  a  motor-driven  conveyor  and 
carried  back  to  cars  in  the  rear  of  the  excavator. 

A  great  amount  of  hand  labor  has  been  done 
so  far  in  the  excavation  of  the  tunnels,  as  their 
small  size  do  not  permit  of  the  use  of  any  other 
power  than  electricity  or  compressed  air,  and  the 
latter  is  not  practicable  for  the  operation  of  such 
a  machine.  By  the  use  of  this  excavator,  however, 
power  can  easily  be  brought  to  the  apparatus, 
even  through  air-locks,  where  they  are  necessary, 
and  the  whole  contrivance  may  be  easily  operated 
by  one  man  who  has  control  of  all  its  movements 
from  the  plantform  on  which  he  stands. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

Telephone  Engineering.1 

By  J.  J.  Carty. 
Part  I. 
Engineering  may  broadly  be  divided  into  two 
classes — civil  and  military.  Military  engineering  is 
that  which  pertains  to  the  conduct  of  war  and  is 
sufficiently  understood  to  require  no  description. 
Civil  engineering,  as  I  am  now  using  the  term, 
comprehends  all  forms  of  engineering  which  are 
conducted  without  special  reference  to  the  opera- 
tions of  war.  Falling  within  this  definition  of  civil 
engineering  we  have  electrical  engineering,  mechan- 
ical engineering,  telegraph  engineering,  telephone 
engineering,  and  some  others.  As  taught  in  col- 
leges, however,  and  as  generally  understood,  civil 
engineering  is  restricted  and  deals  more  especially 
with  that  branch  of  the  art  which  pertains  to  the 
construction  of  bridges,  waterworks,  railroads,  har- 
bor improvements,  and  other  public  works  of  like 
character. 

Inasmuch  as  the  telephone  is  an  electrical  instru- 
ment, and  inasmuch  as  electrical  phenomena  exert 
a  dominating  influence  in  the  telephone  art,  tele- 
phone engineering  is  classed  as  a  branch  of  elec- 
trical engineering,  although  it  will  be  shown  as 
I  proceed  that  telephone  engineering  comprehends 
important  elements  not  at  all  electrical  in  their 
character;  indeed,  it  is  a  recognition  of  the  exist- 
ence of  these  elements  and  a  knowledge  of  how 
to  deal  with  them  adequately  which  constitutes  one 
of  the  important  requirements  of  telephone  engi- 
neering. A  good  knowledge  of  electrical  laws  and 
a  fair  acquaintance  with  electrical  machinery  may 
be  gained  in  our  electrical  schools;  and  graduates 
from  them  are,  as  a  rule,  proficient  in  these  mat- 
ters. 

Telephone  engineering  comprehends  not  only 
these,  but  other  factors,  the  existence  of  which  is 
not  generally  recognized.  In  this  paper  I  shall, 
owing  to  the  limitations  of  the  time  at  my  disposal 
tonight,  attempt  to  explain  the  nature  of  only 
some  of  these  factors,  indicating  their  most  im- 
portant bearing  upon  the  general  subject.  From 
your  own  knowledge  you  will  be  able  to  supply 
many  more  instances,  illustrating  perhaps  better 
than  those  which  I  have  chosen,  the  ideas  which 
I   wish  to  make  plain. 

To  describe  the  proper  scone  of  telephone  engi- 
neering in  its  relation  to  the  telephone  industry  is 
to  consider  the  function  of  the  telephone  engineer. 
Not  so  many  years  ago  it  was^  thought  that  the 
functions  of  the  telephone  engineer  consisted  of 
doing  little  more  than  to  provide  and  install  switch- 
boards. He  was  supposed  to  be  consulted  occa- 
sionally about  the  station  apparatus,  and  later,  when 
cables  were  introduced,  his  activities  were  extended 
so  as  to  include  the  testing  of  cable  after  it  had 
been  bought   and  laid. 

At  the  time  of  which  I  speak,  telephone  com- 
panies took  almost  an  exclusively  switchboard  view 
of  the  telephone  business.  A  building  would  be 
selected  by  someone  connected  with  the  company 
and  the  engineer  would  be  consulted  principally 
as  to  the  selection  of  the  switchboard  and  the 
placing  of  it  in  position.  The  size  and  location  of 
the  building,  its  relation  to  the  existing  and  prob- 
able future  subscribers,  and  all  of  the  vast  number 
of  other  factors  now  considered  so  vital  in  de- 
termining such  matters,  received  but  scant  consid- 
eration. So  it  was  with  cables;  whether  the  cable 
should  contain  wires  of  No.  22,  No.  19,  or  No.  16 
gauge;  whether  the  insulation  should  be  of  cotton, 
rubber  or  gutta  percha — these  were  questions  which 
were  as  likely  to  be  settled  by  the  purchasing 
agent  as  by  the  engineer. 

To  one  acquainted  with  the  conditions  of  those 
times  this  is  not  at  all  surprising,  because  the  tele- 
phone engineer  of  that  period  shared  with  all  the 
rest  of  the  world  the  prevailing  ignorance  concern- 
ing matters  which  have  since  been  proved  by  labori- 
ous investigations  to  be  governed  by  well-estab- 
lished laws,  the  nature  -of  which  was  then  un- 
known. 

The  proper  status  of  telephone  engineering  and 
the  true  scope  of  the  functions  of  the  telephone 
engineer  differ  as  greatly  from  this  primitive  view 
as  does  the  modern  telephone  system  differ  from 
that  which  obtained  in  the  period  about  which  I 
have   just   spoken. 

I  shall  endeavor  to  give  a  correct  view  of  the 
true  scope  of  telephone  engineering,  and  to  do  so 
I  shall  broadly  discuss  a  typical  problem  in  tele- 
phone management,  illustrating  the  various  points 
I  wish  to  make  by  reference  to  certain  details 
which  will  be  considered  in  connection  with  the 
problem  chosen. 

Let  us  take  the  case  of  New  York  city,  with  the 
suburban  territory  tributary  to  it,  and  assume  that 
it  is  the  intention  of  the  telephone  company  to 
install  within  that  territory  a  telephone  system 
which  will  work  at  a  proper  degree  of  efficiency 
and  at  the  same  time  yield  to  the  investor  a  fair 
return  upon  his  investment;  and  that  it  is  neces- 
sary not  only  that  this  condition  should  exist  during 
the  first  stages  of  the  project,  but  that  the  under- 
taking should  be  so  managed  that  this  condition 
will  be  maintained  indefinitely.  With  such  a  prob- 
lem before  the  telephone  management,  what  'part 
of  it  should  the  management  require  the  telephone 
engineer  to  work  out?  I  shall  answer  this  question 
by  describing,  in  general  terms,  and  sometimes,  for 

I.  A  paper  presented  at  the  meetinc  of  the  American  Institute 
of  Electrical  Engineers  in  New  York.  February  23.  1906.  The 
author  is  chief  encineer  of  the  New  York  Telephone  Company. 


March  3,  1906' 

the  purposes  of  illustration,  in  considerable  detail, 
what  should  be  the  work  of  the  telephone  engineer, 
in   such  a  case. 

The  first  question  which  the  engineer  must  de- 
cide is,  What  is  the  period  for  which  such  con- 
struction as  may  be  required  should  be  planned? 
This  is  a  question  of  far-reaching  importance  and 
requires  for  its  answer  that  a  vast  amount  of  data 
should  be  collected,  and  that  careful  and  long- 
continued  study  and  investigation  should  be  given 
to  a  large  number  of  factors  involving,  among  other 
things,  first  cost  and  character  of  construction  of 
the  diverse  portions  of  a  plant  of  such  complicated 
nature,  annual  charges  such  as  maintenance,  de- 
preciation and  interest,  and  local  conditions  bear- 
ing upon  the  possibility  of  the  renewal  or  extension 
at  some  future  time  of  all  of  the  elements  of  the 
plant. 

In  addition  to  this,  due  regard  must  be  paid  to 
possible  changes  in  the  art  and  also  the  fact  that, 
owing  to  the  exigencies  of  the  business,  many  cases 
arise  where  it  is  necessary  to  carry  out  at  the  be- 
ginning,'especially  in  underground  work,  all  of  the 
construction    which    may    ever    be    needed. 

At  the  outset  the  question  of  the  period  for 
which  to  plan  depends  upon  the  expectations  of 
growth.  With  a  given  expectation  of  growth,  the 
engineer,  by  taking  into  account  all  of  the  factors 
of  the  case,  and  balancing  the  annual  charges  re- 
sulting from  the  initial  investment  against  the  cost 
of  reconstruction  and  rearrangement  of  the  plant 
at  some  future  time,  arrives  at  the  economical  pe- 
riod   for    which    to    plan. 

In  this  work  the  predictions  as  to  growth  are  of 
the  first  importance,  and,  inasmuch  as  accurate  pre- 
dictions of  this  kind  are  attended  with  the  greatest 
difficulty,  it  is  essential  that  not  only  the  judgment 
of  the  engineer,  but  that  of  the  business  manage- 
ment and  all  others  who  might  be  able  to  advise 
in  connection  with  the  matter,  should  be  obtained. 
At  this  stage  of  the  work  it  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  the  bearing  of  these  estimates  of 
growth  upon  the  future  of  the  plant  should  be 
thoroughly  understood  by  the  business  management, 
whose  functions,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  exercise 
such  a  profound  effect  upon  the  extent  and  char- 
acter of  such  growth.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  engineer 
to  make  this  point  clear  and  to  obtain  from  the 
business  management  serious  and  responsible  esti- 
mates   of    future   growth. 

The  number  of  lines  which  may  be  expected  hav- 
ing been  agreed  upon,  the  question  of  for  how 
long  a  period  ahead  we  should  plan  is  determined 
by  a  number  of  circumstances.  For  such  condi- 
tions as  obtain  at  New  York,  the  period  for  much 
of  the  construction  has  been  found  to  be  from  17 
to  20  years.  This  figure  is  arrived  at  by  taking 
into  account  a  large  number  of  factors,  such  as 
life  of  the  central-office  switchboard,  which  is  placed 
at  about  15  years,  the  relative  costs  of  placing  in 
the  subways  a  large  number  ot  ducts  initially  as 
compared  with  adding  new  ducts  after  a  period 
of  about  20  years,  the  uncertainty  regarding  the 
changes  in  the  state  of  the  art,  and  the  difficulty 
of  foretelling  with  sufficient  detail  conditions  which 
are  expected  to  obtain  during  a  period  so  far  ahead 
as  20  years. 

In  the  case  chosen  for  illustration,  which  was 
New  York,  the  economical  period  was  found  to  be 
about  20  years,  and  it  was  attempted  to  plan  for 
conditions  which  would  obtain  in  the  year  1920 
and  for  each  year  up  to  that  date.  The  total  num- 
ber of  lines  to  be  provided  for  in  the  island  of 
Manhattan  is  300,000.  The  working  out  of  the 
general  plans  for  providing  for  this  number  of 
lines,  which  it  was  expected  would  be  reached  by 
the  year  1920,  constitutes  what  is  known  as  the 
"300,000-line  study."  To  give  an  idea  of  the  nature 
of  part  of  the  work  of  the  telephone  engineer,  I 
shall  outline  in  general  terms  the  character  of  this 
study. 

Having  determined  upon  300,000  lines  as  the 
proper  foundation  of  the  study,  and  having  re- 
ceived the  proper  authorization  from  the  business 
management  to  proceed  on  that  basis,  the  next  step 
is  to  plot  on  a  map  the  probable  distribution  of 
these  lines.  This  is  done,  not  by  giving  the  loca- 
tion of  each  line,  but  by  indicating  by  blocks  the 
most  probable  distribution.  Here  again  the  judg- 
ment of  the  engineer  must  be  assisted  and  directed 
by  the  business  management,  for  next  in  impor- 
tance to  determining  the  total  number  of  lines  to 
be  provided  for  comes  the  question  of  their  dis- 
tribution. 

The  number  and  distribution  of  lines  having  been 
agreed  upon,  the  next  step  is  to  determine  the  num- 
ber and  arrangement  of  central-office  districts,  the 
size  and  boundaries  of  these  districts  and  the  size 
and   location   of  the  central-office   switchboards. 

It  is  conceivable,  although  obviously  impractic- 
able, that  all  of  the  300,000  lines  might  be  _  ex- 
tended to  one  central  office  and  operated  in  switch- 
boards there;  it  is  only  necessary  to  state  such  a 
proposition  to  exclude  it  from  further  considera- 
tion. On  the  other  hand,  it  is  conceivable  that  a 
central  office  might  be  established  in  each  block; 
this  also  is  absurd  and  needs  no  further  considera- 
tion. Somewhere  between  these  two  extremes  must 
lie  the  most  economical  size  and  number  of  central 
offices.  The  next  stage  in  the  problem  is  to  deter- 
mine this  number;  to  do  this  no  formula,  simple 
or  otherwise,  is  available.  The  only  practicable 
method  is  to  lay  out  the  territory  to  be  served, 
in   accordance  with  a  number  of  different  arrange- 


March  3,  [906 


WESTERN     hl.l  1 


183 


hi.  hi  .  1,1  di  tricl     and  ccntct  ay  with 

10  1  enters  and  extending  the  si 

'      10  "i     i",    "i    ■   'ii    11 In   tl 

these  at  rangi  mi  nl     tl rould  he  1 

of  1  0  1   uln.  h  would  not  be  1  hangi  'I  I.,   tin 

.■Hi  arrangement     of  1  cnl  ral  offii  ■      ■    1  mi         Bid 

« B   and      1:111011    in  iti  mi 

these,      I  In'  ;c   element     1    ari     01 

the   comparison.     All   of   the    il 1    cost     hi 

ever,    which    vary    with    thi     diffcrci bcr    and 

arrangement  of  central  office    i 1 1    --ill  of 

these  being  reduced  to  annual  1  hat  gi 

From    these    figures,    as    applied    to    thi 
layouts,  the  number  of  central  office     and  the  di 

triets   which   are   ideally   mosl    econoi 1   may   !«■ 

seen.  I  say  ideally  mosl  economical  for  the  rea 
vim  that  the  practical  application  of  such  n  ull 
requires   that  a   difficult   and    very  complicated   ad- 

111  inn  hi  of  the  existing  plant,  1 nform  as  nearly 

as  possible  to  the  ideal  condition,  mu  1  bi  carried 
out. 

While  it  must  appear,  even  from  thi  briel  tat 
iiiiiii  nf  the  steps  of  the  study  thus  far  dc  cribed, 
thai  a  vast  amount  of  labor  and  computation  arc 
involved,  ii  by  no  means  represents  all  that  musl 
be  done.  Before  there  can  I"'  made  a  compari  on 
ni  the  relal  ivc  economies  of  the  \  ariou  group 
of  offices,  a  series  of  studies  within  studies  mu  I 
be  carried  out  upon  many  other  important  elements 
of  the  problem. 

The  first  of  these  is  the  switchboard  study.  Bc- 
Fore  the  switchboard  study  can  lie  made,  general 
methods  of  operating  must  be  agreed  upon;  such 
as  the  method  of  handling  toll  business;  whether 
ii  shall  be  done  wholly  upon  a  toll  hoard  or  partly 
upon  a  toll  board  and  partly  direct  from  "A" 
positions;  whether  it  shall  be  done  wholly  upon 
a  "two-number"  basis  or  substantially  upon  a  "par- 
ticular-party" basis.  The  best  method  of  handling 
local  business  must  be  determined.  It  must  be 
decided  whether  the  business  shall  be  upon  call  wires 
in  otherwise;  what  shall  be  the  capacity  of  the 
call  wire;  what  shall  be  the  load  which  will  be 
assigned  to  various  operators  in  the  system,  this 
in  turn  being  dependent,  among  other  things,  upon 
the  character  of  the  service  which  it  is  thought 
necessary    to    render. 

Having  agreed  upon  these  and  othqr  funda- 
mental data,  the  question  of  the  best  type  of  switch- 
board, whether  it  shall  be  full  multiple  or  partial 
multiple,  whether  it  shall  be  of  the  transfer  type 
or  otherwise,  must  be  settled.  The  limit,  so  far  as 
size  is  concerned,  of  the  multiple  board,  or  any 
other  type  which  may  be  considered,  must  be  de- 
termined. Also  there  must  be  settled  a  very  large 
number  of  questions  cropping  out  at  every  point 
involving  maintenance  and  operating  expenses  and 
methods.  All  of  these  factors  having  been  duly 
weighed,  the  maximum  size  and  type  of  switchboard 
is  agreed  upon. 

The  switchboard  determinations  having  been 
made,  the  type  of  cable  to  be  employed  must  be 
settled  upon.  Here  again  a  series  of  studies  is 
necessary.  Of  first  importance  in  the  cable  study 
is  the  determination  of  the  standard  of  transmis- 
sion which  is  to  be  employed,  not  only  for  talk 
between  offices  within  a  zone  such  as  Manhattan 
Island,  but  also  the  standard  of  transmission  which 
it  is  necessary  to  maintain  between  Manhattan  Is- 
land and  the  suburbs  and  between  various  points  in 
the  suburbs  passing  through  Manhattan,  and  to 
long-distant  points.  The  importance  of  this  deter- 
mination will  appear  when  we  consider  the  stand- 
ard already  adopted  as  the  Manhattan  standard, 
which  is,  assuming  the  use  of  the  present  common- 
battery  apparatus,  that  the  cable  employed  in  Man- 
hattan shall  at  all  times  be  such  that  it  will  give 
in  the  worst  case  a  talk  as  good  as  could  be  ob- 
tained between  two  central  offices  joined  by  a  trunk 
cable  of  10  miles  of  the  standard  type  having  the 
No.  19  gauge  conductors,  with  a  mutual  capacity 
of  0.07.  If  this  standard  were  lowered  so  as  to 
employ  the  use  of  No.  22  gauge  cable  instead  of 
No.  19,  it  would  permit  the  use  of  a  trunk  cable 
costing  half  as  much  as  that  required  by  the  pres- 
ent standard,  thus  reducing  the  number  of  ducts 
required,  and  in  that  way  profoundly  affecting  the 
results    of   the    study. 

Tn  considering  the  type  of  cable  employed,  not 
only  must  the  standard  of  transmission  be  borne 
in  mind,  but  in  determining  upon  the  specifications 
for  the  various  types  of  cable  needed  a  long  series 
of  special  studies  is  required.  These  are  conducted 
with  a  view  to  determining  upon  that  form  of 
construction  in  each  case  which  will  give  the  high- 
est standard  of  transmission  and  at  the  same  time 
preserve  the  best  mechanical  conditions  needed  for 
hauling  in  and  out  of  the  duct,  and  also  be  so 
constructed  electrically  and  mechanically  as  to  re- 
quire a  minimum  of  attention  from  the  maintenance 
point  of  view.  Not  only  must  the  various  types 
of  cable  be  carefully  fixed  upon  when  considered 
strictly  from  the  cable  point  of  view,  but  where 
suburban  and  long-distance  circuits  are  to  be  con- 
sidered the  problem  of  loading  cables  presents  it- 
self. This  involves  so  much  work  and  study  that 
to  give  even  a  brief  outline  of  what  it  involves 
would  require  a  paper  which  itself  would  extend 
far  beyond  the  limits  of  the  time  allotted  for  this 
very   general    statement   of  the    case. 

The  general  features  of  the  study  having  been 
determined  upon  and  the  time  having  arrived  to  erect 
a  given  central  office  at  a  center  previously  located, 
the  question  of  obtaining  the  necessary   real   estate 


ter,     Pn 

1 .    1  ho  .  11    .-,!,:,  h,    takinf 

which  the  pn 

ildinjr,   v.lui  h   ii 

ear.  fully   worked  out   before   a    report   can    b 
to    thi     managi  mi  nl     1  tting    fortl    tb 

in  oil,.  1    word     i"  ' 

CVCI 

idcrcd,  '  different  building 

ricd   befot      I 

determined      ^ftci    th    1    m 

upon,    Me     detail     of  I    the    building 

lllll      I        lii  llll   I   !     ■    ' 

■  od,    naturally    invo  unt   of 

ering    worl 

I,"     [a;    1    !      1    h    lil       ketchci 
■  1    ti  lepliom  di  vi  lopi I     tud  ■  ire  par- 

ticularly concerned  with  the  local  plant,  b 
thi  !'  -  d  plant  must  be,  as  timi  - 
and  more  intimately  connected  with  neighboring 
plants  in  the  suhurlis.  and  with  more  distant  plants 
reached  by  long-distance  wires,  most  careful  study 
must  be  given  to  the  best  methods  of  establishing 
proper   relations  with  those  plants. 

Without  attempting  to  outline  in  any  detail  the 
nature  and  extent  of  the  work  involved  in  the  meth- 
ods employed  in  making  a  suburban  toll  lim 
and  without  going  at  all  into  the  quest:, 
methods  of  establishing  the  service  to  long-distance 
points,  I  will  say  that,  considering  the  broad  fea- 
tures of  these  various  classes  of  conditions,  it  has 
been  found  best,  in  the  particular  case  which  I 
have  taken  for  my  example,  to  divide  the  telephone 
business  into  three  classes — local,  suburban  and 
long-distance. 

In  determining  what  shall  constitute  the  local 
class  the  engineer  finds  himself  engaged  in  a  prob- 
lem of  great  magnitude  which  primarily  concerns 
the  business  management  and  which  is  affected 
by  important  public  and  economic  considerations 
as  well  as  by  engineering  factors  and  methods. 
If  the  local  zone  is  made  too  extensive  it  greatly 
increases  the  magnitude  of  the  trunk-line  plant 
from  which  no  toll  revenue  can  be  derived.  This 
fact  reacts  upon  the  rates  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  make  it  impossible  to  give  as  low  a  station  rate 
as  might  otherwise  be  the  case.  This  tends  to 
restrict  the  growth  of  stations,  and  hence  will  act 
as  a  check  upon  the  growth  of  the  business  at 
large. 

The  local  zones  having  been  determined  upon,  it 
must  next  be  decided  what  shall  be  the  limits  of 
the  suburban  business  and  what  shall  be  classed 
as  long-distance  business.  Without  attempting  to 
explain  the  various  points  necessary  to  be  taken 
into  account  in  determining  these  questions,  I  will 
say  that  they  involve  not  only  those  physical  fac- 
tors ordinarily  considered  to  constitute  engineering, 
but  that  they  involve  the  methods  of  calling  which 
may  be  permissible  on  the  part  of  the  subscriber, 
the  entire  system  of  toll  rates  which  may  be  adopted 
by  the  telephone  company,  the  question  of  whether 
the  subscribers'  names  and  numbers  should  be  listed 
or  not,  and  other  questions  of  this  nature. 

When  I  review  the  outline  of  the  methods  and 
magnitude  of  a  telephone-development  study,  such 
as  I  have  here  brief!},  sketched,  I  am  not  sur- 
prised that  some  who  superficially  consider  the  sub- 
ject are  inclined  to  doubt  the  value  of  results  ob- 
tained in  this  way.  This  feeling  is  strengthened 
wrhen  they  consider  the  nature  of  some  of  the 
fundamental  data  upon  which  all  of  the  work 
rests.  For  instance,  unless  there  is  made  a  fairly 
correct  forecast  of  the  probable  growth  of  sub- 
scribers' lines  for  a  period  of  15  or  20  years  in 
advance,  it  is  clear  that  substantial  errors  will  be 
made ;  but,  more  than  this,  it  is  necessary  not  only 
to  forecast  the  total  number  of  lines  expected,  but 
their  location  must  be  determined  within  close  lim- 
its. But  this  is  by  no  means  all.  Not  only  must 
the  location  of  the  lines  be  decided  upon,  but  the 
number  of  calls  per  day  which  may  be  expected 
over  each  line  must  be  estimated ;  not  only  must 
the  number  of  calls  which  are  expected  be  cor- 
rectly determined,  but  the  time  of  the  day  during 
which  these  calls  may  be  expected  must  be  arrived 
at  in  some  manner.  Even  more  than  this  must  be 
done,  because  it  is  necessary  not  only  to  know  all 
of  these  facts,  but  also  it  must  be  known  where 
the  calls  are  to  go.  We  must  also  know  what  pro- 
portion of  these  are  likely  to  be  toll  calls,  what 
proportion  long-distance  calls,  and  various  other 
factors   of  like   nature    must    be    determined. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  telephone  develop- 
ment, as  thus  viewed,  and  as  correctly  viewed, 
presents  abundant  opportunities  for  errors,  and  that 
such  errors  must  lead  to  expenditures  of  large  sums 
of  money,  which,  if  infallible  data  were  obtained, 
would   not   be    required. 

But  conceding  all  this,  what  is  the  alternative 
method  which  we  can  follow?     If  we  are  to  aban- 


what 
1  more 

might    I 

cablet 

trunk  In  I,   and 

luch    a    plan 

»t,    after    all,    in    fo 

which 

while    it   migl 

called    common-«nse 
vh   unconscious 
and    in.  lertvxu 

propout  with    in  the    form.,! 

If.    folio  en**  method,   it   is   de- 

1    central-office 
building   with   a  switchboard  ize,  this 

trict  of  some 
definite  form.  If,  as  would  of  course  be  the  case, 
other  central-office  buildings  arc  erected  at  other 
location  constructed   with  ref- 

erence to  fixed  districts  and  their  number  must  be 
led   with   reference  to  the  expected  growth 
in    subscribers;    so    'hat.    after    all,    the    magnitude 
of    the   expected    growth    i     a    factor   which   is   un- 
consciously   dealt    with.     But    in    determining    upon 
the    size    of    the    switchboard    and    its   construction, 
■  definite,  though  un- 
witting,   answer    is    made   to   the   questions  of   what 
shall  be  the  rate  of  calling,  what  shall  be  the  des- 
of  the  calls,  what   shall  be  their  character, 
and    at    what    time    they    shall    occur.     The    switch- 
id   building  must  be  planned   for  some  set 
of    conditions,  which    can    be    established    only    by 
data  of  this  character.     Merely  ignoring  these  qucs- 
id    erecting   the    switchboard    and    arranging 
central    offices    without    makinir    a    study    does    not 
avoid  answering  the  questions,  for  by  the  construc- 
tion carried  out  a  direct  and  unequivocal  answer  to 
all   of  these  questions   is   made,  yet  without  giving 
consideration   to  any  of  them   or   even   recognizing 
their  existence. 

So  it  is  with  subway  construction.  It  is  easy 
enough,  after  central  offices  have  been  located,  to 
plan  for  a  subway  joining  those  offices,  but  some- 
body must  answer  the  question  of  how  many  ducts 
shall  be  provided  in  this  subway.  This  can  be  done 
by  the  method  outlined  in  describing  the  study,  or 
it  can  he  determined  at  the  time  by  somebody  who 
is  opening  the  streets.  It  may  be  done,  on  the  one 
hand,  by  engineers  after  careful  study,  with  all 
the  facts  before  them,  and  after  having  analyzed 
the  statistics  of  the  past,  and  having  exhausted  all 
possible  methods  of  throwing  light  upon  the  sub- 
ject; or  it  may  be  done  by  a  man  in  the  street 
with  a  pickax.  Those  who  would  follow  the  pickax 
method  would  not  avoid  questions  which  the  engi- 
neer has  recognized  and  has  undertaken  to  answer. 
They  would,  by  the  number  of  ducts  they  would 
put  down  and  by  the  character  and  magnitude  of 
the  other  construction,  give  their  answer  to  all  of 
these  questions  without  having  considered  any  of 
them.  As  to  which  of  these  two  methods  should 
be  followed  the  telephone  company  must  decide. 

Thus  far  in  my  outline  of  that  part  of  the  tele- 
phone engineer's  duties  which  pertain  to  develop- 
ment studies  I  have  dealt  more  particularly  with 
the  physical  features  of  the  work.  Ordinarily, 
engineering  has  to  do  principally,  if  not  exclu- 
sively, with  physical  factors,  but  telephone  engi- 
neering has  not  only  to  deal  with  physical  factors 
of  the  utmost  complexity,  but  it  has  also  to  deal 
with  commercial  questions  which,  of  themselves, 
would  seem  to  be  only  remotely  connected  with 
the  work  of  the  telephone  engineer,  but  which 
really  vitally  affect  it.  Telephone  engineering  pre- 
sents more  factors  of  this  nature  than.  I  think,  are 
to  be  found  in  many  other,  branches.  Take  the 
case  of  a  civil  engineer  who  has  before  him  the 
problem  of  constructing  a  masonry  dam.  This 
presents  an  instance  involving  solely  physical  fac- 
tors. The  stability  of  the  dam  or  its  capabilities 
of  impounding  the  necessary  amount  of  water  are 
in  no  way  affected  by  any  action  which  the  board 
of  directors  of  the  waterworks  company  may  take 
with  reference  to  its  dealings  with  their  cus- 
tomers. 

It  is  not  so  with  telephone  engineering,  for,  as 
I  will  presently  show,  a  telephone  toll  line  and 
switchboard  system  might  be  designed  in  accord- 
ance with  the  highest  state  of  the  art  and  con- 
structed so  as  to  give  the  best  efficiency,  and  yet 
by  the  action  of  the  business  management,  causing 
the  adoption  of  what  might  seem  to  be  a  reason- 
able commercial  practice,  the  operativeness  of  the 
switchboard  system  might  be  totally  destroyed. 
This  idea  will  be  readily  comprehended  when  we 
consider  what  would  happen  to  the  present  toll 
board  at  Cortlandt  Street,  operating  on  the  record- 
ing basis,  using  the  two-number  method  of  call- 
ing, if.  by  some  change  in  business  plans,  the  par- 
ticular-party   method    in    use    extensively    in  many 


1 84 

other  localities  were  adopted.  Only  a  brief  con- 
sideration of  this  case  is  required  to  show  that,  in 
addition  to  the  present  recording  operator,  a  sec- 
ond set  of  operators  would  have  to  be  employed, 
who  would  be  required  to  call  up  the  subscriber 
desiring  the  toll  connection  and  obtain  from  him 
the  details  of  his  call.  The  adoption  of  such  a 
method,  while  in  itself  a  wasteful  and  inefficient 
one,  would  in  the  case  I  have  chosen  require  the 
radical  reconstruction  of  our  entire  tollboard  plant. 
More  than  this,  the  adoption  of  such  a  method 
would  render  it  impracticable  to  follow  the  direct- 
line  trunking  method  which  is  now  possible  by  the 
use  of  the  two-number  plan  of  calling.  The 
abandonment  of  this  method  would  require  such 
toll  lines  be  handled  from  tollboards.  The  mag- 
nitude of  the  revolution  which  this  would  make 
in  the  engineer's  plans  will  be  seen  when  I  say 
that  whereas,  by  the  two-number  method,  one  toll- 
board  occupying  one  floor  of  the  Cortlandt  Street 
exchange  is  sufficient,  there  would  be  required,  if 
the  particular-party  method  were  employed  ex- 
clusively, as  many  as  five  or  six  tollboards  occu- 
pying five  or  six  floors  in  the  Cortlandt  Street 
building,  and  requiring  five  or  six  times  as  many 
operators  for  their  working.  This  is  one  of  the 
best  examples  which  could  be  given  as  showing 
the  peculiar  relation  which  obtains  between  tele- 
phone engineering  and  the  business  management 
of  telephone   companies. 

ITo    be    concluded.] 


Speech  Reporting  by  Televant. 

At  the  office  of  the  Grand  Rapids  (Mich.)  Her- 
ald recently  reporters  were  enabled  to  take  down  in 
full  the  speech  of  Secretary  of  War  Taft,  who 
spoke  before  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  at  De- 
troit, 195  miles  away.  This  was  made  possible 
by  the  use  of  the  "televant,"  provided  by  the  Michi- 
gan State  Telephone  Company.  Two  transmitters 
were  placed  within  15  feet  of  the  speaker's  table 
in  Detroit,  and  the  words  of  the  speaker  were  far 
more  clear  in  Grand  Rapids,  it  is  said,  than  to 
listeners  at  the  farther  tables  in  the  hall  where 
they  were  actually  delivered.  Before  the  speech 
of  Secretary  Taft  the  reporters  listened  to  the  en- 
tire programme  of  the  Temple  Theater  in  Detroit, 
hearing    the    music    perfectly. 

The  "televant"  is  a  supersensitive  telephone  trans- 
mitter. The  idea  of  using  it  for  the  transmission 
of  speeches,  music  and  other  sounds  over  a  long 
distance  is  ascribed  to  James  F.  Land  of  Detroit, 
general  manager  of  the  Michigan  State  Telephone 
Company.  The  transmitter  is  smaller  than  the  one 
in  commercial  use.  It  lies  pointing  toward  the 
ceiling  and  responds  to  sound  vibrations  from  any 
part  of  the  room,  although  it  is  generally  placed 
near  the  speaker.  At  the  banquet  of  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  in  Detroit,  the  transmitters,  two  in 
number,  were  hidden  in  a  bower  of  foliage,  about 
15  feet  in  front  of  the  speakers.  The  receivers 
in   Grand   Rapids  did  not  differ  from  the   ordinary 

type. 

With  an  instrument  capable  of  reproducing  the 
vibrations  of  the  human  voice,  difficulty  is  ex- 
perienced, it  is  said,  in  reproducing  music.  The 
great  difference  in  the  volume  of  sound  makes  it 
necessary  to  have  two  transmitters,  one  for  music 
and  one  for  the  voice.  These  are  used  as  neces- 
sary and  are  switched  on  or  off  by  an  attendant 
at  the  central  office.  The  telephonic  impulses  from 
Detroit  were  carried  to  Grand  Rapids  over  a  trunk 
line  of  No.  8  copper  wire,  weighing  340  pounds  to 
the    mile. 


NEW  COMPANIES. 

The  Cushing  (Okla.)  Telephone  Company  has 
been  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $2,000  by  W.  W. 
Oder  and  others. 

C.  A.  Townsend  and  associates  of  Page.  Neb., 
have  incorporated  as  the  Page  Telephone  Company. 
The  capital  is  $10,000. 

The  Bryson  City  (N.  C.)  Telephone  Company 
has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$5,000  by  R.   L.    Sandridge   and  others. 

Adam  Brendle  is  interested  in  the  Hickman 
Telephone  Company  of  Hickman,  Neb.,  which  has 
been  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $6,000. 

The  Farmers  Telephone  Company  of  Clatonia, 
Neb.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $2,400.  W.  B.  Syker  and  associates  are  the 
incorporators. 

The  York-Troy  Telephone  Company  has  been 
incorporated  at  Lily,  S.  D.,  with  a  capital  of  $1,750. 
The  incorporators  are  R.  P.  Korgard,  M.  A.  Han- 
son,  A.  Knoble  and  others. 

The  following-named  telephone  companies  have 
recently  been  incorporated  in  Kansas :  Assaria 
Telephone  Company  of  Assaria.  Bunker  Hill  Tele- 
phone Company  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  the  Benton 
Telephone   Company  of  Benton. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

Indiana  Telephone  Items. 

The  City  Council  of  Princeton  has  ordered  the 
Princeton  Independent  Telephone  Company  to  re- 
move all  poles  and  lines  from  the  streets  and 
alleys  of  the  city  within  60  days.  The  complaint 
against  the  company  is  that  it  has  wilfully  vio- 
lated the  provisions  of  its  franchise  by  the  failure 
to  paint  its  poles  and  to  furnish  telephones  for 
the   city  officials. 

The  Arlington  Telephone  Company,  doing  busi- 
ness in  Arlington  and  Rush  County,  has  ordered 
plans  for  the  erection  of  a  new  exchange  building. 

The  Central  Union  Telephone  Company  has  en- 
tered upon  the  work  of  extensive  improvements 
at  Columbus.  O.  M.  May,  resident  manager,  says 
the  work  will  commence  in  a  few  weeks.  If  a 
new  exchange  building  is  not  erected,  the  present 
building   will   be    thoroughly   remodeled. 

The  Central  Union  Telephone  Company  an- 
nounces that  its  plants  at  Greensburg,  Conners- 
ville,  Richmond  and  Muncie  will  be  rebuilt  this 
year. 

The  Central  Union  Telephone  Company'  is  erect- 
ing two  branch  exchanges  in  Indianapolis,  one 
near  Fountain  Square  on  the  South  Side,  and  the 
other  at  Eighteenth  and  Rural  streets,  on  the 
North  Side.  The  company  already  has  three 
branches    of    its    main   exchange   on    Ohio    Street. 

The  Illinois  Central  Railway  Company  is  stretch- 
ing copper  wire  along  the  tracks  of  the  Indianap- 
olis and  Southern,  a  new  railroad  about  completed 
in  Indiana.  A  complete  duplicate  telegraph  and 
telephone  service  is  being  installed  along  the  entire 
line. 

A  farmer  near  Bedford  seeing  his  neighbor's 
house  on  fire,  called  his  neighbor,  and  the  ringing 
of  the  telephone  bell  is  all  that  awakened  the  fam- 
ily   and    enabled    it   to    escape. 

A  meeting  of  the  directors  of  the  Indianapolis 
Telephone  Company  will  be  held  in  Indianapolis 
next  week.  Several  important  questions  will  be 
brought  up,  among  them  the  application  for  a  new 
franchise  with  a  provision  permitting  the  company 
to  increase  its  rates.  This  application  is  likely  to 
precipitate  a  vigorous  agitation  by  the  citizens, 
since  it  has  already  been  conducive  to  many  wild 
rumors.  A.  L.  Tetu  of  Nashville,  Tenn.,  will  re- 
move to  Indianapolis,  to  take  up  his  duties  as 
general    manager. 

The  Scott  Creek  Telephone  Company,  capitalized 
at  $3,000,  has  incorporated  to  build  an  exchange 
and  telephone  system  in  Scott  Creek  and  Johnson 
County.  The  incorporators  are  George  T.  Shuck, 
R.  W.  Parkhurst  and  B.  F.  Cole. 

The  Peru  Common-battery  Lock-out  Telephone 
Company  has  incorporated  with  the  view  of  estab- 
lishing a  manufacturing  plant  in  Peru  to  manufac- 
ture and  sell  a  device  for  a  common-battery  lock- 
out telephone  patented  by  Marke  P.  Boone.  The 
capital  stock  is  $7,000.  The  incorporators  are 
Jerome  Herff,  L.  B.  Fulwiler,  Marke  P.  Boone, 
E.  H.   Griswold  and  Joseph   Andres.  S. 


Telephone   News  from    the   Northwest. 

The  Waseca  Telephone  Company  of  Waseca, 
Minn.,  expects  to  make  extensive  improvements 
and  extensions  to  its  system  during  the  coming 
season. 

The  North  Side  exchange  of  the  Northwestern 
Telephone  Exchange  Company  in  Minneapolis  will 
have  a  new  building  erected  during  the  summer, 
contracts    for    which    have    been    praced. 

The  York-Troy  Telephone  Company  has  been 
incorporated   at  Lilly,    S.    D.,   with  $1,750   capital. 

The  Northwestern  Telephone  Exchange  Company 
has  bought  js.  site  in  Jamestown,  N.  D.,  and  will 
erect  thereon  a  fireproof  telephone-exchange  build- 
ing. 

The  Fox  River  Valley  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company  of  Green  Bay,  Wis.,  has  arranged  to 
build  75  miles  of  toll-line  extensions  the  coming 
season. 

The  Grant  County  Telephone  Company  will  in- 
stall a  central-enersv  system  for  the  city  exchange 
at   Milbank,    S.    D."' 

A.  T.  Averil  and  G.  M.  Averil,  both  of  Cedar 
Rapids,  Iowa,  have  purchased  one-half  of  the  $46,- 
000  worth  of  stock  in  the  Johnson  County  Tele- 
phone Company.  A.  T.  Averil  becomes  president 
and    J.    Chatham    secretary-treasurer. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Northeastern  Iowa 
Independent  Telephone  Association  was  held  at 
Vinton    on  February    13th. 


C.  A.  Fobes,  manager  of  the  Minnesota  Central 
Telephone  Company  at  Long  Prairie,  Minn.,  has 
been  transferred  to  the  management  of  the  Spring- 
field (Minn.)  office  of  the  company.  Mr.  McKen- 
zie  of   Sleepy  Eye  will   go  to   Long  Prairie. 


Ohio  Telephone  Notes. 

Several  Toledo  telephone  men  held  a  conference 
with  the  officers  of  the  Cuyahoga  Telephone  Com- 
pany in  Cleveland  last  week  relative  to  the  pur- 
chase of  additional  stock  of  that  company.  This 
syndicate  some  time  ago  purchased  a  block  of  the 
stock.  Little  has  been  made  public  regarding  the 
conference,  so  it  is  not  known  whether  the  Toledo 
men  desire  to  secure  a  controlling  interest  in  the 
company  or  not. 

The  Cincinnati'  and  Suburban  Bell  Telephone 
Company  has  received  a  large  number  of  answers 
to  its  inquiry  as  to  whether  subscribers  want  two 
telephone  systems  in  the  city.  It  is  said  that  most 
of  them  answered  in  the  negative,  but  many  of 
them  stated  that  they  desire  a  lower  rate^  The 
company  has  just  announced  quite  a  material  re- 
duction   in    rates    on    measured    service    and  adver- 


March  3,  1906 

tised  the  fact  in  half-page  space  in  the  Cincinnati 
daily    papers. 

The  strike  of  the  linemen  and  other  electrical 
workers  of  the  Cuyahoga  Telephone  Company  has 
been  settled  by  an  increase  in  the  wages  from 
$2.50  to  $2.85  a  day,  but  without  participation  in 
the   profit-sharing  as  has  been  the  case  formerly. 

A  hearing  on  the  Independent  telephone  matter 
was  had  before  the  council  committee  on  tele- 
phones and  telegraphs  at  Cincinnati  a  few  days 
ago,  but  nothing  definite  was  done.  Some  of  the 
companies  presented  letters  from  business  men  in 
different  cities,  where  the  Independents  are  oper- 
ating, showing  that  rates  had  been  reduced.  The 
Queen  City  Home  Telephone  Company  presented 
an  outline  showing  the  extent  of  its  business.       C. 


Telephone  Rate  Agitation  in  Chicago. 

Negotiations  between  the  Chicago  Council  com- 
mittee on  gas,  oil  and  electric  light  and  the  Chi- 
cago Telephone  Company,  following  the  Illinois 
Supreme  Court  decision  referred  to  in  the  Western 
Electrician  last  week,  have  not  yet  developed 
anything  definite,  although  the  newspapers  have 
printed  columns  to  show  that  the  present  rates 
and  service  are  unsatisfactory  and  that  the  com- 
pany must  be  forced  to  make  substantial  conces- 
sions while  it  is  on  the  defensive.  President 
Arthur  D.  Wheeler  of  the  Chicago  Telephone 
Company  has  just  returned  from  a  trip  to  Mexico. 
His  return  may  hasten  some  definite  action  as  to 
the  lower-rate  agitation. 

There  are  rumors  that  various  other  companies 
or  projected  companies  are  seeking  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  situation  by  offering  to  supply  tele- 
phone service  in  Chicago  at  low  rates.  One  of 
these,  mentioned  by  Mayor  Dunne,  who  is  zeal- 
ously advocating  lower  telephone  rates,  is  the 
Wapaul  Electric  Company.  The  United  States 
Telephone  Company  has  been  mentioned  also.  In 
relation  to  this  report  a  Cleveland  correspondent 
writes : 

"So  far  as  can  be  ascertained  at  Cleveland,  no 
action  has  been  taken  by  the  United  States  Tele- 
phone Company  to  secure  an  entrance  into  Chi- 
cago, although  it  has  for  a  long  time  been  the 
intention  of  the  management  to  build  a  trunk  line 
into  that  city  when  the  proper  time  comes.  Like- 
wise it  has  been  planned  by  telephone  men  in  St. 
Louis,  Indianapolis,  Minneapolis,  the  Iowa  pro- 
moters and  others  to  secure  connections  with  that 
city.  All  the  Independent  companies  would  prob- 
ably go  into  the  city  on  one  pole  line  or  at  least  one 
right-of-way  when  the  project  is  ripe.  With  the 
rapid  development  that  is  now  taking  place  the 
time  is  not  far  distant  when  it  will  be  necessary 
for  the  various  lines  to  make  connections  in  Chi- 
cago in  order  to  secure  a  satisfactory  interchange 
of  business. 

"James  B.  Hoge,  president  of  the  National-Inter- 
state Telephone  Association,  says  that  it  has  always 
been  the  policy  of  the  long-distance  companies  to 
wait  for  local  men  to  install  exchanges  in  the 
various  cities  and  that  they  have  expected  a  move 
of  some  kind  in  that  direction  at  Chicago.  It 
has  been  rather  slow  in  coming,  however.  It  has 
been  the  idea  all  along  that  the  Automatic  com- 
pany would  make  arrangements  whereby  satis- 
factory connection  with  the  city  might  be  made, 
but  it  seems  that  nothing  has  yet  been  done. 
Independent  men,  or  some  of  them  at  least,  still 
feel  that  this  will  be  the  plan  of  entry,  but  others 
have   different  ideas." 

The  automatic  telephone  service  referred  to  is  that 
of  the  Illinois  Tunnel  Company.  It  serves  only  the 
central  business  district  and  has  no  out-of-town  con- 
nections, it  is  believed. 


Cumberland  Company  Gets   Telephone 
Franchise  fn  Evansville. 

By  a  vote  of  7  to  3,  the  grant  of  a  franchise 
by  the  Board  of  Public  Works  to  the  Cumberland 
Telephone  Company  (Bell)  was  ratified  last  week 
by  the  City  Council  of  Evansville,  Ind.  Nearly 
four  hours  were  given  to  the  discussion  by  citi- 
zens and  members  of  the  council  who  advocated 
and  who  opposed  the  franchise.  This  proceeding 
ends  a  dozen  years  of  contention  and  litigation. 
Ttie  company  will  immediately  pay  into  the  treas- 
ury over  $12,000  as  back  compensation,  and  three 
per  cent,  of  the  gross  receipts  will  go  to  the  city 
every  year.  Subscribers  who  are  now  paying  $1 
a  month  will  continue  to  pay  that  rate.  On  four- 
party  lines  the  charge  will  be  $1.50.  Exclusive 
business  lines  are  reduced  from  $5.50  to  $5  a 
month.  The  franchise  is  said  to  have  advantages 
for  the  city,  and  it  is  approved,  it  is  said,  by  a 
majority  of  the  people.  The  Independents  are  still 
pressing  their  claims  for  a  franchise,  and  it  is 
thought    that   they    will    ultimately    succeed. 


Bell  Output  for  January. 

The  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany reports  for  the  month  of  January,  1906,  as 
follows :  Gross  output,  176,607,  against  130,634  for 
the  corresponding  month  in  1905 ;  90,644  in  1904, 
and  129,837  in  1903 ;  returned,  63,224,  against  37,700 
last  year,  36,854  in  1904,  and  43,286  in  1903;  net 
output,  113,383,  against  92,934  last  year,  53,790  in 
1904,  and  86,551  in  1903;  outstanding  January  31, 
5,8r  1,641,  against  4,573,498  last  'year,  3,833,307  in 
1904,  and  3,236,871  in   1903. 


March  3,  1906 

GENERAL  TELEPHONE   NEWS 

Stephens,    Ark.,    has    granted    a    ti 
,  in  e  i"  Lew  1     Brothci  1. 

Frank   M.   Smith    lias   been  granted   a    franchi  1 

(or  an    [ndependent   tclcph -.  1 1    V\    

Neb. 

The    capital    stock    of    the  Nebra  il  a     1  eh  phom 

<  ompany  r,l  1  imalia,  Neb.,  ha:  I ncrca  1  d     from 

$3,uoo,n(*>  In  $5.0<:o,ni(i 

The     Southern     Bell     Telephone     Company     ha 

opened    a    new    excha al    Joni    viltc,    S.    C.     A 

system  is  also  being  started  up  al  Cowpen  ,  S.  C, 
,,  in  It  is  ready  for  use  aboul   thi  1  dati 

I  he  Atlanta  ( Ga.  1  I  elegraph  and  I  elephonc 
Company   i^    undertaking    the    work    ol    building  a 

number  of  lines  to  nearby   town  .   li  1    lo   gi 

a  complete  service  to  all  ol   1  he  ic  p 1 

Al  a  meeting   in   Green    Bay,    \\  1   .   the   d 01 

i.f  the  Fox  River  Valley  l"elephone  and  Tel  graph 
Company  decided  to  build  75  miles  ol  toll  lines, 
VV.  E.   Fairfield  is  president   of  the  c piny. 

1  he  New  England  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company  is  about  to  erect  a  brick  ami  slum'  build- 
ing  30  by  nil  feet  on  Mechanic  Street  in  Worces- 
ter, Mass.  The  design  of  the  building  will  be-  the 
.inn  as  that  of  the  exchange  on  Commercial 
Street. 

This  newspaper  "ad"  makes  a  good  point  in  a 
convincing  way:  "Telegraph  by  telephone  I  Call 
up  the  Western  Union,  or  the  Postal,  and  give 
them  your  message.  They  will  charge  it  to  your 
telephone  number.  Your  credit's  good  if  you  have 
a  telephone.  Now,  isn't  that  a  convenience?  Yet 
it's  only  one  of  the  many  a  telephone  makes  pos- 
sible." 

The  important  decision  to  increase  the  capital 
of  the  Bell  Telephone  Company  of  Canada  from 
$10,000,000  to  $50,000,000  was  reached  at  the  an- 
nual meeting  of  the  shareholders  held  in  Montreal 
on  February  22d.  C.  F.  Sise,  the  president,  stated 
that  it  was  not  the  intention  of  the  company  to 
issue  all  of  the  increased  capital  at  once.  A  de- 
cision was  also  reached  to  increase  the  number 
of  the  board  of  directors  by  three,  securing  repre- 
sentatives from  different  parts  of  the  country,  one 
being  from  Manitoba.  The  report  shows  that  12,- 
035  subscribers  have  been  added  during  the  year, 
the  total  numbers  of  sets  of  instruments  now 
earning    rental    being    78,195. 


MANUFACTURERS    AND    DEALERS. 

The  Century  Telephone  Construction  Ccanpany 
of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  is  sending  out  a  sample  of  an 
attractive  celluloid  long-distance  telephone  marker 
which  it  has  been  using  to  good  advantage  in 
advertising  Independent  telephone  service.  The 
celluloid  sheet  is  mounted  on  the  transmitter  of 
the  telephone,,  being  held  in  place  by  the  mouth- 
piece. The  company  will  be  pleased  to  furnish  a 
sample  to  anyone  interested. 

Telephones  and  accessories  are  presented  in  an 
attractive  manner  in  bulletin  39  of  the  Sumter 
Telephone  Manufacturing  Company  of  Sumter, 
S.  C.  A  type  of  instrument  which  is  original  in 
design  is  shown  in  the  bulletin,  which  is  called 
the  New  Beauty  telephone.  Besides  the  instru- 
ments themselves  the  standard  parts,  such  as  trans- 
mitters, receivers,  generators,  etc.,  are  given  atten- 
tion in  detail.  Under  "Information  of  Interest" 
there  appear  some  very  good  practical  hints  as 
to  the  installation  of  telephones  which  may  be 
carefully  read  with  profit. 

Under  date  of  February  23d  the  following  an- 
nouncement comes  from  the  Automatic  Time  Stamp 
Company  of  Boston :  "In  the  case  of  the  Cal- 
culagraph  Company  of  New  York  against  John  C. 
Wilson,  which  was  a  suit  brought  under  the  pat- 
ents of  Hamilton  and  Abbott  to  enjoin  the  Auto- 
matic Time  Stamp  Company  from  making  or  sell- 
ing an  instrument  known  as  the  timeometer,  used 
on  telephone  toll-line  switchboards  to  record  the 
time  the  toll  line  is  in  use  by  a  customer,  the 
United  States  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals,  in  an  elab- 
orate opinion  by  Judge  Colt,  has  reversed  the  de- 
cision of  Judge  Hale  of  the  United  States  District 
Court  and  has  remanded  the  case  to  the  Circuit 
Court,  with  directions  to  dismiss  the  bill  of  the 
Calculagraph  Company,  with  costs,  in  the  Circuit 
Court  and  in  the  Court  of  Appeals.  Judge  Hale 
had  also  found  the  defendant  in  contempt  for  mak- 
ing another  machine  for  the  same  purpose,  known 
as  the  duragraph,  and  this  decision  of  the  Court 
of   Appeals    acts   to   void   this   finding   also." 


The  report  of  the  third  annual  convention  of 
the  American  Railway  Mechanical  and  Electrical 
Association  has  been  published,  and  it  is  a  credit- 
able piece  of  work.  As  the  frontispiece,  there  is 
a  picture  of  Mr.  C.  F.  Baker,  who  was  president 
during  1904-5.  Besides  the  report  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  convention  in  Philadelphia,  which  is 
complete,  with  papers  and  discussions,  there  is 
given  a  complete  list  of  the  members  of  the  society. 
Announcement  is  made  on  the  second  page  that 
the  name  of  the  association  has  been  changed  to 
the  Street  and  Interurban  Railway  Engineering 
Association. 


CORRESPONDENCE 

Great  Britain. 
London,    1  •  bi  1   tram- 

1  In-  featun 
ii     ..i.ii'  ipat        ol    rem    ■    .  and   with   ll 
in 

I  In,       ppl 

1      I. ml    iln'    ordinary    grooved    rail     from 
downward    and    whi 

•  .I     p.  1  i.ii   in. I.  him  ry  at  nly  grip 

ili'    I'i      Ml' 

l". 1  tion  "i   Mi'  the  removal  of 

aboul   linn     11,' in      ..i    ihc    ' 

"i   Mi.    11.11  I         1  I,,     idhi   ion  of  thi 

"i  rail   i  .11  it   to  be  ai 

ations   of   laying   and   removing   the   tr.n ' 

pellcd   by    steam   and    1     eml n   of  trai  tion 

engim  .  and  as  much    • inute  ••an  be 

laid       \  li  '.!.'■    il"         1.  in   ha     b  en  t 

The  qui   tion  of  higher  technical  edui 

being   h  discussed  I 

■  '    di   '•  '  11 1    ■  -.ii. mum.  .     ....  In  h    inquired   into   the 

working   "i   thi     R       :   I      ege  of  Science  anil  the 
Royal   vli""l  of   Mines,  in  ordei    to  see  what  wan 

.'i>    more   fitlj    i"  utilize  thi  ii    1 

brought  the  matter  into  prominence  agar 
committee  was  an  exceedingly  strong  one  and  on 
the  general  question  it  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
England  compared  not  unfavorably  with  other 
countries  in  the  provision  made  for  what  might 
In-  railed  the  lower  and  intermediate  gradi 
technical  education  a*  well  as  for  the  tei 
training  for  the  learned  professions  obtainable 
at  many  of  our  universities.  Our  principal  de- 
ficiency lay  in  the  sphere  of  the  highest  tech- 
nological education,  although  it  cannot  lie  stated 
that  such  backwardness  was  necessarily  to  be  traced 
to  the  absence  of  a  uniform  policy  running  through 
the  educational  system  here.  The  object  of  the 
report  in  question  is  to  bring  about  some  co-ordina- 
tion and  co-operation  of  the  numerous  higher  tech- 
nical training  institutions,  of  which  there  are  so 
many,  even  in  London  alone,  and  also  to  have  one 
establishment  in  London  of  a  group  of  associated 
colleges  of  science  and  technology,  where  the  high- 
est possible  specialized  instruction   should  be  given. 

Several  years  ago  a  parliamentary  committee  sur- 
prised many  people  by  granting  powers  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  mono-rail  railway  between  Liver- 
pool and  Manchester,  upon  which  a  speed  of  over 
100  miles  an  hour  was  to  be  attained.  The  Behr 
mono-rail  system  was  to  be  adopted  and  the  Board 
of  Trade  insisted  that  a  short  length  of  line  should 
be  laid  for  experiments  before  il  could  pass  the 
plans  of  the  main  railway.  The  chief  argument 
in  favor  of  the  line  was  that  a  similar  undertaking 
was  working  in  Germany,  However,  after  many 
postponements,  an  attempt  was  made  in  1903  to 
secure  the  necessary  capital  by  public  subscription, 
but  without  success,  and  I  understand  that  the 
project   will   in   all   likelihood  now   be  abandoned. 

In  a  paper  read  before  the  Society  of  Arts  a  few 
days  ago  on  the  question  of  effecting  greater  prog- 
ress and  economies  in  electric  lighting,  the  author, 
Mr.  Leon  Gaster,  urged  the  necessity  of  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  legal  primary  unit  standard  of  light 
which  would  be  recognized  throughout  the  world, 
the  establishment  at  the  British  National  Physical 
Laboratory  of  a  properly(  equipped  photometric  de- 
partment, the  framing  of  a  standard  specification 
for  carbon  filament  lamps,  and  the  conduct  of  an 
exhaustive  study  into  the  principles  concerning  the 
conversion  of  electrical  energy  into  light.  In  con- 
nection with  this  paper  it  is  interesting  to  note  that 
efforts  are  being  made  here  to  evolve  a  universal 
standard  of  light  and  also  a  standard  specification 
for  incandescent  lamps.  Both  the  National  Physical 
Laboratory  and  the  engineering  standards  commit- 
tee have  the  matter  under  advisement,  and  it  is 
not  unlikely  that  some  publication  bearing  on  the 
results   will   be  made   ere   long. 

A  feature  of  note  in  the  various  annual  reports 
this  year  of  the  railway  companies  in  England 
which  have  electrified  some  or  all  of  their  lines  is 
that  as  a  consequence  total  working  expenses  have 
gone  up.  But  the  receipts  have  also  increased  con- 
siderably, while  the  wrorking  expenses  per  train- 
mile  have  in  some  cases  been  reduced  by  50  per 
cent.  Everyone,  however,  is  looking  to  a  period  of 
normal  working  which  the  next  12  months  should 
produce,  to  restore  complete  confidence  in  railway 
electric  traction,  for  it  is  felt  generally  that  the 
most  efficient  results  could  not  be  hoped  for  during 
the  period  of  changing  over  from  one  system  to 
another.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  economical 
management  and  strict  efficiency  are  necessary  to 
extract  the  fullest  results  from  electric-railway 
working,  as  the  reductions  in  fares  and  the  abolition 
of   second-class  passengers   are  important   factors. 

An  echo  of  the  London  power-bill  fight  last  ses- 
sion is  seen  in  the  accounts  of  at  least  one  existing 
electric-light  company.  In  one  instance  alone  the 
dividend  has  been  reduced  by  two  per  cent.,  which 
is  the  estimated  cost  of  opposing  the  power  bills 
last  year.  And,  further,  the  general  effect  of  the 
power  proposals  has  been  considerable  reductions 
in   prices. 

A  tramway  company  in  the  south  of  England, 
viz.,   the   Hastings  company,   which   recently   opened 


I85 


New  York. 

Harlem 

■I    will 

being 

trolled   by   tin 
I  he  ward  to  King 

under  Wa  hington  Heights,  will  be  1 

Her  traffic   to  a   limit-. I 

will    then    be    abb-    1 
length   '.i   Manhattan   [aland. 

Hie    New   York  Journal  p  •    in  an 

editorial  thai  the  Intel  politan  capitali- 

zation  ol   $225,000,000 

railroad,     when  iri     Pacific     railroad, 

with    the  same   capital,    is  6,112    mill 
comparisons  are  made  with  ti  -:,1  rail- 

road   with    $224,000,000   stock    and   4.301    mil 
with  the  Canadian  Pacific  railroad  with  $103,000,000 
and  7,863  miles. 

Stair  Attorney-general  Mayer  gave  a  hearing 
Tuesday  in  regard  p.  an  application  to  declare  that 
the  recent  transit  merger  is  illegal  and  a  violation 
of  the  corporation   law.     On  the  other   sidi 

nit   that   for  years   it  has  been  the  declared 
1  .:    the    Legislature   to   encourage   the  merger 

I    transportation   corporations    in   oth-  - 
•late,    namely,    at    Albany,    Troy,     Buffalo, 
Ogdensburg  and  Rod  • 

Attorney  Peter  K.  Gatens,  addressing  a  legis- 
lative committee  on  Wednesday,  pleaded  for  an 
official  investigation  into  the  franchises  now  in 
force  in  New  Yorl?  city.  He  alleged  that  an  in- 
quiry would  show  that  many  franchises  were  being 
operated   illegally. 

Brooklyn  Borough  President  Bird  S.  Coler  has 
prepared  an  amendment  to  the  city  charter  en- 
abling the  city  to  build  a  municipal  street  railway 
in  Brooklyn.  The  proposed  route  is  from  the  end 
of   Brooklyn    Bridge   to   East   New    York. 

Three  thousand  persons  are  to  be  moved  from 
their  present  homes  before  March  1st  in  order  to 
make  room  for  the  construction  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Tunnel  terminal  on  West  Thirty-second 
Street. 

George  H.  Daniels,  the  newly  appointed  gen- 
eral advertising  manager  of  the  Vanderbilt  lines, 
was  entertained  at  dinner  at  the  Waldorf-Astoria 
Hotel  on  Tuesday  evening  as  the  guest  of  about 
500  of  those  who  had  been  associated  with  him 
when  he  was  formerly  general  passenger  agent  of 
the    Xew  York   Central   railroad. 

John  H.  Palmer,  electrician  of  the  Casino  Thea- 
ter, New  York,  died  on  Thursday,  aged  54  years. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  Mr.  Palmer  was  acting 
as  mayor  of  Woodridge.  N.  J.,  but  his  technical 
associates  were  not  generally  aware  that  he  filled 
this   official   position. 

Extensive  additions  are  announced  to  be  made 
to  the  Bush  Dock  terminal.  The  present  designs 
include  a  group  of  factory  buildings,  wherein  ten- 
ants can  obtain  a  supply  of  electrical  energy  for 
manufacturing    purposes. 

A  few  interesting  electrical  devices  are  on  view 
at  the  annual  sportsmen's  show  at  Madison  Square 
Garden.  An  Italian  inventor  named  Pescatore 
shows  an  automobile  wherein  any  surplus  energy 
from_  the  gasoline  engine  is  used  to  charge  a 
battery,  the  battery  current  being  used  to  help 
the  car  ascend  inclines.  A  similar  auxiliary  elec- 
tric system  is  shown  in  connection  with  a  small 
yacht.  , 

The  Turbo-electric  Construction  Company  has 
been  incorporated  at  Albany  with  a  capital  of 
$75,000.  The  directors  are  \Y.  D.  A'anderbilt.  G. 
F.   Archer  and   G.   E   Hesse.  D.  W.  W. 


Dominion  of  Canada. 

Ottawa,  Ont.,  February  24. — The  Ottawa  Board 
of  Trade  has  passed  the  resolution  [see  Western 
Electrician  of  last  week,  page  152]  urging  the 
Provincial  and  Dominion  governments  not  to  in- 
terfere with  the  free  development  of  power  at  the 
Niagara  Falls,  and  asking  that  a  law  be  enacted 
prohibiting  the  export  of  power  from  Canada  under 
any    contract    not    terminable    on    one   year's  notice. 

The  municipal  light  and  power  plant  of  West- 
mount,  an  important  suburb  of  the  city  of  Montreal. 
will  be  in  full  operation  on  June  1st.  It  is  an- 
nounced that  electric-lighting  rates  for  houses  will 
be  15  cents  a  kilowatt-hour,  with  one-third  dis- 
count off  of  accounts  if  paid  within  10  days  after 
receipt. 

Mr.  H.  S.  Holt,  president  of  the  Montreal  Light- 
Heat  and  Power  Company,  announces  that  the 
company's    plant    at    Soulanges    will    be    ready    to 


1 86 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  3,  1906 


deliver  14,000  horsepower  at  the  company's  Wel- 
lington Street  station  by  August  1,  1907.  As  soon 
as  the  Soulanges  plant  is  ready,  work  will  be 
started  at  the  Buisson  property,  and  the  company's 
engineers  say  that  they  will  be  ready  with  an  addi- 
tional 18,000  horsepower  either  by  the  fall  of  100S 
or  the  following  spring.  According  to  the  present 
rate  of  the  business  expansion  of  the  company,  it 
is  said  that  the  whole  of  the  32,000  horsepower 
will    be    required    within    three    years'    time. 

The  Montreal  street  railway  has  been  allowed 
to  increase  its  capital  from  $7,000,000  to  $18,000,- 
000.  The  company  has  purchased  the  Terminal 
Railway,  which  runs  from  the  city  to  Bout  de 
l'lsle,  for  $400,000.  The  company  will  build 
around  the  island  of  Montreal  down  to  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul. 

E.  W.  Backus  of  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  has  been 
interviewing  the  Ontario  government  in  regard  to 
the  power-development  project  at  Fort  Francis,  of 
the  Minnesota  and  Ontario  Power  Company,  of 
which  he  is  the  principal.  It  is  said  that  the  com- 
pany is  desirous  of  securing  an  extension  of  time, 
among  other  things,  for  the  completion  of  the 
works  on  the  Canadian  side  of  Rainy  River.  The 
latter  being  an  international  stream,  the  company 
is  working  on  the  Canadian  side  under  an  act  of 
incorporation  obtained  from  the  Dominion  govern- 
ment, as  well  as  the  charter  from  the  Ontario 
government.  Under  the  Dominion  act,  the  com- 
pany must  develop  power  on  the  Canadian  side 
concurrently  with  development  on  the  American  side, 
the  Railway  Commission  at  Ottawa  to  fix  condi- 
tions as  to  "the  transmission  of  surplus  energy  from 
side  to  side,  as  the  demand   warrants   it. 

Mr.  Pain  of  the  Ontario  Power  Company  states 
that  his  company  has  suspended  operations  for 
power  transmission  through  Canadian  territory 
pending  the  publication  of  the  report  of  the  Mu- 
nicipal Power  Commission  for  Ontario.  The  On- 
tario Power  Company  is  installing  the  fourth  sec- 
tion of  its  power-house  equipment,  which  will  be 
the  largest  unit  for  the  generating  of  electricity 
in  the  world.  Its  capacity  will  be  12,500  horse- 
power. It  will  be  ready  for  operation  in  March, 
and  a  fifth  unit  of  equal  size  will  be  ready  during 
April. 

The  business  of  the  Canadian  General  Electric 
Company  has  increased  very  rapidly,  and  the  gen- 
eral belief  is  that  the  progress  of  the  Canadian 
industrial  development  during  the  next  few  years 
will  be  even  more  rapid  than  in  the  past,  owing 
to  the  building  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  rail- 
way, the  Canadian  Northern  railway,  the  extension 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific  railway  and  the  construc- 
tion of  the  great  electrical  power  stations  at  Niag- 
ara Falls,  and  many  other  important  enterprises 
now  under  way  in  the  Dominion.  As  an  indication 
of  the  business  now  being  transacted  by  this  com- 
pany, it  is  pointed  out  that  it  has  over  $5,000,000 
worth  of  work  on  hand.  W. 


New  England. 


Boston,  Mass.,  February  23. — The  Massachusetts 
railroad  commissioners  have  issued  an  order  regu- 
lating the  use  of  searchlights  as  headlights  on  elec- 
tric cars.  The  Natick  and  Cochituate  Street  Rail- 
way Company  has  been  using  these  powerful  lights 
for  headlights,  and  the  people  of  Wellesley,  Mass., 
objected  to  them  on  the  grounds  that  they  fright- 
ened horses,  blinded  pedestrians,  and  annoyed  resi- 
dents of  houses  so  situated  that  the  lights  of  cars 
going  around  curves  would  flash  into  the  rooms. 
On  the  other  hand  residents  of  other  parts  of  the 
state  have  petitioned  for  the  use  of  searchlights  on 
electric  cars,  claiming  that  they  were  necessary  for 
the  greatest  safety  in  running  cars.  In  their  order 
the  commissioners  show  that  it  is  necessary,  in 
the  interest  of  safety,  to  throw  light  a  considerable 
distance  ahead  of  the  car,  but  they  say  that  the 
companies  must  take  prompt  action  to  provide  a 
suitable  device  for  so  governing  the  direction  of 
the  light  as  to  confine  the  effect  of  its  high  power 
to  the  track.  Meanwhile,  they  should  turn*  off  or 
obscure  the  light  while  cars  are  moving  through 
streets  otherwise  well  lighted  or  through  thickly 
settled   communities. 

The  Stanley  Company  of  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  has 
petitioned  for  the  closing  of  Woodlawn  Avenue, 
which  bisects  the  company's  land  in  that  city.  The 
company  wishes  to  build  a  storage  building  675 
by  100  feet  and  three  stories  high,  a  department 
building,  a  molding  insulation  building  80  by  250 
feet,  and  a  foundry,  600  by  200  feet,  as  well  as 
a  good-sized  addition  to  its  lamp-department  build- 
ing. This  involves  an  expenditure  of  from  $750,- 
000  to  $1,000,000.  The  company  proposes  to  con- 
nect the  various  parts  of  its  plant  by  tracks,  over 
which  it  will  run  electric  cars.  The  development 
of  the  plant  means  the  employment  of  5,000  to 
6,000   persons,    against   1,200    now    employed. 

The  Consolidated  Electric  Company  of  Burling- 
ton, Vt.,  has  completed  its  new  power  house  at 
Passumpsic,  thereby  increasing  its  power  for  mo- 
tors  and   lights. 

The  board  of  directors  of  the  Boston  Chamber 
of  Commerce  has  declared  its  opposition  to  "all 
bills  or  movements  calculated  to  remove  the  safe- 
guards now  provided  by  law  for  the  prevention 
of  hasty  and  ill-considered  actions  by  any  Massa- 
chusetts city  or  town,  upon  the  question  of  the 
acquisition  of  municipal  lighting  plants."  The  di- 
rectors of  the   Boston   Merchants'   Association  have 


also  declared  themselves  opposed  to  the  bill  to 
enable  cities  and  towns  to  take  over  their  lighting 
plants,  now  pending  before  the  Massachusetts  Leg- 
islature. 

The  Boston  Suburban  Electric  Companies  and 
the  Worcester.  Consolidated  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany are  arranging  for  a  transfer  of  passengers 
so  that  they  can  establish  passenger  and  express 
traffic  between  Boston  and  Worcester,  Mass.  The 
arrangement  provides  for  changes  of  cars  at  New- 
ton and  South  Framingham,  and  this  will  be  likely 
to  prevent  this  route  becoming  a  serious  competitor 
to  the  Boston  and  Worcester  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany's   route,    over    which    through    cars    are    run. 

The  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford  Rail- 
road Company  has  raised  the  pay  of  its  electric 
car  conductors  from  $2.50  to  $2.60  per  day. 

The  Stafford  Springs  Street  Railway  Company 
will  hold  a  meeting  March  20th,  at  which  the 
stockholders  will  vote  on  the  proposition  to  sell 
the  company's  contracts,  property  and  franchises 
to  the  Consolidated  Railway  Company  and  dis- 
tribute the  proceeds  among  the  stockholders.  The 
meeting  will  be  a  mere  formality,  as  lames  F. 
Shaw  &  Co.  of  Boston  control  the  company,  and 
they  concluded  the  deal  with  the  Consolidated  com- 
pany. 

Norman  McD.  Crawford,  receiver  of  the  Eddy 
Electric  Company  of  Windsor,  Conn.,  has  filed  his 
report  with  the  Superior  Court  at  Hartford,  and 
Judge  Wheeler  has  issued  an  order  winding  up 
the  receivership.  A  final  dividend  of  3-34  per  cent, 
was  ordered,  making  total  payments  of  4854  per 
cent,  on  allowed  claims.  When  the  company  went 
into  the  hands  of  the  receiver,  some  four  years 
ago,  its  liabilities  were  $100,000  and  its  assets  were 
valued  at  about  $35,000,  by  the  appraisers.  The 
Eddy  Manufacturing  Corporation  has  taken  the 
company's   business.  B. 


Mexico. 


City  of  Mexico,  February  19. — Preliminary  sur- 
veys for  the  electric  development  proposed  by  Al- 
fred Lilliendahl  and  associates  for  the  city  of  Sal- 
tillo  have  been  completed.  A  waterfall  near  Ar- 
teaga  is  to  be  used  for  furnishing  the  initial  power. 
In  addition  to  building  an  electric  transmission  line 
to  Saltillo  and  the  installation  of  a  complete  sys- 
tem of  electric  lighting  for  that  city,  the  power  will 
be  transmitted  to  mining  camps  and  other  indus- 
trial centers  throughout  that  district.  An  electric 
street  railway  from  Arteaga  to  Saltillo,  touching  at 
the  large  cotton  factories  of  Aurora  and  La  Liber- 
tad,    is    also   proposed. 

The  Borde  Electric  Light  Company  of  Tampico 
is  extending  its  lighting  system  to  Dona  Cecilia 
and  intermediate  points.  Additional  machinery  will 
be  installed  by  the  company.  C.  C.  Freston  is 
manager. 

The  National  Railroad  Company  of  Mexico  is 
preparing  to  install  electricity  for  the  operation  of 
its    large    shops   at   Santiago,    City    of   Mexico. 

An  electric  power  plant  to  cost  $500,000  is  to  be 
installed  at  the  Guadalupe  de.  Ios  Reyes  mines  in 
the  state  of  Sinaloa.  The  order  for  the  machinery 
for  the  proposed  plant  will  be  placed  in  the  United 
States. 

The  American  employes  of  the  Mexico  Electric 
Tramways,  Limited,  of  the  City  of  Mexico,  are  re- 
quired to  attend  classes  in  Spanish,  in  -order  to 
become    proficient    in    speaking    the.  language. 


Southeastern  States. 

Charlotte, .  N.  C,  February  24. — Federal  Judge 
Waddill  at  "Norfolk,  Va.,  has  entered  a  decree  fix- 
ing the  fees  of  the  receivers,  attorneys,  special 
master  and  many  others  in  the  case  of  the  receiver- 
ship of  the  Hampton  Roads  railway  litigation.  The 
receivership  has  been  in  force  for  about  2l/2  years. 
The  total  amount   allowed  is   close  to  $60,000. 

The  Savannah  River  Power  Company  has 
awarded  the  contract  for  the  completion  of  the 
dam  at  Greggs  Shoals  by  October  1st.  The  dam 
will  be  located  on  the  Savannah  River  near  An- 
derson, S.  C. 

It  is  stated  that  the  waterpower  at  Bluitt's  Falls 
near  Lilesville,  N.  C,  will  be  developed  in  the 
near  future  by  Hugh  MacRae  &  Co.  of  Wilming- 
ton, N.  C,  and  that  26,000  horsepower  will  be 
secured,  which  will  be  sold  to  mills  and  towns  in 
the   surrounding  country. 

Jhe  new  electric  plant  of  the  Union  (S.  C.) 
Manufacturing  and  Power  Company  has  just  been 
successfully  tested  and  put  into  operation.  About 
7,000  horsepower  is  available.  It  was  thought  at 
one  time  that  the  connection  of  the  power  com- 
pany with  the  Union  and  Buffalo  Cotton  Mills, 
which  have  been  involved  in  some  litigation,  would 
affect  the  electrical  development,  but  this  has  been 
obviated  by  the  reorganization  of  the  cotton  mills. 
The  dam  across  Broad  River  where  the  power  is 
generated  is  over  900  feet  in  length. 

The  report  that  the  property  of  the  United 
Railways  and  Electric  Company  of  Baltimore  had 
been  sold  is  strongly  denied  by  the  company.  The 
report  seems  to  have  grown  out  of  the  marked 
strength  developed  by  the  stock  of  this  concern 
recently. 

The  Winchester  and  Washington  City  Railway 
Company  of  Virginia  has  virtually  closed  a  deal, 
it  is  said,  for  the  purchase  of  the  plant  of  the  Win- 
chester  Gas   and   Electric   Company.     The   purchas- 


ing company  is  developing  a  large  waterpower  on 
the  Shenandoah  River  in  the  state  of  West  Vir- 
ginia, and,  it  is  announced,  will  supply  lights  to 
Winchester  and  other  towns,  beginning  June   1st. 

A  movement  is  on  foot  at  Edgefield,  S.  C,  to 
establish  a  water  and  electric-light  plant.  At  a 
recent  mass-meeting  to  consider  the  matter  Col. 
N.  K.  Bailey  presided,  and  the  total  estimated  cost 
by  an  expert  was  given  at  $51,000  for  the  water 
and   lights. 

A  new  lighting  system  has  been  installed  at 
Louisburg,  N.  C,  and  the  lights  have  been  turned 
on. 

The  Adel  (Ga.)  Electric  Light  and  Power  Com- 
pany has  been  organized,  with  William  Scandrett 
president.  The  preliminary  work  will  be  started 
at  once. 

The  commercial  bodies  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  are 
planning  a  campaign  to  have  erected  permanent 
electric  arches  in  the  business  section   of  that  city. 

The  street-car  factory  at  High  Point,  N.  C,  is 
meeting  with  continued  success  and  is  receiving 
orders    for    cars    from   all    sections. 

The  sum  of  $1,000,000  will  be  expended  by  the 
Norfolk  (Va.)  Railway  and  Light  Company  for 
a  new  power  house  and  new  machinery,  with  other 
improvements,  according  to  the  statement  of  the 
general    manager    of    the   company. 

D.  C.  Waddell,  C.  W.  Petty  and  others  are  the 
incorporators  of  the  Central  Electric  Company  at 
Greensboro,    N.    C. 

The  North  American  Company's  ordinance  ask- 
ing for  the  sale  of  a  franchise  for  selling  electricity 
in  the  city  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  has  been  referred 
by  the  lower  board  of  the  City  Council  to  the 
revision   committee.  L. 


Ohio. 

Cleveland,  February  24. — A  company  has  been 
formed  to  build  an  electric  railway  from  Vanport, 
Pa.,  to  Smith's  Ferry,  Pa.,  where  it  will  connect 
with  a  road  running  to  East  Liverpool  and  Wells- 
ville.  It  will  be  known  as  the  Ohio  Valley  Trac- 
tion Company.  S.  L.  Tone,  C.  S.  Mitchell  and 
other  men  connected  with  the  Pittsburg  Railway 
Company  are  the  incorporators.  The  road  will 
probably  be  under  the  control  of  that  company, 
which  will  build  several  links  down  the  Ohio 
River   to  connect   Pittsburg    and   Wheeling. 

Representative  Bassett  has  introduced  a  bill  in 
the  Legislature  giving  heating  and  lighting  com- 
panies the  right  to  appeal  to  the  Probate  Court 
for  a  franchise  when  city  councils  delay  action 
unnecessarily.  This  bill  is  primarily  designed  to 
relieve  the  situation  at  Toledo,  where  rival  com- 
panies   are  contending. 

Two  electric  cars  designed  for  use  on  the  Can- 
ton-Akron line  made  a  long  trip  last  week.  Start- 
ing from  Marion,  Ind.,  they  went  to  Ft.  Wayne, 
thence  to  Lima,  from  there  to  Findlay,  and  then 
to  Toledo.  Here  they  were  transferred  to  the 
Lake  Shore  Electric  for  Cleveland.  'From  the  latter 
place  they  went  to  Akron,  Canton  and  Canal 
Dover,  in  all  a  distance  of  something  like  500 
miles. 

The  Ottawa  Beach  and  Southern  has  secured 
enough  right-of-way  to  enable  it  to  begin  work  in 
the  early  spring.  The  road  is  an  extension  of  the 
Toledo  Railways  and  Light  Company's  lines  to 
some  of  the  resorts. 

Mayor  Johnson  of.  Cleveland  has  been  in  Colum- 
bus most  of  the  time  for  several  weeks,  pushing 
legislation  that  he  desires.  One  of  these  is  the 
ivietzger  bill,  which  provides  that  all  applications 
for  franchises  must  be  referred  to  the  voters  of  a 
municipality. 

G.  W.  Meeker  of  Columbus,  W.  E.  Moser  of 
Toledo,  and  others,  are  mapping  out  a  line  from 
Findlay  to  Marion  to  connect  with  the  Columbus, 
Delaware  and  Marion.  This,  connection  would 
make  a  line  from   Columbus  to  Toledo. 

J.  W.  Holcomb  of  Cleveland  is  said  to  be  in- 
terested in  a  proposed  electric  railway  from  Ra- 
venna to  Canal  Dover  and  New  Philadelphia,  with 
a  branch  to  Kensington.  This  would  be  a  good 
feeder  to  the  proposed  Cleveland,  Alliance  and 
Ravenna. 

The  People's  Light,  Heat  and  Power  Company 
of  Springfield  is  selling  $375,000  treasury  stock  at 
par,  with  an  equal  amount  of  common  stock  as  a 
bonus. 

The  Dillonvale  and  Ohio  River  Traction  Com- 
pany of  Martins  Ferry  has  been  incorporated  with 
a  capital  stock  of  $10,000  by  James  T.  Hodgens 
and    others. 

Former  Senator  William  Flynn  of  Pittsburg  is 
said  to  be  interested  in  connecting  up  lines  be- 
tween Pittsburg  and  Cleveland,  in  order  to  make 
a  system  that  will  compete  with  the  steam  roads 
on  through  business.  Work  is  being  rushed  on 
the  line  between  Pittsburg  and  Butler,  and  this 
will  be  extended  on  to  Newcastle.  Connections 
between  Cleveland  and  Youngstown  will  then  be 
made.  O.  M.  C. 


Indiana. 


Indianapolis,  February  24. — It  is  reported  that 
the  Muncie,  Hartford  City  and  Ft.  Wayne  Elec- 
tric railway  was  sold  to  the  Indiana  Union  Trac- 
tion Company  a  few  days  ago.  The  line  is  42 
miles    long,    and    connects    Muncie    and    Bluffton, 


March  /,,  1906 


I  l.l<  TRU 


187 


, ,,,!,,, ,  [ion    bi  ing    madi     al    Bluffton    •■.  ith    thi     I  I 
Wayne,    Bluffton    and    Marion    line. 

Mi,   (  ii.,  1  ouni  il  ol   Bi  dford  h  1    gi   nti  d 

.In  ,    1,,  tin    [ndianapoli  .   V 

'I  raclion    ( lompan  .    upon    1  ondil  i<  m  tl 

■  1,;, ii   i„    pli  ted   i"   Bedford   bj    1 1 ibi  1    1  1 

'I  he    (•.■nil  rylvania    Rail I   <  omj d     rib 

uting  polei   along  tin    Madi  on  branch,  betwi    n  Co 
lumbu  1   and    Madi  on,   and    thi     ha     givei 
il,,.  cui  renl  belief  thai   tin    1  ompan  .    inti  •■-< 

,,,i  clei  ii,     ,  .11      ,,u    thi  ■    'Ii .  1  ,     1  lie    ■.■    1 1  mi  n 

engaged   in   planting   the   poll  s   Bay   thai    they  have 
,„, 1    been    advi  1  .1    -1    the    1 1 1    tin     pole 

1 1,,-   In  lianapoli     and    Eg  tern    1  1."  1 

will  remove  its  car  shops  f <  <  i 1  d    p  Rid 

1,1,    A  single  emcrgeni  j     hop  will  bi    m 

1    1 ,,,-, mfield,   as    will    al  0    the    di  ipati  hi  r's   office. 

•|  his  removal   1  i  the  n   nil   ol   tl ger,  and  *  ill 

occasion  aboul  40  families  to  n  mo\  e  to  Richmond, 

I  In     survey    of    the    conm  cting    Irolli  >.     linl     bi 
lunii   Celina,  Ohio,  and    Portland,   (nd.,   which   will 
,  omplete  the  dirci  1    route  between   1  letroil   and   In- 

dianapolii .    i     Hearing    iplction.     I  he    promotci 

say  the   road    will   lie  an   air   line,  and   will   then 
fore  miss  by   several   miles  thriving   village     which 
had   hoped   to   secure   the   road.     Ft,    Recovery  and 
Wabash  are  included  in  the  poinl     skipped 

The  Indianapolis  Traction  and  Terminal  Coin- 
pany  has  adopted  the  pay  car  plan  of  paying  2,100 
employes,   of    whom    750   arc   motormen    and    con 

,lii .     I  he   pay   car   leaves   the  company's   head 

quarters  every  Wednesday  morning  and  travel 
iboul  the  city  .-ill  day  on  a  regular  schedule.  L'hus 
[he  employes  know  when  to  expect  it,  and  there  is 
no  delay  handing  out  the  money,  rhc  cai  1  ai 
companied  by  a  police  officer  and  sufficiently 
equipped  to  make  it  interesting  to  those  who  should 
attempt  a  holdup. 

The  Central  Manufacturing  Company  of  Con- 
nersville  announces  that  il  will  equip  its  new  plant 
with  motors  and  operate  the  new  machinery  by 
electricity. 

Fifty  prominent  citizens  of  the  west  part  of 
Howard  County  have  organized  a  company  at  New 
London,  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a  dam 
in  Honey  Creek  to  generate  electricity  for  light 
and  power.  The  country  in  the  locality  is  very 
beautiful  and  scenic,  and  a  pleasure-park  resort 
with    an    artificial    lake   will    also   be   provided. 

The  City  Council  of  Marion  is  considering  a 
proposition  made  by  the  Diesel  Engine  Company 
of  Indianapolis  whereby  the  latter  will  place  ma- 
chinery in  the  Marion  city  light  plant,  furnish 
street  lights  for  the  city  for  10  years  on  a  basis 
of  300  lights  at  $55  a  light  a  year,  or  350  lights 
at  $47.50  a  year,  the  city  to  receive  all  income 
from  commercial  lighting,  and  at  the  expiration  of 
10  years  the  plant,  valued  at  $100,000,  will  become 
the  property  of  the  city. 


S.  S. 


Michigan. 

Grand  Rapids,  February  24.— Nearly  300  farmers 
of  Ronald  and  adjoining  townships  in  Ionia 
county  and  a  delegation  of  Ionia  business  men 
met  at  Palo  recently  to  discuss  interurban-railroad 
matters,  the  object  being  to  secure  a  line  from 
Ionia  to  Alma  by  way  of  Palo,  Hubbardston  and 
Crystal.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  get  a  sur- 
vey from  Ionia  to  Hubbardston  and  Palo.  It  is 
proposed  to  utilize  the  Prairie  Creek  waterpower 
and  make  the  road  a  branch  of  the  Grand  Rapids 
and  Ionia  interurban  now  building.  A  local  board 
of  trade  has  been  organized  in  Ionia  to  furnish 
a  working  aggregation  to  go  abroad  and  interest 
capital.  Many  of  the  farmers  stand  ready  to  do- 
nate   right-of-way. 

It  is  announced  that  a  franchise  has  been  se- 
cured to  construct  an  electric  railway  from  Mt. 
Clemens  to  the  mouth  of  the  Clinton  River  and 
Belvidere,  with  a  view  to  developing  the  lake 
front.  The  line  will  enter  Mt.  Clemens  over  the 
Rapid  Railway,  it  is  said.  Carl  Schweikert  of 
Detroit  and  Anthony  Amels,  who  secured  the 
franchise,  have  extensive  holdings  along  the  lake 
and    river  front. 

Proper  protection  against  high-tension  electric 
wires  where  they  cross  the  telegraph  wires  of 
railroad  companies  is  a  problem  recently  presented 
to  the  Michigan  state  railroad  department.  The 
Commonwealth  Power  Company,  which  gets  its 
electricity  from  waterpower  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  state,  is  erecting  a  line  of  wires  from 
Jackson  to  Lansing,  and  it  plans  to  cross  the 
Michigan  Central  tracks  twice,  at  Rives  Junction 
and  a  few  miles  south  of  Lansing.  The  railroad 
officials  picture  dire  calamities  should  the  wires 
carrying  about  40,000  volts  break  at  a  point  where 
they  cross  the  telegraph  wires.  Cradles  are  being 
considered  to  support  the  wires  at  the  points  of 
crossing,  but  these  will  furnish  opportunity  for 
ice  and  snow  to  accumulate.  The  railroads  object 
to  the  wires  being  placed  underground,  through 
fear  of  interference  with  their  own  electrical 
systems.  The  rapid  development  of  great  water- 
powers  in  the  state  and  the  transmission  of  the 
current  long  distances  is  likely  to  result  in  legis- 
lation protecting  both  the  high-tension  wires  and 
the  lines  which   are  crossed. 

The  Michigan  Power  Company  has  absorbed  the 
Piatt  Power  and  Heat  Company  at  Lansing.  The 
company  is  capitalized  at  $2,500,000,  and  a  site  has 
been  selected  and  a  power  house  will  be  erected 
and    equipped    at    a    cost  of    $250,000.     It    will    be 


■ 

and   I" 

Count 

nti,   Ann    Arbor    and 

I  railway   to    fun  isith   a   light- 

1111    for 

I  ind    the 

■' lai 

11  lied. 

1 
R.  Elliott, 
lo  purchase  cai     Fo 

in  mi  I.    W.  Ii. 


Northwestern  States. 

Minneapoli  ,  Fi  bi  uai  \   1 1      1  hi    coum  il  al 
Iowa,  ha     Ii  1    the  tract  to  ial   Elec- 

trical   Si  I  f   St.  Loui      for    installing 

in    1  I  ■  hie-light    plant. 

I  he    1  1 i    Porks,    N.    I'.,    i 

turned  all  bids,  unopened,  for  engines  for  the  elec- 
tric-light plant,  the  financial  condition  of  the  city 
being  such  that   110  expenditure  was  allowab 

I-  Kten  ive    improi 1 being    planned   foi 

the   electric-lighting   system   al    Luverne,    Minn. 

An    elei  ini    will   be   put   in   at   Free- 

port.  Minn.,  and  operated  in  connection  with  the 
canning   factory, 

The  Northern  Heating  and  Electric  Company  has 
applied  for  an  electric-light  and  power  franchise 
at  Si.  Paul.  The  company  has  increased  its  capital 
from    $500,000   to   $1,500,000. 

The  Dulutb  and  Iron  Range  Railway  Company 
is  planning  the  erection  of  a  large  electric-light 
and  power  plant  at  its  shops  at  Two  Harbors, 
Minn.  It  will  cost  about  $60,000.  The  contract  has 
been  let  to  the   Erie   Healing  Company  of  Chicago. 

The  Virginia  (Minn. J  Light  and  Water  Com- 
pany will  install  a  new  1,000-horsepower  engine 
and   new   dynamo   at   its  plant. 

It  is  reported  that  it  is  the  ultimate  purpose  of 
the  La  Crosse  Hydro-electric  Light  and  Power 
Company,  which  is  building  a  power  plant  near 
Black  River  Falls,  Wis.,  to  build  a  trolley  line 
from  La  Crosse  to  Superior. 

The  Grand  Forks  (N.  D.)  Transit  Company  is 
considering  a  proposition  to  build  an  elevated  line 
lo  the  State  University,  to  replace  the  present  sur- 
face   line. 

The  council  at  Bridgewater,  S.  D.,  has  offered 
a  bonus  of  $5,000  to  the  Electrical  Interurban  Rail- 
way Company  of  Sioux  Falls  if  it  will  build  to 
Bridgewater. 

Negotiations  have  been  closed  for  the  merging 
of  the  local  traction  and  lighting  interests  at  Green 
Bay,  Wis.,  the  Green  Bay  Traction  Company  tak- 
ing over  the  Green  Bay  Gas  and  Electric  Company. 

The  Great  Northern  Development  Company  of 
Duluth,  Minn:,  is  investigating  the  feasibility  of 
developing  300,000  horsepower  at  Fond  du  Lac, 
Minn.,  and  transmitting  it  to  Minneapolis  and  St. 
Paul  for  industrial  purposes.  Eastern  capitalists 
are   figuring  with   the   company  on  the  proposition. 


Pacific  Slope. 

San  Francisco,  February  23. — An  application  has 
been  made  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Fullerton, 
Cai.,  for  a  franchise  to  operate  an  electric-light 
and  power  system  in  that  city.  Sealed  bids  for  the 
franchise   will   be   received   on    April   gth. 

The  city  trustees  of  Anaheim,  Cai.,  have  called 
a  bond  election  to  vote  on  a  proposition  to  issue 
bonds  to  the  amount  of  $69,000  for  an  electric-light 
plant. 

The  City  Council  of  Bandon,  Ore,  has  granted 
a  20-year  electric-light  franchise  to  the  Bandon 
Electric-light  Company,  work  to  be  commenced  by 
May    1st. 

The  plans  for  the  Geary  Street  municipal  elec- 
tric road  have  been  filed  with  the  Board  of  Super- 
visors of  San  Francisco  and  a  resolution  has  been 
passed  calling  for  bids  for  the  construction  of  the 
line.  No  date  has  yet  been  set  for  the  opening  of 
the   bids. 

The  City  Council  of  Los  Angeles,  Cai.,  is  pre- 
paring to  carry  out  the  new  public-service  law 
in  the  matter  of  fixing  rates  for  public-service 
corporations.  Rates  for  electric  light  have  been 
fixed  at  II  cents  per  kilowatt  and  for  power  at 
10  cents  per  kilowatt.  These  rates  make  no  great 
change,  and  it  is  thought  that  the  companies 
affected  will  make  no  contest.  When  telephone 
rates  are  taken  up  trouble  is  expected,  as  the  two 
companies  operating  in  Los  Angeles  maintain 
different   rates. 

Norman  Gratz  of  Boise,  Ida.,  is  building  a 
power  plant  at  Payette,  Ida.,  for  the  Centerville 
Dredging  Company,  which  will  use  the  power  de- 
veloped to  operate  its  dredging  plants  and  for 
other   mining  purposes. 

The  Tanana  Electric  Company  of  Tanana. 
Alaska,  is  installing  a  plant  capable  of  supplying 
3,000  lights.  A. 


PERSONAL 

Fcb- 

rn  traffic  chief 
of  the   '.'■  mpany. 

heart 

H.    M.    Brinckerhoff,  eral   manager 

of  the   Metropolitan    V 

with    William 
Barclay     Parsons,     consulting  New 

York.      He   is   to  have  charge  of  the   electrical  and 
mechanical  departments  of  the  office. 

I  sham  Randolph  of  (  -  of  the 

Drainage  Canal,  ha,  b 
Internal   Improvements   Comm 
■  ion   wa 

terway 
from  Lai:..  Michigan  to  the  Gulf  of  '■' 

I..  II,  Ncwbcrt,  manager  of  the  Mary sville  (Cai.) 

lias  and    Electric    Company,    has    been    trai 

•be  peninsular 
division    „f    the    California    Gas    and    Electric    Cor- 
vill   live   in   San   Mateo  and  have  his 
y.      I      E.     Poiogdi    ire,     for- 
merly   ,.f    Grass    Valley    but    lately    of    San    Fran- 
,vill  take  charge  of  the   Marysville  office. 

Henry  Rustin,  who  was  chief  electrical  and  me- 
chanical engineer  at  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Expo- 
it    who    was    compelled    to    resign 

'"1,1  ,,f  j||  health  before  putting  into  effect  his 
conception  of  an  illuminating  effect  for  the  St. 
Louis  Fair,  died  at  his  home  in  Florence,  near 
Omaha.  Neb.,  on  February  27th.  Mr.  Rustin  was 
also  prominent  in  the  beautiful  illumination  of  the 
Pan-American  Exposition  at  Buffalo.  A  picture  of 
him  and  a  sketch  of  his  career  will  be  given  in 
1  he    Western    Electrician    next    week. 

Dennis  J.  Hern,  formerly  general  manager  of  the 
Mutual  District  Messenger  Company  of  Boston, 
his  resigned  his  position  on  the  Boston  Board  ot 
Health  and  has  been  nominated  superintendent  of 
the  Lamp  Department  of  Boston  by  Mayor  Fitzger- 
ald. Mr.  Hern  is  well  known  in  electrical  circles, 
having  filled  important  positions  with  telegraph 
companies  and  having  been  interested  in  a  company 
which  assisted  inventors  in  perfecting  and  selling 
electrical  devices.  He  was  the  New  England  su- 
perintendent of  the  Mutual  Union  Telegraph  Com- 
pany  during   its    entire  existence. 

Mr.  Edward  R.  Mason  of  Porter  &  Berg,  Chi- 
cago, has  successfully  passed  through  an  operation 
for  appendicitis,  and  his  friends  will  be  greatly 
pleased  to  learn  that  he  is  now  doing  nicely  and 
is  well  on  the  road  to  recovery'-  For  several  years 
Mr.  Mason  has  been  outside  representative  for 
Porter  &  Berg  and  he  has  contributed  not  a  little 
to  the  success  of  the  firm.  He  has  been  in  the 
Lakeside  Hospital,  Chicago,  for  three  weeks,  but 
owing  to  the  serious  nature  of  his  illness  it  will  be 
several  weeks  more  before  his  physician  will  allow 
him   again    to  think   of   business. 

Mr.  F.  E.  Donohoe,  western  agent  for  the 
American  Electrical  Works  of  Providence,  R.  I., 
has  just  accepted  the  management  of  his  com- 
pany's New  York  house.  Mr.  Donohoe  and  his 
family  left  for  the  East  last  Saturday  to  make 
permanent  residence  in  Xew  York  or  vicinity. 
Mr.  Donohoe  has  been  in  charge  of  the  western 
business  of  the  American  Electrical  Works  for 
about  12  years,  and  his  prosecution  of  the  busi- 
ness of  his  company  has  been  a  marked  success. 
He  leaves  behind  him  a  large  number  of  western 
friends.  Mr.  Donohoe  was  at  one  time  in  the 
navy.  He  opened  the  Chicago  office  of  his  com- 
pany in  June,  1894,  and  just  prior  to  this  he  was 
in  the  wire  business  in  the  East.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Donohoe  have  been  very"  popular  in  Chicago  social 
circles.  Mrs.  Donohoe  is  a  noted  golf  player, 
and  it  is  understood  that  her  husband  played  her 
a  very'  fair  second.  Mr.  E.  H.  Hammond,  who 
became  Mr.  Donohoe's  lieutenant  when  the  latter 
took  charge  of  the  company's  western  business  in 
1894,  succeeds  Mr.  Donohoe  in  the  responsible  po- 
sition of  western  agent.  Trained  under  Mr.  Dono- 
hoe's capable  management,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
Mr.  Hammond  will  manage  the  company's  west- 
ern department  to  his  own  and  his  company's 
credit. 


ELECTRIC  LIGHTING. 

Texas  papers  say  that  Sam  J.  Brown  and  W.  H. 
Rosecrans  of  Chicago  have  applied  for  a  franchise 
to  establish  an  electric-light  and  power  plant  in  Fort 
Gibson,  Texas.  This,  it  is  said,  is  the  preliminary 
move  toward  securing  the  right  to  erect  a  large  dam 
and    electric   plant   on   the    Grand   River   near   Fort 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  3,  1906 


Gibson  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  other  towns 
with   electric  power. 

Table  Rock,  Neb.,  may  have  an  electric-light  plant. 
J.  R.  Sutton  and  others,  are  interested. 

The  Anderson  County  Light  and  Heat  Company 
of  Colony,  Kan.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  cap- 
ital stock  of  $16,000. 

An  election  will  be  held  in  Iron  River,  Mich.,  on 
March  12th  to  decide  the  question  of  issuing  bonds 
for  an  electric-light  plant. 

It  is  stated  that  the  Illinois  Illuminating  Com- 
pany of  East  St.  Louis  will  expend  $1,000,000  in 
improvements   on  the   plant. 

The  Winchester  (Va.)  Electric  Light  Company 
has  sold  its  plant  to  the  Winchester  and  Washing- 
ton Railway   Company   for  $12,000. 

The  Eaton  Water,  Light  and  Power  Company  of 
Eaton,  Colo.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital 
stock  of  $35,000  by  John  McCarthy  and  others. 

The  city  of  Aberdeen,  Miss.,  will  install  a  250- 
kilowatt  Allis-Chalmers  alternator,  three-phase  60 
cycles,  and  a  60-kilowatt  machine  of  the  same  de- 
scription, with  belted  exciters  and  switchboard 
complete. 

It  is  reported  that  papers  have  been  signed  by 
which  eastern  capitalists  buy  all  the  traction,  electric- 
light,  power  and  gas  properties  in  Davenport,  Iowa, 
and  Rock  Island  and  Moline,  111.,  and  the  inter- 
urban  line  from  these  cities  to.  Watertown,  111. 

The  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company  of 
Essex,  Iowa,  has  secured  the  services  of  J.  A. 
McMasters  to  take  charge  of  the  plant,  which  will 
be  rebuilt.  The  stock  has  been  increased  by 
$25,000  and  the  whole  system  will  be  enlarged  and 
improved. 

The  capital  stock  of  the  Cincinnati  Gas  and  Elec- 
tric Company  has  been  ordered  increased  from 
$3i,oco,coo  to  $36,000,000  by  almost  unanimous  vote 
of  the  shareholders.  The  $5,000,000  increase  thus 
provided  will  be  used  for  extensions  incidental  to 
the  introduction  of  natural  gas  and  for  the  ex- 
tension   of    the    electrical    wiring    and    equipment. 

The  Electric  Company  of  America,  with  head- 
quarters at  Philadelphia,  recently  purchased  for 
one  of  its  constituent  companies,  the  Atlantic  Elec- 
tric-light and  Power  Company  of  Atlantic  City, 
N.  J.,  two  22  and  36  by  42-inch  Allis-Chalmers 
heavy-duty  cross-compound  engines  for  direct  con- 
nection to  generators  supplying  the  motor  and 
lighting  load  for  the  famous  summer-resort  city. 
The  new  units  will  be  ready  for  operation  some 
time  early  in  June. 

The  St.  John's  Light  and  Power  Company  of 
St.  Augustine,  Fla.,  owing  to  the  increasing  de- 
mand upon  its  present  power  and  traction  facili- 
ties has  recently  negotiated  the  purchase  of  addi- 
tional engine  and  generator  units,  with  exciters, 
switchboard  and  accessories,  consisting  of  a  325- 
kilowatt  alternator,  direct  coupled  to  an  iS  and 
36  by  30-inch  cross-compound  engine,  a  250-kHo- 
watt  alternator,  direct  connected  to  an  18  by  30- 
inch  engine  and  a  100-kilowatt  railway-type  gen- 
erator direct  connected  to  a  12  by  24-inch  engine; 
also  a  90-kilowatt  motor-generator  set  and  com- 
plete switchboard,  the  apparatus  being  of  the  Allis- 
Chalmers  make.  In  arranging  the  station  for  the 
installation  of  the '  new  units,  special  care  was 
taken  to  provide  for  a  future  unit,  which  may  be 
added  at  any  time  without  disturbing  the  station 
arrangement. 


ELECTRIC  RAILWAYS. 

Both  street-railway  franchises  at  Mankato,  Minn., 
have  expired  by  limitation  and  were  declared  for- 
feited by  the  council. 

A  company  is  being  organized  in  New  Orleans 
to  be  known  as  tne  New  Orleans-Crowley  and 
Western  railway,  capital  $1,000,000.  The  road  will 
be  equipped  with  electric  motive  power. 

Two  new  transformer  stations  to  be  used  in 
distributing  the  additional  electric  current  supplied 
by  the  Chicago  Edison  Company  for  the  Metropoli- 
tan elevated  railway  will  be  built  at  once  at  a  cost 
of  over  $300,000. 

Rumors  are  again  in  circulation  that  the  near 
future  will  bring,  several  consolidations  among 
the  elevated  -roads  of  Chicago.  One  rumor  con- 
templates a  consolidation  of  the  Northwestern  Ele- 
vated and  the  Chicago  and  Oak  Park,  while  an- 
other would  unite  the  South  Side  and  Metropolitan 
lines. 

The  granting  of  a  charter  to  the  Allentown,  Tama- 
qua  and  Ashland  (Pa.)  Railroad  Company  is  said 
to  be  a  step  in  establishing  electric-railway  connec- 
tions throughout  the  state.  The  capital  stock  of  the 
new  company  will  be  $20,000,000.  The  Pottsville 
Union  Traction  Company's  lines  may  be  a  part  of 
the  system. 

The  Danville,  Urbana  and  Champaign  Railway 
Company  of  Champaign,  111.,  having  shared  lib- 
erally in  the  general  prosperity  of  the  last  year, 
has  undertaken  extensive  additions  and  improve- 
ments in  its  present  power-house  equipment.  A 
feature  of  the  additions  will  be  the  complete  new 
Allis-Chalmers    power    unit,    engine    and    generator, 


which  has  recently  been  purchased,  and  which  will 
be  in  readiness  for  operation  on  or  about  the  mid- 
dle of  June.  The  engine  is  2S  by  4S  inches  and 
of  the  heavy-duty  type,  direct  connected  to  a  500- 
kilowatt   railway   generator. 

The  stockholders  of  the  East  St.  Louis  and  Sub- 
urban Electric  Railroad  Company  and  of  the  Akron, 
Granite  City  and  St.  Louis  Electric  Railway  Com- 
pany have  signed  a  preliminary  agreement  for  the 
consolidation  of  the  properties  of  the  two  companies. 
The  united  companies  will  constitute  a  $14,000,000 
torporation,  controlling  lines  connecting  21  towns 
and  embracing  175  miles  of  track. 

There  were  rumors  last  week  that  some  of  the 
Vanderbilt  railroads  in  Northern  Indiana  and 
Southern  Michigan  were  to  be  equipped  with  elec- 
tric traction  on  the  third-rail  system.  Towns  on 
the  Lake  Shore,  the  Michigan  Central,  the  Big 
Four  and  the  Lake  Erie  and  Western  where  inter- 
urban  competition  exists,  were  to  be  the  first  to 
get  the  new  service  by  the  steam  lines,  according 
to   newspaper   reports. 

The  net  earnings  of  the  Aurora,  Elgin  and  Chi- 
cago railroad  and  the  Elgin,  Aurora  and  Southern 
for  the  year  1905  were  $485,000,  according  to  the 
annual  reports  which  have  just  been  made  public. 
The  net  earnings  of  the  Aurora,  Elgin  and  Chi- 
cago road,  which  now  enjoys  arrangements  with 
the  Metropolitan  Elevated  by  which  the  inter- 
urban  cars  are  brought  into  the  heart  of  Chicago, 
increased  from  $187,056  in  1904  to  $272,261  in 
I905- 

Upon  application  to  the  United  States  Court  by 
Granger  Farwell  &  Co.,  holders  of  the  bonds, 
amounting  to  $250,000,  and  the  Merchants'  Loan 
and  Trust  Company,  trustees,  both  of  Chicago,  the 
Marquette  County  Gas  Light  and  Traction  Com- 
pany, operating  gas  and  electric  plants  and  a 
street-car  system  at  Ishpeming  and  Negaunee, 
Mich.,  has  gone  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver. 
E.  B.  Finch,  secretary  of  the  company,  is  made 
receiver. 

The  Common  Council  of  Milwaukee  has  passed 
the  ordinance  giving  a  franchise  to  the  Chicago 
and  Milwaukee  Electric  Railroad  Company  to  the 
heart  of  the  city.  Mayor  Rose,  who  was  in  the 
council  chamber,  at  once  signed  the  ordinance. 
"We  will  begin  the  work  of  construction  at  the 
south  end  as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of  the 
ground,"  President  Frost  is  quoted  as  saying. 
"We  expect  to  reach  Racine  by  the  middle  of  the 
summer  and  may  possibly  reach  Milwaukee  late 
next  fall." 

In  South  Chicago  a  few  days  ago  a  street  car 
was  used  as  a  hearse  and  20  other  cars  followed 
in  line  in  place  of  carriages.  The  occasion  was 
the  burial  at  Mount  Olive  Cemetery  of  Rev.  Mar- 
tin Van  de  Laar,  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Roman 
Catholic  Church  of  South  Chicago.  This  was  in 
accordance  with  a  provision  of  the  priest's  will, 
inspired,  as  he  stated,  by  the  knowledge  that  many 
of  his  parishioners  who  could  not  afford  to  rent 
carriages  to  attend  the  funeral  might  be  spared 
such   expense. 


POWER  TRANSMISSION. 

The  Rio  de  Janeiro  (Brazil)  Tramway,  Light 
and  Power  Company  has  placed  orders  in  the 
United  States  for  part  of  the'  equipment  of  a 
100,000-horsepower  electric  plant  to  utilize  water- 
power  85   miles   from  the   city. 

W.  H.  Standish  of  Grand  Falls,  Mo.,  is  endeav- 
oring to  have  Congress  declare  the  James  and 
White  rivers  unnavigable  above  Cotter,  Ark.  Mr. 
Standish  owns  large  tracts  along  these  two  rivers, 
and  he  proposes  to  dam  and  tunnel  the  rivers  so 
that  the  water  may  be  used  as  the  power  to  gen- 
erate electricity,  which  will  be  furnished  all  over 
Southwest   Missouri  and  Northern  Arkansas. 


PUBLICATIONS. 


The  Banner  Electric  Company  of  Youngstown, 
Ohio,  has  issued  a  new  price  list  on  the  Banner 
special   lamps. 

Fusible  hanger  boards,  taplets,  panel  cut-outs, 
entrance  switches,'  panel  boxes,  etc.,  are  described 
and  illustrated  in  the  latest  bulletin  of  the  H.  T. 
Paiste   Company   of    Philadelphia. 

An  elaborate  catalogue  on  cement-making  ma- 
chinery, rock  breakers,  crushers,  dryers,  etc.,  has 
just  been  issued  by  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company. 
Machinery  for  every  stage  of  cement  making  by 
wet   or   dry  process  is   descibed. 

The  1906  wall  calendar  of  the  Hazard  Manu- 
facturing Company  of  Wilkesbarre,  Pa.,  is  large 
and  the  figures  exceptionally  distinct,  making  them 
visible  from  a  considerable  distance.  The  com- 
pany manufactures  many  kinds  of  wire,  metal  rope 
and   cables. 

"Cedar  Products"  is  the  title  of  a  pamphlet 
compiled  by  the  C.  H.  Worcester  Company  of 
Chicago,  producers  and  wholesalers  of  cedar  poles, 
railroad  ties  and  kindred  products.  The  pamphlet 
contains  the  company's  complete  telegraphic  code 
for  ordering  products,  the  Northwestern  Cedar- 
men's  Association    standard    specification    of    white- 


cedar  products,  inspection  comments  upon  these 
specifications,  snipping  notes,  and  a  table  of  weights 
of  posts  and  poles  in  shipping  dry  condition. 
Throughout  the  pamphlet  are  some  very  interesting 
pictures  showing  how  the  poles  are  handled  in  the 
woods. 

A  pleasing  bulletin  from  the  Goulds  Manufac- 
turing Company  of  Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y.,  describes 
a  high-pressure  fire-protection  plant  installed  in 
New  York  at  Coney  Island.  It  contains  complete 
descriptions  of  the  Goulds  apparatus  and  many 
interesting    pictures    of    this    important    installation. 

An  address  on  "Underground  Chicago"  was  de- 
livered before  the  Chicago  Architectural  Business 
Men's  Association  on  January  23d  by  George  W. 
Jackson,  chief  engineer  and  general  manager  of 
the  Illinois  Tunnel  Company.  This  address  has 
been  reprinted  in  a  tasteful  brochure  and  is  being 
distributed    with  the    compliments    of   the   company. 


SOCIETIES  AND  SCHOOLS. 

The  "Proceedings"  of  the  Iowa  Electrical  Asso- 
ciation, just  issued,  covering  the  report  of  the 
fifth  annual  convention  held  at  Dubuque,  April 
19  and  20,  1905,  contains  8g  pages  and  is  a  well- 
bound  and  attractive  book.  A  list  of  members  is 
given,  together  with  a  complete  report  of  the  trans- 
actions of  the  convention.  Austin  Burt  of  Water- 
loo   is    president    of    the    association. 

The  annual  inspection  trip  of  engineering  stu- 
dents of  Purdue  University  will  be  begun  on 
March  27th.  The  students  will  be  divided  into 
three  sections,  relating,  respectively,  to  mechanical, 
civil  and  electrical  engineering.  Prof.  W.  F.  M. 
Goss,  dean  of  the  engineering  schools,  will  have 
charge  of  the  engineering  party,  and  the  large 
plants   in  Chicago  will  be  visited  first. 

The  Illuminating  Engineering  Society  will  hold 
its  next  regular  meeting  in  the  Edison  Auditorium, 
44  West  Twenty-seventh  Street,  New  York  city, 
on  Friday  evening,  March  9th,  at  8  p.  m.  Papers 
will  be  presented  on  the  following  subjects:  "The 
Luminous  Arc,"  by  E.  L.  Elliott;  "The  Inverted 
Incandescent  Gas  Burner,"  by  Victor  Rettich ; 
"Illuminating  Engineering  from  the  Architect's 
Standpoint,"  by  W.  S.  Kellogg.  The  papers  will 
be  open  to  general  discussion,  and  all  interested 
in    the    subjects    treated    are    invited    to    attend. 

The  first  list  of  questions  for  the  "Question 
Box"  of  the  National  Electric  Light  Association 
for  the  Atlantic  City  convention  next  June  has 
appeared,  and  even  at  this  early  date  a  creditable 
and  diversified  list  is  presented.  Mr.  Paul  Liipke 
of  222  East  State  Street,  Trenton,  N.  J.,  is  the 
editor  of  this  department  and  he  will  be  glad  to 
receive  as  many  answers  to  these  questions  as 
possible,  also  new  questions  of  timely  interest. 
"To  Keep  Your  Knowledge  Alive  is  to  Give  it 
Away"  is  the  motto  adopted  by  the  department, 
and  contributions  to  this  important  work  will  be 
appreciated   by   the  association   as   a   whole. 

The  Iowa  Street  and  Interurban  Railway  Asso- 
ciation will  hold  its  next  convention  in  the  Kirk- 
wood  Hotel,  Des  Moines,  on  April  19th  and  20th. 
Papers  will  be  presented  on  "Standard  Car  and 
Truck  Construction  for  Interurban  Work,"  "Disci- 
pline of  Car-service  Employes,"  "Comparative 
Value  of  the  Alternating-current  and  Direct-cur- 
rent Systems  of  Distribution  for  Railway  Work," 
"Gasoline  Engines  for  Interurban  Service"  (prob- 
ably), and  "Rail-bond,  Field  and  Armature  Test- 
ing." Manufacturers  and  dealers  and  their  repre- 
sentatives are  extended  a  hearty  invitation  to  be 
present.  L.  D.  Mathes,  general  manager  of  the 
Union  Electric  Company  of  Dubuque,  is  the  secre- 
tary of  the  association. 

Applications  have  already  been  made  by  manu- 
facturing companies  for  two-thirds  of  this  year's 
electrical  engineering  class  in  the  University  of 
Minnesota.  Subjects  of  thesis  investigation  by 
members  of  the  class  are  as  follows :  "Wave 
Forms  of  High-frequency  Alternating  Current," 
"An  Electrolytic  Survey,"  "Variable-speed  Induc- 
tion Motors,"  "Mercury-vapor  Rectifiers,"  "Per- 
formance of  a  Three-phase  13,000-volt  10-mile  Un- 
derground Cable,"  "Design  and  Test  of  an  Inter- 
changeable Arc  Lamp,"  "Purification  of  City  Water 
Supply  by  Electricity."  "Spectrophotometer  Study 
of  Flaming  Arc  Lamps,"  "Tests  of  a  Central  Sta- 
tion," "Test  of  Electric  Headlights,"  "Tests  of  a 
High-speed  Electric  Car."  "Photographic  Values 
of  Various  Electric  Lights,"  "Design,  Construc- 
tion and  Test  of  an  Induction  Motor." 


AUTOMOBILES. 


Possibly  the  finest  private  automobile  in  the  world 
is  that  owned  by  George  W.  Perkins  of  New  York, 
which  is  reputed  to  have  cost  $23,000.  Electricity 
is  used  for  auxiliary  purposes.  Various  ordinary  in- 
structions to  the  driver  are  posted  on  the  dash-board, 
each  indicated  by  an  electric  lamp.  Pressing  a  cor- 
responding button  inside  the  car  lights  the  proper 
lamp.  A  telephone  is  also  available  if  special  orders 
are  to  be  given  the  driver.  The  car  is  said  to  con- 
tain revolving  chairs,  a  washstand,  toilet  cases,  mir- 
rors, electric  lights,  electric  heaters,  hat  cords,  par- 
cel nets,  leather  pockets  filled  with  various  articles, 


[March  3,  1906 

a   writing  desk   and   a   cabini  1    laining     mokci 

articli 

1  lie    Association    of     Elci  11  ic    \  chii  Ic      I 

in:. 1,   In     been   1 porated   at    Albany,   N.    Y,,   to 

bring  together  the  leading  manufacture!     in 

machines  Mini   adopl    mca  ;urc  :   in   cm 

ihr  trade.     'I  In'   main   office:    will    be   in 

city,     I  he   directoi     arc    Robcrl    Vf.    Lloyd   ol 

YmL,  George  Pope  of  Hartford,  '  onn.,  VI.  L  Gro 

and   I.  W.   McCrca  ol   1  Lm  land,    I     W    I Iridgi 

,,i   South    Bend,    Ind.,   and    I. vli  N  lughto 

Buffalo  

MISCELLANEOUS 

Mi.  city  hi  Ellcnsburg,  Wash.,  proposi  1..  install 
1 Icctric  tin1  alai  m    ysti  m 

Recharging  dry  batteries  may  he  accomplished, 
it  is  said,  by  pouring  about  a  gill  of  dilute  sul- 
phuric   acid     (three    pari-,    water,    pari     acid) 

through  I""  small  holes  bored  in  the  top  o£  the 
battery,  the  solution  percolating  down  through  the 
interior.      Tin'    holes    am     then     plugged    up    with 

soap    an. I    the    battery    allowed    to    stand 

about     1-'  hours    before    using. 

Prof.  II.  C.  Ernst  of  Harvard  Medical  School 
is  said  1.1  have  devised  a  means  whereby  bacteria 
1 1 1 : 1  v  be  photographed,  making  it  possible  to  watch 
iln  Hi,-  of  the  germs.  This  is  done  by  using 
ultraviolet  rays,  and  a  series  of  pictures  may  be 
taken  every  minute  in  show  the  growth  of  the 
germ.  Under  the  action  of  these  rays  the  bac- 
Irria  show  up  on  Hie  negative  without  any  arti- 
Bcial  coloring. 

Sir  William  Arrol  &  Co.  have  constructed  for 
John  Brown  &  Co.,  Glasgow,  two  very  high  elec- 
tric derricks  for  use  in  the  building  of  the  express 
Cunarder.  On  account  of  the  great  height  of  the 
ship,  exceptional  derricks  arc  necessary,  and  those 
now  erected  are  designed  to  raise  a  load  of  five 
tons  to  a  height  of  120  feet  from  the  ground 
level,  with  a  working  radius  of  35  feet  from  the 
center  of  the  mast  and  with  a  jib  slewing  through 
180  degrees.  The  mast  is  an  open  lattice-work 
column  of  square  sections  six  feet  square  at  the 
center  and  tapering  to  18  inches  at  the  ends.  The 
platform  for  the  electrical  apparatus  is  at  a  height 
of  95   feet  from  the  ground   level. 


TRADE  NEWS. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  National  Carbon 
Company  it  was  reported  that  the  company  during 
the  fiscal  year  ended  January  31st  earned  $222,250, 
or  4.03  per  cent,  on  the  common  stock.  This 
amount    compares   with    $147,970,    or   2.85    per    cent. 


I  ERN       H.I.'    II--I' 

fiscal 

Mo.,   I. 

\rihur   W,    Lambert    and   oil 

I.. I-    llllll    . 

in  certain  build  ed   in 

1    will    be    i' 

rd        d  Docl 
March  3 

.  I.    .     foi      'ii.      1 

yard.    Plana    and     pecifications    will    I*.-    fun 
intending 

in. in. I:. in    .a    iln-  yard, 

1  I.      Bun    n    -         ■  pplii       ind, 

I',  pari ,  i     ii    n  11 1  propo  als  until  March 

l.ilh    I'm'    I'lirni  lung    in.   indi    - 
magnel    v.  h  c   and    mi 

ml, 1. 1<  1  ,1     111         Ii,  dull 

iu\   ..in.  e  in  New  Yor]     or  upot 
bureau   at    Wa  hington. 

Steel  towers  buill   by  tin  or  C01  ipany  of 

Chicago   are    us.-d  by    iln-    Niagara,    Lockporl    and 

I  I11l.11  i-i    I 'own    1  '..inpaiiv    in    tin 

line   extending  eastward    from    Niagara    Falls.  Some 
of   these    towers    an-   50   feet   high   and   dcsigl 
withstand  a  pull  of  3,500  pounds  at  the  top  of  any 
insulator    pin,    or    a   total    pull    at    llie    top    of    the 
tower   of    15,000  pounds. 

Queen  &  Co.  of  Philadelphia  announce  their  re- 
moval to  the  northwest  corner  of  Eighth  and 
Arch  streets.  Iln-  new  quarters  are  for  the  math- 
ematical, drafting  and  engineering  instrument  de- 
partments, physical  and  electrical  department,  me- 
teorological department,  optical-instrument  depart- 
ment, chemical  apparatus,  and  wholesale  depart- 
ment. Here  they  will  enjoy  increased  facilities  for 
the  display  and  shipment  of  goods  and  the  filling 
of  orders.  Large  additions  have  also  been  in  de 
to  the  company's  manufacturing  plants  in  Phila- 
delphia  and   New  Jersey. 

The  Allis-Chalmers  Company  calls  attention  to 
United  States  patent  No.  811,520,  issued  on  Jan- 
uary 30,  1906.  This  patent  relates  to  horizontal- 
vertical  types  of  steam  engines,  and  was  granted, 
after  long  deliberation  and  controversy  in  the 
Patent  Office,  on  an  application  filed  in  August, 
1900,  by  Mr.  Edwin  Reynolds,  and  was  assigned 
by  him  .to  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company.  Accord- 
ing  to   the   company,   the    claims    under   this   patent 


189 


BUSINESS 


with    a: 

William    M.    I  I 

I  he   engineering  fin 
K.iilw.i 

and     72     by    <»>  in.  h     ,: 
pound 

.ill    be    ready    I 
the    fall.  ' 

iiiy   announces 

that    during    the    fir-.t    two     .  :iry    it 

awarded    to    i\  ,,:«.    Ine 

-team    turbine    has    been    in- 

Among    thi  m     the 

Phosphate     Manufacturing    Company    of    lakeland, 

1  Electric  Street  Rail  . 

1  ompany     of     Columbia,     S.    C,    i 
Light    and      Power      Company    of    Adrian. 

Ivania    Light   and  Power  Company   of   Allc- 
I      Impont    Company    of'  Wilming- 
1  .  and  the  Kennebec  Light  and  Heat  Com- 
pany   of    Augusta,    Maine. 

Electricians  of  all  kinds  having  fastenings  to 
ile,  brick,  tile,  slate  and  other  sub- 
stances of  that  nature  should  be  interested  in  the 
Star  screw  anchor,  which  is  especially  adapted  for 
their  class  of  work.  These  anchors  arc  made  of  a 
lead  composition,  which  is  non-rusting,  and  will 
not  chip,  mar  or  crack  the  material  into  which 
it  is  inserted.  Any  wood,  machine  or  special  sercw 
can  be  used  with  these  anchors,  as  thev  enable 
the  screw  to  cut  its  own  thread.  The*  anchors 
are  used  in  large  quantities  by  telephone  com- 
panies for  fastening  wire  distributing  rings  and 
the  like,  and  on  switchboards  and  other  classes 
of  work  for  making  fastenings  of  various  kinds. 
Samples  and  full  information  will  be  sent  upon 
request  to  the  Star  Expansion  Bolt  Company,  147- 
149    Cedar    Street.    New    York    city. 


ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 


812,825.  Railway  Switch-operating  Apparatus.  Clyde 
J.  Coleman,  Rockaway,  N.  J.,  assignor  of  one- 
half  to  Sidney  Aronstein,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Ap- 
plication filed  February  4,  1905. 

Railway  switch-operating  apparatus  comprises  fluid- 
pressure  motive  apparatus  in  actuative  co-operation  with 
a  track  switch  and  including  an  expansible  motive  cham- 
ber and  a  tubular  electric  conductor  in  fluid  communica- 
tion with  the  motive  chamher  and  arranged  to  receive 
motive  fluid  and  to  heat  and  expand  it  by  caloric  energy 
generated  by  passage  of  an  electric  current  in  the  tu- 
bular conductor. 

812,847.  Trolley  Wheel.  John  Hensley,  Huntington, 
Ind.     Application  filed  November  6,   1905. 

Mechanical   features  of  a  trolley  wheel  are  set   forth. 

812,851.  Trolley  for  Electric  Cars.  John  H.  Kinter, 
Indiana,  Pa.     Application  filed  August  5,  1904. 

A  device  for  maintaining  the  wheel  upon  the  trolley 
wire   is  the  basis  of  the  patent. 

812,872.  Incandescent  Electric  Lamp.  Herschel  C. 
Parker,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the 
Parker-Clark  Electric  Company,  Jersey  City, 
N.  J.     Application  filed  April  S,  1905. 

An  incandescent  electric  lamp  comprises  a  tube  of 
highly  refractory  material  which  is  permeable  to  light,  a 
highly  refractory  conductive  film  on  the  inner  surface 
of  the  tube  and  connections  at  the  tube  ends  for  the 
conductive    film. 

812,878.  Turbine-driven  Machinery.  Auguste  C.  E. 
Rateau  and  Gaston  Sautter,  Paris,  France,  as- 
signors to  the  Rateau  Turbine  Company,  Chi- 
cago, 111.    Application  filed  August  17,  1903. 

Associated  with  a  number  of  turbines  connected  in 
series  with  respect  to  the  passage  of  steam  are  a  corre- 
sponding number  of  electric  generators  driven  by  the 
turbines,  a  connection  between  the  driven  machines  to 
maintain  approximately  a  fixed  relative  speed  and  a 
governor  mechanism  responsive  to  changes  in  speed  of 
the  svstem  controlling  the  admission  of  steam  to  the 
first  turbine  of  the  series. 

812.880.  Switch  or  Circuit-breaker  for  High-poten- 
tial Circuits.  Edwin  W.  Rice,  Jr.,  Schenectady, 
N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General  Electric  Company, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  December 
30,  1899. 

Means  for  rupturing  a  high-potential  current  comprise 
contacts,  an  inclosure  around  the  points  of  contact 
adapted  to  store  high  pressure*  upon  the  separation  of  the 
contacts,  a  body  of  insulating  liquid  submerging  the  con- 
tacts and  quick-acting  means  for  separating  the  contacts 
with  a  quick  break  and  a  long  motion  whereby  the  arc 
products  are  squeezed  into  small  cross-section  and  the 
arc  is  stretched  until  ruptured.      (See  cut.) 

812.881.  Hanger  or  Ear  for  Overhead  Electric  Trol- 
ley   Wires.      Abraham     Richardson,     Blackpool, 


Issued  (U?iited  States  Patent  Office)  February  20i  igod. 

England,  assignor  of  seven-eighths  to  Joseph 
Heap,  Henry  Heap,  James  Bailey,  Thomas  Brier- 
ley,  Robert  Bi  Hington,  James  Haydock  and 
Thomas  Smith  Jones,  Blackpool,  England.  Ap- 
plication filed  February  6,  1905.  < 


In   combination    with  a  truck  are  a  pair  of  electric  rao- 
3rs    and    supporting   connection?   Ixtwccn    the    motors    and 
-    pair  of  balancing  links,  each  of  which 
motor  with  the  lower 


he  upper  side  of  the  1 


111 


Si2,t: 


-OIL  SWITCH    OR    CIR,:i'IT-r.KI..\KTR. 


An  ear  or  hanger  for  supporting  or  holding  up  elec- 
tric conductor  wires,  constructed  with  two  jaws  to  grip 
the   wires,   is  made    the    basis   of   the    patent. 

2,891.  Interconnected  Suspension  Means  for  Gear- 
less  Motors.  Robert  Siegfried,  Pittsburg,  Pa., 
assignor  to  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Man- 
ufacturing Company,  Pittsburg,  Pa.  Application 
filed  June  12,  1905. 


side  of  the  other, 

812,900.  Rail  Bond.  Edward  G.  Thomas.  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.  Application  filed  December  ^4 
1902. 

■£jrail-  I]0nd  coniPrises  a  number  of  flexible  strips  pro- 
vided with  an  attaching  surface  formed  by  the  collective 
exposed  surfaces  of  the  strips  on  one  side  of  the  bond 
'"  c°mbinat!on  with  a  U"s°aped  binding  plate  having  its 
middle  portion  placed  against  the  strips  opposite  the  at- 
taching surface  and  having  its  ends  arranged  to  confine 
the  strips  against    lateral   separation. 

812,949.  Electromagnetic  Power  Generator.  Joseph 
L.  Potter,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Application  filed 
May  26,  1905. 

The  power  generator  includes  several  vibrating  arms 
means  for  actuating  the  arms  and  a  rotative  shaft  carry- 
ing a  device  intermittently  engaged  by  the  arms  and  ac- 
tuated directly  by  them. 

812,965.  Electrical  Heater.  Emma  L.  Vaughn,  San 
Francisco,  Cal.,  assignor  to  G.  X.  Wendling.  San 
Francisco,  Cal.  Application  filed  October  14, 
1905. 

In  a  temperature-changing  device,  an  open-ended  per- 
forated casing  lias  a  partition  nearer  one  end  than  tie 
other  and  an  electrical  translating  device  connected 
with  the  partition. 

Sl2,a6o.  Electric  Welding  Machine.  William  C. 
Winfield,  Warren,  Ohio,  assignor  to  the  Winneld 
Manufacturing  Company,  Warren,  Ohio.  Ap- 
plication filed  January  9,  1905. 

An  electric  welding  machine  comprises  a  pair  of  con- 
ductors horizontally  disposed  with  a  space  between  them. 
Associated  with  the  conductors  are  a  rotatable  support 
tor  a  vessel  body  ad.-inted  to  engage  the  vessel  inside,  and 

Sl2,oSo.  Self-soldering  Heat  Cartridge  and  Pro- 
tective Apparatus. _  Frank  B.  Cook,  Chicago,  111. 
Application  filed  November  26,  1904. 

An  inclosing  shell  has  suitable  conducting  end  caps 
secured  to  it  and  a  heat-producin"  member  extending 
completely  through  the  shell  and  end  caps  and  projecting 
from  at  least  one  end  of  the  device. 

Si3,04S.  Anode.  Leuis  Levett,  New  York,  X.  Y. 
Application  filed  May  9,  1905. 

Combined  with  a  core  are  metal  portion  constructed  to 
fit  onto  and  surround  the  core,  means  for  retaining  the 
metal  portion  and  insulating  material  covering  the  ex- 
posed portions  of  the   core. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  3,  1906 


813,052.  Electric  Brake  for  Vehicles.  Joseph  N. 
Mahoney,  Astoria,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Amer- 
ican Electric  Brake  Company.  Application  filed 
November    8,    1901. 

Fundamental  features  of  an  electric  braking  system 
consist  of  a  brake  magnet  having  two  windings  acting 
to  produce  pressure  between  braking  surfaces,  an  auto- 
matic controller  acting  to  control  the  braking  current  in 
one  of  the  windings  and  means  whereby  the  * 
may  at   will   control   within  lir  :'- 


thc  action   of  the   auto- 


813,063.  Process  of  Separating  Substances  of  Dif- 
ferent Dielectric  Capacities.  Henry  M.  Sutton, 
Walter  L.  Steele  and  Edwin  G.  Steele,  Dallas, 
Texas.    Application  filed  April   18,   1903. 

The  process  consists  of  separating  particles  of  a  mass 
or  components  of  a  mixture,  developing  in  the  particles 
or  components  dielectric  hysteretic  _ impedance  and  simul- 
taneously exposing  them  to  the  inductive  action  of  a 
polarized  terminal  and  separately  collecting  the  separated 
particles  or  components. 


NO.    813,113. — ELECTRIC   HEATER. 


813,077.  Automatic  Flashlight  Apparatus.  Stanis- 
laus Berens,  La  Grange,  and  Abraham  N.  Gatz-- 
ert,  Chicago,  111.  Application  filed  June  22, 
1005. 

In  an  automatic   flashlight  apparatus   are   a   gas  fixture, 
a    gas-regulating    valve     mounted    thereon,    an    expansible 


with 

expansible   piece 

Mea 

ns  con 

the 

valve 

and 

the 

will   be   tui 

f   thf 

flow    of 

fed 

0    the 

valve 

the 

circuit  is 

broken  so 

IS  to 

mere 

ise  the 

flow 

gas. 

813.081.  Sparking  Igniter  for  Explosive  Engines. 
George  Cormack,  Jr.,  and  Frederick  C.  Zumdahl, 
Rockford,  111.     Application  filed  February  5,  1904. 

Details   are    described. 

813.082.  Mechanical  and  Magnetic  Toy.  Herbert 
Cottrell,  Newark,  N.  J.  Application  filed  Feb- 
ruary 27,  1900. 

A  toy  operated  by  a  magnet   is   described. 

813.083.  Electrically  Controlled  Regulating  Valve 
for  Humidifying  and  Heating  Systems.  Stuart 
W.  Cramer,  Charlotte,  N.  C.  Application  filed 
December  29,  1904. 

Means  for  indicating  both  the  humidity  and  tempera- 
ture of  the  air  are  connected  to  electrical  circuits,  which 
control  the  valves  supplying  the  heating  medium. 

813,093.  Binding  Post.  Edwin  C.  Henn,  Cleveland, 
Ohio.     Application  filed  May  9,    1905. 

A  binding  post  for  making  connections  to  a  battery  is 
described. 

813,101.  Closed  Conduit  for  Electric  Railways. 
Augustus  W.  Lohmannv  Sr.,  Chattanooga,  Tenn., 
and  johan  Pruis,  Chicago,  111.  Application  filed 
March  22,    1905. 

Combined  with  the  conduit  opening  are  shutters,  each 
having  sides  forming  an  angle.  The  sides  extend  from 
one  side  of  the  slot  and  meet  at  the  opposite  side. 

813.104.  Sparking  Device.  Harry  A.  Miller,  Los 
Angeles,  Cal.     Application  filed  January  14,  1905. 

An  ignition  device  comprises  a  plug,  a  spring-held  re- 
ciprocable  contact  member,  an  oscillating  contact  mem- 
ber, a  chamber  communicating  with  the  inner  end  of  the 
plug  and  a  member  contained  in  the  chamber  and  ex- 
posed to  the  cylinder  pressure  and  serving  to  actuate 
the    second-named    contact  member. 

813.105.  Process  for  Decomposing  Water  by  Elec- 
trolysis. William  F.  M.  McCarty,  Rocky  Ridge, 
Md.,  assignor  to  Thomas  A.  Darby,  trustee,  New 
York,  N.  Y.     Application  filed  November  8,  1904. 

The  process  of  decomposing  water  consists  in  adding 
to  the  water  metallic  sodium  and  then  subjecting  the 
water  to  the  "action  of  an  electric  current. 

813,113.  Electric  Heater.  Austin  A.  Pratt,  Los 
Angeles,  Cal.    Application  filed  June  21,  1905. 

In  an  electric  heater  are  a  casing,  a  pair  of  support- 
ing members  arranged  therein,  insulating  blocks  carried 
by    the    members,     conducting    clips    support 


CSe 


at.) 


ending 


group  of  electric  contacts  and  a  switch  attached  to 
and  operating  with  the  movable  part  for  successively 
throwing  the  circuits  into  action   and  cutting  them  out  of 

813,154.  Automatic  Switch  for  Electric  Railways. 
Victor  Joksch,  Karlin-Prague,  and  Josef  Pertik, 
Prague,  Austria-Hungary,  assignors  of  one-third 
to  Richard  Butta,  Prague,  Austria-Hungary. 
Application  filed  May  26,  1905. 

Magneto-electric    devices    controllable    from    the    vehicle 


shunt    with    the    circuit,    the    additional    ... 

two    electromagnets,    the    relative    positions    of    which 
elm  livable.      Means   coacting  with  the   electromagnets 
actuated    upon    the    change    of    position,    for    opening    „„^ 
circuit    to    be    protected.       A    permanent    ground    connec- 


including 


;ected 


the   shun 


thn 


the 


fitch. 


813,161.  Self-winding  Electric  Clock.  Max  Men- 
kin,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  March 
30,  1904. 

Details    are    described. 

Si3,iS4.  Relay.  Angel  Vera  and  Louis  G.  Vera, 
Queretaro,  Mexico.  Application  filed  November 
26,   1904. 

In  combination  with  an  armature  are  opposed  electro- 
magnets, one  arranged  to  operate  more  rapidly  than 
the  other,  the  more  rapid  of  the  magnets  actuating  the 
armature  upon  closing  of  a  circuit,  and  the  other  mag- 
net actuating  the  armature  upon  opening  of  the  circuit. 

813,230.  Service  Meter  for  Telephone  Exchanges. 
Frank  R.  McBerty,  Evanston,  and  Edward  B. 
Craft,  Chicago,  111.,  assignors  to  the  Western 
Electric  Company,  Chicago,  111.  Application  filed 
June   10,  1905. 

Combined  with  a  tilting  lever  _  are  electromagnetic 
mechanism  for  moving  the  lever  in  either  direction,  a 
switch  controlling  the  circuit  connections  of  the  mechan- 
ism and  a  catch  adapted  to  lock  the  switch  in  its  actu- 
ated position.  A  registering ,  train  is  operated  by  the 
movement  of  the  lever  in  one  direction,  the  lever  being 
such  movement  to  operate  the  catch  to  release 
'itch.     The  lever  when  moved  in  the   opposite  direc- 


813,308.  Warp  Stop-motion  for  Looms.  Frederic  E. 
Kip,  Montclair,  N.  J.,  and  Ernest  Greenwood, 
Bridgeport,  Conn.,  assignors*  to  the  Kip-Arm- 
strong Company,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Application 
filed  March  3,  1905. 

In;a  warp  stop-motion  for  looms  are  a  controlling 
circuit  for  setting  in  operation  the  stopping  mechanism, 
a  harness  frame-  having  a  fixed  contact  bar  secured  thereto, 
a  series  of  heddlcs  suspended  on  the  bar,  a  switch  com- 
prising plates  to  which  the  terminals  of  the  circuit  are 
connected  and  shoes  carried  by  the  harness  frame  and 
electrically  connected  to  the  bar.  The  shoes  are  adapted 
*--    break  and  close  the   circuit    through    the    plates  as   the 


fra: 


alternately 


nrl    la!!-. 


813.309-  Warp  Stop-motion  for  Looms.  Frederic  E. 
Kip,  Montclair,  N.  J.,  and  Edwin  C.  Smith,  Cen- 
tral Falls,"  R.  I.,  assignors  to  the  Kip-Armstrong 
Company,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
October  27,  1905. 

In    a    warp    stop-motion     for    looms    are    a    controlling 
circuit   for  setting  in  operation  the  stopping    mechanism,  a 
having     a     series    of     heddlcs     suspended 
pattern-fon 


of  the  , 


dtch. 


for 


813-330.     Telephone    System.     Ralph    Sherer,    Eaton,. 
Ohio.    Application  filed  October  17,   1904. 

A    selective    telephone    comprises    talking 
movable    bars    having    contact   plates 


■■iiiV.i:iS 


the    talking    circuit,   electromagnets 

ing  circuit,  pawls  actuated  by  the  magnets  adapted 
the  bars  step  by  step  and  means  for  cutting  01 
electromagnet  at  the  calling  station.      (See  cut.) 


lift 


NO.    813,330.  — SELECTIVE   TELEPHONE    SYSTEM. 


tion    releases    the    switch    without    effecting    a    registration. 
(See   cut.) 

313,262.  Automatic  Starting  Device.  Herbert  A. 
Warden,  Frederick  Manns  and  William  H. 
Decker,  Newburgh,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  June 
30,  I905- 

Co-operating  with  a  rheostat,  including  a  movable  switch 
element,  are  a  screw  shaft  adapted  to  be  operated  from 
a  motor,  a  nut' adapted  to  traverse  the  shaft  and  to  im- 
part motion  to  the  switch  element,  means  for  maintaining 
engagement  with  the  shaft   during  its  forward 


the   nut   : 


NO.    813,230. SERVICE 


TELEPHOEN    EX- 


813,119.  Electric  Lock  Strike.  Harry  F.  Smith, 
Richmond,  Va.,  assignor  of  one-third  to  J.  S 
Hopkins  and  one-third  to  George  "J.  Hooper, 
Richmond,  Va.  Application  filed  January  4, 
1905. 


513,269.  Galvanometer.  Philip  H.  Wynne,  Boston, 
Mass.,  assignor  of  one-half  to  Agnes  Wynne  and 
one-half  to  the  L.  E,  Knott  Apparatus  Company, 
Boston,  Mass.    Application  filed  July  14,  1905. 

In  a  galvanometer  are  an  inverted  horseshoe  magnet, 
stilts  or  struts  of  non-magnetic  material,  on  which  the 
magnet  is  supported,  and  a  coil  suspended  between  the 
poles  of  the  magnet  to  swing  about   a  vertical  axis. 

313,287.  Electric  Traction  System.  James  P.  Gor- 
man, Jr.,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
March  31,  1905. 

A  contact  device  for  electric  traction  systems  com- 
prises a  pole,  a  conductor  extending  through  the  pole  and 
having  its  upper  end  threaded,  a  contact  block  surround- 
ing the  conductor  and  a  nut  operating  upon  the  con- 
ductor thread  above  the  contact  block. 

813,297.  Electrical  Safety  Device.  Elwood  B.  Hos- 
mer  and  William  N.  Dietrich,  Montreal,  Canada. 
Application  filed  June  30,  1902. 

Protection  for  an  electric  circuit  is  assured_  by  an 
electric   safety  device,   comprising   an   additional   circuit   in 


813.353.  Insulator.  Huntington  B.  Crouse,  Syracuse, 
N.   Y.    Application   filed   April    18,    1904. 

A  cup-shaped  insulator  has  an  end  wall  or  bottom  pro- 
vided with  a  central  opening  surrounded  by  an  annular 
flange  in  combination  with  a  metal  socket  having  bottom 
flanges  resting  upon  the  bottom  of  the  insulator  at  op- 
posite   sides  of  the  flange. 

Reissue. 

12,453.  Electric  Meter.  Thomas  Duncan,  Lafayette, 
Ind.,  assignor  to  the  Duncan  Electric  Manufac- 
turing Company.  Lafayete,  Ind.  Application 
filed  August  9,  1905.  Original  application  dated 
August  1,   1905. 

Combined  with  a  motor  wattmeter  whose  shaft  has  a 
lower  bearing  and  an  upper  inverted  end  thrust  bearing 
are  a  magnetic  suspension  device  for  supporting  the 
rotating  element  of  the  meter  and  mechanism  for  effect- 
ing adjustment  of  the  end-thrust  bearing  axially  of  the 
shaft.  The  bearing  at  the  upper  end  of  the  shaft  serves, 
to  aline  the  shaft  at  the  upper  end  and  to  prevent  lateral 
deflection  thereof  mechanically. 


PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Following  is  a  list  of  electrical  patents  (issued 
by  the  United  States  Patent  Office)  that  expired 
on    February    26,    1906 : 

398,402.  Current-collecting  Device  for  Electric  Railways. 
R.    M.    Hunter,    Philadelphia,    Pa. 

398,420.  Electric  Burglar  Alarm.  L.  A.  McCarthy,  Urook- 
lyn,    N.   Y. 

398,457.  Alternate-current  Electric  Motor.  O.  B.  Shallen- 
berger,    Rochester,   Pa. 

39S.45S.  Alternate-current  Electric  Motor.  O.  B.  Shallen- 
btrger,    Rochester,   Pa. 

398,489.  Support  for  Electric-railway  Wires.  T.  H.  Brady, . 
New   Britain,    Conn. 

198,49s.  Conductor  for  Electric  Railways.  O.  Dahl,  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y. 

398,510.     Electric  Switch.     W.    S.    Hill.    Uoston,  Mass. 

398.560.  Electric  Switch,  F.  A.  Weller  and  A.  F.  Rietzel,. 
Lynn,  Mass. 

398.561.  Electric  Switch.  F.  A.  Weilcr  and  A.  F.  Rietzel,. 
Lynn,  Mass. 

398,566.      Electric   Cut-out.      \V.   H.    S.   Wright,    Kanras    City, 


;oS.hn.       Jili_____ 

W.   F.  Z.    Desant,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
398,614.      Quadruplcx    Telegraphy.      C.    L.    Healy,    Brooklyn, 

39S,66r.      Insulating    Support   for  Electric  Conductors.     S.  H. 

Short,   Columbus,  Ohio. 
398,662.      Electric    Railway-      S.    II.    Short.   Columbus,    Ohio. 
10S. (>'.>;.      Switch    Mechanism    for    Electric    Railways.      S.    H. 

Short,    Columbus,   Ohio. 
39S.668.       Regulator    for    Djnamo-clectnc    Machines.       E.    A. 

Sperry,  Chicago,    111. 
398,731.      Electrical    Bathing    Machine.      J.    W.    James,    Cuba,. 

398,769.  Electric!  Circuit  Coupler.  S.  C.  C.  Currie,  Phila- 
delphia,  Pa. 

39S  774.  Incandescent  Electric  Lamp.  T.  A.  Edison,  Menlo 
Park,    N.    J.  •      .     .      ,,  _     T 

198, 7Q4-  Svstem  of  Svnchn  .nizing  Llccinc  Motors.  F.  J .  - 
Patten,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


Vol.  XXXVIII. 


I  HICAGO,  MARl  ll   10 


Twenty-thousand  Volt  Single-phase 

Locomotive  for  the  Swedish 

Railways. 

By  C.   Smith. 
The  Swedish  Railways  have  been  conducting  ej 

pc- nls    fur    Ihc    last   six    months    with    two    I 

hi"    and    two    motor   cars    constructed    by    dif 

ferent  concerns,  with  a  view  to  electrifying  their 
lines.  These  Iri.-ils  were  conducted  on  tlic  line 
from  Tomtebode  to  Vartratt,  near  Stockholm.  A 
single-phase  current  of  25  cycles  frequency  was 
used.  The  locomotive  shown  attached  to  a  train 
in  the  accompanying  illustration  was  buill  by  the 
Siemens-Schuckert  Company,  while  others  were 
furnished  by  the  Allgemeine  Electric  Company  of 
Berlin  and  the  Westinghousc  Company  of  Lon- 
don. 
The     Siemens-Schuckert     locomotive     has     three 


pi  in.  ipal   and   au  Kilii  1  .    1  oil     in   Ihi     1     mdary,  the 

li  11  1 f  ill-    ■  -iii-  nl   fed  to  I 

bcl    ' d  320 

1  1 hi  rollci  1  which 

is    intended    foi     1 
due  '" 
blown   "in   by 

veil   a     iii-         nig  ion    interrupter 

an    worked  by   hand. 

The  motoi     an    irtificially  led  with  air,  while 

the   circulation   of   thi    oil    

Tin-    current    is    received    through    two    aluminum 

l,<  i\\     -  -  illeeti  .1    .     furni 

ported  by  iron   framework.    These  iron  frami 
raised   and   lowered   by   levers   to   which    th 
secured,    the    spring     kei  ping    [hi     prcssu 
collectors    against    the    overhead    wire    the    same    at 
all    heights.     Each    collector    is    raised    or    lowered 
vertically    by    means    of    a    cable    from    inside    the 


Niagara  Waterpower  Situation. 

tained   in  the  I 

amount    of    mater    required 

for    the    full    00" 

mpleted   or  in  |  on   will 

Fall,,    hut  that,   in  all  r.   will 

before    the    maximum    amount    will 
will    be    mad* 
gradual!;  rbole,    the    tr"-i<<t    of 

■  (Tect   that   the' 
power  d 

ously  detract  from  the  beauty  of  the  Palls 
great   deg 

However,    the    commissioners    sec    a    source    of 
danger    to    the   cataract    in   the    10  compani' 
tered    thai  not    commenced    work,    f 


driving  axles,  each  driven  by  a  compensated  series 
motor  similar  in  design  to  those  used  on  the  Mur- 
nau-Oberammergau  line  in  Bavaria,  and  described 
by  the  writer  in  the  Western  Electrician  of  Sep- 
tember 9,  1905.  The  motors  have  a  capacity  of 
no  horsepower  and  work  under  a  pressure  of 
320  volts,  the  frequency  being  25  cycles.  Gearing 
reduces  the  speed  I   to  5. 

A  freight  train  can  be  drawn  with  a  speed  of 
45  kilometers  an  hour  on  the  level  and  24  kilo- 
meters an  hour  on  a  10  per  cent,  gradient.  The 
locomotive  itself  weighs  36  tons.  The  maximum 
tractive  effort  of  the  motors  at  the  wheels  is  6,000 
kilograms. 

The  chassis  is  short  and  compact,  and  carries 
the  body  of  the  locomotive.  This  is  of  steel  con- 
struction, and  is  divided  into  two  parts,  the  engi- 
neer's compartment  and  a  place  for  the  apparatus. 
The  total  height  is  3.5  meters  and  the  length  of 
the  body  is  6.4  meters.  The  driving  wheels  have 
a    diameter    of    1,100    millimeters. 

An  oil-cooled  transformer  of  300  kilowatts  ca- 
pacity is  located  in  the  forward  compartment  of 
the  locomotive  and  feeds  the  motors.  The  primary 
is  divided  into  eight  windings,  which  can  be 
grouped  in  series  or  parallel,  so  that  the  voltage 
supplied  to  the  primary  through  the  overhead  line 
may  vary.  The  maximum  and  ordinary  tension  is 
20.000  volts,  but  since  one  of  the  principal  purposes 
of  the  tests  was  to  find  the  highest  satisfactory 
voltage  for  single-phase  traction  service,  the  hydro- 
electric plant  supplying  the  power  varies  the  ten- 
sion as  desired  from  2,500  to  20,000  volts  by  steps 
of   2,500   volts. 

In  any  case  use  is  made  of  the  grouping  cor- 
responding to  the  voltage   furnished.     By  means  of 


SINGLE-PHASE    LOCOMOTIVE    ATTACHED   TO   TRAIN    ON 

engineer's  compartment.  A  bare  copper  wire  sup- 
ported by  insulators  then  receives  the  current,  which 
also    passes    through    lightning    arresters. 

The  brakes  are  of  the  vacuum  type.  The  12 
shoes  exert  a  pressure  of  80  per  cent,  of  the  total 
weight.  An  air  reservoir  is  placed  in  the  cab.  An 
auxiliary  hand  brake  is  also  utilized. 


Electrical  Exports  for  January. 

Electrical  exports  from  the  United  States  for  the 
month  of  January  amounted  to  a  total  value  of 
$1,329,192.  This  may  be  compared  with  $952,609 
in  January,  1905.  The  figures  for  January,  1906, 
are  nearly  as  large  as  those  for  the  best  month 
in  1905,  which  was  December,  with  total  electrical 
exports  amounting  to  $1,525,717.  Both  classes  of 
goods — electrical  machinery  and  electrical  appli- 
ances, the  latter  including  telegraph  and  telephone 
instruments — show  a  good  increase  for  January, 
1906,  over  the  corresponding  month  in  1905.  The 
figures  are :  Electrical  appliances — January,  1906, 
$529,253;  January,  1905,  $387,610.  Electrical  ma- 
chinery— January,  1906,  $799,939;  January,  1905, 
$564,999. 

Considering  electrical  machinery  only,  the  fol- 
lowing-named countries,  with  the  amounts  of  their 
purchases,  were  the  principal  buyers  of  electrical 
machinery  from  the  United  States  in  January,  1906: 
British  North  America.  $195,142 ;  United  Kingdom. 
$158,569;  Mexico,  $87,758;  Cuba,  $81,175;  Japan, 
$39,046 ;  France,  $31,532 ;  British  Africa,  $29.931 ; 
British  Australasia,  $29,572:  British  East  Indies. 
$20,400;  Brazil.  $9,507:  Germany,  $7,233;  Philippine 
Islands.  $7,049;  Hongkong.  $3,83S;  Argentina, 
$4,516;  Chinese  Empire,  $2,280;  Central  American 
states    and    British   Honduras,   $3,000. 


3ISH    RAILWAY. 

which  are  on  the  Canadian  side  and  six  on  the 
American  side  of  the  river.  It  is  further  pointed 
out  that  the  Internationa!  Paper  Company  and  the 
Niagara  Falls  Water  Works  Company  use  not 
a  little  of  the  water  from  the  upper  river,  and  it 
is  mentioned  that  the  Ontario  Power  Company  has 
a  franchise  for  taking  water  from  the  Welland 
River,  in  addition  to  its  Niagara  River  rights. 
which  it  is  now  developing.  Should  all  of  the  10 
non-developing  companies  which  have  been  granted 
authority  to  use  Niagara  water  on  both  sides  of 
the  river,  and  which  are  rot  limited  in  respect  to 
the  quantity  they  may  take,  carry  out  their  under- 
takings upon  anything  like  the  scale  adopted  by 
the  companies  whose  works  are  now  in  course  of 
construction,  there  can  be  no  question,  say  the 
commissioners,  that  the  Falls  of  Niagara  as  a 
scenic  spectacle  would  be  most  seriously  impaired, 
if  not  entirely   destroyed. 

For  this  reason  the  commissioners  offer  the  fol- 
lowing  suggestions : 

(1)  That  the  whole  subject  involving  the  fur- 
ther diversion  of  water  from  the  Niagara  River 
for  power  development  in  excess  of  the  charters 
now  being  exercised  be  referred  to  an  international 
commission  appointed  by  the  governments  directly 
interested,  territorially  or  otherwise,  in  order  that 
an  agreement  may  be  arrived  at  between  such  gov- 
ernments as  to  further  withdrawals  of  water  on 
both  sides  of  the  river. 

(2)  That  a  careful  inquiry  be  made  by  the 
governments  indicated  respecting  the  charters  al- 
ready granted,  but  in  regard  to  which  no  works 
whatever  have  been  commenced,  with  a  view  to 
the   cancellation   of   the   same. 

The  report  makes  mention  of  the  fact  that  the 
sources  of  the  Niagara  River  reach  into  seven 
states  of  the  Union,  besides  the  province  of  On- 
tario, and  that  this  fact,  with  other  considerations, 
makes  the  question  an  international  one.  As  the 
relative    drainage    area    in    each    country    into    the 


192 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March   10,  1906 


Great  Lakes  and  through  the  Niagara  River  is 
approximately  the  same,  the  withdrawal  of  water 
on  each  side  of  the  line  should  in  theory  be  ap- 
proximately the  same.  The  flow  over  the  Canadian 
Fall,  however,  is  about  90  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
waters  of  the  river.  The  average  outflow  has  been 
determined  by  United  States  engineers  to  be  222,- 
4C0  cubic  feet  per  second,  which  will  produce,  with 
210  feet  estimated  head,  a  theoretical  energy  equiv- 
alent to  5,300,000  horsepower.  Under  the  most 
favorable  circumstances,  however,  only  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  nominal  power  could  be  available. 
The  Chicago  Drainage  System,  withdrawing  600,- 
000  cubic  feet  a  minute1  from  the  lake  supply, 
has  also  to  be  considered,  while  the  actual  heads 
under  which  the  various  companies  operate  have 
also  to  be  taken  into  account.  The  available  head 
at  Niagara  is  210  feet,  and  the  Niagara  Falls 
Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufacturing  Company  is 
the    only    company    using   this    head. 


Electrical    Separation     of     Substances 
of  Different  Dielectric  Capacities. 

Various  methods  of  separating,  by  electrical  or 
magnetic  means,  the  particles  of  a  mass  or  the 
components  of  a  mixture  have  been  operated  with 
success.  These  processes,  however,  generally  utilize 
the  difference  in  conductivity  of  the  particles  to 
bring  about  the  desired  results,  or  else  make  use 
'of  the  magnetic  or  diamagnetic  effects  produced 
upon  a  limited  number  of  certain  substances  in- 
troduced into  the  field  of  an  electromagnet  excited 
by  an  alternating  current.  The  diamagnetic  par- 
ticle in  this  case  tend  to  move  from  the  strong 
to  the  weak  part  of  the  field,  the  maximum  effect 
manifesting  itself  in  particles  which  are  conductors 
of  electricity. 

One  of  the  principal  objects  and  advantages  of 
an  invention  recently  patented  by  Henry  M.  Sutton. 
Walter  L.  Steele  and  Edwin  G.  Steele  of  Dallas, 
Texas,  is  to  provide  an  electrical  process  of  sep- 
aration which  can  be  applied  to  substances  regard- 
less of  their  being  or  not  being  electrically  con- 
ductive or  magnetic.  The  invention,  briefly  stated, 
consists  in  developing  in  the  particles  or  com- 
ponents to  be  separated  dielectric  hysteretic  im- 
pedance. It  also  consists  in  various  modifications 
in  the  degree,  periodicity  and  maintenance  of  the 
impedance. 

Dielectric  hysteretic  impedance  may  be  produced 
from  various  sources  of  energy  and  by  various 
means.  In  the  present  instance  an  alternating, 
varying,  pulsating,  static  current  is  employed  to 
produce  dielectric  hysteresis  in  the  substances  to 
be  separated,  and  this  dielectric  hysteresis  impedes 
the  static  charges  on  the  surface  of  the  particles 
of  the  mixture,  and  is  called  "dielectric  hysteretic 
impedance."  This,  the  governing  factor  in  the 
process,  may  be  produced  by  static  currents  that 
alternate  in  polarity,  making  an  alternating  static 
field  ;  or  by  static  charges  which  are  pulsating,  but 
of  the  same  polarity,  making  a  pulsating  static 
field;  or  by  static  charges  which  vary  in  strength. 
making  a  static  field  of  varying  intensity;  or  by 
alternating    static    currents    of    unequal    periods. 

The  development  of  a  sufficient  dielectric  hyster- 
etic impedance  to  cause  particles  to  be  swerved 
from  a  normal  path  or  to  adhere  to  a  conveying 
surface  is  the  proper  measure  of  frequency  of 
alternation  or  variation,  and  this  differs  with  the 
different  particles  of  substances.  This  result  hav- 
ing been   produced   in   some   of  the   particles,   other 


particles  in  which  impedance  develops  at  a  dif- 
ferent speed  of  alternation  or  variation  are  in 
condition  for  actual  separation  by  subsequent  treat- 
ment or  by  mechanical  or  other  means.  Again, 
some  particles  are  more  susceptible  to  a  negative 
charge  than  to  a  positive,  or  vice  versa,  as  the 
molecules  more  easily  turn  on  their  axis  in  one 
direction  than  the  other,  so  that  changes  in  polar- 
ity of  the  static  field  and  of  periodicity  have  ef- 
fective value  in  developing  in  the  particles  the 
desired   hysteresis. 

When  subjected  to  periodic,  pulsating,  or  varied 
electrostatic  influence  or  stress,  particles  take  on 
a  molecular   strain  or  polarization,  which  manifests 


itself  after  the  removal  of  the  influence  or  charge 
that  causes  the  strain,  and  its  effects  are  after- 
ward shown  by  the  appearance  of  a  residual  charge 
similar  in  its  nature  to  that  appearing  in  a  Leyden 
jar  after  a  few  moments'  rest  subsequent  to  a 
recent  discharge.  This  residual  charge  varies  in 
amount  according  to  the  dielectric  which  separates 
the  two  coatings  of  the  jar.  Similar  conditions 
can  be  brought  about  in  the  invention,  the  sub- 
stances to  be  separated  being  the  dielectric  between 
the  surfaces  that  serve  as  media  for  the  subjection 
of  the  substances  to  the  action  of  the  separative 
force   or   forces. 

The  accompanying  diagram  is  a  representation  of 
an  apparatus  adapted  to  subject  material  for  sep- 
aration to  an  alternating  electrostatic  field.  (A) 
is  a  hopper  provided  at  its  outlet  with  a  shaking 
pan  (A'),  operated  by  an  eccentric  (A2)  and  con- 
necting rod  (A3)  to  distribute  the  mass  coming 
from  the  hopper  upon  the  cylinder  (B),  which  is 
provided  with  any  suitable  means  for  rotating  in 
the  direction  indicated  by  the  curved  arrow.  The 
cylinder  (B)  has  an  insulating  covering  (B')  and 
an  outer  conducting  surface  (B2),  which  is  adapted 
to  be  charged  by  a  brush   (B3),  connected  by  elec- 


particles,  by  impedance  in  phase  caused  by  their 
molecular  polarity  or  hysteresis,  lag  in  phase  of 
change  behind  that  of  the  conducting  surface,  and 
this  causes  a  difference  of  potential  to  be  constantly 
maintained  between  the  particles  and  the  conduct- 
ing surface  of  the  cylinder,  so  that  they  adhere 
until  further  rotation  of  the  cylinder  carries  them 
beyond  the  condensing  action  of  the  screen  (E), 
and  they  fall  into  the  compartment  (G2).  The 
screen  serves  to  bring  about  the  opposite  relation 
of  the  conducting  surface,  so  as  to  intensify  the 
electrostatic  field. 

There  are  various  other  forms  of  the  apparatus 
described,  but  this  forms  a  typical  example  of  the 
method   of   operation. 


Hydro-electric  Station  of   Plan  du  Var. 

By  A.  de  Courcy. 
The  Mediterranean  region  of  France  is  one  in 
which  hydraulic  power  is  developing  considerably. 
The  different  coast  towns,  such  as  Nice,  Cannes 
and  others,  are  using  a  large  amount  of  current  for 
lighting  as  well  as  for  the  extensive  tramway  sys- 
tems   which    are    now    in    operation.     The    mountain 


rRIC    STATION    OF    THE    PLAN 


trical  conductors  with  an  alternating  static  gen- 
erator or  pole  changer  (D).  At  one  side  of  the 
cylinder  (B)  a  metallic  plate  or  screen  (E)  is 
located,  and  this  may  be  grounded,  or  connected 
to  the  opposite  side  of  the  electrostatic  generator 
from  that  which  is  connected  to  the  cylinder  (B), 
as   at    (E2). 

One  type  of  pole  changer  is  shown  in  the  dia- 
gram and  consists  of  a  disk  (D)  of  hard  rubber 
or  other_  insulating  material  and  mounted  on  a 
suitable  "shaft  (D')  for  rotation  by  any  suitable 
means  and  having  one  or  more  holes  (D=)  located 
between  its  center  and  its  periphery,  whereby 
charges  of  successive  signs,  plus  and  minus,  will 
pass  through  the  holes  to  one  of  the  terminals 
(C)  or  (C)  during  each  revolution  of  the  disk. 
A  given  speed  of  rotation  will  deliver  a  definite 
number  of  positive  and  a  definite  number  of  nega- 
tive charges  to  the  cylinder  (B),  by  which  any 
desired  frequency  can  be  attained.  To  vary  the 
relative  periodicity  of  alternation,  a  slot  may  be 
used  instead  of  a  hole  in  any  series  of  openings 
which   may    be    formed    in    the    disk. 

The  operation  in  the  form  shown  in  the  illus- 
tration is  as  follows:  The  mass  is  fed  from  the 
vhopper  to  the  conducting  surface  of  the  cylinder, 
which  is  charged  from  an  alternating  source  of 
static  electricity  capable  of  giving  definite  periods 
of  alternations.  Some  of  the  particles  of  the  mass 
thus  subjected  to  periodic  changes  are  caused  to 
differ  in  potential  from  that  of  the  surface  of  the 
cylinder,  while  others  that  develop  little  hysteretic 
impedance  at  certain  periodicities  of  the  electro- 
static charges  are  practically  capable  of  allowing 
the  charges  induced  on  their  surfaces  to  follow 
in  phase  that  of  the  conveying  surface  of  the  cylin- 
der, so  that  an  alternation  of  one  polarity  prac- 
tically neutralizes  that  of  the  other,  and  these  par- 
ticles consequently  remain  in  an  approximately  neu- 
tral condition,  and  on  rotation  of  the  cylinder  they 
drop  through  the  screen  into  the  compartment 
(G')    of  the   receptacle    (G).     On  the  contrary,   the 


region  which  lies  near  the  coast  furnishes  the  neces- 
sary power,  and  it  is  stated  that  before  long  there 
will  be  as  much  as  35,000  horsepower  utilized  in 
hydraulic  plants.  At  present  the  largest  of  these 
stations  are  those  of  Mescla,  Levens  and  Loup, 
which  have  been  running  for  some  time.  A  new 
plant  has.  however,  been  lately  erected  in  this  re- 
gion which  is  of  importance,  and  which  was  briefly 
alluded  to  in  'the  Western  Electrician  of  January 
6th.  It  is  known  as  the  Plan  du  Var  station,  and 
was  erected  by  the  French  Thomson-Houston  Com- 
pany for  the  local  syndicate  known  as  Energie 
Electrique  du  Littoral  Mediterranean.  When  en- 
tirely completed  it  is  to  contain  three  main  turbine 
and  dynamo  sets.  The  current  is  added  to  the 
circuits  of  the  Mescla  and  Levens  stations,  which 
were  installed  by  the  same  company.  Fig.  1  is  a 
view  of  the  plant.  Fig.  2. is  a  picture  showing  one 
of  the  most  recent  of  the  Plan  du  Var  sub-sta- 
tions, which  is  of  somewhat  unusual  architecture. 
Fig.  3  is  a  view  illustrating  the  high-tension  line 
construction   at   a   railroad-crossing   point. 

The  hydraulic-turbine  unit  now  installed  is  of 
the  double  horizontal-shaft  type.  These  wheels  were 
furnished  by  the  well-known  Swiss  firm  of  Escher, 
Wyss  &  Co.  and  were  built  at  their  factory  at 
Zurich,  being  constructed  on  the  Francis  system. 
The  capacity  of  the  turbines  is  rated  at  900  to 
1,000  horsepower.  Direct  coupled  to  the  wheel  is 
a  three-phase  alternator,  which  gives  600  kilowatts 
normally,  and  was  built  at  the  Paris  shops  of  the 
Thomson-Houston  Company.  The  turbines  are  de- 
signed to  operate  un,der  a  head  of  water  from  the 
Var  River  which  varies  from  25  to  27  meters,  and 
arrangement  have  been  made  to  add  to  this  height 
by  suction  of  the  water  some  6.75  meters,  counted 
from  the  floor  level  of  the  dynamo  room  down  to 
the  water  level  in  the  offtake  canal.  When  working 
under  the  conditions  the  turbine  can  develop  its 
normal  power  at  the  speed  of  375  revolutions  a 
minute. 

At    present    the    form    of    turbine    wheel    consists 


March  10,  1906 


FERN     ELECTRICIAN 


-    -nil, illy   of  a   spiral    water   chamber    with    inlel 
ml,,'  and  base,  containing  a  double   wheel,   bi   idi 
•,  double  watt  1   dii  li  ibutor  w i  1 1 1  movable  van 

two  brackcl    be  11  ing        \    1 1    peed 

,,,,,.  1,1  :d,    beside  1     an     automatii       pi  1  d     ■■        n 
which  acts  upon  the  water-distributing   vam        1 

I,,  .1 [s  of  1I11    «  heel  arc  provided   with  anti  Ei  ii 

ii,,n   metal,  and   are  of  the  self-oiling   type.     1  hi 

are   provided   with   special   1 ngemi  nl     foi    tal  ing 

up  the   wear  in  a  continuous   1 mi  r   v  ithoul   di 

pli '■   the  a:  is  of  the   «  hei  I.     I  he   \  am      ol    tin 

watei   di  iti  ibutors  are  of  the  best  qualil  v  casl 

in,     are    provided    with    bronze    sockets,    so   as   to 

reduce  to  a  minimum  the  wear  fr the  watei    ol 

Ihi  \.n,  which  is  often  charged  with  impurities, 
The   main   shaft   of  the   turbine   drives  by   bell    an 

: Hie   regulator   of   the   oil  pre  :  mre   type,    1  on 

sisting  of  ;i  differential  piston,  which  is  made  to 
;,,  1  upon  iIm-  movable  vanes  ol  the  water  supply, 
.•mil  this  device  is  designed  so  thai  il  reduce  the 
lection  of  the  How  without  producing  any  disturb- 
ance inside  tin-  wheel. 

nil  which  is  needed  for  operating  the  differential 
piston  is  furnished  by  a  high-pressure  pump,  ["he 
latter  is  provided  with  an  oil  reservoir,  an  air  cliani- 
ber  and  a  controlling  pressure  gauge  of  large  dial. 
I  liis-.  pump,  which  is  connected  by  special  piping 
with  the  oil  reservoir,  on  the  one  hand,  and  with 
the  differential  piston  on  the  other,  is  operated  by 
:.n  electric  motor  on  the  station  circuit,  using  a 
double-belt  transmission.  In  this  way  the  speed  of 
the  motor,  which  is  750  revolutions  a  minute,  is 
reduced  to  Co  revolutions  for  the  pump.  The  tur- 
bine outfit  is  completed  by  different  accessories 
which  are  used  to  operate  it,  such  as  the  pressure 
gauge,  vacuometer,  with  valves  and  piping,  and  a 
tachometer  driven   by  belting. 

Regarding  the  Ihree-phase  alternators  which  are 
mounted  in  the  Plan  du  Var  station,  these  machines 
are  of  the  type  having  a  fixed  exterior  armature 
placed  in  the  outer  casting  and  a  revolving  field 
of  eight  poles  mounted  on  the  shaft..  This  machine 
is  able  to  deliver  the  600  kilowatts  without  having 
any  of  the  parts  heat  up  to  more  than  40°  C. 
above    the    surrounding    atmosphere.      The     normal 


FIG.  2.      ONE   OF   THE   PLAN    DU    VAR   SUBSTATIONS. 

speed  of  the  alternator  is  375  revolutions  a  minute, 
and  it  delivers  the  three-phase  current  at  a  maxi- 
mum tension  of  11,000  volts  when  running  at  full 
load,  with  a  power  factor  of  0.9  and  a  frequency 
of  25  cycles.  The  armature  coils  are  wound  on 
special  forms,  so  as  to  make  them  interchangeable 
and  allow  them  to  be  easily  replaced  in  case  they 
become    damaged. 

Field  coils  are  formed  of  a  copper-band  winding, 
and  an  independent  exciter  is  used  to  furnish  the 
current  for  the  fields,  which  are  run  at  60  volts. 
As  to  the  efficiency  of  the  above  group,  it  is  stated 
to  reach  about  71  per  cent,  upon  a  full  non-in- 
ductive load,  allowing  75  per  cent,  for  the  turbine 
and  95  per  cent,  for  the  alternator. 

For  the  exciter  of  the  above  machines  a  com- 
pound dynamo  is  used  which  has  a  capacity  of  30 
kilowatts,  operating  at  800  revolutions  a  minute. 
The  exciter  is  driven  by  belt  from  a  pulley  mounted 
on  the  shaft  of  the  alternator  next  the  turbine, 
and  it  has  sufficient  capacity  to  take  care  of  all 
three  alternators  of  the  station  when  they  are  in- 
stalled. The  exciter  is  mounted  upon  the  same 
foundation  with  a  small  compound-wound  machine, 
to  which  it  is  connected  by  a  coupling,  so  as  to 
drive  it  direct.  The  latter  machine  is  used  to  de- 
liver current  at  no  volts  for  the  lighting  and  mo- 
tors of  the  station. 

Fig.  4  shows  a  view  of  the  switchboard,  which 
is  mounted  in  one  side  of  the  dynamo  room.  The 
main  switchboard  is  contained  in  an  upper  gallery, 


tion,  bi 

I  moral 
Mcditi  1 

used    alti  1  natoi     and 

'i 

1 ■■    Ihi 

ii,    one    or    ihi 


:i  ' 


0 
o 


bus  hars  by  double-throw  switches.  This  allows  of 
realizing  all  the  possible  combinations  of  machines 
and  circuits,  and  is  especially  useful  in  allowing 
the  machines  in  the  present  station  to  be  connected 
in  so  as  to  help  out  either  1!"  Pataras  or  the  Mes- 
cla  circuits.  Below  the  ironwork  gallery  which  con- 
tains the  switchboard  panels  is  placed  a  series  of 
chambers  built  of  brick.  These  chambers  hold  the 
oil  switches,  including  the  double-throw  switches 
mentioned  above.  Each  of  the  line  panels  car- 
ries a  switch,  three  ammeters  (one  per  phase), 
a  three-pole  oil  switch  for  high  tension  with 
separate  phases,  provided  with  a  circuit-changer 
operated  from  a  distance,  and  an  automatic-break 
magnet  for  overload.  The  station  panel  carries  an 
oil  switch  of  the  preceding  form,  but  it  is  not  made 
automatic.  It  is  designed  to  allow,  when  necessary, 
the  coupling  of  the  two  series  of  bus-bars,  and 
they  are  equipped  with  two  voltmeters  for  this 
purpose.  The  alternator  panel  carries  an  ammeter, 
a  voltmeter,  a  power-factor  indicator,  a  field  rheo- 
stat with  hand-wheel,  provided  with  field  switch 
and  discharge  resistances,  a  polyphase  meter  of  the 
induction  type,  a  double-throw  switch  and  an  auto- 
matic oil  switch. 

All  the  oil  switches  of  the  automatic  type  are 
provided  with  a  tripping  coil,  which  is  supplied  at 
low  voltage  from  a  small  battery  of  accumulators 
of  12  cells.  The  overload  relays  close  the  circuits 
of  these  coils  when  the  main  current  through  the 
corresponding  switches  becomes  too  high.  In  the 
rear  of  the  switchboard,  along  the  wrall  of  the 
building,  are  placed  the  outgoing  circuits  of  the 
lines    of   Var,    Mescla   and   Levens. 


Proposed  Wire  Ordinance  in  Minne- 
apolis. 

The  recent  agitation  in  Minneapolis  over  electrical 
conditions  has  resulted  in  the  drafting  of  a  new 
wire  ordinance  by  George  T.  Raymond,  outside  wire 
inspector,  which  will  soon  be  ready  for  presentation 
to  the  City  Council.  Follow-ing  are  the  most  im- 
portant  features   of  the  ordinance : 

Permits  issued  by  the  outside  wire  inspector  must 
be  obtained  for  all  wrork  contemplated  by  the  wire 
companies.  Owners  of  existing  overhead  wires  or 
underground  conduits  must  file  plans  of  the  same 
with  the  city  engineer  within  six  months  after  the 
passage  of  the  ordinance.  Service  wires  must  be 
properly-  insulated  and  line  wires  must  be  covered 
with  weatherproof  paint,  and  such  wires  shall  not 
pass  over  roofs  or  under  sidewalks  except  within 
the  block  where  distribution  pole  is  situated.  No 
wires  shall  cross  alleys  or  streets  diagonally  from 
distribution  pole  to  buildings,  but  must  span  the 
space  horizontally  to  buildings  and  follow  wall  sur- 
face of  building  up  or  down.  All  poles  must  be 
tagged  with  name  of  owner,  and  on  joint  pole 
lines  different  companies  must  use  separate  cross- 
arms,  each  arm  to  be  painted  a  different  color  for 
purposes  of  identification.  High-potential  wires  on 
roof  fixtures  must  be  differentiated  from  other 
wires  by  special  insulation  to  signify  that  they  are 
dangerous  to  human  life.  Wire  network  in  con- 
gested districts  to  be  eliminated  by  substituting 
underground  conduits  or  aerial  cables  for  groups 
of   wires   entering  buildings   from  terminal   poles. 

It  is   also  the   intent  of  the  ordinance  to   compel 


Organization  of    Pacific   Cas    and  Elec- 
tric Company  Completed. 

board, 

Jr.,    Pi  William    II    1 

Martin 

S.  Tobi 

rl  Taylor,  all  0 

r.  w. 

It   John 
A.   Britton;    . ; 
lircr,    I 
'I  he  companj 

Superintendent    Naphl 

tion    of    Station    C    in    operation    in    place 

4,000-kilouatt    steam    plant    tl 

tin-.      It    will  lild    the 

d    and    to    replace    tl 

oil;   direct   cur- 
rcnl    downtown,   a  cording   to   permanent   pL 

I    of  private  direct-current  plants   in   buildinc- 
wcrc    drawn     upon     during    tl 
by  the   tire,  and   some  of  thi  pplying 

current.     The   gross   Ii 

d    at    $550,000    and    th  >  450,000. 

The  insurance  on  the  damaged  portions  of  the  sta- 


tion is  about  $135,000.  The  insurance  companies 
have  not  completed  their  appraisement,  however. 
Out  of  the  six  engines  and  II  generators  in  the 
burned  dynamo  room'  only  one  engine  is  in  a  con- 
dition that  will  permit  of  repairing.  This  part 
of  the  plant  was  to  have  been  closed  down  perma- 
nently  within   a   few   weeks. 

The  Board  of  Supervisors  of  San  Francisco  has 
reduced  the  gas  rate  from  $1  to  S5  cents  a  thou- 
sand feet,  and  if  the  fire  had  not  taken  place  they 
say  they  would  have  made  it  75  cents.  The  rates 
to  be  charged  for  electric  current  were  not  altered 
in  any  respect,  and  the  Pacific  Gas  and  Electric 
Company  now  has  a  chance  to  give  the  city,  for 
the  first  time  in  its  history,  it  is  said,  an  adequate 
supply  of  electric  current  at  a  fair  rate  of  profit. 
Ornamental  iron  posts  for  gas  lamps  will  be  in- 
stalled free  by  the  company  on  Market  Street,  cost- 
ing  $100,000. 


Institute's  Foreign  Journey. 
New  York.  March  6. — It  is  now  decided  that  a 
party  representing  the  American  Institute  of  Elec- 
trical Engineers  will  visit  Italy  in  the  middle  of 
June  and  proceed  thereafter  to  England,  attending 
the  international  gathering  of  English,  American, 
German  and  Italian  electrical  engineers  in  London. 
This  will  be,  in  a  measure,  a  return  visit  to  the 
English  and  Italian  electrical  engineers  who  made 
the  "circular  tour''  in  the  United  States  in  1004. 
D.  W.  W. 


194 

Death  of    Henry  Rustin. 

The  death  of  Henry  Rustin  on  February  27th, 
briefly  mentioned  last  week,  is  worthy  of  more 
than  passing  mention,  for  since  the  death  of  Luther 
Stieringer,  whose  pupil  he  was,  Mr.  Rustin  was 
undoubtedly  the  foremost  decorative  electrical  illu- 
minating engineer  in  the  United  States.  Mr. 
Stieringer  revolutionized  incandescent  electric  light- 
ing as  applied  to  dec- 
orative illumination  on  a 
large  scale,  particularly 
at  expositions,  and  Mr. 
Rustin  followed  in  his 
steps  and  extended  the 
work  by  his  own  native 
ability  and  taste. 

The  exposition  expe- 
rience of  Mr.  Rustin  be- 
gan with  the  Trans- 
Mississippi  Exposition 
held  at  Omaha  in  1808, 
where  he  held  the  posi- 
tion of  mechanical  and 
henry  rustin.  electrical  engineer.  Here, 

associated  with  Mr.  Stieringer,  he  planned  and  suc- 
cessfully carried  out  a  lighting  scheme  which  was 
favorably  commented  upon  by  everyone  that  saw 
it.  It  was  at  this  exposition  that  incandescent 
lamps  were  first  depended  upon  entirely  for  the 
illumination  of  buildings  and  grounds  within  the 
central  portion,  or  that  part  commonly  called  the 
"grand  court."  The  Trans-Mississippi  was  so  emi- 
nently successful  (to  which  the  electrical  effects 
contributed  no  small  part)  that  it  was  decided  to 
repeat  it  the  following  year,  and  the  position  of 
superintendent  of  the  division  of  buildings  and 
■rroimds,  which  included  the  electrical  department, 
was  offered  to  Mr.  Rustin  and  accepted  by  him. 
The  exposition  in  1899  was  known  as  the  Greater 
America,  and  its  electrical  effects  were  even  more 
beautiful   than    those   of   its   predecessor. 

Mr.  Rustin's  third  exposition  was  the  Pan- 
American,  held  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  in  1901,  and  here, 
again  associated  with  Mr.  Stieringer,  he  built  up 
the  most  beautiful  display  of  decorative  electric 
lighting  that  had  ever  been  seen  at  an  exposition. 
At  this  exposition  he  departed  from  common  prac- 
tice and  used  25-cycle  current  for  all  incandescent 
lighting.  At  the  Buffalo  exposition  Mr.  Rustin 
carried  the  greater  part  of  the  burden  of  elec- 
trical-engineering responsibility,  and  he  showed 
indomitable  energy  as  well  as  good  judgment,  tact, 
technical  ability  and  correct  taste. 

The  lighting  of  the  Pan-American  was  the  most 
notable  achievement  in  Mr.  Rustin's  career,  but  he 
hoped  to  make  at  the  (1904)  World's  Fair  at  St. 
Louis,  of  which  he  was  appointed  chief  mechanical 
and  electrical  engineer  in  November,  1901,  the  most 
attractive  display  of  decorative  lighting  that  had 
ever  been  seen.  Unfortunately,  his  health  broke 
down  in  the  fall  of  1903,  compelling  him  to  leave 
St.  Louis,  giving  up  entirely  all  work,  and  he  was 
not  able  to  complete  his  plans.  All  lighting,  how- 
ever, at  the  St.  Louis  Fair  was  done,  as  near  as 
possible,  in  accordance  with  plans  originated  by 
Mr.  Rustin.  When  his  health  failed  his  place  was 
taken  by  Edward  B.  Ellicott  of  Chicago.  Al- 
though Mr.  Rustin's  plans  were  not  carried  out 
in  their  entirety,  and  some  of  the  original  ideas 
were  not  brought  to  realization,  Mr.  Ellicott  was 
able,  even  at  the  late  date  at  which  he  took  hold  of 
the  work,  to  make  of  the  Cascades  and  the  whole 
central  picture  of  the  St.  Louis  Fair,  a  most  beau- 
tiful, spectacle. 

Mr.  Rustin's  health  continued  so  precarious  that 
he  was  not  able  to  visit  St.  Louis  until  November 
in  1904.  Then,  just  before  the  closing  of  the  Fair, 
he  was  permitted  by  his  doctors  to  return  to  see 
the  results  of  the  work  he  had  planned. 

Henry  Rustin  was  born  in  Omaha,  Neb.,  in  1865, 
the  son  Of  one  of  the  best-known  residents  of  that 
city.  He  took  a  graduate  and  post-graduate  course 
at  Yale,  being  of  the  class  of  1886  of  the  Shef- 
field Scientific  School,  in  electrical  and  mechan- 
ical engineering.  The  time  between  his  graduation 
and  the  Trans-Mississippi  Exposition  he  spent  con- 
structing the  electrical  plant  and  lines  of  the  Omaha 
Street-railway  Company  and  in  doing  construction 
work  for  the  Portland  Consolidated  Street  Railway 
Company  of  Portland,  Ore.  After  his  exposition 
experience,  in  1905,  he  thought  himself  again  able 
to  resume  active  work  and  accepted  the  position 
of  chief  engineer  of  the  Omaha  Water  Company. 
He  was  not  in  good  health,  but  held  this  position 
until  his  death  on  February  27th.  Mr.  Rustin  died 
of  tuberculosis.  He  was  married  in  1904  to  Miss 
Lola  Goodwin,  daughter  of  Major  Goodwin  of  the 
United    States    Army,    in    Portland.      His    wife    and 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

two  children  survive  him.  He  was  sincerely  es- 
teemed by  all  who  had  the  privilege  of  knowing 
him.  Mr.  Rustin  was  an  associate  member  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers  and  a 
member  of  the  Engineers'  Club  of  St.  Louis. 


Tollboard    Equipment   of   the   Tri-State 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company. 

A  good  example  of  up-to-date  telephone  toll 
practice  is  furnished  by  the  system  of  the  Tri- 
State  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company  of  St. 
Paul,  Minn.,  which  operates  in  conjunction  with 
the  Twin  City  Telephone  Company  of  Minneapolis 
and  the  Zenith  City  Telephone  Company  of  Du- 
luth,  Minn.  This  system  is  one  of  large  extent  as 
will  be  seen  by  the  map  (Fig.  i),  covering  a  large 
part  of  the  best  of  Minnesota  territory  and  ex- 
tending into  Wisconsin,  Iowa  and  the  Dakotas. 
The  heavier  lines  indicated  on  the  map  are  the  lines 
in  operation,  and  the  dotted  lines  represent  pro- 
posed toll  lines. 

The  Tri-State  company  was  organized  in  1903, 
and  now  has  in  operation  2,500  miles  of  toll  lines: 
These    include    12,000    miles    of    copper   wire.      The 


March  10,  1906 

posite  panel  and  one  battery  fuse  panel.  Fig.  5  is 
a  view  of  one  panel  of  the  main  tollboard. 

Line  equipment  consists  of  80  toll  lines  at  pres- 
ent, 150  toll  answering  jacks,  80  incoming  toll 
trunks,  40  recording  toll  trunks  and  40  lines  be- 
tween positions  known  as  inter-position  trunks.  The 
lines  are  led  into  the  exchange  in  the  usual  man- 
ner, making  use  of  a  main  distributing  frame  and 
an    intermediate   distributing   frame. 

All  of  the  toll  and  recording  sections  are  equipped 
with  calculagraphs.  The  second  and  third  sections 
of  the  recording  toll  board  are  equipped  with 
ticket  boxes.  The  first  position  of  the  toll  switch- 
board is  used  as  an  information  position  and  is 
equipped  with  24  order-wire  circuits.  This  position 
is  also  equipped  with  an  instruction  circuit,  which 
is  utilized  for  the  instruction  of  operators  during 
the  operation  of  the  switchboard.  There  is  also  a 
messenger  call  key  located  in  this  position. 

Position  two  is  equipped  with  a  service-testing 
circuit,  and  is  also  to  be  utilized  as  a  monitor's 
position  and  is  equipped  with  a  messenger  call  key. 
This  position  contains  mechanical  busy  signals  for 
the  entire  equipment  of  the  80  toll  lines.  Eighty 
multiple  toll-line  jacks,  80  lamps  for  the  toll  mon- 
itor, 80  incoming  toll-trunk  multiple  jacks,  40 
mechanical  busy  signals  and  40  spring  jacks  for  the 
interposition   trunk   multiples,   besides    10  answering 


FIG.    I.       LINES    AND    PROPOSED    LINKS    OF    TKI-STATE    TELEPHONE    AND    TELEGRAPH    COMPANY. 


lines  connect  with  1,200  towns  in  the  Northwest, 
giving  service  to  70,000  subscribers'  stations.  The 
president  of  the  company  is  E.  H.  Moulton;  vice- 
president  and  treasurer,  L.  L.  C.  Brooks;  secre- 
tary, F.  '  C.  Nelson.  The  tollboard  equipment, 
which  is  located  at  Merriam  Park,  St.  Paul,  is  one 
of  the  latest  types  of  equipment  installed  by  the 
Kellogg  Switchboard  and  Supply  Company  of  Chi- 
cago, and  it  embodies  many  features  of  unusual 
interest.  Fig.  2  is  an  illustration  of  the  building 
in  which  the  exchange  is  located. 

What  is  known  as  the  major-type  multiple  toll- 
board  was  installed.  A  feature  of  this  board  is 
that  the  appurtenances  which  go  with  it,  especially 
in  regard  to  the  phantom  and  compositing  circuits, 
are  not  made  up  of  sundry  parts  but  display  a 
marked  uniformity  and  standardization  not  often 
found  in  toll  equipments  of  this  nature.  The  be- 
ginning of  this  standardization  was  instituted  by 
the  Kellogg  company  in  the  equipment  installed  for 
the  Kinloch  Long-distance  Telephone  Company 
of  Missouri,  and  at  the  time  of  the  installation 
of  the  Tri-state  equipment  this  standardization  had 
been  made  much  nearer  perfection.  Particular 
difficulties  have  been  met  in  designing  the  coils 
for  phantom  circuits. 

There  are  in  this  installation  six  sections  of  reg- 
ular multiple  tollboard,  each  of  these  sections  be- 
ing two-position  solid  mahogany  cabinets,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  3.  There  is  in  the  same  line  an  additional 
section  which  is  used  for  the  information  of  the 
operator  and  also  for  service-testing  lines. _  There 
are  also  a  ticket  section  and  two  recording  sec- 
tions (at  the  left  in  Fig.  3),  one  one-position  chief 
operator's  desk  (middle  of  Fig.  3),  and  one  two- 
position  wire  chief's  desk  (Fig.  4)  completing  the 
switchboard   proper 


In  addition  there   are   a   corn- 


jacks  and  40  recording  trunk  multiple  jacks,  com- 
plete the  jack  equipment. 

In  the  pilot  rail  below  the  second  panel  of 
jacks  there  is  a  line  pilot  lamp,  having  a  white 
opal  to  which  the  toll  line  answering  jack  lamps 
are  wired.  The  instruction  pilot  has  a  red  opal, 
and  another  pilot  has  a  green  opal,  which  is  used 
with  the  recording  and  interposition  trunk  circuits. 
There  is  another  white  pilot  in  the  fifth  panel, 
which  is  wired  in  connection  with  the  monitor's 
lamp. 

The  remaining  positions,  three  to  fourteen,  are 
used  as  regular  toll  positions,  each  of  these  posi- 
tions being  "equipped  with  a  repeating-coil  cord 
circuit  on  the  left.  The  remaining  seven  pairs  of 
cords  in  each  position  are  equipped  without  the 
repeating  coil.  E^ach  position  is  wired  for  24 
order  wires  and  a  key,  which  is  wired  in  connec- 
tion with  the  instruction  circuit.  Each  position  is 
also  equipped   with   a  messenger  call. 

The  right-end  position  of  each  section  is  equipped 
with  a  cut-in  jack  to  be  used  by  the  supervisory 
operator.  Each  of  the  sections  has  the  same  toll 
line  and  incoming  toll-trunk  multiple  equipments  as 
the  first  section. 

Recording  equipment  is  as  follows :  The  first 
section  is  used  as  a  ticket  and  messenger  call  sec- 
tion. It  has  no  cords  or  operators'  sets.  The  sec- 
ond and  third  sections  of  the  recording  board  are 
equipped  as  regular  recording  sections  of  two  posi- 
tions. Each  position  has  six  pairs  of  cords,  each 
cord  circuit  having  four  supervisory  lamps  arranged 
in  two   rows. 

Lamps  on  the  left  of  each  group  of  four  are 
supervised  and  controlled  by  the  subscriber;  those 
on  the  right  of  each  group  are  toll  disconnect 
lamps  and  are  controlled  by  the  regular  toll  oper- 
ators and  incoming  toll-trunk  connections.  Each 
position  is  wired  for  24  order-wire  circuits.  Each 
of  these  positions  has  a  regular  operator's  telephone 
set,    and    at   the    right    of    each    section    there    is    a 


March  10,  iyo6 


■-lit  in  jack  which  is  used  as  a  supervisor's  trunk- 
answering   iacl< 

Below  the  toll-trunk  multiple  jacks  in  each  ec 
lion  are  mounted  mechanical  busj  signal  and  spring 
jacks,  which  are  used  as  ihr  interposition  trunk 
multiples.  At  the  bottom  of  the  middle  panel  in 
'.i'li  suction  arc  ununited  sprint;  ami  lamp  jack 
tn  be  used  for  the  toll-answering  and  interposition 
trunk  circuits.  Forty  recording  toll  trunk  are 
multipled  between  each  position  of  sections  two 
and    three. 

Toll  lines  are  wired  from  the  main  distributing 
frame  to  the  multiple  side  of  the  intermediate 
frame,  From  the  answering-jack  side  of  this 
frame,  these  lines  arc  wired  to  the  toll-line  jacks 
In  the  composite  panel.  From  these  jacks  in  the 
composite  panel,  the  lines  are  wired  back  to  the 
multiple  side  of  the  intermediate  frame.  From 
the  answering-jack  side  of  the  intermediate  the 
lines  are  also  cabled  to  the  wire  chief's  desk,  and 
from  this  desk  back  to  the  multiple  side  of  the 
intermediate.  From  the  multiple  side  of  the  in- 
termediate   these    lines    are    wired    to    the    multiple- 


l.l.l.'  TRIi 

grounded    or 
coil,     \\  hen  I  n 

of     the     toll     ! 

me,    poo  iding 

thai   lin 

'his     opera lightil 

i    i  hich   remain   lighted   until   the 

■  o down. 

If  a   toll     ub  with  a 

local      oh  ii  ibl  i     I  CI  [I,  who, 

u| Il  .inline    ll nber    of    ihc    ll 

givi      iiH      desii  to   tin     trunk 

at    the    pn  ipi  r  local  i 

l  he   ti  unl    opi     i   i  thi     ■ 

a  trunk   line,   al  line  of 

the  required     ub  i  rib  i      If  i 

in  ci  i      the    trunk    plug    into 

quired     ubscribei  During  this  til 

i"ll   opi  i  the   toll   subscriber   with   the 

incoming   toll-trunk   jack   of   the   numl 

Lamp     up,  i  \  ision  is  p  d    it  the 

trunk    in    a     manner    similai  simple 

cord  i  ii  inn  connection. 

I  f  a  loi  il  ub  cribci  ■..  i  hes  a  toll  connection 
he  calls  the  local  operator  in  the  una]  manner, 
designating  the  number  or  name  of  the  toll  party 
desired,  The  local  operator  make 
with  the  recording  operator  over  a  trunk  circuit, 
which  lights  a  lamp  at  the  recording  opi 
position.  I  he  recording  operator  answers  the  call, 
and  upon  learning  the  toll  subscribi  r1  desii  ed 
number  tells  the  local  subscriber  to  hang  up  his 
receiver,  as  he  will  be  called  as  soon  as  the  i"ll 
subscriber  can  be  rea  :hed.  I  he  reci  rding  operator 
puis  .i  tone  test  back  on  the  local  subscriber's  line, 
thus  holding  the  line.     The  recording  operator  calls 


fig.  3. 

jack  busy  signal  in  the  first  section  of  the  toll 
board.  From  the  answering-jack  side  of  this  frame 
these  lines  are  wired  to  the  answering  jacks  in  the 
various    positions   of   the   tollboard. 

The  wire  chief's  desk  (Fig.  4)  is  of  a  two-posi- 
tion type  and  has  a  jack  frame  made  in  three  pan- 
els. The  desk  is  equipped  with  all  the  necessary 
apparatus  for  making  complete  testing  in  any  part 
of  the  switchboard  or  the  outside  lines.  A  volt- 
meter and  wheatstone  bridge  for  the  testing  cir- 
cuit is  common  to  both  positions. 

The  composite  panel  is  of  the  upright  type,  the 
center  panel  being  equipped  with  the  toll-line  jacks. 
The  plug  shelf  of  this  board  is  wired  for  20  du- 
plex circuits.  The  front  of  these  duplex  circuits 
is  also  wired  for  20  simplex  circuits.  This  board 
is  also  equipped  with  an  operator's  telephone  set, 
listening  plugs  and  two  Morse  cord  circuits  from 
the  wire  chief's  desk. 

Duplex  and  simplex  circuits  are  wired  to  their 
necessary  apparatus,  which  are  mounted  on  a 
special   rack  in   the   terminal    room. 

Operation  of  the  exchange  is  as  follows:  If 
a  toll  subscriber  desires  a  toll  connection  he  sig- 
nals the  exchange  operator  by  the  hand  generator 
in  his  instrument.  This  causes  the  line  lamp  in 
front  of  the  toll  operator  to  light  up,  and  at  the 
same  time  displays  a  mechanical  busy  signal  in  all 
ether  positions,  thereby  showing  the  other  oper- 
ators that  that  line  is  busy.  The  toll  operator  then 
inserts  an  answering  plug  of  one  of  the  toll  to 
toll  cords  into  the  answering  jack  of  the  line  of 
the     calling     subscriber.       This     operation     extin- 


)  TOLLBOARD  IN  TRI-STATE  TELEPHONE  COMPANV  s  EXCHANGE. 

the  trunk  operator  at  the  local  exchange  over  the 
wire,  giving  the  number  of  the  local  subscriber 
who  is  calling.  She  says  to  the  trunk  operator 
"tone,"  which  denotes  that  the  call  is  for  a  toll 
connection.  The  trunk  operator  then  tests  the 
multiple  of  this  line,  and  upon  geting  the  "tone 
test"  knows  the  proper  number  has  been  obtained 
and  plugs  it. 

The  recording  operator,  after  receiving  the  trunk 
assignment,   plugs   into  the  jack  of  this   number   in 


■ 


versa,  these  circuits  also  enabling  the  toll  operator 
to  connect  a  subscriber  with  the  supervising 
ator.  An  instruction  circuit  is  provided  which 
runs  from  all  operators  to  the  chief  operator's 
desk,  used  to  give  or  obtain  information.  When 
an  operator  wishes  a  messenger  she  operates  a 
messenger  call  key.  which  signals  the  ticket  section. 
\\  hen  the  messenger  answers  the  call  he  1 
the  key  at  the  toll  position  to  its  normal  position. 

1  he  chief  operator  has  trunks  running  to  the 
local  board,  while  the  wire  chief  is  furnished  with 
testing  lines  to  the  toll  board.  The  toll-line  cir- 
cuits are  so  wired  that  by  throwing  a  switch  key 
all  of  the  connections  coming  in  on  the  entire 
board  are  transferred  to  two  sections  for  night 
service.  The  recording  trunks  can  also  be  switched 
to  one  of  the  recording  positions. 


■  S    EXCHANGE. 


Mercury    Arc     Rectifier     Operating     in 
Multiple  with  Motor-generator. 

The  Pacific  States  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany of  San  Francisco  has  a  40-ampere  storage  bat- 
tery in  use  in  its  exchange  at  Alameda.  Cal.  Until 
recently  this  battery  has  been  charged  from  an 
equipment  consisting  of  a  small  direct-current  gen- 
erator driven  by  a  single-phase  motor  of  only  "suf- 
ficient capacity  to  charge  the  battery  at  about  30 
amperes. 

This  company  recently  purchased  a  20-ampere 
General  Electric  mercury  arc  rectifier  outfit  and 
installed  it  in  the  Alameda  exchange  in  order  to 
test  it  in  commercial  operation.  The  load  on  this 
exchange  is  so  heavy,  however,  that  if  the  battery 
were  to  be  charged  at  only  20  amperes  it  would 
be  necessary  to  keep  the  charging  current  on  for 
12  or  15  hours  a  day.  It  was  therefore  deter- 
mined to  try  to  operate  the  rectifier  in  multiple 
with  the  direct-current  generator  and  charge  the 
battery  at  the  normal  rate  of  40  amperes.  The 
generator  was  started  up  and  thrown  on  the  bat- 
tery and  the  voltage  adjusted  to  give  about  10  am- 
peres charging  current.  Next  the  rectifier  was 
started  in  the  usual  way.  adjusted  to  charge  at 
about  20  amperes,  and  thrown  into  parallel"  with 
the  generator.  The  generator  voltage  was  then 
raised  until  the  current  through  the  battery  was  40 
amperes    and    the   charging   proceeded. 

As  the  electromotive  force  of  the  batter 
and  the  rectifier  current  fell  off,  due  to  the  higher 
voltage  of  the  generator,  the  voltage  of  the  rec- 
tifier was  raised  by  means  of  the  rheostat  at  the 
bottom  of  the  panel.  The  rectifier  voltage  could 
also  be  varied  while  the  rectifier  was  operating,  bv 
moving  the  compensating  reactance  switch,  as  the 
voltage  of  the  generator  kept  the  arc  going  while 
the    switch    passed    over   the   dead   points. 

This  scheme  of  operating  the  mercury-arc  rec- 
■  tifier  in  parallel  with  the  generator  has  been  in  reg- 
ular operation  ever  since  it  was  first  tried,  and  the 
attendants  are  much  pleased  with  it.  as  they  are 
now  enabled  to  charge  the  battery  in  three-quar- 
ters  of  the  time  previously  required. 


196 

WESTERN   ELECTRICIAN 

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CORRESPONDENCE  relating  to  electricity  or  any  of  its 
practical  applications  is  cordially  incited, and  the  co-operation 
of  all  electrical  thinkers  and  workers  earnestly  desired.  Clear, 
concise,  well  written  articles  are  especially  welcome;  and  com- 
munications, views,  news  items,  local  iimvspu.per  clippings,  or 
any  information  likely  to  interest  electricians,  wHl  be  thank- 
fully received  and  cheerfully  acknowledged. 

ADVERTISING-.— The  Western  Electrician— the  only 
general  electrical  paper  published  in  the  West— thoroughly 
covers  a  territory  exclusively  its  own.    Thib  is  a  claim  which 

CAN     BE     MADE     BT     NO    OTHER      ELECTRICAL      JotTBNAL     IN     THE 

United  States.  Electrical  merchants  and  manufacturers 
i.hsiring  western  trade  will  appreciate  the  unequaled  value 
of  this  journal  as  an  advertising  medium  in  its  special  field. 
Advertising  rates  are  moderate,  and  will  be  furnished  od 
application. 

REMITTANCES— All  checks,  drafts  and  other  remit- 
tances should  be  made  payable  to  the  order  of  the  publishers, 
the  Electrician  Publishing  Company,  and  addressed  to  the 
offices  of  publication,  Suite  510,  Marquette  Building  (204 
Dearborn  Street),  Chicago,  Illinois,  U.  S.  A. 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

Twenty-thousand    Volt    Single-phase     Locomotive     for     the 

Swedish  Railways.     By  C.  Smith.     Illustrated '. . . .    191 

Electrical  Exports  for  January 191 

Niagara  Waterpower  Situation 191,  192 

Electrical    Separation   of  Substances   Having    Dielectric  Ca- 
pacities.    Illustrated 192 

Hydro-electric  Station  of  Plan   du  Var.     By  A.  De  Courcy. 

Illustrated 192,  193 

Proposed  Wire  Ordinance  in  Minneapolis 193 

Organization  of  Pacific  Gas  and  Electric  Company  Completed.  193 

Institute's  Foreign  Journey 193 

Death  of  Henry  Rustin.     Portrait 194 

Tollboard    Equipment  of  the  Tri-state  Telephone  and  Tele- 
graph Company.     Illustrated 194,  195 

Mercury  Arc   Rectifier   Operating    in    Multiple   with    Motor- 
generator 195 

Editorial 196 

The    Production   of    Nitrogen   from   the   Atmosphere.     Illus- 

Single-phase  versus  Direct-current  Traction  Discussed  in  En- 
Electricity  Blamed  foi   More  Fires  than  It  Really  Causes. .!.'.'.   197 

Operation  of  Shunt-wound  Dynamos  in  Parallel 197 

Prize  Competition  for  Papers  on  Business  Getting 197,  198 

Cost  of  Generating   and    Distributing     Electric    Current    in 

Chicago .198,  199 

Pittsburg  Meetings  of  the  Institute 199 

A  Gaso-electric  Car  on  Transcontinental  Trip.     Illustrated...  199 

A  Pleasing  Myth igo 

Iniernrba:)  Roads  Make  Towns  Grow igg 

The  Ownership  of  Public  Utilities.     By  Lyman  E.  Cooley 200 

9,000-kilowatt    Steam-turbine    Power    House  for  Washington, 

D.  C 200 

Line  Construction  in  Small  Cities 201 

Single- phase    Equipment    for    Milwaukee    Electric    Railway 

Company.     Illustrated 201 

New  Stombaugh  Guy  Anchor.     Illustrated 201 

Tin.  Situation  at  Wheaton 202 

Elk  River  Power  Development  near  Minneapolis 202 

An  Electrical  Lexicon 202 

Mack  ay  Com  panics  I'm-prnni-.. . .   202 

Telephone  Engineering.     By  J.  J.  Carty.     Part  II 202,  203,  204 

Indiana  Telephone  Items 204 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes 204 

Canadian  Telephone  News 204 

Chicago  Telephone  Company  Pays  §200,000  Back  Compensa- 

Indiana  Telephone  Men  Meet.! '"!.".'."..'.'.' '..".".'.".".! " """  '.'.'!  204 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence 205,  206,  207 

Great  Britain \ 205 

Dominion  of  Canada 205 

New  England 205 

New  York 205,  206 

Southeastern  States 206 

Texas 206 

Ohio 206 

Indiana 206 

Michigan 206,  207 

Northwestern  States 207 

Pacific  Slope 207 

Personal 207 

Electric  Lighting 207,  208 

Electric  Railways 208 

Publications 208 

Societies  and  Schools 208 

Telegraph 208 

Miscellaneous 208.  2og 

Trade  News 209 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record !....'.209,  210 

DATES  AHEAD. 

Iowa  Telephone  Association  (annual  convention),  Cham- 
berlain   Hotel,    Des  Moines,    March    13th,    14th  and    15th. 

Central  Electric  Railway  Association  (next  meeting),  In- 
dianapolis, Ind.,   March  22d. 

Ohio  Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  meeting), 
Columbus,   Ohio,   March  30th. 

Iowa  Electrical  Association  (annual  convention),  Kirk- 
wood  Hotel,  Des  Moines,  April    18th  and   19th. 

Iowa  Street  and  Interurlian  Railway  Association  (annual 
convention),    Kirkwood    Hotel,    Des    Moines,    April    :9th    and 

Indiana  Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  meet- 
ing), Indianapolis,  Ind.,   May   17th. 

National  Electric  Light  Association  (annual  convention), 
Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  June  5th  to  8th,  inclusive. 

nal    Electrical    Contractors'    Association    (annual    con- 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

Lower  passenger  rates  on  the  steam  railroads 
are  one  of  the  well-known  benefits  of  electric-rail- 
way competition.  The  recent  Ohio  law  making 
two  cents  a  mile  the  maximum  passenger  tariff 
in  that  state  is  a  case  in  point.  The  competition 
of  the  electric  lines  made  the  reform  much  easier 
than  it  otherwise  would  have  been.  The  lawmakers 
merely  hastened  a  change  which  was  bound  to 
come  sooner  or  later.  A  large  part  of  Ohio  has 
become  a  perfect  network  of  up-to-date  electric 
railways.  These  lines  carry  passengers  for  less 
on  the  average  than  two  cents  a  mile,  and  it  was 
only  a  matter  of  time  until  the  steam  roads  would 
have  had  either  to  reduce  their  rates  or  lose  their 
local  business.  A  similar  effect  is  observable  in 
other  states,  although  Ohio  is  the  only  one  where 
the  establishment  of  a  legal  two-cent  rate  has  indi- 
rectly grown  out  of  the  competition.  It  is  not 
strange  that  the  steam  roads  are  fighting  the  inter- 
urbans  with  their  own  weapon,  electricity,  for  the 
newer  roads  are  certainly  making  themselves  felt 
as  worthy  foemen  in  the  transportation  business. 


Chicago  has  the  lowest  per  capita  debt  of  any 
city  in  the  United  States  of  over  400,000  inhabi- 
tants. According'  to  the  Daily  News  Almanac  for 
1906  the  amount  is  $28.63.  Turning  to  British  cities, 
where  public-ownership  projects  have  been  carried 
to  an  extreme,  it  is  seen  that  municipal  debts  have 
reached  alarming  proportions.  Glasgow,  for  in- 
stance— the  widely  heralded  Glasgow — has  a  debt  of 
$80,000,000,  or  about  $105  per  capita — that  is,  nearly 
four  times  as  large,  relatively,  as  the  debt  of  Chi- 
cago. This  reckless  piling  up  of  debts  on  the  part 
of  municipalities  is  causing  concern  in  Great  Britain. 
It  may  well  be  taken  into  consideration  by  the  voters 
of  Chicago,  who  will  be  asked  next  month  to  sanc- 
tion the  issue  of  $75,000,000  worth  of  Mueller-law 
certificates.  This  $75,000,000  is  much  larger  than  the 
entire  indebtedness  of  Chicago  for  all  purposes  at 
the  present  time.  To  be  sure,  it  is  provided  that 
these  "certificates,"  if  issued,  shall  not  become  a 
general  lien  on  the  property  of  the  city,  being  se- 
cured by  the  street  railways  only,  but  nevertheless 
they  will  represent  a  debt  contracted  by  the  city  and 
will  probably  bring  perplexity  and  litigation  in  their 
train. 


Conversation  as  carried  on  over  the  telephone, 
even  under  the  most  satisfactory  condition,  is  not  so 
good,  in  accuracy  of  enunciation  and  the  perfect 
transmission  of  all  the  sounds  and  inflections  of  the 
human  voice,  as  conversation  carried  on  directly. 
It  has  even  been  said  that  a  telephonic  conversation 
is  not  much  more  than  a  medley  of  sounds,  which, 
from  our  familiarity  with  its  peculiarities  and  an 
ability  to  guess  more  or  less  accurately  the  gist  of 
the  speaker's  words,  we  are  enabled  to  interpret 
correctly.  This  is  no  doubt  an  extreme- view,  but  it  is 
true  that  the  degree  of  correctness  with  which  we 
may  interpret  the  incoming  sounds  depends  a  great 
deal  upon  the  quality  of  the  speaker's  voice,  his  in- 
flection and  distinctness  of  enunciation;  and  many 
have  the  happy  faculty  of  making  themselves  under- 
stood much  more  readily  over  the  telephone  than 
others.  But  in  spite  of  the  great  desirability  of 
clear  speaking  over  the  telephone,  we  are  not  dis- 
posed to  believe  the  assertion  that  has  obtained  some 
currency  to  the  effect  that  people  with  false  teeth 
are  only  able  to  make  themselves  understood  with 
difficulty  "over  the  wire."  It  is  hard  to  understand 
why  a  person  with  false  teeth  should  not  possess 
quality  of  voice  and  inflection  and  enunciation  suffi- 
ciently good  to  enable  him  to  make  himself  under- 
stood with  facility.  The  subject  was  recently 
brought  up  by  a  medical  journal,  in  condemning  the 
practice  of  telephoning  prescriptions  to  druggists,  but 
practical  telephone  men  say  that  they  have  never 
heard  that  false  teeth  make  any  noticeable  difference 
in  telephonic  conversation. 


ention),  Cleveland.  Ohio.  July  18th. 

Ohio    Electric  Light  Association   (annual 
i-Bay,  Ohio,  August  21st  to   23d. 


n),    Put- 


Smelting  by  electricity  has  been  undergoing 
test  on  rather  an  elaborate  scale  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie, 
Ont.,  the  Canadian  government  having  appropriated 
$i5,oco  for  the  purpose.  Dr.  Heroult,  the  well- 
known  French  authority  on  the  subject,  visited 
Canada  and  gave  the  Dominion  government  the 
benefit  of  his  experience  and  advice.  The  experi- 
ments have  attracted   wide  attention,  as  readers  of 


March  10,  1906 

the  Western  Electrician  are  aware,  and  they  now 
appear  to  have  been  entirely  successful.  The  thing 
to  be  ascertained  was  whether  pig  iron  and  steel 
could  be  produced  with  economy  from  the  magnetite 
ores  of  Algoma,  some  of  them  carrying  more  than 
what  has  hitherto  been  deemed  a  manageable  per- 
centage of  sulphur.  That  both  pig  iron  and  steel 
could  be  produced  from  hematite  ore  by  Dr.  Heroult's 
process  had  been  shown  by  the  success  of  the  works 
at  La  Praz  in  France.  A  telegraphic  dispatch  to 
Ottawa  from  Dr.  Eugene  Haanel,  Canadian  superin- 
tendent of  mines,  tells  the  story:  "Successful  dem- 
onstration of  all  points  stated  in  my  memorandum 
on  electric  smelting  of  Canadian  iron  ores  requiring 
investigation.  Output  greater  than  figure  adopted  by 
Harbord  in  report  of  commission.  Successful  smelt- 
ing of  magnetite  and  desulphurization  of  pig.  Suc- 
cessful substitution  of  charcoal  and  therefore  of 
peat  for  coke.  Consumption  of  electrode  insignifi- 
cant. Production  of  nickel  pig  of  fine  quality  from 
roasted  pyrrhotite.  Forty  tons  of  pig  have  so  far 
been  produced.  Process  admits  of  immediate  com- 
mercial application.  Experiments  will  be  completed 
in  about  two  weeks."  The  electrodes  spoken  of  were 
obtained  in  Sweden,  and  the  electric  furnaces  are  of 
special  design.  The  success  of  the  tests  is  obviously 
of  much  importance,  both  from  electrical  and  metal- 
lurgical viewpoints,  for  both  quality  and  price 
should  be  favorably  affected  by  the  new  process. 


On  another  page  we  give  a  portion  of  Mr. 
Lyman  E.  Cooley's  address  on  "The  Ownership 
of  Public  Utilities"  at  the  recent  annual  meeting 
of  the  Western  Society  of  Engineers.  The  ad- 
dress is  a  thoughtful  one  and  one  that  stimulates 
thought,  for  it  exhibits  a  breadth  of  view,  a  dis- 
position to  look  on  both  sides,  that  is  refreshing 
when  contrasted  with  the  perfervid  utterances  of 
many  of  the  doctrinaires  who  talk  so  freely  on 
the  subject.  Mr.  Cooley's  conclusions  are  general 
rather  than  specific,  but  we  take  it  that  they  do 
not  run  counter  to  the  often-expressed  view  of 
the  Western  Electrician  that  industrial  enterprises 
for  public  utility  (such  as  railroads  and  telegraphs, 
street  railways,  commercial  lighting,  telephone  serv- 
ice and  the  like)  can  best  be  administered  at 
present  under  private  ownership,  with  such  just 
and  equitable  regulations  as  to  character  of  service, 
length  of  franchise  and  compensation  to  the  public 
as  the  municipality  or  state  may  see  fit  to  impose. 
In  short,  private  ownership  under  public  control 
seems  a  reasonable  solution  of  the  problem  in 
these   United    States    A.    D.    1906. 

However,  Mr.  Cooley  does  recommend  a  system 
of  free  waterways  to  regulate  railroad  rates  most 
effectually  and  says  that  we  should  be  forehanded 
with  our  hydro-electric  resources  and  possibilities. 
He  gives  utterance  to  this  striking  sentence : 
"There  is  enough  waterpower  capable  of  develop- 
ment to  turn  every  wheel  and  to  heat' the  houses 
and  cook  the  food  (where  fuel  is  expensive)  for 
all  the  people  who  can  live  on  the  soil  of  the 
United  States."  If  this  is  true  (and  he  who  denies 
the  statement  is  even  more  bold  than  he  who 
makes  it),  we  can  look  without  dismay  on  the 
possible  exhaustion  of  the  coal  supplies  of  the 
'  country,  vast  as  these  deposits  are.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  we  cannot  transmit  power  economically 
more  than  200  miles,  and  even  for  that  distance 
only  under  exceptional  circumstances.  But  who 
shall  say  that  this  distance  may  not  be  extended 
to  2,000  miles,  or  even  to  a  much  greater  distance, 
in  the  dim  future?  Perhaps  this  transmission  may 
be  a  wireless  one.  Perhaps  smoke  will  be  abol- 
ished, fog  successfully  dissipated  and  meteoro- 
logical conditions  modified.  Perhaps,  in  the  al- 
leged language  of  Edison,  we  may  live  "to  see 
the  air  populous  with  ships,  to  hear  of  many  a 
Nautilus  speeding  under  seas,  to  witness  the  ar- 
rival and  departure  of  three-day  ocean  liners,  to 
board  trains  operated  at  a  fraction  of  their  present 
cost  and  far  exceeding  those  of  today  in  speed, 
to  discover  (possibly)  the  secret  of  life  in  radium, 
and  to  see  the  automobile  become  the  dray  and 
carriage   of  the   world." 

Perhaps  the  inventor  and  the  engineer  will  have 
wrought  these  material  advancements  by  the  time 
the  economist  and  the  statesman  have  settled  the 
relation  of  the  individual  and  the  state.  A  great 
Future    and    a    great    Perhaps ! 


March  10,  1906 

The    Production   of    Nitrogen   from    the 
Atmosphere. 

il>    n  n  hi    if  a   patcnl   to    I-  hanm      1 1 

1 nf     Ludwigshafen-on-thc-Rhinc,     Germany, 

fur    n    in'  an  1    t"i     the    controlling    ol    clcctrii 

used    in    ili'-    productii 1     tl 

ilu-  atmosphere,   'all     attention   i"  thai    very   inter 
,   [jng   pi  "lil. -in.      1  he   In  torj    ol    thi    mi  1  1 

1  '.ii  hi i'    in.  ili, ,i|  by  which  nitrogen  might  be 

'  red,    "ii    .1    ''"ii .'I     '  .'I'      

parcntly     inexhaustible      ource    Mi,       itmo  phen 
probably  dates  back  I"  the  time   somi 

yeai     ago,   when    Sir    Willi; rooki      in    an    ad 

drei  •  i"   ili"   Bi  iti  li    \    01  iation    foi    the    Kd\  i 

iiinii   ,,i    Si  11  in ,    111,1,1,    ill,    alarming   prophi 
Ii   is  onlv  a   matter  ol   time   befon    the   world   will 
I,,     Facing     itarvation,    owing    to    the    <■  x  1  r.<«t i' ui    of 
the  nitrogen  compounds   from   the   soil  to  such  an 

1,  hi    that    wheat    would    no    longer    grow,      Hi 

pointed    oul    thai    the    natural    fertilize!   .      ui  h    a 

11, 11,,,    would    soon    be    exhausted,    and    the    soil, 

in,  1     .ill    having    been    cultivate  d,    would     bei  omi 

gradually     poorer    and    poorer     in     nitrogen,     u] 

which   planl    life   depends,   until   the   direful    results 
In-  nredictcd   would  In-  a  reality. 

I,,    lii,   address    Sir    William    expressed   II..-    belief 


1  ir   .      EL]  I 
imilar   view   illu 

ii,.   1 

in     .,,      1  1    , 
laining   tl 

pcriodici 
tor,   and   which   would   obtain   in   ili" 

nil 

,  "imt    "i    the    large      -  II  -i":  in    the 

1 11 

,  nd    an     h  ithoul    il    I :.-    net  -     arj     :"    ii 

1   its  1  ircuit,     If   tli, 
were    nol    employed    thi  ould'  be 

aboul    0.56,    whci  ond   arc 

circuit  tin-   powci    fai  I cased  to  a 

,,i .    in    ,,ili,  1     woi  -I  .    ili,     'I-  ;  '  liasc   is 


THE    PRODUCTION    Ol' 


that  the  replenishment  of  llie  nitrogen  of  the  soil 
might  be  accomplished  by  the  use  of  nitrates  arti- 
ficially produced,  and  that  the  power  of  the  Ni- 
agara Falls  might  be  used  to  fix  the  nitrogen  of 
the  atmosphere  for  this  purpose.  Although  his 
fears  have  been  thought  unfounded,  there  is  still 
the  possibility  of  a  profitable  business  being  built 
up  in  the  production  of  fertilizers  through  the 
agency  of  nitrogen  recovered  from  the  atmosphere. 
To  do  this,  however,  electrical  apparatus  of  an 
efficient  character  must  be  made.  It  was  not  so 
long  after  Sir  William's  prophecy  was  made  that 
a  plant  was  actually  equipped  at  Niagara  Falls  to 
fix  the  nitrogen  of  the  air.  The  plant  was  built 
by  the  Atmospheric  Products  Company  and  made 
use  of  some  very  ingenious  electrical  apparatus.  It 
was  described  and  illustrated  in  the  Western  Elec- 
trician of  October  n,  1902.  It  did  not,  however, 
develop  at  the  rate  that  was  expected,  though  it 
demonstrated  that  the  nitrogen  could  actually  be 
recovered   in  quantities. 

The  subject  has  not  been  allowed  to  rest,  how- 
ever, and  especially  in  Europe  much  experimental 
work  has  been  done  along  this  line,  using  the 
electric  arc  as  a  means  of  separating  the  nitrogen. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  an  interesting  paper 
on  the  subject  was  read  by  J.  Sigfrid  Edstrom  be- 
fore the  International  Electrical  Congress  in  St. 
Louis  (Western  Electrician,  October  8,  1904).  The 
patent  just  issued  to  Mr.  Hessberger  is  upon  a 
method  of  regulating  the  current  to  the  arcs  in 
such  apparatus,  and  a  brief  description  of  it  is 
here  given. 

When  either  an  alternating  electric  current  or 
a  pulsating  direct  current  is  used  to  feed  an  elec- 
tric arc,  it  is  necessary  to  insert  a  large  inductive 
resistance  in  the  circuit,  because  the  resistance  of 
the  arc  itself  is  small  and  continually  varies  in 
intensity.  A  choking  coil  has  hitherto  been  used 
for  this  purpose.  Although  the  insertion  of  the 
choking  coil  in  the  circuit  prevents  undesirably 
large  currents  passing  through  the  arc,  it  causes 
a  large  displacement  of  phase,  and  consequently 
the  power  factor  of  the  circuit  is  very  greatly  re- 
duced and  the  efficiency  is  small  compared  to  the 
amount  of  plant  requisite. 

Mr.  Hessberger's  patent  is  based  on  the  fact  that 
the  power  factor  of  the  circuit  can  be  considerably 
increased  if,  instead  of  the  choking  coil,  a  trans- 
former is  employed  and  the  current  from  the  sec- 
ondary coil  used  to  feed  another  arc.  In  this  way 
he  has  obtained  economically  arcs  which  are  ad- 
mirably suited  for  bringing  about  combinations  of 
the  nitrogen  and  oxygen  of  the  air  to  form  com- 
pounds. 

The  mode  of  carrying  out  the  invention  can  be 
varied,  and  is  illustrated  by  reference  to  the  two 
accompanying  figures,  in  which  Fig.  1  is  a  diagram- 
matic view  illustrating  an  embodiment  of  the  inven- 
tion in  which  a  single  transformer  is  incorporated 


ROGEN    FR 

reduced  from  about  Co  degrees  to  about  45  degrees. 
A  modification  of  this  mode  of  carrying  out  the 
invention  is  shown  diagrammatically  in  Fig.  2  and 
consists  in  passing  the  current  which  comes  from 
the  secondary  coil  of  the  transformer  (T'),  and 
which  feeds  the  second  electric  are  (F°)  through 
the  primary  coil  of  a  second  transformer  (T=),  and 
using  the  current  from  the  secondary  coil  of  this 
second  transformer  to  feed  a  third  arc  (P).  By 
this  arrangement  also  the  displacement  of  phase 
is  brought  down  to  a  favorable  value,  and  the  total 
energy  given  out  by  the  generator  is  used  up  in  the 
arcs  Similarly,  a  third  transformer  or  more  can 
be   employed. 


Prof.  Silvanus  P.  Thompson  recently  contrib- 
uted some  interesting  information  on  this  subject 
in  an  address  at  the  Royal  Institution  in  London, 
and  he  exhibited  by  experiment  the  process  for 
the  fixation  of  nitrogen  devised '  by  Prof.  Birke- 
land  and  developed  by  him  with  the  assistance  of 
Mr.  Eyde.  Prof.  Thompson  also  gave  a  general 
talk  upon  the  history  of  this  interesting  problem, 
and  outlined  the  reasons  given  by  Sir  William 
Crookes  for  believing  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth  will  be  hard  put  in  no  very  distant  period 
to   supply  themselves   with   the   staff   of  life. 


Single-phase    versus    Direct-current 
Traction  Discussed  in  England. 

[From  the  London  correspondent  of  the  Western  Electrician.] 

London,  February  21. — The  discussion  on  the  sub- 
ject of  single-phase  vs.  continuous  current  for  trac- 
tion at  the  Institution  of  Electrical  Engineers  was 
interesting.  Seldom,  I  should  think,  have  two  sides 
produced  figures  so  diametrically  opposed  to  each 
other.  As  usual  in  such  cases,  there  was  a  certain 
amount  of  misunderstanding,  which  accounted  for 
some  of  the  criticisms.  The  advocates  of  single 
phase  brought  figures  to  show  how  much  superior 
this  system  is  to  continuous  current,  while  on  the 
other  hand  Mr.  Carter,  the  author  of  the  paper 
discussed,  contended  that  the  results  given  were 
arrived  at  with  the  sole  object  of  belittling  the 
continuous-current  motor,  and  that  they  did  not 
represent  a .  fair  test  of  the  relative  merits  of  the 
two  types  of  motors. 

Mr.  Carter  very  clearly  stated  his  position  in  his 
reply,  viz.,  that  he  agreed  that  single-phase  was 
necessary  for  main-line  working,  but  that  for  heavy 
suburban  traffic  direct  current  only  was  possible. 
However,  the  result  was  to  leave  the  looker-on 
with  a  certain  amount  of  indecision,  which,  while  it 
lasts,  will  prevent  other  railway  companies  (and 
there  are  a  large  number  of  suburban  lines  in 
London  with  a  heavy  traffic)  from  considering  the 
question  of  changing  to  electric  traction,  the  more 
so  in  view  of  the  somewhat  unfavorable  returns 
as  to  working  expenses  recently  made  by  those 
companies  which  have  electric  lines.  G. 


'97 

r.clty  Blamed  for  More  Fires  than 
It  Really  Causes. 


inflammable   material   which    .-. 
in   flic   vicinity. 

'•    con- 

received   of    h- 
overheating 

20    other   fires    attributed    mainly   to 

making  a  total 
quarter  for  thi 
ing  $65,220 

Reports  were  received  of   150  aggre- 

gating $i,i 

tricity.  but  not  included  in  thi 
could   not   be   definite!]  lectrical,   prin- 

hecause   tin-   fires   destroyed   condusn 
dencc   of  their  origin. 

Twin-  aggregating    | 

d     i-i    due    to    electricity,    upon    furtl 
more  reliable  in  re  found  to  have  been 

due  to  other  causi 


Operation  of  Shunt  Dynamos  in  Parallel. 

A.  G.  K.  of  Chambcrsburg.  Pa.,  has  two  dynamos 
which  he  wishes  to  operate  in  parallel.  They  are 
direct-current  shunt-wound  machines,  one  of  100  and 
the  other  50-kilowatt  capacity.  He  is  familiar  with 
the  method  of  connecting  shunt  machines  in  parallel, 
but  fears  that,  one  being  larger  than  the  other,  there 
will  be  danger  of  the  larger  machine  burning  out 
the  smaller  one. 

Answer. 

The  size  of  two  dynamos  operating  in  parallel  has 
no  effect  upon  their  ability  to  operate  together  if 
they  are  properly  designed.  In  any  case,  of  course, 
they  must  be  brought  to  a  uniform  voltage  before 
switching  "tito  the  bus-bars.  Whin  this  is  done  each 
will  take  its  proper  share  of  the  load.  To  connect 
the  100  and  50-kilowatt  dynamos  in  parallel  the  same 
method  is  pursued  as  if  the  machines  were  of  the 
same  capacity,  the  positive  and  negative  terminals 
being  connected  to  the  bus-bars  through  the  proper 
switches  and  fuses.  If  the  two  dynamos  in  question 
have  similar  characteristics  their  load  will  be  di- 
vided proportionately.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
characteristics  are  dissimilar,  the  loads  will  not  di- 
vide in  the  proper  proportion,  and  the  one  with  a 
drooping  characteristic  will  take  less  and  less  of 
its  share  as  the  total  load  increases.  If  the  difference 
is  slight  it  may  be  readily  compensated  by  means 
of  the  hand  regulator,  increasing  or  decreasing  the 
pressure  of  the  machine.  But.  if  the  difference  is 
great,  the  fluctuations  become  more  marked  and  the 
fuses  on  the  overloaded  machine  are  liable  to  be 
blown.  In  this  case  it  is  necessary  to  insert  a  small 
resistance  in  the  armature  circuit  of  the  machine 
having  the  straightest  characteristic,  or  the  one  that 
takes  more  than  its  share  on  an  increased  load. 


Prize  Competition   for  Papers  on    Busi- 
ness Getting. 

Prizes   amounting  to  $1,000  will  be  given  by  the 

Co-operative  Electrical  Development.  Association  of 
Cleveland  for  the  best  three  papers  on  the  organ- 
ization and  conduct  of  new-business  departments  of 
central  stations  in  cities  of  50,000  population  and 
under.  This  competition  is  open  to  all  central-sta- 
tion managers  and  their  employes  in  the  commercial 
department,  and  it  is  designed  to  excite  general 
interest  in  the  forward  movement  now  on  foot  to 
strengthen  in  every  way  the  position  of  the  electrical 
industry. 

The  prize  money  will  be  distributed  in  three 
prizes  to  the  authors  of  the  papers  in  their  order 
of  merit :  first  prize  $500.  second  $300.  third  $200. 
The  decision  as  to  the  winners  win  be  left  to  a 
committee  of  three  central-station  managers,  to  be 
appointed  by  the  president  of  the  National  Electric 
Light  Association.  The  winners  will  be  announced 
and  the  papers  distributed  in  booklet  form  at  the 
Atlantic  City  convention  of  the  National  Electric 
Light  Association.  All  papers,  in  quadruplicate, 
must  be  received  by  the  Co-operative  association  on 


or  before  May  15th,  and  the  company  retains  the 
right  to  make  such  use  of  any  of  the  papers  sent 
in  as  it  may  see  fit,  to  further  the  cause. 


Cost  of  Generating  and  Distributing 
Electric  Current  in  Chicago. 

The  progress  of  the  investigation  by  the  com- 
mittee on  gas,  oil  and  electric  light  of  the  Chicago 
City  Council  to  determine  what  should  be  a  fair 
rate  to  be  charged  for  electric  current  to  consum- 
ers has  been  noted  in  the  Western  Electrician. 
The  difficulty  in  arriving  at  a  fixed  rate,  on  ac- 
count of  the  varying  conditions  met  with  in  the 
electric-light    business,    has    been    pointed    out. 

Following  the  statement  of  the  Chicago  Edison 
and  Commonwealth  Electric  companies  that  they 
would  voluntarily  reduce  the  rate  to  consumers, 
these  companies,  through  their  attorney,  W.  G. 
Beale,  have  presented  a  proposition  to  the  Council 
committee  in  which  is  outlined  the  position  of 
the  companies  and  a  schedule  of  proposed  reduced 
rates. 

Further  to  aid  the  committee  in  its  work  of 
regulating  rates,  City  Electrician  Carroll  has  pre- 
pared a  report  in  which  he  gives  an  estimate  of 
what  would  be  the  actual  cost  of  generating  and 
distributing  current  for  use  in  the  City  Hail  and 
vicinity.  The  city's  lighting  plant  at  Fullerton 
Avenue  is  made  the  basis  of  Mr.  Carroll's  figures. 
Repeating  what  has  been  said,  that  the  negotia- 
tions between  the  companies  and  the  city  have 
been  marked  by  a  disposition  to  be  fair,  it  will 
be  of  interest  to  outline  the  arguments  and  figures 
presented  by  both  sides  up  to  date.  It  should  be 
understood  that  Mr.  Carroll's  report  deals  only 
with  what  may  be  considered  the  most  acceptable 
consumers — the  "cream  of  the  business;"  a  further 
report  which  will  consider  all  classes  of  consumers 
is  to  be  made  by  Mr.  Carroll  and  Bion  J.  Arnold. 
The  estimate  given  herewith  cannot,  therefore,  be 
fairly  compared  with  the  figures  of  the  Chicago 
Edison  Company  for  the  entire  city.  It  is  what 
Mr.  Carroll  thinks  he  could  do  for  a  limited  area 
near  the  City  Hall,  based  on  experience  with  the 
Fullerton  Avenue  street-lighting  plant  and  assum- 
ing that  the  most  desirable  class  of  customers  was 
secured. 

For  the  purpose  of  the  present  estimate  Mr. 
Carroll  says  that  he  has  included  everything  that 
he  thought  could  by  any  possibility  be  considered 
a  legitimate  charge.  In  addition  to  the  regular 
operating  expenses,  he  has  added  interest,  depre- 
ciation, insurance,  taxes,  rent  of  offices,  care  of 
office,  rental  of  pole  lines,  administration  and  office 
expenses  pro  rata  of  the  costs  of  the  city  attor- 
ney's office,  the  comptroller's  office,  the  auditor's 
office,  the  paymaster's  office,  the  city  collector's 
office  and  on  the  stationery  used  in  his  office. 

The  municipal  service  includes  four  operating 
electric  street-lighting  stations — one  located  at 
Wentworth  Avenue  near  Sixty-third  Street;  one 
at  Halsted,  near  Harrison ;  one  at  the  corner  of 
Rice  and  Lincoln  streets,  and  one  at  Fullerton  Av- 
enue, near  the  river.  The  first  three  stations 
named  are  operating  street  lights  on  high-tension 
series  direct-current  circuits.  Commercial  lights 
cannot  be  operated  from  these  three  plants  with 
the  present  equipment. 

The  last-named  plant  at  Fullerton  Avenue  is  op- 
erating street  lights  by  alternating  current.  It  is 
practicable  to  operate  incandescent  lights  and  power 
motors  from  this  plant.  In  this  power  house  there 
are  located  at  the  present  time  two  1,150-horse- 
power  engines,  each  direct-coupled  to  a  750-kilo- 
watt  generator.  This  plant  is  the  most  modern 
and  most  economical  one  in  the  city  service.  The 
total  possible  capacity  of  these  two  generators  is 
13,140,000  kilowatt-hours  a  year. 

"In  making  my  estimate,"  says  Mr.  Carroll,  "I 
assumed  a  24-hour  run  for  one  of  these  engines 
and  a  short  evening  run  for  the  other,  with  an 
output  of  4,712,659  kilowatt-hours  per  year,  this 
being  about  35.7  per  cent,  of  the  capacity  of  the 
two  engines.  At  the  present  time,  we  are  op- 
erating from  this  station,  1,400  street  lights,  and 
I  have  recently  completed  a  five-night  test  run, 
operating  one  engine,  with  an  output  of  700  kilo- 
watts. We  weighed  the  coal  and  water  used,  and 
found  the  cost  of  the  coal  to  be  a  little  over  0.4 
cent  a  kilowatt-hour,  and  I  have  used  this  data 
in  my  estimate  in  computing  the  cost  of  fuel, 
although  I  believe  it  should  be  a  little  less,  as 
there  was  considerable  coal  used  during  the  day 
for  banking  and  in  starting  the  engines  before  they 
were  brought  up  to  the  proper  operating  speed, 
which  was  included  with  the  coal  used  during  'he 
test. 

"The  number  of  engineers,  firemen,  oilers  and 
laborers  given  in  the  estimate  is  the  exact  number 
which  would  be  required  to  operate  the  plant,  and 
the  salaries  are  the  same  as  are  paid  at  the  pres- 
ent   time. 

"The  estimated  cost  of  repairs  to  steam  plant  is 
$i,5C0,  although  the  cost  for  the  year  1905  was 
only  $300,  and  the  contractor  who  installed  these 
engines  guaranteed  that  the  repairs  due  to  ordinary 
wear  and  tear  will  not  exceed  $25  per  engine  for 
each  year  for  a  period  of  five  years.  The  esti- 
mated cost  of  repairs  for  the  electric  plant  is  $800, 
while  the  cost  for  the  year  1905  was  only  $50. 

"I  have  charged  for  rent  of  office  and  care  of 
office  the  exact  amounts  paid  for  an  office  at  00 
LaSalle    Street,   which    is   used   by   the   electric-light 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

inspection  bureau,  and  in  which  there  is  more 
room  than  there  is  in  the  city  electrician's  office  in 
the    City   Hall. 

"I  have  charged  for  insurance  and  taxes  about 
on  the  same  basis  that  was  given  in  the  Haskins 
&  Sells  report,  and  in  figuring  interest  and  de- 
preciation, I  allowed  four  per  cent,  for  interest. 
"The  land  on  which  the  plant  is  built  is  owned 
by  the  Water  Department,  the  value  of  the  lot  be- 
ing $10,650.  I  have  charged  four  per  cent,  interest 
on   that   amount. 

"I  have  charged  up  the  cost  of  13,557  feet  of 
conduit,  that  being  the  distance  which  we  will  have 
the  wires  underground  from  Fullerton  Avenue  to 
the  City  Hall.  I  have  charged  this  at  35  cents 
per  duct-foot,  which  is  about  the  average  cost  of 
city  conduit.  I  have  charged  13,557  feet  of  three- 
conductor  cable  at  $997  per  thousand  feet,  the  exact 
cost.  I  have  also  charged  for  rental  of  poles  the 
same  amount  that  is  paid  by  commercial  companies. 
"I  have  allowed  two  per  cent,  depreciation  on 
building  and  stock,  four  per  cent,  on  cables,  wire, 
conduit  and  transformers  and  eight  per  cent,  on 
the  steam  and  electrical  plant  in  the  building.  I 
have  assumed  that  the  amount  charged  off  each 
year  would  be  placed  in  a  fund  and  draw  com- 
pound interest  at  four  per  cent,  per  annum  during 
the  calculated  life  of  the  plant  against  which  it  is 
charged. 

"This  would  allow  a  life  of  29  years  for  the 
plant,  against  which  two  per  cent,  is  charged,  18 
years  at  four  per  cent,  and  nine  years  at  eight 
per  cent.  This  means  that  I  have  allowed  enough 
depreciation  to  completely  renew  the  steam  and 
electric  plants  every  nine  years,  the  cables,  wires, 
conduit  and  transformers  every  18  years  and  the 
building  every  29  years,  supposing  the  apparatus 
to  be  a  complete  loss,  and  valueless  for  junk  at 
the    end    of   these   periods. 

"The  estimate  provides  for  2.5  miles  of  three- 
conductor  lead-encased  cable  and  1.8  miles  of 
three-wire  aerial  cable.  Calculated  line  loss  is  five 
per  cent.,  the  transformer  loss  five  per  cent.  This 
is  only  partially  an  estimate.  The  plant  is  running 
every  night,  having  an  output  of  2,810,500  kilowatt- 
hours  a  year,  and  the  exact  cost  of  that  at  the 
present  operation  is  known  and  forms  the  basis 
of  the    estimate. 

"There  is  no  charge  made  for  water,  for  the 
reason  that  the  plant  pumps  its  own  water  from 
the  Fullerton  Avenue  tunnel  and  empties  it  into 
the  river,  and  the  amount  used,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  should  be  a  credit  instead  of  a  charge,  as 
the  city  Bureau  of  Sewers  is  operating  a  pump- 
ing station  at  this  point  whose  province  it  is  to 
pump  water  from  this  same  tunnel  and  empty  it 
into    the   river    for   sewage   purposes. 

"The  summary  of  cost  given  below  shows  the 
operating  expense,  the  general  expense  and  the  in- 
terest and  depreciation  on  power  plant  as  going 
to  make  up  the  total  cost  of  the  output  at  the 
switchboard;  this  total  cost  divided  by  the  kilowatt- 
hours  per  year  (of  the  output)  gives  the  cost  per 
kilowatt-hour   at  the    switchboard. 

"The  cost  of  distribution  operation,  plus  interest 
and  depreciation  of  the  distributing  equipment, 
gives  the  cost  of  distribution,  which,  divided  by 
the  amount  of  current  delivered  to  the  consumer 
per  year,  gives  the  cost  per  kilowatt-hour  for  dis-  • 
tribution.  This  added  to  the  cost  per  kilowatt- 
hour  for  production  at  the  switchboard  gives  the 
total  cost  per  kilowatt-hour  to  the  consumer. 

Mr.    Carroll's    Summary   of    Cost. 

Cents  Per 
Kilowatt 
Cost.         Output.        Hour. 

Production  operating £40,533   -5-4,712,659   —0.86008 

General  expense,  taxes,  insurance, 
bookkeeping,  legal  expenses,  audi- 
tor,  collector,  paymaster 3.530  -5-4,712,659    =0.07617 

Total  production  operating S44.123    -5-4,712.659   =0.9362 

Interest  and  depreciation,  power 
Plant 14.681  -5-4,712,659  =0.3115 

Total  cost  at  switchboard $58,804    -5-4,712,659  =1.2477 

Production  distribution 4,770   -5-1,883,137  =0.2533 

Interest   and  depreciation,  distribu- 

tion....: 3,037  h- 1,883,137  =0.1612 

Total  cost  delivered  to  consumer.  1 .6622 

Note.— The  cost  per  kilowatt-hour  ol  current  delivered  at  the 
switchboard  is  obtained  by  dividing  the  total  cost  by  the  total  out- 
put; the  cost  of  distribution  by  dividing  the  total  cost  of  distribu- 
tion by  the  quantity  delivered  to  consumer. 

The  Offer  of  the  Edison  and  Commonwealth 
Companies. 

In  the  communication  of  William  G.  Beale  to 
the  Council  committee,  proposing  a  reduction  of 
rates  for  supplying  current,  Mr.  Beale  makes  a 
statement  in  behalf  of  the  Edison  and  Common- 
wealth companies.  He  points  out  that  the  com- 
panies are  engaged  in  a  large  business  and  are 
not  asking  any  privileges  from  the  city.  They  have 
conducted  their  business  in  the  past  without  any 
controversy  with  the  city,  and,  in  short,  are  en- 
deavoring fairly  and  honestly  to  conduct  their 
legitimate  business  under  their  existing  ordinances, 
one  of  which  has  more  than  40  years  to  run. 

There  are,  however,  certain  minor  things  which 
the  city  could  do,  Mr.  Beale  says,  to  facilitate  the 
service  of  the  companies  to  the  public;  there  are 
some  vexatious  situations  which  might  be  elimi- 
nated, without  injury  to  anyone,  and  if  the  city 
is  willing  to  take  favorable  action  in  respect  to 
these  things  the  companies  will  try  to  meet  the 
city's    desire    for    some    reduction    in    the    rates. 

Mr.   Beale   cites   some   court   decision   as   justify- 


March  10,  1906 

ing  the  companies'  rates  and  more  particularly  as 
showing  the  lawfulness  of  different  rates  adapted 
fairly  to  dissimilar  circumstances  and  conditions. 
The  highest  charge  made  by  the  companies  for . 
supplying  electricity  is  20  cents  per  kilowatt-hour 
—called  by  the  companies  their  "full  rate" — with 
a  discount  of  20  per  cent,  therefrom  for  prompt 
payment  of  bills:  This  rate  applies  to  "short-hour" 
business ;  that  is,  to  the  use  of  electricity  for  an 
average  of  less  than  one  hour  per  day.  It  is 
given  without  any  minimum  time  or  minimum 
quantity  limit,  but  under  it  a  consumer  may  have 
installed  only  one  incandescent  lamp,  and  may  dis- 
continue taking  electricity  at  will.  The  companies 
have  several  times  been  called  upon  to  install  one 
incandescent  lamp,  and  have  done  it.  They  have 
frequently  had  customers  cease  taking  electricity 
after  only  a  few  weeks'  trial.  But  all  their  rates, 
Mr.  Beale  says,  are  sought  to  be  proportioned  to 
the'  cost  of  supply,  and  this  cost  varies  widely. 
All  sorts  of  conditions  affect  it,  such  as  the  length 
of  time  during  which  electricity  is  used,  the  quan- 
tity used,  the  time  of  the  day  or  night  when  used, 
the  steadiness  or  unsteadiness  of  the  use,  the  dura- 
tion and  certainty  of  use,  the  location  of  the  prem- 
ises   supplied,    etc. 

More  than  two-thirds  of  the  customers  of  the  I 
companies  ^  in  all  classes  of  service,  according  to 
Mr.  Beale's  statement,  take  electricity  from  them 
by  a  form  of  contract,  identical  as  to  terms,  under 
what  is  known  as  the  Wright  maximum-demand 
meter  system.  Under  this  arrangement  the  gross 
or  full  rate  of  20  cents  per  kilowatt-hour  is  charged 
for  a  daily  use  of  electricity  not  exceeding  one 
hour,  less  the  discount  for  prompt  payment;  but 
for  all  electricity  taken  in  excess  of  an  average 
daily  use  of  one  hour,  the  net  rate  is  10  cents. 
The  rates  regulate  themselves  automatically  ac- 
cording to  the  customer's  ■  use  of  electricity.  If 
it  is  used  two  hours  per  day,  the  average  rate 
becomes  15  cents  instead  of  20  cents  per  kilowatt- 
hour,  less  a  discount  of  20  per  cent,  for  prompt 
payment  upon  the  "full-rate"  portion  of  the  bill. 
If  the  electricity  is  used  for  six  hours  a  day,  the 
average  rate  drops  to  117^  cents  per  kilowatt-hour, 
with  the  same  discount.  These  rates  are  all  for 
small  quantities  of  electricity,  and  regular  dis- 
counts are  allowed  for  increased  quantities.  Under 
this  single  form  of  contract  referred  to  there  are 
many  customers  (eight  per  cent,  of  all,  perhaps). 
The  companies  figure  that  the  electricity  supplied 
to  15  per  cent,  of  all  their  customers  costs  17 
•  cents  per  kilowatt-hour,  or  more,  and  that  the 
electricity  supplied  to  40  per  cent,  of  their  cus- 
tomers costs  iy/2  cents  per  kilowatt-hour,  or  more. 
Mr.  Beale  says  that  the  average  rate  received 
by  the  companies  for  electricity  sold  during  their 
last  fiscal  year,  excluding  from  consideration  elec- 
tricity sold  for  power  to  street-railway  companies, 
was  7.24  cents  per  kilowatt-hour.  This  average 
return  has  been  tending  steadily  downward  for 
years.  Ten  years  a_go  it  was  10.26  cents  per  kilo- 
watt-hour. Competition  carries  it  downward.  This 
competition,  he  says,  does  not  come  from  other 
large  companies,  but  from  the  great  number  of 
small  plants  scattered  throughout  the  city,  many 
of  them  being  isolated  plants  whose  owners  supply 
electricity  to  their  neighbors  located  within  the 
same  block.  The  owner  of  a  business  building  may 
put.  in  an  isolated  plant  for  his  own  premises, 
and  may,  if  he  chooses,  undertake  to  supply  his 
immediate  neighbors  with  electricity.  The  extent 
of  this  competition  may  be  seen  by  reference  to 
the  last  published  report  of  the  Chicago  Depart- 
ment of  Electricity    (for   1904). 

In  the  following  words  Mr.  Beale  submits  the 
proposed  reductions:  "These  two  companies  de- 
sire to  meet  your  wishes  if  they  can  reasonably 
do  so  irrespective  of  your  legal  powers,  and  to 
that  end  if  they  can  obtain  from  the  city  the 
concessions  hereinafter  referred  to  they  are  willing 
to  acquiesce  in  action  by  the  city  limiting  their 
gross  or  full  maximum  rate  for  the  next  five  years 
to  16  cents  per  kilowatt-hour,  with  a  discount  of 
I2y2  per  cent,  from  this  rate  during  the  next  two 
years  for  prompt  payment  of  bills,  and  a  like 
discount  of  25  per  cent,  for  prompt  payment  of 
bills  during  the  following  three  years,  thus  making 
the  net  maximum  rate  for  the  next  two  years 
14  cents  per  kilowatt-hour,  and  for  the  following 
three  years  12  cents  per  kilowatt-hour.  The  com- 
panies are  of  the  opinion  that  the  proposed  maxi- 
mum rates  are  as  low  as  they  can  now  undertake 
to  accept  for  the  next  five  years.  They  would 
also  be  willing  to  lower  their  secondary  rates  to 
some  extent,  but  probably  not  in  the  same  pro- 
portion. For  instance,  during  the  next  two  years, 
if  the  net  maximum  rate  were  14  cents  per  kilo- 
watt-hour, they  would  expect  to  lower  their  rate 
for  the  second  and  subsequent  hours  to  nine  cents 
per  kilowatt-hour,  and  they  might  even  be  willing 
in  the  second  year  to  reduce  the  secondary  rate 
to  eight  cents  per  kilowatt-hour.  But  reductions 
in  their  secondary  rates  would  probably  call  for 
some  revision  of  their  "wholesale"  schedules  for 
large  quantities  of  electricity  in  respect  to  which 
they  could  hardly  continue  after  such  reduction  in 
secondary  rates  to-  allow  the  same  discounts  as  at 
present." 

"The  concessions  which  the  Chicago  Edison  and 
Commonwealth  Electric  companies  desire  from  the 
city  are  few.  and  I  think  unobjectionable  from 
the  city's  standpoint.  They  are  all  really  in  the 
interest    of    the     Commonwealth     company,     which 


March    to,    igo6 


WESTERN     ELECTRI( 


holds   an   ordinance    running    for    a    long   term    of 

.,,.,,  ,    with    Bome    feature     01    omi    i rouble 

e    to    the    company    and    nol    beni  Hi  ial    to    the 

,  ii       I     hi     mil    aware    al    this    h  nl    th  il    thi 

Edi  ompany  dei  h  c  i  anj   ion  al   all.     It 

ordinance   righl  i   i  icpirc   in  a   few   ycai  i,   and    thi  n 

or  previously   b legal   arrangemi  nl    » ill    doubt 

l,       be   made    whereby   the   propei  tj    and    bu  inc 
,,i   ill.    Edison  company  will   !»•  transferred   to  the 

i' nonwcalth    company.    There    i  .    I     think,    no 

legal  objection  to  thi  mergei  al  the  pre  enl  timi . 
|,ni     ii     has    mil     hitherto    hern    though!     important 

So   far  as   the   ultimate   interests   in    thi    two   c 

panics  are  concerned,  they  may  for  all  practicabli 
purposes  be  properly  enough  regarded  a  one  com 
pany,    and    therefore    whatever    benefits    thi     Com 

i wealth    c pany    will     eventually     beni  fil 

stockholders  of  the   Edison  company. 

"The    ordinance    held    by    the    Edi  on    company, 
passed  before  the  annexations  of  1889,  n  quires  un 
dcrground   conductors   exclusively,    while   the    ordi 
nance  of  the  Commonwealth  company  permit     ovei 
hr.-.d   c luctors   in  outlying    porti 1    tin    1  it) 

"In  section  6  of  the  Commonwealth  ordinance 
is  a  provision  that  'all  overhead  conductors  used 
by  said  company  shall  be  protected  by  guard  wires 
or  other  suitable  mechanical  device  or  device 
How  this  provision  became  inserted  in  this  ordi 
nance  I  do  not  know,  for  the  people  who  now 
own  the  Commonwealth'  company  had  nothing  to 
do  with  its  passage  or  with  the  Commonwealth 
company  until  long  afterward.  But  the  provision 
never  should  have  been  inserted,  and  r  have  no 
doubl  that  the  city  electrical  department,  if  con- 
sulted, would  declare  il  to  be  quite  as  objectionable 
from  the  city's  standpoint  as  it  is  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  Commonwealth  company.  *  *  *  The 
provision  is  an  absurd  one,  and  ought  to  be  stricken 
from  the  ordinance." 

"Another  vexatious  feature  of  the  Commonwealth 
ordinance  is  the  fact  that  it  does  not  in  express 
terms  run  in  favor  of  'assigns.'  I  have  no  idea 
that  the  Commonwealth  company  would  ever  wish 
to  assign  its  ordinance  generally,  but  its  mortgage 
,11-  trust-deed  securing  bonds  is  in  effect  such  an 
assignment,  and  the  absence  of  an  express  pro- 
vision authorizing  an  assignment  of  the  ordinance 
has  heretofore  frequently  caused  embarrassment  in 
negotiating  the  sale  of  the  company's  bonds.  Law- 
yers for  prospective  purchasers  of  bonds  have 
objected  to  the  absence  of  an  express  provision 
permitting  the  ordinance  to  be  assigned,  and  while 
all  such  "lawyers,  in  this  city  and  elsewhere,  after 
thorough  examination  of  the  laws  of  this  state, 
have  decided  in  every  instance  that  the  Common- 
wealth company  could  transfer  its  ordinance  as 
security  for  its  bonds,  the  question  comes  up  anew 
every  little  while  with  some  lawyer  not  previously 
familiar  with  the  matter,  and  it  has  to  be  gone 
over  again.  The  city  of  Chicago  can  have  no 
possible  interest  in  hindering  a  large  concern  like 
the  Commonwealth  Electric  Company  from  bor- 
rowing money  to  develop  and  extend  its  enter- 
prise, and  the  ordinance  ought  to  be  made  assign- 
able   in    express    terms,    so    as    to   cover   this    point. 

"A  third  embarrassing  feature  of  the  Common- 
wealth company  ordinance  is  in  its  prohibition  of 
the  use  of  overhead  conductors  in  the  territory 
between  Thirty-ninth  and  Fifty-fifth  streets  and 
between  Armour  Avenue  and  Lake  Michigan,  be- 
ing,   mainly,   the    Sixth   Ward. 

"It  is  impossible  for  the  company  to  do  business 
in  that  territory  with  undergound  conductors  ex- 
clusively, for  the  business  is  not  sufficiently  re- 
munerative to  justify  the  expense.  *  *  *  I 
think  there  can  be  no  disadvantage  to  the  city  in 
permitting  the"  Commonwealth  company  to  main- 
tain overhead  conductors  there  under  reasonable 
limitations.     This    privilege    is    asked. 

"If  this  entire  matter  can  be  satisfactorily  ar- 
ranged the  Commonwealth  Electric  Company  is 
willing  to  reduce  its  price  to  the  city  for  the  street 
arc  lighting  which  it  supplies  from  the  present 
figure  of  $103  to  $75  for  each  arc  light  per  year. 
The  rates  for  current  supplied  by  the  companies 
to  the  city  for  other  electric  lighting  were  mate- 
rially reduced  some  time  ago,  and  no  further  re- 
duction   is   practicable   at   the   present   time." 


burg,    is    thi     1  hairman 


Pittsburg  Meetings  of  the  Institute. 

Telephony  will  be  discussed  by  the  Pittsburg 
section  of  the  American  Institute  of  Electrical 
Engineers,  which  is  to  hold  its  next  meeting 
March  13th.  At  this  meeting  Mr.  W.  W.  Dean 
will  present  a  paper  on  "Harmonic  Signaling." 
which  is  the  topic  for  discussion.  Mr.  Dean  is 
the  vice-president  and  chief  engineer  of  the  Dean 
Electric  Company,  and  it  is  well  known  that  there 
is  no  one  better  prepared  than  he  to  present  the 
subject  clearly.  Five-minute  discussion  papers  will 
also  be  presented  by  the  following-named  gentle- 
men :  S.  G.  McMeen,  Chicago ;  R.  A.  L.  Snyder, 
Pittsburg;  L.  Millheizer,  Pittsburg;  M.  C.  Rortv, 
Pittsburg;    S.    P.    Grace,    Pittsburg. 

The  meetings  of  the  Pittsburg  section  have  at- 
tracted considerable  interest  and  have  been  par- 
ticularly well  attended  this  year,  partly  owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  auditorium  of  the  new  Carnegie 
Technical  School  has  been  secured  in  which  to 
hold  them.  The  students  of  the  schools  are  in- 
vited to  attend  the  meetings,  and  they  take  a  great 
amount    of    interest. 

S.    P.    Grace,   chief   engineer   of  the   Central    Dis- 


A  Gaso-electrlc  Car  on    Transcon- 
tinental Trip. 

to  meet  thi    1  omp<  tition  ol 

to    ihr 

ga  olim 

problem,  and 
built.     Dm 

m  cat     built    by    ii.. 

Electric  Car  Co 

making  at,    and    during 

pari  ..1  ii.  hibitiofi  al  the  La  Salle 

Stroi  t    railroad     tatioi 

1 1."  ti  -I    ■  0 1  rabli     attention. 

Fig.  1  i '  !  .  a    thi 

car  1 .  11. id      lii     an  1  -  pi  1 ntal   om    built   for 

thi    usi    "i    the   pat  in   making   the 

trip,    and     ii     1 

of  the  width  of  the  ordinary  street  car,  to  al 

us  bring   twitched  to  tl  nd  inter 

urban   railway  lines.     The  principle  upon  which  the 

car    op,  1 ml. hi.  tion   0 

power,      I"    lb.      tandard    car  a  der    four- 

cycle    gasoline     engine     drives     directly     a     250- 
volt   direct  rum-Hi   generator.     This  generator   fur 

nishes   current    for   tw 

nected  to  the  car  axles.  It  also  furnishes 
to  a  Chloride  storage  battery  of  200  ampere-hours 
capacity,  [12  cells,  type  TV  11,  By  this  arrangc- 
iiinit  the  load  upon  the  engine  is  kept  approxi- 
inatrly  constant,  as  the  storage  battery  float 
the  system.  ( )n  down  grades  or  in  slowing  down 
the  generator  charges  the  battery.  When  acceler- 
ating or  climbing  grades  the  battery  supplies  cur- 
rent in  the  motors  in  addition  to  that  contributed 
by    the    generator,    so    that    the    engine    is    not    of    as 


York   V.  • 

rmng    1 

aboul  ; 


,a1 

BjiWaafr  ■ 

■L 

(nv  \ 

vii-0£'  dj^^"l 

\m 

1  eadn-     ;  s 

IHB-DYMAMO     Sl.I     IN    SASO-ELICTf 

Toledo    at    8:15     Sunday    morning    and    with    one 
top  of  an  hour  and  35  minutes  en  route  thi 

25   p.   m    Sunday,     Each   day 
a    stop   of   an    hour    was    made    for    dinner 

miles  per  hour  and  the  max- 
imum 52  miles  per  hour.  Between  Buffalo  and 
Chicago  0.41  gallon  of  gasoline  was  used  per 
car  mile.  The  trip  was  made  without  attempting 
to  make  speed  records  but 
running  qualities  of  the  car.  On  speed  trii 
car  has  made  62  miles  per  hour  on  high  gear. 


A  Pleasing  Myth. 


FIG.    I.       GASO-ELECTRIC 


ING     TRANS'.  'NT!: 


great  power  as  would  be  required  if  it  were  to  fur- 
nish the  maximum  power  needed  by  the  car. 

Fig.  2  is  a  view  of  the  engine  and  generator. 
The  engine  cylinders  are  partially  opposed,  being 
combined  in  two  sets  at  an  angle  of  00  degrees 
to  each  other.  Kerosene,  alcohol  or  crude  oil  may 
be  used  instead  of  gasoline  by  a  slight  change  of 
adjustment  of  the  vaporizer.  The  ignition  is  of 
the  high-tension  or  jump-spark  type.  The  fuel  is 
stored  in  a  tank  beneath  the  car  floor.  The  stor- 
age-battery cells  are  placed  in  a  cradle  underneath 
the  center  of  the  car. 

Fig.  3  is  a  diagram  showing  the  essential  features 


The  story  was  current  in  Chicago  last  week 
that  an  elevated  structure  was  to  be  built  over  the 
Lake  Shore  and  Rock  Island  railroads  in  Chicago, 
beginning  at  the  outskirts  of  the  city  and  ter- 
minating at  the  La  Salle  Street  Station.  This  struc- 
ture was  to  give  a  large  number  of  intcrurban  rail- 
way lines  in  Northern  Indiana  and  Illinois  access 
to  the  downtown  district  of  the  city.  The  scheme 
seemed  quite  plausible  and  the  idea  of  a  "second- 
story"  railway  of  such  magnitude  caused  some  little 
stir.  It  has  developed,  however,  that  the  yarn  was 
a  fictitious  one,  originated  by  financial  interests  out- 
side of  Chicago.  The  plan  is  an  interesting  one, 
nevertheless,  and  would  be  a  great  means  of  boom- 
ing electric-railway  interests  if  it  ever  were  ac- 
complished. The  chief  objections  to  the  project 
are  the  disinclination  of  the  steam  roads  to  have 
any  such  obstruction  in  their  right-of-way  and  also 
the  great  cost  which  would  be  involved.  The  cost 
would  be  greatly   increased   from   the  fact   that  the 


of  the  Strang  system.  (E)  is  the  engine,  (D)  the 
dynamo,  (B)  the  battery.  (C)  the  controller,  (M  M) 
the  motors  and  (R)  the  starting  rheostat.  The 
electric  transmission  being  elastic,  there  is  always 
a  tendency  to  adjust  the  speed  of  the  car  to  that 
which  is  most  suitable  and  economical  for  the  pri- 
mary power  equipment.  Moreover,  the  engine  is 
provided  with  automatic  governing  devices  de- 
pendent entirely  upon  the  condition  of  the  batter- 
ies and  the  consumption  of  current.  This  arrange- 
ment has  nothing  to  do  with  the  speed  of^  the 
engine  or  the  motors,  but  is  simply  an  additional 
safeguard  against  overcharging  the  batteries  and 
is  entirely  automatic  and  solely  for  the  purpose  of 
economizing  fuel  and  saving  the  battery  when  the 
car  is   running  light  or  standing  still. 

The  switchboard  is  placed  against  the  left  side 
of  the  engine  compartment  within  easy  reach  of 
the  operator.  It  includes  voltmeter,  ammeter, 
starting  rheostat  and  spark  control.  _  The  platform 
at  the  rear  of  the  car  is  equipped  with  a  controller 
and  a  combination  volt  and   ammeter. 

The  car  which  is  making  the  trial  run  is 
equipped  with  a  50-kilowatt  generator,  though 
larger  sizes  will  be  used  on  types  for  actual  sen- 
ice.  Some  interesting  figures  on  the  run  from 
New  York  were  given  by  Mr.  Joseph  A.  Vande- 
grift,    general    manager   of   the   company.      The   car 


steam  roads  enter  the  city  over  some  miles  of 
track  elevation  which  is  composed  of  a  saud  filling. 
in  which  no  secure  foundation  for  an  elevated 
structure  could  be  secured,  and  to  dig  through 
which  would   involve  an   enormous   outlay. 


Interurban     Roads   Make  Towns    Grow. 

According  to  statistics  recently  gathered  by  the 
state  statistician  for  Indiana,  towns  and  cities  con- 
nected by  electric  railways  have  made  a  compara- 
tively greater  increase  in  population  and  material 
prosperity  than  the  towns  and  cities  having  steam- 
road  facilities  alone.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
in  many  instances  business  men  discouraged  in- 
terurban lines  on  the  theory-  that  they  would  injure 
local  business.  The  statistician's  report  disproves 
this  theory  and  shows  that  towns  having  the  addi- 
tional trolley,  service  have  outstripped  their  less 
fortunate  neighboring  towns  that  have  steam  roads 
alone.  This  is  true  in  the  matter  of  increase  in 
manufacturing  as  well  as  local  business,  and  in- 
crease   in   population. 


The  New  York  Electrical  Society  on  March  2$th 
will  enjoy  a  lecture  by  William  Marconi  at  the 
Horace  Mann  School,  Teachers'  College,  Columbia 
University. 


200 

The  Ownership  of  Public  Utilities. 

Lyman  E.  Cooley,  the  well-known  engineer,  deliv- 
ered an  address  on  "The  Ownership  of  Public  Util- 
ities" at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Western  Society 
of  Engineers  on  January  2d.  As  the  speech  is 
rather  out  of  the  usual  line  of  arguments  for  or 
against  public  ownership,  the  latter  portion  of  it  is 
given  herewith : 

Socialism  conveys  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  instinct  an 
ugly  meaning.  The  Latin  and  Slav  formulates  his 
paper  programmes  and  tests  the  issues  in  revolu- 
tion. Anglo-Saxon  institutions  halt  and  inch  along, 
correcting  abuses,  and  evolving  step  by  step  under 
new  conditions,  abandoning  nothing  that  is  good  or 
workable,  not  swallowing  experience  in  idealism. 
Nevertheless,  the  last  century  records  great  changes 
and  adaptations,  so  great  that  the  road  to  some 
destination  seems  shorter  than  the  way  by  which 
we  have  come. 

Lighthouse  and  port  dues  of  all  kinds  soon  dis- 
appeared and  lighthouses,  charts  and  all  aids  to 
navigation  and  free  harbors  were  soon  provided  at 
the  public  expense,  and  this  policy  has  even  been 
extended  to  the  public  ownership  of  water  front  and 
docks,  as  in  New  York. 

In  the  first  decade  the  state  of  New  York  granted 
to  Livingston  and  Fulton  the  exclusive  right  to 
navigate  the  Hudson  River  by  "fire  and  steam." 
Following  down  the  century  the  Lmited  States  Su- 
preme Court,  by  a  series  of  decisions,  has  estab- 
lished the  public  character  of  all  natural  waterways, 
even  to  the  limit  of  navigation  by  sawlogs  and 
fish  and.  has  recognized  the  public  character  of  all 
waters  in  arid  and  semi-arid  regions. 

River  and  other  improvements  and  canals,  for 
free  navigation  and  at  the  public  expense,  have 
become  a  part  of  a  growing  public  policy.  The  em- 
bankment of  land  against  overflow,  the  development 
of  arid  lands  by  irrigation,  the  restraint  of  floods 
by  reservoirs  and  the  conservation  of  waters  by 
forest  reserves,  the  protection  and  development  of 
fisheries,  the  fostering  of  agriculture,  mining  and 
the  arts,  national  quarantine,  weather  and  crop 
service,  are  all  developments  of  the  century. 

The  postal  system  has  grown  to  rural  free  de- 
livery to  every  householder  throughout  the  land, 
and  in  some  countries  has  taken  over  the  telegraph 
and  telephone,  the  package  express  and  the  savings 
bank. 

The  toll  road,  bridge  and  ferry  disappeared,  and 
public  parks,  boulevards,  sewerage  systems  and  pub- 
lic sanitation,  hospitals  and  charities  have  been 
established,  and  waterworks  and  water  supplies 
have  largely  passed  to  public  ownership. 

Public  baths,  tenement  houses,  old-age  pensions 
and  insurance,  have  even  taken  root  in  foreign 
lands. 

Our  constitution  and  laws  recognize  individual 
ownership  in  land  only,  and  no  corporation  has  a 
right  to  hold  more  than  is  needed  for  corporate 
purposes. 

The  fundamental  right  of  the  state  to  control 
and  regulate  corporations  and  their  earnings  is 
fully  established. 

The  education  of  the  young  has  come  to  be 
regarded  as  peculiarly  a  state  function,  and  even 
goes  to  the  point  of  compulsion  and  interference 
with  parental  control.  This  is  an  outgrowth  of 
scarcely  half  a  century,  and  the  human  mind  can 
hardly  conceive  a  more  radical  invasion  of  personal 
rights  and  sacred  relations  in  the  interests  of  the 
common  welfare. 

What  is  done  by  the  state  along  what  may  be 
called  socialistic  lines  is  vastly  stimulated  and 
added  to  by  private  efforts  and  munificence. 

We  have  come  a  long  way  in  the  past  century. 
How  far  are  we  to  go  in  the  present  century? 
Where  have  we  drawn  the  line  between  the  benefits 
provided  from  the  public  purse  and  those  supplied 
by  organized  capital?  Is  it  not  where  a  specific 
return  or  earning  in  kind  comes  back  to  the  in- 
vestor; and  are  we  quite  rational  in  assuming  and 
fiercely  contending  that  public  utilities  that  pay 
should  be  controlled  by  corporations,  while  the  non- 
paying  utility  is  reserved  for  the  taxpayer?  Is  it 
not,  after  all,  largely  a  matter  of  expediency,  to  be 
decided,  from  time  to  time,  according  to  the  ex- 
igencies in  each  case? 

In  the  past  we  have  relied  upon  competition  and 
the  common-law  right  to  regulate  rates  on  the  basis 
of  a  reasonable  return  on  the  proper  investment 
to  protect  the  public  from  exorbitant  charges  for 
necessary  service.  Is  it  true  that  this  theory  is  not 
workable  and  is  no  longer  tolerable,  and  must  we 
fly  immediately  to  the  remedies  that  are  not  prop- 
erly established  in  Anglo-Saxon  experience  and  gov- 
ernmental systems? 

Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  the  fundamentals 
of  our  system — look  into  the  substance  of  things 
with  the  X-ray  of  the  engineer. 

The  state  is  sovereign,  and  the  people  are  the 
state.  In  other  words,  sovereignty  vests  in  the 
people.  They  choose  to  limit  their  agents  and 
representatives  by  a  written  constitution  and  to 
delegate  certain  functions  which  pertain  alike  to 
other  states,  to  a  general  government.  This  dele- 
gation can  be  changed  bv  consent  of  the  union  of 
^states,  and  the  state  itself  can  change  its  own  con- 
stitution outside  of  the  delegated  functions.  In  the 
last  analysis  the  sovereign  is  the  aggregate  opinion 
of  the  majority  which  is  prepared  to  enforce  its 
views. 

All  properties  and  rights  pertain  to  the  sovereign 
and  of  none  of  these  can  he  divest  himself,  for  that 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  10,  1906 


would     destroy    sovereignty    in    its    essence.       The  taken   in  hand,  and   out  of  it  will  come   incidental 

citizen  is  guaranteed  certain  privileges  in  property—  regulation  in  many  directions 

what  Samuel  J.  Tilden  called  the  "usufruct"— and  There  are  other  avenues  along  which  we  mav 
of  these  he  cannot  be  divested  except  by  due  process  act  wisely  for  the  future,  and  while  existing  ulili- 
of  law  and  just  compensation;  and  what  disposition  ties  are  working  out  their  equities  we  can  be  fore- 
shall  be  made  of  this  property  after  death  is  solely  handed  against  the  time  when  the  agency  is  to  be 
a  matter  of  statutory  regulation.     The  General   As-  relinquished   or   changed   for   the   better.     We   may 


sembly  can  say  at  its  next  session  that  all  property 
shall  revert  to  the  state  on  the  decease  of  its  pos- 
sessor. The  same  is  true  of  an  artificial  person,  a 
corporation,  with  a  fixed  term  of  life. 

The  state  has  for  its  own  purposes  chosen  to  create 
certain  agencies  designated  as  quasi-public  corpora- 
tions and  popularly  known  as  "public  utilities;" 
such  as  common  carriers  for  transportation  and 
communication,  and  service  corporations  for  light- 
ing, heating  and  power.  In  the  fundamental  sense 
the  managers  of  these  agencies  are  state  officers 
and  responsible  for  the  proper  conduct  of  the 
agency,  and  can  collect  only  such  revenues  for  serv- 
ice rendered  as  are  essential  to  conduct  the  busi- 
ness and  make  a  reasonable  return  on  the  proper 
investment  in  the  agency.  By  proper  procedure  the 
state  can  reclaim  the  agency  at  any  time  and  it 
reverts  at  the  expiration  of  the  time  limit. 

The  basal  thought  in  all  this  is  that  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  an  indefeasible  right,  and  that  the 
will  of  the  people  when  properly  expressed  is 
absolute,  for  that  is  the  expression  of  sovereignty, 
and  further,  such  sovereignty  may  express  itself  in 
times  of  distress  and  emergency  in  disregard  of 
all  forms  and  codes.  When  we  go  back  to  the 
fundamental  principles,  so-called  socialism  is  "not 
in  it"  and  designates  merely  a  class  who  are  little 
acquainted  with  the  genius  of  our  institutions. 
What  we  shall  do  from  time  to  time  is  a  matter 
of  expediency  for  the  common  welfare,  even  to  a 
change  in  the  system  of  government  itself. 

The  problem  of  the  day  and  of  the  century  now 
opening  is  how  to  better  distribute  and  equalize  the 
benefits  of  the  great  discoveries  and  inventions  of 
the  last  70  years,  and  those  to  follow,  which  have 
made  this  the  most  singular  epoch  in  the  world's 
history.  This  problem  must  be  solved,  and  solved 
on  the  side  of  the  maintenance  of  individualism,  or 
the  very  genius  of  our  institutions  will  be  sapped 
at  its  vitals.  The  alternative  is  a  feudal  system 
more  cruel  than  any  in  history,  with  lapses  of 
chaos  and  eventual  degeneration.  It  is  the  old 
story  of  government  run  by  its  special  beneficiaries 
and  creatures  and  of  unlicensed'  industrialism  and 
commerce  that  has  perplexed  good  men  throughout 
history  from  Julius  and  Augustus  Csesar  down  to 
our  own  president;  that  produced  a  Napoleon,  that 
has  made  the  kaiser  the  busiest  man  in  Europe,  and 
has  put  Witte   astride  the  storm. 

In  view  of  some  distinguished  failures,  and  others 
still  wrestling,  I  do  not  expect  to  settle  this  whole 
problem  tonight.  How  and  when  it  will  be  settled 
I  do  not  know,  and  I  much  suspect  that  there  will 
be  problems  as  long  as  men  organize  in  govern- 
ment and  fail  to  be  born  with  equal  endowments 
nevertheless,    as    we    range    ov 


need  some  regeneration,  however,  in  our  theories 
and  practices  of  office-getting  and  office-holding 
before  we  can  do  more  than  to  shut  the  barndoor 
after  we  find  what  comes  out. 

Make  operative  the  laws  we  have,  regulate  wisely 
as  we  can  and  provide  for  a  new  order  as  existing 
equities  work  out.  Meantime,  anticipate  and  de- 
velop new  utilities  so  as  to  avoid  repeating  evils 
now  complained  of. 

I  am  an  optimist,  though  I  foresee  neither  the 
time  nor  the  nature  of  the  millennium.  Our  po- 
litical system  has  evolved  rapidly,  but  the  material 
and  social  pace  has  been  still  more  giddy  and 
even  somewhat  disconcerting. 

The  socialistic  (so-called)  movement  which  seems 
now  so  rampant  is  due  more  to  the  determination 
of  the  people  to  "boss  the  situation"  than  to  any 
economic  principles  or  socialistic  dogmas— a  deter- 
mination to  subdue  corporations  drunk  on  ill-gotten 
wealth.  For  this  feeling  the  special  beneficiaries 
of  government  policies  have  only  themselves  to 
blame. 

I  do  not  deprecate  the  socialist.  In  a  govern- 
ment like  ours  we  need  political  activities  of  every 
class  for  the  fullest  discussion  of  every  problem 
that  arises,  and  in  the  solution  we  care  little  what 
trade-mark  or  brand  is  applied.  We  need  not  be 
greatly  worried  over  the  noise,  for  that  only  in- 
dexes our  style  of  debating  important  issues,  and 
the  greater  the  vehemence  the  sooner  the  question 
is  tried  out. 

Of  one  thing  I  am  certain,  and  that  is,  that  mat- 
ters in  the  long  run  will  work  out  as  the  positive 
majority  shall  wish  them,  and  under  our  institutions 
that  is  the  standard  of  right.  Individualism  and 
responsible  representation  will  prevail,  for  they  are 
the  basal  elements  in  our  system,  and  should  it  be 
necessary  every  public  utility  will  pass  to  the  state, 
coal  and  iron  mines  included,  every  industry  de- 
pending upon  government  favor  will  disappear,  and 
our  whole  system  of  industrial  organization  and 
responsibility  will  be  recast. 

We  shall  remain  a  nation  of  freemen,  with  some 
doubts  at  times  as  to  the  definition.  That  is  the 
real  issue,  as  in  the  past,  and  we  shall  care  little 
under  what  banner  the  contest  is  waged.  "Vox 
populi,  vox  Dei,"  simply  means  that  the  majority 
is  supreme,  and  when  it  ceases  to  be,  there  will  be 
chaos   and   an   end  to  things. 


we  find  progress   even  in  governments. 

I  do  not  believe,  as  a  student  of  history  nor  as  a 
civil  engineer,  that  we  can  turn  the  wheels  of  the 
mill  with  the  waters  that  have  gone  by.  We  can, 
however,  change  conditions  for  the  future.  We 
may  call  in  the  police  power  to  deal  with  what  we 
have  with  us,  but  statesmanship  deals  with  what  is 
to   come. 

We  have  been  careless  in  constituting  our  public- 
utility  agencies  and  more  careless  in  their  super- 
vision, but  what  the  future  has  to  bring  forth  no 
one  could  foresee  and  public  convenience  seemed 
urgent.  The  abuses  have  become  serious  and  the 
fundamental  law  lying  under  contracts,  permits  and 
franchises  is  invoked  for  redress.  The  remedy  is 
uncertain  and  halting,  and  beyond  an  amelioration 
we  must  permit  the  equities  to  work  out  and  change 
conditions  for  the  future. 

There  is,  however,  sufficient  outlet  for  all  the 
taxes  we  choose  to  raise  and  the  sentiment  for  pub- 
lic ownership,  in  the  undeveloped  utilities  about 
which  there  is  no  difference  of  opinion  as  to  their 
public  character,  and  out  of  these  we  may  eventu- 
ally get  some  corrections  pending  the  death  of  ex- 
isting agencies. 

I  would  produce  a  system  of  free  waterways;  not 
less  than  25,000  to  30,000  miles  are  feasible,  on  the 
largest  scale  of  magnitude  that  the  physical  con- 
ditions will  invite  or  permit.  We  cannot  realize 
our  economic  destiny  without  cheaper  rates  for 
transporting  much  of  our  products  over  our 
continental  distances.  Railway-rate  regulation  can- 
not reach  this,  for  it  affects  only  that  third  of  the 
gross  earnings  above  operation  and  maintenance; 
but  the  new  competitor  is  a  rate  regulator  in 
itself  and  also  stimulus  to  high-class  traffic  from 
the  enhanced  prosperity.  I  believe  the  seaboard 
must  go  to  the  interior  if  we  are  to  stand  on  a 
par  with  other  continents  in  the  future,  and  further 
in  order  to  prevent  over-concentration  of  urban 
population  at  the  coast  line. 

We  should  be  wisely  forehanded  about  our  water- 
power  development  and  electrical  transmission. 
There  is  enough  waterpower  capable  of  develop- 
ment to  turn  every  wheel  and  to  heat  the  houses 
and  cook  the  food  where  fuel  is  expensive  for  all 
the  people  who  can  live  on  the  soil  of  the  United 
States.  Such  power  is  akin  to  a  fundamental  re- 
source like  the  air  and  the  water,  and  it  will  lie 
closer  to  public  necessity  than  gas  or  electric-light 
plants.    This  matter,  now  in  its  infancy,  should  be 


9,000-kiIowatt  Steam-turbine  Power 
House  for  Washington,  D.  C. 

A  new  power  house  and  equipment  has  been  con- 
ntervals    of   time       tracted    for   by   the    Potomac   Electric    Company   of 


Washington,  D.  C,  for  both  lighting  and  power  pur- 
poses. This  company  is  a  division  of  the  Wash- 
ington Railway  and  Electric  Company,  and  shares 
with  the  Capital  Traction  Company  the  control  of 
the  street-railway  business  of  the  capital. 

The  power  house  in  question  constitutes  an  im- 
portant feature  of  the  general  plan  for  extension 
and  development  adopted  by  the  company  some  time 
ago,  and  will  cost  ultimately  in  the  neighborhood 
of  $1,500,000.  J.  G.  White  &  Co.  of  New  York  have 
the  contract  to  erect  and  equip  it.  The  building  is 
to  be  approximately  166  by  1S3  by  67  feet,  and  will 
have  a  steel  frame,  with  curtain  walls,  which  will 
probably  be  constructed  of  molded  concrete  blocks. 
The  boiler  room  will  contain  four  rows  of  boilers, 
with  three  chimneys,  located  between  the  second  and 
third  rows.  Thus  there  will  be  two-divisions  of  the 
firing  floor,  each  serving  two  rows  of  boilers.  The 
turbine  room  will  be  at  right  angles  to  the  firing 
room,  and  will  have  no  basement,  its  floor  lying  in 
approximately  the  same  level  as  the  boiler-room 
basement. 

The  first  installation  will  consist  of  two  2,000- 
kilowatt  and  one  5,000-kilowatt  Curtis  turbines,  with 
boilers  and  superheaters,  and  the  building  is  de- 
signed for  a  future  installation  of  two  additional 
5,000-kilowatt  Curtis  turbines,  with  their  steam  gen- 
erators, making  a  power  house  of  19.000  kilowatts 
ultimate  capacity.  There  will  be  galleries  around 
all  the  units,  connected  by  short  bridges,  to  permit 
of  easy  communication,  making  in  effect  a  secondary 
operating  floor  in  the  turbine  room.  All  of  the  tur- 
bine units  will  generate  25-cycle  three-phase  current 
at  6600  volts  for  distribution  directly  to  the  sub- 
stations. Two  of  the  2.000-kilowatt  units  are  al- 
ready installed,  one  of  them  being  equipped  with  an 
ordinary  type  of  surface  condenser.  All  of  the  re- 
maining units,  however,-  will  have  the  latest  type 
condensers,  self-contained  in  the  base  of  the  turbines. 

Controlling  apparatus  will  be  entirely  contained  in 
a  switch  house  adjoining  the  main  generating  room, 
and  will  be  distributed  among  three  galleries.  The 
ground  floor  will  contain  only  the  outgoing  feeders 
and  main  generator  leads.  The  second  gallery  will 
contain  all  the  bus-bar  compartments,  disconnecting 
switches  and  static  apparatus,  together  with  instru- 
ment transformers.  The  third  floor  will  contain 
both  alternating  and  direct-current  switchboards. 


March  io,  1906 

Line  Construction  in  Small  Cities. 

The  Electrical   Review  of  I Ion,  which  ha     thi 

I  ritical  fa*  ultj   I  1  -  nlj  di    ■  lopi  d   cri I  tin    p  ipi 

,,f  \i,    11    B   Geai  of  the  (  Fiii  ago  1  di  on  0 

,,„  '•(  i„  rhead  vi  >  u     Underground  I. in.-  ,"  read  be 
fore    the    Illinois    State    Elcctrii      •■    ociation    and 

printed  in  the  \\  eati  rn   Elcctrii  i; 1   <  Ii  tobi  1    1  |ih 

l;i  1      \h    Gear's  suggestion  ,  which  were  intended, 

of  course,   n>   meet   ai  tually   exi  ting   lition     in 

American  towns,   were   rathci     ai  il;    d I 

bj   Ni'    transatlantic  writer,  who  concluded  with  thi 
graceful!}   worded  paragraph : 
"\\  1 1 . 1 1    with  countless  small   nan  i"i mei  .  1  ounl 

le  is   manholi  1,   draw  in   dui  1  1   c aining    higl 

lion  and    low  tension   cables,   we   fcai    il ■■ 1 

in  charge  "i  ■'!  system  such  as   Mr.  Geai    -I'   cribe  . 
if  be  did  not  'go  for  his  rcvolvci ,'   would,  al   lea  1 

II  ie  'language   we  cannol   coi and,'   in   1 1  dam 

with   Hill  Nye's  western  custom." 

Mi     Gear   has   made   a    temperate   reply,    printed 
in  the  London  paper  of   February   t6th,  .111, 1 
subjeel  is  ■■in-  "I  practical  intcn   1,  even  though  tin: 
attitude  of  the  critic  may  not   be,  the  greatci    pari 
..i    ii    is   quoted: 

"Il  was  not  the  purpose  of  the  paper  to  discuss 
the  relative  merits  of  the  differenl  systems  of  dis- 
11  il,  in  hi,  but  rather  the  relative  advantages  and 
disadvantages  of  overhead  and  underground  con 
struction,  as  applied  to  the  typical  distributing  sys- 
tem, commonly  found  in  American  cities  of  15,000 
in  25,000  inhabitants  at  the  present  time. 

"This  typical  system  consists  of  overhead  alter- 
nating current  lines  with  transformers  and  poles 
ni  streets  and  alleys,  in  the  business  sections  of 
such  cities  pule  lines  and  transformers  are  usually 
located  in  the  streets,  and  agitation  is  therefore 
prevalent  among  the  municipal  authorities  looking 
toward  the  removal  of  the  existing  lines  in  the 
business  portions  of  these  cities  and  placing  I  hem 
underground. 

"It  was  the  purpose  of  the  paper,  therefore,  to 
discuss,  first,  the  relative  advantages  and  disad- 
vantages of  installation  and  operation  of  overhead 
and  underground  lines;  and,  second,  to  determine 
whether  it  would  be  commercially  feasible  to  re- 
place existing  overhead  systems  by  underground 
construction  in  the  average  city  of  15,000  to  25,000 
inhabitants. 

"The  underground  system  of  ducts,  or  'culverts,' 
illustrated  in  the  paper,  was  therefore  intended  to 
represent  the  complete  equipment  which  would  be 
necessary  for  the  business  portion  of  the  average 
American  city  of  the  size  mentioned. 

"The  general  conclusion  reached  in  the  paper 
was  that  for  such  a  business  section,  the  fixed 
charges  resulting  from  the  underground  investment 
would  add  1.2  cents  per  kilowatt-hour  to  the  cost 
of  current  when  the  load  factor  is  I2'/2  per  cent., 
or  in  a  residence  section  of  the  same  area  but  hav- 
ing a  maximum  load  of  20  kilowatts  instead  of  125, 
the  added  cost  would  be  about  six  cents  per  kilo- 
watt-hour under  the  same  conditions. 

"The  use  of  a  sub-station  and  low-tension  dis- 
tribution therefrom  was  not  considered,  since  the 
initial  investment  and  operating  expenses  for  such 
a  system  considerably  exceed  the  amount  required 
for  the   system  described   in   the   paper. 

"The  location  of  transformers  in  sewer-drained 
manholes  where  it  is  impossible  to  hang  them  on 
poles  has  proved  very  satisfactory  in  America,  in 
situations  where  the  density  and  amount  of  load 
do  not  require  units  larger  than  30  or  40  kilowatts. 
For  cities  where  the  load  is  such  as  to  require 
larger  units  I  certainly  should  favor  'an  all-under- 
ground system  with  sub-stations  for  the  busy  parts 
of  the  town,  with  overhead  transmission  to  the 
outlying  portions.' 

"As  to  the  use  of  the  'built-in'  system  for  the 
distributing  mains  by  which  you  consider  that  the 
'risks  of  breakdown  would  be  enormously  dimin- 
ished,' it  is  the  experience  in  American  practice  that 
such  is  not  the  case,  but  rather  the  reverse  is  true. 
Indeed,  in  view  of  the  ease  in  making  changes,  re- 
pairs or  additions  to  the  cable  equipment  and  of 
the  freedom  from  disturbance  of  street  paving,  it 
is  the  universal  experience  of  American  engineers 
that  the  'draw-in'  system  is  the  least  expensive  in 
the  long  run. 

"As  to  the  'countless  transformers,  countless  man- 
holes, etc.,'  which,  you  fear,  will  cause  the  engi- 
neer in  charge  to  sigh  for  'language  that  he  cannot 
command,'  the  writer  is  familiar  with  a  number  of 
working  installations  similar  to  that  described  in 
the  paper,  but  several  times  greater  in  extent,  in 
which  more  than  two  or  three  cases  of  trouble  due 
to  faults  in  the  underground  equipment  during  the 
course  of  a  year  would  be   considered   excessive. 

"It  is  possible  that  the  rate  of  depreciation  used 
in  figuring  the  increased  cost  of  current  with  under- 
ground lines  is  a  little  high,  but  in  view  of  the 
rapid  growth  of  American  cities  and  the  progress 
of  the  electrical  art,  which  has  heretofore  necessi- 
tated discarding  much  of  our  physical  equipment 
before  it  is  actually  worn  out,  it  is  wiser  to  err 
on  the  safe  side." 

The  London  paper  makes  this  rejoinder:  "We 
were  comparing  American  practice,  as  exemplified 
in  the  paper,  with  British  methods  of  carrying  out 
systems  of  distribution,  and-  our  main  points  were : 
That  the  plan  of  drawing  distributing  cables  into 
ducts  is  not  only  expensive  but  useless  and  detri- 
mental :  that  transformer  boxes  under  the  street 
surface  have  been  abandoned  here  In  new  work 
for  years  past;  that  in  this  country  overhead  wires 


ill'.     ELECTRIi 

' 

while  wi 

lid   villages,   v, 
not   be  carried   out  rground 

and  1  in  1 tailed  0 

■    ■  ■ 


!  I  1 1  .1 '  I 

thi      id'  "    And  of  coi 


■ 
1906, 


Single-phase  Equipment  for  Milwaukee 
Electric  Railway  and    Light  Company. 
Advantage    attending     h 

n  1  1    [01    ihi    pi '  nil.,,   "i"  rating 

urban    trolli      lini      arc    again   emphasized    by    the 

announcement    thai    another    coi   pan  boul    \>> 

install  this  system      fn 

long  di  i.'i  ' '    1  rolli  '.    In"      -..  th 


numerous  than  in  the  eastern  portions  of  the 
United  States,  the  alternating-current  system  has 
been  successfully  adopted  by  several  companies, 
and  the  latest  to  decide  upon  this  method  is  the 
Milwaukee  Electric  Railway  and  Light  Company 
of  Milwaukee,  Wis.  This  company  is  about  to 
equip  two  suburban  extensions  of  its  lines  with 
the  alternating-current  apparatus  man- 
ufactured by  the  General  Electric  Com- 
pany. One  of  these  lines  will  extend 
from  Waukesha  to  Oconomowoc,  a 
distance  of  20  miles,  and  the  second 
will  operate  between  Hale's  Corners 
and  Mukwonago,  a  distance  of  16 
miles.  Both  lines  will  be  operated  at 
a  potential  of  3,300  volts,  and  in  addi- 
tion the  motors  are  designed  to  run 
on  the  existing  seven  miles  of  550- 
volt  direct-current  trolley  line  between 
West    Allis    and    Milwaukee. 

Motors  to  be  furnished  for  this 
equipment  are  the  standard  General 
Electric  alternating  type,  shown  in  the 
illustration.  Each  of  the  10  cars  com- 
prising the  initial  equipment  for  the 
road  will  he  furnished  with  four  mo- 
tors of  75  horsepower  each.  They  are 
of  the  compensated  type,  comprising  an 
armature  similar  to  the  ordinary  stand- 
ard direct-current  bar-wound  form  with 
mica-insulated  coils.  The  motor  fields 
consist  of  laminated  polepieces,  over 
which  are  slipped  the  spools  of  the 
exciting  winding.  The  compensating 
winding  consists  of  a  bar  winding  in- 
serted in  the  pole  faces  and  perma- 
nently connected  in  series  with  the 
armature  winding.  The  75-horsepower  motor  is 
wound  for  four  poles  and  has  a  maximum  speed 
of  about  140  revolutions  a  minute. 

These  equipments  will  in  general  be  operated 
as  single  cars,  but  occasionally  will  be  run  in 
two-car  trains.  For  the  flexible  control  of  these 
train  combinations  the  well-known  Sprague-Gen- 
eral  Electric  system  of  multiple-unit  control  will 
be  used,  adapted  for  operation  on  alternating  cur- 
rent. 

The  compensator  for  use  in  these  cars  is  of  the 
oil-cooled  type  and  is  wound  for  3,300  volts,  on 
the  primary,  with  five  different  secondary  taps  for 
controlling  the  speed  of  the  motor.  In  order  that 
the  acceleration  may  be  smooth,  special  devices 
are  employed  so  that^  there  will  be  no  break  in 
the  circuit  from  one  tap  to  the  next*  during  a 
change   in    speed.      The   speed    regulation   is    so   de- 


New  Stombaugh  Guy  Anchor. 

by    W 
baugh    v 

inch    .1: 

..I    ■qua]     size,    permitting    Ihi 

wrenchi 
In  tin 

ntircly  eliminated   in  tl" 
1-    now    used    with    no   weld! 

and   threaded   t"   the   rod.     A   mu 
1 

ard    guy    thim- 
1,1,  s.'    Ibis  eye  is  made  smooth  and  of  such  shape 

Willi     the     absolute     need     of     the 

:it    and 
hollow    -haft    is    madi 
square    tubing   of   much    greater    torsional    strength 
than  the  old-style   round  tube.     It   is   further  rein- 
forced by  a  malleable  iron  square  key  that  fits  ihc 

key    is    brazed 

..ii.  The  handles  are  attached  to  a  sliding 
that  is  held  at  any  point  on  the  shait  by  m 
a    non-removable    set    screw.         This    sliding 

jrcat  convenience  when  screwing  the  anchor 
into  the  ground,  as  the  maximum. amount  of  lever- 
age can  always  be  had  at  all  stages  of  the  installa- 
tion. 

To  install  the  type  B  anchor  the  hollow  shaft  is 
slipped  over  the  rod  after  removing  the  eye.  It 
is  then  keyed  firmly  to  ihe  square  shank  of  the 
helix  and  the  eye  on  the  end  of  the  n,d  replaced. 
The  eve  will  serve  to  hold  the  wrench  firmly  in 
place  during  installation.  The  handles  are  slid 
down    the    shaft    to    a    convenient    point    and    the 


NEW  STOMBAUGH  GOV  ANCHOR. 

anchor  screwed  in  until  the  handles  get  too 
to  the  ground.  Then  the  set  screw  it  loos 
and  the  handles  slid  up  to  a  more  convenient 
position  and  the  process  continued  to  the  required 
depth.  Finally  the  eye  is  removed,  the  wrench 
pulled  out,  the  eye  replaced  and  the  guy  strand 
attached.  The  pole  is  anchored  securely-  in  15  to 
20  minutes. 


The  Havana  Subway  Company,  which  has  been 
r  wfres,  eta,  throughout  the 
city  of  Havana.  Cuba,  under  a  concession  granted 
by  the  Havana  City  Council,  has  appealed  to  the 
American  legation  for  a  hearing  in  the  matter  of 
a  revocation  of  its  concession  for  failure  to  com- 
plete the  work  within  two  years.  An  illustration 
of  the  work  being  done  by  the  company  in  Aguila 
Street  appeared  in  the  Western  Electrician  of  No- 
vember iS,  1905.  The  conduits  are  planned  to  pro- 
vide space  for  all  kinds  of  electrical  conductors. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  10,  1906 


The  Situation  at  Wheaton. 

Inspection  of  electrical  conditions  in  the  sub- 
urban town  of  Wheaton,  111.,  shows  that  the  town 
has  a  municipal  electric-lighting  plant,  but  the  cur- 
rent is  supplied  by  the  Aurora,  Elgin  and  Chicago 
railway  from  its  sub-station  at  Lombard,  five  miles 
distant,  where  the  voltage  is  reduced  from  26,000 
to  approximately  2,oco.  For  a  part  of  the  way 
telegraph  wires  and  the  conductors  used  by  the 
village  are  placed  on  the  same  poles  with  the 
high- voltage  system.  The  municipal  wires  also 
occupy  the  poles  of  the  telephone  company.  A 
short  time  ago  one  of  these  fell,  causing  a  cross 
with  a  telephone  wire.  The  protector  at  the  tele- 
phone in  one  of  the  houses  was  not  effective  and 
failed  to  operate  properly.  The  insulation  of  the 
wires  in  the  house  was  ignited  and  fire  communi- 
cated to  the  near-by  woodwork.  Prompt  discov- 
ery, together  with  flooding  of  partitions  due  to 
melting  of  water  pipe  by  the  fire,  prevented  serious 
loss. 

The  question  of  telephone  protectors  has  been 
taken  up  by  the  local  management  of  the  telephone 
company.  The  City  Council  is  revising  the  or- 
dinances and  has  promised  to  adopt  one  regulating 
the  installation  and  maintenance  of  electric  wiring. 
Gas  has  been  recently  introduced  and  the  plumbers 
are  busily  engaged  in  piping  buildings.  In  the 
attics  of  houses  it  is  asserted  that  little  pains  is 
taken  to  keep  clear  of  electric-light  wires. 


Elk  River  Power   Development  Near 
Minneapolis. 

Surveys  and  engineers1  estimates  have  been  pre- 
pared for  the  development  of  the  Elk  River  prop- 
erty which  has  been  held  some  time  by  Minneap- 
olis men,  organized  as  the  Minnesota  Power  and 
Trolley  Company.  All  flowage  land  has  been 
bought  outright  at  a  cost  of  $75,000.  The  work 
up  to  the  present  time  has  been  done  by  Min- 
neapolis people,  but  will  now  be  taken  up  by  a 
new    organization    financing    the    deal. 

The  company  may  decide  to  enter  the  power 
business  only,  it  is  said,  and  not  attempt  to  enter 
the  lighting  field  as  a  competitor  of  the  Minne- 
apolis General  Electric  Company,  as  it  can  under 
its  ordinance.  At  the  point  selected  for  the  im- 
provement, the  village  of  Otsego,  25  miles  north 
of  Minneapolis,  an  effective  head  of  35  feet  can 
be  secured.  The  development  will  call  for  the 
erection  of  a  36-foot  dam  across  the  river  and 
a  power  house.  A  transmission  line  over  a  pri- 
vate right-of-way  must  be  secured  from  the  plant 
to;  Minneapolis.  An  initial  development  of  20,000 
to  25,000  horsepower  is  planned.  Power  may  be 
marketed  in  the  smaller  cities  north  of  Minneap- 
olis, and  the  development  may  be  the  means,  it 
is  stated,  of  bringing  about  trolley  connection  be- 
tween   these    towns    and    Minneapolis. 


An  Electrical  Lexicon. 

Five  numbers  (of  48  pages  each)  of  the  "Lexi- 
kon  der  Elektrizitat  und  Elektrotechnik"  have  now 
been  issued,  the  complete  series  to  consist  of  20 
numbers.  The  work  is  compiled  by  Fritz  Hoppe 
and  when  completed  will  form  a  valuable  encyclo- 
pedia on  electrical  apparatus  and  processes.  The 
four  numbers  that  have  so  far  appeared  go  as 
far  as  the  letter  K  The  subjects  are  taken  up 
with  considerable  detail  and  data  of  practical  value 
given  in  many  cases.  For  instance,  under  *'Ak- 
kumulatoren"  (Accumulators)  there  are  over  10 
pages  of  reading  matter  and  tables,  besides  eight 
illustrations  showing  battery  plates,  connections, 
curves  of  operation,  etc.  Illustrations  are  used 
plentifully  and  they  are  all  of  modern  and  up-to- 
date  apparatus.  When  complete  the  series  will 
form  a  valuable  contribution  to  electrical  literature, 
and  the  matter  which  it  contains  will  be  in  the 
most  accessible  form  and  so  arranged  that  it  may 
be  added  to  readily  as  advances  in  the  art  may 
require.  The  work  is  printed  in  German  and 
comes  from  the  establishment  of  A.  Hartleben  in 
Vienna. 


Mackay  Companies  Prosperous. 

The  annual  report  of  the  Mackay  Companies 
shows  that  the  income  from  subsidiary  companies 
during  the  period  from  February  23,  1905,  to  Feb- 
ruary 1,  1906,  was  $2,719,595.  The  Mackay  Com- 
panies distributed  $2,332,492  in  dividends,  paid  out 
$23,186  for  various  expenses,  and  carried  forward 
$363,917.  The  issued  capital  stock  consists  of  $40,- 
645,600  preferred  and  $41,380,400  common,  the  pre- 
ferred having  been  increased  during  the  year  by 
$4,676,900.  Among  the  securities  acquired  during 
the  year  was  stock  representing  a  controlling  in- 
terest in  the  North  American  Telegraph  Company, 
which  operates  in  Minneosta,  Wisconsin,  Iowa  and 
Illinois. 

Dealing  with  the  Commercial  Cable  Company,  the 
report  refers  to  the  new  Pacific  cables,  and  says 
that  the  lines  to  Japan  from  Guam  and  to .  China 
from  Manila  will  be  put  in  operation  by  April  1st. 
The  Mackay  Companies,  besides  controlling  the 
Commercial  Cable  Company  and  the  Postal  Tele- 
graph-cable lines,  is  one  of  the  large  stockholders 
in  the  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company. 


Telephone  Engineering. 

By   J.   J.   Carty. 
Part   II. 

Another  example,  perhaps  even  more  far-reach- 
ing in  its  effect  upon  the  work  of  the  engineer, 
is  the  question  of  whether  the  telephone  company 
shall  charge  for  its  service  on  the  flat-rate  plan,  or 
by  messages,  as  is  now  generally  the  case  in  this 
neighborhood. 

Under  the  flat-rate  method  of  charging,  in  large 
cities,  the  more  times  the  customer  uses  his  tele- 
phone during  the  day  the  greater  is  the  expense 
to  the  telephone  company.  This  is  due  not  only 
to  the  increased  number  of  operators  required,  but 
also  to  the  increased  switchboard  sections  needed 
for  them  and  to  the  increased  trunk-line  plant. 
By,,  the  method  of  flat-rate  charging  there  is  no 
motive  for  the  telephone  company  to  encourage  an 
increase  in  the  number  of  calls.  For  this  reason 
a  flat-rate  plan  would  have  to  be  so  engineered 
and  the  rates  would  have  to  be  so  established  that 
extension  stations,  desk  stands,  and  other  aux- 
iliaries tending  to  make  the  use  of  the  telephone 
easy  and  therefore  more  frequent,  must  be  dis- 
couraged. 

The  existence  of  the  flat  rate  in  such  cases 
would  not  only  be  attended  by  all  of  these  conse- 
quences, but  many  others,  one  of  which  in  par- 
ticular is  of  great  importance.  I  refer  to  the  ex- 
cessive use  of  the  subscriber's  line  which  such  a 
rate  engenders.  The  consequence  of  this  excessive 
use  is  that  the  busy  calls  attain  such  serious  pro- 
portions that  it  is  difficult,  if  not  absolutely  im- 
possible, to  give  satisfactory  service.  This  trouble 
from'  busy  calls  has  at  times  attained  such  serious 
proportions  that  engineers  in  various  places  have 
exerted  extraordinary  efforts  to  mitigate  the  evil, 
but  without  success.  This  difficulty  having  been 
caused  by  commercial  methods  could  not  be  over- 
come by  the  engineer  employing  physical  methods. 
The  solution  of  this  difficulty  lay  with  the  business 
management  and  consisted  in  the  adoption  of  a 
proper  system  of  message  rates.  Once  such  a 
method  was  put  into  force,  all  of  these  difficulties 
which  I  have  enumerated,  as  pertaining  to  the  flat 
rate,  and  many  others  which  I  have  not  taken  the 
time   to    explain,    disappeared. 

While  engineers  were  endeavoring  to  plan  sys- 
tems in  accordance  with  the  flat-rate  method,  diffi- 
culties were  encountered  at  every  hand.  As  soon 
as  the  message-rate  system  was  adopted  all  of 
these  difficulties  disappeared,  and  many  positive 
advantages  not  even  suspected  as  residing  in  the 
message-rate  plan  developed.  Under  the  flat-rate 
system  there  was  every  temptation  for  the  sub- 
scriber to  send  as  many  calls  as  possible  over  one 
line.  This,  as  I  have  already  stated,  resulted  in 
overcrowding  the  line  and  was  attended  by  bad 
reactions  of  every  kind.  Those  having  but  small 
use  for  a  telephone  could  not  afford  to  pay  the 
high  flat  rate  which  that  method  of  working  made 
it  necessary  for  the  telephone  company  to  charge. 
The  consequence  of  this  was  that  only  those  hav- 
ing a  large  number  of  calls  installed  a  telephone, 
and  those  having  small  use  of  the  telephone  made 
it  a  practice  to  use  the  telephones  of  their  neigh- 
bors, or  did  not  employ  the  telephone  at  all.  This 
practice  on  the  part  of  the  small  user  was  a  nat- 
ural one  in  view  of  the  fact  that  under  the  flat 
rate  the  telephone  subscriber  -  considered  that  it 
cost  him  nothing  to  allow  his  neighbor  to  use  his 
telephone.  All  of  this  resulted  in  a  system  largely 
composed  of  overloaded  lines.  Under  the  condi- 
tions obtaining  in  our  large  cities,  the  relief  of  an 
overloaded  line  can  be  obtained  only  at  the  ex- 
pense of  a  second  line,  which,  in  most  cases,  meant 
doubling  the  cost  of  the  telephone  service.  For 
this  and  many  other  reasons  the  desired  relief 
could  not  be  obtained  under  the  flat-rate  system. 

By  introducing  into  the  large  cities  the  message- 
rate  system,  and  by  placing  proper  limits  on  the 
load  which  should  be  carried  upon  one  line,  and 
by  providing  a  graduated  system  whereby  addi- 
tional lines  could  be  obtained  on  a  basis  propor- 
tionate to  the  amount  of  their  use,  relief  from  this 
overloading  was  afforded.  More  than  this,  under 
the  message-rate  system  it  is'  obviously  for  the 
interest  of  the  telephone  company  to  encourage  the 
use  of  the  telephone  in  every  manner.  For  this 
reason  it  became  feasible  and  desirable  to  install 
as  many  auxiliary  instruments  as  possible.  This 
^was  accomplished  by  providing,  for  those  who  re- 
quired two  or  more  lines,  a  switchboard  located 
at  the  subscriber's  premises,  this  switchboard  being 
so  constructed  that  as  many  local  stations  as  might 
be  required  could  be  installed  at  a  moderate  equip- 
ment charge.  Each  one  of  these  stations  is  so 
equipped  that  it  may  be  connected  with  a  trunk 
line  to  the  central  office  or  it  may  be  connected 
to  any  of  the  other  local  stations  without  com- 
municating with  the  central  office.  In  this  way 
not  only  was  the  central  office  substantially  changed, 
but  a  very  important  advantage  was  obtained. 
Talking  between  local  stations  at  a  local  or  pri- 
vate-branch-exchange switchboard  could  be  accom- 
plished without  any  message  charge,  and  constituted 
an  important  by-product,  costing  the  subscriber 
practically  nothing.  This  development  not  only  re- 
acted upon  the  central-office  engineering  and  the 
general  engineering  of  the  plant,  but  also  com- 
pletely changed  the  state  of  affairs  with  reference 
to   speaking-tube   telephones,  practically   limiting  the 


former  speaking-tube  system  to  special  and  peculiar 
conditions. 

Considering  these  two  examples  of  the  method 
of  charging  which  shall  be  followed  upon  toll  lines 
and  the  method  of  charging  which  shall  be  adopted 
upon  subscribers'  lines,  it  will  be  seen  that  they 
in  a  most  extraordinary  manner  affect  the  work 
of  the  telephone  engineer.  So  profoundly  do  such 
considerations  affect  the  proper  engineering  of  the 
telephone  plant  that  it  must  be  said  that  good 
telephone  engineering  cannot  exist  side  by  side 
with  a  bad  system  of  rates  or  with  improper  busi- 
ness methods  and  organizations.  Nothing  more 
forcible  than  the  examples  needs  to  be  mentioned 
in  order  to  show  the  intimate  relations  between 
telephone  engineering  and  business  management. 

From  time  to  time  engineering  methods  involv-, 
ing  new  principles  are  brought  forth.  These,  when 
found  to  affect  the  methods  of  the  business  office, 
should  be  submitted  to  the  business  management 
with  a  full  and  clear  statement  of  their  bearings 
upon  the  commercial  work  of  the  company.  On 
the  other  hand,  there  are,  from  time  to  time,  busi- 
ness proposals  and  commercial  methods  which  are 
under  consideration  by  the  business  management 
of  telephone  companies,  and  which,  apparently,  are 
only  remotely  or  not  at  all  related  to  engineering. 
In  view  of  the  many  unexpected  and  important 
reactions  which  these  proposals  may  have  upon  the 
engineering  of  the  telephone  plant,  it  becomes  of 
the  first  importance  that  they  should  be  scrutinized 
carefully  from  an  engineering  point  of  view,  unless 
it  is  conclusively  apparent  that  they  will  be  without 
effect  upon  the  engineers'  plans. 

Many  other  instances  besides  those  which  I  have 
enumerated  might  be  adduced,  such  as  the  effect 
of  the  three-minute  toll-period  method  of  charging 
upon  the  various  features  of"  suburban  trunking 
methods,  and  the  complicated  and  disastrous  reac- 
tions produced  by  the  introduction  of  many  of  the 
party-line    systems. 

Thus  far  I  have  dealt  with  some  of  the  more 
general  methods  of  telephone  engineering,  indicat- 
ing briefly  their  nature.  One  of  the  very  impor- 
tant features  of  telephone  engineering  consists  in 
the  design  and  construction  of  the  varied  machin- 
ery constituting  the  modern  telephone  central-office 
apparatus.  A  brief  statement,  therefore,  indicating 
the  character  of  the  work  which  devolves  upon 
the  telephone  engineer  in  connection  with  central- 
office  design  is  pertinent. 

During  the  10  years  just  passed  a  revolution 
has  taken  place  in  the  design  and  construction  of 
telephone  switchboards,  the  magnetic  switchboard, 
so-called,  having  given  way  to  the  common-battery 
switchboard.  This  radical  change  in  telephone 
practice  made  new  demands  upon  the  telephone 
engineer,  for  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  intro- 
duce into  central-office  construction  certain  elements 
which  had  theretofore  been  utilized  principally  in 
engineering  work  involving  electric-light  and  power 
installations. 

In  the  magneto  system,  signaling  from  the  sub- 
scriber's station  to  the  central  office  was  accom- 
plished by  means  of  a  small  alternating-current 
generator  turned  by  hand,  and  the  current  supply 
needed  in  the  working  of  the  transmitter  was  ob- 
tained from  a  few  cells  of  primary  battery  located 
at  the  subscriber's  station.  By  the  introduction  of 
I  he  common-battery  system  all  of  this  was  changed. 
The  magneto  generator  was  dispensed  with  as  was 
the  primary  battery,  the  current  supply  for  oper- 
ating the  transmitter,  as  well  as  that  required  to 
enable  the  subscriber  to  signal,  being  drawn  from 
a  large  storage  battery  located  at  the  central  office. 

In  the  case  of  a  io,coo-line  switchboard,  the 
storage  battery  must  be  capable  of  giving  an  aver- 
age discharge  of  500  amperes;  and  to  insure  proper 
working  conditions  it  must  be  capable  of  giving 
a  safe  discharge  as  high  as  2,000  amperes.  For 
charging  such  a  battery  as  this,  suitable  machines 
must  be  employed,  and  these  must  be  present  in 
duplicate  or  triplicate.  The  standard  machine  used 
for  charging  a  battery  of  this  type  delivers  1,000 
amperes. 

The  introduction  of  currents  such  as  these  and 
the  introduction  of  these  machines  and  of  a  large 
number  of  auxiliary  machines  generating  currents 
for  special  purposes  have  resulted  in  the  creation 
of  a  power  plant  at  each  central  office,  upon  which 
the  operation  of  the  telephone  switchboard  and  ap- 
paratus is  wholly  dependent.  The  introduction  of 
these  larger  currents  has  necessitated  most  careful 
and  refined  methods  of  fusing  and  protecting  the 
delicate  telephone  apparatus.  These  protective 
methods,  while  following  the  general  principles  of 
such  methods  in  electric-light  and  power  practice, 
are  vastly  more  refined  in  their  working  and  call 
for  a  hitherto  unattained  degree  of  precision  in  the 
manufacture  of  such  apparatus. 

While  the  storage  batteries  and  auxiliary  ma- 
chinery employed  in  telephone  power  plants  are 
far  from  equaling  the  magnitude  of  similar  ap- 
paratus employed  in  electric-light  and  power  sta- 
tions, nevertheless  they  have  become  such  a  vital 
element  of  the  successful  engineering  of  a  telephone 
central  office  that  they  require  on  the  part  of  the 
telephone  engineer  a  special  knowledge  of  this 
branch  of  electrical  engineering,  which  was  for- 
merly not  requisite.  This  class  of  apparatus  must 
also  be  considered  by  the  telephone  engineer  in  a 
special  manner,  for  not  only  must  it  be  properly 
constructed  from  the  electric-light  and  power  point 
of  view,   but   peculiar   conditions   must   be   provided 


March   to,  1906 

for  "ii  account  of  the  association  of  thi  apparatu 
with  bui  Ii  a  delicate  in  itrumi  nl   a     thi    tclephom 

VVillTl!      .'I      (lylialllO      I  I"      I"'      "ll!      II  II.    Ii    i|       Ii,      i,|,i 

i'ncandescenl  lamps,  lei  us  say,  certain  minute  ftui 
tuation  1  in  the  potential  oi  the  machine  are  pi  1  mi 

sililc.      Were    such    a    marl ,    however,    to    1":    USCfl 

iii  connection  with  telephone  circuit  ,  tin   i    Bui  tua 

i  ii  ins    iii    potential    would    I"'    sufficient    to    i luce 

mil  constant  humming  in  the  telephone  as  to  ren- 
der ii  inoperative,  Hence  a  greater  rcfinemcnl  of 
iIh'  construction  of  these  machines  in  this  respect 
i  imperative  where  they  are  employed  in  i lie  tele- 
phone  power  plant. 

So  it  is  with  the  storage  battery,  where  a  num 
ber  of  telephones  arc  supplied  by  current  from  one 

storage   battery;   even   al .1    infinitesimal    changes 

in  the  voltage  of  the  battel  j  mi  [hi  be  prop 
to  the  telephone  lines  connected  therewith  and  pro 
ilii.i'  disturbances.  For  iln^  reason  storage-battery 
practice  from  the  telephone  poinl  of  view  presents 
problems  which  are  different  from  those  encoun 
Eered  elsewhere. 

One  of  the  interesting  and  important  develop- 
ment in  the  modern  common-battery  switchboards 
is  the  extensive  use  which  has  been  made  of  in- 
candescent lamps  in  signaling.  Hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  these  lamps  are  now  used  for  telephone 
signaling,  and  the  requirements  of  the  telephone 
arl  have  called  for  special  refinement  in  the  design 
and  manufacture  of  these  lamps. 

While  the  common-battery  switchboards  as  now 
used  in  all  of  (he  large  central  offices  represent  a 
revolution  in  methods  as  compared  with  the  mag- 
neto  system,  there  arc  certain  elements  formerly 
used  in  the  magneto  system  which  have  persisted. 
Among  these  is  the  multiple-board  principle.  This 
principle,  as  is  well  known,  consists  in  extending 
a  number  of  lines  to  different  points  in  the  switch- 
board so  that  it  is  possible  to  connect  with  them 
at  any  one  of  these  points.  The  multiple  system 
is  opposed  to  the  transfer  system,  which  is  one 
wherein  the  lines  are  not  so  extended  or  multipled 
to  different  points,  but  proceed  directly  to  a  special 
location  from  which  trunk  lines  extend  to  other 
parts  of  the  switchboard,  so  as  to  provide  for 
making  the  necessary  connections.  It  is  safe  to 
say  that  during  the  past  20  years  there  has  been 
no  question  of  switchboard  design  that  has  been 
the  occasion  of  so  much  discussion  and  controversy 
as  that  pertaining  to  the  extent  to  which  the  mul- 
tiple principle  should  be  adopted.  It  is  interesting 
to  note,  therefore,  that  no  type  of  switchboard  of 
any  magnitude  is  now  seriously  considered  which 
does  not  in  a  very  substantial  manner  utilize  this 
multiple  principle. 

In  a  self-contained  central  office,  with  relatively 
few  trunk  lines  extending  to  other  offices,  it  is 
found  most  economical  to  multiple  all  of  the 
subscribers'  lines  to  each  section  of  switchboard. 
In  very  large  cities  where  a  number  of  central 
offices  are  required  and  where  the  amount  of  trunk- 
ing  between  the  different  central  offices  is  rela- 
tively large,  the  advantage  of  multipling  all  of 
the  subscribers'  lines  to  each  section  is  not  so 
apparent  as  in  the  case  of  the  self-contained  office, 
and  this  fact  has  led  many  to  the  conclusion  that 
for  such  situations  multiple  boards  are  not  adapted. 
But  this  is  going  farther  than  the  fact  warrants, 
for  while  it  is  true  that  the  advantage  of  mul- 
tiplng  the  subscribers'  lines  to  all  of  the  sections  of 
the  switchboard  becomes  less  and  less  as  the  per- 
centage of  trunking  increases,  it  is  still  a  fact  that 
the  point  is  never  reached  where  the  multiple  prin- 
ciple should  be  abandoned  entirely. 

The  truth  of  this  proposition  may  be  easily  estab- 
lished by  assuming  that  in  a  large  city  all  of  the 
calls  must  be  trunked,  and  that  none  of  them  are 
local  to  the  office  in  which  they  originate.  In  such 
a  case  as  this  it  is  obvious  that  nothing  could  be 
gained  by  extending  all  of  the  subscribers'  lines 
before  each  of  the  operators.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  still  essential  that  the  outgoing  trunk  lines 
should  be  extended  or  multipled  before  all  of  the 
subscribers'  operators,  and  all  of  the  subscribers' 
lines  should  be  multipled  before  the  trunk  oper- 
ators. While  the  case  of  an  office  without  any 
local  calls  is  one  which  could  not  occur  in  practice, 
there  are  situations  in  which  the  amount  of  local 
calls  is  so  small  that  it  will  not  pay  to  multiple 
the  subscribers'  lines  to  all  of  the  subscribers' 
operators.  Just  when  this  point  is  reached  is  a 
question  to  be  determined  in  each  case. 

Thus  far  the  instances  where  it  has  been  found 
possible  to  omit  this  multipling  of  the  subscribers' 
lines  are  few,  but  as  time  goes  on  the  number  of 
these  cases  must  increase ;  but  at  no  time,  so  far 
as  can  now  be  seen,  will  the  point  be  reached 
where  the  multiple  principle  itself  will  be  aban- 
doned. Even  in  the  automatic  switchboards,  which 
constitute  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  recent 
developments,  the  multiple  principle  is  found  to  be 
essential  to  the  working  of  all  types  of  automatic 
boards  thus  far  proposed,  wherever  the  switchboard 
is  of  any  substantial  magnitude. 

With  reference  to  this  matter  of  automatic  tele- 
phone switchboards,  I  may  say  that  such  types  of 
apparatus  have  during  the  past  few  years  become 
a  matter  of  great  interest  and  the  subject  of  much 
discussion  among  telephone  engineers,  and  as  I 
have  made  a  number  of  special  investigations  into 
this  subject  I  think  it  would  be  of  interest  if  I 
here  briefly  state  some  of  the  results  which  I  have 
obtained. 

Upon  a  first  view  of  the  case,  the   idea  of  using 


WESTERN     ELE(   I  RIl 

a hi  itic  i  way  with  the 

wonderful   thii 

ii     to    mind.      Among 
proji   i      I.-      aving   labor    by   auton 

noi 

..Inn    manipul  .    will 

put     linn     ml 

tl .H'll 

ovci   .1   widi    area.     Bui  in  order  thai 

ill'  phone     ■■■  ii'  Iii", Hid   ■  In, nl, i   :.  died   a 

laboi    •'   ■'  ■ 

ai   an   i  ■  i tailing    Ii 

vi  "M  i [uired  h     tl 

to  displai  i        i   i      in  hm   !.     |  annual 

charges  of  operating  thi 

to  or  greater  than  the  annual  chargi 

the  manual   ly  tern,  then  the  ai  tomatii        teni  would 

ii"'    be   a    iii-'  'i     ■  i  mi" and,    i    n   dered    from 

the  standpoint  of  ■"  i  .  would  bi  a  failure,  What- 
ever  merit   ii   would   h 

looked    for    in        

way  of    service.     From   'In     poi 

considered  the  merits  of  the  various  automatic 
switchboard  systems  which  have  thus  far  been  in- 
stalled. 

I    find   that,   taking  into  account  all   of  the   factors 

involved,  and   which   a"  I al.'-  up  the  total  annual 

chargi      which  could  properly  be  placed 
automatic    switchboard    system,    on    the    mi.     hand, 
and  the  manual  system  on  the  other  hand, 
out   of  account   switchboards    suitable    for   u 
in    small    villages    and    making    comparison    up    to 
switchboards   of    10,000   lines   capacity,    that    the   an- 
nual   chare.es    upmi    tin-    automatic    sy-Um    are    sub- 
stantially  greater   than   the   annual   charges   updn   a 
manual     system     operated    on    the    common-battery 
multiple  plan.     From  the  standpoint  of  costs,  there- 
fore,   the    automatic    system    fails    when    placed    in 
competition  with  the  common-battery  multiple  board 
operated    manually. 

Having  found  that  the  automatic  system  could 
not  successfully  compete  with  the  manual  system 
in  point  of  costs  and  annual  charges,  I  made  a 
careful  investigation  to  determine  whether  the  au- 
tomatic system  possessed  any  advantages  of  work- 
ing over  the  manual  system  which  might  compen- 
sate for  the  extra  annual  charges  which  its  use 
necessitates.  For  this  purpose  there  were  made 
about  7,500  service  tests  on  manual  switchboards 
and  automatic  switchboards  operating  under  prac- 
tical conditions  in  different  parts  of  the  country. 
The  results  of  these  tests  showed  that  the  manual 
system  possessed  a  substantially  greater  degree 
of  reliability  than  the  automatic  system.  The 
difference  in  speed  of  connection  between  the  two 
systems  was  so  small  as  not  to  constitute  a  prac- 
tical factor,  the  time  elapsing  between  the  start  of 
the  call  and  the  answer  of  the  called  subscriber 
being  in  the  case  of  the  automatic  system  19.9  sec- 
onds, and  in  the  case  of  the  manual  system  21.7 
seconds.  These  figures  include  the  time  taken  by 
the  subscriber  to  answer,  and  even  this  small  dif- 
ference of  time  was  found  to  be  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  subscribers  whose  lines  were  tested  an- 
swered somewhat  quicker  in  the  automatic  system 
than  in  the  manual  system.  It  will  be  seen,  there- 
fore, from  these  tests  that  the  automatic  system 
possesses  no  practical  service  advantages  over  the 
manual  system  and  that  it  contains  no  elements 
sufficient  to  warrant  any  part  of  the  extra  cost 
which  its  use  involves.  A  full  consideration  of  the 
details  of  the  comparison  of  these  types  of  switch- 
boards would  lead  me  far  beyond  the  limits  as- 
signed to  this  paper  and  would  only  result  in 
showing  that  the  alleged  advantage  of  doing  away 
with  the  operators  at  the  central  office  are  imagi- 
nary and  not  real. 

All  of  the  foregoing  relates  to  switchboard  sys- 
tems smaller  than  10,000  lines,  no  automatic  switch- 
board of  larger  size  having  been   installed. 

In  order  to  determine  whether  for  systems  larger 
than  io.oco  lines  the  automatic  principle  might  be 
applicable,  I  made  a  study,  assuming  a  system  of 
ioo.coo  lines  to  be  equipped  with  automatic  switch- 
boards, and  compared  this  with  a  similar  system 
equipped  with  common-battery  multiple  switch- 
boards operated  on  the  manual  basis.  Here  again 
the  comparison  is  in  favor  of  the  manual  board, 
both  in  point  of  annual  charges  and  in  respect  to 
the   service. 

In  applying  the  automatic  switchboard  to  this 
100,000-line  study,  it  was  necessary  to  leave  out 
of  consideration  a  very  large  class  of  difficulties 
which  crop  out  at  every  turn  when  the  attempt 
is  made  to  apply  the  automatic  principle  to  the 
complex  conditions  which  obtain  in  and  around  all 
large  cities.  Inasmuch,  however,  as  the  study 
showed  that  the  automatic  system  is  inferior  to 
the  manual  system  for  a  ioo,coo-line  plant,  it  be- 
came unnecessary  to  take  into  account  the  large 
number  of  adverse  factors  which  must  be  charged 
against  the  automatic  plan  of  working.  So  im- 
portant are  these  factors  that  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
even  if  the  annual  charges  on  the  automatic  system 
were  substantially  less  than  those  on  the  manual 
system,  they  would  constitute  such  a  serious  ob- 
jection to  the  automatic  system  as  to  bar  its  use. 

Throughout  these  investigations  the  importance 
of  retaining  at  the  central  office  operators  to  re- 
ceive and  attend  to  the  subscribers'  calls  has  been 
emphasized  in  so  manv  Important  and  unexpected 
ways    that   I   have  no   hesitation    in   saying   that   no 


plan    1 

call    am 

that    ii.- 

from   the  hook 

alor  al  tin 

To   ih':   propei 
ihcir  pn 

a    par: 
iiiiJii  -I    : 
out    of  all    th" 

annual   charge!   and   high  efficiency. 
dering  the  almofl    innumeral 

material,    used,    all    of    which    unit 
standard 

Ineering,   taken 
quire    so   much    time   to  describe    ii 

attempt    to    enter    into    it    in    any    detail.    1  • 
say  that  it  con  ■   the  important 

telephone   engineer. 

Intimately     connected     wit!. 

of    material    and    making    th' 
thercf:  r  mentary   fur..  ■ 

jng  or  rejecting  that  which   is  offered.     The  draw- 
ing up  of  the  specifications  must  be  attended  to  with 
placed  in  the 
i    the    purchasing   agent   and    be    sufficiently 
intelligible    so    that    any    manufacturer    or 
skilled  in  the  art  can  understand  their  purport  and 
supply   without    further   information   the   arti, 
sired.      The    drawing    of   si 
very  great  importance,  for  not  only  must  the  article 

in  clearly  described,  but  the  languag 
mi  1  be  ■■■'  ;  thai  no  material  other  than  that  de- 
sired can  be  furni  hed  under  this  specification.  At 
the  same  time,  while  every  precaution  must  be 
adopted  in  the  specification  to  exclude  undesirable 
material,  great  care  must  be  exercised  that  undue 
and  excessive  requirements  should  not  be  specified. 
Otherwise  the  cost  of  the  materials  would  be  un- 
necessarily increased.  Here,  as  well  as  at  almost 
every  turn  in  the  work  of  the  telephone  engineer, 
there  is  no  safe  side.  If  the  specification  is 
too  rigorous  and  calls  for  material  of  a  quality  in 
excess  of  that  which  is  demanded  by  the  nature 
of  the  construction,  loss  will  result.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  the  specification  is  drawn  loosely  or  so 
as  to  admit  inferior  material,  loss  will  result,  owing 
to  defective  working  of  the  construction  in  which 
such   materials   would   enter. 

So  far  as  I  have  gone  I  have  described  the  more 
typical  functions  of  the  telephone  engineer.  In 
addition  to  this  there  are  constantly  arising  ques- 
tions demanding  special  investigation.  The  range 
of  these  questions  is  almost  unlimited,  and  their 
adequate  treatment  requires  most  laborious  and 
serious  effort  on  the  part  of  the  telephone  engineer. 
While  their  range  is  so  extended  as  to  cover  almost 
every  field  of  engineering  in  scientific  progress,  and 
while  the  telephone  engineer  cannot  be  expected 
to  be  expert  in  all  departments  of  scientific  investi- 
gation, he  is  required  to  direct  such  investigations, 
employing,  as  his  judgment  may  dictate,  experts 
in  various  departments  to  report  upon  those  phases 
of  the  work  in  regard  to  which  they  may  be  best 
qualified  to  speak. 

Thus  far  I  have  discussed  the  work  of  the  tele- 
phone engineer  without  particularly  calling  attention 
to  his  relations  to  the  telephone  organization  at 
large.  This  relation  can  best  be  understood  by 
stating  that  the  telephone  engineer  in  every  well- 
organized  telephone  company  must,  in  the  first 
place,  broadly  determine  all  of  the  important  fea- 
tures of  the  plant  of  the  company,  and  he  must  in 
detail  decide  what  shall  be  the  nature  of  the  con- 
struction and  the  method  of  operation  of  every 
single  item  which  constitutes  the  physical  property 
of  the  telephone  company.  If,  through  defective 
design,  a  telephone  cable  is  found  to  be  ineffective 
mechanically  or  electrically,  it  may  be  said  in  a 
properly  organized  telephone  company  that  the 
fault  lies  with  the  telephone  engineer.  If,  through 
defective  design,  the  telephone  switchboard  is  found 
to  be  unsuitable  with  respect  to  its  maintenance  or 
operation,  the  fault  lies  with  the  telephone  engi- 
neer. So  on  through  all  of  a  multitude  of  items 
which  constitute  a  telephone  system.  If,  in  a  well- 
organized  and  well-administered  telephone  company, 
the  plant  is  not  constructed  in  accordance  with  the 
best  state  of  art,  the  fault  lies  with  the  telephone 
engineer. 

That  this  must  be  so  will  be  made  clear  by  de- 
scribing the  method  which  obtains  in  well-organized 
telephone  companies  of  getting  from  the  board  of 
directors  the  necessary  appropriations  for  carrying 
out  all  construction  and  reconstruction  work.  Under 
such  conditions  a  development  study  will  have  been 
made  and  will  have  been  approved  by  the  business 
management.  The  traffic  department  will  have, 
from  its  careful  watching  of  the  extent  of  the  avail- 
able facilities,  given  due  notice  of  the  time  at 
which  additions,  changes,  or  renewals  of  switch- 
board facilities  may  be  required,  all  of  which  are 
presumed  to  have  been  contemplated  in  the  broad 
plans  already  approved  by  the  business  manage- 
ment. The  construction  department  will  have,  from 
its  constant  watching  of  the  available  cable  and  line 


204 


facilities,  given  due  notice  of  such  changes,  renew- 
als and  additions  as  may  be  required  in  these  parts 
of  the  plant  to  accommodate  the  growing  business 
and  fit  in  with  the  approved  general  plan.  In  the 
case  of  the  traffic  department,  the  demands  of  the 
service  having  been  thoroughly  studied  by  them 
and  the  essential  data  having  been  supplied  to  the 
engineer,  the  necessary  detail  studies,  plans  and 
specifications  are  prepared  by  him  and  an  estimate 
prepared  for  the  work  required.  A  case  will  be 
made  out  setting  forth  the  nature  of  the  work  and 
the  necessity  therefor,  and  an  estimate  showing  its 
cost  and  a  specification  describing  the  work  in  de- 
tail will  be  submitted  to  the  management,  and  if 
in  proper  form  it  will  be  duly  approved.  The  esti- 
mate and  specification  will  then  be  turned  over  to 
the  proper  department  and,  depending  upon  the 
nature  of  the  construction,  the  work  will  be  exe- 
cuted by  the  telephone  company  itself  or  by  a  con- 
tractor. 

This  work  must  be  supervised  as  far  as  may  be 
necessary  by  the  engineer,  and  upon  its  completion 
he  must  accept  or  reject  it.  Having  accepted 
it  and  having  made  a  report  to  that  effect  to  the 
business  management,  the  transaction  is  completed. 
By  the  acceptance  of  the  work  the  engineer  as- 
sumes   full    responsibility    for    its    efficiency. 

So  it  is  with  the  cable  plant,  except  in  this 
instance,  as  a  matter  of  administrative  efficiency, 
the  superintendent  of  construction  may  submit  de- 
tailed plans  for  the  extension  to  the  cable  and 
wire  plants,  following,  however,  general  lines  which 
have  already  been  standardized  by  the  engineer. 
These  plans  and  specifications  having  been  accepted 
by  the  engineer,  and  the  work  having  been  passed 
through  the  regular  routine,  the  ultimate  responsi- 
bility rests  in  the  engineer's  office. 

So  it  is  with  other  features  of  the  work.  From 
beginning  to  end  the  engineer  is  thus  placed  in  a 
position  to  exercise  a  veto  power  upon  any  adverse 
methods  which  might  otherwise  be  allowed  to 
creep  in. 

The  carrying  out  of  this  estimate  system  in  this 
way  places  final  responsibility  upon  the  engineer 
and  recognizes  in  the  most  practical  manner  one 
of  his  most  important  functions,  which  is  to  co- 
ordinate the  various  elements  which  must  be  put 
together  in  such  a  manner  as  to  avoid  conflict  and 
produce  a  consistent  symmetrical  organism,  each 
part  of  which  will  be  designed  and  constructed 
with  due  reference  to  the  functions  which  it  must 
perform  and  also  with  due  regard  to  the  functions 
and  importance  of  all  other  elements  in  the  system. 
The  importance  of  this  co-ordinating  function 
cannot  be  overestimated  and  it  is  only  at  some  cen- 
tral point  that  such  function  can  be  exercised. 
Being  judged  from  the  maintenance  point  of  view, 
a  piece  of  apparatus  might  have  qualities  of  a 
high  order,  but  when  considered  with  reference  to 
its  effect  upon  the  traffic,  difficulties  might  be  dis- 
covered which  would  entirely  overweigh  the  main- 
tenance advantages.  In  such  a  case  the  conflicting 
claims  with  respect  to  the  apparatus  must  be  con- 
sidered by  the  engineer,  and  his  decision  must  be 
rendered  with  a  view  to  producing  the  best  net 
result. 

Again,  systems  might  be  proposed,  which,  con- 
sidered solely  from  the  maintenance,  construction 
and  traffic  points  of  view,  might  seem  to  possess 
all  of  the  advantages  of  an  ideal  arrangement,  but 
when  considered  from  the  standpoint  of  the  effi- 
ciency of  transmission  might  be  found  to  involve 
an  impairment  of  transmission  on  one  hand  or 
such  increase  in  cable  and  line  costs  on  the  other 
hand  as  to  render  its  use  out  of  the  question. 

In  order  to  exercise  proper  co-ordinating  func- 
tions, it  is  essential  that  the  engineer  should  be 
placed  and  should  maintain  himself  in  such  rela- 
tions with  all  of  the  departments  of  the  telephone 
organization  that  he  may  get  from  them  and  fairly 
consider  all  of  the  projects  and  ideas  pertaining  to 
the  design,  operation,  construction  and  maintenance 
of  the  plant  which  naturally  originate  in  such  de- 
partments when  they  are  conducted  with  proper 
efficiency. 

Viewed  from  this  standpoint,  it  will  be  seen 
that  while  the  function,  of  the  engineer  with  rela- 
tion to  the  plant  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  nev- 
ertheless the  work  of  the  traffic,  maintenance,  con- 
struction and  other  departments  has  such  an  im- 
portant bearing  upon  the  whole  question  that  the 
successful  engineering  of  a  telephone  system  must 
be  regarded  not  only  as  the  work  of  the  engineer 
himself  but  as  the  work  of  all  of  the  other  depart- 
ments concerned.  Not  only  this,  but  what  is  still 
more  important,  the  successful  engineering  of  a 
telephone  plant  depends  upon  proper  business  man- 
agement, as  I  have  indicated  by  several  striking 
examples.  Without  an  intelligent,  progressive  and 
broad-gauged  business  management  there  cannot  be 
good  telephone   engineering. 

[End  of  paper;   discussion   to   follow  as  Part  III.] 


The  Pacific  States  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany has  removed  its  business  offices  from  the  for- 
mer headquarters  in  Bush  Street,  San  Francisco,  .to 
the  new  building  of  the  company  at  140  New  Mont- 
gomery Street.  In  the  new  structure  the  main  city 
department  will  occupy  all  of  the  first  floor,  the 
equipment  department  will  have  the  second  floor, 
and  the  third  floor  will  contain  the  offices  of  Presi- 
dent H.  T.  Scott,  General  Manager  Louis  Glass  and 
the  division  manager. 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

Indiana  Telephone  Items. 

The  Tobinsport  Telephone  Company  has  filed  ar- 
ticles of  incorporation  with  a  capital  of  $1,000. 
David  White,  John  C.  Esarey  and  Charles  Adams 
are  the   directors. 

The  Newton  and  Jasper  County  Telephone  Com- 
pany has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $7,500. 
An  exchange  will  be  built  in  Brook  with  lines 
throughout   Newton   and   Jasper   counties. 

The  People's  Co-operative  Telephone  Company 
of  Manson,  Ind.,  has  filed  amended  articles  of  in- 
corporation, also  notice  of  increase  of  capital.  This 
company  will  reconstruct  its  system.  J.  A.  Curtis, 
A.  W.  Carter  and  T.  D.   Chaney  are  the  directors. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  directors  and  officers  of  the 
Indianapolis  Telephone  Company  it  was  finally  de- 
cided to  ask  permission  of  the  city  to  increase 
telephone  rates.  Auditors  are  now  at  work  on  the 
company's  books  securing  data  which  will  be  used 
when  the  request  is  made.  General  Manager  A.  L. 
Tetu  will  have  charge  of  proposed  extensions.  Mr. 
Tetu  announced  that  the  Independent  interests  in 
this  and  other  states  would  seize  on  the  present 
unrest  in  the  telephone  situation  in  Chicago  to 
enter  that  city.  The  New  Long-distance  Telephone 
Company  will  not  attempt  to  enter  Chicago,  but 
the  directors  have  ordered  new  heavy  trunk  lines 
constructed  to  South  Bend  to  connect  with  the 
East  and  West  trunk  lines  which  may  enter  Chi- 
cago. Orders  were  also  issued  for  the  construc- 
tion of  new  trunk  lines  to  Fort  Wayne,  to  Louis- 
ville and  to  Richmond  to  improve  the  present  con- 
nections to  eastern  points,  and  to  Terra  Haute  to 
improve  the  St.  Louis  service.  The  new  lines  will 
be  No.  8  and  will  displace  the  No.  10  copper  wire 
now  in  use.  Orders  were  also  given  to  make 
additions  to  the  equipment  in  Indianapolis  to  take 
care  of  the  new  business. 

Both  the  Cumberland  and  the  Princeton  Inde- 
pendent Telephone  companies  have  been  ordered  to 
quit  the  streets  in  Princeton  and  injunction  pro- 
ceedings are  threatened.  The  city  insists  that  the 
former  company  has  no  franchise  and  that  the 
latter  has  failed  to  comply  with  the  provisions  of 
the   ordinance  granting  it  a   franchise. 

The  Board  of  Public  Works  of  Evansville  has 
agreed  upon  the  terms  by  which  the  Citizens'  Tele- 
phone Company  may  be  admitted  to  the  city.  The 
matter  now  goes  to  the  City  Council,  which  is  said 
to  favor  the  admission. 

The  Indiana  Independent  Telephone  Association 
is  formulating  a  plan  for  standardizing  construction 
in  this  _  state.  The  plan  is  to  assist  the  smaller 
companies,  which  are  unable  to  employ  a  consulting 
engineer,  and  thus  enable  them  to  standardize  their 
systems. 

The  Attica  Telephone  Company  of  Attica  an- 
nounces that  the  present  system  will  be  greatly 
improved.  A  number  of  rural  lines  will  be  con- 
structed and  the  new  line  recently  completed  to 
Riverside  will  be  extended  to  Independence.  This 
will   connect  up  three  additional  good  towns. 

The  Sandbank  Telephone  Company  of  Tipton 
County  has  purchased  all  the  poles  of  the  Tipton 
Telephone  Company  east  of  the  city  and  will  stretch 
wires  as  far  as  Hobbs,  where  it  will  establish  a 
station.  H.  C.  Hackett  is  president  of  the  Sand- 
bank Telephone   Company. 

The  directors  of  the  West  Lebanon  Telephone 
Company  have  decided  to  improve  and  extend  the 
system.  New  telephone  companies  are  being  organ- 
ized at  Ambia  and  Talbot,  the  Tines  to  operate  in 
conjunction  with  the  West  Lebanon  system.         S. 


-"  Ohio  Telephone  Notes. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  the 
United  States  Telephone  Company  a  few  days  ago 
the  following-named  directors  were  chosen:  Bar- 
ney Mahler,  Henry  A.  Everett,  E.  W.  Moore.  C.  W. 
Wason,  F.  S.  Dickson,  James  B.  Hoge,  C.  Morris. 
H.  R.  Newcomb  and  C.  Y.  McVey.  The  total 
earnings  of  the  company  for  the  last  year  were 
$484,934.38,  an  increase  of  $62,971.27  over  the  pre- 
vious year.  The  expenses  and  taxes  amounted  to 
$310,605.50,  an  increase  of  $44,465.67.  The  surplus 
for  the  period  is  $61,532.23,  a  gain  of  $9,448.61. 
Preferred  dividends  were  allowed  to  the  amount  of 
$19,515.  leaving  a  balance  or  surplus  of  $42,017.23. 
Of  this  $41,481.24  was  added  to  the  original  surplus, 
making  $97,607.12. 

The  Buckeye  Lake  Home  Telephone  Company  of 
^Thurston  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $10,000  by  W.   F.   O'Gara   and   others. 

At  an  early  meeting  the  Cincinnati  and  Sub- 
urban Bell  Telephone  Company  will  take  up  the 
matter  of  placing  all  the  wires  across  the  canal 
underground.  This  will  mean  the  expenditure  of 
quite  a  sum  of  money. 

The  Aiken  bill  for  the  regulation  of  telephone 
rates  has  been*  recommended  for  passage  by  the 
committee  on  railroads  and  telegraphs  of  the  House 
of  Representatives.  This  bill  provides  that  city  and 
village  councils  may  make  agreements  with  tele- 
phone companies  as  to  rates  when  a  franchise  is 
granted.  In  fact  it  will  become  a  part  of  the  mu- 
nicipal-code idea.  But  the  bill  provides  that  nothing 
shall  be  done  regarding  those  companies  that  have 
already  secured  franchises.  They  will  be  left  to 
fix  rates  through  competition.  Representative  Hil- 
lencamp  has  another  bill  in  the  House  that  not 
only  provides  that  councils  may  fix  rates,  but  they 
are    subject    to    review    and    revision    every    seven 


March  10,  1906 

years.  The  companies  oppose  this  bill,  as  it  not 
only  applies  to  new  companies  but  all  companies 
now  in  existence. 

The  February  payments  to  the  employes  of  the 
Cuyahoga  Telephone  Company  on  the  co-operative 
plan  were  larger  than  ever  before,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  earnings  of  the  company  have  greatly 
increased   during  the   last  year. 

Articles  of  incorporation  have  been  issued  to  the 
Farmers'  Telephone  Company  of  Caldwell,  which 
will  have  a  capital  stock  of  $10,000.  W.  E.  Keith 
and  others  are  interested  in  it. 

The  New  Paris  Home  Telephone  Company  of 
New  Paris  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital 
stock  of  $40,000  by  S.  C.  Richie,  D.  C.  Dawson 
and  others.  C. 


Canadian  Telephone  News. 

From  the  present  outlook  it  seems  more  than 
likely  that  the  Dominion  government  does  not  pro- 
pose to  move  in  favor  of  national  ownership  of 
the  telephone  systems  in  this  country.  The  pro- 
posal of  the  Bell  Telephone  Company  of  Canada 
to  largely  increase  its  capital  stock  is  regarded  as 
a  sure  indication  that  the  directors  have  good  rea- 
son to  believe  that  they  have  no  cause  to  fear  an 
announcement  of  a  policy  of  government  ownership. 

Politicians  are  discussing  an  interesting  rumor 
which  is  in  circulation  in  Ottawa,  to  the  effect  that 
a  merger  has  been  effected  of  the  Canadian  tele- 
phone companies,  which,  it  is  believed,  are  about  to 
pass  to  the  control  of  the  big  American  corpora- 
tion. The  management  of  the  Bell  company  of 
Canada  gives  a  flat  denial  to  the  report,  and  states 
that  the  company  will  continue  a  Canadian  corpora- 
tion. 

Following  the  example  of  the  several  large  Amer- 
ican railways,  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  will  prob- 
ably install  a  telephone  system  on  all  its  lines.  Esti- 
mates are  being  prepared  on  the  cost  of  such  a 
system.  The  company  feels  that  a  large  annual  saving 
might  be  effected  by  having  its  own  telephone  sys- 
tem, and,  in  addition,  there  would  never  occur  de- 
lays on  account  of  connection,  etc.  When  installed 
this  telephone  system  will  be  quite  distinct  from 
the  telegraph  system,  and  it  will  cost  upward  of 
$2CO,ooo.  Wires  will  be  stretched  from  Portland, 
Maine,  to  Montreal,  Toronto,  Port  Huron,  Detroit, 
Hamilton,  Suspension  Bridge,  North  Bay,  Chicago 
and  all  intermediate  points.  W. 


Chicago   Telephone   Company  Pays 
$200,000  Back  Compensation. 

In  the  negotiations  between  the  Chicago  Tele- 
phone Company  and  a  committee  of  the  Chicago 
City  Council,  relative  to  a  reduction  of  rates,  fran- 
chise extension,  etc.,  the  company  is  now  going  over 
its  books  to  determine  what  it  owes  the  city  as  a 
result  of  the  Supreme  Court  decision,  which  says 
that  the  company  must  pay  three  per  cent,  com- 
pensation on  the  business  done  in  the  territory 
which  has  been  annexed  to  the  city  since  it  got 
its  franchise.  Already  the  company  has  paid  to  the 
city  comptroller  $200,000  to  apply  on  the  com- 
pensation due. 

The  company  is,  of  course,  anxious  for  a  renewal 
of  its  franchise,  which  expires  in  three  years,  and 
to  this  end  is  ready  to  take  up  negotiations  with 
the  council  committee  for  a  reduction  and  adjust- 
ment of  rates  in  consideration  of  a  new  franchise. 
But  the  committee  says  it  will  not  consider  any 
rate  propositions  until  the  matter  of  back  com- 
pensation is  settled.  The  committee  may  ask  per- 
mission to  go  over  the  company's  books.  President 
Fish  of  the  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company  was  in  Chicago  last  week  conferring  with 
President  Wheeler  and  the  directors  of  the  Chi- 
cago company,  and  he  is  said  to  have  advised  pay- 
ing the  city  $200,000  on  account. 


Indiana  Telephone  Men   Meet. 

The  first  district  of  the  Indiana  Telephone  As- 
sociation held  a  meeting  in  the  Century  Club  Build- 
ing, Elkhart,  on  February  25th,  Vice-president  Thor- 
ward  presiding.  A  resolution  was  unanimously 
adopted  declaring  that  any  "telephone  company  in 
the  district  having  either  direct  or  indirect  traffic 
relations  with  the  Central  Union  (Bell)  Company 
shall  be  cut  off  from  all  traffic  relations  with  the 
Independent  telephone  companies  of  the  district. 

The  by-laws  of  the  district  association  were 
amended  so  as  to  conform  to  the  needs  of  the 
association,  and  provide  for  holding  meetings  on  the 
third  Tuesdays  of  January  and  July  each  year  reg- 
ularly, all  other  meetings  to  be  at  the  call  of  the 
president.  Twelve  delegates  were  elected  to  attend 
the  annual  state  meeting  at  Indianapolis  the  third 
week   in   May. 

The  convention  was  entertained  by  the  Chicago 
Telephone  Supply  Company,  whose  factory  is  lo- 
cated in  Elkhart.  Dinner  was  served  by  the  com- 
pany,   followed   by  a   trolley   ride   to  the    factory. 


At  Raleigh,  N.  C.  which  is  perhaps  the  only 
town  in  the  country  having  three  separate  telephone 
systems,  there  is  considerable  agitation  among  the 
business  men  for  a  reduction  in  the  number  of 
systems,  and  it  is  likely  that  two,  or  perhaps  all 
three,   of  the  companies   will  be   merged. 


March  10,   1906 


WESTERN    M.i  • 


CORRESPONDENCE 


Great  Britain. 

London,  February  21  rhi  in  1  ol  Ihi  "tube"  rail 
ways  taken  ovci  by  thi  lat<  1 1  ■■  1  rl  ■  is  now 
ready    for   opening.      Ii    is    the    Baker    Strccl    and 

Waterloo  railway,   whicl 1111 1  1     up  thi    1 1 

of  the  Greal  Western  railway  in  thi  wi  1  *  ilh  thi 
terminus  of  thi    I  ondon    Brighton  and  South  1  oa 

railway   in  the   south.     The  line  will   give  : 

London  service  which  should  be  .1  greal  boon  to 
travelers  on  the  main  line  •  tern  ol  the  1  wo  rail 
we  mentioned,  and  also  one  or  two  othei  in 
closi  pri '  -  imity .  I  he  con  il  rucl  ional  details  ol  the 
railway  resemble  those  of  othei  "tube"  lines,  but, 
ol  course,  there  are  a  few  specialties.  Thu  ,  thi 
permanent  way  is  of  special  con  traction  in  order 
to  reduce  vibration,  the  sleepers  being  so  laid  that 
they  rest  on  springs,  so  to  speak.     As  on  the  1  en 

tral   1 1 ailway,   each   station   lias   .-in   up-grade 

leading  into  it  and  a  down-grade  leading  from  it. 
The  diameter  of  the  tunnel  varies  from  11  feet 
eight  inches  to  u  feet  six  inches  on  curves.  The 
length  iH*  tlie  railway  is  about  live  miles  <if  route, 
and  current  will  be  supplied  from  the  large  gener- 
ating station  of  the  Underground  Electric  Railways 
Company  of  London  at  Chelsea,  which  was  dc- 
scribed  in  the  Western   Electrican  last  year. 

To  commemorate  the  visit  of  the  liriiisli  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Advancement  of  Science  to  South 
Africa  lasi  year,  subscriptions  have  been  secured  for 
founding  a  medal  to  be  granted  annually  by  the 
South  African  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Silence.  The  grant  of  the  medal  will  be  for  re- 
search work.  Up  to  the  present  nearly  $10,000  is 
available  for  this  purpose,  and  it  is  expected  that 
will   represent  the  total  sum. 

The  meeting  of  the  British  Association  for  1006 
will  be  held  at  York,  the  town  in  which  the  in- 
augural meeting  took  place  76  years  ago.  August 
1st  is  the  date  of  commencement. 

The  city  of  London  Corporation  at  its  last  meet- 
ing passed  a  resolution  urging  the  government  to 
appoint  a  royal  commission  to  inquire  into  the 
whole  question  of  electric  supply.  To  the  man 
who  is  impartial  in  this  matter  it  would  appear 
that  the  only  advantage  to  be  gained  by  such  a 
procedure  would  be  to  give  the  London  County 
Council  time  to  prepare  a  scheme.  At  present  sev- 
eral companies  are  quite  prepared  with  detailed 
schemes  and  the  delay  inevitable  to  a  royal  com- 
mission— witness  the  traffic  commission — should  be 
considered  too  great  to  be  lightly  incurred. 

After  giving  the  matter  its  serious  consideration 
the  Metropolitan  Railway  Company  has  abandoned 
the  idea  of  having  uniform  zone  fares  and  will 
adhere  to  the  ordinary  system  which  has  been  in 
vogue  on  its  lines  since  their  inception.  It  was 
always  one  of  the  pet  fancies  of  the  late  Mr.  Yerkes 
to  have  a  uniform  fare  of  2d.  all  round  the  Inner 
Circle,  but  this  has  now  gone  by  the  board. 

I  mentioned  a  short  time  ago  that  the  new  gov- 
ernment intended  to  consider  the  popularization  of 
our  numerous  canals  as  a  means  of  freight  car- 
riage. An  experiment  is  now  being  carried  out 
with  a  gas-driven  tug,  the  plant  being  a  suction 
gas  outfit,  and  the  expenses  are  said  to  be  exceed- 
ingly small.  The  North  Staffordshire  Railway 
Company,  which  owns  a  considerable  mileage  of 
canals,  seems  anxious  to  develop  its  canal  traffic, 
but  is  apparently  hung  up  for  want  of  an  efficient 
motive  power.  In  spite  of  the  gas  experiments 
above  referred  to,  it  cannot  place  any  faith  in  this 
as  a  solution  of  the  difficulty,  but  looks  to  elec- 
tricity as  the  most  likely  agent. 

In  a  paper  read  before  one  of  the  local  sections 
of  the  Institution  of  Electrical  Engineers  a  proposal 
has  been  made  that  all  electric-supply  authorities 
should  test,  and  certify  as  efficient,  incandescent 
and  other  lamps  in  order  that  their  consumers  may 
be  assured  of  the  life  and  efficiency  of  their  ap- 
paratus. It  has  long  been  recognized  that  inefficient 
lamps  have  been  responsible  for  a  certain  retarda- 
tion in  the  progress  of  electric  supply,  and  the  sug- 
gestion above  mentioned  as  a  business  method 
might  prove  successful. 

Bristol  was  the  first  town  ever  included  in  the 
area  of  an  electric  power  company,  much  to  its 
chagrin,  as  it  has  an  up-to-date  municipal  electrical 
undertaking.  Hence  it  is  not  surprising  that,  as 
three  years  have  elapsed  since  the  power  company 
was  formed  (and  it  has  given  no  supply),  the  Bris- 
tol corporation  it  seeking  to  avail  itself  of  the 
clause  in  the  company's  act,  which  states  that  if 
the  powers  of  the  act  are  not  exercised  within  three 
years  a  certificate  may  be  obtained  from  the  Board 
of  Trade  that  such  powers  have  ceased  as  regards 
any   particular    for    which   the    application    is    made. 

G. 


itcel   1  ompany. 

England  and  ha .   formed   a 

which    will    run    from     Mont 

ilt.  m  •    to  tin    Great  1 
be  calli  'I  1I1.    1 

lirely     I,,      , 

ol   .  I.',  trie  pov 

During 
1 1.  at    and    Po  I  ompany    will   .-  ■  pi 

on      in,).,. 

plan .   1..1    ih.    n  ,rg  inization  ..i   thi 

ti  n ,  ,,     anrJ 

wati  1  pov  .1    plat 

••'I    t2,000    roll      1 0    ih.it    the    failure    of    1I1,. 

I"' ipl 

sourer,     would     nti  :     ■'■ 

ervii 
at    Buisson    Point. 

1  in-  work  of  developing  thi  ol   Kaka- 

beka    Falls,    \6   miles   wesl    of   Port    William,   Out. 
has  been   realized,  and  by  Jim 

i]    planl    n  ill    be   pul    in   opi  ration 

oi  the  1  iver  are  diverted  into  a  larf ndui 

10    feet    in    ili.ini,  1.  1,    whii  li    tal  1       the    water    at    a 
point    three-quarters    of    a    mile    above    thi 
This    pipe    skirts    the    valley   of    the    Kaministikwia 
Iviwr   alone:    a    ledge   of   hills   to   a    poinl 
tance  below  the  falls,  where  a  large  fot 
ervoir  is  constructed  to  hold  the  wafer  in   ri 
previous  to  its  being  taken  into  the     ti  1  I  pi  n  toi 
which    carries    the    wafer    perpendicularly    t8o 
to  the  power  house  below.    The  original    pi 
the  development  of  Kakabeka  Falls  calls  for  a  head 
of    110    feet,    but   by    the    plan    carried    out    by    the 
company    an    additional    70    feet    was    secured.     The 
actual   construction   of  the   work  is  almost   finished. 
The    initial    installation   will   be   10.000  horsep 
this  will  lie  increased,  as  required,  in  units  of  10.000 
'horsepower,   until  the  whole  power  is   developed  al 
this  point.     The  current  is   carried   from   the  power 
house  to  a  sub-station   in   Fort  William  on  a  heavy 
copper    line    at    25,000    volts.     The    line    will    be    in 
duplicate  as  a  safeguard  against  accident.  W. 


Winnipeg,  Man.,  March  3.— The  shareholders  of 
the  Winnipeg,  Selkirk  and  Lake  Winnipeg  street 
railway  have  made  the  transfer  of  their  road  to  the 
Winnipeg  Street  Railway  Company.  A  new  board 
of  directors  was  elected,  composed  of  those  virtu- 
ally in  control  of  the  Winnipeg  Street  Railway 
Company. 

The  annual  report  of  the  Toronto  Street  Railway 
Company  shows  earning  of  $2,744,324.  an  increase 
of  $302,790,  or  12.39  per  cent.,  over  the  previous 
year.  Of  the  total  earnings  the  city  of  Toronto 
received  over  $400,000. 

The  Montreal  Street  Railway  Company  has  pur- 
chased the  Terminal  Electrical  Railway  Company, 
which  gives  it  the  control  of  all  the  electric  traction 
systems  on  the  island  of  Montreal.  In  addition  to 
this  it  gives  the  Montreal  company  an  independent 
entrance  into  Montreal.  The  purchase  price  is  said 
to  be  in  the  neighborhood  of  $500,000,  about  the 
bonded  indebtedness  of  the  line,  the  common  stock 
being  thrown  in. 

The  British  Columbia  Electric  Railway  Company 
has  been  solicited  by  the  people  all  the  way  between 
Port  Moody  and  the  city  of  New  Westminster  to 
build  a  line  between  Port  Moody  and  Sapperton. 
General  Manager  Sperling  has  sent  out  an  engineer 
to  survey  the  proposed  route  and  g?t  an  estimate 
of  the  cost  of  the  construction. 

The  Town  Council  of  Carberry,  Man.,  is  now 
arranging  to  install  a  municipal  lighting  plant  to 
cost  about  $12,000,   with   room   for  extension. 

The  City  Council  of  Calgary,  N.  W.  T.,  has  re- 
solved to  spend  $30,000  on  an  electric-light  exten- 
sion. 

Tenders  have  been  received  by  the  city  of  Winni- 
peg for  the  electrical  machinery  necessary  for  city 
lighting  purposes.  At  present  the  city  is  using  to 
full  capacity  the  electrical  generator  procured  to 
operate  the  new  well  of  the  water  system.  When 
this  is  in  operation  it  will  take  the  power  now  used 
for  lighting  purposes.  This  is  the  reason  why  the 
city  is  asking  the  Legislature  for  authority'  to  issue 
debentures  for  the  extension  of  the  city  lighting 
plant.  H. 


Dominion  of  Canada. 

Ottawa,  March  3. — The  Department  of  Marine 
has  decided  to  construct  three  space-telegraph  sta- 
tions on  the  Pacific  Coast.  This,  it  is  considered, 
will  be  sufficient  to  cover  the  whole  coast  line  if 
messages  can  be   sent  400  miles. 

The    town    of    Morrisburg,    Ont.,    has    received    a  \ 
lease    from    the    Dominion    government    of    all    the 
surplus  water   in   the   Du   Plat   Canal   for   a   period 
of  20  years.    The   Municipal   Council  will  at  once 
proceed  to  develop  this  power  in  order  to  carry  out 


New  England. 

Boston,  Mass.,  March  3. — In  the  Massachusetts 
Legislature,  the  committee  on  mercantile  affairs  has 
recommended  the  withdrawal  of  Frank  J.  Gethro's 
petition  for  legislation  regulating  telephone  charges 
in  Boston.  Mr.  Gethro  wanted  a  uniform  rate  for 
telephone   messages. 

Dennis  J.  Hern's  appointment  as  superintendent 
of  lamps  was  confirmed  by  the  Boston  aldermen 
last  Monday. 

The  Eben  D.  Jordan  estate  has  just  completed 
a  large  fireproof  motor  mart,  covering  over  47,000 
square  feet  of  land,  facing  on  Park  Square  in  this 
city.  The  building  has  garage  space  amounting  to 
60,000  square  feet  and  is  believed  to  be  the  largest 
and  most  complete  structure  devoted  exclusively  to 
automobiles,  in  America.  There  are  three  garage 
floors,  each  of  which  is  equipped  with  switches 
from    which    the    batteries    on    electric    automobiles 


to  atid 

- 

in   thai 
in  kilow 

Willi    a    rapacity    of    i  10 

'halm,  i  of  the 

Institute's   senior  and  junior 

'I  he   '.; 

-ft   a   bill   by   which   ti 

hall  be  placed 
under    th 

This   is   in   response  to  a   recommendation 
'  I  iuild,   who.   in   his  inaugural   a 

•:ng  in 
are  under  the  sup.  r 
commonwealth  with  the  exception  of  telegraph  and 
There  docs  not  appear  to  be 
any  good  reason  why  such  corporations  should  not 
be  under  a  supervision  similar  to  that  now 
cised  over  other  public-service  corporations.  I  rec- 
ommend to  your  I  the  Legislature's)  consideration 
whether  this  supervision  might  not  be  confided  to 
the  I  Commission,     and     whether, 

through  reasonable  fees  charged  upon  the  compa- 
inspection,  it  might  not  be  self-supp 
Samuel  B.  Winchester  of  Holyol.. 
at  his  home  in  that  city  on  February  26th.  From 
1884  until  1502  he  was  superintendent  of  the  elcc- 
tric-light  station  of  the  Holyoke  Water  Power  Com- 
pany. B. 


New  York. 

Xew  York  city.  March  3. — Voluminous  informa- 
tion and  misinformation  has  been  published  as  to 
the  Interborough-Mctropolitan  merger.  The  new- 
holding  company  has  increased  its  capital  from  $15.- 
000  to  $155,000,000,  and  paid  into  the  state  treasury 
$77,492  as  its  incorporation  fee.  State  Attorney- 
general  Mayer  has  declared  that  the  merger  is  a 
lawful  combination.  Mr.  Mayer  admits  that  the 
merger,  "if  carried  out,  will  constitute  a  monopoly 
of  tlie  transportation  systems,"  and  he  adds  that 
"undoubtedly  the  purpose  of  the  legislature  in  pro- 
hibiting monopolies  was  to  prevent  combinations 
that  would  affect  prices,  but  in  the  case  of  railroad 
companies  the  prices  are  fixed,  cither  by  local  ordi- 
nance or  by  legislative  restriction.  .  .  .  If  there- 
should  be  any  just  cause  of  complaint  the  proper 
body  to  determine  upon  the  public  policy  involved 
in  such  matters  is  the  Legislature."  For  these  and 
other  reasons  Mr.  Mayer  denied  the  application  of 
William  Randolph  Hearst.  The  New  York  Times 
says  that  Mr.  Mayer's  contention  is  illogical,  because 
"price*  depends,  not  on  the  amount  expended  but 
on   the   quality   of  the   service   rendered." 

In  spite  of  the  anti-merger  agitation,  however, 
the  deal  was  actualized  on  Thursday  by  the  neces- 
sary deposit  of  stock  holdings,  and  President  Yree- 
land  of  the  Metropolitan  system  issued  a  statement 
in  which  he  promised  continually  improved  traffic 
facilities.  Vice-president  Bryan  of  the  Interbor- 
ough  made  a  similar  promise,  but  neither  would 
go  into  any  definite  plans.  The  Elsberg  bill,  with 
its  various  amendments,  is  being  bitterly  contested. 
The  general  principle  of  the  bill — the  separate  let- 
ting of  contracts  for  future  construction  and  opera- 
tion of  subways — is  fairly  well  conceded,  but  the 
question  now  is  whether  the  city  "may"  or  "must" 
carry  out  its  provision.  The  City  Club,  the  Xew 
York  Board  of  Trade  and  Republicans  generally 
are  working  for  discretionary  powers.  Mayor  Mc- 
Clellan  objects  to  the  whole  bill,  but  states  in  a 
very  long  letter,  addressed  to  the  Senate,  that  he 
is  in  favor  of  granting  "permission"  to  the  city 
to  construct  and  operate  subways  in  case  of  need. 
He  adds  that  New  York  is  not  at  present  in  a 
financial   position  to  undertake  such  construction. 

George  A.  Soper,  Ph.  D.,  has  reported  on  the 
quality  of  the  air  in  the  subway  to  the  Rapid  Tran- 
sit Commission.  He  finds  that  the  air  is  good  and 
frequently  renewed,  though  there  are  more  pneu- 
monia germs  in  the  subway  than  in  the  outside  air. 
He  declares,  however,  that  the  general  sanitation 
is  bad  and  that  the  stations  and  cars  are  dirty. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  special  investigation  made  at 
the  instance  of  Coroner  Harburger,  shows  that  the 
subway  atmosphere  is  charged  with  small  steel  par- 
ticles which  led  to  the  death  of  two  track  walkers. 
This  new-  disease,  popularly  called  "subway  con- 
sumption," is  for  the  moment  the  general  topic  of 
conversation  and  newspaper  comment.  Dr.  Soper 
himself  has  asserted  "that  the  amount  of  steel  dust 
generated  by  friction  in  the  subway  amounts  to  a 
ton  a  mile  each  month."    The  Evening  Sun   avers 


206 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  io,  1906 


that  the  discovery  is  not  new,  but  demands  an 
improvement  of  general   sanitary  conditions. 

The  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment  is 
seeking  powers  whereby  it  will  be  able  to  prevent 
the  "watering"  of  traction  companies'  stocks  by 
having  the  final  word  in  application  for  increasing 
capitalization. 

The  Interborough  Rapid  Transit  Company  is 
planning  to  construct  an  escalator  for  the  elevated 
station  on  One-hundred-and-twenty-fifth  Street  and 
Eighth  Avenue.  The  escalator  will  be  made  by 
the  Otis  Elevator  Company  at  a  probable  cost  of 
$So,oco. 

The  New-  York  City  Railway  Company  has  been 
authorized  to  change  the  horse  line  in  Vesey  Street 
to   an  underground-conduit  system. 

Brooklyn  Borough  President  Coler  stated  before 
a  committee  at  Albany  on  Tuesday  that  he  knows 
of  an  understanding  ''signed,  sealed  and  delivered" 
between  the  Long  Island  Railroad  and  the  Brook- 
lyn Rapid  Transit  Company  not  to  compete  with 
each  other. 

At  Mount  Vernon,  N.  Y.,  a  few  days  ago,  the 
New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford  Railroad 
commenced  the  construction  work  necessary  to  con- 
vert its  suburban  line  to  electric  traction.  The 
company  has  sent  some  of  its  rolling  stock  to  the 
Westingbouse  shops  at  Pittsburg  to  be  equipped 
with  motors.  The  New  Haven  road  is  also  begin- 
ning conversion  operations  at  New  Rochelle:  and 
it  is  stated  that  at  the  New  York  city  end  it  will 
withdraw  its  traffic  from  the  Grand  Central  Sta- 
tion,  and   use   the  new   Pennsylvania   depot   instead. 

P.  C.  Frederick,  D.  Emery  and  R.  W.  Crawford 
of  New  York  have  incorporated  as  the  Edward  E. 
Cary  Company,  with  a  capital  of  $20,000,  for  the 
purpose  of   dealing  in  electrical   apparatus. 

The  Board  of  Education  is  calling  for  tenders, 
due  on  March  12th,  for  the  installation  of  electric 
equipment  in  public  school  No.  66,  Brooklyn.  The 
probable  value  of  the  work  is  $12,000.       D.  W.  W. 


Southeastern  States. 

Charlotte,  N.  C,  March  3.— The  J.  F.  Gallivan 
Construction  Company  of  Greenville,  S.  C,  has 
the  contract  for  building  the  dam  of  the  Savannah 
River  Power  Company  at  Gregg's  Shoals,  where 
a  big  waterpower  will  be  developed. 

If  an  amendment  to  the  charter  of  the  Maryland 
electric  railway,  now  pending  in  the  state  Legis- 
lature, shall  pass,  it  is  predicted  that  there  will 
result  within  12  months  a  merger  of  all  the  electric 
railways  in  Baltimore  and  seven  counties,  aggre- 
gating 550  miles.  The  chief  company  which  would 
be  included  in  the  merger  is  rumored  to  be  the 
United  Railways  Company,  with  about  400  miles 
of  tracks.  The  Washington,  Baltimore  and  Annap- 
olis is.  next  with  70  miles. 

The  lower  house  at  Washington  has  passed  the 
Muscle  Shoals  power  bill,  involving  one  of  the 
greatest  waterpowers  in  the  South.  It  is  said  that 
the  proceeds  of  the  proposed  development  would  be 
over  $2,000,000  annually. 

The  board  of  directors  of  the  Louisville  Traction 
Company  has  voted  in  favor  of  a  $1,000,000  stock 
issue,  which  will  be  taken  up  by  the  stockholders 
at  an  early  meeting. 

More  than  $4,000,000  in  stock  issue  has  been 
voted  by  the  directors  of  the  Birmingham  Railway. 
Light  and  Power  Company,  while  a  meeting  of 
stockholders  is  called  for  March  30th  to  vote  on 
a  $i,ooo,coo  issue  of  preferred  stock.  Of  the  $4,- 
000,000  issue,  $1,000,000  will  be  used  for  improve- 
ments and  the  remainder  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
tiring outstanding  bonds  of  a  $6,000,000  issue.  Sev- 
eral new  electric  lines  are  included  in  the  proposed 
improvements. 

A  number  of  deeds  for  right-of-way  have  been 
filed  at  Jefferson,  Ky.,  for  the  Louisville  and  North- 
ern  Traction   and   Lighting  Company. 

The  town  of  Cairo,  Ga.,  is  just  completing  a 
municipal  lighting  and  water  system,  and  soon  the 
entire  city  will  be  lighted  by  electricity  generated 
at  the  city's  plant. 

The  city  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  will  likely  have  an 
underground-wire  ordinance  in  a  short  time,  which, 
according  to  the  estimate  of  the  Louisville  Light- 
ing Company  alone,  will  cost  that  concern  about 
$350,000,  and  the  total  cost  to  all  electric  and  tele- 
phone companies  will  be  in  the  neighborhood  of 
$1,000,000. 

Notice  has  been  given  that  on  March  31st  ap- 
plication will  be  filed  for  a  charter  for  the  Spar- 
tanburg (S.  C.)  and  Glen  Springs  Southern  Rail- 
lTiad  Company,  about  100  miles  in  length,  and  on 
which  electricity  may  be  used  as  the  motive  power. 
J.  B.  Lee  of  Spartanburg  is  one  of  those  interested. 

The  Whitney  Reduction  Company,  now  develop- 
ing probably  the  largest  waterpower  in  the  entire 
South,  announces  that  its  working  force  will  be 
doubled  in  order  to  carry  on  work  at  night.  A 
modern  town  will  be  built  at  the  site  of  operations. 
It  is  estimated  that  the  electrical  development  will 
cost  three  to   four   millions.  L. 


system  of  electric  railways  which  the  syndicate  has 
planned  to  build.  It  is  proposed  to  build  the  road 
from  the  Engle  darn,  in  New  Mexico,  down  the 
valley  of  the  Rio  Grande  to  El  Paso  and  south 
from  El  Paso,  to  Fort  Hancock,  a  distance  of  about 
40  miles,  making  a  line  165  miles  long.  It  is 
stated  that  the  power  for  the  proposed  road  will 
be  furnished  by  the  Engle  dam.  The  route  of  the 
proposed  road  is  through  the  towns  of  San  Eli- 
zario,  Ysleta,  Clint,  Las  Cruces,  Mesilla,  Anthony 
and    Beri'no. 

A  hydro-electric  .plant  is  to  be  installed  near 
Barstow  by  the  Pecos  Valley  Light  and  Power 
Company.  The  electric  current  will  be  transmitted 
to    Barstow    and    Pecos. 

F.  J.  Combe  and  S.  C.  Tucker  of  Brownsville 
are  preparing  to  install  an  electric-light  and  power 
plant  there.  The  proposed  plant  will  probably  be 
used  to  provide  lighting  and  power  service  also 
for  Matamoros,  Mexico,  situated  opposite  Browns- 
ville. 

W.  F.  Robertson  of  New  York  has  arrived  at 
Austin  for  the  purpose  of  submitting  a  proposition 
to  the  City  Council  to  rebuild  the  dam  across  the 
Colorado  River  and  install  an  electric-light  and 
power  plant  for  the  city.  Mr.  Robertson  says  that 
he  represents  a  strong  syndicate  of  capitalists 
who  stand  ready  to  carry  out  the  work  if  the 
city  will  accept  its  proposition.  The  nature  of  the 
proposition  will  probably  be  made  public  at  the 
next  meeting  of  the  City  Council.  Stone  &  Web- 
ster of  Boston  investigated  the  proposition  of  re- 
building the  dam,  but,  it  is  said,  decline  to  take 
hold  of  it. 

A  project  is  on  foot  to.  build  an  interurban  elec- 
tric railway  from  Charleston  to  Ben  Franklin. 
E.  T.   Pillman   of  Cooper  is  interested. 

Major  G.  B.  Beardsley  is  preparing  to  build  an 
electric  street-railway  system  at  Mineral  '  Wells. 
He  has  obtained  a  franchise  from  the  City  Council 
for  the  purpose.  It  is  stated  that  the  Interstate 
Investment  Company  of  Shreveport,  La.,  will 
finance   the   enterprise. 

The  City  Council  of  Cleburne  has  granted  a 
franchise  to  B.  F.  Bond  of  Jacksonville,  111.,  and 
associates  to  build  an  electric  street-railway  sys- 
tem in  Cleburne.  Preparations  have  been  made  to 
commence  the  construction  work  in   a  few   days. 

The  Houston-Galveston  Traction  Company  is 
making  good  progress  in  its  preliminary  work  look- 
ing to  the  construction  of  an  interurban  electric 
railway  between  Houston  and  Galveston.  Prac- 
tically all  of  the  right-of-way  for  the  proposed  line 
has  been  secured.  The  power  house  will  be  located 
at  Genoa.  A  branch  line  will  run  from  Genoa  to 
La  Porte.  Galveston  Bay  will  be  crossed  either 
en  the  existing  bridge  or  on  a  causeway  to  be 
built  for  the  purpose.  J.  O.  Ross  is  president  of 
the  company.  If- 


Texas. 

Austin,  March  3. — An  electric-light  and  power 
plant  to  cost  $16,000  is  to  be  installed  at  York- 
town   by   Koenig  &    Son. 

A  syndicate  of  Kansas  City  (Mo.)  capitalists, 
represented  by  M.  W.  Stanton,  has  applied  to  the 
City  Council  of  El  Paso  for  a  franchise  over  cer- 
tain streets  of  the  city  for  an  electric  railway. 
The    lines    in    the    city    will    be    part    of    a    general 


Ohio. 

Cleveland,  March  3. — Judge  A.  C.  Thompson  of 
the  United  States  Court  at  Cincinnati  has  con- 
firmed the  sales  of  all  the  Appleyard  properties, 
no  opposition  being  made.  Attorney  Judson  Har- 
mon, representing  the  receivers,  appeared  before 
Judge  Thompson  and  stated  that  $90,000  had  been 
paid  as  a  matter  of  good  faith.  It  was  advised 
that  $120,000  should  be  ordered  paid  into -the  regis- 
try in  order  that  certain  receivers'  certificates  might 
be  taken  up,  the  court  costs  paid  and  the  receivers' 
and  attorneys'  fees  provided  for.  Work  is  pro- 
gressing upon  the  organization  of  a  holding  com- 
pany for  these  properties.  In  the  meantime  Albert 
Benham,  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Cincinnati 
Traction.  Company,  has  gone  to  Columbus  to  take 
charge  of  the  business,  General  Manager  Theodore 
Stebbins  having  resigned  to  accept  another  position. 

The  merger  of  the  Pennsylvania  and  Mahoning 
Valley,  the  Mahoning  and  Shenango,  Valley  Rail- 
way and  Light  Company,  the  Youngstown  and 
Sharon  Railway  and  Light  Company,  with  lines 
in  Youngstown,  Warren,  New  Castle  and  Sharon 
and  connecting  these  places,  has  been  completed 
and  officers  have  been  elected  for  the  new  com- 
pany, the  Mahoning  and  Shenango  Railway  and 
Light  Company.  M.  S.  McCaskey  and  Randall 
Montgomery  will  have  the  management  of  the  prop- 
erties. 

Most  of  the  underwriting  of  the  Youngstown  and 
Ohio  River  Railroad  Company  was  placed  in  Cleve- 
land last  week.  This  company  proposes  to  build  an 
electric  railway  between  Youngstown  and  the  Ohio 
River.  The  officers  are  as  follows:  President, 
"  George  A.  .  Stanley ;  vice-president  and  treasurer, 
Warren  S.  Bicknell;  secretary,  Max  P.  Goodman 
of  Youngstown.  Will  Christy  and  J.  R.  Nutt  are 
members  of  the  board  of  directors.  They  expect 
to  begin  the  construction  of  the  line  early  in  the 
summer. 

The  Western  Ohio  has  opened  up  the  Findlay 
branch  for  freight  and  express.  The  cars  will  run 
from  Celina  to  Findlay  and  then  over  the  Toledo, 
Bowling  Green    and    Southern  to  Toledo. 

The  Niles  Electrical  Company  of  Niles,  with  a 
capital  stock  of  $10,000,  has  been  incorporated  by 
F.  W.  Stillwagon  and  others. 

In  a  suit  for  damages  against  the  People's  Rail- 
way Company  of  Dayton  'the  assertion  has  been 
made  that  the  American  Railway  Company,  which 
owns  this  property  and  the  locaL  roads  at  Spring- 
field, has  no  right  to  operate  in  the  state.  It  is 
alleged  that  it  has  never  been  authorized  to  trans- 
act  business    in   Ohio. 


-  The  name  of  the  De  Mars  Electric  Vehicle  Com- 
pany of  Cleveland  has  been  changed  to  the  Blakes- 
lee   Electric  Auto   Company. 

The  capital  stock  of  the  Findlay-Marion  Railway 
and  Light  Company  has  been  increased  from  $25,000 
to  $250,000.  The  president  of  the  company  is 
R.  P.  Hankey,  Detroit.  The  intention  is  to  build 
a  line  between  Marion  and  Findlay  to  complete  the 
line  from  Columbus  to  Toledo. 

The  Shelby  Traction  Company  of  Shelby  has 
been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock  of  $10,000 
by  J.  E.  Will  and  others. 

Traffic  arrangements  have  been  completed  by  the 
Lake  Erie,  Bowling  Green  and  Napoleon  and  the 
Toledo,  Fostoria  and  Findlay  lines  so  that  Findlay, 
Fostoria  and  Tiffin  may  be  reached  readily  from 
Bowling  Green.  Connections  have  been  made  by 
which  residents  along  the  Fostoria  line  may  reach 
Toledo   by  way  of   the   Lake    Shore   Electric. 

Freight  equipment  has  been  placed  on  the  Ohio 
Central  lines  and  hereafter  cars  will  be  run  at  reg- 
ular  intervals  for  that  purpose. 

The  Newark  Light  and  Power  Company  of  New- 
ark has  decided  to  spend  $100,000  in  installing  a 
new  plant,  it  is  said.  The  earnings  of  the  company 
have  been  far  above  what  was  expected  last  year 
and  the  capacity  of  the  present  plants  has  been 
found  much  too  small.  Col.  Meilville  L.  Gillette, 
president  of  the  company,  Congressman  B.  G. 
Dawes,  and  Fletcher  Heath  were  in  Columbus  a 
few  days  ago  in  connection  with  the  matter. 

The  Strang  gasoline-electric  car  passed  through 
Ohio  over  the  Lake  Shore  a  few  days  ago.  In  the 
depots  at  Cleveland  and  Toledo  it  attracted  much 
attention.  Schedule  time  was  kept  up  all  the  way 
through  Ohio.  O.  M.  C. 


Indiana. 

Indianapolis,  March  3. — The  Winona  Interurban 
Company  has  decided  to  build  a  spur  from  its 
main  line  at  Milford  to  Lake  Wawasee.  The  com- 
pany is  also  preparing  to  furnish  street  and  com- 
mercial lighting  to  the  cities  and  towns  along  its 
route. 

The  directors  of  the  Lafayette  and  State  Line 
Traction  Company  have  elected  officers  as  follows : 
President,  W.  H.  Goodwine,  West  Lebanon;  vice- 
president,  Ora  Clark,  Attica;  secretary,  S.  G.  Pom- 
eroy,  West  Lebanon,  and  treasurer,  Fremont  Good- 
wine,  Williamsport.  Options  on  the  right-of-way 
are  now  being  obtained,  the  capital  stock  of  $10,000 
having  been  subscribed. 

Two  passenger  cars  in  transit  from  Wabash, 
Ind.,  to  Canton,  Ohio,  last  week,  traveled  425  miles, 
the  route  being  from  Wabash  to  Fort  Wayne,  to 
Lima,  to  Findlay,  to  Toledo,  to  Cleveland,  to  Akron, 
to  Canton.  The  cars  were  purchased  from  the  In- 
diana Union  Traction  Company  by  the  Canton- 
Akron  people. 

The  Fort  Wayne  and  Bluffton  interurban  traction 
line  was  opened  for  business  between  Bluffton  and 
Fort  Wayne  on  February  27th.  This  new  line  in- 
creases the  competition  against  the  Lake  Erie  and 
Western  and  practically  completes  interurban  lines 
between  all  points  touched  by  the  Lake  Erie  and 
Western  in  Indiana. 

Indiana  interurban  railroad  officials  say  this  win- 
ter has  been  one  of  the  most  profitable  seasons  in 
the  history  of  Indiana  traction  service.  There  has 
not  been  a  day  when  trains  have  been  delayed  by 
snow. 

C.  S.  Hernley,  secretary  of  the  Indiana,  New 
Castle  and  Toledo  electric  railway,  announces  that 
work  will  be  begun  on  the  road  in  a  few  weeks. 

The  financial  statements  of  the  various  interurban 
traction  companies  for  1905  show  a  notable  reduc- 
tion in  operating  expenses  as  compared  with  former 
years.  Officials  and  stockholders  have  been  striving 
to  systematize  the  management  of  the  various  de- 
partments so  as  to  eliminate  all  expenses  not  abso- 
lutely imperative.  To  this  and  other  causes  the 
aggregate  average  of  15  per  cent,  increase  in  the 
gross    receipts   is   attributed. 

The  surveys  of  the  new  extension  of  the  In- 
dianapolis and  Plainfield  Coal  Traction  Company's 
line  from  Plainfield  to  Amo  have  been  completed. 
This  line  will  be  used  almost  exclusively  as  a  coal 
and  freight  road  so  as  to  relieve  the  main  line  of 
that  traffic  into  Indianapolis.  The  main  trunk  line 
of  the  Indianapolis  and  Western  between  Terre 
Haute  and  Amo  will  be  double-tracked  shortly  after 
it   is  opened  for  traffic. 

A  company  headed  by  John  E.  Armstrong  has 
been  granted  a  franchise  to  construct  and  operate 
an  electric-light  plant  in  Leesburg. 

The  Town  Board  of  Redkey  has  decided  to  put 
in  an  electric-light  plant  and  is  now  considering 
plans. 

Plans  for  the  construction  of  the  new  Bijou  The- 
ater in  Evansville  call  for  considerable  modern 
electrical  equipment.  The  electric  switchboard  to 
be  installed  on  the  stage  will  be  an  elaborate  piece 
of  mechanism.  From  the  main  switchboard  42 
switches  will  radiate  to  control  separate  circuits. 
The  stage  circuits  will  be  arranged  for  lights  of 
three  colors,  which  may  be  blended  and  dimmed 
so  as  to  secure  all  kinds  of  effects.  S.  S. 


Michigan. 


Grand  Rapids,  March  3. — The  Detroit,  Flint 
River  and  Saginaw  Valley  Railroad  is  securing  the 
right-of-way  for  an  electric  road  to  connect  Detroit 
and    Saginaw.     The   company   agrees   to   maintain   a 


March  to,  190G 


ELECTRIl 


maximum  rate  of  fare   foi    pi ■  rs  of   i '     ccnl 

a  mill'.     The   work  of  grading   in   il wn    

i. j  be  'I ■   undei    the    iupervision  of   (he  i  01 

highways, 

The  Battle  Creel  and  Southeastern  Elect™  Rail 
way  Company,  which  proposes  to  build  from  Battle 
Creel     to    Coldwater,    utilizing    the    old    Mansfield 

railroad    grade,    ai unccs    thai    il    ha     secured    i 

Bix- fool  right-of-way  for  the  entire  di  tancc  Thi 
company  proposes  to  buy  its  power.  The  field  is 
.in  imIii  ive  one,  tin-  proposed  line  being  the  only 
ih  and  south  road  within  a  distance  ol  50  miles. 

'I  he   Marquette   C ,    Gas,   Light  and   Traction 

1  mi, ,,,,, in,  open ol   the  trai  1 .  b  m   and   the 

Kas  an. I  electric  light  plants  at  lsli|>eiiiinK  and  Nc- 
gaunee,  lias  gone  into  the  bands  <if  a  receiver. 
1  B  Finch,  secretary  of  the  company,  who  has 
been  in  charge  of  iis  affairs,  has  been  appointed 
receiver  upon  application  of  the  trustee,  thi  Hci 
chants'  Loan  ami  Trust  Company  of  Chicago,  The 
bill  was  filed  by  Granger  Farwell  &  Co.,  bankers 
and  brokers,  of  Chicago,  holders  of  tin-  bonds, 
amounting  to  $250,000,  covered  by  a  mortgage  on 
1I1,  plants,  ["here  arc  also  some  $35,000  or  $40,000 
worth  of  local  claims.  These  claims  were  in  part 
incurred  on  account  of  the  gas  explosion  which 
wrecked  the  Miners'  National  Bank  Block,  No- 
vember 5th  last. 

Mayor  Walter  R.  Taylor  of  Kalamazoo,  who  is 
known  to  be  strongly  in  favor  of  the  ultimate  mu- 
nicipal control  of  all  street  railways,  both  city  li 

and  interurbans  entering  Kalamazoo,  has  formu- 
lated a  plan  that  he  thinks  is  a  step  in  this  direc- 
iimii,  by  drafting  a  tentative  franchise  looking  to 
the  construction  of  a  loop  line  to  be  used  in  com- 
mon by  all  interurban  roads  in  the  future  and  se- 
curing for  the  traveling  public  all  the  conveniences 
usually  found  in  a  union  station. 

The  annual  stockholders'  meeting  of  the  Grand 
Rapids,  Grand  Haven  and  Muskegon  Interurban 
will  be  held  April  2d.  It  was  postponed  from  Feb- 
ruary 2d.  At  this  meeting  it  will  be  decided  whether 
or  not  Muskegon  is  to  have  a  new  interurban  sta- 
tion and  freight  house  this  year.  The  road  has  cut 
out  mileage  books  on  its  lines  and  is  issuing  a 
coupon  book  containing  $2.50  worth  of  fares.  The 
book  can  be  purchased  for  $2.  The  coupons  will 
be  good  for  the  payment  of  fare  on  the  cars  at  the 
cash  rate.  No  amount  less  than  10  cents  will  be 
accepted.  For  the  convenience  of  steady  travelers 
commutation  books  containing  50  rides  with  a  30- 
day  limit,  have  been  issued  at  a  rate  of  Ij4  cents 
a  mile.  They  are  good  for  use  only  in  the  hands 
of  the   purchasers. 

Petitions  for  constructing  two  dams  on  the  Board- 
man  River  have  been  granted  by  the  Board  of  Su- 
pervisors of  Grand  Traverse  County  to  the  Queen 
City  Light  and  Power  Company.  The  company's 
petition  for  the  privilege  of  putting  poles  and  wires 
on    the    highway    was    also    granted. 

Citizens  of  St.  Clair  have  voiced  their  opposition 
to  the  installation  of  a  system  to  secure  electric 
power  from  the  St.  Clair  waterworks,  and  light 
from  a  Port  Huron  concern,  by  the  commencement 
of  an  injunction  suit  in  the  Circuit  Court  to  re- 
strain Mayor  Fred  W.  Moore  and  City  Clerk  W. 
H.  Brown  from  carrying  out  the  contract.  They 
say  it  will  cost  the  city  $10,000  for  machinery,  and 
that  the  city  officials  are  in  league  to  wrongfully 
divert  the  money  voted  to  carry  out  the  contract 
for  new  municipal  electrical  equipment.       L.  W.  B. 


Northwestern  States.  , 

Minneapolis,  March  3. — The  Great  Northern  De- 
velopment Company  of  Duluth,  Minn.,  is  consider- 
ing a  deal  with  the  Minnesota  Power  and  Trolley 
Company  of  Minneapolis,  whereby  it  is  proposed  for 
the  former  to  take  over  the  franchises  and  other 
assets  of  the  latter  and  to  develop  the  power  at 
Elk  River  and  Otsego,  Minn.,  on  the  Mississippi 
River,   about   25   miles   above    Minneapolis. 

The  City  Council  at  Fergus  Falls,  Minn.,  is  tak- 
ing estimates  for  a  new  concrete  dam  for  the  elec- 
tric-light  plant. 

The  Postal  Telegraph-cable  Company  is  talking 
of  putting  in  a  telegraph  line  from  Duluth,  Minn., 
to  Hibbing  and  other  Iron  Range  towns. 

The  B.  S.  &  H.  Electric  Company  of  Minneap- 
olis, manufacturer  of  electric-light  machinery,  has 
been  incorporated  by  Frank  S.  Bryant  and  asso- 
ciates with  a  capitalization  of  $1,000,000.  Mr.  Bry- 
ant is  president  and  P.  M.  Hofstad,  secretary  and 
treasurer. 

The  Valley  Railway  Company  is  engaged  in  sur- 
veying a  new  route  for  its  proposed  line  from 
Green  Bay,  Wis.,  to  Appleton. 

Des  Moines  is  to  be  the  terminus  of  a  new  in- 
terurban road,  wrhich  it  is  planned  to  build  from 
Ottumwa,  Iowa.  Charles  A.  Walsh  is  a  leading 
spirit   in   the   enterprise. 

The  Milwaukee  Electric  Railway  and  Light  Com- 
pany proposes  to.  build  an  electric  line  through 
Horlicksville  to  Burlington,  Wis.  R. 


I1  ling  of 

0 

I     !  :  I         I   |U  I 

ight,  beat  and  manufacturing 

purpo  will    probably 

I    Port 

Ham 

I!,,  ■ 



|i  1  ••     will    l„     pi  11 

now  used 

1  I-    Boai -I  1  -I     >upi  rvisors  0 
have  granted  a  I  thi    (  California    I 

1  1-:"' ,   for  an  clectt 

Perkins  Station 

I  he  I  uldi   ai     Willing   1  ompany  ha  .  pun  I 
1    in, 1  epowci 
diately  to  ti   I   thi    v..,,,  . 
the  company.     1 1 
trie-lighting  plant  will   I 

I  be  I  [umi   Bennett  Luml ordered 

a   70-kilowatl    Wi   tinghou  c     '  ■■■  1  phs  •      generator 
which  is  to  he  installed  for  lighting  purposes  in  the 

■.      ••■•.  mill  now  in  course  1  I  '  Ion 

verse  Basin,  Fresno  Count      Cal      l'l      mill 
equipped  so  as  to  cul  log  -  20  Feel  in  d 

Of    which    are    found    in    il"     gl 

eluded  in  the  company's  timber  lands.  A. 


PERSONAL 


Pacific  Slope. 


San  Francisco,  March  3. — The  City  Trustees  of 
Alameda.  Cal.,  have  admitted  for  consideration  two 
ordinances,  one  to  W.  I.  Morgan  and  the  other  to 
F.  M.  Greenwood,  asking  the  right  to  operate  a 
street  railway  on  Clement  Avenue. 

The  new  contract  of  the  municipality  of  Santa  Ana 
with   the   Edison   Electric  Company   calls   for   a   re- 


R.  R.  Cboate.  wh,,  ha,  been  in  the  employment 
of  tin;  American  Light  and  Traction  Company  for 
several  years,  has  gone  to  Muskegon,  Mich.,  from 
Madison,  Wis.,  to  take  the  position  of  sales  man- 
ager of  the  Muskegon.  Traction  and  Lighting  Com- 
pany. 

R.  H.  Carpenter  has  been  made  auditor  of  the 
Western  Ohio  Railway  Company,  vice  J.  H.  Mer- 
rill, who  resigned  to  become  secretary  of  the  Cen- 
tral Electric  Railway  Association.  Charles  F.  Price, 
a  newspaper  man,  has  been  appointed  general  pas- 
senger agent   of   the  road. 

William  D.  Pence,  dean  of  the  School  of  Civil 
Engineering  at  Purdue  University,  has  resigned,  his 
resignation  to  take  effect  in  June.  He  will  go  to 
the  University  of  Wisconsin,  to  become  head  of 
its  civil  engineering  department,  and  will  also  be 
officially  connected  with  the  Wisconsin  State  Board 
of  Appraisement.  He  has  been  at  Purdue  since 
1899. 

Prof.  Samuel  P.  Langley,  secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  of  Washington,  died  on  February 
27th  at  Aiken,  S.  C.  He  was  72  years  old  and  was 
born  near  Boston,  Mass.  Earlier  in  life  Professor 
Langley  had  been  a  practical  architect  and  civil 
engineer.  He  was  also  a  professor  of  mathematics. 
A  number  of  scientific  instruments  were  devised  by 
him  through  his  study  of  astronomy.  In  later  years 
he  carried  out  many  researches  in  physics  and  avia- 
tion. 

Paul  Wait,  a  junior  in  the  electrical  engineering 
course  at  Union  College,  Schenectady,  was  killed 
recently  by  an  electrical  shock  received  while  he 
was  helping  prepare  apparatus  for  a  lecture.  The 
lecturer  asked  him  to  assist  in  getting  the  appa- 
ratus ready,  and  the  young  man  accidentally  re- 
ceived a  shock  from  a  2,300-volt  circuit.  His 
classmates,  who  were  watching  him  at  the  time, 
rushed  to  his  assistance  as  he  fell,  but  were  un- 
able, after  two  hours'  work  with  the  aid  of  a 
physician,    to    resuscitate    him. 

F.  .B.  Huntington,  vice-president  and  secretary 
of  the  Eastern  Wisconsin  Railway  and  Light  Com- 
pany of  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.,  has  resigned  his  posi- 
tion to  become  comptroller  of  the  Chicago  Ter- 
minal Transfer  Company.  He  will  have  head- 
quarters in  Chicago.  Mr.  Huntington  has  been 
connected  with  the  Fond  du  Lac  company  since 
June,  1003,  and  has  been  very  successful.  The 
company  does  the  gas  and  electric  lighting  in 
Fond  du  Lac  and  operates  the  street  railway  in 
that  city  and  a  fine  interurban  road  to  Oshkosh. 
Mr.  Huntington  was  elected  vice-president  upon 
the    death    recently    of    F.    B.    Hoskins. 

Theodore  Stebbins,  who  has  for  some  years  been 
the  general  manager  of  the  Appleyard  electric  rail- 
ways, with  headquarters  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  pre- 
sented his  resignation  some  days  ago,  in  order  to 
accept  a  position  with  the  National  Civic  Federa- 
tion. His  position  will  be  that  of  special  engineer, 
investigating  public  and  private  electric  plants  for 
information  to  be  used  by  that  organization.  Di- 
rectly associated  with  Mr.  Stebbins  will  be  C.  E. 
Phelps,  and  together  they  will  minutely  inspect  the 
largest  electric  plants  in  the  country.  The  Civic 
Federation  has  as  members  some  of  the  best  stu- 
dents of  civil  government  and  reform  in  the  coun- 
try, and  they  are  making  a  study  of  these  matters 
in  order  to  arrive  at  substantial  conclusions. 

Mr.  Dana  Pierce  has  been  engaged  by  the  Un- 
derwriters' Laboratories  as  engineer  in  charge  of 
electrical  work.  He  will  begin  his  duties  this 
month,  spending  a  few  days  at  the  New  York  office 
of  the  Laboratories,  going  to  Pittsburg  to  attend 
the  annual  conference  between  experts  in  the  em- 
ployment of  insurance  interests  and  those  of  the 
Westinghouse    Companies,    and    take    up    his    active 


■ 

the    higl 

Merrill 


ELECTRIC  LIGHTING 

W.  J.  Gurvin  will  install  an  electric-light  plant  in 

I 

J.    M.    Crips   of   On, 

light  plant  in  Bryant,  S.  D. 

J.    II     Davi  granted   a   fran- 

elcctric-light  plani  in  Gibbon, 

The  Mahoney  Light  and  Power  Company  of 
Tekoa.  Wash.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  cap- 
ital of  $5,000. 

The    Minden  Kdison    Light   and    Power    C 
of    Minden.    Neb.,    has    been    incorporated    with    a 

of   $20,000. 

The  Greeley    Power  and   Light  Company  is  mak- 
ing    preparation-     for    the    construction    of 
power    house    in    (, reeky,    Colo. 

The    Superior    Electric    Light    Company    of    Su- 
Xeb..     is     installing     new     machinery     for 
adding  a   power  circuit  to   its   service. 

William  S.  Mead,  manager  of  the  Spencer  (Ind.) 
electric-light  plant,  is  ready  to  receive  bid-  for 
the  remodeling  of  the  plant,  changing  also  from 
open    to    enclosed    arc    lamps. 

The  merchants  of  Reno,  New.  arc  said  to  be  or- 
ganizing for  the  purpose  of  erecting  and  operating 
an   independent  electric-light  plant  in   opposil 
the  existing  light  company.     It   is    said  $25,000  has 
been   subscribed    toward   the   project. 

E.  G.  Lanning,  superintendent  of  the  Rockville 
(Ind.)  electric-light  plant,  announces  that  it  has 
been  decided  to  install  a  large  alternator  and  to 
change  the  street-lighting  system  from  dir 
alternating  current.  Bids  will  be  in  order  in  the 
spring. 

It  is  estimated  that  over  $150,000  has  been  sub- 
scribed by  leading  business  men  of  Torreon,  Mexico. 
for  the  formation  of  a  new  company  which  proposes 
to  erect  in  that  city  one  of  the  most  complete  elec- 
tric plants  to  be  found  in  Northern  Mexico. 
Machinery  will  be  imported  from  United  States. 

The  Sultepec  Electric  Light  and  Power  Com- 
pany has  been  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  New 
York  state,  with  a  capital  of  $200,000,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  installing  an  electric  power  and  lighting 
plant  in  the  city  of  that  name  in  Mexico.  The  di- 
rectors are  headed  by  Ashley  T.  Cole  and  Alex- 
ander Keogh   of   New  Jersey. 

The  City  Council  of  Milwaukee.  Ore.,  has  passed 
an  ordinance  granting  the  Portland  General  Electric 
Company  a  25-year  franchise.  This  franchise  gives 
the  company  the  right  to  plant  poles  and  stretch 
wire  on  the  streets  of  Milwaukee  on  condition 
that  electric  lights,  both  in  private  houses  and  for 
the  city,  shall  cost  no  more  there  than  in  Port- 
land. 

The  1.500-kilowatt  Albs-Chalmers  turbo-generator 
unit  ordered  some  months  ago  by  the  New  York 
Edison  Company  is  being  erected  in  the  North 
River  power  house  on  Rider  Avenue,  near  One- 
hundred-and-fortieth  Street.  Borough  of  Bronx. 
It  will  operate  at  a  speed  of  1.S75  revolutions  per 
minute,  generating  a  current  of  62.5  cycles,  two- 
phase,  at  2,500  volts.  The  unit  is  designed  so 
that  it  will  run  in  parallel  with  other  similar  units 
or   reciprocating  engines. 

Circulars  have  been  sent  to  stockholders  of  the 
Chicago  Edison  Company  notifying  them  that  in 
accordance  with  previous  action  of  the  shareholders 
the  directors  have  decided  to  make  an  increase  of  15 
per  cent,  in  the  company's  capital  stock.  The  stock 
will  be  issued  at  par  to  shareholders  of  record  on 
April  21st.  Stockholders  not  availing  themselves  of 
the  privilege  of  subscribing  and  making  first  pay- 
ment on  May  1st  will  have  their  proportionate  share 
turned  into  the  treasury  of  the  company.  The  out- 
standing capital  of  the  company  is  now  $11,839,056. 
A  15  per  cent,  increase  will  make  it  $13,614,013. 

Following  the  lead  of  many  other  central  sta- 
tions in  all  parts  of  the  country,  the  Memphis 
Consolidated  Gas  and  Electric  Company  of  Mem- 
phis. Tenn.,  has  recently  purchased  a  1.500-kilowatt 
Allis-Chalmers  turbo-generator  unit,  with  condens- 
ing and  auxiliary  apparatus,  for  installation  at 
Memphis.  The  new  unit  is  of  the  horizontal  par-_ 
allel-fiow  type,  designed  to  operate  at  a  speed  of 
i.Soo    revolutions    per   minute    and   generate    a   cur- 


208 

rent  at  60  cycles,  three-phase,  of  2,500  volts.  This 
unit  will  run  in  parallel  with  other  units  of  similar 
type  or  with  a  reciprocating-engine  unit  built  for 
parallel  operation,  properly  dividing  the  load  so 
as    to   prevent    surging. 

A  novel  method  of  illumination  by  Nernst  lamps 
is  exemplified  in  the  lighting  of  the  general  waiting 
room  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Union  Station  in 
Pittsburg.  The  lamps  are  located  in  the  attic  space 
between  the  inner  and  outer  skylights,  so  that  they 
are  invisible  to  the  public.  By  means  of  suitable 
reflectors  the  light  is  projected  down  through  the 
inner  skylight  into  the  wailing  room,  giving,  so  far 
as  the  distribution  of  the  light  is  concerned,  prac- 
tically the  effect  of  daylight. 

Merchants  apd  commercial  organizations  of  Lou- 
isville, Ky.,  are  completing  plans  for  the  erection 
of  electrically  illuminated  arches  in  the  business 
section  of  the  city.  The  plan  is  to  raise  the  money 
for  erecting  and  maintaining  the  arches  by  sub- 
scriptions among  the  merchants.  Each  street  inter- 
section would  be  spanned  by  an  arch  to  cost  about 
$200,  and  the  lighting  of  each  would  be  about 
$50  a  year,  it  is  estimated.  Eventually,  it  is 
thought,   the   city   may   take   over   the   arches. 

The  Illinois  Traction  System,  owned  by  the  Mc- 
Kinley  syndicate,  has  closed  a  deal  whereby  it 
comes  into  possession  of  the  plant,  franchise  and 
property  of  the  Granite  City,  Venice  and  Madison 
Electric  Light  Company  of  Venice,  111.  The  Tri- 
city  company  owns  a  main  plant  in  Venice  and 
franchises  for  operating  in  Granite  City,  Venice 
and  Madison,  as  well  as  contracts  for  the  municipal 
lighting  of  these  three  cities.  The  new  management 
has  already  taken  charge.  The  business  will  be 
handled  from  the  McKinley  office  in  Edwardsville, 
111.,  with  a  representative  on  the  ground.  The  Mc- 
Kinley syndicate  acquired  the  Edwardsville  light 
and  power  plant  several  months  ago. 

The  power  plant  of  the  Dayton  (Ohio)  Lighting 
Company,  which  recently  underwent  an  entire  alter- 
ation with  extensive  additions,  has  been  recently 
placed  in  operation  again.  The  opening  of  the 
new  power  house  was  made  the  occasion  of  a  ban- 
quet given  by  the  company  to  the  electrical  con- 
tractors and  allied  electrical  interests  of  Dayton. 
The  new  power  plant,  among  other  features,  has 
added  a  1,500-kilowatt  Allis-Chalmers  turbine  gen- 
erator unit.  This  unit  operates  at  a  speed  of  i,Sco 
revolutions  per  minute,  generating  current  of  60 
cycles,  three-phase,  at  2,500  volts.  The  condensing 
apparatus  used  in  conjunction  with  the  turbine 
unit  was  also  furnished  by  the  Allis-Chalmers 
Company,  which  superintended  the  erection  of  the 
unit. 


ELECTRIC  RAILWAYS. 

In  the  Ohio  Legislature  the  House  has  defeated 
the  bill  which  proposed  to  give  the  people  of  Ohio 
cities  the  right  to  vote  franchises  for  street  rail- 
ways without  the  consent  of  property  owners  on 
the  streets  wherein  the  franchises  were  sought. 
The  bill  was  urged  by  Mayor  Johnson  of  Cleve- 
land to  aid  his  project  for  a  three-cent-fare  street 
railway   in   that   city. 

The  Chicago,  Blue  Island  and  Joliet  Traction 
Company  has  been  incorporated,  with  principal 
office  in  Chicago,  and  a  capital  of  $1,500,000.  It 
is  proposed  to  construct  an  electric  railway  from 
Blue  Island  to  Tinley  Park,  New  Lenox  and 
Joliet,  111.  The  directors  are  W.  S.  Reed,  J.  B. 
Reed  and  J.  M.  Atkinson  of  Chicago  and  Charles 
Cooper  and  W.  N.  Harding  of  Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Notice  has  been  given  by  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road Company  to  the  officers  of  connecting  lines 
that  after  January  1st  of  next  year  it  will  not 
receive  freight  cars  which  do  not  conform  to  a  cer- 
tain standard.  Some  time  ago  the  Pennsylvania 
discarded  several  thousand  cars  because  of  their 
weakness;  and  it  now  proceeds  on  the  principle  that 
it  will  not  haul  for  anybody  else  cars  that  are 
inferior    to    its    own. 

The  Los  Angeles-Pacific  Railway  Company,  which 
operates  a  150-mile  electric  railway  to  Santa  Mon- 
ica and  other  branch  towns,  has  made  traffic  ar- 
rangements with  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad 
(steam)  whereby  shippers  in  the  East  can  bill 
their  freight  through  to  any  point  on  the  Los  An- 
geles-Pacific via  the  Southern  Pacific,  and  the  ship- 
ment will  be  delivered  without  delay.  The  deal  has 
to  do  only  with  freight  traffic  and  in  nowise  affects 
the  passenger  department,  which  will  be  conducted 
as  usual.  The  company  denies  the  rumor,  that  its 
road  has  been  sold,  and  there  is  no  prospect  of  a 
change  of  ownership. 

The  Metropolitan  Elevated  Railroad  Company 
of  Chicago  is  seeking  to  extend  its  system  so  as 
to  reach  out  for  more  suburban  business  toward 
the  northwest  of  the  city.  An  ordinance  has  been 
submitted  to  the  local  transportation  committee  of 
the  City  Council  by  the  railway  company  asking 
for  the  privilege.  The  proposed  additions  include 
an  extension  of  the  Humboldt  Park  branch  to  the 
Desplaines  River,  where  connection  will  be  made 
with  the  Chicago  and  Desplaines  River  electric 
railway,  which  will  tap  an  extensive  and  populous 
district   in   the    Fox   Lake    region.     It   is   also   pro- 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

posed  to  extend  the  Douglas  Park  branch  from 
Fortieth  to  Forty-sixth  Avenue  and  connect  with 
suburban    electric   lines. 

It  is  proposed  to  build  a  bridge  across  the  Ar- 
kansas River  at  the  top  of  the  famous  Royal 
Gorge,  near  Canon  City,  Colo.  The  building  of 
the  bridge  is  suggested  in  connection  with  an  in- 
terurban  electric  railway  to  be  built  in  Fremont  . 
County,  from  Canon  City  to  Florence,  and  to  the 
top  of  Royal  Gorge.  The  bridge,  if  ever  built, 
will  be  2,800  feet  above  the  "hanging  bridge"  of 
the   Denver  and  Rio   Grande   Railroad. 

The  contract  for  the  bridges  and  culverts  of  the 
Illinois  Traction  System's  new  right-of-way  for 
the  interurban  road  between  East  Peoria  and  Mor- 
ton, 111.,  will  be  let  at  once  at  the  office  of  the 
chief  engineer  at  Bloomington.  On  this  12-mile 
stretch  there  are  15  bridges  and  culverts  which  will 
be  of  concrete.  The  Missouri  Construction  Com- 
pany has  sublet  the  contracts  for  the  excavation 
to  several  different  companies  and  work  has  com- 
menced. 

The  Rockford,  Beloit  and  Janesville  Electric  Rail- 
way Company  has  sold  its  property  to  the  Rock- 
ford  and  Interurban  Railway  Company  of  Rock- 
ford,  111.,  which  also  operates  the  Belvidere  and 
Freeport  lines.  The  purchase  will  give  the  com- 
pany 103  miles  of  electric  road  and  extensions  to 
Madison  in  the  near  future.  The  transfer  took 
place  March  1st.  For  the  present  no  change  will 
be  made  in  the  management  of  the  Rockford,  Be- 
loit and  Janesville  line. 

Traffic  on  the  elevated  roads  of  Chicago  made 
a  good  exhibit  for  February.  The  Northwestern 
showed  an  increase  of  4,799  passengers  a  day  over 
the  corresponding  month  of  last  year,  the  Metro- 
politan a  daily  increase  of  14,393,  the  South  Side 
a  daily  increase  of  6,904,  and  the  Oak  Park  a  daily 
increase  of  1,771.  The  average  daily  figures  for 
the  month  of  February  are  as  follows :  North- 
western, 83,572;  Metropolitan,  135,570;  South  Side, 
95,077;   Oak  Park,  47,167. 

The  Central  Railway  Company  of  Peoria,  re- 
cently acquired  by  the  McKinley  interests,  has  ac- 
cepted the  ordinance  passed  by  the  Peoria  City 
Council  granting  the  Illinois  Traction  System  the 
right  to  construct  a  bridge  across  the  Illinois  River 
at  the  foot  of  Walnut  Street  and  the  use  of  that 
street  from  the  river  front  to  Adams  Street.  The 
directors  present  when  the  ordinance  was  accepted 
were  W.  B.  McKinley,  L.  E.  Fischer,  H.  E.  Chub- 
buck,  B.  E.  Bramble,  G.  M.  Lillis  and  Walter 
Barker. 

The  stockholders  of  the  Schenectady  Railway 
Company  have  elected  a  new  board  of  directors 
representing  jointly  the  New  York  Central  railroad 
and  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Company.  These 
two  roads  last  year  took  over  control  of  the  Schen- 
ectady railway  from  the  General  Electric  Company. 
The  Schenectady  railway  is  an  electric  line  running 
from  Albany  to  Schenectady.  '  The  General  Electric 
Company  acquired  the  road  partly  for  the  purpose 
of  conducting  experiments  in  electric  traction.  The 
New  York  Central  and  the  Delaware  and  Hudson 
each  has   a  half  interest  in  the  property. 


March  10,  1906 

the  first  edition  has  been  thoroughly  revised  to 
conform  with  the  latest  and  best  engineering  prac- 
tice. This  catalogue  will  contain  72  pages,  fully 
illustrated,  and  will  be  sent  upon  request  to  those 
interested  in  modern  crushing  plants  and  equip- 
ments. 


PUBLICATIONS. 


The  Cutler-Hammer  Manufacturing  Company  of 
Milwaukee  is  distributing  a  number  of  leaflets  for 
insertion  in  its  perpetual  bulletins.  The  leaflets 
are  descriptive  of  various  types  of  rheostats,  start- 
ing devices  and  controllers. 

The  first  number  of  a  bulletin  entitled  "Concern- 
ing Municipal  Ownership,"  published  in  New  York, 
has  appeared.  The  bulletin  is  opposed  to  municipal 
ownership  in  all  its  forms,  and  contains  many  in- 
stances of  failures  of  municipal-ownership  under- 
takings. 

One  of  the  latest  bulletins  to  be  credited  to  the 
Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany is  that  devoted  to  type-SA  direct-current  mo- 
tors for  variable-speed  work.  These  motors  per- 
mit a  speed  range  of  4  to  1  on  a  single  voltage, 
and  by  the  simple  method  of  field  control  a  wide 
range    of   speed    control    is   obtained. 

A  handsome  hanger  is  being  distributed  among 
the  trade  by  McLeod,  Ward  Co.  of  New  York  city. 
The  hanger  is  sent  out  with  the  idea  of  putting 
"before  those  interested  different  styles  of  the  origi- 
nal Kinsman  desk  lamps,  which  the  company  manu- 
factures, and  that,  too,  in  a  manner  to  admit  of 
quick  and  easy  reference.  The  hanger  will  often 
save  looking  up  things  in  the  catalogue. 

The  Abner  Doble  Company  of  San  Francisco 
has  reprinted,  and  designated  as  Bulletin  No.  9, 
the  paper  read  by  F.  E.  Trask  before  the  Ameri- 
can Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  May  17,  1905, 
upon  the  subject  of  "The  Irrigation  System  of 
Ontario,  Cal. — Its  Development  and  Cost."  The 
pamphlet  also  contains  discussions  on  the  paper 
by  Arthur   S.  Hobby  and   F.   E.   Trask. 

The  Power  and  Mining  Machinery  Company  of 
Cudahj',  Wis.  (suburb  of  Milwaukee),  will  shortly 
have  off  the  press  catalogue  No.  4  on  rock- 
crushing  plants.  This  is  the  second  edition  of 
the    catalogue.      All     of    the    matter    contained    in 


SOCIETIES  AND  SCHOOLS. 

The  1906  meeting  of  the  British  Association  for 
the  Advancement  of  Science  will  be  held  in  York, 
England,  beginning  August  1st.  The  inaugural 
meeting  of  the  association  was  held  in  York  76 
years   ago. 

The  Engineers'  Society  of  Western  Pennsylvania, 
which  has  its  headquarters  in  Pittsburg,  has  leased 
a  suite  of  rooms  in  the  new  Fulton  Building, 
almost  completed  and  located  on  Duquesne  Way 
and  Sixth  Street,  Pittsburg.  The  society  will  oc- 
cupy its  new  quarters  on  April  1st. 

The  engineers  in  the  office  of  the  Roberts  & 
Abbott  Company,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  have  formed  an 
association  which  meets  monthly.  The  members 
report  data  which  they  find  in  technical  papers,  and 
matters  of  interest  from  their  experience  in  the 
field.  Messrs.  Roberts  and  Abbott  also  contribute 
experiences.  These  matters  are  all  discussed  with 
the  idea  of  arriving  at  the  best  conclusions  upon 
the  various   subjects  brought  to  their  attention. 

Interest  shown  in  the  coming  convention  of  the 
National  Electric  Light  Association  to  be  held  at 
Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  June  5th,  6th,  7th  and  Sth,  is 
quite  unprecedented  at  so  early  a  date.  A  num- 
ber of  manufacturing  companies  have  applied  for 
membership  in  the  association  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  securing  exhibiting  space  at  the  meeting, 
and  many  others  have  expressed  their  intention 
to  do  so.  The  growth  of  membership  in  all  classes 
has  been  considerable,  and  recently  there  have  been 
added  28  class  A  members  (operating  companies), 
38  class  B  members  (individuals),  two  class  C 
members  (members  of  technical  schools),  six  class 
D  members  (manufacturing  companies),  and  one 
class    E   member. 


TELEGRAPH. 

Germany  has  completed  the  laying  of  the  Pacific 
cable  from  Yanghai  to  Jap  in  the  Caroline  Islands. 
This  closes  a  gap  of  more  than  2,000  miles  and 
completes  the  first  non-English  cable  to  completely 
encircle  the  globe.  One  of  the  distinguishing 
features  of  this  cable  is  the  fact  that  it  is  laid  at 
the  greatest  ocean  depth  of  any  cable  in  the 
world — 22,966   feet. 

The  Postal  Telegraph-cable  Company  recently 
completed  a  direct  connection  with  the  Northern 
Telegraph  Company,  operating  lines  on  the  Bangor 
and  Aroostook  railroad.  The  connection  adds  500 
miles  of  pole  line  and  150  places  in  Northern 
Maine  to  the  Postal  system.  Telegrams  are  now 
transmitted  via  Postal  to  the  Moosehead  Lake 
region  and  all  points  on  the  Bangor  and  Aroostook 
railroad. 

A  report  from  the  Canadian  commercial  agent  at 
Sydney,  New  South  Wales,  confirms  the  announce- 
ment that  the  Austrialian  Parliament  has  ratified 
the  agreement  with  the  Eastern  Extension  Tele- 
graph Company,  to  expire  in  1915.  Two  space- 
telegraph  companies  are  proposing  to  open  stations 
and  conduct  business  in  Australia,  one  between  Tas- 
mania and  Australia,  and  the  other  between  Aus- 
tralia  and    New   Zealand. 


MISCELLANEOUS, 


The  Pittsburg  Reduction  Company  of  Massena, 
composed  of  New  York  and  Pittsburg  capitalists, 
has,  it  is  reported,  secured  a  controlling  interest 
in  the  large  power  plant  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River 
Power  Company  at  Massena.  It  is  said  to  be  the 
largest  deal  in  power  property  ever -consummated 
in  this  country,  costing  between  $5,000,000  and 
$6,000,000.  The  plant  has  developed  50,000  horse- 
power and  it  is  planned  to  double  it. 

Failures  to  receive  and  send  space-telegraph  mes- 
sages at  sunrise  and  sunset  have  been  noted  fre- 
quently. To  determine  the  cause  of  these  failures 
tests  will  be  made  by  officers  in  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment in  charge  of  the  stations  in  the  United  States 
Navy  system.  It  has  long  been  asserted  that  wire- 
less messages  can  be  sent  by  the  system  at  night 
40  per  cent,  better  than  in  the  daytime,  especially 
when  the  sun  is  shining.  It  also  is  known  that 
foggy  weather  is  more  favorable  for  sending  and 
receiving  messages  than  clear  weather. 

At  the  Pratt  Street  Station  of  the  United  Rail- 
ways and  Electric  Company  of  Baltimore  a  novel 
method  was  employed  this  winter  for  obtaining  a 
sufficient  steam  supply,  the  boiler  plant  being  of 
insufficient  capacity,  owing  to  a  disastrous  fire  and 
to  an  unprecedented  growth  which  has  taken  place 
in  the  system  in  the  last  two  years.  The  steam- 
ship Lord  Baltimore,  engaged  in  the  passenger 
business  during  the  summer,  being  laid  up  for  the 
winter,  was  chartered,  and  it  was  brought  along- 
side   the    dock    at    the    station.      Connections    were 


March   to,  1906 

mad,'   from   the   stcami  1    boilei     to   tl ginc     in 

the  power  station  and  by  tlii^  means  four  250- 
horsepower  boilers  were  plai  cd  al  thi  di  po  al  ol 
tin-  company. 

A  newspaper  dispati  h   1 Lo     Angel,   ,  Cal.,  i 

to   the  effci  t   thai    Robert    \ndei  on,  a   m  m  boj    oi 

Venire,     (   ;il  ,     li.'i       ill    I  OVCrcd     .1     prOI  '  l"i      tl  in!" 

ing  copper  to  the  hardness  oi  tcel,  li  i,  said 
thai  he  has  an  ax  and  sevi  ral  knivc  oi  fim  qiial 
iiy  made    from  copper, 

The  Knickerbocker  Pulp  .-end  Papei  Companj 
of  Plattsburg,  N.  V.,  will  install  four  450-kilowatt 
Allis-Chalmers  waterwheel  type  generators  and  a 
75-kilowatl    belted   exciter,   rccentlj    purchased,   The 

new    outfit    will    be    used    for    the    cle iti 1 

the  present    mill   al    Plattsburg, 


TRADE  NEWS 


William  Vandcrwalker  of  Boone,  Iowa,  lias  sold 
his  electrical   business   in    I! c   to   Harvcj    Ptllson. 

II.  C.  Frederick  and  W.  II.  Ramsden  will  en- 
gage in  the  electrical  supply  business  in  Fargo, 
N.    D. 

I  lie  People's  Plumbing  and  Electrical  Company 
of  Grenada,  Miss.,  lias  been  incorporated,  with  a 
capital  stuck  of  $10,000. 

The  Butlerlield  Construction  Company,  formerly 
located  at  113  Adams  Street,  Chicago,  announces 
a  change  of  address  to  Room  326,   Reaper  Block. 

On  account  of  confusion  arising  from  the  simi- 
larly of  its  name  to  that  of  another  concern,  the 
C.  i  I-  Wheeler  Condenser  and  Pump  Company 
changed  its  corporate  name  on  March  1st  to  the 
C,   II.  Wheeler  Manufacturing  Company. 

The  partnership  between  Claud,:  I)  Stephens  and 
Theodore  R.  Tyler,  doing  a  consulting  engineering 
business  under  the  firm  name  of  Stephens  &  Tyler. 
900  Monadnock  building,  Chicago,  was  dissolved 
March  1st.  Mr.  Stephens  succeeds  to  the  business, 
with  offices  in  the  same  building. 

The  Frevert  Machinery  Company  have  opened  a 
salesroom  and  offices  at  18  Dey  Street,  New  York 
city,  where  it  carries  a  complete  line  of  new  and 
second-hand  metal-working  tools  and  machines  of 
every  description.  It  also  manufactures  a  line  of 
newly  designed  hand-power  traveling  cranes,  trol- 
leys, hoists  and  overhead  tracks,  which  combine 
many  valuable  improvements  and  new  features.  H. 
F.  Frevert,  the  principal  of  the  company,  has  had 
a    wide    experience    in    the    machinery-tool    business. 

The  negotiations  which  have  been  in  progress 
over  a  year,  by  which  it  was  proposed  to  merge 
all  the  largest  street-car  building  plants  of  the 
country  are  said  to  have  been  abandoned.  Some 
lime  ago  the  success  of  the  merger  seemed  assured, 
and  only  two  weeks  ago  it  was  announced  that 
negotiations  had  reached  a  point  when  a  final  agree- 
ment was  possible.  Eastern  papers  now  say  that 
Kean,  Van  Cortlandt  &  Co.,  hankers,  declare  the 
proposed  plan  defunct.  The  new  combine  was  to 
have   had   a    capital    of  $56,000,000. 

Coincident  with  the  completion  of  the  new  ter- 
minal station  and  office  building  of  the  Milwaukee 
Electric  Railway  and  Light  Company  in  Milwaukee, 
a  contract  has  recently  been  placed  with  the  Allis- 
Chalmers  Company  for  the  installation  of  three 
Allis-Chalmers  steam-turbine  generating  units,  each 
of  1,500  kilowatts,  60-cycle  three-phase,  2,300  volts, 
to  operate  under  steam  pressure  of  150  pounds. 
There  are  included  in  this  contract  two  1,500-kilo- 
watt  motor-generator  sets  to  deliver  direct  current 
at  300  volts,  each  consisting  of  a  direct-current  gen- 
erator direct-coupled  to  a  three-phase  60-cycle  syn- 
chronous motor.     The  electrical   machinery   for  this 


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drawing  ,  of  the 
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and  a  1  lie  1,    ha     noi   bci  11   .in-,    interrupt tbc 

operation  of  the  work     the  W  1  1 1  Engii 

pany  is  theri  fore  pn  pared  to  engagi    ti    mi 

ti       ,  ngincs,    making    uni 

Mi,    exo  il-  in    fai  dm-     the  plant 

the  -    ' '  ution  of  work  are  to  1 

Tin-    Gould    Storagi     Bait  rj    Comp 
York   city   has   in  1   opened   a   branch   office   in   the 

Crossley  Building,  San   Francisco,  Cal.,  to-i 1  'I": 

demand     ol   iti    rapidly   im  n  a  ling   bi 

Pacific    slope.     The   new    branch    is    in   charge   of 

Mr.  E.  C.  Sharpe,  a  prominent  eng 

formerly   connected    with    the    Join,     \     Rocbling's 
Sons   Company.     The  Chicago  office,   located   in    the 

Rookery    Building,    has     ■  -  ured    ii i  1      of    Mr. 

K.  II.  Watson  as  an  addition  to  the  engineering 
force.  Mr.  Watson  has  been  connected  with  the 
Gregory  Electric  Company  of  Chicago  and 
well  known  in  the  .Middle  West.  A  new  addition 
has  also  been  made  to  the  force  of  engineers  in  the 
main  office  of  the  ( lould  Storage  Company,  located 
at  1  West  Thirty-fourth  Street.  New  York  city,  in 
Mr.  H.  N.  Powers.  Mr.  Powers  was  until  re- 
cently sales  manager  of  the  American  Automatic 
Switch  Company,  and  has  likewise  been  connected 
with  Thomas  A.  Edison  and  served  in  the  engi- 
neering department  of  the  New  York  Edison  1  om 
pany. 

The  Rawson  &  Morrison  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany has  consolidated  with  the  Mead-Morrison 
Manufacturing  Company  of  Cambridge.  Mass.,  and 
hereafter  the  business  will  be  conducted  under  the 
latter  name.  The  company  will  continue  the  manu- 
facture of  the  same  lines  of  machinery  as  before 
and  all  the  men  who  have  made  the  Rawson  & 
Morrison  Company  successful  in  the  past  will  be 
retained.  The  company  calls  attention  especially 
to  its  lines  of  hoisting  engines,  derrick  swingers, 
electric  hoists,  belt  hoists,  suspension  cableways. 
cable  roads  and  all  kinds  of  machinery  for  handling 
coal  and  other  bulky  material.  The  capital  of  the 
Mead-Morrison  Manufacturing  Company  is  $1,000,- 
000.  Eugene  N.  Foss  is  president  and  Willard  S. 
Martin  general  manager.  The  company  will  in- 
crease its  facilities  for  manufacturing  and  will  de- 
velop the  special  features  of  the  business  which  are 
constantly   arising. 

The  Milwaukee  Journal  of  February  28th  says  that 
arrangements  have  been  practically  closed  for  an 
application  to  the  bankruptcy  court  for  an  order 
for  the  sale  of  the  entire  assets  of  the  National 
Electric  Company.  This  means  that  the  offer  re- 
cently made  to  the  creditors  through  the  office  of 
Bloodgood,  Kemper  &  Bloodgood  will  be  accepted. 
Acceptances  have  already  been  obtained  from  credi- 
tors representing  $500,000,  and  others  are  being  re- 
ceived daily.  The  total  liabilities  on  December  31st 
were  $1,292,800,  and  assets,  $1,410,727.  John  I.  Beggs, 
trustee,  in  a  recent  letter  to  creditors,  says  he  con- 


209 
0   ojri 

will  proba 

BUSINESS 

hulk  via  railroad  and  iteamthip,  and.  although  the 
conduil 

nothing. 

Willi    the:    ,,;. 
the    an  called 

Hall    Building. 
do     Mr    Brui 

:  r    and 

is  especially  well  equipped   to 
in   the 

Two  60-ton   flat   cars,   bearing  a 

new  Allis-Chalmers  till  nit,  which  wa-, 

order,-,!    some    months    ago   by    the    Edison    Electric 

Illuminating   Company   of    Brooklyn,    were   recently 

started 

by   a    third    carload,    which    will   complete    tl, 

in- in        I  he    Brooklyn    unit    i-    a   5.000-kilow  v  ■ 

zontal   parallel-flow  turbine,  direct  connected  to  an 

Allis-Cli  tor,  especially     ,]. 

the    requirements    of    it-    service,    the    turbini 
built    at   the    West    Alii-    Works   and   the    gi 
al    the    company's    electrical    works    at    Cincinnati. 
v    unit    will    generate   current    at    25    cycles. 
ilu,  'phase,  at  6,600  volts, 

The    Allis-Chalmers   Company   of   Milwaukee   has 
been  placing  before  the  purchasing  public,  f 
months  past,  its  ga-  engines  ,,f  the  Nuremberg  ty|K\ 
in  capacities   ranging   I  0  horsepower 

and  for  all  power  purposes.  An  [,800-break-horse- 
power  Allis-Chalmers  unit  was  recently  ordered  i,  ,r 
the  Crystal  City  (Mo.  I  plant  of  the  Pittsburg  Plate 
Glass  Company.  It  is  of  the  well-known  four-cycle, 
double-acting  type,  direct  coupled  to  a  1.000-kilo'watt 
Allis-Chalmers  generator.  The  Illinois  Steel  Com- 
pany. Chicago,  at  present  using  a  large  number  oi 
Allis-Chalmers  steam  units  of  various  kinds,  has  re- 
cently ordered  two  large  gas-engine  generating  units 
of  the  twin-tandem  type.  1.000  kilowatts  each. 
These  machines  will  be  installed  in  the  company's 
present  power  plant  for  lighting  and  power  p 

Something  new  in  the  line  of  cleats  for  low- 
voltage  interior  wiring,  such  as  telephone,  telegraph, 
annunciator  and  like  circuits,  is  manufactured  by  the 
Blake  Signal  and  Manufacturing  Company 
ton.  Mass.  The  cleats  are  disks  a  little  over  a  half 
inch  in  diameter.  Grooves  in  one  side  of  the  disk- 
fit  down  over  the  wire  or  wires  to  be  fastened,  and 
a  screw  through  the  center  of  the  disk  passes  into 
the  woodwork,  holding  the  wires  firmly  in  place.  The 
cleats  are  impervious  to  moisture  and  there  is 
scarcely  any  breakage,  which  is  a  great  saving  over 
porcelain  cleats,  the  company  points  out.  As  the 
cleats  will  not  break  under  the  blow  of  a  hammer, 
wire  nails  may  be  used  instead  of  screws  to  fasten 
them  in  place.  The  company  also  makes  a  line  of 
insulated  staples  for  low-voltage  work,  and  it  is 
asserted  that  the  fiber  insulation  will  not  come  off 
from  pounding. 


ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 

Issued  (United  States  Patent  Office)  February  27,  iqo6. 


813,403.  Thermostat.  Arthur  D.  Colton,  Chicago, 
111.     Application    filed   August   22,    1904. 

The  circuit-closer  part  of  the  thermostat  comprises  a 
strip  of  expansible  material  seemed  at  its  lower  end  and 
to  a  base  plate. 

813,410.  Motor  Control.  Charles  A.  Eck,  Newark, 
N.  J.    Application  filed  May  16,   1905. 

The  yoke  of  the  motor  has  portions  of  varying  cross- 
sectional  area  and  means  for  adjusting  the  yoke  so  as 
to  cause  the  magnetic  lines  to  How  through  that  portion 
of  the  yoke  having  the  large  cross-sectional  area  or 
through  that  portion  of  the  yoke  having  the  small  cross- 
sectional  area  at  will. 

813,419.  Selective  Signaling  System.  Charles  G. 
Hawley  and  Herbert  0.  Holderness,  Chicago, 
111.    Application  filed  December  15,   1903. 

In  an  electric-signaling  system  are  a  signal  circuit  and 
a  release  circuit,  in  combination  with  signaling  and  re- 
leasing devices  arranged  in  pairs  at  distant  points  or 
stations  on  the  circuits. 

813,426.  Signaling  System.  Herbert  O.  Holderness 
and  Charles  G.  Hawley,  Chicago,  assignors  to 
the  Readable  Signal  Company,  Chicago,  111.  Ap- 
plication filed  February  17,  1002. 
The  signal  dial  is  provided  with  a  number  of  display 
signals  and  an  electromagnetic  device  for  operating  tli<j 
dial.  A  concentrically  arranged  registering  disk  suitably- 
operated  and  electromagnetic  punches  opfrablt.*  upon  the 
registered  disk  and  controlled  by  the  signal  dial  complete 
the  device. 


813,472.  Electric  Machine.  Edward  J.  Willis,  Rich- 
mond,   Va.    Application   filed    February   8,    1905. 

An  armature  is  described,  provided  with  a  number  of 
rods  extending  longitudinally  beyond  the  ends  _  of  the 
element,  and  a  number  of  bonds,  consisting  of  naked 
wires  spaced  apart  and  extending  entirely  around  the  ele- 
ment upon  the  extended  ends  and  each  bond  electrically 
connected  with  each  road  at  each  contact  point. 

813,512.  Circuit-closer  for  Telegraph  Keys.  Her- 
bert R.  Ncvens,  Portland,  Me.  Application 
filed  June  14,  1905. 


In    a    telegraph    circuit-closer   are   a   circuit-closing   1c 
and   a   spring  arranged    to    hold    the    lever 
open  position  and   to  close  it  ' 
position. 


ved   from  the  1 


Si  3,5 15.  Trolley-supporting  Device.  Alexander 
Palmros,  Columbus,  Ohio,  assignor  to  Joseph 
A.  Jeffrey,  Columbus,  Ohio.  Application  filed 
December  2,  1S97.    Renewed  April  n,  1900. 

A  carrier  for  the  trolley  is  adapted  to  swing  around  a 
vertical  axis  and  to  be  reversed  Irom  a  forward  position 
to  a  rearward  position,  a  tension  spring  exerting  uniform 
tension  on  the  carrier. 

813,523.  Brushholder  for  Motors  or  Generators. 
Frank  L.  Sessions,  Columbus,  Ohio,  assignor 
to  Joseph  A.  Jeffrey,  Columbus,  Ohio.  Appli- 
cation  filed  May  20,    1903. 

A  pivoted  spring-held  follower  is  formed  in  two  narts 
pivotally  connected  together  on  a  pivot  arranged  trans- 
versely   of    the     brush,     the     parts     being    provided     with 


means  for  limiting  the  movement  of  one  relative  to  ihe 
other  in  one  direction,  and  the  upper  ore  being  adapted 
to  bear  against  the  end  of  the  brush. 

Sl3iS38.  Connector  for  Electrical  Conductors.  Fred- 
erick J.  Troll,  Baltimore,  Md.  Application  filed 
April  3.  1005. 
In  an  electrical-conductor  connector  are  a  pair  of  con- 
nected parallel  conductor  sleeves  and  an  enlarged  insula- 
tion sleeve  at  each  end  of  the  conductor  sleeves. 

S13.546.  Inclosed  Safety  Device  for  Fuses  for  Elec- 
trical   Installations.    Wilhelm   Fellenberg,   Char- 

lottenburg,  Germany.  Application  filed  April 
2S.    1904. 

A  safety  device  for  fuses  consists  in  a  combination  of 
fuse  wires,  non-conductors  upon  which  the  wires  are 
coiled  and   partitions  between  the  wire  coils. 

813,560.  Telephone  System  for  Central  Stations. 
Gustaf  Lambert,  Charlottenburg,  Germany.  Ap- 
plication filed  April   16,   1902. 

The  system  comprises  a  loop-conductor  line  connected 
to  the  central  station,  an  electromagnet  •.!  one  branch  of 
the  loop  and  an  electromagnet  on  the  ot'ier  branch.  -V 
selective  means  actuated  by  the  second  elecrromagnet  and 
means  to  short  circuit  that  electromagnet  by  the  actua- 
tion of  the  first  electromagnet  until  the  cal!  "is  answered, 
complete  the  apparatus.      t,See  cut.) 

813,568.  Incandescent  Lamp  Socket.  Robert  R. 
Miller.  Grand  Rapids.  Mich.  Application  filed 
January  3,    1905. 

Mechanical  elements  of  a  lamp  socket  are  set   forth. 


2IO 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  10,  1906 


813,582.  Electric  Storage  Battery.  Harris  H.  Por- 
ter, Providence,  R.  I.,  assignor  to  the  Rhode 
Island  Electromobile  Company,  Providence,  R.  I. 
Application    filed    September    21,    1903. 

A  separating  device  for  the  successive  plates  consists 
of  a  thin  layer  of  wood  having  parallel  -vertical  grooves 
arranged  alternately  on  its  opposite  sides.  Between  them 
are  plane  surfaces  substantially  wider  than  the  grooves, 
each  surface  being  directly  opposite  a  groove  on  the 
other  face  of  the  layer. 

813,610.  Clockwork  Electricity  Meter.  Hermann 
Aron,  Charlottenburg,  Germany.  Application 
filed  January  13,  1904. 

In  an  electric  meter  the  clockwork  mechanism,  com- 
prising the  movable  element,  is  made  the  basis  of  the 
patent. 

813,620.  Process  of  Extracting  Gold,  Silver,  Etc. 
Joseph  A.  Comer,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.  Applica- 
tion filed  January  2,  1904. 

The  process  of  extracting  gold,  silver  and  other  met- 
als from  ores  consists  in  subjecting  the  crushed  ores  to 
a  solution  of  the  cyanid  of  potassium,  drawing  off  the 
solution  from  the  pulp  mixed  therewith,  impregnating 
with  air  the  solution  and  sedimentary  deposits  suspended 
therein,     separating    the     sedimentary     deposits     from     the 


carried  by  the  second  lever  and  arranged  to  en- 
gage the  ratchet  intermittent!  v,  a  stationary  pawl  ar- 
cngage    and    hold    the    ratchet    while    the    levcr- 


813,794.  Apparatus  for  Forming  Sheet  and  Plate 
Glass.  Harry  J.  Hays,  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  assignor 
to  Edward  F.  Hays,  trustee,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 
Application  filed  August  9,  1904. 

A  table  having  a  rolling  surface  is  provided  with  a 
roller  adjustably  mounted  above  and  out  of  contact  with 
the  rolling  surface,  means  for  propelling  the  roller  along 
the  tabic  and  for  positively  revolving  the  roller  as  it  is 
propelled  along  the  table,  means  for  passing  an  electric 
current  through  the  table  and  the  roller  and  means  for 
cooling  the  table. 

813,840.  Insulated  Rail  Joint.  McLeod  W.  Thom- 
son, Altoona,  Pa.,  assignor  of  one-half  to 
Andrew  Morrison,  Pittsburg,  Pa. ;  William 
Paton  Thomson  and  Samuel  Garver  Thomson, 
executors  of  said  McLeod  W.  Thomson,  de- 
ceased.    Application   filed   April    10,    1902. 

An  insulated  rail  joint  having  opposite   splice  bars,  the 


813,879.  System  of  Control  for  Electric  Motors. 
Charles  D.  Gilpin,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  assignor 
to  the  Electric  Controller  and  Supply  Com-, 
pany,  Cleveland,  Ohio.  Application  filed  Octo- 
ber 6,    1905. 

The  system  includes  a  motor,  a  reversing  switch  or 
switches,  a  body  of  resistance  having  controlling  switches, 
and  actuating  means  for  the  switches,  with  a  master  con- 
troller having  connections  for  governing  the  operation  of 
the  reversing  and  the  resistance-controlling  switches,  and 
being  connected   to  the   apparatus  by  but  two  conductors. 

813,882.  Electric  Switch  and  Signal  Apparatus. 
Lawrence  Griffith,  Yonkers,  N.  Y.  Application 
filed    November   5,    1904. 


8 1 3.975.  Wireless  Telegraphy.  James  F.  King, 
Washington,  D.  C.  Application  filed  January 
8,    1903. 

The  method  of  receiving  wireless-telegraph  messages 
consists  in  normally  impressing  local  generator  currents 
on  two  branch  circuits,  causing  the  currents  in  the 
circuits  to  set  up  opposing  magnetic  fields,  one  of  which 
is  normally  stronger  than  the  other,  and  causing  received 
oscillations  to  act  to  vary  the  normal  relation  between 
the   field.      (See   cut.) 

813,996.  Means  for  Electrically  Connecting  Rail- 
way Rails  and  the  Like.  John  M.  Atkinson, 
Chicago,  111.,  assignor  to  the  Rail  Joint  Com- 
pany.     Application   fried    March    15,    1904. 

An  improved  angle  bar  for  connecting  railway  rails 
comprises  an  angle  bar  having  a  shallow  recess  formed  in 
a  bearing  of  the  angle  bar  adapted  to  engage  the  rail, 
the  recess  containing  a  high  conductor  of  electricity  de- 
posed in  permanent  molecular  connection  with  the  com- 
paraticely  low  conductive  body  of  metal  of  the  angle  bar. 

813,998.  Insulating  Rail  Joint.  Bancroft  G.  Braine, 
New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Rail  Joint 
Company.      Application    filed    October    31,    1903. 

Combined  with  a  bolt  having  a  head  at  one  end  and  a 
screw   thread   at   the   opposite   end   are  of  an   intermediate 


NO.    813,560. — TELEPHONE  EXCHANGE    SYSTEM. 


NO.   8l3,i 


■U.'TOMATIC    ULOCK 


the 


813,636.  Pneumatic  Despatch-tube  Apparatus.  Ed- 
mond  A.  Fordyce,  Boston,  Mass.,  assignor  to 
the  Lamson  Consolidated  Store  Service  Com- 
pany, Newark,  N.  J.  Application  filed  March 
24,    1905. 

The  electrical  feature  of  this  patent  is  the  electro- 
magnetically    controlled    valve    arrangement. 

813,638.  Electrically  Operated  Controlling  Mechan- 
ism. George  H.  Fretts,  Springfield,  Mass. 
Application   filed    May   13,    1905. 

Combined  with  a  switch  tongue  are  a  casing,  a  pair 
of  solenoids  in  the  casing,  a  rocker  provided  with  a 
knife-edge  fulcrum  and  a  V-shaped  bearing  in  the  casing 
for  supporting  the  fulcrum.  The  opposite  branches  of  the 
rocker  have  V-shaped  bearings  to  support  the  last-men- 
tioned knife  edges,  and  rods  are  connected  with  the  cores 
of  the  respective  solenoids,  and  operative  connections  are 
made  between  the  rocker  and  the  switch  tongue. 

813,660.  Lightning  Conductor.  Thomas  H.  Miner, 
Winona,  Mo.    Application  filed  May  1,   1905. 

A  method  of  wiring  a  structure  with  several  grounded 
lightning  conductors  is  described. 

813,682.  Thermopile.  Meyer  Wilderman  and  Rob- 
ert L.  Mond,  London,  England.  Application 
filed   August   14,    1905. 

A  method  of  manufacturing  thermopiles  is  described  in 
the  patent. 

813,689.  Indicating  and  Recording  Device.  William 
H.  Bristol,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
May  6,   1905. 

Mechanical  features  of  the  recording  element  of  an 
electrical  recording  instrument  are    set  forth. 

813,710.  Relay.  Hemming  Johansson,  Stockholm, 
Sweden,  assignor  to  Aktiebolaget  L.  M.  Erics- 
son Co.,  Stockholm,  Sweden.  Application  filed 
July  21,  1904. 

_  Electromagnetic  coils  have  an  insulating  block  asso- 
ciated therewith,  a  contact  being  secured  at  each  end  of 
the  block.  An  armature  is  adapted  to  alternately  en- 
gage the  poles  of  the  electromagnetic  coils  and  to  press 
the  contacts  together. 

813,730.  Storage  Battery.  Adolph  Mueller,  Berlin, 
Germany.    Application   filed   July   30,    1904. 

A  battery  plate  support  consists  of  perforated  covers 
provided  with  lateral  loops  and  having  pins  inserted 
through  the  loops.  The  relation  of  the  loops  is  such 
that  the  pins  lock  the  covers  together. 

Si3,775-  Electromagnetic  Motor.  Murray  Cheever, 
Boston,  Mass.,  assignor  to  the  E.  Howard 
Clock  Company,  Boston,  Mass.  Application  filed 
February  20,  1905. 

n  electromagnet,  a  lever,  an 
ed  by  the  lever  and  adapted 
to  be  moved  by  the  attraction  of  the  magnet,  a  shaft,  a 
ratchet  mounted  on  the  shaft,  a  second  lever  mounted  for 
engagement  and  operation  by  the  first-named  lever,  a  pawl 


Electric  apparatus  for  operating  switches,  signals  and 
the  like  has  a  number  of  electrically  operated  motion 
plates  or  devices  to  be  moved,  and  means  for  shunting 
current  away  from  one  or  more  of  the  operative  means 
of  the  motion  plates  when  the  apparatus  is  at  normal  or 
reverse    positions. 

813.895.      Street    and    Station    Indicator.      Dean    A. 
Holsberg,     San    Jose,     Cal.,     assignor     of    one- 
half  to   Frank  Cheek,   San  Jose,   Cal.     Applica- 
tion filed  January  25,  1905. 
Details  are  described. 

313.898.  Automatic  Block-signal  System  for  Elec- 
tric Railways.  Gray  W.  Johnston  and  Alex- 
ander H.  Ackermann,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Ap- 
plication filed  April  25,   1905. 

In  a  block  -signal  system  for  electric  railways  are  elec- 
trically controlled  signaling  devices  in  each  block,  a 
polarized  relay  in  each  block  for  controlling  the  cir- 
cuits to  the  signaling  devices  and  means,  automatically 
thrown_-into  operation  by  the  entrance  of  a  car  into  a 
block,  for  causing  a  flow  of  current  through  the  relay 
in  the  same  block  in  a  direction  opposite  to  that  which 
previously  passed,  whereby  the  armature  of  the  relay 
will    be    shifted,    the    circuits   to    the    signaling   dev' 


no.  813,975.— space-tel: 


sleeve  'of  insulation  hugging  the  bolt  and  washer 
the  ends  of  the  sleeve  and  having  recesses  at  the  ; 
toward   the    sleeve. 


PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Following  is  a  list  of  electrical  patents  (issued 
by  the  United  States  Patent  Office)  that  expired 
on    March   5,    1906: 

3Q8,Si4.     Electrical    Tramway.      H.    T.     Blake,    New    Haven, 

398.S33-       Printing    Telegraph.     F.    H.    W.    Higgins,    London, 
England. 

395.906.  Arc   Lamp.      W.    L.    Silvey,  Lima,    Ohio. 

398.907.  Electric  Arc   Lamp.      William   L.    Silvev,   Lima,   Ohio. 
398,912.     Method    of    Manufacturing    Screws    and     Bolts    by 


39S.914.      Electric    Metal-working  and   Welding   Machine.      I 

Thompson,  Lynn,  Mass. 
398,926-       Electric-current     Regulator.       J.     W.     Balet,     Ne 


dilYiTi'iit 


nal    will 


^13,909.  Automatic  Electric  Block  System.  Albert 
M.  Mott,  Hampton,  Iowa.  Application  filed 
June  26,   1905. 


gaging  the  switch,  a  guide  bar  arranirod  vertically  within 
the  box  and  a  plunger  extending  within  the  box  held  by 
the  guide  bar,  the  plunger  imparting  motion  to  the  rotary 

313,914.  Wireless  Electric  Signaling  System.  Rag- 
nar  H.  Rendahl,  Berlin,  Germany.  Application 
filed  August   19,   1905. 


Heysinger,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

399,016.  Stretcher  for  Mechanical  Telephone  Line  Wires 
A.   W.    Butterworlh,    New    York,   N.   Y. 

399.019-  Process  of  Electric  Welding.  C.  L.  Coffin,  De- 
troit,   Mich. 

399.052-     Secondary  Battery.     E.  R.  Knowles,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

399.054.      Electric    Arc    Lamp.      G.    M.    Lane,    Asbury    Park, 

399.057-      Interrupter  for   Electric    Circuits.      I.    C.    Lecoultre, 

Lausanne,    Switzerland. 
399.059-     Electric  Motor.     O.  Lugo,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
399. 0S4.      Couch    for    Applyine    Electrical    Treatment.      J.    B. 


cago,  111. 
399.134-      Electric   Lamp    Fixture   and   Switch.      L.  W.  Dilloi 

North  Attleborough,  Mass. 
399.I35-,     Electric .  Switch.      L.    W.    Dillon,    North    Attlebo 


of  the  indies 

of  coupling  between  the 


313,931.     Annunciator.     James    A.    Wotton,    Atlanta, 
Ga.    Application  filed  May  16,   1904. 


ough,  Mas: 

399.137.      Electrical    S tor- 
East  Orange,  N.  J. 

399,147.       Regulator^  for    Dynamo-electric    Machines.       J.     F. 


Apparatus.      R.    N.    Dyer, 


An 


ndi- 


ed  thereby  and  a  magnet  arrang 
axis  parallel  with  the  axis  of  the  armature,  the  magnet 
having  poles  projecting  from  its  coils.  The  poles  have 
their  axes  also  parallel  with  the  axis  of  the  armature 
and  capable  of  operating  the  armature,  the  magnet  with 
its  poles  being  removably  mounted  so  that  it  may  be 
withdrawn    without    disturbing   the    armature    of    the    indi- 

3i3,933-  Automatic  Recording  Device.  Adolf  Abra- 
ham, Neuhaus-on-the-Oste,  Germany.  Applica- 
tion  filed    September   20,    1905. 


Regulator    for    Svstems    of    Electrical    Distribution 
L.    B.    Stillwell,    Pittsburg.    Pa. 

_  Method    of    Regulation    for    Systems    of    Electrical 


Manchester,    N.    H. 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


Vol.  xxxvrn. 


MM'    >,',<>.  MARCH 


Progress  of   the    Chicago    Drainage 
Canal  Power  Development. 

\iinilic-r  year   will   sec   the   c pli  lion   of  a    largi 

portion  ol   the  (  hii  I  Irainage   '  anal   powi  i    di 

vclopment,  and  n  is  hoped  thai  In  Januai  i  I 
iK'xi  some  15.500  horsepower  will  he  availabli  al 
the  West  Forty  eighth  Avenue  sub  tation  in  Chi- 
cago. I  lii-.  power  i,  to  I"'  generated  at  a  power 
plant  located  about  one  mile  below  Ihc  city  limits 
of    Lockport,    111  .    not    far    from    Jolicl 

Between   the   controlling   works  at    Lockport   and 


I.      i-   -      ' 

illways  through 
the  wati  r  v.ill  pa 
(nspi  1 

of  the  develop nl   al   the  pot 

wall  "i  tin    hi  .mi 

power-honsi      iti  to  foi    1       b 

ide  of  which 

In  .11  .  di  livcred 

direi  tlj  to  thi   turbini        I  he  containing  wall 


View  Across  Foundation  of  Power  House. 
Section  ot  Core  Wall  Not  Yet  Filled  In. 
View  of  Both  Core  and  Concrete  Walls  of  Headn 
PROGRESS   OF   THE 


Fie.  6. 
POWER    DEVELOPMENT 


at  End  of  Headrace  Near  Controllinc  \ 

in  of  Concrete  Wall  of  Headrace. 

of  Tailrace  Looking  Toward  Power  Ho 


Lake  Joliet  (a  widened  portion  of  the  Desplaines 
River)  the  bed  of  the  river  has  a  considerable 
slope,  which  is  being  utilized  by  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict fof  the  power  development.  To  use  this 
difference  in,  level  an  artificial  waterway  or  head- 
race, inclosed  between  walls  of  concrete  and  filling, 
has  been  nearly  completed  from  the  controlling 
works  at  Lockport  to  the  site  of  the  power 
house.  The  power  house  itself  has  not  yet  been 
built,  but  the  foundation  and  spillways  are  well 
along,  and  the  work  of  excavating  the  tailrace  be- 
low the  power  house  is  being  pushed  as  rapidly  as 
possible.  A  number  of  late  photographs  of  the 
work  have  been  secured  and  are  reproduced  here- 
with, together  with  some  drawings  showing  the 
constructional    details. 

Fig.  1  is  a  view  across  the  foundation  of  the 
power  house.  At  this  point  a  total  head  of  34 
feet  is  available,  part  of  which  has  been  obtained 
through   the   excavation   of  the   deep   tailrace   below 


basin,  and  also  of  the  headrace  proper,  for  some 
i.ooo  feet  back  from  the  power  house,  are  of  solid 
concrete  40  feet  high.  They  are  massive  in  con- 
struction, being  six  feet  wide  at  the  top  and  16 
feet  at  the  bottom. 

Fig.  4  is  a  view  of  a  section  of  the  concrete  wall 
of  the  headrace.  The  remaining  portion  of  the 
headrace  up  to  the  controlling  works  at  Lockport 
is  enclosed  part  of  the  way  by  concrete  walls  and 
part  of  the  way  by  a  core  wall  with  rock  and  earth 
filling.  Fig.  3  is  a  view  of  a  section  of  the  core 
wall  on  the  river  side  of  the  tailrace.  The  core 
wall  is  composed  of  a  comparatively  thin  center 
or  core  of  concrete,  one  side  being  filled  in  with 
broken  rock  to  give  the  necessary  weight.  Stone 
for  the  fillings  and  for  the  manufacture  of  con- 
crete is  to  be  had  in  any  quantity  from  the  exca- 
vations  of   the    drainage   canal. 

Natural  rock  formation  is  utilized  to  support  the 
containing  walls  of  the  upper  part  of  the  headrace. 


or  the  portion  to  be  first  equipped.  This  plan 
shows  the  relative  location  of  the  various  units, 
transformers,  etc..  and  also  the  paths  of  the  con- 
duits, which  are  shown  in  dotted  lines.  The  first 
assignment  of  electrical  machinery,  which  has  al- 
ready been  ordered,  will  consist  of  four  4.000-kflo- 
watt  waterwheel-type  Crocker-Wheeler  generators. 
These  machines  are  three-phase.  60-cycle,  and  will 
develop  6.600  volts.  Besides  these  there  are  two 
350-kilowatt  exciter  sets  ordered  for  the  first  in- 
stallation, these  to  be  driven  by  their  own  hydraulic 
turbines.  The  generators  are  to  be  mounted  on 
self-aligning  shafts  with  self-oiling  bearings.  The 
apparatus  will  be  contained  in  a  room  having  walls 
of   white    glazed   brick. 

Fig.  7  is  a  transverse  section  of  the  power  house 
showing  one  generator  and  the  transforming  and 
distributing  apparatus.  The  main  switchboard  is 
to  be  located  on  the  second  floor  of  a  compart- 
ment separate  from  the  main  generator  room.     Im- 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March   17,  1906 


mediately  back  of  the  switchboard  will  be  the  ver- 
tical compartments  for  the  high-tension  conductors. 
Back  of  these  will  be  located  the  field-switch 
structure    and    compensator. 

On  a  floor  above  the  switchboard  it  is  planned 
to  install  the  oil  switches,  mounted  directly  above 
the  high-tension  bus-bar  compartments.  On  the 
main  floor,  beneath  the  main  switchboard,  will  be 
located  the  transformers  and  transfer  boards.  Four 
transfer  boards  will  be  required  for  the  first  part 
of  the  installation.  Their  panels  are  to  have  each 
three  single-pole  single-throw  hook-type  switches  of 
450  amperes  capacity,  6,000  volts,  three  single-pole 
double-thcow  hook-type  switches  of  450  amperes 
capacity,  6,6co  volts,  and  three  connecting  bars  be- 
tween the  jaws  of  the  single  and  double-throw 
s  witches. 

The  high-tension  bus  compartments  in  the  second 
gallery  are  to  consist  of  two  four-inch  enameled- 
brick  walls  three  feet  high  and  142  feet  long,  inter- 
secting at  frequent  intervals  with  eight-inch  cross 
walls  18  inches  high,  on  which  the  44,000- volt  in- 
sulators are  to  be  mounted.  The  space  between 
these  two  side  walls  will  be  divided  into  three 
compartments  by  building  two  barriers  of  soap- 
stone  iH  inches  thick  and  20  inches  high,  run- 
ning lengthwise. 

The  generator  armatures  will  be  connected  to 
the  transfer  boards  by  two  three-phase  cables  of 
300,000  circular  mils  for  each  pole.  The  primary 
side  of  each  bank  of  transformers  will  be  con- 
nected through  the  series  transformers  to  the  top 
switches  on  the  transfer  boards  with  stranded-cop- 
per 600,000  circular-mil  cables.  The  secondary 
sides  of  the  transformers  will  be  connected  through 
two  oil  circuit-breaker  switches  in  series  to  the 
44,000-volt  bus-bars  in  the  second  gallery,  with 
stranded-copper  cables  of  No.  0000  gauge. 

The  transformers  themselves  are  to  be  set  in 
banks  of  three,  as  shown  in  the  plan  (Fig.  9). 
Each  transformer  will  have  a  capacity  of  4.000 
kilowatts.  They  take  the  6,600-volt  current  from 
the  generators  and  raise  its  pressure  to  44,000 
volts  for  transmission  to  the  Chicago  sub-station, 
a  distance  of  about  30  miles. 

The  power  house  will  be  served  by  an  electric 
traveling  crane  having  a  capacity  of  40  tons. 

Hydraulic  equipment  is  to  consist  of  an  indi- 
vidual waterwheel  for  each  unit.  The  wheels  will 
be  mounted  on  a  horizontal  shaft,  at  the  right  and 


FIG.    7.       TRANSVERSE    SECTION    OF    PROPOSED    P0W 


ICAGO    DRAINAGE    CANAL. 


left  of  each  wheel  being  a  curved  draught  tube, 
which  tubes  lead  into  the  spillways  shown  .  in 
Fig.  6.  The  draught  tubes  are  placed  in  line  in 
each   compartment  of  the   structure. 

The  power  house  itself  will  be  built  of  concrete 
blocks  and  will  be.  when  completed,  350  feet  long, 
and  an   imposing   structure. 

At  some  future  time  it  is  believed  that  a  deep- 
waterway  or  ship  canal  will  be  constructed  to  con- 
nect the  Great  Lakes  with  the  Mississippi  and 
that  considerable  use  will  be  made  of  the  canal   as 


a  transportation  medium.  If  these  plans  are  de- 
veloped a  lock  of  some  kind  will  be  necessary  at 
the  power  house,  as  shown  in  the  plan  (fig.  8). 
Fig.  8  also  shows  the  enclosed  bay  and  the  power- 
house tailrace.  The  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal 
already  has  a  lock  at  this  point,  as  shown  on  the 
diagram. 

When  the  power  is  developed,  duplicate  trans- 
mission lines  will  conduct  the  three-phase  current 
to  the  Chicago  sub-station,  where  its  pressure  will 
be  stepped  down  for  use  in  Chicago  and  other  mu- 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHICAGO    DRAINAGE    CANAL    POWER    DEVELOPMENT. — PLAN    OF    POWER    HOUSE    AND    VICINITY. 


March  17,  1906 

nicipalilics  within  the  S; arj    Districl       1  In 

,,,, .  ,],,n  line  towers  will  be  54  feci     1      im  hi     in   thi 
,.|,.;,i-   above   ground   and    52    feel    ■■  ■  ■    ini  hi      to   thi 

,,,|,  0|   1 1,,    highest    pins.      I'v idm  toi      will   be 

1 ; >c|  mi  the  top  cro     1 and  four  on  tin 

1  ,,,     , 'I  In-    matei  ial    of    whii  h    the  1     towi 

w;il    |„.     •onstriicted    1       >pen  hearth    medium      1  ■  I 


WES1  ERN     ELEl  TRI< 

Juliii  Lillcskan,  an 

hi   'H   '.     1   ■ 


t-     will     be    of    square    cross-section — 3J  •:■     feet 
re  at  the  bottom  and  two  feet  at  the  top, 


Arc-lamp   Posts    May  Be  Beautiful  as 
Well  as  Useful. 
Designs    for    practicable    electric-lamp    posts     for 
street    and    boulevard    lighting    were    on    exhibition 

last  week  at  the  Art  Institute  in  Chicago.  The 
Municipal  Art  League  offered  prizes  of  $ico,  $75 
and  $50  for  the  best  three  designs,  and  a  large 
number  of  drawings  in  water  color  were  entered 
in  the  competition.  In  judging  the  various  designs, 
cost  and  utility  were  considered  as  well  as  artistic 
merit.  It  was  specified  that  only  one  light  was 
to  be  used  and  that  the  total  height  to  the  center 
of    the    light    was    to    he     18    feet.     The    materials 


CANAL    POWI'I      ii"i      1     '.'.  IN'   11      ' "'   ll'I'KI)    KIKST. 


this  design  is  as  well   worked 

Hi.    ,    1  eption  thai   its  cost  would  prob  iblj  be  -lightly 

more.     I  he    shadi    over   the    light    add 

the  beauty  of  the  design. 

The  third  prize  was  awarded  to  Enoch  M.  Vdg- 
nilil.  a  student  in  the  Art  Institute.  Here  is  cx- 
hibited  a  different  type  from  the  two  preceding 
ones.  Many,  for  purely  esthetic  reasons, 
award  the  first  prize  to  this  design  ("Fig.  .3;.  It  is 
simple,  yet  it  displays  a  certain  elegance  which  no 
amount  of  ornamentation  or  "frills"  could  enhance. 
It  also  has  the  advantage  of  not  being  expensive 
to  construct.  But  it  has  certain  practical  disad- 
vantages which  make  it  undesirable.  The  post  is 
iS  Feet  high — a  straight  clear  column  with  no  steps 
for  the  lamp  tender  and  no  projection  of  any  kind 
against    which    a    ladder    might    be    rested.     So    that 


213 

■ 

it,    and     that 

lb.-  other  hand 

C.    M.    S  >t    the    Art    I: 

What  will  I- 

of   the    successful   desig 

■  11  that 
mand    for  the   lighting   of   the 
■  I    for    the    exl 
planni  d.     Minor  thing  .   lamp 

drinking    fountaii  It,    which    arc 

constantly  before  (he  eye-,  of  the  public,  may,   with 
a   little    forethought,   be   given   the   proportions   and 
touch    which    will    make   them    a   means   of 
inculcating    artistic    ideals    in    the    mi 
quently. 


rx 


Fir.  3.     Third  Pri 


5NS    ENTERED 


American  Street  and  Interurban  Rail- 
way Association. 
Since  i  the  American 

and    Interurban    Railway    Association    at    the    Phila- 
delphia convention   last   September,  the  mcml>crship 


I 


1 


Example  of  Art 


CHICAGO    MUNICIPAL   ART    LEAGUE   COMPETITION. 


specified  were  bronze  or  fine  cast-iron.  Each  de- 
sign was  signed  in  cipher,  by  which  it  could  be 
identified  by  Mr.  James  W.  Pattison,  secretary  of 
the  Municipal  Art  League,  after  the  jurv  had 
awarded   the   prizes. 

Illustrations  are  shown  herewith  of  the  three 
prize-winning  designs  and  also  of  several  others 
having  various  meritorious  features  and  showing 
wideiy  varying  conceptions  on  the  part  of  the  com- 
petitors as  to  what  constitutes  a  practicable  and 
artistic   lamp    support. 

The  first  prize  was  won  by  Arthur  Gunther,  a 
student  at  the  Art  Institute  in  the  designing  class. 
This  design  (.Fig.  1)  exhibits  elegance  and  accu- 
racy of  proportions  that  would  make  it  an  orna- 
ment to  any  street  or  boulevard.  There  are  no 
extravagances  shown  in  the  decoration,  the  orna- 
mental work  beneath  the  bracket  harmonizing  well 
with  the  other  parts  of  the  post  without  being  ob- 
trusive.    The    lamp    itself    hangs    in   the    open,    with 


the  trimming  of  the  lamp  would  be  made  more 
difficult  ihan  necessary.  The  wide  band  around 
the  globe  is  another  objection,  as  it  would  obstruct 
the   distribution   of   the   light  very  materially. 

To  the  right  of  the  prize  winners  in  the  illus- 
tration are  two  designs  by  a  Chicago  architect 
which  are  deserving  of  consideration.  The  one 
shown  at  Fig.  4  is  particularly  noteworthy  in  that 
it  is  an  abandonment  of  the  classic  style  and  is 
characteristic  of  the  art  nouveau.  The  characteris- 
tic features  of  the  new  art  are  the  curious  curves 
which  are  exhibited  most  plainly  in  the  ornamenta- 
tion on  the  base — entirely  unlike  anything  found 
in  the  Grecian-Roman  forms,  from  which  present- 
day  architectural  designs  arc  principally  derived. 
The  other  of  these  two  designs  (Fig.  5),  while  it 
is  not  an  abandonment  of  the  classic  style,  is 
striking  from  the  substantial  and  massive  lines 
upon    which    it    is    constructed. 

Proceeding  to  the  next  design  in  the  group   (Fig. 


has  been  increased  by  54  new  names,  and  the  total 
membership  now  includes  over  250  electrically  op- 
erating street  and  interurban  railway  companies,  in 
all  parts  of  America.  The  association  now  includes 
all  forms  of  lighter  traction  and  does  not.  in  its 
new  constitution,  design  to  exclude  any  possible 
developments  of  the  gasoline  motor.  Some  heavy 
electric  traction  interests  are  also  coining  in.  in  ihe 
form  of  the  Long  Island  Railroad,  the  Xew  York 
Central  Railroad,  the  Xew  York  and  Xew  Haven 
Railroad  and  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  these  cor- 
porations being  indirectly  represented  through  the 
membership  of  the  many  street-railway  systems 
which  they  own  or  control.  The  annual  dues  van' 
from  $15 'to  $t'oo.  according  to  the  traffic  returns 
of   the   constituent    corporations. 

In  accordance  with  the  co-operative  scheme  of 
the  reorganization,  the  various  affiliated  associations 
are  working  together  harmoniously,  and  it  is  con- 
fidently expected  that  work  of  much  value  will  be 
accomplished  before  the  next  convention,  which  will 
be  held  in  the  fall  at  some  point  in  the  Middle 
West,    probably    Columbus,    Ohio. 


214 

Roussel's    System    of    Typewriting 
Telegraphy. 

After  several  years  of  experiment,  Willis  J. 
Roussel  of  New  Orleans  has  developed  a  system 
of  mechanical  telegraphy  which,  he  asserts,  can 
he  supplied  at  a  cost  barely  exceeding  that  of  a 
typewriter,  and  which  will  perform  satisfactorily 
the  work  for  which  it  is  designed.  The  United 
States  Patent  Office  has  issued  to  Mr.  Roussel 
several  patents  covering  the  system.  The  inven- 
tions consist  of  a  transmitter,  Morse  register  and 
electrically  operated  typewriter.  The  messages  can 
be  transmitted  in  both  the  Morse  signals  and 
ordinary    letters,    the    typewriter    printing    the    tele- 


WEsTERN    electrician 

tions  must  necessarily  be  worked  in  pairs,  i.  e., 
the  sending  and  receiving  office  must  be  equipped 
with  the  same  instruments.  This  doubles  the  ex- 
penditure, as  well  as  the  office  force,  and  nat- 
urally if  the  cost  of  such  apparatus  is  prohibitive, 
and  expert  electricians  are  needed  to  operate  them, 
there  can  be  no  economy,  but  on  the  contrary  an 
increase  in  the  expense  of  handling  telegrams. 
With  Mr.  Roussel's  invention  this  has  been  spe- 
cially looked  after.  Each  instrument  can  be  op- 
erated separately.  He  can  equip  a  station  or  office 
commensurately  with  the  amount  of  business  it 
will    he    called    upon   to    perform.     Anyone    can    op- 


March  17,  190S 

miller  having  a  keyboard  which  is  preferably  simi- 
lar to  that  employed  in  connection  with  type- 
writers, and  each  key  of  which  is  connected  in 
a  novel  manner  to  a  rotary  disk  having  contact 
plates  upon  the  periphery  of  such  lengths  and  so 
spaced  apart  as  to  indicate  in  the  Morse  alphabet 
the  character  designated  upon  the  key  connected 
therewith.  These  contact  plates  are  electrically 
connected  with  one  wire  of  the  circuit,  while  a 
contact  roller  bears  upon  the  periphery  of  the  disk 
normally  at  a  non-conducting  point,  and  is  elec- 
trically connected  with  the  other  wire  of  the  cir- 
cuit. It  is  therefore  obvious  that  when  the  disk 
is  revolved  by  depressing  the  key  all  parts  of 
the    periphery    will    contact    with    the    roller,    and 


grams  ready,  for  delivery  upon  receipt,  while  the 
Morse  register  records  the  signals  on  a  tape.  The 
transmitter  will,  it  is  said,  permit  of  an  average 
minimum  speed  in  transmission  of  go  words  a 
minute  without  any  strain  on  the  part  of  the  op- 
erator. 

"There  is  no  branch  of  invention,"  says  Mr. 
Roussel,  "which  has  been  more  neglected  in  the 
way  of  improvements,  than  mechanical  telegraphic 
transmission.  Since  Morse  introduced  the  'key' 
and  'sounder'  system,  some  60  years  ago,  this  art 
has  remained  practically  unchanged.  A  few  in- 
ventors have  endeavored  to  substitute  mechanical 
devices  for  this  purpose,  but  it  appears  that  their 
efforts  have  not  met  with  success,  and  this  for 
various  reasons.  Some  inventions  are  very  costly 
and  complicated,  requiring  efficient  manipulation 
and  maintenance,  which  renders  them  impractical 
from  a  commercial  standpoint,  while  others  have 
aimed  to  secure  great  speed  in  transmission,  which 
is  practically  impossible  on  long  circuits.  In  a 
telegraphic  circuit  you  have  but  one  wire  to  trans- 
mit every  different  signal  or  letter  of  the  alphabet, 


l'K"V]'MF\]      IN     Mi:.    HANk'AI-    TK  1 .  K<  ,  K  A  1'H  V 


erate    and    care    for    the    apparatus    without    any 
previous    knowledge    of    telegraphy. 

The  transmitting  device,  which  is  shown  in  Figs. 
I  and  3,  is  provided  with  a  keyboard  similar  to 
that  of  a  typewriter.  The  depression  of  a  key 
will  revolve  a  disk  having  contact  poles  that  cause 
the  armatures  of  the  receiver  to  vibrate,  as  the 
tape  is  being  drawn  through  the  sounder,  and  the 
dots  and  dashes  are  traced  by  the  fountain  at- 
tached thereto.  Wjth  the  printing  of  telegrams 
in  the  ordinary  letters,  the  operation  is  somewhat 
similar,  although  requiring  a  differently  con- 
structed receiver.  This  receiver  is  built  on  the 
principle  of  a  typewriter  (see  Fig.  2)  which  prints 
from  a  typewheel.  The  disks,  as  they  are  ener- 
gized by  the  depression  of  a  key  on  the  trans- 
mitter, cause  the  armature  to  release  the  type- 
wheel,  and  the  motor  travels  the  wheel  the  dis- 
tances at  which  the  various  letters  are  brought 
into  contact  with  the  platen  of  the  typewriter,  and 
after  printing  the  letter  it  is  mechanically  re- 
turned to  its  original  starting  point.  There  is 
also  a  mechanism  by  which  the  paper  is  brought 
into  alignment  at  the  end  of  each  line,  as  well 
as  one  for  the  spacing  between  words  and  the 
changing   of   the    line    when    completed.     These    in-  ' 


the  proper  combination  of  dots  and  dashes  will 
be    promptly    and    quickly    transmitted. 

Fig.  2  is  a  vertical  section  through  one  of  the 
typewriter  receivers.  A  motor  on  top  of  the 
casing  continuously  rotates  the  gear,  which  is  con- 
nected to  a  tubular  shaft.  A  wheel  is  mounted 
loosely  upon  the  shaft,  carrying  on  its  periphery 
projecting  type.  The  wheel  may  be  locked  to  the 
shaft  by  means  which  are  operated  by  an  electro- 
magnet. 

The  magnets  (20),  when  energized  will  attract 
the  armature  (19).  This  will  cause  a  rod  (18) 
to    slip    downward,    compressing    spring    (21),    and 


and  to  actuate  this  current  so  as  to  give  the 
instrument  the  necessary  impulse  to  register  each 
and  every  letter  or  symbol  is  a  proposition  not 
easily  solved." 

The  success  of  such  a  system  rests  on  the  cost 
of  equipment  to  the  users,  so  that  it  can  be  lib- 
erally applied  wherever  a  telegraphic  service  is 
wanted.     It    must    be    considered    that    such    inven- 


struments  are  combined  to  work  either  on  a  tele- 
graph line  or  wireless  circuit,  making  it  possible 
to.  meet  all  emergencies  required  in  the  trans- 
mission of  messages  by  electrical  currents.  Fig. 
4  shows  the  attachment  by  which  the  message  is 
recorded  in  Morse  characters  on  a  strip  of  tape. 
Taking  up  the  transmitter  a  little  more  in  de- 
tail, by  consulting  Figs.  1  and  3.  it  will  be  seen 
that    the    invention    consists    in    providing    a    trans- 


FIG.   4 


lever  (17)  will  slide  the  sleeve  (n)  upward  into 
engagement  with  the  serrated  face  of  the  cone 
(28).  The  sleeve  and  cone  will  be  placed  into 
engagement  before  the  pawl  is  pressed  downward 
out  of  engagement  with  the  teeth  (24)  on  flange 
of  the  typewheel  (26),  and  therefore  the  wheel 
will  be  held  against  movement  and  the  motor  (2) 
stopped  until  the  downward  movement  of  armature 
is  stopped.  As  soon  as  the  limit  of  this  move- 
ment of  the  armature  has  been  reached  the  pawl 
will  become  disengaged  from  the  teeth,  the  con- 
tinued movement  thereof  being  permitted  by  a 
spring  cushion  which  is  interposed  between  the 
ends  of  the  spindle  (12).  When  the  teeth  are 
released  from  the  pawl,  the  motor  will  promptly 
rotate  the  wheel  (26)  and  cause  the  flexible  strip 
(31)  to  be  wound  upon  the  grooved  flange  (29), 
thereby  raising  weight  (33).  Simultaneously  with 
the  lowering  of  rod  (18)  and  the  operation  of 
the  typewheel  the  plunger  (49)  is  drawn  down- 
ward and  plunger  (50)  is  pressed  upward.  The 
teeth  of  the  ratchets  (47)  are  so  shaped  that  when 
plunger  (50)  comes  upward  into  contact  there- 
with it  will  force  the  ratchets  longitudinally,  and 
thereby  raise  the  weight.  Rod  (60)  is  also  moved 
upward  with  plunger  (50),  and  pawl  (62)  is 
caused   to   slip   over   a   tooth   of   the   ratchet   wheel 


IJ.  I',"'. 


if, 1 1      I  lie    pai  i      n  ill    I"'    I"  lil    i"    llii 
witl,    lb,     typewlucl    rotating,    until    the    'Ii 
l„  ,M    i ,  turned   In  il     nnrnial   |in 

;n,,|   il,,    ha     Im  ii   brol  ■  if   l  '  i  ■  ■  ■ 

,  ,n    in"    i  1m     cm  rent      \       n 

broken,  llii      i (21)   tlirnv      j 

1 1 agncts,    anil    llic    pawl    1 

,. ,,,,  mi  ni    H  Hli    ■■    lonlli    mi    |i -    tin     1   1110  al 

,,1      lei  vr    (11)     from    eng; il     t  ill]    tin     ci  11 

(38)    and    stop  .   Iltc    ai  lioi 1 itoi    mil  il    lln 

leevi    and  1 1  I1.11  •    I me  ,: '"  'I       I'll 

I,,,    1     i  topped   for  a     uffii  icnl   pci  iod   bj    llii .   pawl 

lo  pi  mill   ill.-  platen   (78),  with  the  papi  1    II 

1,,     ,     throw  11    again  1    the    type    (27),    which    ha 

I  ecu    brought    into    proper    po:  iti 11    n  lation    to 

il,,     plati  11,      I  1 1    Hi'     plati  11 

cured    in    the    following    manner:     Wliei I    (18) 

>.,  ,     upward,    propelled      bj        pi  ing     (21),     Ihi 

ni I  ol    Ii    ei        1 1    1      wung  downwai 

paw  I  (62)  with  it.  As  this  paw  I  1  in 
engagement  with  the  ratchet  wheel  (64),  it  will 
cause  the  cam  wheel  (68)  to  rotate,  and  one  ol 
[he  projections  1 69)  will  come  into  contai  1  with 
Mi,  fronl  flange  (41)  of  the  ba  e  plate  1 40)  and 
force  11  and  the  platen  inward,  thercbj   comprc    ing 

the    springs     1  |.s  1.      I  his     entire     opera! take 

place  during  the  time  in  w  hich  tin  type  u  hci  I  1 
In  1,1   1,\    the  pawl,   and  as  soon  as   the     leevi    drop 

mil    "I"   engagenienl    with   the   c the    weigh!    will 

return  the  wheel  lo  its  normal  position,  uch  move 
im m  being  permitted  by  the  spring  pawl,  which 
allows  the  teeth  to  slip  under  when  moving  down 
ward. 


lining  Ii 

cotta    trimming 

in   tin    '•    1 

mid  ll'«,r   level    and    froi 

the  other  cam 

posit    1 1 


• 


Rubbish  Incinerating  Plant  for  Lighting 
Williamsburgh  Bridge  in  New  York. 

Light  for  the  Williamsburgh  Bridge  in  New 
York  city  is  now  being  furnished  by  a  new  rubbish- 
incinerating  plant  at  the  fool  of  Delancey  Street, 
the  plan!  being  under  the  joint  control  of  the 
bridge  and  street-cleaning  departments  of  the  city. 
I  lie  plant  is  not  strictly  a  garbage-burning  plant, 
only  the  more  combustible  materials  collected  by  the 
Street-cleaning  department  such  as  waste  paper, 
boxes,  discarded  furniture,  etc.,  being  used  under 
tile  boilers. 

'The  station  as  described  in  the  Iron  Age  com- 
prises  two  detached  brick  buildings  located  at  the 
foot  <>f  Delancey  Street  under  the  Manhattan  span 
nl  the  Williamsburgh  Bridge.  The  larger  contains 
the  rubbish-handling  machinery  and  the  boilers  and 
their  incinerators;  the  smaller  contains  the  en- 
gines, condensers,  generators,  storage  batteries, 
switchboard,  etc.  Fig.  1  is  a  plan  of  the  inciner- 
ating plant  showing  the  relative  location  of  the 
apparatus. 

There  are  two  Stirling  boilers  of  200  horsepower 
each,    one    having   74    square    feet   of   grate    surface 


FIG.    2.       CROSS-SEi    riON     III! .11    INCINERATORS   OF 

dow  n  the  ramp  on  the  in  jidi    and  oul   a!   thi    f I 

( Ii ,  iipi  ing  the  centi  r  of  thi    buildii  g 
ing   from   the    front    wall   i<>   the   ton   of  the   Bring 
platform   is  an  endless   inclined  belt  conveyor,    178 
feet   long  by    four    feet   wide,   built  by  the  Jeffrey 
Manufacturing    Company.     The    apron    is    made    up 
of    flights    of    steel,    No.    12    gauge,    double  I 
each    six    inches    long    by    four    feet    wide, 
flight  has  a  side  guard  six   inches  high,   so   shaped 
at    the    ends   as    to    permit    turning   of    the    ipi 
wheels   without   leaving  an   opening   I"    ■■ 

Fig.  2  shows  a  cross-section  through  the  incin- 
erators. 

The  incinerator  is  a  fire-brick  arched  chamber  13 
feet  long  by  four  feet  seven  inches  wide  and  six 
feet  high.  The  fire-brick  lining  is  laid  up  independ- 
ent of  the  red-brick  outer  walls,  so  as  to  leave 
an  air  space  between.  The  tops  of  the  cells  and 
flues  are  made  of  arch  fire  brick  and  the  space  be- 
tween the  side  walls  and  arches  is  filled  with  clean 
ashes.     On  the  stoking  side  of  the  furnace  are  cast- 


FLANT    AT    WILLIAM:  VOBK. 

of  2;   per  cent,    for  1  '.  arc  mounted 

on   the  engine  shaft   with  an  outboard  bearing  and 
coupling. 

The   leads    from   thi  ire   laid   in  tile 

ducts    underground    and    connect    with    the    switch- 
and    from    the    latter    to    the    bottom    of   the 
■■■r   of   the    bridge.     There   ai 
ducts   from   each   generator   i"   the   switchboard,    12 
from  the  switchboard  to  the  tower  and  two 
incinerator  building.    Irrom  the  bottom  of  thi 
five  pipe  ducts  extend  to  the  top  01  the  bridgi 
Provision   is  also  made   for   lighting  both  buildings. 

The  plant  was  designed  by  II.  de  B.  Parsons, 
consulting  engineer  to  the  Department  of  Street 
Cleaning,   and   erected   under   his   supervision. 


Statements  have  keen  made  to  the  effect  that 
electricity  obtained  through  the  destruction 
York's  garbage  would  be'  sufficient  to  light  its 
streets  and  public  buildings.  As  pointed  out,  how- 
ever, by  an  anti-municipal  ownership  publication, 
the  plant  of  the  Williamsburgh  Bridge  com 
one-fifth  of  the  available  combustible  garbage  and 
its  capacity  is  taxed  to  the  utmost  to  light  the 
bridge.  The  two  roadways  of  this  bridge  have  a 
combined  length  of  three  miles.  It  is  readily 
seen.  then,  that  the  total  combustible  garbage 
would  light  but  15  miles  of  roadway,  a  very  small 
distance  as  compared  with  the  000  miles  of  streets 
in    New    York. 


and  the  other  113  square  feet.  Each  has  2.000 
square  feet  of  effective  heating  surface.  Each 
boiler  is  provided  with  an  incinerator  arranged  to 
consume  the  rubbish.  Provision  :s  made  for  firing' 
either  boiler  with  coal  in  the  usual  way  if  its  incin- 
erator should  become  disabled,  or  if  it  should  be 
impossible  to  deliver  the  rubbish  for  a  time.  Gen- 
erally speaking,  the  boilers  are  set  in  the  usual  way, 
the  incinerating  furnaces  merely  serving  as  an 
addition  to  the  unit.  There  is  no  change  in  the 
construction ;  the  gases  of  combustion  pass  from  the 
incinerator  through  the  boiler  furnace  and  tubes 
to  the  stack.  The  grates  burn  from  30  to  40  pounds 
of  rubbish  per  hour  per  square  foot  of  surface  and 
the  evaporation  from  and  at  212  degrees  is  V/i 
pounds  of  water  per  pound  of  fuel. 


iron  fronts  that  carry  the  guides  for  the  doors. 
The  door  is  arranged  to  lift  vertically  in  grooves 
and.  is  balanced  by  cast-iron  weights  hung  on 
chains  passing  over  grooved  pulleys.  The  flue 
dampers  are  made  of  fire  tile  banded  with  iron  and 
work  in  grooves  built  in  the  masonry  and  are  lifted 
by    chains    and    differential    pulleys. 

Combustion  in  the  boilers  is  nearly  perfect — so 
good  in  fact  that  it  is  impossible  under  ordinary 
working  conditions  to  detect  any  smoke  issuing 
from  the  top  of  the  stack.  When  the  rubbish  is 
delivered  damp,  or  possibly  wet,  there  is  percepti- 
ble a  slight  yellowish  smoke  from  the  stack,  but 
this  is  never  dense,  no  matter  what  the  weather 
may  be. 

Generating   apparatus    is    contained    in    a    building 


Adjustment  of  the    D'Arsonval    Galvan- 
ometer,for  Ballistic  Work. 

Frank  Wenner  recently  read  a  paper  before  the 
New  York  meeting  of  the  American  Physical  So- 
ciety describing  a  method  of  adjusting  a  D' 
val  galvanometer  so  that  it  could  be  used  for  bal- 
listic work.  The  following  brief  description  of  his 
method  of  procedure  is  of  interest : 

The  coil  is  stripped  of  its  dampers,  so  that  its 
motion  is  but  little  damped  when  on  open  circuit 
The  relation  between  the  coil  constant,  the  suspen- 
sion constant,  the  strength  of  the  field,  the  moment 
of  inertia  of  the  coil  and  the  resistance  of  the  coil 
is  so  adjusted  that  the  coil  comes  to  the  zero  posi- 
tion in  the  least  time  without  swinging  past  it.  It 
is  also  desirable  to  have  the  period  of  the  coil  as 
large  as  15  or  20  seconds.  To  make  the  period  as 
large  as  this  often  requires  the  use  of  a  small 
suspension  or  an  increase  in  the  moment  of  inertia 
of  the  coil.  Unless  the  coil  has  a  very'  large  moment 
of  inertia  in  proportion  to  the  copper  in  it,  or  swings 
in  a  very  weak  field,  adjustment  may  be  completed 
by  putting  the  proper  resistance  in  scries  with  the 
coil.  This  resistance  may  be  determined  by  using 
different  values  and  observing  the  swing  of  the 
coil  past  the  zero  when  released  from  a  certain 
deflection.  If  resistances  are  plotted  as  ordinate? 
and  the  swings  past  the  zero  as  abscissas.  t: : 
where  the  curve  meets  the  "v"  axis  gives  the  re- 
sistance. 

With  this  adjustment  the  ballistic  const:.- 
(base  of  Naperian  log.1  times  as  large  with  the 
n  closed  circuit  as  when  on  open  circuit.  The 
constant  may  be  determined  by  the  solenoid  method, 
a  condenser  and  standard  cell  or  from  its  figure 
of  merit  and  the  free  period  of  the  coil.  The  gal- 
vanometer may  be  used  either  on  closed  or  open 
circuit  work  with  the  same  constant  except  the 
factor  e.  When  used  on  condenser  work  the  coil 
may  lie  quickly  brought  to  the  zero  by  closing  the 
coil"  circuits.  When  used  on  closed-circuit  work. 
-uch  as  iron-testing  and  induction  experiments,  the 
coil  returns  to  the  zero  position  without  attention 
about  as  fast  as  readings  can  be  taken  and  re: 


2l6 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


March  17,  1906 


WESTERN   ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY. 


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CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

Progress  of  the  Chicago  Drainage  Canal  Power  Development. 

Illustrated 211,  212,  : 

Arc-lamp  Posts  May  Be  Beautiful  as  Well  as  Useful.     Illus- 

American  Street  and  Interurban  Railway  Association : 

Roussel's  System  of  Typewriting  Telegraphy.     Illustrated. 214,  : 
Rubbish  Incinerating  Plant  for  Lighting  Williamsburgh  Bridge 

in  New  York.     Illustrated 

Adjustment  of    the   D'Arsonval    Galvanometer  for    Ballistic 

Work 

Editorial ■ 

Illuminating  Engineers  Discuss  Gas   Mantles   and   Luminous 

Large  Gifts  to  Institute  Building  Fund : 

Power  of  Chicago   Council  to  Fix  Electric-light  Rate  Ques- 
tioned  

Susquehanna  River  Power  Development : 

Recent  Development  with  the  Oscillograph.     Illustrated : 

99-year  Law  Has  No  Value  to  the  Chicago  Street-railway  Com- 
panies  218,  : 

Moore  System  of  Electric  Tube  Lighting.     Illustrated : 

Small  Power  Motors.     Illustrated : 

A  New  Design  of  Direct-current  Fan  Motor.     Illustrated.. 219.  : 

Alcohol  in  the  Arts : 

Obituary.-  Deaths  of  William  W.  Ames,    Franklin   Brooks. 

Prof.  Popoff  and  James  Partridge : 

Tourcoing  International  Exposition : 

A  Self-exciting  Alternator.     By   E.    F.    Alexanderson.      Illus- 

An  Attractive  Catalogue.     Illustrated : 

St.  Joseph  River  Dam  and  Power  Project  to  Be  Carried  Out.,  ; 

Municipal  Water  Plant  Too  Expensive : 

Book  Table : 

Bell's  "Electric  Power  Transmission" : 

Herrick's  "Electric-railway  Handbook" : 

Books  Received : 

Alarm  Gongs  for  Patrol  Boxes : 

Telephone  Engineering.     By  J.  J.  Carty.     Part  III.      (Discus- 
Frivolous  Use  of  the  Telephone  in  Washington.  D.  C. ....... .'  ; 

Shopping  by  Telephone : 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes : 

Telephone  News  from  the  Northwest : 

Indiana  Telephone  Items : 

Telephone  Men : 

New  Companies : 

Independent  Telephony  in  Western  Massachusetts : 

General  Telephone  News : 

Manufacturers  and  Dealers : 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence 225.  226,  : 

Great  Britain 225.  '• 

New  York : 

New  England : 

Southeastern  States : 

Ohio : 

Indiana 226,  : 

Michigan 1 

Personal : 

Electric  Lighting : 

Electric  Railways 22?,  : 

Power  Transmission : 

Publications : 

Societies  and  Schools : 

MisceUaneous^! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!". "228!  a 
Trade  News : 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record 229.  '• 


DATES  AHEAD. 

Central  Electric  Railway  Association  (next  meeting),  In- 
dianapolis, Ind.,   March  Z2d. 

Street  Railwav  Association  of  the  State  of  New  York  (next 
meeting),  Elmira.  X.  Y.,  March  20th. 

Ohio  Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  meeting), 
Columbus,    Ohio,    March   30th. 


When  Keats  wrote  his  famous  line,  "A  thing 
of  beauty  is  a  joy  forever,"  he  could  not  have  had 
the  remotest  idea  that  it  might,  in  the  future,  be 
aptly  applied  to  such  a  utilitarian  device  as  an  arc- 
lamp  post.  To  be  sure.  Sir  Humphry  Davy  had 
made  his  classic  demonstration  of  the  electric  arc; 
but  who  could  dream,  in  the  early  part  of  the  last 
century,  that  a  practical  arc  lamp  would  be  in- 
vented, to  be  followed  by  its  adaptation  to  a  scheme 
of  street  lighting  which  would  make  all  predeces- 
sors "pale  their  ineffectual  fires"?  But  the  poet's 
beautiful  thought,  beautifully  expressed,  is,  never- 
theless, as  applicable  to  the  support  of  a  modern 
arc  lamp  as  to  a  Grecian  urn.  Unquestionably,  the 
lamp  post  should  be  as  beautiful  as  it  is  prac- 
ticable to  make  it.  We  therefore  take  pleasure  in 
commending  the  work  in  this  direction  of  the 
Municipal  Art  League,  and  in  calling  attention  to 
the  recent  prize  competition,  of  which  an  account 
is  given  on  another  page. 


while  the  companies  paid  $96,061.30  in  damages. 
The  commission  regards  these  statistics  as  signifi- 
cant, as  well  it  may.  Not  only  is  the  number  of 
deaths  and  injuries  on  the  steam  roads  excessive, 
but  the  damages  exacted  seem  to  be  too  small 
in  comparison  with  what  the  interurbans  were  made 
to    pay. 


Indiana  Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  meet- 
ing), Indianapolis,   Ind.,  May   17th. 

National  Electric  Light  Association  (annual  convention), 
Atlantic  City,   N.  J.,  June  5th  to  8th,  inclusive. 

National  Electrical  Contractors'  Association  (annual  con- 
vention), Cleveland.  Ohio,  July  18th. 

Ohio  Electric  Light  Association  (annual  convention),  Put- 
in-Bay, Ohio,  August  21st  to  23d. 


The  number  and  extent  of  railroad  accidents 
in  the  United  States  form  a  characteristic  of  the 
national  life  which  every  thoughtful  American 
views  with  dismay.  Every  reasonable  precaution 
which  will  make  railroad  travel  more  safe  should 
be  welcomed  and  adopted.  The  subject  is  one 
which  has  a  constantly  increasing  importance  to 
the  electric-railway  man  as  the  electrics  encroach 
more  and  more  on  the  field  hitherto  held  by 
the  steam  railroad,  or  creates  new  fields  for  itself. 
But  it  is  the  steam  railroad,  of  course,  which  is 
responsible  for  the  greater  part  of  the  serious 
accidents  which  give  the  United  States  such  an 
unenviable   notoriety. 

In  Indiana  a  few  days  ago  there  was  a  confer- 
ence between  the  state  railroad  commission  and 
the  signal  engineers  of  the  railroads  which  may 
have  results  of  some  importance.  The  meeting 
had  particularly  to  do  with  crossing  accidents,  in 
which,  of  course,  the  signal  men  are  particularly 
interested,  and  was  attended  also  by  a  number  of 
interurban  traction  men,  who  are  also  concerned 
in  the  matter  of  railroad  crossings.  Considerable 
discussion  was  devoted  to  "derails."  These  are 
safeguards  placed  where  one  railroad  crosses  an- 
other. They  are  set,  automatically  or  otherwise, 
so  that  a  train  approaching  while  another  is  on 
the  crossing  will  be  derailed  and  a  collision 
averted.  Some  of  the  railroads  have  placed  what 
are  called  "guard  rails"  at  the  side  of  these  "de- 
rails," thus  preventing  the  ditching  of  a  train. 
Complaints  have  come  to  the  commission  that  these 
"guard  rails"  take  away  the  usefulness  of  the 
"derail"  by  preventing  the  ditching  of  the  train 
and  often  allow  the  engine  to  bump  along  on  the 
ties  and  into  the  train  on  the  crossing.  Under  these 
circumstances  the  question  .is,  How  far  back 
from  the  crossing  should  the  derails  be  placed? 
The  commissioners  insisted  that  the  law  implied 
that  they  should  be  placed  500  feet  distant  from 
the  crossing,  while  the  engineers  asserted  that  300 
feet  was  sufficient.  500  feet  of  derail  being  unnec- 
essary and  expensive.  To  this  the  commissioners 
retorted  that  a  certain  railroad  had  proclaimed 
it  to  be  cheaper  to  kill  a  few  people  now  and  then 
and  pay  damages  than  to  lay  500  feet  of  derail  or 
elevate  tracks.  The  commissioners  told  the  engi- 
neers that  the  guard  rail  would  have  to  be  done 
away  with  except  in  cases  where  special  permission 
is  granted  the  railroad  to  use  them  at  crossings. 

Complaint  was  made  to  the  commission  by 
the  interurban  men  because  the  present  law  com- 
pels interurban  roads  to  put  in  at  their  own  cost 
interlocking  switches  when  they  build  across  steam 
lines,  but  does  not  require  the  same  of  steam  lines 
when  they  cross  interurban  lines.  The  electric 
railways  will  insist  on  a  change  in  the  law  so 
as  to  operate  alike  or  divide  the  expense  between 
the  two  roads  outside  of  cities. 

It  was  shown  that  during  1905  89  persons  were 
killed  and  1,782  injured  from  causes  beyond  their 
own  control,  and  265  persons  killed  and  2,027  in- 
jured by  reason  of  their  own  carelessness,  on  the 
steam  lines  in  Indiana,  and  that  $37,548.93  was  paid 
in  damages  by  the  companies.  And  during  the 
same  period  one  person  was  killed  bj'  the  inter- 
urban cars  from  causes  beyond  his  own  control  and 
60  injured,  while  39  persons  were  killed  and  4,286 
were   injured   by   reason   of  their   own   carelessness, 


One  good  feature  of  the  recent  decision  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court  in  the  Chicago 
street-railway  case  is  that  the  much-talked-about 
99-year  act  is  laid  away,  in  practical  effect  at  least, 
in  the  limbo  of  things  that  were.  Anything  that 
helps  to  clear  the  traction  situation  in  Chicago  is 
a  blessing,  and  the  talk  about  the  alleged  99-year 
extension  had  become,  in  fact,  rather  tiresome. 
The  Supreme  Court  now  finds  that  the  99-year 
Act  was  constitutional,  but  it  extended  only  to  the 
corporate  life  of  the  companies.  It  did  not  extend 
to  a  single  one  of  their  franchises  existing  at  the 
time  it  was  enacted  or  since  passed,  nor  did  it 
limit  the  right  of  the  City  Council  to  grant  fran- 
chises for  street  railways  on  such  conditions  as 
to  time  and  location  as  it  might  see  fit.  The  title 
to  every  street  occupied  by  the  railroads  in  tfie 
city  of  Chicago  today  is  to  be  determined  by  the 
terms  of  the  franchises  under  which  such  title 
originally  was  granted.  Many  of  these  franchises 
have  expired;  others  will  expire  in  a  few  years. 
All  doubt  or  threat  caused  by  any  alleged  99-year 
extension  is  now  removed,  and  the  situation  is 
simplified    to   that    extent. 

Almost  simultaneous^*  with  the  Supreme  Court 
decision  came  the  making  public  of  the  Dalrymple 
report,  which  Mayor  Dunne  first  sought  so  eagerly 
and  then  so  resolutely  tried  to  suppress  when  he 
had  it  and  found  that  it  did  not  chime  with  his 
theories.  However,  the  Chicago  City  Council  got 
the  report  despite  the  mayor.  But  Mr.  Dalrymple's 
views  had  become  known  notwithstanding  the 
mayor's  secretive  policy,  and  so  the  publication  of 
the  report  causes  no  surprise.  In  brief,  Mr.  Dalrym- 
ple holds  that  while  "it  is  now  an  accepted  prin- 
ciple in  Britain  that  all  public  utilities,  such  as 
water,  gas,  electric  light,  street  railways,  etc.,  be 
under  the  control  of  the  municipality,"  and  while 
his  sympathies  are  entirely  on  the  side  of  municipal 
ownership,  he  is  convinced  that  in  Chicago  a  seri- 
ous attempt  should  be  made  to  arrive  at  a  settle- 
ment with  the  street-railway  companies.  The  pres- 
ent companies  should  be  merged  in  one,  with  one 
fare,  no  downtown  loops  and  no  trailers.  Present 
equipment  should  be  mostly  thrown  in  the  scrap 
heap  and  a  new  and  modern  system  built.  The 
new  operating  company  might  have  a  franchise 
of,  say,  20  years,  the  city  to  have  the  right  to 
purchase  at,  say,  five-year  intervals.  A  percentage 
of  gross  receipts  should  be  paid  into  the  city  treas- 
ury.    Complete    annual    reports    should    be    made. 

But  if  the  companies  prove  unreasonable,  start 
the  municipal  system  on  each  line  as  the  fran- 
chises expire.  But,  says  Mr.  Dalrymple,  "I  should 
be  sorry,  however,  were  you  forced  to  take  such 
a  step,  as,  speaking  generally,  I  should  say,  from 
my  knowledge  and  experience  of  what  it  means 
to  operate  a  municipal  street-railway  system,  that 
the  municipalities  of  the  United  States  are  not  yet 
quite  ready  to  successfully  undertake  this  work." 

As  to  practical  operation,  no  other  system  should 
be  thought  of  at  the  present  time  than  the  over- 
head trolley.  To  install  the  underground  trolley 
for  any  extent  would  be  a  "scandalous  waste  of 
money."  If  a  municipal  system  is  adopted,  the 
management  should  be  vested  in  a  small  commit- 
tee of  the  City  Council,  chosen  without  regard  to 
politics,  the  executive  duties  to  be  lodged  in  one 
permanent  officer.  Power  might  be  purchased  at 
first. 

Such  is  the  Dalrymple  report,  in  essence.  There 
is  nothing  startling  about  it — nothing  that  adds  to 
the  knowledge  or  gaiety  of  nations.  But  the  ad- 
vice is  honest  and,  in  the  main,  good,  and  the 
mayor  would  have  done  himself  more  credit  by 
accepting  it  than  by  pouting  over  it  as  he  did. 

But  speculations  as  to  what  the  mayor  might 
have  done  are  now  of  little  value.  The  question 
is  now  "up  to  the  people,"  who  will  vote  next 
month  on  the  proposed  authorization  of  $75,000,000 
worth  of  Mueller-law  certificates  to  finance  mu- 
nicipal   street    railways    in    Chicago. 


March  17.  1906 


ELE(   I  RK 


217 


Illuminating  Engineers  Discuss  Gas 
Mantles  and  Luminous  Arcs. 

'Il„.  monthly  meeting  of  the  Illuminating  1  ngi 
,,,  ,.|ii,r  Society  was  held  al  the  Edi  :on  Vuditorium 
New  York  city,  on  Friday,  March  9th,  with  Pn 
,l,ni  1.,  li,  Marks  in  H,,  chair.  Ii  wa  reported 
,1,,.  mcmbei  1  ■  i  1  •  now  numbci  192,  of  whom  90 
,v, ,,.  ,.in  of  town,  and  there  - I  pi  nding  appli 

I  .,!„,,, ..       \    i  uggestion    wa      1 1 l<  red    to 

mce|  in  1I1,'  new  United  Engineering  Building 
when  completed.  E.  I..  Elliott,  the  1  ■  rctary,  an 
[jounced  his  resignation  ami  changed  places  with 
In  \  II.  Eliott  is  mi,-  ,,f  ill,-  manager  ol  thi 
locicty.     The  possible  organizati f  a  branch  of 

h      ,  ,  1,1,    1,, 1    1    ,:  a;;,,   was    reported. 

lulni  (  ampbell,  president  of  the  Electric  Vuclil 
mg  Company,  Boston,  reported  thai  an  informal 
meeting  to  organize  a  Boston  branch  would  be 
held  mii  March  20th,  with  a  probable  mi  mbi  1  ship 
,,f  (in.  TIh-  papers  read  al  the  New  York  meel  ng 
would    lie   discussed. 

Victor  Rettich  of  New  York  read  a  paper  on 
ii,  "Inverted  Incandescent  Gas  Burner,"  in  which 
he  described  the  various  existing  types  of  downward 
lamps.  Inventors,  lie  said,  were  imitating  the  elei 
trie  bulb  and  had  mil  paid  sufficient  attention  to 
the  nature  of  the  mantle.  In  New  York  the  prob- 
lem of  using  inverted  lamps  was  considerable,  be- 
cause the  23-candJepower  gas  was  delivered  al  a  low 
pressure,    whereas    in    Europe    the    candlepowcr    was 

II  and  the  pressure  higher.  The  inverted  lamp 
acted  admirably  in  the  hands  of  experts.  fcul  some- 
how the  American  user  had  not  taken  kindly  to  it, 
ami  the  New  York  lire  underwriters  opposed  it  be- 
cause sundry  fires  had  been  traced  In  particles  of 
hot  carbon  falling  from  the  mantle.  The  defects 
of   the   downward   incandescent   lamp   were: 

1     hanger  of  falling  particles. 

2.  Carbonization 

3.  Flashing  back. 

4.  Delicacy  of  mantle  suspension. 

5.  Flickering  light  at  low  pressure. 

6.  Discoloration  of  chandelier  arms. 

7.  In  many  cases  it  is  difficult  to  attach  iamps 
so  that  they  will  be  gas  tight  when  set  in  the  re- 
quired direction. 

8.  The  methods  of  gas  regulation  are  too  coarse, 
a  much  more  delicate  way  being  required. 

9.  Liability  of  breaking  mantles  when  glassware 
is   removed. 

10.  There  are  variations  in  the  diameters  of 
globe  rings  so  that  the  glassware  is  not  inter- 
changeable with  the  different  makes   of  burners. 

11.  There  are  variations  in  the  means  of  affixing 
mantles  to  burners. 

12.  Too  much  heat  is  thrown  off  in  proportion 
to  the  amount  of  gas  used.  He  thought  that  ulti- 
mately a  good  reliable  lamp  would  be  evolved  that 
would  use  three  cubic  feet  of  gas  per  hour  and 
give  60  candlepower,  or  120  candlepower  with  re- 
flectors. 

E.  L.  Elliott,  New  Y'ork  city,  next  read  a  paper 
on  the  "Luminous  Arc."  He  remarked  that  from 
the  soft  charcoal  sticks  of  Davy  to  the  modern 
compressed  carbon  was  a  long  stride  in  arc-lamp 
methods,  and  another  stride  was  seen  in  the  use 
of  the  copper-plated  carbon  rods  for  the  so-called 
"flaming"  arc.  Although  the  invention  of  the  en- 
closed arc  lamp  was  not  theoretically  an  improve- 
ment, yet  its  higher  practical  efficiency  drew  at- 
tention to  the  fact  that  there  was  such  a  thing 
as  quality  in  light  as  in  everything  else.  With 
improved  methods  of  measuring  illumination,  the 
shortcomings  of  the  enclosed  arc  were  becoming 
more    generally   recognized. 

Research  had  perfected  the  carbon  with  ref- 
erence to  withstanding  disintegration,  and  ex- 
perimenters were  now  looking  in  an  entirely  op- 
posite direction,  and  it  was  found  that  there  was 
a  higher  illuminative  efficiency  from  incandescent 
gases  than  from  the  incandescence  of  amorphous 
carbon.  This  fact  was  recognized  as  long  ago  as 
1836  in  England,  but  it  had  been  recently  redis- 
covered by  Bremer.  By  introducing  salts  of  cal- 
cium into  the  carbon,  the  arc  itself  was  rendered 
luminous.  These  salts  both  lowered  the  resistance 
of  the  carbons  and  allowed  the  rods  to  be  fartiier 
apart.  This  type  of  lamp  had  been  designated 
as  "flame-arc,"  though  it  would  be  more  scientific 
to  call  it  the  "luminous  arc."  The  resulting  light 
was  of  different  quality  and  very  good  for  exterior 
use.  The  old  blue  light  was  easily  absorbed  in 
foggy  weather  or  in  the  smoke-laden  atmosphere 
of  cities.  Carbons  could  be  made  to  produce  dif- 
ferent colors,  and  the  white  luminous  arc  was  as 
near   to    sunlight    as    any    chemical    light    could    be. 

The  speaker  declared  that  the  luminous  arc  lamp 
was  five  times  more  efficient  than  the  enclosed-arc 
type.  The  price  of  the  carbons  was  higher,  but 
the  cost  of  carbons   per   candlepower-hour  was   the 


b 

!  '   lamp  in  whii 

1  he  real  i  irtu 

,    Ihc   quality    of   the 

Mr.    1 

1. limine,    in    a 

" " 

man  in:  nufncttn  of  from 

00  1 

1  "in    I.  ading   1  pi     of      in 
placed    ■  ■ 

W.    S.    Kellogg,    New    Yorl      ity,    read 
on  "Illuminatini 

Standpoint."     He     aid   thai    the    impro 
brilliancy  of  modern  lamp 

"i     light      1  he    m  inufi 

'■•.ill   givi    tou   thi     ame  light   for  half  the  money," 
bill    now    imi'l    of    th,  in    are    saving,    "We    v. 
win  double  thi  money."    There 

v.. 1     need   for  an  improved  method    if  rating. 

It   li'  '■  ir.fi    I Ii '  ■'!'  d  I       li 

pel  ■    togethi  r.    1  Icorge    'i.    Ramsdcll,    pre  idi  nl    of 

tin     R  mi  dell    1 1    1  amp    '  omp  tny,      lid    that 

he    was    as    optimistic    aboul    the    in 
de  1  .hi   'ii   nil.    1. .mi,  ,'-   Mr.  Rettich   » 
E.    C.    Brown    (New    York)    -aid    be    had    u 
first    inverted   lamp  ever   imported   int.    the    I 
Slates,  and   the   mantle  lasted   eight   months.     After 
some   heated   argument,   Mr.   Brown   was   forced  to 
admit    that    he   did    not    now    use    the    inverted    lamp 
extensively.     In    fact,    he    had    only    one    such    lamp 
in    use. 

Dr.  Clayton  11.  Sharp  of  the  New  York  Elec- 
trical Testing  Laboratory  said  that  the  action  of 
the  gas  mantle  and  the  action  of  the  hi 
electric  arc  were  identical.  In  the  former  the 
Hameless  heat  of  the  Bunsen  burner  was  converted 
into  light  by  the  mantle,  and  in  the  latter  the 
continuous  hot  gases  of  the  arc  were  converted 
by  the  metallic  earths.  The  composition  of  the 
mantle  was  restricted  to  about  99  per  cent,  of 
thoria  and  one  per  cent,  of  ceria.  Professor  Nich- 
ols had  suggested  that  the  action  was  catalytic. 
Professor  Rubens  of  Berlin  had  investigated  the 
distribution  of  energy  radiated  by  the  mantle,  and 
as  the  temperature  of  the  burner  and  the  mantle 
were  about  the  same,  there  was  little  loss  of  en- 
ergy. He  thought  that  the  luminous  arc  lamp,  as 
at  present  used  on  Broadway,  was  having  a  bad 
effect    on    general    electric    lighting. 

Dr.  Edward  L.  Nichols,  professor  of  physics, 
Cornell  University,  said  that  in  all  cases  of  lumi- 
nescence (i.  e.,  in  fluorescence  and  in  phospho- 
rescence), the  presence  of  two  elements  was  neces- 
sary. Temperature  was  the  controlling  factor,  for 
some  bodies  luminesced  at  the  temperature  of 
liquid  air,  and  others  in  the  Bunsen  flame.  The 
light  from  the  gas  mantle  extended  over  a  wider 
strength  of  the  spectrum  than  any  other  artificial 
illuminant. 

W.  D'A.  Ryan,  General  Electric  Company,  Lynn, 
Mass.,  produced  diagrams  of  the  light  curves  of 
the  Magnetite,  Bremer,  Excello,  Siemens  and 
Bausch  lamps.  The  first  four  gave  a  good  hori- 
zontal distribution  of  light  and  were  suitable  for 
street   use. 

It  was  decided  to  meet  in  New  \*ork  on  the 
second  Friday  in  each  month,  except  that  the  next 
meeting  will  be  on  April   12th.  D.  \Y.  W. 


Large  Gifts  to    Institute    Building   Fund. 

T.  C.  Martin,  chairman  of  the  land  and  building 
fund  of  the  American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engi- 
neers, announces  some  large  and  important  con- 
tributions to  this  fund,,  the  object  of  which  is  to 
raise  $200,CC0  for  the  land  in  New  York  city  on 
which  the  United  Engineering  Building,  given  by 
Mr.  Carnegie,  is  now  being  erected.  The  total 
cost  of  the  land  is  $540,000,  and  the  obligation  is 
divided  between  the  Electrical.  Mechanical  and 
Mining   Engineers. 

Mr.  Clarence  H.  Mackay,  president  of  the  Postal 
Telegraph-cable  Company,  has  given  $5,000  to  the 
fund,  accompanied  by  the  expression  of  hi?  in- 
terest in  the  building  as  a  center  whose  facilities 
will  be  available  to  the  various  bodies  of  tele- 
graphers. Mr.  U.  N.  Bethell  and  Mr.  J.  J.  Carty, 
members  of  the  committee,  have  advised  it,  on 
behalf  of  the  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company,  the  Western  Electric  Company,  the  New 
York  and  New  Jersey  Telephone  Company  and 
the  New  York  Telephone  Company,  that  these 
corporations  have  jointly  contributed  $25,000  to  the 


fund,    in 

■ 

■ 
malum  .  'ig   the 


Power  of  Chicago  Council   to  Fix  Elec- 
trlc-llght  Rates  Questioned. 
At  a  meeting  of  ti,.    I 
oil  and  electric   light 

ng   the 

central  I   there 

mutate    the    ral 

I  nwcalth  companies,  called    attention    to    an 

error     in     the     voluntary    rate-reducing     prop 

submitti 

week    previous.     By   making    tl 

shown  that  it  costs  the  comp 

watt-hour    and    upward    to    supply    jo    per    • 

its    customers. 

Mr.    Beale    then    -aid    to    tie-    committee:     "It    i- 
my   opinion    that    you    cannot    regulate   the   r. 
electric  light  only  so  far  as  the  company  is  willing 
that  you  should.     In  other  words,  you  cannot  touch 
our     rates     under    the    present     statute     unit 
agree    to    it.    On    a    large   part    of    our    bueil 

us  right  up  to  the  present  maximum  rate 
to  supply  current,  and  if  the  rate  were  lower  wc 
would  be  supplying  the  current  at  a  loss.  My  po- 
sition is  that  we  cannot  be  compelled  to  supply  any 
considerable  percentage  of  our  consumers  at  a  loss." 

The  assistant  corporation  counsel  thought  that 
the  city  can  fix  a  rate  below  the  cost  of  produc- 
tion of  current  furnished  to  a  large  number  of 
consumers.  He  said:  "It  costs  more  to  furnish 
current  to  certain  classes  of  consumers  than  it 
does  to  others,  and  the  company  admit-  it 
furnishing   electricity   below    thi  luction 

in  a  number  of  instances.  The  only  thing  to  be 
considered  by  the  committee  is  whether  the  com- 
pany can  produce  and  distribute  electric  current 
at  a  maximum  price  decided  upon  with  reasonable 
profit  to  the  company  upon  its  investment — con- 
sidering the  business  of  the  company  as  a  whole. 
The  courts  have  rendered  opinions  in  conformity 
with    my   view." 

City  Electrician  Carroll  and  Consulting  Engineer 
Bion  J.  Arnold  were  instructed  to  proceed  with 
their  inquiry  regarding  what  would  be  a  just  max- 
imum rate,  upon  the  theory'  that  the  corporation 
counsel's    opinion    is    correct. 


Susquehanna  River  Power  Develop- 
ment. 

A  bill  introduced  in  the  House  of  Delegates  at 
Annapolis.  Md..  amending  the  charter  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna Power  Company  is  said  to  be  the  fore- 
runner of  a  plan  for  the  consolidation  of  the  sev- 
eral power  plants  along  the  Susquehanna  River. 
The  bill,  if  it  passes,  will  permit  the  company  to 
increase  its  capital  stock  and  give  it  power  to  ac- 
quire property  and  change  the  location  and  designs 
of  any  part  of  its  system  of  works,  and  also  to 
construct  and  operate  industrial  plants.  One  part 
cf  the  measure  authorizes  the  company  to  use  its 
powers  and  franchises  to  establish  all  such  works, 
plants,  properties,  rights-of-way  and  transmission 
lines  which  may  be  required  for  its  corporate  pur- 
poses. 

The  authorized  capital  of  the  company  is  now 
$12,000,000.  and  much  of  the  stock  has  already 
been  issued.  Joseph  W.  Marsh  of  Pittsburg  is 
president  of  the  company  and  John  Gilmor  of  Bal- 
timore secretary. 

The  company  owns  large  tracts  of  land  in  Mary- 
land and  Pennsylvania  along  the  Susquehanna 
River,  and  it  is  proposed  to  build  a  power  plant 
on  the  stream  at  a  point  on  the  stream  at  a  point 
about  35  miles  from  Baltimore.  Work  has  never 
been  started  on  the  dam  to  be  built  across  the 
stream,  which,  it  is  said,  will  be  about  a  mile  long 
and  75  feet  high. 

Just  above  the  Susquehanna  Company's  property 
is  that  of  the  McCall  Ferry  Company,  whose 
projects  have  been  fully  described  in  the  Western 
Electrician.  This  concern  is  likewise  in  the  power 
business,  but  has  not  yet  put  its  plant  into  opera- 
tion. 


218 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  17,  1906" 


Recent   Development  with  the  Oscillo- 
graph. 

Much  interest  has  been  evinced  of  late  in  the 
electrical  instrument  known  as  the  oscillograph. 
This  device  may  be  most  readily  compared  to  the 
indicator  of  a  steam  engine,  and  the  photographic 
reproduction  of  the  wave  form  produced  by  its 
action  (.the  oscillogram)  has  its  most  exact  coun- 
terpart in  the  indicator  card.  Various  methods 
have  been  devised  by  different  manufacturers  to 
provide  a  satisfactory  method  of  observing  or  re- 
cording the  wave  forms  of  rapidly  varying  electric 
currents  and  pressures.  The  oscillograph  about  to 
be  described  is  a  compact  form  of  the  vibratiug- 
ioop  type,  manufactured  by  the  General  Electric 
Company    of    Schenectady,    N.    Y. 

This  oscillograph,  which  was  described  in  its 
experimental  form  in  the  Western  Electrician  of 
February  3d,  is  similar  to  a  d'Arsonval  galvano- 
meter, in  that  it  has  a  current-carrying  circuit, 
located  in  a  powerful  magnetic  field.  '1  he  part 
corresponding  to  the  moving  coil  in  the  galvano- 
meter is  replaced  by  two  small  moving  strips,  which 
also   act  as   a  suspension,   and  carry  the  mirror. 

In  a  light  tight  box  is  placed  a  three-element  gal- 
vanometer of  this  design.  Fig.  1  shows  the  parts 
with  box  removed.  Combined  with  this  are  de- 
vices for  viewing  or  photographically  recording 
current  and  electromotive-force  waves.  Each  gal- 
vanometer element,  or  vibrator,  consists  of  a  single 
loop  of  very  fine  ribben  suspended  vertically  in 
a  powerful  magnetic  field.  The  terminals  of  the 
galvonometer  are  the  ends  of  this  loop,  which  is 
held  at  its  lower  extremity  by  an  adjustable  pulley. 

With  the  exception  of  the  magnetizing  coils, 
each  galvanometer  element  in  the  set  of  three  is 
entirely  complete  and  can  therefore  be  easily  in- 
sulated.    Each    set    of    vibrating    strips    is    exposed 


For  viewing  recurring  waves,  as  has  been  stated, 
a  so-called  sychronous  mirror  is  provided.  This 
may.be  easily  swung  into  position  by  a  lever  with- 
out removing  the  photographic  recording  device. 
The  synchronous  vibration  of  this  mirror,  which 
is  oscillated  by  a  cam  driven  by  a  synchronous 
electric  motor,  provides  the  necessary  range  of 
action  along  the  axis  of  abscissae,  and  thus  an 
image  of  the  wave  form.  The  vibration  of  the 
mirrors  having  been  adjusted  so  as  to  have  a  suit- 
able amplitude,  and  the  synchronous  mirror  being 
moved  through  a  suitable  angle  during  one  com- 
plete cycle,  the  point  of  light  on  the  screen  will 
move  through  a  path  similar  to  that  obtained  when 
the  wave  is  plotted  to  rectilinear  co-ordinates.  As 
the  mirror  returns  to  its  original  position  a  shutter 
automatically  cuts  off  the  light  and  does  not  allow 
it  to  pass  until  the  mirror  again  moves  in  the 
direction  first  indicated.  This  prevents  admission 
of  the  light  to  the  surface  when  the  mirror  is  not 
moving   in    the   proper    direction. 

Such  an  apparatus  is  useful  in  studying  the 
action  of  the  various  phenomena  in  electric  cir- 
cuits having  not  more  than  5,000  or  6,000  complete 
vibrations   per   second. 


99-year  Law  Has  No  Value  to  the  Chi- 
cago Street-railway  Companies. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has 
given  its  decision  in  the  famous  99-year  case,  in- 
volving the  question  of  the  length  of  life  of  fran- 
chises  granted   to   the    Chicago   City   Railway   Com- 


position where  it  can  buy  up  the  tracks,  cars, 
power  houses  and  every  other  method  or  means  of 
operation  at  a  price  to  be  fixed  not  by  the  street- 
car companies  but  by  a  definite  system  of  arbitra- 
tion as  fixed  by  the  old  ordinance  of  1S58,  which 
wisely   protects   the   city's    interests. 

The  court  now  says  that  the  City  Council  of 
Chicago  may  go  ahead  at  once,  take  possession  of 
the  street-car  systems  controlled  by  this  old  or- 
dinance and  pay  for  them  an  arbitrated  sum 
without  the  slightest  regard  to  capital  stock,  bonds, 
or   any   fictitious   values   whatsoever. 

Whether  the  city  will  now  attempt  to  acquire 
the  street  railways  and  operate  them  under  mu- 
nicipal ownership  or  whether  it  will  use  its  vic- 
tory as  a  means  of  getting  the  most  favorable 
terms  from  the  existing  companies  in  exchange  for 
new  and  definite  franchises  remains  to  be  seen. 
Mayor  Dunne's  $75,000,000  Mueller-certificate  or- 
dinance, the  proceeds  from  which  (if  valid)  it  is 
proposed  to  use  in  acquiring  the  lines,  will  be 
voted  on  at  the  spring  election. 

In  the  matter  of  internal  troubles  of  the  Union 
Traction  Company  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Circuit 
Court  is  sustained,  the  legality  of  the  appointment 
of  the  receivers  for  the  Union  Traction  Company 
is  approved,  and  the  Supreme  Court  finds  there 
was  no  collusion  between  the  traction  company 
and  its  creditors. 

Other  important  matters  are  effected  by  the 
decision.  It  is  known  that  the  traction  companies 
have  staked  a  great  deal  in  their  claims  under  the 
99-year   act.     Now   that  these   claims  are   worthless 


of  Internal  Arrange 


;  of  Oscillograph  Pa 


VELOP.MENT    WITH    THE   OSCILLOGR 


on  all  sides  when  removed  from  the  containing 
cells,  so  that  any  required  adjustments  or  repairs 
are  most  conveniently  made.  Adjustments  are  fur- 
ther provided,  so  that  even  if  the  vibrating  mirror 
is  imperfectly  attached,  it  is  possible  to  bring  the 
image"  of  the  mirror  into  the  desired  place  on  Lhe 
photographic  film.  The  containing  cell  is  filled 
with  "damping  liquid,  and  the  vibrating  loop  or 
strips  are  made  of  hard  drawn  silver,  with  a  sil- 
vered glass  mirror.  This  latter  is  usually  80  by 
20  by  10  mils,  large  enough  to  be  easily  handled, 
and  producing  a  better  photographic  record  than 
a  smaller  mirror.  Unless  high  period  is  absolutely 
essential,  the  manipulatory  advantages  of  the  larger 
size    outweigh    other    considerations. 

The  optical  system  is  shown  in  Fig.  2.  A  source 
of  light,  usually  on  arc  lamp,  is  thrown  by  a  lens 
upon  the  prisms  (Pi)  (P2)  (P3)  and  by  them  to 
the  oscillatory  mirrors  (VII  1)  (VM  2)  and 
(VM3).  From  these  mirrors  the  rays  are  reflected 
horizontally  to  the  photographic  drum  at  the  op- 
posite end.  or  to  the  synchronous  mirror  (SM), 
from  which  they  are  reflected  upward  to  a  surface 
where  they  can  be  observed  or  traced. 

The  vibration  of  these  oscillatory  mirrors  pro- 
duces three  lines  of  light,  the  amplitude  of  their 
vibration  measuring  the  strength  of  the  current 
or  electromotive  force.  To  produce  a  wave  photo- 
graphically, a  drum  carrying  a  sensitized  film  is 
revolved  in  the  path  of  these  light  rays,  thus  form- 
ing  the    abscissae   of  the  projected   wave. 

The  same  shaft  which  carries  the .  photographic 
drum  operates  a  set  of  contacts  which  actuates  a 
shutter  interposed  between  the  arc-light  source  and 
the  condensing  lens.  This  shutter-operating  mech- 
anism is  so  arranged  that  the  shutter  is  open  dur- 
ing One  revolution  of  the  drum.  Devices  are  pro- 
vided so  that  this  shutter  may  be  adjusted  for 
opening  at  any  instant,  or  for  opening  at  the  joint 
in  the  film.  In  the  latter  case  the  shutter  opens 
just  after  passing  the  joint  in  the  film  and  closes 
just  before  reaching  it.  This  mechanism  is  used 
when  the  time  of  the  occurrence  of  the  phenomena 
under  consideration  can  be  governed.  When  this 
cannot  be  controlled  by  the  operator,  the  shutter 
is  arranged  to  open  at  any  instant  and  close  after 
one  complete  revolution  without  regard  to  the  joint 
in  the  film. 


pany  and  the  Chicago  Union  Traction  Company, 
the  latter  being  really  the  North  and  West  Side 
companies.  The  99-year  act  of  the  Illinois  Legis- 
lature of  1865,  the  Supreme  Court  decides,  ex- 
tended the  corporate  life  of  the  street-railway 
companies  but  has  no  hearing  whatever  on  the 
franchise  relations  between  the  .companies  and  the 
city  of  Chicago.  The  rights  which  these  companies 
have  to  the  streets  of  Chicago  are  therefore  lim-  " 
ited  stricth-  to  the  terms  of  the  franchises  granted 
at  various  times. 

The  decision  of  Judge  Grosscup,  is  reversed  in 
its  entirety.  Three  of  the  justices  dissent  in  the 
ruling  decision,  the  opinion  of  the  other  six,  in- 
cluding Chief  Justice  Fuller,  is  clearly  shown  in 
the    following    paragraph    from    the    syllabus: 

"Corporate  privileges  can  only  be  held  to  be 
granted  as  against  public  rights  when  conferred 
in  plain  and  explicit  terms.  The  ambiguous 
phrase  of  the  act  of  1865,  'during  the  life  hereof,' 
does  not  operate  to  extend  existing  contracts  for 
a  term  of  99  years,  or  limit  the  right  of  the  city 
to  make  future  contracts  with  the  companies  cov- 
ering   shorter    periods." 

On  many  of  the  important  streets  the  franchises 
have  already  expired.  Others  will  expire  in  a  few 
years,  while  some  of  the  franchises  for  cross- 
towrn  and  outlying  lines  will  not  expire  for  five 
to  10  years.  As  fast  as  the  North  Side  fran- 
chises and  a  few  other  20-year  grants  expire  the 
streets  and  rails  revert  to  the  city  without  any 
monetary    consideration. 

The  early  ordinances  for  a  long  time  merely 
were  amendments  to  that  of  1858.  so  on  a  great 
many  trunk  lines  on  the  South  and  West  sides 
of-  the  city  the  right  of  operation  expired  in  18S3 
or  thereabouts.  This  condition  of  affairs  applies 
to  practically  the  entire  trunk-line  system  in  the 
central  part  of  the  city,  exclusive  of  the  North 
Side.  The  original  ordinance,  however,  provided 
that  the  company  should  remain  in  possession  of 
its  rights  to  the  streets  until  the  city  bought  it 
out'.  The  Supreme  Court  now  has  declared,  as  to 
all  the  original  lines  owned  by  the  Chicago  City 
Railroad  Company  on  the  South  and  West  sides 
and  transferred  to  the  west  division  company 
and  through  that  dormant  organization  to  the 
Union  Traction  concern,  that  the  city  now   is  in  a 


.     Optical  System  of  Oscillograph. 

the  Union  Traction  Company  may  not  sec  its  way 
clear  to  lowering  the  La  Salle  and  Washington 
Street  tunnels.  This  it  agreed  to  do  at  its  own 
expense  if  the  city  would  grant  it  the  privilege 
of  changing  from  cable  to  trolley  operation.  Xow. 
however,  the  city  may  have  to  do  the  work  it  it 
is    done    at    all. 

On  this  point  the  Chicago  Tribune  says:  "It  is 
possible  the  Supreme  Court  may  decide  the  Van 
Buren  Street  Tunnel  case  against  the  city  and 
thus  prevent  the  lowering  of  the  tunnels.  If  it 
does  not  the  city  will  have  to  do  something  itself. 
In  local  financial  circles  the  idea  is  that  the  de- 
cision means  the  end  of  the  Union  Traction  Com- 
pany. It  is  expected  to  step  down  and  out  and 
allow  the  underlying  companies  to  take  back  their 
property  again,  now  that  it  has  found  that  prop- 
erty is  not  so  valuable  as  it  thought.  It  is  still 
in  the  hands  of  receivers,  and  these  receivers  have 
a  lot  of  debts  on  their  hands,  but  little  else.  If 
the  Supreme  Court  stands  by  its  decision  after  the 
petition  for  a  rehearing  is  heard  the  only  recourse 
of  the  Union  Traction  creditors  will  be  an  appli- 
cation for  a  stock  assessment." 


Simultaneously  with  the  Supreme  Court  decision 
came  the  much-talked-of  Dalrymple  report.  This 
is  the  report  which  James  Dalrymple  sent  to 
Mayor  Dunne  following  the  Scotch  traction  ex- 
pert's visit  to  Chicago  to  advise  Chicago's  mayor 
in  the  matter  of  acquiring  and  operating  the  street 
railways.  Mayor  Dunne  refused  to  make  public 
the  report,  but  Mr.  Dalrymple's  views  on  the  sub- 
ject were  pretty  well  known  and  have  been  printed 
in  the  Western  Electrician.  From  the  duplicate 
report  sent  to  the  council  it  is  plain  to  see  that 
Mr.  Dalrymple  would  not  advise  municipal  owner- 
ship in  Chicago  under  present  conditions.  He 
advises  making  terms  with  the  companies  with 
the  view  of  ultimate  city  ownership.  Mr.  Dal- 
rymple gives  at  length  an  outline  of  the  methods 
employed  by  the  city  of  Glasgow  in  operating  its 
street   railways. 


As  bearing  on  the  question  of  municipal  owner- 
ship, City  Attorney  Smulski  of  Chicago  in  his  an- 
nual report  to  the  council  w-arns  against  an  im- 
pending   danger.      He    says    that    700    lawsuits    for 


March  17.  1906 


219 


,„  1  onal    damagi      wi  re    fill  1    1 

.,,  .,1    1     1  Ml.  'I   al    a    total   cost    ol      100,000     I  [1 

i„  |ii    ,     thai  the  d 

r  ] , .  1 1 ,    twelvefold    under    munii  ipal    0    nei  hip       1  [t 

1, 1     to   ili'     itrci  1  railwaj    1  omp  in tl 

with   thci 1  1   carefully   prepared        I I    di 

i,  11  r     bj    .1    trained    corp .    ol    m<  n,    1    with    all 

pay     mil     annually     $2,000,000     in     damagi 

1  ml nicipal   owner  hip  hi    I..  li<    cs  1  hi     figuri 

would    be    greatlj     I'  d,    and    hi     w; hi 

, I   to  give  the  matti  1    -I in  idcration. 


Moore    System    of     Electric    Tube 
Lighting. 

For    many    years    Mr,    D     %  Fai  Ian    M001      ha 

been    at    work    perfecting    hi  1     •   ti  m    ol     .  m 

ml"    lighting      1  li     progi  1       ha     1 1  ady,   and 

it  is  now  contended  thai  the  vli  on  electric  light 
is   thoroughly  con ircial. 

1  >n.    ol    the   di  tini  live   and    impoi  tanl    attrai  1 

ai    the    rccenl    Madison    Square    Garden    Electrical 

Show    was  the  installation  ol  .     M tube.    Fig.  1 

shows  the  Madison  Square  Garden  installation, 
This  large  and  well-known  lobby  was  Formerlj 
lighted  with  rows  of  incandescent  lamps  around 
iis   cornice   and    on    the    ceiling,    and    therefore    it 

was  possible  1 ake  careful  measurements  ..i  the 

old  and  new  methods  of  illuminating  the  same 
ana      The    Mo nit   tube   is   t,J^   inches   in   diameter 

and   157  feel   I ,.  and  is  the  most   imposing   racu 

inn  tube  ever  constructed.  I  Ins  was  done  bj  her 
nietically  sealing  ii  together  in  sections,  and  i'l  was 
erected  complete  in  about  two  Hays'  time.  The 
.111  within  ii  was  tin  n  pumped  out  and  ■  pei  ial 
secret  gaseous  conductor  inserted  in  its  place  and 
the  tube  was  finished.  The  necessary  apparatus 
for  making  such  an  installation  such  as  gas  fires, 
the  pump,  etc.,   is   said   to  be  thoroughly   practical 

The  maker  asserts  thai  the  Moore  tube  is  now 
giving  at  least  three  times  as  much  light  for  the 
same  consumption  of  current  as  can  be  obtained 
from  the  incandescent  lamps  formerly  used.  The 
lube  requires,  according  to  the  company's  figures, 
1,335  watts,  from  which  it  produces  1.045  candle- 
power  st  t.8  wails  per  candlepower,  or  14  candle- 
power  per  lineal  foot  of  tubing.  The  incandescent 
lamps  required  5,361  watts  t.  produce  1.002  can- 
dlepower. In  other  words,  it  is  asserted  that  the 
Moore  tube  is  producing  about  twice  as  much  light, 
yet  requires  one-third  less  current  in  this  specific 
instance    than    that    of    the    incandescent    lamps. 

But   aside    from   the   operating  cost   the   tube   has 


FIG.   I.        MOORE   LIGHTING   TUBES   IN    LOBBY   OF    MADISON 
SQUARE   GARDEN. 

tion.  The  light  from  the  tube  is  soft  and  steady 
without  any  blinding  glare,  its  diffusion  factor  is 
exceptionally  good,  its  color  can  be  changed  as  de- 
sired over  a  very  wide  range,  the  cost  of  installa- 
tion of  the  tube  is  comparatively  small  and  it 
eliminates  about  90  per  cent,  of  the  wiring. 

It  is  said  that  75  per  cent,  of  the  incandescent 
lamps  in  commercial  operation  are  used  as  inte- 
gral parts  of  rows  or  lines  of  light,  and  in  a  large 
majority  of  cases  such  lamps  are  placed  in  com- 
paratively speaking  inaccessible  places  and  there- 
fore the  true  commercial  rating  of  incandescent 
lamps  should  be  not  3.1  watts  per  candlepow-er 
but  4.5  watts  per  candlepowrer.  and  in  many  cases 
six  or   eight. 

The  efficiency  curve  of  the  Moore  tube  is  prac- 
tically a  straight  line  leading  to  infinity  and  it 
does  not  lose  25  per  cent,  of  its  candlepower  in 
a  short  space  of  about  400  hours.  In  the  tube 
there  are  no  troubles  from  efficiencies  falling 
rapidly,  due  to  blackening,  or  the  expensive  re- 
placing of  lamps  due  to  broken  filaments ;  neither 
does    the    tube    demand    expensive    voltage    regula- 


rrupter   of   any 

particulai 

n  11  ,1 

the    trccl  main 

and  also  il     i'1 


7« 

■  jl  1 

FIG.   2.      TERMINAL    HOX   OF    MOORK    LIGHTING    SYSTEM. 

with  the  length  of  the  tube,  which  in  turn  varies 
with   the  size  of  the  apartment   to  be   lighted.    The 

actual  current  which  flows  through  the  gaseous 
contents  ..i  the  tube  varies  directly  with  the  in- 
tensity of  the  light  required,  which  can  be  made 
almost  of  any  desired  brilliancy  from  two  or  three 
candlepower  up  to  20  candlepower  per  foot.  But 
the  amount  of  current  also  varies  with  the  color 
desired,  since  lights  of  certain  colors  arc  more 
efficient  than  other  colors  and  therefore  less  cur- 
rent is  required.  When  a  rich  yellowish  color  is 
desired,  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  the  incan- 
descent lamp,  about  0.3  of  an  ampere  flows  through 
the  tube  and  there  will  result  a  luminosity  of 
about   15  candlepower  per  foot. 

It  is  obvious  that  for  many  varieties  of  business 
a  system  of  illumination  of  this  character  will 
be  particularly  suitable.  For  example,  a  large  de- 
partment store  is  using  the  light  on  account  of  the 
fact  that  it'  will  permit  of  colors  being  matched 
as  exactly  as  when  done  in  daylight.  It  is  also 
adaptable   to    art   galleries. 

The  Moore  electric  light  is  manufactured  by 
the  Moore  Electrical  Company  of  =,2  Lawrence 
Street,    Newark,    N.    J. 


Small  Power  Motors. 

The  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing 
Company  has  lately  perfected  a  line  of  motors  for 
light  power  service,  such  as  operating  sewing  ma- 
chines, dental  apparatus,  coffee  grinders,  small  ice- 
cream freezers,  phonographs,  sign  flashers,  moving 
window  novelties  and  hundreds  of  other  adapta- 
tions. The  smaller  sizes  may  be  attached  to  an 
ordinary  incandescent-lamp  circuit,  furnishing  a 
profitable   day   load   for  lighting  companies. 

These  motors  follow  very  closely  the  design  of 
the  well-known  Westinghouse  fan  motors.  They 
are    built    for    both    alternating    and    direct-current 


-current  Motor  of  !  s  Altematine-current  Motor  of  ' 
spower  with  Pulley  Horsepower  Driving 

Attachment.  Coffee  Grinder, 

t  Direct-current  Mo-  Induction  Motors  of  ;'P,  ,'j 

1  power.  and  's  Horsepower. 

SMALL   POWER    MOTORS. 


lor    fol 


round    II 

turn   tl. 

rdinary    lamp    1 

11  to  an  incandi 

All  in 
trimming 

.  ntial, 
'I  he  alternating  curn 

■ 
splil  phasi    winding,   tl 
automatically   1 

II  acting    friction    cluti ' 
load    after    pari 

cither    ieries    <-r    -bunt    wound,    and    ar.' 
that   no  starting 
When 
furnished. 


A   New    Design    of    Direct-current    Fan 
Motor. 
The    Western    Electric    Company    of    Chii 
presenting  f..r  the  season  1  f  1906 
direel  current    fan   called  rsal.     This   fan 

embodies  not  only  all  of  the  desirable  featui 
the  old   1 -'  and   tl   ii  :h  .U--k  and  bracket  fat 
also   has   many   new  ant!  distinctive   features.     This 
new   fan  is  manufactured  in  one  type  and  01 


UNIVERSAL    ELECTRIC    FAN    ARK.W 

only.  The  design  is  such  that  the  fan  can  be 
easily  converted  into  a  desk  or  bracket  type  with- 
out the  use  of  an  adapter,  which  is  a  loose  part 
easily    lost. 

The  accompanying  illustration  shows  the  form 
of  base  construction  and  the  pleasing  appearance 
when  used  as  a  desk  fan.  With  the  addition  of 
no  extra  parts  it  may  also  be  mounted 
wall  as  a  bracket  fan.  The  motor  is  mounted  on 
trunnions,  which  permit  of  30  degrees  depression 
and  15  degrees  elevation.  The  base  construction 
allows  the  fan  a  rotation  of  120  degrees  in  a  hori- 
zontal direction. 

An  exhaustive  investigation  of  the  construction 
of  blades  has  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  13-inch 
fan.  The  blades  are  pitched  so  that  a  maximum 
efficiency  is  reached,  which  greatly  incre- 
usefulness  beyond  that  of  other  fans  not  having 
the  proper  principles  embodied  in  their  c 
tion. 

The    motor   is    spherical   and   entirely    enclosed — a 
construction   which   does   not   permit  ci  the  collec- 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  17,  1906 


tion  of  dirt  or  dust.  The  armature  is  of  the 
slotted  tvpe,  substantially  constructed,  and  has  a 
commutator  so  designed  as  to  withstand  long  and 
continuous  service.  The  field  coils  are  elliptical  m 
shape,  machine-wound  and  especially  insulated  for 
the  service.  The  brush-holders  are  of  the  cartridge 
type,  designed  to  avoid  the  possibility  of  excessive 
brush  pressure  on  the  commutator,  and  fitted  with 
carbon  brushes.  The  fan  is  designed  so  that  the 
brushes  may  be  adjusted,  inspected  or  renewed 
without    removing   the   bearing   bracket. 

An  arrangement  of  a  switch  in  the  base  permits 
of  the  following  speeds:  1.4S0.  1.100  and  750  revo- 
lutions per  minute.  The  rheostat  is  constructed 
of  an  iron  spool,  heavily  coated  with  porcelain, 
upon  which  is  wound  the  best  quality  of  German 
silver  wire  embedded  in  and  completely  protected 
bv  a  coating  of  white  enamel. 


Alcohol  In  the  Arts. 

Prof.  Elihu  Thomson,  electrician  of  the  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company,  recently  made  a  statement 
before  the  ways  and  means  committee  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  in  Washington,  pleading  for 
free  alcohol  in  the  arts  and  sciences.  Among 
other  things  he  said : 

The  importance  of  cheap  alcohol  as  a  fuel  for 
internal-combustion  engines  is  not  so  generally 
realized  as  it  should  be.  The  increasing  use  of 
this  type  of  engine,  operated  generally  by  gaso- 
line as  a  fuel,  is  evident  to  everyone.  By  it  there 
is  furnished  a  power  for  all  purposes  which  re- 
quires the  minimum  of  attendance  during  the 
operation  of  the  engine  and  no  preparation  before 
starting.  As  an  engine  for  farm  purposes  the 
explosion-type  or  internal-combustion  engine  is 
ideal,  and  its  general  application  to  automobiles 
is  already  an  evidence  of  its  great  convenience  and 
effectiveness. 

The  use  of  gasoline  as  the  fuel  of  such  an 
engine  is,  however,  subject  to  some  disadvantages 
as  compared  with  the  employment  of  alcohol.  In 
the  first  place  the  possible  supply  of  gasoline  is 
limited  and  its  increasing  use  must  inevitably 
result  in  a  very  undesirable  increase  in  price.  It 
is  a  sort  of  by-product  of  the  oil  industry,  and 
its  price  has  already  increased  and  will  probably 
continue  to  increase.  This  is  particularly  true  for 
the  higher  or  better  qualities.  Gasoline  is  more 
volatile  than  alcohol,  having  a  much  lower  boiling 
point,  and  is  therefore  proportionately  more  dan- 
gerous, especially  in  warm  weather.  The  flame 
of  burning  gasoline  is  a  highly  luminous  flame, 
one  which  radiates  heat  rapidly,  whereas  the  alco- 
hol flame  is  a  faint  blue  or  an  almost  non-luminous 
flame,  which  does  not  radiate  heat  to  any  great 
extent.  The  consequence  of  this  is  that  a  mass 
of  burning  gasoline  will  radiate  sufficient  heat  to 
set  fire  to  things  at  a  distance  from  it,  while  heat 
from  burning  alcohol  goes  upward,  mostly  in  the 
hot    gases    which    rise    from    the    flame. 

The  case  may  be  illustrated  by  comparing  the 
flame  of  the  burning  pine  log  in  an  open  fireplace 
with  that  of  ordinary  gas  mixed  with  air  in  an 
open  fireplace.  The  flame  from  the  burning  pine 
log  contains  sufficient  carbon  to  radiate  the  heat 
freely  into  the  room  from  the  fireplace,  whereas 
the  blue  flame  from  the  gas  requires  the  assistance 
of  a  radiator  heated  thereby,  generally  known  as 
a  gas  log,  often  composed  of  minerals,  such  as 
asbestos  and'  the  like,  made  red  hot  by  the  blue 
or  non-luminous  gas  flame.  On  this  account  alco- 
hol is  a  safer  fuel  than  gasoline,  as  the  gasoline 
can  set  fire  by  pure  radiation  where  alcohol  would 
not.  Gasoline,  as  well  as  kerosene,  has  the  great 
disadvantage  that  it  floats  upon  and  is  distributed 
by  water.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  it  is  com- 
paratively useless  to  attempt  to  extinguish  burning 
gasoline  or  kerosene  by  the  use  of  water  alone. 
The  use  of  water  may,  in  fact,  be  a  positive  dis- 
advantage in  floating  the  burning  material  over 
considerable  places  and  spreading  the  fire.  Not 
so  with  alcohol,  which  mixes  with  water  in  all 
portions,  and  which  is  at  once  diluted  and  pre- 
vented  from   remaining    combustible. 

We  have  recently  tested  at  the  works  of  the 
General  Electric  Company  in  Lynn  a  Deutz  alco- 
hol engine — a  type  of  engine  made  in  Germany 
especially  for  use  with  alcohol — and  the  results 
have  been  such  as  to  prove  without  doubt  the 
entire  suitability  of  alcohol,  if  cheap  enough,  as  a 
fuel  for  internal-combustion  engines.  This  par- 
ticular engine  is  to  be  sent  to  the  Island  of  Cuba 
and  coupled  to  a  dynamo  for  lighting.  It  will  be 
operated  with  the  cheap  Cuban  alcohol,  which  is, 
I  am  informed,  sold  there  at  about  12  or  15 
cents  a  gallon.  A  few  gallons  of  this  alcohol  was 
obtained  and  used  in  our  tests  and  it  was  found 
to  be  a  high-grade  spirit  containing  94  per  cent, 
alcohol  by  volume  and  six  tper  cent,  water,  or 
about  90  per  cent,  alcohol  by  weight.  While  it  is 
not  methylated  or  denatured,  there  is  no  question 
that  the  behavior  in  the  engine  of  denatured  or 
methylated  spirit  would  be  identically  the  same 
as    with    the    pure-grain    alcohol.  . 

To  obtain  this  sample  of  Cuban  alcohol  it  was 
necessary  that  we  pay  an  import  tax  of  $4  a  gal- 
lon, with  other  charges,  which'  made  the  cost  of 
material  used  in  testing  enormous  as  compared 
with    its    actual    value    in    Cuba;    and    I    may   here 


remark  that,  as,  in  testing  an  engine  of  this  kind, 
a  considerable  quantity  of  alcohol  will  be  used, 
manufacturers  in  the  United  States  would  suffer 
a  considerable  disadvantage  in  building  such  en- 
gines as  compared  with  those  in  a  country  where 
mcthlyated  spirit,  untaxed,  is  obtainable.  In  fact, 
the  cost  of  material  for  testing  the  engines  is 
probably  a  sufficiently  strong  deterrent  just  now 
to  prevent  the  manufacture  being  taken  up  in  the 
United  States.  The  Island  of  Cuba  is,  however, 
an  excellent  field  for  the  use  of  such  machinery 
on    account    of    the    low    cost   of   alcohol. 

It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  our  experiments 
developed  the  fact  that  alcohol  is  suitable  as  a 
motor  fuel  even  when  it  contains  as  high  a  per- 
centage as  15  per  cent,  of  water.  Notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  the  heating  value  of  alcohol,  or  the 
number  of  heat  units  contained,  is  much  less  than 
that  in  gasoline,  it  is  found  by  actual  experiment 
that  a  gallon  of  alcohol  will  develop  substantially 
the  same  power  in  an  internal-combustion  engine 
as  a  gallon  of  gasoline.  This  is  owing  to  the 
superior  efficiency  of  operation  when  alcohol  is 
used.  Less  of  the  heat  is  thrown  away  in  waste 
gases    and    in    the    water    jacket. 

The  mixture  of  alcohol  vapor  with  air  stands 
a  much  higher  compression  than  does  gasoline 
and  air  without  previous  explosion,  and  this  is 
one  of  the  main  factors  in  giving  a  greater 
efficiency.  It  follows  from  this  that,  with  alcohol 
at  the  same  price  as  gasoline,  the  amount  of  power 
developed  and  the  cost  of  the  power  will  be  rela- 
tively the  same  so  far  as  the  fuel  itself  is  con- 
cerned, but  on  account  of  the  higher  efficiency 
of  the  alcohol,  less  cooling  water  is  required,  or  a 
less  percentage  of  the  heat  of  combustion  is  com- 
municated to  the  cylinder  walls  of  the  engine. 
The  exhaust  gases  from  an  alcohol  engine  carry 
off  less  heat.      They  are   cooler   gases. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  exhaust  gases  from  a 
gasoline  or  kerosene  engine  are  liable  to  be  very 
objectionable  on  account  of  the  odor.  In  our  tests 
of  the  Deutz  alcohol  engine  there  was  absolutely 
no  such  objection  with  the  alcohol  fuel,  the  ex- 
haust gases  being  but  slightly  odorous,  or  nearly 
inodorous,  and  what  odor  there  was  was  not  of  a 
disagreeable  character.  Our  experiments  with  the 
burning  of  alcohol  as  a  motor  fuel  also  showed  us 
that  alcohol  possesses  a  considerable  tolerance  as  to 
richness,  or  the  reverse  of  the  mixture  in  the 
engine,  and  that  even  when  there  was  considerable 
excess  of  alcohol  for  the  air-  the  exhaust  was  not 
disagreeable  in  odor,  a  condition  which  with 
either  gasoline  or  kerosene  leads  to  a  smoky, 
badly  smelling-  exhaust.  The  importance  of  a  fuel 
which  does  not  produce  disagreeable  exhaust  gas 
is  greatest  in  the  case  of  stationary  engine  of  con- 
siderable power,  as  in  that  case  the  exhaust  is 
emitted  in  one  locality  and  may  become  a  source 
of  nuisance.  This  has  often  been  experinced 
with  gasoline  or  kerosene  engines  and  has  tended 
greatly  to  limit  their  application,  particularly  in 
densely    built-up    sections. 

There  is  just  now  the  beginning  of  a  large  de- 
velopment in  the  application  of  the  internal-com- 
bustion engine  to  the  propulsion  of  railway  cars 
on  short  lines  as  feeders  to  the  main  lines.  In 
this  case,  an  ordinary  passenger  railway  car  is 
equipped  with  a  power  compartment  at  one  end, 
in  which  power  compartment  there  will  be  installed 
an  engine  of,  say,  200  horsepower  of  the  internal- 
combustion  or  explosion  type.-  The  growth  of 
such  a  system  is  liable  to  be  hampered  in  the  near 
future  by  the  cost  of  gasoline  as  a  fuel,  and  the 
difficulties  in  using  kerosene  are  still  quite  con- 
siderable..- Especially  is  the  exhaust  likely  to  be 
offensive.  In  this  case  alcohol,  which  could  be 
produced  in  unlimited  amount,  could  be  substi- 
tuted. 

A  large  number  of  agricultural  products  are 
easily  capable  of  being  converted  into  alcohol,  and 
such  products  as  are  unmarketable,  either  from 
overabundance  of  crops  or  defective  growth  or 
damage  are  still  available  as  sources  of  supply. 
Hence  each  agricultural  district  would  be  able  to 
supply  itself  with  all  the  motor  fuel  needed  and 
at  the  same  time  produce  for  other  districts.  In- 
asmuch as  alcohol  can  be  stored  in  tanks  for  an 
indefinite  period  without  change  in  its  nature,  any 
surplus  production  of  alcohol  cap  easly  be  taken 
care  of.  Speaking  with  a  prominent  beet-root 
sugar  manufacturer,  he  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that 
from  the  waste  of  the  beet-root  sugar  industry 
^alcohol  could  be  produced  at  a  cost  of  about  10 
or  12  cents  per  gallon.  It  is  probably  true  that 
from  other  agricultural  wastes,  such  as  fruit  par- 
ings, fruit  partly  decayed,  surplus  corn,  etc.,  a 
cost  equally  low  might  be  realized. 

It  is  easily  possible  to  convey  alcohol  by  a 
pipe  line  and  its  very  limpidity  or  liquidity  facili- 
tates the  process  of  pumping  it  through  a  line. 
It  is  reasonable '  to  infer  that,  freed  from  tax, 
there  is  no  possible  substitute  for  this  valuable 
fuel  which  could  be  supplied  at  such  a  low  cost. 
It  may  be  mentioned  in  conclusion  that  the  effi- 
ciency— that  is,  the  ratio  of  the  conversion  of  the 
heat  units  contained  in  the  fuel  into  p6wer — is 
probably  higher  in  the  alcohol  engine  than  in 
engines  operated  with  any  other  combustible,  and 
doubtless,  on  account  of  the  comparative  newness 
of  the  alcohol  engines  there  is  still  room  for  some 
improvement   in    that   respect. 


OBITUARY. 


James  Partridge. 

James  Partridge,  manager  of  the  Sandusky 
(Ohio)  plant  of  the  National  Carbon  Company 
and  a  prominent  and  respected  citizen-  of  that 
city,  died  very  suddenly  in  his  office  on  March 
10th.  '  Death  is  ascribed  to  heart  trouble.  Mr. 
Partridge,  who  was  52  years  of  age,  was  born  in 
Birmingham,  England.  He  came  to  Sandusky  from 
Pittsburg  in  1890,  and  with  J.  S.  Speer  organized 
the  Partridge  Carbon  Company.  Through  some 
valuable  patents  the  plant  did  a  thriving  business, 
and  in  1899,  when  it  was  purchased  by  the  Na- 
tional Carbon  Company,  Mr.  Partridge  was  re- 
tained as  manager  and  had  given  his  attention 
to  the  business  since.  The  deceased  gentleman 
was  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason.  He  is  sur- 
vived by  a  widow  and  two  sisters,  Mrs.  Henry 
Russon  and  Mrs.  James  Bird,  both  of  Cleveland. 


Professor  Popoff. 

The  Electrical  Times  of  London  published  the 
following  in  one  of  its  February  issues:  "So 
many  unpleasant  things  have  been  happening  in 
Russia  that  perhaps  it  is  not  surprising  that  it 
has  passed  unnoticed  that  the  death  of  Prof. 
Popoff  of  wireless-telegraph  repute,  occurred  at 
St.  Petersburg  as  long  ago  as  the  middle  of  last 
month."  Assuming  this  news  to  be  true,  Russia 
has  lost  one  of  its  best-known  electrical  scientists 
and  inventors.  Alexander  Popoff  was  professor  in 
the  Emperor  Alexander  III.  Electrical  Institute  of 
St.  Petersburg  and  was  prominent  in  the  develop- 
ment of  space  telegraphy.  He  made  several  im- 
provements in  the  art,  one  of  the  latest  being  a 
"self-decohering  coherer,"  which  is  a  modification 
of  the  original  glass-tube  filings  coherer.  With 
this  coherer  no  tapping  was  required  to  restore 
the  high-resistance  state. 


Franklin  Brooks. 

Franklin  Brooks,  who  died  at  his  home  in  Eliza- 
beth, N.  J.,  on  March  5th,  was  a  well-known  ex- 
pert in  mica  mining,  having  traveled  over  the 
greater  part  of  the  world  in  the  interest  of  the 
mica  industry.  He  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Eugene  Munsell  &  Co.  of  New  York  and  had 
charge  of  the  mica-mining  branch  of  this  firm's 
business.  He  was  also  vice-president  of  the  Mica 
Insulator  Company  of  New  York  and  Chicago. 
Mr.  Brooks  was  51  years  of  age.  He  had  been  a 
director  of  the  Union  County  Trust  Banking  Com- 
pany in  Elizabeth  since  its  formation.  He  was 
president  of  the  Mattono  Club  and  a  member  of  the 
Elizabeth   Club  and  of  Trinity  Episcopal   Church. 


William  W.  Ames. 

William  Winslow  Ames,  the  electrical  head  of  the 
Montdair  (N.  J.)  Light  and  Power  Company  (be- 
fore it  was  absorbed  by  the  Public  Service  Corpo- 
ration), died  on  March  7th  at  the  age  of  45.  Sev- 
eral years  ago  Mr.  Ames  was  connected  with  the 
work    of   wiring    the    Brooklyn    Bridge. 


Tourcoing  International  Exposition. 

The  city  of  Tourcoing,  France,  is  organizing 
an  international  exposition  of  textiles,  electricity, 
machinery,  mechanical  works,  tools,  hardware,  so- 
cial economy,  etc.,  to  open  on  May  1,  and  con- 
tinue to  September  30,  1906.  It  will  be  under  the 
patronage  of  the  president  of  the  republic  and  of 
the  French  government.  The  cities  of  Tourcoing, 
Roubaix  and  Lille  (Nord  Department)  are  so 
close  to  each  other  that  they  may  be  considered  as 
one  city  of  nearly  600,000  inhabitants.  The  Nord 
Department,  with  1,870,000  inhabitants,  is  the 
wealthiest  in  France,  paying,  as  it  does,  one- 
fourteenth  of  the  total  taxation,  and  having  a 
budget  superior  to  some  of  the  smaller  European 
states.  The  district  has  a  constant  need  of  Ameri- 
can  products   and   goods. 

The  total  commerce  between  the  United  States 
and  France,  as  shown  by  figures  compiled  by  the 
Bureau  of  Statistics  of  the  Department  of  Com- 
merce and  Labor,  of  Washington,  amounted,  in 
the  fiscal  year  1905,  to  about  $166,000,000.  There- 
fore Americans  might  do  well  to  take  advantage 
of  this  exhibition,  inasmuch  as  England,  Belgium 
and  Germany  are  to  be  represented.  Moreover, 
the  French  are  going  over  to  electrical  machines 
and  appliances  in  manufactures,  harnessing  the 
rivers  in  the  republic  for  manufacturing  purposes. 
This  alone  is  indicative  of  possibilities  for  Ameri- 
can   manufacturers    of    electrical    appliances. 

Under  the  ruling  of  the  French  government,  ex- 
hibits are  free  from  import  duties,  and  special 
reduced  freight  rates  are  allowed  on  the  French 
railroads  and  on  the  French  steamship  line.  The 
awards  will  be  diplomas  of  grand  prize,  and  of 
gold,  silver  and  bronze  medals.  Henry  G.  Bayer 
is  a  special  commissioner  of  the  exposition,  with 
offices   at  47   Barclay   Street,   New  York  city. 


A  laid  i    17,    lyoO 

A  Self-exciting  Alternator.' 

Bi    E,  F.  An  .  \ . ,■  1.1  n  .,-. 

I  he  '■■'li  cxi  iting  altci  natoi    di   igned    bj    1  hi     1 

ilim   doe     n"i   n  ic  the  hi  1  in  mi   .,1  rangement  of 

1 1 m    field,  Inn   ('.-111   be  considered   a     ..   di    1 

from  lb'1  "I'l  principle  of  rectifying  co ul 

early    experiments.    A    novel    feature    of    thi 

chine    is   the   automatic    voltage    rcgul 

I'll  hed  by  .1     i" '  ul  applici n  of  the  field  rl al 

While   in   ordinary   generators   the   fii  Id   curn  nl    1 

controlled    by    hand    rrniilaiii.ii.    thi     mai  1 1 

ploys  a  three  phase  Held  rl al   in   ivhii  h  the  voll 

age  drop  is  automatical!)   cut   dow the  desired 

cxtenl  by  a  three-phase  currenl  forced  through  tin 
rheostal  in  opposite  direction  in  the  field  1  ui  rcnl 
111.-   currenl    used    I'm-    reducing    the    drop    mi    thi 

I""  i:ii.  taken    1 1  a   transformc nc  ted   in 

eries   with   the   armature   circuit.     In   lliis   waj    tin 

field  "I   is  regulated  with  respeel  to  the  powei 

factoi  as  well  as  in  the  amount  of  current  taken 
from  the  generator. 

\    general   diagram   "f   the   author's    ty] 1    al 

ternator  is  shown  in  Fig.  1.  The  exciting  currenl 
i  generated  in  can  auxiliary  threi  pha  ■  winding 
placed  in  the  same  slots  as  the  main  armature  wind 
mg.    The   terminals  of  this  auxiliary   winding   arc 


WESTERN     ELE(  IT: 
11    of    ill.     rcgul; 

'111  il  I    I        I. Ill     I        I,'         .    !: 

1,1  "   ]>  1.,    full 

111      III.' 

othci     1.1  ■  h    mu  1    '       rcdu    d 

ro 
in    lie-   in. -in.  in    in    whii  li   il"-   iii.li" 

qual     ' 
II      '    im  ig hat  one  of  thi  ng  tin- 

il     -  In  i 

bi  ii  li    "  ould    .  -  i    I j  the  fie  1. 1 

'.     ind   tl ■  Iden 

terruptcd    and    changed    over 
1 1    ili.      i  itioni  i 

udd  ii  -  i.  in i   tin    current    would  induct 

igc  betwi  - 11  the  1.1  a  li  .hi. 1  Hi 
park.      1  he  im 

be    d<  la;  -  .1    ■■■       ch    an    extcnl    th 

... 

I.,    forci     .1    '  ro       ■  hi  rent    through    the    completed 

i    foi  m.  -I  by  the  two  ph 

\      1   ..     thi    1 ..-.  o  brushi  ■    with 

the    same    segment    they    naturally   di 

.111  rent  1    bul    the    c rent    which    i 

imposcd  on  the  field  currenl   will  weaken  thi 
rent  in  one  of  the  phases  and  strengthen  il   in  the 
other  phase.     If.  therefore,  the  cross  current  is  half 
1       .1    ili.    field  current  at  the  moment  of  rup- 
ture. ..ne  of  the  phases  will  carry  the  entire  current 


7erm/'na/s  of 
Main  Winding 

/Ictive  Commutator  Segment 


■Short  Circuited E.M.f\      I 


WavetofE.M.F.in  Two  phases 


connected  tn  three  sets  of  brushes  that  bear  on  a 
rectifying  commutator  of  special  type.  This  com- 
mutator has  one  active  segment  per  pole,  covering 
practically  two-thirds  of  the  pole-pitch,  the  remain- 
ing- one-third  of  the  arc  being  insulated.  Each 
alternate  segment  is  connected  to  one  terminal  of 
the  field  winding,  and  the  remaining  segments  to 
the  other.  By  this  arrangement  it  is  possible  to 
make  the  commutation  independent  of  the  react- 
ance which  is  inherent  in  the  ordinary  type  of 
field  winding,  and  the  whole  process  of  commuta- 
tion is  carried  out  in  the  stationary  circuits  before 
the  current  enters  the  field. 

The  voltage  generated  in  the  auxiliary  winding 
is  sufficient  to  supply  current  for  excitation  at  full 
inductive  load;  and  the  excitation  is  adjusted  to 
the  proper  no-load  value  by  a  three-phase  rheostat 
inserted  in  the  neutral  point  of  the  auxiliary  wind- 
ing. Automatic  compounding  is  accomplished  by 
means  of  a  series  transformer  connected  to  the 
rheostat;  the  transformer  sends  a  current  through 
the  rheostat  in  a  direction  opposite  to  the  field 
current,  thereby  eliminating  the  voltage  drop  in 
the  rheostat.  The  elimination  of  the  voltage  drop 
in  the  rheostat  changes  over  more  or  less  of  the 
field  current  from  the  rheostat  to  the  series  trans- 
former. The  secondary  current  of  the  series  trans- 
former is  in  phase  with  the  line  current,  while 
the  field  current  is  practically  in  phase  with  the 
voltage.  The  amount  of  boosting  in  the  field  cir- 
cuit will  therefore  depend  not  only  upon  the  value 
of  the  secondary  current,  but  also  upon  the  power 
factor  of  the  load.  A  function  of  the  rheostat, 
which  is  just  as  important  as  the  field  control,  is 
its  influence  on  the  commutation.  As  far  as  com- 
mutation is  concerned,  the  full  resistance  of  the 
rheostat  may  be  considered  as  always  being  in  cir- 
cuit, although  the  larger  part  of  the  field  current 
may  flow  through  the  series  transformer. 

As  the  phenomenon  of  commutation  with  this 
kind  of  rectifying  commutator  is  entirely  different 
from  that  with  the  ordinary  multi-segment  com- 
mutator of  a  direct-current  machine,  it  may  be  of 
interest  to  enter  somewhat  further  into  the  theory 
of  commutation  in  the  new  type  of  alternator.  In 
order  to  understand  the  operation  of  the  commu- 
tator it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  field  wind- 
ing carries  a  continuous  current  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  the  impressed  voltage  is  of  a  pulsating 
character.  The  only  fluctuation  that  can  occur  is 
the  quite  negligible  pulsation  needed  to  induce  a 
voltage  large  enough  to  overcome  the  ohmic  re- 
sistance of  the  winding.  The  current  in  the  three 
phases  of  the  exciting  circuit  is  not  an   alternating 

1.  Abstract  of  a  paper  presented  at  the  meetine  of  the  Ameri- 
can Institute  or  Electrical  Engineers,  New  York.  January  26.  roo6. 
Mr.  Alexanders. .11  is  electrical  engineer  for  the  General  Electric 


or   SELF-EXCITING    ELTERNATOR. 

and  none  will  pass  through  the  brush  which  is 
leaving  the  segment.  In  this  way  complete  com- 
mutation has  taken  place  just  before  the  brush 
leaves  the  segment,  and  consequently  no  sparking 
will  occur.  The  time  which  is  required  for  the 
cross  current  to  reach  the  value  of  one-half  of  the 
field  current  depends  upon  the  reactance  and  re- 
sistance in   the  external-stationary  circuit. 

From  the  preceding  it  is  evident  that  whatever 
be  the  values  of  these  quantities,  a  position  can  be 
found  for  the  brushes  where  commutation  will  oc- 
cur without  sparking.  But  it  is  also  evident  that 
a  slight  variation  in  the  position  of  the  brushes 
may  cause  severe  sparking  if  the  circuits  are  not 
properly  designed.  If  the  circuits  consist  of  a 
winding  with  a  very  small  resistance  and  high  re- 
actance, a  small  difference  in  voltage  will  cause  a 
large  cross  current  to  flow  between  the  two  phases, 
and  this  cross  current  cannot  be  broken  suddenly 
without  sparking.  In  order  to  obtain  successful  op- 
eration of  the  commutator,  the  generating  circuit 
should  be  designed  with  as  little  reactance  as  pos- 
sible, and  with  a  considerable  amount  of  resistance. 

Since  this  machine  has  been  developed  the  ques- 
tion has  often  been  asked,  why  a  rectifying  com- 
mutator cannot  be  used  for  direct-current  generators 
when  it  has  been  so  successful  in  this  particular 
application.  One  reason  for  its  success  when  used 
for  field  excitation  is  that  the  presence  of  the 
rheostat  in  the  stationary  exciting  circuit  introduces 
a  resistance  which  prevents  the  flow  of  an  ex- 
cessive current  when  two  brushes  are  in  contact 
with  the  same  segment.  A  rheostat  is  used  in  the 
field  circuit  of  any  generator ;  and  although  it 
consumes  a  considerable  part  of  the  exciter  voltage 
it  is  not  objectionable,  on  account  of  the  small 
power  involved.  Another  reason  for  the  success 
of  the  rectifying  commutator  when  applied  to  field 
excitation  is  that  the  field  current  is  generated  by 
a  magnetic  flux  large  enough  for  the  total  output 
of  the  machine,  permitting  the  auxiliary  winding 
to  be  designed  with  a  small  number  of  turns  and 
low   reactance. 

Discussion  (in  Abstract). 
Prof.  A.  E.  Kennellv,  Cambridge,  Mass. :  The 
first  dynamo-machines  were,  of  course,  separately 
excited,  and  it  was  considered  a  great  step  to  make 
them  compounding.  As  soon  as  the  alternators 
came  into  the  field,  it  was  considered  much  more 
difficult  to  make  them  self-exciting,  on  account  of 
the  direct  current  required  by  the  field,  whereas 
the  armature  produced  alternating  current.  Self- 
exciting  is  considered  more  important  than  to  ren- 
der them  compounding,  because  in  the  case  of 
alternators  it  was  not  the  I.R.  drop  to  be  com- 
pounded, but  the  I.Z. ;  a  two-dimension  problem 
instead   of  a   one-dimension    problem,   and    therefore 


npounding   of 

-hie,  a  kind   winch   would  not 

..f   ind 

In    proportion    to    the    rurr. 

compouni 

I    1.  in. ml,.  [ 

0111   and.  run   motors,  and   ]    found   that   with 

could   keep  a   sp,,rk   within  a   fair  r 
would    maintain    it-ell    at    something 

bul   I   felt  skeptical  as  to  what  raig 

hen   it   got   oul    in  the  country  to  run 
in  the  eo.-d  mine..     One  of  my  friend 
in    charge    of    the    pl.v 

reassurance  and  said,  "That  is  all  right;  I  will  look 
after   it."     'I  he  machine   was   put  out   with  a   lairlv 
'rician    lo    handle    it    and    il 
worked  pn  ny  well.     In  the  . 

n ills    I    learned   the   machine  was   still   doing  its 

work,    hut    the    man    who    had    formerly    si 
pii  1       .....  running  the  plant.     I  conclu 
needed    ti     run    thi    dynamo  was   not   an  electrician, 
a    man    who    knew    something    about    curves,    but    a 
man  who  could  handle  it  in  a  good,  vigorous,  prac- 
tical   way. 

The  plan  which  has  been  given  this  evening  cer- 
tainly overcomes  ;,  good  many  of  the  difficulties 
which  were  encountered  in  that  first  method  of 
compounding,  which  had  many  limitations  and  ob- 
jections. There  is  ..ne  feature  which  is  involved 
in  operation  along  the  method  described,  and  that 
is  that  the  machine  is  self-exciting.  Variations  in 
the  general  voltage,  and  particularly  variations  in 
-peed,  are  immediately  transmitted  to  the  exciter. 
In  many  cases  that  is  not  particularly  objectionable; 
in  others  it  is  a  source  of  objection,  particularly  in 
cases  of  emergency.  In  running  plants  driven  by 
waterwheels,  where  the  speed  regulation  may  be 
subject  to  considerable  variations  and  where  in  case 
the  governor  does  not  work  readily  all  the  load 
goes  off  suddenly,  there  may  be  a  considerable  in- 
crease in  speed,  and  there  is  apt  to  he  a  very  much 
greater  increase  in  voltage  than  there  would  be  if 
the  excitation  is  derived  from  a  separate  exciter 
driven  at  constant  speed  and  independent  of  the 
variations  in  the  speed  of  the  main  generator.  This 
is  because  the  exciter  voltage  is  increased  at  the 
same  time.  This,  however,  is  an  element  which  is 
inherent  in  all  self-exciting  machines.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  falling  speed,  due  to  heavy  load,  r 
the  exciter  voltage  at  the  very  time  when  it  is 
most  needed.  I  know  of  various  places  in  which 
the  exciter  has  been  driven  directly  or  indirectly 
from  the  main  generator,  so  that  its  speed  is  sub- 
ject to  such  variations  in  the  service,  has  not  been 
found  satisfactory  and  in  which  separate  excitation 
from  an  exciter  at  constant  speed  has  beer, 
acceptable. 

W.  L.  R.  Emmet.  Schenectady,  X.  Y. :  I  have 
seen  this  device  working  under  very  trying  condi- 
tions and  the  performance  of  it  is  astonishingly 
good.  I  think  the  final  results  produced  are  very 
largely  due  to  the  care  with  which  Mr.  Alexander- 
son  has  worked  out  the  proportioning  of  everything 
concerning  it.  The  method  of  commutation  shown 
has  been  experimented  with  in  Schenectady  before. 
with  promising  results,  and  the  principles,  as  is 
obvious  from  the  diagram,  are  very  simple.  I  have 
seen  a  machine  of  this  kind  suddenly  thrown  on 
heavy  inductive  loads  more  than  its  full-load  ca- 
pacity without  a  sign  of  sparking  on  the  com- 
mutator and  without  an  appreciable  flicker  in  the 
lamps.  It  is  the  quickness  of  its  action  which 
is  astonishing,  and  the  nature  of  the  arrangement 
is  such  that  it  is  capable  of  application  to  any 
size  machine,  because  it  can  be  arranged  in  mul- 
tiple circuits  with  no  more  current  in  any  one  cir- 
cuit  than    is    used    on    small    machines. 

A.  S.  McAllister.  Xew  York:  If  the  phase  posi- 
tion of  the  voltage  generated  in  the  auxiliary  wind- 
ing depends  on  the  mechanical  position  of  the  wind- 
ing and  the  phase  position  of  the  voltage  in  the 
series  transformers  is  fixed,  then  at  non-inductive 
load  these  voltages  add  at  a  certain  angle  and  at 
inductive  load  they  add  at  a  different  angle.  A 
change  in  the  angle  seems  equivalent  to  a  change 
in  the  position  of  the  brushes,  and  I  would  ask  if 
this  change  has  any  effect  on  the  commutation  on 
full,  on  non-inductive  and  full-inductive  load. 

Mr.    Ale.xanderson :     The    difficulty    seems    to    be 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  17,  ic 


to  make  the  machine  commutate  properly  for  no 
load  and  non-inductive  load,  because  the  voltage 
impressed  on  the  commutator  is  not  of  the  same 
phase  relation  to  the  machine  voltage  at  no  load 
and  full  load.  The  field  is  distorted  by  the  arma- 
ture reaction  to  approximately  the  same  angle  as 
the  voltage  impressed  on  the  commutator  is  ahead 
of  the  voltage  of  the  auxiliary  winding.  There- 
fore the  position  of  the  brushes  with  no  load  is 
nearly  the  best  position  on  non-inductive  load.  At 
inductive  load  the  voltage  of  the  series  transformer 
combines  with  the  voltage  of  the  auxiliary  winding 
in  a  straight  line,  and  at  the  same  time  the  arma- 
ture reaction  combines  with  the  field  excitation  in 
a  straight  line,  and  there  is  no  reason  whatever  for 
any  displacement. ^_ 

An  Attractive  Catalogue. 

The  1906  catalogue  of  W.  N.  Matthews  &  Brc, 
203  North  Second  Street,  St.  Louis,  contains  32 
pages  beautifully  illustrating  the  advantages  of  the 
Stombaugh  guy  anchor  and  the  Kearney  cable  clip 
by  numerous  half-tone  cuts.  The  accompanying 
illustration    -hows   the   cover,  the  original   of  which 


AN    ATTRACTIVE    CATALOGUE. 

is  in  three  colors,  pleasingly  designed  and  well 
printed.  The  catalogue  should  prove  of  interest 
to  electric-light,  street-railway  and  telephone  com- 
panies, as  it  contains  interesting  data  pertaining 
fo  the  construction  of  pole  lines.  It  will  be  mailed 
on  request. 


St.   Joseph    River    Dam    and   Power 
Project  to  be  Carried  Out. 

After  several  years  of  disagreement  among  the 
people  at  Berrien  Springs,  Mich.,  who  took  sides 
between  the  old  Chapin  and  DuShane  dam  com- 
panies, the  village  has  made  a  contract  with  the 
Berrien  Springs  Power  and  Electric  Company,  in 
which  C.  A.  Chapin  of  Chicago  is  interested,  and 
the  building  of  the  dam  will  be  commenced  in  the 
early  spring.  Tn  order  to  build  the  dam  at  the 
point  selected  it  wili  be  necessary  to  flood  the  15- 
acre  racetrack,  owned  by  the  village.  In  exchange 
for  this  property  the  waterpower  company  agrees 
to  pay  off  the  $10,000  in  bonds  owed  by  the 
village.  The  company  will  supply  the  village,  free, 
in  perpetuity,  with  current  for  25  arc  lights,  pump 
50,000  gallons  of  water  daily  for  the  use  of  the 
village,  and  sell  electric  current  to  commercial 
users  at  a  rate  somewhat  lowrer  than  the  price  in 
South  Bend,  Ind.,  where  the  Chapin  company  has 
other    interests. 


Municipal  Water  Plant  Too    Expensive. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Western  Electrician  on 
the  Pacific  Slope  sends  the  following:  "The  City 
Council  of  Santa  Rosa,  Cal.,  has  authorized  Mayor 
Overton  to  sign  a  contract  with  the  Santa  Rosa 
Lighting  Company  for  pumping  water  and  lighting 
the  streets  for  an  indefinite  period  for  $833  a 
month.  It  costs  the  city  almost  twice  that  sum 
under  the  present  arrangement,  wdiereby  the  mu- 
nicipality .operates  its  own  pumping  plant,  and 
pays  the  company  something  like  $500  for  lighting 
alone.  The  company  will  install  a  new  plant  and 
use  electricity  for  operating  the  pumps,  The  city 
now   uses  steam  power," 


BOOK  TABLE. 

Electric  Power  Transmission.  By  Louis  Bell. 
(Fourth  edition.)  New  York:  McGraw  Pub- 
lishing Company.  1906.  Pp.  (6  by  9  inches), 
721,  with  341  illustrations.  Price,  $4. 
Three  years  have  elapsed  since  the  publication  of 
the  third  edition  of  Dr.  Bell's  work  upon  power 
transmission,  and  the  development  in  the  art  has 
been  such  that  this,  the  fourth,  edition  embodies 
much  that  is  new  and  interesting.  The  book  has 
been  thoroughly  revised  and  additional  material 
added.  The  chapters  on  elementary  principles,  gen- 
eral conditions  of  power  transmission,  properties 
of  alternating  currents,  alternating-current  motors, 
line  constuction,  etc.,  are  naturally  practically  along 
the  same  lines  as  in  the  last  previous  edition,  but 
in  taking  up  waterwheels  and  hydraulic  develop- 
ment, auxiliary  and  switchboard  apparatus,  power- 
station  apparatus  and  the  treatment  of  commercial 
problems  it  is  found  that  noticeable  advancement 
has  been  made,  and  much  of  the  subject  matter 
is    new. 

The  steam  turbine  has  suddenly  come  into  promi- 
nence, and  it  is  natural  to  expect  that  this  form  of 
prime  mover  will  be  given  an  important  place 
—    under    "Engines    and    Boilers,"    which    is    the 
case.    Under    "Waterwheels"    the    later    forms 
of    apparatus    are    described,    especially    in    the 
matter    of    the    utilization    of    very    high    heads 
and  in  the   constructional   details   of  governing 
apparatus.     A  particularly  good  chapter  is  that 
upon    "Auxiliary  and    Switchboard   Apparatus," 
under  which  category  is  placed  a  wide  variety 
of  apparatus   just  as  vital  to  the   operation   of 
the    station    as    the    generating    apparatus,    and 
which  has  probably  seen  greater  changes  in  the 
last  two  or  three  years.     The  chapter  on  "Dis- 
tribution"   is    also    one    meriting    special    atten- 
tion.    Taken  as  a  whole,  the  book  is   fully  up 
to  the  high  standards  set  by  previous  editions. 
Practical   Electric   Railway   Handbook.    By 
Albert   B.   Herrick.     (Second   edition.)     New 
York:     McGraw    Publishing   Company.     1906. 
Pp.    (aVi  by  &/2  inches),  460,  with  329  illus- 
trations.    Price,    $300. 

This  is  the  second  edition  of  the  handbook, 
which  has  been  revised  and  expanded  to  intro- 
duce new  matter  in  accord  with  the  develop- 
ments in  electric  traction.  The  use  of  for- 
mulas and  mathematics  has  been  restricted  as 
far  as  possible.  The  book  is  or.  this  account 
of  the  more  value  to  the  practical  man,  who 
is  not  often  a  mathematician.  New  methods 
of  testing  have  been  introduced  wherever  pos- 
sible, as  have  also  data  on  the  latest  types  of 
apparatus.  The  single-phase  system  has  re- 
ceived some  attention,  though  perhaps  not  as 
much  as  its  importance  warrants.  To  be 
brief,  the  book  contains  useful  information  on 
electric-railway  practice  from  the  coal  pile  to 
the  application  of  the  electric  current  in  the 
car  motors.  It  is  of  convenient  pocket  size, 
and   well   bound  in   leather. 

Books    Received. 
"The    Universal    Electrical    Directory,    1906."     By 
J.  A.   Berly.     Published  by  H.  Alabaster,  Gatehouse 
&  Co.,  London.     Price,   18  shillings. 

'■Management  of  Accumulators."  By  Sir  David 
Salomons.  Published  by  the  D.  Van  Nostrand 
Company,    New    York.      Price,    $2.50. 


Alarm  Gongs  for  Patrol  Boxes. 

Now  that  Chicago's  police  force  is  to  be  en- 
larged and  improved,  having  had  placed  at  its  dis- 
posal increased  funds  through  the  raising  of  saloon 
license  fees,  Chief  of  Police  Collins  and  City  Elec- 
trician Carroll  are  planning  to  reconstruct  the  po- 
lice alarm  and  telephone  system  of  the  city.  The 
present  police  telephone  apparatus,  which  affords 
communication  between  patrol  boxes  in  the  streets 
and  police  stations,  is  not  efficient.  If  the  finance 
committee  will  appropriate  about  $36,000  for  the 
purpose,  the  entire  system  may  be  rebuilt,  to  in- 
clude, also,  a  series  of  alarm  gongs  on  the  patrol 
boxes. 

If  the  present  olan  is  carried  out,  anyone  dis- 
covering a  burglary  could  call  up  the  nearest  police 
station  by  telephone  and  state  the  facts.  Then,  at 
the  station,  a  series  of  contacts  would  be  pressed, 
causing  the  gongs  at  the  patrol  boxes  nearest  the 
^scene  of  the  disturbance  to  sound.  This  alarm, 
it  is  hoped,  would  attract  the  attention  of  one  or 
more  patrolmen  on  beat,  who  could  step  to  the  box 
and  get  their  orders  bv  telephone.  By  this  means 
much  valuable  time  would  be  saved  in  the  pursuit 
of  malefactors. 


After  a  two-day  session  in  Toronto.  Out.,  the 
International  Waterways  Commission  adjourned  on 
March  8th,  having  reached  an  agreement  regard- 
ing Niagara  Falls  by  which  both  countries  will 
take  all  precautions  to  save  its  scenic  beauty.  The 
American  commissioners  desired  a  report  of  the 
commission  which  might  form  the  basis  of  a  treaty 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  re- 
garding the  waters  of  Niagara  Falls.  This  the 
Canadians  declined  unless  specially  instructed  by 
the  government.  The  next  meeting  will  be  held 
in   Washington.    Apri)    24th. 


Telephone  Engineering. 

Bv   J.   J.    Carty. 

Part   III. 

Discussion    (in    Aestract). 

Thomas  D.  Lockwood,  Boston :  I  want  to  con- 
gratulate the  Institute,  and  incidentally  the  essay- 
ist of  the  evening,  upon  the  fact  that  this  paper  is 
such  an  expressive  one,  that  it  tells  us  so  much, 
and  yet  there  is  not  a  single  formula  in  it,  and  no 
diagrams.  To  have  a  paper  which  is  so  clear,  so 
extremely  lucid,  so  perfectly  instructive,  and  yet 
have  no  formula  or  diagrams  in  it,  is,  in  these  de- 
generate days,  a  very  remarkable  thing  indeed, 
because,  as  I  believe,  the  favorite  plan  now  is  to 
get  a  lot  of  abstruse  formula  and  about  10  dia- 
grams   and   build   a   paper    around   it. 

When  we  have  given  credit  and  honor  and  glory 
to  the  man,  such  as  he  who  invents  the  electric 
speaking  telephone  deserves,  I  think  there  is  a 
great  deal  to  spare  for  those  who  have  perfected 
the  telephone  business  and  have  made  it  what  it 
is   today. 

When  I  knew  him  [Mr.  Cartf]  first  he  had 
not  long  graduated  from  Thomas  Hall's  electrical 
laboratory  on  Bromfield  Street,  Boston.  He  be- 
came a  telephone  man  and  presently  the  manager 
of  the  operating  room  of  the  Boston  exchange. 
He  and  I  were  intimate  for  a  while  and  mutually 
helped  one  another.  I  watched  his  career  with  ' 
almost  the  same  interest  that  I  watched  my  own. 
(laughter).  By  and  by  he  went  with  the  Western 
Electric  Company  for  a  while.  I  recollect  a  paper 
which  he  read  before  this  Institute  upon  "Elec- 
trostatic Induction  and  its  Action  in  Telephone 
Circuits,  Switchboard  and  Cable  Circuits."  That 
is  one  of  the.  classical  papers  in  the  archives  of 
this  Institute  today;  it  made  its  mark  at  that 
time  and  has  never  been  forgotten.  After  a  short 
time  in  the  manufacturing  business,  he  returned 
to  the  telephone  business  proper,  with  the  New 
York  Telephone  Company,  and  almost  the  first 
thing  he  did  there  was  to  see  that  it  was  im- 
possible— and  to  see  it  in  a  way  that  no  other  man 
had  seen  it — that  good  talk  could  be  had  through 
a  line  with  a  great  many  electromagnets  in  it. 
He  did  not  see  then  that  it  might  improve  a  line 
to  have  a  good  many  electromagnets  in  it  if  you 
only  put  them  in  the  right  place,  if  you  have  the 
right  number  per  wave  length,  but  he  did  see  that 
it  was  a  bad  thing  to  have  electromagnets  in  the 
telephone  line,  if  there  were  the  wrong  number 
and   in   the  wrong  place. 

In  the  study  of  this  problem  he  and  I  became 
associated  again.  He  made  the  invention  of  what 
was  subsequently  known  all  over  the  world  as  the 
Carty  bell.  I  think  the  name  is  unfortunate,  as 
it  was  more  of  a  circuit  than  a  bell,  and  the  bell 
was  only  incidental.  I  was  the  unfortunate  who 
drew  the  patent,  and  between  us  we  managed  so 
well  to  look  after  it  that  when  it  came  into  court 
the  patent  was  first  sustained  and  then  it  was 
not.  However,  it  did  its  work;  it  enabled  people 
to  talk  on  a  party  line  with  many  stations — that 
was  something  which  had  never  been  done  before. 
Between  ourselves,  I  do  not  mind  telling  you 
that  some  of  the  great  inventions  have  had  courts 
sit  down  on  them  because  the  courts  could  not 
get  it  through  their  heads  what  the  invention  was. 
That  is  the  reason  we  inventors  have  to  get  it 
through  our  heads  first,  and  then  get  it  through 
the  heads  of  the  patent  lawyers,  and  then  through 
the  heads  of  the  experts,  and  that  usually  finishes  it. 
The  15  years  which  Mr.  Carty  gives  as  the  life 
of  the  central-office  switchboard  to  me  suggests 
there  is  some  sort  of  annuity  table  which  would 
give  this  figure.  He  certainly  does  not  err  on  the 
side  of  smallness.  If  anything,  I  should  rather 
be  inclined  to  say  that  the  average  life  of  the 
telephone  switchboard  is  even  less  than  15  years. 
Mr.  George  Wilkinson  has  said  that  the  progress 
of  invention  and  of  planning  is  such  in  the  tele- 
phone switchboard  as  to  make  it  old  and  effete 
before  it  is  in  use  10  years.  He  estimated  the 
life  of  the  switchboard  as  from  12  to  14  years; 
and  I  should  be  inclined  rather  to  say  that  Mr. 
Carty  had  given  you  a  high  figure  rather  than  a 
low    one. 

When  Mr.  Carty  replies.  I  hope  he  will  explain 
what  he  means  where  he  uses  some  phraseology 
which  rather  puzzles  me,  although  I  have  no  doubt 
I  should  know  all  about  it.  It  is  in  regard  to 
using  the  two-number-  method  of  calling,  where 
he  says:  "When  we  consider  what  would  happen 
to  the  present  toll  board  at  Cortlandt  Street,  op- 
erating on  the  recording  basis,  using  the  two- 
number  method  of  calling,  if,  by  some  change 
in  business  plans,  the  particular-party  method  in 
use  extensively  in  many  other  localities  were 
adopted."  (Western  Electrician,  page  1S3,  bottom 
of  third  column.)  This  phrase.  I  am  sure,  I . 
ought  to  know  all  about,  but  I  do  not,  and  would 
like  to  know  what  the  two-number  method  of 
calling  is,  and  also  what  the  particular-party  method 
of   calling   is. 

The  message  rate.  I  understand,  prevails  nearly 
altogether  in  New  York.  It  prevails  in  nearly 
every  other  city.  Of  course,  that  is.  to  use  a 
much  abused  expression,  the  only  "common-sense" 
method,  and  it  is  surprising  that  we  were  so  long 
coming  to  it.  The  only  answer  to  the  puzzle  is. 
I  suppose,  that  we  have  to  begin  the  business 
ourselves,    that   the   telephone    people   of   the    early 


March  17,  1906 


223 


days  learned  the  businc  s  ai  ihcj    wi  nl   along,  and 

as  thi  )    f I  the    \mi  1  ii  an  pi; I"    lioti  I  bu 

m    ,   had  succci  di  <l   in   thi     1  ounl  1  ■     no 

,,  .1  on     why    the    telephone     shi  mid     nol     do 

'I  dirt)    even  years  ago,  « hen   I   1  to  thi     -  mn 

try,    ilh-    Ani'i  i'  .hi    plan    prevailed    almo  1    cxclu 

ivi  h.  ;    you    would    paj      1 h    pi  <     day,    your 

1 n.i     al    '."in    di  po  al,    and    you    cou 

three  meals,  and   if  you   did   nol    u  c   il"    01 

take    •  "'ii    meal  .    you    paid    jusl    the    same.     I  he 

same    evolution    «  hii  Ii    oci  ui  red    in    the    ti  Ii  pi ■ 

in  mi    .  has  c '■  "i  Mn    hotel  1 .   and  now 

there  arc  as  many  hotels  on  the  European  plan 
1     ..ii    the   American    plan. 

President  Wheeler:  I  have  no  li"|i<  or  expecta- 
tion "i  '  qualing  Brother  I  -  cl  wood  a  ■  ■  torj 
teller,  bul  I  have  one  thing  which  1  worth  men- 
tioning, ;nul  I  think  ii  sei  \  ■  1  ci  j  w  ell  i"  hi  iw 
the  n'<''''  growth  of  electrical  work  "I  .ill  kind 
\\  hen  I  left  1  ollcgc  I  was  employed  by  .1  man 
who  had  the  rights  in  the  telephone  system  in 
New   York  city,  and   li<-   was   feeling   rather   pleased 

because   lie   had   just   succeeded    in    inducing     

',11,.   in  buy   these   rigliis   from   him    for   $10,000. 

Prof.  M  I.  Pupin,  Columbia  University,  New 
York:  As  was  the  case  with  the  preceding  speal  1  1. 
I  feel  very  highly  honored  In  have  been  asked  to 
take  part  in  Ibis  discussion.  I  have  often  been 
credited  with  :i  great  deal  more  knowledge  on 
telephoning  than   1   really  possess— I   confess   thai 

by   people   who  do  not  know  much  about   tclcph 

engineering;  but  when  real  telephone  engineers 
..in  i"  be  under  the  same  impression,  I  really 
feel  flattered,  but  1  must  still  insist  on  my  belief 
that  I  am  not  a  man  who  knows  much  about 
irli  |.l e    engineering. 

My  friend  Mr.  Carty  was  the  first  man  who 
started  me  in  the  study  of  telephony.  It  was  about 
ii'  years  ago  when  1  heard  his  famous  paper  on 
electrostatic  induction.  Up  to  that  time  I  bad 
nothing  but  sad  experiences  with  the  telephone. 
We  had  one  in  the  laboratory  in  Berlin  which  we 
used  fur  calling  the  janitor.  I  thought  that  the 
instrument  was  a  scientific  curiosity,  but  of  not 
very  much  importance.  At  that  time  telephony 
was  not  much  of  a  system  ill  Berlin,  and  when 
1  came  to  New  York  I  found  it  was  in  about  the 
same  stale  here;  but,  hearing  Mr.  Carty's  paper, 
and  believing  that  it  was  a  very  interesting  matter 
\n  study,  I  look  it  up  and  found,  for  the  first 
time,  that  telephony  was  really  a  most  interesting 
scientific  study  from  a  physical  and  mathematical 
point    uf    view. 

When  you  consider  that  before  long  a  man  will 
be  able  to  telephone  to  any  part  of  Manhattan 
Island  for  fiyc  cents,  you  cannot  help  thinking  that 
this  new  art  of  telephone  engineering  is  an  insti- 
tution which  is  distributing  one  of  the  greatest 
blessings  of  modern  times.  It  is  almost  incredible 
to  believe  that  for  five  cents  you  can  talk  to  any- 
one on  Manhattan  Island  who  has  a  telephone. 
In  a  certain  sense  this  new  profession  is  a  phil- 
anthropic institution;  its  aim  is  very  lofty,  because 
it  is  striving  to  establish  one  of  the  best  means 
of  keeping  peace  among  men,  by  maintaining  a 
community  of  interest  among  men.  and  every  in- 
stitution, every  religious  creed  has  to  charge  some- 
thing for  the  distribution  of  the  blessings  of  Heaven 
— it  costs  time,  it  costs  money,  and  it  costs  a 
great  deal  of  work  and  thought  to  organize  an 
institution   of   that   kind   and   maintain    it. 

If  you  should  ask  me  this  moment  what  con- 
stitutes a  telephone  engineer,  I  would  not  be  able 
to  tell  yon,  any  more  than  I  could  before.  To  be 
sure,  the  same  thing  is  true  of  every  kind  of 
engineer.  Take  a  telephone  engineer,  or  any  elec- 
trical engineer.  What  is  he?  Is  he  a  good  mathe- 
matician? No;  not  necessarily.  A  good  physicist? 
No;  not  necessarily.  A  good  chemist?  No.  In 
fact,  if  you  talk  to  them,  you  will  find  hew  ig- 
norant these  fellows  are  on  any  specialty.  But  if 
you  are  a  mathematician  or  a  physicist  and  you 
feel  that  you  know  a  great  deal  more  than  they 
do  in  regard  to  mathematics  and  physics,  just  try 
to  work  off  a  poor  theory  on  them,  and  you  will 
fiud  you  cannot  do  it.  They  somehow  have  the 
knack  of  seeing  through  a  thing  a  certain  way 
and  arriving  at  conclusions,  the  methods  of  which 
are  beyond  the  comprehension  of  ordinary  men; 
they  are  experts,  specialists.  An  engineer  is  a 
man  who  knows  a  little  of  everything  that  bears 
upon  his  profession,  but  he  knows  it  very  well. 
He  does  not  pay  much  attention  necessarily  to 
specialties,  but  he  knows  absolutely  the  relation  of 
things  to  each  other ;  he  must  have  a  wonderful 
perspective  of  things  that  are  in  his  profession. 
I  once  asked  Mr.  Carty  what,  in  his  opinion,  would 
be  a  very  good  course  for  a  man  who  wanted  to 
take  up  electrical  engineering,  and  he  said :  "Well, 
spelling  and  grammar  and  rhetoric  and  physics  and 
chemistry,  not  very  much  of  the  latter  two,  a 
little,  and  that  is  all ;  but  let  him  have  every  one 
of  these  things  extremely  well  done,  and  then 
teach  him  to  have  good  manners,  know  how  to 
behave  and  deport  himself  with  men;  teach  him 
how  to  form  a  proper  attitude  of  mind,  and  then 
perhaps  some  day  he  may  become  a  telephone 
engineer." 

As  far  as  the  electrical  side  of  telephone  engi- 
neering is  concerned,  we  have  the  following  great 
problems:  Insulation,  isolation  and  lamination. 
These  are  the  three  great  things  that  the  electrical 
telephone  engineer  has  to  contend  with.  You  can- 
not  have   your   electrical   circuits   or   the   magnetic 


board    and    for    the    building,    cl    .    or    how 

.'    I   V        III' 

in    ■  .  ■:   ■ 

in    '."'"    "■ ' 

i I   pn     urc,  il  lough,  but   in  ti 

■  i'"'" g     I 

Nothing  I, nt   soldered   io 

'  ontai  I     i dniary    I  ii  .-.ill    do 

it.,   harm,   a     thi  is 

mattci    i»    i'    ha      i     lightly    1 a mtai  ',    but   in 

i.l  |'li< ini 

i    contact    may 
di  .I    "i"   trouble. 

In   telcpl 'i- icring    you     ."rk   to  the  limit 

i"  a  greatci   dcgrei    thai     ou  do  in  any  other  form 
of   electrical    engineering. 

The    I".'.  ei  1 1  "i  mi    '■ .'     electrical    engini  i 
n .     as   high   permeability   in   iron   a     pi     iblc,  and 
ih..   telephone   engine  r,   on   thi    uthi  r   hand, 
lb.-    permeability    t"    !"•    low,    not    above    a 
upper   limit,    if   wc   bad   the   pci  mi    : 
ii   Hi.,  lowi  i   limit,  vei  j   man;    of  thi 
telephonic  apparatus  would  be  impossible,  and 
distance  telephony  would,  in  all  probability,  be  out 
of    the    question;     but     the    Creator     has    given     a 
microscopic    lower    limit    within    which    the    pi 
bilitj    "f   the    iron    is   only    200   or    less.     It    is    this 
limit  which  tin-  telephone  engineer  bad   In  discover, 
and    he    niii-l     I"      c  in-lanll  y     on     lii-    guard 
extend    bis    operations    outside    of   this    limit. 

B.  Gherardi,  Brooklyn:  There  is  one  phase  of 
telephone  engineering  which  Mr.  Carty  has  neces- 
sarily only  touched  upon  briefly.  This  is  the  engi- 
neering which,  as  a  matter  of  administrative  effi- 
ciency, should  he  done  in  the  various  executive 
dcpartnicnts  of  the  organization.  The  most  con- 
spicuous examples  of  these  are  the  engineering 
which  must  be  done  in  the  deoartmenl  under  the 
control  of  the  superintendent  of  traffic,  and  in  the 
department  under  the  control  of  the  superintendent 
of  construction.  The  engineering  done  in  the  traf- 
fic department  is  in  charge  of  an  engineer  usually 
designated  as  the  traffic  engineer,  who  has  report- 
ing to  him  a  sufficient  number  of  assistants  t"  do 
the  required  work.  This  engineer  is  charged  with 
responsibility  for  a  large  amount  of  work,  which, 
while  essentially  engineering  in  its  character,  is 
nevertheless  so  closely  related  to  the  detail  meth- 
ods of  operation  in  use  in  the  traffic  department, 
and  the  detail  administration  of  that  department. 
that  to  have  it  done  in  the  office  of  the  chief 
engineer  of  the  company  would  require  that  the 
chief  engineer  should  keep  complete  records  in  all 
detail  of  matters  going  on  in  the  traffic  department 
and  be  familiar  to  the  last  detail  with  a  vast  num- 
ber of  administrative  questions  concerning  that 
department. 

One  of  the  functions  of  the  traffic  engineer  is 
to  watch  carefully  the  growth  of  the  business  with 
reference  to  the  recmirements  for  additional  equip- 
ment of  all  kinds  for  switchboards,  and  a  proner 
length  of  time  in  advance  to  make  a  report  stating 
that  additional  equipment  is  required,  and  recom- 
mending the  extent  of  such  equipment.  As  giving 
an  idea  of  the  complexity  of  this  function  alone. 
I  might  say  that  the  following  are  some  of  the 
factors  which  the  traffic  engineer  has  to  watch  in 
connection  with  each  large  switchboard  in  the 
system : 

The  number  of  subscribers'  lines  available  in  the 
multiple. 

The  number  of  switchboard  positions  available 
for   subscribers'   ooerators. 

The  number  of  switchboard  positions  available 
for  trunk  operators   of  various   classes. 

The  number  of  incoming  trunk  cords  available 
for  incoming  trunk  lines  of  various  classes. 

The  number  of  call-wire  circuits  available  for 
calling   circuits. 

The  arrangement  of  answering  jacks  so  that  it 
may  be  possible  to  give  all  operators  at  the  switch- 
board  proper   loads. 

In  addition  to  these  items  in  the  switchboard 
itself  there  are  all  of  the  various  items  concern- 
ing the  information  desk,  the  assistant  manager's 
desk  and  the  manager's  desk — elements  of  the 
plant  which  are  of  the  utmost  importance  in  con- 
nection with  an  efficient  operation  of  the  system 
as   a   wdiole. 

The  report  recommending  additional  switchboard 
equipment  is  made  to  the  superintendent  of  traffic, 
and  if  approved  by  him  is  transmitted  to  the  chief 
engineer.  The  report  if  in  proper  form  gives  the 
essential  facts  upon  which  the  recommendation  is 
based  and  enables  the  chief  engineer  to  pass 
promptly  on  the  matter.  As  will  be  seen  by  this 
routine,  the  chief  engineer  does  not  necessarily 
have  to  concern  himself  with  the  detail  affairs  of 
the  traffic  department,  while  at  the  same  time  he 
is  not  relieved  of  the  responsibility  in  regard  to  the 
amount   and   character  of  plant  provided. 

Another  very  important  function  of  the  traffic 
engineer  is  to  watch  the  constant  growth  of  the 
business  trunked  between  various  offices  and 
handled  over  toll  lines  between  various  sections  of 


■ 

and     it 

whin    tl 

bmitted 

In   thi 
for    a    i 

ilar    in 
their    general    nature 

in   the   traffic    department. 
I 
•     Wdtch    of    thi 

undent    length 
of  time  in  advance  additional  cable 

recommendations  arc  mark-  by  him   to  the   supcrin- 
nstruction,    and    by    him    trai 

lo     llle 

arc    checked    up,    and    thus   again   the    responsibility 
is  finally  with  him. 

In    cases    such    as   this,    where   the   admin: 
of   lb'-  construction    department  and   its  engineering 
work   are  efficient,   the  principal   work  of  the  chief 
1 1    with    such    cases    is    to    sec 
that    the    plait  in    with    the    general 

and  general  scheme  of  development.  He 
also  sees  that  the  plans  provide  for  the  use  of 
standard  materials  or  materials  appropriate  to  the 
particular    situation    in    question. 

An  important  function  of  the  construction  engi- 
neer is  with  reference  to  the  rights-of-way  neces- 
sary to  carry  out  contemplated  pole-line  construc- 
ts.n.  Si"-li  rights  i-way  are  -  i  intimat  I; 
ciated  with  the  final  planning  of  the  construction 
that  they  must  be  obtained  prior  to  the  preparing 
of  actual  plans  of  the  work.  At  the  same  time 
the  rights  cannot  be  obtained  without  careful  engi- 
neering consideration  as  to  what  such  plans  should 
be.  Hence  it  lias  been  found  that  in  a  large  com- 
pany the  rights-of-way  had  best  be  handled  by  the 
construction  engineer,  and  the  right-of-way 
a    very    important   part   of   his    duties. 

From  an  engineering  point  of  view.  I  think  it 
is  safe  to  characterize  the  development  of  an  or- 
ganization having  engineers  in  the  construction 
and  the  traffic  departments  as  one  of  the  important 
steps  which  lead  to  efficiency  of  the  operating 
organization   as   a   whole. 

C.  P.  Steinmetz.  Schenectady:  Telephony  has 
always  appeared  to  me  a  very  fascinating  matter — 
to  consider  bow  the  speech  sound  can  be  trans- 
mitted over  long  distances  by  current  so  minute 
that  only  with  the  most  sensitive  oscillograph  has 
it  been  possible  to  record  them  on  the  photographic 
film.  There  is,  however,  one  very  important  and 
instructive  feature  in  telephone  transmission  for  the 
consideration  not  only  of  the  telephone  engineer 
hut  of  the  electrical  engineer  in  general — both  the 
transmission  of  power  and  the  transmission  of 
speech  are  essentially  electrical  transmission  of 
power.  There  is.  however,  an  entirely  different 
purpose  involved,  and  therefore  different  methods 
are    used    and    different   results   obtained. 

In  electric  power  transmission  the  problem  is  to 
deliver  at  the  end  of  the  line  as  large  a  percent- 
age as  possible  of  the  power  which  has  been  sent 
into  the  transmission  line.  In  telephone  transmis- 
sion this  is  not  the  problem,  but  the  problem  is  to 
deliver  at  the  end  of  the  line  the  electric  power 
with  a  relative  proportion  as  nearly  the  same  as 
the  relative  proportion  of  the  harmonics  of  the 
complex  wave  sent  into  the  line  by  the  telephone. 
Herein  consists  the  great  difficulty  of  long-distance 
telepnone  transmission.  If  it  were  only  the  ques- 
tion of  delivering  power  to  operate  the  telephone 
over  the  telephone  line  it  would  be  a  very  easy 
problem.  The  telephone  is  such  a  sensitive  ap- 
paratus that  we  could  easily  transmit  from  San 
Francisco  to  New  York  enough  power,  and  could 
even  throw  in  a  transatlantic  cable,  and  could  still 
get  enough  power  to  operate  a  telephone  from  San 
Francisco  to  New  York  and  London,  that  is.  to 
hear  a  sound,  but  not  to  understand.  You  could 
transmit  sound,  but  you  could  nor  transmit  articu- 
lation; that  is.  these  higher  harmonics  of  the  cur- 
rent wave  which  constitute  the  _difference  between 
the  different  sounds  of  the  different  letters.  To 
transmit  the  electric  power  of  the  electric  current 
so  as  to  destroy  this  articulation  as  little  as 
ble.  that  is,  to  retain  as  far  as  possible  the  rela- 
tive proportions  of  the  different  components  of 
the  complex  current  wave  which  the  telephone  or 
microphone  sends  into  the  line — that  is  the  problem 
of  telephony;  but  the  question  of  efficiency  does 
not  come  into  consideration.  The  question  of 
lelivered  is  immaterial,  because  the  amount 
of  power  is  negligible;  it  is  a  question  of  elimi- 
nating   destruction    or    deterioration    of    the    wave, 


224 

especially,  with  which  the  telephone  has  to  deal.  It 
is  very  instructive  for  the  electrical  engineer  to  hear 
discussed  the  problem  of  power  transmission,  in 
which  the  purpose  is  so  different  from  that  with 
which  we  are  familiar  in  our  high-power  systems, 
and  in  which,  therefore,  the  means  are  different 
from    those   we   are   familiar   with. 

Prof.  Pupin:  I  wish  to  add  one  sentence  to  Mr. 
Steinmetz's  very  interesting  and  instructive  re- 
marks, and  that  is.  that  you  can  express  what 
he  said  in  the  following  words:  The  distinction 
between  ordinarv  power  transmission  and  telephone 
transmission  is '  this :  With  the  ordinary  power 
transmission  we  want  to  have  as  large  a  power- 
factor  as  possible,  and  in  telephone  transmission 
we  want  to  have  as  small  a  power  transmission 
as  possible.  I  used  this  same  comparison  several 
years  ago  before  the  Institute. 

J.  J.  Cart>- :  Mr.  Lockwood  asked  a  question 
about  the  two-number  and  particular-party  busi- 
ness. That  is  an  expression  well  known  among 
telephonists,  but  I  thought  when  I  used  the  term 
in  the  paper  it  might  not  be  understood  by  those  in 
other  branches.  I  thought  I  would  do  as  they  do 
sometimes— run  in  some  new  terms,  as  they  do, 
and  leave  us  to  find  out  the  best  way  we  can. 
What  was  meant  by  that  term  might  be  better  ex- 
pressed by  calling  it  number  calls  instead  of  two- 
number  calls.  For  instance,  the  suburban  business 
is  handled  on  the  number  basis;  for  the  subscriber 
in  Newark  just  the  same  as  for  the  subscriber  in 
New  York,  although  the  method  of  handling  the 
call  mav  be  different.  In  many  stations  for  sub- 
urban business  the  plan  is  to  call  by  name  for  the 
particular  partv  at  the  office  called,  and  if  the 
partv  is  not  obtained,  then  there  is  no  charge,  and 
the  "idea  seems  to  be  in  the  minds  of  the  people 
who  use  that  system  that  they  save  money  by  not 
being  charged  for  that  call,  but  inasmuch  as  all 
such  calls  involve  extra  labor  and  really  greatly 
increases  the  cost  of  handling  the  business,  it  is 
obvious  that  the  cost  of  that  must  fall  on  telephone 
u^ers;  so  we  have  in  this  neighborhood  as  far  as 
possible  managed  our  trunk-line  plant  an  d  our 
method  of  operating  so  as  to  require  the  calling  by 
numbers.  That  enables  the  caller  to  get  through 
more  quicklv,  more  reliably   and  more  cheaply. 

In  regard"  to  what  Dr.  Pupin  had  to  say  about 
limits.  I  was  very  much  impressed  by  the  very 
dramatic  situation  which  existed  when  he  made 
his  celebrated  invention.  Wre  had  struck  our  limit, 
the  limits  of  speed  of  underground  cables  had  been 
reached,  and  the  limit  would  have  been  put  on 
the  long-distance  business  and  underground  toll- 
line  business,  and  there  was  a  great  question  as 
to  what  we  could  do  about  it.  I  can  only  compare 
it  to  the  incident  in  the  Civil  War  between  the 
Merrimac  and  Monitor.  The  Merrimac  was  run- 
ning amuck  among  our  ships,  and  we  all  thought 
the  limit  had  been  reached,  when  the  Monitor  ap- 
peared on  the  scene  and  changed  the  course  of 
affairs;  and  enlarging  on  this  comparison,  I  think 
I  can  make  it  clear  that  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Pupin 
with  his  load  invention  is  justly  _  compared  with 
the    arrival    of   the    Monitor    of   Ericson. 


Frivolous  Use   of   the  Telephone  in 
Washington,  D.  C. 

A  quiet  investigation  has  been  under  way  in 
Washington,  D.  C,  for  about  two  months,  from 
which,  according  to  a  newspaper  dispatch  from 
that  city,  it  has  been  learned  that  of  the  telephone 
calls  by  government  employes  during  office  hours 
about  22,  per  cent,  w-ere  for  the  government  service 
and  J7  per  cent,  were  personal  calls.  The  news- 
papers publish  the  following  interesting  record  for 
the  Treasury  Department:  Government  business, 
23  per  cent. ;  dinner  engagements,  12  per  cent. ; 
theater,  28  per  cent. ;  poker  engagements,  seven  per 
cent. ;  bucket-shops,  eight  per  cent. ;  loan  compa- 
nies, four  per  cent;  social,  12  per  cent.;  miscel- 
laneous, six  per  cent.  Fifty-three  per  cent,  of  the 
calls  were  made  by  male  employes  and  47  per  cent, 
by   females. 


Shopping  by  Telephone. 

In  the  Sixth  Avenue  store  in  New  York  city  of 
Siegel,  Cooper  &  Co.  a  telephone  system  was  in- 
stalled recently  which  is  said  to  be  the  largest  ever 
put  in  a  commercial  establishment.  Knowing  that 
a  great  majority  of  Xew  Yorkers  use  the  telephone 
the  management  has  had  the  store  equipped  with 
a  system  bringing  a  telephone  within  the  reach  of 
practically  every  clerk  in  the  establishment.  The 
telephones,  which  are  at  all  counters  and  selling 
points,  are  connected  with  a  large  switchboard  on 
the  third  floor.  The  operators  are  trained  care- 
fully and  a  person  calling  the  store  is  connected 
immediate!}'  with  the  department  or  salesman  de- 
sired. The  operators  transfer  the  telephone  shopper 
from  counter  to  counter,  or  department  to  depart- 
ment, as  desired.  The  idea  of  shopping  by  tele- 
phone has   met  with   success   in    Chicago. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes. 

Owing  to  the  campaign  for  business,  the  percent- 
age of  the  gross  receipts  of  the  Cuyahoga  Tele- 
phone Company  for  maintenance  is  larger  than  it 
otherwise  would  have  been.  The  company  has  had 
a  great  growth,  and  it  has  cost  something  to  get  it. 
Competition  betw-een  the  Cuyahoga  and  Bell  com- 
panies in  Cleveland  has  beeri  sharp,  and  both  fur- 
nish a  good  service.  For  either  to  make  a  sub- 
stantial progress,  then,  requires  hard  work  and 
push.  Both  are  putting  this  forth  with  the  result 
that  both  have  shown  excellent  gains  in  the  number 
of  telephones  added  within  the  last  year. 

The  new  exchange  of  the  Gallipolis  Telephone 
Company  of  Gallipolis  has  been  completed  and  is 
ready  for  work.  It  is  modern  in  every  particular 
and  has  a  capacity  of  2,400  telephones.  Much  im- 
provement has  been  made  in  the  outside  work  also, 
new  wire  being  put  in  and  many  newr  posts  set. 
A.  B.  Kratz  has  had  charge  of  the  work  since 
last  October  and  he  has  given  it  close  attention. 
He  has  arranged  so  that  the  exchange  is  able  to 
call  all  the  members  of  the  fire  department  sim- 
ultaneously and  make  other  innovations  that  are 
pleasing   to  the  people. 

The  cost  of  the  newr  conduits  and  the  cable  re- 
quired to  equip  them,  as  authorized  by  the  execu- 
tive committee  of  the  Cincinnati  and  Suburban 
Bell  Telephone  Company  a  few  days  ago,  will  be 
$165,000.  Bids  for  the  work  will  be  called  for  at 
once. 

The  Warrensville  Telephone  Company  of  War- 
rensville  has  sold  its  plant  to  the  Cleveland  Tele- 
phone Company.  Many  improvements  will  be  made 
on  the  plant  at  once. 

The  earnings  of  the  Lima  Telephone  and  Tele- 
graph Company  of  Lima  have  been  sufficient  the 
last  year  to  pay  the  regular  dividends  on  the  pre- 
fered  stock  and  four  per  cent,  on  common  stock, 
leaving  a  surplus  of  $5,000.  The  company  has  out- 
standing $150,000  common  stock,  $100,000  six  per 
cent,  cumulative  preferred  stock  and  $i2S,ooo  five- 
per  cent,  bonds.  A  syndicate  purchased  the  prop- 
erty from  the  Federal  Telephone  Company  about 
a  year   ago. 

Representatives  of  the  Independent  companies  and 
the  farmers'  companies  met  at  Clyde  a  few  days 
ago  and  made  arrangements  to  care  for  each  other's 
business    and   work   in   closer   harmony. 

The  Eaten  Telephone  Company  of  Eaton  has 
increased  its  capital  stock  from  $6o,coo  to  $100,000. 

The  Tedrow-  Telephone  Company  of  Tedrow  has 
been  incorporated  by  S.  M.  Stevens  and  others,  to 
be   operated   on  the  mutual  plan.  C. 


The  Farmers'  and  Merchants  Mutual  Telephone 
Company  has  been  incorporated  at  Richmond,  Okla., 
with  a  capital  of  $io;ooo. 


Telephone   News  from    the   Northwest. 

The  Fairviewr  Telephone  Company  has  been  or- 
ganized and  will  build  a  rural  line  into  Spring 
Valley,    Minn.     H.    Brandt    is    secretary. 

The  Lowry  (Minn.)  Telephone  Company  has  been 
incorporated   with    a   capital    stock   of   $5,ooo. 

The  Empire  (Wis.)  Telephone  Company  has  filed 
articles  of  incorporation.  William  C.  Ray  heads  the 
list  of  stockholders. 

The  Citizens'  Telephone  Company  of  Fargo, 
N.  D.,  has  filed  articles  of  incorporation  with  a 
capital   stock   of   $50,000. 

The  United  States  Circuit  Court  has  entered  an 
order  denying  the  motion  of  the  Northwestern 
Telephone  Exchange  Company  -for  a  provisional  in- 
junction to  restrain  the  city  of  St.  Charles,  Minn., 
from  .interfering  with  its  construction  of  a  local 
telephone  exchange.  The  council  there  refused  to 
grant  a_-franchise  except  with  a  regulation  of  rates, 
which    the   company   refuses   to   consider. 

The  Hermosa  Telephone  Company,  Hermosa, 
S.    D.,   has   been   incorporated   with   a   capital   stock 

of    $IO.COO. 

The  Northwestern  Telephone  Exchange  Company 
has  taken  out  building  permits  for  the  construction 
of  an  addition  to  its  main  exchange  in  Minneapolis, 
to  cost  $10,000,  and  also  for  the  new  sub-exchange 
in  North  Minneapolis,  to  cost  $15,000. 

The  Mesaba  Telephone  Company  has  been  granted 
a  franchise   at  Deer  River,   Minn. 

D.  F.  Siegfried  has  sold  the  Sanborn  (N.  D.) 
telephone   exchange  to  Earl  Shannon. 

Thomas  A.   Way  of  Mason   City,   Iowa,  has   sold 

his    holdings    in    the    Western    Electric    Telephone 

Company    and    has    gone    to    Watertown,    S.    D.     A 

Mr.  Gardner  of  Osage,  Iowa,  bought  the  controlling 

,  interest. 

The  Mutual  Telephone  Company  of  Williams, 
Iowa,  has  filed  articles  of  incorporation  with  a 
capital  of  $15,000.  E.  R.  Johnson  is  president  and 
R.    P.    Johnson    secretary. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  North  Dakota  has  de- 
cided that  a  land  owner  is  entitled  to  compensation 
when  a  telephone  line  is  built  on  the  highway  on 
which  his  property  abuts;  holding  that  it  is  a  new 
servitude  upon  the  fee  of  the  abutting  owner  and 
not  a  highway  use  within  the  purpose  of  the  origi- 
nal   dedication. 

The  Sheep  Canyon  Telephone  Company  of  Hot 
Springs,  S.  D..  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital 
stock   of   $5,coo.     W.    F.    Wyatt    is    president. 

The  Pioneer  Telephone  Company  of  Hitchcock, 
S.  D.,  has  been  formed  with  a  capital  of  $5,000. 
Charles   Phillips  is  president. 

The  Highland  Telephone  Company,  Oak  Gulch. 
Day   County,   South  Dakota,  has  been   incorporated 


March   17,,   1906 

with  $20,000  capital  stock.  John  D.  Hutchinson, 
John  Owen,  John  Heydlauff  and  Alfred  A.  Taylor, 
all   of   Oak   Gulch,   are  the  incorporators. 

The  Lake  George  Telephone  Company  has  been 
organized  at  Woden,  Iowa.  Thomas  Quinn  is  pres- 
ident and  A.  Orthel  secretary.  R.  - 


Indiana  Telephone  Items. 

The  Charlottesville  Northern  Telephone  Company 
of  Charlottesville  has  been  incorporated.  Dr.  W. 
R.  Johnson  is  among  the  incorporators. 

C.  E.  Stevens,  connected  with  the  Princeton  In- 
dependent Telephone  Company  at  Princeton  ever 
since  its  organization,  has  disposed  of  his  interest 
in  the  company  at  Princeton  and  Hazelton.  Mr. 
Stevens  will  put  in  an  extensive  system  through 
this  county,  with  headquarters  and  central  ex- 
change at  Oakland  City  to  connect  with  the  new 
Independent    system    proposed   for   Evansville. 

The  Richmond  Home  Telephone  Company  is  re- 
ported to  have  absorbed  and  taken  over  the  New 
Paris  Telephone  Company.  The  two  plants  will 
be  operated  from  Richmond. 

The  Independent  Telephone  Company  of  Owens- 
ville  is  in  the  market  for  a  new  switchboard.  A 
number  of  telephone  lines  entering  Judson,  Ind., 
have  agreed  to  co-operate  and  have  organized  the 
Judson  Switchboard  Association.  A  new  contract 
with  the  Park  County  Telephone  Company  on  the 
same  basis  with  the  local  company's  contracts  now 
in  force  with  other  co-operative  companies  pro- 
vides that  the  patrons  of  the  Park  County  Tele- 
phone Company  shall  pay  a  line  charge  of  five  cents 
per  call  for  the  use  of  the  Judson  line. 

Railroad  officials  of  Indiana  are  interested  in  a 
safety  device  which  has  just  been  patented,  by 
which,  it  is  said,  a  train  dispatcher  has  control  of 
trains  on  his  division  over  every  mile  of  track.  It 
consists  of  a  series  of  semaphores  plated  at  fre- 
quent intervals  along  the  track,  which  can  he  raided 
and  lowered  by  the  dispatcher  without  leaving  his 
desk.  It  is  proposed  to  use  telephones  in  connec- 
tion with  this  device,  so  the  conductor  of  a  stopped 
train  can  communicate  at  once  with  the  train  dis- 
patcher and   receive  new   orders. 

The  City  Council  of  Kokomo  has  disposed  of 
the  long-pending  telephone  controversy  by  passing 
an  ordinance  granting  to  the  Citizens'  Telephone 
Company  the  right  to  form  connections  with  the 
Central  LTnion  Telephone  Company  for  long-dis- 
tance service  to  points  not  reached  b\r  the  New 
Long-distance  Telephone  Company,  and  this  without 
prejudice  or  forfeiture  of  the  Citizens'  company's 
franchise. 

The  Arlington  Banking  Company  is  adding  a 
second  story  to  its  building  to  be  occupied  by  the 
Arlington  Telephone  Company's  exchange.  A  new 
and   modern    switchboard   may  be    installed. 

The  Central  Union  Telephone  Company  has  just 
completed  two  additional  copper  metallic  circuit 
toll  lines  between  Indianapolis  and  Columbus.  This 
is  preliminary  work  to  the  new  exchange  the  com- 
pany  will  build  in   Columbus  this   spring.  S. 


TELEPHONE  MEN. 

M.  R.  McClatchey,  manager  of  the  Southern  Bell 
Telephone  Company  at  Cartersville,  Ga.,  has  re- 
signed his  position  and  is  succeeded  by  Paul  Gil- 
reath,  mayor  of  the  town. 

David  Sparks  of  Jeffersonville,  Ky..  has  been  ap- 
pointed chief  electrician  for  the  Lexington  district 
of  the  Cumberland  Telephone  Company.  His  head- 
quarters will  be  at  Lexington. 

J.  E.  Hannon.  district  contract  agent  for  the 
Northwestern  Telephone  Exchange  Company  at 
Winona,  Minn.,  has  been  transferred  to  Faribault, 
Minn.,  where  he  has  been  put  in  charge  of  the 
exchange. 

Charles  H.  Coar  has  resigned  his  position  with 
the  Northwestern  Telephone  Exchange  Company 
to  accept  a  position  with  the  Twin  City  Telephone 
Company  of  St.  Paul  in  the  latter's  engineering 
department.  Mr.  Coar  was  recently  appointed  a 
member  of  the  Minnesota  State  Board  of  Electrical 
Examiners    by    Governor    Johnson. 


NEW  COMPANIES. 

A  new  telephone  company  has  been  formed  in 
Cortland,  Neb.,  with  R.  H.  Oltman  as  president. 

L.  G.  Acree  is  president  of  the  Model  Telephone 
Company  of  Model,  Tenn.,  recently  incorporated 
with  a   capital   of  $5,000. 

The  Courtland  and  Waverly  Telephone  Company 
of  Courtland,  Va..  has  been  organized  with  ample 
capital  by  J.  N.  Sebrell,  Sr.,  and  others  of  Court- 
land. 

Articles  of  incorporation  have  been  filed  at  Austin, 
New,  by  the  Austin-Manhattan  Telephone  Company. 
The  company  will  run  a  telephone  line  from  Austin 
to  Manhattan  by  the  way  of  Smoky  Valley. 

Among  the  recently  incorporated  telephone  com- 
panies are  the  following-named:  Citizens'  Eco- 
nomic Telephone  Company,  Fedora,  S.  D. ;  Farmers' 
Independent  Telephone  Company,  Thurston,  Neb. ; 
St.  Bernard  Telephone  Company,  St.  Bernard, 
Neb. ;  Steele  City-  Telephone  Companv,  Steele  City, 
Neb, 


March  17,  1906 


Independent    Telephony  In  Western 

Massachusetts. 
A   considerable   numbi  r   of    inti  rcsl 

regard   to  telephone  scrvio    ai  d   di      lo| 1    ha 

,  1 1  nt|      been    brought    out     in    tin      Wa     11 

I, „,  lativi     1  - ritti  1     l"  ■ ■'     1 hi     pro] 

bill  to  place  all  companic  i  1  ngagi  'I   in  th<    1 

of  transmitting  inti  lligcncc  bj    olectricitj    undi  1    thi 

up, ,    1    of    the    Ma    ai  I111  etl      I  ligh :  aj    I  torn 

mission.    'I  I"-    propo  ed    bill    wa     drawn    up    as    a 
result    of   the    suggestion    "f    Governor    Guild    that 

gome    soi  1    of     upi  rvi  "i  anii 

hi  be  di   irabli  .  but  as  far  .-is  thi    hi  ai  ing 

hown,  there  doe  1  not  appear    to  b<    anj    lei 
demand  on  the  pari   of  the  public   foi     m  h   a<  tion 
Representatives  of  the    Bell,   Independent,   ti  h 
cable  .1  ii'  I  wireless  organizations  have  been   in  con 
slant    attendance    at    the   hearings,   but    peril 

mo  1    inti  rei  ting  1 1     evolved  have  been   thi      idi 

lights   "ii   the    Massachusetts   situation    which    have 

(jevi  loped    fr time   to   nine    Most    of   the   1  om 

panics  arc   opposed   I"  the  bill. 

Conspicuous  among  these  side  lights  is  thi  ill 
prising  development  which  has  been  attained  by 
the  Heath  Telephone  Company,  a  rural  organiza- 
tion operating  in  the  hill  towns  of  the  western 
part  of  the  slate.  This  company  had  on  March 
Mli  815  subscribers  in  the  region,  including  and 
adjacent  to  the  towns  of  Buckland,  Colrai'n,  Ash- 
field  and  Charlemont,  and  pays  six  per  cent,  divi- 
dends, giving  practically  an  unlimited  daytime  serv- 
ice throughout  the  territory,  the  extreme  points 
covered  being  Halifax,  Vermont  and  Conway,  Mass. 
I  he  lines  are  in  use  between  7  a.  111.  and  o  p.  m. 
on  week  days,  while  on  Sundays  and  holidays  the 
hours  of  service  are  between  9  and  10  a.  :n.  and 
5  and  6  p.  m.  The  capital  stock  of  the  Heath 
company  is  worth  about  $30  per  share,  aggregating 
[,408  shares,  held  by  317  persons.  All  but  16  stock- 
holders live  in  the  territory  served,  which  is  of 
a  distinctly  rural  character.  The  average  holdings 
arc  less  than  $150  per  stockholder,  and  almost  all 
the  stockholders  are  subscribers.  In  this  respect 
the  company  comes  close  to  public  ownership,  ai- 
de lugh  it  enjoys  the  full  benefits  of  private  initia- 
tive. 

The  rates  charged  are  $12  per  year  for  the  serv- 
ice given,  which  is  all  metallic-circuit  line  except 
one,  which  serves  42  old  subscribers  on  a  grounded 
circuit  with  series  instruments.  These  stations  pay 
only  $6  per  annum  apiece,  but  a  toll  charge  of 
10  cents  is  made  for  calls  on  their  line  to  points 
outside  the  original  territory.  There  are  11,137  in- 
habitants in  the  territory  served,  which  means  one 
telephone  to  every  13.7  inhabitants,  or  about  one 
to  every  2.5  families.  In  the  rural  portion  of  Buck- 
land  the  density  is  one  telephone  to  every  5.1  in- 
habitants. The  rates  and  the  service  are  deter- 
mined by  the  stockholders,  and  there  is  now  a 
proposition  afoot  to  give  24-hour  service  365  days 
per  year,  the  cost  being  $14  per  subscriber  instead 
of  $12  rental.  The  service  has  been  found  to  be 
of  great  value  in  the  hill  towns,  especially  in  the 
case  of  the  more  remote  farms,  which  are  often 
seven  or  eight  miles  from  a  physician,  and  in  severe, 
winters  isolated  by  huge  snowdrifts  and  heavy 
gales.  Far  more  than  in  the  city  every  family 
has  imperative  use  for  the  telephone,  both  in  busi- 
ness and  social  ways,  and  in  several  cases  instru- 
ments taken  out  on  the  ground  that  the  subscriber 
was  too  poor  to  pay  the  necessary  $12  per  year 
have  been  replaced  for  the  reason  that  no  one  can 
really  afford  to  be  without  an  instrument.  There 
is  not  much  doubt  that  the  company  has  reached 
the  point  wdiere  any  considerale  extension  through 
new  territory  will  force  it  to  establish  tolls  between 
exchanges.  In  a  recent  annual  report  it  was  stated 
that  the  company  probably  gives  a  larger  service 
to  subscribers  without  toll  charges  than  any  other 
company  in  the  United  States,  and  there  is  no 
question  that  the  company  gives  its  subscribers  an 
opportunity  to  transmit  messages  by  wire  through- 
out its  territory  at  a  lower  rate  than  the  United 
States  mail  affords,  for  an  average  use  of  each 
instrument  only  twice  every  working  day  wrould 
amount  to  less  than  two  cents  per  message  for  the 
year.  In  the  last  2j/<  years  the  number  of  instru- 
ments   in   use   has   been   almost    doubled. 

Within  a  lew  weeks  a  proposition  was  made  by 
the  New  England  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany to  the  Heath  company  to  the  general  effect 
that  the  latter  take  over  the  former's  branch  lines 
in  the  territory,  put  in  Bell  receivers  and  trans- 
mitters at  an  annual  rental  of  $1.25  apiece ;  refrain 
from  extending  its  lines  into  other  territory ;  inter- 
change messages  and  divide  toll  business  pro  rata, 
according  to   the   distance   covered  between   connec- 


OENERAL  TELEPHONE  NEWS 
Hie   Hi  1  elephone    and 

hint. 
■ 
■in    Bell     1  clcpl c   '  lompanj 

1 : 

in   that 

11     B,    Newman   ha 
for  the  erecti ;  a  $10,000  building  in  Pai 

■:■■■    A 

!    'ird     will     be     placed     ill     lie 
building, 

1  in    I  .  In ...  1      21       .:.       ,licl 

and    thai    city 
ervici       Hii  f  5,000 

ti  Ii  pi 

Peter  M01 and  1  11  '•'.  leelei  of  Lin- 
coln,   \i  li ,   have   pun  ha  ed   ii"'   '  ird,    N01  th 

and    Bui  v.  ill    1  Mi  i'ii 

ii Bell  &    Sorenson.     'they  will  install  many  itn- 

pro\  ements. 

Charles   J.    Close    of    Columbus,    Ohio,    has    gone 
In    Havana,    Cuba,   to   arrange   plans    for  a   building 
for  the  Cuban  Telephone  and  Telegram  Con 
Frank    L.    Packard   made   the   preliminary   drawings 
for   the   building. 

The  Central  New  York  Telephone  and  Telegraph 

Company    of    Syracuse    will    expend    $60,000 
tending  its  service  in  the  Thousand   Island  territory 
and  between   St.   Lawrence   River  points   in   general. 
W.    C.    Wolvcrton    is    chief   engineer. 

The  Michigan  State  Telephone  Company  has 
completed   arrangements   with   the   Hillsdale    I 

["elephone  Company,  whereby  the  exchange  of  toll 
messages    is    possible    between    the    two    coin 

This  firings  to  the  use  of  the  Hillsdale  exchange 
about  500  more  telephones  than  heretofore,  located 
in   many   parts   of  the   county. 

The  Pittsburg  and  Allegheny  Telephone  Company 
of  Pittsburg  is  making  arrangements  for  extensive 
improvements  and  extensions.  It  has  secured  fran- 
chises in  Glassport,  Canonsburg,  Donora,  YV.ivn  is 
burg,  Charleroi,  and  an  ordinance  is  pending  in 
Monessen.  At  Charlerc^i  the  lines  of  the  company 
will  make  connection  with  those  of  the  Tri-State 
Telephone  Company. 

The  Board  of  Supervisors  of  San  Francisco  has 
passed  to  print  an  ordinance  providing  for  the  sale 
of  a  franchise  for  a  telephone  system  to  the  highest 
bidder,  on  the  Home  Telephone  Company's  petition. 
The  new  company  desires  to  bid  for  the  privilege. 
Sealed  bids  will  be  received  up  to  Monday,  April 
23d,  each  to  be  accompanied  by  a  certified  check 
for  the  full  amount  of  the  bid. 

The  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Telephone  Company  of 
Carbondale,  111.,  which  was  formed  recently  to  take 
over  the  telephone  companies  at  Du  Quoin.  Anna, 
Marion  and  Carbondale,  111.,  has  completed  the 
consolidation  of  these  companies.  The  new  company 
is  capitalized  at  $100,000  and  its  first  officers  are : 
President,  Edward  Sampson.  Anna;  vice-president, 
H.  C.  Miller,  Du  Quoin;  secretary,  F.  W.  W'illard. 
Anna ;  treasurer,  D.  M.  Parkinson,  Carbondale ; 
general  manager,  E.  J.  Baldridge,  Du  Quoin.  Di- 
rectors, H.  C.  Miller  and  M.  C.  Brookings,  Du 
Quoin:  Joab  Goodall  and  J.  M.  Mitchell,  Marion; 
J.  B.  Bundy  and  D.  M.  Parkinson,  Carbondale; 
Edward   Sampson   and  A.  J.   Phillips,   Anna. 

The  Colorado  Telephone  Company  (Bell)  has 
placed  an  automatic  switchboard  in  the  factory 
of  the  Holly  Sugar  Company  at  Holly,  Colo.  This 
is  not  the  first  automatic  board  in  Colorado,  though 
it  is  said  to  be  the  only  one  now  in  operation  and 
the  first  to  be  installed  by  the  Colorado  Telephone 
Company.  It  was  desired  to  have  a  system  where 
each  department  of  the  factory  could  communicate 
with  any  other  department  and  at  the  same  time 
have  connections  with  the  telephone  company's  ex- 
change at  Holly.  It  was  also  desired  to  have  it 
possible  for  the  telephone  operator  at  Holly  to 
call  any  one  of  these  departments  at  the  factory. 
and  all  this  over  one  circuit  running  from  cen- 
tral  to   the   automatic   central   at   the   factory. 


MANUFACTURERS    AND    DEALERS. 

No  exception  is  made  to  the  general  high  quality 
of  the  Stromberg-Carlson  bulletins  by  the  one  which 
has  just  been  issued.  It  is  devoted  to  central- 
energy  telephones  and  is  very  tasteful  in  appearance 
as  well  as  instructive  in  the  reading  matter  which 
it  contains.  One  of  the  interesting  things  described 
in  the  bulletin  is  a  combination  telephone  receiver 
and  transmitter  set  for  desk  use.  This  set  requires 
no  triplet  and  the  switch  is  operated  by  merely 
placing  the  receiver  to  the  ear.  When  not  in  use 
the  instrument  may  lie  upon  the  top  of  the  desk 
or  be  hung  up  by  a  ring. 


CORRESPONDENCE 
Great  Britain. 

in  the 

and    in    part     1  The 

depth    from    ii.  :rom    a 

heard  that  the 
ing  and 
Icing      compartment..       Maximum 

;lic   pe- 
culiaritii  d,   and 

as   on   ail   the   London   County   Council   cat 

I    track 

emerging    to    the    surface    there    is    a    verj 
gradient.     Including  the  acqu 

mated    that    tin 
the    subway,    something    over    a    mile,    will    amount 
it    $1,400,000.      All    the    timber    used    on    the 
been    rendered    non-inflammable   by 
cial   process,  and  very   elaborate  arc  the   ventilating 
arrant;.;;  n    Started    with 

a  four-minute  headway,  but  at  present  only  half 
the  total  number  of  cars  is  in  use.  When  they 
have  all  been  delivered  a  two-minute  service  will 
be  inaugurated.  At  one  point  the  subway  is  mid- 
way between  the  road  level  ami  the  deep  level 
twin  tunnel  of  the  Great  Northern.  Piccadilly  and 
Bromptoi  ne   of   the    Yerkes   groups   of 

tube    railways. 

Further  to  the  west  of  London  the  London 
United  Tramway  Company  has  opened  some  new- 
extensions  which  include  the  first  cross-thc-Thames 
tramway  ever  built,  viz..  Kingston  Bridge.  This 
line  was  only  sanctioned  by  Parliament  after  severe 
competition,  which,  even  now.  has  not  altogether 
disappeared.  However,  the  lines  have  now  re- 
ceived the  sanction  of  the  Board  of  Trade.  The 
extensions  in  question  are  mainly  on  the  south 
side  of  the  River  Thames,  but  they  form  a  through 
connection,  via  the  bridge  in  question,  with  the 
same  company's  lines  on  the  northern  side.  The 
feature  of  the  new  system  from  the  electrical  engi- 
neering standpoint  is  that  it  is  supplied  with  cur- 
rent from  the  huge  generating  station  at  Chelsea, 
owned  by  the  late  Mr.  Yerkes'  company,  the  Under- 
ground Electric  Railways  Company  of  London. 
The  distance  between  this  generating  station  and 
the  tramway  sub-station  is  10  miles,  and  the  pres- 
sure is  11,000  volts.  Another  interesting  detail, 
too,  is  that  a  new  type  of  double-deck  car  has 
been  introduced  with  a  larger  seating  capacity  than 
hitherto. 

An  event  of  more  than  ordinary  interest  took 
place  at  the  end  of  last  week  at  the  city  telephone 
exchange  of  the  General  Postoffice.  As  previously 
reported,  the  rapid  growth  of  the  business  has 
necessitated  the  erection  of  a  new  exchange  board, 
which  will  have  the  effect  of  doubling  the  present 
capacity  of  the  system.  The  new  board  being  of 
a  more  modern  design  than  the  original,  it  was 
decided  to  transfer  to  it  all  the  existing  subscrib- 
ers pending  the  reconstruction  of  the  first  board. 
The  change  over  of  some  thousands  of  subscribers' 
connections  was  carried  out  with  practically  no 
hitch.  Eventually  it  is  the  intention,  it  is  gener- 
ally understood,  to  retransfer  the  subscribers  on 
the  completion  of  the  reconstruction  of  the  old 
board. 

That  the  decision  of  the  London,  Brighton  and 
South  Coast  Railway  Company  to  employ  the  sin- 
gle-phase system  of  electric  traction  upon  some  of 
its  suburban  lines  has  engendered  a  greater  feeling 
of  doubt  than  ever  in  the  minds  of  other  railway 
managers  has  been  abundantly  manifested  recently. 
The  record  of  lost  traffic  incurred  by  some  of  the 
steam  suburban  lines  in  and  about  London  gets 
worse  year  by  year,  and  the  companies,  being  at 
their  wits'  end  to  counteract  this,  which  is  di- 
rectly attributable  to  electric-tramway  and  motor- 
omnibus  competition,  turn  to  electric  traction.  But 
what  do  they  find?  Take,  for  instance,  the  East 
London  railway.  This  mns  over  both  the  District 
railway  and  the  London,  Brighton  and  South  Coast 
railway,  the  former  of  which  is  equipped  with 
direct  current,  and  the  latter  about  to  be  worked 
on  the  single-phase  alternating.  The  Xorth  Lon- 
don railway,  which  has  lost  over  $100,000  per  an- 
num for  six  years  on  account  of  lost  traffic  and 
is  now  losing  a  further  S100.000  per  annum  through 


226 

the  reduction  of  its  fares,  runs  over  several  sys- 
tems, and  it  is  not  unnatural,  therefore,  that  these 
companies  are  in  a  dilemma  as  to  the  best  course 
to  pursue.  There  is  not  much  doubt  that  the  run- 
ning powers  exercised  over  each  of  the  various 
companies'  lines  in  London  will  tend  to  retard  the 
adoption  of  electric  traction  for  some  time  yet 
unless  a  standard  system  can  be  quickly  agreed 
upon.  ... 

The  National  Telephone  Company  is  issuing 
$30000,000  of  new  stock,  which  will  be  offered  to 
the  present  shareholders.  The  report  of  the  com- 
pany shows  an  agreeable  increase  111  the  use  of 
the"  telephone  in  England,  especially  in  London, 
where  the  companv's  business  has  doubled  itselt 
during  the  last  three  or  four  years,  in  spite  of  the 
competition  of  the  Postoffice  system,  which  latter 
now  has  40,000  subscribers.  1  he  company  has 
73.000   subscribers   in   London.  G. 


New  York. 

New  York  city,  March  10.— Controller  Metz  has 
made  a  very  interesting  suggestion  to  the  effect 
that  the  city  should  take  over  the  ferries  and  oper- 
ate them  without  tolls  for  the  vehicular  traffic  that 
now  crosses  Brooklyn  Bridge  and  thus  leave  the 
space  on  the  bridge  free  for  additional  trolley 
tracks.  The  pian,  however,  is  not  at  all  likely  to 
commend  itself  either  to  bridge  engineers,  traction 
men    or    to    municipal-ownership    advocates. 

It  is  stated  that  the  first  passenger  train  on  the 
northernmost  section  of  the  subway  will  positively 
run  on  Monday  morning.  Pending  the  completion 
of  the  equipment  of  intermediate  stations  passen- 
gers will  be  conveyed  on  a  shuttle  train  from 
One-hundred-and-fifty-seventh  Street  to  the  Har- 
lem Ship  Canal,  with  stops  at  Two-hundred-and- 
fifteentli    and    Two-hundred-and-twenty-SrSt    streets. 

President  Orr  of  the  Rapid  Transit  Commission 
has  stated  that  he  is  confident  that  there  will  be 
more  than  one  bidder  for  any  future  subway,  and 
some  statisticians  have  figured  out  that  the  lowest 
bidder  will  be  August  Belmont,  because  the  existing 
Interborough  power  plant  is  and  was  originally  de- 
signed with  a  view  of  supplying  all  the  electric 
power  needed  to  operated  three  or  four  subways. 
The  same  authorities  state  that  the  Brooklyn  Rapid 
Transit  Company  will  not  bid  for  any  Brooklyn 
subwavs  on  account  of  the  need  that  would  arise 
of  constructing  an  entirely  new  generating  sta- 
tion at  an  estimated  cost  of  $8,000,000. 

Progress  is  reported  on  the  public-utilities  bill 
which  is  being  promoted  at  Albany  by  Tammany 
interests  to  give  the  city  power  to  supervise  and 
control    traction,    lighting    and   telephone    properties. 

Senator  Cooper  of  Brooklyn  has  introduced  a 
bill  at  Albany  embodying  Borough  President  Coler's 
ideas  for  a  municipally  owned  and  operated  trac- 
tion system  for  Brooklyn. 

The  Metropolitan  Street  Railway  Company's  sur- 
face car  barns  on  Forty-second  Street  were  de- 
stroyed by  fire  on  Sunday  night,  involving  a  loss 
of  $250,000.  The  barns  will  be  rebuilt  as  speedily 
as  possible. 

The  New  York  City  Street  Railways  Company 
will  enlarge  its  power  house  at  One-hundred-and- 
twenty-ninth  Street  and  Amsterdam  Avenue  at  a 
cost  of  $150,000.  This  building  is  on  the  site  of  the 
first  cable  power  house  erected  in  the  city. 

The  New  York  Times  says  that  a  number  of 
women  living  in  the  Bronx  are  obtaining  verdicts 
against  the  Metropolitan  Street  Railway  Company 
to  the  amount  of  $50  damages  and  $12  costs  each 
for  refusal  of  the  company  to  grant  free  transfers. 
It  is  said  that  600  judgments  have  been  granted 
already  and  that  the  company  has  paid  over  the 
money  in  many  cases.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
river  the  Brooklyn  Heights  railroad  has  issued  an 
order,  following  ad\  crse  legal  decisions,  to  grant 
transfers  in  the   future  at  all   intersections. 

An  analysis  of  the  lighting  bids  submitted  on 
February  1st  shows  that  the  city  will  save  $779-797 
on  its  new  gas  and  electric-lighting  bills.  The 
details  of  the  electric  lighting  bids  for  1905  and 
1906,  respectively,  are  as  follows :  Manhattan, 
$491,325.80  and  $338,630;  Bronx,  $293,591  and  $227,- 
270;  Brooklyn.  $591,184.80  and  $459,847.50;  Queens. 
$287,363  and  $215,522.50;  Richmond,  $163,835  and 
$149,075;   total,   $1,827,299.60  and  $1,390,343. 

The  Williams  Printing  Company  is  now  using 
power  from  the  Edison  mains  to  run  its  machinery. 
The  Broadway  Central  Hotel  has  also  recently  de- 
cided to  take  the  Edison  service,  and  contracts  are 
pending  for  supplying  the  new  department  store 
now  building  opposite  the  Waldorf-Astoria  Hotel. 
At  Yonkers  some  new  tenement  houses  are  to  be 
equipped    with     electric    lighting. 

The  Natural  Food  Company,  which  uses  elec- 
trical power  in  its  factories  at  Buffalo,  is  at  pres- 
ent exhibiting  at  a  Broadway  store  an  electrically 
operated  apparatus  showing  how-  it  prepares  some 
of   its   breakfast   foods. 

The  New  York  Edison  Company  reports  that 
on  February  28th  it  had  pending  contracts  for  1.657.- 
408  16-candlepower  equivalents,  a  very  considerable 
increase  over  the  corresponding  month  of  1905. 
Ibis  amount  of  lighting,  it  is  said,  would  suffice  for 
331    hotels   of  the   size  of  the   Waldorf-Astoria. 

The  proposals  to  consolidate  the  power  plants  at 
the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard  are  viewed  with  gen- 
eral disfavor  by  the  officials  in  charge  of  the  exist- 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

ing  isolated  plants.  They  aver  that  it  was  enor- 
mous task  to  get  the  existing  plants  in  operation 
in  view  of  red-tape  regulations,  and  that  a  con- 
solidation would  mean  still  more  tape  in  giving 
orders  incidental  to  the  efficient  operation  of  the 
machinery. 

Many  new  electrical  attractions  are  promised  for 
the  Coney  Tsland  season,  which  opens  on  May  12th. 

The  Jones  Electric  Manufacturing  Company  of 
33-37  Bethune  Street  has  made  an  assignment  to 
Daniel  W.  Sloan.  The  company  has  a  capital  stock 
of  $50,000  and  formerly  did  much  telegraph-instru- 
ment business.  D.  ^  ■  ^  • 


March  17,  1906- 

point  in  Caswell  County  to  connect  with  the  Nor- 
folk and  Western  railroad,  and  it  appears  that  the 
work    will    finally   be   accomplished.  L. 


New  England, 

Boston,  Mass.,  March  10. — The  Boston  Elevated 
Railway  Company  has  ordered  its  conductors  to 
announce  the  denomination  of  any  piece  of  money 
larger  than  five  cents,  when  it  is  handed  to  him 
by  a  passenger.  This  is  to  prevent  any  misun- 
derstanding in  regard  to  making  change. 

The  Montpelier  and  Barre  Traction  Company 
and  its  employes  have  signed  a  wage  scale  which 
will  be  in  force  for  three  years.  They  compro- 
mised on  one  cent  per  hour  increase,  the  agree- 
ment to  last  three  years. 

The  articles  of  association  of  the  Augusta,  Oak- 
land and  Waterville  Street  Railway  Company  have 
been  approved  by  the  Maine  railroad  commission- 
ers. The  company  has  a  capital  of  $75,000  and 
it  proposes  to  build  an  electric  railway  between 
Augusta  and  Oakland,  Maine,  via  Sidney,  a  dis- 
tance of   18  miles. 

C.  J.  H.  Woodbury  of  the  American  Telephone 
and  Telegraph  Company's  engineering  staff,  ad- 
dressed the  Medford  Club  of  Medford,  Mass.,  on 
the  evening  of  February  27th,  on  "The  Develop- 
ment of  the  Telephone  Service  in  the  United 
States." 

The  Boston  and  Worcester  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany reports  gross  earnings  of  $28,000  for  Feb- 
ruary, against  $21,951  in  February,  1905,  and  $17,- 
226    in    February,    1904. 

The  long-standing  suits  of  the  Boston  Electric 
Light  Company  against  the  city  of  Boston  and 
the  Old  Colony  Railroad  Company  have  been  set- 
tled. The  electric-light  company  sued  for  dam- 
ages occasioned  by  cutting  through  the  site  of  its 
old  plant  caused  by  the  extension  of  Federal  Street 
in  connection  with  the  building  of  the  South  Ter- 
minal Station  in  Boston.  By  the  settlement  the 
company  received  $388,000  from  the  city  and  $2,000 
from   the    railroad   company. 

In  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  the  committee 
on  street  railways  has  rejected  E.  Moody  Boyn- 
ton's  petition  for  a  revival  of  the  charter  and 
rights  of  the  Boston,  Quincy  and  Fall  River  Bi- 
cycle   Railway    Company.  B. 


Southeastern  States. 

Charlotte,  N.  C,  March  10.— Work  has  been 
started  on  an  interurban  electric  railway  from 
Anderson  to  Belton,  S.  C,  tire  survey  haying  been 
made  by  J.  E.   Sirrine  of  Greenville,  S.   C. 

The  Birmingham  (Ala.)  Railway,  Light  and 
Power  Company  has  been  granted  a  permit  to  make 
$50,000  improvements  to  its  Powell  Avenue  power 
house. 

In  the  Legislature  of  Maryland  bills  have  been 
introduced  that  appear  to  give  the  Maryland  Elec- 
tric Railway  Company  the  right  to  merge  several 
lines  and  give  a  system  that  will  embrace  about 
all  of  the  electric  "lines  within  50  miles  of  Balti- 
more. The  original  charter  was  granted  several 
years  agoT  It  is  added  that  this  charter  has  now 
"fallen  into  the  hands  of  interests  friendly  to  the 
United  Railways  Company,  which  may  mean  ex- 
tensive mergers. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  200.000  horsepower  of 
electrical  energy  will  be  available  from  this  sec- 
tion, it  is  asserted  that  both  the  Westinghouse  and 
the  General  Electric  companies  are  contemplating 
opening  branch  offices  at  this  place.  It  is  even 
reported  that  these  concerns  have  secured  quarters 
in    one   of  the   chief   office  buildings   here. 

The  town  of  Gastonia,  N.  C,  has  awarded  to 
the  Spencer  Mountain  Power  Company  a  contract 
fof  supplying  power  at  the  rate  of  $20  per  horse- 
power for  day  use  and  $14  per  horsepower  for 
night  use.  It  is  estimated  that  about  $3,000  a 
year  will  be  saved  to  the.  city  in  lighting. 
^  The  Southern  Power  Company  has  offered  to 
supply  the  town  of  Chester,  S.  C,  with  power  at 
the  rate  of  $20  per  horsepower  for  not  less  than 
2,000  horsepower,  this  being  close  to  half  the  pres- 
ent price,  and  it  is  likely  that  the  town  will  accept 
the  offer  for  city  lighting. 

The  city  of  Winston-Salem.  N.  C,  has  authorized 
the  lighting  committee  to  purchase  the  Winston 
Gas  and  Lighting  Company  at  a  reasonable  figure 
at  a  receiver's  sale,  and  if  this  is  not  successful^ 
the  city  will  undertake  the  work  of  establishing  a' 
municipal    gas    or    electric    plant. 

The  Albemarle  (N.  C.)  Ice  Company  has  se- 
cured rights  to  add  an  electric  and  water  plant  to 
its  present  plant  for  the  purpose  of  lighting  the 
city  with  electricity. 

A  committee  of  citizens  of  Reidsville.  N.  C,  is 
in  charge  of  securing  an  engineer  to  estimate  the 
cost  of  an  electric  railway  from  that  town  to  some 


Ohio. 

Cleveland,  March  10. — At  a  meeting  last  week 
in  this  city  an  arrangement  was  completed 
whereby  the  Toledo  and  Western  and  the  Bucklen 
syndicate  will  complete  the  connection  between 
the  lines  owned  by  these  two  interests  and  make 
it  possible  for  a  through  route  from  Erie,  Pa.,  to 
Chicago.  Each  will  build  about  12  miles  of  track 
and  meet  at  a  point  near  Pioneer,  Ind.  With  the 
lines  built  under  construction  and  projected  this 
connection  will  make  it  possible  to  travel  from 
Boston   to    Chicago  by  trolley. 

Assistant  General  Manager  Moon  of  the  Lake 
Shore  railroad  has  denied  that  75  motor  cars,  sim- 
ilar to  the  Strang  car,  are  being  built  at  Collin- 
wood  for  that  company.  He  said  that  the  company- 
is  experimenting  with  a  motor  car  and  may  put 
it  into  use  if  it  gets  one  that  is  satisfactory. 

The  Cleveland  Electric  Railway  Company  has 
asked  for  a  franchise  to  complete  the  Superior 
Street  line  into   East   Cleveland. 

The  Hippodrome  Company  will  install  a  lighting 
plant  of  large  proportions  in  its  new  building  in 
Euclid  Avenue  and  will  furnish  light  for  other 
buildings  in  the  vicinity.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  the  heating  plant.  This  company  is  building  an 
immense  show  house  and  office  building,  and  the 
heating  and  lighting  equipment  will  be  of  the  best. 
The  electric  machinery-  is  being  made  in  Switzer- 
land,  it  is   said. 

The. Cincinnati  Light,  Heat  and  Power  Company 
has  been  incorporated  by  Guy  W.  Mallon,  H.  H. 
Bechtel,  E.  R.  Stearns  and  others,  with  a  capital 
stock  of  $100,000.  The  company  will  apply  for  a 
franchise  to  furnish  current  for  lighting  and  com- 
mercial purposes  at  eight  cents  a  kilowatt.  The 
present  price  is  10  cents,  although  the  franchise 
would  allow  II.  The  franchise  ordinance  that  Mr. 
Mallon  is  preparing  will  require  a  vote  of  the  peo- 
ple after  the  City  Council  has  granted  it.  It  is 
the  intention  to  make  the  capital  stock  from 
$6.0co,oco  to  $S,ooo.coo  if  a  franchise  is  granted, 
and  a  provision  will  be  made  that  the  plant  may- 
be turned  over  to  the  city  after  25  years  should  the 
city  desire  to  purchase. 

Earnings  of  the  Columbus,  New  Albany  and 
Johnstow-n  road  are  showing  a  good  gain  over  the 
first  month  of  last  year.  The  first  of  the  new  cars 
will  be  delivered  in  April. 

Stockholders  of  the  Canton-Akron  Railway  Com- 
pany have  decided  to  increase  the  capital  stock 
from  $2,ooo,coo  to  $2,200,000,  the  additional  money 
to  be  used  in  purchasing  new  equipment  for  the 
pow-er  plant  and  new  cars. 

It  is  rumored  that  negotiations  are  under  way 
for  the  sale  of  the  Muncie,  Hartford  and  Fort 
Wayne  to  the  Elkins-Widener-Dolan  people.  The 
story  has  not  been  confirmed  here. 

The  House  of  Representatives  has  voted  in  favor 
of  the  bill  providing  for  a  light  plant  for  the 
State  House  at  Columbus.  The  bill  carries  with  it 
an  appropriation  of  $25,000  for  that  purpose. 

The  Dayton  and  Western  has  discontinued  its 
fast  train,  the  Inter-state  limited,  between  Dayton 
and  Indianapolis,  because  it  is  not  paying.  A 
buffet  service  was   operated   on   the   cars. 

An  engineer  will  be  employed  to  make  plans 
for  a  municipal  light  plant  for  Covington,  Ky.,  ac- 
cording to  a  resolution  adopted  by  the  City  Coun- 
cil a  few  days  ago. 

Rumors  have  been  going  the  rounds  of  late  that 
the  Toledo  Railway  and  Light  Company  will  be 
absorbed  by  the  Detroit  United  before  a  great 
length    of   time.  O.  M.  C. 


Indiana. 


Indianapolis,  March  10. — The  directors  of  the 
Winona-Peru  electric  railway  held  a  meeting  this 
week  and  completed  plans  for  the  immediate  con- 
struction of  a  line  between  Peru  and  Winona. 
Among  those  present  were  John  M.  Studebaker 
of   South   Bend   and   S.    C.   Dickey   of  Indianapolis. 

J.  A.  Barry,  former  manager  of  the  Indiana 
Northern  Traction  Company,  E.  M.  Fry,  railroad 
expert  for  the  North  American  Railway  Construc- 
tion Company,  and  S.  P.  McGough.  engineer  for 
the  latter  company,  were  in  Indianapolis  last  week 
making  arrangements  for  building  an  electric  rail- 
way from  Wabash  to  Warsaw  by  way  of  L'rbana 
and  North  Manchester.  The  Fort  Wayne  and 
Wabash  Valley  Traction  Company  will  furnish 
power  for  the  line.  It  is  generally  thought  that 
the  road,  when  built,  will  be  merged  with  the  In- 
diana Union  Traction   Company. 

The  Terre  Haute  council  has  refused  to  con- 
sider the  bid  of  the  traction  company  for  lighting 
the  city  and  has  decided  to  ask  for  bids  for  one 
year  only,  at  which  time  the  city  expects  to  hare 
a   municipal   plant  ready  to   operate. 

The  City  Council  of  Linton  is  about  to  sell  its 
municipal  electric-iight  plant.  The  plant  has  been 
operated  at  a  loss  and  inasmuch,  as  a  number  of 
companies  are  ready  to  bid  on  it  the  probability 
is   that   it  will   be   sold. 

The  Louisville  and  Southern  Indiana  Traction 
Company,    with    headquarters    in    New    Albany,    has 


March   17,   1906 

complcti  <1    plana    foi    the    erection    b( 

I, in), III       ill    I  ..111   1  illc    .'I    • Ol       100,0  0,       hii  h 

1    ,      aid,   n  ill   I"    (hi    ink   I     tructuri  il 

outli   1  1    tlic   1  Hiio    Rivci .     I  I 

i,  1    .,     a  cli  pol    [or  thi 

ti  .1   lim     of  the  com] 
•m, I   ill.    second  and   third   floor     « ill   hi    lea  cd   I 

matin  Picturing   1 :i  n     u  in|     electrical    pi 

I  In     1 01 ionci      "i    'i    nnt)     I 

tiered    an    election    to    vote    an    appropriation    of 
£25,000   in   aid   of   llic-    tndianapoli 
1 ;,  an  ■.  ille   clcctrii     1  lilvvaj . 

I  hi     « 'it;     1  "I'm  'I    ol     Lafayctti     ha       ■      itcd 

ti  am  hi  '     I"    'I"      V\  .linn      1  1 ...  1 1  nmpi 

enter    that    city.      This    franchi  ic    proi  idi       foi     a 

I   Mil    '  omplcti  •   the    link    bi  t« In 

Klkins   roads   and   the    Mi  Kinlej    lim       giv 

pli  I.    .  onncction   from    Uric,    Pa.,   to  Si     Loni       Ho 
The  work  of  constructing  the  line  will  begin  al  once. 

S.  S. 


Michigan. 

Grand  Rapids,  March   to.     The  electri  qui 

lion   1     again   up   for  di  11  us   ion  al    I  indi  11 
S.   Rundell  of   Mini    has  made  a  proposilion  to  light 
the   village    from   the   .'I.  eti  ic   plaul    .11    In  nton 

The  Village  Council  al  Hart  will  subm 
question  of  bonding  the  village  for  $20,oco,  for  the 
purpose  of  putting  in  an  electric-light  plant,  to 
li  voters.  A  proposition  from  the  Perc  Marquett< 
company  has  been  under  advisement.  The  latter 
company  purposes  securing  power  from  a  dam  on 
the    Pere    Marquette    River    in    Mason    County. 

The  Detroit  I'rollcy  Wheel  and  Equipment  Com 
pany  of  Detroit  is  out  after  a  contract  to  supply 
[0,000  trolley  winds  for  the  Japanese  government. 
I  In-  Trolley  Wheel  company  is  one  of  the  new 
industries  of  Detroit.  Il  manufactures  brass,  bronze 
and  aluminum  goods  and  turns  out  the  Paragon 
automobile.  It  started  a  little  over  a  year  ago 
with   two  men,   and  now   it  employs  over  50. 

The  building  of  an  electric  railway  from  Rattle 
Creek  through  Burlington  and  Girard  to  Cold- 
water,  it  is  said,  is  now  an  assured  fact.  It  is 
said  that  this  effectually  hangs  up  the  proposed  line 
of  Battle   Creek   to   Coldwater,   via   Athens. 

The  Richland  Citizens'  Association  will  attempt 
to  project  an  electric  railway  to  connect  the  vil- 
lage with  Kalamazoo.  The  scheme  is  to  either 
construct  a  line  to  tap  the  Michigan  Traction  Com- 
pany's  system  at  Yorkville,  or  build  a  line  to  circle 
the  west  shore  of  Gull  Lake  and  ccme  directly 
into   Kalamazoo. 

W.  F.  Davidson  of  Port  Huron  and  associates 
have  been  granted  a  franchise  in  Flint  for  the 
Detroit,  Flint  River  and  Saginaw  Valley  Railway 
Company.  The  new  company  promises  to  go  to 
work  as  soon  as  spring  opens,  their  claim  being  that 
the  right-of-way  has  been  secured  from  Saginaw 
to  Flint,  and  that  there  will  be  little  trouble  in 
getting  similar  concessions  from  Flint  to  Fenton. 
Eventually,  they  say,  the  road  will  go  through  to 
Detroit. 

Water  has  been  raised  behind  the  No.  1  dam  of 
the  Grand  Rapids-Muskegon  Water  Power  Electric 
Company  at  Stanwood,  and  it  is  expected  that 
power  will  be  delivered  soon  to  consumers  at 
Muskegon.  At  Grand  Rapids  the  company  has 
taken  up  new  office  quarters  at  47  Monroe  Street, 
where  the  company  will  display  various  electric 
appliances. 

It  is  said  that  the  officials  of  the  interurban  rail- 
way being  constructed  between  Grand  Rapids  and 
Ionia  have  been  investigating  gasoline  cars  in  the 
East.  While  it  has  not  been  announced  that  the 
company  has  decided  to  try  the  new  motive  power 
on  the  line,  it  is  noticed  that  the  work  on  the 
road  is  largely  confined  to  grading  and  filling,  and 
nothing  definite  has  as  yet  been  learned  concerning 
the  location  of  the  power  houses.  It  was  said  by 
one  interested  in  the  progress  of  the  road  that  per- 
haps   power    houses    would    not    be    needed. 

L.  W.  B. 


PERSONAL 


Mr.  Charles  Wirt  of  Philadelphia  is  making  a 
short  visit  to  his  old  home,  and  while  in  Chicago 
will  have  an  address  at  1061  Monadnock  Building 
(telephone,    Harrison   4129). 

Gen.  A.  B.  R.  Sprague,  president  of  the  Worces- 
ter Electric  Light  Company  of  Worcester,  Mass., 
celebrated  his  seventy-ninth  birthday  a  few  days 
ago.  Although  well  advanced  in  years,  Gen. 
Sprague  is  active  in  caring  for  his  varied  business 
interests. 

H.  M.  Baxter,  engaged  in  the  advertising  of 
engineering  products  and  in  general  engineering 
publicity,  has  secured  the  services  of  Charles  W. 
Brooke,  engineer,  and  Frank  B.  McConnell,  art 
director.  Both  Mr.  Brooke  and  Mr.  McConnell 
have  been  connected  with  Westinghouse  companies. 
The   office   of   the   concern    is   in    Pittsburg. 

C.  T.  McDonald,  electrical  engineer,  entered  the 
employment  of  the  Chicago  Fuse  Wire  and  Manu- 
facturing Company  on  March  1st.  He  graduated 
from  Armour  institute  in  1904  and  since  then  has 
been  employed  by  the  Underwriters'  Laboratories 
under    W.    H.    Merrill,    Jr.,    and    had    charge    of 


II''      ELECTRIt 

- 
U <l  States  Signal   S 

drawn   from  th. 

ill  li  t|,c  1 

ol     Phi   11 

that    il 

\V    11     Hopl 

i'  ■  ■''    '  •  h.    Mr. 

I  lopkin 

dustry   through   I im  -  tion   with  the  pi 

and    financial    end    of    the    business,     \i    tl 
Il    of  the   M..rn 
M"  "  ii    Rail  vaj   1  born  in  York- 

ville,  III  .   in    1 

1:-   i-i-       1 rail 

i"  ■ il--       H  ■  -I  by  a   wife  and  two 

children 

M     I.    Si"  1 1  ■.    hs     bi '  .1    ippoint  d 
"i    the    li  1  al    1.11  in.'      "i    in.     1 .'  I01 

,!l    '  !|" '"i     now     iii"i 

Mr.   Sperry   succeeds   N.   E,   Seavey,  who   will   un- 
dertake   special    work    in    connection    with    tl 
velopment.     Mr.    Sperry   ha 
Stone   &    Webster   ..f    Boston    for   several 
the   capacity   of    manager    and   engineer,    having    had 
charge  of  the  Stone  &  Webster  interests  al    ! 
Porto  Rico,  Savannah,   Ga.,  and  other  point        :i 
is    a    graduate    of    the    Massachusetts    Institute    of 
Technology. 

Air.  E.  F.  C.  Young,  the  highly  esteemed  presi- 
dent of  the  Joseph  Dixon  Crucible  Company  and 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Jersey  City,  N.  .1  .  has 
just  passed  his  seventy-first  birthday.  Mr.  Young 
is  hale  and  hearty  and  one  of  the  busiest  and 
most  hard-working  men  in  Jersey  City.  1  I 
birthday  scores  of  business  friends  called  on  him 
to  congratulate  him.  Many  letters  and  telegrams 
were  also  received.  To  many  of  the  young  men 
who  called  to  congratulate  him  Mr.  Young  said: 
"I  never  felt  in  better  health  in  my  life,  I  hope 
that  all  you  young  men  will  be  as  hearty  as  I  am 
when  you  are  71   years  old." 


ELECTRIC  LIGHTING. 

An  ordinance  is  before  the  council  of  Marysville, 
Mo.,  to  provide  for  an  issue  of  $30,000  municipal 
lighting  bonds. 

The  Dewey  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company 
has  been  incorporated  at  Nampa,  Idaho,  with  a  cap- 
ital of  $1,000,000. 

The  state  penitentiary  board  at  Jefferson  City, 
Mb.,  is  said  to  be  planning  a  new  power  house 
at  a   cost   of  $250,000. 

Frank  Koenig  of  Moulton,  Texas,  has  secured  a 
franchise  for  the  establishment  of  an  electric-light- 
ing plant   in   Moulton. 

Grimes  &  Absher,  who  were  recently  granted  a 
franchise  at  Wagner,  S.  D.,  have  let  the  contract 
for  the  construction  of  a  $10,000  electric-light  plant. 

M.  Leiby  is  organizing  a  stock  company  for  the 
purpose  of  building  an  electric-light  plant  at  Ellen- 
dale,   N.   D.     Already  $12,000  have  been   subscribed. 

The  corporation  of  Glasgow,  Scotland,  has  re- 
ceived the  consent  of  the  secretary  of  Scotland 
to  borrow  £300,000  for  additional  electric-supply 
works. 

The  contract  for  installing  an  electric-light  plant 
in  the  courthouse  and  county  jail  at  Crookston, 
Minn.,  has  been  let  to  Fairbanks,  Morse  &  Co.  at 
$2,740. 

A.  Rubel  and  M.  J.  Lamb  have  organized  3  com- 
pany, capitalized  at  $250,000,  to  erect  an  electric- 
light  plant  in  Corinth,  Miss.  They  recently  were 
granted  a  franchise. 

The  City  Council  of  Watonga,  Okla.,  has  rejected 
all  bids  for  erecting  an  electric-light  plant  and 
has  decided  to  build  the  plant  under  the  direction 
of  the   superintendent. 

A.  O.  Archer  of  Muskogee.  I.  T.,  has  secured  a 
franchise  for  an  electric-light  plant  and  street- 
railway  system  in  Colgate,  I.  T.  He  will  ask  for 
a   like  franchise  at   Lehigh  and  Atoka. 

Business  men  of  Triadelphia.  Leatherwood. 
Woodsdale,  Edgewater  and  other  towns  in  Vir- 
ginia are  planning  to  establish  a  central  electric- 
light  plant  to  furnish   light   for  the   National   Road. 

The  Board  of  Trade  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  has 
named  F.  C.  Nunemacher  as  chairman  of  its  com- 
mittee which  is  to  co-operate  with  other  commer- 
cial bodies  in  securing  more  attractive  lighting,  by 
means    of    electric    arches,    in    the    business    portion 


Icred  ii|  '   to  huht  the  ■ 

Wash. 

'I'lal FalU 

way.   Light  and    Powi  1 

paled   1  ...di   in 

its  lamps  remain  as  they  arc  until  mi 

. 
eily.    over    which    it    claims    ti 
franchise 

Plans    have    been    perfected    and    work    will    soon 
11   by   the   Den 

111    the 
way    of    light.     Electricity    will    displace    u 
ther   form  ..f  light  now  in  u-e  on  ' 
engines,    in    the   offices   and   shops   of   the   company, 
ore    electricity    will    be    bought.    Thoroughly 
modern    electric    plants    are    to    be    erected 
Burnham    shops    in    Denver,    in    Salt   Lake   and    at 
several   other   points   along  the    line.     The  company 
will    replace   the   oil    lamps   of   the   semaphores    and 
yard   switch   lights    with   electric   lights. 

Henry  Richardi  of   Bellaire,  Mich.,  who  has  been 
successfully  promoting  a  project  for  a   lighting  and 
power    station,    has    recently    placed    the    contracts 
for    complete    waterpower   and    electrical    equipment 
necessary    for   carrying   out    his    plans.      The    water 
rights   for  the  operation   of   the   plant   having 
secured,  a  dam  and  power  house  are  in  pr- 
construction,    from    which    some   25    mil 
phase    circuits     for     lighting    and    power    ] 
will    be    fed.      The    Allis-Chalmers    Company    will 
furnish    the    complete    equipment    of    electric: 
chinery  and  the  harnessing  devices   for  direct 
nection  from   waterwheels  to  alternators.     The  out- 
fit     includes      a     375-kilowatt      alternator,      exciter, 
switchboard,    transformers,   etc. 


ELECTRIC  RAILWAYS 

The  city  of  Parsons.  Kan.,  has  granted  a  30- 
year  franchise  to  the  Kansas  Union  Traction  Com- 
pany, which  is  to  build  a  line  from  Coffevville. 
Kan. 

The  Oregon  Waterpower  and  Railway  Com- 
pany of  Portland.  Ore.,  is  a  recent  purchaser  of  a 
400-kilowatt  Allis-Chalmers  generator,  with  150- 
horsepower   starter   and    sw  itchboard. 

The  Lawton.  Denton  and  Dallas  Electric  Railway 
Company  has  been  incorporated,  with  headquarters 
in  Lawton,  Okla.  It  has  a  capital  of  $250,000  and 
will  construct  an  electric  railway  from  Lawton  to 
Dallas   and  Denton. 

The  New  Jersey  Senate  a  few  davs  ago  passed 
the  Wakelee  trolley  freight  bill.  The  bill  merely 
repeals  the  act  of  1896,  which  prohibits  trolley 
lines  from  earning  freight  except  those  that  might 
then  be  doing  that  kind  of  business.  The  farmers 
of  the  state   urged  the  passage  of  the  bill. 

The  Shenango  and  Midland  Electric  Railway 
Company  has  secured  a  franchise  at  Sharon.  Pa. 
The  agreement  is  that  the  city  shall  receh  1  - ; 
for  the  franchise  and  a  percentage  of  the  earnings. 
The  new  road  will  connect  Newcastle  and  Con- 
neaut  Lake  and  be  the  connecting  link  between 
Erie    and    Pittsburg. 

The  Board  of  Supervisors  of  San  Francisco  has 
readopted  plans  and  specifications  for  the  recon- 
struction of  the  Geary  Street  railway  on  Geary 
Street  and  Point  Lobos.  On  April  oth  bids  will 
be  received  for  the  contract  to  do  the  work.  The 
plans  provide  for  an  underground  electric  conduit 
railway   to   cost  $328,000. 

__  Under  the  name  of  the  Inland  Empire  Railway 
Company,  a  merger  has  been  effected  of  the  Cceur 
d'Alene  and  Spokane  Railway  Company,  the  Spo- 
kane Traction  Company,  the  Spokane  Terminal 
Company  and  the  Spokane  and  Inland  Railway 
Company.  The  merger  companies  will  have  about 
200  miles  of  road.  J.  P.  Graves  of  Spokane.  Wash., 
said  that  a  majority  oi  the  shareholders  in  the 
companies  interested  have  agreed  to  the  merger. 
Iders    and    others    interested    in   the    Granby 


228 

Copper  Company  will  be  identified  with  the  new 
company,  behind  which  are  New  York  and  Boston 
capitalists.  It  is  proposed  to  build  electric  roaas 
and  develop  waterpowers  in  and  around  Spokane, 
Wash. 

It  is  reported  that  the  London,  Brighton  and 
South  Coast  Railroad  Company  of  England  had 
decided  to  operate  part  of  its  lines  by  the  \V  inter- 
Eichberg  single-phase  alternating-current  system, 
the  British  patents  for  which  are  controlled  by 
,the  General  Electric  interests.  There  will  be  about 
75  miles  of  track  electrified  at  a  cost  of  about 
$3.cco,ooo. 

A  Chicago  daily-newspaper  writer,  referring  to 
the  condition  of  affairs  in  Kenwood,  Chicago,  m 
1S57  says:  "One  suburban  train  a  day  went  each 
way  on"  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  but  there 
were  no  stops  between  Hyde  Park  and  the  down- 
town station.  There  was  no  apartment  house  or 
hotel  within  miles.  Electric  lines  were  practically 
unheard  of  then."     "Practically''  is  good. 

Men  identified  with  the  Heinze  copper  interest 
are  said  to  be  preparing  to  build  an  electric  rail- 
way between  Elmira  and  Rochester,  N.  Y.  The 
company  will  be  called  the  Rochester  and  Elmira 
Electric  Railway  Company,  and  will  be  capitalized 
at  $4,000,000.  It  is  asserted  that  the  enterprise  is 
in  such  shape  that  work  may  be  started  as  soon 
as  the  formal  approval  of  the  state  railroad  com- 
missioners   has    been    obtained. 

A  patent  for  a  closed  conduit  for  electric  rail- 
ways (No.  813,101)  is  owned  by  Lohmann  &  Co. 
nf  "Chattanooga,  Tenn.  The  patent  covers  a  con- 
duit which  will  open  and  close  automatically  as 
the  cars  pass.  No  excavation  is  needed,  as  the 
appliance  lies  directly  on  the  cross  ties  between 
the  rails.  The  trolley  wires  are  dead  except 
directly  beneath  the  car.  owing  to  the  short  lengths 
of  wire  used,  one  length  of  the  trolley  wire  only 
is   energized,  that  at  the  time  under  the  car. 

The  Pittsburg  Railway  Company  will  install 
20  emergency  straight  air-brake  equipments  for 
motor  cars  with  air  compressors  and  10  emergency 
straight  air-brake  equipments  for  trail  cars  fur- 
nished by  the  General  Electric  Company  of  Sche- 
nectady, N.  Y.  The  cars  upon  which  these  equip- 
ments" will  be  mounted  are  to  be  run  singly  and 
in  two-car  trains,  consisting  of  one  motor  car  and 
one  trailer.  The  type  of  air-brake  ^equipment 
above  mentioned,  sometimes  called  "semi-auto- 
matic," is  essentially  a  straight  air-brake  system, 
having  in  addition  an  emergency  valve  on  each 
car,  which,  in  case  the  train  breaks  apart,  discon- 
nects the  brake  cylinder  from  the  train  line  and 
connects  it  directly  to  the  main  reservoir,  thus 
applying  the  brakes  on  all  cars  just  as  in  the  au- 
tomatic  system. 

A  new  belt  railway,  for  both  freight  and  pas- 
senger traffic,  to  encircle  Indianapolis  at  a  radius 
of  14  miles,  is  projected  by  B.  V.  Hubbard  of 
Mooresville,  and  others.  The  proposed  road  would 
intersect  15  steam  and  11  or  12  electric  interurban 
roads  and  pass  through  14  good-sized  towns.  The 
promoters  "say  steam  will  be  used  for  moving 
freight,  and  electricity  for  passenger  service.  The 
road  will  be  nearly  100  miles  long.  There  is  an- 
other belt  road  being  projected  by  J.  N.  Crabb 
and  others,  who  have  formed  a  corporation  known 
as  the  Circuit  Electric  Railway  Company.  The 
radius  of  this  proposed  road  is  25  miles,  and  it 
would  connect  about  10  county-seat  cities.  If  these 
two  lines  are  completed,  there  will  be  three  belt 
lines   encircling   Indianapolis. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

company.  The  screenings  in  most  Canadian  coal 
mines  go  largely  to  waste,  but  by  converting  them 
into  electrical  energy  the  company  expects  great 
results  both  for  itself  and  the  country  it  will  sup- 
ply with  power.  A  pole  line  has  already  been 
purchased  to  connect  the  mines  with  the  town  of 
Amherst. 

The  generating  plant  of  the  Truckee  River  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company,  located  near  Floriston,  Cat., 
was  threatened  with  partial  destruction  a  few  days 
ago,  when  several  loaded  freight  cars  plunged  over 
an  embankment  while  running  at  high  speed,  and 
rolled  across  the  flume,  carrying  water  to  the  plant's 
big  turbine  wheels.  Fortunately  the  flume  did  not 
break  or  the  plant  would  have  been  wrecked  by 
the  flood  of  water  that  would  have  poured  through 
it  until  the  headgates  could  have  been  closed.  The 
plant  is  the  most  costly  on  the  Truckee  River,  and 
is  the  pioneer  of  all  the  plants  owned  by  the  Fleish- 
ackers.  It  furnishes  power  for  the  Comstock  mines, 
Virginia    City,    and    Carson. 


PUBLICATIONS. 


POWER  TRANSMISSION. 

W.  G.  Schamberger  and  associates  of  Gallatin, 
Tenn.,  have  secured  control  of  the  falls  of  the 
Cumberland  River  in  Whitley  County,  Kentucky, 
and  will  build  a  dam  and  electric  power  house.  A 
fall  of  180  feet  is  said  to  be  obtainable,  and  it  is 
believed  that  50,000  horsepower  can  be  developed 
for  transmission  electrically. 

A  municipal  delegation  from  Port  Arthur,  Ont, 
has  waited  on  the  Ontario  government  and  made 
application  for  a  lease  of  the  Great  Dog  Falls  on 
the  Kaministiquia  River.  The  falls  are  calculated 
to  be  capable  of  developing  from  30,000  to  50,000 
horsepower.  If  the  lease  is  granted  the  town  pro- 
poses to  make  arrangements  for  the  full  develop- 
ment of  the  power. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Washington  Water 
Power  Company  in  Spokane,  11  directors  were 
elected,  who  chose  the  following-named  officers : 
President,  H.  M.  Richards;  first  vice-president, 
A.  B.  Campbell ;  second  vice-president  and  general 
manager,  D.  L,  Huntington  ;  treasurer,  H.  E.  Perks ; 
secretary,  H.  L.  Bleecker.  The  company  plans  sev- 
eral extensions  and  new  lines  during  the  coming 
year,  and  will  greatly  increase  its  electrical  power, 
developed   at   Spokane   and   in   Post   Falls,   Idaho. 

The  Maritime  Coal  Company  of  Cumberland, 
Nova  Scotia,  has  a  project  for  establishing  an 
electric  plant  at  the  mouth  of  the  company's 
mines  from  which  electric  power  will  be  trans- 
mitted by  wire  to  many  important  towns  in  that 
province.       Senator    Mitchell     is    president    of    the 


A  useful  book  of  instructions  on  the  installa- 
tion and  operation  of  Bullock  direct-current  mo- 
tors and  generators  has  been  issued  bv  the  Allis- 
Chalmers  Company  of  Milwaukee.  The  instruc- 
tions apply  to  types  N  and  B.  Particularly  clear 
and  comprehensive  diagrams  of  connections  are  a 
feature  of  the  pamphlet. 

Direct-current  motors  and  generators  are  made 
the  subject  of  a  new  bulletin  from  the  National 
Electric  Company  of  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  the  type 
NL  being  described.  The  machines  are  of  a  new 
type,  adapted  for  use  as  either  motors  or  gener- 
ators, with  slight  modification.  The  company  is 
also  sending  out  another  of  its  artistic  mailing 
cards  showing  a  National  1, coo-kilowatt  frequency 
changer — one   of  a   recent   order   of   four. 

New  and  striking  designs  in  advertising  litera- 
ture are  characteristic  of  the  Flolophane  Glass 
Company,  New  York.  This  time  it  is  two  hand- 
some little  -booklets — edition  de  luxe.  They  are 
devoted,  respectively,  to  the  lighting  of  churches, 
schools,  libraries  and  hospitals  and  the  lighting  of 
theaters  and  public  halls.  They  are  illustrated 
plentifully  with  examples  of  interior  illumination, 
and  many  useful  hints  as  to  this  character  of  light- 
ing are   included. 

Among  the  recent  bulletins  of  the  General  Elec- 
tric Company  are  three,  devoted,  respectively, 
to  "Rotary  Converters  for  Railway  Service,"  "Iso- 
lated-plant Switchboard  Panels"  and  "Prepayment 
Attachment  for  Thomson  Recording  Wattmeters 
and  High-torque  Induction  Wattmeters."  There  is 
also  a  complete  index  to  bulletins,  dated  January, 
1906,  included  among  the  material  sent  out.  A 
number  of  pamphlets,  leaflets,  price  lists,  etc.,  are 
also   being   mailed. 

Two  bulletins  from  the  Western  Elctric  Com- 
pany describe,  respctively,  type  I  motors  (one- 
twelfth  to  one  horsepower)  and  hoisting  motors, 
type  H.  The  former  are  adapted  for  belted  or 
direct  connection  to  machines  requiring  one  horse- 
power or  under.  The}'  are  semi-enclosed  and  neat 
and  simple  in  design.  The  type  H  motors  are 
especially  designed  for  hoists  and  electric-crane 
service  and  are  completely  encased.  The  bulletins 
are  plentifully  illustrated  and  describe  the  ap- 
paratus   fully. 

The  Booster,  "a  periodical  of  protest,  progress 
and  prosperity,"  has  made  its  appearance.  It  is 
published  quarterly  by  the  Curtis  Advertising 
Company  of  Detroit,  co-operating  with  the  Co- 
operative Electrical  Development  Association  of 
Cleveland,  and  is  intended  to  help  the  central- 
station  manager  do  more  business  by  suggesting 
improved  methods  of  business  getting.  There  are 
numerous  illustrations  and  many  articles  and  sug- 
gestions of  value  to  the  new-business  department. 
The  whole  is  very  much  up-to-date.  Naturally, 
not  a  little  is  said  about  the  Curtis  Advertising 
Company,  but  as  the  subscription  price  is  only 
"your  honest  opinion,"  no  one  should  object  to 
that. 


March  IJ,  1906 

will  be  read  and  discussed  as  follows:  "Some 
Features  Affecting  the  Parallel  Operation  of  Syn- 
chronous Motor-generator  Sets,"  by  J.  B.  Taylor, 
railway  engineering  department,  General  Electric 
Company,  Schenectady;  "Notes  on  the  Design  of 
Hydro-electric  Power  Stations,"  by  D.  B.  Rush- 
more  of  the  General  Electric  Company,  Schenec- 
tady,   N.    Y. 

The  University  of  Wisconsin  has  recently  pur- 
chased from  the  General  Electric  Company  a  25- 
kilowatt  horizontal-type  Curtis  steam  turbine  for 
the  instruction  of  students  and  for  experimental 
purposes.  Owing  to  the  increasing  importance  of 
this  type  of  machine  in  electrical  plants  as  well  as 
the  recent  successful  application  for  ship  propul- 
sion the  college  of  engineering  has  found  it  neces- 
sary to  make  this  addition  to  its  laboratory  equip- 
ment. 

The  Trunk  Line  Association  and  the  New  Eng- 
land Passenger  Association  have  authorized  a  rate 
of  a  fare  and  one-third,  on  the  certificate  plan, 
from  points  in  their  respective  territories  to  At- 
lantic City  and  return,  for  delegates  and  their 
friends  attending  the  twenty-ninth  convention  of 
the  National  Electric  Light  Association,  to  be  held 
at  Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  June  5th  to  8th,  inclusive. 
Negotiations  are  under  way  with  the  other  pas- 
senger-traffic associations,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the 
same   rate   will   be   obtained    from   them. 

Purdue  University  at  Lafayette,  Ind.,  has  begun 
the  erection  of  an  important  addition  to  the  elec- 
trical building  in  a  structure  to  be  equipped  with 
a  pit,  traveling  crane  and  a  unique  classroom 
equipment  for  conducting  tests  upon  interurban 
cars.  These  improvements  will  amount  to  an 
entirely  new  dynamo  laboratory  68  by  90  feet,  with 
a  basement  equally  as  large.  Interurban  cars  will 
enter  at  the  east  end  of  the  building  and  be  placed 
over  the  pit  to  admit  of  inspection  and  experimen- 
tation in  connection  with  the  car  equipment.  The 
building   will   be   completed    by    July    1st. 


AUTOMOBILES. 


The  San  Francisco  Gas  and  Electric  Company 
of  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  which  is  now  controlled 
by  the  Pacific  Gas  and  Electric  Company,  has  made 
a  new  departure  by  purchasing  six  automobiles  of 
the  runabout  type  for  the  use  of  the  outside  super- 
intendents. 

Local  capitalists  of  Chester,  Pa.,  have  formed 
the  Philadelphia  and  Chester  Coach  Company,  and 
will  apply  for  a  charter  to  establish  a  line  of 
automobile  stages  between  the  two  cities.  The  in- 
corporators are  J.  Frank  Black,  George  C.  Hetzel 
and  George  W.  Atherholt.  The  new  enterprise 
is  the  outcome  of  the  recent  proceedings  to  have 
the  Chester  and  Darby  Pike  condemned.  The 
coaches  will  be  operated  by  gasoline  or  electric 
power  and  will  run  parallel  with  the  trolley  lines 
of   the    Chester    Traction    Company. 


MISCELLANEOUS, 


SOCIETIES  AND  SCHOOLS. 

The  Illuminating  Engineering  Society,  which  was 
recently  organized  in  New  York  city,  has  issued 
in  printed  form  its  constitution  and  by-laws,  also 
a  list  of  members.  Neatly  printed  invitations  to 
become  members  of  the  society  are  being  widely 
distributed. 

A  quarterly  meeting  of  the  Street  Railway  Asso- 
ciation of  New  York  state  will  be  held  at  Elmira, 
N.  Y„  on  March  29th.  The  subjects  to  be  con- 
sidered are  advertising,  city  schedules,  collection 
and  registration  of  interurban  fares,  interchange- 
able mileage  books,  methods  of  discipline,  and  sta- 
tion  rules. , 

The  next  regular  meeting  of  the  American  In- 
stitute of  Electrical  Engineers  will  be  held  Friday 
evening,  March  23,  1906,  at  8:15  p.  m.,  in  the 
assembly  room  of  the  New  York  Edison  Com- 
pany,    44     West     Twenty-seventh     Street.       Papers 


Judge  Hickman  Moore  of  Seattle,  Wash.,  has 
been  elected  ma3ror  of  that  city  on  a  municipal- 
ownership  ticket  by  the  small  majority  of  15  votes. 

Secretary  Shaw  has  submitted  to  Congress  an 
estimate  of  $927,000  for  the  construction  of  a  cable 
from  Key  West,  Fla.,  to  Guantanamo,  Cuba,  and 
thence  to  the  Panama  Canal  Zone. 

The  Eastern  States  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company  has  been  organized  at  Jersey  City,  N.  J., 
to  construct  telegraph,  telephone  and  electric  cable' 
lines.  Henry  A.  Bingham,  Cornelius  A.  Cale  and 
others  are  the  incorporators. 

The  Watt  Memorial  Fund  committee  of  Green- 
ock, Scotland,  inaugurated  two  years  ago  by  Mr. 
Carnegie,  has  resolved  to  proceed  with  the  erection 
of  a  building  upon  the  site  of  James  Watt's  birth- 
place at  the  corner  of  William  Street  and  Dal- 
rymple  Street,  Greenock. 

The  People's  Gas  Light  and  Coke  Company  of 
Chicago,  it  is  announced,  is  having  plans  prepared 
for  a  large  new  gas  manufacturing  plant.  Possibly 
$5,000,000  will  be  expended  at  the  outset.  The 
company  has  a  300-acre  tract  of  land  in  the  south- 
western part  of  the  city,  near  the  Drainage  Canal 
and  several  railroads,  where  the  plant  will  be 
built. 

The  Civil  Service  Commission  announces  an  ex- 
amination for  the  position  of  chief  harbor  engineer 
for  the  city  of  Chicago,  the  position  to  pay  $5,000 
per  annum.  The  candidates  must  be  familiar  with 
bridge  work,  the  electrical  operation  of  bridges, 
hydrographic  and  city  surveying,  building  founda- 
tions, concrete  work,  etc.  The  examination  will  be 
held  March  19th.  Application  blanks  may  be  se- 
cured from  William  E.  Rafferty,  secretary  of  the 
Civil   Service   Commission,  city  of  Chicago. 

Recently  in  Stroudsburg.  Pa.,  a  duck  came  in 
contact'  with  a  broken  telephone  wire  charged  with 
electricity  and  was  killed.  Lee  Tyerman  and  B.  H 
Hursh  subsequently  discovered  that  the  duck's 
feathers  were  loosened  by  the  shock.  Now  they 
have    constructed    a    device    by    which    ducks    ready 


March  17.  1906 


WESTERN     l-.ii 


for  plucking   are   subjected   to   an   el current. 

1  hi  1  hi  mc  renders  "dry  plucking"  ea  and  thi 
meat  is  ii"i  injun  d.  I  '1 )  plui  1  1  d  dm  I  l>rinn 
three  cents  a  pound  more,  it  is  said,  than  those 
treated   by  the  scalding  process. 

The  Senate  at  Albany,  N.  ">  ,  ha  passed  As- 
semblyman Agnew's  New  Vorl  citj  80-ccnt  gas 
bill.  The  measure  is  a  city  bill,  and  nov 
1,,  Mayor  McClellan  for  his  approval  before  i' 
can  I"-  sent  to  the  executive  chamber  for  il" 
pernor's  approval.     In   several   ward     in    Queen 

llrni.kll 1     Uii-I 'I     l«iriilll.;ll  .    ill.      lain     I       II     ed 

at   $1.  ' 

Al  Salamanca,  N.  Y.,  the  Village  Hoard  recently 
passed  an  ordinance  providing  that  all  electric  wires 
,.,,,,1  ,  ablei  in  the  town  musl  be  raised  so  thai 
they  will  be  at  least  29  feet  above  the  street.  The 
action  of  the  board  came  about  through  the  moving 
of  a  house,  the  progress  of  which  was  st'ipped 
for  a  week  because  the  building  could  not  pass 
under   a   cable. 

In  England  a  country-house  electrician  has  varied 
duties  apparently.  This  is  an  "ad"  in  the  Bir- 
mingham Daily  Post  of  February  14th:  "Elec- 
trician wanted,  beginning  of  March.  Must  he  used 
to  oil  engine,  repairs,  pumps,  etc.,  and  a  good 
plain  carpenter;  fill  in  odd  time  indoors  or  out; 
married,  no  family;  light  employment  for  wife; 
comfortable  home.  Salary  £40  a  year  to  start  with. 
II.    C.    Potts,    Llanyre    Hall,    Llandrindod    Wells." 

By  the  terms  of  an  agreement  which  has  been 
entered  into  between  the  Water  Commission  of  the 
city  of  Pendleton,  Ore.,  and  the  Northwestern  Gas 
and  Electric  Company,  the  city  pumping  plant  is 
henceforth  to  be  operated  by  electricity.  The  con- 
tract proposed  is  for  10  years,  and  for  pumping 
the  water  the  electric  company  will  be  paid  $4,000 
the  first  year  and  $3,500  annually  for  each  suc- 
ceeding year.  The  Water  Commission  must  still 
employ  its  own  men  to  care  for  and  operate  the 
pumping  station,  though  the  company  guarantees 
to  keep  the  plant  in  repair  and  retains  the  owner- 
ship  of  the   motor   and   pump. 

A  flywheel  on  one  of  the  big  engines  in  the 
southwestern  power  house  of  the  Chester  (Pa.) 
Traction  Company,  located  at  Penrose  Ferry  bridge, 
broke  a  few  days  ago,  and  one  of  the  pieces,  weigh- 
ing 300  pounds,  was  driven  through  an  18-inch 
stone  wall,  traveled  a  distance  of  1,000  feet  and 
landed  on  a  coal  barge  in  the  Schuylkill  River, 
nearly  wrecking  the  boat.  The  flywheel  in  its  flight 
tore  the  entire  roof  off  the  building,  knocked  one 
side  of  the  building  to  the  ground  and  almost 
completely    demolished   the    opposite    side.     The    dy- 


hboardi    which 
mi  uninjured, 
di  1   Milroy  of  Philadelphia,  an 

iui    wreck   as   a 
m  and  mdden  1 

25,000.    Superinl 

C.  V.    ' ■  1 

Suit   has  been  brought   under  the 
trti  t   lav 

■  17  elevator   ma 

in.     ini  ludi  'i  in   .'. h  tl  1 1  known  aa  thi 

1  oml Mi..  cific 

have   been   carrii 

tains,   v.  I11 

and  agn  ement  1  nd  cm 

■     in    eli    atot        rhen      1 :       tid    to   be    only 

three  elevator  companies  not  in  the  combination 
carrying  on  bit  An  at- 
torney for  the  '- pany  aid  thai  even  if  the  com- 
pany can  be  styled  a  monopoly,  it  is  because  of  the 
control    "i    the    busine       through    patents. 


TRADE  NEWS 


The  time  of  opening  proposals  for  conduit  and 
electric  wiring  system  for  the  postoffice  and  United 
States  courthouse  at  Ogden.  Utah,  is  ■  attended 
from    March    14   to   March   27,    1906. 

The  National  Office  Appliances  Show  at  the 
Colisi  urn  in  Chicago  will  open  on  March  17th. 
Among  the  exhibitors  are  the  Stromberg-Carlson 
Telephone  Manufacturing  Company  and  the  Elec- 
tric  Appliance   Company. 

The  Robb- Mum  ford  Boiler  Company  announces 
that  it  has  moved  from  its  old  shop  at  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  to  its  new  shop  at  South  Framn 
Mass.,  and  asks  its  customers  to  note  the  change 
of  address.  The  new  shop  is  equipped  in  the 
most  up-to-date  manner  and  the  company  is  in  a 
much  better  position  than  before  to  give  quick  de- 
livery and  favorable  prices  on  all  lines  of  boiler 
work. 

The  Westinghouse  Machine  Company  of  Pitts- 
burg, Pa.,  states  that  on  March  9th  it  filed  a 
second  bill  of  complaint  against  the  Allis-Chalmers 
Company  of  Milwaukee.  Wis.,  in  the  United  States 
Circuit  Court  for  the  District  of  New  Jersey,  in 
which  the  latter  concern  is  charged  with  the  in- 
fringement of  a  certain  patent  relating  to  the 
manufacture  of  the  Parsons  steam  turbine.  The 
present    suit    alleges    infringement    of    patent     No. 


• 


BUSINESS 


Mich, 
for    four    500-kllowatt    motoi  .  10    be 

used  for  railway  service. 

In    rebuilding    the    factories    of    ti 
Company,    Mansfield,    Ohio,    which     were 

:rc  last  year,  the  order  for  roofing 
laced  with  the  H.  W.  Johns-Manville  Corn- 
York  through  its  Cleveland  branch 
The  roofing  to  be  used  is  the  well-known  J-M 
asbestos  roofing.  The  size  of  the  order,  which 
amounted  to  850  squai 
petition  with  ncerns  in  the  1 

and   it   was   placed   with   the    II.    W.   Johns  V 
Company   only   after  a    thorough   invert  . 

The  Oswego  IX.  Y.)  Boiler  and  Engine  Com- 
pany now  solicits  business  in  the  boiler,  stack, 
tank  and  plate  line.  This  plant,  formerly  known 
as  the  Oswego  Boiler  Works,  is  one  of  the  largest 
and  best-equipped  plants  in  the  East.  The  man- 
agement is  under  the  charge  of  Mr.  L.  L.  Bcntley. 
M.  E..  recently  mechanical  engineer  of  the  Lehigh 
Valley  Railroad,  who  has  had  a  wide  experience 
in  engineering  and  steel  construction.  The  boiler 
shop  will  be  in  charge  of  Mr.  C.  W.  Crozicr. 
a  first-class  shop  man.  with  large  experience  in 
all   classes   of   boiler   and   plate   work. 

The  George  A.  Fuller  Company,  contra, 
the  building  of  the  New  Plaza  Hotel,  New  York 
city,  has  recently  let  contracts  for  the  engines  to 
be  installed  in  the  building  power  plant.  Four 
Allis-Chalmers  heavy-duty  cross-compound  Corliss 
engines  will  be  installed,  two  18  by  42  inches  and 
the  others  22  by  42  and  25  by  47  inches,  respect- 
ively. The  Carnegie  Steel  Company  has  also  re- 
cently purchased  two  Revnolds  heavy-duty  cros-- 
compound  rolling-mill  engines.  50  and  78 
inches,  for  the  Homestead  Steel  Works.  Munhall. 
Pa.,  to  be  furnished  by  the  Allis-Chalmers  Com- 
pany of  Milwaukee. 


ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 


814,012.  Automatic  Railway  Safety  Gate.  Henry 
E.  Bartlett,  Chicago,  111.  Application  filed  April 
4,   1905. 

The   gate     '_ 
mitting  the  fluid 

814,021.  Railway  Traffic-controlling  Apparatus. 
Clarence  W.  Coleman,  Westfield,  N.  J.,  as- 
signor to  the  Hall  Signal  Company.  Applica- 
tion  filed    April    13,    1905. 

An  electrically  controlled  valve  mechanism  is  adapted 
to  arrest  or  permit  the  flow  of  the  actuating  fluid  to 
the  system. 

814,050.  Electrical  Smelting  Process.  Woolsey  M. 
Johnson,  Iola,  Kan.  Application  filed  May  24, 
1904. 

An  electrical  smelting  process  consists  in  interposing 
between  a  low- resistance  charge  containing  low-grade 
ore  and  a  furnace  wall,  a  high-resistance  charge  con- 
taining high-grade  ore,  thereby  protecting  the  wall  from 
the  action  of  the  low-grade  ore,  and  transmitting  an 
electric    current  through  the   charge. 

814.064.  Storage  Battery.  Francois  Mouterde,  Lyon, 
France.     Application  filed  July  24,   1905. 

A  storage  battery  comprising  a  lead  vessel  having 
columns  integral  with  its  bottom  is  provided  with 
flanges  and  a  number  of  open-ended  electrodes  supported 
by  the  flanges,  other  electrodes  disposed  in  the  vessel 
and  a  spider  supporting  the  electrodes  and  terminating 
in  a  central  pole.  The  electrodes  and  the  vessel  are 
provided  with  Y-shaped  projections  adapted  to  receive 
lead  fibers  deposited  therein. 

814.065.  Portable  Electric  Lamp.  Joseph  L.  Mulry, 
Pawtucket,  R.  I.,  assignor  of  one-half  to  Will- 
iam K.  Toole,  Pawtucket,  R.  I.  Application 
filed  April  4,  1905. 

A  base  and  upright  standard  supports  the  lamp.  There 
is  a  handle  on  the  standard  by  which  the  lamp  may  be 
carried.  A  rotatable  spring-actuated  reel  or  drum  is 
provided  on  which  the  surplus  conductor  wire  is  wound, 
the  drum  being  arranged  to  rotate  about  the  axis  of  the 
standard.  Means  are  supported  from  the  standard  for 
automatically  gripping  or  binding  the  wire  to  control 
the  amount  to  be  wound  on  the  drum. 

814,083.  Generator  of  Intermittent  Electric  Cur- 
rents. Malcolm  P.  Ryder,  White  Plains,  N.  Y. 
Application    filed   August    12,    1904. 

A  generating  coil  or  conductor  is  associated  with  _  a 
reciprocatory  armature,  means  being  provided  for  recip- 
rocating it  to  and  from  position  where  it  will  close  the 
magnetic  circuit  of  a  magnetic  flux  in  whose  field  the 
coil  or  conductor  lies.  Means  simultaneously  open  or 
close  a  magnetic  shunt  for  the  source  of  magnetic  flux 
external    to   the   coil   or    conductor. 

814,118.  Telephone  System.  William  W.  Dean, 
Chicago,    111.,    assignor   to    the   Kellogg    Switch- 


Issucd  (United  States   Patent   Office)   March  6,  igo6. 

board  and  Supply  Company,  Chicago,  111.  Ap- 
plication  tiled   June    15,    1903. 

A  line  signal-controlling  magnet  has  its  actuating 
winding  included  in  one  of  the  line  conductors  and  a 
connection  terminal  having  a  line  contact  connected  per- 
manently with  the  line  conductor.  A  plug  is  adapted  to 
be  inserted  in  the  connection  terminal  and  has  a  contact 
co-operating  with  the  contact  of  the  terminal  that  is  con- 
nected with  the  line  conductor,  and  a  source  of  current 
included  between  the  line  conductor  and  the  plug  con- 
tact, whereby  upon  the  insertion  of  the  plug  a  path  for 
current  is  completed  through  the  line-signaling  magnet 
and  its  working   condition  thereby  determined. 

814,123.  Automatic  Fire  Alarm.  Napoleon  H.  Fer- 
land,  Manchester,  N.  H.,  assignor  of  one-third 
to  Joseph  A.  Choquette,  Manchester,  N.  H. 
Application    filed    June    3,    1905. 

A  strip  of  inflammable  material  upon  burning  releases 
a  metallic  arm,  which  closes  an  electric  circuit,  operating 
the  fire  alarm. 

814,146.  Panel  Board.  Ernest  R.  Le  Manquais, 
New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  June  9, 
1904. 

The  panel  board  comprises  a  number  of  sections,  in- 
dependent bus-bar  sections  mounted  respectively  on  the 
panel-board  sections  and  lying  contiguous  when  the  sec- 
tions are  assembled,  and  bridge  pieces  extended  between 
and  attached  to  the  contiguous  ends  of  the  bus-bar  sec- 
tions to  effect  mechanical  connections  between  the  panel- 
board    sections    and    electrical 


S14.162.  Electric  Incandescent  Lamp.  William  J. 
Phelps,  Detroit,  Mich.  Application  filed  De- 
cember 22,   1902. 


An  electric  incandescent  lamp 
vacuum  bulb,  a  stem  projecting  within  the  bulb  and 
having  a  flattened  end  and  two  incandescent  filaments, 
the  ends  of  which  are  attached  to  the  stem  in  substan- 
tially the  same  plane.  The  filaments  comprise  leg  por- 
tions which  diverge  from  the  stem  and  central  portions 
arranged  one  above  the  other  and  at  an  angle  to  each 
other   in   different  planes. 

814,217.  Conduit  or  Casing  for  Electrical  Con- 
ductors. Richard  H.  W.  Knight  and  Ludwig 
Nagel,  London,  England.  Application  filed 
March  1,  1904. 
A  tube  consisting  of  two  parts  of  elastic  material  of 
channel  form  of  more  than  semicircular  cross-section,  one 
part  fitting  in  the  other,  comprises  the  conduit. 

$14,219.  Automatic  Telephonic  Installation.  Bern- 
hard  Kugelmann,  Bad  Kiissingen,  Germany. 
Application   filed    September    15,    1903. 

Several  switch  apparatuses  include  one  common  speak- 
ing way  and  a  series  of  relay  devices.  One  of  the  de- 
vices in  each  series  is  attached  to  each  subscriber's  line 
for    control    by    the    subscriber,    each    relay    device    being 


814,259.  Reciprocating  Electric  Machine.  Truman 
H.  Aldrich,  Birmingham,  Ala.  Application  filed 
April   5,    1905. 

Combined  with  a  field  having  outer  and  inner  pole 
pieces  of  opposite  polaritv  disposed  parellcl  to  each  other 
is  an  armature  reciprocable  longitudinally  in  the  space  be- 
tween the  pole  pieces  and  comprising  a  body  of  magnetic 
material  and  a  coil  of  conductor  distinct  from  but  asso- 
ciated with  the  body. 

814.276.  Attachment  for  Telephone  Toll  Boxes. 
Rogers  M.  Combs,  Chicago,  111.  Application 
filed   December    12,    1904. 

In  combination  with  a  telephone  toll  box  are  a  chute 
communicating  at  one  end  with  the  coin  slot,  a  vertically 
disposed  tube  for  coins  and  a  revoluble  ejector  adapted 
to  engage  the  lowermost  coin  and  feed  it  into  the  chute. 

814.277.  Switch  Key.  Edward  B.  Craft,  Chicago, 
111.,  assignor  to  the  Western  Electric  Company, 
Chicago,  111.  Application  filed  December  7, 
1904. 

Switch  springs  and  insulating  strips  are  mounted  upon 
the  two  arms  of  a  U-shaped  metal  strap.  A  plunger 
operating  the  springs  is  mounted  to  reciprocate  in  bear- 
ings formed  in  the  upper  frame  plate  and  the  base  of  the 

814,302.  Electrical  Signal  System.  Fred  Lacroix, 
San  Antonio,  Texas,  assignor  of  one-half  to 
Otto  Koehler,  San  Antonio,  Texas.  Applica- 
tion filed  August  29,  1904.  Renewed  July  31, 
1905. 

In  an  electrical  signal  system  are  a  railway  track,  a 
source  of  electricity,  a  circuit  connected  with  the  source 
and  extending  along  the  track,  bridging  coils  interposed 
at  intervals  in  the  circuit  to  divide  it  into  blocks  of  dif- 
ferent electrical  resistances,  means  movable  along  the 
track  and  operating  to  close  the  circuit  through  tbe 
blocks  and  rcsistanee-indicr-ting  mechanism  operated  by  a 
current  passing  through  the  circuit.  i^See  cut  on  next 
page.) 

814,305.  Boiler  Feeder.  Frederick  Leadbeater.  De- 
troit,   Mich.     Application    filed    April    24,    1905. 

The  electrical  feature  of  the  device  is  an  alarm  circuit 
indicating  the  condition  within  the  boiler. 

814,322.  Reversing  Switch  for  Electrical  Circuits. 
Thomas  S.  Perkins.  Wilkinsburg,  Pa.,  assignor 
to  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  Pittsburg,  Pa.  Application  filed 
June   6.    1904. 

Combined  with  two  sets  of  stationary  contact  termi- 
nals, each  of  which  comprises  two  pairs,  are  a  longi- 
tudinally    movable     block     having     two     sets     of     contact 


230 

strips    that    engage    the    corresponding    stationary    contact 

terminals     to     connect     them     in     different     relations     and 

means  for  actuating  the  block. 
814323      Svstem    of    Remote    Control    for    Electric 

'Motors.  Thomas  S.  Perkins  and  Ray  P.  Jack- 
son. Wilkinsburg,  Pa.,  assignors  to  the  \\  est- 
inghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company, 
Pittsburg,    Pa      Application    filed    June    6,    1904. 

Combined  with  electric  motors  and  unit  switches  in 
the  circuits  thereof  are  controllers  for  the  unit,  switches 
and  means  for  automatically  actuating  the  switch  con- 
trollers comprising  an  actuating  magnet,  a  retaining 
magnet  time-controller  magnets  for  alternately  opening 
and  closing  the  circuit  of  the  actuating  magnet  winding, 
anc'  a  switch  operated  bv  the  actuating  magnet  for.  al- 
ternately opening  and  closing  the  circuits  of  the  time- 
controller    magnet    windings. 

S14324.  Controller  Switch.  Thomas  S.  Perkins 
and  Ray  P.  Jackson,  Wilkinsburg,  Pa.,  assign- 
ors to  "the  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manu- 
facturing Company,  Pittsburg.  Pa.  Application 
filed  June  6,   1904. 

A  controller  switch  comprises  a  shaft  drum  seg- 
ments mounted  thereon,  pole  pieces  carried  by  the  shatt, 
a  blowout  coil  and  stationary  pole  pieces  that  co-operate 
with  the  shaft  and  its  pole  pieces  to  proyide  a  magnetic 
circuit  for  the  coil. 

814  325      Controller    Operating    Means.      Thomas    S. 
■'  Perkins  and  Ray  P.  Jackson,  Wilkinsburg,  Pa., 
assignors     to     the    Westinghouse    Electric    and 
Manufacturing    Company,     Pittsburg,     Pa.     Ap- 
plication filed  June  6,  1904. 

Associated  with  a  drum  are  a  magnet  for  imparting  ro- 
tative impulses  thereto  and  two  other  magnets  winch 
are  alternately  energized  through  the  operation  of  the 
first-named  magnet  and  which  thereby  alternately  make 
and  break  the  circuit  through  the  winding  of  the  first 
named  magnet. 

814,364.  Lamp  Regulator.  Alphonsus  L.  Drum, 
Lake  Forest,  111.  Application  filed  March  28. 
1905. 

In  a  regulator  for  electric  lamps  on  street  cars  are  a 
circuit  comprising  current-utilizing  devices,  a  lamp  cir- 
cuit a  shunt  circuit,  a  rheostat  in  the  clamp  circuit,  a 
second  lamp  circuit  and  means  located  in  the  shunt  cir- 
cuit   for    maintaining    a    constant    current    in    either    lamp 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  17,  1906 


„..    during    the  "opening    and    closing    of    the 
comprising  the  current-utilizing  devices.      (See 


814.3S0.  System  for  Variable-speed  Operation  of 
Alternating -current  Motors.  Benjamin  G. 
Lamme.  Pittsburg.  Pa.,  assignor  to  the  West- 
inghouse Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company, 
Pittsburg.  Pa.  Application  filed  October  8, 
1004. 

A  machine  for  changing  the  frequency  of  current  al- 
ternations comprises  a  rotary  converter  having  no  mag- 
netizing field  coils  and  an  armature,  which  is  provided 
with    collector    rings    and    a    commutator.      A    translating 


device  is  supplied  from  the  commutator  of  the  machine, 
and  there  are'  also  means  for  varying  the  voltage  supplied 
to  the  collector  rings  of  the  machine  and  means  for 
trying    the    speed    of 


frequer 

cy-changing 

machine 

814,386. 

Telephone 

Exch 

mge.     Willi 

am     M.     Ma- 

rean, 

Belvidere 

111. 

\ppli  cation 

filed    June    6, 

1904. 

In    a 

telephone    exchange 

a    numbering 

character-bearing_    m 

>vable     members 

>endent    elecrxo- 

2     the     members 

switch    connecting    the    main 

circuit    with 

of    the    first 

itch     cir 

for    closing     the 

ng     simultaneously     with     the 

:    impulses    over 

nd    mea 

ns    under    the 

control    of    the 

subscriber    for    varying    the 

number    of 

the    impulses    at 

will. 

1  operating 
n  operative, 
ncluding     the     controlling     devices, 


cuit  are  a  controlling  device  at  each  sub-s 
directly   to  r      ' 
an     electric     — 

mechanism  at  each  sub-station  arranged  to  regula1 
admission  of  electric  current  to  the  circuit  connecting 
the  electric  devices,  and  to  render  its  own  disconnecting 
device  inoperative,  and  means  at  each  substation  arranged 
to  prevent  the   operation  of  its  own  controlling   device. 

Si4,4S2.  Lightning  Arrester.  Frank  K.  Singer, 
Wheeling,  W.  Va.  Application  filed  April  17, 
1905. 

A  lightning  arrester  comprises  an  insulating  tube,  a 
choke  coil  on  the  outer  side  of  the  tube,  a  fuse  within  the 
tube,  terminals  with  which  the  coil  and  fuse  are  elec- 
trically connected  and  a  spark  gap  and  ground  plate  in- 
dependent of  the  fuse  and  choke  coil.      (See  cut.) 

S14.49S.  Car-handling  Apparatus.  Frank  K.  Wood- 
ford. Chicago.  111.,  assignor  to  the  Hauser  Corn- 
pan}-,  Chicago,  111.  Application  filed  May  2, 
1905. 

Combined  with  a  motor-driven  car  having  electrical 
brake  are  a  distant  switch  controlling  station  and  in- 
dependent feed  conductors  therefrom  to  the  motor  and 
brake.  A  single  switch  is  adapted  to  alternately 
gize    the 


514.501.     Relay.     James  Allen.  United   States  Army. 
Application    filed    July    31,    1905. 


bv   the   coil.      Contact  stops   for  the  tongue, 
nted    for    movement    by    the    coil    but    inde- 
pendent   of    its    magnetization,    and    a    pair    of    auxiliary 
adjustable    pole    pieces,    between     which    the 
arranged   to    oscillate,    complete    the    apparatus. 


814,411.  Telephonic  Relay.  John  Trowbridge,  Cam- 
bridge,   Mass.    Application    filed    July    14,    1905. 

In  a  telephone  relay  are  a  receiver,  its  diaphragm,  a 
vibrator  opposed  to  the  receiver  diaphragm,  an  air  layer 
between  the  vibrator  and  diaphragm,  in  free  communica- 
tion with  the  circumambient  atmosphere,  a  transmitter 
in  connection  with  the  vibrator  and  continuous  solid 
sound-transmitting  connections  between  the  vibrator  and 
the    diaphragm. 

814.417.  Dynamo-electric  Machine.  William  L. 
Waters,  Milwaukee,  Wis.  Application  filed 
June   3,    1904. 

In  a  single-phase  alternating-current  motor  are  a  field 
frame  having  salient  poles,  energizing  windings  for  the 
poles,  an  armature  associated  with  the  field  frame,  a 
commutated  winding  on  the  armature,  a  commutator  for 
the  winding,  brushes  engaging  the  commutator,  a  circuit 
including  the  brushes  and  a  ring  of  magnetic  material 
at  each  side  of  the  field  frame,  the  rings  engaging  the 
sides  of  the  poles  near  the  faces  and  encircling  the  arma- 

814,461.      Electric     Door-releasing     Device.      Liber- 

mond  A.  Leon,  Montreal.  Canada.  Application 
filed  May  8,   1905. 

A  locking  bar  of  the  mechanism  is  adapted  to_  rest 
normally  in  contact  with  a  hammer,  while  an  electrically 
operated  means  rocks  the  locking  bar  from  engagement 
with  the  hammer. 

814,47s.  Telephone  or  Telegraph  System.  Georg 
Ritter,  Stuttgart,  Germany.  Application  filed 
June    16,    1904. 

Combined  with  a  main-line  circuit  and  a  number  of 
sub-station    instruments    connected    to    the    main-line    cir- 


NO.    814,364. — LAMP    REGULATOR    FOR    ELECTRIC    CARS. 

314,503.  Receptacle.  Momme  Andresen,  Otto  Mag- 
erstedt  and  Gerhard  Ollendorf,  Berlin,  Ger- 
many, assignors  to  Actien  Gesellschaft  fur  Ani- 
lin  Fabrikation,  Berlin,  Germany.  Application 
filed  July    11,    1905. 

Details  are   described. 

Si4o35-  Electric  Signal  Apparatus.  Lawrence  Grif- 
fith, Yonkers,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  October 
28,    1904. 

An  electric  signal  apparatus  for  railways  includes  an 
electric  indicator  and  an  electric  motor  or  unit  for  mov- 
ing the  signal  and  electric  means  separate  from  the  in- 
dicator for  preventing  the  action  of  the  indicator  while 
there   is  electric  energy-  supplied  to  the  motor. 


station  a  relay  comprises 
in  a  magnetic  field,  and  n 
tion  of  the  coil.     (See  cut; 

814,632.  Support  for  Osmium  Filaments.  Carl  A. 
von  Welsbach,  Vienna,  Austria-Hungary.  Ap- 
plication filed  May  31,  1901.  Renewed  July  31, 
1905. 

An  osmium  filament  is  provided  with  a  support  com- 
posed of  a  sintered  or  fritted  mixture  of  refractory 
oxids,  non-adherent  to  incandescent  osmium  and  chem- 
ically indifferent    thereto. 


NO.    814,482. — LIGHTNING    ARRESTER. 

814,537.  Safety  Device  for  Railway  Switch  and 
Signal  Apparatus.  Lawrence  Griffith,  Yonkers, 
N.   Y.     Application   filed    September    20,    1905. 


erated  motion  plate  or  device  to  be  moved.  Means  pre- 
vent the  action  of  the  indicator,  while  there  is  electric 
energy  supplied  to  the  operative  means  of  the  motion 
plate,  which  consists  of  a  mechanical  lock  for  the  indi- 
cator, operated  by  electric  means  separate  from  the  in- 
dicator. 

Si4,57i.  Telephone  System.  Elmer  A.  Terpening, 
Geneseo,  111.  Application  filed  September  6, 
1904. 

A  party  line  circuit  connects  several  subscribers'  sta- 
tions connecting  with  a  central  station.  At  each  sub- 
scriber's station  are  means  for  producing  alternating 
and  direct  current  in  the  lines,  and  a  signaling  device 
is  responsive   to   alternating  current  only.     At  the  central 


314,571.— 


814,643.  Plural-speed  Electrical  Controller.  George 
X.  Eastman,  Chicago,  111.,  assignor  to  the  Min- 
erallac  Company,  Chicago,  111.  Application  filed 
May  5,   1904. 

Combined  with  an  overload-current  relay  provided  with 
a  pair  of  circuit-closing  devices  are  a  controlling  device 
included  in  a  circuit  Including  contacts  adapted  to  co- 
operate with  one  of  the  circuit-closing  devices,  a  me- 
chanical device  requiring  a  time  interval  for  its  opera- 
tion   and    an    elect romagnetic    device    controlling    the    rae- 

ice  and   included   in  ; 

tacts  arranged  to  co-i  . 
circuit-closing  device  of  the  overload  relay.  Means 
supplied  whereby  the  operation  of  the  mechanical  device 
causes  the  closure  of  the  first- mentioned  circuit,  including 
the  controlling  device. 

814,658.  Safety  Device  for  Railway  Switch  and 
Signal  Apparatus.  Lawrence  Griffith,  Yonkers, 
N.    Y.     Application    filed    November   5,    1904. 

Apparatus  for  operating  switches  includes  an  electric 
indicator  and  an  electrically  controlled  pneumatic  motor 
for  the  motion  plate  or  device  to  be  moved,  and  means 
for  preventing  the  action  of  the  indicator  wbile  there 
is  air  under  pressure  supplied  to  the  pneumatic  motor  of 
the  motion  plate. 

PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Following  is  a  list  of  electrical  patents  (issued 
by  the  United  States  Patent  Office)  that  expired 
on    March    12.    1906 : 

399-236-     Electric  Railway.      T.  E.  Blair,   Chicago,  111. 
399,274.      Secondarv-battery  Electrode.     A.   V.   Meserole,  New 
York,   N.  Y. 

399.291.  Hydraulic  Press  for  Covering  Electrical  Conductors 
with  Soft  Metal.     W.  Siemens,  Berlin,  Germany. 

399.292.  Electrical  Measuring  and  Controlling  Apparatus. 
\V.    Siemens.    Berlin,    Germany. 

399.314-      Telegraph   System.      \Y.    Burnley,    North   East,   Pa. 
399,320.      Dvnamo    Machine.      G.    L.    Dy    Laney,    New    York, 

N.  Y. 
399,326.      Coupling   for  Electric  Circuits. 


Cal. 
J.329- 

Elec 


Armature.      J.    A.    Haye 


C.    Griggs,  Wil- 
,    San    Francisco, 


Electric    Railway    Switch  and  Alarm.      \V.    S.    Hull, 
Sheffield,  Ala.,  and  J.   C.  Anderson,    Charleston,  N.    C. 
399.336.      Electric   Meter.      E.    F.    H.    H.    Lauckert,    Charlton 
•  of  Kent,  Engl;      " 
trical     Appl 
R.   F.  McFeely  and  H. 


3"9.33 

s 

"V. 

"Kiev 
Pa. 
399.3: 


Potter, 
Bradlev, 


^'-.rg. 


ctric-raihvav   Svstem. 

n.  y. 

399,377.     Electric  Circuit.     T.  T-  Cartv,  New  York.  X.  Y. 
399,400.     Electric    Circuit    Protector.      W.    B.    Harvey,    Me: 
phis,  Term. 


399,4o: 

M. 

399,403. 


Prevention  of  Sparking 
~     Higham,  Philadel] 
>-electric    Machin 

j-electric    Machii 


trie  Generators  anc 
Higham,  Philadel 
Higham,     Philadel 

•s.      R. 

E.     Kronenberg,     Philadel- 
phia,  1'a. 

399,407.      Combined    Gas    and    Electric-light    Fixture.      J 
Cassidv,   East  Orange,  N.  J. 

399,507.     Switch  for  Electric  Motors.     A.  H.  Eddy,  Hartford 
Conn. 

399,514-      System1   of    Electrical    Distribution    and    Conversion 
T.   H.    Hicks,    Detroit,   Mich. 

399.535-      Secondary    Battery.      T.    L.    Huber.    Hamburg,    ~ 

399,550.     Electric  Switch.     H.  T.  Paiste,  West  Chester, 
^99,556.      Electric    Raihvav    Signal.      T.    A.    E.    Putnam, 

York,  N.  Y. 
399-599-      Regulator    for    Electrical    Machinery.      ~ 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


Vol.  XXXVIII. 


I  III'  AGI  >.   MARI  II   -i 


Electric    Railroading  under   Difficulties. 
Bv   I  in.   Ai  in  n   i,i    d] 
The  electric   railway  connecting   the  city  of  Chi- 
cti,    Italy,   and   .-i    nearby   steam  railroad    station    is 

di        i    il -•!   recent  and  i    inti  1 1    I 

electric-railway   plants.     The   Chieti   station   of  the 

Ri Castellammarc  Adriatic     railwaj      is     situated 

at   a    level    about    .!«>   meters    lower    than    the    citj 
,i   Hi.    same  name,   which  bitter  is  built  on   the  top 


li    i 

a    minimum    rai 

mi  tcrs  insn 

iIm-  t ■ . t  -  ■ 

ual   downhill   i  ourse    from   tl 

'.  -  per  cent.  as  a  maximum. 
...  [he  c  ■  "ii  idi 

curves    mel    with    on    the    I numi 

structures  had  i"  I"    i 
The    whole   of   the   line,   on    which   heav; 


!.ecially 

minal    of   the    line,   includes    ■'  ''uc   di- 

I  he  main  ear  ihed,  imtallcd  at  the  gate*  of  the 

large  hall,   »erving  as 

a    hall    for    keeping 


of  a  hill  whose  slopes  are  Soo  meters  distant  from 
the  station.  Under  these  conditions  the  use  of 
electrical  traction  for  the  transport  of  goods  and 
passengers,  while  being  desirable  on  account  of  the 
greater  speed  and  higher  efficiency,  encountered 
very  serious  difficulties  owing  to  the  high  grades 
and  considerable  curves  obtaining  on  the  line,  thus 
necessitating  a  special  investigation  both  of  the 
electrical  equipment  and  rolling  stock  intended  for 
the  railway. 

Italian  engineering  circles  find  this  system  of 
special  importance  from  the  fact  that  this  is  the 
first  electric-railway  plant  exclusively  installed  with 
co-operation  of  Italian  firms.  Messrs.  G.  Terrei 
Mincani  di  Chieti  have  undertaken  the  construc- 
tion and  management  of  the  railway.  While  re- 
serving for  themselves  the  construction  of  the 
roadbed  and  masonry  structures,  they  entrusted  the 
design  and  construction  of  the  whole  electrical 
plant  to  the  Societa  Nazionale  delle  Officine  di 
Savigliano.  Messrs.  Langen  &  Wolf  of  Milan  were 
finally  given  the  order  for  the  gas  engines  to  be 
installed  in  the  power  station.  The  line,  8.7  kilo- 
meters in  length,  runs  nearly  throughout  on  a  spe- 
cial   roadbed,    wi'th    numerous   curves   and   changing 


ILROADING    UNDER    DIFFICULTIES. 

with  an  average  speed  of  20  kilometers  an  hour 
are  run,  had  accordingly  to  be  adapted  to  the 
mountain-railway  type. 

The  gauge  of  one  meter  was  adopted,  steel  rails 
of  the  Vignole  type  of  the  weight  of  21  kilograms 
a  running  meter  being  used,  which  were  placed  on 
hardwood  sleepers,  with  anchorage  plates  and  hooks 
covered  with  ballast  up  to  the  level  of  the  rail 
base.  The  electrical  joints  between  the  various 
sections  of  the  rails  are  effected  by  means  of  cop- 
per wire  connections  having  iron  plugs.  Counter- 
rails  were  used  in  the  curves,  the  outer  rail  being 
placed  on  a  higher  level  and  the  track  being  broad- 
ened. On  the  section  traversing  the  city,  ordinary 
Phcenix  rails  are  used.  The  curved  sections  of  the 
rails  are,  for  safety's  sake,  bent  in»  the  cold  state 
with  special  machines. 

Four  stations  are  included  in  the  line,  viz.,  the 
two  terminal  and  two  intermediate  stations  in- 
tended  for  the   local  traffic. 

The  station  of  Lower  Chieti,  being  situated  close 
to  the  state  railway  station,  is  provided  with  a 
turntable  for  the  transfer  of  goods  to  the  ordinary 
railway  cars. 

The   station    of  Tricalle,    lying  close  to  the   elec- 


Overhead  Work  on  Steep  Curve  of  Chieti  Line. 

different    materials,    and    the    dwelling    rooms    and 
offices  of  the  chief  officials. 

Figs,    1,    2.    3    and   4   are   some   interesting    views 
of  the  line  and  its  equipment. 


Central  Station. 

The  central  power  station  generating  the  elec- 
trical energy  required  for  feeding  the  motor  cars 
has  been  installed  in  the  neighborhood  of  Tricalle 
Station  at  about  the  middle  of  the  line  in  an  advan- 
tageous position  for  the  distribution  of  current. 
Fig.  6  is  a  plan  of  the  station. 

Possibility  of  distributing  three-phase  current  and 
using  this  for  feeding  the  motor  cars  was  deemed 
quite  out  of  the  question,  owing  to  the  compli- 
cated construction  of  a  double-wire  aerial  line  with 
special  insulation  as  well  as  to  the  tortuous  profile 
of  the  railway,  which  makes  it  impossible  to  use 
constant-speed  motors,  and  the  speed  having  to  be 
varied  in  the  urban  and  suburban  sections,  respect- 
ively. The  advantage  of  supplying  the  trolley  with 
high-tension  current  was  on  the  other  hand  of  no 
importance  on  account  of  the  shortness  of  the  line. 

Though  the  Societa  Nazionale  delle  Officine  of 
Savigliano  has  made  a  special  point  of  the  construe- 


232 

tion  of  compensated  single-phase  motors,  the  use 
of  this  system  was  not  thought  advisable  on  so 
short  a  line,  a  medium  tension  as  best  suited  to 
the  special  conditions  of  the  line  being  most  easiiy 
obtained  by  the  use  of  continuous  current  supple- 
mented by  batteries. 

While  two  generating  sets  of  150-170  horsepower 
each  (of  which  one  was  to  serve  as  a  reserve) 
were  provided  for  in  the  first  design  of  a  plant, 
the  construction  firm  found  it  convenient  in  course 
of  construction  to  purchase  electrical  energy  de- 
rived from  a  high-tension  three-phase  line  belong- 
ing to  the  Pescara  plant,  adding  to  the  generating 
sets    just    referred    to    a    motor-generator    set    of    a 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

speed  constant  under  variable  loads,  and  the  suc- 
tion type  was  therefore  adopted.  This  system,  in 
which  the  production  of  gas  is  independent  of  the 
load  of  the  motor,  places  at  the  disposal  of  the 
service  a  good  reserve  of  gas  capable  of  eliminating 
any  excessive  variations  in  speed  in  the  case  of 
momentary  variations  in  the  load. 

The  gas  engines  are  of  the  Otto  horizontal  two- 
cylinder  type,  with  regulator  valves  and  flywheel 
3.4  meters  in  diameter.  The  degree  of  regula- 
tion is  1  :  150.  The  speed  of  rotation  is  180  revo- 
lutions per  minute.  An  ample  reserve  has  further 
been  provided  for  in  the  gas  generators. 

For  the  controlling  of  the  ventilators  of  the  water- 


capacity  of  170  horsepower  intended  to  convert 
the  alternating  current  into  continuous  current  at 
750  volts,  and  having  as  reserve  one  of  the  above 
self-contained  generating  sets,  while  the  other  set 
was  arranged  for  generating  three-phase  alternat- 
ing current  for  the  illumination  of  Chieti  city. 

The  power  station  of  Tricalle  accordingly  com- 
prises two  different  plants,  one  being  intended  for  the 
railway  service  and  including  a  converter  set,  ac- 
cumulator and  reserve  generator,  while  the  other 
plant  serving  for  the  illumination  of  the  city  of 
Chieti  consists  of  a  self-contained  electrical  gen- 
erator. The  converter  is  installed  in  a  trans- 
former station,  where  it  receives  the  three-phase 
current  at  13,500  volts  and  45  periods.  The  three- 
phase  transformer  of  160  kilovolt  amperes  capacity 
is,  according  to  modern  practice,  made  up  of  three 
single-phase  transformers,  on  account  of  the  spe- 
cial advantages  as  to  the  economy  and  safety  thus 
insured.  The  transformers  are  of  the  normal-ven- 
tilation type,  with  vertical  cores  and  concentric 
windings. 

The  transformers  are  connected  to  the  distribu- 
tion switchboard  of  the  motor-generator  set  by 
means  of  a  conductor  carrying  the  secondary  cur- 
rent at  5C0  volts. 

The  motor-generator  set  comprises  standard 
series  machines  of  the  Societa  Nazionale  delle 
Orncine  di  Savigliano.  The  three-phase  motor  has 
an  entirely  laminated  magnetic  circuit  with  sta- 
tionary inductor  and  rotating  armature,  rod  wind- 
ings with  contact  rings,  devices  for  short-circuit- 
ing and  lifting  the  brushes  with  single  control  to 
avoid    any    mistake    in    handling. 

Tudor  repulsion  cells  are  used  for  the  battery, 
there  being  375,  all  having  no  ampere-hours  ca- 
pacity, with  a  normal  discharging  current  of  90 
amperes  and  a  maximum  instantaneous  value  of 
180  amperes.  This  battery  is  intended  to  deal  with 
the  surplus  load  during  the  starting  of  the  trains 
and  on  the  steepest  inclines,  while  being  able  to 
insure  the  regular  service  of  the  motor  cars  dur- 
ing the  time  required  to  sfart  the  gas-engine  plant. 
The  battery,  owing  to  the  high-working  tension, 
had  to  be  insulated  with  especial  care,  to  effect 
which  the  lead  plates  are  arranged  in  glass  ves- 
sels mounted  on  a  triple  series  of  glass  and  por- 
celain insulators.  Each  of  the  generators  working 
in  the  power  station  is  able  to  charge  the  battery 
by  the  aid  of  a  buffer  dynamo,  the  charge  being 
driven  up  to  1,000  volts.  The  buffer  battery  made 
up  of  series  machines  of  the  standard  type,  con- 
sists of  a  750-volt  continuous-current  motor  and  of 
a  generator  of  variable  tension. 

Two  generator  sets  above  mentioned,  which 
worked  in  the  first  stage  of  the  plant  when  the 
converter  set  receiving  the  energy  from  the  Pes- 
cara plant  was  being  installed,  at  present  serve,  as  a 
reserve.  They  each  consist  of  a  gas  engine  and  a 
belt-driven  generator  of  an  output  of  about  170 
horsepower.  Gas  engines,  apart  from  their  tech- 
nical and  economical  advantages,  were  adopted 
mainly  on   account  of  the  lack  of  water. 

Service,  which  is  carried  out  with  only  two 
trains  (one  rising  and  one  descending),  submits 
the  generators  to  sudden  variations  in  load,  passing 
from  zero  to  exceedingly  high  maximum  during 
the  starting.  The  gas  engines  had  accordingly  to 
be    especially    regulated   in   order   to   maintain   their 


I.RM.M)     MAI  loN. 


circulating  pump  and  the  motor-starting  compressor 
there  are  used  two  electric  motors  of  12  horse- 
power each,  one  of  which  serves  as  a  reserve  to 
the  other.  The  dynamos  coupled  to  these  motors 
are  of  the  same  type  as  those  of  the  converter 
sets,  but  for  the  fact  that  the  considerable  periph- 
eral speed  of  the  flywheels  and  high  power  to  be 
transmitted  requires  a  third  support  to  the  founda- 
tion  between   which   the   flywheel   is   inserted. 

The    distribution    and    regulation    switchboard    of 
the    power    station    is    mounted    on    white    marble 


March  24,  1906 

the  feeders  are  connected  to  the  line  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  terminal  station  and  use  the  poles 
supporting  the  trolley  line  wherever  they  run  along 
the  railway  track,  while  being  otherwise  carried 
by  special  poles.  The  rails  connected  to  the  dis- 
tribution switchboard  by  means  of  insulated  cables 
(which  is  protected  with  a  lead  sleeve)  serve  as 
current  return.  On  account  of  the  numerous 
curves  and  considerable  gradients  of  the  track  bow 
trolleys  were  found  to  be  the  most  suitable  means 
of  collecting  the  current,  allowing  the  number  of 
supports  forming  a  polygon  on  curved  tracks  to  be 
reduced  and  diminishing  the  risk  of  derailment. 
The  insulators  of  the  supports  could  be  placed  at 
distances  of  as  much  as  60  centimeters  from  the 
central  line  of  the  track,  the  sliding  portions  of  the 
aluminum  trolley  bows  being  1.3   meters  in   length. 

Trolley  wire  is  of  electrolytic  copper  0.9  milli- 
meter in  diameter  and  is  supported  at  the  height 
of  5.5  meters  above  the  level  of  the  rails.  The 
suspension  from  the  poles  and  from  the  ■  walls  of 
the  houses  situated  on  the  track  is  effected  by 
means  of  steel  ropes,  including  a  double  series  of 
insulators.  On  the  rectilinear  portions  of  the  track 
the  distance  between  the  supports  is  about  75 
meters   while   being   variable   in   curves. 

Poles  installed  alongside  the  track  are  of  wood 
with  steel-tube  arms.  The  line  is  divided  into  7 
sections  (see  Fig.  5),  the  terminal  points  of  which 
correspond  to  the  feeding  points  and  which  sec- 
tions may  be  rendered  independent  and  self-con- 
tained b}r  means  of  section  interrupters  which  are 
installed  in  boxes  fixed  to  the  poles.  The  feeders 
themselves    are    provided    with    interrupters. 

The  maximum  drop  in  tension  observed  on  the 
contact  wire  during  the  running  of  two  trains  (one 
ascending  and  the  other  descending)  amounts  to 
eight  per  cent.,  and  the  mean  fall  for  the  entire 
length  to  six  per  cent.  The  rails  give  rise  to 
minimum  drops  in  tension  so  as  to  render  any  re- 
sulting    electrolytic     phenomena     immaterial.       The 


plates  supported  by  metal  frames  and  is  divided 
into  four  panels.  The  two  central  panels  are  re- 
served for  the  generators  while  the  two  lateral 
ones  contain  the  regulation  and  measuring  instru- 
ments of  the  buffer  dynamo  and  accumlator  bat- 
tery and  the  other  the  ampere  meters  and  inter- 
rupters of  the  feeders.  In  view  of  the  high  ten- 
■  sion  of  the  direct  current  produced  special  care 
was  bestowed  upon  all  the  particulars  of  this 
switchboard.  All  the  interrupters  and  accumulators 
have  their  contacts  on  the  back  of  the  board  and 
are  provided  with  arc-breaking  devices  and  with  in- 
sulated sleeves  for  handling  on  the  front  panel  of 
the  switchboard.  The  automatic  current-reversing 
interrupters  intended  to  protect  the  dynamo  against 
any  discharges  of  the  battery,  and  the  automatic 
maximum-current  interrupters,  are  provided  with 
especial  signaling  devices  indicating  the  position  of 
their  contacts,  which  are  likewise  placed  on  the 
back  ,of  the  switchboard.  A  registering  ammeter 
records  the   daily  variations  in   load. 

Feeders  and  Aerial  Line. 

Electrical    current    destined    to    feed    the    trolley 

line    is    carried    by    three    feeders    connected    to    the 

latter    at    11    conveniently    chosen    points.      Two    of 


joints  between  the  rails  were  provided  with  con- 
nections consisting  of  hardened  copper  wire  kept 
in  position  by  riveting  to  the  rail.  At  each  100 
meters  length  of  the  rails  there  are  provided  trans- 
verse connections  to  insure  a  junction  as  satisfac- 
tory as  possible  between  the  two  rails. 
Rolling  Stock. 
Rolling  stock  comprises  both  motor  cars  and 
trailers  for  passenger  service  and  motor  cars  and 
trailers  for  the  conveyance  of  goods.  In  normal 
working  order  each  train  is  made  up  of  a  motor 
car  and  a  trailer.  The  general  conditions  taken 
as  a  basis  in  the  design  of  the  motor  cars,  and 
which  caused  serious  difficulties,  were  the  high 
adhering   weight   necessary,   the   adhesion   having   to 


March   24,   [906 

\„   go  great  as  to  have  the  1  tnpl  j   motoi  1  ai   al  ca<  h 

point    of    il"'    trai  I    to    be    able    to    draw    •*<    I 

trailer,   while   the   gauge   of  one   meter   had   to   l>< 

maintained   and   the  di  tain  c   bctw he    >    l<      ol 

each  car  had  to  be  reduced  to  a  minimum 

Motor  cars  compri  ic  two  compartment  ol  th< 
first  and  second  1  la;  »,  re  ipectivcly,  and  a  •  ■  ntral 
compartmenl  used  as  luggage  van.  The  motoi  cai 
arc  made  up  -if  a  truck  of  laminated  iron  with  two 
axles  and  two  motors,  The  motors  are  placed  bi 
tween  the  axles  so  as  to  increa  e  the  tability  and 
h.  improve  the  equilibrium  of  the  1  ar 

The  750-voll  continuous  current   toi     1  lee   Fig. 

7)  of  40-horscpower  normal  ontpul  worl  al  n 
speed  of  1,000  revolutions  per  minute.  They  are 
of  the  hermetically  enclosed  traction  type  with 
four-pole  inductor,  steel  magnetic  circuit  and  lam 
inated    pole    pieces.     The    inductor    coils    are    can 


fully  insulated  in  each  of  the  elements  as  well  as 
in  their  whole  by  means  of  cotton  layers  impreg- 
nated with  special  insulating  varnishes.  The  insu- 
lation of  the  mass  is  effected  by  means  of  several 
layers  of  presspan  and   linen. 

The  armature  is  of  the  traction  collector  type, 
with  many  laminae  and  several  elements  united  in 
each  armature  slot.  The  collector  has  been  care- 
fully designed  as  to  its  insulation  and  commutation, 
the  brush-holders  (with  carbon  brushes)  being 
susceptible  of  inspection  from  above,  while  each 
of  the  brushes  is  insulated  and  the  windings  pro- 
tected against  sparking  by  pieces  of  insulating  ma- 
terial. The  lubrication  of  the  bearings  is  auto- 
matic, a  box  with  melting  fat  being  provided  to 
serve  as  a  reserve  in  case  of  heating  due  to  any 
insufficient    oiling. 

The  motor  frames  are  divided  in  a  horizontal 
plane  to  allow  of  inspection  and  repair  work.  The 
suspension  of  the  motor  is  effected  by  double 
springs,  the  motor  axles  being  controlled  by  means 
of  a  convenient  gear,  enclosed  in  a  lubrication 
casing.  In  the  course  of  tests  made  of  these  mo- 
tors, the  maximum  temperature,  after  two  hours 
of  working  at  full  load  and  normal  speed  and 
tension,  was  found  not  to  exceed  by  more  than 
50°  C.  the  surrounding  temperature,  while  the 
commutation  at  variable  loads  and  speeds  and  in 
both  directions  of  traveling  was  found  to  be  ex- 
cellent. The  motors  may  be  connected  both  in 
series  and  in  parallel  to  the  controllers  installed 
on  the  platform  and  which  also  affect  the  insertion 
of  the  starting  and  stopping  resistances  as  well 
as  the  handling  of  the  short-circuit  brakes  and 
of  the  Westinghouse  electromagnetic  brake.  The 
crank  of  the  controller  may  take  four  different 
positions  to  regulate  the  speed  of  the  motors,  both 
in  the  series  and  parallel  arrangement.  The  con- 
trollers are  provided  with  spring  contacts,  a  mag- 
netic blowout  and  convenient  block  arrangements, 
to  avoid  any  mistake  in  control.  The  resistances 
arranged  beneath  the  car  body,  are  made  up  of 
insulated  iron  laminae  that  are  compressed  against 
each   other. 

Both  hand  and  electromagnetic  brakes  are  ar- 
ranged on  the  car,  the  former  being  actuated  by 
means  of  chain  and  hand  wheel,  while  the  West- 
inghouse electromagnetic  brake  is  worked  by  the 
short-circuit  current  of  the  motor,  acting  on  an- 
other system  of  jaws  arranged  inside  the  car, 
while    the   jaws   cling   to    the    rails. 

Each  of  the  motor  cars  is  provided  with  a 
wooden  fender,  two  pedal-operated  sanders,  two 
alarm  bells,  one  electrical  bell  outfit  and  other 
auxiliary  devices.  Both  the  motor  cars  and  trail- 
ers are  lighted  by  electricity  by  means  of  two 
sets  of  five  incandescent  lamps.  A  high-intensity 
lantern  and  the  signaling  lamps  are  installed  on 
the  roof  of  the  motor  cars.  A  flexible  cable  serves 
to  connect  the  motor  car  to  the  trailer.  The  lat- 
ter is  of  a  much  lighter  construction  and  contains 
a  single  second-class  compartment  with  longitudinal 


WESTERN    ELECTRIi 

I  ■''      n 

II  ...   , 

'•  luding  a  braking  cabin      I  he  rolling 

tor  cai 
I  he    railwaj    plant    above   de  ■  ribed   ha 
full   operation    for   .1    1 
ati  faction 


233 

■ 


Mine  Oparatlon  from  Central   Power 
Stations. 

In   -i   number  of  mining  di  trict     in   Europ 
also    111    thi     United 

havi     1 11  talli  'I    "i     '.in'  i.    clcctrii     current    1 

1  ited    and     upplii  1!    bj    ■ 

mission   lines  to 

ating   electric   mining   machinery.     Heavy,   lca< 

ercd  cables  .-ire  provided  in  tl  ifta  and 

throughout    the    min  .     >upplj  ing    1  ui  r,  nl    : 

n  1.  .ilk    driven    hoist      cli   tricallj    operated    pumps 

and   electric   ventilating   machinery,  as   well 

cavating    apparatus    in    the    way    of    electric    drills 

.-mil    rli  1 11  H     coal    '  utters. 

While   direct  current    machinery  has  been   largely 
used   in  these  mining  generating  station 
advent   of   the   three-phase   alternating    systi 
class   'if  apparatus  has   been   .nun-  extensively  em- 
ployed,   particularly     in    Herman    and    other    conti 
rental   mine 

While  mining  central   power   stations   arc   mostly 
operated    by    steam    engines     of    the    recipi 
type,    recently,    owing   In    the    great    developn 
the  high-power  gas  engine  and  the  steam   turbine, 
these   forms  nl"  limine  power  are  mm   being  utilized 
ill   mining  power  plants   to   a  considerable   extent. 

The  accompanying  illustration  shows  a  new 
steam-turbine  mining  power  plant  recently  installed 
at  the  Zeche  Neucssen  mine  in  Germany  by  the 
Siemens  &  Halske  Company.  The  picture  shows 
a  high-speed  steam-turbine  unit  of  320  kilowatts 
capacity,  the  alternator  being  direct  connected,  and 
mounted  on  the  same  base  as  the  steam  turbine. 
The  exciter  is  mounted  outside  of  the  main  alter- 
nator bearing,  on  the  extended  shaft  of  the  steam 
turbine  and  electrical  generator.  This  turbo-gen- 
erator unit  supplies  a  current  of  2,200  volts,  and 
operates  at  a  speed  of  3.000  revolutions  a  minute. 
It  is  maintained  that  the  steam  turbine  and  elec- 
trical generator  are  particularly  well  adapted  for 
mining  central-station  work,  and  have  given  ex- 
cellent  satisfaction   in   this  class  of  service. 

The    current    is    conducted    at    high    pressure    to 


Buffalo  Citizens  Discuss  Municipal 

Lighting  Proposition. 

large 
amount 

plant. 

too    hiicli    and    I 

. 

Thomas    Boyd    aid  thai  the  prncnl   Watei 
and  it  might 
what  would  1. 
nicipal    light   plant 

Frank    M     I 
attention   to  thi    fai  I   th;  I     ■ 

x.000  votes  '• i   70,00 

ownership.     \V.  J    Kunzic  said  thai 

t'alo    Business    Men's    Association 

contribute    to    1 

was  opposed  to  the  unt 

bonds    and    obligations. 

Franl     I 
the  bill.     Mr    Perkins  thought  the  • 
erate  electricity  by  burning  garbage  and  ti.  : 
duce  it  with  little  cost  of  fuel.     He   said  .1  munici- 

•  trie    plant    would    not 
$800,000   and    would    -01, n    iave    that    much    money 

lo    tile    ,11;, 

Attorney  Martin  Carey  for  the  electric  company 
said  his  company  would  meet  the  city  and  agree 
to  any  fair  ami  reasonable  changes.  He  thought 
it  strange  that  if  the  city  has  been  so  oppri 
some  would  make  it  appear  that  the  city  had  never 
exercised  its  rights  to  complain  against  th. 
pany  to  tin    state  commission  on  gas  and  electricity. 


A  Vivid  Short-circuit  in  San  Francisco. 
The  largest  and  brightest  exhibition  of  fire- 
works ever  seen  in  the  West,  writes  a  correspond- 
ent of  the  Western  Electrician,  occurred  on  the 
night  of  Sunday.  March  4th,  in  the  southern  part 
of  San  Francisco,  when  two  high-tension  « 
the  California  Gas  and  Electric  Corporation  were 
accidentally  crossed  by  a  sagging  wire  driven  by 
the    wind.      About    five    minutes    elapsed    before   the 


STEAM-TURBIXE    TOWER    PLANT    FOR    ZECI1E    NEl  ESSEN    MINE. 


various  sub-stations  at  the  different  mining  shafts, 
where  it  is  reduced  in  pressure  and  carried  to 
various   parts    of   the   mine   by    lead-covered    cables. 


Entertainment  of   Visiting  Engineers  in 
Great  Britain. 

Writing  under  date  of  March  7th.  the  London 
correspondent  of  the  Western  Electrician  says : 
"A  provisional  programme  relating  to  the  visit 
of  foreign  institutions  to  Great  Britain  this  sum- 
mer has  now  been  issued.  The  invitations  were 
sent  by  the  Institution  of  Electrical  Engineers,  and 
so  far  acceptances  have  been  received  from  Canada. 
France,  Germany.  Italy,  Switzerland  and  the  United 
States,  seven  institutions  altogether  having  ex- 
pressed their  intention  of  coming  over.  A  large  gen- 
eral   committee    and    an   organizing   committee   have 


current  was  cut  off.  and  during  that  period  the 
display  of  blue  light  was  something  unread  of. 
The  entire  city  was  illuminated,  the  intense  blaze 
of  the  arc  being  reflected  from  the  clouds.  Some 
of  the  dwellers  in  the  Patrero  District  thought 
the  Last  Day  had  arrived  when  the  unwonted  dis- 
play enlightened  the  usual  gloom  of  their  sur- 
roundings. The  fuses  of  the  big  motor-generators 
at  Station  C  were  blown,  and  for  an  hour  nearly- 
all  of  the  downtown  district  that  suffered  from 
the  effects  of  the  fire  of  February  22d  was  again  in 
darkness.  Several  of  the  theaters  had  to  resort 
to  candles  temporarily  and  later  to  gas  to  com- 
plete their  performances.  The  Daily  Examiner, 
fortunately,  was  able  to  start  up  its  own  isolated 
plant  after  a  short  time.  No  serious  damage  re- 
sulted at  any  of  the  lighting  company's  stations 
from  the  cross. 


234 

Preparations  for   the    National  Electric 
Light  Convention. 

Active  preparations  for  the  coming  convention 
of  the  National  Electric  Light  Association,  to  be 
held  m  Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  June  5th  to  8th,  are 
under  way.  The  convention  committee  consists  of 
the  following-named  gentlemen:  Arthur  Williams 
(chairman),  New  York;  W.  C.  L.  Eglin,  Philadel- 
phia; John  Martin,  San  Francisco;  Henry  L.  Do- 
herty,  Denver;  L.  A.  Ferguson,  Chicago;  Alex 
Dow,  Detroit;  Samuel  Scovil,  Cleveland;  Sydney 
Hosmer,  Boston;  Dudley  Farrand,  Newark,  N.  J.; 
H.  T.  Hartman,  Philadelphia;  Leon  H.  Scherck, 
Birmingham,    Ala. 

Under  the  rules  of  the  Atlantic  City  Hotel  Men's 
Association,  no  single  hotel  can  he  considered  as 
the  association's  headquarters.  This  will  make  little 
difference,  however,  as  the  association  has  con- 
tracted for  the  use  of  Young's  Pier  during  con- 
vention week.  The  secretary's  headquarters  for  the 
registration  of  members,  securing  badges,  and  gen- 
eral information,  will  be  at  the  front  of  the  pier, 
adjacent  to  the  entrance.  The  meetings  will  be 
held  in  the  small  auditorium,  at  about  the  middle 
of  the  pier.  The  front,  with  the  exception  of 
the  spaces  occupied  by  the  exhibits  of  the  associate 
members,  can  be  used  as  a  music  hall  and  sun 
parlor  by  the  ladies  of  the  association.  Arrange- 
ments have  been  made  for  a  thousand  rocking 
chairs  and  for  morning,  afternoon  and  evening 
concerts.  It  is  expected  that  this,  with  other  fea- 
tures, will  make  the  convention  unusually  attractive. 

Special  prices  have  been  obtained  from  35  of  the 
largest  hotels,  of  which  13  are  on  the  ocean  front. 
The  inclusive  rates  for  one  person,  on  the  Ameri- 
can plan,  vary  from  $2  to  $4  daily  without  bath, 
and  from  $3  to  $6  with  bath;  for  two  persons, 
from  $4  to  $8  without  bath,  and  from  $6  to  $10 — 
in    some    instances    slightly    higher — with    bath. 

Master  of  Transportation  George  F.  Porter  is 
now  arranging  for  special  railroad  rates  from  vari- 
ous sections  of  the  country.  It  is  hoped  to  have 
very  large  delegations  even  from  the  extreme  West. 
If  a  sufficient  number  can  be  obtained,  say,  at  San 
Francisco,  Mr.  Porter  could  arrange  for  a  special 
car    from   that   point   to    Denver    or    Chicago,    from 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

the  Board  Walk  and  exhibition  hall  and  the  vari- 
ous exhibit  spaces. 

Heretofore,  associate  members  have.found.it  nec- 
essary to  rent  private  rooms  in  the  headquarters 
hotel,  in  which  they  have  found  it  impossible  to 
make  an  adequate  display.  Often  these  rooms  were 
difficult  of  access,  and  could  hardly  be  found  unless 
each  member  were  piloted  to  them.  This  year,  in 
the  exhibition  hall,  a  charge  not  exceeding  20 
cents  a  square  foot  for  the  entire  week  will  be 
made.  This  price  includes  everything  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  erection  of  the  individual  booths  and 
any  special  lighting  which  the  exhibitors  may  re- 
quire. It  is,  of  course,  understood  that  the  work 
will  be  done  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  pier 
management.  Those  so  desiring  may  make  reserva- 
tions with  the  committee  at  once,  stating  the  kind 
of  exhibition  to  be  made,  whether  additional  service 
will  be  required  and  the  approximate  number  of 
square   feet. 

The  general  illumination  of  the  pier  is  included 
within  the  rental  arrangement.  Additional  current, 
however,  will  doubtless  be  required  by  the  exhibit- 
ing members.  Through  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  H.  T. 
Hartman,  the  local  company  will  make  a  special 
convention   rate  of   four   cents   a  kilowatt-hour. 

It  is  expected  that  the  rental  derived  from  the 
exhibits  of  associate  membership  will  be  sufficient 
to  cover  the  cost  of  the  pier.  This  rental,  as  stated, 
will  not  exceed  20  cents  a  square  foot,  as  it  is  the 
desire  of  the  committee  that  this  exhibition  shall 
be  a  success  artistically,  technically  and  commer- 
cially, rather  than  financially.  It  has  been  cus- 
tomary for  the  company  entertaining  the  convention 
to  assume  all  financial  obligations.  This  has  not 
seemed  entirely  fair  to  the  executive  committee, 
which  has  therefore  decided  to  ask  that  the  con- 
vention expenses  be  met  by  individual  company 
subscriptions.  These  may  be  sent  to  W.  C.  L 
Eglin  of  Philadelphia,  who  has  kindly  consented 
to  serve  as  treasurer  of  the  convention  committee. 
All  funds  received  for  the  convention  will  be  ex- 
pended only  for  that  purpose,  and  subject  to  the 
action  of  the  executive  session,  any  surplus  will 
be   returned  pro   rata  to  the    subscribers. 

President  William  H.  Blood,  Jr.,  is  desirous  that 


SECTION    OF   YOUNG'S   PIER,    ATLANTIC    CITY,    LEASED    FOR    NATIONAL   ELECTRIC 


CONVENTION. 


which  it  might  be  possible  to  run  a  special  train. 
These  matters  will  be  the  subject  of  a  special  cir- 
cular. Already  the  Southeastern  and  Western  Pas- 
senger associations  have  authorized  a  rate  of  a 
fare  and  one-third,  on  the  certificate  plan,  from 
points    in    their    respective    territories. 

A  special  exhibit  will  be  made  of  various  means 
of  advertising  employed  by  many  of  the  membT 
companies.  Inaugurated  at  Denver  last  year,  this 
feature  will  be  continued  this  year  on  a  much 
larger  scale,  and  in  a  position  which  will  give 
members  an  opportunity  to  study  the  exhibit  at 
leisure    and    in   detail. 

The  large  room  at  the  end  of  Young's  Pier, 
adjoining  the  Board  Walk,  has  been  leased  as  an 
exhibition  hall  for  associate  members.  There 
will  be  between  io.coo  and  12,000  square  feet  of 
space  available  for  this  purpose.  This  auditorium 
will  be  open  to  the  public  upon  the  payment  of 
10  cents — convention  members,  wearing  their  badges, 
entering  free — a  feature,  it  -  is  thought,  which  will 
add  greatly  to  the  value  of  the  exhibition.  The 
accompanying    plan    shows    tb~    "lative    location    of 


this  shall  be  a  "working  convention."  The  papers 
presented  will  be  of  a  high  order,  on  timely  topics, 
written  by  those  most  eminent  in  their  respective 
fields.  In  the  exhibit  of  the  associate  members  it 
is  expected  to  have  the  tantalum  incandescent  lamps, 
the  Nernst  lamps,  the  new  flaming  and  magnetite 
arc  lamps  and  examples  of  the  Moore  vacuum  and 
Hewitt  tube  lighting.  Already  space  has  been  taken 
for  electric  signs,  heating  appliances,  fan  and  other 
motors.  It  is  expected  that,  in  their  aggregate, 
these  will  make  a  convention  of  surpassing  im- 
portance from  a  technical,  executive,  managerial 
and   operating   standpoint. 

Entertainment  features,  however,  will  not  be  ab- 
sent. Atlantic  City  is  known  for  the  variety  of 
its  entertainments.  The  programme  will  include 
the  opening  of  the  exhibition  on  Monday  night,  a 
large  reception  at  the  New  Marlborough-Blenheim 
on  Tuesday  night,  and  a  convention  banquet  will 
probably  follow  later  in  the  week.  The  governor 
of  the  state,  and  many  others  prominently  identified 
with  the  industry,  are  expected  at  some  of  these 
functions.     The    ladies    will    be    taken    to    Philadcl- 


March  24,  1906 

phia  for  a  day,  going  and  returning  by  special 
train,  and  lunching  at  the  new  Bellevue-Stratford. 
The  General  Electric  Company  is  now  electrifying 
the  railroad  between  Philadelphia  and  Atlantic 
City.  Efforts  will  be  made  to  have  at  least  part 
of  the  road  in  operation-  to   show  the   delegates. 


Variable-speed  Operation  of   Induction 
Motors. 

The  induction  motor  fills  the  requirements  for 
variable-speed  operation  under  certain  conditions. 
To  bring  about  the  necessary  variation  the  fre- 
quency and  voltage  may  both  be  varied.  A  method 
of  speed  variation  for  induction  motors  is  sug- 
gested by  Mr.  B.  G.  Lamme  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  in 
a  recent  -  patent  which  embodies  these  two  ele- 
ments.    As    the    best    method    of    varying    the    fre- 


CTION    MOTORS. 


qnency  he  recommends  one  previously  patented  by 
him  (No.  682,943).  This  method  consists  in  sup- 
plying alternating  currents  of  a  given  frequency 
through  brushes  and  collector  rings  to  the  arma- 
ture winding  of  a  rotary  converter,  the  field  mag- 
net of  which  is  unprovided  with  magnetizing  coils, 
and  driving  the  armature  at  such  speed  between 
zero,  and  synchronism  as  will  insure  the  supply 
of  currents  of  the  desired  frequency  to  the  com-  ' 
mutator  leads.  Since  the  frequency-changing  ap- 
paratus may  be  of  such  construction  as  will  per- 
mit of  its  being  operated  at  relatively  high  speeds, 
it  need  not-  be  large  or  costly  as  compared  with 
the  motor  which  it  is  intended  to  control,  and  con- 
sequently its  use  permits  of  economical  speed  con- 
trol   of   the    simplest    form    of    driving    motor. 

In  ordinary  operation  if  the  voltage  supplied 
to  a  motor  is  not  varied  approximately  in  propor- 
tion to  the  variations  in  the  frequency  of  alterna- 
tions of  the  current  the  magnetic-flux  density  in 
the  stator  or  field  magnet  of  the  motor  will  rise 
as  the  frequency  of  alternations  is  decreased.  This  1 
is  a  condition  tending  toward  very  large  torques 
at  low  speeds,  but  represents  also  a  condition  of 
high  wattless-current  input  to  the  motor  at  the 
lower  speeds,  and  therefore  low  power  factors. 
Such  a  frequency-changing  device  as  is  described 
in  patent  No.  682,943  has  the  characteristic  of 
changing  the  frequency  of  alternations  of  the  cur- 
rent without  changing  the  voltage  ratio — that  is, 
with  a  given  voltage  applied  at  the  collector-ring 
end  of  the  machine  the  voltage  delivered  at  the 
commutator  end  will  be  practically  constant,  and 
therefore  independent  of  the  frequency  of  alterna- 
tions   of    the    current. 

According  to  Mr.  Lamme's  present  invention  a 
means  for  varying  the  voltage — such,  for  example, 
as  a  transformer  with  variable-voltage  ratio,  or  a 
regulator  having  relatively  adjustable  primary  and 
secondary  members,  is  employed  between  the  main 
supply  circuit  and  the  frequency  changer  or  be- 
tween the  frequency  changer  and  the  induction 
motor. 

As  illustrated  in  the  accompanying  diagram, 
alternating-current  energy  is  supplied  from  a  suit- 
able source  to  an  auto-transformer  (2),  one  ter- 
minal of  which  is  connected  to  a  brush  (3),  bear- 
ing upon  a  collector  ring  at  one  end  of  a  fre- 
quency   changer    (5). 

The  auto-transformer  winding  is  suitably  sub- 
divided by  means  of  leads,  which  are  respectively 
connected  to  contact  terminals  (7),  with  which  a 
pivoted  arm  is  adapted  to  engage,  the  arm  being 
connected  to  a  brush  (9),  .which  bears  upon  a 
second  collector  ring  of  the  frequency  changer. 
Bearing  upon  the  commutator  cylinder  (11)  at  the 
other  end  of  the  armature  of  the  frequency  changer 
are  three  brushes,,  which  are  connected  to  the  proper 


March  24,   1906 

points  in  the  primary  winding  (13)  ol  an  induction 
motor. 

The   auto-transformcr    winding   may   be   replaced 

liy  ,'1  two-winding  transformer,  one  of  the   wind 

of  whii  li  1  uitablj  ubdiv  idi  'I  bj  means  of  lead  . 
in   a   manner   similar   to   thai    here   shown    in   con- 

nection    with    the   auto-transf ler    winding,   or    it 

may   be    replaced    by    a    regulator    having    prill 
and   secondary  windings,  the  inductive   rclatio 
which,   with    respect   to   each   other,   arc   adjustable. 
Evidently,    any    oilier    suitable    voltage-varying    de- 
vice may  be   employed. 

If  the  voltage  regulator  is  used  in  connection 
with  a  frequency  changer,  as  just  described,  then 
the  variations  in  voltage  accomplished   by  the  volt- 

regulator   may   be   made   to   automatically   vary 

the   frequency   delivered   by  the   frequency  changer. 
I.     this    end    is    shown    the    frequency   changer 
driven  by  an  alternating-current  variable-speed  mo- 
tor,   llic    speed    of    which    varies    in    proportion    to 

the     voltage     derived     from     the    auto-tran  I 

I  he  motor  is  connected  in  scries  with  the  sec- 
ondary winding  (17)  of  a  transformer  (18),  the 
primary  winding  of  which  is  connected  between 
the  terminals  of  the  auto  transformer  winding  (2). 
One  terminal  of  the  secondary  winding  (17)  is 
connected  to  one  terminal  of  the  primary  winding 
(19),  and  the  free  armature  terminal  (20)  of 
the  motor  (16)  is  connected  to  the  pivoted  arm 
(8).  By  means  of  this  arrangement  of  connec- 
tions a  reduction  in  the  voltage  delivered  by  the 
regulator  increases  the  voltage  supplied  to  the  driv- 
ing motor,  and  a  reduction  in  voltage  supplied 
to  the  frequency  changer  causes  its  speed  to  in- 
crease, and  thus  the  frequency  of  alternations  of 
the  current  is  reduced.  Hence  the  frequency  of 
alternations  of  the  current  delivered  to  the  induc- 
tion motor  is  made  to  vary  approximately  as  the 
voltage    is    varied. 

One  of  the  principal  advantages  of  the  inven- 
tion lies  in  the  fact  that  the  frequency  changer 
may  be  a  polyphase  machine  having  a  rotating 
magnetic  field,  and  consequently  its  least  losses 
and  easiest  conditions  as  regards  commutation,  oc- 
cur at  or  near  synchronous  speed  when  it  is  de- 
livering its  lowest  frequency.  Such  a  machine 
can  therefore  carry  very  heavy  loads  when  deliv- 
ering currents  of  low  frequency,  as  the  machine 
has  the  least  losses  and  is  running  at  the  highest 
speed. 

As  the  speed  of  the  frequency  changer  is  de- 
creased until  •  it  approaches  zero  speed,  the  fre- 
quency of  the  current  delivered  rises,  and  con- 
sequently the  motor  that  is  operated  by  the  energy- 
received  from  it  approaches  its  highest  speed  and 
lowest  torque.  Therefore,  as  the  frequency  changer 
approaches  a  condition  of  poorest  ventilation  and 
highest  losses  its  load  is  diminished,  thus  tending 
to  compensate  for  the  poorest  conditions  of  opera- 
tion. 


Notes  of  California  Power  Development. 

The  Northern  California  Power  Company  will 
complete  the  extension  of  its  20,000-volt  transmis- 
sion line  to  a  connection  with  the  California  Gas 
and  Electric  Corporation's  power  lines  at  Chico 
soon.  The  new  66,000-volt  line  will  be  connected 
to  the  same  system.  The  Gas  and  Electric  Cor- 
poration, now  controlled  by  the  new  Pacific  Gas 
and  Electric  Company,  has  contracted  to  take  the 
surplus  electric  power  of  the  Northern  California 
plants  in  Shasta  County.  A  recent  decision  against 
the  government  will  permit  the  Mountain  Copper 
Company  to  reopen  its  smelter  and  take  power 
under  its  contract  with  the  Northern  California 
Power  Company. 

The  Big  Creek  Power  Company,  which  transmits 
power  about  12  miles  to  Watsonville,  Cal.,  from  its 
hydro-electric  plant  on  Big  Creek,  has  sold  its 
power  plant  and  transmission  lines  to  representa- 
tives of  the  Nartin-De  Sabla  interests.  This  means 
that  the  plant  will  be  controlled  by  the  Pacific 
Gas  and  Electric  Company.  The  Coast  Counties 
Power  Company  was  recently  incorporated  by  the 
same  interests  for  the  purpose  of  taking  over  the 
Big  Creek  Power  Company,  the  Santa  Cruz  Elec- 
tric-light and  Power  Company,  the  Co-operative 
Light  and  Power  Company  of  Santa  Cruz,  and  any 
other  company  which  may  be  acquired  in  the  coun- 
ties south  of  San  Francisco.  The  Monterey  County 
Gas  and  Electric  Company  has  elected  a  new  set  of 
directors,  which  may  indicate  that  it  will  fall  into 
the  same  hands.  A  lighting  and  electric-railway 
plant  is  operated  at  Monterey. 

Arrangements  are  being  made  to  establish  two 
additional  generators  of  8,000-horsepower  capacity 
each  in  Butte  County  by  the  California  Gas  and 
Electric  Corporation,  one  being  at  Centerville  and 
one  at  De  Sabla.  Several  engines  of  5,000  horse- 
power "will  be  installed  by  the  California  Gas  and 
Electric  Corporation  in  the  large  cities  to  drive 
generators  that  will  be  installed  in  reserve  plants 
and  be  used  for  emergencies. 


WESTERN     ELEi 

Artistic  LlKhtlng    Fixtures  In  Chicago 
Federal  Building, 
ith   all   the   ligl 

Building 

lie  in- 
terior of  tl  i     highly  ornami 

with 

111.  .'Ml  ..li!. 

abo  -    1!  -     othci    I 


235 
'    catt- 
hidden    by    llic   pillar   in   th> 
about  ;■< 

it   plainly    Ifli 

■ 
in   the   nrrat   building  miiin   unexpectedly  on   u.tw 


I.      750-POUND    ELECTR 


EIGHTH    FLOOR    IN    DOME    OF    FEDERAL 


spring  from  the  perpendicular  portions  of  the  inte- 
rior. Around  the  dome  at  each  landing  are  rows 
of  incandescent  lamps,  set  back  in  the  recesses 
formed  in  the  architectural  design,  which,  seen  from 
below,  give  the  appearance  of  continuous  chains 
of  light.  To  enhance  the  beauty  of  the  picture  an 
elaborate  color  scheme  in  red,  white  and  blue  has 
been  attempted  and  carried  out  with  entire  success. 

But  the  crowning  feature  of  the  whole  lighting 
scheme  is  the  installation  of  two  rows  of  massive 
electroliers,  one  at  the  second  floor  and  one  at  the 
eighth  floor.  While  a  photograph  will  not  do  jus- 
tice to  the  artistic  appearance  of  these  electroliers 
when  the  lights  are  burning  and  their  harmony 
with  the  rest  of  the  lighting  can  be  seen,  the 
accompanying  illustrations  serve  to  give  an  idea 
of  the  beauty  of  their  outward  appearance  and  the 
pleasing  manner  with  which  they  fit  in  with  the 
architectural  features  of  the  dome   itself. 

Fig.  2  shows,  at  the  right,  one  of  the  electroliers 
and  its  sustaining  bracket  which  hangs  out  from 
the  second  floor.  In  all  there  are  eight  of  these 
fixtures  on  this  level.     These  fixtures  were  put  up 


new  and  tastefully  executed  feature  in  the  schemt 
of  illumination. 

In  Fig.  1  are  seen  two  of  the  eight  electroliers 
which  encircle  the  dome  at  the  eight  floor,  over 
100  feet  from  the  main  floor.  These  electroliers 
are  designed  along  much  the  same  lines  as  those 
below,  but  are  larger  and  heavier  and  have  each 
a  row  of  lights  around  the  outside.  They  each 
weigh  750  pounds  and  cost  $400  apiece.  They  are 
of  cast  brass,  and  their  great  weight  made  their 
installation  no  small  task.  In  the  interior  of  each 
globe  (which  is  of  leaded  glass)  are  12  cight-can- 
dlepower  incandescent  lamps  with  red  globes, 
which,  when  lighted,  give  the  large  globes  a  rich 
red  color  which  contrasts  in  a  striking  manner 
with  the  blue  and  white  lights  around  the  dome. 
The  row  of  lamps  on  the  outside  of  the  electrolier 
is  composed  of  eight-candlepower  lamps  with  white 
frosted  globes.  This  picture  also  gives  a  good 
view  of  the  elaborate  ornamentation  of  the  inte- 
rior of  the  dome.  The  circular  openings,  guarded 
by  low  railings,  form  a  connection  for  light,  air 
and  vision  between  the  corridors  and  the  centraJ 
portion  of  the  building. 


Exports  of  Coal  from  the  United  States 
in   1905. 

Statistics  compiled  by  the  Department  of  Com- 
merce and  Labor  show  that  the  exports  of  coal 
and  coke  from  the  United  States  during  the  calen- 
dar year  1905  aggregated  over  $31,000,000  in  value 
as  against  $11,00.000  in  1895,  a  decade  earlier.  Al- 
though the  United  States  now  holds  first  rank  as 
a  producer  of  coal,  it  holds  only  third  place  as 
an  exporter  of  this  commodity.  The  coal  exported 
from  this  country  goes  chiefly  to  nearby  countries, 
but  it  is  beginning  to  find  its  way  to  other  parts 
of  the  world.  Of  the  $18,000,000  worth  of  bitu- 
minous coal  exported  last  year,  $11,500,000  worth 
went  to  British  North  America,  and  to  that  place 
went  also  nearly  all  of  the  $11,000,000  worth  of 
anthracite  coal  exported.  Mexico  was  the  next 
largest   customer. 

The  coal  production  in  the  principal  coal-pro- 
ducing countries  of  the  world  was,  in  1904,  the 
date  of  the  latest  available  figures,  as  foliows : 
L'nited  States.  314.563,000  tons:  the  United  King- 
dom, 232,428,000  tons;  Germany,  118,907,000  tons; 
France,  33.303,000  tons;  Belgium,  23.135,000  tons; 
and  Japan,  9,701.682  tons,  the  quantities  in  each 
case    being   long   tons    of  2,240   pounds    each. 


'236 

WESTERN   ELECTRICIAN 

EVERY    SATURDAY. 

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quested, the  old  address  as  well  as  the  new  should  be  given. 

CORRESPONDENCE  relating  to  electricity  or  any  of  its 
practical  applications  is  cordially  incited,  and  the  co-operation 
of  all  electrical  thinkers  and  workers  earnestly  desired.  Clear, 
concise,  well  written  articles  are  especially  welcome;  and  com- 
munications, views,  news  items,  local  newspuper  clippings,  or 
any  information  likely  to  interest  electricians,  wiil  be  thank- 
fully received  and  cheerfully  acknowledged. 

ADVERT ISINQ-.— The  Western  Electrician— the  only 
general  electrical  paper  published  In  the  West— thoroughly 
covers  a  territory  exctusirth/  its  own.    This  is  a  claim  which 

CAN     BE     MADE     BY     NO    OTHER      ELECTRICAL      JOURNAL     IN     THE 

United  States.  Electrical  merchants  and  manufacturers 
desiring  western  trade  will  appreciate  the  uneoualed  va:,tje 
of  this  journal  as  an  advertising  medium  in  its  special  field. 
Advertising  rates  are  moderate,  and  will  be  furnished  oa 
application. 

REMITTANCES.— All  checks,  drafts  and  other  remit- 
tances should  be  made  payable  to  the  order  of  the  publishers, 
Ibe  Electrician  Publishing  Company,  and  addressed  to  the 
offices  of  publication,  Suite  510,  Marquette  Building  (204 
Dearborn  Street),  Chicago,  Illinois,  TJ.  S.  A. 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

Electric    Railroading     under    Difficulties.        By    Dr.    Alfred 

Gradenwitz.     Illustrated 231.  232.  233 

Mine  Operation  from  Central  Power  Station.     Illustrated 233 

Entertainment  of  Visiting  Engineers  in  Greai  Britain 233 

Buffalo  Citizens  Di-cuss  Municipal  Lighting  Proposition 233 

A  Vivid  Short-circuit  in  San  Francisco 233 

Preparations  for  the  National  Electric  Light  Convention.      Il- 
lustrated  234 

Variable-speed  Operation  of  Induction  Motors.  Illustrated. 234.  235 

Notes  of  California  Power  Development 235 

Artistic  Lighting  Fixtures  in  Chicago  Federal  Building.    Illus- 
trated   235 

Exports  of  Coal  from  the  I'nited  States  in  1905 235 

Editorial 236 

Electric  Lighting  in  New  York  State 237 

Canadian  Electric-railway  Statistics 237 

Proportion  of  Electrical  Facilities  to  Population 237 

Submarine  Telegraphs  of  the  World 237 

Proposed  Reduction  of  Electric-light  Rates  in  Chicago 238 

A  Peculiar  Lighting  Controversy 258 

Alternating-current  Traction  in  Heavy  Railroading  {New  York 

Railroad  Club) 238.  239 

A  New  Single-phase  Motor.     Illustrated 239 

Gaso-electric  Project  for  Indiana 239 

Chicago  Meeting  of  the  Railway  Signal  Association 240 

Traction  Company  to  Give  Lectures  on  Electric  Cooking 240 

Single-phase  Equipment  for  Central  Illinois  Railways 240 

Rates  for  Commercial  Space-telegraph  Messages 240 

Book  Table 241 

New  Star  Electric  Fans.     Illustrated 241,  242 

The  Gas  Engine  as  a  Prime   Mover 242 

Salesmen's  Meetings  to  Be  Held  in  Chicago 242 

Chicago  Street-railway  Situation 242 

National  Civic  Federation  Inspects  Lighting  Plants 242 

Western  Society  of  Engineers 243 

Telegraph  Ciphers  by  the  Billion 243 

Chicago  Meeting  of  the  Institute 243 

1 11  tern rli an  Competition  in  Iowa 243 

Telephone  Engineering  as  a  Profession 243 

Indiana  Telephone  Items 243 

Southeastern  Telephone  Developments 243,  244 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes 244 

Telephone  News  from  the  Northwest 244 

Michigan  Telephone  Matters 244 

Iowa  Telephone  Association 244 

Illinois  District  Telephone  Meeting 244 

West  Virginia  Independent  Telephone  Association 244 

New  Companies 244 

Chicago  Telephone-rate  Inquiry 244 

National-Interstate  Telephone  Convention  to  Be  Held  in  Cbi- 

Campaign  for  Cheap  Telephones  in  England ..'.'.'....!  244 

General  Telephone  News 24i 

Special  Roads  for  Automobiles 245 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence 245,  246,  247 

Great  Britain 245 

Dominion  of  Canada 245 

New  England 245.  246 

New  York 246 

Southeastern  States 246 

Ohio 246 

Indiana 246,  247 

Michigan :.  247 

Northwestern  States 247 

Pacific  Slope 247 

Personal 247 

Electric  Lighting -..247 

Electric  Railways -. 247,  248 

Societies  and  Schools 248 

Automobiles 248 

Miscellaneous 248 

Trade  News 248,  249 

Business 249  . 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record 249,  250 


DATES  AHEAD. 

Street  Railway  Association  of  the  State  of  New  York   (next 
neeting),  Elmira,  N.  Y.,   March  29th. 
Ohio  Independent  Telephone  Association    (annual  meeting), 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

The  centenary  of  the  electric  light  may  very 
appropriately  be  celebrated  in  two,  or  three  years. 
There  have  not  been  so  many  centennial  celebrations 
in  electrical  development  that  this  one  should  be 
suffered  to  pass  unnoticed.  Although  his  experi- 
ments with  electricity  extended  over  a  period  rang- 
ing from  1802  to  1821,  it  was  in  1809  and  1810 
that  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  using  current  from  a 
voltaic  battery  of  2,000  pairs  of  plates,  produced 
a  continuous  and  brilliant  electric  light,  practically 
identical  in  principle  with  the  arc  light  of  today. 
"This  great  experiment,"  says  Crocker,  "is  unques- 
tionably the  foundation  of  the  present  methods  of 
electric  lighting."  The  one-hundredth  anniversary 
of  such  an  important  event  should  be  appropri- 
ately celebrated,  and  the  great  electrical  societies 
of  the  world  may  well   take  measures  to  that  end. 


It  is  rather  amusing,  when  the  cold,  hard  facts 
in  the  case  are  considered,  to  observe  the  pomp 
and  circumstance  with  which  an  eastern  electrical 
contemporary,  in  its  issue  of  March  10,  1906,  her- 
alds "the  birth  of  a  new  electrical  art."  The  "art" 
to  which  reference  is  made  is  the  Cahill  electrical 
music  system.  But  it  is  rather  late  to  "announce 
the  birth,"  for  an  article  describing  the  system  in 
general  terms  was  published  in  the  Western  Elec- 
trician of  February  25,  1905,  over  a  year  ago.  At 
that  time  it  was  thought  that  the  invention  would 
be  demonstrated  at  the  Portland  Exposition,  and 
the  article  in  question,  written  by  Mr.  W.  E. 
Brindley,  was  entitled  "Electrical  Music  for  the 
Portland  Exposition."  Like  the  subsequent  writer 
in  the  eastern  journal,  Mr.  Brindley  noted  the 
fulfillment  of  one  of  Edward  Bellamy's  dreams  in 
"Looking  Backward;"  he  then  proceeded  to  outline 
the  principles  and  applications  of  Dr.  Cahill's  in- 
vention. This  article  attracted  considerable  atten- 
tion in  the  daily  and  literary  press.  The  Chicago 
Daily  Tribune  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  "the 
Western  Electrician  and  other  papers  devoted  to 
electrical  interests  speak  of  the  invention  with  such 
an  air  of  certainty  that  little  doubt  remains  of 
the  practicability  of  the  new  music-making  ma- 
chine." In  an  editorial  published  in  the  Western 
Electrician  of  May  13,  1905,  we  disclaimed  any 
certainty  in  relation  to  the  system,  although  we 
took  occasion  to  say  that  "we  see  no  theoretical 
reason  why  electrical  impulses,  to  be  translated 
into  musical  sounds,  could  not  be  transmitted  in 
the   manner  outlined." 

Thus  it  will  be  observed  that  the  "art"  had 
excited  considerable  discussion  before  our  contem- 
porary  announced  its  birth. 


(annual     convention),     Kirk- 


Columbus,    Ohio,    March    30th. 

Iowa     Electrical     Association 
wood  Hotel,  Des  Moines,  April    iSth  and   19th. 

Iowa  Street  and  Interurban  Railway  Association  (annual 
convention),    Kirkwood    Hotel,    Des    Moines,    April    19th    and 

20th. 

American  Electrochemical  Societv  (general  meeting, 
Ithaca   Hotel,   Ithaca,    N.    Y.,   May   is't  to  3d. 

Indiana  Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  meet- 
ing),  Indianapolis,    Ind.,   May    17th. 

National  Electric  Light  Association  (annual  convention), 
Atlantic  City,  N.   J.,  June    sth  to  8th.  inclusive. 

National-Interstate  Telephone  Association  (second  annual 
n),    Auditorium    Hotel,     Chicago,     Tune     26th,    27th 


vention),  Cleveland,  Ohio,  July  18th. 


Motcrs  are  offered  for  hire  by  the  municipal 
electrical  departments  of  several  English  cities, 
and  the  idea  will  probably  be  given  a  trial  in  Bir- 
mingham. The  plan  is  exciting  considerable  inter- 
est among  the  small  power  users  of  that  city  who 
are  contemplating  the  use  of  electric  current  to 
drive  the  machinery  in  their  establishments.  The 
City  Council  of  Birmingham  will  be  asked  by  the 
electric  supply  committee  for  permission  to  supply 
motors  and  starting  switches  on  terms  ranging 
from  $12.15  Per  annum  for  a  half-horsepower  motor 
up  to  $126.36  per  annum  for  a  50-horsepower  mo- 
tor. Small  charges  will  be  imposed  for  conveying 
and  fixing,  but  the  wiring  work  will  be  allowed 
to  go  to  the  private  electric-wiring  contractors  of 
the  city.  Special  facilities  will  be  afforded  to 
manufacturers  who  desire  to  become  purchasers 
of  the  motors  which  they  may  at  first  only  hire. 
A  sum  of  $40,000  or  $50,000  will,  it  is  estimated, 
be  required  for  the  working  of  the  scheme  for  the 
first  two  years,  after  which  it  is  believed  the  service 
would  become  self-supporting.  As  we  understand 
it,  the  rent  of  the  motor  is  distinct  from  the  reve- 
nue derived  from  the  current  supplied  to  it  to 
operate  it.  The  idea  seems  to  be  to  encourage  the 
use  of  electric  power  among  the  smaller  manu- 
facturers by  providing  a  method  whereby  the  mo- 
tors need  not  be  bought  outright,  rather  than  to 
make  much  profit  on   the  renting  of  the  motors. 

In  the  United  States  the  renting  of  electric 
motors  to  customers  by  central-station  companies 
is  not  practiced  to  any  great  extent,  we  believe,  if 
at  all.  Easy  terms  of  payment  are  arranged,  if 
desired,    and    sometimes    the    electric    drive    is    put 


March  24,  1906 

in  on  a  month's  trial  to  demonstrate  the  advan- 
tages claimed  for~  it.  But  the  customer  is  ex- 
pected to  buy  the  motors  just  as  he  would  any 
other  machinery  used  in  his  plant,  and  just  as  he 
undoubtedly  did  in  the  case  of  the  steam  engines, 
shafting  or  belting  which  the  motors  replace. 
Electric  signs  are  put  in  without  purchase,  on  a 
service-basis  contract,  and  lamp  renewals  are  given 
free,  but  motors  are  not  considered  analogous. 
One  reason  is  that,  especially  in  the  case  of 
direct-current  motors,  the  machine  may  be  injured 
by  incompetent  attendance,  which  is  not  the  case 
with  a  sign.  Then,  too,  by  actually  owning  the 
motors  it  may  be  supposed  that  the  customer  will 
be  more  steadfast  in  his  allegiance  to  electricity 
than  in  the  case  of  a  temporary  arrangement.  But 
possibly  the  subject  of  putting  out  electric  motors 
for  hire,  as  a  systematic  policy,  is  worthy  of  more 
attention  than  it  has  received  in  this  country.  We 
shall  be  pleased  to  hear  from  managers  and  new- 
business    promoters    on   this    subject. 


British  manufacturers  are  asked  to  take  notice 
by  Dr.  C.  V.  Drysdale,  the  British  juror  for  elec- 
tricity at  the  St.  Louis  Exposition  of  1904.  that 
they  may  learn  something  from  the  Americans  in 
the  matter  of  standardization  of  electrical  machin- 
ery. In  his  report  the  commissioner  recalls  that 
British  manufacturers  were  not  ready  to  supply 
plant  for  traction  work  when  the  alteration  of  the 
laws  rendered  such  work  possible.  Just  in  the 
same  way,  he  says  that  America  has  now  probably 
solved  the  problem  of  single-phase  traction,  which 
will  most  likely  enable  the  main  railways  to  be 
successfully  electrified  in  future.  He  tells  the  Brit- 
ish public  that  this  has  only  been  done  by  the  ex- 
penditure of  such  amounts  in  experiments  as  would 
frighten  British  manufacturers,  and  that,  "unless 
we  are  alive  to  the  question,  we  may  possibly  in 
a  few  years  be  seeing  all  our  large  railways  being 
equipped  with  American  plant,  just  as  we  saw 
our  tramways  some  few  years  back."  Dr.  Drysdale 
thinks,  further,  that  the  elimination  of  extreme  and 
ruinous  competition  is  one  element  of  strength  in 
the  American  electrical  situation,  preventing  waste 
of  talent  and  multiplicity  of  types  of  machinery. 
It  would  appear,  he  concludes,  that  the  British 
electrical  industry  would  gain  by  the  co-operation, 
and  even  the  amalgamation,  of  several  of  the  now 
competing  firms,  and,  above  all,  if  the  short-sighted 
policy  of  trade  jealousy  and  secrecy  were  discarded. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  competition  in  the  elec- 
trical business  in  the  United  States  is  more  keen 
and  active  than  some  foreigners  seem  disposed  to 
think.  If  Dr.  Drysdale  came  to  the  United  States 
and  publicly  announced  that  he  was  about  to  pur- 
chase apparatus  for,  sayj  an  electric  railway,  with 
an  open  mind  as  to  the  best  type  of  machinery  and 
appliances  to  install,  he  would  soon  find  evidence 
of  real  competition  in  the  zeal  and  character  of 
the  arguments  that  the  engineering  salesmen  would 
present  to  him.  But  it  is  undoubtedly  true,  speak- 
ing in  general  terms,  that  the  competition  in  the 
electrical  business  in  the  United  States  does  not 
go  to  the  desperate  extremes  sometimes  witnessed 
in  other  countries.  There  is  also  to  be  considered 
the  latter-day  "get-together"  movement,  although 
this  is  quite  new,  and  its  ultimate  extent  and  im- 
portance, from  an  economic  point  of  view,  are  un- 
certain. 

But  in  whatever  direction  the  various  currents 
and  cross-currents  of  electrical  business-getting  may 
set  in  the  United  States,  one  must  always  admire 
the  original  research  and  experimental  work  con- 
stantly under  way  by  the  great  electrical  manu- 
facturing companies  of  the  country.  It  is  work 
of  this  kind  that  is  bringing  forth  the  single-phase 
railway,  amid  controversy  and  eager  discussion. 
How  healthful  are  these  animated — perhaps  even 
heated — debates !  They  make  for  the  progress  of 
the  art,  and,  it  may  be  said,  of  humanity  also.  We 
can  exult  in  the  knowledge  that  there  is  no  stag- 
nation in  the  electrical  business.  Ever  learning, 
ever  pursuing  a  higher  good,  a  more  efficient  ma- 
chine or  method,  the  electrical  engineers  are  in  the 
van  of  progress.  And  in  this  development  work 
the  great  electrical  manufacturing  companies  take 
a  very  prominent  and  honorable  part.  They  are 
actuated  by  selfish  motives,  no  doubt,  but  enlight- 
ened, future-gazing,  upward-tending  selfishness  of 
this   sort  is  worthy  of  cordial   praise. 


March  -'4.    1906 

Electric  Lighting  In  New  York  State. 
I  In    first   annual   reporl   of  the   New   York   State 

1 mission   of   Gas   and    Electricity    has   1 11    pul 

mi.,  type,  I  he  commission  was  appointed  111  July, 
1905,  for  the  purpose  of  invi  tigating  Ihc  affairs 
of  lighting  corporations,   recom nding   anj    neci 

in  modifications  of  the  law  regarding  them,  in 
quiring  into  methods  of  operation  of  plants,  and 
in  make  any  suggestions  for  the  protection  of  the 
public  interests.  In  the  .1  < I \  n n.  c  proofs  of  the 
report  furnished  to  the  We  tern  Electrician  ii  is 
Stated  that  the  commission  found  ii  necessary  to 
institute  a  thorough  canvass  among  1,500  village, 
city  and  town  clerks  for  information  of  the  names 
of  corporations,  municipalities  and  persons  subject 
to  the  supervision  of  the  commission.  A  blank 
n.i  prepared  requesting  information  as  to  the  in 
corporation  territory  supplied,  capital  stock,  bonded 
indebtedness,  capacity  and  price  charged  for  prod- 
uct 'if  all  gas  and  electric  companies.  In  the  case 
,.!  persons  and  municipal  corporations,  particulars 
relating  I"  the  cost  of  plant  were  obtained,  and 
from  municipal  plants  only  the  cost  of  lighting 
supplied  by  them.  The  response  of  the  companies 
was  prompt,  475  reports  having  been  received,  of 
which  39a  are  from  operative  companies.  I  lie  re- 
sults obtained  may  be  classified  as  follows: 

Capitalization    of    Lighting 


WESTERN     ELEI  TRIi 

.11. 1    clectrii 

ml  of  all  the  compari 

New    Y01I     ; nparcd    with    the    remaim 

While  ili'   average  capitatii 

i'- "  ri  done   throughout    Ihi 

tati    1     $5,104,213.    ili. 
eluding    the   citj    of    .'.■  .-.     ',  01 
New    Vork 
thi    total   capitalization   of   bond     and 

throughout   the    whole     tati    I mp 

inn  gas  only    (coal   and   water),  and  93  pci 

ol   thi    total    all     to  con 

1  l"    figun      1 both  g 

clectrii    plant     ai i  t< 

being    much    larger    .unl    in    a    smaller    proportion 
in    fa  vol    ")    thi      tati     out  sid.    0 1 

Of    the    electric    c panics    outside    of    New    York 

>  itj    furnishing    no   ga  lization 

is    $361,188,    as    against    $1,188,251     foi 

state.    Of  the  purely  electric  companies,  New  York 

city    furni  hi      ; m     ol     thi     1    p  talization 

and    77    pei    cent     ol    the    numbei    ol    com 
incandescent    lamps    used    in    the    entire    state    and 

supplied   bj    sin  h  compi ■       \<  »     fori 

panics     report     nearly     one-half     of     the     publii 
closed    arc    lamps    in    use    in    the    entire    -1-1 

\  ill      I  ' <  1  -. -  ir    Co  II  I'  '    .1 


Num- 

Preferred  Stock. 

Common  Stock. 

Bonded  lodebtedni 

Invested 
in    Plant. 

Authorized  j     Issued. 

Authorized 

Issued. 

Authorized 

Issued. 

Dividend 

Kleclric 

156 

30 
50 
51 

3 
36 

S      7,501.0001s     6,563,500 

S100.276.979. 23 

S  86,274,070.23 

8106.047.383-80 

9  92.530,008.80 

14 

S194.913.69 
860.167.23 

566.778.00 
103.348.000.00 

563.978.00 
O9.574.ioo.oo 

6,ioo,ooo|        5,903,300 
19,804,000       17,812,700 

29.007,000.00 

173.496,750.00 

63,400.00 

27,480,111.30 
I47.5iH,ioo.oo 

8 

15.000.00 

55,450.oo 

42,850.00 

2.500.00 

2,500.00 

7 

16,768.00 

8,800.00'             8.800.00 
1,902,000.00       1.230.000.00 

1.098,000!           381,650 

5,967,700.00 

4.893.500.00 

S 

S253. 260.461. So 

Total 

399 

S    34.503.000S    30,661,150 

$308,867,279.23 

8266.278,931.53 

S234.3n.3H6.80 

71 

St, ior, 348.92 

Electric 

Companies   (Lamps  Sutplied.) 

Public  Arc  Lamps. 

Commercial 
Arc  Lamps, 

Incandescent  Lamps. 

Classification. 

Open. 

5.295 

971 
3.896 

Enclosed. 

14.435 

134 

825 

8,657 

Public. 

Commercial. 

3.413,423 
24.519 
67,770 

643.430 

Public  Build- 
iocs. 

15 

153 
6.698 

88,671 
969 
1,927 

530 

Gas  and  electric 

475 
2.757 

10.269 

24.051 

47,312                    95.087 

4.149,142 

3.762 

From  the  foregoing  it  appears  that  of  the  309 
operative  companies  reporting,  only  71  are  divi- 
dend paying.  Of  the  156  electric  companies,  34 
only  pay  dividends,  and  of  50  gas  and  electric 
companies,  only  14  pay  dividends.  The  coal  and 
water-gas  companies  make  even  less  favorable 
showing  in  this  respect,  for  of  the  51  reporting  only 
eight   are    producing   returns    to    stockholders. 

The  total  bonds  and  stock  issued  by  all  lighting 
and  power  companies  of  the  state  amount  to  $531,- 
251,468.33,  equal  to  about  $75  per  inhabitant  of 
the  state.  The  individual  and  municipal  plants 
represent  an  investment  of  $1,101,348.92.  The 
amount  of  gas  of  all  kinds  sold  annually  to  con- 
sumers is  36,397.747.816  cubic  feet,  and  the  amount 
sold  for  public  lighting  is  1,51:9.446,124  cubic  feet. 
The  enclosed  arc  lamps  for  public-lighting  pur- 
poses in  use  in  the  state  are  more  than  double 
the  number  of  open  arc  lamps,  which  only  number 
10,269. 

While  no  satisfactory  statement  of  comparative 
growth  will  be  afforded  until  subsequent  annual 
reports  are  compiled  by  the  commission,  the  fig- 
ures of  the  United  States  census  as  of  1900  form 
an   interesting  basis   of   study : 

Electric   Companies    Compared   with    the   Figures 
of  the   Census   or   1900. 

Number  companies 186  206 

Preferred  stork,  authorized S    9.377,000  s  13.601,000 

Preferred  stock,  issued 8,014  500  12,466.800 

Common  stock,  authoi  i/cd 102.793.500  129,283,979 

Common  stock,  issued 95.330.975  113,763,181 

Bonds  authorized 101,549.374  147.44t.383 

Bonds  issued 86,054,674  132.932, 008 

Public  arc,  open 19,888  9,298 

Public  arc.  enclosed 10.720  23,226 

Commercial  arcs 26.697  47.159 

Commercial  incandescent 3.506.803  4.071.372 

Public  incandescent 139.290  94,060 

The  use  of  enclosed  arc  lamps  for  public  light- 
ing has  more  than  doubled,  and  now  reaches  23,- 
226,  as  against  10,720  in  1900,  and  the  use  of 
public  open  arc  lamps  has  fallen  off  in  the  same 
proportion,  or  from  19,888  to  9,298.  Municipal 
lighting  industries  in  the  stale  show  a  compara- 
tively small  increase  in  number  as  well  as  in 
amounts   invested. 

The  preponderance   of  the   lighting   interests,   gas 


street  lighting  and  3,250  open  arc  lamps,  as  against 
2,045    in    the    rest    of    the    state. 

The  recent  growth  of  the  electrical  power  and 
transmission  companies  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
they  have  developed,  from  waterpovver  sources, 
upward  of  125,000  horsepower,  with  the  full  ca- 
pacity of  their  plants  not  yet  reached.  These  com- 
panies (seven  in  number)  have  issued  capital 
stock  to  the  amount  of  $17,180,700  and  bonds  to 
the  amount  of  $7,860,000.  Two  other  plants,  in 
process  of  installation,  are  designed  to  supply  an 
additional    100,000    horsepower. 

Questions  of  importance  have  presented  them- 
selves to  the  commission  which  suggest  modifica- 
tions of  general  laws,  and  of  the  law  creating  the 
commission.  A  bill  embodying  the  amendments 
proposed  will  be  submitted  at  an  early  day.  It 
is  a  noteworthy  fact,  and  one  which  argues  strongly 
for  the  need  of  supervision,  that  during  the  two 
months  preceding  the  enactment  of  the  law,  74 
gas,  electric-light  and  power  companies  were  in- 
corporated, with  a  total  nominal  capital  stock  of 
$42,192,000.  Of  these,  only  six  are  reported  as 
operative.  Attention  is  also  called  to  the  fact  that 
under  the  law  as  it  exists  in  New  York  state,  it 
is  allowable  for  corporations  whose  stock  is  valued 
at  much  above  par  to  issue  convertible  bonds  or 
permit  its  stockholders  to  subscribe  at  part  for 
stock,  and  thus  largely  increase  the  charge  on  the 
earnings.  D.  W.  W. 


Canadian  Electric-railway  Statistics. 

According  to  the  report  of  the  department  of 
railways,  just  brought,  down  in  the  Canadian  Par- 
liament, at  the  close  of  the  last  fiscal  year  there 
were  793  miles  of  electric  railway  completed  in  the 
Dominion,  the  paid-up  capital  of  which  amounted 
to  $61,033,321.  The  gross  earnings  aggregated 
$9,357.1-5.  an  increase  of  $903,516,  and  the  working 
expenses  $5,918,194,  an  increase  of  $591,677.  leav- 
ing the  net  earnings  $3,438,931.  The  number  of 
passengers  carried  was  203.467.317.  an  increase  of 
^■777.3I9.  The  accident  returns  show-  a  total  of 
53  persons  killed  during  the  year,  30  being  passen- 
gers, three  employes  and  20  others. 


Proportion  of  Electrical  Facilities  to 
Population. 

Columhi 

Ihc    other    end    of    the     i  all     Indian        -  ■  I 

initilil  '•■■ 
while  ', 
ordci 

iiiin.. 

plant-.    31,7.    followed    by    Pennsylvania 

and    New    Vork     mil 

smalle  I 

ware    has    nine   and    \.    . 

I  he    total    muni.,  r 
United   St 

central,  southern  and 
fomia    makes    I 

population    when     central-station    cum 
able  i"  ti  tal  population,  with 
This   high    standing   is   in    accord    with    the 
electric.i ; 

the    table    shows   that    there    is 
territory    as    yet    untouched    b 
ollowing  i-  the  table: 
Table,  i  iowinc   Proportion  01 

lation   Having  Electric  Service  to  Total 
Population. 


■a 

= 

■ 

m 

u 

=  ? 

gK 

16 

62 

Colorado 

Delaware 

District  of  Columbia 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Indian  Territory 

Iowa 

Maine....'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'!!! 

Maryland 

Massachusetts 

Michii 
Minne 
Missis 

Missouri 

Montana 

Nebraska 

Nevada 

New  Hampshir 
New  Jersey.... 
New  Mexico... 

New  Vork 

North  Carolina 
North  Dakota. 

Ohio 

Oklahoma 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania.. 
Rhode  Island.. 
South  Carolina 
South  Dakota. 

Texas....  !!.!! 

Utah 

Vermont 

Virginia 

Washington  ... 
West  Virginia. 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming 

Total... 


309.4*7 

- 

- 


530.7OC    57.34 


- 


■ 

• 

391.060 

2.231.853 

Bl 

2.U-.1-4 

• 

1.381.625 

75 

694.466 

.- 

.   • 

40 

. 

■ 
■     - 

:--  71 


- 
231.930 

40.0S6 
2,:99.ooS 

74.65s 
168.995 

331.663 

"64!857 


3.106.665 

1.068.539 


-    : 


; 

1.893.810 

26 

310.146 

398.245 

45 

■ 

." 

■3 

■ 

46 

15 

>; 

16? 

3.04S.710 

-   71 

(8 

55 

■-- 

518.103 

958.800 

i-S 

IS 

92.531 

H8 

75.997.687 

Submarine   Telegraphs  of   the  World. 
In   a  lecture  recently  delivered  at   Chatham,   Eng- 
land,  under   the    auspices    of   the    Royal    Engineers, 

Mr.  Charles  Bright  had  for  his  subject  "Submarine 
Telegraphy. '*  The  speaker  presented  some  inter- 
esting statistics  showing  that  there  are  some  22}.- 
coo  miles  of  cable  in  all  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 
representing  $250,000,000.  each  line  costing  about 
$1,000  a  mile  to  make  and  lay.  The  average  use- 
ful life  of  a  cable  nowadays  he  put  at  anything 
between  30  and  40  years,  according  to  circum- 
stances. About  6.000.000  messages  are  conveyed  by 
the  worlds  cables  throughout  the  year,  or  15,000 
a  day.  the  working  speed  for  any  one  cable  being 
up  to  100  words  a  minute  under  present  conditions. 
About  90  per  cent,  of  these  are  sent  in  code  or 
cipher  for   business   and   official   purposes. 


238 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  24,  1906 


Proposed   Reduction  of  Electric-light 
Rates  in  Chicago. 

Bion  J.  Arnold,  consulting  engineer,  and  William 
Carroll,  city  electrician,  presented,  as  requested,  a 
joint  report  on  the  rates  of  the  Chicago  Edison 
and  Commonwealth  electric  companies  to  the  com- 
mittee on  gas,  oil  and  electric  light  of  the  Chi- 
cago City  Council  on  March  17th.  The  report  does 
not  cover  power'  rates  for  motors,  sign  business, 
arc  lighting  or  electric-railway  business.  It  is 
based  on  information  furnished  by  the  companies 
as  to  their  business.  The  service  is  commended 
for  its  quality  and  reliability.  The  report  says,  as 
lo    the    method    of    charging : 

"In  Chicago  the  use  of  the  Wright  demand  sys- 
tem of  metering  and  charging  for  electric  lighting 
furnished  by  the  Edison  and  Commonwealth  com- 
panies is  almost  universal.  With  this  system  two 
meters  are  connected  for  each  customer,  one  (the 
watt-meter)  to  show  the  kilowatt-hours  of  elec- 
trical energy  actually  supplied  during  any  month 
or  other  period,  and  the  other  (the  maximum 
meter)  to  show  the  greatest  demand  made  at  any 
one  time.  The  time  of  maximum  demand  is  30 
hours. 

"The  working  out  of  the  Wright  demand  system 
to  its  logical  conclusion  would  mean  that  each  cus- 
tomer would  stand  on  his  own  feet  and  pay  for 
the  actual  and  equitable  cost  of  his  service  plus  a 
profit,  and  if  this  could  be  done  the  supply  com- 
panies would  be  doing  no  part  of  their  business 
at  a  loss,  but  this  cannot  be  accomplished  if  a 
limit   is   put   on   the   maximum    charge. 

"On  the  other  hand,  if  the  maximum  charge  is 
reduced  the  lighting  companies  will  be  forced  to 
do  a  certain  amount  of  their  business  at  a  loss, 
that  is,  the  'short-hour'  consumers — who  are  the 
ones  most  affected  by  the  maximum  rate — will  be 
getting  their  current  at  less  than  actual  cost,  and 
the  loss  must  be  made  up  by  a  reduction  in  in- 
come or  by  making  higher  than  would  otherwise 
be  necessary  the  rate  to  the  'long-hour'  con- 
sumer. 

"Theoretically  each  customer  should  pay  for  his 
own  service,  and  as  the  Wright  demand  system 
aims  to  accomplish  this  result,  it  is  theoretically 
a  step  in  the  right  direction.  On  the  same  theory, 
however,  every  merchant  should  charge  propor- 
tionately more  for  the  delivery  of  small  purchases 
than  for  larger  ones — that  is,  if  a  pound  of  coffee 
or  a  yard  of  silk  is  delivered  by  itself  a  higher 
charge  per  pound  or  yard  should  be  made  than 
would  be  the  case,  if  this  small  purchase  were  to 
be  delivered  with  a  larger  bill  of  goods.  This 
policy  would  not  be  considered  good  business.  As 
other  merchants  consider  it  to  their  interest  to  do 
a  certain  amount  of  their  small  business  at  a  loss, 
it  is  not  surprising  to  find  that  public  sentiment 
is  in  favor  of  reducing  the  maximum  rate  for 
lighting,  even  if  the  supply  company  must  make 
up  this  loss  by  a  slightly  larger  charge  than  would 
otherwise    be    made    upon    their    larger    sales. 

"The  problem,  therefore,  resolves  itself  into  the 
establishing  of  a  fair  balance.  The  desire  of  the 
lighting  companies  is  to  make  each  customer  pay 
his  own  bills,  and,  therefore,  they  wish  to  maintain 
a  schedule  with  a  high  maximum  and  a  low  mini- 
mum. The  sentiment  of  the  public  is  apparently 
to  reduce  the  maximum  so  as  to  give  the  greatest 
number  of  customers  the  benefit  of  a  comparatively 
lower  rate,  even  if  this  benefit  is  to  be  secured  at 
a  loss  to  the  companies,  or  at  the  expense  of  the 
wholesale  customers.  The  question,  therefore, 
involves  the  rights  of  the  'short-hour'  customer, 
of  the.  'long-hour'  customer,  of  the  wholesale  cus- 
tomer, and  of  the  producer,  and  should  not  be  set- 
tled entirely,  in  favor  of  any  one  and  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  others." 

The  present  net  maximum  rate  is  16  cents  per 
kilowatt-hour.  It  may  be  reduced  by  changing  to 
a  lower  figure  that  may  be  agreed  upon  or  by 
changing  the  time  during  which  the  demand  regis- 
tered by  the  maximum  meter  must  be  used  before 
the  customer  gets  the  benefit  of  the  secondary  or 
lower  rate.  If  the  30  hours'  maximum  use  were 
reduced  to  20,  15  or  10,  the  result  would  be  to 
reduce  the  customer's  bill. 

The  engineers  are  satisfied  that  quite  a  number, 
perhaps  25  per  cent.,  of  the  companies'  customers 
are  not  producing  a  profit.  But  "although  the 
numbers  of  customers  getting  served  at  a  loss  may 
appear  large,  the  total  amount  of  actual  loss  to 
the  companies,  when  measured  in  dollars,  com- 
pared to  the  total  income  from  all  lighting  cus- 
tomers, is  small,  for  it  is  only  those  using  a  small 
amount  of  current  that  are  supplied  at  a  loss." 

Passing  now  to  more  tangible  considerations,  the 
following  quoted  portions  are  selected  from  the 
report  to   give   a   general   idea   of   it: 

"There  are  a  large  number  of  combinations  of 
the  maximum  and  minimum  rates  which  can  be 
made.  As  we  understand  the  proposal  of  the 
companies,  it  seems  that  they  are  willing  to  agree, 
under  certain  named  conditions,  to  reduce  their 
present  rates  of  16  cents  and  10  cents  to  a  maxi- 
mum of  14  cents  and  a  secondary  of  nine  cents 
for  the  next  two  years,  with  a  further  reduction 
to  12  cents  for  the  maximum  rate  and  eight  "cents 
for  the  secondary  for  the  last  three  years  of  the 
next   five-year  period." 

"The  reduction  of  rates  for  the  first  two  years 
to  14  cents  and  nine  cents,  as  suggested  by  the  com- 


panies, means  a  further  reduction  of  seven  per 
cent,  from  their  original  income,  or  a  total  reduc- 
tion of  14.2  per  cent.  The  reduction  to  12  cents 
and  eight  cents,  as  suggested  by  the  companies, 
means  a  further  reduction,  amounting  to  a  total 
of  21.2  per  cent,  of  their   income. 

"The  full  valuation  of  the  properties  and  fran- 
chises as  fixed  by  the  board  of  equalization  for 
taxation    purposes    is    $25,707,000. 

"Interest  at  the  rate  of  five  per  cent,  is  paid  on 
tb£_hond  issue  and  dividends  at  the  rate  of  eight. 
per  cent,  annually  are  paid  on  "  the  stock  issued. 
The  average  annual  charge  for  interest  and  divi- 
dends is  6.5  per  cent,  on  the  total  par  value  of  the 
bonds  and  stock. 

"The  lighting  load  is  increasing  at  about  the  rate 
of    7,500,000    kilowatt-hours    each    year. 

"Operating  costs  are  decreasing,  but  income  per 
kilowatt-hour  has  decreased  in  about  the  same  pro- 
portion. The  percentage  of  current  sold  compared 
to  the  amount  generated  is  decreasing  instead  of 
increasing.  This  is  due  to  an  increase  in  trans- 
mission and  sub-station  losses  incidental  to  serving 
a  larger  territory." 

The  conclusion  of  this  interesting  report  is  as 
follows : 

"After  a  very  careful  study  of  the  situation  the 
conclusion  reached  is  that  the  Edison  and  Com- 
monwealth companies  can  afford  to  reduce  their 
lighting    rates. 

"If  there  is  no  desire  on  the  part  of  the  city  to 
embarrass  these  companies  in  their  efforts  to  ex- 
tend their  lines  and  to  render  efficient  and  reliable 
service,  then  their  offer  to '  reduce  their  rates  to 
14  cents  for  the  maximum  rate  and  nine  cents  for 
the  secondary  rate  for  two  years  from  the  present 
time,  and  to  12  and  eight  cents  for  the  next  fol- 
lowing three  years,  may  be  considered  reasonable 
and    fair. 

"A  thorough  investigation  of  the  affairs  of  the 
companies  might  show  that  these  companies  could 
afford  to  reduce  their  rates  to  10  cents  and  five 
cents  (equivalent  to  a  flat  rate  of  6%  cents),  but 
from  all  figures  which  have  been  submitted  this  rate 
at  the  present  time  would  be  a  hardship  and  would 
probably  seriously  embarrass  the  companies,  but  it 
is  reasonable  to  expect  that  the  companies  can 
afford  to  and  probably  will  eventually  reach  this 
latter   rate. 

"The  above  conclusions  have  been  reached  as  a 
result  of  a  10-day  analysis  of  the  figures  submitted 
by  the  companies.  As  it  would  take  at  least  three 
months  thoroughly  to  investigate  the  accounts, 
methods  and  valuations  in  order  to  arrive  at  a 
scientific  conclusion  based  upon  knowledge  which 
we  could  prove  to  be  correct,  we  make  no  specific 
recommendations." 


can  compel  its  citizens  to  abandon  the  use  of  gas 
and  force  them  to  use  current  from  the  municipal 
plant. 


At  the  meeting  of  the  council  committee  last 
Saturday  drafts  of  two  proposed  ordinances  were 
submitted  by  W.  G.  Beale  for  the  Edison  and 
Commonwealth  companies.  One  was  a  general 
ordinance  providing  that  for  five  years  beginning 
May  6,  1906,  the  gross  maximum  charge  for  elec- 
tricity for  light,  heat  or  power  bv  any  company 
or  individual  in  Chicago  shall  be  16  cents  a  kilo- 
watt-hour. This  rate  shall  be  subject  to  a  discount 
of  12^4  per  cent,  during  the  first  two  years  of  the 
period  and  of  25  per  cent,  during  the  last  three 
years  in  all  cases  where  payment  of  bills  shall  be 
made  within  10  days  from  their  date,  so  that  the 
net  maximum  rate,  on  prompt  'payment,  shall  be 
14  cents  for  each  kilowatt-hour  for  the  first  two 
years  of  the  period  and  12  cents  for  each  kilowatt- 
hour  for  the  last  three  years. 

The  other  ordinance  had  reference  to  the  Edison 
and  Commonwealth  companies  only  and  provided 
for  several  amendments  in  the  franchise  ordinances 
of  these  companies.  The  changes  requested  pro- 
vide for  privilege  to  transfer  rights  and  privileges 
or.  to  consolidate  property,  business  and  franchises 
of  the  two  companies  if  desired;  also  repealing  the 
sections  which  require  underground  construction  hi 
certain  parts  of  the  city,  as  outlined  in  the  West- 
ern   Electrician    of    March    10th. 

In  considering  the  Arnold-Carroll  report  and  the 
ordinances  above  mentioned  the  committee  re- 
quested an  opinion  from  the  corporation  counsel 
as  to  the  extent  of  the  city's  power  to  require  a 
company  to  serve  a  portion  of  its  customers  at 
less  than  cost,  provided  the  returns  on  the  total 
business  are  reasonably  profitable.  The  corpora- 
tion counsel  requested  time  to  consider  the  ques- 
tion and  further  negotiations  are  awaiting  his 
opinion. 


A  Peculiar  Lighting  Controversy. 

An  interesting  condition  has  presented  itself  at 
Columbiana,  Ohio,  where  the  village  has  a  mu- 
nicipal electric-light  plant.  Some  time  ago  a  nat- 
ural-gas company  secured  a  franchise  in  the  vil- 
lage, but  it  was  stipulated  that  the  gas  should  be 
used  for  fuel  only,  in  order  not  to  take  business 
away  from  the  light  plant.  But  a  number  of  citi- 
zens piped  their  houses  and  business  buildings,  ?nd 
began  the  use  of  gas  for  lighting  purposes.  The 
Village  Council  has  notified  the  gas  company  that 
if  it  furnishes  gas  for  lighting  its  franchise  will 
be  revoked  at  once.  The  members  of  the  council 
say  that  if  the  people  use  gas  for  light  the  mu- 
nicipal plant  will  prove  a  failure.  The  question 
being    discussed    is,    Whether    the    Village    Council 


Alternating-current   Traction   in  Heavy 
Railroading. 

The  New  York  Railroad  Club  held  an  "electrical 
night"  en  March  15th  at  Carnegie  Hall,  when  about 
700  members  attended  to  hear  a  discussion  of  the 
advantages  and  disadvantages  of  alternating-current 
traction.  President  H.  H.  Vreeland  was  in  the 
chair,  and  B.  G.  Lamme,  assistant  chief  engineer 
of  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing 
Company,  presented  a  long  paper  entitled  "Alter- 
nating-current Electric  Systems  for  Heavy-railway 
Service."  Mr.  Lamme  did  not  read  his  paper,  but 
gave  an  extemporaneous  exposition  of  its  main  fea- 
tures. Among  other  things,  he  gave  some  details 
of  the  alternating-current  equipment  of  the  New 
York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford  Railroad. 

The  main  power  house  will  be  at  Riverside,  near 
Stamford,  Conn.  The  generators  in  this  power 
house  are  to  be  driven  by  steam  turbines  of  the 
Westinghouse- Parsons  type.  These  machines  have 
a  single-phase  rating  of  3,750  kilowatts,  or  about 
5,500  kilowatts  on  three  phase,  the  armature  wind- 
ing being  such  that  three-phase  current  can  be 
obtained  from  the  same  machine.  The  generators 
have  two  poles,  turn  at  1,500  revolutions  per  min- 
ute, give  3,000  alternations  per  minute,  or  25  cycles 
per  second.  Such  a  generator  would  have  been 
considered  an  impossibility  only  a  short  time  ago, 
but  now  the  manufacture  of  these  machines  ap- 
pears to-be  comparatively  easy.  The  machines  have 
an  ample  margin  both  electrically  and  mechan- 
ically, and  they  are  particularly  well  adapted  for 
handling  inductive  loads.  As  these  machines  are 
to  feed  directly  into  the  trolley  system  they  are 
wound  for  the  normal  trolley  tension  of  11,000 
volts,  and  in  consequence  one  terminal  for  each 
machine   is  always  grounded  when  in  service. 

As  the  New  Haven  company  contemplates  oper- 
ating certain  existing  direct-current  systems  from 
this  power  house  it  was  decided  to  add  an  addi- 
tional leg  to  the  armature  winding  so  that  three- 
phase  currents  could  be  obtained  for  feeding  into 
rotary-converter  stations  for  furnishing  direct  cur- 
rent for  some  directrcurrent  lines  which,  at  the 
present  time,  cannot  be  conveniently  changed  to 
straight  alternating  current.  The  New  Haven  com- 
pany has  also  other  fields  for  three-phase  power 
which  it  proposes  to  take  care  of  as  soon  as  it  is 
feasible  to  do  so. 

The  trolley  system  is  to  be  suspended  from  steel 
bridges  which  span  four  to  six  tracks  normally, 
and  even  a  greater  number  at  special  points.  These 
bridges  are  placed  at  intervals  of  about  300  feet. 
At  points  about  two  miles  apart  heavier  structures, 
called    anchor    bridges,    are    placed. 

The  steel  cables  which  support  the  trolley  wire 
proper  are  supported  by  massive  insulators  on  the 
bridges.  Two  cables  are  used  for  each  wire  and 
form  a  double  catenary  suspension,  carrying  the 
trolley  wire  by  means  of  triangular  supports.  The  . 
double  system  of  suspension  gives  increased  stiff- 
ness to  the  trolley  construction.  The  triangular 
supports  are  placed  about  10  feet  apart.  The  steel 
cables  have  a  total  sag  of  about  six  feet,  while  the 
trolley  wire  itself  is  maintained  in  a  practically 
horizontal  position.  At  the  anchor  bridges  each 
trolley  wire  is  broken  by  section  insulators  and 
is  connected  to  the  other  trolley  wires  and  to  two 
feeder  wires  through  automatic  circuit-breakers. 
The  trolley  wire  has  a  nominal  height  of  22  feet 
above  the  track.  This  height  will  vary  a  few  inches 
up  or  down  with  wide  variations  in  temperature. 
The  pantograph  type  of  trolley  used  on  the  loco- 
motives has  an  effective  range  of  about  S1?  feet, 
and  therefore  a  very  considerable  variation  in  the 
height  of  trolley  is  permissable.  The  overhead 
system  is  designed  to  be  amply  safe  under  abnor- 
mal conditions,  such  as  high  wind  or  heavy  coating 
of  ice. 

As  ii,coo  volts  is  used  on  the  trolley  system,  no 
transforming  stations  are  necessary  on  the  part 
which  is  now  to  be  installed.  The  high-voltage 
trolley  system  is  to  extend  about  19  miles  in  one 
direction  from  the  power  house  and  about  three 
miles  in  the  opposite  direction  to  Stamford.  This 
system  could  be  extended  in  the  latter  direction 
approximately  20  miles  farther,  if  desired,  without 
transforming  sub-stations.  Therefore,  about  40 
miles  of  the  trolley  system  can  be  supplied  directly 
from  the  main  power  house.  With  a  locomotive 
load  representing  4,000  kilowatts  about  19  miles 
from  the  power  house  and  a  corresponding  load 
about  15  miles  away,  or  four  miles  from  the  power 
house,*  the  drop  at  the  end  of  the  line  would  be 
about  13  per  cent.  This  drop  is  on  the  basis  of 
feeding  into  the  load  from  one  direction  only.  If 
there  were  a  transforming  sub-station  about  40 
miles  away  from  the  power  house,  feeding  into 
the  same  trolley  system,  then  the  drop  at  a  point 
20  miles  away  would  not  be  13  per  cent.,  but  would 
be  considerably  less,  as  power  would  be  supplied 
from  both  directions.  It  is  apparent,  therefore,  that 
with  sub-stations  along  the  line  feeding  into  a  com- 
mon trolley  system  such  sub-stations  could  be  pos- 
sibly  60  miles   apart. 

The  locomotives  are  to  be  made  by  the  Westing- 
house Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company.  The 
motors    are    four    in    number,    with    a    continuous 


March  24,  1906 


239 


capacity   of  over  200  horsepower  each,  or  over  800 
,,.  .  1,  iwi  1    total.      I  he   motors  arc   oi    tl 1 

p,       id  are   wound   for  . 'mal   full  load 

,j    . .  ,  ,  ijvolu I"  >    minute.     'I  hi  v 1   d 

pi  rmancntly   in   pairs  and    require   al 1     1 

at   ill.    terminal  on   alternating   il    and    150   [0 

,,(  u  ■  .li  .  on  'in'  cl  'in  rent.    'I  he  1 01     an    int  1 

,,,,11"  ,,1   the  same  p  ncral   t\  pc   n  hii  h   tin    Vi  1    ting 

hou "I ■'    ha  ■    been    building    foi      1    tinu 

f0f  intcrurban  sci  i  ii  c.     I  lowcvcr,  din    to  thi 

lively  low  speed  of  the  motors,  the  ximui 

commutator  speed  is  very  low,  In  nig  less  than  3,000 

1,  ,1   pel    1 itc   « hen   the   locomotive   1     m  il 

mil,   '    pi    In. in .       I  In     j    be   compared    with    tin 

0   7,000   commutator    speeds,    vvtiii  h    are    fr 
nuently   attained    in   both    direct  cum  111    and    alti 
11  1111 :  .  niieiii    high-speed   service   with   fairly   large 
in 1 

■  in, .111;  the  interesting  features  of  the  locom   I 
arc  the  greatly   enlarged  hubs  of  the   whei  1  . 

il,  even  large  sockets  for  the  driving  quills  ol 
the  motors.  The  motors  are  air  cooled,  and  the 
1,  ;,,,  are  also  removes  any  dust,  Motor  control 
1  achieved  in  the  usual  way  when  using  direct 
but  on  alternating  current  the  motors  are 
nol  operated  in  series-parallel  but  connected  pei 
manently  in  a  given  manner,  with  the  supply  volt- 
traded  through  six  definite  steps  and  a  nuin- 
,,  >    oi    smaller    ones,    the    latter    being    use,"',    under 

certain  c litions.     For  the  higher  speeds  the  fields 

hunted,  the  motor  permitting  of  almost  in- 
definite shunting  before  passing  into  multiple.  Di- 
li 1  current  is  fed  direct  to  the  motors,  but  alter- 
nating current  is  stepped  down  by  two  trans- 
formers which  arc  arranged  at  the  sides  of  the 
frame   to   balance  the   weight. 

The  locomotive  is  equipped  with  devices  for  col- 
ic .hug  both  alternating  current  and  direct  current. 
For  the  latter  there  are  eight  collection  shoes. 
There  are  two  pairs  on  each  side,  one  at  each 
end,  for  the  purpose  of  bridging  gaps  on  a  third- 
rail  system.  There  must  be  shoes  on  each  side, 
as  the  locomotive  must  be  able  to  make  contact 
when  turned.  These  direct-current  contact  shoes 
must  also  be  able  to  work  on  two  forms  of  third 
rail— one  in  which  the  shoe  runs  under  the  rail 
and  the  other  where  the  shoes  run  over.  The 
locomotive  is  provided  with  a  pantograph  low-ten- 
sion overhead  direct-current  trolley  to  conform 
with   certain    New   York   Central   requirements. 

For  collecting  alternating  current  the  locomotive 
is  provided  with  two  pantograph  high-tension  bow 
trolleys.  Each  trolley  has  a  capacity  to  carry  the 
total  line  current  under  average  conditions,  but 
two  are  provided  to   ensure   reserve   capacity. 

Each  of  these  locomotives  is  to  be  able  to  handle 
a  200-ton  train  on  local  service  at  26  miles  per 
hour,  with  stops  two  miles  apart.  In  order  to 
make  this  average  the  maximum  speed  will  be  45 
miles  per  hour.  One  locomotive  will  be  able  to 
handle  a  250-ton  train  on  through  service.  For 
heavier  trains  it  is  intended  to  couple  two  loco- 
motives together  and  operate  them  in  multiple. 
This  presents  no  difficulties,  for  the  locomotives 
are  fitted  up  for  the  multiple-unit  system  of  con- 
trol. 

It  is  evident,  concluded  Mr.  Lamme,  that  the 
engineers  of  the  New  Haven  company  have  had  in 
view  the  adoption  of  an  electric  system  which  is 
particularly  well  adapted  for  future  extensions. 
If  the  electrification  were  to  stop  at  Stamford, 
then  the  full  advantage  of  the  alternating-current 
system  would  not  be  obtained.  However,  the  sec- 
tion which  will  be  electrified  with  alternating  cur- 
rent is  of  sufficient  length  to  enable  the  New 
Haven  engineers  to  determine  the  advantages  and 
possibilities  for  future  extension,  and  it  is  safe 
to  predict  that  such  extensions  will  be  made  in  a 
comparatively   short   time. 

Mr.  Cooper,  in  showing  some  pictures,  said  that 
the  locomotive  had  been  tested  at  Pittsburg  on  a 
total  run  of  2,000  miles  on  a  one-mile  experimental 
track.  A  collision  test  had  been  made  at  10  miles 
an  hour  and  up  to  date  no  defects  had  developed. 
Pictures  were  also  shown  of  similar  locomotives 
geared  for  a  lower  speed,  and  operating  from  a 
3,300-volt  trolley  wire  for  use  in  the  Sarnia  Tunnel. 

Discussion. 
W.  J.  Wilgus,  vice-president  of  the  New  York 
Central  railroad,  opened  the  discussion.  What 
motives,  he  asked,  should  guide  a  railroad  man  in 
changing  from  steam  to  electricity?  The  first  was 
the  desire  or  necessity  to  abate  the  smoke  nuisance, 
such  as  had  been  forced  upon  the  New  York  Cen- 
tral, and  the  second  was  to  improve  the  service 
and  attract  more  passengers.  He  weighed  evenly 
against  each  other  the  danger  and  disadvantages 
of  steam  locomotives  and  those  of  high-power  con- 
ductors. There  was  a  popular  impression  that  the 
third  rail  was  particularly  dangerous  and  an  over- 
head construction  absolutely  safe,  but  this  was 
not  so,  although  conditions  would  always  require 
either  or  both  methods.  The  New  York  Central 
experiments  had  proved  that  with  a  properly  de- 
signed third  rail  all  objections  on  the  score  of 
snow  or  sleet  or  other  dangers  were  fallacies. 
Overhead  construction  was  extremely  inelastic  with 
regard  to  additions.  On  the  West  Shore  railroad 
the  use  of  the  third  rail  would  save  them  $400,000 
on  50  miles  of  track,  and  it  was  not  expected  to 
add  to  it  till  1916.  In  case  of  derailments  there 
was   great    danger   from   high-power   overhead    con- 


third  rail  the  factor  of  safety 

reliability,    th 
had    adopted 

■ 
power  and 

.,    ■     ... 

1  " dcrcd   thci 

to  Mi  in      thi    gi  ni  ral 

■ 

A    railroad    system    i team   demanded 

11    po  uption  and   re 

quired    a  hat    had 

1 1   bej 1   tl 

Calvert 

v,.ii,.    \.  ....     Haven    and    Hart!  1  ailroad, 

complimented   Mr.   I. amine  on   Ins  effo 

alternating  current    traction       U    ■■■  \l    necessary    for 
ne  i"  be  l"  bind  every  nei  nt.   The 

New    Haven    railroad,   in   adopt  traction 

for    a    part   of   its    New    York    dill-ion,    bad    n 

1,1.  n  I  1  omparative  tesl 
of   steam  and   electric   locomotives    or   multiple  unit 

terns,  for  the  true  comparison  lay  deeper.  A 
self-contained  unit  had  absolute  limit  1 
engineers  had  so  long  accepted  the  limitati 
traffic  with  steam  locomotives  that  they  could  not 
realize  that  electrical  traction  introduced  new  con- 
ditions both  of  traffic  and  equipment.  Steam  traf- 
fic had  been  conditioned  by  such  things  as  tl 
of  cylinders,  the  ability  of  men  to  shi 
the  strength  of  bridges.  Electric  traction  meant 
handling  traffic  according  to  the  needs  of  the  com- 
munity and  all-around  improved  facilities.  Twice 
the  amount  of  traffic  could  be  handled  on  the 
line.  It  took  a  long  time  with  steam  tiaffic  to 
equip  additional  tracks  and  frequently  they  were 
never  installed  at  alt.  The  question  of  decreased 
cost  per  mile  was  not  the  prime  objective  of  the 
New  Haven  road.  The  New  Haven  had  not  a 
single  long  line,  but  a  network  of  lines  among 
many  manufacturing  towns  in  Southern  New  Eng- 
land. These  conditions  meant  congested  traffic, 
such  as  could  be  straightened  out  by  electrification. 
Their  facilities  for  tidewater  on  the  coast  and  for 
hydraulic  power  among  the  New  England  hills 
made  for  the  cheap  generation  of  electricity.  They 
looked  both  to  the  present  and  the  future,  and 
the  mere  incident  of  having  to  use  electric  trac- 
tion in  the  city  of  New  York  was  not  a  question 
of  major  importance.  If  their  anticipations  were 
realized  they  would  have  long-distance  electric  trac- 
tion between  New  York,  New  Haven,  Hartford, 
Springfield,  Providence  and  Boston.  It  was  neces- 
sary to  provide  not  only  for  frequent  and  elastic 
suburban  traffic  but  also  for  comparatively  long- 
haul  traffic,  and  for  heavy  units  at  comparatively 
infrequent  intervals.  Mr.  Lamme  with  bis  11.000- 
volt  circuit  was  doing  away,  among  other  things. 
with  high-tension  switchboards,  static  transform- 
ers, rotary  converters,  direct-current  switchboards, 
batteries,  third  rail,  etc.  The  alternating-current 
system  enabled  them  not  only  to  deal  with  the 
conditions  outlined  but  also  to  operate  their  branch 
lines  by  means^  of  an  inexpensive  form  of  con- 
struction, with  sub-stations  operated  from  the  main 
feeders,  and  using  either  third  rail  or  overhead 
at  any  desired  voltage.  When  the  time  came  to 
equip  such  branches  with  alternating  current  the 
changes    could   be    made    economically. 

Frank  J.  Sprague  of  the  New  York  Central  elec- 
trification commission  said  it  was  necessary  to 
temper  optimism  with  conservatism  and  that  dol- 
lars and  dividends  were  the  final  arbiters  of  suc- 
cess. Electricians  must  prove  their  facts  before 
the  steam  locomotive  was  put  on  the  scrap  heap. 
Mr.  Lamme's  paper  was  a  plea  for  the  single-phase 
locomotive.  With  dense  traffic  it  is  possible  to  ac- 
complish something  in  the  way  of  economy  with  a 
concentrated  central  station  with  the  additional 
advantage  of  having  frequently  operated  units  of 
varying  length.  It  was  possible  to  reduce  work- 
ing expenses  with  electric  traction  by  reason  of 
the  concentration  of  the  prime  mover  and  the  pos- 
sible use  of  waterpower  without  changing  the  con- 
ditions of  service,  but  on  the  other  hand  any  par- 
tial change  of  traction  or  the  moving  of  freight 
by  steam  would  leave  the  question  of  the  effi- 
ciency of  electrical  operation  very  much  in  doubt. 
Density  of  traffic  was  fundamental,  but  short  lines 
would  build  up  territory.  The  conditions  of  the 
New  York  Central  and  New  Haven  railroad  sys- 
tems were  different.  Their  objects  were  different. 
He  would  not  discuss  these  differences  except  to 
say  that  he  had  no  reason  to  change  the  conclu- 
sions he  had  formerly  come  to  and  which  had 
caused  some  heartburnings.  No  one  particular  sys- 
tem would  solve  all  problems.  Difficulties  due  to 
electrolysis  had  been  overrated  in  the  case  of  di- 
rect-current circuits.  Electrolysis,  was  not  due  so 
much  to  escaping  currents  as  to  differences  of 
potential  between  different  parts  of  the  track. 
These  difficulties  might  arise  on  an  11,000-voit  cir- 
cuit when  a  difference  of  five  per  cent,  of  poten- 
tial would  mean  550  volts.  He  fancied  their  tele- 
graph and  telephone  friends  would  have  something 
to  say  about  a  difference  of  potential  of  550  volts 
in   the   ground.     The   higher   they   went   in   voltage 


*«  to  centralize  the  power 

but  when  put  • 

.rrnat- 


A  New  Single-phase  Motor. 

companying  cut   gives  only 

1,  in  the  sami 

that,  while   in   its  construction 

ich  element   in 

I  actual 

found 


___^ 


eliminated,  thus  to  produce  a  most  reliable  and 
serviceable  motor,  and  at  the  same  time  secure  re- 
sults possible  in  other  types. 

This  motor  has  no  phase  c  ■    clutch 

pulleys,  short-circuit  devices,  centrifugal  devices, 
etc.,  or  any  of  the  numerous  auxiliaries  that  are 
usually  necessary  to  start  the  motor.  It  belongs 
to  the  brush  and  commutator  class.  This  tvpe  of 
motor  had  not  been  developed  to  such  an  extent 
as  the  rotary-field  motor  until  recently,  due  to  the 
fact  that  in  the  earlier  days  the  destructive  spark- 
ing at  the  commutator  was  supposed  to  be  an  in- 
surmountable obstacle.  Now  commutator  alternat- 
ing-current motors  are  made  for  any  service,  giving 
practically  no  more  commutator  trouble  than  direct- 
current   motors. 

This  motor  has  the  characteristics  of  the  shunt 
direct-current  motor  in  that  its  speed  changes  very 
little  from  no  load  to  full  load.  Also,  by  a  suit- 
able resistance  in  series,  the  speed  may  be  reduced 
50  per  cent,  below  normal.  It  is  capable  of  starting 
full  load  from  standstill  and  has  no  delicate  parts 
to  get  out  of  adjustment  or  fine  wires  to  become 
overheated  if  the  starting  conditions  are  especially- 
severe. 

The  motor  is  built  in  the  most  substantial  man- 
ner, with  large  steel  shafts,  bronze  bearings  and 
large,  deep  commutators.  The  makers  explain  that 
the  brushes  are  short-circuited  on  each  other  and 
have  no  connection  to  the  supply  circuit,  thus  work- 
ing the  armature  "on  short"  and  eliminating  arma- 
ture troubles,  which  is  the  chief  point  of  simplicity 
of  induction  motors. 

The  standard  windings  are  for  60  and  133  cycles, 
no  volts.  Two  hundred  and  twenty  volt  motors 
are  also   furnished. 

These  motors  range  in  size  from  one-eighth  to 
one-third    horsepower. 


Gaso-Electric  Project  for  Indiana. 

Announcement  has  been  made  in  Indianapolis 
by  Senator  C.  N.  Thompson  of  the  organization 
and  incorporation  of  a  company,  capitalized  at 
$3,oco.oco,  to  construct  a  railway  between  Indi- 
anapolis and  Toledo.  W.  B.  Strang,  head  of  the 
Strang  Construction  Company  of  New  York,  is 
said  to  have  the  contract  to  build  the  road  over 
a  right-of-way  already  secured,  work  to  be  begun 
April  1st.  The  feature  of  the  new  project  is  that 
while  steam  will  be  used  for  the  movement  of 
freight,  gaso-electric  cars  will  be  used  ior  pas- 
senger service.  The  road  will  be  known  as  the 
Toledo.  Fort  Wayne  and  Indianapolis.  Mr.  Thomp- 
son recently-  traveled  from  Toledo  to  Chicago  in 
a  gaso-electric  car,  and  is  enthusiastic  over  the 
prospects   of   using  these  cars   on    steam   roads. 


Citizens  of  Holton.  Kan.,  w-ill  vote.   March  27th, 
on   $75,000  waterworks   and   electric-light   bonds. 


240 

Chicago  Meeting  of  the  Railway  Signal 
Association. 

The  regular  Chicago  meeting  of  the  Railway 
Signal  Association  was  held  in  the  Great  Northern 
Hotel  on  March  19th.  J.  A.  Peabody,  signal  engi- 
neer of  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  railroad, 
vice-president  of  the  Western  Section,  presided. 
The  principal  business  of  the  morning's  session  was 
a  consideration  'of  amendments  to  the  constitution 
and  by-laws,  which,  if  carried  out  at  the  annual 
meeting,  will  mean  practically  a  new  constitution 
and  by-laws.  In  order  to  have  these  proposed 
changes  brought  up  at  the  annual  meeting  it  is 
necessary  to  have  them  adopted  by  both  the  East- 
ern and  Western  sections.  Before  adoption  by 
either  section  they  must  be  first  presented  in  writ- 
ten form  at  a  regular  meeting  and  then  passed 
upon  at  the  next  regular  meeting.  At  the  meeting 
just  held  the  amendments  were  duly  presented 
and  discussed.  At  the  next  regular  meeting,  which 
will  be  held  in  May,  they  will  be  voted  upon,  and 
if  carried  will  then  be  brought  up  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  association  as  a  whole,  which  will 
be   held   in   October. 

The  afternoon  was  taken  up  with  the  read- 
ing and  discussion  of  three  important  papers  as 
follows :  "Charging  of  Storage  Batteries  from  Al- 
ternating-current Circuits,"  by  F.  B.  Corey  of  the 
General  Electric  Company :  "Substituting  Track 
Circuits  for  Detector  Bars,"  by  W.  N.  Spangler, 
supervisor  of  signals  of  the  West  Jersey  and  Sea- 
shore railroad,  and  "The  Power  Distant  Signal," 
by  W.  A.  D.  Short,  signal  engineer  of  the  Illinois 
Central   railroad. 

Storage-battery  Chaeging. 
Mr.  Corey  in  his  paper  upon  the  charging  of 
storage  batteries  described  the  mercury  arc  recti- 
fier as  manufactured  by  his  company,  beginning 
with  a  general  description  of  the  mercury  vapor 
arc  lamp  aside  from  its  special  application  to  the 
rectifier. 

In  order  to  showr  exactly  what  transpires  in  the 
rectifier  tube  Mr.  Corey  introduced  a  series  of 
oscillograph  records,  which  gave  accurate  measures 
of  the  instantaneous  values  of  current  and  electro- 
motive force  in  the  various  circuits.  One  of  these 
curves  showed  the  variation  of  current  at  the  two 
anodes  simultaneously.  It  was  interesting  to  note 
that  the  current  as  shown  in  the  curve  was  very 
far  from  its  original  sine  curve,  this  distortion 
being  the  result  of  the  reactances.  The  anode 
curves  overlapped  by  an  angle  of  approximate!}' 
20  degrees.  Another  illustration  showed  two  sim- 
ultaneous records,  the  lower  curve  being  the  im- 
pressed electromotive  force  and  the  upper  curve 
the  direct  current  flowing  from  one  cathode  shown 
in  its  relation  to  the  zero  line.  In  this  case  the 
indentation  of  the  current  curve  was  approximately 
30  per  cent,  of  its  maximum  ordinate.  If  for  any 
reason  it  is  desirable  to  further  reduce  the  ampli- 
tude of  these  pulsations  it  may  be  readily  accom- 
plished by  means  of  special  reactances  and  without 
any  great  loss  in  efficiency  of  the  rectifier. 

Another  curve  showed  the  voltage  in  charge  and 
discharge  of  one  reactance  coil  and  its  relation  to 
the  impressed  electromotive  force,  while  still  an- 
other showed  the  voltage  between  one  anode  and 
the  cathode  and  its  relation  to  the  impressed  elec- 
tromotive force.  This  latter  figure  also  showed  the 
constant  voltage  drop  of  14  volts  while  the  arc  is 
maintained.  The  length  of  time  that  the  arc  is 
held  after  the  impressed  electromotive  force  has 
reached  the  zero  value  was  also  shown  by  a  curve. 
The  action  of  the  rectifier  tube  is  independent 
of  the  frequency  of  the  alternating-current  circuit. 
Standard  outfits  can  be  operated  on  an}'  frequency 
from  25  to  140  cycles,  inclusive,  thus  covering  the 
whole   range  of  commercial   circuits. 

One  of  the  questions  usually  asked  is  in  regard 
to  the  life  of  the  rectifier  tube.  The  life  of  these 
tubes,  according  to  Mr.  Corey,  varies  in  much  the 
same  way  as  the  life  of  incandescent  lamps,  it  be- 
ing dependent  on  the  maintenance  of  the  vacuum. 
The  life  of  the  tube  under  normal  operating  con- 
ditions is  at  least  600  hours.  Factory  tests  during 
the  last  year  on  a  large  number  of  tubes  show 
a  variation  in  life  from  440  to  3,000  hours,  the 
average  being  well  over  1,000  hours.  Standard 
tubes  have  operated  satisfactorily  for  over  6,000 
hours,  while  they  occasionally  fail  after  a  few 
hours'  service,  due  to  damage  in  shipment  or  other 
causes.  Two  tubes  are  always  shipped  with  every  , 
panel  and  the  cost  of  the  renewal  is  small. 
Use  of  Track  Circuits. 
In  his  paper  on  the  substitution  of  track  cir- 
cuits for  detector  bars  Mr.  Spangler  pointed  out 
among  other  things  that  where  the  layout  or  track 
will  permit  the  signaling  should  be  such  that  the 
point  where  the  circuit  begins  can  be  extended  two 
rail  lengths  in  advance  of  the  switch.  As  it  is 
quite  impossible  under  all  conditions  that  the 
wheels  of  a  train  will  form  a  perfect  short-circuit 
the  moment  they  pass  the  point  of  insulation,  it  is 
readily  understood  that  while  the  relay  may  be 
working  perfectly  so  far  as  the  shunting  point  is 
concerned,  it  would  be  slow  to  open  from  the  grad- 
ual reduction  of  current  in  its  coils,  allowing  the 
first  part  of  the  train  to  pass  on  the  switch  with 
the  lever  unlocked.  Where  circuits  begin  too  close 
to   the   switch   points,    derailments   may   also   result 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


from  the  practice  of  operators  and  lev 
giving  signals  and  immediately  putting  them  to 
danger  and  unlatching  the  switch  lever  to  change 
the  route,  while  the  enginemen,  not  noticing  the 
change  in  signals,  has  moved  just  far  enough  to 
get  on  the  switch  when  it  is  being  operated.  If 
the  conditions  are  such  that  it  would  not  be  prac- 
ticable to  extend  the  circuits  or  where  dwarf  sig- 
nals cannot  be  placed  at  suitable  distances  ahead 
of  the  switches,  it  has  been  a  recent  practice  to 
provide  a  preliminary  circuit  outside  the  dwarf 
which  opens  the  signal  indication  circuit,  only 
when  the  signal  is  clear,  providing  a  means  of 
locking  up  in  good  time. 

When  storage  battery  or  the  method  of  supply- 
ing current  direct  from  a  generator  with  a  set  of 
battery  floating  as  a  reserve  is  used  the  condition 
of  the  track  should  be  considered  and  the  insula- 
tion resistance  maintained  to  such  a  degree  as 
will  permit  of  a  uniform  adjustment  of  battery 
resistance,  making  it  possible  under  all  conditions 
to  work  the  relay  with  a  very  small  margin  of  cur- 
rent over  that  required  to  pick  it  up.  The  prac- 
tice of  sanding  the  rails  through  interlocking 
should  not  be  tolerated,  and  where  circuits  run 
through  routes  that  are  rarely  used  they  should  be 
adjusted  exceptionally  close,  as  an  occasional  fail- 
ure on  the  safe  side  will  be  of  little  consequence 
compared  with  the  risk  to  be  run  in  adjusting  the 
circuit  to  work  under  all  conditions,  especially 
when  it  is  known  that  additional  resistance  exists 
in  the  shunt  formed  between  the  wheels  and  rails. 

Through  Altoona  yard  there  are  six  electro- 
pneumatic  interlockings  with  a  total  of  68  working 
switch  levers  equipped  throughout  with  electric 
locking.  The  results  from  its  use  at  three  of  the 
larger  plants  and  where  the  movement  is  heaviest 
are  as  follows :  At  the  east  end  of  the  yard,  a 
point  where  all  traffic  passes  and  where  all  west- 
bound freight,  with  the  exception  of  high-class 
trains,  is  taken  into  the  yard,  there  are  11  working 
switch  levers.  During  1905  there  were  three  fail- 
ures on  the  safe  side  and  one  on  the  wrong  side. 
This  failure  was  caused  by  just  enough  dead  space 
in  a  circuit  to  allow  a  momentary  picking  up  of 
the  relay  while  a  cabin  was  being  pushed  through 
the  circuit  by  trainmen.  As  the  dead  space  was 
just  a  foot  longer  than  that  required  for  the 
wheels  of  a  cabin  to  stand  in,  we  can  clearly  un- 
derstand to  what  degree  the  electric  locking  is  de- 
pended on  by  the  levermen  to  do  the  work.  At 
the  west  end  of  the  yard  where  all  trains  are  car- 
ried through,  and  where  the  east-bound  passenger 
tracks  cross  the  west-bound  freight,  there  are  12 
working  switch  levers  with  a  scissors  crossing  and 
two  double  slips.  From  April  18th,  1905.  or  when 
the  entire  interlocking  was  electrically  locked,  to 
December  31,  1905,  there  were  seven  failures  on 
the  safe  side  and  none  on  the  other.  The  situa- 
tion at  the  third  interlocking,  where  there  are  23 
working  switch  levers,  is  particularly  interesting. 
The  plant  was  put  jn  operation  December  17, 
1905,  and  controls  the  movement  to  a  receiving 
yard  built  from  two  ladders.  At  least  30  per  cent, 
of  the  movements  are  made  by  swinging  trains, 
which  requires  that  after  the  engines  have  been 
cut  loose  and  have  run  far  enough  to  clear  the 
locking  circuits,  the  signals  and  switches  must  be 
changed,  the  trains  allowed  to  run  into  the  yard, 
the  switches  again  changed  and  the  cabins  allowed 
to  follow  the  engines.  During  the  48  days  of  serv- 
ice no  failures  of  circuits  were,  reported. 

Power  Distant  Signal. 

"Five  years  ago,"  said  Mr.  Short  in  his  paper, 
"the  average  distance  of  the  distant  signal  from 
the  home  signal  at  interlocking  plants  was  1,444.44 
feet,  and  from  the  interlocking  machine  it  was 
1,750  feet.  Today  the  average  distance  from  the 
home  signal  to  the  distant  is  3,745.64  feet,  and 
of  the  distant  signal  from  the  interlocking  machine 
4.025    feet. 

"The  general  practice  and  the  most  approved  for 
the  installation  of  the  power  distant  signal  is.  viz.. 
an  electrically  operated  motor  signal  with  the 
motor  operated  by  portable  storage  batteries  when 
local  conditions  allow  of  a  convenient  recharging 
of  the  battery,  otherwise  by  one  of  several  type 
primary  potash  batteries,  preferably  the  one  giving 
the  greatest  number  of  ampere-hours  at  the  least 
cost.  An  electric  lock  is  placed  on  the  back  latch 
of  the  home  signal  lever  to  absolutely  insure  the 
distant  signal  being  in  the  caution  position  before 
the  home  signal  lever  can  be  unlatched  to  be 
placed   in  normal   position. 

"Summing  up,  we  can  say  that  the  installation 
of  the  distant  signal  has  been  greatly  increased 
generally  within  the  last  few  years,  and  that  the 
power-operated  distant  signal  is  being  installed 
altogether  at  new  interlocking  plants  and  is  grad- 
ually replacing  the  mechanically  operated  signal  at 
present   plants." 


March  24,  1906 

Single-phase    Equipment  for  Central 
Illinois  Electric  Railways. 

Single-phase  equipment  is  to  be  installed  on  new 
extensions  of  the  Central  Illinois  Construction  Com- 
pany, consisting  of  80  miles  of  track  now  being 
constructed.  The  portion  of  track  to  be  so  equipped 
consists  of  two  40-mile  lines,  one  connecting  Bloom- 
ington  and  Peoria,  the  other  lying  between  Spring- 
field and  Lincoln.  (See  map  on  page  174,  Western 
Electrician  of  March  3,  1906.)  The  present  equip- 
ment used  by  the  Central  Illinois  Construction 
Company  is  direct  current,  consisting  of  heavy  sub- 
urban-type cars  equipped  with  four  General  Elec- 
tric 75-horsepower  motors,  and  the  local  demand 
for  power  is  considerable  when  accelerating  or  when 
operating  on  grade.  The  cars  contemplated  for 
the  new  extensions  are  still  heavier,  and  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  question  of  secondary  distribution  is 
one  of  great  importance,  when  such  large  equip- 
ments are  used  over  a  system  so  extensive.  There 
is  now  high-tension  distribution  from  the  Riverton 
station  at  13,200  volts,  but  this  line  is  being 
changed  to  33,000  volts,  and  the  latter  staton  will 
be  supplemented  by  a  second  power  house,  located 
in  Peoria,  with  a  common  33,000-volt  transmission 
line    connecting    the    two    stations. 

The  new  equipment  consists  of  10  75-horsepower 
alternating-current  compensated  motors,  made  by 
the  General  Electric  Company,  together  with  neces- 
sary sub-stations,  overhead-line  material,  generat- 
ing-station  equipment,  etc.  Each  car  equipment  con- 
sists of  four  75-horsepower  motors,  with  the 
Sprague-General  Electric  system  of  multiple-unit 
control,  adapted  for  use  on  alternating-current  cir- 
cuits. These  are  so  arranged  that  they  will  permit 
tap  control  when  running  on  alternating  current 
and  series-parallel  resistance  control  when  running 
on  direct  current.  In  addition  to  the  motors  and 
control  apparatus,  complete  alternating  current-di- 
rect current  General  Electric  air  compressors  and 
straight  air-brake  equipments  will  be  installed,  as 
well  as  arc  headlights,  adapted  for  use  on  25-cycle 
alternating  current.  The  trolley  will  be  of  the 
pantograph  type,  with  rolling  contact,  raised  and 
lowered  by  compressed  air. 

The  equipment  just  outlined  will  take  care  of 
the  passenger  service,  but  for  hauling  freight  the 
operating  company  will  employ  a  single-phase  lo- 
comotive equipped  for  service  on  the  same  roads 
as  the  regular  motor  cars.  This  locomotive  will 
be  of  the  eight-wheel  type,  equipped  with  four 
General  Electric  125-horsepower  compensated  alter- 
nating-current motors.  The  total  weight  of  the 
locomotive  complete  will  be  50  tons,  with  a  draw- 
bar pull  of  20,000  pounds.  It  will  haul  its  train 
at  a  speed  of  20  miles  per  hour  with  the  current 
supply  at  3,300  volts  and  25  cycles.  In  common 
with  the  motor  cars  for  passenger  service,  the 
locomotive  will  be  equipped  with  multiple-unit  con- 
trol for  operation  on  both  direct  and  alternating 
currents.  It  will  also  be  supplied  with  complete 
air-brake  equipment,  comprising  an  alternating  cur- 
rent-direct current  motor-driven  air  compressor, 
with  the  straight  air-brake  apparatus. 

To  furnish  additional  power  for  this  new  rolling- 
stock  equipment,  the  present  generating  station  at 
Riverton  will  be  supplemented  by  a  2.000-kilowatt 
Curtis  steam  turbine,  furnishing  current  at  25  cycles, 
and  the  new  power  house  at  Peoria  will  be  equipped 
with  two  2,000-kilowatt  Curtis  turbines.  Additional 
machines  will  be  installed  as  soon  as  other  lines, 
now  under  consideration,  are  constructed.  The  gen- 
erator and  high-tension  distribution  system  will  be 
three-phase  and  will  feed  the  present  rotary-con- 
verter sub-stations  and  also  the  80-mile  section  of 
track   operating   with   alternating  current. 

The  alternating-current  trolley  (3,300  volts)  will 
be  of  the  now  well-known  catenary  type,  suspended 
from  brackets  in  the  interurban  sections  and  cross- 
suspended  through  the  small  towns.  Feeding  the 
trolley  there  will  be  four  alternating-current  trans- 
former sub-stations.  Each  sub-station  will  contain 
two  200-kilowatt  single-phase  transformers,  with 
complete  controlling  high-tension  and  low-tension 
switchboard  apparatus.  These  sub-stations  will  be 
placed  approximately  20  miles  apart,  and  are  so 
arranged  that  trouble  in  any  sub-station  will  auto- 
matically cut  out  that  station  without  affecting  op- 
eration on  the  rest  of  thr  line.  The  complete  elec- 
trical equipment  for  this  line  has  been  ordered  from 
the    General    Electric    Company. 


Traction  Company  to  Give  Electric- 
cooking  Lectures. 

The  Kokomo,  Marion  and  Western  Traction 
Company  of  Kokomo.  Ind..  has  employed  Mrs. 
A.  V.  Sanborn  of  St.  Louis  to  deliver  a  course  of 
lectures  on  "Cooking  by  Electricity"  and  to  de- 
monstrate the  possibilities  of  electric  cooking. 
The  traction  company  expects  to  furnish  electricity 
for  cooking  to  patrons   all   along  the  line. 


Rates  for  Commercial  Space-telegraph 
Messages. 

The  American  De  Forest  Wireless  Telegraph 
Company  has  opened  a  Boston  office  for  space- 
telegraph  business  in  the  basement  of  the  Eauitable 
Building.  The  sending  station  proper  is  in  M  Street. 
South  Boston.  The  rates  are  as  follows :  From  Bos- 
ton to  Hartford,  New  Haven  and  Bridgeport,  Conn.. 
New  York  and  Philadelphia  and  between  those 
points,  20  and  1 :  from  the  Connecticut  offices  to 
Atlantic  City,  N.  J..  30  and  3,  to  Sea  Bright,  N.  J.. 
25  and  2 :  from  New  York  and  Philadelphia  to 
the  New  Jersey  points,  20  and  2:  between  any  of 
the  above  points  and  Cape  Hattcras,  N.  C.  40  and 
3.  The  company  expects  to  open  offices  at  Port- 
land. Maine,  Providence,  R.  I.,  and  Springfield, 
Mass.,    soon. 


March  24,   [90 


.1.1'.'.     ELECTRII 


BOOK  TABLE. 

Standard   I  bi  1  phone  Wiri  he  i  oh  ' rrEi 

sb   Magneto   Sys  hi        Bj    [am       I      [-airman. 

NewYork:      MeGraw  Publi  hing  Companj       [906 

I'p    (4"i  by  '>ki  inches),  01,  with  71  illu  ti 

Price,  $1. 

Plain  and   simple   instruc i   for   connecting   .In 

lVi.,11    types   of   telephone   apparatu     in    both    mag 

neto  and  col n  batt.  rj     j  terns,  are  1  harai  ti  ri  tii 

Of  thi    little  I k,  which  is  a  hand)   refer guidi 

[or    telephone    wircmen.     Not    onlj     arc    il li 

rection     for  c acting,   bul   1  on  idcrabli    di    1  1  ipl  i< 

matter  concerning  the  different  pari  of  the  ap 
paratu  .  both  ai  the  subscriber's  end  and  at  the 
central  station,  is  also  given.  The  diagrams  aloni 
will  be  fiiiiml  nf  much  practical  value,  When 
,  onple  I  with  the  clear  and  concise  dirci  lion  .  whii  h 
ccompanj  them,  the  combination  is  one  which 
the  wireman  will  appreciate.  The  book  is  ol  con 
i,  nil  hi    pockel    size,    with    durable    leather    binding. 

I  in.  Wiring  Handiiook.  By  Cecil  P.  Poole.  New 
York  :  Mctlraw  I'ulilishiiiK  Company  i'ji.0  I'p 
1  11  .  In  8  inches),  85,  with  61   illustrations     Pric 

Wircmen  who  have  occasion  to  lay  mil  their  own 
wnrk,    .'mil    engineers    ami    architects    who    prepare 

wiring    specifications,    will    find    this    handl I     ,,1 

service,  Laying  out  wiring  work  :uicl  the  calcula 
111,11  nf  wiring  systems  for  both  direct  current  and 
alternating  current  are  first  given  attention,  fol- 
lowed by  directions  fur  motor  wiring  ami  trans 
former  ami  wattmeter  connections.  These  features 
I',, rm  the  main  part  of  the  book.  In  addition  tin-n- 
an- tun  appendixes,  the  first  containing  a  digest 
of  the  underwriters'  rules  relating  to  inside  wir- 
ing ami  the  second  presenting  fundamental  for- 
mulas. One  of  the  most  valuable  tiling  in  the 
book  is  a  set  of  32  tables  covering  all  the  data 
which  may  be  needed  in  any  form  of  wiring  in- 
stallation bearing  upon  motor  connections,  the  car- 
rying capacity  of  wires  for  different  conditions,  the 
calculation  of  feeders  and  branches,  the  sizes  of 
copper  wire,  constants  to  be  used  for  certain  classes 
nf  work,  etc.  These  tables  are  printed  on  sheets 
of  tough  paper  and  so  bound  in  the  back  of  the 
book  that  they  may  be  readily  spread  out  for  con- 
sultation. 

Electric-railway  Accounting.  By  W.  B.  Brock- 
way.  New  York:  MeGraw  Publishing  Com- 
pany. 1906.  Pp.  (=,}i  by  8  inches),  84,  with  six 
illustrations.     Price,   $1.25. 

Electric-railway  accounting,  in  all  its  complex 
phases,  has  become  a  problem  which  requires  sci- 
entific and  thoughtful  methods  to  make  it  an  in- 
strument of  real  value  to  the  street-railway  man- 
ager in  ascertaining  the  true  condition  and  earning 
powers  of  the  system  over  which  he  has  jurisdic- 
tion. This  book  takes  up  the  subject  of  electric- 
railway  accounting  in  a  rather  more  intimate  light 
than  does  the  work  which  considers  the  subject 
from  a  viewpoint  outside  of  the  actual  operating 
conditions.  What  a  report  should  be,  suggested 
forms  of  reports,  the  relations  of  operating  ex- 
penses to  earnings,  what  standardization  of  ac- 
counts means,  expert  examinations,  the  accounting 
office,  etc.,  are  among  the  many  subjects  treated. 
Street  railways  have  grown  from  a  very  small 
beginning  to  a  vast  and  flourishing  industry  within 
a  comparatively  short  period  of  time,  and  it  is 
only  natural  that  the  methods  of  accounting  that 
they  pursue  are  almost  as  many  in  number  as 
are  the  individual  properties  themselves.  During 
the  last  few  years  strenuous  effort  has  been  made, 
notably  by  the  Street  Railway  Accountants'  Asso- 
ciation, to  reduce  these  methods  to  something  like 
uniformity.  But  the  work  has  only  been  begun, 
and  any  aid  toward  bringing  about  this  result, 
such  as  the  book  under  consideration,  will  be  ap- 
preciated by  those  wdio  have  anything  to  do  with 
street-railway  accounting  departments.  It  is  true 
that  the  accounting  department  is  not  a  revenue 
producer,  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  receiverships  only  too  often  re- 
sult from  misstatements  and  misunderstood  state- 
ments originating  in  that  department,  showing  that 
its  value,  when  properly  conducted,  cannot  be  over- 
estimated. 

Alternating  Currents,  Their  Theory,  Genera- 
tion and  Transformation.  By  Alfred  Hay. 
New  York :  D.  Van  Nostrand  Company.  1906. 
Pp-  (S'A  by  8fs  inches),  291,  with  178  illustra- 
tions.    Price,    $2.50. 

Upon  taking  up  a  book  entitled  "Alternating 
Currents"  one  invariably  expects  upon  opening  the 
covers  to  lie  saluted  by  long  and  well-marshaled 
ranks  of  mathematical  formulas,  kept  in  line  by 
stern  integral  signs,  which  were  the  nightmare  of 
classroom  days,  the  monotony  being  relieved,  per- 
haps, by  a  few  vector  diagrams  and  sine  curves. 
It  is  with  a  certain  pleasurable  sensation,  then, 
that  upon  opening  this  book  a  widely  different 
treatment  of  the  subject  is  found.  Principles  and 
formulas  there  must  always  be,  but  the  author 
has  taken  care  of  the  most  of  them  quite  com- 
fortably in  the  first  three  chapters,  after  which 
the  reader  is  left  to  enjoy  the  concrete  but  emi- 
nently more  practical  things  which  are  to  be  studied 
under  the  head  of  alternating  currents.  Special 
attention   is   given    to   the   subject   of   testing;    and 


11   of   alternatii  ; 
rather    than    ' 

ami   In  torii  .-.I   naturi .   1     madi    'In    . 

knotty  problci 

which  -.-.ill    allow    --1    1 ■ 

highci  mathem 

marily  but   thorough); 

1  in    1  run  >t    Direi  roi 

Bi  1         1  -    tlon      II     M.,i,.   ■ 

1,, -r,     Pp     -.     . 

I" B      '     1 

I  1 1 1     ,1,1.    torj    ' 
ami  brought   up  1-.    I  by  the 

help    ol    .--il-    pendents    in    all    part 

1 

nf   the  electrical   ami   allied   trade     ami   pro! 
throughout   the  world.     For  facility      ■ 
1    divided   into 

lw  in  li    ,  ontaining     1  1,227  ! ''    and 

general    containing   4,335   names;   continenta 
taining   7,0.1*   names;    United    States   ol    lm 

• 1. in-  7,029 

of  33,529  1' 

Each    of   thi  again    dr.  ided 

alphabetical    and    clas  ified    divi  ions,    and    in    the 
case  "I   tin-    British   a   geographical     ectioi 
given    by    which    1    glance   al    any    town    slums  all 

linns   nf    any    importance    therein.       I  hi 

indicated    by    a    thumb    index    which    renders    them 

easy  of  access. 

A   useful   feature  of  the  bunk   is   tlu-   information 
regarding    central    stations    in    Great    ami    Greater 

Britain         Mi,      .vsl.-in     nf     ilislnliutinn     ami     voltage 

is  Riven,  tin-  engineer's  nam.    ami  capacit]  ni  plant, 
and   in    tin-   case   nf   alternating   current,   peri 
and  phase  an-   included. 

Telegraphic  addresses  and  telephone  numbers 
will  In.-  found  in  iln-  alphabetical  sections,  ami  par- 
ticulars as  tn  capital,  etc.,  of  limited  companies  an- 
given  in  the  British  alphabetical  section.  'I  - 
a  growing  want  the  book  is  now  published  in  two 
forms,  "A"  containing  the  British  and  Colonial  and 
general  sections  only,  and  "B"  containing  tin  Con 
tinental  and  United  Stairs  sections  in  addition. 
Motive  Power  and  Gearing  for  Electrical  Ma- 
chinery. By  I-!.  Tremlett  Carter,  C.  E.  New 
York:  The  D.  Van  Nostrand  Company  (Lon- 
don :  TTTe  Electrician  Printing  and  Publishing 
Company).  1006.  Pp.  (S'A  by  8J4  inches  1.  (172. 
with  199  illustrations.  Price,  $5. 
This  is  a  comprehensive  treatise  upon  the  prac- 
tice relating  to  the  mechanical  equipment  nf  electric 
power  stations,  both  for  electric-light  and  traction 
systems.  Some  attention  is  given  in  the  leading 
chapter  to  the  fundamental  principles  relating  to 
motive  power  as  applied  to  plants  nf  this  nature, 
the  necessary  formulas  relating  to  the  measure- 
ment of  power  being  given.  Following  this  comes 
the  statement  of  the  general  problem,  "What  are 
the  best  provisions  which  may  be  made  for  utiliz- 
ing the  available  energy  for  the  performance  of 
useful  work  and  the  production  of  paying  reve- 
nues?" This  problem  is  answered  as  well  as  may 
be  in  the  following  chapters,  taking  up  first  the 
all-important  factor,  fuels.  Since  steam  is  the 
agent  by  which  power  is  developed  in  most  power 
plants  at  the  present  time,  this  is  the  subject  given 
most  attention  in  the  book.  The  properties  of 
steam  are  gone  into  thoroughly  and  the  means 
by  which  it  is  produced — furnaces  and  boilers. 
Then  naturally  follows  the  application  of  the  en- 
ergy of  the  steam  in  the  various  types  of  steam 
engines,  including  the  reciprocating  engine  and  the 
steam  turbine.  All  the  accessories  and  detail  parts 
of  these  machines  receive  comprehensive  treatment. 
The  two  other  sources  of  motive  power,  namely, 
waterpower  and  the  gas  engine,  come  in  for  their 
due  share,  and  are  described  in  a  manner  as  thor- 
ough as  is  the  steam  engine.  There  is  also  some 
data  on  the  laying  out  of  plants.  Throughout  the 
work  the  subject  is  illustrated  by  reference  to 
actual  practice  obtaining  in  England  and  other 
countries,  and  numerous  tables  have  been  pre- 
pared giving  exact  and  up-to-date  data  on  the  op- 
eration of  electric  power  stations. 
Modern  Machine  Shop  Construction,  Equip- 
ment and  Management.  Bv  Oscar  E.  Perrigo, 
M.  E.  New  York:  The  Norman  \V.  Henley 
Publishing  Company.  1906.  Pp.  (7-ys  by  io'4 
inches),  343,  with  20S  illustrations.  Price,  $5. 
This  work  describes  the  modern  machine  shop 
or  manufacturing  plant  from  the  time  the  grass 
is  growing  on  the  proposed  site  to  the  time  the 
finished  product  is  ready  for  shipment.  Part  I. 
takes  up  the  subject  of  the  construction  of  the 
plant,  giving  advice  as  to  the  selection  of  the  site, 
the  method  of  dealing  with  the  different  soils 
encountered,  different  kinds  of  foundations,  meth- 
ods of  building  construction  and  the  materials  used, 
including  the  power  house,  chimney,  lighting  and 
ventilation  systems,  etc.  Part  II.  deals  with  the 
equipment  of  the  plant,  taking  up  all  the  different 
departments,  such  as  the  offices,  stock  and  store 
rooms,  tool  room,  drafting  room,  pattern  shop, 
foundry,  carpenter  and  machine  shop  and  the 
many  others  which  go  to  make  up  the  mod- 
ern factory  plant.  Part  III.  pertains  to  the 
management    of    the    plant,    describing    the    routine 


and    ful 

Publi 
upon    <':  ■ 

first    an 

and    di- 

methods   for  comparii  j 
retical 

indicator,  ami     ■ 

gines  1-  thoroughly  described    In  .-,:: 

Simple    arithmi 

book    useful    tn   practical    men. 

Book    Received 

•icity     Meters."      By     Henrv     • 

Lippincotl   Company,   Philadelpl 


New  Star  Electric  Fans. 

The  Star  Electric  Company  of  Niles,  Ohio,  en- 
tered the  fan-motor  field  January  i-t.  and  il 
an  attractive  line  nf  direct-current  fans.  The  Star 
line  embraces  three  types — the  swivel,  1  ■ 
swivel  and  trunnion,  type  P.,  and  the  oscillating, 
type  C.  The  Star  fan  is  the  standard  ironclad  type 
of  extra  strong  mechanical  construction.  Bodies 
of  fans  are  heavily  enameled  in  black,  hand  pol- 
ished,  and    striped    with    gold.     All    brass    parts    are 


NEW    STAR    ELECTRIC    FAN. 

highly  polished  and  lacquered.  The  swivel  and 
trunnion  fan  has  an  extra  connection  with  which 
a  wall  attachment  may  be  made.  The  oscillating 
fan   is  of  the   well-known    single-blade  construction. 

In  these  fans  the  armature  is  built  up  of  sheet- 
steel  laminations,  securely  fastened  to  the  shaft,  and 
windings  thoroughly  insulated  from  contact  with 
all  metal  surfaces.  The  commutator  con-:- 
sections  cut  from  hard-drawn  copper  bar  S  E 
incuts  are  carefully  insulated  from  each  other 
with  the  best  grade  of  India  mica.  Lead  wires 
are  fastened  securely  into  slots  milled  in  the  end 
of  the  commutator  segments,  and  are  bound  to 
an  asbestos  ring,  which  prevents  injury'  from  rough 
handling   or   vibration. 

Bearings  used  in  all  Star  fans  are  of  the  well- 
known  self-aligning  type,  made  from  a  superior 
grade  of  phosphor  bronze.  Continued  exhaustive 
tests  have  demonstrated  that  the  bearings  used  in 
these  fans  have  many  points  of  superiority,  both 
in   freedom   from   heating  and   in   wearing  qualities. 

Bearings  are  lubricated  by  means  of  wick  oil 
cups  of  extra  large  size,  which  hold  sufficient  oil 
to  last  an  entire  season  under  ordinary  condi- 
tions. All  fans  have  an  oil-catching  device.  Heavy 
cylinder  oil   should   be   used. 

Brushes  consist  oi  a  special  grade  of  carbon 
pencil  of  ample  cross-section  and  extra  length. 
They  are  controlled  by  compression  springs,  which 
hold  them  firmly  against  the  commutator  with  an 
even  pressure,  and  admit  of  the  brushes  being 
used    up    to    almost    their    entire    length. 

Field  coils  are  protected  by  a  heavy  layer  ot 
insulating  material,  strongly  taped,  the  result  be- 
ing a  compact  coil  of  neat  design  and  exceedingly- 
durable.    These     are     form-wound    with    the    best 


242 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  24,  ic 


quality  of  cotton  or  silk-covered  wire,  according 
to  voltage  requirements.  The  speed-regulating  de- 
vice is  made  up  of  german- silver  wire,  wound  on 
a  porcelain  spool,  the  capacity  and  insulation  being 
sufficient  to  eliminate  any  possibility  of  injurious 
heating.  This  device  gives  the  fan  three  distinct 
speeds    and    a    cut-out. 


The  Gas  Engine  as  a  Prime  Mover. 

Bearing  upon  the  problem  of  the  gas  engine  as 
a  prime  mover,  two  valuable  papers  were  recently 
read  before  the  Western  Society  of  Engineers. 
One  of  these  was  by  C.  E.  Sargent  upon  "The 
Prime  Mover  of  the  Future;"  and  the  other  was 
entitled  "Available  Power  and  Cost  of  Operation 
of  a  Power  Station  for  Waste  Gases  from  a  Blast 
Furnace  Plant,"  presented  by  H.  Freyn  of  Cleve- 
land, Ohio.  These  two  papers  embody  many  strong 
arguments  in  favor  of  the  use  of  the  gas  engine. 

As  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Sargent,  the  era  of  the 
gas  engine  began  when  it  was  found  that  the  by- 
products of  the  petroleum  refinery,  gasoline  and 
distillate,  were  available  for  fuel  and  the  funda- 
mental patent  had  expired.  Manufacturers  began 
to  build  engines  of  the  Otto  cycle  type,  and  there 
are  now  said  to  be  upward  of  500  manufacturers 
of  gas  engines  in  the  United  States  alone. 

There  are  three  dispositions  of  the  heat  in  the 
fuel  which  goes  into  a  gas-engine  cylinder.  Part 
of  it,  usually  about  25  per  cent.,  goes  into  work, 
about  40  per  cent,  into  the  water  jacket  and  35 
per  cent,  into  the  exhaust,  radiation,  etc.  Now,  if 
the  amount  which  is  wasted  can  be  reduced,  the 
percentage  turned  into  work  will  be  increased; 
the  amount  going  into  the  water  jacket  depends, 
other  things  being  equal,  on  the  amount  of  surface 
exposed  during  inflammation.  The  higher  the  com- 
pression the  less  surface  surrounding  the  unit  of 
compressed  charge,  therefore  less  heat  goes  into 
the  work.  A  Lenoir  engine,  firing  at  atmo- 
spheric pressure,  required  nearly  100  cubic  feet 
of  gas  per  brake  horsepower-hour,  while  with  a 
compression  of  five  atmospheres  an  engine  of  the 
same  horsepower  will  do  the  same  work  on  20 
cubic  feet  of  gas. 

As  the  exhaust  stroke  of  a  four-cycle,  single-act- 
ing engine  has  no  compression  to  bring  to  rest  the 
reciprocating  parts,  and  as  a  triple  or  quadruple 
crank  is  not  only  expensive  to  build  and  maintain 
in  alignment,  but  as  the  work  on  one  crank  must 
be  transmitted  through  other  cranks,  there  arose  a 
demand  in  the  minds  at  least  of  engineers  for  a 
double-acting  gas  engine,  which,  if  made  tandem, 
even  with  the  four-cycle,  would  give  riot  only  an 
impulse  for  every  stroke,  or  twice  during  a  revo- 
lution, but  the  reciprocating  parts  would  be  brought 
to  rest  by  the  compression  indigenous  to  each 
stroke. 

The  higher  the  compression  within  the  limits 
of  the  pressure  necessary  for  premature  ignition 
the  greater  the  efficiency,  but  the  kind  of  fuel  gov- 
erns the  degree,  and  the  compression  necessary  to 
ignite  kereosene  vapor,  while  not  so  volatile  as 
gasoline,  will  not  cause  the  latter  to  burn.  Nat- 
ural gas  can  be  compressed  to  150  pounds  abso- 
lute, alcohol  vapor  to  190  pounds,  and  blast-furnace 
gas  to  210  pounds,  and  still  require  an  electric 
spark   to    start   inflammation. 

The  other  loss  of  heat  in  a  gas  engine  besides 
that  which  is  transmitted  to  the  water  jacket  is 
the  heat  which  goes  out  with  the  exhaust.  When 
a  cylinder  full  of  gas  and  air  is  compressed  and 
ignited  the  chemical  action  generates  an  intense 
heat;  the  gases  expand  one-four-hundred-and-nine- 
tieth  of  their  volume  for  every  degree  of  Fahren- 
heit, and  the  chemical  action  even  with  a  proper 
mixture  is  not  instantaneous  and  often  there  is 
flame   coming    out   with    the    exhaust. 

If  a  full  cylinder  of  combustible  mixture  is  com- 
pressed from  atmospheric  pressure  and  temperature 
and  heated  further  by  chemical  action,  then  when 
the  volume  is  constant  the  pressure  is  increased, 
and  the  release  of  this  pressure  when  the  exhaust 
valve  opens  causes  the  familiar  "sea-lion  bark," 
always  associated  with  the  exhaust  of  a  gas  en- 
gine. This  is  the  second  loss  of  the  internal-com- 
bustion engine,  and  when  it  is  considered  that 
from  35  to  -40  per  cent,  of  the  heat  is  wasted  in 
this  way,  is  it  any  wonder  that  engineers  have 
tried  to  minimize  this  loss? 

If  steam  were  a  perfect  gas,  void  of  cylinder 
condensation,  an  early  cut-off  in  a  single  expan- 
sion cylinder  would  give  as  many  expansions  and  - 
as  good  economy  as  in  the  compound  engine.  The 
working  fluid  of  an  internal-combustion  engine  is 
practically  a  perfect  gas:  therefore  the  efheienev 
of  this  type  of  prime  mover  may  be  increased  if 
the  working  charge  be  expanded  to  a  greater  vol- 
ume  than   is  compressed. 

The  Lackawanna  Steel  Company  of  Buffalo  has 
over  40,000  horsepower  of  gas  engines  installed  in 
its  works,  running  on  a  by-product  of  the  blast 
furnace,  "furnace  gas,"  the  combustible  matter  of 
which  is  mostly  carbon  monoxide.  This  steel 
plant  has  the  largest  gas-engine  installation  in  the 
United  States,  and  is  well  worth  a  personal  visit 
end  inspection.  The  Koerting  engine  has  three 
cylinders  where  the  four-cycle  tandem  has  but 
two  for  the  same  number  of  impulses,  but  it  has 
several  advantages  as  well  as  disadvantages  over 
engines   using  the  Otto   cycle. 

Mr.  Freyn  in  his  paper  worked  out  an  elab- 
orate   calculation,    assuming    a    new    blast-furnace 


plant  of  two  400-ton  blast  furnaces  situated  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  a  large  city.  His  figures  for 
all  the  different  elements  were  complete,  as  were 
those  upon  losses  in  the  plant-operating  cost,  etc. 
In    conclusion    he    made    the    following    remarks : 

"From  the  above  computations,  it  will  be  seen 
that  a  power  plant  of  about  io,5co-brake  horse- 
power capacity  complete  in  every  detail  and  in- 
stalled in  connection  with  a  blast-furnace  plant, 
would  be  capable,  when  running  at  full-load  ca- 
pacity, of  producing  one  brake  horsepower  per 
year  at  the  low  cost  of  $17.88,  no  value  being 
placed    on    the    blast-furnace    gas. 

"The  enormous  saving  as  compared  with  the  pro- 
duction of  power  in  a  steam-engine  plant  is  still 
more  striking  when  the  cost  of  generation  of  elec- 
tric current  is  considered.  One  kilowatt-hour  at  full- 
load  capacity  of  the  plant  could  be  produced  at  2.95 
mills,  which  is  away  below  the  best  figure  ever 
reached  with  a  steam-engine  power  plant.  Even 
under  worse  conditions,  that  is,  when  the  power 
plant  is  running  on  an  average  of  only  50  per 
cent,  of  its  total  capacity,  the  cost  of  generation 
of    one    kilowatt-hour    is    but    5.50    mills. 

"It  is  evident  that  an  eventual  increase  in  the 
capacity  of  the  power  plant  would  still  tend  to 
reduce  the  cost  of  the  generation  of  power  per 
unit,  as  certain  expenditures  for  the  power  plant 
of  10,560  brake  horsepower  would  remain  un- 
changed   for    additional    power   units. 

"Computations  of  this  character  are  sometimes 
considered  as  being  'theoretical,'  as  they  naturally 
can  only  be  made  by  making  certain  assumptions. 
That  such  figures  have  some  practical  value,  inas- 
much as  they  permit  the  clear  understanding  of 
the  results  of  practical  experience,  accounting  for 
the  make-up  of  these  figures,  will  be  appreciated. 

"The  John  Cockerill  Company  has  in  operation 
at  present  seven  blast  furnaces  of  about  1,200 
tons  daily  capacity,  and  in  addition  large  steel 
plants,  rolling-mill  plants,  coal  and  ore  mines, 
coke  ovens,  boiler  shops,  machine  shops,  bridge 
works,  gunnery  works,  steam-turbine  works,  lo- 
comotive works,  etc.  The  Cockerill  company  em- 
ploys about  15,000  workmen,  and  its  plant  is  con- 
sidered to  be  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  Belgium 
and  west  of  Germany." 

"In  1900  the  Cockerill  company  had  S6  electric 
motors  in  use,  while  in  1905  the  number  of  mo- 
tors amounted  to  333.  The  lighting  outfit  con- 
sisted in  1900  of  450  arc  and  4,500  incandescent 
lamps,  whereas  in  1905  the  corresponding  figures 
were  660  arc  and  5,600  incandescent  lamps.  In 
order  to  produce  the  power  for  the  electric  service, 
i,coo  kilowatts  in  steam  engines  were  installed  in 
1900.  In  1901,  the  first  gas  engines,  operating  direct- 
current  generators  of  900  kilowatts  total  capacity, 
were  installed;  in  1903,  900  kilowatts  in  gas  en- 
gines were  added  and  the  capacity  of  the  steam- 
engine  plant  was  decreased  200  kilowatts,  so  that 
up  to  1905  only  800  kilowatts  in  steam  engines 
were  in  operation;  in  1904,  more  gas  engines  were 
added,  bringing  the  total  capacity  of  the  power 
plant  up  to  3.700  kilowatts.  Inside  of  five  years 
the  capacity  of  the  power  plant  has  been  increased 
370   per   cent. 

"In  1900  the  total  operating  cost  for  1,000  kilo- 
watts in  steam  engines  amounted  to  157,462.88 
francs;  in  1905,  for  the  total  capacity  of  the  power 
plant  of  3,700  kilowatts,  the  cost  of  operation 
amounted  to  206,327.91  francs.  The  increase  in  the 
operating  cost,  therefore,  amounted  to  31  per 
cent,  only,  whereas  the  capacity  of  the  power 
plant   had  been   increased  370   per   cent. 

"Although  even  in  the  case  that  the  power  plant 
would  "have  been  enlarged  by  additional  steam 
units,  the  operating  cost  would  have  been  reduced 
in  proportion,  it  is  clearly  evident  that  the  great- 
est share  of  the  reduction  in  the  cost  of  operation 
is    due    to    the   installation    of   gas    engines. 

"The  output  of  kilowatt-hours  produced  per 
year  increased  from  1,789,281  in  1900  to  9,999,216 
in  1905.  The  cost  per  kilowatt-hour  fell  from 
0.088  franc  in  1900  to  0.0206  franc  in  1905,  so  that 
the  cost  of  one  kilowatt-hour  in  1905  was  but  25 
per   cent,   of   the   corresponding  cost  in    1900. 

"There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  operating  cost 
of  the  power  plant  per  kilowatt-hour  would  have 
been  decreased  in  the  interval  of  five  years  even 
in  the  case  of  an  addition  of  steam  units,  as  the 
power    factor    increased    during   this    time." 


formation    will    be    furnished    by    Secretary    George 
H.    Erich,    401    Monadnock    Building. 

The  association  has  now  nearly  300  members, 
and  it  aims  at  1,000  before  the  year  is  out.  Its 
aim  is  technical,  industrial  and  social  advancement 
in   the   art   of   selling  electrical   goods. 


Salesmen's  Meeting  to  be  Held  in 
Chicago. 

The  Chicago  members  of  the  Electrical  Sales- 
men's Association  are  contemplating  holding  a  few 
meetings  during  the  summer,  at  which  subjects 
of  interest  will  be  discussed.  It  is  the  intention 
to  invite  addresses  and  papers  from  men  who  are 
versed  in  salesmanship.  The  general  advancement 
rommittee,  of  which  Mr.  C.  A.  S.  Howlett  is  chair- 
man, has  already  secured  numerous  requests  from 
members,  asking  that  certain  subjects  be  acted 
upon.  It  is  hoped  that  the  example  of  the  Chicago 
members   will  be   followed   in   other  cities. 

Another  innovation  is  the  holding  of  informal 
social  assemblages  at  a  designated  restaurant  in 
Chicago  on  Saturday  afternoons.  An  invitation  is 
extended  to  all  members.  The  first  of  these  Satur- 
day afternoon  meetings  will  be  held  on  March 
2Jth,  when  Vincent  Gray  of  St.  Louis,  president 
of    the    association,    will    be    present.     Further    in- 


Chicago  Street-railway  Situation. 

If  the  voters  approve  the  issue  of  $75,000,000 
worth  of  Mueller-law  certificates  next  month,  it 
will  still  be  necessary  to  test  their  validity.  Pend- 
ing the  outcome  of  the  necessary  litigation,  Mayor 
Dunne  suggests  that  the  value  of  the  property  of 
the  street-railway  companies  be  appraised;  that  the 
companies  be  consolidated ;  that  the  new  company 
provide  modern,  unified  street-railway  service, 
according  to  the  city's  specifications;  that  an 
exact  account  of  the  money  spent  for  improvements 
be  kept  and  that  this  amount  and  the  appraised 
value  constitute  what  the  city  must  pay  to  acquire 
the  unified  system;  that  the  companies  operate  un- 
der this  arrangement  until  the  city  is  ready  to 
purchase,  receiving  a  fixed  dividend  out  of  the 
profits  and  a  further  percentage,  to  be  agreed 
upon,  of  the  remaining  profits;  that  these  provisions 
be  incorporated  in  a  contract  terminable  at  short 
notice. 

Such,  in  brief,  appears  to  be  the  mayor's  outline 
of  the  steps  to  be  taken  after  the  adoption  of  the 
Mueller-law  issue — if  the  voters  do  adopt  it.  It 
provides  for  private  operation,  under  municipal  con- 
trol, for  an  indefinite  period.  A  municipally  ap- 
pointed traction  manager  at  a  salary  of  $15,000  a 
year    is    suggested. 

Chicago  traction  stocks  have  broken  badly  on 
the  market  since  the  United  States  Supreme  Court 
decision.  R.  R.  Govin  of  the  financial  end  of  the 
Union  Traction  Company  is  said  to  regard  the 
fright  of  the  stockholders,  as  indicated  by  the 
wholesale  slaughter  of  the  prices  of  the  shares,  as 
not  warranted  by  the  developments  in  the  case. 
Mr.  Govin  thinks  the  city  has  been  victorious,  but 
only  to  the  extent  that  it  can  now  compel  the 
companies  to  give  good  service  under  penalty  of 
removal   from  the  streets. 

Now  that  James  Dalrymple's  report  has  been 
made  public,  Mayor  Dunne  feels  that  he  may  criti- 
cize it  at  will.  The  mayor  gave  out  a  carefully 
prepared  statement  on  the  Glasgow  letter,  and  his 
opinion  of  Mr.  Dalrymple  may  be  summed  up  in 
the  following  paragraph :  "When  discussing  ques- 
tions which  fall  within  the  line  of  his  skill  and 
experience  as  a  traction  emplo3'e  and  manager  he 
is  instructive  and  intelligent.  When  he  travels 
outside  of  that  line  and  deals  with  questions  of 
public  policy  as  applied  to  American  municipalities 
Mr.  Dalrymple's  views  are  simply  of  the  same  value 
as  those  of  any  other  stranger  who  spends  a  few 
days  in  this  country." 

The  first  actual  step  in  compliance  with  the  sec- 
retary of  war's  order  to  remove  the  Washington 
and  La  Salle  Street  street-railway  tunnels  under 
the  river  has  been  taken  by  the  city  authorities. 
The  public- service  corporations  wTere  ordered  to 
remove  their  wires  and  conduits  from  the  tunnels 
by  Anril  10th  and  make  other  provisions  for  cross- 
ing the  river.  The  companies  affected  by  the  order 
are  the  Chicago  Edison  Company,  the  Western 
Union  Teleeraph  Company,  the  Postal  Telegraph 
Company,  the  Chicago  Pneumatic  Tube  Company 
and  the  Chicago  Telephone  Company. 


National    Civic    Federation   Inspects 
Lighting   Plants. 

Members  of  the  National  Civic  Federation  who 
propose  visiting  public-utility  plants  and  those  of 
private  corporations  in  a  number  of  cities  of  vari- 
ous sizes  in  the  United  States  for  the  purpose 
of  making  an  exhaustive  report  to  that  organiza- 
tion on  the  subiect  of  municipal  ownershio  have 
thus  far  visited  Indiananolis  and  Wheeling.  W.  Va. 
After  the  investigators  had  been  to  the  latter  city 
a  local  paper  announced  that  while  nothing  would 
be  given  out  by  the  committee,  as  to  its  conclu- 
sions thus  far,  it  was  intimated  by  one  of  the 
party  that  there  was  a  pretty  strong  opinion  that 
those  in  charge  of  municipal  light  plants  do  not 
have  the  same  interest  in  them  thev  would  have 
if  the  plants  were  privately  owned.  The  same 
paper  says  that  conditions  in  both  the  gas  and 
electric  plants  at  Wheeling  were  found  to  be  verv 
bad. 

Among  those  on  the  committee  which  has  in 
hand  the  municioal-ownershin  investigation  are 
Prof.  Frank  J.  Goodenue  of  Columbia  University, 
Prof.  John  H.  Gray  of  Northwestern  University, 
Prof.  John  R.  Cummins  of  the  Universitv  of  Wis- 
consin ;  E.  A.  Moffett,  secretary  of  the  Federation; 
R  W.  Bemis,  superintendent  of  the  waterworks 
of  Cleveland;  Walter  Clark  of  the  United  Gas 
Improvement  Company  of  Philadelphia,  W.  J. 
Clark  of  the  General  Electric  Company  of  New 
York ;  Timothy  Healey,  president  of  the  National 
Brotherhood  of  Stationary  Fremen ;  Walter  J. 
Fisher,  secretary  of  the  Municipal  Voters'  League 
of  Chicago,  and  Messrs.  Alfred  E.  Forstall  of 
New  York  and  Fred  Burnett  of  Toronto,  gas  ex- 
perts. The  committee  also  has  the  service  of  an 
expert  accountant. 


Marcli  24,   1906 

Western  Society  of  Engineers. 
A   regular   meeting   of   the    Electrical    Section   of 

||,e    WcStCI  11    S I'.     "I     I    r  1  i •  i  1 . •  I 

1    Frii  [arch    16th       I'l 

[,,,  Ji  1  n     ion,  pn    1  nti  d  i..    Prol      '    H 

.,  I100I  ,    I:  ngini  -  1      and    E  mploj  1  1  lie   pa 

,  .     i.  ii  ilv     revii  v.   'I    the    1 1 1      Ii     I 

employ  1  ,    thai    tin     1 Iiu  1    ol     tin 

I I     doi  .   nol    In    1I1 'I       Vi  I1.1i    tin 

rid    how    ;"    iin  'i    tin  in    with    1 11 g     tu 

lid    ■ 

il ing 

I,      n  quin  n 1  mpl  iyei 

pointed   oul    I);     Profi     01    W I  vorl  Ii,    1  ho   quol  :d 

from  diff'  "  nl   m<  n  proi 1   in  the  manul  - 

field.    Some   of   1  li<-m    want    the   n mum 

ol     hop   work   and   Ihc   maximum   am 1    ol    thco 

11  aining,     1  Ithei         ay,     "I  \i\ 1         hop 

..,.,]  ,"    and   they   look    for   a   man    who   will    1 1 

,,,.  ,j,  ,1,  ly    availahlc    upon    graduation    a      .1      I  illcd 

producer   in   the   shop.      I  he   in  trm  lor   1 ginei  1 

il ore,   .1    hard   task   before   him. 

Those   taking   part    In   the  discussion    wen    <  hail 
man    McMecn,    C.    A.    S.    Howlctt,     II.    R.    King, 

Fr; Raymond,    IV. 1.  isoi     C.     Ii.    I  reeman    and 

p Woodworth.    The  general  conclusion   ar 

.     .1   was  that,  in  the  first  place,  lei   thi     tudenl 

I  now    as    much    as    possible    of    pli\   0    .    -  In  mi  in, 

mathematics,    mechanics   and    thermodynamics    as   it 

,,       Mr    to    teach    him.     Teach    him    the    impor- 

tance   of   his   relation   to   his   fellow   men— in   other 

how    to   "mix."     If  possible,  have   him   settle 

cwn    mind    what    line    he   wishes    to    pursue, 

10    1I1.. 1    the    employer   may   better   direct   his   work 

in  1I1,    first  year  of   his   "apprenticeship."     In   brief, 

the  ability  to  think  straight  rather  than  to  do  things 

will  be  of  the  mosl   benefit  to  the  student  in  taking 

lip  practical   work. 


1  ERN     ELEl  rRH 
railroad   lawi    prohibiting   diKiiminatio 


Telegraph  Ciphers  by  the  Billion. 

Ton  hundred  and  twenty  million  pronounceable 
words  with  at  least  two  letters  difference  between 
each  word  are  contained  in  the  new  work  on 
"Telegraph  Ciphers:  Artificial  Words,"  compiled 
by  Whitelaw  and  published  here  by  Longmans, 
Green  &  Co.  The  words  have  been  selected  in 
accordance  with  the  decision  of  the  London  Tele- 
graph Conference  of  June-July,  1903.  Besides  the 
1,020,000,000  pronounceable  words  in  the  work, 
there  are  also  160,000,000  extra  words,  all  being 
arranged  both  in  alphabetical  and  terminational 
order.  So  that  there  arc  no  two  words  to  be 
found  that  are  alike,  nor  can  any  word  be  altered 
in  transmission  exactly  into  another  word  in  the 
work.  The  volume  is  a  quarto  in  size,  printed 
on  hand-made  paper  to  bear  handling. — New  York 
Times. 

These  figures  and  statements  are  rather  puzzling. 
Apparently  there  are  1,180,000,000  distinct  words 
printed  in  the  book.  Allowing  even  5,000  words 
to  a  page — certainly  a  large  estimate — the  volume 
consists  of  236,000  pages.  This  would  make  a 
book  over  39  feet  thick,  and  its  production  would 
surely  test  the  bookbinder's  art.  Even  if  letters 
are  counted  instead  of  words  (25,000  to  a  page), 
the  book  works  out  to  the  respectable  thickness  of 
about   eight   feet. 


Chicago  Meeting  of  the  Institute. 

"Telephone  Engineering  as  a  Profession"  was  the 


title  of  an  admirable  paper  presented  by  Mr.  J.  L. 
McQuarrie  to  the  Chicago  branch  of  the  Institute 
on  the  evening  of  March  20th.  The  paper  was 
short,  but  it  was  concise  and  to  the  point,  and 
offered  good  opportunity  for  an  interesting  discus- 
sion. Mr.  McQuarrie's  popularity  and  the  interest- 
ing nature  of  his  subject  resulted  in  one  of  the 
best-attended  meetings  of  the  season,  and  the  as- 
sembly room  of  the  Western  Society  of  Engineers 
was  barely  capable  of  accommodating  all.  Chairman 
K.  B.  Miller  introduced  the  speaker,  and  after 
the  paper  had  been  read  a  lively  discussion  took 
place,  participated  in  by  Messrs.  J.  G.  Wray,  C.  E. 
Freeman,  G.  W.  Wilder,  Lubberger,  S.  G.  McMeen, 
Bentley,  Le  Roy  Stanton  and  Chairman  Miller. 
Just  before  adjournment  the  chairman  announced 
that  Mr.  Bion  J.  Arnold  had  promised  to  give  the 
society  the  benefit  of  some  of  his  experiences  in 
connection  with  the  New  York  Central  electrifica- 
tion at  the  next  meeting,  the  date  as  yet  not  being 
decided    upon. 


Interurban  Competition  in  Iowa. 

The  Des  Moines  (Iowa)  Register  and  Leader  of 
March  10th  says:  "The  Winterset  and  Indianola 
branch  of  the  Rock  Island  railroad,  with  48  miles 
of  track,  is  to  be  electrified  and  operated  as  an 
interurban  road.  The  operating  company  will  be 
independent  of  the  Rock  Island  and  will  operate 
the  property  under  a  long-time  lease.  The  change 
is  to  be  made  in  the  immediate  future  and  the 
electric  service  will  probably  be  installed  within  the 
next  six  months." 

"The  move  has  been  taken  to  protect  the  In- 
dianola and  Winterset  property  against  deterioration 
threatened  by  the  invasion  of  its  territory  by  inter- 
urbans,  and  the  independent  operating  company  has 
been  resorted  to  so  the  line  can  be  taken  out  of 
the  Rock  Island  system.  This  will  permit  the  put- 
ting in  of  the  usual  interurban   rates  without  mak- 


Telephone  EnKlnoerlnK  aa  a  Profession. 

1    1 

tin-    1. :. 

1   up  largel)   by  telegraph  men.     V. . 

1 

Jo  real 
managing  and 

A  ,    1I1.     1 cxpandci 

■  inii      i.i.i'  1    into      roup 

authority     

mi  in   •.-.  1      ccurcd,  and  he  was  generally  kno 

ih.   "1  lectri  '.11  '     '■.'.  ii,  'i:      1      greater  d<    ■  lopment 

which   li.-i     1  ..in.    aboul    in   ii"    la  I    few 

pon    to    do    'nor.-    and 

1 real  engineering  work,  and  Ij  given 

the  title  oi  telephoni   1  nginccr, 

Opportunity       foi    the    1  ollcge    man    in    i- 

ring,  a     1 ted  out  by  Mr.  McQuarrie,  are 

abundant,  and  in    pite  of  the  fact  that  a  great  many 
look  with   disfavor   on   iln-,   line  of   work,   because 
they   cannot    design    and    work    with    big    in.. 
there  is  ample   field   for  engineering  of   the   highc  ' 
order,     Technical  knowledge  is,  moreover,  r< 
at  every  turn  in  modern  telephi  [ems  are 

coming  up  which  cannot   be  dealt  with  by  thi 
who  learned  their  lessons  by  hard  knocks.     Witness 
the    work   of   Dr.   Pupin   and    others    who   I 
materially  contributed  to  the  advancement  of  the  art 
within  recent  years  by  the  application  1  I   technical 
knowledge  to  the   problems  of   the  bu 
represent   merely    the   beginning    of   a   new   line   of 
progress,  and  the  work  which  they  have  accom] 
indicates   that  there  are  unlimited  opportunities   for 
the  trained  physicist  in  the  telephone  industry 

The  central-office  switchboard  and  substation  in- 
strument present  problems  which  are  particularly 
inviting  to  the  engineering  mind.  It  is  doubtful  if 
there  is  another  branch  of  the  electrical  business 
which  offers  nior.-  attractions  to  the  inventor  and  the 
trained  mechanician  than  are  to  be  found  in  these 
two  portions  of  a  telephone  plant;  there  are  no 
other  electrical  machines  employing  circuits  of  such 
complexity  and  apparatus  of  such  varied  character 
as  are  contained  in  a  modern  telephone  switchboard, 
and  the  difficulties  are  more  pronounced  when  it  is 
considered  that  both  direct  and  alternating  currents. 
of  proper  quantity  and  proper  quality,  arc  employed 
in  the  same  circuits. 

Completion  of  the  telephone  plant  does  not  mean 
that  the  telephone  engineer  is  through  with  it,  for  he 
is  still  a  necessary  part  of  the  business  management. 
Telephone  engineers  are  found  filling  responsible 
positions  with  the  various  operating  companies. 

In  concluding  his  paper,  Mr.  McvJuarrie  pointed 
out  that  the  telephone  business  is  already  of  con- 
siderable magnitude.  Taking  both  the  Bell  and  Inde- 
pendent companies  together  it  is  estimated  that  there 
are  close  to  4,500,000  subscribers  in  the  United  States 
to-day.  A  year  from  now  there  will  probably  be  a 
million  or  more  added  to  this  number,  and  it  is 
not  unreasonable  to  expect  that  eventually  there 
will  be  a  telephone  in  every  house  in  the  land.  There 
is  an  outlook  for  an  ever-increasing  number  of  tele- 
phones, accompanied  by  a  desire  for  a  reduction  in 
the  cost  of  the  service.  It  is  also  demanded  that  the 
limit  of  commercial  conversation  be  continually  ex- 
tended, and  it  is  the  function  of  the  engineer  to 
indicate  how  these  results  may  be  secured.  There 
is  approximately  $550,000,000  invested  in  the  tele- 
phone industry  in  this  country  at  the  present  time, 
with  millions  "being  added  every  year  to  provide  for 
growth.  It  is  the  object  of  the  business  management 
to  see  that  this  money  is  wisely  expended,  and  it  is 
to  the  engineer  that  it  must  look  for  advice.  It 
would  appear  to  be  evident  from  these  considerations 
that  there  are  plenty  of  opportunities  for  engineers 
in  the  field  of  telephony,  and  the  speaker  thought 
that  the  work  performed  by  the  engineers  engaged 
in  the  telephone  business  in  the  past  compares  favor- 
ably in  its  result  with  that  produced  by  engineers 
in  other  branches  of  the  electrical  industry. 

Discussion. 

J.  G.  Wray,  chief  engineer  of  the  Chicago  Tele- 
phone Company,  was  first  called  upon  to  discuss 
the  paper.  Mr.  Wray  took  the  stand  that  a  course 
of  telephone  engineering  is  not  needed  so  much 
at  college  as  a  broad  training  in  the  fundamentals 
of  engineering.  When  the  fundamentals  are  thor- 
oughly grasped,  it  is  easy  to  take  up  the  problems 
of  telephone  engineering  and  learn  to  specialize  in 
that  line  after  leaving  college.  Mr.  McQuarrie,  in 
reply  to  this, said  it  had  been  his  experience  that  the 
young  men  coming  from  schools  giving  what  they 
term  a  telephone  course  fall  into  line  a  little  quicker 
than  those  who  are  from  other  courses. 

Prof.  C.  E.  Freeman  stood  up  stanchly  for  a 
course  of  telephone  engineering  for  the  man  who 
expects  to  follow  telephone  engineering.  Prof. 
G.   W.   Wilder  also  spoke  to  the  same  effect,  out- 


Mr.    I.e 

lion,    Ihi      -  re   than 

n>J  the 

I.e    Ri  I    Cleveland   said    that   it   had 

been    hi  that    a    man    trained    in    civil 

11    work    than    ihc    ele- 
civil   el 

concrete   and   1 

familiar  with  the  naturi  .■.hat   \\ 

underlie  them. 


Indiana  Telephone  Items. 

The     Owensville     In  I  '-phone     Com- 

pany   has    decided    to    install    a    new    and    up-to-date 
switchl" 

I  lie   Central    Union  -npany  has  an- 

that   it    will   expend   $50,000  in  the   rebuild- 
ing of  its  plant  at  Goshen. 

Mayor  Boehnc  of   Evansville  has  notified  the  tel- 
ephone  and  electric-light  companies  that  they  must 
ICC   their   wires   underground. 

It  was  thought  that  the  telephone  controversy- 
was  over  in  Kokomo,  but  Mayor  Brouse  announces 
that  he  will  veto  the  ordinance  granting  the  Citi- 
zens' Telephone  Company  the  right  to  amend  its 
franchise  so  as  to  permit  it  to  make  connections 
with  the  Bell  company  for  long-distance  service 
to  points  not  reached  by  the  New  Long-distance 
Telephone  Company's  wires.  While  the  ordinance 
was  passed  by  unanimous  vote  of  the  council,  it  is 
said  there  will  be  no  attempt  to  pass  the  ra 
over  the  mayor's  veto.  It  is  generally  believed  that 
the  New  Long-distance  Company  would  cut  the 
Citizens'  company  off  its  lines,  and  as  a  choice  the 
people  prefer  to  retain  the  New  long-distance 
service. 

The  proposition  of  the  Home  Telephone  Com- 
pany of  Fort  Wayne  to  take  over  the  National 
Telephone  Company,  owning  and  operating  1,000 
miles  of  toll  line  and  exchanges  in  Kendallville. 
Sturgis  ad  other  points,  has  been  accepted  by  the 
latter.  The  price  is  $90  on  a  capital  st 
$250,000.  The  National  people  accept  $225,000  in 
six  per  cent,  preferred  stock  of  the  Home  com- 
pany. 

The  Central  Union  Telephone  Company  will  re- 
build  its   plant   in    Linden   this   sprjng. 

The  Central  Union  Telephone  Company  has  se- 
cured a  foothold  in  Plainfield  by  purchasing  the 
franchise  of  a  co-operative  company.  The  Cen- 
tral LTnion  promises  to  give  patrons 
for  the  first  six  months  and  50  cents  a  month  for 
the    first   year    following. 

Max  Yon  Hoffman,  representing  a  Milwaukee 
company,  has  applied  for  a  franchise  for  a  tele- 
phone system  in  Evansville.  His  company  pro- 
poses to  install  instrument  in  a  house  for  50  cents 
a  month,  plus  two  cents  for  every  outgoing  call. 
The  cost  per  month  shall  not  be  over  $4  a  month 
for  business  houses  and  $2  a  month  for  resident 
instruments.  Under  the  contract  party-lines  are 
to  be  entirely  eliminated  and  a  cash  bond  of 
$20.cco  is  offered  to  show  good  faith.  All  instru- 
ments are  to  be  free  until  3000  subscribers  are 
obtained. 

The  South  Side  Telephone  Company  of  Lock- 
man  has  been  incorporated  to  construct  and  oper- 
ate an  exchange  in  Lockman  and  in  Brown  and 
Jackson  counties.  James  C.  McKinney,  Charles 
N.  Springeon  and  Daniel  B.  Eddy  are  tile  di- 
rectors. S. 


Southeastern  Telephone  Developments. 

The  Wadesboro  (N.  C.)  Telephone  Company 
( Independent^  is  making  improvements  on  the  out- 
side and  also  will  put  in  new  and  enlarged  equip- 
ment in  the  office. 

Durham,  N.  C,  now  reports  that  it  is  connected 
by  rural  telephone  with  three  counties,  the  rural 
service   proving  a   success. 

D.  L.  Wray  and  others  of  Spartanburg.  S.  C. 
have  formed  a  company  to  manufacture  cross- 
arms  and  other  equipment  for  telephone  and  tele- 
graph  poles.      The   capital   is   $10,000. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Chester  (S.  C.)  Tel- 
ephone Company  ( Mutual)   was  held  recently,  every 


^44 

subscriber  being  a  stockholder.  The  exchange  has 
nearly  300  subscribers. 

W.  L.  Abernathy  and  associates  have  organized 
the  Fort  Lawn  Telephone  Company  at  Fort  Lawn, 
S.   C,  with   $5,000  capital   stock. 

The  People's  Telephone  Company  of  Beaufort, 
N.  C,  has  been  chartered  with  $15,000  capital 
stock.  L. 


Ohio  Telephone  Notes. 

James  S.  Brailey,  Jr..  of  Toledo  has  denied  the 
story  that  he  and  his  associates  have  purchased 
a  controlling  interest  in  the  Cuyahoga  Telephone 
Company   of    Cleveland. 

Arrangements  have  been  made  for  the  Lancaster 
Telephone  Company  of  Lancaster  to  issue  $100,000 
new  stock,  of  which  half  will  be  common  and  the 
remainder  six  per  cent,  preferred.  The  company 
has  authorized  $75,coo  bonds,  of  which  $50,000 
have  been  issued.  It  has  exchanges  at  Lancaster, 
Baltimore,  Millersport,  New  Salem  and  Thurston 
and  toll  exchanges  at  Carroll,  Thornville,  Rock- 
bridge, Sugar  Grove,  Lockville,  Hooker  and  Pleas- 
antville.  At  the  end  of  the  year  1,324  subscribers 
were  on  the  list.  The  company  has  paid  one  per 
cent,  quarterly  on  the  old  stock,  amounting  to 
$ioo,oco. 

A  new  directory  is  being  distributed  by  the  Citi- 
zens' Telephone  Company  of  Columbus.  It  shows 
quite  a  growth  in  the  subscription  list  since  the 
last  book  was  issued.  The  Franklin  County  Tele- 
phone Company's  list  has  been  omitted  and  it  will 
issue  a   directory  of  its  own. 

A  reduction  in  the  rates  for  telephones  in  some 
of  the  public  offices  at  Cincinnati  has  been  granted. 
Private  exchanges  will  take  the  place  of  separate 
telephones. 

The  North  Jackson  Telephone  Company  of 
North  Jackson  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capi- 
tal stock  of  $10,000  by  F.  A.  Eckis,  S.  H.  Goldner 
and  others. 

The  Cuyahoga  Telephone  Company  made  a  hand- 
some gain  in  February  over  the  corresponding 
month  a  year  ago,  the  surplus  showing  $10,02572 
in  comparison  with  $3,540.06  last  year.  -  C. 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

Iowa  Telephone  Association. 

The  Iowa  Telephone  Association  held  its  annual 
convention  in  Des  Moines  on  March  13th,  14th  and 
15th.  The  officers  elected  for  the  ensuing  vear  are: 
President,  P.  C.  Holdoegel  of  Rockwell  City;  secre- 
tary and  manager,  Charles  C.  Deering  of  Boone ; 
first  vice-president,  E.  T.  Averill  of  Cedar  Rapids; 
second  vice-president,  E.  E.  England  of  Mount  Pleas- 
ant; third  vice-president,  H.  A.  Kinne  of  Wood- 
bine ;  treasurer,  G.  W.  Graves  of  Denison  ;  executive 
committee,  J.  S.  Bellamy  of  Knoxville.  E.  H.  Martin 
o£  Webster  City,  J.  C.  Thorne  of  Fairfield,  George 
N.  Bandy  of  Des  Moines.  The  1907  meeting  will 
be  held  in  Sioux  City. 

The  organization  of  a  company  to  have  a  capital  of 
$250,000,  the  stock  to  be  held  by  the  Independent 
telephone  companies  in  the  state,  was  discussed. 
This  company  will  have  as  its  object  the  developing 
of  toll-line  business,  particularly  in  the  direction  of 
assisting  small  Independent  companies  in  localities 
where  Bell  competition  is  especially  strong. 

The  association  formulated  a  plan  to  organize  a 
press  bureau  to  gather  and  disseminate  the  news 
of  Iowa.  The  organization  will  be  made  up  of  the 
larger  Independent  telephone  companies  of  the  state 
which  have  extensive  toll  service.  All  of  the  news 
is  to  come  into  the  Independent  telephone  clear- 
ing house  in  Des  Moines,  where  it  is  to  be  sent  out 
with  respect  to  the  territory  which  would  be  particu- 
larly interested.  The  lines  to  the  larger  towns  of 
the  state  may  be  equipped  for  telegraph  service.  The 
news  is  to  be  gathered  by  the  toll  operators  in  the 
larger  toll  stations  of  the  state.  This  arrangement 
grew  out  of  the  demand  of  the  Iowa  Evening  Press 
Association,  made  up  of  the  larger  evening  daily 
newspapers  of  the  state,  to  secure  more  state  news. 
E.  H.  Martin  of  Webster  City,  president  of  the  Mar- 
tin Telephone  Company,  for  many  years  a  telegraph 
operator  for  the  Associated  Press,  was  made  chair- 
man of  the  committee  which  will  manage  this  service. 


Telephone   News  from    the    Northwest. 

A  new  telephone  exchange  is  being  installed  at 
Northfield.  Minn.,  by  Charles  Church.  The  new 
line  is  connected  with  the  Faribault  rural  lines  and 
the    Tri-State    long-distance    system. 

The  Wisconsin  Telephone  Company  estimates  the 
cost  of  improvements  to  be  made  to  its  system  at 
Racine,   Wis.,   this  year  at  $121,000. 

The  New  Ulm  Rural  Telephone  Company  of 
New  Ulm,  Minn.,  will  build  50  miles  of  toll  lines 
out  of  that  city  this   summer. 

William  Bailie  of  Valley  City,  N.  D.,  has  been 
granted  a  franchise  for  a  local  exchange  in  Ana- 
moose,   N.  D. 

A  convention  of  the  Independent  telephone  com- 
panies of  North  Dakota  is  being  agitated  and  a 
meeting  will  probably  be  called  in  a  short  time. 

G.  J.  Grimm  and  others  are  organizing  a  local 
and   rural   telephone  company   at  Lamberton,    Minn. 

The  Hughes  Electric  Company  is  planning  to 
install  a  telephone  exchange  at  Garrison.  N.  D. 

Negotiations  are  pending  looking  to  an  adjust- 
ment of  the  differences  between  the  City  Council 
at  Albert  Lea,  Minn.,  and  the  Albert  Lea  Tele- 
phone Company. 

The  Great  Western  Telephone  Company  has  be- 
gun work  on  its  new  telephone  line  from  Fort 
Pierre,    S.    D.,   to    Rapid    City. 

The  Mutual  Telephone  Company  has  begun  the 
work  of  putting  wires  in  East  Des  Moines,  Iowa, 
underground,  and  it  is  expected  that  the  overhead 
system  will  be  done  away  with  by  August   1st. 

The  City  Telephone  Company  of  Tabor,  Iowa, 
has  sold  its  system  to  J.  W.  Wayrick  of  Leaven- 
worth, Kan.,  at  $57,coo.  R. 


Michigan  Telephone  Matters.. 

Abe  VanAlstine  and  E.  B.  Rutledge  of  Grant 
are  forwarding  a  scheme  to  build  a  new  telephone 
line  from  Big  Rapids  to  Pogy,  a  distance  of  about 
15  miles.  A  sufficient  number  of  subscribers  has 
been  secured  and  a  mass  meeting  held  to  perfect 
a  stock  organization.  The  farmers  are  to  build 
the  line,  and  the  Bell  company  will  furnish  the 
service. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  stockholders  of  the 
Gladwin  County  Telephone  Company  it  was  de- 
cided to  elect  two  directors  for  each  line  repre- 
sented. The  directors  elected  Fred  Powell  presi- 
dent, H.  L.  Do'w  secretary,  and  H.  R.  Clarke 
treasurer. 

The  Montmorency  County  Farmers'  Telephone 
Company  has  been  organized  with  H.  Lundeen, 
president.  The  .  company  was  organized  with  45 
members. 

Representative  farmers  have  organized  the  Evart 
Center  Line  Telephone  Company.  Peter  White  was 
elected  president.  Stock  to  the  amount  of  35  shares 
was  authorized  to  be  issued  at  $10  a  share.  The 
line  will  run  southwest  from  Evart,  and  finally 
be    extended    to    Big    Rapids    and    Chippewa    Lake. 

B. 


March   24,   1906 

Chicago  Telephone-rate  Inquiry. 

The  investigations  of  the  Chicago  council  com- 
mittee which  has  in  charge  the  matter  of  recom- 
mending a  revised  rate  for  telephone  service  have 
for  several  days  consisted  largely  in  hearing  the 
arguments  of  subscribers  on  the  merits  of  the 
Chicago  Telephone  Company's  service.  Some  are 
satisfied  with  the  service  and  the  cost,  but  the 
majority  has  fault  of  one  kind  or  another  to  find. 
One  man  spoke  of  a  downtown  slot  telephone 
which,  he  alleged,  "took  in'"  $1,000  a  year  in  nickels. 
Opinions  from  New  York  city  as  to  the  service 
there  on  the  measured-service  basis,  have  been  so- 
licited by  the  committee,  and  on  this  point  there 
are  also   differences   of  opinion. 

As  a  result  of  the  recent  Illinois  Supreme  Court 
decision  requiring  the  Chicago  Telephone  Company 
to  pay  the  city  compensation  on  the  business  done 
in  territory  brought  within  the  city  limits  since 
it  received  its  franchise,  the  compay  has  submitted 
the  following  figures  of  its  business,  which  have 
been  verified  by  the  city   auditor : 

Earnings  of  the  company  from  July  I,  1889,  to  March  1, 

1906 S40.346.S6s. 32 

Amounts  uncollected 359,434.68 

Earnings  on  which  compensation  must  be  paid 39.987,430.94 

Compensation  paid  to  the  city 942,505.96 

Compensation  due  for  annexed  territories 3r2.813.68 

Part  of  compensation  claimed  as  due  already  paid. ..       200,000.00 
Amount  still  due  the  city 112,813.68 

No  recommendations  have  yet  been  made  by  the 
committee.  It  is  probable  that  the  rates  will  be 
considerably  revised  if  the  company  is  given  a  new 
franchise.  The  committee  has  received  numerous 
communications  from  Independent  telephone  com- 
panies offering  to  install  a  competing  system.  The 
latest  offer  reported  is  said  to  come  from  Senator 
H.  A.  Evans  of  Aurora,  111.,  for  a  21-year  fran- 
chise. Mr.  Evans  is  known  to  be  associated  with 
the  Interstate  company,  which  operates  a  fine  In- 
dependent system  in  North  Central  Illinois,  with 
outside    connections. 


Illinois  District   Telephone  Meeting. 

Representatives  of  16  Independent  telephone  ex- 
changes in  the  Seventh  District  of  the  Illinois  In- 
dependent Telephone  Association  met  in  Galesburg 
on  March  15th  to  complete  organization.  W.  I. 
McQuiston  of  Monmouth,  vice-president  of  the 
state  association  for  the  Seventh  District,  was 
chosen  president.  C.  M.  Erwin  of  Macomb  was 
elected  vice-president  and  R.  G.  Roadstrum  of 
Galesburg  secretary  and  treasurer.  Among  the 
cities  represented  were  Burlington,  Galesburg,  Can- 
ton,  Macomb,   Kewanee   and   Monmouth. 

Arrangements  were  made  for  united  effort  to 
contest  with  the  Central  Union  Telephone  Company 
for  long-distance  and  toll  business.  To  this  end 
it  was  decided  to  urge  a  better  toll  service,  at  less 
cost,  establish  a  clearing  house  somewhere  in  the 
state  where  business  settlements  can  be  effected, 
make  the  toll  apparatus  standard  and  uniform,  and 
to  push  the  extension  of  toll  lines  from  this  district 
and  co-operate  with  the  district  systems  of  Illinois, 
Iowa  and  Indiana. 


West  Virginia    Independent  Telephone 
Association. 

The  first  annual  convention  of  the  West  Vir- 
ginia Independent  Telephone  Association,  held  re- 
cently at  Parkersburg,  was  well  attended.  Large 
and  small  companies  of  the  state  are  taking  an 
active  interest  in  the  association.  Good  papers 
were  read  and  discussed.  Several  committees  were 
appointe'd  to  look  after  such  matters  as  standardi- 
zation of  equipment,  uniformity  of  operation,   etc. 

The  officers  elected  are  as  follows:  President, 
W.  C.  Handlan  of  Wheeling;  vice-presidents,  first 
district,  J.  H.  Wise  of  Cameron ;  second  district, 
W.  M.  Clayton  of  Parsons:  third  district,  J.  W. 
Downs  of  Buckhannon  :  fourth  district,  Hugh  Amos 
of  Burnsville;  fifth  district.  Lon  H.  Hutchinson  of 
Huntington;  secretary,  A.  C.  Davis  of  Parkers- 
burg; treasurer.  Lloyd  Beeghley,  Weston.  Lon  H. 
Hutchinson,  W.  C.  Handlan  and  A.  C.  Davis  were 
chosen  as  the  delegates  to  the  national  convention 
in  June. 


NEW  COMPANIES. 


The  Vandalia  Telephone  Company  of  Vandalia, 
111.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $6,000 
'  to    furnish    telephone    service. 

The  Skelton  Rural  Telephone  Company  of  Enid, 
Okla.,  has  been  incorporated  by  H.  A.  Thompson, 
J.  J.  Field  and  J.  H.  Gibson  of  North  Enid  and 
H.  R  Whitney  of  Enid. 

The  Fifer  Telephone  Company  of  Bloomington, 
111.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $1,800. 
The  incorporators  are  C.  F.  Hoobler,  Alex  Hebling 
and    others. 

The  Prairie  Telephone  Company  lias  been  in- 
corporated at  Jersey  City,  N.  J.,  with  a  capital  of 
$200,000.  The  incorporators  are  J.  A.  Platner  and 
C.  M.   Chase  of  Kansas   City,  Mo.,  and  others. 

Articles  of  association  have  been  filed  at  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich.,  by  the  Port  Sheldon  and  Lako  Shore 
Telephone  Company,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $2,000. 
Harry   D.    Jewell    and    others    are    incorporators. 


National-Interstate  Telephone  Con- 
vention to  Be  in  Chicago. 

The  next  convention  of  the  National-Interstate 
Telephone  Association  will  be  held  at  the  Audi- 
torium Hotel  in  Chicago  on  June  26th,  27th  and 
28th.  This  will  be  the  second  annual  convention 
of  the  Independent '  telephone  forces  since  the  re- 
organization and  unification  a  year  ago.  Previ- 
ously it  had  been  announced  that  the  convention 
this  year  would  be  held  in  St.  Louis.  The  change 
to  Chicago  has  been  authorized  by  the  executive 
committee  at  the  request  of  many  prominent  tele- 
phone men,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Kinloch 
Telephone  Company  of  St.  Louis  will  be  cutting 
over  to  its  new  switchboard  at  the  time  of  the 
convention,  and  requests  that  the  association  meet 
in  St.  Louis  next  year,  when  the  Kinloch  company 
will  be  in  a  position  to  properly  entertain  the 
delegates   and   guests. 

From  the  general  headquarters  of  the  associa- 
tion, 708  Electric  Building,  Cleveland,  good  prog- 
ress is  reported  in  the  Independent  movement. 
Three  important  committees,  viz.,  "Standard  Forms 
of  Accounting,"  "Standardization  of  Equipment" 
and  "Standard  Operating  Rules  and  Regulations." 
have  taken  up  their  work.  All  practical  Independ- 
ent telephone  men  are  requested  to  give  these  com- 
mittees the  benefit  of  their  ideas  and  experience. 
Communications  should  be  addressed  to  the  chair- 
men of  the  respective  committees  in  care  of  the 
Cleveland  office. 

The  association  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  value  of  Independent  telephone  securities  is 
being  recognized  and  large  financial  institutions 
of  the  country  are  investing  heavily  in  these  se- 
curities. A  larger  amount  of  new  money,  it  is 
said,  will  be  put  into  the  building  of  new  lines 
extending  and  improving  existing  properties  this 
year  than  ever  before.  The  association  is  now 
working  on  14  state  maps  of  Independent  telephone 
lines,   the   map   of    Ohio   being  nearly    completed. 


Campaign  for   Cheap  Telephones  in 
England. 

John  Henniker  Heaton,  M.  P..  the  famous 
champion  of  cheap  postage  in  England,  expects  to 
conduct  a  campaign  in  the  House  of  Commons  in 
London  to  secure  for  England  a  low  residence 
telephone  rate.  Mr.  Heaton  thinks  that  a  shilling 
a  week,  equal  to  about  24  cents  American  money, 
or,  more  exactly,  $12.24  a  year,  is  all  that  British 
householders  ought  to  be  asked  to  pay.  He  has 
been  in  communication  with  the  postmaster-gen- 
eral of  Australia,  who  thinks  that  the  shilling  rate 
for  telephones  is  not  unreasonable.  The  matter 
is  to  be  called  at  once  to  the  attention  of  the  Brit- 
ish postmaster-general.  The  latter  is  at  present 
in  partial  control  of  the  telephone  service,  but  the 
department  will  obtain  full  control  of  all  tele- 
phones in  1911.  But  before  that  time  Mr.  Heaton 
expects  to  have  low  rates  prevail  throughout  the 
United  Kingdom. 


March  24,  1906 


WES1  ERN     ELEl  1  RIi 


GENERAL  TELEPHONE  NEWS. 

'I  In-  Martin  Telephone  Companj  ol   Llano,    I'exas, 

1 .   putting    in   an   1    1  hangc   al    Bl; ,    I'exas,   and 

will  build  a   line   to   Kcndalia. 

I  he    Farmers'    Indepcndcnl     I  elepl I  pan 

uf  Thurston,  Neb.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a 
capital  uf  $7,000.  I  lerman  I  li  ineman  1 .  inti  n  ted 
in  the  company. 

Telephone  companies  in  Kansas  continue  to  in 
crease,      Among    those    recently    organized    in    the 

state    are    the    Spring    Brook     ["elepl Company 

,,f    Hoxie,   the    Burlington    Telephone    Compan     ol 

Sabetha,  the   Farmers'  Telepl ■  ipanj   ol    Hat 

grove    and    the    Osage    Vallej     Mutual     ["elepl 

Company  of   Fulton. 

Among  On'  recently   incorporated  telephone  com 

panics  are  tin-  following:     Sheep  Cai Telephone 

Company,    Hot    Springs,    S.     I)  ;     Mallard     Mutual 

Telephone     Company,      Mallard,      Iowa;      Fre i 

County  Independent  Telephone  Company,  St.  An 
thony,  Idaho;  Pioneer  Telephone  Company,  Hitch 
cock,  S.  I).;  Hindsville  Telephone  Company,  Hinds- 
villi-,   Ark. 

The  General  Telephone  Company,  incorporated 
some  time  ago  with  a  capital  stock  of  $10,000,000, 
is  arranging  to  take  over  the  Louisville  Independent 
long-distance  lines  as  well  as  those  of  other  towns 
in  thai  portion  of  Kentucky  and  Southern  Indiana. 
This  company  proposes  to  gather  the  Independent 
companies  into  a  group  so  that  their  management 
will  l»-  more  economical  and  convenient,  Ed  L. 
Barber   is   the   president   of   the   company. 

The  Interior  Department,  through  the  United 
Stales  Reclamation  Service  at  Salt  Lake  City,  is  in- 
viting sealed  proposals  until  May  2(1  for  installing 
in  connection  with  the  Strawberry  Valley  reclama- 
tion project  a  telephone  system  having  four  telephone 
stations  and  about  .15  miles  of  pole  line.  Particu- 
lars can  he  obtained  by  applying  to  the  chief  engi- 
neer of  the  Reclamation  Service.  Washington,  D.  C, 
or  to  George  L.  Swendsen,  engineer,  Salt  Lake 
City. 

The  stock  of  the  New  England  Shaver  Tele- 
phone Company  has  recently  been  acquired  by  per- 
sons who  propose  to  change  the  name  to  the  Home 
Telephone  Company  and  increase  the  capital  from 
$275,000  to  $2,500,000.  The  New  England  Shaver 
Company  was  incorporated  by  Providence  (R.  I.I 
capitalists  in  1891,  and  it  proposed  to  build  up  an 
opposition  to  the  Providence  Telephone  Company, 
but  patent  litigation  ensued,  and  the  charter  has 
lain  dormant  until  now.  The  new  owners  expect 
to  establish  a  strong  competitor  to  the  Providence 
company. 

News  from  Louisville,  Ky.,  is  to  the  effect  that 
the  New  Central  Home  Telephone  Company  is 
arranging  to  purchase  the  Independent  telephone 
plants  in  Kentucky  and  Southern  Indiana.  The 
long-distance  lines  will  be  operated  in  connection 
with  the  Home  Telephone  Company  of  Louisville. 
The  number  of  companies  to  be  taken  in  will  be 
about  15,  and  among  others  are  those  at  Owens- 
boro,  Paducah  and  Maysville,  Ky.,  and  Bedford 
and  Bloomington,  Ind.  It  is  the  intention  to  take 
in  others  later  on  and  make  the  new  company  the 
dominant   interest   in   that   section. 

The  House  committee  on  railroads  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi Legislature  has  decided  to  insert  in  the 
Code  chapter  on  "Supervision  of  Common  Carriers" 
the  provisions  of  the  Sturdivant  bill,  providing  a 
penalty  for  the  failure  of  telephone  companies  to 
promptly  transmit  messages  intrusted  to  their  care 
and  to  make  prompt  connections  over  long-distance 
lines  when  requested  by  patrons.  The  effect  of 
the  section  is  to  place  telephone  companies  on 
practically  the  same  footing  as  telegraph  companies 
for  failure  to  transmit  messages  promptly,  the 
offended  person  being  allowed  a  statutory  damage 
of   $25    in    each   instance   of   neglect. 


Special  Roads  for  Automobiles. 

The  building  of  a  special  automobile  road  be- 
tween New  York  city  and  Philadelphia,  and  an 
elevated  path  for  automobiles  in  New  York  city, 
the  two  to  be  made  self-supporting  by  tolls,  was 
advocated  by  John  Brisbane  Walker,  in  an  inter- 
esting address  delivered  before  the  members  of  the 
Automobile    Club   of   America   on    February   20th. 

Mr.  Walker  said  that  drastic  legislation  was  going 
to  make  it  necessary  to  have  special  roads  for 
motor  vehicles,  and  he  gave  figures  to  show  how 
these  roads  could  be  built  and  maintained.  He 
said  that  a  road  could  be  built  between  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  for  $540,000,  and  the  annual 
charges  would  not  be  more  than  $67,400,  which 
would  be  met  by  a  toll  of  50  cents  each  on  400 
passengers  a  da}'.  When  io.oco  more  automobiles 
appear  in  the  streets  of  New  York — and  their  ar- 
rival is  only  the  matter  of  a  short  time — an  ele- 
vated highway  will  be  a  necessity,  Mr.  Walker 
said,  in  order  to  relieve  congested  traffic  conditions. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

Great  Britain. 

1 Ian 

hi-    powct  lull     both  i"i   I.-  1, 'I. ,u  and  the  pro 
an         ...... 

["hen       1-     abottl        dozi  I. Ion    .'.ml 

half    thai    numb 

important      I I     ci  ond    reading    in    thi  ii    par 

1     mil      career  h         1       b 

ing    the    in  1    "' '  a  n| .-.hi'  i.    a    -"i"    in   the 

f  I' 1     '  11. "ii       ii   ,  11     -  .in      .■      ■     '.  ted       I  hat 

many  "f  tin    full     arc   in  dangi  1   ">  i"  ins 

■  ii    iln       tage    il lability,   if   tin- 

more  radical  membi  1  I  cal   Parliament 

can    have    their    way.      But    il  nl    that 

the    gOVCn n     11    'It    1      111    .1    •hi.  iiinia    m    lb,-    mill 

ter,   for  the  second   reading   h 

poned    foi    a    week,    which    1-   a   sign   of   h- 

to   1,-t    the   9ubjccl    I"      'ill.  'I   1.     .1    direel 

the   I  louse  without  a  full  consideration  "i  all  the 

il  I es    on    their    merits. 

I  here   an-    linn     ,  our  1  I,   oni    of    which    CO 
followed.     First,  as  just  mentioned,  a  debate  might 
be  allowed  en  second  reading,  which  mighl  i 

'If' I    preventing    main    of    lb.-    propo  al 

'"M  idi  H  'l    n.'in  theit    ''in ii"'   and  rut 

1'i-ets,  a  proccikin  which  the  t'abini-l  itself  is  un- 
doubtedly loth  i"  take.  Second,  the  appointment 
..I  .1  royal  commit  ion  has  been  suggested*  bul  itch 
tribunals  are  now  becoming  historical  as  instru- 
ments of  delay,  and  there  seems  a  good  deal  ol 
opposition  to  this.  Third,  the  appointment  of  a 
joint  committee  of  both  the  House  of  Common 
and  the  House  of  Lords  would  have  the  effect  of 
hut  one  year's  delay,  as  against  a  possible  two  or 
three  years,  111  the  case  of  a  royal  commission. 
Which  of  these  courses  is  likely  to  be  followed  it 
is  hard  to  say.  The  most  commonsense  method 
would  be  for  an  arrangement  to  allow  the  second 
reading  to  be  unopposed  and  to  leave  the  matter 
to  be  settled  by  a  private-bill  committee,  first  in 
the  1  louse  of  Commons  and  later  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether,  with  the  strong 
contingent  of  lalior  members,  plus  an  equal  num- 
ber of  London  County  Council  members,  this  could 
be  amicably  arranged.  The  pressure  upon  the  two 
sections  of  Parliament,  from  their  constituencies, 
to  oppose  with  all  their  might,  will  probably  prove 
too  strong. 

Mention  of  royal  commissions  recalls  the  state- 
ment in  the  House  of  Commons  a  few  days  ago, 
that  it  is  not  the  intention  of  the  government,  this 
session,  to  put  into  force  any  of  the  recommenda- 
tions of  the  Royal  Commission  on  London  Traffic. 
This  has  come  as  a  great  surprise  to  many,  for  the 
late  government  had  announced  that  a  traffic  board 
would  in  all  probability  be  formed,  and  it  was  the 
general  expectation  that  in  a  non-political  matter 
of  this  description,  a  continuity  of  policy  would 
have  been  adopted.  One  fairly  comprehensive 
scheme  of  tube  railways  we  know  was  not  pro- 
moted this  session  in  view  of  the  constitution  of 
the  traffic  board  and  its  possibly  getting  to  work 
next  year,  and  if  the  present  intentions  of  the 
government  are  adhered  to,  these  promoters,  who, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  at  great  expense  have  de- 
posited this  scheme  every  session  for  three  years, 
will  have  got  a  poor  reward. 

A  bill  has  been  introduced  into  Parliament  to 
extend  for  a  further  six  years  the  government  con- 
trol over  the  space-telegraph  industry.  It  is  un- 
opposed  and   will   pass   into   law   this    session. 

A  royal  commission  has  been  appointed  bv  the 
government  to  inquire  into  the  system  of  working 
the  canals  in  this  country.  This  is  a  matter  which 
has  been  attracting  considerable  attention  of  late, 
for  the  fact  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  canal 
mileage  is  in  the  hands  of  the  railway  companies 
has  rather  led  to  their  deterioration  as  a  means 
of  transport.  Some  interesting  evidence  is  being 
looked   for  on   the  question  of  electric  haulage. 

As  an  echo  of  the  recent  fiscal  controversy  in 
this  country,  mention  may  be  made  of  a  report 
that  Messrs.  Callender,  the  large  cable  makers, 
intend  to  set  up  works  in  Germany  in  order  to 
overcome  the  heavy  import  duties  on  such  goods 
entering  that  country.  It  is  stated,  however,  that 
such  an  action  would  leave  their  British  works  as 
at    present. 

Negotiations  have  been  going  on  between  the 
postmaster-general  and  the  five  municipalities  own- 
ing telephone  exchanges,  with  regard  to  the  gov- 
ernment purchase  of  these  systems,  but  so  far  a 
satisfactory  arrangement  has  not  been  arrived  at. 
and  the  local  authorities  in  question  are  conferring 
on    the    matter. 

The  speeds  permitted  upon  the  London  County 
Council  tramway  system,  on  certain  sections,  has 
been  increased  to  16  miles  an  hour,  with  the  per- 
mission of  the  Board  of  Trade.  Two  tenders, 
amounting  to  nearly  $2,000,000.  have  been  let  for 
the  conversion  of  two  of  the  main  horse  routes 
on    the    northern    tramway   system.  G. 


to  maintaining 

rapid    c  Ktenti t    il 

I  he   bill,  being 

Compam 
under  thi 

Manitob 

asking    for    legi 
DOratlOl 

ada,   .mil    ih' 

I 
to    lawfully     • 

phone    Company   or   of   .my  firm, 

individual  or  municipality  ojx  ■ 
telephone  .  tern  in  tin-  pi 
cither   under   Manitoba 

1  he 
Irii    I. mlii  1  ompanj   I 

which    will    be    -p'-ni    mlarging    the   plant. 

The   K.rr  Vegetable   I  about  10  install 

in-  light  plant 
i   1.,  ir.ui  mil   power  '■■   Sheffield*   Mills  and 

A    bj  law    ha:    been    pat  ■  d    bj    tl  1     I 

.   Man.,   authorizing   the   Town   Council   10 

1 :.'  •  >>    by    '1'  bentures,    for    the    pur: 

niig    a    municipal    electric-light    plant.     The 

at    once,    and 

to  have  the  plant   in  operation   by   next   fall. 

Tenders   will   shortly  l«-  called   for.  and  the  electric 

plant  purchased  tin-  spring.    K.   A.  Garland  is  the 

clerk,    and    Or.   J.    M.    Eaton,    mayor. 

On   June    1st    all    the    Ogilvie    mill-    in    Winnipeg, 
the  biggest   In  Canada,  will  be  operated   bj 
power.     R.    S.    Kelch,    consulting    engineer    of    Mon- 
treal,   will    purchase    the    necessary    plant    for    the 
mills    and    warehouses. 

A  bill  giving  the  council  of  Portage  la  Prairie. 
Man.,  power  to  borrow  $50,000  to  construct  an 
electric-light   system  has  passed  tin-  Manitol 

islalttre.  anil  the  council  will  at  once  proceed  to 
install  a  plant.  E.  Brown  is  mayor  and  I-'.  A 
Whillaker   town    clerk. 

The  Toronto  anil  Hamilton  Railway  hat 
notice  that  an  application  will  lie  marie  ti 
liament  for  an  act  changing  the  name  of  the  com- 
pany to  the  Toronto,  Niagara  and  Western  Rail- 
way Company,  and  authorizing  the  company  t" 
extend  its  railway  from  some  point  on  the  main 
line  to  the  international  boundary,  at  or  near  the 
city  of  Windsor.  The  company  will  ask  permis- 
sion to  increase  its  capital  stock  and  to  enter  into 
arrangements  with  electric  power  companies  for 
the  transmission  of  electric  power  over  its  right- 
of-way  for  the  purpose  of  changing  from  steam 
to    electric    traction. 

The  Toronto  and  Niagara  Power  Company  in- 
tends to  run  its  power  line  through  the  city  of 
Brantford.  and  has  taken  up  its  options  on  the 
right-of-way  which  its  engineers  surveyed  last  fall. 
Arrangements  are  being  made  to  build  a  radial 
road   over   the   same   course   this    spring. 

D.  O.  Cameron,  solicitor  of  Toronto,  is  making 
application  to  the  Ontario  Legislature  for  an  act 
to  incorporate  the  East  Toronto  and  Danforth  Elec- 
tric   Railway    Company. 

The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company  has  ob- 
tained control  of  the  majority  of  the  shares  of  tin- 
proposed  Fraser  electric  railway-,  which  is  to  run 
from  Chilliwack  to  New  Westminster,  and  will 
build  this  summer.  The  company  states  that  it 
intends  to  extend  the  electric  line  down  the  Fraser 
River,  past  New  Westminster,  to  the  delta,  and 
in  this  way  take  in  the  whole  of  the  Fraser  River 
Valley.       "  H. 


New  England. 


J.  S.  Hill,  an  electrical  engineer  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior,  has  invented  an  electrical  "un- 
veiling" device  which  he  suggests  for  use  at  the 
dedication  of  the  Benjamin  Franklin  monument 
being  erected  in  Paris. 


Dominion  of  Canada. 

Winnipeg,  Man.,  March  17. — A  bill  has  been  in- 
troduced into  the  Manitoba  Legislature  to  em- 
power the  government  to  take  over  all  the  tele- 
phone lines  in  Manitoba  and  run  them  as  a  mu- 
nicipal concern.  The  bill  would  give  the  govern- 
ment  power  to   expropriate   the    lines,    with    a   view- 


Boston.  March  17. — The  Consolidated  Railway 
Company  is  making  a  new  survey  for  the  electric- 
railway  between  Rockville  and  Stafford.  Conn.,  a 
part  of  the  proposed  road  between  Hartford.  Conn., 
and  Worcester,  Mass.  This  road  was  contemplated 
by  the  Stafford  Springs  Street  Railway  Company, 
control  of  which  was  recently  acquired  by  the  Con- 
solidated   company. 

The  trustees  of  the  Worcester  Railways  and  In- 
vestment Company,  which  controls  the  stock  of 
the  Worcester  Consolidated  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany, have  announced  that  a  New  York  broker 
lias  offered  $105  per  share  for  the  Railways  and 
Investment  Company's  stock.  It  is  believed  that 
the  broker  is  acting  for  the  New  York,  New- 
Haven  and  Hartford  Railroad  Company.  If  the 
railroad  company  obtains  control  of  this  company. 
it  would  own  electric  railways,  present  and  pros- 
pective, connecting  Worcester  with  Springfield. 
Mass..  and  Hartford.  Conn.  The  railroad  company 
seems  to  be  forming  an  electric-railway  system  as 
extensive  as  its  steam-railroad  system,  by  which 
it  will  l>ecome  a  serious  competitor  to  the  Boston 
and  Albany  Railroad.  The  Railways  and  Invest- 
ment Company's  stock  was  selling  at  SSo  per  share 
six   months  ago. 

The  Atlantic  Shoreline  Company  has  bought  con- 
trol of  the  Portsmouth,  Dover  and  York  electric 
railway,  the  stockholders  of  both  companies  having 
voted    in    favor    thereof.     The    Atlantic     Shoreline 


246 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  24,  1906 


company  will  increase  its  capital  from  $1,000,000 
to    $3,000,000. 

Charles  F.  Fielding,  aged  18  years,  of  Newport, 
R.  I.,  has  received  an  appointment  as  operator  in 
the  United  States  naval  service.  The  government's 
attention  was  called  to  him  through  his  fitting  up 
a  wireless  apparatus  with  which  he  interfered  with 
the  working  of  the  government's  wireless  instru- 
ment at  the  Newport  torpedo  station.  He  enters 
the  United  States  service  as  a  third-class  elec- 
trician. 

The  Fratt  &  Whitney  Company,  manufacturer 
of  machinery  and  small  tools,  is  to  build  a  ma- 
chine shop  256  feet  long,  180  feet  wide  and  80 
feet  high,  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  to  be  lighted  and 
operated   by   electricity. 

The  Wason  Car  Manufacturing  Company  of 
Springfield,  Mass.,  has  received  an  order  for  five 
electric  passenger  cars  and  six  electric  mail  and 
baggage  cars,  costing  $75,000,  from  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  Company.  The  cars  will  be  used 
on  the  line  between  Camden  and  Atlantic  City, 
N.  J.  This  is  the  second  order  the  Wason  com- 
pany has  received  from  the  Pennsylvania  company 
within   the   last   few   months. 

The  Boston  Automobile  Dealers'  Association  is 
holding  its  annual  exhibition  of  automobiles  and 
power  boats  in  Mechanics'  Building,  this  week,  with 
an  overflow  exhibit  in  Symphony  Hall.  Every  well- 
known  make  of  machine  is  on  exhibition.  The  fol- 
lowing electrical  firms  have  exhibits :  American 
Electric  Novelty  Manufacturing  Company,  Hutch- 
inson Electric  Horn  Company,  Electric  Storage 
Batten'  Company,  Connecticut  Telephone  and  Elec- 
tric Company,  Monitor  Electric  Speed  Recorder 
Company,  Babcock  Electric  Carriage  Company, 
Electric  Rubber  Manufacturing  Company,  Dow 
Portable  Electric  Company,  and  Heinze  Electric 
Company.  There  are  also  exhibits  of  Columbus, 
Baker.   Columbia   and   Constanti   electric  cars. 

The  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford  Rail- 
road Company  is  preparing  to  build  a  machine 
and  boiler  shop  at  Readville,  Mass.,  which  will 
be  operated  by  electricity.  The  building  will  be 
900  feet  long,  150  feet  wide  and  40  feet  high  from 
floor  to  truss.  It  will  be  equipped  with  four  elec- 
tric  hoists.  B 


New  York. 


New  York  city,  March  17. — The  differences  of 
opinion  as  to  methods  of  electric  traction  held  by 
the  respective  engineers  of  the  New  York  Central 
and  New  Haven  railroads  were  expressed  at  the 
meeting  of  the  New  York  Railroad  Club  on  Friday 
evening,    as    reported    in    another    column. 

The  Mohawk  Valley  company,  a  Vanderbilt  crea- 
tion, which  controls  sundry  trolley  lines  up  state, 
has  decided  to  equip  a  stretch  of  track  between 
Syracuse  and  Utica,  alongside  the  tracks  of  the 
West  Shore  Railroad,  with  a  third-rail  system  of 
traction.  General  details  have  already  appeared  in 
the  Western  Electrician.  The  line  from  Rotterdam 
Junction  to  Rochester  is  also  to  be  equipped  in 
the  same  manner  as  soon  as  plans  can  be  perfected. 

Bids  for  the  central  power  plant  at  the  Brooklyn 
navy  yard  will  be  opened  on  March  31st.  At  a 
later  date  bids  will  be  asked  for  similar  equipments 
at  the  Charlestown,  New  Orleans  and  Pensacola 
yards. 

The  Elsberg  rapid-transit  bill  has  been  amended 
in  committee  to  the  effect  that  the  city  "may," 
not  "must,"  make  separate  contracts  for  the  con- 
struction and  operation  of  future  subways.  The 
Board  of  Estimate,  however,  has  the  first  and  final 
word  in  this  matter,  and  a.  modified  rapid-transit 
commission  attends  to  the  details. 

For  the  fourth  year  in  succession  arguments  have 
been  heard  at  Albany  for  the  appointment  of  a 
railroad  commission  to  control  the  railways  in 
New  York  city,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  state 
commission  supervises  affairs  outside.  Another 
bill  asks  for  public  hearings  of  traction  projects,  so 
that  citizens'  organizations  may  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  examine  details  and  protest  against  any 
unjust  conditions.  Assemblyman  Harte  is  asking 
for  a  law  compelling  all  street  cars  to  be  equipped 
with  heating  apparatus  to  maintain  a  constant  tem- 
perature of  60  degrees. 

Chief .  Engineer  George  S.  Rice  of  the  Rapid 
Transit  Commission  reports  that  he  recently  em- 
ployed 40  men  to  investigate  traffic  conditions  in 
the  subway,  and  finds  that  the  regular  schedules 
are  not  observed,  and  that  no  attempt  is  made  by 
the  company  to  care  for  the  normal  conditions  of 
of  excess  traffic  at  certain  times,  such  ^  as,  for  in- 
stance,   the    Sunday-morning   church    going. 

A  subway  express  car  was  derailed  on  Thursday 
morning  during  the  rush  hour,  but  the  emergency 
brakes  acted  as  they  were  intended  to  act,  and  no 
very  great  harm  was  done  except  a  delay  of  traffic 
for  nearly  four  hours.  General  Manager  Frank 
Hedley  did  heroic  work  in  straightening  out  the 
tangle. 

The  lights  at  many  of  the  subway  stations  have 
been  out  of  action  since  Friday  morning,  and  mean- 
while a  few  lamps  at  each  ticket  office  are  being 
lit  from  the  third  rail.  The  cause  of  the  failure 
of  the  feeder  supplying  the  usual  lamp  circuits  had 
not  been  found  up  to  late  this  evening.  The  light- 
ing circuits  were  kept  separate  purposely,  and  this 
is  the  second  time  that  a  fault  difficult  to  locate 
has    developed. 

Dr.  George  A.  Soper  made  an  authoritative  state- 


ment on  Thursday  before  the  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine as  to  the  subway  air.  He  said :  "I  think  the 
subway,  as  a  whole,  is  sufficiently  ventilated,  and 
is  free  from  conditions  injurious  to  health,  except 
as  to  the  presence  of  metallic  dust,  lack  of  san- 
itary care  and  conditions  inseparable  from  over- 
crowding. The  lack  of  sanitary  care  can  and  prob- 
ably will  be  corrected.  I  do  not  know  whether  it 
will  be  necessary  to  do  anything  about  the  dust. 
If  future  investigations  show  that  the  dust  is  really 
dangerous,  American  ingenuity  can  certainly  find 
a    way   to   prevent    it." 

Brooklyn  subway  men  held  a  celebration  last 
Sunday  on  the  completion  of  another  definite  sec- 
tion of  the  tube  construction,  extending  from  the 
Borough  Hall,  Brooklyn,  to  the  Battery.  It  is 
expected  to  be  able  to  pass  from  Brooklyn  to  New 
York  by  next  December. 

Fire  at  the  Fiftieth  Street  car  barns  of  the  Met- 
ropolitan company  did  $75,000  worth  of  damage 
last  Sunday.  The  Forty-second  Street  barns  were 
destro}'ed  a  week  previously. 

The  mayor  of  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  has  filed  a  com- 
plaint with  the  state  lighting  commission,  alleging 
poor  quality  of  electric  illumination  provided  by 
the    Syracuse    Lighting    Company. 

The  Atlantic  City  (N.  J.)  Light  and  Equipment 
Company  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  of 
$50,000.  Another  New  Jersey  incorporation  is  that 
of  the  American  Water  Power  Company,  Jersey 
City,  with  a  capital  of  $100,000.  With  a  similar 
capital,  the  Electric  Metal  Recovery  Company  has 
also    been    organized. 

Fifty  tape  machines,  directly  connected  with  the 
Boston  Stock  Exchange,  are  being  put  in  sundry 
offices  in  this  city.  D.  W.  W. 


Southeastern  States. 

Charlotte,  N.  C,  March  17. — The  sum  of  $50,000 
has  been  voted  for  an  extension  of  the  Birming- 
ham Railway,  Light  and  Power  Company  through 
the  suburb,  Avondale,  the  council  of  the  last- 
named  village  having  given  the  desired  franchise. 
The  company  has  just  installed  a  3,coo-kilowatt 
steam  turbine.  A  duplicate  of  this  turbine  has 
been  ordered  and  will  be  installed  during  the  next 
two   or  three  months. 

The  Electric  Supply  Company  has  been  incor- 
porated at  Charleston,  S.  G,  with  $10,000  capital. 

The  Opelika  Railway,  Light  and  Power  Company 
of  Opelika,  Ala.,  has,  after  a  lapse  of  some  time, 
again  started  work  on  an  electric  line  from  Ope- 
lika to  Auburn,  Ala^  The  franchise  includes,  be- 
sides the  street  railway,  a  light  and  power  plant. 

The  sum  of  $700,000  has  been  added  to  the 
capital  of  the  Ware  Shoals  (S.  C.)  Power  Com- 
pany, making  the  capital  $1,000,000.  N.  B.  Dial, 
Benjamin   Riegel  and  others  are  interested. 

The  annual  report  of  the  North  Carolina  cor- 
poration commission,  just  out,  says:  "The  constant 
tendency  of  the  larger  companies  to  absorb  the 
smaller  ones  in  the  state  makes  it  important  that 
the  power  to  regulate  rates  and  supervise  service 
shall  be  made  full  and  clear.  The  present  statute 
on   this   subject  is   somewhat   meager.  L. 


Ohio. 

Cleveland,  March  17. — Articles  of  incorporation 
have  been  issued  to  the  Sandusky,  Fremont  and 
Southern  Railway  Company  of  Sandusky,  with  a 
capital  stock  of  $10,000.  T.  H.  Hogsett,  M.  G. 
McAllenan,  H.  H.  Johnson  and  others  are  the  in- 
corporators. 

The  Interurbar.  Railway  Company  of  Cincinnati 
has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$5,000  to  operate  a  line  from  Lebanon  to  Morrow. 

Reports  from  Elyria  are  to  the  effect  that  the 
Lake  Shore  Electric  is  endeavoring  to  secure  an 
entrance  into  the  center  of  the  town.  It  is  said 
that  in  order  to  do  this  the  company  must  build 
a  belt  line  around  the  city. 

Notice  has  been  given  of  a  change  of  name  of 
the  O'Kane-Hall  Company  of  Columbus  to  the 
Roass-Hall   Electric  Company. 

A  new  i.coo-kilowatt  generator  has  been  put  in 
use  in  the  viaduct  power  house  of  the  Cleveland 
Electric  Railway  Company,  and  the  West  Side 
lines   will   now   have  plenty  of  power. 

The  Sandy  Valley  Traction  Company  of  Minerva 
has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stcck  of 
$10,000  by  Willard  Penncck,  E.  S.  DeFord  and 
others. 

People  of  Columbus  feel  certain  that  they  will 
secure  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  American 
Street  and  Interurban  Railway  Association  from 
what  was  said  by  the  committee  which  met  there 
last  week.  Columbus  is  well  provided  with  hotels. 
It  is  also  a  central  point  with  splendid  railroad 
facilities,  and  would  be  a  good  place  for  such  a 
meeting. 

Reports  from  Toledo  are  to  the  effect  that  the 
Everett-Moore  syndicate  is  negotiating  to  the  end 
that  they  may  own  not  only  the  local  railway 
systems  in  Toledo  and  Detroit  but  connecting  lines 
between  these  two  cities  and  Toledo  and  Cleve- 
land. Only  the  connection  between  Toledo  and 
Detroit  is  needed  to  make  their  plans  complete,  so 
far  as  connections  are  concerned.  This  wrould  give 
them  the  union  station  at  Toledo  also. 

'  R.  B.  Repass  was  in  Columbus  this  week  for  the 
purpose    of    selecting    a    location    for    a    station    for 


the  DeForest  system  of  space  telegraphy.  He  said 
that  the  station  would  be  in  working  order  within 
90  days  and  that  it  would  be  used  as  a  distrib- 
uting point  for  the  smaller  towns  in  the  central 
part  of  the  state.  This  will  be  the  first  station 
for  an  inland  city  between  the  lakes  and  Atlanta. 

S.  A.  Webb  and  John  J.  Chester  of  Columbus 
were  in  Galion  a  few  days  ago  to  discuss  plans  for 
building  an  electric  railway  from  that  point  to 
Delaware,  paralleling  the  Big  Four. 

The  West  Unity  Power  and  Light  Company  of 
West  Unity  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital 
stock  of  $15,000  by  J.  H.   Miller  and  others. 

Right-of-way  has  been  secured  for  an  exten- 
sion of  the  Fort  Wayne,  Van  Wert  and  Lima  from 
Lima  to  Ada,  a  distance  of  23  miles. 

Officers  of  the  electric  roads  running  out  of 
Cleveland  state  that  they  have  had  no  thought  of 
cutting  their  fares  to  meet  the  two-cent  fare  on  steam 
roads.  They  say  their  fares  have  always  been 
under  two  cents  a  mile  and  they  have  so  far 
seen  no  difference  in  the  amount  of  travel  as  a 
result  of  the   change. 

Columbus  men  have  organized  the  Battle  Creek 
and  Southeastern  Railway  Company  to  build  a  line 
from  Battle  Creek  to  Coldwater,  Mich.,  28  miles. 
Scott  A.  Webb  is  president.  The  capital  stock  is 
$500,000. 

The  Urbana,  Bellefontaine  and  Northern  has 
met  the  cut  of  the  steam  roads  with  which  it  comes 
into    competition. 

Bills  have  been  introduced  in  the  Legislature 
as  follows :  Allowing  electric-railway  companies 
to  sell  current  for  light  and  power  to  persons 
along  their  lines ;  providing  that  companies  may 
issue  bonds  in  excess  of  the  par  value  of  the  capi- 
tal stock,  with  a  tax  of  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent, 
on  such  excess;  providing  that  franchise  ordinances 
shall  be  submitted  to  a  referendum  vote  if  10  per 
cent,  of  the  voting  population  of  a  municipality 
demand    it. 

A  franchise  has  been  granted  to  the  Dayton 
Citizens'  Electric  Company  to  operate  in   Dayton. 

Plans  have  been  completed,  it  is  said,  for  the 
reorganization  of  the  Barney  &  Smith  Car  Com- 
pany. It  is  proposed  to  make  the  capital  stock 
$5,500,000.  Bonds  aggregating  $2,coo,cco  and  bear- 
ing five  per  cent,  interest  will  be  issued  to  provide 
additional  working  capital. 

The  sale  of  the  Springfield  and  Chillicothe  line 
to  a  "company,  of  which  E.  W.  Christy  of  Cleve- 
land is  president,  has  been  confirmed  by  Judge 
Kunkle.  Arrangements  have  been  made  to  take 
care   of  the  claims   against  the  old   company. 

O.'M.  C. 


Indiana. 


Indianapolis.  March  17. — Prominent  citizens  from 
Madison  and  Liberty  visited  President  C.  L.  Henry 
of  the  Indianapolis  and  Cincinnati  Traction  Com- 
pany at  Rushville  and  asked  for  an  extension  of 
the  company's  line  to  their  cities.  Mr.  Henry 
promised   to    investigate   the   scheme. 

The  Indiana  Contracting  Company  of  Indianap- 
olis has  filed  articles  of  incorporation  capitalized 
at  $50,000,  to  finance  and  construct  street  and 
interurban  railways.  William  C.  Shoemaker,  John 
A.  Shoemaker  and  George  P.  Lylon  are  the  incor- 
porators. 

Ora  Blickenstaff  has  taken  service  as  a  conductor 
on  the  Indianapolis  and  Northwestern  Traction  line. 
He  is  desirous  of  obtaining  knowledge  of  the  suc- 
cessful operation  of  a  big  electric-railway  system. 
Mr.  Blickenstaff  is  vice-president  and  superintend- 
ent of  the  Indianapolis  and  Ohio  Valley  Traction 
Company  and  will  soon  assume  control  of  the  new 
company. 

The  mortality  rate  for  Indiana  has  been  mate- 
rially decreased  during  the  last  few  years.  Among 
the  causes  contributing  to  this,  cited  by  a  noted 
physician,  is  the  numerous  interurban  railroads 
which  have  promoted  public  health  resorts,  pleas- 
ure parks  and  outdoor  amusements  for  the  people. 
"To  cars  running  hourly  during  the  hot  sum- 
mer months,  carrying  passengers  from  the  heat  and 
dust  of  the  city  to  the  cool  resorts  and  pure  air 
of  the  country,  may  be  contributed  no  small  share 
of  the  reduction   of  mortality   rate,"   said   he. 

The  Indianapolis  Traction  and  Terminal  Com- 
pany will  declare  its  initial  semi-annual  dividend 
of  one  per  cent,  on  April  1st.  The  company  was 
organized  in  1903,  capitalized  at  $5,000,000.  The 
company's  stock  is  now  quoted  at  92  on  the  local 
exchange. 

The  Delaware  Hotel  Companj'  of  Muncie  has 
decided  to  install  an  up-to-date  electric-light  plant 
in  the  new  hotel  which  the  company   is  building. 

The  City  Council  of  Cannelton  has  directed  the 
electric-light  board  to  rebuild  the  electric-light 
plant  recently  destroyed  by  fire.  The  cost  of  the 
new  building  is  estimated  at  $3,000  and  the  new  ! 
machinery  necessary  will  call  for.  a  sum  much 
larger. 

A  new  stock  company  has  been  organized  at 
Frankfort  to  construct  a  new  waterworks  plant  to 
cost  $150,000.  The  City  Council  has  voted  to  allow 
the  city  to  take  $25,000  of  the  stock  of  the  new 
company,  but  the  right  of  the  city  to  do  so  will  be 
contested  by  the  old  waterworks  company.  The 
old  company's  franchise  expired  last  January  and 
the  council  and  the  company  have  failed  to  agree 
upon  the  terms  of  a  renewal  of  the  franchise.    The 


March  24,  1906 

new  company   is  headed  by  A.   A.   Laid  and  J.   VV 

(     Mil,    1 

I  he    I  li  Ford    Automatic    Switch    (  omp  in 

filed    ai  i"  Ic  i    of    1 poration.      I  1 pii 

IS     $IO,«IO.  I    III'      o|,|.   1    I       r,|       111,        |,   ,M  I  I.. 

I,  h   ;,   large  pi  ml    in   this  city    to  manufai  tun    .1" 

,,,.:;         |W  itl  111     ,     :i     p  itl  tltl  d     deviCl       foi 

1  lei  ti  ic  railroads.  I  he  director .  arc  [0  eph  1 1. 
D,  Ford,  I  C  Hi  yworth,  VV,  II.  Portci  and  V,  il 
ham  s.  Pittman,  S.  S. 


Michigan. 


1  irand   Rapids,   March   17.     Although   a   1 1  pi 
the   financial   condition   ol    thi     I    1  anab  1    municipal 
lighting  planl   for  the  period   from   August    t,   1905, 
in    I  leccmbcr   31,    1005.    submitted    to    the    1  oum  il, 
In.:,      thai    the    net    earnings    were    $8,35276,    tin 

1 I.)..  ii     ihows   that    the   overdraft    again  1    the 

institution  w;is  increased  from  $10,895.95  to  $11,430. 
Mi.  report  on  the  condition  of  the  planl  1  con 
fusing    in    that    while    depreciation    on    the    boilers 

.■mil  gas  section   is   provided   for,   no  deprccial 

figured  for  on  the  electric  plant  or  the  plant  build- 
ing. Il  is  also  interesting  to  note  thai  the  ovei 
drafl  against  the  plant  at  the  present  time, 
hown  by  the  citj  treasurer's  report,  is  but  $118.08 
|i  1  han  the  overdraft  on  August  1,  1905,  and 
action  lias  been  taken  bj  the  council  to  increase  the 
indebtedness.  A  request  from  the  Hoard  of  Publii 
Works  asking  that  it  be  empowered  to  purchase  a 
new  auxiliary  boiler  for  the  plant  at  a  cost  of 
$3,000  was  granted,  and  the  overdraft  i-  acci  rd 
ingly  destined  to  lake  another  leap.  According  to 
the  report  the  actual  earnings  of  the  lighting 
planl  for  Ihc  period  ended  December  31,  1905,  was 
§21,831.75.  The.  total  operating  expense  of  the 
plain    was  $11,903.11. 

Chicago  capitalists  who  have  been  contemplating 
the  construction  of  power  dams  along  the  Flint 
River  are  inclined  to  go  ahead  with  the  preliminary 
work,  John  Ailing  of  Chicago  has  taken  an  option 
on  150  acres  of  land  belonging  to  William  Dor- 
wood  of  Montrose  and  also  on  property  now  owned 
by  John  M.  Soutter.  The  large  acreage  flooded 
on  the  Dorwood  farm  will  not  only  be  devoted  to 
furnishing  power  but  to  establishing  a  place  for 
pleasure  craft  as  well.  Much  interest  is  being  taken 
in  the  new  Genesee  dam  proposition,  and  there 
arc  said  to  be  indications  that  the  deal  will  be  put 
through. 

The  new  3,000-horsepower  steam  turbine  for  the 
public  lighting  plant  at  Detroit  has  been  shipped 
from  Pittsburg.  Today  there  are  nine  reciprocat- 
ing engines  of  varying  power  in  use.  Running  to 
full  capacity,  with  some  overloaded,  they  are  light- 
ing 3,118  arc  lamps  and  supplying  the  city's  incan- 
descent service,  which  is  the  equivalent  of  approxi- 
mately  700   arcs    lamps. 

The  question  of  constructing  a  municipal  elec- 
tric-light plant  and  issuing  bonds  to  the  amount 
of  $150,000  will  be  submitted  to  the  voters  of  Flint 
on   April  2d. 

The  taxpayers  of  the  village  of  Hanover  have 
voted  83  to  9  in  favor  of  bonding  for  a  lighting 
plant  and  S  to  10  in  favor  of  a  waterworks  system. 
The  total  issue  will  be  $S,250  and  the  rate  of  inter- 
est five  per  cent. 

The  Houghton  County  Street  Railway  Company 
is  to  have  another  extension  project  to  consider. 
Calumet  business  men  want  the  company  to  extend 
its  line  from  Wolverine  to  Mohawk.  The  Mohawk 
location  now  has  some  2,000  inhabitants. 

The  Kalamazoo,  Lake  Shore  and  Chicago  Trac- 
tion Company  has  the  new  line  between  Kalamazoo 
and  Paw  Paw  in  operation.  Until  the  road  is 
completed  through  to  South  Haven,  which  will 
be  about  June,  a  dummy  engine  and  two  passenger 
cars  will  be  used  on  this  section  of  the  road. 

L.  W.  B. 


Northwestern  States. 

Minneapolis,  March  17. — The  Ames  (Iowa)  and 
College  Railway  Company  is  preparing  to  equip 
its  line  with  a   system   of  gaso-electric  motor  cars. 

The  Marconi  Wireless  Telegraph  Company  is 
planning  to  establish  a  station  at  Minneapolis  and 
will  eventually  place  several  stations  throughout 
the   Northwest. 

An  agitation  has  been  started  to  have  the  city 
electric-light  system  at  Menasha,  Wis.,  enlarged. 
The  improvements  planned  would  cost  about 
$25,000. 

An  old  project  to  -build  an  electric  railway  be- 
tween Sioux  City  and  Spirit  Lake,  Iowa,  is  being 
revived    by    Sioux    City    promoters. 

A  new  300-kilowatt  dynamo  has  been  installed 
in   the   electric-light  plant  at  Austin,   Minn. 

A.  G.  Lewis,  county  auditor  of  Cass  County, 
N.  D.,  will  receive  hids  until  April  5th  for  electric 
fixtures  to  be  installed  in  the  new  courthouse  at 
Fargo.  R. 


Pacific  Slope. 

San  Francisco,  March  16. — The  San  Francisco 
Gas  and  Electric  Company  has  ordered  three  ad- 
ditional General  Electric  motor-generator  sets  of 
i.oco  kilowatts  each,  which  will  be  installed  in 
Station  C,  where  the  disastrous  fire  of  February 
22d  destroyed  five  engines  and  11  generators. 
Under  the  new  arrangement  no  engine-driven  gen- 
erators   will    be    operated    at    this    station,    although  " 


WESTERN    ELECTRH 

■.ill    be    retained    to    famish 
■  11  A  in  the  f '.ii r .  ro 

ha      am, 

Hi     evi 

Power  1 

plant 
It    is   reported   thai    the   general   • 

bi     ■    '   bli  hi  'i    mi    1: 

&   Co.   ol  1  [hi    and 

Power  Comp 

ami    auxiliary    apparatus   are    to   bi 

>oili 

In  '.',      |.l. ml      v  ill    bl 

steam  pin Lo 

ously    located    for    supp 
Huntii 

No    further    di  tail 

iIh    reported  1 

I  pany  by  tin    Pacific  '  ia    and  Eli   i       Cot 

It  is  know  11  thai   a  I  dca    of  thi 

hands,  Ian   no  ■  :  the  plant 

of   the    Mutual    company.      It    1-    reported    that    the 
Central    Lighl    ami    Power    Company's    2,500 
power  plain   i     i.    be   taken  ovei    al   $6.25   per  share 
of  stock. 

The  Central   Traction   Company   has   authoi 
bond    issue    of    $1,500,000,    the    proceeds    of    which 
will   be   used   ill    the    '-mi   Una  lii.n    nt   .:u    [8  m,' 
trie  line  from  Stockton  to  Lodi,  Cat,  and   fo 
purposes.     The    company    already     has     nine     miles 
of  track  laid  in  Stockton,  Cal..  and  has  plan-  drawn 
for  extensive   work  in  the   San  Joaquin  and   Sacra- 
mento   valleys. 

Fourteen  carloads  of  rails  have  been  received 
for  the  rebuilding  of  the  Stockton  electric-railway 
system,  and  16  new  broad-gauge  cars  are  due  to 
reach  Stockton  before  April  1st.  The  system,  which 
is  now  narrow-gauge,  will  be  broad-gauged  and 
rebuilt  in   a  thoroughly  modern   manner. 

Allan  Pollok,  manager  of  the  San  Francisco  Gas 
and  Electric  Company,  has  resigned  his  position 
and  will  hereafter  devote  his  entire  time  to  the 
development  of  an  extensive  water  rights  and  power 
rights  in  Stanislaus  County,  where  Mr.  Pollok  and 
associates  have  extensive  claims. 

At  a  meeting  held  on  March  15th  the  City  Coun- 
cil of  Portland,  Ore.,  accepted  the  offer  of  the 
United  Railways  Company  of  $150,000  for  a  25- 
year  franchise  for  a  trunk-line  railway  to  connect 
the  railroad  depots  in  the  north  end  of  Portland 
with   those  in   the  south  end. 

The  franchise  held  by  the  Spokane  Light  and 
Power  Company,  carrying  right  and  privilege  to 
build  and  operate  a  light  and  power  plant  in  Spo- 
kane, has  been  sold  to  Jay  P.  Graves,  who  has 
also  secured  waterpower  and  privileges  at  the  falls 
in  the  Spokane  River,  known  as  the  Bowl  and 
Pitcher.  It  is  understood  that  it  is  the  intention 
to  bring  the  power  to  Spokane,  wdiere  a  commercial 
lighting    plant    will    be    installed. 

"Charles  A.  Hardy  and  E.  A.  Hall  have  purchased 
for  the  Willamette  Valley  Traction  Company  of 
Portland,  Ore.,  the  entire  plant  and  holdings  of 
the  Cottage  Grove  Electric  Company  of  Cottage 
Grove,  Ore.,  for  $16,000.  The  purchasing  company 
will  furnish  light  and  power  to  Cottage  Grove,  and 
will    shortly    install    new   and   better   machinery. 

Ira  P.  Englehart  has  filed  on  3,000  cubic  inches 
of  water  per  second  from  the  Naches  River,  near 
North  Yakima,  Wash.,  to  be  used  for  power  and 
manufacturing  purposes.  This  is  believed  to  be 
preliminary  to  a  new  lighting  and  power  plant  for 
North    Yakima. 

It  has  been  announced  that  the  Portland  General 
Electric  Company  will  install  an  additional  hydro- 
electric generating  plant  at  Oregon  City,  Ore.,  at 
a  cost  of  $2,000,000.  The  capacity  of  the  new  plant 
will  be  49,000  horsepower.  The  company  has  pur- 
chased the  Citizens'  Light  and  Traction  Company 
of  Salem  and  the  Union  Light  and  Power  Com- 
pany of  Silverton  from  Barstow  &  Chambers,  and 
will  extend  its  power  lines  south,  so  as  to  furnish 
light  and  power  to  all  towns  between  Portland 
and   Salem.  A. 


the  iu|  ei 
the  long 


PERSONAL 

B.  F.  Coe  has  resigned  as  president  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Telephone  Company  of  LeClaire,  Iowa, 
and  James  J.  Ryan  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

E.  S.  LeClair,  manager  of  the  Northwestern 
Telephone  Exchange  Company  at  Faribault.  Minn., 
has  been  transferred  to  a  position  in  the  Twin 
Cities. 

President  C.  A.  Coffin  of  the  General  Electric 
Company  arrived  at  New  York  last  week,  with 
Mrs.  Coffin,  from  Naples,  on  the  White  Star  steam- 
ship   Celtic. 

J.  T.  Rice,  local  manager  of  the  Southwestern 
Telegraph  and  Telephone  Company  at  Austin,  Tex.. 
has  been  appointed  manager  at  Houston,  succeed- 
ing   Fred    Linington,    who    has    been    promoted    to 


made   a 


Vork    di  i,    r/li,    after     . 

e  Cali- 
fornia   Indcpeni 

alifornia  10  t: 

thing    pertaining 

a    great-grandson    of    the 

ting  up  telephone  iwiti 

Northwi 

Minneapolis.     H 

telephone  busii 

his  home  on  the  banks  of  lyich  Lcvan  in  Scotland, 

where    he    hopes    to    interest    capital    in    extending 

telephone  service  in  some  of  the  uncovered  • 

there. 


ELECTRIC  LIGHTING 
Mayor  Leiby  and  associates  of  Ellendale,  N.  D., 
have  formed  a  company  and  will  install  an  electric- 
light   plant    in    Ellendale. 

Trustees  of  Susanville,  Cal..  have  granted 
Granham  a   franchise   for  50  years  to  put  up  poles 
and   wires    for  electric-light  and   power  purp 
Susanville. 

E.  T.  Herritt  of  Green  River,  Utah,  proposes  to 
install  an  electric-light  plant  there  lor  local  lighting 
purposes.  He  will  develop  the  water  of  the  Green 
River  in  Emery  County,  where  he  believes  13.000 
horsepower  can  be  produced  from  turbines. 

The  City  Council  of  Cloverport,  Ky.,  has  passed 
an  ordinance  granting  an  electric-light  franchise, 
which  has  been  sold  to  H.  Stewart  Miller,  who 
will  erect  a  plant  at  once.  The  city  will  make  a 
contract,  with  the  electric-light  company  to  furnish 
the  city  with   lights. 

A  bond  issue  of  $200,000  has  been  recommended 
by  the  City  Council  of  Pasadena,  Cat.,  the  propo- 
sition to  be  submitted  to  the  voters:  Of  this 
amount  $125,000  is  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  a  municipal  electric  power  house  and  pro- 
viding a  system  of  wiring  for  street  illumination 
and  commercial  service  throughout  the  city.  The 
balance,  $75,000,  is  for  the  purpose  of  improving 
and  enlarging  the  fire  department,  according  to 
plans    formulated    by   the   city   commissioners. 

A  device  for  the  controlling  of  electric  headlights 
on  street  cars  has  been  invented  by  George  B. 
Gardner  and  Fred  M.  Furber  of  Haverhill,  Mass., 
and  the  device  is  already  in  use  on  several  cars 
of  the  New  Hampshire  electric-railway  systems. 
The  new  device  is  an  inexpensive  one  and  can 
be  put  on  any  car  in  20  minutes  without  change 
to  either  the  car  or  the  headlight.  It  is  easily  con- 
trolled by  the  foot  of  the  motorman  and  the  full 
light  can  be  thrown  directly  upon  the  track  while 
going  around  a  curve.  The  device  is  movable  and 
can  be  shifted  from  one  end  of  the  car  to  the 
other. 


ELECTRIC  RAILWAYS 

The  Arlington  Heights  Traction  Company  is 
building  a  new  street-car  line  in  Fort  Worth,  Tex. 

The  State  Electric  Company  of  Clinton.  Iowa, 
has  been  succeeded  by  the  Clinton  Street  Railway- 
Company. 

The  February  gross  earnings  of  the  Manila  elec- 
tric railway  amounted  to  $70X00.  Operating  ex- 
penses were  $34,845,  leaving  net  earnings  of  $35,755- 

The  Memphis  Street  Railway  Company  of  Mem- 
phis, Tenn.,  has  purchased  additional  property  on 
Broadway,  on  which  it  intends  to  erect  a  new 
power  house   in   the   near   future. 

The  Elgin  and  Du  Page  Electric  Railway  Com- 
pany of  Bloomingdale,  111.,  has  been  incorporated  to 
build  an  electric  railway  from  River  Forest  to  Elgin. 
111.  The  new  line  will  connect  with  the  Chicago 
and  Oak  Park  Elevated. 

The  Georgia  Railway  and  Electric  Company  has 
under  consideration  plans  for  its  new  building, 
which  will  be  erected  at  the  corner  of  Piedmont 
Avenue  and  Jenkins  Street,  Atlanta.  It  will  be  not 
onlv  an  office  building,  but  will  be  in  a  sense  a 
club  house  for  the  motormen  and  conductors  and 
other     employes.       Bowling    alleys,     shower    baths, 


lockers  and  reading  rooms  will  be  provided  in 
the  building  for  the  comfort  and  pleasure  of  the 
men.  The  structure  will  be  three  stories  high  and 
will  be  built  of  brick,  costing  $40,000  or  $50,000. 

The  Chicago  and  Milwaukee  Electric  Railroad 
Company  reports  gross  earnings  for  February 
amounting  to  $36,593.  This  compares  with  $23,509 
for  February,  1905.  Operating  expenses  for  Feb- 
ruary. 1906,  and  February,  1905,  were,  respectively, 
$21,050  and  $14,888. 

The  Aurora.  DeKalb  and  Rockford  electric  rail- 
way will  be  in  operation  to  DeKalb.  111.,  by  May 
1st,  if  present  plans  of  the  owners  are  carried 
out.  What  motive  power  will  be  used  is  not  yet 
decided.  A  trip  over  the  road  has  been  made  for 
the  purpose  of  discussing  this  matter  and  the  ques- 
tion of  buying  power. 

Permission  to  haul  freight  through  the  streets 
has  been  asked  of  the  City  Council  of  Elgin,  111, 
by  the  Elgin-Belvidere  electric  railway.  The  com- 
pany is  negotiating  for  the  Coliseum  Building,  to 
be  used  as  a  freight  station.  The  new  road  has 
decided  to  build  its  car  barns  at  Marengo  and  the 
main  offices  will  be  in  Elgin. 

The  San  Diego  Beach  Railway  Company  has 
been  incorporated  at  San  Diego.  Cal.,  with  a  capi- 
tal stock  of  $6,oco,ooo  to  build  an  electric  railway 
south  from  Los  Angeles,  and  as  near  the  beach 
as  possible,  to  connect  with  the  San  Diego,  Pacific 
Beach  and  La  Jolla  line  at  La  Jolla.  The  latter 
line  is  now  being  equipped  for  electric  traction. 

Representatives  of  the  Bowman-Peck-Wells  dairy 
interests  of  Chicago  have  arranged  with  the  Aurora, 
Elgin  and  Chicago  electric  railway  to  ship  40,000 
pounds  of  milk  daily  from  the  Batavia  (111.)  dairies 
during  the  next  six  months.  The  combined  inter- 
ests of  the  farmers  and  milkmen  in  this  matter 
were  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  number  of  the  most 
influential    farmers   in  the  vicinity  of   Batavia. 

The  Rock  Island  (111.)  Southern  Railway  Com- 
pany has  not  been  able  to  reach  an  agreement  with 
the  People's  Traction  Company  of  Galesburg,  111., 
in  the  matter  of  purchasing  electric  power  for  its 
line,  and  has  decided  to  build  a  power  house  of 
its  own  in  Cameron,  111.  It  will  be  a  1,200-horse- 
power  direct-current  station.  The  car  barn  and 
repair  shops  will  also  be  put  up  at  Cameron.  It 
is   now   the   hope   to   operate   the   line  by   May   1st. 

After  a  struggle  of  two  years  or  more,  the  Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  railroad  ordinance 
has  been  passed  by  the  Chicago  City  Council.  This 
ordinance  is  designed  to  give  the  residents  north  of 
the  Wilson  Avenue  terminus  of  the  Northwestern 
Elevated  direct  transportation  downtown  and  around 
the  loop  for  a  five-cent  fare.  It  conveys  power  to 
the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  company  to 
elevate  the  tracks  of  its  Evanston  division  and  to 
operate  a  six-track  railroad  over  them,  connecting 
with  the  Northwestern  at  Wilson  Avenue.  It  gives 
the  St.  Paul  company  18  months  in  which  to  make 
its  connection  with  the  elevated  tracks  by  an  in- 
clined approach  and  allows  it  to  operate  trains  on 
grade  until  December  31.  1913.  By  that  date  ele- 
vation must  have  been  begun  and  it  must  be  fin- 
ished by  December  31,   1916. 

A  company  to  be  known  as  the  St.  Louis  Elec- 
tric Terminal  Company  has  been  incorporated  in 
Missouri,  the  purpose  being  to  build  an  electric 
railway  from  Bremen  Avenue  and  the  Mississippi 
River  front  to  the  heart  of  the  city  of  St.  Louis. 
This,  it  is  understood,  is  to  afford  an  entrance 
into  St.  Louis  for  the  McKinley  electric-railway 
system  of  Illinois.  The  Springfield  (111.)  News 
says :  "The  plan  on  which  the  McKinley  line  is 
working  is  to  cross  the  river  on  transfer  boats 
from  Venice,  111.,  to  Bremen  Avenue  and  then  on 
an  elevated  line  west,  probably  on  Salisbury  Street, 
to  Ninth,  and  south  on  Ninth  to  Cupples  Station, 
which  is  the  point  the  new  road  wishes  to  reach. 
As  an  important  feature  of  the  business  of  the 
new  road  will  be  its  coal  traffic,  the  terminal  plan 
under  consideration  contemplates  building  large 
coal  yards  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ninth  and  Sal- 
isbury streets,  St.  Louis. 

What  might  have  been  a  very  serious  accident  on 
the  North  Avenue  line  of  the  Chicago  Union  Trac- 
tion Company  on  the  evening  of  March  14th  was 
averted  by  the  narrowest  margin.  There  is  a  tem-^ 
porary  bridge  over  the  North  Branch  of  the  Chi- 
cago River  on  this  line.  The  draw  in  this  bridge 
consists  of  a  swinging  portion  of  the  bridge,  one  end 
being  pivoted  and  the  other  resting  on  an  electrically 
operated  scow  or  pontoon,  which  carries  the  end 
of  the  bridge  around.  When  the  accident  occurred 
the  draw  was  just  being  opened.  A  crowded  car 
holding  nearly  ico  passengers  came  up  almost  at  full 
speed,  and  crashing  through  the  heavy  chain 
stretched  across  its  path,  went  into  the  draw,  one 
end  falling  on  to  the  scow,  which  kept  the  car 
from  plunging  into  20  feet  of  water,  from  which 
it  is  inconceivable  that  any  of  the  passengers  could 
escape  drowning.  The  accident,  while  primarily  due 
to  the  motorman's  carelessness,  was  also  due  to  the 
slippery  track,  darkness  and  the  absence  of  any 
brakes  except  of  the  most  antiquated  style,  which 
rendered  it  impossible  for  the  motorman  to  avoid 
the  result  of  his  carelessness. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

SOCIETIES  AND  SCHOOLS. 

The  International  Brotherhood  of  Electrical 
Workers,  which  has  chosen  Springfield,  111,  for 
its  national  headquarters,  has  secured  a  suite  of 
five  rooms  on  the  third  floor  of  the  Pierik  Build- 
ing. The  lease  was  secured  by  President  F.  J. 
McNulty,  and  final  preparations  will  soon  be  made 
for  the  transfer  of  the  headquarters  from  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.  The  transfer  will  probably  be  made 
April   1st. 

The  next  general  meeting  of  the  American  Elec- 
trochemical Society  will  be  held  in  Ithaca,  N.  Y, 
May  1st,  2d  and  3d.  It  is  planned  to  have  the 
headquarters  at  the  Ithaca  Hotel.  The  forenoons 
will  be  devoted  to  the  reading  and  discussion  of 
papers,  and  the  afternoons  to  inspection  trips  to  the 
laboratories  and  shops  of  Cornell  University,  to  the 
filtration  plant,  the  hydraulic  laboratory,  the  uni- 
versity power  plant,  the  Ithaca  Gun  Company's  plant, 
the  Remington  Salt  Company's  plant  and  the  Morse 
Chain  Works.  Among  the  papers  to  be  read  are 
the  following :  "Cadmium  Standard  Cell,"  by  G.  A. 
Hulett ;  "The  Electric  Vacuum  Furnace,"  by  W.  C. 
Arsem ;  "Electrodeposition  of  Bronze,"  by  B.  E. 
Curry ;  "Impurities  in  Electrolytic  Copper,"  by  F.  F. 
Colcord ;  "The  Development  of  the  Nickel-plating 
Industry."  by  Isaac  Adams.  The  secretary  of  the 
society  is  Mr.  S.  S.  Sadtler  of  39  South  Tenth 
Street,  Philadelphia. 


March  24,  1906 

tem,  is  endeavoring  to  secure  permission  to  attach 
the  span  wires  for  the  trolley  to  building.  If  this 
cannot  be  done  the  company  will  present  to  the 
trustees  of  the  city  a  scheme  for  ornamental  iron 
poles. 


TRADE  NEWS, 


AUTOMOBILES. 


Only  two  automobile  shows  "will  be  sanctioned 
next  year  by  the  National  Association  of  Automo- 
bile Manufacturers,  the  annual  show  in  New  York 
and  the  Chicago  show-.  Besides  taking  this  action 
the  executive  committee  of  the  association  at  its 
regular  meeting  placed  itself  squarely  on  record  as 
opposed  to  the  tendency  to  hold  a  continuous  chain 
of  shows,  as  has  been  the  case  this  year.  In  the 
opinion  of  the  committee  the  lesser  shows,  such  as 
at  Boston,  Cleveland,  Detroit  and  Philadelphia, 
have  not  been  productive  of  benefits  to  the  indus- 
try commensurate  with  the  time  and  expense  in- 
volved. General  Manager  Samuel  A.  Miles  re- 
ported that  the  net  profits  of  the  Chicago  show 
were  $25,000,  one-half  of  which  will  be  retained 
for  the  work  of  the  association  and  the  other  half 
divided  among  the  exhibitors. 

Charles  E.  S.  Burch,  wdio  has  extensive  mining  in- 
terests in  Alaska,  has  invented  a  type  of  ice  auto- 
mobile which  he  hopes  will  overcome  many  of  the 
difficulties  of  transportation  in  the  cold  season  of  the 
year.  His  automobile  consists  of  a  heavy  box  or 
body  part  carried  at  the  four  corners  by  four  spiral 
wheels  or  runners,  each  driven  by  a  separate  engine. 
These  spirals  are  made  of  steel  and  are  made  with 
sharp  edges  and  grip  the  ice.  Each  being  driven  by 
its  own  engine  and  operable  in  either  direction,  very 
good  control  of  the  movements  of  the  vehicle  may 
be  had.  The  inventor's  plan  is  to  use  the  machine  to 
draw  long  trains  of  sleds.  The  body  part  is  made 
watertight,  so  that,  if  the  machine  should  get  into 
open  water,  it  may  be  propelled  as  a  boat.  The 
vehicle  is  steered  by  means  of  two  semicircular  disks 
at  each  end  of  the  body,  which  are  operated  by  com- 
pressed air. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


The  secretary  of  the  Decimal  Association  of 
London  announces  that  he  has  received  53  promises 
of  support  for  the  metric  system  from  new  mem- 
bers of  Parliament.  In  the  last  Parliament  there 
were  330  pledged  to  support  the  adoption  of  the 
metric  system.  There  are  253  votes  now  relied 
upon  and  the  total  support  is  sure  to  equal  that 
in  the  last   Parliament. 

Mayor  Dunne  of  Chicago,  with  a  party  of  city  offi- 
cials, recently  took  a  trip  through  a  part  of  the  Illi- 
nois Tunnel  Company's  system  under  the  guidance 
of  Chief  Engineer  and  General  Manager  George  W. 
Jackson.  The  mayor  was  much  impressed  with  the 
scope  of  the  system  and  was  pleased  with  the  trip. 
He  took  the  trip  principally  to  find  out  the  condi- 
tions at  the  Northwestern  and  Union  depots,  .at 
which  points  the  tunnel  company  is  having  a  dispute 
with  the  city  authorities  regarding  rises  in  the  tun- 
nels to  make  connections. 

The  merger  deal  by  which  the  public  utilities  of 
Moline  and  Rock  Island,  111,  and  Davenport,  Iowa, 
become  the  property  of  Tri-city  Railway  and  Light 
Company  has  been  completed.  The  companies  tak- 
ing part  are  the  Tri-city  Railway  Company.  People's 
Power  Company,  People's  Light  Company  and  the 
Moline,  East  Moline  and  Watertown  Interurban 
Company.  In  this  deal  $8,115,000  was  paid,  and  for 
the  Walsh  street-car  and  light  companies  of  Daven- 
port an  additional  $2,000, coo  will  be  paid.  J.  R. 
Beetem  of  Philadelphia  is  to  be  president  of  the  new 
concern. 

The  city  of  Sacramento,  Cal.,  proposes  to  remove 
all  telephone,  telegraph,  electric-light  and  trolley- 
poles  from  the  streets  in  the  business  section  of 
the  city.  This  includes  poles  at  the  edge  of  the 
sidewalk  which  support  illuminated  signs  in  front 
of  nearly  all  the  business  houses.  Electric  signs 
attached  to  the  building  will  not  be  removed.  The 
Sacramento  Electric,  Gas  and  Railway  Company,  to 
avoid   the   expense   of  an    underground   trolley   sys- 


The  new  telephone  number  for  the  New  York 
office  of  the  Western   Electrician  is  5220  Beekman. 

The  Electrical  Equipment  Company  of  Spring- 
field, Mo,  has  succeeded  to  the  business  of  the 
Electrical   Wiring  and   Equipment   Company. 

The  sales  office  of  the  Universal  Electric  Storage 
Battery  Company,  Chicago,  has  been  moved  from 
the  Railway  Exchange  to  1307  Stock  Exchange 
Building. 

A  fire  in  Owensboro,  Ky,  recently  is  reported 
to  have  destroyed  the  plant  of  the  Kentucky  Elec- 
trical Company.  The  loss  was  $25,000.  with  $15,000 
insurance. 

The  Sawyer-Man  Electric  Company  is  about  to 
begin  the  erection  of  an  extensive  lamp  factory  at 
Bloomneld.  N.  J.  The  plant  will  cost  about  $1,000.- 
000  and  will  give  employment  to  i.oco  men. 

E.  C.  Sharpe,  the  new  Pacific  Coast  manager  for 
the  Gould  Storage  Battery  Company,  has  opened 
offices  at  403-405  Crossley  Building,  San  Francisco. 
The  Century  Electric  Company  formerly  carried 
this   agency. 

The  Standard  Trust  Company  of  New  York  has 
offered  creditors  of  the  National  Electric  Company 
of  Milwaukee  50  per  cent,  of  their  claims,  and  it 
is  said  that  a  large  majority  of  the  creditors  have 
accepted  the  offer.  It  is  announced  that  a  formal 
sale  of  the  assets  of  the  company  will  be  made 
on  March  26th. 

The  Navy  Department,  through  the  bureau  of 
supplies  and  accounts,  is  inviting  sealed  proposals 
until  March  27th  for  furnishing  a  quantity  of  fuses, 
electrical  wire,  cable,  annunciator  drops  and  parts 
for  fan  motors,  embraced  in  schedule  409,  obtain- 
able at  the  navy  pay  office  in  New  York  or  upon 
application  to  the  bureau. 

The  Syracuse  Supply  Company  of  Syracuse, 
N.  Y,  a  large  dealer  in  steam  fittings,  mill  sup- 
plies, etc,  has  opened  an  electrical  department  and 
is  carrying  a  full  stock.  The  company  has  placed 
its  electrical  department  in  charge  of  Mr.  F.  S. 
Baldwin,  late  of  the  R.  N.  Cornwell  Company.  It 
is  in  the  market  for  electrical  supplies  of  all  kinds. 

Sealed  proposals  will  be  opened  in  Washington, 
D.  C,  on  April  20th  for  furnishing  the  several 
executive  departments  with  electrical  supplies  dur- 
ing the  next  fiscal  year.  Among  the  departments 
requiring  such  supplies  are  the  Treasury,  Postofhce. 
Agriculture  and  Interior.  Application  for  specifi- 
cations and  proposal  blanks  should  be  made  to  the 
chief  clerk  of  each  department. 

The  Railway  Department  at  the  East  Pittsburg 
Works  of  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufac- 
turing Company,  has  received,  within  the  last  few 
days,  some  extensive  orders  tor  electric  railroad  ma- 
chinery. The  Metropolitan  West  Side  Elevated  Rail- 
way Company  of  Chicago  has  ordered  an  equipment 
of  100  160-horsepower  motors  and  50  equipments  of 
unit  switch  control.  The  Bluffton  and  Marion  Con- 
struction Company  of  Bluffton,  Ind,  has  contracted 
for  a  complete  installation  of  electrical  apparatus 
for  a  power  house  to  operate  an  entire  railroad, 
along  with  32  50-horsepower  motors.  Many  other 
orders  were  received,  but  the  largest  came  from  the 
Public  Service  Corporation  of  New  Jersey,  which- 
amounted  to  378  motors,  varying  in  capacity  from 
40  to  75  horsepower.  These  will  be  used  to  equip  a 
number  of  new  cars  on  the  surface  lines  outside  of 
Camden.  Altogether,  there  were  contracts  calling 
for  702  motors,  and  with  the  additional  machinery 
included  in  these  orders,  these  contracts  represent 
orders  amounting  to  more  than  $1,000,000. 

The  Wagner  Electric  Manufacturing  Company, 
St.  Louis,  Mo,  announces  that  it  has  recently  com- 
pleted arrangements  by  which  sales  of  its  appa- 
ratus in  Texas,  Indian  Territory  and  Oklahoma 
will  be  taken  care  of  by  the  Woods  Electric  Com- 
pany of  Houston,  Texas,  successor  to  D.  F.  Woods 
&  Co.  The  sales  department  of  this  local  branch 
of  the  Wagner  factory  will  be  under  the  immedi- 
ate management  of  Mr.  William  F.  Sullivan.  Mr. 
Sullivan,  for  a  number  of  years,  has  been  intimately 
connected  with  the  Crocker- Wheeler  Company,  and 
for  the  last  two  years  has  been  attending  to  the 
interests  of  that  company  in  its  St.  Louis  office. 
He  will  give  his  special  attention  to  Wagner  in- 
terests. The  Wagner  company  bespeaks  for  Mr. 
Sullivan  a  continuance  of  orders  for  Wagner  ap- 
paratus, and  assures  inquirers  that  any  requests  for 
information  made  to  his  office  will  be  ably  taken 
care  of.  The  various  district  offices  of  the  Wagner 
company,  scattered  throughout  the  United  States, 
will  heartily  co-operate  with  Mr.  Sullivan  in  his 
handling  of  this  southwestern  territory.  The  Wag- 
ner company  also  announces  that  its  Atlanta  ter- 
ritory, which  wras  formerly  handled  by  Mr.  G.  C. 
Henry,  who  has  been  devoting  only  a  part  of  his 
time    to    Wagner    interests,    will   be    handled   exclu- 


.March  24,   [906 


ELECTRIi 


Bycly  by  Mr.  Henry  hereafter     Mr    I  [1  ni 

ranged  his  affairs  so   that   all   of  his   1 1   bi 

given   i"   Wagner   interests. 


BUSINESS 


I  he    Standard    Eli  1  trical    <  'on  '1  in  tion    ( 'ompanj 
of  San   Francisco  ha     1  ontracti  'I   to  do  thi    electi  ii 
...  u  inj  and  1  onduil   work  on  the  m  «    •■■■  ing   ol   thi 
Si     Pram  1 1    I  loti  !    (or   ahoul    $29,000       1  I 
ha     also   been   awarded   ;c   contracl    for   wit-inn   the 

new   1  "  1 hou  e  in  San   1  1  an ["lv    -  ontrai  I 

prfee    was   about   $15,000. 

The  Budget  estimates  of  expenditure  of  Brazil 
for    \'f*'   make    provision    for    the    disbursement    "i 

crtain    sums   "ii   In; i  1.1  iti^   construction,    mete log 

..,1  apparatus,  lighthouses,  life-saving  apparatus, 
submarine  construction,  telegraph  and  telephone 
lines,  surgical  instruments,  plants,  seeds,  t"<  I-  cal 
tie  for  agriculturists,  waterworks  and  port-im- 
provement works.  Provision  is  also  made  \"<  the 
fre,  importation  of  hydro-electric  machinery  and 
i|i|.  iratus 

In  considering  the  application  of  electric  motor 
drive  many  power  users  defer  the  use  of  electricity 
I,,, .in  1  ni  the  trouble  which  seems  inevitable  in 
changing   over  to  electric-motor  drive.     Thus  many 

a I    old    machine    tools    are    left    to    continue    on 

.•111  nlil  plane  of  inefficiency.  Electric-motor  drive 
would     afford     greatly     increased     output     and     im- 


ipfii  ation    and 

nd 
work    . 

■cribed  in   Bulletin   ii.  ha«  been  developed      North- 
ern     Ii 

-I II 

I  he  bulletin  1     icul  1 iptl 

lli'     Bureau  ipplii      and 

I  Ii  p. 11  int.  ni     1      iiv  ii  p. 

totli    for   furnishing   western   navy   yard-   with   cii 
■  1111  lii, ,,  1  ers, 

cell  ,  n   1  tarn  1    h  ire,  etc.,  1  mbi 
obtainabli    al   thi    na 

or  upon  application   i"  the  bureau   al   Washington. 
1  in   ipril  3d  the  bun  au  ..  ill  op<  n  bid    foi  ■ 
the  I  harleston   (S    C.)   navy  yard   with  a  quantity 
..I    arc    lamp  re,    lightning    arri 

poles,  pole  fixtures,  eti  .  embraced  in  ■■  In  id 
which  can  I"-  obtained  upon  applicatii  n 
bureau 

In  ordei   to  ke  p  pai  1     ■  ith   :;     rapidl 
business,  The   Power  and  .Mining   \i; 
pany    of    Milwaukee,    Wis.,    1 

for  the  ereel  1 additions  to  ii-  shop     11 

thai    n  ill,    n  hen   compli  ted,    mori    than    di  ul 
present  capacity.     These  improvements  will  ci 

B.lrl   ul   S.|i*i,ik<i,  and    u  ill   in.  In, I.    :■ 


the  foundry,  th< 
numtx  1 

Will     n.     • 

During 

■ 

kilowatt 

I'm    l.urtf,    I'a  .    I  ir*>    '  ,     pulp 

and  Papi 

New    Vork,    \     Y .   and    will 

■ 

A   ,<.•"<  kilowatt  turbo-unil  goi 

and  three  4,500-brake  horsepower  un  - 

n  Railroad,  I  he  U  ■ 
ginia  Pulp  and  Paper  Company  already  i 
1,000-kilowatl  units  in  service,  and  the  recall 

ulted    from    ll  by    the 

illation. 


ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 


814,669.  Elevator  Brake.  John  E.  Boycc,  New 
York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Otis  Elevator 
Company.  Jersey  City,  N.  J.  Application  filed 
January    II,    1905. 

An  electromagnet  arranged  to  release  the  brake  is 
supplied  with  a  resistance.  Manually  operable  means 
connect  the  magnet  directly  to  the  source  of  electrical 
supply  or  through  the  resistance.  Other  means  depending 
upon  "the    speed    of   the    motor   automatically    short  circuit 

Si  4,071.  System  of  Preventing  the  Collection  of 
Ice  on  Rails.  Jeremiah  D.  Burns,  Washington, 
I).  C,  assignor  of  twenty- four  one-hundredths 
to  Lincoln  Guynn,  Wabash,  Ind.,  and  William 
J.  Sheetz,  Washington,  D.  C.  Application  filed 
February    7,    1905. 

In  combination  with  electric  feed  wires  and  the  rails 
of  a  railway  system  arc  a  metallic  support  carried  by  the 
web  of  the   rails  and   devices   for   increasing   the   tempera- 


froit 


collecting  on  the  rails.  The  devices  are  electrically 
heated  and  are  carried  by  the  supports  directly  below 
the  tread  of  the  rail,  the  devices  being  connected  directly 
to    the    feed  wires. 

■  814.680.  Telephone  Attachment.  Bernhard  Ehr- 
lich,  Vienna,  Austria-Hungary.  Application  filed 
.May   3,    1905. 

A  sanitary  attachment  for  the  telephone  mouthpiece  is 
described. 

.814,691.  Storage  Battery.  Howard  B.  Hallock, 
Germantown,  Pa.,  assignor  to  Samuel  S.  Will- 
iamson, Philadelphia,  Pa.  Application  filed 
May    15,    1905. 

The  lower  end  of  the  sides  of  the  batterv  jar  are  in- 
clined inward  and  downward,  conductive  material  lining 
the  inside  surfaces  of  the  inclined  portions.  Ribs  of 
conducting  materia!  extend  across  and  are  connected  to 
the  conductive  lining  and  a  lug  extends  upward  from  this 
conductive   material. 

514.695.  Vapor  Electric  Lamp.  Peter  C.  Hewitt, 
New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Cooper  Hew- 
itt Electric  Company,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Ap- 
plication   filed   July   7,    1904. 

In  a  gas  or  vapor  electric  apparatus  comprising  a 
container,  electrodes  therein,  at  least  one  of  which  is 
of  a  material  which  is  capable  of  being  volatilized  and 
again  condensed,  is  a  gas  or  vapor  other  than  that  devel- 
oped from  the  electrode,  and  means  for  condensing  ap- 
proximately all  the  vapors  developed  from  the  electrode 
at    or    near    the    electrode    itself. 

814.696.  Method  of  Producing  Light.  Peter  C. 
Hewitt,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the 
Cooper  Hewitt  Electric  Company,  New  York, 
N.  Y.  Original  application  filed  July  7,  1904. 
Divided  and  this  application  filed  October  19, 
1904. 

The  new  feature  consists  in  starting  the  apparatus  by 
any  approved  means  and  condensing  all  or  a  portion  of 
the  vapors  developed  from  the  electrode  at  or  near  the 
point  of  development,  thereby  permitting  current  to  pass 
mainly  through  the  other  gas  or  vapor  and  developing 
its  characteristic   light. 

814.726.  Vacuum  Electric  Furnace.  Henry  N.  Pot- 
ter, New  Rochelle,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  George 
Westinghouse,  Pittsburg,  Pa.  Application  filed 
July   23,    1903. 

In  an  electric  furnace  are  a  suitable  chamber,  an  inde- 
pendent insulated  support  for  the  walls  of  the  chamber, 
a  central  metallic  terminal  and  a  refractory  conducting 
block  within  the  chamber,  covering  the  metallic  terminal 
and   making  contact  therewith. 

814.727.  Electric  Pressure  Furnace.  Henry  N. 
Potter,  New  Rochelle,  N.  Y..  assignor  to  George 
Westinghouse,  Pittsburg,  Pa.  Application  filed 
July   23,    1903. 

An  inner  conducting  tube  of  an  electric  furnace  baa 
an  outer  conducting  tube  surrounding  it.  insulating  mate- 
rial being  interposed  between  the  two  tubes.  The  outer 
tube  is  made  in  two  or  more  parts  separated  by  insulat- 
ing material,  and  terminal  connections  for  an  external 
circuit    attached    to    the    outer    tube    are    provided.       (See 


issued  (United  States   Patent   Office)   March   /_?,   igo6. 

814,740.  Electric  Motor.  John  A.  Smith.  Dayton, 
Ky..  assignor  to  the  United  States  Electric  Tool 
Company.  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Application  filed 
November  28,   1904. 

A  shunt-wound  motor  having  the  exciting  coil  wound  in 
one  or  more  sections  disposed  on  cores  to  form  one  sub- 
stantially complete  metallic  magnetic  circuit  ha-  also  a 
second  magnetic  circuit  having  an  air  gap  for 
the  permeability  of  the  second  relative  to  the  first  circuit. 
There    arc    means    for    varying    the    active    length    of    the 

814,761.  Telegraphic  Safety  Device.  Selden  R. 
Wright,  Morton,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Circuit 
Protecting  Relay  Company,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Application   filed   October    13,    1903. 

Details  arc   described. 

814,764.  Apparatus  for  Purifying  Water  by  Elec- 
trolysis. Henry  C.  Bailey,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  as- 
signor to  the  Electra-Pura  Water  Company. 
New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  May  23, 
1901.     Renewed    July    22,    1903. 

Apparatus  for  electrically  treating  water  embodies  a 
separate  body  or  casing  with  inlet  and  outlet  openings, 
the  opposite  heads  or  walls  of  the  body  portion  being 
formed  of  insulating  material  and  having  oppositely 
arranged  grooves.  Plates  or  strips  of  electrically  con- 
ductive material  arc  removably  seated  edgewise  in  the 
grooves,  whereby  when  the  body  or  casing  is  separated, 
the  plates  may  be  removed.  Means  conduct  an  electric 
current    to    the    plates. 


O.  814,727. — ELECTRIC    PRESSURE    FURNACE. 


3i4,77i.  Electric  Rail  Bond  and  Method  of  Mak- 
ing Same.  Samuel  P.  Cowardin,  Richmond, 
Va.    Application    filed    March    6.    1903. 

An  electric  rail  bond  comprises  a  conductor  and  a 
terminal  each  formed  of  a  metal  which  will  alloy  with 
the  metal  of  the  other,  the  metal  of  the  terminal  being 
in  intimate  union  with  the  metal  of  the  conductor  and 
alloyed  with  the  metal  having  a  lower  fusing  point  than 
that  of  the   conductor  and   terminal. 

314,781.  Fire-alarm  and  Sprinkler  Attachment. 
James  Hartley,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  Application 
filed  June  9,   1905. 

The  electrical  feature  of  this  device  is  an  electric  bell 
circuit  which  is  closed  upon  the  release  of  the  parts  of 
the  device  by   fusion  of  one  of  the  members. 

3i4,Sio.  Metallurgical  Process.  Frederick  T.  Sny- 
der, Oak  Park,  III.  Application  filed  June  23, 
1905- 

The  process  of  treating  sulfid  ore  consists  of  dissolving 
it  in  a  fused  mineral  bath,  and  subjecting  the  mixture 
to  the  action  of  an  electric  current  in  the  presence  of 
carbon,  at  a  high  temperature,  the  sulfid  being  broken 
down,  the  metal  liberated  and  carbon  bisulfid  formed  at 
the  same  time. 

3i4,'825-  Battery  Zinc.  Horatio  J.  Brewer,  New 
York.  N.  Y.     Application  filed  August  24,  1905. 

An  electrode  for  electrogalvanic  batteries  consists  of 
a  cylindrical  rod  of  zinc  formed  with  an  external  flat 
portion  between  two  cylindrical  portions  of  the  rod.  the 
fiat  portion  affording  a  surface  for  contact  with  a  terminal 


S14.S2S.  Safety  Lowering  Device.  Victor  R. 
Browning  and  Earl  H.  Browning,  Nottingham, 
Ohio.     Application    filed    May    10.    1904 


drives  the   hoisting  member,  and  gearing  coll- 
ator   and   member.      A   safety   lowering   device 


m    thi  wln   tne 

ind    mean*    f..r   revering   the  direction  of  current 
through     the    tolcnoid    and    DtOtOT. 

814,830      lelepl  Louis   W.Carroll,  An- 

amosa,  Iowa,  assignor  to  tin-  Kellogg  Switch- 
board and  Supply  Company,  Chicago,  III.  Ap- 
plication  filed    March   24.    1003. 

A  metallic  circuit  is  normally  open  at  the  central  »ta- 
bridged  into  the  circuit,  each 
telephone  having  an  annunciator  and  a  signaling  gen- 
erator. A  normally  open  grounded  connection  for  each 
signaling  generator  and  an  annunciator  at  the  central  or 
exchange  station  located  in  a  grounded  connection  of 
one  side  of  the  metallic  circuit  complete  the  more  im- 
portant parts  of  the  system. 

814,838.  Stop  Mechanism  for  Steam  Engines.  Jo- 
seph E.  J.  Goodlett.  Memphis.  Tenn.  Applica- 
tion   filed    April    27,    1905. 

The  armature  of  an  electromagnet  operates  the  engine- 
stop  mechanism,  the  circuit  of  the  magnet  being  closed 
by   a   centrifugal    device. 

814,852.  Electric  Sprinkler  Apparatus.  Joseph  W. 
Larish,  Boston,  Mass.,  assignor  to  the  Gas  and 
Electric  Protective  Company,  Boston.  Mass. 
Application    filed  June    4,    1904. 

Combined  with  a  sprinkler  head  comprising  a  valve- 
controlling  pivoted  lever  are  fusible  means  normally 
holding  the  latter  in  valve-closing  position,  electric  con- 
tacts closed  by  the  lever  in  its  valve-releasing  position  and 
soluble  means  normally   holding  the  contact! 

814,864.  Electrolytic  Apparatus.  Frank  McDon- 
ald, Roaring  Spring,  Pa.  Application  filed  April 
27,    1905- 

A  lank  is  in  communication  mill  the  annodc  compart- 
ment of  the  cell,  a  supply  oipe  supplying  a  solution  of 
brine  to  the  anode  compartment  A  valve  in  the  supply 
pi  i«  1-  associated  with  a  hall  float  in  the  tank  connected 
by  levers  to  the-  controlling  valve.  A  resaturating  tank, 
an  overflow  connection  between  the  first-mentioned  tank- 
ami  the  resaturating  tank  and  various  other  <!i  . 
handling   the  electrolyte  are   described. 

814,878.  Electric  Musical  Instrument.  Melvin  L. 
Seven-,  Arlington  Heights,  and  George  B.  Sin- 
clair, Winthrop,  Mass..  assignors  to  the  Cho- 
ralcelo  Manufacturing  Company.  Application 
filed  November  24.  1900.  Renewed  August  I, 
1905. 

In    an    electrically    operated    musical    instrument    are    a 
sonorous  body  and  pulsatory  magnets  located   npon 
ing  sides  of  the  body  and  energized  alternately. 

814.887.  Insulator  Attachment.  Hans  Swanson, 
Warren,  Minn.  Application  filed  April  26,  1905. 
A  wire  clamp  for  insulators  comprises  an  insulator 
encircling  loop  and  a  cam  mounted  thcrccn,  the  wire- 
engaging  face  of  the  cam  being  concaved  to  correspond  to 
the  contour  of  the   periphery   of  the  insulator. 

814,889,.  Bubble  Fountain.  Samuel  H.  Tacy.  San 
Francisco,  Cal.  Application  filed  October  13, 
1903. 

Electromagnetic  means  effect  the  oscillation  of  the 
carriage  upon  which  the  pump  of  the  device  is  mounted. 

514.906.  Box  for  Electric  Moldings.  John  L.  Glea- 
son,  Jamaica  Plain.  Mass.  Application  filed 
July   10,    1905. 

A  junction  box  for  joining  at  right  angles  two  clectric- 
light-wire  moldings  is  described. 

814.907.  Junction  Box  tor  Electric  Wires  in  Build- 
ings. John  L.  Gleason.  Boston,  Mass.  Appli- 
cation   filed    July    12.    1905. 

The  improved  junction  box  comprises  a  side  Tall  and 
a  substantially  flat  top  provided  with  a  complete  circle 
of   radiating  slots. 

S14.910.  Electromagnetic  Brake.  Erwin  Kramer. 
Berlin.  Germany.  Application  filed  Angus:  3. 
1904. 

An  electromagnet  for  vehicle  brakes  has  a  coil,  an  iron 
casing  inclosing  the  coil,  an  iron  shoe  closing  the  open 
end  of  the  casing  and  a  central  opening  in  the  shoe  co- 
inciding with  the  hole  of  the  coil.  A  core  is  adapted  to 
move    axiallv  in   the  cavity  of  the  coil  and  shoe,  the  core 


250 

being  of  such  form  that  the  cross  section  of,  the  path 
of  the  lines  of  force  from  the  shoe  to  the  core  is  reduced 
when  the  core   is  drawn  into  the  coil. 

814  013.  Rheostat.  Edmund  C.  Morgan,  Chicago, 
111  assignor  to  the  Morgan  Electric  Machine 
Company,  East  Chicago,  Ind.  Application  filed 
December    5,    1904. 

A  rheostat  element  comprises  metallic  sections  piled  in 
cross-wise  relation,  the  one  upon  the  other,  to  forma 
=r,-.™»    Hirmioh    and    between    them    in     combination     with 


together. 
S14  928.  Electrical  Door  Opener  for  Elevators. 
Charles  G.  Armstrong  and  Charles  A.  Dresser, 
Chicago,  111.,  assignors  to  G.  A.  Edward  Koh- 
ler  and  Franklin  W.  Kohler,  Chicago,  111. 
Application   filed   April   3,    1901. 

In  combination  with  an  elevator  car  are  an  electromag- 
netic device  a  door  carried  upon  the  car,  a  door  at  the 
landing,  means  for  connecting  the  electromagnetic  device 
with  the  door  carried  upon  the  car  and  a  part  mounted 
upon  the  car  door  for  engaging  and  opening  the  door  at 
the  landing. 

814942.  Wireless  Telephony.  Archie  F.  Collins, 
'  New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  August  21, 
1905. 

In  a  wireless  telephone  or  telegraph  are  a  source  of 
electromotive  force,  an  arc  light,  a  circuit  with  terminals 
connecting  the  latter  with  the  earth  or  other  medium  and 
a  circuit  including  the  arc  light  and  containing  also  a 
sound  converter  for  transmitting  or  receiving. 

814,946.  Controlling  Device  for  Motors.  Charles 
A.  Dresser,  Chicago,  111.,  assignor  to  G.  A. 
Edward  Kohler  and  Franklin  W.  Kohler,  Chi- 
cago, 111.     Application  filed  September  12,   1903. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

815,074.  Circuit-breaking  Apparatus.  Frederick  P. 
De  Wilde,  Chicago,  111.  Application  filed  No- 
vember 12,   1904. 

Combined  with  a  dynamo-electric  machine  having  an 
element  wherein  its  electromotive  force  is  developed,  and 
the  circuit  therefor,  are  a  switch  included  in  the  circuit, 
an  electroresponsive  apparatus  for  controlling  the  switch 
and  a  potential  trap  from  the  winding  of  the  generating 
element  of  the  dynamo-electric  machine  subject  to  less 
than  the  entire  potential  of  the  element,  and  including 
the  windings  of  the  electroresponsive  apparatus.  (See 
cut.) 

815,096.  Lamp-socket  Lock.  Julius  C.  Kircher, 
East  St.  Louis,  111.  Application  filed  January 
6,    1905. 

A  lamp  socket  comprises  a  head  having  a  collar  detach- 
ably  connected  thereto,  in  combination  with  a  lamp  having 
means  for  connecting  it  to  the  head  of  the  socket,  and  a 
lock  for  preventing  the  removal  of  the  lamp  while  the 
collar  is  in  operative  position  on  the  head  of  the  socket, 
the  lock  comprising  two  parts,  one  of  which  is  on  the 
lamp  and  the  other  on  the  collar  of  the  socket. 

815,107.  Telephone  Toll  Apparatus.  George  A. 
Long,  Hartford,  Conn.,  assignor  to  the  Gray 
Telephone  Pay  Station  Company,  Hartford, 
Conn.     Application   filed   March    11,    1903. 

Details  of  the  coin-controlled  apparatus  of  a  subscriber's 
telephone    are    described. 

815,113.  Wet  Magnetic  Ore  Separator.  Francis  J. 
Odling  and  William  Jamieson,  Melbourne,  Vic- 
toria, Australia.  Application  filed  May  19, 
1904. 

Combined  with  a  field  frame  having  opposed  poles  ex- 
tending horizontally  are  a  table  extending  between  the 
poles,  means  for  feeding  a  mixture  of  water  and  the 
material  to  be  separated  to  the  table  to  flow  below  the 
upper  pole,  a  band  of  non-magnetic  material  adapted  to 
travel  horizontallv  and  adjacent  to  the  face  of  the  upper 
pole  and  means  for  maintaining  a  water  web  between  the 
non-magnetic  band  and  the  table.      (See  cut.) 

815,117.     Self-registering   Electrically   Operated   Sec- 
'  tional     Target.     George     A.     Peters,     Toronto, 
Canada.    Application    filed    April   5,    1904- 

An  integral  target  or  target  plate  has  a  series  of  sec- 
tions forming  distinct  potential  areas  of  influence  on  the 
back  of  the  plate,  whereby  the  lines  of  force  caused  by 
the  impact  of  the  bullet  on  the  face  of  the  target  are 
confined  in  proximity  to  the  point  of  impact  of  the  bullet. 


of  contacts  along  which  the  coi 

intermediate    point    where     the 

stands    when    the    motor    is    not    running    ana    means    jui 

returning    the    contact    device    to    the    intermediate    point 

when  moved  in  either  direction. 

814.981.  Electric  Heating  System  for  Cars.  Frank 
C.  Newell,  Wilkinsburg,  Pa.,  assignor  to  the 
Westinghouse  Air  Brake  Company,  Pittsburg, 
Pa.     Application  filed   January    5,    1900. 

An  electric  heater  for  cars  comprises  separate  casings 
arranged  in  series  and  resistance  coils  of  different  cross- 
sectional  area  and  current  carrying  capacity  in  each  cas- 
ing, the  respective  coils  of  the  same  size  in  the  different 
casings  being  connected  together  in  series^  and  the  several 
sets  of  coils  also   being   connected   in   series.      (See    cut.) 

815,006.  Thermal  Protector  and  Alarm.  Frank  B. 
Cook,  Chicago,  111.  Application  filed  December 
18,    1902. 

There  is  in  the  device  a  metallic  support,  an  electro- 
thermal cut  out  suitably  mounted  on  the  support,  the  cut 
out  including  a  line  spring  and  an  alarm  circuit  normally 
open  at  a  number  of  points  and  including  the  support 
and  line  spring. 

815,025.  Means  for  Operating  the  Electric  Unload- 
ing of  Air  Compressors.  Frederick  Van  Duzer 
Longacre,  New  York,  N.  Y„  assignor  to  the 
Ingersoll-Sergeant  Drill  Company,  New  York, 
N.    Y.     Application    filed    November    20,    1903. 

A  discharge  valve  for  an  air  compressor  co-operates 
with  a  main  regulator  valve  for  controlling  the  pressure 
behind  the  discharge  valve.  An  auxiliary  valve  controls 
the  movements  of  the  main  regulator  valve,  and  an  elec- 
tromagnet operates  the  auxiliary  valve  with  means  for 
energizing   and    dc-energizing    the    electromagnet. 

815,027.  Electroplating  Apparatus.  Guy  L.  Meaker, 
Chicago,  111.  Application  filed  December  28, 
1904. 

An  electroplate  apparatus  comprises  a  tank  for  contain- 
ing an  electrolyte,  a  tray  for  supporting  the  articles  to  be 
plated,  the  bottom  of  which  is  made  of  conducting^  mate- 
rial,   and    means    for    giving    endwise    vibratory    motion 


S15.042.    Telephone     Exchange.     Benno     Salzmann, 
Berlin,    Germany.     Application    filed    November 
16,    1905. 
Details  are  described. 

815,072.  Electric  Alarm  Clock.  Augusta  Y.  Darche, 
Chicago,  111.,  executrix  of  George  C.  Darche, 
deceased.     Application    filed    June    13,    1904. 

The    circuit   of   an    alarm    bell    is    closed    at   a   predeter- 
mined  time    by  the   movement   of  the   clock. 


815,129.  Device  for  Controlling  Generators.  Joshua 
Struthers,  Franklin,  Pa.  Application  filed  Sep- 
tember 12,  I904. 
A  governor  is  operatively  connected  to  the  shaft  of  the 
motor,  a  rotary  shaft  being  mounted  in  the  controller. 
A  stop  is  mounted  on  the  controller  and  adapted  to 
engage  the  controller  handle.  Electrical  connections  are 
made  between  the  motor  and  the  controller,  and  mechan- 
ism connects  the  governor  and  the  stop  whereby  the 
movement  of  the  governor  will  operate  the  stop  to  limit 
the   movement  of  the  controller.    - 

815,131.  Electric- railway  Signaling  Apparatus. 
James  W.  Tatum,  Durham,  N.  C,  assignor  of 
one-sixth  to  B.  N.  Duke  and  one-sixth  to  W. 
W."  Fuller,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  and  one-sixth 
to  E.  J.  Parrish,  one-sixth  to  John  W.  Smith 
and  one-sixth  to  Robert  B.  Boone,  Durham, 
N.    C.     Application    filed   June    2,    1905. 

In  an  electric  railway  signaling  system  there  are  com- 
bino.l  with  suitable  circuits  a  signaling  a]'p;iraUis  carried 
by  a  vehicle  and  consisting  of  a  line  including 
a  distance-indicating  instrument,  a  telephone  and  an 
alarm.  A  second  line  includes  all  of  the  instruments 
with  the  exception  of  the  alarm,  and  means  rendered 
effective  by  the  operation  of  the  telephone  cause  the 
current  to  flow  through  the  second  line  whereby  all  of 
the  instruments  are  operative  but  the  alarm. 


March  24,  1906 

815,221.  Electric  Furnace.  Marcus  Ruthenburg, 
Lockport,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  August  14, 
1905. 

In  an  electric  furnace  are  a  fused  bath  a  layer  of 
inert  material  floated  on  the  bath,  a  layer  of  comminuted 
resister  floated  on  the  inert  layer  and  an  electric  circuit 
having  a  number  of  positive  and  negative  terminals  dis- 
posed in  alternate  relation  in  different  regions  of  the 
resister. 

815,245.  Shade  Holder  for  Incandescent  Electric 
Lamps.  Harry  A.  Wright,  Springfield,  Mass., 
assignor  to  the  Yost  Electric  Manufacturing 
Company,  Toledo,  Ohio.  Application  filed  July 
9.    1904. 

A   small    wire    arrangement   for  holding  the   shade  upon 


the   socket 


described. 


815.163.  Apparatus  for  Laying  Electric  Conductors. 
Samuel  P.  Hatfield,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Ap- 
plication   filed    March    18,    1904. 

An  apparatus  for  laying  and  burying  electric  conductors 
under  ground  comprises  a  plow  arranged  for  forming  a 
self-closing  furrow,  a  gage  projecting  on  opposite  sides 
of  the  plow  beam  and  extending  approximately  the  length 
thereof  and  means  on  the  plow  for  directing  the  con- 
ductor into  the  lower  portion  of  the  furrow. 

815,165.  Race-course  Machine.  Olaf  Henrichsen, 
New  York,   N.  Y.     Application  filed  March  23, 

I905- 

A  toy  is  described  in  which  dummies  simulate  race 
horses,    and    the    speed    of    which    is  governed    by    electric 

815,176.  Automatic  Telephone  Connector  Switch. 
Alexander  E.  Keith,  John  Erickson  and  Charles 
J.  Erickson,  Chicago,  111.,  assignors  to  the 
Automatic  Electric  Company,  Chicago,  III. 
Application   filed    April   21,    1905. 

A  "connector"  for  automatic  telephone  systems  com- 
prises a  electromagnet ieally  actuated  switch  shaft,  switch 
contacts  operated  thereby,  a  locking  device  for  holding 
the  shaft  against  back  movement  during  its  operation,  a 
"release  magnet,"  and  a  "release  armature"  adapted 
when  attracted  to  draw  the  locking  device  into  position 
to   release  the  shaft. 


815,283.  Trolley.  Frank  J.  Gibbs,  Tyrone,  Pa. 
Application    filed    January    20,    1905. 

The  pole  carries  two  outstanding  bracket  arms  upon 
which   are    mounted    two    trolley    wheels,    one    behind    the 

815,304.  System  of  Electric  Motor  Control.  Charles 
A.  Mudge,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Original  appli- 
cation filed  March  2,  1905.  Divided  and  this 
application  filed  June  27,    1905. 

In  combination  with  independent  inlet  '  and  exhaust 
valves  of  the  fluid  control  system  are  independent  elec- 
tromagnet means  for  operating  the  valves,  whereby  the 
fluid  means  are  operated  through  successive  steps  by  the 
continued    application   of   a   fluid   medium. 

815.314.  Railway  Switch.  Guy  M.  Thompson,  Se- 
attle, Wash.,  assignor  of  one-fourth  to  Charles 
S.  Follett,  Seattle,  Wash.  Application  filed 
August   3,    1905. 

In  a  railway  switch  are  two  electromagnetic  switch- 
moving  mechanisms  normally  in  incomplete  circuits  and 
two  supplemental  electric  circuits,  a  contact  maker  for 
each  electromagnetic  circuit,  the  contact  maker  com- 
prised of  a  bar  formed  of  two  pivotally  connected  parts. 

815.315.  Railway  Electric  Signaling  Apparatus. 
Benjamin  F.  Wooding,  Denver,  Colo.  Appli- 
cation  filed   November   jo,    1904. 

In  electrical  signaling  apparatus  for  railways  are  the 
combination  of  overhead  conductors  divided  into  sections 
or  blocks,  a  local  circuit  mounted  on  the  train,  signaling 
mechanism  included  in  the  circuit,  inclined  roller  contacts 
mounted  on  the  train  and  engaging  the  overhead  con- 
ductors, and  suitable  connections  between  the  roller  con- 
tacts and  the  local  circuit  for  closing  the  latter  and 
operating    the    signaling   mechanism. 

815,317.  Resistance  Device  for  Electric  Current 
Controllers.  Lynde  Bradley,  Milwaukee,  Wis., 
assignor  of  one-half  to  Stanton  Allen,  Mil- 
waukee,   Wis.     Application   filed   July   28,    1902. 

Combined  with  a  resistance  medium  of  carbonaceous 
material  in  the  form  of  plates  are  a  container  inclosing 
the  plates,  a  gas  retaining  closing  means  therefor  to 
prevent  oxidation  of  the  plates  and  means  for  subjecting 
the  plates  to  pressure  to  produce  variable  conductivity 
of  the  plates. 

815.320.  Safeguard  for  Automatic  Railways.  Ben- 
jamin F.  Carpenter,  Roselle  Park,  N.  J.  Ap- 
plication filed  May  12,  1904.  Renewed  July  7, 
1905. 

Electric  mechanism  actuated  by  each  car,  as  it  enters 
the  "danger  section"  of  any  station  track,  locks  the  switch 
to  such  station  track  and  safeguards  the  car  and  switch 
until   the    car  be   removed    from    the    "danger   section." 

815.321.  Automatic  Telephone  Selector  Switch. 
Alexander  E.  Keith,  John  Erickson  and  Charles 
J.  Erickson,  Chicago,  111.,  assignors  to  the  Au- 
tomatic Electric  Company,  Chicago,  111.  •  Ap- 
plication filed  May  2,   1905. 

An  automatic  switching  machine  for  telephone  systems 
comprises  banks  of  contacts,  adjustable  separating  and 
holding  devices  between  the  banks,  together  with  switch 
arms  adapted  to  co-ooerate  with  the  contacts  in  making 
connections,  each  bank  being  held  in  place  and  adjustable 
independently  of  the  others. 

815.322.  Art  of  Telephony.  Daniel  M.  Therrell, 
Charleston,  S.  C.  Original  application  filed 
July  23,  1904.  Divided  and  this  application 
filed    August   2,    1905. 

A  step  in   the    art  of  electrical   transmission   and  repro- 
duction   of   sound   consists    in    making   the   terminal    trans- 
mitter  circuit  or  circuits  wholly   or  partially  resonant  for 
ssential    frequencies    to    be    transmitted,    thereby    in- 
ng  the  efficiency   of  transformation,   and  the  energy 


the 


sfcrred  to  the 


ndary 


PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Followingvis  a  list  of  electrical  patents  (issued 
by  the  United  States  Patent  Office)  that  expired 
on   March   19,    1906 : 

399,646.      Dynamo-electric  Machine.     J.  W.   Ealct,  New  York, 


.         Switch.      E.    Blake,    Eoston,    Mass. 
1Q0.7-)S-      Incandescent    Electric    Lamp    Socket.'     C.    E.    Egan, 

Columbus,    Ohio.  . 

399.75.S-      Electrical    Distribuf  h>n    by    Secondary    batteries.      V. 

King,    Fulham,    Countv    of    Middlesex,    England. 
399,786.      Electric-light     Support.      B.    Schardt   and    G.    Jones, 

Dayton,    Ohio. 

399.800.  Dynamo-electric      Machine.       E.       Thomson,      New 
Britain,    Conn. 

399.801.  Alternate 


rent    Inductor.      E.    Thomson    and    M. 
'M.   J.   Wightman,   Lynn,    Mass. 
399,822.      Electric  Blast  Blower.  H.  IT.  Blades,  Detroit.  Mich. 
399,826.       Electric    Conductor.       A.     A.     Brooks,     Cambridge, 

lei. R;6-  Circuit-closing  Device  for  Electrical  Torpedo  Fuses. 
J.    YV.    C.ravdon,    Washington,    D.    C. 

399,879.  Electrical  Fuse  for  Ordnance  Shells.  J.  W.  Gray- 
don,  Washington,  D.  C. 

399,950.  Friction  Gear  for  Electric  Motors.  C.  J.  Van- 
depoele,    Lynn,    Mass. 

399,954.  Hinge  Joint  for  Electric  Belts.  N.  Warrell,  Farra- 
gut,  lo 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


Vol.  XXXVIII. 


CHK    lG<  i,   M  \\«  II    (i 


Department  Store  Plant   Fifty  Feet  Be- 
low Street  Level. 
Few  of  the  thousands  of  shopper     who  dai  il 

the  large  department  store  •  ■(  Mandel  Bros,  in 
Chicago  realize  that  four  stories  below  them  as 
they  enter  the  new  portion  of  the  building  facing 
Wabash  Avenue  there  is  an  electric  lighl  and  power 
plant  from  which,  as  a  center,  the  building  is  lighted 
ind  heated,  and  from  which  the  28  hydraulic  ele- 
vators   used    in    various    sections    of    the    store    an 


are    llii'  1 

1  ompi  isi      1  vertii 

driving   a   400 
rent  generator  ol 
thrci    largi    unit     then      n    I 
and   loo-kilowatt   capacity.     The   imallcr  gem 
are  din  ct  connected  to  h<  the   100 

kilowatt    to  a     impli    engine,  a  M  ilowatt 

to  a  ct und      !   id 

volt        1  hi     »  0 


lighted 

much    I 

ted  and  liKtit- 
departm  tbe  400- 

zontal     - 


FIG.    I.       DEPARTMENT    STC 

operated.  This  interesting  plant  has  an  aggregate 
capacity  in  electrical  units  of  1,500  kilowatts,  which 
stand  at  a  level  53  feet  below  the  surface  of  the 
street.  The  floor  upon  which  the  boilers  are  in- 
stalled is  three  feet  lower  than  this.  The  plant 
is  one  of  the  first  deep-level  plants  to  be  built  in 
Chicago  as  an  outcome  of  the  construction  of  the 
subways  of  the  Illinois  Tunnel  Company.  A  great 
amount  of  excavation  was  necessary,  which,  by  the 
way,  was  nearly  all  done  after  the  superstructure 
had  been  erected,  the  excavated  material  being  re- 
moved through  the  tunnels.  This  was  costly  work, 
and  naturally  the  space  allotted  for  the  plant  was 
restricted  to  the  minimum.  How  to  get  so  large 
a  plant  in  such  small  quarters  was  no  small  engi- 
neering problem,  and  at  every  turn  space  had  to  be 
economized  to  the  last  degree.  As  it  now  stands, 
with  only  a  few  of  the  details  to  be  completed,  the 
plant  presents  many  features  worthy  of  attention. 

Fig.    1   is   a  view  in  the  generator  room   showing 
prominently  one  of  the  large  units,  of  which  there 


STREET    LEVEL.  —  ONE    OF    THE    MAIN    GENERATING 


the  lower  part  of  each  engine  and  the  generators 
being  at  the  first  level.  The  upper  parts  of  the 
engines,  however,  project  up  through  to  the  floor 
above,  so  that  no  good  view  of  the  units  as  a 
group  could  be  obtained.  Examination  of  Fig.  1 
will  show  a  good  example  of  heavy  concrete  con- 
struction, the  beams  and  floors  being  entirely  of 
this  material. 

The  electrical  load  on  the  system  of  a  department 
store  of  this  size  is  a  decidedly  varying  quantity, 
requiring  great  flexibility  of  the  system  in  order  to 
secure  efficient  and  economical  operation  of  the 
plant.  For  this  reason  it  was  necessary  to  install 
units  of  widely  different  capacities.  To  illustrate 
this  point  it  is  of  interest  to  follow  the  operation 
of  the  plant  for  a  24-hour  run. 

Beginning    at    S    a.    m.,    two    of   the    400-kilowatt 
units  carry  the  load  until  5:20  p.  m..  when  the  store 
is  closed  to  shoppers.     This  is  evidently  the  period 
of  heaviest  load,  since  all  departments  of  the  store  ■ 
are    running    full    blast,    and    even    in    the    daytime 


400-kilowatt  horizontal  unit  is  made  to  carry  the 
entire  load,  which  consists  largely  of  window  light- 
ing. From  11:30  p.  m.  to  S  a.  m.  and  on  Sundays 
the  small  unit  of  100  kilowatts  capacity  is  kept  in 
operation. 

Engines  and  generators  comprising  the  portion 
of  the  plant  just  described  are  standard  apparatus 
with  no  features  distinguishing  them  particularly 
from  the  equipments  ordinarily  furnished  by  the 
Allis-Chalmers  Company.  There  are  one  or  two 
things  which  may  be  mentioned,  however.  One  of 
these  is  the  use  of  a  device  for  shifting  the  gen- 
erator brushes,  not  in  relation  to  the  commutating 
field  but  in  a  direction  parallel  to  the  generator 
shaft.  This  arrangement  is  intended  to  bring  about 
a  more  even  wear  of  the  brushes  with  a  consequent 
better  contact  with  the  commutator  bars,  and  is 
said  to  be  of  decided  advantage.  The  arrangement 
is  used  only  on  engine-type  generators  and  is 
driven  directly  from  the  shaft  by  a  belt.  The  belt 
in    turn    drives    a    small    shaft,    which    is    connected 


252 

by  means  of  gearing  and  eccentrics  to  the  brush- 
holders,  the  revolution  of  the  eccentrics  moving  the 
brushes  back  and  forth  periodically.  Another  inter- 
esting feature  is  the  operation  of  large  units  at  125 
revolutions  a  minute.  The  operation  of  Corliss  en- 
gines at  this  speed  might  be  tnought  by  some  to  be 
of  doubtful  advisability,  but  apparently  in  this  case 
the  speed  has  no  disadvantage  aside  from  a  slightly 
greater  vibration  of  the  valve  gear  than  would  be 
found  with  a  lower  speed.  The  plant  is  so  deep 
in  the  ground  and  rests  upon  such  a  firm  founda- 
tion that  the  higher  speed  may  be  used  without 
transmitting  any  perceptible  vibration  to  the  build- 
ing. 

Steam  is  generated  by  six  boilers  located  in  the 
boiler  room  adjacent  to  the  generator  room,  and. 
as  stated  before,  three  feet  below  the  level  of  the 
latter.  The  boilers  were  built  by  the  Richard  Boiler 
and  Engine  Company  of  Toledo,  Ohio,  and  are 
equipped  with  automatic  stokers.  They  have  a 
combined    capacity    of   2,000    horsepower. 

The  boiler  room  floor  is  six  feet  below  the  level 
of  the  freight  tunnel  in  the  street,  and  although  con- 
nection   has    not    as    yet    been    established    between 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

connected  that  it  can  be  used  on  any  of  the  gen- 
erators. 

The  power-feeder  panel  controls  six  feeders^  Each 
feeder  is  equipped  with  a  two-pole  switch,  fused  on 
the  rear  of  the  board  on  both  sides  and  protected 
on  one  side  by  an  I.  T.  E.  overload  single-pole  cir- 
cuit-breaker. The  capacity  of  each  power  feeder  is 
400  amperes. 

Protection  of  the  generator  and  feeder  circuits  on 
this  switchboard  by  automatic  circuit-breakers  is 
a  feature  of  especial  interest  and  one  which  com- 
mands the  attention  of  those  who  keep  in  touch 
with  the  rapid  development  and  increased  use  of 
this  class  of  apparatus.  The  aim  of  modern  switch- 
board design  is  to  obtain  simplicity  of  arrangement, 
adaptability  to  requirements  and  effectiveness  in  use. 

The  latest  improvements  in  circuit-breaker  manu- 
facture have  materially  aided  the  switchboard  de- 
signer to  attain  this  end.  by  enabling  him  to  combine 
many  safety  devices  in  one  piece  of  apparatus  so 
that  fewer  appliances  are  required  on  the  switch- 
board and  more  freedom  from  the  liability  to  acci- 
dents, due  to  careless  handling,  is  obtained.  The 
circuit-breakers  here  used  are  the-  latest  designs  of 


FIG.  2.       THIRTEEN-PANEL    SWITCHBOARD    i: 

the  coal-storage  bin  and  the  tunnel  system,  this 
will  be  done  later,  and  the  coal  supply  will  be 
brought  in  through  the  subways. 

One  main  steam  header  passes  directly  to  the 
generator  room,  and  is  divided  into  two  sections. 
An  auxiliary  eight-inch  header  is  also  installed, 
giving  greater  flexibility  to  the  system.  The  auxil- 
iary header  is  fed  on  each  side  of  the  expansion 
loop  and  can  be  operated  independently  of  the  main 
header.  Thus  steam  may  be  supplied  to  the  engine 
by  two  paths. 

An  excellent  view  of  the  switchboard  is  shown 
in  Fig.  2.  It  is  a  handsome  slate  structure,  built 
by  the  Western  Electric  Company,  and  is  locatetd 
on  the  north  side  of  the  engine  room.  It  consists 
of  five"  generator  panels,  one  wattmeter  panel,  one 
power-feeder  panel,  three  compensating  panels  and 
three  lighting-feeder  panels.  It  is  designed  for . 
the  220-volt  three-wire  system,  the  division  of  volt- 
age being  obtained  by  compensators.  The  extreme 
panel  at  the  right  is  for  the  100-kilowatt  generator, 
the  adjacent  one  for  the  200-kilowatt  generator,  and 
the  next  three  for  the  400-kilowatt  generators. 
Each  generator  panel  is  equipped  with  a  Weston 
ammeter,  Western  Electric  type-F  knife  switches 
and  I.  T.  E.  overload  and  reverse-current  tandem 
toggle  circuit-breakers.  These  circuit-breakers  are 
of  the  "non-closable  type,"  that  is,  they  cannot  be 
closed  when  an  overload  or  short-circuit  exists  on 
the  line. 

On  the  totalizing  panel  there  are  installed  a 
6,000-ampere  recording  wattmeter  and  two  Weston 
illuminated-dial  voltmeters  mounted  on  a  swinging 
bracket.  One  of  the  voltmeters  is  permanently  con- 
nected  to   the  buses   and  the   other   voltmeter   is   so 


the  well-known  I.  T.  E.  breaker,  manufactured  by 
the  Cutter  company  of  Philadelphia.  Each  gener- 
ator is-"  protected  by  Reversite  breakers,  equipped 
with  overload  and  reverse-current  features.  With 
breakers  of  this  type  it  is  impossible  to  send  a 
short-circuit  through  an  idle  generator,  nor  is  it 
possible  to  throw  a  generator  in  circuit  until  it 
is   brought   up   to   the   proper   voltage. 

Division  of  voltage,  as  mentioned  before,  is  ob- 
tained by  the  use  of  compensators  (motor-dyna- 
mos), which  are  three  in  number,  located  at  one 
end  of  the  switchboard.  Two  of  these  are  of  55- 
kilowatt  capacity  and  the  other  of  20-kilowatt.  One 
of  the  two  largest  is  kept  in  operation  for  48  hours 
in  succession,  the  other  acting  as  a  reserve.  The 
small  set,  when  it  is  put  in  commission,  will  take 
care  of  the  night  and   Sunday  load. 

The  compensators  automatically  keep  the  voltage 
on  each  side  of  the  neutral  to  within  two  per  cent, 
of  half  the  voltage  between  the  outside  wires  with- 
out resorting  to  external  devices,  such  as  neutral 
relays,  short-circuiting  switches,  etc.  The  design 
of  the  compensator  panels  is  very  simple.  Each 
panel  is  equipped  with  a  starting  box,  a  double- 
pole  single-throw  switch  for  the  main  line,  a  sin- 
gle-pole single-throw7  switch  for  the  neutral,  a  sin- 
gle-pole equalizer  switch,  a  single-pole  field-break- 
up switch,  two  rheostats,  an  ammeter  and  a  set 
of    six-point    receptacles. 

When  starting  up  the  compensators  the  main- 
line switch  is  closed  first  and  the  starting  resistance 
cut-out.  The  single-pole  field-break-up  switch  is 
kept  open  so  as  to  place  an  electromotive  force  of 
220  volts  upon  the  fields  of  the  two  machines  which 
are    connected    in    series    when    starting    up.      The 


March  31,  1906 

voltage  of  each  machine  is  then  adjusted  by  means 
of  the  two  rheostats.  By  inserting  the  four-point 
plug  into  either  side  of  the  six-point  receptacle  the 
voltage  on  either  side  of  the  neutral  may  be  ob- 
tained. After  the  voltage  is  equalized  the  equalizer 
switch  is  closed  first  and  then  the  neutral  switch. 

The  foregoing  shows  that  the  paralleling  of  the 
compensators  can  be  as  readily  accomplished  with- 
out mechanical  devices  as  that  of  compound-wound 
generators. 

Each  feeder  panel  is  provided  with  six  three- 
pole  single-throw  knife  switches.  The  lighting 
feeders  are  protected  on  the  rear  of  the  switch- 
board by  enclosed  fuses  of  the  knife-blade  Na- 
tional   Electric    Code    type. 

The  individual  units  in  the  compensators  are 
standard  Western  Electric  type  E  machines,  the 
two  units  being  mounted  on  a  common  cast-iron 
sub-base  and  having  their  shafts  connected  by  a 
flexible  insulated  coupling.  The  fields  of  each  ma- 
chine  are  compound  wound. 

A  motor-operated  refrigerating  plant  of  25  tons 
capacity  supplies  ice  for  the  cafe  and  for  cooling 
the  drinking  water.  It  is  of  the  carbonic-acid-gas 
type,  the  compressor  being  driven,  through  a  belt, 
by  a  30-horsepower  Northern  motor. 

Three  heavy-duty  steam-driven  Laidlow-Gordon- 
Dunn  pumps  furnish  water  at  750  pounds  pressure 
for  the  operation  of  the  hydraulic  elevators,  work- 
ing in  conjunction  with  two  hydraulic  accumulators. 
The  pilot-valve  arrangement  for  the  elevator  system 
is  operated  by  an  Allis-Chalmers  motor  of  25-horse- 
power  capacity. 

An  automatic  house  pump  is  driven  by  a  25- 
horsepower  motor.  The  pumps  for  circulating  the 
drinking  water  are  also  operated  by  motors.  The 
motors  are  of  three  horsepower  each,  one  unit 
being  used  as  a  spare.  The  sump  pumps  are  oper- 
ated by  two  vertical  motors  of  nine  horsepower 
each,  an  emergency  steam  set  being  also  installed 
for  this  purpose.  The  automatic  pumps  are  all 
controlled    from    a    separate    switchboard. 

A  complete  fire-protection  system  is  one  of  the 
features  of  the  plant.  This  is  fed  by  two  16  by  9 
by  12-inch  pumps,  furnishing  750  gallons  a  minute. 
Adams  &  Schwab,  consulting  engineers  of  Chi- 
cago, were  the  designers  of  this  plant,  which  was 
installed  under  rather  unusual  and  exacting  con- 
ditions. 


Electrical  Mechanism  for    Firing  Guns. 

An  ingenious  method  of  firing  guns  which  does 
away  with  the  intricate  breech  mechanism  is  sug- 
gested by  a  patent  recently  issued  to  Martin  E. 
Thomas  of  Batavia,  Ohio.  As  shown  by  the  ac- 
companying illustration,  the  firing  is  accomplished 
by  a  spark  which  is  generated  by  dry  cells  and 
an  induction  coil  contained  in  the  stock  of  the 
gun.  The  charge  is  contained  in  a  cartridge  as 
usual,  but  instead  of  the  cap  in  the  end  of  the 
shell,  electrodes  are  provided  wdiich  are  insulated 
from  each  other.  When  the  shell  is  in  place  in  the 
gun    and    the    breech    closed    the    terminals    of    the 


ELECTRICAL     MECHANISM    FOR    FIRING    GUNS. 


electrodes  in  the  cartridge  come  in  contact  with 
the  terminals  of  the  secondary  circuit  of  the  induc- 
tion coil.  This  circuit  may  be  closed  by  a  button 
or  trigger,  as  'also  the  primary  circuit,  to  cause 
a  spark  between  the  electrodes  in  the  shell  and 
ignite  the  powder.  In  this  way  the  two  circuits 
must  be  closed  before  the  discharge  takes  place, 
which  adds  materially  to  the  safety  of  the  ami. 


An  Extensive  Signaling  System. 

■  E.  H.  Harriman  has  authorized  J.  Krutlschnitt, 
director  of  maintenance  and  operation  of  the  Union 
Pacific  and  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  companies, 
to  install  automatic  electric  block  signals  of  the  most 
advanced  type  from  Omaha  to  San  Francisco,  1,800 
miles,  and  from  San  Francisco  to  Colton,  through 
Los  Angeles,  542  mileSj  the  route  of  the  Overland 
Limited.  These  2,342  miles  will  undoubtedly  be  the 
longest  line  of  continuous  automatic  electric  block 
signals  in  the  world;  the  cost  will  aggregate  $3,000,- 
cco.  The  plans  include  the  erection  of  three  gen- 
erating plants  operated  by  gasoline  engines  to  oper- 
ate the  signals  in  the  Wyoming  division.  These 
plants  will  also  supply  the  current  for  an  independ- 
et  telephone  system  along  the  Union  Pacific  lines 
in    this    division. 


March  31,   1901 


WESTERN    ELECTRIi 


New  Methods  of  Motor  Control. 

Among    ili''    rccenl    inventions    in    motoi 
apparatu     two  dc\  ii  c     have   been   pati  nti  d 
Charles  A.  Eck  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  and  tin   othci    b 
i  |(il|  1,      1 1    i  lilpin  "i   '  levi  land,   I  lliio      Hi     Eel 
plan,  while  relating  generally  to  a        tern  ol  motor 

control,   has   particular    refc o  a     imple   and 

1 1  hi    means    for    varying    the    r<   1  tai 1    thi 

magnetic  circuit  of  a  motor.     Mr.  Gilpin  cmbodii 

in  his  invention  a  widely  different  dc\ n  i  ting 

,,f  a  .rl  arrangement  foi  controlling  motoi     from 

;|  ,h  tancc  by  nn-.-in ^  of  a   mastci    controller   having 

I, in  two  vt  ires  c ici  ting  it   to  tin    ri  1 I<  1   of  the 

system. 

In    the   apparatus    suggested    by    Mr.    Eel  . 

will    be    l"i rsi    described,    the    fei c    ol    novelt) 

an   adjustable   yoke    between    the    poll      wl 

tional   areas   varies    so   that    when    the    yoke    is   ad- 
justed  1 te   position   the   magnetii    lim  1   of   force 

will   flow   through   that   portion   ol    the   yoke   having 
rgi    cross-sectional   area,   and   when   adju  ted    to 
another    position    the    magnetic    lines   of    force    will 
Bow  through  that   portion  of  the  yoke  \\li"  e  cro 
ei  tional  area  is  smaller. 

Fin.  1  is  an  end  elevation  "I"  a  motor  embodying 
1I1.  invention  with  the  interior  parts  exposed  and 
partly  in  section  and  showing  the  yoke  adju  ted 
in  the  position  where  the  magnetic  lines  will  How 
through  that  portion  having  the  larger  cross  sec- 
tional   area— that    is,    the    starting   position.    Fig.    2 


MMA_I /WWVWVWVWWYWWWVywWWV\ 


FIG.   I.       END    ELEVATION    OF    ECK    MOTOR. 

is  a  view  similar  to  Fig.  i,  but  broken  away  and 
showing  the  position  of  the  yoke  when  greater 
speed  is  desired  and  when  the  magnetic  lines  of 
force  pass  through  that  portion  of  the  yoke  which 
has  the  smaller  cross-sectional  area.  Fig.  3  is  a 
sectional  view  taken  on  line   (4  4)   of  Fig.  1. 

Mounted  upon  the  motor  casing,  and  adjustable, 
is  a  yoke  in  the  form  of  a  ring  (10)  and  composed 
of  a  series  of  portions  (ir)  of  a  relatively  large 
cross-sectional  area  and  connected  by  a  series  of 
portions  of  a  relatively  small  cross-sectional  area. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  each  portion  (11)  is  some- 
what longer  than  the  distance  between  the  poles, 
so  that  when  properly  positioned,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
1,   it  will  overlap  from  one  pole  to  another.     This 


ring  is  provided  with  a  suitable  handle  so  that  it 
may  be  readily  adjusted  by  the  operator. 

Suitably  secured  in  the  casing  is  a  member 
(14),  which  is  in  the  form  of  a  plate  with  cut-out 
portions  and  adapted  to  be  inserted  from  the  end 
of  the  motor,  and  when  turned  around  will  be 
properly  held  in  the  grooves  (16)  of  the  ribs  (17) 
on  the  casing.  The  removable  cover  (18)  is  then 
placed  over  this  and  secured  to  the  framework  by 
means  of  screws  or  otherwise. 

Mounted  upon  the  member  (14)  are  two  con- 
tact   plates    (19)    and    (20),    properly    insulated    by 


PIG.  4.       DIAGRAM 


mean  \    of    fibi  r : 

plates    the    >wit<  h    lei  ei     1 23 1    i     adapt*  d    to    play. 
1  hi       v.  itch    levei     1      pivoted    al 

snugly  between  the  tv, ntacl  pi  <•   .  so  that  when1 

in.  ved    bel  ween    the    co :l    plate     il    will    remain 

there  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  it  is 
two   parallel  bars  spaced  aparl   by   means  ol  wash- 
ers,   leaving  the   main    portion    of   the   switch    lever 
resilient.     This   switch   lever   is   normally   hi  I 
of    engagement    with    the    two    contact     plat 
means  of  a  spring  and  has  connected  to  it  the  wire 
(29),    while    one    of    the    contact    plates    has    con- 
nected  to   it   the   other   wire    (30).     Mounted   upon 
the   adjustable    yoke-ring   are   two   stops    (31)    and 
(32)    (Fig.  i). 

It  will  now  be  seen  that  when  the  parts  are  in 
the  position  shown  in  Fig.  1  the  motor  will  be  in 
the  starting  position  and  the  magnetic  lines  of 
force  passing  through  the  portion  (il)  having  the 
large  cross-sectional  area,  the  motor  will  run  at  its 
slowest  speed.  If  the  handle  is  now  turned  to 
the  right  of  the  figure  the  stop  (31)  will  continue 
to  move  the  switch  lever  between  the  two  con- 
tact plates  so  as  to  keep  the  motor  in  circuit  and 
will  at  the  same  time  gradually  bring  the  portion 
(12)  of  the  yoke-ring  having  the  small  cross-sec- 
tional area  into  the  position  shown  in  Fig.  2, 
thereby  gradually  increasing  the  speed  of  the  motor 
by  causing  the  magnetic  lines  of  force  to  travel 
through  a  constantly  decreasing  cross-sectional  area 
of  yoke.  If  the  handle  (13)  is  turned  in  the  oppo- 
site direction,  then  the  stop  (32)  will  gradually 
move  the  switch  lever  out  of  contact  between  the 
two  plates,  and  when  that  point  is  reached,  then 
the  spring  will  snap  it  back  on  a  quick  action, 
thereby  reducing  sparking. 


Fig.  4  is  a  diagrammatic  view  of  Mr.  Gilpin's 
apparatus  and  connections,  comprising  his  motor- 
controlling  system.  (A)  is  the  armature  of  the 
motor  to  be  operated  and  controlled,  its  field-wind- 
ing being  shown  at  (A')  and  the  controlling  resist- 
ance being  illustrated  at  (B).  Electromagnetic 
switches  (C),  (C),  (D)  and  (D')  are  connected 
to  serve  as  reversing  means  for  the  motor,  their 
connections  being  such  that  when  switches  (C)  and 
(C)  are  closed  current  flows  through  the  motor 
armature  and  field  winding  in  a  definite  direction, 
thereby  causing  rotation  of  the  armature  in  a  cer- 
tain direction.  When,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
switches  (D)  and  (D')  are  closed,  the  direction  of 
current  flow  in  the  armature  is  reversed,  though  it 
remains  the  same  through  the  field  winding,  and 
as  a  consequence  the  direction  of  rotation  of  the 
armature  is  reversed.  In  order  to  prevent  the  pos- 
sibility of  more  than  one  pair  of  these  four  switches 
being  in  a  closed  position  at  the  same  time,  lock- 
ing bars  are  provided,  of  which  one  (c")  extends 
between  the  blades  of  switches  (C)  and  (D), 
while  the  other  (d=)  extends  between  the  blades  of 
switches  (D')  and  (C),  the  bar  (<r),  for  example, 
making  it  impossible  for  the  switch  (C)  to  close 
while   the   switch    (D)    is   closed,  and  vice   versa. 

One  end  of  a  body  of  resistance  (B)  is  con- 
nected to  the  free  end  of  the  motor  field  winding 
(A'),  and  there  are  at  intervals  along  its  length 
taps  connected  to  what  in  the  case  illustrated  are 
the  upper  terminals  of  the  resistance-controlling 
switches  (E)  (E*).  The  lower  terminals  of  these 
switches  are  connected  directly  to  one  of  the  cur- 
rent-supply mains  (in  the  case  shown  the  positive  I . 
while  the  lower  terminals  of  the  switches    (C)    and 


main. 

:d!    bill    one  ihe   rc- 

•1  aux- 
iliary switchc  by  the 
closing  of  the  particul; 

stroller 
id  to  the  actual  1 

master  controller  (F)  number 

of  segmental  contact   :  ted  in 

Iric  cir- 

mountcd    upon    it    four    contacts,    of    which 
respectively  nearest  to  and  farthest  from  the  center 
— namely  ill  and  if  1 — are  likewise  electrically  con- 
other,  but  insulated  from  the  otl 

jmental  contacts  the  two  in- 
dicated by  (g)  and  (g)  and  arranged  upon  ihc 
arc  having  the  least  radius  are  electrically  con- 
nected to  each  other  and  to  one  of  the  current- 
supply  mains — in  the  present  instance  the  positive — 
while  the  contacts  (h)  and  <h\)  of  the  next  larger  arc 
of  the  controller  are  similarly  connected  to  each 
1  ther  and  to  th    0  her  current-supply  main.— namely. 


FIG.  3.      SECTIONAL   VIEW   OF    ECK    MOTOR. 

the  negative.  Of  the  contacts  (j)  and  (j'),  ar- 
ranged along  the  arc  of  the  greatest  radius,  the 
first,  third  and  fifth  of  each  of  the  two  groups 
are  electrically  connected  to  each  other  and  to  a 
single  wire  (k),  extending  from  the  master  con- 
troller to  the  motor-controlling  switches  of  the 
system. 

The  bank  of  resistance  (j')  has  one  end  con- 
nected to  the  first  of  the  segments  (j)  and  its 
other  end  connected  to  the  second  segment  of  the 
same  group,  as  well  as  to  the  second  segment  of 
the  group  (j5),  while  the  fourth  segments  of  both 
of  the  groups  (j)  and  li")  are  electrically  con- 
nected to  each  other  and  to  a  point  of  the  resistance 
1  j  1  intermediate  of  its  ends.  The  segments  of 
the  third  arc  of  the  controller  are.  like  the  others, 
divided  into  two  groups  (i)  and  (i'),  there  being 
in  the  first  of  these  groups  but  three  segments,  of 
which  the  first  and  third  are  electrically  connected 
to  each  other  and  to  one  end  of  a  bank  of  re- 
sistance ir  1,  as  well  as  to  a  wire  (1),  constituting 
the  second  conductor,  extending  between  the  mas- 
ter controller  and  the  motor-controlling  switches 
of  the  system.  Also  connected  to  this  wire  are  the 
first,    third    and    fifth    segments    of   the   group    (i't, 


254 

while  the  fourth  of  this  latter  group  is  connected 
to  the  second  of  the  contacts  (i)  and  to  a  point 
of  the  bank  of  resistance  (f)  intermediate  of  its 
ends,  it  being  noted  that  the  second  end  of  this 
bank  of  resistance  is  connected  to  the  second  seg- 
ment of  the  group   (i')- 

The  wire  (k)  connecting  the  master  controller 
with  the  remainder  of  the  system  is  electrically 
connected  to  one  end  of  the  actuating  coils  of 
switches  (C)  (E)  iE=)  and  <E'),  while  the  second 
connecting  wire  (!)  is  connected  to  one  end  of  the 
actuating  coils  of  switches  (D')  (E')  and  (E"). 
It  may  here  be  noted  that  the  hank  of  resistance 
(jJ)  is  so  proportioned  that  when  by  the  operation 
of  the  master  controller  it  is  placed  in  series  with 
the  actuating  coil  of  one  of  the  switches  of  the 
system  it  permits  sufficient  current  to  flow  to  hold 
lite  switcli  closed,  if  it  is  already  closed,  although 
this  current  is  not  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  cause 
closing  of  the   switch   if  it  be   open. 

That  portion  of  this  same  bank  pi  resistance 
included  between  its  intermediate,  connection  and 
that  end  connected  to  the  wire  (1)  is  also  so  pro- 
portioned that  if  it  be  connected  in  series  with  two 
switch-actuating  coils  in  multiple  with  each  other 
it  will  hold  these  two  switches  closed  if  they  be 
already  closed,  though,  as  before,  this  current  will 
be  insufficient  to  cause  the  switches  to  close  if  they 
are  open.  This  same  statement  is  true  as  regards 
the  bank  of  resistance  (j')(  that  portion  included 
between  the  end  connected  to  the  wire  (k)  and  its 
intermediate  connection  being  similarly  so  propor- 
tioned that  if  it  be  placed  in  series  with  the  coils 
of  three  switches  respectively  connected  in  multiple 
to  each  other  the  current  flow  will  be  such  that 
these  switches  will  remain  closed  if  they  are  already 
closed,  though  they  will  not  be  operated  if  they 
are  in  their  open  position.  The  actuating  coil  of 
switch  (C)  has  one  end  directly  connected  to  the 
negative  supply  main,  while  its  second  end  is  con- 
nected through  the  auxiliary  switch  of  switch  (C) 
to  the  positive  supply  main.  The  coil  of  switch 
(C)  while  having  one  end  in  connection  with  the 
wire  (k),  has  its  second  end  directly  connected  to 
the  negative  supply  main.  The  auxiliary  switch  of 
the  switch  (C)  has  one  terminal  connected  to  the 
negative  supply  main  and  to  one  terminal  of  the 
auxiliary  switch  of  the  main  switch  (D),  while  its 
second  terminal  is  connected  to  one  end  of  the 
actuating  coil  of  the  main  switch  (E).  The  second 
terminal  of  the  auxiliary  switch  (dl  is  connected 
to  the  line  extending  between  the  auxiliary  switch 
(c)  and  one  terminal  of  the  actuating  coil  of  switch 
(E),  while  the  actuating  coil  of  switch  (D)  has 
one  terminal  connected  to  the  negative  supply  main 
and  its  second  terminal  connected  through  the  aux- 
iliary switch  (d')  to  the  positive  supply  main. 
The  coil  of  the  switch  (D'),  while  having  one  end 
connected  to  the  wire  (1),  has  its  second  end  con- 
nected directly  to  the  positive  supply  main. 

As  regards  the  resistance-controlling  switches  (E) 
to  (E'),  inclusive,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  first, 
third  and  last  of  these  have  one  terminal  of  their 
respective  coils  connected  to  the  wire  (k)  from 
the  master  controller,  while  the  second  terminal  of 
the  first  of  the  coils  is  connected  to  the  negative 
supply  main  through  the  auxiliary  switch  (c)  of 
main  switch  (C),  which  in  operation  is  actuated 
just  before  the  switch  (E).  Similarly,  the  second 
terminal  of  the  coil  of  switch  (E=)  is  connected 
to  the  negative  supply  main  through  the  auxiliary 
switch  of  switch  (E4),  while  the  second  end  of 
the  coil  of  switch  (E4)  is  also  connected  through 
the  auxiliary  switch  of  main  switch  (E°)  to  the 
negative  supply  main.  The  coils  of  the  two  switches 
(E')  and  (E=)  each  have  one  end,  as  noted  above, 
connected  to  the  wire  (1)  and  their  other  ends 
connected  through  the  auxiliary  switch  of  the  main 
switch,  which  in  operation  is  actuated  immediately 
before   them,   to  the   negative   supply   main. 

With  this  arrangement  of  apparatus  and  connec- 
tions, if  the  operating  lever  of  the  master  con- 
troller (F)  be  moved,  for  example,  to  the  right  of 
its  vertical  position,  so  as  to  bring  its  contacts 
into  engagement  with  the  right  hand  group  (j) 
of  the  controller  segments,  it  will  he  seen  that 
the  first  of  this  group  will  be"  in  direct  electrical 
connection  with  the  positive  supply  main,  and  cur- 
rent will  flow  through  the  wire  (k)  through  the 
actuating  coil  of  switch  (C)  to  the  negative  sup- 
ply main,  thereby  causing  this  switch   to   close. 

While  the  coils  of  switches  (E)  (E5)  and  (E4) 
are  also  connected  by  this  operation  to  the  positive 
supply  main,  none  of  them  can  close,  because  in 
each  case  their  circuit  includes  an  auxiliary  switch 
of  another  main  switch  which  is  still  open.  The 
closing  of  main  switch  (C)  closes,  its  auxiliary 
switch  (c),  and  so  permits  current  to  flow  from 
the  positive  supply  main  through  the  actuating  coil 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

of  switch  (C)  to  the  negative  main,  so  that  this 
latter  switch  closes,  and  consequently  closes  its 
auxiliary  switch,  which  in  turn  permits  current  to 
flow  from  the  positive  supply  main  to  the  master 
controller  through  the  wire  (k)  to  the  coil  of  switch 
(E),  and  hence  to  the  negative  supply  main.  The 
closure  of  this  last-named  switch  completes  the 
circuit  through  the  motor,  and  current  will  flow 
from  the  positive  supply  main  through  switch  (E), 
and  all  of  the  resistance  (B),  field  winding  (A'), 
main  switch  (C')>  armature  (A)  and  switch  (C) 
to  the  negative  supply  main.  The  motor  will  there- 
fore start  and  continue  to  operate  at  its  lowest 
speed  until  the  lever  of  the  master  controller  be 
moved  to  its  succeeding  points,  the  path  of  the 
current  from  these  points  being  readily  traceable. 


Support  for  Osmium  Lamp  Filaments. 

Osmium  filaments  for  incandescent  electric  lamps 
when  brought  to  a  dazzling  white  heat  are  quite 
flexible,  so  that  if  brought  into  a  horizontal  or 
inclined  position  they  tend  to  droop  or  sag  by  their 
own  weight.  Moreover,  owing  to  the  relatively 
high  specific  gravity  of  osmium  and  a  certain  de- 
gree of  brittleness  inherent  in  the  filaments  the  lat- 
ter are  particularly  liable  to  be  broken  during 
transportation,  the  lamps  being  of  necessity  fre- 
quently exposed  to  more  or  less  violent  shocks  and 
jars.  To  obviate  these  disadvantages  and  dangers 
it  is  desirable  to  provide  the  osmium  filament  with 
a  suitable  support  disposed  within  the  lamp  bulb, 
so  as  to  maintain  the  filament  against  excessive 
flexure  or  vibration  under  the  varying  conditions 
cf  use  of  the  lamp  and  the  vicissitudes  of  ship- 
ment and  of  handling. 

Heretofore  it  has  been  proposed  to  support  car- 
bon filaments  against  vibration  by  the  employment 
of  wires  of  platinum  or  nickel,  extending  from  some 
point  of  anchorage  within  the  lamp  bulb  and  en- 
gaging at  their  free  ends  the  carbon  filament.  The 
employment  of  metallic  wires  of  this  character 
would,  however,  be  impracticable  with  osmium  fila- 
ments, for  the  reason  that  when  brought  into  con- 
tact with  white-heat  osmium  the  platinum  or  nickel 
at  the  point  of  contact  would  alloy  with  osmium 
and  would  be  vaporized,  driven  off,  and  deposited 
as  a  black  coating  upon  the  inner  surface  of  the 
bulb.  Moreover,  a  platinum  or  nickel  support  tends 
to  adhere  by  fritting  to  the  white-hot  osmium 
filament,    thereby    interfering   with    the    free    expan- 


ffefractary  OxA 


sion  and  contraction  of  the  filament  and  subject- 
ing it  to  corresponding  liability  of  rupture.  Sup- 
ports of  carbon  would  be  likewise  unsatisfactory 
for  osmium  filaments,  because  of  the  inevitable 
formation  of  osmium  carbon  compounds,  which  are 
more    volatile    than    the    pure    osmium. 

Dr.  Carl  Auer  von  Welsbach  of  Vienna,  the  in- 
ventor of  the  well-known  incandescent  gas  mantle 
which  bears  his  name,  has  made  an  invention  bear- 
ing on  this  interesting  point.  One  form  is  illustrated 
herewith.  The  purpose  is  the  production  of  supports 
from  a  material,  first,  sufficiently  rigid  when  in  fila- 
mentary form  to  sustain  the  osmium  filaments; 
second,  so  highly  refractory  that  it  will  not  frit 
when  the  latter  is  brought  to  white  incandescence, 
and,  third,  of  such  a  character  that  it  will  not 
react  chemically  upon  the  incandescent  osmium 
filament. 

Dr.  von  Welsbach  discovered  that  it  is  feasible 
to  make  supports  embodying  these  desirable  char- 
acteristics from  certain  oxides,  either  separately  or 
mixed,  but  preferably  from  an  intimate  mixture 
of  about  ro  parts,  by  weight  of  pure  thoroxide  and 
about  one  part,  by  weight,  of  magnesia.  These 
oxides  in  a  finely  divided  or  powdered  condition 
should   be   well   ground   to   a   paste  by  the   addition 


March   31,   1906  . 

of  an  organic  viscous  binding  material — as,  for 
instance,  a  solution  of  sugar.  The  paste  thus  pro- 
duced is  then  shaped  into  flexible  filaments  of  suit- 
able length,  and  one  end  of  the  filament  is  bent 
or  fashioned  into  the  form  of  a  small  loop,  hook, 
or  spiral,  designed  subsequently  to  engage  the  os- 
mium filament  at  the  required  point  of  support 
The  paste  filaments  are  then  dried  and  subsequently 
burned  in  free  air  until  all  the  organic  substance 
is  consumed.  Finally,  they  are  subjected  to  the 
action  of  a  very  high  temperature  until  the  parti- 
cles are  sintered  or  fritted  together.  The  result- 
ant structure  possesses  the  required  stiffness  and 
rigidity,  and  the  straight  end  may  then  be  sealed  by 
fusion  or  otherwise  into  a  hollow  glass  stem  of 
appropriate  diameter,  adapted  to  be  subsequently 
mounted  within  the  lamp  bulb  in  such  relation  to 
the  osmium  filament  that  the  loop  or  hook  of  the 
support  will  engage  and  sustain  the  osmium  fila- 
ment against  sagging  or  vibration. 


Portable  X-ray  Apparatus    for  Testing 
Cables. 

In    the    manufacture    of    deep-sea    cables,    as    well 
as    other    high-grade    cables    with    heavy    insulation, 

it    is    very  essential   that  they  be  as   nearly   perfect 
as   possible,  the   conductor  evenly   covered   with   in- 


.;,.    :*JBJJ-- 

pi 

c 

cm 

0! 

■ 

— -— 

jP 

PORTABLE    X-RAY    APPARATUS    FOR    TESTING    CABLES. 

sulating  material  and  occupying  a  position  exactly 
in  the  center  of  the  cable. 

A  valuable  and  practical  device  has  recently  been 
brought  out  in  Germany  for  use  in  inspecting 
heavily  insulated  cable,  making  use  of  the  Roent- 
gen rays  and  the  fluoroscope.  The  accompanying 
illustration  shows  the  arrangement  of  the  apparatus 
and  position  of  the  cable  as  designed  by  the  Elek- 
tricitats  Gesellschaft  Sanitas  of  Berlin,  Germany. 
The  entire  electrical  equipment  is  mounted  on  a 
truck  with  small  rubber-tired  wheels,  so  that  it  can 
be  moved  easily  about  the  cable  factory.  The  in- 
duction coil  is  mounted  in  a  case  arranged  on  this 
truck  with  a  marble  panel  switchboard  on  the  front 
provided  with  the  necessary  instruments,  rheostat 
and  switches.  The  section  of  the  case  at  the  right, 
as  shown  in  the  illustration,  is  occupied  by  an 
electric  motor,  which  drives,  by  belting,  the  inter- 
rupter. 

The  X-ray  tube  is  mounted  above  the  case  on 
a  framework  directly  over  the  induction  coil  and 
just  below  a  pair  of  pulleys,  over  which  the  cable 
to  be  inspected  is  passed.  The  fluoroscope  is 
mounted  on  an  adjustable  frame  above  in  such  a 
manner  that  it  may  be  moved  at  any  angle  desired 
to  obtain  a  clear  view  of  the  conductor  and  its 
location   within   the   insulation   of   the   cable. 

This  apparatus  is  one  of  the  most  practical  ap- 
plications of  the  X-ray  in  commercial  work,  and 
undoubtedly  will  make  it  possible  to  prevent  de- 
fective cable  from  being  laid,  which  would  other- 
wise possibly  result  in  great  expense  and  loss  of 
time   in   relaying   for   repairs.  F.  C.  P. 


Mayor  Dunne  has  vetoed  the  ordinance  passed  by 
the  Chicago  Council  granting  jointly  to  the  North- 
western Elevated  Railway  Company  and  St.  Paul 
steam  road  permission  to  electrify  the  latter  to 
Evanston  and  operate  cars  to  run  over  the  elevated 
road  to  the  Loop. 


Wan  1 1  31,  i')')'' 


Central    Electric    Railway    Association 

Discusses  Signals  and  Brakes. 

1  he  in  1  regular  bi  1 hlj  meA'ni hi   amal 

•■  imal  'I  ■.    I  1  n". il    Elcctrii    R 

was   held   in   Ihe   I  1 .   !    I  lot  I.    Indi  in 

on   March  22d       *  boul   250  inti  1  url 

ing  engineci     and   repn   cntativi       I     upplj    hou  ■   . 

ivcre    in'  'Hi       1 1»-    11  M-'i  11  in    was    calli  'I    lo 

l:v   E    C,   Spring  of  Springfield,  Ohio,   pre  "I  nl   of 

I: ation.     President   Spring  congratu!  il 

association  on   the   large  attendance   I   au  piciou 

opening  of  the  firsl    bi  n thly   ting      He     aid 

the   association    had    started   on    a 

career  and   reviewed  briefly   whal   had  alreadj    b  1  n 

ac fished  during  the  sliorl  existence  of  the  I  1  n 

,      headquarters  established  in  the   I  rai  tion    1 

mil  Building  lianapoli  .  in  chai Ai 

rill,  secretary  of  the  association,    Mr  Spring  explained 
what   was  being  done  in  1  Ihio  to   fori   tall   ad  1  1 
legislation,  and   concluded   by    saying   thai    the   Ccn 
tral    headquarters    was    the    home    of    and    open    to 
all    interurban    men    ami    supply     men,    and        1 

courtt sly   invited  .ill   interested   in   the  su 1 

Hie  intcrurbans  to  make  it  their  home, 

Mr.  Spring  said  a  number  of  things  were  con 
templatcd.     A   "way  finder,"  or   interurban   r; 

guide,    will    be    issued    shortly    by    the    as  ocia 

showing  .'ill  the  interurban  connections  in  Ohio, 
Indiana  .- 1 1 1 » 1  Michigan,  which  will  be  of  greal  icn 
ice  to  the  traveling  public. 

["he  first  topic  on  the  programme  was  "Electric 
Railway  Signals,"  and  was  presented  by  a  paper 
read  by  E.  J.  Burke,  president  of  the  Blake  Signal 
Manufacturing  Company  of  Boston.  Mr.  Burke 
said  in  part :  "The  Blake  signals  are  practically 
visual  telephone  signals  and  their  use  removes  the 
one-sided  feature  of  railway-line  telephone  systems 
as  at  present  installed.  These  signals  complete  the 
calling  system  so  that  the  telephones  can  lie  used 
to  their  full  advantage  by  both  dispatcher  and  <:n 
crews.  The  purpose  of  the  signal  is  to  allow  the 
dispatcher  selectively  to  signal  to  any  point  on  the 
line  when  he  wishes  to  communicate  with  the  pass- 
ing crews.  The  operation  is  simplified  in  that,  in- 
stead  of  communicating  with  a  telegraph  operator, 
giving  orders  and  having  the  operator  set  a  signal 
and  repeat  the  orders  to  train  crews,  the  dispatcher 
sets  a  signal  and  gives  the  orders  to  train  crew 
direct  by  telephone  on  its  arrival  at  a  certain  sta- 
tion. The  basic  principle  of  the  signal  is  that  the 
time  of  vibration  of  a  pendulum  varies  with  its 
length.  Therefore,  if  we,  at  some  critical  point, 
such  as  a  dispatcher's  office,  start  in  vibration  a 
pendulum  of  a  certain  length,  allowing  it  as  it 
vibrates  to  open  and  close  an  electric  circuit,  elec- 
tric impulses  will  be  set  up  in  that  circuit,  syn- 
chronous with  the  vibrating  pendulum.  As  the 
pendulum  swings  it  opens  and  closes  the  signal-line 
circuit,  sending  impulses  over  the  line  synchronous 
with  its  vibration.  At  the  end  of  13  seconds  this 
line-signal  pendulum  swings  through  an  arc  wide 
enough  to  trip  a  lock  and  drop  the  semaphore  arm. 
The  car  stops  at  the  station  and  the  motorman  or 
conductor  calls  the  dispatcher  by  telephone,  saying, 
"Brown  and  Hayes  at  No.  9  for  orders."  The  dis- 
patcher then  transmits  his  orders  to  the  conductor 
or  motorman.  The  conductor  or  motorman,  if  so 
instructed  by  the  dispatcher,  then  pulls  a  cord 
which  sets  the  semaphore  at  'Clear'  position  ready 
for  future  operation." 

Mr.  Burke  exhibited  charts  and  drawings  to 
illustrate  the  workings  of  the  Blake  signal  appa- 
ratus and  then  gave  an  interesting  demonstration 
of  the  possibilities  of  the  Blake  signal  system  on 
a  complete  working  model,  set  up  in  the  hall,  secur- 
ing electric  power  from  the  local  street-railway 
company    for   the   purpose. 

The  afternoon  session  was  opened  with  a  paper 
by  S.  B.  Hutchins  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  special  rep- 
resentative of  the  Westinghouse  Air  Brake  Com- 
pany, on  "Recent  Advancements  in  the  Air-brake 
Art."  Mr.  Hutchins  said  that  the  developments 
and  advancements  in  the  direction  of  heavier  equip- 
ment, higher  speed  and  quicker  service  on  electric 
trains  are  restricted  to  the  capacity  of  the  power 
brakes  to  destroy  the  energy  and  overcome  the  in- 
ertia of  a  moving  train.  Every  advancement  in  the 
motive  power  and  other  conditions  that  make  higher 
speed  possible  is  a  menace  to  the  traveling  public 
unless  the  factor  of-  safety  is  increased  correspond- 
ingly. The  most  important  problem  to  be  considered 
is  the  distance  which  it  takes  to  bring  the  car  or 
.  train  to  a  stop  in  an  emergency.  In  30  years' 
experience  in  the  development  and  manufacture  of 
air  brakes  this  point  has  been  considered  para- 
mount. It  is  now  possible  to  stop  a  modern  high- 
speed train  representing  a  total  weight  of  700,000 
pounds  from  a  speed  of  60  miles  an  hour  in  less 
than   1,000  feet. 

M.  V.  Turner,  chief  mechanical  engineer  of  the 
Westinghouse  Air  Brake  Company,  who  is  regarded 
as  the  highest  authority  on  air-brake  matters  in 
the  country,  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Hutchins.  and 
proceeded  with  an  exhaustive  lecture  on  the  air 
brake  in  all  its  phases.  The  lecture  was  interest- 
ingly illustrated  with  stereopticon  slides  showing 
the  gradual  steps  taken  from  the  earliest  crude 
crank-chain  brake  and  the  cars  equipped  therewith 
up  to  the  present  remarkable  development  of  the  air 
brake  upon  which  the  safety  of  human  life  depends 
so  largely.  At  the  close  of  his  lecture  Mr.  Turner 
gave   a    practical    illustration    of  the   points    he    had 


lip    il.    tit 

■ 

lw  applied  10 

in  the    'in   ,  or  to  any  numl 

' 1  of  h 

i"    -        I 


I.ECTRIC    RAILWAY 

resenting  each'  of  the  cars  in  the  supposed  train. 
"Heretofore,"  said  Mr.  Turner,  "there  has  been 
no  brake  that  could  be  applied  to  more  than  one 
car.  The  present  system,  however,  is  applicable  in 
trains  of  any  number  of  cars,  the  brake  on  each 
car  being  separate  and  automatic.  Our  idea  i-  that 
all  interurban  electric  cars  should  be  so  equipped 
with  brakes  that  they  will  he  interchangeable,  just 
as  cars  on  steam  roads  are  interchangeable.  The 
time  is  coming  when  all  electric  cars  will  be  run 
in  trains  instead  of  singly,  and  it  is  in  anticipation 
of  this  change  that  the  general  managers  of  the 
electric  railways  are  interesting  themselves  in  the 
automatic   instead   of   the   straight   air   brakes." 

The  next  bimonthly  meeting  of  the  association 
will  be  held  in  Columbus.  Ohio,  and  the  programme 
will  be  devoted  largely  to  train  service  and  the  an- 
noyances and  troubles  thereof,  and  a  general  dis- 
cussion  and   exchange   of   experiences   will   he    held 


Electrical  Equipment  of  Paper-box  and 
Factory. 

pump. 

aid    the   fourth 

kilo wa" 

coupled 

36  inch   stroke,  while  the   100  I 
same  type,   16  by  36  il 

a    pre- Mire    of 
the    cng 
per     minute. 

14  Ut t  in  'Hi- 

each.      The     smaller 

weighing   approximately    12,000  le    valve 

;t-u IT.     The   valves  an 
50-kilowatt  unit   is  con  .all   side-crank 

r.  driving  a  generator 
same  general  type  a-  th"  larger  machine 
entire    plant    is    run    non-condci 

The  switchboard   i-.   so  'aid  out  that  current    from 
any  one  of  the  generators,  all  of  them  or  an; 
bination   of   them,   may   be   distributed   to   the   three 
building! 

panels. 

Foundations   for  all   the  engines   form   oni 
mass   of   concrete   70   feet   long.    12   feet    wide   and 
14  feet  thick,  with   wings   [2   feet  long  and  six   feet 
wide   added   for  each   heavy-duty   engine  to   support 
the  cylinder  end. 

The  boiler  room  in  the  rear  of  the  engin. 
is  44  feet  wide  and  60  feet  '"tig.  It  is  equipped 
with  six  Basshor  &  Sons  horizontal  tubular  boilers, 
each  6  by  iS  feet  and  containing  104  3'l.-inch  tubes. 
The  smoke  flues  connect  direct  to  a  steel  stack  five 
feet  in  diameter  and  140  feet  high.  The  boil 
so  arranged  that  any  one  of  them  may  be  cut  out 
whether  one  or  all  of  the  engines  .-.re  running. 
Two  of  the  boilers  are  arrangi  be  con- 

nected independently  with  either  the  fire  pump  or 
the  small  engine,  permitting  the  independent  opera- 
tion of  the  50-kilowatt  unit,  which  ordinarily  fur- 
nishes   the    lighting    current,    and    is    also    us 


GENERAT1XG    PLANT    IN    PAPER-BOX    AND    BAG 


One  of  the  topics  of  conversation  among  the 
officials  who  attended  the  meeting  was  the  perform- 
ance of  the  private  car  Kenihvorth,  of  General  Man- 
ager C.  D.  Emmons  of  the  Fort  Wayne  and  Wabash 
Valley  road,  which  made  an  average  speed  of  60 
miles  an  hour  from  Fort  Wayne  to  Indianapolis. 
The  car  is  soon  to  be  placed  in  special  service  on 
that  line.  S.  S. 


At  the  town  meeting  in  Braintree.  Mass.,  on 
March  19th  it  was  voted  to  appoint  a  committee 
of  seven  to  investigate  charges  that  the  town's 
municipal  electric-lighting  plant  is  not  being  run 
as  economically  as  it  should  be. 


operate  the  elevators  and  any  small  portion  of  the 
works  where  it  might  be  necessary  to  earn-  on 
work  at  night  or  other  times  when  the  general  plant 
is  shut  down.  The  exhaust  steam  escapes  from 
the  feed-water  heater  into  a  12-inch  heater,  from 
which  it  is  sent  out  to  factory  buildings.  When 
heat  is  needed  the  steam  is  drawn  through  the 
system  of  heating  pipes  by  means  of  a  pump  in  the 
boiler  room,  which  brings  all  the  steam  back  into 
the  heater,  passing  into  the  feed-water  section. 

The  plant  is  equipped  with  individual  and  group- 
motor  drive  throughout.  Sixty  motors  of  various 
sizes,  ranging  from  five  to  30  horsepower  each,  are 
employed. 


256 

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L 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

Department  Store  Plant  Fifty  Feet  Below  Street  Level.     Illus- 
trated  251,  252 

Electrical  Mechanism  for  Finny  Guns.     Illustrated 252 

An  Extensive  Signaling  System 252 

New  Methods  of  Motor  Control.     Illustrated 253,  254 

Support  of  Osmium  Lamp  Filaments,      Illustrated 254 

Portable  X-ray  Apparatus  for  Testing  Cables.  Illustrated....  254 
Central  Electric  Railway  Association  Discusses  Signals   and 

Brakes 255 

E.  C.  Spring.     Portrait 255 

Electrical  Equipment  of  Paper-box  and  Bag  Factory.      Illus- 

Editotial 256 

International  Electrical  Units 257 

Nominations  lor  Institute    Election 257 

Iowa  Cities  Oppose  Municipal  Ownership 257 

National  Street  railway  Convention  to  Be  Held  in  Columbus, 

Ohio 257 

Proposed  Ordinance  Respecting  Ele  :tric  lighl  Rates  in  Chicago.  257 

Maintenance  of  Wav  Men  Meet  in  Chicago 257 

Influence*  of    Load    Factor   on     Hydro-electric     Installation. 
(Papers  by  S.  B.  Storer  and  D.  B.  Rushmore.)     Illustrated..  258 

West  Shore  Railroad  Electrification 258 

The  President  Recommends  Legislation  to  Preserve    Niagara 

Falls .259 

New  Line  of  Graphic  Recording  Instruments.     Illustrated....  259 

Large  Steam-turbine  Power  Stations  for  Paris 259 

Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company  Increases 

Its  Capital  Stock 259 

Sellhn'  Electricity.. 260,  261 

Electric  Signs  Must  Burn  Till  Midnight  in  Seattle 260 

Tbe  Central  Station  and  the  Bakery 260 

Electrical  Show  for  Fond  du  Lac 260 

Wanted  a  Heating  Pad  in  a  Hurry 260 

"Co-operation"  Meeting  in  New  York 260,  261 

Boosts  for  the  City  of  Lights 261 

A  New  Way  to  Soothe  Disgruntled  Customers 261 

New-business  Notes 261 

Automatic  Electric  Elevators 261 

What  It  Costs  to  Cook  with  Electricity 261 

Burglars  Don't  Like  Electric  Light 261 

Illustrated   Technical  Definition 261 

Operation  of  Direct-current  Generators  in  Series  and  Parallel.  262 

M=  '.:. iv  License  Kl'-ctiician^ :'■-' 

The    Modern  Tendency  in  Underground  Electrical  Construc- 
tion  262,  263 

New  England  Sheet  Railway  Club 263 

Long  Electric  Railway  for  Canada  Proposed 263 

National  Electric  Company's  Assets  Sold 263 

New  Companies 263 

Michigan  Independent  Telephone  Association 263 

Telephone  Kate-reducing  Campaign  in  Chicago 263 

Manufacturers  and  Dealers 263 

Annual  Report  of  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany    264 

Indiana  Telephone  Items 264 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes 264.  265 

Telephone  News  from  the  Northwest 265 

General  Telephone  News 265 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence 265,  266,  267 

Great  Britain 2G5 

Dominion  of  Canada 265 

New  York 265.  266 

New  England 266 

Southeastern  States '. 266 

Ohio 266 

Indiana 266 

Michigan 266,  267 

Central  Illinois 267 

Northwestern  States 267 

Personal 267 

Electric  Lighting 267 

Electric  Railways 267,  268 

Power  Transmission 268 

Publications 268 

Societies  and  Schools 268 

Miscellaneous 268 

Trade  News 268 

Business 268,  269 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record 260,  270 


DATES  AHEAD. 

Fond  du  Lac  Gas  and  Electrical   Show,  Armory   E,   Fond 
du  Lac,   Wis.,   April  9th   to    14th. 

Iowa     Electrical     Association     (annual     convention),     Kirk- 
od  Hotel,  Des  Moines.  April    iSth  and   19th. 


American  Electrochemical  Society  (general  meeting, 
Ithaca  Hotel,   Ithaca,   N.   Y.(   May   1st  to  3d. 

Southwestern  Electrical  and  Gas  Association  (annual  con- 
vention).  Galveston,   Tex..    May    16th,    17th  ^  and    iSth. 

Indiana  Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  meet- 
ing),  Indianapolis,   Ind.,  May   17th. 

National  Electric  Light  Association  (annual  convention), 
Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  June  5th  to  8th,  inclusive. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

Trustees  of  the  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago  and 
the  finance  committee  of  the  Chicago  City  Council 
are  widely  at  variance  in  their  opinions  regarding 
a  just  and  equitable  rate  at  which  electricity  gen- 
erated by  the  waterpower  of  the  Drainage  Canal 
shall  be  sold  to  the  city.  As  has  been  previously 
stated  in  the  Western  Electrician,  the  trostees  have 
agreed  to  furnish  is.sco  horsepower  at  the  sub- 
station in  Chicago  at  $26.40  a  horsepower-year. 
This  price  is  about  one-half  what  it  costs  the  city 
to  generate  electricity  at  its  municipal  plants,  and 
it  was  thought  that  the  city  would  be  willing  to 
accept  this  price  without  question.  But  now  City 
Electrician  Carroll,  acting  on  the  advice  of  the 
finance  committee  of  tthe  Council,  sends  word  to 
President  McCormick  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  that 
the  city  will  only  consent  to  pay  $5.76  a  horse- 
power-year for  24-hour  service.  The  grounds  upon 
which  this  demand  is  made  are  that  the  Sanitary 
District  is  not  justified  in  adding  to  its  estimate 
of  the  cost  of  production  the  large  item  of  $140,- 
000  for  interest  on  investment.  Alderman  Bennett, 
chairman  of  the  finance  committee,  says  that  there 
is  no  substantial  difference  between  the  Sanitary 
District  and  the  people  of  Chicago.  Chicago's  citi- 
zens paid  about  95  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  the 
canal  and  waterworks,  and  therefore  they  should 
not  be  charged  with  interest  on  the  investment 
which  in  reality  belongs  to  them.  In  making  the 
estimate  of  operating  expenses  the  trustees  of 
the  Sanitary  District  also  added  the  cost  of  op- 
erating the  Lawrence  Avenue  and  Thirty-ninth 
Street  pumping  stations,  together  with  interest  on 
investment  for  the  latter.  These  items  the  com- 
mittee on  finance  did  not  see  fit  to  allow,  and  they, 
together  with  the  dropping  of  the  $140,000  first 
mentioned,  caused  the  discrepancy  between  the  San- 
itary   District's    offer    and    the    offer    of    the    city. 


March  31,   1906 

usually  cover  the  loss,  or  much  of  the  loss,  due  to 
lightning. 


Lightning  rods  are  not  now  in  use  to  so  great 
an  extent  as  in  former  years,  although  a  more 
scientific  study  is  made  of  methods  of  protection 
from  lightning.  But,  while  the  limitations  of  the 
lightning  rod  are  better  known  than  formerly,  the 
device  is  by  no  means  discredited  by  the  best  au- 
thorities. Actual  observation  has  demonstrated  that 
lightning  rods  when  properly  made  and  installed 
have  averted  the  destructive  effects  of  lightning 
discharges  in  many  instances.  In  spite  of  this, 
however,  statistics  show  that  the  manufacture  of 
lightning  rods  is  on  the  decline.  Mr.  Alfred  J. 
Henry,  professor  of  meteorology,  in  a  recent  bulle- 
tin of  the  United  States  Weather  Bureau,  prepared 
under  the  direction  of  Willis  L.  Moore,  chief  of 
the  bureau,  and  entitled  "Recent  Practice  in  the 
Erection  of  Lightning  Conductors,"  gives  some  in- 
teresting facts. 

According  to  the  United  States  Census  statistics, 
there  were  in  i860  20  establishments  manufacturing 
lightning  rods,  which  turned  out  a  product  valued 
at  $182,7.50.  In  1870  the  number  of  establishments 
had  risen  to  25  and  the  value  of  the  products  to 
$1,374,631.  In  the  next  decade  the  number  of  estab- 
lishments fell  to  20  and  the  value  of  tbe  product 
to  $801,192,  and  finally  in  1890  the  number  of  estab- 
lishments rose  to.  22,  but  the  value  of  the  product 
diminished  to  $483,296.  At  the  census  of  igoo  the 
classification  in  vogue  from  i860  to  1890  was  aban- 
doned. There  is  no  way  of  determining  absolutely 
whether  the  large  decrease  in  the  value  of  the  man-, 
ufactured  product  from  1870  to  1890  marks  a  de- 
cline in  the  use  of  lightning  conductors,  but  It  is 
certain,  however,  that  the  "lightning-rod  man"  is 
not  so  much  in  evidence  as  he  was  in  the  early 
,  '70's. 

Prudence  requires  that  isolated  buildings  in  the 
open  country  be  protected  in  some  way  from  the 
destructive  effects  of  lightning,  but  in  large  cities 
the  use  of  lightning  conductors  is  not  imperative, 
owing  to  the  prevalence  of  modern  steel  structures. 
Still,  the  number  of  buildings  requiring  protection 
is  steadily  on  the  increase  as  the  rural  districts 
expand,  and  even  if  steel  construction  is  becoming 
more  prevalent  in  cities,  this  fact  cannot  be  held 
accountable  for  the  marked  falling  off  in  the  pro- 
duction of  lightning  conductors.  The  real  reason 
seems  to  be  that  people  are  coming  to  believe  that 
lightning  rods,  for  economical  reasons,  are  not 
worth    while,    especially    as    fire-insurance    policies 


Metric  weights  and  measures  are  again  actively 
under  consideration  by  the  committee  on  coinage, 
weights  and  measures  of  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives. The  cause  is  the  Littauer  bill,  which,  if 
recommended  and  passed,  will  make  the  use  of  the 
metric  system  compulsory  in  all  departments  of 
government.  One  of  the  leading  champions  of  the 
decimal  system  is  Alexander  Graham  Bell,  the  tele- 
phone inventor,  who  addressed  the  committee  last 
month  in  favor  of  the  bill.  Dr.  Bell  explained 
the  importance  of  the  bill,  and  it  will  be  of  interest 
to   quote   part  of  w;hat  he  said: 

This  is  one  of  the  smallest  bills  I  ever  saw  in 
my  life,  only  seven  lines,  but  it  is  pregnant  with 
consequences  to  the  people  of  tthe  United  States. 
It  means  very  much  more  than  appears  upon  its 
face.  This  is  a  mandatory  bill  requiring  the  use  of 
the  metric  system  in  the  departments  of  the  gov- 
ernment, but,  of  course,  Congress  would  not  be 
justified  in  passing  a  mandatory  bill  of  this  kind 
unless  they  had  made  up  their  mind  that  the  whole 
of  the  United  States  is  going  to  have  the  metric 
system.  So  that  this  really  means,  if  you  pass  it, 
that  you  have  decided  to  abolish  all  this  chaotic 
mass  of  measures  and  weights  that  we  now  have 
and  substitute  the  metric  system,  not  simply  for  the 
government  departments  but  for  the  whole  of  the 
United  States.  And  this,  then,  is  the  logical  step 
in  the  consummation  of  such  an  idea.  I  hope  such 
an  idea  will  be  carried  out.  It  would  be  a  great 
thing  for  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  this, 
of  course,  is  the  first  step.  _ 

On  the  other  hand,  the  manufacturing  interests 
of  the  country  are  pretty  nearly  unanimous  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  proposed  change,  and  it  is  perhaps 
unlikely  that  the  Littauer  bill  will  become  a  law. 

There  are  few  subjects  apart  from  politics  and 
religion  on  which  English-speaking  people  differ  so 
sharply  and  honestly  as  on  the  constantly  recurring 
proposals  for  the  legal  adoption  of  the  metric  sys- 
tem. Few  dispute  the  great  advantage  of  the  deci- 
mal system  of  weights  and  measures  over  the  in- 
convenient, illogical  and  antiquated  units  which  are 
now  in  use  in  Great  Britain,  the  United  States  and 
the  British  colonies.  But  there  are  many  who 
consider  it  inexpedient  to  attempt  to  adopt  the 
metric  system  at  present  or  for  many  years  to 
come.  A  drastic  law  without  the  support  of  public 
opinion  would  perhaps  make  the  improved  system 
so  unpopular  and  irksome  that  it  might  have  to  be 
repealed  and  the  whole  reform  set  back  a  genera- 
tion. And  there  is  no  question  that  the  metric  sys- 
tem is  known  by  name  only  to  practically  the 
whole  mass  of  population  in  the  United  States. 
Ask  the  average  lawyer,  doctor,  clergyman,  business 
man,  how  long  a  centimeter  is,  and  he  will  either 
confess  ignorance  or  else  say  that  he  has  forgotten 
and  will  have  to  look  for  the  answer  in  a  book, 
or,  perhaps,  after  some  mental  calculation,  he  may 
answer,  "About  two-fifths  of  an  inch."  It  will  be 
observed  that  at-  best  he  has  no  mind-picture  of  a 
centimeter.  He  translates  it  in  terms  of  inches. 
But  the  inch  or  foot  has  a  positive  value  to  him. 
And  if  this  is  the  case  with  those  whom  we  call 
well  educated,  what  shall  we  say  of  the  mechanic, 
the  clerk,  the  laborer? 

In  this  situation  should  not  the  earnest  advocates 
of  the  metric  system  turn  their  attention  to  the 
schoolmaster  rather  than  to  the  legislator?  In 
other  words,  should  not  the  reform  be  brought 
about  by  education  rather  than  by  legal  enactment? 
It  will  be  a  slow  process,  no  doubt,  but,  whatever 
the  experience  of  other  countries,  we  are  inclined 
to  believe  that  in  the  United  States  the  change  can 
be  brought  about  in  no  other  way. 

Spelling  reform  affords  something  of  an  analogy. 
English  spelling  is  open  to  as  many  objections, 
perhaps,  as  English  weights  and  measures.  But 
will  the  advocates  of  a  compulsory  metric  system 
contend  that  there  should  be  a  law  providing  that 
in  every  communication  addressed  to  the  govern- 
ment the  word  "though,"  for  instance,  should  be 
spelled  "tho"?  In  both  cases  compulsory,  manda- 
tory or  peremptory  action  would  be  unwise.  The 
people  must  be  taught  to  appreciate  the  metric  sys- 
tem and  to  know  how  to  use  it  before  they  can  be 
persuaded  to  adopt  it.  And  in  such  a  fundamental 
matter  as  the  weights  and  measures  in  daily  use 
it  will  probably  be  found  that  this  is  a  government 
of  the  people. 


tfarch  ,;i    1906 


International  Electrical  Units. 

Il    will    l«-    rcmcmbi  ri  d,     aj      thi     1  ondi  >n    Elci 

ii  ian,  thai   a     a   n   ull    ol    thi    Inl 

ii<  .1    I  n       -'i    Si     1 .'i    "      

lined   thai     tepi     ihould   bi    taken   toward 

1    .in    ag 'Hi    «  itl ."  'i    i"    clcctrii 

ml     land  11  'l     bj    tin    ■  "ii  1  in 11    "i    .hi    interna 

dual     co 11    tprc  a  nun"     il .  1  in 1 

-iii' id.     \      1    I"-  liminai  ■     1 

epresentatives  of  govcr nl  laborato a    1  on 

i-ni'il,  and  was  attended  by  the  following  delegates: 

United    Stati  ■    of    Am.   1  .,     11.  1  .,,  h  irt,    prol 

,,    Univi  1  lity   ..1    \li.  Iiir.,11. 

1.  .        . 1     1  .  .       ,     .1.      1     I 


1   I 

1  ;<  1  iii.iih     1  »i.    in     1  ■    .ii.i,    n ■  1.1 1    iii.     Ki 

,1     h     flu  ii    1    .1.  1. .  1 I..      '  ..  ii  in  i.ih,    t'rol     Di 

KiiIiIi.iiim  Ik    !• I.    I'n    i'l'  '"    "i    il"     I''  "  k  ' 

Hi,    I..    W.iiKui...      .      i.l.  nl    ..I     lli.     I;.  11  Ii    in  1.1I1  .     I'i..(.    Ilr. 
I        II  .1 ,11     ill.     It,  "Il  .111   Kill,    .ill.l     IV. I.     Ill      W 

id    IK,. 1,    111.    St.    Lindcck,   in.  mil.  1  ■  "i    'i       Ri  ii 

'"'l    md'.linl        IK.      H.      T.      LI.'/,  I Ii,       I   .       K.       S   .      ' 

1I1.     ' nal    I'Iki':,I    Laboratory 

E.     M.,  ...ii.     .In, tin      Bun ntral 

\u  11  1.1      V,     v .     I  „,"r,     |,i ,    kI,  ki    ol     tin       ■  1  'I  111    I  I 
I, i.u.i and    I  >r.     I..     Kl iky,    rcl Icctl  ical 

.,11,  ■        K      I  lie        ' ,K    I    il  lulu,"  I "IK     

Meetings  were  held  in  Berlin  on  October  23d, 
24th  and  25th  last,  and  the  official  report  of  the 
proceedings  lias  now  been  published.  The  following 
decisions   were  arrived  at: 

Form  u,   I  Iecisions. 

That  only  two  electrical  units  shall  be  cho  en 
as    fundamental    units. 

The  international  ohm  defined  by  the  resistanci 
of  a  column  of  mercury,  and  the  international  am- 
pere defined  by  the  deposition  of  silver  are  to  be 
taken    as    the    fundamental   electrical    units. 

The  international  volt  is  that  electromotive  force 
which  produces  an  electric  current  of  one  interna- 
tional ampere  in  a  conductor  whose  resistance  is 
one    international    ohm. 

The  Weston  cadmium  cell  shall  be  adopted  as 
the  standard  cell. 

The  conference  recommends  the  following  pro- 
cedure    for  the   realization   of   the   ohm: 

1.  'the  method  which  avoids  the  end  correction 
(Ausbreitungswiderstand)  should  not  be  employed 
( Wissensch.  Abh.  der  Phys.-Techn.  Reichsanstalt, 
2,  S.  383,  1895;  Phil.  Trans.  Roy.  Soc,  London 
204,  S.  81,  1904). 

2.  The  Reichsanstalt  will  put  itself  in  communi- 
cation with  Messrs.  Schott  &  Co.  of  Jena,  in  order 
to  determine  whether  glass  tubes  of  sufficiently 
uniform   section  can  be  produced  of  the  glass  59'". 

3.  'the  glass  tubes  used  in  setting  up  mercury 
resistances    are    to    be   carefully   annealed. 

4.  The  tubes  are  to  be  filled  in  vacuo  without 
heating. 

5.  In  determining  the  weight  the  mercury  column 
is  tn  he  bounded  by  planes  at  the  terminal  cross- 
sections  of  the  tube  and  to  be  at  a  temperature 
of  o"   C. 

6.  The  length  measurements  are  to  be  made  as 
far  as  possible  at  0°  C.  with  the  aid  of  contact 
pieces. 

7.  The  electrical  measurements  are  to  be  car- 
ried out  at  0°  C,  and  a  method  is  to  be  em- 
ployed which  avoids  the  use  of  thick  connecting 
wires.  Among  such  methods  the  Koblrauscb  dif- 
ferential galvanometer  method,  the  Thomson  double- 
bridge  method,  and  eventually  the  compensation 
method  are  recommended.  The  current  employed 
in  measurement  shall  be  limited  by  the  condition 
that  the  mercury  shall  not  be  warmed  sufficiently 
to   produce    appreciable   error. 

8.  The  mean  of  at  least  three  fillings  shall  be 
taken  as  the  value  of  the  resistance  of  a  tube. 

9.  The  mean  of  at  least  five  tubes  must  be  taken 
to   determine   the  value   of   the   mercury   unit. 

10.  The  mercury  standards  shall  have  a  resistance 
of   approximately  one   ohm. 

11.  As  the  value  of  the  wire  standard  the  mean 
of  at  least  five  resistances  of  one  ohm  shall  be 
taken. 

12.  A  comparison  of  the  wire  standard  with  the 
mercury  units  shall  be  carried  out  at  appropriate 
intervals  of  time. 

The  Weston  standard  cell  shall  contain  solid 
hydrated  cadmium  sulphate ;  the  strength  of  the 
cadmium  amalgam  shall  be  12  to  13  per  cent,  of 
cadmium. 

In  the  form  of  the  normal  element  of  the  stand- 
ard cell  to  he  finally  specified,  sources  of  disturb- 
ance at  the  negative  pole  are  to  be  avoided. 

Resolutions. 

The  conference  expresses  the  wish  that  an  in- 
ternational convention  should  be  summoned  in  order 
to  arrive  at  agreement  in  the  electric  standards 
which  are   in  use  in  the   different  countries. 

The  following  resolution  was  further  adopted: 
"In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  laws  of  the  different 
countries  in  relation  to  electrical  units  are  not  in 
complete  agreement,  the  conference  holds  it  de- 
sirable that  an  official  conference  should  be  sum- 
moned in  the  course  of  a  year,  with  the  object  of 
bringing    about    this    agreement." 

The  conference  further  expresses  the  opinion: 
(1)  That  the  information  before  it  is  not  sufficient 
to  enable  it  to  propose  any  alteration  in  the  for- 
merly   accepted    value    for   the    ampere.     (2)    That 


the  information  befon 

I 
.,      . 
mo  1  'i, 
hi 

1.1  cell,  in  thi 
.     irtci 


Nominations  for  Institute  Election. 

Ai   the  meeting  of  the  board  of  d 
\ni,  ik  held  in 

N<  w    ',  01  ii    23d    the    following 

"direct        n  mini         was  made  up  to 

1  1  1    pre  idi  in     I      \\  ilbui    Rice,  J 

For   t  1  e  pre  idi  nl       \     H 
lady :    II.    II.    I  [umptiri  1 

San  Franci  co. 

For  managers     Paul  Spencer,  Philadelphia;   P.M. 

I  1 In.    I'm  iburg  ;  A.   M.  Schi  1 .    I.   J. 

Carty,     few    iforl 

For  treasurer    George   A     Hamilton,   Nev 

For     .ii, tm      R.    W.    Pope,    New    York. 

I  In ■■■!■    1  ice-presidents    and    eighl  gcrs    h  ild 


A  regular  meeting  of  the  Institute  was  held  in 
New  York  on  the  evening  of  March  23d  al  -tt  West 
Twenty-seventh  Street.  Dr.  S.  S.  Wheeler,  the 
president,  was  in  the  chair.  T.  C.  Martin,  chair- 
man of  the  land  and  building  fund  committi 
nounced  that  the^total  amount  subscribed  toward 
extinguishing  the  debt  on  the  land  for  the  United 
Engineering  Building  was  $132,389,  or  more  than 
two-thirds  of  the  sum  required.  Of  thi*  amount 
over  $87,000  is  in  bank.  A  subscription  not  here- 
tofore mentioned  in  the  Western  Electrician  is  that 
of  $1,000  from  the  Edison  Electric  Illuminating 
Company  of  Brooklyn. 

J.  B.  Taylor  of  Schenectady  read  a  paper  enti- 
tled "Some  Features  Affecting  the  Parallel  Opera- 
tion of  Synchronous  Motor-generator  Sets."  W.  L. 
Waters  of  Milwaukee  discussed  the  paper  briefly. 

In  the  absence  of  the  author  the  paper  by  S.  B. 
Storer  of  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  on  "The  Relation  of 
Load  Factor  to  the  Evaluation  of  Hydro-electric 
Plants,"    was    read    by   title. 

David  B.  Rushmore  of  Schenectady  then  read 
his  paper  on  "Design  of  Hydro-electric  Power  Sta- 
tions." There  was  little  discussion,  and  adjourn- 
ment was  taken.      (  See  page  258. ) 


Iowa  Cities    Oppose    Municipal    Owner- 
ship. 

Municipal  elections  in  the  state  of  Iowa  this  week 
generally  went  against  municipal  ownership.  At 
Waterloo  and  Webster  City,  where  a  test  was  made, 
municipalization  was  defeated  by  large  majorities. 
At  Waterloo  the  issue  was  whether  the  city  should 
have  its  own  water  plant  and  at  Webster  City  it 
was  the  gas  question.  Municipal  ownership  also 
was   defeated  in   Council  Bluffs. 

At  Creston  the  proposition  for  the  city  to  buy 
the  new  plant  of  the  Mutual  Electric  Light  Com- 
pany carried  by  a  small  majority,  but  the  force 
of  this  expression  is  in  doubt  on  account  of  the 
state  laws  limiting  indebtedness.  A  franchise  was 
given  to  the  Des  Moines-Creston  interurban.  A 
franchise  for  the  old  electric-light  and  gas  com- 
pany  was   defeated   by  a  majority   of    17. 

In  Decorah  the  question  of  granting  a  franchise 
to  the  Upper  Iowa  Power  Company  to  operate  an 
electric  plant  carried  by  a  large  majority.  Alder- 
men were  elected  in  five  wards  with  a  campaign 
for  reform  and  lower  taxation  as  the  battle  cry. 


National    Street-railway    Convention    to 
be  Held  in  Columbus,  Ohio. 

The  Ohio  correspondent  of  the  Western  Elec- 
trician writes :  "President  R.  Grosvenor  Hutchins, 
president  of  the  Board  of  Trade  at  Columbus,  has 
received  a  telegram  from  President  W.  Caryl  Ely 
of  the  American  Street  and  Interurban  Railway 
Association  saying  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  execu- 
tive committee  in  Boston  it  was  definitely  decided 
to  hold  the  annual  meeting  in  Columbus  the  week 
of  Monday,  October  15th.  Columbus  has  been  fight- 
ing hard  for  the  meeting  and  it  is  quite  a  victory 
for  the  town.  It  is  believed  that  the  city-  is  able 
to  take  care  of  the  visitors  as  it  has  three  large 
hotels  besides  a  number  of  smaller  ones." 


Proposed  Ordjnani  •  Elec- 

tric Li^ht  Kato    1    ' 


- 1   maximum   1 

The    maximum   or    full    rati 

shown   by   meters    in 

iniuni  demand  per  month  the 

third,    and    six    cents    during    the    fourth    and    fifth 

This  requires    the    Commonwealth 

Company   to    furnish    the   city   currei 

construction    f. ,r    street    arc   lighting 
for  each  arc  lamp  not  exceed 

Section  six  makes  the  on!  within 

20  days  after  its  pa-sage  and  acceptance. 


Maintenance    of    Way    Men    Meet    in 
Chicago. 

A    very    successful    convcntii  n    of    the    American 
Railway   Engineering  and   Maintenance  of  V\ 
sociation    was    held    in    Chicago    on    March   20th    to 
22d,  and   there   was  a   large  attendance. 

President    It.    G.    Kelley.    chief    engineer 
Minneapolis  and   St.   Louis   r.  ;      The 

president  said  in  his  address  that  "The  recent 
progress  toward  the  partial  electrification  of  steam 
roads  indicates  that  the  new  ;ing  will 

in    the    immediate    future    require    the    attcnl 
the  members  of  this  association.     It   is  opening  up 
a    new    and    broad    field    for    original    thought    and 
work." 

Committee  reports  upon  the  various  plans  of  rail- 
way maintenance  were  the  special  features  of  the 
convention.  These  committee  reports  were  upon 
uniform  rules,  ties,  ballasting,  yards  and  terminals, 
iron    and    steel    structures,    rec  and   ac- 

counts, classification  of  track,  road  signs 

and  cattleguards,  signaling  and  interlocking,  rails, 
masonry,    buildings,    tracks,    v. 

bridges  and  trestles  and         1  f  railway  loca- 

tion. 

Election  of  officers  took  place  on  Thursday  the 
22d.  The  president  of  the  association  holds  his 
office  two  years,  and  as  Mr.  Kelley  v 
year  he  has  still  another  in  the  position.  Walter 
G.  Berg  was  elected  vice-president  (two  years  1. 
The  remaining  officers  chosen  were: 

Secretary — E.    H.    Fritch. 

Treasurer — W.   S.  Dawley. 

Two  directors  (two  years! — W.  C.  Gushing  and 
J.    P.    Snow. 

Wednesday  evening  occurred  the  annual  dinner. 
This  function  was  largely  attended.  The  speakers 
were  Mr.  John  F.  Wallace,  past  president  of  the 
association;  Mr.  F.  A.  Delano,  president  of  the 
Wabash  railroad;  Prof.  C.  Frank  Allen  of  the 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technolcigy.  and  Mr. 
Willard  A.   Smith   of  the  Railway  and   Engineering 


The  Isthmian  Canal  Commission  is  inviting  sealed 
sals  until  April  13th  for  furnishing  equip- 
ment for  an  electric-light  plant,  to  be  erected  o* 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  Blanks  and  full  infor- 
mation will  be  furnished  upon  application  to  D.  W. 
Ross,  general  purchasing  agent.  Washington,  D.  G. 
or  the  assistant  purchasing  agent.  24  State  S 
Xew    York. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  31,  1906 


Influence  of  Load  Factor  on  Hydro- 
electric Installation. 

The  March  meeting  of  the  American  Institute  of 
Electrical  Engineers  in  New  York  brought  out  two 
excellent  papers  relative  to  the  construction  of 
hydro-electric  power  plants,  with  particular  refer- 
ence to  the  influence  of  the  load  factor.  One  of 
these  papers  was  by  S.  B.  Storer  of  the  Westing- 
house  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company,  Syra- 
cuse, N.  Y.,  upon  "The  Relation  of  Load  Factor 
to  the  Evaluation  of  Hydro-electric  Plants."  The 
other  paper  was  upon  the  subject  of  "Notes  on  De- 
sign of  Hydro-electric  Power  Stations."  and  was 
written  with  reference  to  the  influence  of  load 
Steam        Plai. 


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FIG.    I.       COST   CURVES   OF    STEAM    PLANT. 

factor.  The  author  of  the  latter  was  David  B. 
Rushmore  of  the  General  Electric  Company,  Schen- 
ectady. 

Mr!  Storer  in  the  concluding  portion  of  his  paper 
said:  "It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  only  ob- 
ject in  developing  a  waterpower  is  to  generate 
electrical  energy  at  a  cost  much  below  that  of  gen- 
erating it  in  any  other  way,  and  users  .of  power 
are  so  well  educated  to  this  fact  that  they  will  not 
buy  hydro-electric  power  unless  the  saving  effected 
is  considerable.  It  must  be  much  more,  in  fact, 
than  that  for  which  they  would  for  any  other  pur- 
pose make  an  expenditure  several  times  as  great 
as  that  necessary  to  replace  other  prime  movers. 

"Comparing  the  cost  of  generating  hydro-electric 
power  with  that  from  coal  or  gas  is  somewhat  diffi- 
cult,   but    the    general    method    to    be    followed    is 


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3-  Electric 

Plant 

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FIG.   2.       COST    CURVES    OF    HVDRO-ELECTRIC    PLANT. 

shown  graphically  in  the  curves  given  herewith. 
Figs.  1  and  2  are'  made  respectively  for  both  steam 
plants  and  hydro-electric  plants,  and  show  the  cost 
of  production  per  horsepower  per  year  with  rela- 
tion to  load  factor.  In  neither  of  these  cases  is 
the  value  given  from  an  actual  installation,  but  is 
merely  an  approximation  indicating  the  general  con- 
ditions as  they  might  exist  in  any  well-built  power 
house  of  a  rated  capacity  of  from  5,000  to  50,000 
horsepower.  The  principal  difference  between  the 
two  curves  is  due  to  the  introduction  of  the  variable 
items  of  coal,  water,  and  labor  in  the  steam  plant, 
while  the  fixed  charges  in  both  cases  form  the 
base  of  the  area  included  under  the  curve.  As 
usual,  the  fixed  charges  include  interest,  depre- 
ciation, taxes  and  insurance.  With  hydro-electric 
plants  the  operating  expense  is  so  nearly  constant 
as  also  to  become  practically  a  fixed  charge.  The 
item   of  repairs   is   really  the  only  variable      in  the 


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affi 

toi 

-"" 

operating  the  hydro-electric  plant  can  be  made  a 
variable  following  the  line  taken  by  the  coal  of  the 
steam  plant  and  by  capitalizing  the  difference  be- 
tween the  two  curves  an  approximate  value  of  the 
potential  energy  of  the  water  can  be  obtained.  Due 
consideration  must  be  given  to  the  fact  that  at  load 
factors  of  less  than  25  per  cent,  this  capitalization 
is  negative  and  must  be  taken  from  tthe  actual  cost 
of  the  plant,  so  that  it  is  only  at  load  factors  above 
25  per  cent,  that  it  has  any  real  value.  In  addi- 
tion the  curve  representing  power  cost  from  the 
steam  plant  must  be  discounted  by  an  amount  cor- 
responding to  whatever  reduction  must  be  made  in 
hydro-electric  rates  to  effect  its  sale. 

"The  conclusion  is  that  in  all  places  where  the 
flow  of  water  is  constant  throughout  the  year  the 
load  factor  determines  the  earning  power,  and 
hence  establishes  the  value  of  any  plant.  Where  an 
intermittent  or  insufficient  supply  of  water  may  be 
stored  and  used  during  times  of  peak  loads  at  a 
rate  much  higher  than  the  normal  flow  of  the  stream 
the  earning  power  is  not  dependent  on  the  load 
factor  to  so  great  an  extent,  but  such  hydro-electric 
plants  are  generally  of  small  capacity,  adapted  for 
lighting  purposes  only,  and  are*  to  be  considered  as 
an  exception  to  which  the  above  method  of  evalua- 
tion  will  not  apply. 


curve,  this  generally  being  considered  as  increasing 
in  direct  proportion   to  the   load  factor. 

"By  superposing  the  two  curves,  as  shown  in 
Fig.  3,  it  will  be  seen  that  in  this  assumed  instance 
they  cross  each  other  at  25  per  cent,  load  factor, 
the  cost  per  horsepower  per  year  being  identical 
at  this  point.  At  load  factors  less  than  25  per  cent, 
the  steam  plant  has  the  advantage,  and  hydro-elec- 
tric power  must  be  sold  at  a  loss  in  order  to  be 
competitive.  At  all  load  factors  above  25  per  cent, 
however,  the  advantage  lies  with  the  hydro-electric 
plant.  The  relative  value  of  the  two  may  be  ob- 
tained bv  considering  the  variables — coal,  water  and 
labor_o'f  the  steam  plant  as  the  equivalent  at  any 
given  load  factor  of  a  fixed  charge,  and  by  capital- 
izing this  at  a  rate  that  will  include  interest,  taxes 
and  depreciation  and  adding  it  to  the  first  cost  of 
the  steam  plant  we  can  thereby  obtain  an  approxi- 
mate value  of  the  hydro-electric  development. 

"Making  the  comparison  in  another  way  the  water 


Speaking  of  load  factor  and  load  curves,  Mr. 
Rushmore  said: 

"Upon  the  exact  definition  of  load  factor  there 
is    lack    of    agreement.      It    will     here    be    called 

average  output  _   .  .        .  .  r  r 

7     No   definition   is   satisfactory   for 
maximum  output 

all  classes  of  load  without  explanation.  A  limit 
on  the  time  of  peak  load  or  the  use  of  rated  ca- 
pacity considerably  modifies  the  figure  obtained. 

"Commercial  loads — nearly  always  mixed  in  char- 
acter— can  be  divided  into  railway,  lighting,  general 
power,  pumping,  hoisting  and  electrolytic.  These 
have  seasonal  as  well  as  hourly  and  daily  variation. 
Railway  and  lighting  loads  are  particularly  subject 
to  abnormal  variations  from  unusual  causes.  Both 
have  large  peaks  over  certain  hours,  and  for  a  part 
of  the  day  approach  zero  load.  General  power  load 
has  an  even  curve  for  nine  or  10  hours  with  light 
load  at  noon,  and  is  then  off  entirely  or  very  light. 
A  pumping  load  may  be  very  steady  and  continuous 
over  the  day.  During  some  seasons  the  pumps,  if 
employed  for  irrigation  work,  may  be  out  of  use 
entirely.  Fire  pumps  have  a  great  and  unknown 
load  variation,  but  are  seldom  used  as  part  of 
larger  loads.  Hoisting  loads  are  extremely  variable 
in  themselves,  but  the  effect  on  the  system  may  be 
smoothed  out  by  the  use  of  a  large  number  of  hoists 
or  by  the  proper  adaptation  of  flywheels  and  meth- 
ods of  control.  Electrolytic  loads  are  ideally  con- 
stant at   all  times. 

"Machinery  must  be  installed  to  carry  the  peaks ; 
and  the  determining  of  the  best  methods  of  meeting 
large  load  variations  constitutes  the  problem  of 
prime  importance  in  designing  waterpower  installa- 
tions. 

"In  no  other  place  is  there  opportunity  for  the 
display  of  better  judgment  in  the  adaptation  of  a ' 
plant  to  definite  assumed  load  conditions  than  in 
the  proper  subdivision  and  rating  of  the  elements 
of  plant  design.  These  principal  features  are  reser- 
voirs, ditches,  flumes,  pipes,  wheels,  generators, 
transformers  and  lines.  The  factors  especially  con- 
cerned with  the  conditions  of- load  are  (1)  number 
of  units,  (2)  the  characteristics  at  different  loads, 
(3)  the  limiting  conditions  in  the  design,  (4)  com- 
mercial considerations  of  investment.  (5)  repair  and 
depreciation  charges,  (6)  possibilities  for  meeting 
future    conditions. 

"For  large  developments  the  selection  of  reservoir 
sites  and  capacities  requires  special  investigation. 
Often  several  main  reservoirs  check  the  river  flow, 
and  a  regulating  reservoir  at  the  head  of  the  pipe 
line  gives  constant  ditchflow  and  carries  the  load 
temporarily  in  case  of  accident  to  the  water  supply. 
The  cost  of  storage  increases  at  high  heads  and 
often  decreases  at  low  heads  for  increasing  capaci- 
ties. If  great  fluctuations  in  stream-flow  obtain,  it 
is  seldom  possible,  from  a  commercial  standpoint, 
to  store  all  the  water.  Where  development  exceeds 
minimum  stream-flow  there  are  but  few  high-head 
propositions  where  storage  is  not  desirable ;  con- 
verse!}', in  many  low-head  installations  the  cost  of 
storage  is  prohibitive. 

"Ditches,  flumes  and  pipes  all  come  under  the 
head  of  water  conductors.  A  number  of  installa- 
tions have  more  than  one  source  of  water  supply- 
Erosion  in  ditches  and  loss  of  head  in  pipes  arc 
the  usual  limits  of  design.  For  flumes  there  is  a 
grade  for  maximum  capacity  which,  if  exceeded, 
decreases  the  amount  of  water  that  can  be  carried 
by  causing  a  wave  motion.  The  load  conditions 
have  much  to  do  with  allowable  velocities  in  pipes, 
which  are  similar  in  principles  of  design  to  elec- 
trical conductors.  The  loss  of  head  at  maximum 
load  is  important.  High  velocities  and  rapidly  vary- 
ing loads  make  regulation  difficult.  A  sub-division 
of  the  pipe  line  is  desirable.  Pipe  lines  for  high 
heads  are  costly,  and  investments  for  different  ar- 
rangements are  studied  before  a  final  decision  is 
reached.  Flumes  have  a  definite  and  at  times  a 
troubled  life.  Ditches  need  repairs,  but  no  depre- 
ciation charges.  With  pure  water,  pipes  show  no 
deterioration    if    properly    protected. 


"Wheels  and  generators  demand  careful  study  to 
decide  the  best  capacities.  The  size  of  the  generator 
is  usually  indicated  by  some  conditions  in  the  propo- 
sition. The  loss  of  one  unit  should  not  cripple  the 
service.  The  generators  and  wheels  should  operate 
at  points  of  best  efficiency.  The  generator  and 
wheel  combinations  are  limited  and  speeds  are  fixed 
by  number  of  wheels,  type,  head  and  output.  For 
one-plant  systems  the  number  of  generators  is  pref- 
erably not  less  than  four  nor  more  than  eight.  For 
multiple-plant  systems,  one  unit  to  the  station  is 
not    uncommon." 

"The  cost  and  value  of  efficiency  in  power-plant 
designing  is  an  important  but  not  clearly  under- 
stood subject.  The  rough  approximation  usually 
made  is  to  compare  the  selling  price  of  the  in- 
creased output  with  the  interest  charge  on  the 
greater  cost.  Where  the  saving  in  energy  can  be 
sold,  as  is  usually  the  case,  a  higher  efficiency  in 
water  conductors  means  a  greater  output  and  a 
greater  capacity  of  installed  apparatus  with  higher 
total  cost,"  so  that  the  investment  charge  for  the 
gain  in  power  is  greater  than  usually  considered. 
This  is  true  of  all  parts  of  the  chain  of  energy 
transformation. 

"With  a  limited  water  supply,  storage  of  water 
determines  the  possible  development.  Variations  in 
load  occur  by  the  hour,  day,  season  and  year.  Aux- 
iliary or  regulating  reservoirs  at  the  head  of  the 
pipe  line  take  care  of  daily  peaks,  keep  an  even 
load  on  the  water  conductors  and  serve  to  carry 
the  plant  over  temporary  ditch  troubles,  also  serv- 
ing as  sand  boxes.  The  location  of  the  pipe  line 
often  renders  storage  at  this  point  impossible.  In 
one  case  a  flume  of  large  dimensions  is  used  for 
peak  storage.  In  another,  the  water  supply  to  a 
flume  several  miles  in  length  is  cut  off  entirely  and 
the   to'tal   stream-flow   used   for  another  station. 

"Main  reservoirs  are  on  the  river  and  regulate  its 
flow.  If  these  are  of  sufficient  size  the  total  run- 
off can  be  used.  The  reclamation  service  is  at  pres- 
ent doing  a  great  work  in  water  storage,  in  some 
cases  over  a  term  of  years.  Snow  is  a  natural 
form  of  storage,  well  illustrated  at  Puyallup.  where 
with  a  great  variation  in  rainfall  a  nearly  constant 
stream-flow  is  obtained.  Forests,  vegetation  and  the 
soil  fill  the  function  of  reservoirs.  Dams  arc  built 
to  catch  the  underground  waters. 

"For  suddenly  varying  loads,  as  in  railway  and 
hoisting  work,  a  flywheel  is  used  to  provide  for 
instantaneous  peaks.  Irrigation  laws  may  forbid 
the  storage  of  water  in  old  ditches.  Electrical 
storage  at  the  distributing  points  bears  to  the  elec- 
trical system  the  same  relation  that  the  regulating 
reservoir  does  to  the  hydraulic. 

"The  capacity  of  waterpower  installation  can 
usually  be  largely  increased  by  the  use  of  steam 
auxiliary  plants.  A  steam  plant  can  supply  the  de- 
ficiencies of  stream-flow  and  can  carry  peaks  in  any 
season.  It  may  act  as  a  regulator  with  steam  tur- 
bine floating  on  the  lines,  the  hydraulic  generators 
running  under  constant  load;  it  may  act  as  a  re- 
serve in  case  of  breakdown  on  a  line :  and  may 
serve  to  furnish  the  wattless  current  for  the  sys- 
tem, allowing  other  machines  to  carry  greater  over- 
loads. The  turbine  unit  may  be  run  idle  part  of 
the  year  as  a  synchronous  condenser,  or  may  float 
on  the  line  as  such  for  part  of  the  day  and  deliver 
energy  at  other  times.  Contracts  for  supply  of 
continuous  power,  with  severe  penalty  clauses,  may 
necessitate  the  installation  of  an  auxiliary  plant  at 
the  distributing  end  of  the  line.  Such  a  plant  is 
now  being  installed  at  San   Francisco. 

"With  improvements  and  reduction  in  cost  and 
operating  expenses  of  steam-generating  apparatus 
the  auxiliary  plant  becomes  of  an  increasing  impor- 
tance, and  in  some  instances  threatens  to  become 
the  more  important. 

"A  form  of  waterpower  auxiliary  was  recently 
suggested  in  which  the  installed  generator  capacity- 
far  exceeds  the  normal  flow  of  the  stream.  Water 
is  stored  throughout  the  day  and  the  plant  oper- 
ated for  but  a  few  hours  on  peaks  of  the  system." 


Wast  Shore  Railroad  Electrification. 

Directors  of  the  Mohawk  Valley  Company,  the 
holding  company  for  the  various  electric  railways 
in  Central  New  York  now  controlled  by  the  Van- 
derbilt  interests,  have  finally  decided  to  adopt  the 
third-rail  system  on  the  West  Shore  Railroad.  The 
section  of  the  road  between  Syracuse  and  Utica, 
a  distance  of  about  60  miles,  will  be  equipped  with 
the  new  system  as  rapidly  as  possible.  It  is  an- 
nounced further  that  the  management  hopes  ulti- 
mately to  be  able  to  have  the  line  from  Rotterdam 
Junction  to  Rochester  equipped  with  the  third-rail 
system.  The  trolley  will  be  used  in  the  city  limits 
of  Syracuse  and  Utica.  Four  sub-stations  will  be 
erected  on  the  Utica- Syracuse  section.  The  Wilgus 
under-running  type  of  third  rail  will  be  used  and 
also   the    Sprague   multiple-unit   control. 

General  Manager.  Allen  has  just  placed  an  order 
for  15  internrban  cars  to  be  used  on  the  electrified 
West  Shore.  These  cars  are  to  be  50  feet  in 
length  and  will  seat  54  persons.  They  will  be 
equipped  with  all  of  the  modern  and  up-to-date 
conveniences,  and  each  will  weigh  35  tons. 


March  .',  i.  1906 

The  President  Recommends  Legislation 
to  Preserve  Niagara  Falls. 

Mm-      American     mcmbei      of     th<      I 

\\  ati  1  tva;      I  om 1  a    bodj     who  c 

familiar  (0  the  rcadci     ol  [hi    W  -   Elcctrii  ian  1 

made    their    rcporl    to    Mr,    Taft,    tl tai 

war,  mi    March   24th.      I  hcj    n  c n  ndi  d 

linn   in   re  itricl    the   amount   of    « atci    to   bi    taken 
from   ill'1   upper   1  Ireat    Lake     and    Niagai  a    River, 

in  the  end  thai   Niagara   Fall     may  i"    pi 1  a 

pectaclc      Pari     of  the  rcpoi  1   n  ad  a     fol 

Inn 

"The  total  quantity  of  water  lo  be  taken  from 
the  river  by  works  now  authori  -'I  1  60,900  cubii 
feel  pei  ccond.  Of  this  amounl  26,700  cubic  fee! 
is  in  be  taken  mi  the  Imn  1  an  idc,  and  the  re 
mainder,  34,200  ruin.-  feet,  on  the  Canadian  side 
Thai  is,  _7  per  cent,  of  the  average  discharge  anil 
33  per  cent,  of  the  low-water  discharge  1  ill 
Niagara  River  will  cease  in  pass  over  the  falls 
when  these  works  arc  completed  ami  in  lull  open 
[ion.  I  lie  quantity  to  he  diverted  is  more  than 
double  the  quantity  which  now  passes  ovei  tin 
\merican  Fall,  which  ai  the  average  siagc  is 
about  27,800  cubic  feet.  Thai  iliis  will  in  general 
have  an  injurious  effect  upon  the  falls  seems  li 
evident.  The  volume  of  water  in  ]„■  diverted  is 
almiii  die  equivalent  of  the  entire  discharge  ol 
Lake  Superior  over  the  Saull  Sic.  Marie  I  la 
amounl  thus  far  actually  diverted  is  hut  17.800 
cubic  feci  per  second  ami  lias  an  appreciable  effect 
on    the    falls. 

"To  foretell  with  accuracy  tin-  effects  iii  detail 
of  the  full  diversion  authorized  would  require  a 
iiimi-  complete  knowledge  of  the  bed  of  the  river 
than  is  now  obtainable.  The  water  taken  on  the 
Canadian  side  below  the  cresl  of  the  rapids  will 
affeel  ilic  Horseshoe  Kail  alone.  If  all  the  water 
liken  on  the  American  side  should  affect  the  Amer- 
ican Fall  alone  it  would  practically  leave  it  dry; 
hut  it  seems  probable  that  only  a  part  of  this  diver- 
sion uill  he  at  the  expense  of  the  American  Fall. 
Exactly  what  portion  that  will  be  cannot  be  stated 
with  precision,  but  from  a  study  of  the  channels 
and  reefs,  so  far  as  they  are  known,  ?  reasonable 
estimate  is  that  the  water  will  come  from  the  two 
arms  in  about  the  proportion  of  one-sixth  from 
the  American  Fall  and  five-sixths  from  the  Horse- 
shoe Fall.  Exactly  what  form  the  changes  in  the 
two  cataracts  will  take,  whether  they  will  be  made 
narrower  or  be  broken  up  into  a  greater  number 
of  streams  or  simply  be  reduced  in  volume,  retain- 
ing in  general  their  present  form,  cannot  now  be 
foretold,  for  the  reason  that  there  is  no  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  forms  of  and  depths  of  the  water 
on  the  crests.  If  60,900  cubic  feet  of  water  be 
diverted  per  second  the  loss  will  lie  important;  but 
if  the  diversion  be  limited  to  this  amount  or  re- 
duced as  hereinafter  indicated  it  may  not  prove  dis- 
astrous. This  cannot  be  definitely  determined  until 
the  works  now  under  construction  have  been  com- 
pleted and  put  in  operation.  When  that  happens, 
if  it  he  found  that  the  falls  have  not  suffered 
serious  damage  as  a  scenic  spectacle,  it  does  not 
follow  that  additional  water  may  be  diverted  with 
impunity.  Additional  diversion  would  be  an  ex- 
periment even  more  dangerous  than  that  now  be- 
ing tried,  and.  in  our  opinion,  should  not  be  per- 
mitted. 

"In  return  for  the  impairment  of  the  falls  thus 
far  authorized  the  state  of  New  York  will  receive 
practically  nothing  for  the  342,000  horsepower  au- 
thorized on  that  side,  and  the  Queen  Victoria 
Niagara  Falls  Park  will  receive  an  annual  rental 
of  $270,000,  or  an  average  of  65  cents  per  horse- 
power for  the  415,000  horsepower  authorized  on 
the  Canadian  side.  These  figures  do  not  include 
the  S.ooo  horsepower  being  developed  by  the  elec- 
tric railway,  nor  the  power  developed  by  the  Ham- 
ilton company  with  water  from  the  Welland  Canal. 

"Charters  have  been  granted  to  corporations 
which  propose  to  divert  additional  amounts  in  quan- 
tities not  now  limited.  The  sums  of  money  in- 
vested, or  being  invested,  in  the  works  now  in  oper- 
ation or  under  construction  and  in  the  industries 
dependent  upon  them  amount  to  many  millions  of 
dollars.  It  is  probably  not  expedient  to  attempt  the 
withdrawal  of  the  rights  thus  utilized.  The  com- 
mercial value  of  the  waterpower  of  Niagara  Falls 
is  very  great,  but  if  compared  with  values  set 
aside  by  wealthy  communities  elsewhere  for  park 
purposes  this  value  is  not  too  great  to  be  devoted 
to  similar  purposes.  The  falls  are  annually  visited 
by  about  800,000  people. 

"If  the  falls  are  to  be  preserved  it  must  be  by 
mutual  agreement  between  the  two  countries.  As 
a  step  in  that  direction  we  recommend  that  legis- 
lation be  enacted  which  shall  contain  the  follow- 
ing provisions,  viz. : 

"The  secretary  of  war  to  be  authorized  to  grant 
permits  for  the  diversion  of  28,500  cubic  feet  per 
second,  and  no  more,  from  the  waters  naturally 
tributary  to  Niagara  Falls,  distributed  as   follows : 

"Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufac- 
turing Company,  9,500;  Niagara  Falls  Power  Com- 
pany, 8,600;  Erie  Canal  or  its  tenants  (in  addition 
to  lock  service),  400;  Chicago  Drainage  Canal, 
10,000.  All  other  diversions  of  water  which  is 
naturally  tributary  -to  Niagara  Falls  to  be  prohib- 
ited, except  such  as  may  be  required  for  domestic 
use  or  for  the  service  of  locks   in   the  operation  of 


M-'.\     ELECTRIi 
canal       Suitable  penatl 

,•■    prohibitii  n 
nid,  if  in  the  mcanti 

Hi"  divi 

1  1 

,  ,  ,,,,,|        1  . 

A ■    1    ■    -    foi    I 

tii 

1  inding 
upon  [hi      ubjeel      ouli 

d   b 
•'     '"I l"     further   depletion   ..i    tl 

''    the     .mi,    1 1  1I1,  iii,',     1  1 

"i th pi 

1I11       11  al,  1     1  ,,  •.  .  r  III,      an  01 

the  Canadi; 

with  ,1  \i,  h   i"  allow  ing  the   1  ompai 

ihc  amounl  -  foi   which    '  under 

con  ii  1,'  tii  1 

"Such  legislation  would  givi   ti 
i.i"-    -.1    ,li   1  rting   ,    00 
than    1     di\ I    in    thi     1  niti  d     Stati 

"H""     1.    more    apparent    than    real 
power  v  i"  rati  d   on   Hi,    I   in  d     1 

a     large  _  exle 1 1,  ,1     1 1  1      ,,     the 

United  States.     In  the  m  gotiation  ol 
ever,  the  poinl   should  I"-  considered. 

1  hi     substance  of   this   repoi  litted   to 

mil     I   , in. 1, h. in    ,  ,,!.,  agui        l„  fori      ii,,      pi 

join!    resolution   with   a  view  to  uniting  in  a  joinl 

r'l under    the    general     law     providing     fi 

commission      ("here  was  a  substantial  agreemcnl  in 
ill"  statement  of  facts,  and  such  differences 
veloped     with     respect     in     their     ai   1 
which  ought   p.  he  made  did   not.  seem   insuperable, 
hut  our  colleagues  desired  time  for  further  consid 
eraiii.n.      We    has,-    m,    doubl    of    their    sympathetic 
interest    in    carrying    nut    that    part    of    the    in 
tions    contained    in    the    resolution    which    1 
us    to    exert    in    conjunction    with    the    nieml 
said  commission  representing  the  nonunion  of  1  an 
ada,  if  practicable,  all  possible  efforts   foi    the  pn 
creation   of   Niagara    Falls   in   ils   natural   conditii  n 

On   March   27th    President    Roosevelt    sent    a    mi 
sage  to  Congress  recommending  that  the   lev 
asked    by    the    commission    he    enacted. 

Resolutions  were  adopted  at  a  meeting  of  repre 
scntatives  of  Ontario  municipalities  held  in  Gall. 
Ont.,  on  March  23d  asking  the  government  of  On- 
tario to  establish  a  new  power  plant  at  Niagara 
Falls,  or  to  "secure  the  power  produced  under  the 
existing  franchises  for  distribution  to  the  reachable 
municipalities  of  Ontario." 


New  Line  of    Graphic    Recording   Elec- 
tric Instruments. 

Accurate  records  of  the  performance  of  a  cen- 
tral station  or  power  plant  have  a  value  which 
will  be  readily  appreciated  by  operating  companies. 
It  enables  a  close  estimate  to  be  made  of  fuel  and 
supplies  necessary  for  any  season  of  the  year,  and 
affords    a    ready    means    of    checking    the    efficiency 


NEW    GRAPHIC    RECORDING    INSTRUMENT. 

of  employes.  Such  records  can  be  made  only  b\ 
accurate  recording  instruments,  a  complete  hue  of 
which  has  been  placed  on  the  market  by  the  West- 
inghouse    Electric    and    Manufacturing   Company. 

These  instruments,  one  of  which  is  illustrated 
herewith,  are  arranged  to  operate  on  the  relay 
principle,  the  motor  element  actuating  contacts, 
which  in  turn  energize  a  pair  of  solenoids  arranged 
to  move  the  pen.  They  are  designed  for  switch- 
board mounting  and  are  enclosed  in  glass  cases 
13  by  16  inches  by  nine  inches,  with  a  removable 
high    glass    front,    giving    access    to    the    interior. 

The  alternating-current  ammeter,  voltmeter  and 
wattmeter   coils   are   arranged   in   a    manner   similar 


slight    in 

varying   from   ■ 

arranged  to  unwind  fi 

I  he        peed     may     Ik      ,1       | 

ing  an 

hour   is   the   standard 

ally  printed,  accural, 
and    punched,    the    width    being    approximati 
inch.'-      A    deBi 

load.     It    is    furnished    in    mil-    of    sufficient    length 
ihs   at  two  inches  an   hour. 
an  excellent   self-winding  high-power 

ivy   than    nth,  • 

the  meter  transformer. 

from   a    separate   source  of  current,    - 
the  meter  transformers  of  the  power  requin 
Sufficient    torque    to    render   the    fricl 
tween  the  pen   and   the  paper  negligible.     The  con- 
m    throughout    is    rugged    and    compact,    no 
delicate  pans  being  used. 


Large  Steam-turbine  Power  Stations 
for  Paris. 

'I  hi    i 
Electrique    of    12    Rue    dc    Londres,    Pan's, 
signing  the  erect  inn  of  a  fo.ooo-kilowatt  turbo-gen- 
ator    powei    station    on    the    hanks   of   the    Seine,    al 
\  itry,  cli  The  turbines  are  of  the  6.000- 

kilowatt  Curtis  type,  the  generators  being  25 
13.200  volts.  Two  of  the  turbine  equipments  are  on 
order  in  the  United  States.  The  whole  of  the 
electrical  equipment  is  being  furnished  by  the  French 
Thomson-Houston  Company.  Contracts  have  not 
yet  been  made  for  the  supply  of  the  remainder  of 
the  power-station  equipment,  including  coal  con- 
veyors, cranes,  pumps,  lmilers.  stokers,  etc.  The 
first-mentioned  company  is  open  to  receive  bids 
for  the  various  material.  The  station  is  ■:■ 
i"   he    in  somewhat   over  a   year    from 

dale,     ami     ail     | ibll      speed     is     being     made     in 

settling  the   constructional   details. 

The  power  statii  n  will  supply  current 
or  three  of  the  electric-railway  companies  operating 
in  the  south  and  east  of  Paris,  which  will  make 
considerable  extensions  to  their  existing  network. 
This  is  the  first  application  of  large  Cunis  turbo- 
generators in  France,  where  at  present  there  are 
installed    a    few    I, coo-kilowatt    groups. 

The  only  other  large  power  station  with  steam 
turbines  in  France  is  situated  on  the  north  of 
Paris,  at  St.  Denis,  where  10  6.000-kilowatt  gi 
of  the  Brown-Boveri-Parsons  type  are  about  to  be 
installed,  four  being  already  mounted.  The  cur- 
rent from  this  station  is  used  for  the  needs  of  the 
Paris  Metropolitan  railway.  Both  of  these  stations 
will  he  completed  during  -  M.  V". 


Westinghouse     Electric    and    Manufac- 
turing   Company    Increases 
Capital  Stock. 

Stockholders  of  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and 
Manufacturing  Company  at  a  recent  special  meet- 
ing in  Pittsburg  unanimously  decided  to  increase 
the  capital  stock  of  the  company  from  $25,000,000 
10  S50.ooo.oco.  The  recent  action  of  the  board  of 
directors,  by  which  the  company  issued  $15,000,000 
convertible  gold  bonds  of  $1,000  each,  was  also  rat- 
ified. The  meeting  was  well  attended,  3S9.543 
shares  being  represented.  The  date  of  the  next 
annual  meeting  has  been  set  for  the  fourth  Wednes- 
day in  July,  when  it  is  said  that  a  full  financial 
statement  of  the  business  will  be  made  to  the  stock- 
holders. 


260 


Under  this  heading  i 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


SELLING  ELECTRICITY. 


Electric  Signs  Must  Burn  Till    Midnight 
in  Seattle. 

While  many  of  the  lighting  companies  in  central 
and  eastern  cities  are  just  now  being  subjected 
to  investigations  looking  to  the  lowering  of  rates, 
it  must  be  of  some  satisfaction  to  the  lighting  in- 
terests of  Seattle,  Wash.,  to  read  in  the  Seattle 
Times  that  "The  gas  company  and  the  electric- 
light  company  have  given  cheap  light  and  good 
light  and  plenty  of  it,  even  to  the  most  isolated 
residences.  A  careful  study  of  the  lighting  con- 
veniences of  Seattle  must  convince  even  the  most 
skeptical  that  the  city  is  more  fortunate  than  scores 
of  the  wealthy  and  old  settled  municipalities  of 
the  East."  There  are  many  difficulties,  too,  in  the 
way  of  the  lighting  companies  in  Seattle.  The  city 
is  extremely  hilly  and  it  covers  three  times  as 
much   ground   as   many  cities   twice   its   size. 

With  two  big  electric  companies,  a  well-organized 
gas  company  and  a  municipal  light  plant,  the  latter 
built  primarily  for  illuminating  with  electricity  the 
streets  of  the  city,  Seattle  is  one  of  the  best-lighted 
cities  west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  The  source 
of  power  for  the  electric  companies  is  unlimited. 
As  a  consequence  electricity  is  cheap.  Many  tiny 
cottages  that,  in  other  municipalities  would  be 
lighted  with  oil  lamps  are,  in  Seattle,  illuminated 
by  gas   or   electricity. 

There  are  three  lighting  companies  in  the  field: 
The  Seattle  Electric  Company;  the  Seattle-Tacoma 
Power  Company,  generally  known  as  the  Sno- 
qualmie Falls  and  White  River  Power  Company, 
and  the  Seattle  Lighting  Company.  The  latter  sup- 
plies  gas    and   the   first   two    electricity. 

The  large  power  plant  of  the  Seattle  Electric 
Company  at  Electron,  on  the  Puyallup  River,  has 
been  in  successful  operation  for  nearly  two  years. 
The  corporation  operates  not  only  a  well-patronized 
lighting  department,  but  also  conducts  the  street- 
car svstem  of  Seattle  and  supplies  power  for  man- 
ufacturing concerns.  The  plant  of  the  company 
from  whence  the  power  is  generated  is  almost  at 
the  foot  of  Mount  Rainier.  On  the  Puyallup  River, 
just  above  the  headworks,  a  sheer  dam  and  flume 
was  put  in  and  the  water  carried  to  a  point  almost 
above  the  power  station.  There  a  penstock  with 
an  Soo-foot  fall  was  made,  bringing  the  source 
of  power  to  a  reservoir  at  the  works.  The  com- 
pany has  been  lighting  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  city  and  supplying  power  for  15  years.  The 
present"  Seattle  Electric  Company  absorbed  the 
Union  Electric  Company  and  several  other  con- 
cerns  in   the  field. 

From  Snoqualmie  Falls,  "the  Niagara  of  the 
Northwest,"  as  it  has  sometimes  been  called,  comes 
the  power  used  by  the  Seattle-Tacoma  company. 
Snoqualmie  Falls  is  270  feet  in  height.  From  it, 
both  in  Seattle  and  Tacoma,  has  been  generated 
15,000  horsepower  that  has  materially  assisted  in 
making  Seattle  attain  some  of  its  well-deserved 
reputation  as  a  splendidly  lighted  city.  The  com- 
pany does  a  large  amount  of  the  city's  lighting,  and 
from  its  power  many  factory  wheels  turn. 

Neither  the  Seattle  Electric  Company  nor  the 
Seattle-Tacoma  Power  Company  exerts  a  purely- 
local  influence.  In  the  case  of  the  latter  company 
Tacoma  is  almost  as  dependent  upon  it  as  is  Seat- 
tle, and  Renton,  Kent,  Puyallup,  Sumner,  Swansea, 
Issaquah  and  Auburn  all  owe  a  goodly  portion 
of  their  excellent  lights  to  the  Seattle-Tacoma 
company.  Wherever  the  cars  of  the  Seattle  Electric 
Company  go — and  beyond — light  and  power  is  sup- 
plied by  that  corporation.  As  a  result,  indirectly, 
scores  of  the  smaller  cities  about  Seattle  are  de- 
pendent upon  this  town  for  their  light  and  power. 

The  first  original  gas  company  came  to  Seattle 
23  years  ago.  The  present  corporation  is  a  con- 
solidation of  the  Seattle  Gas  and  Electric  Company 
and  the  Citizens'  Light  and  Power  Company,  the 
consolidation    taking    place    two    years    ago. 

In  January.  1903,  the  city  of  Seattle  went  into 
municipal  ownership  to  a  very  small  extent  and 
started  operating  a  lighting  plant  in  conjunction 
with  the  city's  waterworks.  Cedar  Falls.  35  miles 
from  the  city,  was  "harnessed,"  and  early  in  1904 
the  first  current  to  be  used  in  street  lighting  was 
sent  into  the  city  oyer  the  city's  wires.  Since  that 
time  operations  have  proceeded  slowly.  L.  B. 
Youngs,  superintendent  of  the  plant,  feeling  every 
step  of  the  way,  appreciating  the  fact  that,  in  the 
excellent  light  furnished  by  the  private  corpora- 
tion, he  must  be  very  cautious  in  entering  the  com- 
petitive field  for  commercial  lighting.  Up  to  date 
the  municipal  plant  has  been  mainly  utilized  in 
lighting  streets  and  furnishing  illuminations  to  a 
few  private  individuals. 

One  of  the  best  evidences  of  the  cheapness  of 
electric  lights  in  Seattle  is  the  large  number  of 
illuminated  street  signs  to  be  seen  at  night.  On 
First  and  Second  avenues  and  on  Pike  Street  and 
other  business  thoroughfares,  thousands  of  electric 
signs  burn  until  midnight.  All  the  stores,  hotels 
and  restaurants  have  them.  Even  small  stores  have 
their  big  lighted  signs.  A  city  ordinance  makes  the 
interesting  provision  that  no  permit  for  an  electric 
sign  shali  be  given  except  with  the  stipulation  that 


such  sign  will  burn  until  midnight  every  night  in 
the  week.  This  provision  does  not  deter  any  busi- 
ness man  from  getting  his  permit.  "Electricity  is 
cheap  in  Seattle,  and  makes  the  very  cheapest 
form  of  advertising."  This  is  the  way  he  reasons 
it  out,  and  it  seems  a  logical  way.  It  is  a  pretty 
sight  to  approach  Seattle  at  night  on  one  of  the 
big  steamships.  Two  or  three  miles  away  the  city 
is  a   blaze  of  light. 


The  Central  Station  and  the  Bakery. 

In  every  large  city  there  are  so  many  different 
uses  for  electric  light  and  power  that  it  is  easy 
to  overlook  the  smaller  tradesmen  in  the  cam- 
paign to  secure  new  business  from  large  factories 
and  the  like.  Nothing  short  of  a  sort  of  per- 
petual canvassing  of  the  central  station's  territory 
will  disclose  the  possibilities.  Hundreds  of  gro- 
ceries and  meat  markets  in  every  state  are  still 
to  be  educated  to  use  electric  power  and  light  in 
competition  with  the  old  hand  methods  of  grinding 
coffee,  chopping  meat,  and  "fussing  around"  with 
greasy  kerosene  oil,  dangerous  matches  and  ghastly 
Welsbach  burners.  In  any  establishment  where 
food  products  are  sold  to  a  first-class  trade,  clean- 
liness counts  for  more  in  the  retention  of  custom 
than  almost  any  other  point,  and  this  should  be 
the  trump  card  of  the  central-station  solicitor  in 
such  cases. 

The  bakery  offers  an  attractive  field  for  the  sale 
of  power  and  light,  for  this  very  reason.  The 
power  required  by  dough  mixers  is  well  worth 
the  contract  price,  for  example,  for  motors  of 
substantial  size  are  needed  in  such  work.  Scaling 
machines,  pie-crust  trimmers,  ice-cream  freezers, 
tumbling  apparatus  and  many  other  devices_  can 
be  operated  more  economically  and  at  a  higher 
rate  of  production  by  electric  motors  than  in  any 
other  way,  and  a  bakery  lighted  by  Nernst  or 
Meridian  lamps,  or  by  enclosed  arcs,  is  in  itself 
the  best  kind  of  an  advertisement  if  visitors  are 
encouraged.  Bakeries  often  maintain  scores  of 
horses  and  delivery  wagons,  necessitating  a  small 
machine  or  blacksmith  shop  about  the  premises. 
The  applications  of  electricity  are  obvious,  and 
the  bakery,  large  or  small,  should  not  he  forgot- 
ten by  the  central-station  man  who  is  trying  to 
do  more  business  this  year  than  ever  before. 
H.    S.    K. 


Electrical  Show  for  Fond  du  Lac. 

The  enterprising  Eastern  Wisconsin  Railway  and 
Light  Company,  which  does  the  electric-light,  gas 
and  street-raihvay  business  of  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis. 
(see  Western  Electrician  of  October  8,  1904), 
announces  a  gas  and  electrical  show  to  be  held 
at  Armory  E  in  that  city  during  the  entire  week 
of  April  9  to  14.  The  exhibition  will  be  on  a 
large  scale,  in  fact,  it  is  intended  to  eclipse  any- 
thing of  the  kind  ever  held  in  the  state  heretofore. 
The  exhibit  hall  is  large  and  well  located.  Ad- 
mission will  be  free.  Electrical  manufacturers  are 
invited  to  make  exhibits,  space,  light  and  heat  be- 
ing furnished  without  charge,  provided  early  ap- 
plication is  made  to  Mr.  L.  E.  Holderman,  su- 
perintendent of  the  electrical  department  of  the 
company.  On  April  12th  a  gathering  of  electrical 
central-station  men  and  salesmen  will  be  enter- 
tained by  the   company. 

The  project  is  a  creditable  and  interesting  one 
and  will  no  doubt  be  carried  out  with  complete 
success.  It  shows  how  vigorously  the  new-business 
campaign  is  carried  on  in  many  of  the  smaller 
cities    of    the    country. 


Wanted  a  Heating  Pad  in  a  Hurry. 

One  of  the  noted  physicians  of  New  York  said 
recently  that  the  medical  profession  has  tried  for 
many  years  to  find  a  device  that  would  give  a 
constant,  uniform  heat  for  exterior  application.  The 
hot-water  bag  is  unsatisfactory,  but  the  electric 
heating  pad   fulfills   all   requirements. 

This  same  physician,  in  treating  a  case  of  cancer, 


March  31,  1906 

called  upon  the  Edison  company  in  his  city  for 
help.  The  patient's  apartment  was  without  elec- 
trical service.  A  call  was  sent  to  the  company  at 
10  a.  m. ;  in  20  minutes  a  contract  was  signed ; 
by  12  o'clock  the  meter  was  set,  and  by  five  o'clock 
the  patient  was  enjoying  the  healing  effects  of  an 
electric    heating    pad. 


H    ELECTRIC    HEATING    PA 


"Co-operation"    Meeting    in    New    York 
City. 

Promotion  of  the  co-operative  movement  among 
the  various  electrical  interests  wras  the  object  of 
the  meeting  and  dinner  in  the  Hotel  Imperial,  New 
York  city,  March  23d.  Many  men  prominent  in 
the  electrical  industry,  in  some  phase  or  other  of 
its  development,  were  present.  The  business  ses- 
sion was  taken  up  by  the  voicing  of  ideas,  on  the 
part  of  a  number  of  speakers,  relating  to  co-opera- 
tion in  the  line  of  publicity  and  to  the  possibilities 
of  the  co-operative  movement  from  the  viewpoint 
of  the  central-station  manager,  the  manufacturer, 
the  jobber,  the  contractor  and  the  technical  paper. 
The  business  session  was  opened  with  introductory 
remarks  by  Chairman  E.  E.  Jackson,  Jr.,  followed 
by  a  sketch  of  the  proposed  organization  of  elec- 
trical industries  on  a  co-operative  basis  by  J.  Rob- 
ert Crouse  of  Cleveland,  who  is  at  the  head  of 
the  movement.  After-dinner  remarks  were  also 
called  for  from  a  number  of  prominent  men  in  the 
electrical  business  upon  the  subject  of  co-operation 
from  the  top,  from  the  bottom,  from  the  middle 
and   from    all    sides. 

Mr.  Crouse's  address  upon  "Profitable  Co-opera- 
tion," in  which  he  sketched  the  proposed  organ- 
ization, puts  the  matter  squarely  before  the  elec- 
trical interests,  wrhich  were  represented  at  the  meet- 
ing, in  a  manner  readily  interpreted.  Some  extracts 
fi  oni    this    interesting    address    follow. 

"This  great  common  market,  the  public,  is  ob- 
viously twofold :  First,  the  central  station,  whose 
entire  business  and  interest  is  furnishing  electric 
service  at  a  profit,  and  within  the  range  of  whose 
service  is  comprised  a  population  of  33,411,090,  or 
43.96  per  cent,  of  the  tctal  population  of  the  cen- 
sus of  1900.  Second,  the  isolated  purchaser  to 
whom  electric  service,  individually  generated,  is 
either  partially  essential  or  auxiliary — always  a 
means  to  some  ether  purpose. 

"The  commercial  energy  reaching  this  common 
market  spends  itself  as  follows,  in  w-hole  or  in 
part:  Manufacturer,  jobber,  dealer,  contractor, 
salesman,  trade-paper  advertising.  It  will  be  ob- 
served that  it  is  competitive  in  the  highest  degree 
and    under    constant  ■  spur    to    commercial    activity. 

"The  central  station,  on  the  other  hand,  is  con- 
ceded by  economists  to  be  in  its  very  nature  prop- 
erly monopolistic,  and  subject,  therefore,  to  no  com- 
petition for  like  service.  In  consequence,  laying 
aside  any  other  adverse  conditions,  it  lacks  the 
keen  anel  constant  commercial  stimulus.  It  like- 
wise lacks,  by  reason  of  isolation,  either  the  ready 
opportunity  or  a  very  great  incentive  toward  active 
aggressive  co-operation.  This,  too,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  it  is  a  natural  situation  where  extensive  co- 
operation (as  the  stations  are  non-competitive  among 
themselves)  reasonably  promises  the  greatest  results 
from  such  work.  The  opportunity  and  the  in- 
centive are,  therefore,  offered  to  the  manufacturers 
and  others  for  initiating  co-operative  work  with  and 
for  central  stations,  and  of  cultivating  the  entire 
possible  market  broadly  in  addition." 

"A  propaganda  of  26  pieces  of  commercial  litera- 
ture will  be  issued  in  co-operation  with  the  new 
association  to  all  central  stations.  It  will  deal  in 
the  broadest  way  with  the  problem  of  business  ex- 
tension from  the  standpoint  of  good  service,  so- 
licitation and  advertising.  The  subject  will  be  dealt 
with,  not  on  the  basis  of  any  theories  on  these 
topics,  but  will  be  founded  on  the  practice  of  the 
most  progressive  central  stations  judged  on  Ihe 
basis  of  their  annual  per  capita  sales.  It  will  fur- 
ther be  distinctively  suggestive  and  educational  in 
character,  recognizing  that  conditions  under  which 
central  stations  operate  vary,  and  that  consequently 
a  set  or  arbitrary  formula  for  business  extension 
cannot  be  successfully  advanced." 

"For  the  purpose  of  putting  the  entire  industry 
in  touch  with  the  co-operative  work  under  way 
and  enlisting  general  co-operation,  a  mailing  list 
of  4,700  individuals  identified  with  the  electrical 
business  as  manufacturers,  jobbers,  contractors,  in- 
cluding their  salesmen,  as  well  as  officers  of  elec- 
trical associations  and  societies  of  all  sorts,  was 
some  months  ago  carefully  prepared.  To  this  en- 
tire list  statements  regarding  the  scope  and  char- 
acter of  the  work  proposed  have  been  issued.  The 
commercial  literature  above  described,  which  is  sent 
to  all  central  stations,  will  likewise  be  furnished 
to  this  supplemental  list.  There  will  be  sent  to. 
them  in  addition  periodical  reports  of  progress 
whenever  any  results  of  especial  interest  may  have 
been  accomplished,  or  new  policies  outlined  in  the 
prosecution  of  which  their  active  co-operation  would 
be   sought."  ^ 

"In  addition,  through  the  co-operation  of  the 
Electrical  Salesmen's  Association  and  the  Reju- 
venated Sons  of  Jove,  the  effort  will  be  made  to 
interest  salesmen  generally  in  the  more  careful  ob- 
servation of  the  commercial  practices  of  the  most 
progressive  central  stations  visited,  so  that  it  may 
become   increasingly  the   fashion   and   the   mark   of 


March  31    1906 

il,,.    be  1      all    nl  "'  hip    '"    Pa       '    '  ! 

1. along    i"   otln  1    in.::: 

covered 

"Likcwi  e,    through    the   co-opera 
,.,  iation  .  "i    througli  otln  1    mi  an      to 
,,,,   ol    1 ting    Hi-    :■■ ■    1 11    you    .'.  ill    1-'  nnil    an 

, pin  a  c  1,  I",    rcqui    ting   electrical 

,.,t  the  barber  shop   1  in  1  ting   ti] t  if  tin 

p(  „    [0    be    no    facilitii  1),    1  ailing    atti  ntii  n 

,  , 1    the    electric    cigar    light. 

1 1  ,    patronizing   stores   or     hop 

crvii  c  is  mosl    freely  installed,   ivitl nplii 

mention   in   reference   to   it;   regi  ti  1  ing,    in 

I,,   il,,    name,   a   diplomatic   plaii  1    10   hotel    pro 

pri,  i,,i  ,   where  electric     ei  vice   1     niggardl     used   in 
thi    nffii  ■■  and    lobby    only." 

■■  1 1,,,   plan  •   in ni'  mplatc   the   e  tabli  linn  nl    at    the 

propel    in f   a    national    electrical    pn        bureau, 

througli    whii  h   new  1   « rile  ups  could  bi      )   ti 
ally    furnished    to   the    daily    papci   ,    a      •■.■  II    ,1      to 
trade   papers    in    other   lines   of   busim     .    ■    pcciall 
adapted   to  the   use   of   electric     ervici       I  hi     1     al 

,,.,     ,1    ni"  1    subtle    and    powerful    iiiflui  in  ■ .    con 

g    which    you    will    hear   later    from    an   expert 

,,,   this    field." 

"There  are  additional  to  ihosc  in  tin-  el.vinea! 
I,,  1,1  i  who  are  natural])  interest!  d  directly  in  iln 
wiring  of  new  construction  work)  the  following 
lists  ill  other  fields,  having  more  or  less  dircctlj 
to  do  with  the  question  of  wiring  buildings,  5,206 
architects,  2.4.U  large  building  companies,  5.7X6  gen- 
eral contractors,  42,51*1  real  estate  agents.  40,406 
carpenters    and   builders,    a   total    of   86,357. 

"Probably  no  single  condition  retards  the  growth 
of  electric  service  to  the  extent  of  the  propertii 
,,f  all  sons  which  have  been  erected  within  the  la  1 
to  years  without  provision  for  electric  wiring. 
I  here  are  undoubtedly  thousands  of  buildings  in 
which  tenants  would  gladly  use  electric  service 
were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  the  properties  are  not 
equipped.  It  is  a  further  well-recognized  fact  that 
n  is  extremely  difficult  to  induce  owners  or  the 
agents  of  properties  to  submit  to  having  the  in- 
teriors of  the  buildings  torn  up  (as  is  the  popular 
impression)    for   the   installation   of   wiring. 

"In  the  development  of  the  plans  it  would  be 
contemplated  to  attempt  a  rigorous  line  of  co- 
operation with  the  central  stations,  electrical  con- 
tractors and  others  through  the  employment  of  a 
competent  representative  whose  entire  time  would 
be  taken  up  in  co-operative  work  through  every 
conceivable  means  to  secure  the  wiring  of  old  and 
new  buildings.  This  would  contemplate  his  attend- 
ance at  the  national  and  state  conventions  of  the 
above  classes  of  trade,  or  professions,  and  the 
presentation  of  papers  which  would  forcibly  bring 
to  their  attention  the  very  great  importance,  not 
only  of  wiring  pioperties,  but  of  specifying  in  ad- 
dition the  necessary  extra  outlets  for  the  use  of 
diversified  appliances  in  the  field  of  light,  heat  and 
power." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  meeting  several  resolu- 
tions were  passed  which  in  substance  were  as  fol- 
lows: That  the  co-operative  commercial  campaign 
for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  use  of  electric 
current  by  the  public  for  light,  heat  and  power,  as 
both  an  end  and  a  means  to  the  increased  demand 
for  electrical  apparatus  and  supplies  as  presented 
and  discussed,  gives  good  promise  of  highly  profit- 
able returns  to  all  concerned,  and  that  the  general 
plans  for  its  prosecution,  through  the  Co-operative 
Electrical  Development  Association,  can  be  under- 
taken along  equitable  and  practicable  lines;  that  a 
committee  of  11  or  more  representatives  of  elec- 
trical interests  be  appointed  by  the  chair  for  the 
purpose  of  considering  the  plans  submitted  for  the 
organization  of  the  Co-operative  Electrical  Devel- 
opment Association,  and  to  complete  and  agree  on 
a  practicable  form  of  organization  with  a  view;  of 
putting  the  same  into  operation  ;  that  this  committee 
be  authorized  to  confer  on  the  subject  with  co- 
operating committees  already  appointed,  or  other 
representatives  which  may  be  appointed  from  other 
well-defined  lines  of  the  trade;  that  the  plans  of 
organization,  when  completed  by  this  committee,  be 
submitted  to  the  representatives  of  the  interests 
present,  and  that  when,  in  the  opinion  of  this  com- 
mittee, a  sufficient  number  of  the  interests  have 
agreed  to  co-operate  in  the  work,  it  shall  be  au- 
thorized to  perfect  the  organization  and  to  super- 
vise its  initiatory  work. 

The  chairman  of  the  meeting  appointed  the  fol- 
lowing committee  as  required  by  the  resolutions: 
VV.  M.  MacFarland,  acting  vice-president  of  the 
Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company 
(chairman)  ;  J.  R.  Lovejoy.  General  Electric  Com- 
pany ;  Walter  Cary,  Sawyer-Man  Electric  Company ; 
A.  ■  D.  Page,  General  Electric  Company ;  F.  S. 
Terry,  National  Electric  Lamp  Company;  W.  H. 
Swope,  Western  Electric  Company ;  W.  C.  Bryant, 
the  Bryant  Electric  Company;  F.  J.  Newbury.  John 
A.  Roebling's  Sons  Company;  A.  T.  Clark,  Amer- 
ican Circular  Loom  Company;  W.  H.  Blood,  Jr., 
president  of  the  National  Electric  Light  Associa- 
tion; F.  Bissell,  the  F.  Bissell  Company  (repre- 
senting the  electrical  jobbers),  and  James  R.  Strong 
(representing    the    electrical    contractors). 


Boosts  for  the  "City  of  Lights." 

ami   11     1 

ol 

City  1 
nd   tin-   value   ol 
in, I      howii 

and    Elc  trie.  Company  I 
entitled    "B01    I 

111,  '..       :  I- 

boosting 

1 

done     0      fhc  Denver  Ga        id  1 
in     bi  1  H  pi  caching  thai 
I'm      111   a    light  displa 

and   that boost   I        the    whole   city. 

Displays    made    by    the    individual    luisin,  -s    men 
anil    linns    have    really    given    the    city    the    right    to 
-t;,  !,•  itself  "The  Ci 
ccrns  iis\  ing   plao     on  the  m 
kind    of    displa;     man;      ol     them    very    el  ib 

File   11.11  "i  1  11. 1    ] 1    .il.     ll    'I.-       mi    ■       boost 

better  lights   is   the   fact   that   it    ha-    en 

lire    .  ,1       .1111    ;,nl,l|,     cfl 

This  has  spread  among  tin-  business  men  :,i 
rate,  and  as  a  result  Denver  is  being  hen 
every   way. 


A   New   Way   to    Soothe    Disgruntled 

Customers. 

An    electric-light    company    in    a    city    of    about 

40,000   people    recently    purchased    a    monogram    or 

talking  sign  and  erected  it  in  a  prominent  location 
on  the  main  street.  The  work  was  completed  and 
the  sign  ready  for  operation  on  the  Saturday  before 
Christmas — a  particularly  propitious  time  to  start 
311  exhibit  of  this  kind,  as  the  street  crowds  were 
naturally   larger   than    usual. 

When  the  first  word  flashed  out  people  stopped 
to  watch,  and  by  the  time  the  company  had  wished 
them  a  "Merry  Christmas"  a  large  crowd  had  gath- 
ered, which  cheered  enthusiastically.  Finally  the 
assistance  of  the  police  was  necessary  to  keep  the 
street  clear  for  the  trolleys.  The  show  lasted  all 
evening  and  was  the  one  topic  of,  conversation 
among  the  shoppers.  On  Sunday,  the  day  after, 
the  manager  states,  he  received  many  telephone 
messages  at  his  residence  congratulating  him  on 
his    success. 

A  further  use  to  which  this  same  sign  is  to  be 
put  is  both  interesting  and  novel.  The  manager 
noticed,  on  sending  out  the  January  hills,  that  sev- 
eral of  his  best  customers  had  charges  beyond  the 
average,  which,  although  due  to  the  holiday  sea- 
son, promised  to  result  in  complaint  and  dissatis- 
faction. He  immediately  called  on  these  people  and 
offered  to  each  of  them,  without  charge,  the  use 
of  his  sign  for  one  evening  during  the  coming 
month.  They  were  naturally  much  pleased.  Two 
important  results  were  thus  accomplished — a  dis- 
satisfied customer  was  converted  into  an  ardent 
advocate  of  the  company,  and  was  led  also  to  see 
the  possibilities  of  advertising  by  an  electric  sign. 
As  there  is  no  better  advertisement  than  a  satisfied 
customer  the  success  of  the  talking-sign  experiment 
was  assured. — C.  H.  B.   Chapin,  in  Cassier's  Maga- 


Grand  Island,  Neb.,  has  voted  to  appropriate 
$■$5,000  for  the  construction  of  an  electric-light 
plant. 


New-business  Notes. 

The  electrically  driven  horse-groomer  is  said  to 
do  better  work  in  two  minutes  than  two  men  can 
do  in  four  hours  with  the  old-style  currycomb  and 
brush. 

The  open  season  of  iced  drinks  and  frozen  con- 
fections will  soon  be  here,  and  most  of  those  who 
deal  in  these  things  are  preparing  to  meet  the  ex- 
pected demand.  Let  us  recommend  most  earnestly 
the  adoption  of  electric  power  for  the  operation  of 
carbonators  and  ice-cream  machinery.  It  is  at  once 
economical,  safe,  efficient,  reliable,  silent  and  clean; 
and  is  always  ready.  Those  who  have  used  it 
know,  and  will  tell  you  if  you  have  not,  how  true 
this    is. — The    Electric    City. 

H.  A.  Seymour  and  D.  H.  Howard  of  the  ad- 
vertising department  of  the  Chicago  Edison  Com- 
pany have  copyrighted  an  ingenious  folder,  pur- 
porting to  contain  a  facsimile  of  an  important  and 
recently  discovered  inscription  of  the  Chaldees. 
On  .holding  the  sheet  up  to  the  light  it  is  seen 
that  the  legend  is  of  very  modern  import  and  has 
to  do  with  the  new-business  movement  of  central- 
station  companies.  The  folders  may  be  used  as  a 
supplement  with  other  publications  or  distributed 
separately. 


Automat 


I 

minute.     Vario 

In    I: 

of     Tin 

Iii    addition    to   their 
and   apartment   houses,   when 


What  It  Costs  to  Cook  With  Electricity. 
The   experience    of   a    Portland    1  Oregon )    family 
ng  of  five  adults  and  a  child. 
!y    and    interestil  ion    as    to    the 

utility   si  f  electricity   for   the   p 

of    the   household. 

During    the    last    three    months    this    family    has 

lectricity    exclusively     for    cooking    and    for 

operating  the  flatirons   used  in   the  laundry.     Three 

meals    were    prepared    each    day.    and    the    laundry' 

work   included   the   clothing  of   the   entire   family. 

\n    examination    of    the   bills    for   electric 
i    this    family    shows    that   the   cost    ; 
$5    a   month :    this,   of  course,  does  not   include   the 
lighting   service. 

The  head  of  this  family,  in  conversation  with  a 
representative  of  the  Portland  General  Electric 
Company,  remarked  that  the  advantages  1  - 
by  his  family,  in  the  use  of  electricity  for 
the  cleanliness,  the  absence  of  discomfort  from 
leaky  valves  and  smoking  stoves,  the  absence  of 
danger  from  flames,  the  perfect  results  so  easily 
and  quickly  obtained  with  electric  utensils,  were 
both  a  revelation  and  a  surprise  to  him,  and  that 
the    cost    for    this    service    was   no    less    astonishing 


1st    il-    economv 


Burglars  Don't  Like  Electric  Light. 

"One  of  the  greatest  blows  to  the  burglar's  trade 
is  the  electric  light  with  push-button  appis 
said  Detective  Charles  Heidelherger 
recently.  "It  is  not  far  out  of  the  way  to  say  that 
the  electric  light  has  driven  at  least  30  per  cent, 
of  burglars  cut  of  the  business,  and  the  remaining 
70  per  cent,  have  had  to  learn  their  business  all 
over  again. 

"The  whole  art  of  burglary  was  based,  in  the 
past,  on  darkness — a  helpless  darkness  as  regards 
the  victim.  There  was  one  feat — a  peculiar  way 
of  crouching,  striking  a  match  above  one's  head, 
and  tossing  it  to  left  and  right — that  took  the 
burglar  weeks  to  learn.  It  was  valuable  because 
it  showed  him  what  he  wanted  to  see,  while  it 
misled  the  victim,  who  might  be  armed,  as  to  the 
burglar's  location.  This  trick  is  now  worthless, 
for  the  victim,  instead  of  cowering  in  black  dark- 
ness at  the  burglar's  mercy,  now  reaches  over, 
touches  a  button  at  his  bedside,  and  up  flashes  the 
light." 


Illustrated  Technical  Definition. 


Overhead  Lixe  Work. 

—Electricity,  London. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  31,  1906 


Operation  of  Direct-Current  Generators 
in  Series  and  Parallel. 

W.  E.  M.  of  Chicago  Heights,  111.,  asks  a  ques- 
tion concerning  the  operation  of  four  compound- 
wound  generators  in  series  and  parallel.  At  pres- 
ent lie  has  two  no-volt  600-ampere  compound- 
wound  direct-current  machines  running  in  series 
on  one  set  of  buses  of  a  three-wire  system  in  his 
shop.  The  negative  of  one  machine  and  the  posi- 
tive of  the  other  are  connected  to  the  neutral  bus, 
the  other  two  terminals  being  connected  to  the 
outside  buses,  which  is,  of  course,  the  usual  pro- 
cedure. He  has  also  two  other  machines,  each  of 
1 10- volt  225-ampere  capacity,  compound-wound, 
which  are  similarly  connected  to  three  buses  of 
another  three-wire  system'  in  his  shop.  This  is 
naturally  an  awkward  arrangement  at  best,  as  it 
necessitates  two  complete  systems.  What  he  wishes 
to  know  is  whether  he  can  connect  the  two  sets 
of  buses  together  and  then  run  the  two  groups 
of  generators  in  parallel,  the  individual  machines 
of  each  group  being  in  scries,  so  that  all  of  the 
machines  in  each  group  will  take  their  proper 
amount   of  the   load. 

This  connection  may  readily  be  accomplished  so 
that  each  machine  and  group  of  machines  will 
take  its  proper  load.  Connect  the  two  larger  ma- 
chines in  series  as  one  group  and  the  two  smaller 
machines  in  series  as  the  other  group.  The  bus- 
bars having  been  joined  (and  care  should  be  taken 
that  they  have  the  proper  carrying  capacity)  the 
wire  from  the  positive  terminal  of  one  of  the 
machines  is  run  through  the  main  switch,  the  fuse 
and  the  ammeter  to  the  positive  bus.  The  wire 
from  the  negative'  terminal  of  that  machine  is  run 
through  the  switch  and  fuse  to  the  neutral  bus. 
The  wire  from  the  positive  terminal  of  the  other 
machine  in  that  group  is  run  in  a  similar  manner 
to  the  neutral  bus,  and  its  negative  terminal  is 
run  to  the  negative  bus.  These  two  machines  are 
thus  ready  to  operate  in  series  on  the  three-wire 
system,  the  only  addition  being  a  neutralizing  bus 
or  else  a  wire  connecting  the  two  series  coils  to- 
gether. This  should  be  of  ample  cross-section,  so 
that  the  machines  may  regulate  ciosely.  The  shunt 
coils  must  be  connected  as  a  single  shunt,  i.  e., 
the  two  coils  in  series  across  the  two  outside  ter- 
minals  of  the  machines. 

The  other  two  machines  should  be  connected  to 
the  buses  in  exactly  the  same  way,  care  being 
taken  that  the  positive  and  negative  terminals  are 
connected  to  the  buses  to  which  the  corresponding 
terminals  of  the  other  group  are  attached.  The 
two  groups  are  now  ready  to  operate  in  parallel, 
and  they  will  do  so  if  the  machines  are  properly 
designed,  regardless  of  the  fact  that  the  two  groups 
are  of  different  capacities.  One  group  should  be 
thrown  on  to  the  buses  at  a  time.  The  last  one 
to  be  connected  must  of  course  be  up  to  speed  and 
at  proper  voltage  before  the  switch  is  closed. 

There  may  be  some  difficulty  in  the  operation  of 
the  machines,  owing  to  dissimilarity  in  the  charac- 
teristic curves,  as  was  explained  in  the  Western 
Electrician  of  March  10th  in  answer  to  A.  G.  K/s 
question  relating  to  the  operation  of  shunt  dy- 
namos in  parallel.  (Page  197.)  But  it  is  not 
likely   that   any   difficulty  will   arise. 


Massachusetts  May  License  Electri- 
cians. 

On  March  19th  the  Massachusetts  legislative  com- 
mittee on  mercantile  affairs  gave  a  hearing  on  the 
bill  providing  that  the  governor  appoint  a  commis- 
sion to  examine  and  license  electricians.  A  large 
number  of  opponents  of  the  measure  were  in  at- 
tendance, the  electrical  men  of  Boston  and  vicinity 
being  represented  by  Z.  W.  E.  Kimball.  Two  Bos- 
ton labor  unions  were  represented  by  Thomas  Mul- 
len, who  argued  that  a  statute  providing  for  an 
examination  in  the  city  of  Boston,  passed  in  1894, 
had  been  satisfactory  and  might  well  be  made  to 
include    the    remainder   of   the   state. 

William  McLaughlin  of  Boston  said  that  prac- 
tically all  the  electrical  workers'  unions  in  the  state 
were  opposed  to  the  bill,  believing  that  it  would  . 
be  in  restraint  of  trade,  would  be  in  the  interests 
of  a  special  class,  and  would  create  a  practical 
monopoly.  E.  G.  Brown,  who  represented  the  Cen- 
tral Labor  Union  of  Brockton,  said  that  there  was 
ample  inspection  of  electrical  workers  in  that  city 
and  he  thought  the  people  did  not  want  any  more 
commissions.  Mr.  Barton,  who  said  that  he  repre- 
sented 1,500  workers,  characterized  the  imposition 
of  a  license  fee  of  $25,  proposed  by  the  bill,  as  a 
hardship.  He  said  that  the  Boston  examination 
was  so  exhaustive  that  graduates  of  the  technical 
schools  could  not  pass  it  without  first  doing  the 
actual  work  of  journeymen. 

J.  E.  Potts  of  Boston  declared  that  the  bill's 
object  was  to  create  a  monopoly  of  a  given  sort 
of  work,  and  he  thought  that  there  were  enough 
monopolies  in  the  state  at  present.  Representative 
Conway  of   Boston   said   that  one   of  the  petitioners. 


present  in  the  room,  had  had  one  of  his  helpers, 
a  boy  of  not  more  than  two  years'  experience, 
stringing  wires  in  the  city  of  Boston.  "This,"  he 
said,  "is  not  very  consistent  with  his  present  atti- 
tude." Mr.  Conway  suggested  the  extension  of  the 
Boston  act  to  the  rest  of  the  state. 

The  petitioners'  representative  argued  in  favor 
of  general  legislation  for  the  protection  of  the  pub- 
lic. The  bill  provides  for  a  commission  of  three 
persons,  appointed  by  the  governor.  At  least  one 
of  the  commissioners  must  possess  the  qualifications 
of  a  master  electrician.  The  chairman  is  to  have 
a  salary  of  $1,000  a  year  and  the  others  are  to 
receive  $500  a  year  each.  Every  person  or  firm 
engaged  in  electrical  construction  must  be  licensed 
by  the  commission,  the  fee  being  $25,  and  the  li- 
censee to  file  a  bond  for  $2,000  for  the  faithful 
performance  of  contracts.  The  license  is  to  be  in 
force  one  year. 


The  Modern  Tendency  in  Underground 
Electrical  Construction. 

Undoubtedly  there  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of 
public  authorities  to  require  electric-light  companies 
to  put  their  wires  underground  in  the  "downtown" 
areas,  of  cities  of,  say.  25,000  inhabitants  and  over, 
and  even  in  some  places  of  smaller  size.  Often 
underground  construction  in  the  business  districts 
is  desirable  to  both  parties  interested,  and  much 
new  work  of  the  kind  is  carried  out  each  year. 
The  question  of  underground  construction  was 
thoroughly  discussed  in  Chicago  at  the  recent  North- 
western Electrical  Association  convention,  the  sub- 
ject being  introduced  by  Mr.  W.  D.  Burford's  paper 
describing  the  underground  construction  in  La- 
Crosse,  Wis.  The  discussion  which  followed  was 
of  a  more  general  nature  and  well  worthy  of 
careful  consideration.  What  follows  is  taken  from 
this  discussion. 

C.  B.  Springer,  civil  engineer  of  the  Chicago 
Edison  Company,  contributed  a  written  paper  in 
which  he  gave  a  short  description  of  the  Edison 
company's   methods. 

The  vitrified-clay  conduit  has  so  far  been  found 
to  be  the  kind  most  nearly  attaining  the  require- 
ments. These  conduits  are  made  in  both  single  and 
multiple  duct,  the  single  being  about  $}/>  inches  in 
diameter,  or  3^  inches  square,  and  18  inches  long. 
Multiple  conduit  is  made  in  two,  three,  four,  six 
and   nine-duct   sections,  two  to  three   feet  long. 

The  single-duct  conduit  is  most  available  in 
streets  crowded  with  gas,  water  and  other  pipes, 
as  the  conduit  may  be  divided  into  several  layers, 
crossing  over  or  under  the  many  obstructions  found 
in  the  streets  of  large  cities.  A  conduit  construc- 
tion made  up  of  single  ducts  where  each  horizontal 
and  vertical  joint  is  broken,  also  has  the  additional 
advantage  of  preventing  fire  from  spreading  from 
one  duct  to  another  as  might  occur  in  multiple 
conduit.  The  multiple  conduit  is,  however,  well 
calculated  to  be  used  in  outlying  communities,  where 
there  are  not  many  obstructions,  particularly  in 
lines  of  from  two  to  four  ducts.  This  style  con- 
duit is  somewhat  cheaper  to  lay  than  single  duct. 
In  laying  the  conduit  a  trench  is  dug  sufficiently 
wide  to  allow  three  inches  of  concrete  to  be  placed 
on  each  side  of  the  ducts,  and  of  sufficient  depth 
to  allow  at  least  two  feet  six  inches  on  top 
of  the_-  top  layer  of  concrete.  Three  inches  of 
concrete  is  laid  in  the  bottom  of  the  trench 
also,  thus  insuring  a  concrete  protection  of  three 
inches  on  all  sides  of  the  ducts.  The  trench  is 
graded  from  some  point  near  the  middle  of  the 
block  to  the  manhole  at  each  intersection,  or  from 
one  manhole  to  the  other,  as  the  case  may  be,  at 
a  gradient  of  about  two  inches  or  more,  as  may 
be  necessary,  to  100  feet  of  trench,  thus  draining 
the    ducts. 

When  laying  the  single-duct  tile  the  ducts  are 
placed  close  together,  the  joints  and  triangular 
spaces  in  the  corners  being  plastered  and  filled  with 
cement  mortar  of  a  mixture  of  one  part  cement 
to  one  part  of  sand.  A  wooden  mandrel  of  about 
four  or  five  feet  long  and  three  inches  in  diam- 
eter, with  a  rubber  or  leather  washer  three-eighths 
inch  larger  at  one  end,  is  drawn  through  each 
duct  as  the  conduit  is  being  laid;  this  is  to  insure 
any  foreign  particles  or  cement  which  may  have 
gotten  into  the  joints  being  drawn  out.  It  also 
makes  a  good  alignment. 

Concrete  which  is  used  on  the  bottom,  sides  an-i 
top  of  the  ducts  is  composed  of  one  part  of  Po- 
land cement,  three  parts  of  torpedo  sand  and  ...c 
parts  of  one-half-inch  crushed  limestone.  The  .  on- 
crete  on  being  placed  is  well  tamped  as  each  la;,  er 
of  ducts  is  laid.  A  special  side  tamper  about  2  > 
inches  by  four  inches  in  size  is  used  for  the  three- 
inch  space  on  each  side  of  the  ducts.  A  bricklayer 
is  generally  used  in  laying  the  single-duct  con- 
duit, the  cost  being  slightly  more  for  a  bricklayer 
and  helper  than  for  thre*".  ordinary  laboreis,  as 
used  in  laying  the  mult"  .e  conduit.  A  good  man, 
however,  will  lay  :':nn"  1,600  to  2,200  duct-feet  of 
single-duct  cond'  ''    .1,  an   tight-hmr  day. 

After   the    con  .:   :    is    laid,    tlv    ducts   arc    rndded 


and  a  steel  mandrel  of  3%  inches  in  diameter  or 
3*4  inches  square  is  drawn  through  each  duct.  This 
is  found  to  be  necessary,  especially  where  ducts  are 
laid  in  wet  places,  as  sand  or  small  stones  occa- 
sionally get  into  the  ducts  and  block  them.  In 
such  cases  the  conduit  has  to  be  dug  up,  cleared 
of    obstructions    and    repaired. 

In  regard  to  the  cost  of  conduit  construction, 
as  Mr.  Bur  ford  says,  there  are  many  varying  fig- 
ures given  offhand.  Indeed,  the  vast  difference  in 
local  conditions  makes  it  very  difficult  to  give  a 
set  of  figures  which  will  hold  good  in  many  places, 
or,  in  fact,  in  the  same  place  under  different  cir- 
cumstances. There  are  often  obstructions  causing 
several  feet  difference  in  depth  of  trench,  addi- 
tional material  and  labor  required,  etc.,  to  be  con- 
sidered, as  well  as  variation  in  cost  of  material, 
labor  and  number  of  ducts  installed.  The  following 
table,  however,  is  submitted  as  a  guide  in  approxi- 
mating the  cost  of  work  of  this  character  as  a 
result  of  conduit  construction  covering  10  years 
in  Chicago.  The  cost  of  manholes  is  not  included 
in  this  table,  but  rs  given  in  one  following: 
Table  for    Estimating  Cost  ok   Conduit   per  Duct-foot   in 


Number  of  Ducts 

Pavement. 

2 

4 

6 

9 

12 

16 

20 

25 

30 

No  pavement... 
Macadam 

So. 18 
.z£ 

.68 

So.  18 

So.  18 

So  18 

So.  18 

.19 

So.  18 
.19 

.26 

S0.18 
.19 

So.  18 
.19 

So.  18 

Cedar    reserve 

Granite  reserve 
Asphalt    and 

:3 

The  above  table  is  based  on  the  fo 

First  cost  of  ducts — $o.< 

Average  cost    laying,   including    labor    and 


Cedar  repavinG 

Cedar  reserve  and  granite  repaving.. 

Granite  reserve  repaving 

Asphalt  and  brick  reserve  repaving. . 


Labor  generally  runs  from  18  to  22^/2  cents  an 
hour ;  bricklayers.  62IA  cents  an  hour :  Portland 
cement,  $1.55  a  barrel ;  sand  and  stone,  $1.65  a 
yard. 

Manholes  for  conduit  lines  of  different  numbers 
of  ducts  vary  as  to  size  and  shape,  and,  while  dif- 
ferent conditions  prevent  the  establishing  of  stand- 
ard sizes,  the  following  table  may  be  used  as  an 
approximate  guide: 

In  Congested    Districts. 


Handholes  for  s 

Six  to  12-duct  lines 6  feet  by  6  feet  in  size 

Sixteen  to  30-duct  lines 6  feet  by  8  feet  ia  size 

Manholes  at  streeet  intersections  as  large  as  nec- 
essary. 

Outlying  Districts. 

Two.  three  and  four- 
duct  lines 3  feet  by  4  feet  to  3 '2  feet  by  4^  feet  in  size 

Six-duct  short  lines. ...4  feet  by  5  feet  to  4!i  feet  by  s'i  feet  in  size 

Six  and  nine-duct  long 
lines 5  feet  by  6  feet  to  6      feet  by  6     feet  in  size 

Transmission-line  Manholes. 
Six-duct  lines. 5  feet  by  6  feet  to  i'j  feet  to  22  inches  cut-off  corners 

Nine-duct  lines 5' 2  feet  by  6  inches  to  22  inches  cut-off  corners 

Twelve-duct  lines 6  feet  by  7  feet  to  22  inches  cut-off  corners 

Sixteen  and  twenty-four- 
duct  lines 6  feet  by  8  feet  to  22  inches  cut-off  corners 

Corner  manholes  for  6.  9  and  12-duct  lines...?  feet  by  7  feet  in  size 
Corner  manholes  for  16  and  24-duct  lines.... 8  feet  by  8  feet  in  size 

The  depth  of  three-foot  by  four-foot  handholes 
is  governed  by  the  depth  of  the  conduit,  being 
built  only  as  deep  as  the  bottom  ducts.  Manholes 
from  four  feet  to  five  feet  in  size  are  four  feet 
to  five  feet  in  the  clear  inside,  and  large  man- 
holes up  to  six  feet  and  eight  feet  are  6T/>  feet 
in  the  clear  inside  in  depth. 

The  manholes  are  built  of  sewer  brick,  laid  in 
Portland-cement  mortar,  one  to  three.  In  manholes 
over  four  feet  in  size  a  concrete  bottom  four  inches 
thick  is  put  in  after  the  manhole  is  finished,  and 
a  six-inch  connection  made  to  the  main  sewer.  A 
grating  covers  the  six-inch  P-trap,  which  is  also 
connected  with  an  iron  backwater  gate,  preventing 
the  backing  up  of  the  sewage.  One  inch  of  ce- 
ment mortar  is  plastered  on  the  floor.  In  the  small 
manholes  and  handholes  no  sewer  connections  are 
put    in. 

The  roofs  of  manholes  are  generally  of  concrete, 
eight  inches  thick,  the  manhole  being  barricaded 
for  several  days  until  the  concrete  has  set.  In 
places  where  the  traffic  is  unusually  heavy,  angle 
and  tee-iron  are  used  with  brick  between,  laid  in 
mortar  This  latter  method  permits  of  the  street 
being  paved  up  at  once  and  opened  for  traffic. 

The  covers  to  manholes  are  of  cast-iron,  of  the 
closed  and  ventilated  type.  The  closed  covers  are 
used  on  small  manholes  and  handholes  where  there 
aro  no  sewer  connections.  In  the  larger  manholes 
having  sewer  connections,  ventilated  covers  are 
used.  A  cover  having  32  holes  if<  inches  in  diam- 
-.  ter  is  used,  permitting  any  gas  which  might 
accumulate  to  escape.  High-voltage  transmission 
cables  are  usually  covered  in  the  manholes  with 
split  vitrified  tile,  preventing  fire  from  spreading 
from  one  cable  to  another.  This  method  is  much 
safer  than   hanging   them   on  brackets. 

In  regard  to  the  cost  of  building  manholes,  the 
same  statement  applies  concerning  the  variability  of 
figures.  The  following  table  contains  approximate 
figures,  based  on  conditions  prevailing  in  Chicago, 
and  may  be  used  as  a  guide  in  estimating  the  cost 


\l;n  i  li  31 ,   rgoG 


rding: 


ction  with  tin    1  1I1 


Dim 

1    l'. 

;.!,■ 

'" 

' 

" 

nonl. 

si/i-  mi  Manholo    In  Pei  1 

Kind  "i  Poio 

1    i«s    ;\; 

I 

N,N 

I'l, 

1  1      1  . 

VI 

1  1 

1       1 

:■ mom 

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■tog 

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•143 



llOfl 

Hnoadam  .     . 

42 

<H 

','> 

ML 

[61 

,3fl 

1:1 

■  ■'• 

it, 

101 

■  adai    reaer 

and 

ri  jiiiIi-    , . 

10 

17 

<* 

11  ; 

' 

11, 

|,,» 

Gri "-  <  1 

,t 

SI 

i„, 

A'  pll.ill         ill, I 

brick 

reserve 

10       B     .. 

8, 

,  16 

H6 

,m 

MB 

: 

■M 

I  lir  above  figures  are  based  on  the  iamc  price 
iiir  repaying,  labor,  In  ii  klayei  s,  ccmcni  and  ind,  a 
given    in    the    table    for   conduil    and    the    following 

1   prices: 

Brickwork  including  laboi  and  material Jta.so  a  cubii   yard 


lie I,'     ll. 


I,  ,.,..,.  I, 


,..,.  I 


George  II  Lukes  ..f  the  North  Shon  I  lei  trie 
1  '  mpany  of  Evanston,  III.,  said  that  the  policy  bis 
company  follows  is  mil  to  economize  on  the  main 
lims.     Those    are    put    in    with    just    as    substantial 

construction    :is    possible.     "If    we    must    econ zc 

we  economize  in  the  outlying  districts,  where  one 
nr  two  ducts  arc  sufficient  for  the  purpose,  For 
instance,  in  suburban  districts,  where  it  is  a  matter 
01  getting  .in  arc-lighl  circuit  underground,  nr  one 
feeder,  perhaps,  where  one  single  phase  feeder  will 
supply  the  district  fur  a  long  lime,  we  have  used 
new  sewer  pipe  to  a  large  extent,  with  cement 
around  the  joints.  It  is  much  cheaper,  ami  if 
anything  goes  wrong  with  it  there  is  not  so  much 
;il  si.tke,  luit  ill  the  main  lines,  consisting  of  four 
I,,  10  or  [2-duct  lines,  we  believe  that  it  is  policy 
lo  surround  the  conduit  with  concrete.  The  depre- 
ciation 011  conduits  made  in  a  substantial  manner 
is  very  small,  ll  is  the  most  permanent  part  of 
1  Ik  equipment.  There  is  no  reason  why  a  conduit 
line  should  not  he  in  shape  to  be  used  25  years 
from  now,  if  it  is  rightly  put  in." 

George  Cutter  of  Chicago  asked  for  a  little  more 
detail  about  connecting  arc  circuits  to  the  poles 
themselves.  To  this  Mr.  Lukes  answered  that  they 
use  rubber-covered  lead  cable  from  the  manhole  to 
the  lop  of  the  pole.  They  put  in  no  switch  at 
all.  Porcelain  potheads  arc  used  to  connect  the 
cable  with  the  overhead  wire,  and  rubber-covered 
wire  of  good  quality  is  put  in  with  medium  ten- 
sion   from   the   porcelain   pothead   to  the   line. 

Mr.  H.  E.  Gear,  the  inventor  of  the  porcelain 
pothead  referred  to,  was  called  upon  to  explain  its 
construction,  which  he  did.  Then  Mr.  Cutter  re- 
lated an  experience  of  his.  He  said  that  he  was 
called  into  a  plant  that  had  underground  wires  in 
the  center  of  the  city  only,  and  iron  poles  made 
of  four-inch  pipe  at  the  bottom  and  reduced  until 
the  curve  at  the  top  was  of  two-inch  pipe,  holding 
an  alternating-current  lamp  at  the  outer  end  of 
the  curve.  When  this  was  put  in  the  conduit  was 
run  close  lo  the  base  of  the  pole,  the  underground 
part  of  the  pole  being  the  same  shape  as  a  gas 
post,  thus  leaving  an  opening  for  pipes  that  were 
extended  from  the  conduit  connection  with  elbows 
up  into  the  iron  pole.  They  were  connected  to  an 
absolute  cut-out  switch,  it  being  the  intention  of  the 
company  that  the  trimmer  should  not  handle  the 
lamp  itself  on  a  live  circuit.  From  there  up  thev 
had  rubber-covered  wire  to  the  lamp  itself.  They 
had  trouble  in  a  very  short  time.  The  moisture 
from  the  conduits,  condensing  in  the  iron  pole, 
would  settle  on  the  cable,  and  the  switch  would 
very  soon  get  coated  with  iron  rust.  Finally  they 
had  to  take  out  the  switches,  run  lead-covered  cable 
up,  and  put  the  absolute  cut-out  switch  at  the  end 
of  the  gooseneck.  Up  there  they  even  had  to  make 
a  double  bell,  an  outer  iron  bell  screwed  to  the 
end  of  the  gooseneck,  and  then  one  inside  of  that 
holding  the  switch,  with  a  space  between  the  two 
for  the  lead-covered  cable.  This  made  it  impos- 
sible for  the  moisture  to  drop  onto  the  switch 
itself.  In  attaching  the  lamp,  it  being  an  alter- 
nating-current lamp,  they  used  mechanical  rubber 
bushings,  so  that  the  vibrations  would  not  inter- 
fere with  the  insulation  in  the  lamp  itself. 

Harold  Almert  of  Chicago  emphasized  the  neces- 
sity for  seeing  that  there  is  no  moisture  in  the 
bend  going  up  into  the  pole.  A  great  many  under- 
ground insulations,  put  in  by  men  who  did  not  have 
sufficient  experience,  permitted  this  moisture  to 
gather  there,  and  even  water  got  in.  They  would 
not  have  any  trouble  with  the  first  winter,  but 
this  water  being  present  and  having  a  strong'  iron 
pipe  outside,  when  the  water  would  freeze  and 
thaw  near  the  surface  of  the  ground,  the  trouble 
became  apparent  in  about  a  year  or  two.  The  co- 
efficient of  expansion  being  small,  when  the  water 
froze  it  would  simply  press  the  lead  covering  of 
the  cable  toward  the  conductor,  and  diminish  the 
distance  between  the  conductor  and  the  lead  sheath. 
At  first  there  would  be  no  trouble,  but  sooner  or 
later  the  distance  becomes  so  short  that  the  dielec- 
tric strength  of  the  material  between  the  conductor 
and  sheath  would  not  withstand  the  high  tension 
of  the  arc  circuit,  and  then  the  trouble  began. 
Many  have   encountered   that    difficulty,   and   had   to 


WESTERN     kl.lv-  [-RK 

"  "  ■     '1 
.  - 

!i        '         

pole,    ami      lOIJl 

11 '    .'il     Some   -,i 

'i"ii    foi     1I1,  di  1  mo  .     from    ihi     1 

111     

fati'i 1    il,.     ....  1,1     vol  Id 

0| In     ■  in  ml        In         gn    'I    10    1 

■  in     '.-■'  n    -ii  1 1 

In  n    il"  ri  nargin   in  malcri 

,  hi  ..in      .       in 

trouble,     But,  .1     .1   gi  m-i.-il   nil, ,   ...:, 
mi.  ii.n    I,.,     I,,.,  ,,    i,  ,  ,1     tlli  I    with 

them,  and   if  a         p  trouble   il   - 

handled  until   thi    1  ui  n  nl    1     off  the   followin 

1..  1  hi       the    ■  in  "in      have 

" Ii    than   He    1  ini|      g<  ing  oul 


New  England  Street  Railway  Club. 

The   Xew    England   Street   Railwaj    Club  held   ,1. 
sixth   annual   banquet   al   the   I  lotel   Somerset     Bo 
ion.  on  March  22d.    'I  here  were  350  mcmhci 
.ui       Perplexing    engineering     subjects     were    laid 
aside    for   the    evening   and    the   ai'1.1  dinm 
were  along  ihe  lines  of  promoting  social   inti 
am. me     tin     members.     Paul     Winsor,    the    newly 
elected  president,  inaugurated  Ihe  speaking  and  was 
followed   In    Hon    Russell    A.   Sear~    (toast master), 
W.  Caryl  Fly.  Samuel   I.    Powers,  Charles   F.  Libby 

.'■ml     others,      Mr      Win. or.     llie     new     president,      1 

chief    engineer    of    the     Boston    Elevated    Railway 

Company,    and    is    one    of    (lie    prominent    electrical 
engineers    of    Nw    England. 

The  officers  elected  are  a-  follows.-  President, 
Paul  Winsor  of  Boston:  vice-presidents,  II.  F. 
Reynolds  of  Boston,  I..  Bcntley  of  New  London, 
Conn.,  E.  T.  Millar  of  Concord,  N.  H.  W.  E. 
Robertson  of  St.  Albans.  Vt.  Myron  A.  Webber 
of  Westerly,  R.  [.,  F.  C.  Carr  of  Brunswick,  Maine: 
secretary.  John  J.  Lane  of  Boston:  treasurer,  N. 
L.  Wood  of  Boston ;  executive  committee,  E.  E. 
Potter  of  New  Bedford,  E.  P.  Shaw,  Jr..  of  South 
Framingham.  M.  C.  Brush  of  Newtonville,  W.  II 
Blood,  Jr.,  F.  M.  Nellis,  E.  L.  James.  Charles 
B.  Price  of  Boston ;  finance  committee,  Paul 
Winsor,    John    \V.    Coming.    P.    W.    Davis. 


Long  Electric  Railway  for  Canada  Pro- 
posed. 

It  is  reported  that  $20,000,000  of  British  capital 
is  to  be  invested  in  the  Canada  Central  electric 
railway.  This  new  system  will  be  670  miles  in 
length,  running  first  from  Montreal  to  Ottawa, 
thence  westward,  practically  cutting  in  two  thai 
broad  zone  of  country  that  lies  between  the  Can- 
ada Atlantic  railway  system  and  the  Grand  Trunk 
and  Canadian  Pacific  lines  that  run  up  the  St.  Law- 
rence Valley  and  along  the  north  shore  of  Lake 
Ontario  to  Toronto.  The  western  water  terminal 
will  be  at   Port   Stanley,   Ont. 


National  Electric  Company's  Assets 
Sold. 

As  announced,  the  plant  of  the  National  Electric 
Company,  including  all  assets,  was  sold  on  March 
26th  at  the  office  of  John  S.  Maxwell,  referee  in 
bankruptcy,  in  Milwaukee.  The  sale  was  to  Charles 
L.  Sullivan  of  Chicago  for  $500,000.  The  state- 
ment of  Receiver  John  I.  Beggs  showed  assets  of 
$1,350,691,  and  liabilities  of  $1,242,000.  Creditors 
will  receive  approximately  40  per  cent,  of  their 
claims. 


NEW  COMPANIES. 

The  Citizens'  Telephone  Company  of  Atkinson, 
Neb.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $5,000. 
J.  H.  Brady  and  Frederick  Swingley  are  among  the 
incorporators. 

The  farmers  living  east  of  Harvey,  N.  D.,  arc 
organizing  a  company  to  build  and  equip  a  tele- 
phone line.  Dors  Leetum  is  president,  O.  C.  Frost 
vice-president,  and  Harry  Buik  secretary. 

The  Park  Region  Telephone  Company  of  Under- 
wood, Minn.,  has  been  organized  with  a  capital  of 
$10,000.  Thomas  Larson  is  president,  C.  H.  Rich- 
ardson vice-president,  and  E.  S._  Evenson  secretary 
and  treasurer. 

The  Hamburg  and  Norway  Telephone  Company 
of  Fessenden,  N.  D..  has  been  incorporated  for  the 
purpose  of  conducting  a  telephone  business.  William 
F.  Shanafelt,  Nick  Iverson.  William  Scheer  and 
others,  all  of  Fessenden,  are  interested. 

Among  the  recently  incorporated  telephone  com- 
panies are  the  following:  Cimarron  Valley  Tele- 
phone Company.  Ripley,  Okla. :  Oline  Farmers'  Mu- 
tual Telephone  Company.  Aline,  Okla.:  Inman  Mu- 
tual Telephone  Company,  Inman.  Kan. ;  Plymouth 
Mutual   Telephone   Company.    Plymouth.    Iowa. 


Michigan    Independent    Telephone   As- 

80CIO- 

Sim     ■• 

I' but        I       I'.     1 
I  be. 

leilo   II' 

'  °mpanj  0/    Vnn   \r!„,r:  "Pn  . 
W.    (i     Hum    .  1     \,|r 

agcr   Si 

E.  S    Wagai  ,,i   Edmo 

\V     1:     VVoodl 

mpany,   Detroit 

At    thi  :,,n    the    folio*  1  . 

wen-    gj ..,,,:     "A    Hit 

gatuck     ["elcpho 

■•Hon-."    F.    V.    Newman,   n 
1. rami     Rapids     cxchai  m     Michigan," 

Is    C.   Smith,  manager  Home    iclcphon,    Company: 

1  ' ":'"      '    '  to    the 

reading  of  r.,„,rts,   ,he   election   of  officers   and   the 

transaction  of  unfinished  business.  'Ihe  papei 

addn           rved    lo    show    tin     .  gtfa    of 
He-    Independent    i,|,  p| 
and   were  verj   cncoui    g 


Telephone  Rate-reducing  Campaign  in 
Chicago. 

As    a    pan    ol    us    programme    in    securing 
■nation  upon  which  to  base  a  report  to  the  • 
City    Council,    (he    Council    committc, 
and   electric   light    visited   the   plant   of   the    • 
telephone    Company   last    week.     Thi 
charged  to  fix  an   equitable  I  ,  ,.   rates 

in    Chicago,    which    the    company    will    be    as 
accept  if  its  franchise  is  to  be  extended.      The   com 
mittee   has   been    gathering    information    from    main 
sources,    and.    as    stated    last    week,    there    is    .,    di- 
versity of  opinion  ami  1  .  die  de- 
sirability  of   a    measured-service    or    flat-rat 
The  telephone  company  is  advocating  the  mi 
rate    plan    by    which    each    subscriber 
amount  each    time   be  uses   the  telephone. 

The  members  of  the  council  committc 
much  impressed  with  the  working  of  the  main  ex- 
change of  the  Chicago  company;  Thev  visited  all 
the  departments  and  learned  many  things  abo;„  (he 
telephone  business.  The  school  for  operators,  which 
was  described  and  illustrated  recently  in  the  West 
ern  Electrician,  impressed  the  aldermen  ' 
ol  the  thorough  and  efficient  manner  in  which  it 
is  conducted.  1  .eneral  Manager  Hibbard  was  kcnl 
busy  answering  questions  of  the  aldermen. 

Ihe  latest  development   in  the  telephone   situation 
is  an   offer    from   the    Illinois    Manufacturers' 
nation    to   organize    a    company   and    install 
phone   system   .11  Chicago.     The  rates  arc  to 
ami   the   company   would   ask  only  a    return   of   four 
to   six    per   cent,    on    the    investment. 

The  plans  of  the  association  arc  not  vet  given 
■tit.  but  it  is  said  the  organization  of  manufac- 
turers will  soon  present  the  details  of  a  feasible 
plan    for    a    new    telephone    system. 

At  present,  accountants  for  the  city  are  going 
over  the  Chicago  Telephone  Company's  hooks!  and 
in  the  meantime  statistics  from  other  cities  are 
being  compiled.  When  these  two  tasks  are  com- 
pleted the  committee  expects  to  report  to  the  coun- 
cil, giving  its  opinion  as  to  what  the  telephone 
rales    should    be   111    Chicago. 


MANUFACTURERS    AND    DEALERS. 

The  Stromberg-Carlson  Telephone  Manufactur- 
ing Company  of  Rochester,  N.  V..  reports  having 
closed   contracts   for  switchboards  at   Holton.    Kan* 

fonopah.  Nev. :  Nashville.  Tenn. :  Elkhart.  Ill  • 
Grand  Ridge,  111.;  Brvson  City.  N.  C. :  Brantford 
Out.,  Canada:  New  York  cite.  N.  V.:  Sunset  La  ; 
Mt.  I  plan.  N.  Y. :  Carthage.  111. :  Central  Square. 
N.  V:  Marcus.  Iowa:  Franklin.  N.  C. :  Auburn. 
X  Y  :  Ladd.  111.:  Diagonal.  Iowa:  Lvtton.  Iowa: 
Woodstock.  III.:  Rochester.  N.  Y. :  Seattle.  Wash  - 
Fontana.  Kan. ;  Clarksville.  Tenn. :  New  Cambria 
M,v:  Cambria.  Mo.:  Rupert.  Idaho:  Elkville.  111. 
and   Ohio,  111. 


-'64 


Annual  Report  of  American   Telephone 
and  Telegraph  Company. 

From  the  report  of  Frederick  P.  Fish,  president 
i  t"  the  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, to  the  stockholders  -of  that  company,  dated 
-March  27,   ioo5,   the   following  is   taken : 

The  resnlts  of  the  business  for  the  year  1905,  as 
shown  by  the  treasurer's  statement  appended,  were 
as   follows : 

I      .discs,    including    interest    anil    taNes ^   S^S^c-s.cio 

Net    revenue    13.034.038.39 

Dividends    paid    9,866,355.00 

Carried    to    reserve     1.743,295.16 

Carried    to    surplus    1,424,388.23 

The  following  were  the  corresponding  figures  for 
the  year    1904: 

Gross    revenue    $18,546,659.21 

Ex.cnscs.    including  interest   and   taxes 7,270,957.46 

Dividends    paid    9,799,117.50 

Carried    to    reserve     586,149.20 

Carried    to    surplus     890,435.05 

The  net  output  of  telephones  during  the  year 
1005  was  1,217,694,  making  the  total  number  of 
hands  of  the  operating  companies  5,698,25s. 

The  number  of  exchange  stations  at  the  end  of 
the  year  operated  by  the  companies  which  consti- 
tute our  system  in  the  United  States  was  2,241,367, 
an  increase  of  441,734.  In  addition  to  this  number 
there  were  246,337  exchange  and  toll  stations  oper- 
ated by  so-called  sub-licensees,  namely,  independent 
companies  or  associations  under  sub-license  or  con- 
nection contracts  and  making  use  of  our  telephones. 
Adding  also  our  telephones  employed  for  private- 
line  purposes,  our  companies  had  a  total  of  2,528,715 
stations  as  against  2,003,213  stations  at  the  close 
of  the  previous  year. 

The  total  mileage  of  wire  in  use  for  exchange  and 
toll  service  was  6,043,518  miles,  of  which  1,372,480 
miles  were  added  during  the  year.  These  figures 
do  not  include  the  mileage  of  wire  operated  by 
sub-licensees. 

Including  the  traffic  over  the  long-distance  lines, 
but  excluding  sub-licensees,  the  daily  average  of  toll 
connections  was  about  368,000,  and  of  exchange 
connections  about  13, 543,000,  as  against  correspond- 
ing figures  in  1904  of  301,000  and  11,149,000;  the 
total  daily  average  for  1905  reaching  13,911,000,  or 
at  the  rate  of  about  4,479,500,000  per  year,  being 
54  telephone  calls  for  each  man,  woman  and  child 
in    the    United    States. 

The  amount  added  to  construction  and  real  estate 
by  all  the  companies,  excluding  sub-licensees,  con- 
stituting our  system  in  the  United  States  during  the 
year  9905,  was : 

Fur    exchanges    $36,771,312 

For    toll    lines    9,832,204 

l'"or    land    and    buildings    4,177,390 


The  amount  added  in  1900  was  $31,619,100;  in 
1901.  $31,005,400;  in  1902,  $37,336,500;  in  1903,  $35,- 
368,700;  and  in  1904,  $33,436,700,  making  the  grand 
total  of  expenditure  upon  these  properties  during 
the  six  years  $219,547,306. 

The  amount  expended  by  this  company  in  1905 
for  the  construction,  equipment  and  supplies  required 
for  its  own  long-distance  lines  was  $3,805,053,  mak- 
ing the  total  investment  in  long-distance  lines  and 
equipment  up  to  the  close  of  the  year  $34,694,763. 

The  growth  of  the  business  during  the  last  year 
has  been  greater  than  ever  before.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  business  will  continue  to  increase. 
The  use  of  the  telephone  is  extending  more  and 
more  in  every  section  of  the  country  and  in  every 
class  of  the  community.  It  is  revolutionizing  busi- 
ness methods  and  social  relations  to  a  substantial 
extent. 

The  plant  is  to  a  large  extent  stable  and  stand- 
ard. Fifty-four  and  one-tenth  per  cent.,  in  miles, 
of  all  the  exchange  wire  in  the  country  is  now  in 
cables  underground ;  and  in  the  very  many  places 
where  for  technical  or  economical  reasons  it  is 
impossible  to  go  underground  with  exchange  cir- 
suits,  overhead  cable  construction  has  taken  the 
place  of  the  open  wires  formerly  in  use,  to  the 
great  advantage  of  the  telephone  companies  and 
their  subscribers,  inasmuch  as  liability-  to  injury  by 
storms  is  reduced  and  the  service  greatly  improved. 

At  the  end  of  the  year  1905,  all  except  about  20 
per  cent,  of  the  exchange  wire  in  the  Bell  system 
was  in  cables,  overhead  or  underground. 

At  the  present  time  the  companies  making  up 
the  Bell  system  have  in  use  not  less  than  320,000,000 
pounds  of  copper  wire,  much  of  it  in  cables  of  a 
permanent  type,  the  value  of  which,  as  copper,  if 
removed  and  sold,  it  is  easy  to  estimate;  not  less 
than  8,000,000  poles  and  95,000.000  duct  feet  of 
underground  conduit  are  installed  and  in  use  to 
support  or  contain  this  wire;  but  the  actual  value 
of  this  aerial  and  underground  plant  is  no  more 
to  be  measured  by  the  value  of  the  raw  materials 
than  is  the  value  of  a  first-class  railway  in  actual 
service  to  be  based  upon  what  could  "be  realized 
from  the  rails  and  sleepers  if  they  were  to  be 
removed    and    sold    as   junk. 

The  real  estate  owned  by  the  companies  making 
up  the  Bell  system  at  the  end  of  the  year  1899 
amounted  to  $12,997,458;  at  the  end  of  the  year 
1905  it  was  $29,763,741. 

The  requirements  of  the  telephone  business  are 
such  that  in  the  larger  cities  it  is  a  distinct  econ- 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

omy  and  great  advantage  to  the  service  that  the 
companies  should  own  their  own  buildings.  Even 
in  the  smaller  places  it  is  often  impossible  to  find 
proper  quarters  that  may  be  leased,  and  an  intelli- 
gent and  conservative  investment  in  real  estate  is 
as  essential  an  element  of  a  proper  and  well-organ- 
ized telephone  system  as  poles  and  wires  and  cen- 
tral-office equipment. 

Since  January,  1900,  the  number  of  telephones  in 
the  hands  of  our  companies  increased  from  1,580,- 
101  to  5,698,258;  the  total  number  of  stations  using 
Bell  telephones,  from  675,761  to  2,528,715;  the  miles 
of  wire  in  toll  and  exchange  use,  from  1,518,609  to 
6,043,518;  the  number  of  officers  and  employes  of 
all  classes,  from  29,599  to  87,212;  the  number  of 
yearly  conversations,  from  1,708,800,000  to  4,479,- 
500,000.  The  American  Bell  system  of  the  United 
States  now  exceeds,  in  the  number  of  subscribers, 
mileage  of  wire  and  extent  of  traffic  the  telephone 
systems  of  Great  Britain  and  all  of  continental 
Europe   combined. 

The  aggregate  capitalization  of  the  American 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company  and  its  asso- 
ciated companies  in  the  United  States,  including 
capital  stock,  and  bonded  and  floating  debt,  was 
on  January  r,  1906,  as  shown  in  the  following 
table,  which  also  shows  certain  other  details  of 
capitalization : 

Entire  capitalization  (stock  bonds  and  all  obli- 
gations as  above)  of  all  the  companies,  in- 
cluding   this    company    $334,524,583 

Number    of    stations    (excluding    sub-licensee    and 

private    line    stations)     -.  041  367 

Average    capitalization    per    station '       $,49 

Deducting    cost    toll    lines..    $99,=93,9S7 

Balance,    cost    of    exchanges*     $23^.2  -,...5911 

Average   capitalization   per    station    (excluding  toll 

Miles  of  toll  wire    ..'......'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'..'.        1,265  236 

Average   investment   per   mile    of   toll    wire '       '$78 

*In  these  items  are  included  all  the  caoitalization  and 
investment  of  the   companies,   excepting  only  "the   cost  of  toll 

It  is  only  upon  the  aggregate  capitalization  above 
stated  that  our  companies,  including  the  American 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company,  have  to  earn 
and  pay   dividends  and   interest. 

The  active  competition  which  has  existed  for 
many  j'ears  in  many  portions  of  the  countrv  still 
continues,  in  some  cases  to  the  detriment  of  cer- 
tain of  our  companies.  It  seems  clear,  however, 
that  within  the  last  three  years  the  general  situa- 
tion, in  so  far  as  competition  is  concerned,  has  be- 
come distinctly  more  favorable  to  our  interests. 

In  many  portions  of  the  country  in  which  our 
business  was  unprofitable  a  few  years  ago  it  is  now 
in  satisfactory  condition,  and  there  are  but  few 
companies  of  those  which  have  had  to  face  strenu- 
ous competition  in  which  there  are  not  definite 
indications  of  an  improved  condition.  In  some  in- 
stances the  recovery  may  be  slow,  but  we  believe 
that  it  is  sure  to  come  everywhere  in  a  reasonable 
time. 

That  the  competition  of  two  telephone  companies, 
operating  in  the  same  field,  is  an  economic  mistake 
from  the  standpoint  both  of  the  investor  and  the 
telephone-using  public  is  coming  to  be  more  and 
more  fully  recognized. 

The  subscriber,  to  derive  the  greatest  value  from 
telephone  service,  should  be  enabled  to  connect 
with  all  subscribers  in  his  exchange  area.  If  there 
are  two  companies,  the  subscriber  having  consider- 
able business  interests  finds  it  almost  indispensable 
that  he  should  be  connected  with  both  companies, 
at  increased  cost  and  inconvenience.  Those  who 
have  the  service  of  one  company  only  cannot  carry 
on  conversation  by  telephone  with  the  subscribers 
of  the  other  company,  and  have  therefore  no  con- 
nection with  a  portion  of  the  telephone-using  public. 
The  competing  companies,  having  an  erroneous 
idea  of  the  cost  of  giving  service,  for  the  most  part 
undertook  to  secure  subscribers  by  offering  tele- 
phone service  at  a  price  that  was  unremunerative. 
This  has  been  shown  in  many  ways,  among  others 
by  their  repeated  efforts  to  raise  the  low  rates 
originally  established.  Many  of  them  were  and 
are  capitalized  at  a  high  rate,  from  $200  or  $250 
and  even  above  $350  per  station,  as  compared  with 
a  much  lower  average  per  station  of  the  Bell  com- 
panies operating  under  similar  conditions;  and  their 
gross  revenue,  as  far  as  the  same  is  made  public, 
is,  as  a  rule,  far  below  the  amount  requisite  to 
cover  expenses  of  operation  and  even  a  moderate 
return  upon  the  capitalization.  It  is  hard  to  find 
a  competing  company  that  in  its  published  figures 
does  not  purport  to  operate  at  an  aggregate  ex- 
pense of  not  more  than"  60  per  cent,  of  its  gross 
receipts;  and  in  some  cases  from  the  figures  and 
prospectuses  of  such  companies  it  would  appear 
that  from  35  to  50  per  cent,  of  the  gross  receipts 
are  regarded  as  sufficient  to  pay  all  the  expenses 
of  carrying  on  the  business,  including  maintenance 
and  depreciation,  to  the  extent  to  which,  as  it  is 
not  infrequently  the  case,  these  essential  items  of 
expense  are  not  ignored. 

The  gross  revenue  of  the  Bell  telephone  com- 
panies throughout  the  United  States  for  the  year 
1905  was  $100,440,264;  and  their  total  expenses, 
including  a  proper  allowance  for  maintenance  and 
depreciation,  were  $74,110,795;  the  ratio  of  expense 
to  gross  income  being  74  per  cent.  Eliminating 
all  items  of  revenue  and  expense  except  those  re- 
lating directly  to  the  telephone  business,  the  ratio 
of  expense  to  gross  revenue  was  about  73  per  cent. 
It  seems  reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  proper  recog- 


Alarch   31,   1906 

nition  of  the  element  of  depreciation  and  main- 
tenance would  in  many,  if  not  in  most  cases,  carry 
the  expenses  of  the  competing  telephone  companies 
to  a  point  so  nearly  equal  to  (.if  not  exceeding) 
their  gross  receipts  as  to  leave  but  little,  if  any, 
margin   of   return   upon   capital    investment. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  Independent  tele- 
phone companies  and  associations  whose  projectors 
entered  into  the  business  and  invested  their  capital 
in  entire  good  faith  and  with  the  purpose  of  sup- 
plying service  in  small  communities  and  rural  dis- 
tricts which  our  system  had  not  yet  developed. 

There  has  been  a  growing  disposition  on  the  part 
of  organizations  of  this  class,  as  is  evidenced  by  the 
large  increase  of  the  number  of  sub-licensee  sta- 
tions to  adopt  the  use  of  Bell  telephones  and  con- 
nect themselves  with  the  systems  of  our  com- 
panies. This  is  true,  also,  of  a  considerable  number 
of  companies  which  have  operated  in  direct  competi- 
tion with  the  Bell  exchanges. 


Indiana  Telephone  Items. 

The  Decatur  County  Telephone  Company,  with 
principal  exchange  in  Greensburg,  declares  that 
nowhere  else  is  the  use  of  the  telephone  more 
general  than  in  Decatur  County.  The  company  has 
2,487  telephones  in  service.  Its  lines  are  stretched 
on  every  road  in  the  county,  with  887  telephones 
in  service  in  the  rural  districts.  Branch  exchanges 
are  maintained  at  St.  Paul,  Letts,  Sardinia,  Clarks- 
burg  and   Andersonville. 

The  Central  Union  Telephone  Company  recently 
issued  an  open  letter  to  the  effect  that  it  has  made 
a  proposition  to  the  Citizens'  Telephone  Company 
of  Columbus  to  enter  into  an  operating  agreement 
between  the  two  companies  and  have  only  one  tel- 
phone  plant  in  Columbus,  and  thus  do  away  with 
the  dual  service.  The  Citizens'  company  gives  free 
country  service,  while  the  Central  Union  charges 
its  patrons.  The  Citizens'  company  declares  the 
proposition  out  of  the  ordinary  and  entirely  in- 
compatible. The  Independent  company  points  out 
that  it  would  be  foolish  for  it  to  combine  with  the 
Central  Union,  when  it  already  has  control  of  the 
country  and  the  city  patronage.  The  Citizens'  com- 
pany is  owned  and  controlled  largely  by  the  New 
Long  Distance  Company.  Since  the  proposition  is 
declined,  the  Central  Union  will  now  put  in  a  new 
plant. 

Mayor  Brouse  of  Kokomo  carried  out  his  threat 
to  veto  the  ordinance  passed  by  the  council  to 
allow  the  Citizens  Telephone  Company  of  Kokomo 
to  make  long-distance  connection  with  the  Bell 
company.  The  franchise  of  the  local  company  pro- 
hibits this,  and  the  ordinance  vetoed  made  no 
mention  of  nor  attempted  to  repeal  the  prohibitory 
section.  No  attempt  was  made  to  pass  the  ordi- 
nance  over   the    veto. 

The  telephone  situation  at  Evansville  remains 
unchanged.  It  is  understood  that  Mayor  Buehne 
is  favorable  to  the  granting  of  a  franchise  to  the 
Citizens'  company,  now  applying,  and  when  he 
learned  the  council  had  agreed  to  smother  the  pe- 
tition last  Monday  night,  he  asked  for  a  continu- 
ance for  two  weeks.  In  the  meantime  petitions 
are  coming  in  from  every  section  of  Southern  In- 
diana, asking  for  a  foothold  in  Evansville  by  the 
Independents.  "  S. 


Ohio  Telephone  Notes. 

A  bill  has  been  introduced  in  the  Legislature 
providing  for  the  entrance  of  new  telephone  com- 
panies into  a  municipality  on  the  same  basis  as 
the  old  companies  operate.  This  bill  will  aid  the 
companies  endeavoring  to  get  into  Cincinnati.  An- 
other bill  makes  the  duties  of  a  Probate  Court 
broader  in  respect  to  granting  franchises  to  tele- 
phone companies,  where  municipal  councils  delay 
or  neglect  to  act.  The  recent  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  was  to  the  effect  that  the  Probate 
Court  could  only  direct  the  manner  in  which  the 
streets  should  be  used.  The  new  bill  permits  ap- 
plication to  the  Probate  Court  for  a  franchise.  This 
will  also  aid  the  companies  to  secure  a  foothold 
in  Cincinnati.  Frank  L.  Beam,  manager  of  the 
Ohio  Independent  Telephone  Association,  has  writ- 
ten a  letter  to  all  Independent  managers,  asking 
them  to  use  their  influence  toward  the  passage  of 
this  bill. 

The  Cincinnati  Board  of  Public  Service  has  de- 
cided to  enlarge  the  private  exchange  in  the  water- 
works office  to  include  all  other  departments  ex- 
cept the  police  department.  At  present  each  office 
has  a  telephone.  The  change  will  reduce  the  cost 
of  telephone  service  from  $9,000  a  year  to  about 
$5,000. 

An  office  will  be  established  in  the  Columbus 
Savings  and  Trust  Building,  Columbus,  in  a  few 
days  by  the  Stromberg-Carlson  Telephone  Manu- 
facturing Company,  and  from  this  point  the  busi- 
ness of  the  Central  West  will  be  taken  care  of. 
A.  E.  Crawford  will  be  in  charge  of  the  branch. 
An  increase  of  capital  stock  from  $23,700  to  $71,- 
coo  has  been  made  by  the  Covington  Home  Tele- 
phone  Company  of  Covington. 

The  Henrietta  Rural  Telephone  Company  of  Hen- 
rietta has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $4,000  by  W.   C.   Porter  and  others. 

Articles  of  incorporation  have  been  issued  to  the 
Ragersville     Telephone     Company    of     Ragersville. 


Man  ii  31,  1906 


-||„.  capital   stock    is  $5,000,  and   Daniel   Dal!,   Will 

,i,    Miller  and  othei     arc  among   il i  poi  atoi 

K    II.    Paul   and   othei     have   ii |ioi  at,  -I   a     tin 

Farmers'  I  'nion    I  •  lephone  1  ompan     al   Otwa 
1  1  apital   ■  toi  1    ol  $1,000.  I 


Telephone   News  from    the    Northwest. 

The    Grcal     Northern    Railway    has    aboi in 

,1  ted  .1    bloi  1     ignal     |    tem    hel  w<  i  n    Lai  ii c   and 

Minot,   N.    D.     Il    will   be   operated   hj    tclepl 

A   local   telepl e   exchange   i  i   projected   al     >l  ill 

1 1 ...  1 ;  1 .    Minn.,    by    the    (  men  ial    I  lub 

'I  he    I  lakota    1  lentral     I  elcpl ■     pan       ha 

boughl    the   local   exchange   al    I  [oward,   S.    I ).,   and 

w  ill    i"  tend    and    improi  -     h  i    long  di  ti 

in. 11 .    h  ills    thai    1  itj 

'I  he  Lewiston  I  elcphone  Company  of  I  cv  1  ton, 
Minn.,  will  consider  increasing  the  capital  tocl 
from  $10,000  to  $.15,000. 

The    Nicollel    County   Telephone   C panj    of   St, 

Peter,  Minn.,  proposes  a  line  through  Nicollet  and 
Courtland    townships. 

\   call   has   been   sent  out  through    North    Dakota 

foi    a   convention   of   Independent   telephone   c pa 

inr .  of  llu'  stall',  to  unite  against  the  aggressions 
of  the  Bell  interests,  I  he  date  ol  the  mi  i  ting  ha 
nol  yel  been  fixed. 

The  Northwestern  Telephone  Exchange  Company 
seeks   a    franchise   al    Braham,    Minn,    for    a    local 

exchange,   in    competition   with    the    Tri  State    i 

pally. 

I  In  Park  Region  Mutual  Telephone  Company 
of  Underwood,  Minn.,  lias  been  formed,  with  $10,000 
capital   slock. 

Mi,'  Sanborn  Telephone  Company  of  Sanborn, 
Minn,  lias  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  of 
$15,000.     Henry  J.  Fink  is  among  the  incorporators. 

Charles  Swedberg  has  been  granted  a  franchise 
for  a  local   telephone  exchange  at  Ripple,   Minn. 

The  Fanners'  Mutual  Telephone  Company  has 
been  organized  at  Ringsted,  Iowa,  with  Andrew 
Larsert    as    president    and    E.    T.    Sorum,    secretary. 

R.  L,  Parker  of  Traer,  Iowa,  has  purchased  the 
toll   line   from   Traer  to  Toledo. 

C.  W.  Smith,  owner  of  the  telephone  system  at 
Toledo,   Iowa,   will    install   a  modem   switchboard. 

The  Traders'  Telephone  Company  lias  sold  its 
system  at  Delta,  Iowa,  to  H.  Bell"  of  Delta  and 
associates.  R. 


GENERAL  TELEPHONE   NEWS 

A  Japanese  inventor  by  the  name  of  Kimura  is 
said  to  have  devised  a  practicable  wireless  tele- 
phone. 

The  Gurdon  and  Northwestern  Telephone  Com- 
pany of  Gurdon,  Ark.,  has  sold  its  business  to  the 
Southwestern   Telephone   Company. 

Thomas  H.  Hilary  of  Stillwater,  Minn.,  has  been 
appointed  district  manager  of  the  Northwestern 
Telephone  Exchange  Company. 

B.  H.  Chase  has  resigned  as  manager  of  the 
Citizens'  Telephone  Company  at  Spencer,  Iowa,  and 
A.    L.    Ritchie   of   Mason    City   succeeds    him. 

Permission  has  been  granted  the  Chicago  Tele- 
phone Company  to  extend  its  long-distance  lines 
from  Bloomington,  111.,  south  through  De  Witt 
County. 

The  Washington  Telephone  Company  of  Belle- 
vue,  Iowa,  has  been  organized  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $1,500.  John  Chick  is  president  and  Henry 
Builerdick  secretary. 

Announcement  is  made  of  the  consolidation  of 
the  Mattoon  (111.)  Telephone  Company,  the  Coles 
County  Telephone  Company  and  the  Charleston 
Telephone  Company,  all  three  companies  being 
taken  over  by  the  Coles  County  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company,  which  was  recently  incorpo- 
rated with   a  capital  of  $100,000. 

The  fifth  district  of  the  Illinois  Independent  Tele- 
phone Association  will  have  a  meeting  at  the  Hotel 
Fey,  Peoria,  on  April  16th  and  17th.  The  clearing- 
house movement  will  be  further  considered,  and 
the  committee  appointed  at  the  meeting  in  January, 
consisting  of  J.  W.  Barrett  of  Pekin,  S.  Dailey 
of  Chillicothe  and  C.  A.  Camp  of  Sparland,  will 
submit   its   report   at  this  meeting. 

Linemen  of  the  Wisconsin  Telephone  Company 
recently  mistook  a  private  horse  for  a  livery  rig 
and  drove  into  the  country  with  it,  leaving  their 
horse  tied  in  Janesville.  The  sheriff,  police  of  four 
towns,  and  the  entire  anti-horse-thief  society  of 
the  county  was  called  into  action.  The  linemen 
were  surprised  to  be  met  by  a  posse  while  at  work 
stringing  wires  in  the  country.  An  explanation 
settled  matters. 

Independent  telephone  men  from  all  parts  of  Illi- 
nois will  meet  in  Peoria  the  last  of  April  to  dis- 
cuss and  devise  ways  and  means  to  further  their 
interests.  E.  R.  Conklin,  general  manager  of  the 
Interstate  Telephone  Company,  is  president  of  the 
organization.  The  question  of  toll  rates  and  con- 
nections will  be  taken  up,  and  it  is  expected  ar- 
rangements will  be  perfected  so  as  to  have  uniform 
charges.  A  more  extensive  territory  will  then  be 
covered. 


CORRESPONDENCE 
Great  Britain. 

■1   •    I  ■  .ii'l'.n.    and    lln-    n 
will    l„     dcall     .'.nil 

replied   thai    lh 

' 

1  d    all    lb,-    bill 

a  j 

lo   alio.,.  If    |hc 

I. in.  1    1     io    I,,     adopt  'I,    ili,  re    have    alrcad 

bills  not  passing  inn,  law   through  lai 

alrcad}   been  p"  Ipom  d  tw  ii  c,  and  if, 

Ca    e,     lie       ;•,,,  1  inn,  ill      I    nil,, -I      dl  I  I'1'        .    I 

io    follow,   11    1     nol    improbable   thai   much    ■ 
will  once  again  be  wasted   in  abortivi 

ized   io 
all  the  power  bills,  and  il   has  bi  en  di     ded 

1  l"H    1  il"  1  al    en  ml"  1      i"    "pi"'  •    all    ' 

p '  lull  ,  Inn  i"  all,,.-,  ili,    I  ondi  m  Co 

cil    bill    to    proceed.     At    any    rale,    we    an-    oni 
advanced   since   last   week. 

1  In      1  ■  ■  1 1 1 1 1  - 1    il"     imi    thai    (be    Brighton 

1  '1,1  p,  niii,  "i    1      :ii,  in, 1,  ming    ili'-    maximum  d< 

system  of  charging  for  il     eh  ctricitj 

been  overlooked.     It   was   Mr.   Arthur   Wright,   the 

corporation's   > suiting  engineer,   who  devised  the 

system,  and  il  has  been  used  exclusively  111  Brighton 
since  its  birth.  Even  the  advocates  1  1 
have  always  acknowledged  11-  complexity,  and.  in 
deference  t"  a  verj  generally  expressed  opinion 
in  Brighton  that  a  simpler  system  should  be 
adopted,  the  following  has  been  suggested  by  Mr. 
Wright:  Existing  consumers  will  be  supplied  upon 
a  flat  rate  equivalent  to  their  average  price  during 
the  preceding  year;  new  consumers  will  he  charged 
a  flat  rate  equivalent  lo  iIil-  average  charge  madi 
during  the  last  year  to  the  other  consumers  of  that 
particular  class.  Finally,  it  has  been  agreed  that 
the  flat  rate  to  be  charged  during  any  one  year 
shall  be  fixed  on  the  average  quarterly  readings  of 
the  previous  year.  Putting  these  proposals  into 
practical  effect,  the  committee  has  decided  to  charge 
a  flat  rate  of  4d.  per  unit  to  any  consumer  not 
desiring  to  be  charged  upon  the  maximum-demand 
system. 

Many  rumors  have  been  going  around  concerning 
the  five  municipal  telephone  systems  in  Great  Brit- 
ain, and  at  present  it  is  unsafe  to  definitely  make 
any  statement  as  to  the  likely  results.  A  short 
time  ago  it  was  officially  announced  that  a  survey 
of  the  systems  in  question  had  been  undertaken  at 
the  instance  of  the  Postoffice  with  a  view  to  a 
transfer.  This  much  has  been  done,  and  protracted 
negotiations  in  each  case  have  taken  place,  which, 
some  of  the  daily  papers  announced,  had  been 
broken  off.  It  is  pretty  clear,  however,  that  this 
is  not  so,  and  that  a  result  is  still  being  aimed  at. 
But,  to  mystify  the  whole  matter,  comes  the  state- 
ment that  the  National  Telephone  Company  has  ap- 
parently in  addition,  also  negotiated  with  the  Hull 
Corporation,  and  practically  come  to  terms  for  pur- 
chasing that  exchange  system.  There  was  a  simi- 
lar rumor  a  short  time  ago  relating  to  the  Swansea 
undertaking,  but  it  eventually  came  to  nothing.  In 
the  Hull  case,  however,  a  definite  proposal  is  to  be 
submitted  to  the  corporation,  by  its  own  telephone 
committee. 

Much  comment  has  been  passed,  both  in  finan- 
cial and  other  quarters,  as  to  the  almost  universal 
reduction  in  the  dividends  paid  last  year  by  the 
various  electric-lighting  companies  in  London. 
There  are  two  main  reasons  for  this.  Up  to  the 
present  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  majority  of 
supply  companies  have  constituted  a  reliable  in- 
vestment, with  the  strong  possibility  of  10  per 
cent,  return  and  upwards.  But  the  advent  of  Mr. 
Merz's  power  scheme  last  year  put  a  somewhat 
different  complexion  on  the  matter,  and  as  the 
result  of  a  very  strenuous  opposition,  there  was 
a  pretty  general  reduction  of  two  or  three  per  cent, 
in  the  various  dividends  in  order  to  meet  the  cost 
cf  that  opposition.  In  the  second  place,  a  direct 
result  of  the  "power"  bill  last  year  was  an  all- 
around  reduction  in  prices,  which  was  also  some- 
what precipitated  by  the  very  active  and  incisive 
competition  which  the  gas  companies  are  offering 
just  now.  In  this  connection  there  is  a  circum- 
stance which  flatters  but  will  probably  not  please 
Mr.  Merz.  He  complained  before  Parliament  lint 
the  existing  companies  made  no  efforts  to  "push" 
the  business.  Since  that  memorable  utterance  there 
has  been  great  haste  in  several  quarters  to  organ- 
ize canvassing  departments  all  over  London,  and 
I  do  not  doubt  that  much  will  be  heard  of  these 
whenever  the  electric  power  bills  reach  the  com- 
mittee  stage  again,  either  this  session  or  next. 

All  the  necessary  preparations  are  now  being 
made  for  the  transfer  of  the  large  system  of  horse 
tramways  in  the  north  of  London  to  the  London 
County  Council.  The  actual  change  over  will  take 
place  "on  April    1st,   and  a   bill  is   now  before   Par- 


' 


Dominion  of  Canada. 

and     I  i 

from  M 
supply    • 

Shawim/ 
will  ill'  1 
$100,000 

I  be   company 
■•.  er,    and    contr; 

half    ... 

plant     was    originally 

Montreal    Light.    Heat   and    I' 

.•  r.  making  .-•.  - 

lie     royal    train    that    the    '. 

will     furnish     f 

! 
having  been   installed    for  the  pui  W. 

New  York. 

New   York  city,  March  24. — The  franchise 

New    York    Connecting   Railroad    has 

Mayor    McClellan 
ground  thai   il 

on  the  pan  of  the  Rapid  Transit  Con  1 
connecting    link    will    be    very    important    for    the 
Pennsylvania    Railroad,    as    it    will    enable    through 
cars  to  be   run    from   the   New    Haven    system   over 
the  connecting  road  to  Long  Island  City  ami 
through   the  Pel  md  Tunnel   to 

Jersey  City.     Ii  house 

of   the    New    Haven    railroad    at    Stamford    is 
equipped   with    1 1, 000- volt  alternating-current  gener- 
ators of  practically  similar  design  to  those  installed 
in    the   new    Lung   Island    power   house   whicl 
operates     the     sub-stations     for    the     direct-current 
third-rail   traffic  or.  the  Long  Island   railroad. 

Negotiations   are    pending   between    the    P  - 
and   the   Pennsylvania   Railroad    for  the   erccti 
a  central  postoffice  in  the  vicinity  of  the  new   Penn- 
sylvania railroad  depot  on  Twenty-third 

Chief  Engineer  George  S.  Rice  reports  that  work 
is  progressing  favorably  on  the  East  River  Tunnel. 
He  also  makes  a  number  of  recommendations  relat- 
ing to  subway  traffic  and  suggests  to  the  ; 
gers  that  they  distribute  themselves  better  through- 
out   the    length    of    the    train. 

A  trial  has  been  made  at  the  Worth  Street  sub- 
way station  of  a  process  of  vacuum  cleaning  as 
applied  to  the  tiling  and  girders.  It  is  estimated 
that  a  traveling  plant  of  this  kind  can  clean  a  sta- 
tion in  50  minutes  and  pick  up  loose  paper  from  the 
tracks  when  traveling  between   stations. 

On  Wednesday  the  state  Senate  amended  the 
Elsberg  rapid  transit  bill  by  eliminating  its 
petitive  features,  but  Senator  Elsberg  is  expecting 
to  have  them  reinserted.  Yesterday  Assemblyman 
Krulcwitsch  introduced  a  hill  to  compel  the  New- 
York  traction  companies  to  sell  six  tickets 
cents. 

The  Independence  League  Railway  Company  has 
issued  an  elaborate  scheme  of  Brooklyn  traction. 
"By  the  people,  of  the  people,  and  for  the  ; 
There  are  to  be  $10  shares,  three-cent  fares,  and 
free  transfers.  This  scheme  has  nothing  to  do  with 
Borough  President  Coler's  scheme  for  the  building 
of  a   municipal   railroad  in   Br. 

The    state    railroad    commission    issued    a    lengthy 
order  yesterday  lor  the  improvement     - 
lyn    Rapid    Transit    Company's    service,    but 
that  it  is  impossible  to  increase  the  facilities  for  the 
rush-hour  traffic  over  the  bridge. 

The  Rapid  Transit  Commission  has  approved  of 
a  proposal  to  build  a  subway  to  Coney  Island  as  an 
extension    of   the    Fort   Hamilton    route. 

This  week  the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  placed  in 
service  four  new  snow  plows,  which  not  only  clean 
the  car  tracks  but  also  clear  a  space  eight  feet  wide 
on  the  adjacent  roadway.  These  plows  weigh  jo 
tons  each  and  are  driven  by  means  of  four  50- 
horsepower  motors.  A  fifth  motor  operates  an  air 
compressor,  which  in  turn  controls  the  projecting 
wings  which  clear  the   sides  of  the  track. 

An    incandescent    lamp    with    a    met; 


266 

which  is  neither  platinum,  osmium  nor  tantalum  has 
been  received  in  New  York  city  from  a  California 
inventor.  The  filament  is  probably  composed  of 
tungsten. 

Mayor  McClellan  has  signed  the  bill  fixing  the 
price  of  gas  in  New  York  city  at  So  cents  per  1,000 
cubic  feet.  The  Consolidated  Gas  Company  is  still 
protesting   against   the    reduction. 

The  Rural  Home  Telephone  Company  of  Nassau, 
X.  V.,  has  been  organized  by  Albany  men  with  a 
capital  of  $50,000. 

E.  M.  Treman  and  associates  of  Ithaca,  N.  Y., 
have  incorporated  as  the  Associated  Gas  and  Elec- 
tric Company  of  Perm  Yan,  N.  Y.,  capital  $1,500,000, 
for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  engines,  boilers 
and   dynamos. 

Bids  are  receivable  until  11  a.  m.  on  April  2d  for 
the  electrical  equipment  for  a  new  public  school 
on  Robinson  Street,  Brooklyn,  the  amount  of  the 
security    required    being    $3,500. 

The  Municipal  Civil  Service  Commission  on  April 
6th  will  hold  an  examination  for  male  telephone 
operators.  The  minimum  age  is  21,  and  the  salaries 
range  from  $480  to  $oco.      ~  D.  W.  W. 


New  England. 

Boston,  March  24. — Lawrence  Colt  of  Waterford. 
Conn.,  proposes  to  bring  suit  against  the  New 
London  and  East  Lyme  Street  Railway  Company, 
contending  that  the  company's  freight  and  express 
service  is  seriously  interfering  with  his  general 
store.  He  .alleges  that  the  company  discriminates 
against  him  in  the  matter  of  rates.  He  declares 
that  the  company's  employes  buy  eggs  from  Water- 
ford  farmers  and  sell  them  in  New  London  and 
that  the  corporation  is  practically  engaging  in  a 
retail  trade.  Mr.  Colt  owns  some  of  the  com- 
pany's stock,  and  he  claims  that  he  subscribed  for 
the  stock  solely  for  the  purpose  of  having  a  pas- 
senger   service. 

A  lot  of  land  on  Berkeley,  Clarendon  and  Stan- 
hope streets  and  St.  James  Avenue  in  Boston  has 
been  bonded  by  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Tech- 
nology Corporation,  which  intends  erecting  a  club- 
house in  memory  of  the  late  President  Francis  A. 
Walker.     Architects    are    now    preparing    the    plans. 

The  Consolidated  Railway  Company  has  bought 
control  of  the  Hoosac  Valley  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany, paying  $180  per  share  for  4,000  shares  of 
the  stock.  The  stock  was  transferred  to  the  Berk- 
shire Street  Railway  Company,  a  subsidiary  of 
the  Consolidated  company.  By  this  purchase,  the 
New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford  interests 
obtains  control  of  electric  railways  between  Worces- 
ter and  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  state.  It 
is  believed  that  the  Hoosac  Valley  road  will  be 
extended    to    Bennington,   Vt. 

The  heavy  snowfall  of  Monday  caused  a  great 
deal  of  delay  to  the  Boston  Elevated  Railway  Com- 
pany's surface  cars,  while  a  slight  accident  to  a 
car  at  an  entrance  to  the  subway  so  interfered 
with  traffic  that  Park  Street  station  become  crowded 
to  the  danger  point.  This  is  a  great  argument  in 
favor  of  more   subways. 

The  General  Electric  Company  has  bought  over 
two  acres  of  land  near  its  River  Works  plant  in 
Lynn,  Mass.,  and  will  build  an  addition  to  its 
foundry. 

Perley  K.  Dodge,  aged  21  years,  a  student  at 
the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  was 
killed  by  coming  in  contact  with  a  live  wire  in  the 
LTnited  Shoe  Machinery  Company's  power  house 
in  Beverly,  Mass.,  last  Monday  night.  He  was 
making  experiments  which  he  intended  to  use  in 
his  graduating  thesis.     He  lived  in  Beverly. 

The  Hartford  Electric  Light  Company  has  built 
a  distributing  station  from  which  it  will  deliver 
electric  current  at  10,000  volts  to  the  Consolidated 
Railway  Company  for  the  operation  of  its  road 
between  Hartford  and  Rockville,  Conn.  The  lat- 
ter company  will  use  its  steam  railroad  between 
Burnside  and  Rockville  for  part  of  this  line. 

The  automobile  show  in  Mechanics'  Building, 
which  closed  last  Saturday  night,  showed  that  there 
is  a  decided  boom  for.  electric  automobiles  in  this 
part  of  the  country,  there  being  twice  as  many 
such  machines  on  exhibition  as  there  were  at  last 
year's  show.  B. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN- 
IS    not    granted   a    franchise.      The    directors    of   the 
Commercial     Club     have     signified    their     favor    of 
granting  the  new  concern  a   franchise  at   the  hands 
of    the    citv    authorities. 

The  town  of  Elm  City,  N.  C,  has  given  a  con- 
tract for  a  $10,000  municipal  lighting  plant  to  the 
Electric  Construction  Company  of  Richmond,  Va., 
thus  following  the  example  of  the  town  of  Spring 
Hope,  N.  C. 

The  Durham  (N.  C.)  Traction  Company  will 
install  a  large  steam  turbine  with  motor  generator 
in  the  power  and  ice  plant  at  Durham. 

The  Spencer  Mountain  Power  Company,  belong- 
ing to  W.  T.  Love  of  Gastonia  and  J.  C.  Rankin 
of  Lowell,  N.  C..  is  Hearing  completion  and  3,000 
horsepower  will  be  available.  The  company  will 
supply  power  to  cotton  mills  and  light  to  the  town 
of  Gastonia,  N.  C.  L. 


March  31,-1906 

Dillonvale  and  Rayland.  a  distance  of  something 
over  six  miles.  Louis  Lipphardt  and  W.  C.  Faw- 
cett  of  the  Wheeling  Traction  Company  are  among 
the  incorporators.  O.  M.  C. 


Indiana. 


Southeastern  States. 

Charlotte,  N.  C,  March  24. — A  favorable  report 
has  been  made  to  the  district  committee  of  the 
Senate  at  Washington,  D.  C,  on  a  bill  proposing 
to  grant  a  charter  to  the  East  Washington  Heights 
Railroad    Company. 

The  Reedy  River  Power  Company  of  Western 
South  Carolina  has  secured  a  charter  with  a  capital 
of   $50,000. 

The  Birmingham  Railway  and  Power  Company, 
among  other  improvements,  has  announced  a  new 
sub-station   in   Ensley,   Ala. 

A  proposition  has  been  set  afoot  in  Richmond, 
Va.,  to  put  on  the  tickets  in  the  coming  aldermanic 
campaign  the  question  of  municipal  ownership  of 
lighting  interests. 

The  lighting  situation  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  has  been 
made  more  interesting  by  the  entry  into  competi- 
tion of  the  Atherton-Jones  interests,  and  now  it  is 
slated  that  the  Louisville  Lighting  Company  pro- 
poses to  cut  rates  provided  the  competitive  company 


Ohio. 

Cleveland,  March  24. — An  interurban  route  from 
Pittsburg  to  Cincinnati  is  made  possible  through 
the  Stcubenville  and  East  Liverpool  Railway  and 
Light  Company,  which  has  been  incorporated  by 
W.  Caryl  Ely,  Edward  McDonnell,  Charles  A. 
Smith.  George  H.  Owen  and  a  number  of  others. 
All  are  interested  in  the  East  Liverpool  Railway 
and  Light  Company.  The  plans  of  the  new  com- 
pany include  the  construction  of  an  electric  line 
to  connect  Toronto  and  East  Wellsville,  the  East 
Liverpool  lines  terminating  at  the  latter  point.  Tne 
Beaver  and  Ohio  Valley  Traction  Company,  in- 
corporated recently  by  men  interested  in  the  Pitts- 
burg Railway  Company,  insures  a  line  from  the  ter- 
minus of  the  Beaver  Valley  lines  to  Smith's  Ferry, 
Pa.,  where  connection  is  to  be  made  with  lines 
that  will  run  down  the  Ohio  River  to  Wheeling 
and  there  turn  across  the  state  by  way  of  Zanes- 
-  ville,  Newark  and  Columbus.  Other  lines  connect 
Columbus    and    Cincinnati. 

1  he  lower  House  of  the  Legislature  has  passed 
a  bill  which  makes  it  optional  instead  of  mandatory 
for  village  councils,  when  endeavoring  to  establish 
a  municipal  plant,  to  first  negotiate  with  the  own- 
ers of  a  private  plant,  if  one  exists,  before  any- 
other  action    is   taken. 

J.  R.  Curtis  of  Geneva  has  purchased  the  prop- 
erty of  the  Commercial  Electric  Company  at 
Painesville.  The  company  will  ask  for  a  franchise 
and  a  contract  to   furnish   lights   for  the  town. 

Albert  E.  Boone  and  others  have  incorporated 
the  Gallipolis,  Huntington  and  Columbus  Tramway 
Company  of  Gallipolis,  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$15,000. 

Representative  Henry  C.  Hunt  of  Cincinnati  has 
offered  a  bill  in  the  Legislature  providing  for  the 
construction  of  elevated  railroads  in  cities.  The 
bill  has  been  offered  in  order  to  enable  the  com- 
pany contemplating  the  construction  of  an  elevated 
road   in  Cincinnati  to  proceed  with   its  plans. 

J.  L.  Hover  of  Cleveland  has  invented  a  new 
switch  guard,  operated  from  the  vestibule  of  an 
electric  car  or  the  engine  of  a  railroad  train  when 
going  at  high  speed,  by  which  accidents  due  to 
open   switches  can  be  avoided. 

A  movement  is  on  foot  to  seli  the  municipal 
lighting  plant  at  Ashtabula  to  a  private  corporation 
consisting  of  men  interested  in  lighting  plants  at 
Columbus,  Springfield  and  Dayton.  In  addition  it 
is  thought  that  the  company  will  purchase  the 
water  plant,  which  has  been  operated  by  a  local 
company.  The  franchise  expires  in  August,  and 
the  council  has  been  at  loggerheads  over  its  re- 
newal. There  has  been  some  dissatisfaction  over 
the  rates  .charged  for  both  light  and  water.  Should 
the  plant's  be  sold  they  will  be  enlarged.  The  light- 
ing plant  will  furnish  light  and  power  to  many 
of  the  large  industries  which  have  not  been  able 
to  secure  it  from  the  municipal  plant  on  account 
of  its  small   size. 

Norman  G.  Keenan,  president  of  the  Cincinnati 
Gas  and  Electric  Company,  was  elected  to  the  vice- 
presidency  of  the  Ohio  Gas  Light  Association  at 
its  meeting  in  Cincinnati  this  week.  Benjamin  W. 
Perkins  of  South  Bend.  Ind.,  was  chosen  president 
and  Thomas  C.  Jones  of  Delaware,  Ohio,  was  made 
secretan'-treasurer.  Plans  were  made  at  this  meet- 
ing for  uniting  this  association  with  the  American 
and  Western  associations,  the  merger  to  he  known 
as  the  American  Gas  Light  Association.  For  this 
reason  the  association  adjourned  without  naming 
a  place  or  date  for  the  next  meeting.  One  of  the 
^most  important  papers  read  was  by  W.  H.  Gardner 
of  Boston,  who  gave  his  attention  to  the  claims 
for  municipal  ownership.  His  address  was  a  strong 
argument    against    the    municipal-ownership    fad. 

Thomas  Bracken,  an  engineer,  representing  New 
York  capitalists,  has  been  at  East  Liverpool  look- 
ing over  the  ground  with  a  view  to  establishing 
a  lighting  and  power  plant  in  the  coal  fields  at 
West  Point,  near  the  former  place,  that  will  fur- 
nish current  for  all  the  towns  between  Pittsburg 
and  Wheeling,  W.  Va.,  and  between  East  Liver- 
pool and  Cleveland.  He  says  that  current  can  be 
conveyed  on  the  high-pressure  system  for  100  miles 
with  a  loss  of  only  10  per  cent.,  and  that  a  plant 
can  be  operated  in  the  coal  fields  much  cheaper, 
than  electricity  can  be  generated  in  the  cities  and 
towns. 

The  Dillonvale  and  Ohio  River  Traction  Com- 
pany has  been  incorporated  to  build  a  road  between 


Indianapolis,  March  24. — The  Indiana  electric 
railways  have  had  the  fight  of  their  lives  to  coun- 
teract and  displace  the  sleet  and  snow,  which  fell 
to  a  depth  of  14  inches  on  their  tracks.  At  no 
time  was  the  traffic  entirely  suspended,  although 
a  few  roads  failed  to  get  any  trains  through  during 
the  first  half  day.  Only  recently  the  interurban 
people  boasted  of  increased  earnings  during  the 
winter  by  reason  of  the  freedom  from  snow,  but 
this,  the  greatest  snow  in  the  history  of  their 
existence,  has  cost  them  large  sums  of  money.  The 
heavy  snow  occasioned  the  roof  of  the  car  barns 
of  the  Indianapolis  Terminal  Company  to  collapse, 
killing  a  motorman  and  injuring  a  number  of  em- 
ployes. The  glass  roof  of  the  terminal  station  also 
gave  way  under  the  heavy  weight  of  snow,  and 
will   require  a   snug  sum  to  repair  the   damage. 

The  Linton  Traction  Company  of  Linton,  Ind., 
has  filed  articles  of  incorporation,  proposing  to 
construct  electric  railways  in  Jasonville,  Dugger, 
Carlisle,  Sullivan,  Shelburn  and  Hymera.  The 
towns  will  be  connected  by  an  interurban  line  for 
passengers  and  freight.  The  capital  stock  is  $200,- 
oco.  William  J.  Hamilton,  William  A.  Craig,  Frank 
A.   Gage  and  D.  D.  Terhune  are  the  directors. 

It  has  been  officially  announced  by  Charles  Fiske. 
chief  engineer  of  the  Louisville  and  Indianapolis 
Traction  Company,  that  the  construction  of  an 
electric  railway,  which  will  connect  Louisville  and 
Indianapolis,   has  been   amply   financed. 

An  election  is  being  held  today  in  Smith  Town- 
ship. Posey  County,  to  vote  $13,500  in  aid  of  the 
construction  of  the  Vanderburg  and   Posey   electric 

The  promoters  of  the  electric  belt  line  to  en- 
circle Indianapolis  at  a  radius  of  14  miles,  held 
a  meeting  with  the  representatives  of  the  15  towns 
and  cities  interested,  and  decided  upon  a  permanent 
organization.  The  plan  was  shown  to  be  feasible 
and  the  estimate  cost  of  the  100  miles  of  road 
placed  at  $2,500,000.  Representatives  present  from 
the  towns  and  cities  interested  said  there  would 
be  no  trouble  in  securing  franchises  or  rights-of- 
way.     The  survey  will  be  made   at  once. 

A  concrete  arch  200  feet  long,  40  feet  high  and 
with  a  97-foot  span  has  been  completed  over  Big 
William  Creek,  near  Connersville.  by  the  Indianap- 
olis and  Cincinnati  Traction  Company.  This  is 
said  to  be  the  largest  concrete  arch  in  the  coun- 
try, and  contains  5,000  cubic  yards  of  concrete, 
carrying  30  feet  of  earth. 

Samuel  C.  Rowdand  has  been  appointed  receiver 
of  the  Crawfordsville  Water  and  Light  Company, 
on  petition  of  the  Knickerbocker  Trust  Company 
of   New   York. 

The  Board  of  County  Commissioners  of  Hancock 
County  has  annulled  the  franchise  of  the  Indian- 
apolis and  Eastern  electric  railway,  which  occupies 
a  portion  of  the  National  road.  The  action  is 
the  result  of  the  company  removing  a  number  of 
stops,  curtailing  the  cross-road  accommodation  and 
compelling  school  children  and  farmers  to  go  to  the 
stations  to  board  the  cars ;  also  because  of  alleged 
failure  to  provide  proper  drainage  and  suitable 
crossings  for  the  public  highways  intersected.  The 
company  is  given  30  days  in  which  to  remove  its 
tracks  and  property  from  the  public  highway.  The 
National  road  is  the  only  highway  in  Indiana 
wholly  constructed  by  the  government.  The  pre- 
liminary survey  of  this  road  from  Richmond  to 
Indianapolis  was  made  in  1826.  The  portion  in 
Hancock  County  was  finished  in  1850  and  has  ever 
since  been  kept  in  repair  by  the  County  Commis- 
sioners. The  commissioners  therefore  claim  juris- 
diction  over   the    National    road. 

The  Town  Council  of  the  town  of  Linton  has 
decided  to  offer  the  electric-light  plant  for  sale. 
It  was  shown  that  the  plant  was  not  paying  run- 
ning expenses.  The  council  has  several  proposi- 
tions for  the  sale  of  the  plant  by  companies  which 
propose  to  reinstall  the  plant  with  modern  machin- 
ery. S.   S. 


Michigan. 

Grand  Rapids.  March  24.— It  is  stated  on  good 
authority  that  the  Grand  Rapids-Muskegon  Water 
Power  Electric  Company  will  soon  ask  the  Com- 
mon Council  of  Grand  Rapids  for  a  franchise  to 
deliver  power  in  the  city.  It  is  said  that  the  com-' 
pany  has  made  several  good  contracts  with  some 
of  the  prominent  factories  of  the  city  to  furnish 
them  with  power.  The  company  will  have  1,000 
horsepower  to  deliver  in  Grand  Rapids  after  having 
supplied  its  customers  in  Muskegon  and  the  Mus- 
kegon interurban  railway.  Dam  No.  1  at  Stanwood 
can  furnish  6.000  horsepower  and  all  of  this  has 
been  contracted  for. 

The  Board  of  Public  Works  of  Grand  Rapids  has 
approved  the  contracts  drawn  by  General  Manager 
Freshney  for  a  combination  with  the  Grand  Rapids 
Edison  company  for  the  laying  of  conduits  in  North 
Division  Street.  The  city  some  time  ago  decided 
to  lay  conduits  to  accommodate  the  electric-light 
wires,    and    as    the    Edison    company   was    about    to 


Mareli  31,  kjoG 


I  1  I".     ELE<  TRI< 


|aj    duils   nn   arrang H    wa     mad lo    th 

-  01 1     11}     tin    1    1 I.'-   paid   in   i""' 

in  the  number   ol   ducts   required   by   each    to 

ihc    wire ,.      1  Indi  1     thi       B the      Edi  ion 

pany'     ■  icpcn  ic    will   !»■   h   grcati  1    than 

■  ,f  Hi-  city. 

I!ig    Rapid     ha     a.  •  ept.  d    .1    pi  opo  il  ion    I tin 

Grand  Rapid     V]  u  kej Watcrpowei    Electrii    I 

panj  in  light   il      treel     foi    to   ..  .1.     at  $55  n  light 

,1     vi  :n  I  In'     1  "I"] I      I        tO     C     I     .'      "  I.         El  

Rogers  to   llig   Rapids  to   furnish   power   for   manu 

fact  11  ring   purposes.     The   citj    ha:    i lighted    foi 

the    last    i-'    years    by    the    I i)     E,    I  lonle)     Eleclrii 

C pany,   which    was   obliged    recently    to    bu  pend 

service  mi  account  of  the  washing  inn  of  the  powei 
dam. 

\    fc; 'I    the    1  ill. ilci  ti il    Iroi     R 

was    the    propositi I    bonding    the    municipality 

for  $20,000  with  which  to  install  an  elcctrii  lighl 
plant.    The   proposition   carried. 

Glenn  I).  Smith  of  Jackson  is  the  new  manager 
of    the    plain    of    1I1.'    Pontiac    Standard    Lighting 

pany    of     Pontiac.      \    new     gencratoi ,      « iti  h 

board  and  lights  are  to  be  installed,  and  it  is 
stated  that  eventually  current  generated  by  Porl 
Huron  River  will  !«•  transmitted  to  Pontiac  for 
ttreel    lighting  and   commercial   purposes. 

\  franchise  has  been  granted  for  an  clcctrie 
railway  from  Long  Lake  to  Alpena.  Long  Lake, 
i-ighl  miles  north  of  Alpena,  has  become  a  popular 
summer  resort,  and  a  great  many  cottages  have 
been  erected  there.  The  mad  will  he  built  by  Day- 
ton \V.  Closscr  of  Alpena,  and  Jackson  and  Mon- 
roe capitalists.  It  will  have  its  own  right  of-way 
From  Alpena  to  Long  Lake.  I.    W.  B. 


Central  Illinois. 


Peoria,  March  24. — The  finance  committee  of  the 
City  Council  will  recommend  the  appropriation  of 
.$6,000  to  place  the  city  police  and  fire-alarm  wires 
underground.  According  to  the  franchises  granted 
in  the  Central  Union  and  the  Interstate  Telephone 
Companies,  the  city  has  the  use  of  their  conduits, 
hence  the  appropriation  will  cover  the  cost  of  the 
cable   and   pulling   it   in. 

The  Illinois  Traction  Company  has  awarded  the 
contract  for  wrecking  the  buildings  now  on  its 
property  to  J.  J.  Jobst  of  this  city.  The  founda- 
tions for  the  power  house  are  to  be  of  concrete 
and  will  be  laid  as  soon  as  the  wrecking  is  fin- 
ished. The  plans  are  not  entirely  finished,  but  the 
power   house   will  be    154  by   151    feet. 

The  Peoria  and  Pekin  Terminal  Railway  has 
raised  the  fare  between  the  two  cities  from  IS 
cents  each  way  to  20  cents,  or  35  cents  round  trip. 

The  Peoria  and  Pekin  Union,  -a  steam  road, 
which  owns  all  the  terminal  facilities  here,  Union 
Depot  included,  has  also  raised  its  rate  five  cents, 
which,  allowing  five  cents  car  fare  from  here  to  the 
depot,  makes  the  fares  alike. 

Fire  i'n  the  storeroom  of  the  Central  Union  Tele- 
phone Company  at  Pekin,  caused  the  loss  of  the 
generating  equipment. 

The  Central  Union  Telephone  Company  will  spend 
$15,000  in  improving  the  plant  at  Canton.  Many 
of  the  smaller  cables  will  be  replaced  and  new 
poles   will   be   set. 

The  electric-light  plant  at  Alexis  was  destroyed 
by  fire,  and  the  city  was  left  in  darkness.  The  fire 
is   supposed  to   have   been  of  incendiary   origin. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  superintendents  of  the  Mc- 
Kinlcy  syndicate,  held  in  Bloomington,  E.  A.  Mc- 
Nutt  was  chosen  secretary  and  George  Mattis 
treasurer,  to  take  the  place  of  T.  B.  McCauley, 
who    formerly    held    both    offices. 

The  Diamond  Meter  Company  has  taken  an  ap- 
peal in  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  against  the 
injunction  secured  by  the  Westinghouse  company 
restraining  the  Diamond  Meter  Company  from  man- 
ufacturing meters  under  the  Tesla  patents.     V.  N. 


Northwestern  States. 

Minneapolis,  March  24. — The  Village  Council  of 
Sauk  Rapids,  Minn.,  will  receive  bids  shortly  for 
lighting  the  village.  It  is  thought  that  the  new 
Watab  Rapids  Power  Company  will  undertake  the 
work. 

Work  is  progressing  rapidly  on  the  new  power 
plant  being  constructed  near  Carlton,  Minn.,  by 
the  Great  Northern  Power  Company  of  Duluth. 
The  work  may  be  completed  on  the  date  originally 
set,  July  1st.  The  big  concrete  dam  across  the 
St.    Louis    River   is    practically    completed. 

Charles  A.  Walsh  of  Ottumwa,  Iowa,  is  pro- 
moting an  interurban  railway  project  from  Ottumwa 
to   Des   Moines,  via   Oskaloosa. 

The  Grand  Forks  (N.  D.)  Gas  and  Electric  Com- 
pany is  planning  the  erection  of  a  new  office 
building. 

The  Milwaukee  Electric  Railway  and  Light  Com- 
pany will  begin  work  at  once  on  a  trolley  road 
from  St.  Martin  through  Burlington,  Wis.,  to  Lake 
Geneva. 

Active  operations  will  be  started  this  spring  on 
the  electric  railway  to  be  built  from  Sioux  Falls 
10  Bridgewater,  S.  D.,  by  the  Sioux  Falls  Electric 
Interurban   Railway  Company. 

Preliminary  steps  in  the  organization  of  a  cor- 
poration, to  work  in  conjunction  with  the  La  Crosse 
(Wis.)    Hydro-electric  Light  and    Power   Company. 


ill    be 

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Mill,,  arc  conti 

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PERSONAL 


Ralph   D.  -Mi-r>l consulting  electrical 

chanical  engineer,  has  re ved  his   ." 

to    No.    l/i    Wall 

William    I  lent  ■     Paddi  ■•  1.    ol     Londo       1  England, 
and  Frank   <  'arlton   Sargi  nt  of   Maid,  n      ! 
have  been  transferred  to  fu 

"  1  ship  in  il.-     \ ■  :ni   In  titute    il 

gineers, 

Wallace  1 1  Lovell,  the  wi  il 
New  I  lampshire  street  railvt  aj 
liis  home  in  West   Newton,    ui  h    19th 

I  tc    wa,    born    in    \\  eymouth,      la  1     11  uary     t. 

1854.  Of  late  he  had  been  especially  inten  i'i  in 
the  New  Hampshire  Traction  Company..  II.  was 
a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Street  Railway 
\ssocialion. 

At   the   renin tal    mei  I  ing    ol    the    \\  ellman 

Seaver-Morgan  Company  of  Cleveland,  I  >h 
office  of  general  manager,  which  has  been  vacant 
since  the  death  last  June  ..i  Mr.  Charles  If.  Well- 
man,  was  filled  by  the  election  of  Mr.  S.  II  P 
whose  present  title  will  be  first  vice-president  and 
general  manager.  Otherwise  no  changes  will  be 
made   in   the   officers   of   the   company. 

Prof.  Henry  S.  Carhart  of  the  physics  depart- 
ment in  the  University  of  Michigan,  who  was  one 
of  the  five  American  scientists  Invited  to  accom 
pany  the  expedition  sent  to  South  Africa  last  sum- 
mer by  the  British  Association  for  ihe  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  recently,  at  the  university,  gave 
an  illustrated  lecture  on  his  trip,  for  the  benefit  ol 
the  Collegiate  Alumna;  and  the  Ann  Arbor  Ladies' 
Library    Association. 

Robert  Ogden  Doremus,  the  noted  chemist  and 
inventor,  died  in  New  York  city  on  March  22d. 
He  was  82  years  old  and  had  been  sick  for  10  days. 
Dr.  Doremus  was  born  in  Xew  York  city  in  1824 
and  was  prominent  in  developments  along  the  lines 
of  chemistry,  medicine,  scientific  education  and 
music.  He  devoted  much  time  to  the  study  of 
electricity  and  was  popular  as  a  lecturer.  It  is 
said  that  in  1855  at  the  Academy  of  Music  he  took 
daguerreotypes  of  all  the  persons  in  the  boxes  by 
an  arc  light  and  exhibited  an  induction  coil  with 
a  six-inch  spark — a  marvelous  achievement  in  those 
days. 

J.  W.  Lieb,  Jr.,  third  vice-president  and  associate 
general  manager  of  the  New  York  Edison  Com- 
pany, lectured  on  the  evening  of  March  15th  before 
the  members  of  the  Electric  Club  at  Pittsburg  on  the 
subject  of  "Generation  and  Distribution  of  Current 
for  Lighting  and  Power  on  Manhattan  Island."  Mr. 
Lieb  gave  a  statement  of  the  growth  of  the  apparatus 
and  systems  of  his  company  from  the  earliest  days, 
and  presented  in  connection  therewith  some  ex- 
cellent illustrations  by  means  of  lantern  slides. 
He  cited  various  points  in  connection  with  the 
present  operation,  calling  attention  to  the  variety 
of  service  in  different  sections  of  the  city.  He 
also  showed  load  curves  which  were  characteristic 
for  different  sections  of  the  city,  and  showed  the 
variations  in  these  curves  at  different  seasons  of 
the  year.  The  lecture  was  well  attended  and  highly 
appreciated. 


ELECTRIC  LIGHTING 

The  Peru  (Neb.)  Light  and  Power  Company  has 
been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock  of  $4,000. 

Clay  Center,  Kan.,  will  vote  on  a  bond  issue  of 
$20,000  to  establish  an  electric-light  plant. 

.An  electric-light  plant  will  be  installed  in  Nov- 
inger,  Mo.     The  city  clerk  will  give  information. 

John  Martz  of  Seward,  Neb.,  will  have  charge 
of  installing  an  electric-light  plant  at  Red  Cloud, 
Neb. 

The  Goodland  (Kan.)  Heat  and  Power  Com- 
pany has  received  a  charter  and  will  build  an  elec- 
tric-light plant  in  Goodland.  The  company  has  a 
capital  of  $50,000. 

Bids  will  be  received  at  the  office  of  \Y.  K. 
Palmer,  city  engineer,  718  Dwight  building.  Kan- 
sas City,  Mo.,  until  April  14th  for  furnishing  all 
labor,  equipment,  material  and  supplies  necessary 
for  equipping  and  installing  a  complete  electric- 
light   plant   and    lighting   system    for   Grand    Island, 


■ 

I  hr      ' 

la'liiiiiK    and    power    pur| 


tLECTRIC  RAILWAYS 

permitting     Hectrit  • 
carry    freight,   provided    thej 

ilium,  ip 

nlon,   N,  J. 

I  hi    d  Hutchinson  Interurb 

mpany  have  put 
Kan.    i.,r    a    power    hoiU<     and    car    barn 
will   bi 

I  he  Board  of  Aid.  rn 
securing  plan-  and   ip 
building  a  street  railway.     I  hi 

from    the   city    lighting    plant. 
Application  has  be.  n  made  bj    \    B 
Paxtoii  and  F.  L,  < 
uncil   of   Eugene,  <>r.,.  for  a  fram  : 
the  use  ol  streets  in  Eugene  i..r  electric  rail* 

Folict,    I'lainfield   and    Aurora    Electric    Rail- 
'    impany,  operating  an   interurban  electric  rail- 
way  between  Joliet   and   Plainfield,  III.,  has 

m    Aurora,    in    charge    of    William 
Millncr. 

Ii  '■  stated  that  the  ileal  of  the  New  York  syn- 
dicate   for    the    purchase    of    the    Pottsville 

11  Company  has  been  consummated, 
the    concern    that    proposes    to    consolidate    all    the 
electric-light    and    trolley    companies    of    Schuvlkill 
County. 

The    City    Council    of    Florence.    Colo.,    has    re- 
cently   passed    an    ordinance    designating   the 
in    which    Thomas   Robinson    ..r    hi-    successor   may 
construct   a   street   railway.     Mr.   Robinson   i 
dent  of  the  Florence  Street  Railway  Company.    The 
cars   must   be   in   operation   by  January    1,    1907. 

The  stockholders  of  the  Long  Island  railroad 
have  authorized  the  guarantee  bv  the  company  of 
the  bonds  of  the  Long  Island  Consolidated  Elec- 
trical Company.  The  authorized  amount  of  the  is- 
sue is  $10,000,000.  The  bonds  are  collateral  trust 
bonds  and  will  run  for  40  years.  The  bonds  are 
for  the  purpose  of  developing  the  subsidiary  elec- 
tric lines  of  the  Long   Island  Railroad  Company. 

The  New  York  Central  railroad  on  April  18th 
will  ask  its  shareholders  to  authorize  the  issue  of 
$100,000,000  addilional  capital  stock  This  amount 
will  not  be  issued  all  at  one  time  and  the  proceeds 
will  be  applied  for  various  purposes,  including  elec- 
trical developments  and  general  improvements.  It 
is  expected  that  $10,000,000  will  be  required  to 
finance  the  Mohawk  Valley  company,  which  is  a 
corporation  formed  to  hold  up-state  trolley  lines  for 
the    New   York   Central. 

Employes  of  the  Elgin.  Aurora  and  Southern 
Traction  Company  celebrated  the  sixteenth  anni- 
versary of  the  company  on  March  16th.  On  the 
morning  of  March  16.  1800,  the  company  began 
operation  with  rolling  stock,  consisting  of  three 
single-track  cars.  Tin, mas  Kennedy,  the  conductor 
in  charge  of  the  first  street  car  that  ever  crossed 
ihe  Fox  River,  is  still  in  the  company's  employ- 
ment. This  company  now  serves  the  entire  Fox 
River  Valley. 

The  Kokomo,  Marion  and  Western  Traction 
Company,  with  main  offices  and  power  house  at 
Kokomo,  Ind..  on  the  completion  of  the  additions 
to  its  present  power  bouse  now  under  way.  will 
install  a  i.ooo-kilowatt  Allis-Chalmers  turbine-gen- 
erator unit.  The  new  unit  will  generate  current 
at  6b  cycles,  two-phase,  2,300  volts.  Other  elec- 
trical machinery,  consisting  of  a  30-kilowatt  direct- 
connected  engine-type  exciter  set,  a  35-kilowatt  mo- 
tor-generator set.  together  with  switchboards,  con- 
densers and  piping,  will  also  be  installed.  The 
power  derived  from  the  new  unit  will  be  utilized 
for   lighting  and  power  purposes. 

President  C.  S.  Mellen  of  the  New  York.  New 
Haven  and  Hartford  railroad  announced  at  Hart- 
ford a  few  days  ago  that  the  New  Haven  road  was 
planning  for  electric  developments  at  Hartford  so 
that  cars  could  be  run  over  the  local  trolley  lines 
and  thus  provide  a  fast  suburban  service,  making 
Hartford  an  important  electric-railway  center.  Full 
details  of  these  plans  and  specifications  have  already- 
appeared  in  the  Western  Electrician.  It  was  an- 
nounced that  the  New  Haven  railroad  had  acquired 
for    $3,000,000    the    trolley    system    at    Worcester. 


268 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


March  31,  1906 


Mass.  This  purchase  creates  the  possibility  of  a 
New  Haven  trolley  system  between  New  York  and 
Boston. 

Consolidation  of  the  Aurora,  Elgin  and  Chicago 
Railway  Company,  the  Elgin,  Aurora  and  Southern 
Traction  Company  and  the  Cook  County  and  South- 
ern Railroad  Company  was  effected  at  a  meeting 
of  the  stockholders  last  week.  The  roads  operate 
in  the  Fox  River  Valley,  entering  Chicago  over 
the  Metropolitan  "L."  The  new  company  will  be 
known  as  the  Aurora,  Elgin  and  Chicago  Railroad 
Company  and  will  have  a  capital  of  $6,100,000. 
President  L.  J.  Wolff  says  the  merger  is  for  the 
sake  of  economy. 


POWER  TRANSMISSION. 

The  Imboden  Power  Development  Company  of 
Imboden,  Neb.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  cap- 
ital   stock   of  $200,000. 

The  Nanticoke  (Pa.)  Electric  Power  Company 
has  purchased  the  dam  in  the  Susquehanna  River 
near  Nanticoke  for  $30,000.  The  company  will  de- 
velop electric  power. 

A  new  company  has  been  formed  in  Madrid, 
Spain,  called  the  Sociedad  General  de  Transportes 
Electricos,  which  will  exploit  the  waterfalls  of  the 
Duero  River,  near  the  Portuguese  frontier,  and 
which  will  supply  a  large  number  of  places,  in- 
cluding Oporto,  with  electricity  for  power  pur- 
poses. The  largest  fall  is  about  470  feet,  and  is 
estimated  to  produce  40,000  horsepower. 

The  York  Haven  Water  and  Power  Company  is 
installing  five  new  generators  at  its  big  plant  at 
York  Haven,  Pa.,  which,  when  completed,  will 
bring  the  capacity  of  the  plant  up  to  10,000  horse- 
power, just  double  what  it  was  when  the  plant 
started  and  half  of  the  ultimate  capacity.  Each 
generator  is  capable  of  producing  1,000  horsepower. 
The  work  on  the  sub-station  at  Steelton  is  nearing 
completion. 

J.  J.  Chambers,  president  of  the  Inter-Mountain 
Power  Company  of  Salt  Lake,  Utah,  says  that 
$500,000  will  be  spent  this  year  by  the  company  on 
improvements.  A  dam  600  feet  long  and  85  feet 
high  will  be  built,  forming  a  reservoir.  A  turbine 
wheel  and  generator  will  be  put  in  at  the  dam. 
Contracts  will  be  awarded  during  the  next  30  days 
for  6,C0o-kilowatt  electrical  equipment  and  3>500 
feet  of  wood  and  steel  pipe. 

It  is  asserted  by  the  Indian  Textile  Journal  that 
operations  will  soon  be  commenced  by  the  Bombay 
Hydro-electric  Syndicate  for  the  purpose  of  sup- 
plying the  textile  mills  of  Bombay  and  district,  and 
other  users  with  electric  current  obtained  by  utiliz- 
ing the  water  in  the  Ghats,  immense  quantities  of 
which  are  wasted  during  the  monsoons.  Pipe  lines, 
giving  a  fall  of  1,700  feet,  are  to  be  constructed 
to  supply  the  power,  while  the  electrical  equipment 
is  stated  to  be  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  John  Mannheim. 


PUBLICATIONS. 


The  Westinghouse  Companies'  Publishing  De- 
partment has  issued,  in  pamphlet  form,  a  reprint 
of  the  paper  read  by  W.  S.  Bartholomew,  of  the 
Westinghouse  Air  Brake  Company,  before  the  New 
England  Street  Railway  Association  on  November 
23,   I9">5- 

Electrical  equipment  of  a  modern  shipyard  is 
made  the  subject  of  a  recent  bulletin  issued  by  the 
Allis-Chalmers  Company.  The  plant  described  is 
that  of  the  Fore  River  Ship  and  Engine  Company 
of  Quincy,  Mass.,  where  the  United  States  ship 
Rhode  Island  was  built. 

"Electric  Lighting  in  the  Department  Store"  is 
the  expressive  title  of  a  pleasing  booklet  which  has 
been  prepared  by  the  Westinghouse  Companies' 
Publishing  Department  for  the  Nernst  Lamp  Com- 
pany. It  contains  a  dissertation  upon  the  Nernst 
lamp  and  its  adaptability  to  this  field,  and  also 
several  illustrations  and  letters  complimentary  to 
the    system. 

Vol.  I.,  No.  1,  of  the  Teephone  World  has  made 
its  appearance  and  is  published  the  15th  of  each 
month  by  the  Telephone  World  Publishing  Com- 
pany of  Lafayette,  Ind.  Its  columns  are  devoted 
to  matters  of  general  interest  pertaining  to  the 
telephone  industry  and  champions  the  Independent 
cause.  It  is,  apparently,  identified  with  the  interests- 
of  the    Sterling   Electric   Company   of   Lafayette. 

Jackson's  extension  ribs  and  jacks,  convenient  de- 
vices for  caisson  construction,  excavation  of 
trenches,  etc.,  invented  by  George  W.  Jackson,  chief 
engineer  and  general  manager  of  the  Illinois  Tunnel 
Company  of  Chicago,  are  described  in  a  neat  pam- 
phlet, which  also  illustrates  the  devices  by  numerous 
cuts.  Mr.  Jackson  is  prepared  to  quote  prices  to 
architects,  engineers  and  contractors  for  the  sale  or 
rental  of  the  ribs  and  jacks. 

Single-phase  motors  for  a  wide  variety  of  pur- 
poses are  described  in  bulletin  No.  75,  issued  by  the 
Wagner  Electric  Manufacturing  Company  of  St. 
Louis.  During  1905  the  company  made  a  number  fo 
important  improvements  in  its  single-phase  motors, 
particularly  in  its  lines  of  motors  for  elevator  out- 
fits and  for  variable-speed  ventilating  fans.     Motors 


fr  elevator  equipments  are  designated  as  type  BS. 
When  conditions  require  it  these  motors  can  de- 
velop 300  to  400  per  cent,  of  normal  full-load  torque 
at  starting,  although  usually  150  to  200  per  cent, 
is  sufficient.  The  motors  for  variable-speed  fans 
are  supplied  with  an  auto-transformer  controlling 
device  and  are  built  in  sizes  from  one-quarter  horse- 
power up.  The  descriptive  matter  relating  to  these 
and  other  types  of  single-phase  motors  built  by 
the  company  is  particularly  comprehensive  and  will 
make  interesting  reading  for  those  who  are  follow- 
ing the   development  of  single-phase   apparatus. 


at 


SOCIETIES  AND  SCHOOLS. 

The  annual  convention  of  the  Southwestern 
Electrical  and  Gas  Association  will  be  held  in 
Galveston,  Tex.,  on  May  16th,  17th  and  18th. 
M.  M.  Phinney  of  Dallas,  Tex.,  is  president  and 
Frank   J.    Duffy   of   Beaumont   is   secretary. 

Mr.  Marconi  will  lecture  on  "Ether  Telegraphy'"' 
before  the  New  York  Electrical  Society  in  the  audi- 
torium of  Horace  Mann  School,  Teachers'  College, 
Columbia  University,  Broadway  and  West  One  H 
dred  and  Twentieth  Street,  April  4th,  beginning 
8  p.  in. 

The  Central  Traffic  Association  and  the  South- 
western Excursion  Bureau  have  authorized  a  rate 
of  a  fare  and  one-third  from  all  points  in  their 
respective  territories  to  Atlantic  City  and  return 
for  delegates  and  their  friends  attending  the  twen- 
ty-ninth convention  of  the  National  Electric  Light 
Association,  to  be  held  June  5  to  8,   1906. 

The  executive  committee  of  the  Canadian  Elec- 
trical Association  has  decided  upon  June  19th,  20th 
and  21st  as  the  dates  for  the  next  annual  conven- 
tion, to  be  held  in  the  Clifton  House,  Niagara 
Falls,  Ont.  Among  the  papers  already  promised  is 
one  by  F.  O.  Blackwell  of  New  York,  reviewing 
the  interesting  points  of  the  various  Niagara  power 
plants. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


The  Lake  submarine  boat,  one  of  the  five  of  the 
Simon  Lake  X  type,  built  at  Newport  News,  Va., 
by  the  Lake  Torpedo  Boat  Company,  is  said  to 
have  outclassed  six  other  submarines  in  a  stringent 
test  before  the  Russian  Admiralty,  and,  as  a  St. 
Petersburg  dispatch  puts   it,  was  given   the  verdict. 

Anticipating  an  increase  in  the  price  of  British 
coal  in  the  near  future,  the  harnessing  of  water- 
power  is  engaging  the  attention  of  Italy.  There 
is  said  to  be  6,000,000  horsepower  available  in  that 
country.  The  British  consul  at  Naples  says  the 
annual  coal  bill  of  Italy  is  $40,000,000,  most  of 
which   is  paid  to  England. 

The  Black  Carbon  Coal  Company  has  paid  $15,- 
750  for  ground  for  its  central  steam-heating  plant 
in  Spokane,  Wash.,  and  will  at  once  commence  the 
installation  of  a  $200,000  heating  system.  J.  P. 
Badenhausen  will  superintend  the  construction. 
Charges  for  the  heat  will  be  based  on  the  water 
condensed  from  the  steam  at  the  distributing  point, 
in  accordance  with  the  usual  measured-rate  practice. 
F.  C.  Robertson  is  one  of  the  chief  promoters  of 
the    company. 

The  steamship  Mauritania,  now  building  at  Walls- 
end,  England,  will  be  lighted  by  5,000  lamps  of 
16  candlepower,  which  is  more  than  double  the 
number  on  the  Cedric.  Two  electric  passenger 
elevatprs  are  to  be  erected  for  conveying  passen- 
gers between  the  six  decks.  There  will  be  a  tele- 
phone exchange  on  board  which  will  connect  up 
the  chief  passenger  sections  of  the  ship  with  the 
officers,  and  there  also  will  be  special  telephones 
from  the  bridge. 

A  new  steam  turbine  of  the  Schultz  pattern 
was  recently  tried  in  Germany,  with  satisfactory 
results.  It  was  direct  connected  to  a  three-phase 
alternator  giving  550  volts  at  3,000  revolutions. 
The  turbine  and  dynamo  form  a  compact  set 
16  feet  long  and  seven  feet  wide,  the  two  wheels 
of  the  turbine  being  placed  on  either  side  of  the 
generator  and  having  a  diameter  of  5.6  feet.  This 
gives  a  peripheral  speed  of  875  feet  a  second. 
The  governor  adjusts  the  speed  within  five  per 
cent  from  no  load  to  full  load  suddenly  applied, 
and  to  half  this  range  for  quarter  load.  -On  the 
tests  the  consumption  of  steam  per  kilowatt  hour 
was  found  to  be  22.2  pounds  at  full  load,  23.1 
pounds  at  three-quarter  load,  24.8  pounds  at  half 
load. 

Patterns  for  what  will  be  the  heaviest  single 
casting  ever  poured  at  the  works  of  the  Allis- 
Chalmers  Company,  were  completed  recently.  The 
casting  in  question  is  designed  for  the  frame  and 
slide  of  a  monster  horizontal  rolling-mill  engine 
being  built  for  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company  of 
Sharon,  Pa.  Its  cylinders  will  measure  50  and  78 
inches  in  diameter,  and  will  have  a  60-inch  stroke. 
The  pattern  for  this  piece,  measuring  32  feet  long, 
11  feet  wide  and  10  feet  high,  represents  the  work 
of  10  expert  patternmakers  for  a  period  of  four 
months.  The  amount  of  lumber  of  various  sizes 
used  in  its  making  aggregated  22,000  feet.  The 
pattern    was   taken    from   the   pattern    shop    directly 


to  the  foundry,  where  work  was  begun  on  the 
construction  of  the  mold.  The  pit  in  which  the 
piece  will  be  poured  will  be  40  feet  long,  15  feet 
wide  and  11-  feet  deep.  The  mold,  when  completed 
and  ready  to  receive  the  molten  metal  poured  in 
it,  will  take  approximately  133  tons  of  iron.  The 
actual  operation  of  pouring  will  consume  from 
eight  to  10  minutes.  Nine  ladles  will  be  used  to 
convey  the  liquid  metal  to  the  mold,  four 
of  which  will  have  five  tons  capacity  each,  four, 
25  tons  and  one  13  tons.  After  the  metal  is  poured 
the  casting  will  be  allowed  to  stand  to  cool  for 
six  days  before  the  mold  will  be  removed.  The 
weight    of   the    casting   will    be    125    tons. 

The  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company,  in  its 
quarterly  report,  anticipates  a  deficit  of  $48,322.50 
for  the  quarter  to  end  March  31st.  The  estimated 
net  revenue  for  the  quarter  mentioned,  based  on 
nearly  complete  returns  for  January,  partial  re- 
turns for  February  and  estimating  the  business  for 
March,  will  be  $1,500,000.  From  this  amount  is 
required  $331,300  for  interest  on  the  bonded  debt, 
and  $1,217,022.50  is  required  to  meet  a  dividend 
of  1^4  Per  cent,  on  the  capital  stock.  To  meet 
these  amounts  the  total  surplus  of  $16,738,355.61 
showm  on  December  31,  1905,  will  be  reduced,  it 
is  estimated,  by  $48,322.50.  The  net  revenue  for 
the  quarter  ended  December  31,  1905,  was  $1,853,- 
196.75.  For  the  first  quarter  in  1905  the  net  earn- 
ings were  $1,546,087,  compared  with  $1,737,426  in 
1904  and  $1,842,269  for  the  corresponding  period 
in   1903. 


TRADE  NEWS, 

The  J.  G.  Barr  Electric  Company  .of  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  has  been  incorporated  with  capital  stock  of 
$100,000. 

Sealed  proposals  are  being  invited  until  April 
20th  for  furnishing  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and 
its  various  branches  with  electrical  supplies  during 
the  next  fiscal  year.  Specifications  and  detailed  in- 
formation will  be  furnished  upon  application  to 
R.    Rathbun,    acting    secretary,    Washington,    D.    C. 

Sealed  proposals  will  be  received  by  City  Elec- 
trician Carroll,  room  12,  City  Hall,  Chicago,  until 
April  2d,  for  furnishing  the  department  of  elec- 
tricity one  switchboard  and  accessories.  Plans 
and  specifications  are  on  file  with  Mr.  Carroll,  who 
will   furnish  blank  proposals. 

The  Wratson  Electrical  Supply  Company  of  Shreve- 
port,  La.,  has  been  incorporated.  I.  M.  Watson  is 
president,  W.  C.  Evans  vice-president,  and  W.  W. 
Jones  secretary-treasurer.  Mr.  Watson  is  a  well- 
known  contractor  and  Messrs.  Evans  and  Jones  are 
connected  with  the  Shreveport  Gas,  Electric  Light 
and  Power  Company. 

The  Navy  Department,  through  the  Bureau  of 
Supplies  and  Accounts,  is  inviting  sealed  proposals 
until  April  10th  for  furnishing  eastern  navy  yards 
with  the  following  supplies :  Schedule  432,  gener- 
ating set,  mica,  miscellaneous  electrical  supplies ; 
schedule  433,  electrical  cable,  electrical  supplies. 
Specifications  and  proposal  blanks  can  be  obtained 
at  the  Navy  Pay  Office  in  New  York  or  upon 
application  to  the  bureau. 

There  has  recently  been  a  merger  of  several 
well-known  firms,  forming  what  will  be  known  as 
the  Electric  Service  Supplies  Company.  The  com- 
panies participating  in  the  consolidation  are  the 
Maj'er  &  Englund  Company  of  Philadelphia,  Por- 
ter &  Berg  of  Chicago,  and  the  Garton-Daniels 
Company  and  Electrical  Devices  Company  of  Keo- 
kuk, Iowa.  The  new  company  will  have  eastern 
and  western  warehouses  and  sales  departments  and 
a  manufacturing  department.  All  correspondence, 
orders,  etc.,  may  be  sent  to  the  same  addresses  as  in 
the  past.  Railway  supplies  and  materials  will  con- 
tinue to  be  the  specialties  of  the  new  company.  The 
officers  of  the  Electric  Service  Supplies  Company 
will  be:  President,  J.  C.  Mayer;  first  vice-presi- 
dent, J.  W.  Porter;  second  vice-president,  J.  V.  E. 
Titus;  secretary.  Max  A.  Berg;  treasurer,  A.  H. 
Englund.  When  organization  is  completed  the 
company  will  have  sales  offices  in  Boston,  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Pittsburg,  Cleveland,  Chicago, 
Atlanta,  Birmingham,  New  Orleans,  St.  Louis, 
Keokuk,  Kansas  City,  San  Francisco  and  Los  An- 
geles. 


BUSINESS. 


The  James  I.  M.  Wilson  Company  of  Pittsburg, 
wholesale  dealer  in  chestnut  poles,  anticipates  a 
large  demand  during  the  coming  season.  The  com- 
pany is  prepared  to  furnish  poles  of  various  lengths 
and  is  in  a  position  to  fill  orders  promptly. 

Economical  buyers  in  need  of  new  and  second- 
hand leather  belts  are  promised  attractive  prices 
on  their  requirements  by  the  Leather  Preserver 
Manufacturing  Corporation,  27  West  Monroe  Street, 
Chicago.  This  company,  as  is  known  to  many: 
also   buys   old   belts   of  any   size   or   condition. 

A  decree  has  been  entered  in  the  case  of  the 
Babcock  &  Wilcox  Company  against  the  Aultman 
&  Taylor  Machinery  Company  in  the  United 
States  Circuit  Court  for  the  eastern  division  of  the 
northern  district  of  Ohio,  in  which  the  trade  mark 
of    the    Babcock    &    Wilcox    Company    is    sustained 


March  31,   !'>"'' 


WESTERN     ELE(  TRK 


I    and    valid        I  hi      trad  marl     consist!    ol 

the   word   "  team"   : mpanied   In    ;i   reprc  1  illation 

pi    Hi,     iv], c    of   engine    known    :is   111'-   "Acolipilc   of 

I  Lin,"    «  In,  li    "ii  M      in    pal  1    ,,i    .1      phi  1 1         I  he 

\11li1iLn1    Si      I  ;i\  I,, 1      Vlai  hinci  ■      1  pan  1  n 

jo I    I,,,,,,   n  ,ing  or   imitating   llii     ti  idcsnark. 

I Icr    better    to    handle    il      rapidlj    in 

business    from    the    Rocky     Mountain    district,    the 
Power  and  Mining  Machinery  Company,  Mil 

Wis.,  has  opened  an  office  ;ii  312  Scvc :nth  Street, 

Denver,    Colo.     This    new    office    is    in    charge    of 
Henry   !•'.  Jurs  as  district   manager,  who  will   give 

hi     pel  ional   attention   to  .ill    inquii  ic     ling   from 

1  olorado,  Wyoming  and  New  Mexico  for  tin    raricd 
in,,      of  machinery  manufactured   by    this   compan 
Mr.  Jur's   practical   knowledge   of   the    hu  ine    ,    to 
gether    with    the    high    reputation    of    the    company 


1  i ,       1  ■ . . .      I  ■ . 
1,, 1     il,,     enlargcmenl 
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1    io   double    il     otitpul    ol    I'- 
ll   1     1,,  ,v.    running  1  I    nighl    while   • 
in    :,'   progi 

for    the  three  typ 

known  to  the  tradi     1     tl      <    m 

\\  oil  ni|,i,  r  typi      for  ti      1 

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ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 


815,326,  Electromagnetic  Beam-tension  Regulator. 
I  laniel  Bacon,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Application 
filed  May  io,   1905. 

An  electromagnetic  drag  is  adapted  to  retard  the  un- 
winding of  the  beam,  when  energized,  and  a  compensating 
mechanism  i--  adapted  to  energize  the  (Iran  with  an  elec- 
tric  current    automatically    decreasing   during   the   unwind- 


815,330.     Lamp    Rheostat.     Thomas    J.    Bull,    New 
fork,   N.   Y.    Application   filed  June    15,   1903. 

In    ,1  rheostat   art-  a  resistance  coil   and  an   incandescent 
lamp     located     within     the    coil     and     adapted 


NO.  815,356. — SYSTEM  FOR    EXCITING    INDUCTION    MOTOR 


815.356.  System  of  Excitation  for  Induction  Ma- 
chines. Maurice  Leblanc,  Paris,  France,  as- 
signor to  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manu- 
facturing Company,  Pittsburg.  Application  filed 
January  28,   1903. 

In  combination  of  a  source  of  multiphase  current  are  a 

phase-regulating  dynamo-generator  of  the  direct-current 
type  having  a  set  of  dephased  brushes  connected  to  the 
multiphase  circuits  and  a  corresponding  set  of  armature 
windings  acting  to  produce  field  fluxes  to  generate  regu- 
lating electromotive  forces  between  the  brushes  upon  rota- 
tion of  the  armature.    (See  cut.) 

815.357.  Process  of  Excitation  for  Induction  Ma- 
chines. Maurice  Leblanc,  Paris,  France,  as- 
signor to  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manu- 
facturing Company,  Pittsburg.  Original  appli- 
cation filed  January  26,  1903.  Divided  and 
this   application   filed    February   5,    1904. 

The  process  of  producing  the  effect  of  an  added  nega- 
tive resistance  in  one  member  of  an  asynchronous  ma- 
chine consists  in  impressing  thereon  an  electromotive  force 
of  the  frequency  of  the  current  in  that  member  but  of 
a  phase  in  opposition  to  the  voltage  inserted  by  such 
current. 

815,360.  Device  for  Recharging  the  Storage  Bat- 
teries of  Automobiles.  Lamar  Lyndon,  New 
York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  May  4,  1904. 
Renewed  March  23,  1905. 

A  rectifying  device  is  carried  on  the  vehicle  whereby 
alternating  current  may  be  changed  so  as  to  charge  the 
battery. 

815,365.  Electromagnet.  Ernest  H.  Miller,  Lancas- 
ter, Pa.,  assignor  of  one-third  to  John  W. 
Holman  arid  one-third  to  Charles  V.  Rote,  Lan- 
caster, Pa.    Application  filed  November  26,  1904. 

A  solenoid  for  power  purposes  comprises  a  tubular 
spool  of  non-magnetic  material,  a  magnetic  plug  midway 
of  the  spool,  a  number  of  coil  sections  wound  on  the 
spool  and  connected  in  series,  and  movable  cores  entering 
the    spool,    the    plug    and    cores    having    co-operating    pro- 


815,370.  Safety  Equipment  for  Series  Electrical  Dis- 
tribution Systems.  Frederick  J.  Murmann  and 
Albert  B.  Shreve,  Mount  Vernon,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation filed  May  2,  1904. 

An  electric  generator  and  two  or  more  main-line  loops 
in  series  circuit  with  the  generator  are  connected  to 
contact  terminals  normally  in  series  circuit  with  the  loops 
and  generator.  Automatic  means  electrically  separate 
the  contact  terminals  from  one  loop  and  consist  of  an 
electromagnetic  cut-out  and  a  spark-gap  device  governing 
the  cut  out,  and  adjusted  to  be  operative  by  the  electro- 
force    of    the    current    in    the    main    line    during    a 


upm 


(Se. 


cut.  1 


815,380.  Telephonic  Apparatus.  John  G.  Roberts.- 
Detroit,  Mich.,  assignor  to  the  Kellogg  Switch- 
board and  Supply  Company,  Chicago,  111.  Ap- 
plication filed  June  26,  1900.  Renewed  Septem- 
ber 19,  1902. 


Issued  (United  Stales  Patent   OfficeJ  March  30,  tgo6. 

longitudin  il  pi  I  plunger 
to  project  it  d  ,a  >prin«  to  force 
the  plunger  back  into  the  cylinder,  means  to  prc«  on 
the  longitudinal  plunger  to  project  tin-  other  and  con- 
tacts located  within  opei  ol  the  projected 
plungi  1 
815,384,    Static    Discharger  and  Lightning     .1 

Henry   M.   Shaw,   Easl  Orange,   X.   J.,   assignor 

In    KrniirU    M      Sliav  ,    I  .1    ;'»■■.■■  1 

plication  filed  February  8,  1905. 

In     a     lightning     arrester     and     static    discharger     are     a 

hollow  compo  iti  bod  1 ed  of  alternating  conduc- 
tors and  insulators  and  apertured  conducting  heads 
between  which  the  composite  body  ^  held,  whereby  air 
may    freely    circulate    through    the    composite   body. 

815.405.  Automatic  Ringing  and  Listening  Key.  AI- 
berl  Carliss,  Chicago,  III.,  assignor  to  the  Amer- 
ican Electric  Telephone  Company,  Chicago,  111. 
Application  filed  June  20,   1901. 

In  an  operator's  key  are  a  lop  plate,  depending  side 
plates,  a  key  lever  pivoted  between  the  plates  and  having 
a  handle  portion  projecting  above  the  top  plate,  an  arm 
carried  by  the  lever  beneath  the  plate,  a  magnet  sup- 
ported beneath  the  top  plate  and  an  armature  having 
means  to  lock  the  arm  when  desired. 

815.406.  Automatic  Electrical  Self-soldering  Reset 
for  Thermal  Protectors.  Frank  B.  Cook,  Chi- 
cago, 111.    Application  filed  April  27,  1905. 

A  thermal  protector  is  normally  held  against  opera- 
tion by  heat-susceptible  material.  Means  operate  the 
protector  when  the  heat-susccplible  material  is  softened, 
and  means  supply  the  protector  with  current  for  rcsoftcn- 
ing  the  heat-susceptible  material  and  resetting  the  parts 
of    the    protector    to    their    normal    position     for    another 

815, 41S.    Insulator  for  Electric  Apparatus.    Harleston 

C.  Gesner,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  executrix  of 
George  W.  Gesner,  deceased.  Application  filed 
June  26,  1905. 

An  electric  insulator  or  high-resistance  body  consists 
of  an  alloy  of  iron  and  hydrogen. 

815,444.  Motor.  Frank  E.  Lewis,  Troy,  Ohio,  as- 
signor of  one-half  to  W.  Edgar  Johnson,  Troy, 
Ohio.    Application  filed  June  15,  1905. 

A  motor  comprising  a  sectional  casing  has  opposite 
field  poles,  each  pole  comprising  independent  cores  and 
heads.  The  heads  of  each  pole  are  disposed  in  close  rela- 
tion but  are  entirely  separate,  the  cores  being  re- 
spectively carried  by  different  sections  of  the  casing.  A 
separate  winding  is  provided  for  each  core  of  each  pole, 
and  an  armature  co-operates  with  the  heads.  (See  cut  on 
next  page.) 

815,459.  Alternating-current  Machinery.  Addams 
S.  McAllister,  Ithaca,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
December   14,    1903. 

A  single-phase  alternating-current  generator  made  up 
of  a  number  of  field  core  sections  is  associated  with  field 
coils,  one  on  each  section  and  each  coil  closed  upon  itself 
and  free  from  connection  with  the  others  of  the  coils,  and 
an  electric  circuit  including  a  rotor  provided  with  a  com- 
mutator. Several  sets  of  brushes  are  adapted  to  contact 
with  the  commutator,  and  a  switch  connects  at  will  either 
of  the  sets  of  brushes  with  the  lead-wires.  (See  cut  on 
next  page.) 

815,471.  Insulator.  George  L.  Ricks.  Yuma.  Ariz. 
Application  filed  March  S,  1905. 

The  insulator  is  in  two  parts  adapted  to  be  clamped 
together  and  carry  the  wire  in  a  central  opening. 

815,474.  Attachment  for  Electric  Chandeliers.  Ju- 
lius C.  Schaefer,  Peoria,  111.  Application  filed 
January  30,    1905. 

Details  are    described. 

S15.490.  Electrical  Gun.  Martin  E.  Thomas.  Ba- 
tavia,  Iowa,  assignor  of  one-half  to  Frank 
Fishel,  Batavia,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  No- 
vember  1,    1005. 

Instead  of  having  a  lock  mechanism,  the  gun  is  dis- 
charged by  a  spark  originated  by  dry  batteries  carried  in 
the    stock. 

515.498.  Electric  Conductor.  Welby  D.  Weir,  Winns- 
boro,  Tex.    Application  filed  February   15,   1905. 

A  flexible  supporting  element,  contact  members  carried 
by  the  supporting  element  and  means  for  regulating  the 
tension  of  the  latter  to  compress  the  contact  member; 
and  maintain  them  in  constant  engagement  with  each 
other    are    the    features   of   the   patent. 

815.499.  Automatic  Overhead-trolley  Contact  De- 
vice   for    Operating    Electric    Signals.     Beecher 

D.  Whitcomb,  Shawomet  Beach,  R.  I.,  assignor 
of  one-half  to  George  M.  Bronson,  Providence. 

R.  I.    Application  filed  November  jo.   1005. 

A  fixed  contact  is  adapted  to  be  connected  with  a  sig- 
nal device,  and  a  movable  contact  member  is  capable  of 
being    continuously    energized.      Combined    with    these    are 

self-setting  holding  means  in  normal  engagement  with 
the  movable  contact  member,  arranged  so  that  the  latter 
is  adapted  to  automatically  engage  and  energize  the 
fixed  contact  member  upon   being  released  from  the  bold- 


and     1  heir    I 

nich,    I  .i»er   2, 

1    ether*    i* 

log    the    aromatic    1 

■ 

MUrttttK 
using     f«r     the     cathode  I     ■pecialljr     bi«h 

Cathod  juid  and 

duct  and   finally  distilling. 

8i5i557.     Alarm    for    Incubal   -  I'ortcr, 

MorristOwn,   [nd.   Application  filed  May  2 
Thermo*!  e    the   circuit    of  a   bell    alarm 

v.  In  n    the    temperature   in    the    incubator     . 
scribed    limits. 

Adjustable  Lamp  Support.     John   I 
venson,    Ann    Arbor,    Mich.      Application    filed 

May    4.    1905. 
Mechanical    parts    of    an    adjustable    lamp    bracket    are 
described. 

813,578.  Controller  Operating  Mean-.  Arthur  J. 
Brown,  Norm  od,  Ohio,  assignor  to  the  Bul- 
lock Electric  Manufacturing  Company,  Cincin- 
nati.  Ohio.    Application   filed  July   n,    1904. 

for  operating    an    electric    controller    i<    made 
the  basis  of  the  patent. 

815,605.  Electrical  Connector  f«<r  Electric  Lamps. 
Ernest  A.  Lowe,  North  Plainficld,  X.  J.  Ap- 
plication hied  January  21,  1005. 

An  electrical  connector  comprises  a  metallic  shell  upon 
which  is  mounted  a  pair  of  penetrating  contact  points,  one 
projecting  laterally  outward  from  the  body  of  the  shell 
and  in  immediate  union  therewith  and  the  other  being 
mounted  on  but  insulated  from  the  shell  and  projecting 
outwardly  in    the  opposite  direction. 

815,644.  Adjustable  Line-predetermining  Device  for 
Typewriters.  Christopher  A.  Shea.  Philadel- 
phia. Pa.,  assignor  to  the  Underwood  Type- 
writer Company,  New  York,  X".  Y.  Application 
filed  May  21,  1004. 
Electric  signaling  mechanism  is  embodied  in  the  device. 

815,729.  Transformer.  Walter  S.  Moody,  Schenec- 
tady, X.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General  Electric 
Company,  Schenectady.  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
December    13,    1901. 

In    a   transformer    there    arc    the   core,    a    winding   com- 
prising a   high  and  a  low  potential  coil  and  arranged  on 
the   core,    and    a    second    winding  also    comprising   a    high 
low  potential  coil;   the  second  winding  is  arranged 
by   a    cooling 


815.746.     Fuse-clamping   Terminal.     Arthur    C     S 
age.    Schenectady.   X.   Y..   assignor  to   the   Gen- 
eral Electric  Company.  Schenectady.  X.  Y.    Ap- 
plication filed  July  20,  1004. 

A   clamping  terminal    for  a  fuse  comprises  a  metal  block 
provided   with  jaws,   a  wedge  entering  between    the 
a    screw    engaging   with    the    wedge   and    having  a    smooth 
shank    rotable    in    a    bearing    in    the    block    and    a    detent 
engaging  with   the   screw. 

815,748.  Electromagnetic  Device  for  Distributing 
Machines.  Otto  G.  C.  Schmitt,  Frankfort-on-* 
the-Main.  Germany,  assignor  to  the  firm  of 
Wagner  &  Brand.  Frankfort-on-the-Main.  Ger- 
many.   Application  filed  May  20.  1004. 

is  ■  ■■■■  selection  device  for  use  in 
bins  apparatus  are  an  elec- 
fro  .     slidi  . 

ting    part    being    likewise    movable    to   and    fro    along 


270 

815-750-  Braking  Mechanism  for  Electric  Motors. 
William  H.  Scott,  Norwich,  England.  Appli- 
cation filed  March  27,  1905. 

Associated  with  a  motor,  comprising  a  magnetic  frame 
having  .a  yoke  are  pole  pieces  adapted  to  keep  oft  the 
brake  while  the  motor  -is  running,  the  yoke  and  pole 
pieces  being  connected  by  non-magnetic  material,  and  a 
movable  magnetic  plate  bridging  the  non-magnetic  ma- 
terial   and   connected    with   the   brake. 

8i5»752.  Telephone  Attachment.  Joseph  Silverman, 
San  Francisco,  Cal.  Application  "filed  January 
25,   1905. 

Combined  with  the  receiver  and  mouthpiece  of  a  tele- 
phone is  a  holding  device  for  the  receiver,  the  device 
comprising  a    stand   having  a   vertical    standard. 

815,753-  Telephone  Attachment.  Joseph  Silverman, 
San  Francisco,  Cal.  Original  application  filed 
January  25,  1905.  Divided  and  this  application 
filed  November  23,   1905. 

An  attachment  for  "the  telephone  has  means  for  hold- 
ing down  the  hook,  the  means  including  an  adjustable 
arm  carrying  a  vertically  reciprocating  part  to  embrace 
the   hook. 

815,756.  System  of  Electrical  Control.  Frank  J. 
Sprague,  New  York,  N.  Y.;  assignor  to  the 
Sprague  Electric  Company.  Application  filed 
September  22,    189S.  .     . 

A    controller    for    the    translating    device     has    a    pilot 

motor.     .The  main   circuit  in  which  the   translating  device 

is    connected    contains    means    dependent  *  on    the    strength 

of    the    current    in     the    main    circuit    for    arresting    the 

of  the  controller  by  short   circuiting  the  arma- 

of  the  pilot  1 


NO.   815,444. — NEW    FORM    OF    MOTOR    CONSTRUCTION. 


815.764.  Electric  Plug  Connection.  Julius  C.  Tour- 
nier,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Ap- 
plication filed  July  11,   1904. 

An  electric  connecting  plug  has  a  body  of  insulation. 
A  metallic  screw  threaded  sleeve  surrounds  the  body  and 
has  an  internal  flange  overlapping  the  end  of  the  .body. 
An  insulating  washer  smaller  in  diameter  than  the  sleeve 
is  placed  against  the  end  of  the  body  and  clamps  'the 
flange  to  it. 

815.765.  Electric  Transformer.  Matthew  O.  Troy, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation  filed  October  20,    19,04. 

A  multiphase  transformer  has  its  magnetic  circuits  com- 
bined in  a  single  structure  and  a  number  of  secondary 
coils  for  each  phase,  the  coils  are  arranged  to  supply 
a  three-wire  system  without  unbalancing  of  voltages  by 
unbalanced  loads. 

815,778.  Electrical  Speed  Indicator.  Robert  Ander- 
son, Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Application  filed  Febru- 
ary 16,   1905. 

In  a  speed-indicator  for  rotating  shafts  are  combined 
an  electrical  circuit,  a  switch  adapted  to  be  actuated  by 
the  rotation  of  the  shaft  to  make  and  break  the  circuit, 
an  indicator  in  the  circuit  to  register  each  time  it  is 
completed  and  a  chronometer  with  a  moving  hand  inter- 
posed in  the  circuit.  One  end  of  the  circuit  is  broken 
by  the  chronometer  being  connected  to  the  hand,  a  con- 
tact piece  being  in  the  path  of  the  hand  and  connected 
to    the    other    broken    end    of    the    circuit. 

815,789.  Electrical  Warp-stop  Motion.  Richard 
Boardman,  Tiverton,  R.  I.,  and  William  H. 
Sharpies,  Fall  River,  Mass.  Application  filed 
May   14,    1904. 

Details  are  described. 

815,792.  Electric  Time  Switch.  Milton  T.  Camp- 
bell, Indianapolis,  Ind.,  assignor  of  one-half  to 
John  C.  Ertel,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Application 
filed   October   17,    1905. 

A  combination  of  a  clock  mechanism  and  a  motor 
switch-operating  device  acts  to  close  the  switch  at  a  pre- 
determined time. 

815,804.  Thermal  Cut-out.  Charles  E.  Eveleth, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation filed  August  4,   1903. 

Between  parts  of  a  motor  in  which  an  arc  is  liable 
to  form  are  means  controlled  by  the  arc  for  delivering 
a  stream  of  fluid  in  the  direction  of  the  conductor  and 
means  for  confining  the  stream  in  intimate  association 
with   the    arc. 

815,809.  Telegraph  Key.  John  J.  Ghegan,  Newark, 
N.  J.     Application  filed  January  28,  1905. 

A  telegraph  key  comprises  a  metallic  base  plate,  a 
spring  key  lever  adapted  to  move  horizontally,  mounted 
at  one  end  of  the  plate  and  above  it,  and  insulated  from 
-  it,  and  contact  points  adjacent  to  the  key  lever.- 

815,814.  Means  for  Preventing  Accumulation  of 
Static  Electricity  Upon  Belting.  Charles  M. 
Green,  Lynn,  Mass.,  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation filed  February  5,  1903. 

In    combination    with    a   belt  are    a  pulley   engaging   the 
belt    and    means    for    making    the    surfaces    of    the    pulley 
and    the  belt  conductive  of  electricity  in  order  to  prevent 
ulation  of  static  electricity  upon  the  surfaces. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


815,822.      Relay.  Reinhold    Herman,    Crafton,    Pa., 

assignor    to  the     General     Electric      Company, 

Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  March 
28,   1904. 

In  a  relay  are  a  pivoted  lever  provided  at  its  end  with 
a  split-ring  sleeve,  an  insulating  collar  carried  within 
the  sleeve,  a  contact  block  having  a  shank  surrounded 
by  and  supported  in  the  collar  and  an  enlarged  wedge- 
shaped  head  and  stationary  spring  contacts  adapted  to 
be  bridged  by  the  block. 

815.824.  High-potential  Switch  or  Circuit-breaker. 
Edward  M.  Hewlett,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  as- 
signor to  the  General  Electric  Company,  Schen- 
ectady, N.  Y.  Application  filed  February  7, 
1900.     Renewed  November  3,  1904. 

A  high  potential  switch  provided  with  a  hollow  insulator 
has  a  fixed  terminal  extending  through  the  insulator,  a 
movable  contact-piece  for  the  terminal  supported  in  an 
independent  insulator,  a  yoke  on  the  movable  insulator 
and  a  crank  for  raising  the  yoke,  the  crank  being  adapted 
for  disconnection  from  the  yoke. 

815.825.  Electric  Switch.  Edward  M.  Hewlett, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli-. 
cation  filed  July  27,   1904. 

A  double-throw  electric  switch  has  its  movable  element 
swung  from  a  suitable  support.  An  operating  crank  is 
mounted  adjacent  thereto,  a  link  connecting  the  crank 
and  movable  -element  and  operative  to  draw  the  elem'ent 
toward  the  support  into  either  of  its  closed,  positions. 
Means  are  supplied  for,  giving,  a  transverse  movement 
■     to  the    element   corresponding   to  the    initial 


March  31,  iqofrr; 


815,826.  Train-control  System.  George  H.  Hill, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation filed  August  20,   1904. 

■  In  a  system  of  train  control  area  train. wire  or  wires,  a 
control  circuit  on  each  of  the  cars  normally  connected  to 
the  train  wires,  and  means'  controlled  from'  a  single 
point  upon  the  train  for  simultaneously  breaking  the 
connection  between  the  train  wires  and  the  circuits. 

815,830.  Adjustable  Electrolier.  Alton  Hopkins, 
Denver,  Colo.-  .  Application  filed  March  24  1905. 

An  electrolier  with  drum  and  slip-ring  mechanism  by 
which  it  can   be  raised  and  lowered  is  described. 

815,836.  Vapor  Electric  Apparatus.  Alexander  M. 
Jackson,  Schenectady, '  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the 
General  Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y. 
Application  filed  May  31,  1904.  Renewed  Jan- 
uary 29,,  1906. 

In  a  vapor  electric  apparatus  are  an   exhausted  envelop 
provided    with    a    condensing   chamber,    electrodes    therefor 
.     and    a    shield    protecting    one    of   the    electrodes    from    the 
vapor  progressing  toward   the   condensing   chamber. 

815,847.  Dynamo-electric  Machine.  John  P.  Mal- 
lett,  Madison,  Wis.,  assignor  to  the  Northern 
Electrical  Manufacturing'  Company,  Madison, 
Wis.      Application    filed    May    21,    1904. 

In  combination  with  a  field  ring  or  yoke  are  a  laminated 
pole  piece  permanently  secured  thereto,  some  of'  the 
lamina;  composing  the  pale:  pieces  being  shortvned  to  form 
a  passage  in  the  armature  end  of  the  pole  piece,  and  coil- 
retaining  pole-tip  pieces  secured  to  the  pole  piece  by  a 
bolt   extending   through   the   passage.  - 


315,863.  Variable-voltage  Electric  Transformer  for 
Cautery  and  Diagnostic  Work.  Earl  H.  Rol- 
linson,  Albany,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  July 
1 8,    1905. 

In  a  variable-voltage  cautery  transformer  are  a  lami- 
nated iron  core,  two  separately  disposed  secondary  wind- 
ings on  the  core,  polar  projections  on  the  core,  windings 
on  the  polar  projections,  a  primary  core  mounted  to 
rotate  between  the  secondary  windings  and  between  the 
polar   projections   and   windings   on  the  primary  core. 

3i5,88r.  Process  for  the  Reduction  of  Ores.  Clin- 
ton P.  Townsend,  Washington,  D.  C,  assignor 
to  Elmer  A.  Sperry,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Applica- 
tion filed  April  12,  1902. 
Reduced  sulphide  ores  is  accomplished  bv  supporting  the 
ore  in  a  body  of  fused  electrolyte  which"  is  substantially 
inert  toward  the  ore  and  passing  an  electric  current  to 
the  ore  as  cathode. 

815,889.  Telephone  Transmitter.  Ernest  E.  Yax- 
ley, Chicago,  111.,  assignor  to  the  Monarch  Tel- 
ephone Manufacturing  Company  of  Chicago,  111. 
Application  filed  September  26,  1905. 
A  telephone  transmitter  includes  a  speaking  diaphragm, 
an     electrode     actuated     thereby,     a     second     electrode,     a 


chamber,  and  subdivided  material  within  the  chamber  in- 
terposed between  and  in  contact  with  the  electrodes.  The 
chamber  includes  thin  aperturcd  resilient  diaphragms,  ly- 
ing close  to  the  planes  of  the  inner  faces  to  the  elec- 
trodes, the  subdivided  material  having  access  to  the  elec- 
trodes   through   the    apertures  in   the    diaphragm. 

815,890.  Electric  Signaling  System.  Samuel  M. 
.  Young,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Original  applica- 
tion filed  February  21,  1903.  Divided  and  this 
application    filed    October    18,    1904. 

Signaling  apparatus  comprises  a  source  of  power  cur- 
rent, a  source  of  alternating  current,  a  working  circuit 
wherein  each  of  the  traffic  rails  separately  and  independ- 
ently form  return  paths  to  the  sources  of  current,  motor 
vehicles  energized  by  the  power  current,  transformers- 
energized  by  the  alternating  current,  and  relay  devices 
energized  by  the  current    from  the  transformers. 


NG    SYSTEM. 


815,891.      Electric    Signaling    System.      Samuel    M. 
■  Young,  New  York,  N.  Y.     Original  application 
filed  April  25,   1903.     Divided  and  this  applica- 
tion filed  October  18,  1904. 

-A  system  of  electrical  distribution  and  signaling  to 
railways  comprises  two  sources  of  electrical  energy  de- 
livering currents  differing  in-  character.  A  system  of 
conductors  for  the  current  from  one  of  the  sources  com- 
prises an  outgoing  feeder  conductor  and  two  return  con- 
ductors, one  of  the  last-named  conductors  being  formed 
from  a  continuous  rail  and  the  other  from  a  divided 
rail,  and  reactance  bonds.  A  system  of  conductors  for 
the  current  from  the  other  source  comprises  two  con- 
tinuous conductors  electrically  insulated  from  the  cur- 
rent derived  from  the  source  of  energy  to  which  they 
are  not  connected,  motor  cars  are  operated  from  one 
source  of  energy  and  signaling  devices  operated  from  the 
other  source  of  energy,  and  adapted  to  be  controlled  by 
of  the  motor  cars.      (See  cut.) 


815,903.  Fluid-pressure  System.  Frank  E.  Case, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y„  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation  filed   February  24,    1903. 

Fluid-pressure    apparatus    embodying    a    compressor    and 

means  for  driving  the  compressor  embodies  also  a  mag- 
ne(tic  clutch  for  throwing  the  compressor  into  and  out  of 
gear  with  the  driving  means  and  a  governor  responsive 
.  to  variation  of  pressure  in  the  system  for  opening  and 
closing  the  circuit   for  the  clutch/ 

815,908.       Rheostat     for     Starting     and     Controlling 
Electric    Motors.      Winterton   J.    Day,    Schenec- 
tady,   N.    Y.,    assignor   to    the    General    Electric 
•  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.     Application  filed 
September   14,    1904. 

"Combined  with  a  motor  starting  and  controlling  rheo- 
stat are  a  pivoted  arm,  a  no-voltage  release  magnet 
Tinted  thereon  and  a  switch  lever  movable  to  the  mag- 
:  in  one  direction  for  st  '' 
vable  togethei 


PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Following  is  a  list  of  electrical  patents  (issued 
by  the  United  States  Patent  Office)  that  expired 
on  March   26,    1906: 

400,038.  Electric-railway  Plow.  E.  M.  Bentley,  New 
York,   N.    Y. 

400,oS8.     Galvanic    Battery.      C.    E.    Kammever,    Chicago,    111. 

400,126.      Galvanic  Battery.     F.    Shaw,   New  York.   N.  Y. 

400,130.  Dvnamo-electric  Machine.  Win.  L.  Silvey,  Cin- 
■    cinnati,    Ohio. 

400,139.  Switch  Stand  for  Dynamo  Stations.  R.  E.  Stew- 
art,   Dallas,    Texas-. 

400,141.  Telegraphic  Transmitter.  E.  C.  Stone,  New  York, 
N.   Y'. 

400,179.  Electric-railway  Contact.  E.  M,  Bentley,  New 
York,   N.   Y. 

400,  r8o.  Electric-railway  Plow.  E.  M.  Bentley,  New  Y'ork, 
N.  Y. 

400.181.  Method  of  Detecting  Grounds  in  an  Electric  Dis- 
tributing   System.      E.    M.    Bcntlev,    New    York,   N.   Y. 

400.182.  Fault  Detector  for  Electric  Railways.  E.  M. 
Bentley,   New   York,    N.    \'. 

400,198.  Electric  Arc  Lamp.  E.  A.  Edwards,  Cincinnati, 
Ohio. 

400.214.  Electric-lighting     System.       Win.     L.     Home,     Meri- 

400.215.  Galvanic   Battery.  A.    Imschenetzky,    St.    Petersburg, 

400.224.  Voltaic    Battery.      I.    Kitsee,    Cincinnati.    Ohio. 

400.225.  Voltaic    Battery.       I.    Kitsee,    Cincinnati,    Ohio. 

400.226.  Secondary    Battery.      I.    Kitsee,    Cincinnati,    Ohio. 

400.227.  Voltaic   Battery.    'I.    Kitsee,    Cincinnati,    Ohio. 
400,235.  Galvanic   Battery.     E.  Liebert  and  S.  A.    Rosenthal, 

Berlin,    Germany. 
400,230.      Electric    Burglar    Alarm.      J.    Y.     McKinney,    New 

Wilmington,    Pa. 
400,300.     Electric    Conduit.      H.    A.    Chase,    Boston,    Mass. 
400,304.     Hotel    Call.      E.   J.    Colby,    Chicago,    111. 
400,308.      Method     of     Constructing     Underground     Conduits. 

W.    C.    Cranmcr   and    S.    W.    Arnold,    Philadelphia,    Pa. 

400.311.  Electric  Motor.  E.  H.  Davis  and  R.  Westervelt, 
Elmira,    N.    Y. 

400.312.  Thermostat.  E.  H.  Davis  and  R.  Westervelt,  El- 
mira, N.    Y. 

400,315.  Regulator  for  Electric  Motors.  R.  S.  Dobbie, 
New  Y'ork,  N.   Y\ 

400.325.  Telephone.     N.   B.   Ginochio,   New  York,   N.   Y. 

400.326.  Telephone.      N.    B.    Ginochio,    Xew   York,    N.    Y. 

400.327.  Magneto-electric  Generator.  N.  B.  Ginochio,  New 
York,    N.    Y. 

400,375.  Pneumatic  Flexible  Slot  Conduit  for  Electric-rail- 
way Conductors.     C.  J.   Yandepoele,   Lynn,   Mass. 

400,378.  Incandescent  Electric  Lamp.  E.  Weston,  Newark, 
N.  J.    ' 

400,105.  Electric  Distribution  bv  Storage  I'.atU'rk's.  S.  C.  C. 
Currie,    Philadelphia,    Pa. 

400,404.  Secondary  Batter  v.  K.  M.  Hunter,  Philadflpiiirt. 
Pa. 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


Vol.  XXXVIII. 


CHIl   \<,n.  APRIL  7.  [906 


Generators  of    10,000    Horsepower  on 
Vertical  and  Horizontal  Shafts. 

By  Oruin  E.  Dunlap. 
Electrical   engineers  who  visil    Niagara    Fall     dui 

inn   the  coming   summer   will    have   op| nity    for 

ill'    in   1   imii    pecting  hydro-electric  generating 

units  of  10,000  horse- 
power operated  on  both 
vertical  and  horizontal 
shaiis.  Iii  the  station 
..1  ih  i'  Niagara  Falls 
Hydraulic  Power  and 
Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, on  the  New  York 
side,  at  the  water's  edge, 
the  generators  and  tur- 
bines  are  direct  con- 
nected  on  horizontal 
shafts,  each  turbine  op- 
erating two  machines. 
This  installation  lias  al- 
ways afforded  interest- 
ing comparison  with  the 
installations  of  the  big 
power  houses  of  the 
Niagara  Falls  Power 
Company,  also  on  the 
New  York  side,  where 
the  wheels  and  ma- 
chines are  connected  by 
vertical  shafts,  which 
extend  up  the  wheel-pit 
to  the  generators  in  the 
power  house,  which  is 
placed    over   the   pit. 

When  the  Canadian 
Niagara  Power  Com- 
pany planned  its  devel- 
opment on  the  Canadian 
side  it  adopted  the 
w  h  e  e  1-pit  and  tunnel 
method  of  development, 
which  led  to  the  erec- 
tion of  more  vertical 
shafts  .  connecting  tur- 
bines and  generators, 
but  while  the  Niagara 
Falls  Power  Company 
was  operating  units  of 
5,000  horsepower  m  its 
two  stations  on  the  New 
York  side,  the  Canadian 
Niagara  Power  Com- 
pany decided  on  a  unit 
of  10,000  horsepower, 
and  these  were  the  first 
units  of  this  size  in- 
stalled at  Niagara.  At 
this  writing  four  units 
have  been  placed  in  po- 
sition in  the  fine  new 
station,  while  other  units 
will  be  installed  as  rap- 
idly as  the  demand 
makes    it   necessary. 

So  far  as  the  Ontario 
Power  Company  is  con- 
cerned, the  system  of  de- 
velopment is  very  simi- 
lar to  that  of  the  Niag- 
ara Falls  Hydraulic 
Power  and  Manufactur- 
ing Company.  The  sta- 
tion of  the  Ontario 
Power  Company  is  lo- 
cated near  the  foot  of 
the  Horseshoe  Fall,  at 
the  water's  edge,  on  the 
Canadian  side.  The 
water   for  the   operation 

of  the  wheels  is  brought  to  a  spillway,  from  which 
the  penstocks  feed  through  a  big  steel  flume  6,500 
feet  long  and  having  an  inside  diameter  of  iS  feet. 
This  company  also  adopted  a  10,000-horsepower 
unit  for  its  development,  and  its  mammoth  gen- 
erators are  operated  by  twin  turbines  of  Voith 
make,  direct-connected  on  horizontal  shafts,  the 
installation  being  quite  a  novelty  as  compared  with 
the    other    power    plants    at    Niagara.     Three    units 


e  no 

th     ■! 

'  °n     ■'■  luring 

.■.In.  h    . 
uting    11    power  1 


will    lupply 

t  h  e    n 

i'cr§. 


POWER    COMPANY  S    STATION.  NIAGARA    FALLS,    SHOWING     10,000-HORSEPOWER    GENERATORS 
ON    VERTICAL    SHAFTS. 


Copyright,  19011.  by  O.  F..  Dunlap 
VIEW     IN     ONTARIO 


COMPANY  S     STATION.     NIAGARA    FALLS,     SHOWING     IO.OOO-HORSEFOWI 
HORIZONTAL   SHAFTS. 

velopment  within  10  years  is  quite  an  advance.  In 
the  station  of  the  Canadian  Niagara  Power  Com- 
pany it  is  proposed  to  develop  100,000  horsepower 
in  10  units,  and  in  the  station  of  the  Ontario 
Power  Company  the  plan  is  to  have  a  development 
of  i<So,ooo  horsepower  in  lS  units.  The  turbines 
of  these  18  units  will  be  supplied  with  water  that 
will  flow  from  the  forebays  through  three  steel 
flumes,   each   having  an   inside   diameter  of  iS  feet. 


Overhead     Wiring 
Conditions    In 
Grand  Rapids, 

Wis. 

'he  elec- 
trical  c  o  o  d  i  t  i 
Grand     Rapid 

that  current  for 
and  commercial 
lighting  is  fun. 
the  Electric  and  Water 
operative 
concern.  The  street  arc 
lamps  are  operated  on 
t  h  e  series  alternating- 
current  system.  T  h  e 
commercial  circuits  arc 
supplied  from  a  three- 
wire  secondary 
with  the  neutral  ground- 
ed. The  primary  volt- 
-■  ;co.  No  series 
arc  lamps  are  used 
inside  of  buildings. 
The  pole  lines  of  the 
electric-light  and  tele- 
phone companies  arc 
said  to  be  in  need  of 
considerable  overhaul- 
ing, and  in  their  pres- 
ent state  they  offer  seri- 
ous obstruction  to  the 
use  of  fire-fighting  ap- 
paratus as  well  as  being 
in  such  condition  as  to 
invite  crosses  between 
the  lighting  and  tele- 
phone  systems. 

On  Grand  Avenue  the 
two  telephone  companies 
and  the  lighting  com- 
pany occupy  the  same 
set  of  poles.  As  the 
electric-light  wires  are 
beneath  the  telephone 
wires  and  but  very  little 
cable  is  used  by  the  tele- 
phone companies,  the  pos- 
sibility of  serious  crosses 
is  imminent.  The  ar- 
rangement also  brings 
the  electric-light  wires 
very'  low.  so  that  they 
are.  in  general,  on  a 
level  with  the  second- 
story  windows.  The 
lighting  company  in- 
tends to  rebuild  its  lines 
in  the  business  district 
during  the  coming 
spring.  The  placing  of 
the  telephone  wires  un- 
derground in  the  busi- 
ness district  or  the 
adoption  of  the  "mul- 
tiple-tap" system  would 
materially  lessen  the  obstructions.  Beside  the  line 
wires  the  service  wires  of  both  the  telephone  and 
lighting  companies  would,  in  case  of  fire,  offer  con- 
siderable obstruction  to  the  raising  of  ladders.  The 
companies  have  promised  to  improve  the  present 
condition    by    elevating   all    service    wires. 

About  07  per  cent,  of  the  telephones  are  on  the 
lines  of  the  Wood  County  Telephone  Company. 
This    company    has    no    protectors    installed    at    the 


GENERATORS      ON 


2.J2, 

subscribers'  stations.  The  matter  of  installing  them 
was  taken  up  with  the  management,  but  nothing 
more  than  a  promise  .to  provide  them  for  future 
installations  was  obtained.  Electric  current  is 
used  in  about  oo  per  cent,  of  the  buildings  in  the 
business  district.  Of  this  number  fully  95  per  cent. 
have  been  found  to  be  defective.  About  seven  per 
cent,  of  the  latter  are  pronounced  very  hazardous, 
19  per  cent,  hazardous  and  32  per  cent.  poor. 

There  is  no  municipal  ordinance  providing  a 
standard  for  interior  wiring.  Both  the  lighting  com- 
pany and  the  local  independent  contractor  are  anx- 
ious to  install  approved  work,  and  they  have  agreed 
to  execute  all  of  their  work  in  strict  accordance 
with  the  rules  and  requirements  of  the  National 
Electrical  Code  and  not  to  connect  up  to  any 
installation  which  does  not  comply  with  the 
Code. 

Owners  and  occupants  have  been  notified  in 
writing  of  the  particular  defects  incident  to  their 
wiring  systems  and  have  been  requested  to  remedy 
these    defects. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


-.f   th. 


lit:..].: 


-)f  till 


Emmet's  System  for  Regulating  Turbo- 
generators. 

In  many  cases,  particularly  in  plants  where  water 
or  steam  turbines  are  installed,  it  is  desirable  to 
operate  large  exciter  units  which  will  supply  ex- 
citing current  for  the  whole  station  and  which  will 
also  operate  certain  auxiliaries,  such  as  the  oil 
pumps,  electrical  governors  on  the  turbines,  and 
the  like.  Under  these  circumstances  it  is  not  de- 
sirable to  regulate  the  turbine-driven  generators 
by  regulating  the  voltage  of  the  exciter,  since  the 
changes  in  the  voltage  required  of  the  exciter 
might  objectionably  affect  the  other  apparatus  sup- 
plied by  the  exciter.  To  overcome  these  difficulties 
and  at  the  same  time  to  permit  the  use  of  a  sin- 
gle exciting  source  W.  L.  R.  Emmet  of  Schenec- 
tady, N.  Y.,  has  patented  a  system  which  makes 
use  of  a  booster  between  the  exciting  source  and 
the 'generator  to  be  regulated,  varying  the  voltage 
of  this  booster  by  means  of  a  suitable  regulator  so 


responsive  to  voltage  consist  of  two  floating  con- 
tacts (13)  and  (14),  each  carried  by  pivoted  lever 
arms  (15)  and  (16),  respectively.  Each  lever  arm 
is  controlled  by  a  solenoid  and  core.  The  solenoid 
(17)  receives  the  voltage  at  the  terminals  of  the 
field-exciting  circuit  of  rnachine  (2).  The  sole- 
noid (19)  receives,  by  means  of  a  small  transformer 
(21),  a  voltage  proportional  to  that  developed  on 
the  alternating-current  side  of  the  generator   (2). 

The  contacts  when  they  come  together  or  sep- 
arate serve  to  control  a  differentially  wound  relay 
magnet  (22).  This  magnet  has  two  windings. 
Winding  (23)  is  connected  across  some  source 
of  current,  such  as  the  bus-bars,  while  the  other 
winding  is  adapted  to  have  its  circuit  closed  by  the 
contacts  across  the  same  source.  Thus  when  the 
contacts  are  closed  the  two  windings  neutralize 
each  other,  and  when  the  contacts  are  open  the 
winding  (23),  being  no  longer  opposed  by  its  com- 
panion   winding,    then    becomes    effective. 

When  the  magnet  (22)  becomes  magnetized  in 
the  manner  described  its  draws  down  its  armature 
and  completes  the  circuit  by  contacts  (26)  about  a 
regulating  resistance  in  series  with  the  field  wind- 
ings of  the  booster  (9).  Upon  the  demagnetiza- 
tion of  the  magnet  the  contacts  (26),  which  are 
shunted  by  a  condenser  to  reduce  sparking,  are 
opened  and  resistance  inserted  in  circuit.  This 
resistance  is  so  large  that  it  tends  to  produce  an 
excessive  change  of  voltage.  The  contacts  therefore 
keep  up  a  rapid  opening  and  closing,  so  that  the 
resistance,  being  in  circuit  only  part  of  the  time, 
produces  as  a  net  effect  the  desired  regulation. 
Thus,  if  the  voltage  on  the  alternating-current 
mains  of  the  generator  rises  above  normal  the  sole- 
noid vT9)  causes  the  contacts  (14)  to  be  brought 
into  temporarily  longer  engagement  with  the  con- 
tact (13).  This  causes  the  magnet  (22)  to  be  de- 
energized  and  thereby  opens  a  shunt  circuit  about 
the  resistance  (27)  and  includes  the  latter  in  cir- 
cuit with  the  field  of  the  booster    (9).     The  booster 


I'.MMKT  S    SYSTEM    OF 


as  to  obtain  the  desired  voltage  or  current  at  the 
"generator.  The  regulator  employed  for  controlling 
the  booster  is  the  well-known  Tirrill   regulator. 

Referring  to  the  accompanying  diagram,  (1)  in- 
dicates a  source  of  exciting  current  for  supplying  ' 
any  desired  number  of  translating  devices  at  the 
station.  This  source  may  be  a  single  large  exciter 
or  it  may  be  any  other  suitable  source  of  direct 
current — such,  for  example,  as  the  ordinary  elec- 
tric-light  supply  mains. 

Since  the  exciter  is  driven  so  as  to^  have  ordi- 
narily a  constant  voltage,  regulation  of  the  voltage 
or  current  supplied  to  the  field  of  the  machine  (2) 
is  provided  for  by  making  use  of  a'  boosting  set 
consisting  of  a  generator  (9)  in  series,  for  exam- 
ple, with  the  leads  (7),  which  generator  is  mechan- 
ically driven  by  an  electric  motor  (ro),  receiving 
its  power  from  the  exciter  bus-bars  or  mains  (11) 
and    (12), 

To    control    the    booster    in    response    to    the    're- 


voltage,  which  in  this  case  is  supposed  to  be  added 
to  that  of  the  exciter  source,  is  then  reduced.  This 
reduction  of  voltage  is  immediately  felt  by  the 
controlling  solenoid  (18),  whereupon  the  contact 
(13),  controlled  thereby,  recedes  from  the  lower 
contact  (14),  thus  opening  the  circuit  of  the  mag- 
net (22),  which  had  just  been  closed.  This  open- 
ing of  the  circuit  in  response  to  the  field  exciting 
voltage  takes  place  more  promptly  than  would  be 
the  case  if  the  apparatus  were  constructed  so  as  to 
open  the  contacts  only  after  the  alternating  volt- 
age of  the  machine  had'  been  reduced  and  the  weak- 
ening effect  transmitted  to  the  solenoid.  This 
promptness  of  action  of  the  regulator  prevents  the 
surging  or  hunting  of  the  voltage  of  the  machine 
which  would  otherwise  take  place.  The  voltage 
having  been  thus  adjusted,  the  contacts  continue 
to  vibrate  regularly  until  some  change  of  voltage 
occurs  requiring  correction,"  whereupon  an  action 
takes'   place   similar  to  that   already   described. 


April  7,  1906 

Improvement  in  Motor  Field  Commu- 
tation. 

The  accompanying  illustration  indicates  a  method 
by  which  Mr.  William  L.  Waters  of  Milwaukee 
proposes  to  render  the  magnetic  field  of  electric 
motors,  particularly  alternating-current  motors  hav- 
ing salient  poles,  more  suitable  for  commutation. 
Mr.  Waters  has  received  a  patent  on  the  device. 

It  has  been  found  that  by  connecting  together 
the  sides  of  the  poles  near  the  faces  with  a  solid 
magnetic  ring  the  distribution  of  lines  in  the  com- 
mutating  field  between  two  poles  is  so  altered  as 
to  produce  a  field  much  more  suitable  for  commu- 


IMI-'RUVEMENT    IN    MOTOR    FIELD     COMMUTATION. 


tat  ion  than  with  the  ordinary  type  of  magnet  pole. 
The  machine  when  thus  provided  is  said  to  pos- 
sess properties  intermediate  between  standard  pro- 
jecting-pole  construction  and  the  continuous  type 
of  field   used  principally  in   induction   motors. 

The  solid  connecting  ring  shown  in  the  diagram 
is  provided  at  each  end  of  the  machine,  and  is 
made  preferably  of  wrought  iron.  The  rings  lie 
close  to  the  pole  sides,  near  their  faces,  and  are 
held  in  place  by  bolts  or  rivets.  It  is  asserted 
that  the  use  of  the  rings  so  alters  the  distribution 
of  the  lines  of  force  in  the  commutating  field  that 
sparking  at  the  brushes   is   practically   eliminated. 


Steam-turbine  Investigation. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Moore  of  Connellsville,  Pa.,  has  been 
added  to  the  committee  for  the  investigation  of  the 
steam  turbine,  which  is  to  report  at  the  Atlantic 
City  meeting  of  the  National  Electric  Light  Asso- 
ciation. In  order  to  complete  the  data  for  this 
report  the  committee  met  on  Tuesday,  April  3d, 
at  the  office  of  Mr.  Irving  E.  Moultrop,  in  Bos- 
ton. Mr.  Moultrop  has  just  returned  from  Europe, 
where  he  went  for  the  purpose  of  gathering  data 
regarding  turbine  operation  abroad.  From  Bos- 
ton the  committee  will  visit  the  General  Electric 
works  at  Lynn,  Mass.,  and  the  Providence  Engi- 
neering works,  Providence,  R.  I.  It  will  then  pro- 
ceed to  Schenectady  for  a  day  at  the  General  Elec- 
tric works;  will  visit  Utica,  Chicago  and  Mil- 
waukee, and  on  the  return  trip  will  visit  the  works 
of  the  Westinghouse  company  at  Pittsburg.  The 
coming  report  is  expected  to  contain  much  inter- 
esting matter  not  heretofore  published. 


Rebuilding  San  Francisco  Lighting 
Plant. 

The  San  Francisco  Gas  and  Electric  Company, 
owing  to  the  recent  disastrous  fire '  in  its  Station 
C  building,  is  spending  about  $100,000  on  the  new 
building  and  $300,000  on  machinery.  Willis  Polk 
is  the  architect  who  has  prepared  the  building 
plans,  and  he  is  asking  for  the  necessary  bids  from 
the  contractors.  The  generating  plant  will  be  en- 
tirely finished  inside  with  white  enameled  glazed 
terra  cotta.  It  will  contain  eight  General  Electric 
i.ooc-kilowatt  motor-generators,  12  transformers  of 
corresponding  capacity,  176  bus-bar  compartments, 
194  20,000-volt  high-tension  switches  and  173-  lineal 
feet  of  switchboards,  which  will  control  all  the 
lights  in  the  downtown  district.  Every  precaution 
is  being  taken  to  prevent  a  cessation  of  service, 
such  as  occurred  in  the  late  fire. 


One  of  the  chief  features  of  the  exhibit  of  Pirell 
&  Co.  of  Milan,  Italy,  at  the  Milan  Exposition  wil 
be  a  cable  which  will  be  capable  of  withstanding 
g   potential   of  200,000  to  250,000  volts.    . 


April   7,    [906 

The  Pennsylvania  Railroad's  Extension 
to  New  York  and  Lon^  Island 
Long  Island  City  Power 
Station.    I. 

iN'liir. 

I  he    l''  mi  ;ylvania    Railroad    1  ompanj    ha     had 

11,. I  1  con  nil  ration  i"i  .1  numl pi  in    foi 

establishing  .1   terminal   i"i    il     li n      1 

1  land,     i  li.   1 .11  li.   1  hi  il mi.  nplati  d  a  bridge 

,,vc-r  the  1  in'i  "n  Rivi  1.  null  elevated  approai  hi  and 
terminal  in  the  city  of  New  Yorl  il"  demon  tra 
Hun  thai  electric  traction  wa  1  prai  in  able  foi   hi  a 

train  unil     made  possible,  however,  1 tri b' 

means  of  tunnels,  which  would  enable  thi  adoption 
uf  a  well  rounded-oul  plan  for  a  terminal  which 
would  embrace  not  onlj   the    Penn  lylvani  1   Railroad 

main  line  business,  but  through  coi tion  with  New 

England  ami  the  railroad  sj  itc 1  I  ong  I  land 

The  announcement  that  the  Penni  yh  ania  R  lilroad 
Company  proposed  in  enter  New  York  city  was 
made  in  May,  1902,  ami  -.inn-  that  'lair  the  projeel 
in  all  its  features  lias  been  actively  under  way. 

II  is  the  purpose  of  the  present  series  of  31 

1,1  describe  the  first  unit  in  the  carrying  mil  ol  the 
terminal  plans  which  lias  been  completed  in  operative 
condition    the    Long    island   City   power   house. 
Organization, 

Two  companies  have  been  incorporated  through 
which  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  is  carry- 
ing i,n  iis  New  York  extension  work.  One  of  these, 
the  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey  ami  New  Yurie  Rail- 
road Company,  will  build  all  of  that  portion  of  the 
tunnel  ami  approaches  in  the  state  of  New  Jersey 
ami  extending  under  the  Hudson  River  to  the 
boundary  line  of  the  stales  of  New  Jersey  and  New 
York;  from  this  boundary  the  other,  the  Pennsyl 
vania,  New  York-  and  Long  Island  Railroad  Com- 
pany, will  construct  the  tunnels,  terminal  station 
and  yards  on  Manhattan  Island,  under  the  East 
River  and  in  Long  Island  City.  The  officers  of 
these  companies  are  the  officers  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Company,  the  president  being  Mr.  A.  J. 
Cassatt. 

The  engineering  and  architectural  features  are  sub- 
divided in  accordance  with  the  character  of  the  work, 
the  whole  project  being  under  the  general  direction 
of  the  management  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company. 

The  tunnel  work  proper  is  divided  into  two  parts, 
the  East  River  division  being  under  the  direct  charge 
of  Mr.  Alfred  Noble,  chief  engineer,  and  the  North 
River  division  under  the  direct  charge  of  Mr.  Charles 
M.  Jacobs,  chief  engineer.  The  general  railroad  fa- 
cilities and  the  electrical  and  mechanical  features  of 
the  railroad  and  terminal  are  under  the  charge  of 
Mr,  George  Gibbs,  chief  engineer  of  electric  traction. 
These  three  officials,  together  with  Brigadier-General 
Charles  W.  Raymond,  chairman,  constitute  a  board 
of  engineers,  to  which  the  general  engineering  fea- 
tures of  the  whole  plan  are  confided. 

In  addition,  advisory  committees  consisting  of  offi- 
cers of  the  road  have  been  appointed  to  pass  upon 
and  work  out  the  special  problems  relating  to  the 
required  railway  facilities  and  pass  upon  the  ade- 
quacy of  the  operating  features  as  developed  by  the 
labors  of  the  various  departmental  bodies. 

Messrs.  Westinghouse,  Church,  Kerr  &  Co.  were 
selected  as  engineers  and  contractors  for  the  elec- 
trical and  mechanical  engineering,  acting  under  the 
supervision  of  the  chief  engineer  of  electric  traction. 
Messrs.  McKim,  Mead  and  White  of  New  York  are 
architects  of  the  station  building. 

It  will  be  seen  that,  by  this  comprehensive  organi- 
zation, a  harmony  of  operation  with  proper  degree 
of  independence  is  effected,  which,  while  it  keeps 
the  officials  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  in  close 
touch  with  the  enterprise  in  all  its  stages,  relieves 
them  of  multiplicity  of  detail. 

Location  of  Power  Station. 

The  enormous  scale  of  development  of  the  large 
terminal  system  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  which 
is  to  be  entirely  operated  by  electric  power,  very 
early  led  to  the  decision  that  to  secure  reliability 
of  service,  as  well  as  convenient  power  distribution, 
there  should  be  two  main  generating  stations,  sites 
for  which  could  be  more  readily  obtained  if  they 
should  be  located  one  in  New  Jersey  and  the  other 
on  Long  Island.  The  latter  station  would  also 
naturally  be  used  as  the  main  source  of  power  for 
the  Long  Island  Railroad  lines  as  fast  as  equipped, 
and  the  electrification  of  the  Atlantic  Avenue  Im- 
provement, which  was  impending  when  the  general 
project  took  shape,  required  the  early  construction 
of  the  Long   Island   City  power  station. 

On  account  of  the  very  large  amount  of  power  that 
would  eventually  be  needed  by  the  new  lines,  which 
are  to  tunnel  under  the  East  River  near  the  present 
terminus  of  the  Long  Island  Railroad  at  Hunter's 
Point,  and  also  by  the  Long  Island  Railroad  subur- 
ban lines,  which  are  now  concentrated  at  this  ter- 
minus, it  was  obviously  desirable  to  locate  the  power 
station  conveniently  to  the  district  which  would 
eventually  be  the  scene  of  such  a  concentration  of 
electric- railway  activity. 

The  great  flexibility  of  the  alternating-current 
system  of  power  transmission  admits  of  placing  the 
generating  station  at  whatever  reasonable  distance 
from  the  natural  center  of  load  may  be  dictated 
by  the  important  considerations  of  condensing-water 
supply  and  cheap   coal  delivery;  and  the  proximity 


WESTERN     ELECTRIl 

ol  the  1 

toll,    II,. 

■  lilroad  if  ighl  yard,  enabling 

an  entin    ■■  •  tangulai   b 

ward  th         ci    1 

on  From 

ii     li  i..,  1  hird  and  I  ourth    1 

Si  \nu   .    1 

',1   thi  undertaki  n  thi 

.,1  ,  ii.ii iii,  atio 

.1    tation  than  50,000  V 

and  probablj     . 

For  1 

..1   iii.    i 

.....1     madi     iii.    in  ■■        ...... 

of  5,500 
kilowatts,  and   tin       1  •  lie   unit 

basis  ,,1  tin    powei    tation  design.    The  rectangular 
mape  "I  iin   lot,  practii    II     00  I 
in.  sible  i"  plan  a  station  that  could  readily 
tended  i"  occupy  the  entire  blocl       1  hi    tdopted  dc- 
sign  will  permit  the  disposition  01  fourteen  5,500- 
kilowatl    generating   units   in   the   building  covering 
the  block,  or  about  105,000  electrical  1         pi 
uch  im  amount  of  pin,..,!  be  t\ enttiall)  rei 

For   the   initial   load   that   was  to  be  placed   upon 
the   power  station   during  il»-  earlier  years   of  the 


273 


'I  he  Hi 

powei     itation    and    the    bulkhead    the    Hum 

th  the   freight  yard,  which   1 
reinfori 

ilumc  with  15-inch  1  beams. 

The  work  of  excavation  was  begun  October  20, 
1903.  The  only  difficulty  encountered  was  a  layer 
of  quicksand,   which  made  necessary  the  driving  of 

six-inch    sheet    piling    for   the    whole   length 


LONG    ISLA 


STATION    OF    PENNSYLVANIA    RAILROAD,    SHOWING    COAL   TOWER    IN    OPERATION. 


Long  Island  Railroad  electrification,  it  was  decided 
that  three  5,500-kilowatt  units  would  suffice.  The 
building,  as  designed  for  this  initial  equipment, 
covers  the  full  width  of  the  block  and  half  its 
length,  and  contains  room  for  six  5,500-kilowatt  units 
and  two  2,500-kilowatt  units  of  the  same  type  to 
be  used  for  lighting  the  tunnels. 

As  now  built,  therefore,  the  station  can  hold  more 
than  double  its  present  equipment,  and  when  ex- 
tended in  size  will  accommodate  more  than  four  and 
one-half  times  the  original  installation  of  electrical 
generating   machinery. 

Foundations. 

The  site  was  formerly  under  water  and  had  only 
been  filled  in  to  an  extent  that  brought  the  surface 
about  iy2  feet  above  the  extreme  high  water.  The 
structure  and  equipment  of  a  large  power  station 
involve  the  carrying  of  heavy  concentrated  loads 
upon  the  side  walls,  building  columns  and  machinery' 
foundations,  which  have  to  be  properly  distributed 
over  the  underlying  soil  in  a  manner  that  will  secure 
absolute  stability  and  uniformity  of  settlement.  In 
the  design  of  this  foundation  due  consideration  was 
given  to  several  alternative  methods,  and  its  was 
finally  decided  to  use  a  comparatively  uniform  spac- 
ing of  piles  overlaid  by  a  monolithic  concrete  mass 
of  a  thickness  wdiich  should  take  up  the  distance 
between  the  point  at  wdiich  the  piles  could  be  safely- 
cut  off  and  extreme  high  water.  The  total  number 
of  piles  required  for  the  foundation  was  9,115. 
Intake  Flume. 

The  flume  for  the  condenser  intake  and  the  over- 
flow flume  directly  above  it  traverse  the  building 
foundations  completely  from  west  to  east  and  are- 
integral  with  them.  Both  the  intake  and  the  overflow 
flumes  are  nominally  10  feet  in  diameter,  this  large 
sectional  area  being  required  to  provide  sufficient 
condensing  water  with  a  low  velocity  of  flow  when 
the  power  station  is  extended  to  its  maximum  future 
length  of  500  feet  and  filled  with  generating  machin- 
ery.    The  elevation  of  the  intake  flume  is  such  that 


site  on  the  Third  Street  side  and  for  a  part  of  the 
distance  on  the  Fourth   Street  side. 
Piling. 

Spruce  piles  were  used,  varying  in  length  from 
25  to  40  feet.  They  were  driven  practically  10  refusal 
with  a  2,000-pound  hammer  falling  18  to  20  feet 
The  first  pile  was  driven  on  November  16,  1003,  and 
the  last  one  on  March  5,  ioxx). 
Concreting. 

The  concrete  was  mixed  by  machine,  and  a  special 
plant  was  installed  for  this  purpose,  with  a  view- 
to  securing  the  most  economical  and  rapid  produc- 
tion of  concrete.  As  the  concrete  had  to  be  placed 
in  freezing  weather,  provision  was  made  for  heating 
the  sand  and  stone  piles  by  means  of  a  hot-air  fur- 
nace burning  waste  lumber,  the  heat  being  distributed 
by  means  of  an  18-inch  pipe  running  through  each 
pile  of  material  and  so  situated  that  the  material 
shoveled  into  the  cars  was  taken  from  a  section  of 
the  pile  traversed  by  the  pipe,  so  that  it  was  sure  tc 
be  well  thawed  out.  The  water  used  for  mixing  the 
concrete  was  also  heated  with  steam  from  a  30-horse- 
power  steam  boiler  of  the  vertical  type.  The  concrete 
was  mixed  in  proportions  of  1.  2:  \  and  5.  very  wet. 
and  required  very-  little  ramming.  Although  the 
work  was  done  during  an  unusually  cold  winter,  the 
precautions  taken  sufficed  to  prevent  trouble  from 
freezing.  The  entire  block  of  concrete  required  for 
the  monolithic  cap  and  the  flumes  was  about  1S.000 
cubic  yards. 

Architectural  Features. 

In  the  case  of  the  Long  Island  City  power  sta- 
tion it  w-as  decided  to  erect  the  building  free  from 
any  architectural  elaboration,  relying  entirely  for  ex- 
pression of  purpose  on  the  outline  and  disposition 
of  the  masses  of  the  structure  as  dictated  by 
the  engineering  necessities.  Fig.  1  is  a  general 
view  of  the  structures,  showing  the  coal  tower  in 
operation.  The  building  design  comprises  three  dis- 
tinct features.  The  first  is  the  boiler  house, 
with     its     four     independent     stacks     piercing     the 


274 

roof  at  regular  intervals  and  its  facade  exhibit- 
ing the  subdivision  of  the  structure  into  a  series 
of  equal  bavs,  each  marked  by  a  single  arched  win- 
dow opening  extending  without  interruption  past 
all  floors.  The  second  feature  is  the  separate  en- 
closure of  the  coal  bunker,  superimposed  by  the 
boiler  house  longitudinally  between  the  stacks.  The 
third  feature  is  the  engine  house,  including  also  the 
electrical  switching  galleries  and  offices,  which  is 
treated  as  a  separate  wing  of  the  entire  building,  con- 
nected to  and  parallel  with  the  boiler  house,  but  sub- 
ordinate thereto  as  to  its  height,  this  being  conse- 
quent upon  the  type  of  generating  machinery  adopted. 

The  onlv  feature  which  could  in  any  way  be  con- 
sidered ornamental  is  the  name  "Pennsylvania"  in 
neat  terra-cotta  capitals  inscribed  across  the  parapet 
of  the  engine  house. 

The  frames  of  all  doors  and  windows  in  the  ex- 
terior walls  are  of  cast-iron.  The  main  entrance 
doors  are  of  heavy  oak  and  plate  glass.  All  other 
doors  are  built  of  wood  cores  covered  with  Kalimene 
iron.  The  window  sash  are  of  cast  iron  glazed  with 
rough  wire-glass,  the  sash  being  pivoted  at  the  top 
and'arranged  to  swing  outward  by  a  system  of  oper- 
ating devices  specially  designed  for  this  station  and 
believed  to  be  a  substantial  improvement  over  pre- 
vious developments. 

The  design  of  the  sanitary  appliances  of  the  station 
received  not  only  careful  consideration  with  regard 
to  the  convenience  of  location,  but  with  a  view  to 
securing  the  greatest  possible  perfection  of  material 
and  workmanship.  A  liberal  amount  of  space  is 
given  up  to  lavatory  and  locker  rooms  for  the  sta- 
tion force,  those  for  the  engine  and  fire-room  forces 
being  located  in  the  boiler  room  basement,  and  those 
for  the  electrical  staff  on  the  gallery  floor  adjacent 
to  the  operating  room. 

The  over-all  dimensions-  of  the  present  building 
are  200  by  262  feet  outside  measurement.  The 
boiler  house  is  103  feet  wide  inside,  the  engine 
room  66  feet,  and  the  electrical  galleries  25  feet 
wide.  The  boiler  house  proper  is  82  feet  high  to 
the  top  of  the  parapet.  The  coal-pocket  enclosure, 
superimposed  on  the  boiler  house,  is  60  feet  wide, 
;md  its  parapet  is  118  feet  high.  The  engine  room 
is  70  feet  high,  to  the  top  of  the  parapet. 

The  first  floor  of  the  boiler  house  is  16  feet 
above  the  basement,  and  the  second  floor  of  the 
boiler  room  is  35  feet  above  the  first  floor.  In 
the  engine  house,  the  engine-room  floor  is  23  feet 
six   inches   above   the  basement,   and    thence   to   the 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

supporting  columns  by  applying  a  neatly  finished 
granolithic  covering  of  cement  over  the  grillages 
of  steel  beams  embedded  in  the  concrete  founda- 
tions. The  boiler-house  columns  as  they  appear 
on  the  second  floor  of  the  boiler  room  are  shown 
in  Fig.  3. 
General   Features    of   Power-station    Equipment. 

A  description  of  the  steam  plant  should  be  pref- 
aced by  an  outline  of  the  general  system  on  which 
it  is  laid  out.  The  desirability  of  subdivision  into 
units,  or  groups  of  units,  always  appeals  strongly 
to  the  operating  force  in  a  large  steam  plant,  which 
must  always  be  ready  for  emergencies,  no  matter 
how  perfect  the  design  and  construction  may  be. 
The  necessity  which  may  arise  at  any  moment  for 
cutting  out  a  portion  of  the  plant  makes  it  desir- 
able to  design  it  in  the  first  place  with  a  view  to 
easy  and  economical  subdivision,  so  that  when  com- 
pleted a  large  power  plant  may  be  regarded  as  a 
collection  of  self-contained  individual  plants,  all  lo- 
cated under  one  roof  and  under  one  control,  but 
capable  of  being  readily  separated.  When,  as  is 
usually  the  case,  they  are  joined  up  and  operated 
as  one  plant,  the  lines  of  separation  between  the 
sections   are   practically   obliterated. 

The  unit  system  of  design  was  followed  in  laying 
out  the  equipment  of  the  power  station.  The  boiler 
plant,  of  32  boilers,  is  divided  into  eight  groups 
of  four  boilers  each,  four  of  these  groups  being 
on  the  first  floor  and  four  directly  over  them 
on  the  second  floor  of  the  boiler  house.  The  four 
.  boilers  of  each  group  stand  opposite  each  other 
across  an  alley  or  firing  space,  and  are  separate 
as  regards  economizer,  flue  and  stack  connections, 
but  their  steam  connections  are  made  up  so  as  to 
form  them  into  a  group  for  the  purpose  of  unit 
subdivision.  That  is  to  say,  the  four  boilers  at  the 
west  end  of  the  plant  on  the  first  floor,  on  both 
sides  of  the  alley  are  piped  to  one  manifold,  which 
is  connected  to  a  vertical  header,  and  the  four 
boilers  directly  above  them  on  the  second  floor  are 
piped  in  the  same  manner  to  the  same  header,  the 
two  groups  of  four  constituting  the  first  unit  group 
at  the  west  end  of  the  boiler   room. 

This  group  is  amply  sufficient  to  furnish  steam 
to  the  two  2, 500- kilowatt  lighting  units,  which  will 
eventually  constitute  the  first  unit  subdivision  at 
the  west  end  of  the  engine  room.  The  second 
groups  of  four  boilers  on  the  first  and  second  floors 


FIG.    2-       BOILER-ROOM    BASEMENT    IN    LONG    ISLAND    CITY    POWER    STATION, 


SOWING    FLUES 


HOT-WELL    TANKS. 


roof  trusses  the  height  is  about  40  feet  in  the  clear. 
This  is  a  much  lower  engine  room  than  is  com- 
monly met  with  in  power  stations  of  this  size, 
the  saving  in  head  room  being  due  to  the  adoption 
of  the  horizontal  type  of  steam  turbines,  which 
enables  economy  in  vertical  space  required  as  well 
as  in  the  floor  area. 

Like  all  large  power  stations  of  modern  con- 
struction, the  superstructure  of  the  building  con- 
sists of  steel  framework,  which  carries  the  weight 
of  the  room  and  the  entire  contents  of  the  build- 
ing, except  such  portions  of  the  machinery  as  may 
be  more  conveniently  carried  on  separate  founda- 
tions. The  first  steel  was  placed  in  position  on  the 
foundation  on  March  17, 1904,  and  the  steel  erection 
was   completed   about  the  20th   of   September,    1904. 

Fig.  2 — a  view  in  the  boiler-room  basement — 
shows    the   treatment   given    the   bases    of   the    steel 


are  piped  together  in  like  manner,  so  that  they  can, 
as  one  group,  suppty  steam  to  the  first  5,500-kilo- 
watt  turbo-generator.  These  main  groups  of  boil- 
ers are  piped  together  by  a  cross-connecting  header, 
which  is  to  be  considered  as  an  equalizer,  rather 
than  as  a  large  main  into  which  all  boilers  feed 
and  from  which  all  engines  take  steam,  which  is 
the  most  usual  layout  of  power-station  steam  piping. 

Although  this  subdivision  into  unit  plants  may  or 
may  not  be  availed  of  by  the  operating  force,  it 
nevertheless  constitutes  a  systematic  and  uniform 
scheme  of  development,  favoring  the  duplication  of 
the  bends,  valves  and  other  pipe  details,  thereby 
rendering    construction    economical. 

In  describing  the  equipment  of  the  power  station, 
the  most  logical  method  is  to  begin  at  the  coal 
pile,  and  follow  the  energy  from  it  through  the 
steam   and   electrical   plant  to   the   outgoing  feeders. 


April  7,  1906 

The  equipment  may  be  divided  into  several  dis- 
tinct sections,  as  follows:  First,  the  coal-handling 
plant;  the  steam-generating  plant  of  boilers,  with 
the  accessory  water-supply  system  and  pumps,  and 
including  furnaces,  flues,  economizers,  stacks  and 
ash-handling  plant ;  then  the  turbine  engines  and 
their  various  auxiliaries  in  which  the  steam  is  used, 
and,  finally,  the  electrical  plant,  which  converts  me- 
chanical into  electrical  energy  and  distributes  it  to 
the  outgoing  feeders.  First  in  order,  therefore, 
comes  the  handling  of  coal. 

COAL-HANDLING      PLANT. 

The  location  of  the  power  station  is  such  that 
it  can  receive  coal  either  by  water  or  by  rail,  but 
as  some  water  transportation  is  necessary  in  order 
to  reach  the  power-station  site,  from  the  New 
Jersey   terminals   of   coal-carrying    railroad    lines,    it 


fig.  3. 

city  power  station. 

becomes  cheaper  to  carry  it  in  barges  to  the 
power-station  site.  The  plant  was  therefore  de- 
signed more  particularly  to  deal  with  water-borne 
coal,  though  certain  provisions  were  made  In  the 
design  of  the  tower  that  will  admit  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  power  station  for  handling  rail-borne 
coal  directly  from  the  cars  should  it  ever  be  re- 
quired  in  the   future. 

The  coal  pocket  is  located  in  the  top  of  the 
boiler  house  so  that  it  can  feed  coal  by  gravity 
through  suitably  located  spouts  to  the  stoker  hop- 
per in  front  of  each  boiler,  thus  eliminating  all 
handling  of  coal  inside  the  house  on  the  part  of 
the  fire-room  force,  reducing  to  a  minimum  the 
expense  of  firing  the  boilers.  But  to  get  the  coal 
properly  deposited  and  distributed  in  the  coal 
pocket  of  5,800  tons  capacity,  where  the  consump- 
tion is  several  hundred  tons  per  day,  becomes  a 
problem  of  no  small  magnitude  if,  as  in  this  case, 
it  is  desired  to  handle  such  large  quantities  of  fuel 
at  the  lowest  possible  cost. 

The  location  alongside  the  dock,  to  which  barges 
are  brought,  is  about  500  feet  from  the  west  front 
of  the  boiler  house.  A  high-level  cable  railway 
was  run  from  the  coal-hoisting  tower  on  the  dock 
into  and  through  the  top  of  the  boiler  house,  over 
the  coal  pocket,  at  an  elevation  of  107  feet  above 
the  dock  level.  This  cable  railway  is  in  the  form 
of  a  loop  and  is  operated  by  an  endless  cable,  mo- 
tion being  imparted  to  the  cars  by  means  of  a 
simple  form  of  cable  grip.  The  decision  to  use 
a  level  coal  bridge  (where  height  is,  of  course, 
governed  by  the  construction  of  the  coal  pocket), 
coupled  with  the  desire  to  do  all  the  hoisting  at 
one  time,  determined  the  height  of  the  coal  tower, 
rendering  advisable  the  construction  of  a  higher 
tower  than  any  hitherto  used  for  this  purpose. 
The  combination  of  the  high-level  cable  railway 
bridge  and  the  hoisting  tower  of  corresponding 
height  enables  all  the  hoisting  to  be  done  at  one 
operation  without  the  pulverizing  of  the  fuel  inci- 
dent to  passage  through  a  succession  of  conveyors 
or  elevator  devices. 

Subsequent  to  this  single-hoisting  operation  the 
coal  is  passed  along  to  its  destination  in  the  pocket 
by  gravity  and  by  transportation  in  cars  along  the 
level   cable   railway. 

The  hoisting  tower  is  of  the  "one-man"  type, 
having  capacity  for  400  long  tons  of  run-of-mine 
bituminous  coal  in  five  working  hours.  The  coal 
is  hoisted  in  a  two-ton  Haywood  bucket  of  the 
"clam-shell"  type,  with  heavy  renewable  steel  cut- 
ting blades.  This  is  raised  and  lowered  bjf  a  two- 
cylinder  15  by  24-inch  Lidgerwood  type  of  hoisting 
engine  with  a  Stephenson  link  motion.  The  bucket 
is  so  counterweighted  that  when  lowered  its  speed 
cannot  exceed  1,000  feet  per  minute.  It  is  sus- 
pended from  a  substantial  trolley  carried  on  a 
rigid  boom  built  of  steel  trusses  in  parabolic  form 
and  projecting  43J4  feet  beyond  the  tower  at  a 
height  of  about  163  feet  above  the   dock. 

The  operation  is  as  follows :    The  bucket  is  low- 


April  7,  i'jol. 

,,,.,1  into  (he  bargi    -'-iili  jaws  open  and  the    iharp 
,  ,i:.,      ,,i    the    bucket    naturally    din    into    thi     co 

fficienl    depth   i"   allow    thi    -  m  lo  m  ■■   "f  a 

lull   load  of  11   in  the  bui  I  el    hi 

a,-,.    1  loscd.     'J  he    1  I"  ing     ol     the    bucl  1 1 

l,v  .-I  biter  engine,  whii  h  operate  1  1! igh    1     eri 

Dj      1,1    ropes    working    around    thi      hea  tnd 

I,,  ;ng  1    the    jaws    of    the    bin  1  1  1    togi  thi  1     .■.  ithoul 
lifting   ii    "Hi    of   the   barge     Whi  n    thi     bui  kcl 

1  |o  1  d    the    hoi  ting    engini       1  irl      i atii  .illy    .1 

mi, ,ns    hoisting    until    the    bucl  el     n  ai  I"  1    it 

predetermined   maximum   height    aboul    150    feel    in 
the   ;iir,   the   maximum    rate   of   luiisi    Imih«   about 

,.  ico   feel    i»  1    minute,      At   this   poinl    the    h 

1 , .,  ,     and   Hi'-   trolley   motion    start!    automatically, 

f nil,  the  buckel  in  on  the  boom  mini  ii   i    ovei 

Mi,-   receiving   hoppci    and   then   automaticallj      tart 

,.,     ii,,     bitci    in'1  liiiii^n    in    the    reverse    dirci  tion 
ami  dumping   the  load  by  opening   the   jaw     "i    thi 
bucket. 
The    machinery    fur    hoisting    ami    trolleying    the 


ELEi  1 EUCIAN 

in   ili,    bin,  ',n   tin-   baiii  ol  480 
■,'  1  cents  1 

I,  . -..t    Ik, tli 

•.  ,y    h.r 

,. 

torn  of  the 

thai  thi  After 

rcceh  ":■        I  ■  ''xix  a 

railway    laid   in   the   ' 
underneath  thi    lim    of  dumping  hoppers  to  a  turn 
labli     al    thi     wi   I    end    ol    ! 
im  in  directly  under  the  end  of  the  ash  bride, 
1  rolli  •,    hoi  I    1     pi "  ided  which   rm, 
1  I.,  am   thai    1  un     >•    m   a    poinl    ovei    : 


-    hot 

The    wal 

■ 

eight 
feci   in  diameter  and 

auxiliary    en- 

;,iru   of 

the    building,  I  1    heal 

r    for    15,000   horse)*  from 

lii.l! 

ml  i-.r  the  I. 
station  '  Babcock  &  Wilcox  water-tube 

boilers  .  fight 


operation  of  the  bucket  was  designed  and  built 
by  the  Robins  Conveying  Belt  Company. 

The  receiving  hopper  is  built  of  steel  plate  and 
the  coal  passes  through  it  by  gravity  onto  the  shak- 
ing bottom,  which  allows  certain  small  bituminous 
or  small  anthracite  coal  to  pass  around  the  crusher 
to  the  loading  hopper  and  delivers  the  large  coal 
to  the  crusher.  The  shaking  grate  and  the  crusher 
are  operated  by  the  same  engine,  which  is  a  7J-2  by 
7-inch   Westinghouse   standard   engine. 

The  crusher  has  a  capacity  of  400  tons  in  five 
hours,  and  the  coal  after  passing  through  it  drops 
directly  into  the  loading  hoppers,  which  are  directly 
above  the  scale  platform.  They  are  equipped  with 
gates  operated  by  the  weigher,  who  loads  the  cable 
cars  as  they  stand  upon  the  platform.  The  scales 
have  a  capacity  of  five  tons. 

The  cable  railway  is  designed  for  a  capacity^  in 
excess  of  the  other  portions  of  the  mechanism 
above  described.  That  is,  it  is  capable  of  handling 
150  tons  per  hour  when  operating  29  two-ton  cars 
at  a  speed  of  180  feet  per  minute  around  a  track 
loop    approximately    2,500   feet    long. 

The  whole  plant  is  designed  with  a  minimum  of 
machinery  for  the  purpose  intended  and  is  ex- 
pected to  have  an  ultimate  capacity  of  800  tons 
per  day.  Besides  obviating  injury  to  the  fuel  from 
constant  dumping  from  one  conveyor  to  another, 
the  labor,  cost,  interest,  depreciation  and  repairs 
are  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  actual  cost,  including 
labor,    supplies    and   fixed   charges    per   ton    of   coal 


through  the  bridge  and  extends  over  the  turn- 
table. From  the  trolley  carriage  are  suspended  by 
means  of  wire  cables  two  sheaves  with  forged  sleel 
hooks,  which  are  inserted  in  the  rings  at  each  end 
of  the  car  body  as  it  stands  on  the  turntable  in 
the  basement.  The  cables  are  then  wound  up  on 
the  grooved  winding  drums  of  the  trolley  hoist, 
raising  the  bucket  to  the  proper  height  opposite 
the  ash  bridge,  at  which  point,  by  the  action  of  an 
automatic  switch,  the  operation  of  the  hoisting  is 
stopped,  the  trolley  motion  is  started  and  then  the 
bucket  is  carried  to  a  point  over  the  ash  bin,  auto- 
matically dumped,  reversed,  returned  again  to  the 
inner  end  of  the  trolley  hoist  and  finally  lowered 
to  the  turntable  in  the  boiler-house  basement. 
Water   Supply. 

Water  is  taken  from  the  mains  of  the  Montauk 
Water  Company,  two  of  whose  service  mains  are 
connected  to  an  18-inch  main  supplying  the  power 
house.  In  order  to  be  sure  of  having  a  reserve 
on  this  supply  there  was  built  adjacent  to  the  Long 
Island  railroad  yard  at  a  distance  of  about  2.700 
feet  from  the  power  station',  the  nearest  available 
site,  a  standpipe  40  feet  in  diameter.  So  feet  high, 
which  is  connected  into  this  iS-inch  main  and 
under  ordinary  circumstances  kept  full. 

One  of  the  advantages  in  employing  steam  tur- 
bines is  that  the  steam,  if  condensed  in  a  surface 
condenser,  is  absolutely  free  from  lubricating  oil 
and  can  be  used  over  and  over  again  without  in- 
jury to  the  boilers.  This  consideration  was  in- 
fluential in  determining  the  employment  of  surface 
condensers   in  this    station,   as  the   expense   of   pur- 


floor  immediately  over  the  former.  These  batteries 
are  equally  distributed  on  each  side  of  the  boiler 
plant,  with  a  firing  space  between  boiler  fronts 
of   about    18   feet   in   width. 

The  boilers  are  designed  for  a  working  pressure 
of  200  pounds  per  square  inch,  and  each  boiler  has 
a  total  effective  water-heating  surface  of  5.24;, 
square  feet,  comprised  in  three  steam  drums  42 
inches  in  diameter  and  23  feet  io-5s  inches  long, 
and  21  sections  of  four-inch  tubes  18  feet  long, 
with  12  tubes  in  each  section.  The  general  ar- 
rangement of  the  entire  boiler  plant  and  accessory 
apparatus  is  shown  in  the  sectional  elevation,  Fig.  4. 

Besides  the  water-heating  surface,  each  boiler  is 
supplied  with  an  internal  superheater  consisting 
of  two  sections  of  tubing,  arranged  much  like  a 
letter  U  lying  on  its  side.  These  superheaters  are 
shown  in  position  in  the  sectional  view  of  the 
power  station.  Each  superheater  is  capable  of 
superheating  the  output  of  the  boiler  2000  F.  when 
operating  at  200  pounds  pressure 

The  32  boilers  now  installed  are  arranged  in 
four  groups,  with  eight  boilers  in  each  group,  the 
eight  boilers  being  those  on  the  first  and  second 
floors  directly  over  one  another.  The  group  near- 
est the  west  end  of  the  plant  is  intended  ultimately 
to  take  care  of  the  two  2,500-kilowatt  lighting  units 
there  to  he  installed.  The  other  three  groups  are 
each  capable  of  supplying  one  5.500-kilowatt  tur- 
bine unit.  The  ultimate  capacity  of  the  boiler 
house,  when  finally  extended,  will  be  06  boilers  of 
the    type    now    installed. 

[To  be  continued. ] 


276 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


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CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

Generators  of   10,000  Horsepower  on  Vertical  and  Horizontal 

Shafts.     By  Orrin  E.  Dunlap.      Illustrated . 

Overhead  Wiring  Conditions  in  Grand  Rapids,  Wis 271,  : 

Emmet's  System  for  Regulating  Turbo-generators.  Illustrated.  : 

Improvement  in  Motor  Field  Commutation.     Illustrated • 

Rebuilding  San  Francisco  Lighting  Plant : 

Steam-turbine  Investigation |.  . 

The  Pennsylvania  Railroads  Extension  to  New  York  City 
and  Long  Island— Long  Island  City  Power  Station.  Part  I. 
Illustrated rr 273,  274,  : 

Niagara's  "White  Coal" : 

Municipal  Ownership  without  Municipal   Operation  Approved 

at  Chicago  Election 1 

Electric-light  Plant  for  Culebra  and  Empire  in  Panama  Canal 

Zone.     With  map - 

Candidates  for  the    Institute  Presidency.     Portraits  of  E.  W. 

Rice,  Jr.,  and  Dr.  Samuel  Sheldon ; 

Navy  Department's  Work  with  Space  Telegraphy ; 

The  Copper  Market 2 

Largest  Power  Station  in  Japan 5 

Large  Gas-driven  Alternators  for  Johannesburg s 

Lyons  Domestic  Electricity  Exposition 2 

Obituary.— Deaths  of  Carl  von   Siemens,    J.    C.    Kafer,   J.   L. 

Breen.    Edward   Backus.    G.    M.    Brill,  J.  V.  Merrick,  R.  F. 

Yorke,  L,  H.  Cooper  and  G.  L.  Bradley 2 

Extensions   of    Allis-Chalmers    Company's    Works    at    West 

Allis,  Wis.     Illustrated 279,  2 

Electrolysis.     By  E.  E.  Brownell 280,  1 

How  the  Idea  of  the  Horizontal-vertical  Steam  Engine  Was 

Evolved 2 

Prevention  of  Ice  on  Third  Rail. 2 

Ohio  Independent  Telephone  Association  .         .... 

Discuss  Dual  Telephone  System  for  Milwaukee .'..'."   2 

Henry  T.  Scott,  President   of  the  Pacific   States  Telephone 

Company.     Portrait 2 

General  Telephone  News 2 

Indiana  Telephone  Items "     2 

Michigan  Telephone  Matters 2 

The  Telephone  on  the  Pacific  Slope 2 

Telephone  News  from  the  Northwest '2 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes 2 

Lower  Telephone   Rates  for  Chicago   Demanded  by  Illinois 

Manufacturers'  Association 2 

The  First  Independent  Telephone  Exchange % 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence 284,  285,  2; 

Great  Britain 2l 

New  England 3j 

New  York 284,  2! 

Ohio 2I 

Michigan .'.'285!  2I 

Central  Illinois 2! 

Northwestern  States 21 

Pacific  Slope 2f 

Personal 2( 

Electric  Lighting 28fi,  2! 

Electric  Railways 2l 

Power  Transmission 2f 

Publications 2( 

Societies  and  Schools 2i 

Miscellaneous 2i 

Trade  News 288.  2E 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record 2*0.  2- 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

According  to  what  are  said  lo  be  reliable  figures, 
one  out  of  every  500  persons  employed  by  the  rail- 
roads of  this  country  was  accidentally  killed  during 
the  year  1505.  One  out  of  every  24  was  injured  in 
some  degree.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  block 
system,  the  patent  coupler,  the  air  brake  and  kin- 
dred appliances  have  been  adopted  during  recent 
years  to  save  life  and  limb,  the  figures  seem  start- 
ling. Dr.  M.  H.  Thomas  of  Huntington,  Ind.,  state 
surgeon  of  the  National  First  Aid  Association,  in 
a  pamphlet  sent  out  to  steam  and  interurban  railway 
managers  of  the  state,  points  out  certain  deficiencies 
in  railroad  practice  which  he  thinks  can  be  readily 
eliminated  and  which  would  result  in  great  saving 
to  the  operating  companies.  He  would  instruct  the 
trainmen,  motormen  and  shopmen  in  "first-aid 
methods"  and  in  "accident  law  points"  so  they 
would  be  able  to  testify  in  a  competent  manner. 
He  also  urges  the  employment  of  a  skilled  surgeon 
to  work  with  the  legal  department  of  the  railroad. 
The  duty  of  this  official  would  be  to  assist  and 
advise  counsel  of  the  road  in  bringing  about  co- 
operation between  the  legal  and  surgical  staffs  and 
to  deal  directly  with  the  claimant.  Dr.  Thomas 
thinks  that  proper  instruction  to  the  trainmen  in 
first  aid  to  the  injured  and  on  points  of  accident 
law,  and  the  employment  by  the  claim  department 
of  medical  men  skilled  in  surgery  and  knowledge 
of  negligence  law,  would  result  in  a  net  saving  to 
a  railroad  company  of  at  least  20  per  cent,  of  the 
amount  now  spent  annually  in  payment  for  personal 
injuries  and  death  claims. 


Applied  electricity  has  many  uses,  and  they  are 
important,  but  when  it  comes  to  using  the  electric 
current  as  a  means  of  hazing  or  as  an  initiatory 
performance  at  a  secret-society  meeting  a  foolish 
step  has  been  taken,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that 
serious  results  may  ensue.  Among  some  of  the 
more  unrestrained  students  belonging  to  the  upper 
class  of  one  of  our  technical  institutions  recently 
it  was  felt  that  the  old  and  tried  methods  of  hazing 
were  hardly  adequate  to  the  occasion,  so  several 
under  classmen  were  subjected  to  strong  electric 
current  until  they  became  exhausted.  Such  hazard- 
ous tomfoolery  as  this  should  be  suppressed.  Elec- 
tricity is  not  a  tangible  thing;  it  is  not  to  be  "mon- 
keyed" with  by  those  who  do  not  bring  to  its  use 
a  certain  respect  and  intelligence.  Like  the  ma- 
gician's apprentice,  who  had  sufficient  skill  to  pro- 
duce a  flood  but  not  enough  to  stop  it,  persons  un- 
versed in  the  art  should  not  perform  any  electrical 
tricks  or  experiments,  unless  with  three  or  four 
cells  of  primary  battery,  save  under  the  eye  of  a 
competent  instructor.  Ordinarily  no  volts  may  be 
handled  without  serious  danger,  but  under  some 
circumstances  a  shock  at  this  -pressure  may  result 
in  severe  injury — possibly  death.  Some  persons  are 
able  to  stand  pressures  that  would  make  nervous 
wrecks  _out  of  others.  Then  there  is  always  un- 
certainty as  to  the  exact  quantity  of  current  and  the 
pressure  of  a  circuit  before  it  has  been  tested  with 
ammeter  and  voltmeter,  and  even  then  one  does  not 
know  at  what  moment,  from  some  outside  influ- 
ence, the  condition  of  the  circuit  may  be  entirely 
changed.  For  these  reasons  electricity  should  be 
let  severely  alone  by  all  hazers,  secret-society  initi- 
ating "teams"  and  practical  jokers.  Human  life 
should  net  be  subjected  to  needless  risk. 


DATES  AHEAD. 

Fond  du  Lac  Gas  and  Electrical  Show,  Armory  E,  Fond 
du   Lac,   Wis.,   April  9th  to    14th. 

Iowa  Electrical  Association  (annual  convention),  Kirk- 
wood  Hotel,  Des  Moines,  April    18th  and  19th. 

Iowa  Street  and  Interurban  Railway  Association  (annual 
convention),    Kirkwood    Hotel,    Des    Moines,    April    19th    and 

Texas  Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  meet- 
ing),  Waco,   Tex.,  April  25th,  26th  and  27th. 

American  Electrochemical  Society  (general  meeting*!, 
Ithaca   Hotel,   Ithaca,   N.   Y.,   May   1st  to  3d. 

Southwestern  Electrical  and  Gas  Association  (annual  con- 
vention),   Galveston,   Tex.,    May    16th,    17th    and    18th. 

Indiana  Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  meet- 
ing),   Claypool    Hotel,    Indianapolis,    May    17th   and    18th. 

National  Electric  Light  Association  "(annual  convention), 
Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  June  5th  to  8th,  inclusive. 

Canadian  Electrical  Association  (annual  convention) , 
Clifton  House,  Niagara  Falls,  Ont.,  June   19th,  20th  and  21st. 

National-Interstate  Telephone  Association  (second  annual 
convention),    Auditorium    Hotel,    Chicago,    June    26th,    27th 

National  Electrical  Contractors'  Association  (annual  con- 
vention). Cleveland,  Ohio,  July  t8th. 

Ohio  Electric  Light  Association  (annual  convention),  Put- 
in-Bay. Ohio.  August  21st  to  23d. 

American  Street  and  Interurban  Railway  Association  (an- 
nual   convention),    Columbus,    O.,    October    15th  to    20th. 


The  results  of  the  Chicago  municipal  elections 
of  April  3d  are  distinctly  encouraging  to  those  who 
believe  that  most  public-utility  undertakings  are  best 
conducted  when  left  to  private  initiative  and  pri- 
vate enterprise,  suitably  restricted  for  the  public 
good. 

There  are  several  reasons  for  this  hopeful  feeling. 
One  is  that  of  the  three  public-ownership  proposi- 
tions on  the  "little  ballot,"  one  failed  of  indorse- 
ment for  lack  of  the  necessary  number  of  votes. 
This  was  the  proposition  empowering  the  city  to 
operate  street  railways,  which  was  beaten  because 
it  failed  to  receive  three-fifths  of  all  the  votes  cast 
on    the   proposal. 

The  second  reason  is  that  while  the  other  two 
propositions  carried  (simple  majorities  only  being 
required),  the  vote  was  close,  showing  a  great  ad- 
vance in  favor  of  private  ownership  when  con- 
trasted  with   previous   votes  in  Chicago  ovenvhelm- 


April  7,    1906 

ingly  in  favor  of  municipal  ownership.  Mayor 
Dunne,  Chicago's  foremost  advocate  of  public  own- 
ership, is  reported  to  have  boasted,  before  election, 
that  the  vote  would  be  five  to  one  in  favor  of  his 
pet  policies.  But  in  reality  two  of  the  questions 
submitted  were  carried  by  bare  majorities,  and  the 
third,  which  received  more  votes  than  either  of 
the  others,  nevertheless  failed  because  it  did  not 
get  three-fifths  of  all,  as  required  by  law.  This 
showing  is  certainly  encouraging.  It  proves  that 
the  voters  are  studying  the  question ;  that  there  has 
been  a  reaction  from  the  pell-mell  shouting  and 
voting  for  municipal   ownership. 

A  third  reason  for  gratification  is  the  fact  that 
a  majority  of  the  aldermen  in  the  City  Council,  as 
it  now  stands,  seem  to  be  opposed  to  the  mayor's 
municipalization    plans. 

In  practical  result  the  election  bids  fair  further 
to  complicate  the  already  tangled  traction  situa- 
tion in  Chicago.  The  city  now,  apparently,  may 
neither  operate  the  street  railways  itself  nor  grant 
a  franchise  to  any  private  company  to  do  so.  The 
issue  of  $75,000,000  worth  of  "Mueller-law  certifi- 
cates" is  authorized,  but  there  is  grave  doubt 
whether  these  certificates  of  indebtedness  will  be 
held  to  be  valid  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state, 
and,  if  so,'  whether  capitalists  will  care  to  purchase 
them.  It  is  evident  that  the  era  of  uncertainty  and 
of  makeshift  arrangements  in  the  street-railway 
service  of  the  city  will  continue  for  some  time  to 
come.  Of  course,  it  is  conceivable  that  the  city 
may  succeed  in  raising  the  money  to  purchase  the 
roads  and  may  then  lease  them  to  operating  com- 
panies. But  would  not  this  contravene  the  wish  of 
the  voters  that  there  be  no  "franchise"  to  any  pri- 
vate company? 


A  pine  example  of  modern  power-station  design 
and  construction  is  afforded  by  the  Long  Island 
City  power  house  of  the  Pennsylvania,  New  York 
and  Long  Island  Railroad  Company,  a  comprehen- 
sive description  of  which  is  begun  in  this  number. 
The  company  named  is  an  organization  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  Company  operating  in  New  York 
state,  and  is  constructing  the  tunnel  under  the  Hud- 
son River  (east  of  the  boundary  between  the  states 
of  New  Jersey  and  New  York),  the  terminal  sta- 
tion and  yards  on  Manhattan  Island,  the  tunnel 
under  the  East  River  and  the  terminal,  vards  and 
connections  in  Long  Island  City.  Thus  the  power 
house  is  interesting  not  alone  in  itself  but  also  as 
a  part  of  the  Pennsylvania's  elaborate  terminal  ex- 
tension in  and  about  New  York  city— one  of  the 
most  important,  original  and  carefully  worked-out 
developments  of  modern  railroading.  The  first  unit 
to  be  completed  in  the  carrying  out  of  this  great 
work  is  the  electric  power  station  in  Long  Island 
City,  which  is  now  described. 

The  Pennsylvania  terminal  system  is  to  be  en- 
tirely operated  by  electric  power,  and  there  will 
be  two  main  generating  stations— one  in  New  Jer- 
sey and  the  other  in  Long  Island  City.  The  latter 
will  also  supply  power  for  the  Long  Island  Rail- 
road lines  as  fast  as  equipped.  This  power  house, 
with  its  initial  equipment  for  16,500  kilowatts  (ulti- 
mate capacity,  77,000  kilowatts),  was  needed  first, 
and  is  now  in  operation  supplying  current  for  the 
section  of  the  Long  Island  Railroad  between  Flat- 
bush  Terminal  and  Rockaway  Park. 

Both  in  general  conception  and  design,  and  in 
attention  to  detail  to  secure  the  greatest  economy 
and  efficiency  in  operation,  this  power  station  affords 
opportunity  for  careful  study.  Especially  interesting 
features  are  the  intake  for  condensing  water,  the 
arrangement  of  boiler  units  and  steam  piping,  the 
bold  methods  of  coal  and  ash  handling,  the  means 
adopted  to  prevent  the  galvanic  or  electrolytic 
action  of  the  salt  water  used  for  circulation  in  the 
condensers,  the  color  scheme  for  piping,  use  of 
storage  battery  to  provide  exciting  current,  dispo- 
sition of  the  current-controlling  apparatus  and  the 
system  of  signals  between  engine  attendant  and  elec- 
trical operator.  But  in  every  detail  the  equipment 
is  worthy  of  close  attention,  and  no  apology  is 
necessary  for  the  amount  of  space  which  the  West- 
ern Electrician  is  giving  to  this  advanced  specimen 
of  power-house  design. 

In  future  articles  we  hope  to  take  up  other  fea- 
tures of  the  Pennsylvania  electric-railway  extension 
at  the  New  York  city  terminal. 


April  7,    [906 

Niagara's  "White  Coal." 

The  Western  Electrician  lasl   wei  I    gave  il     I 

crs  tlic  substance  of  the  report  of  the  United  States 
section    of   the    International    Waterways    I 
sion,  which  has  been  laid  before  1 1  ■  >  ■  government  in 
Washington,   and    which    the    president    ha      tran 

ted  I"  <  iongress   with  a    favorable   rei nda 

lion,     In    Canada    then-    :  1 1 ' I •  • '»      "I    deal 

,,1  ,  itation  on  this  important  subject,  'I  he  itu 
ation  there  seems  to  I"'  that  the  power  companies 
wonder  what  the  Province  of  Ontario  is  going  to 
I,  Ontario  stands  in  fi:ir  of  the  Dominion,  and 
[he  Dominion  hardly  knows  "where  ii  is  at,"  in 
the  face  of  the  report  that  Sir  Mortimer  Durand, 
British  ambassador  al  Washington,  and  the  United 
States  arc  negotiating  a  treaty  for  the  prcserva 
ik, n  of  tin-  Falls  of  Niagara.  All  this  is  topped 
off  by  many  municipalities  in  Ontario  calling  upon 
the  government  to  develop  electric  power  foi  di 
tribution  to  the  municipalities,  this  to  be  accom- 
plished by  buying  up  one  of  the  present  Niagara 
plants  or  establishing  a  new  plant  at  Canadian 
Niagara,  which  latter  suggestion  does  not  indicate 
much  public  sentiment  for  the  preservation  of  Ni- 
agara   Falls. 

In  the  report  of  the  United  States  section  of  the 
International  Waterways  Commission  it  was  men- 
tioned that  there  were  some  differences  between 
the  American  and  Canadian  sections  of  the  com- 
mission, but  that  these  did  not  appear  to  be  in- 
superable. The  report  of  the  Canadian  section 
makes  it  look  as  though  there  might  be  quite  a 
serious  misunderstanding,  or  that  at  least  the  Ca- 
nadian commissioners  desire  that  the  United  States 
section  shall  come  to  them  clothed  with  more  au- 
thority than  they  now  possess  to  treat  upon  the 
international  waterways.  The  Canadians  think 
there  is  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  Americans 
to  railroad  through  an  agreement  about  Niagara, 
but  they  are  not  in  a  hurry  to  act,  and  it  does  not 
appear  as  though  public  sentiment  in  Canada  wants 
Niagara  "saved."  The  fact  is  that  public  senti- 
ment in  Canada  is  being  developed  for  the  full 
utilization  of  the  falls.  The  Toronto  Globe  preaches 
thus:  "Why  should  Ontario  suffer  from  a  soft- 
coal  strike  with  power  enough  to  turn  every  wheel 
in  the  province  going  to  waste  at  Niagara?  Put 
enough  harness  on  the  falls  and  cease  to  depend 
on  foreign  coal   for   factory  power." 

Often  in  Canada,  using  an  expressive  phrase 
coined  in  France,  the  power  of  Niagara  is  referred 
to  as  "white  coal,"  which,  in  the  light  of  the  coal- 
strike  situation,  is  suggestive  of  independence.  The 
United  States  section  of  the  commission  advises  no 
further  diversion  of  the  waters  of  the  Niagara, 
but  the  Canadian  report,  in  substance,  asserts  that 
to  the  415,000  horsepower  to  be  developed  by  the 
works  on  the  three  Canadian  companies,  frequently 
mentioned,  from  200,000  to  400,000  additional  horse- 
power can  be  "harnessed"  without  in  any  way  im- 
pairing the  scenic  beauty  of  the  Falls  of  Niagara, 
and  it  is  recommended  that  until  the  consequences 
of  the  works  actually  under  construction  are  known, 
no  arrangement  whatever  be  made  with  the  United 
States    government. 

It  is  also  contended  that  if  the  Falls  are  im- 
paired in  beauty  today,  the  mischief  is  done  on 
the  American  side,  as  the  power  companies  in  New 
York  state  have  all  their  intakes  above  the  rapids 
at  which  the  Falls  commence.  On  the  other  hand, 
not  one  of  the  three  Canadian  companies  has  an 
intake  above  the  rapids.  One — the  Ontario  Power 
Company — takes  its  water  at  the  crest,  and  the 
other  two  below  the  crest.  The  report  further 
recommends  that,  inasmuch  as  the  demand  for 
power  from  the  Canadian  companies  will  be  limited 
for  some  time,  it  would  be  good  policy  not  to 
permit  any  other  companies  holding  Canadian  char- 
ters, which  have  not  yet  commenced  operations,  to 
proceed  with  their  works,  but  that  their  charters 
be  canceled,  and  none  others  be  granted  until  the 
actual  condition  of  affairs,  as  shown  by  the  com- 
pleted works  of  the  present  companies  is  known. 
It  is  further  stated  in  the  report  that,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  commissioners,  it  is  not  advisable 
to  make  any  treaty  with  the  United  States  in  ref- 
erence to  Niagara  alone,  but  that  any  international 
arrangement  must  embrace  all  the  waters  adjacent 
to  both  countries,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
and  that  the  duration  of  the  treaty  shall  not  ex- 
ceed  25   or   30  years. 

In  an  address  before  the  Toronto  Board  of  Trade, 
Hon.  Adam  Beck,  chairman  of  the  Municipal  Power 
Commission,  estimated  that  500,000  people  may  eas- 
ily be  supplied  with  electric  power  from  Niagara 
Falls  if  the  available  power  is  developed,  and  said, 
"Our  friends  in  the  United  States  need  not  be  so 
concerned  as  they  profess  to  be."    He  did  not  be- 


VVESTERN     i.l.i  1     R 

Ifcvi    111   prohibiting   the   export   ol 

would    work   an   injustice   to   those   who   1 

"(.coo    and      $40,0.., 000       He 

:"'1   th 

pi  ,   I,.., 

1" 

000  to  thi    provim        [I    would   ■  ■■  1   tj    pel 

power  ii    from    Niagai 

but,  he 

$.15  pei  hoi 

ngi    trai tting    and   diltribi 

hoi  epi 

U    WOUld    be    $9,354,000,    and    for    100,000 

$11,909,000.     Power     for    manufacturing     pi 
could   be     upplied    foi    $17    p 
estimates    making   it    $15    pei 

du 1    2     1 uld    b 

lighting,  and  the  1  il     of    1  oronl lid   n  d 

'"i  ol  an  lamp  from  $65  to  $40  a  year.  All 
told,  there  would  be  a  aving  of  $1,850,000  to  the 
municipal    interests. 

*   meeting  of  the  1 1  1    ion  1     to  be  held 

in  Buffalo  on  Vpril  26th  for  the  purpose  of  at- 
tempting  to  adjust    Mich   differences   as   no» 

between    the    two    sections. 


Municipal  Ownership  without  Municipal 

Operation  Approved  at  Chicago 

Election. 

\t  the  municipal  election  of  April  3d  the  citizens 
of  Chicago  approved  the  ordinance  authorizing  the 
city  to  issue  Mueller-law  certificates  to  the  amount 
of  $75,000,000  by  the  narrow  majority  of  3,339  in 
a  total  vote  of  216,677.  Likewise,  the  prop 
"Shall  the  city  of  Chicago  proceed  to  operate  street 
railways?"  received  a  majority  of  10,651  vote-,  out 
of  a  total  vote  of  231,171.  In  this  case,  however, 
three-fifths  of  the  votes  cast  were  necessary  to 
carry  the  measure,  by  law,  so  that  the  operation 
clause  failed  to  reach  the  required  number  of  votes 
by  17,792. 

The  third  proposition  on  the  "little  ballot"  re- 
lated to  a  question  of  public  policy,  as  to  whether 
the  City  Council  should  proceed  to  secure  mu- 
nicipal ownership  and  operation  under  the  Mueller 
law  rather  than  to  grant  franchise  ordinances  to 
private  companies.  Here,  too,  the  municipal-own- 
ership  idea   carried   by  a   majority   of   3,837. 

The  questions  voted  upon  and  the  votes  for  and 
against  are  as  follows : 

Shall  the  City  of  Cliicak-o  proceed  to  operate  street  railways? 

For 120,911 

Against 110.260 

Lacking  60  per  cent,  of  votes  cast,  necessary  to  pass 17,792 

Shall  the  ordinance  entitled  "An  Ordinance  authorizing  the  City  of 
Chicago  to  construct,  acauire,  purchase,  own  and  maintain  street 
railways  within  its  corporate  limits  and  providing  the  means 
therefor"  passed  by  the  City  Council  of  said  city  on  the  18th  day 
of  January,  A.  D.  1906.  making  provision  for  the  issue  of  Street 
Railway  Certificates  not  to  exceed  in  amount  S75, 000,000  be  ap- 
proved? 

For 1 10,008 

Against 106.669 

Majority 3,339 

Proposed  question  of  public  policy— Shall  the  City  Council  pro- 
ceed without  delay  to  secure  Municipal  Ownership  and  operation 
of  all  Street  Railways  in  Chicago  under  the  Muller  Law.  instead 
of  passing  the  pending  franchise  ordinances  or  any  other  ordi- 
nances granting  franchises  to  private  companies? 

For 111.S62 

Against 108.025 

Majority 3,837 

The  daily  papers  figure  that  the  new  City  Council 
will  stand  from  25  to  28  with  the  mayo/  in  favor 
of  municipal  ownership,  32  to  35  against  the  mayor 
and  10  doubtful. 

The  city  having  acquired  the  power  to  own  but 
not  to  operate  the  street  railways  adds  another 
complication  to  the  already  tangled  situation.  What 
the  next  move  of  the  mayor  and  his  adherents 
to  be  seen. 


The  full  text  of  the  opinion  of  the  Supreme 
Court  in  the  99-year  case  has  been  issued.  It  only 
strengthens  the  impression  given  by  the  syllabus 
printed  in  the  Western  Electrician  of  March  17th, 
denying  the  claims  of  the  Chicago  Union  Traction 
Company  and  the  Chicago  City  Railway  Companv 
to  long-term  franchises  in  streets  of  Chicago.  The 
companies'  rights  in  the  streets  are  governed  ex- 
clusively by  the   franchises   granted  by  the  city. 

The  city  ordinance  of  October,  1905,  on  street- 
car crowding  has  been  declared  invalid  by  Judge 
Mack,  who  granted  an  injunction  to  the  City  Rail- 
way Company,  nullifying,  for  the  present,  about 
500  pending  justice-court  suits  against  the  com- 
panies.    The  case  will  be  appealed  by  the  city. 


Electrlc-llght    Plant     for    Culebra    and 
Empire  In  the  Panama  Canal  Zone. 

pitted    ■  a  ill    be    mad' 

both    for    lightinit   an'.' 

and    pos  libljr    ih--    Mil 

lighting  the   bull 
plant    1 

found  of  interi 

13th,    a«   an- 
liids    upon    the   appar 
D.    W 


It  is  reported  that  on  March  28th  572  words 
were  sent  by  the  DeForest  space-telegraph  system 
from  Coney  Island  and  recorded  on  the  coast  of 
Ireland,  3,200  miles  away.  A  total  of  1,000  words 
were  sent,  of  which  the  above  number  were  re- 
corded. The  messages  were  sent  in  various 
"tunes"    to   ascertain    the   best. 


MAP    ok    PANAM 

ton,   I).    C.      I  he   two 

gether,  as  seen  by  the  accompanying  map  of  the 
Canal  Zone,  and  may  conveniently  be  supplied  with 
current   from  a  plant   situated  at  cither  place. 

Two  generating  sets  of  100  kilowatts  each  will 
be  required,  the  generator-  to  be  direct  connected 
to  steam  engine-.  These  are  to  develop  two-phase 
60-cycle  current  at  2.200  volts.  Each  engine  will 
be  of  the  vertical,  single-acting  automatic  compound 
type  and  13  and  22  by  13  inches  in  dimensions.  The 
generators  shall  be  capable  of  running  at  an  over- 
load of  50  per  cent,  for  two  hours  continuously, 
with  a  ri-c  of  themperature  not  greater  than 
35°  C. 

Exciting  current  will  be  obtained  from  either  of 
two  separate  sources.  One  of  these  is  a  motor- 
generator  set  operating  from  the  system.  This 
will  consist  of  a  15-kilowatt  125-volt  compound- 
wound  multipolar  direct-current  generator  direct 
connected  to  a  25-horsepower  two-phase  60-cycle 
200-volt  induction  motor  operating  at  850  revolu- 
tions per  minute.  The  other  set  will  be  a  steam- 
driven  one  consisting  of  a  15-kilowatt  generator 
similar  to  the  one  above  and  driven  by  a  7'j  by 
seven-inch   vertical   steam   engine. 

The  switchboard  will  include  two  two-phase  2.200- 
volt  generator  panels,  each  complete  with  lamp 
bracket  and  shade.  60-ampere  ammeter,  polyphase 
indicating  wattmeter,  field  ammeter,  synchronizer 
switches,  etc.:  two  two-phase  feeder  panels:  one 
two-phase  load  panel,  and  two  exciter  panels.  A 
swinging-bracket  synchroscope  and  swinging-bracket 
voltmeters   will   be   installed. 

Sixty-three  transformers  will  be  required  of  the 
following  capacities :  Three  of  10  kilowatts :  12  of 
five  kilowatts ;  20  of  three  kilowatts ;  22  of  two 
kilowatts,  and  six  of  one  kilowatt.  They  are  to  be 
oil-insulated  and  wound  for  a  primary  voltage  of 
1,050-2.100  volts  and  a  secondary  voltage  of  105- 
210-440  volts. 

Steam-generating  equipment  is  to  include  three 
vertical  tubular  boilers  of  120  horsepower  each, 
designed  to  operate  at  a  steam  pressure  of  125 
pounds  gauge  per  square  inch.  One  boiler  horse- 
power is  here  considered  equivalent  to  the  evapora- 
tion of  34.5  pounds  of  steam  from  and  at  212°  F. 
Each  boiler  is  to  have  not  less  than  1.200  square 
feet  of  heating  surface.  Two  duplex  boiler  feed 
pumps  will  be  installed,  one  combination  350-horse- 
power  vacuum  feed-water  heater,  purifier,  filter 
and  receiver  complete  and  one  condenser  equipment. 
The  last-named  must  be  capable  of  condensing 
7,500  pounds  of  steam  an  hour,  and  of  maintaining 
a  vacuum  of  2$  inches  with  circulating  water  at 
92°  F. 

The  boiler  house  is  to  be  equipped  with  a  self- 
supporting  steel  stack  90  feet  high  and  54  inches  in 
diameter. 

Bids  are  asked  also  upon  a  considerable  quantity 
of  line  material,  among  the  most  important  items 
being  the  following:  95,000  feet  of  aluminum  con- 
ductor wire ;  800  feet  of  aluminum  tie  wire :  2,000 
triple-petticoated  2.200-volt  grooved  insulators;  450 
wood  cross-arms:  1.800  locust  cross-arm  pins.  etc. 
A  large  amount  of  interior-wiring  material  will  also 
be  needed,  such  as  rosettes,  key  sockets,  cleats, 
plugs,   knife    switches,   receptacles,   etc. 


278 

The  Candidates  for  the  Institute  Presi- 
dency. 

Two  candidates  for  the  office  of  president  of 
the  American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers 
have  been  nominated  by  the  directors  of  that  organ- 
ization. They  are  E.  W.  Rice,  Jr.,  of  Schenec- 
tady, and  Dr.  Samuel  Sheldon  of  Brooklyn.  The 
election  will  be  by  letter  ballot  and  will  be  an- 
nounced at  the  annual  meeting  on  May  15th. 
Portraits  and  brief  biographical  data  of  the  can- 
didates are  here  presented. 

Edwin  Wilbur  Rice,  Jr.,  is  third  vice-president 
and  technical  director  of  the  General  Electric 
Company.  He  was  born  in  1862  and  graduated 
from  the  Central  High  School  of  Philadelphia  in 
1880.  He  associated  himself  with  his  former 
teacher,  Prof.  Elihu  Thomson,  in  electrical  investi- 
gations, and  a  few  years  later  became  superintend- 


ent of  the  Thomson-Houston  works  at  Lynn.  In 
1893  he  was  made  chief  engineer  of  the  theji  re- 
cently organized  General  Electric  Company.  Three 
years  later  he  became  third  vice-president  of  the 
company.  Mr,  Rice  has  been  associated  with  elec- 
tric-railway and  lighting  development  almost  from 
the  beginning.  He  was  the  first  to  advocate  flex- 
ible motor  suspension  for  electric-railway  cars. 
He  has  had  much  to  do  with  the  development  of 
devices  and  methods  for  handling  and  controlling 
high-tension  currents.  More  than  100  patents  have 
been  issued'  to  him  in  the  United  States.  He  is  a 
member  of  several  scientific  and  technical  societies. 
After  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1900  he  was  created 
a  chevalier  of  the  (French)  Legion  of  Honor,  and 
in  1903  Harvard  conferred  on  him  the  honorary 
degree   of  master  of  arts. 

Samuel  Sheldon,  A.  M.,  Ph.  D.,  was  born  in 
Middlebury,  Conn.,  in  1862  and  graduated  from 
Middlebury  College  in  1883.  He  received  his  mas- 
ter's   degree    from    his    alma    mater    in    1886.      He 


DR.    SAMUEL    SHELDON. 

went  to  Germany  and  was  assistant  to  Prof.  Kohl- 
rausch  at  Wurzburg  in  the  historic  determination 
of  the  value  of  the  ohm.  The  University  of  Wiirz- 
burg  conferred  the  degree  of  Ph.  D.  on  him  in 
1888.  He  was  assistant  in  physics  at  Harvard  in 
1888  and  1889.  Since  the  latter  year  he  has  been 
professor  of  physics  and  electrical  engineering  in  the 
Polytechnic  Institute  of  Brooklyn.  Since  1903  he 
has  been  retained  as  a  consulting  expert  in  the 
United  States  by  the  Swiss  government.  Dr.  Shel- 
don is  a  member  of  several  scientific  societies  and 
was  a  member  of  the  international  electrical  jury 
of    awards    at    the    St.    Louis    Exposition.      He    is 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

author  of  "Dynamo-electric  Machinery"  ( 1900) 
and  joint  author  of  "Alternating-current  Machines" 
(1902).  He  is  also  a  well-known  member  of  the 
D.  K.  E.  college  fraternity. 


It  is  reported  that  in  the  nominations  for  the 
presidency  Mr.  Rice  received  the  support  of  551 
members  and  Dr.   Sheldon  of  408. 

Milwaukee  has  been  selected  as  the  location  for 
the  annual  convention. 


Navy  Department's  Work  with  Space 
Telegraphy. 

A  large  number  of  the  members  of  the  Wash- 
ington Society  of  Engineers  at  a  recent  meeting 
were  the  witnesses  of  various  demonstrations  of 
space-telegraph  apparatus  by  experimenters  from  the 
army  and  navy  departments  of  the  government. 

Lieutenant-commander  S.  S.  Robison,  United 
States  Navy,  told  of  the  work  of  the  Navy  De- 
partment in  wireless  telegraphy.  The  department 
now  has  about  35  land  stations  working,  and  about 
50  stations  aboard  ships.  Plans  are  being  made 
for  still  more.  Several  years  ago,  he  said,  a  board 
was  appointed  to  consider  the  question,  and  gave 
its  development  to  the  Navy  Department,  with  an 
order  to  construct  a  chain  of  stations  along  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  coasts  of  the  United  States, 
in  the  canal  zone  and  the  Philippine  Islands,  and 
providing  ships  with  the  apparatus.  That  work 
has  been  partially  accomplished.  On  the  Atlantic 
coast  there  are  stations  at  Portland,  Me.;  Ports- 
mouth, Boston,  Cape  Cod,  Newport,  Montauk,  New 
York  navy  yard,  Navesink,  Annapolis,  Washing- 
ton, Cape  Henry,  Norfolk,  Diamond  Shoals  Point, 
Charlestown,  St.  Augustine.  Key  West,  Pensacola, 
.Cuba,.  Porto  Rico,  New  Orleans  and  Colon.  On 
the  Pacific  coast  there  are  stations  at  San  Diego, 
near  Santa  Barbara,  Farallone  Islands,  off  the 
Golden  Gate;  Goat  Island,  in  San  Francisco  Bay; 
Mare  Island.  Three  or  four  others  are  to  be  built 
farther  north.  There  is  one  at  Honolulu,  one  on 
the  island  of  Guam,  and  another  at  Cavite,  in  the 
Philippines.  Others  are  designed,  so  that  the  com- 
mander of  the  Pacific  squadron  can  always  be  in 
touch  with  his  ships  on  the  ocean. 
.  Tests  made  by  the  department  so  far  demonstrate 
several  things  of  a  peculiar  nature.  Messages  can 
be  transmitted  better  at  night  than  in  the  daytime  ; 
better  over  water  than  over  land,  and  better  over 
land  with  long  waves  than  with  short  waves.  In 
tests  made  between  Key  West  and  Colon,  about 
1,060  miles,  communications  were  carried  on  at 
night,  but  not  ill  the  daytime,  and  the  same  re- 
sults were  obtained  between  Key  West  and  San 
Juan.  .  The  longest  distance  over  which  ships  have 
communicated  at  night  is  1,200  miles.  The  present 
aim,  he  said,  is  reliable  communication,  night  or 
day,    at    200    miles. 

Lieutenant-commander  L.  A.  Kaiser,  United 
States  Navy,  gave  a  description  of  the  wireless- 
telegraph  station  at  the  Washington  navy  yard. 
Many  changes  are  being  made  there  all  the  time, 
and  better  results  are  being  obtained_  as  the  ex- 
periments continue.  He  gave  a  description  of  the 
possibilities  of  space  telegraphy  in  time  of  war. 
With  scout  ships  fitted  with  the  apparatus,  the 
American  fleet  and  Washington  could  be  kept  in 
touch  with  the  whereabouts  of  the  enemy  all  the 
time,  through  messages  sent  from  the  scout  ships. 
The  question  of  secrecy  is  not  serious,  as  a  code 
can  always  be  used.  The  greatest  danger  is  from 
interference  with  the  enemy  through  the  medium 
of  their  wireless  apparatus. 

Major  Edward  Russell,  United  States  Army,  told 
of  the  work  done  by  the  Signal  Corps.  The  corps 
made  its  first  experiments  in  1899,  and  sent  mes- 
sages from  the  War  Department  here  to  Fort 
Meyer,  three  miles.  In  1902  the  Signal  Corps  used 
instruments  in  the  maneuvers  between  the  land  and 
sea  forces,  and  a  scout  boat  sent  out  to  sea  for 
20  or  30  miles  from  Fort  Mansfield,  where  a 
wireless  station  was  established,  gave  notice  of  the 
approach    of    the    enemy's    fleet. 

One  of  the  best  tests  of  the  system  has  been 
between  St.  Michael  and  Nome,  in  Alaska.  Com- 
munication was  first  established  there  in  1904,  and 
since  then,  on  account  of  the  breaking  of  the  cable, 
the  wireless  has  been  carrying  all  messages  between 
those  two  points. 


The  Copper  Market. 

A  heavy  business  was  transacted  in  copper  during 
the  month  of  March.  The  last  days  of  the  month 
saw  the  prices  practically  constant  at  18.62  to  18.75 
cents  a  pound  for  Lake  and  18.25  to  18.50  for  elec- 
trolytic. It  is  said  that  consumers  have  booked 
unusually  large  orders  and  have  consequently  en- 
tered the  market  and  bought  heavily.  The  prevail- 
ing high  prices  are  believed  to  be  stable  and  the 
result  of  legitimate  demand.  Not  only  is  copper 
in  increasing  demand  for  electrical  purposes  but 
the  demand  in  other  directions  is  great;  notably  in 
shipbuilding.  Exports  for  the  month  were  unusu- 
ally small,  being  only  13,936  tons.  From  present 
indications  it  would  not  be  surprising  to  see  prices 
reach   a  still  higher  figure. 


April  7,  1006 

Largest  Power  Station  in  Japan. 

Electrical  activity  in  Japan  is  again  demonstrated, 
by  the  installation  of  the  largest  electrical  gener- 
ating station  in  the  empire,  which  the  Tokio  Elec- 
tric Light  Company  now  has  under  construction. 
This  company  already  operates  a  steam-driven  plant 
ill  the  city  of  Tokio,  and  the  new  plant  will  meet 
the  increasing  demand  for  power.  The  new  plant, 
contracts  for  which  have  been  recently  closed,  is 
located  on  the  Tamagawa  River,  about  25  miles 
from  Tokio,  with  which  it  will  be  connected  by 
high-tension  transmission  lines,  operating  at  a  higher 
voltage  than  has  been  attempted,  heretofore,  in 
Japan. 

At  the  station  the  main  generating  apparatus 
will  consist  of  five  3,900-kiIowatt  Siemens-Halske 
machines,  direct  connected  to  waterwheels  made  by 
Escher-Wyss  &  Co.  The  generators  will  deliver 
50-cycle  current  at  6,600  volts.  All  high-tension 
switches  are  of  the  General  Electric  H3  oil  type, 
motor-operated  and  electrically  controlled  from  a 
separate  five-panel  bench  board.  This  system  of 
remote  control  is  also  carried  out  for  the  rheo- 
stats and  circuit-breakers,  which  are  also  operated 
from  the  bench  board.  This  switchboard  will  be 
furnished  by  the  General  Electric  Company,  and 
is  similar  to  one  used  in  the  New  York  Interbor- 
ough  Station.  The  transformer  equipment  at  the 
generating  end  of  the  line  consists  of  nine  2,000- 
kilowatt  General  Electric  transformers,  arranged 
for  stepping  up  the  voltage  to  35,000  for  transmis- 
sion when  connected  in  delta  or  57,000  when  Y 
connected.  For  the  present  the  current  will  be 
transmitted  at  about  40,000  volts,  but  eventually 
60,000-volt   transmission    is    planned. 

The  receiving  station  will  be  located  just  out- 
side the  city  and  will  contain  the  main  step-down 
transformers,  which  are  also  furnished  by  the  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company.  The  initial  installation  for 
the  sub-station  will  consist  of  nine  1,800-kilowatt 
units,  adapted  to  step  down  the  voltages  from  either 
33,000  or  57,000  to  11,000  volts.  The  arrangement 
is  thus  suitable  for  the  transmission  voltage  which 
is  at  present  planned,  and  likewise  will  meet  future 
needs  when  the  transmission  voltage  is  increased 
to  60,000.  In  the  sub-station,  as  in  the  main  gen- 
erating plant,  the  switchboard  will  be  furnished  by 
the  General  Electric  Company.  From  this  station 
on  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  all  wires  will  be  laid 
underground  to  various  small  distributing  stations 
located  about  the  city,  transmission  being  at  11,000 
volts.  As  in  the  case  of  all  electrical  installations 
in  Japan,  the  work  is  subject  to  a  rigid  govern- 
ment inspection  both  before  and  after  construction. 
Governmental  approval  having  been  obtained  on  the 
plans,  and  the  station  built,  another  careful  inspec- 
tion must  be  passed  before  the  plant  can  be  op- 
erated commercially.  This  rule  is  an  interesting 
one  and  covers  all  work  of  this  character,  whether 
it  is  fostered  by  private  companies  or  the  Japanese 
government. 


Large    Gas-driven    Alternators  for 
Johannesburg. 

One  of  the  notable  features  of  the  light  and 
power  plant  now  being  built  at  Johannesburg, 
S.  A.,  is  the  use  of  unusually  large  two-phase  al- 
ternators, which  are  being  built  at  the  Stafford 
works  of  Siemens  Bros.  &  Co.  in  England.  Two 
of  these  machines  have  just  been  completed,  and 
they  form  good  examples  of  slow-speed  alternat- 
ing-current practice.  These  alternators  are  to  be 
driven  directly  by.  Oechelhauser  gas  engines.  They 
are  designed  for  an  output  of  1,800  kilovolt-am- 
peres  at  3,300  volts,  two-phase,  50  periods,  with  a 
speed  of  100  revolutions  a  minute.  They  are  to 
work  on  a  power  factor  of  0.75,  with  275  amperes 
to  each  phase.  In  testing  these  two  machines  the 
Uopkjnson  method  was  used,  and  it  is  said  that 
this  was  the  first  time  the  method  has  ever  been 
applied  to  such  large  units.  One  machine  was  run 
as  a  generator,  delivering  current  to  the  second 
as  a  motor,  which  was  in  turn  belted  to  the  first. 
To  make  up  the  losses  a  150-horsepower  motor 
was   also  belted  to  the  generator. 


Lyons  Domestic  Electricity  Exposition. 

During  the  months  of  July  and  August,  1906, 
there  will  be  held  in  Lyons,  France,  a  general 
exposition  of  all  electrical  devices  that  can  be  ap- 
plied to  domestic  uses.  It  will  be  conducted  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Agricultural  and  Scientific  As- 
sociation of  Lyons,  and  no  motor  will  be  accepted 
for  exhibition  which  is  over  one  horsepower.  The 
object  of  the  exhibition  is  to  bring  cheap  electrical 
appliances  nearer  to  the  people  in  order  that  the 
great  mass  may  derive  some  benefit  from  them — 
motors  that  may  be  used  on  embroidery,  sewing 
and  knitting  machines,  ventilators,  vacuum  carpet 
and  rug  cleaners,  house-cleaning  machines,  floor 
polishers,  carts  for  transporting  objects,  turning 
spits  in  cooking,  etc.  Motors  for  weaving  are  ex- 
cluded. They  have  been  In  use  in  and  around 
Lyons  for  the  last  three  years,  and  it  is  deemed 
advisable  to  have  an  exhibition  at  an  early  day 
expressly  for  such  motors.  Americans  wishing  in- 
formation may  apply  directly  to  J.  C.  Covert, 
United    States   consul   at   Lyons. 


April  7,    [906 

OBITUARY. 

Carl  von  Siemens. 
Carl   i"i;   Sh  ni<  11 1,  brothei   of  thi    late   Sii    Will 

mm     Siemens    and    Dr.    E,    Wernci     von    Sii  1 

died  in  Mcntone,  France,  "ii  March  21  1  of  in 
llammaiimi  of  tin  lungs.  Mi  w.i  born  in  iKjij 
;ii  Menzcndorf,  in  Mecklenburg,  German,  and  hia 
brothers  owe  much  t..  him  [or  the  energy  with 
which  In-  helped  in  further  the  practical  application 
nf  their  inventions,  especially  in  Russia.  The  bu 
ness  "I  Messrs.  Siemens  in  St.  Petersburg,  Ru  ia, 
has  been  conducted  by  him  since  (854,  with  the 
exception  <if  11  years,  when  lie  assisted  in  directing 
affairs  ai  the  I. Ion  establishment,  Me  was  chair- 
nun  nf  Messrs.  Siemens  Brothers  &  Co.  .i  tin 
lime  .if  his  death.  The  network  nf  telegraph  lines 
which  covers  Russia  was  laid  by  Carl  Siemens  foi 
the  Russian  government,  lie  was  personally  in. 
charge  "f  the  laying  nf  the  dirccl  United  States 
cable,  the  lirsi  one  contracted  foi  In  the  firm  "i 
Siemens    Brothers,   and   also   was   the   first   to  suc- 

eeeil      ill     fishing     n|i     llle     broken     en. I     nf     t  Ills     Same 

cable  from  the  greatest  depth  of  the  north  Atlantic 
\i  ii,,  time  of  liis  death  lie  was  a  partner  in  the 
firm  nf  Siemens  &  Halskc  of  Berlin.  Si.  Peters 
burg  and  Vienna.  Hereditary  rank  nf  nobility  was 
conferred    mi    him    in    Russia    in    1X.15 


John  C.  Kafer. 

John  Christian  Kafer,  a  naval  and  mechanical 
engineer  and  a  past-president  nf  the  Engineers' 
t'luli  in  New  York  city,  died  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  mi 
March  v>th.  His  death  was  unexpected,  though  his 
health  had  been  poor  for  two  or  three  years.  Mr. 
Kafer  was  born  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  on  December 
27,  1842.  He  was  a  past  assistant  engineer  of  the 
United  States  Navy  and  a  member  of  the  Ameri- 
can Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers,  of  which  he 
was  vice-president  in  1897-1899.  He  had  lately 
formed  the  consulting  firm  of  Kafer,  Mattice  & 
Warren.  He  was  greatly  interested  in  the  new 
United   Engineering  Building. 

Joseph  L.  Breen. 

Joseph  L.  Breen,  general  manager  of  the  Peo- 
ple's Railway  Company  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  was  ac- 
cidentally killed  on  March  29th  while  riding  on 
the  platform  of  one  of  bis  own  cars.  Crossing 
the  Miami  River  on  a  temporary  bridge  at  Wash- 
ington Street,  he  leaned  out  to  look  forward  and 
was  struck  by  a  post.  He  was  knocked  from  the 
car  and  into  the  river.  Mr.  Breen  was  about  40 
years  old  and  a  Virginian  by  birth.  He  entered 
the  street-railway  service  in  Philadelphia  and  went 
from  there  to  Chicago.  Several  years  ago  he  went 
to  Dayton  to  take  charge  of  the  People's  line  as 
general  manager. 

Edward  Backus. 

Edward  Backus,  commissioner  of  electric  lights 
and  lines  in  Somerville,  Mass.,  died  at  his  home 
in  that  city  on  March  26th.  He  was  born  in  Cam- 
bridgport,  Mass.,  August  9,  1849.  Mr.  Backus  be- 
gan work  as  an  electrician  in  1874.  He  was  em- 
ployed by  the  Bell  Telephone  Company  for  12 
years.  In  1889  he  was  appointed  superintendent  of 
the  Somerville  fire-alarm  telegraphs,  serving  for 
three  years,  when  he  accepted  a  like  position  in 
Cambridge.  He  was  appointed  commissioner  of  the 
Somerville  electric  lights  and  lines  in  1895.  His 
wife,   a   son   and   a   daughter   survive   him. 


G.  Martin  Brill. 

G.  Martin  Brill,  president  of  the' J.  G.  Brill  Com- 
pany of  Philadelphia,  builder  of  street-railway  cars 
and  trucks,  died  on  March  31st  at  the  age  of  62 
years.  Mr.  Brill  was  the  son  of  J.  G.  Brill  and 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  company  which 
bears  his  father's  name.  Mr.  Brill  was  stricken 
suddenly  with  heart  disease  the  day  before  his 
death  and  remained  unconscious  to  the  end.  Sur- 
viving him  are  his  wife,  one  son,  Herman  Brill, 
and  three  daughters. 


J.  V.  Merrick. 

J.  Vaughn  Merrick,  who  had  charge  of  the  de- 
signing of  machinery  and  marine  engines  used  in 
the  government  vessels  during  the  Civil  War,  and 
was  appointed  in  1862  to  the  board  of  experts  of 
the  Navy  Department  to  report  on  naval  machinery, 
died  in  Philadelphia  on  March  28th.  He  was  78 
years  old  and  was  a  member  of  the  Franklin  In- 
stitute and  the  American  Society  of  Mechanical 
Engineers,  having  been   vice-president   of  the  latter 


WESTERN     I-.I.I-.'  II" 
1     11b  equi  nily    in    the    Midi: 

npro 

I    in 

Leon  H.  Cooper. 

1 

1  ompan      if  Li 

hi     "N [arc!     27th     Mr    1  ooper   had    iuI 

fcred  from  I  1  blc   and   bad 

hit    life   with 
poi  mi       II.      vfl       ;' 

the   1  i"  ml  nf  the   M 

.11      in  mill,    oi     fechnolog 
eh  ctrii  ian 

George  L.  Bradley. 

George   Lothrop   Bradli  y,     aid   to   ! 
organizer   of    the     Vmi  rii  an    Bell 

pan;    and   to   Im-. timi    1 

ill.      b ick,   died    m  ton     D    I        ti    March 

26th.     He   was  to  v.. 11 

bis  death  a  directoi  of  the  American    I 

Telegraph   ( lompany. 


Extensions  of    Alliss-Chalmers  Com- 
pany's Works  at  West  Allls,  Wis. 

New  extensions  to  the  Wesl  Albs.  Milwaukee, 
Works  nf  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company,  which, 
when  completed,  will  add  861,000  square  feel  to  the 
plant's  present  llnnr  area  nf  652.000  square  fe. 
make  the  entire  plant  capable  nf  affording  1  n 
menl  In  11.000  persons,  will  place  the  W.st  Alii. 
Works  among  the  large  industrial  plants  nf  the 
country.      The    extensions    built    are    as     foil 


., 

,"1'  1    llllili 

ill 

3*£m 

ikl  1 

third    nf     nun 

■111    equipment    <,f    ihn 

.: -1-inch 
•  thcr   with   a    I 

■  vine     :,     15/, 

'.,    nf    1,000    l- 
a   minute,   supplying  at   a   pi 

in  lb,-  nub   I'm 

The  new    equipment   for   furnishing   power 

. 
Reynolds    vertical    en  engine, 

lowatt  Bulloc'. 
current  generator  and  an  All 
pound  air  compressor. 

In    the    boiler    house    ti'.'     I  l>oilrrs 

with    a  if   3,293    :,„,]    ;, 

heating  ■    ,-ach  'will   re 

ive   Reynolds  96-inch   vertical   tubular  boilers. 

;inK  876  horsepower,  which  will  be  installed 

I    the    R  Ii;    1       1    rks       Tin-    new  boilers    will   be 

I   in  connection   with  Jones  under-fe 


Erectic 
NEW 


Fie.  2.     Generating  l'r 
SHOPS   OF   ALL IS-CHALMERS   COMPANY. 


Reginald  F.  Yorke. 

Reginald  F.  Yorke  died  recently  in  England. 
He  was  the  son  of  Admiral  Reginald  Yorke  and 
was  born  in  1862.  He  early  became  interested  in 
telegraphic  work  and  was  at  one  time  employed 
by  the  Eastern  Telegraph  Company  at  Porthcurnow, 


Three  machine  shops  running  east  and  west,  par- 
allel to  the  existing  units  Nos.  1,  2  and  3.  Each 
of  the  new  shops  is  575  feet  long,  two  of  them  145 
feet,  and  the  third  168  feet  wide ;  an  erecting  shop, 
1,136  by  113  feet,  running  north  and  south  as  an 
extension  of  the  existing  erecting  shop  and  ad- 
joining the  six  machine-shop  units  opening  out  into 
it ;  the  extension  of  the  existing  foundry,  north  and 
south,  which  has  a  total  length  of  994  feet  over  all 
and  a  width  of  222  feet,  and  the  extension  of  the 
pattern  and  pattern-storage  building,  which  also  has 
a  length  of  994  feet  over  all  and  a  width  of  119 
feet. 

The  work  of  constructing  these  extensions  in- 
volves an  expenditure  of  over  $3,000,000.  Two 
buildings,  the  extensions  to  the  erecting  shop  and 
the  pattern  shop,  have  been  practically  completed, 
while  substantial  progress  has  been  made  on  the 
remaining  buildings. 

The  West  Allis  site,  situated  in  the  town  of 
West  Allis,  on  the  outskirts  of  Milwaukee,  has  a 
frontage  of  1,575  feet  and  runs  back  2,696  feet,  or 
more  than  half  a  mile,  giving  nearly  4,250,000 
square  feet  of  ground  space,  or  about  100  acres, 
adjoining  the  tracks  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee 
and   St.   Paul  railway. 

The  general  plan  of  the  West  Allis  Works  pro- 
vides for  two  sets  of  building  units,  one  com- 
posed of  those  in  which  the  work  is  common  to 
every  class  of  product,  like  the  pattern  shops, 
erecting  shops  and  foundry;  the  other  group  com- 
prising the  machine-shop  units,  where  the  work  is 
specialized  for  various  machine  operations.  The 
two  groups  of  buildings  lie  at  right  angles  to  each 
other;  those  of  general  utility  lengthwise  of  the 
plat,  north  and  south.  The  machine  shops,  six 
units  in  all.  run  crosswise  of  the  plat,  adjoining 
the  erecting  shop  at  the  east  end.  Facing  the  ends 
of  the  machine-shop  units  Nos.  1  to  6  stands  the 
foundry  with  its  extensions,  extending  north  and 
south.  The  pattern  storage  and  shops  stand  far- 
thest westward  in  the  group  and  parallel  to  the 
foundry,  with  a  span  of  98  feet  between  them. 
The  extensions  to  the  erecting  shop,  foundry  and 
pattern  shops  are  duplications  of  the  existing  units 
in    practically    every    detail    of   construction. 

The  original  erecting  shop  had  24  bays,  each  23 
feet   wide,    with    a   total    length   of   566   feet.     The 


ers.     A   stack    175    feet   high    and   eight    feet    inside- 
drain   furnishes   natural   draft. 

The  heavy  machine  tools  of  various  kinds  in= 
stalled  in  units  Nos.  1,  2  and  3  will  be  duplicated 
for  units  Nos.  4,  5  and  6  and  supplemented  by  tools 
suitable  for  specific  service,  as,  for  example,  the 
building  of  steam  turbines  and  turbo-generators, 
gas  engines,  etc.  One  order  recently  placed  cov- 
ered 42  machine  tools  of  extra  heavy  pattern,  in- 
volving an  expenditure  of  $550,000.  '  Thc- 
were  all  designed  especially  for  use  with  high- 
speed steels  and  driven  by  Allis-Chalmers  motors. 
The  combined  weight  of  these  tools  within  the 
motors  used  for  driving  them  aggregate  2,141  tons. 
Fourteen  of  the  new  machines  are  vertical  boring 
and  turning  mills  from  eight  to  16  feet  and  extra 
heavy  in  design.  There  are  five  standard  shaft 
lathes  and  two  crank-shaft  lathes  with  a  swing  of 
from  60  to  125  inches  and  30  feet  between  centers; 
eight  planers  of  various  sizes,  all  of  which  are  the 
spiral-geared  type;  a  260-ton  armature  pre-- 
several  drilling  and  boring  machines,  slotters.  etc. 
Oyer  1,200  horsepower  in  Allis-Chalmers  motors 
will  be  required  to  drive  the  new  equipment  de- 
scribed. In  addition  to  the  machine  tools.  34  elec- 
tric traveling  cranes  have  been  ordered  for  sizes 
and  capacities  ranging  from  2'j-ton  wall  jib  cranes 
to  60-ton  7S-foot  span  cranes,  with  10-foot  auxil- 
iary  hoist   for   the   foundry   extension. 

Direct  current  at  250  volts  is  distributed  through- 
out the  building  for  operation  of  motors  used  for 
machine-tool  drive.  These  motors  are  largely  oper- 
ated on  the  Ward-Leonard  multiple-voltage  live- 
wire  system  (Allis-Chalmers  system  of  control  for 
.variable-speed  motors),  making  27  different  speeds 
possible    for   each    machine. 

The  heating  system  utilizes  exhaust  steam  passed 
through  a  closed  heater,  corresponding  to  the  pri- 
mary' heater  in  a  condensing  system.  An  auxiliary 
live-steam  heater  is  provided  to  operate  in  connec- 
tion with  the  exhaust  steam  heater  for  cold 
weather.  The  hot  water  thus  obtained  is  circulated 
through  the  works  by  means  of  two  centrifugal 
pumps  electrically  driven.  The  total  space  to  be 
heated  is  26,000.000  cubic  feet  traversed  by  500.000 
feet  of  152-inch  hot-water  pipes.  Water  for  all 
purposes  is  obtained  from  four  artesian  wells 
located    on    the    property,    pumped   automatically    by 


280 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April  7,  1906 


motor-driven  deep- well  pumps  through  eight-inch 
pipes  to  cisterns  near  the  power  house.  These  cis- 
terns are  of  concrete  construction,  each  of  100,000 
gallons  capacity,  with  steel-concrete  roofs ;  a  pres- 
sure of  100  pounds  is  kept  on  the  mains  at  all 
times,  which  can  be  raised  to  140  pounds. 


Electrolysis.1 

By   E.   E.   Browkell. 


The  fundamental  principle  and  primary  source 
of  electrolytic  corrosion  of  metallic  structures  is, 
that  when  a  current  of  electricity  leaves  the  un- 
protected surface  of  any  metallic  subterranean  con- 
struction to  pass  from  it  into  the  earth,  the  cur- 
rent will  electrically  disintegrate  the  metal  of  the 
structure.  Electrolytic  corrosion  is  an  electrochem- 
ical effect,  for  if  the  electrolytes  were  not  present 
in  the  soil  adjacent  to  the  pipes,  the  electric  cur- 
rents could  not  injure  the  mains  in  the  least.  It 
is  the  combination  of  the  electric  earth  currents 
acting  upon  the  electrolytes,  that  is  wholly  ac- 
countable for  the  ravages  of  electrolytic  deteriora- 
tion upon  the  various  sub-surface  metallic  struc- 
tures, by  liberating  upon  their  metallic  surfaces 
the  dissociated  electrolytes  comprising  acid-forming 
radicals   and   nascent   gases. 

During  the  summer  of  1904,  in  the  city  of  De- 
troit, Mich.,  I  conducted  many  experimental  tests, 
in  order  to  demonstrate  how  near  the  law  [of 
electrochemical  equivalents]  was  correct  when  ap- 
plied to  the  electrodes  and  from  a  practical  stand- 
point as  well,  receiving  the  following  results : 
For  500  hours  there  was  passed  from  the  surface 
of  bare  wrought-iron  structures  buried  in  the  nat- 
ural earth  a  direct  current  flow  of  5.9  amperes,  and 
since  there  are  453.6  grams  in  one  pound,  the 
following  equation  was  received:  1.04  X  50°  X  5-9 
-f-  453-6  =  6.79  pounds  of  iron  lost.  The  loss  of 
679  pounds  of  iron  is  the  calculated  deteriora- 
tion, according  to  the  law  of  electrochemical  equiv- 
lents,  after  being  multiplied  by  the  ampere-hours. 
But  the  actual  loss  in  pounds  of  iron  after  weigh- 
ing, was  found  to  be  6.75  pounds  of  iron,  so  that 
the  difference  of  0.04  pound  of  iron  proved  con- 
clusively and  decisively  that  the  practical  test  was 
correct  within  0.016  per  cent,  of  the  law.  Prac- 
tical experiences,  in  thousands  of  cases,  have  proven 
to  my  entire  satisfaction  that  a  current  flow  of 
one  ampere,  passing  from  the  unprotected  surface 
of  an  iron  structure  will  remove  about  20  pounds 
of  iron  per  year  from  it,  or  about  72  pounds  if  the 
structure  be  lead.  Naked  cast-iron  obeys  the  same 
law  within  a  few  per  cent,  of  wrought  and  steel 
structures,  the  retardation  being  due  to  the  elec- 
tronegative elements  of  carbon,  silica,  etc.,  so  com- 
monly  found   in   cast-iron. 

The  chemical  by-products  of  the  electrochemical 
changes  from  electrolytic  dissociation  upon  iron 
and  lead  sub-surface  structures  invariably  increase 
the  deteriorating  effect,  producing  further  and 
greater  injury  than  the  primary  evil  of  electrolysis 
alone    could    accomplish. 

Another  peculiar  chemical  condition  which  pos- 
sibly has  never  been  brought  to  your  attention,  is 
that,  when  uncoated  iron  pipes  are  highly  negative 
to  earth,  an  alkaline  substance  forms  upon  their 
surfaces  which,  electrolytically,  is  uninjurious  so 
long  as  the  current  remains  of  the  same  electrical 
polarity. 

If  two  dissimilar  metallic  bodies  were  buried 
within  a  few  feet  of  each  other,  and  then  only 
separated  by  the  earth,  they  would  tend  to  establish 
a  galvanic  battery  within  themselves,  corroding  the 
surface  of  either  one  or  the  other.  But  when  the 
unlike  metals  form  a  part  of  any  piping  system, 
such  as  lead  calking,  lead  service  pipes,  brass  cocks 
and  the  like,  in  a  cast-iron  piping  line,  no  ill  re- 
sults could  possibly  occur.  The  electrical  condi- 
tion caused  by  two  unlike  metals,  which  are  sep- 
arated by  the  earth,  for  example,  or  any  other 
partial  solution  containing  an  electrolyte,  is  termed 
the  counter-electromotive  force  of  electrical  po- 
larization. But  since  the  tracks,  and  practically 
all  piping  lines,  as  a  whole,  are  iron  in  some  com- 
posite state,  the  current  flow  from  the  rails  to 
the  pipes  has  no  electrical  impediment  to  over- 
come, so  that  the  most  minute  current  flow  will 
produce    an    appreciable    damage. 

The  statement  has  been  repeatedly  made  that  it 
requires  a  difference  of  electrical  potential  of  1.5 
volts  between  pipe  and  earth  to  produce  electrolytic 
corrosion  upon  the  pipes.  The  writer  has  person- 
ally taken  up  at  least  60  miles  of  cast-iron  mains 
and  tens  of  thousands  of  wrought-iron  service 
pipes,  which  were  completely  destroyed  by  elec- 
trolysis when  the  iron  pipes  were  less  than  0.2 
of  a  volt  electrically  positive  to  the  surrounding- 
earth. 

It  might  be  well  to  herein  note,  that  the  prac-* 
tice  of  electric  street-railway  companies  during  the 
winter  months,  of  using  large  quantities  of  salt 
upon  their  tracks  to  prevent  the  accumulation  of 
ice,  also  increases  electrolytic  action  upon  the 
divers    sub-surface    metallic    structures. 

Electrolytic  deterioration  upon  bare  sub-surface 
metallic  structures  is  generally  more  uniformly  dis- 
tributed than  upon  those  having  painted  or  coated 
surfaces.  The  pitting  effect  so  universally  found 
upon    the    exterior    surface    of    all    classes    of    de- 


teriorated lead  and  iron  piping  lines,  is  the  con- 
tributory damage  resulting  directly  from  a  greater 
current  density  or  flow  of  electricity  from  the  pipes 
at  these  specific  places  or  spots.  The  pits  occur 
by  reason  of  the  surface  of  the  metallic  body 
having  an  ununiform  electrical  contact  with  the 
immediate  and  surrounding  soil,  thus  establishing 
many  paths  of  egress  for  the  current.  By  the 
excess  of  current  leaving  at  these  exits  it  elec- 
trolytically takes  the  metal  from  the  pipes  and 
leaves  a  pit   in  its   wake. 

It  has  been  thoroughly  known  for  many  years 
that  certain  surface  waters,  especially  the  surface 
waters  which  flow  from  wooded  districts,  have  a 
slight  chemical  acid  reaction,  and  if  wrought-iron, 
steel  and  many  times  cast-iron,  are  not  protected 
by  some  indissociable  paint  or  covering,  tubercu- 
lization of  the  metal  will  take  place. 

Cast-iron,  when  corroded  by  electrolysis,  leaves 
a  light  concrete  formation  as  a  residual,  that  has 
no  tensile  strength,  and  which  often  deceives  the 
observer,  since  the  pits  and  holes  are  left  well 
filled  with  a  soft  carboniferous  matter.  All  other 
things  remaining  equal,  cast-iron  will  withstand  a 
less  amount  of  electrolytic  deterioration  per  given 
area   and   cross-section   than   steel   or  wrought   iron. 

Shunting  of  the  current  over  the  calked  pipe 
joints,  as  it  flows  along  the  line  of  main,  is  many 
times  a  serious  electrical  condition,  but  the  extent 
of  the  injury  is  local  and  distinct,  and  excep- 
tionally so  where  the  current  volume  is  normal 
and  not  augmented  by  connecting  to  it  negative 
return-pipe  feeders.  When  the  current  flow  is  ab- 
ruptly broken,  or  the  electrical  continuity  of  the 
mains  seriously  intercepted  by  the  occasional  or 
random  installation  of  insulated  pipe  joints,  ce- 
ment joints  or  defective  electrical  calking,  then  the 
damage  can  be  and  has  been  acute,  by  shunting 
the  accumulated  current  from  the  mains  to  the 
earth. 

Having  seen  possibly  several  hundred,  cases  of 
this  character,  which  is  comparatively  a  small 
per  cent,  of  the  great  deterioration  from  electrolytic 
corrosion,  I  recall  vividly  many  serious  instances. 
Three  insulated  pipe  joints  of  the  Dresser  pat- 
tern, were  inserted  in  electrical  series  upon  a 
10-inch  wrought-iron  high-pressure  gas  main,  with 
the  respective  electrical  drops  over  each  insulated 
joint  of  0.8,  1.0  and  1.2  volts.  It  required  be- 
tween three  and  four  years  to  completely  destroy 
the  mains  on  the  electrically  positive  side  of  each 
pipe  joint.  Notably  in  all  cases  of  electrolytic 
corrosion  at  the  joints  of  lead-calked  pipe  lines, 
the  mains  were  invariably  exposed  to  great  tem- 
perature ranges,  and  the  coefficient  of  expansion 
and  contraction  very  high,  thus  loosening  the  lead 
in  the  joint  and  making  a  poor  electrical  union  or 
contact  between  the  bell  and  spigot  ends.  When 
large  negative  copper  feeders  are  metallicly  con- 
nected to  the  lead-calked  cast-iron  mains,  which 
necessarily  tremendously  increases  the  current  flow- 
ing over  them,  the  damage  to  the  pipes  at  the 
calked  joints  is  then  very  liable  to  become  menac- 
ing. 

The  gas  companies  of  Greater  New  York  and 
Chicago,  with  others  in  most  of  the  large  Ameri- 
can cities,  use  lead  for  calking  purposes,  while 
others  use  insulated  joints,  which  may  give  ex- 
cellent satisfaction  from  a  mechanical  standpoint, 
but   electrolytically  they  are   all   a  complete   failure. 

The  following  illustration  will  possibly  explain 
one  of  the  principal  causes  which  produce  elec- 
trolysis upon  sub-surface  metallic  structures. 
Around  any  power  house  using  the  single-trolley 
system  of  traction,  with  the  positive  terminal  of 
the  dynamos  connected  to  the  trolley,  and  where 
the  station  is  located  in  a  city  with  piping  lines, 
circumscribe  around  the  power  house  an  electrical 
contour  line  at  any  given  distance.  It  is  pref- 
erable, though  not  absolutely  necessary,  however, 
that  the  contour  line  be  along  the  region  where 
the  pipes  and  rails  tend  to  be  nearly  electrically 
neutral,  or  where  the  minimum  difference  of  elec- 
trical pressure  exists,  since  the  current  flow  over 
the  pipes  in  this  district  is  generally  greater  than 
elsewhere,  thus  giving  higher  and  better  results. 
By  making  suitable  excavations  over  all  the  pipe 
lines  which  cross  at  right  angles  with  the  given 
contour  line,  the  current  flow  can  be  ascertained 
reasonably  correct  by  noting  the  electrical  drop 
with  a  millivoltmeter  over  the  pipe  for  a  stated 
number  of  lineal  feet  through  the  calculated  known 
resistance  of  that  particular  main.  If  the  test  is 
to  be  made  strictly  accurate,  the  use  of  a  micro- 
ohmeter  should  be  employed,  which  will  readily 
establish  the  proper  contacts  upon  the  mains,  so 
that  the  electrical  drops  will  be  read  directly  in 
amperes,  and  the  lead  brought  to  a  convenient 
place  at  the  surface  of  the  street.  The  total  cur- 
rent found  to  be  passing  over  the  pipes  where 
intersected  by  the  electrical  contour  line  will  give 
a  certain   amount. 

Now  observe  the  difference  in  electrical  pressure 
between  the  pipes  and  rails  and  the  electrical  re- 
sistance of  the  intervening  earth,  which,  according 
to  Ohm's  law,  gives  a  certain  current  flow  passing 
from  the  pipes  to  the  rails.  Therefore,  the  dif- 
ference between  the  amount  of  current  crossing 
the  electrical  contour  line  by  way  of  the  pipes  and 
the  amount  leaving  the  pipes,  according  to  Ohm's 
law,  is  the  volume  of  earth  current  proper  which 
is  passing  to,  over  and  from  the  piping  system, 
irrespective   of  its   relative   conductivity.     It   is  gen- 


erally found  that  these  earth  currents  proper  are 
the  source  of  certain  electrical  conditions  which 
make  them  the  prime  destroyer  and  the  principal 
base  of  electrolytic  corrosion  of  sub-surface  struc- 
tures. The  chief  object  of  this  illustration  is  to 
prove  conclusively  that  the  conductivity  of  the  pip- 
ing lines,  or  the  amount  or  percentage  of  return 
current  which  they  shunt  in  practice,  especially 
lead-calked  cast-iron  pipe  lines,  do  not  necessarily 
govern   the    damage. 

There  are,  to  my  knowledge,  30  small  cities 
throughout  the  country  where  the  circumscribed 
positive  area  or  zone  of  the  earth  around  the 
power  house  of  the  electric  street  railway  en- 
velopes the  earth  of  the  entire  city  or  cities.  This 
is  a  characteristic  electrical  condition  where  long 
lines  of  interurban  electric  street  railways  are  sup- 
plied  with  direct  current  from  a  power  house  lo- 
cated in  the  small  city.  The  mains  and  services 
in  these  small  cities  suffer  very  seriously  from 
electrolysis,  with  great  injury  to  them,  yet  they 
convey  no  return  current  from  the  rails  directly, 
with  little  or  no  current  passing  along  them  from 
one  consecutive  pipe  length  to  the  other. 

The  rate  of  depreciation  upon  sub-surface  metal- 
lic structures  is  generally  somewhat  greater  during 
the  wet  seasons,  due  to  the  decreased  electrical 
resistance  between  the  rails  and  the  contiguous 
earth.  The  damage  from  electrolysis  is  not  always 
the  greatest  nearest  the  power  house.  Topograph- 
ical conditions  and  the  location  of  the  tracks  are 
responsible  for  the  exceptions  in  most  of  the  cases. 
The  currents  of  electricity  that  are  traversing 
through  the  earth  and  also  along  the  various  pip- 
ing systems  from  a  given  source,  many  times  en- 
counter other  earth  currents  from  different  power 
houses.  When  both  of  the  currents  are  flowing  in 
the  same  direction,  along  the  same  electrical  con- 
ductor, they  are  in  electrical  series,  and  the  volumes 
of  each  are  added,  but  when  currents  of  electricty 
are  found  to  be  flowing  in  opposite  directions,  or 
crossing  the  paths  in  common,  then  one  source 
of  earth  currents  tends  to  neutralize  the  effect  of 
the  other.  This  reduces  at  times  what  would  be 
serious  electrical  conditions  of  the  pipes  were  it 
not  for  the  counteracting  result  thus  produced. 
Earth  currents  of  electricity  being  a  certain  stressed 
condition  of  the  ether,  and  not  a  constituted 
molecular  substance  of  matter,  the  direct  currents 
intermingle,  and  the  identity  of  each  is  forever 
lost.  But  every  ampere  of  current  put  in  circula- 
tion by  a  dynamo  must  return  to  it  to  be  re- 
imbued  with  the  necessary  electrical  pressure,  called 
volts.  The  identity  may  be  lost,  but  the  exact 
equivalent  amount  of  current,  in  amperes,  returns 
unquestionably  to  each  power  house  that  is  send- 
ing   it   out. 

Incidentally,  in  making  "electrolytic  surveys,"  and 
correcting  serious  electrolytic  conditions,  the  care 
and  preservation  of  sub-structures  constructed  of 
steel  have  been  repeatedly  called  to  my  attention, 
for  in  these  days  of  progression,  where  steel  is 
used  in  enormous  amounts  underground,  we  have 
little  knowledge  whether  electrolysis  is  seriously 
at  work,  or  not,  but  arrangements  have  been  made 
in  the  city  of  Chicago  for  a  thorough  investigation 
upon  the  opening  of  the  coming  season.  The  dam- 
age to  underground  steel  structures  of  buildings 
is  very  difficult  to  discover,  on  account  of  the 
inaccessibility  of  the  sub-structure.  It  would  seem 
that  there  is  certainly  a  great  possibility  of  elec- 
trolysis, with  results  too  awful  to  foretell.  The 
writer  knows  of  one  building  where  electrolysis  has 
attacked  the  sub-steel  work.  The  building  in  ques- 
tion is  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  should  the 
tenants  ever  suspect  such  a  condition,  which  is,  to 
a  more  or  less  degree,  serious,  there  would  be 
plenty  of  office  space  rentable  within  24  hours,  and 
which  at  the  present  time  contains  enough  people 
to  populate  a  small  city,  being  filled  from  cellar 
to  roof,  with  the  best  class  of  occupants.  It  may 
be,  after  a  great  calamity,  or  the  rebuilding  of 
some  of  the  earlier  unprotected  steel  sub-structures, 
that  some  very  valuable  data  will  be  obtained  there- 
from. 

It  might  be  well  to  note  that  the  gas  leakage, 
especially  natural  gas,  from  a  piping  system  into 
the  surrounding  earth,  has  a  wonderful  influence 
in  decreasing  the  electrical  resistance  of  the  soil, 
consequently  propagating  more  serious  chemical  and 
electrochemical    dissociation    of    the    different    pipes. 

It  has  been  stated  and  commented  upon  that,  if 
alternating  currents  of  electricity  could  be  satis- 
factorily used  in  electric  street-railway  traction, 
the  dangers  from  electrolysis  would  be  a  thing  of 
the  past.  But  iron-piping  lines,  buried  experiment- 
ally in  the  ground  and  subjected  to  the  passage 
of  alternating  currents  from  them,  prove  this  state- 
ment to  be  incorrect,  as  they  suffer  from  elec- 
trolysis, though  to  what  extent  or  given  rate  I 
am  now  unable  to  report,  since  tests  are  now 
under  way  for  demonstrating  the  rate  of  elec- 
trolytic depreciation  under  all  conditions.  Iron 
sheets  buried  in  the  ground  for  about  1,000  hours, 
between  which  was  passed  an  alternating  current 
of  about  10  amperes  at  a  pressure  of  five  volts, 
snowed  the  deterioration  to  be  very  apparent  under 
25  cycles,  while  a  similar  iron  sheet,  buried  in  the 
same  class  of  soil  several  hundred  feet  distant, 
showed    no    appreciable    disintegration    whatsoever. 

In  this  crude,  but  practical,  test  I  was  thor- 
oughly convinced  of  certain  results  in  three  dif- 
ferent   respects.     First,   that    an    alternating    current 


April  7.  1906 


WESl  ERN     ELEI  UiH 


of  25   cycles   will   produce   more   "i    I ion 

upon  iron  electrodes .   i  ei  ond,   thai    tl tc   oi   di 

nreciation  is  about  equal  upon  both   iron  clci  trodi 

though    the    rate    qui   tionably   fur  below   one 

lull   ill I   direct  current,  when  1  al<  ulati  '1    for  the 

.h      thai    il ■'    "■■'      found    i"    I"     1.  

f,-,,m    the    electrode  ;    third,    thai    the    di    01  iation 
,,1    the   1  lectrolj lr     | ,l" '      '    " hi  mical   sub- 

tanci  1  of  mixed  acid  and  alkaline  reactions,  which 
,  ,  , ,     10    ibly  more  injurious  i"  the  iron  electrodi 

than   il"1   electrolytii    acti ■   the   electrochemical 

effect     nl' 'ould     have    iimiliii'i'il.      Hi''-    "i"      '  "ii 

electrode  which   was  left   in  the  ground  by  mistake 
foi     i"   days   longer   than   the   first     ihowed   greater 

,1,  1 ration,   naturallj    the   result   of   purely   chem 

mil    action. 

Remedy   and   Mitigation. 

\n  absolutely  infallible  remedy  for  preventing 
I,  evils  of  electrolytic  corrosion  upon  all  sub 
surface  metallic  structures  is  mi  electric  strcet- 
railway  system  of  ungrounded  circuits,  'the  Cin- 
cinnati Traction  Company  of  the  city  of  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  llic  Metropolitan  railway  of  Manhattan  Is 
land,  New  York,  and  pari  "f  the  electric  street 
railway  of  Washington,  D.  C,  have  insulated  cir- 
cuits, which  perfectly  prevent  electrolytic  corrosion. 
The  Metropolitan  Railway  Company  of  Manhattan 
[aJand,  New  York,  has  possibly  the  most  complete 
.inn  of  electric  surface  traction  in  the  world. 
In  the  city  of  Havana.  Cuba,  the  double  trolley 
■  ;,  now  being  installed,  the  street-railway  owners 
having  been  forced  to  do  so  by  the  United  States 
military    engineers,    to    prevent    electrolysis. 

The  writer  has  been,  and  always  will  be,  in 
favor  of  the  electrical  principle  of  the  double- 
trolley  system,  but  only  so  far  as  it  affects  the 
forestalling  of  electrolytic  deterioration.  It  would 
not  cost  less  than  the  sum  of  $200,000,000  to  re- 
construct every  single-trolley  electric  street  railway 
throughout  the'  United  States  into  the  double-trolley 
system  of  equal  electrical  efficiency  upon  the  nega- 
live  side  of  the  circuit.  (Double  trolley  in  prin- 
ciple,  not   necessarily   in   construction.) 

The  vital  question  would  then  arise,  in  view 
of  the  enormous  cost  and  difficulty  of  operation, 
Will  the  protection  against  electrolysis  warrant  such 
an  expenditure  when  applied  to  all  electric  street 
railways  in  general?  In  cities  of  the  first  class, 
with  heavy  populative  densities,  all  other  things 
being  equal,  the  advantage  gained  would  possibly 
be  worth  the  amount  invested  in  the  insulated 
conduit  system  of  electric  street-railway  traction. 
But  in  some  cities  of  the  second  class  and  under 
it  would  be  very  impractical  and  unwarranted,  when 
viewed  from  a  non-partisan  engineer's  standpoint, 
when  taking  everything  in  proper  consideration. 
Now  to  admit  that  there  can  be  no  reasonable  and 
effective  plan  of  mitigation  would  be  equivalent 
to  acknowledging  the  limited  resourcefulness  of 
our  engineering  capacity.  It  is  the  chief  duty  of 
any  engineer  to  obtain  the  best  practical  results, 
with  the  least  possible  expenditure,  all  other  things 
of    a   contributory   nature    remaining   equal. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  the  plans  of  mitiga- 
tion   in   the   inverse    order   of   their   efficiency: 

1.  Insulated  pipe  joints,  installed  upon  a  piping 
line,  are  practically  worthless  and  have  been  known 
to  be  the  means  of  greater  damage  than  the  normal 
electrolvtic    condition    could    have    produced. 

2.  To  coat  all  of  the  piping  lines  which  are  now- 
laid  in  the  ground  with  a  non-ionizable  material 
would   be   inconsistent   and   of   an    enormous   cost. 

3.  Negative  boosters,  which  are  used  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  sending  counter  earth  currents  against 
the  natural  shunted  flow  of  earth  currents  to  neu- 
tralize them  and  destroy  their  effect,  are  expensive 
to  operate  and  the  adjustment  very  difficult  to 
properly   and   effectually   maintain. 

The  cost  of  equipment  and  operation  of  the  nega- 
tive-booster plan  is  a  dead  loss  to  the  electric 
street  railways,  merely  tending  to  cover  up  certain 
serious  defined  electrical  conditions  in  the  earth 
and  upon  the  piping  systems,  while  local  critical 
electrolytic  conditions  are  left  unmitigated  by  this 
plan. 

4.  Reversing  the  electrical  polarity  at  regular  or 
irregular  intervals  is  only  a  mere  makeshift,  and 
is  a  very  impractical  scheme,  for  it  scatters  the 
destruction  everywhere  over  the  piping  lines,  in- 
stead of  allowing  the  damage  to  develop  locally  in 
well-defined  districts,  where  it  can  be  taken  care  of. 

5.  To  force  the  electric  street-railway  companies 
to  decrease  the  electrical  drop  to  seven  volts  be- 
tween any  two  given  points  along  the  track  con- 
struction "would  be  exceedingly  expensive,  yet  at 
the  same  time  it  would  vastly  increase  the  elec- 
trical efficiency  of  their  return  circuit  and  con- 
sequently decrease  correspondingly  the  current 
leakage   from  the   rails  to   the   earth. 

This  plan  is  known  as  the  "seven-volt  British 
Board  of  Trade  rule."  Not  a  single  trolley  elec- 
tric street  railway  in  the  United  States  is  so  op- 
erating in  my  opinion  to  comply  with  such  a  high 
rate  of  electrical  efficiency.  Even  with  the  appli- 
cation of  the  "seven-volt  rule"  the  earth  would 
shunt  a  sufficient  amount  of  return  current  to 
cause  serious  electrolytic  corrosion.  If  _  the  "seven- 
volt  rule"  was  enforced,  say  in  the  city  of  Pitts- 
burg, it  would  require  not  less  than  $2,000,000  for 
copper,  labor  and  material.  The  application  of  this 
rule  does  not  strike  directly  at  the  seat  of  the 
evil,  being  analogous  in  form  to  the  action  of  a 
gas  or  water  company  which   decreases  the  gas  or 


in  ordei  to  di 

>airing  01    1 ring   11 

fi     ,1 .,:  • 

.•. lui  Ii    will    i"! 
-.1    lie    following 

I  lie    1  dard    and    uni- 

form throughout,  and  maintained    ■<  thai   thi 
meal  drop  over  the  trad 
lo  a  pra  ipcrative   limit      I  he   drop  ■ 

rail   join)    ihould    invariably   be   equal   to   the   drop 

ovei     hi     givci     numl 1    feel   of  the  rail, 

not   im  ludmg   the  rail   joint     I  I"  re     hould 
known    ih'     district      .1"'!       1  1 

pcctivi    po« use,  thi    load  :  on,  the 

drop  ovei    lie    rail  /•  the  <lr..p  over   the   pipi   .   the 

drop  over  the  earth  and  the 

the   earth   between    pipi 

.,1   1I1.    11.-,,  f.     from  thi  '"  the  power 

li'.u  ' ,  1   ii'iiim  I..  ■  lectrical   and   p 

which  all  go  to  vitally  govern  thi 
of   the   proposed   plan   oi 

I   have  I"--  'I  able  lui  ■ 

conditi 1    53    miles    of   piping    lines    in    one    of 

the    hi"  -i    stubborn   ca  c     of  1  lei  trolytii     dcti 
1  ■•  hi.   so   that    no   pipe    was   electrically   po  il 
earth    or    the   'h"p   over   any   calked   joint    in    1 
of    111   millivolts,     I    do    nol    believe    betfei 
should   be  asked  of  the  "doubl'    trolley"  installation. 
when  considering  that  the  piping  system  comprised 
2X0   miles    of    mains    and    lio.ooo      ,-rvi< 
calking  in  the  entire  piping  system  should  be  thor- 
oughly  tested   and   in   the  affected  district-    <■ 
over    with    a    suitable    screw-plug    bond,    which    1 
absolutely    necessary   to   prevent   electrolysis   at   the 
calked    pipe    joints.     From    the   negative   bus-bar    in 
1  In    power  house  there  should  be  extended   a 
copper     return-feeder     system,     connected     to     the 
bonded   mains   at  numerous  places,  so  as  to  reduce 
the    current    flow    over    the    mains    to    a    minimum 
at  any  given  point.    Unless  great  care  is  taken   as 
to  the  number   and   the   places   of  making   the    pipi 
connections,  and  the  size  of  the  return  feeder-,  dan- 
ger districts  are  sure  to  develop  elsewhere  upon  the 
pipes,   with   damaging   results  to  them.     Unless  this 
work  is  done  properly  it  should  never  be  attempted, 
for    great    care    should    also    be    used    not    to    have 
the    negative    copper    wires    too    large    or   connected 
to    the   bonded    mains    at   too    limited   a    number   of 
places.     If  this  is  done,  the  bonded  mains  will   un- 
necessarily   shunt    an    enormous    amount    of    return 
current    from   the   track   construction,   thus   creating 
danger  districts  elsewhere,  with  critical  results. 

The  two  most  perplexing  electrical  problems  of 
this  entire  plan  of  mitigation  are :  First,  to  pre- 
vent positive  or  danger  areas  from  shifting  else- 
where upon  the  pipes,  which  previously  were  elec- 
trolvtically  unaffected;  second,  to  prevnt  the  back 
shunt  of  earth  currents  from  a  foreign  source. 
The  back  shunt  of  current  is  due  to  the  passage 
of  currents  in  the  opposite  direction  and  foreign 
to  the  origin  of  current  returning  over  the  pro- 
posed return-pipe-feeder  system  into  the  power 
house.  The  back  shunt  of  current  enters  the  pipes 
by  way  of  the  return  copper  wire  pipe  feeders  and 
propagates  serious  positive  or  danger  areas  upon 
the  pfpes  after  the  two  currents  separate  or  emerge 
from  the  common  electrical  zone.  There  are  times 
when  no  successful  plan  of  mitigation  can  be  ap- 
plied, when  two  or  more  electric  street-railway 
companies  using  grounded  currents  jointly  main- 
tain the  same  return  circuit  (rails),  with  their 
power  houses  remote  from  each  other  in  the  same 
city,  due  to  this  ever-present  back  shunt,  for  then 
when  vou  decrease  the  current  leakage  from  the 
mains  into  the  earth  it  equally  increases  the  cur- 
rent leakage  from  them  into  the  earth  elsewhere, 
and  the  plan  is  then  a  complete  failure.  Again, 
unless  the  negative  return-pipe-feeder  system  is 
properly  laid  out,  the  current  will  shunt  over  the 
copper  wires  from  one  locality  of  higher  electrical 
pressure  into  the  earth,  and  upon  pipes  of  lower 
electrical  pressure,  making  the  pipes  electrically 
positive  to  earth  in  the  locality  of  lowest  electrical 
potential,    with    serious    results. 

The  return  current  will  shunt  crosslots  many 
times,  with  serious  results.  This  can  only  be 
avoided  by  properly  locating  the  places  of  connec- 
tions, so  that  the  current  will  not  leave  dead  pipe 
ends  or  the  pipes  at  right  angles  through  the 
earth  to  reach  by  the  shortest  route  any  pipe 
station.  If  an  arterial  piping  system  is  protected 
bv  this  plan  of  mitigation,  serious  local  electrolytic 
corrosion  will  occur  throughout  upon  other  piping 
lines  not  electrically  connected  in  common.  For 
this  reason  all  parties  directly  or  indirectly  in- 
terested in  any  city  should  work  in  perfect  har- 
mony, if  the  best  results  are  to  be  accomplished 
with  the  least  possible  cost.  I  have  applied  this 
plan  of  mitigation  of  electrolysis  during  the  last 
10  years  in  many  of  the  large  cities  of  the  coun- 
try,   with    uniformly    successful    results. 

The  use  of  the  streets  for  pipes  is  lawful  and 
is  authorized  by  statute.  Such  a  use  is  not  an 
additional  burden,  and  must  be  held  as  one  of  the 
uses  contemplated  when  the  streets  were  dedicated. 
The  streets  are  the  only  available  places  in  which 
to  lay  the  pipes,  and  the  sub-surface  of  the  streets 
is  by  law  and  necessity  set  aside  for  public-service 
pipe's  and  the  like.  The  extent  of  the  easement 
in  the  streets  is  to  be  measured  by  the  wants  and 
necessities  of  the  public.  Nevertheless,  the  primary 
use  of  the  streets  is  for  foot  and  other  passengers, 


.Ill     impl 

traveling,  win 
both  Ii 

of   our   cities,    and,   !>•    1  . 

■ 
itiK    to. 


How  the  Idea  of  the  Horizontal-vertical 
Steam  Engine  was  Evolved. 

kdwin 

■ 
Chalmers  Company,  together   with  the  rcr.  ■ 
of    the    combim  nd    horizontal 

ubway   powei 
incident    char: 

.    him    at    the 
time    when    thi 
nearly 
filed    for   the    patents,    only    recently    granted. 

The    incident    referred    to    occurred    al     ll 
when   the  Allis-Chalmers  Company  wa-,  called  upon 

ice   as   to   the   type   oi   engim 
in  the  new  power  house  then  being  planned  by  the 
Manhattan    Railway    Company.    New    York    city.     It 
was   the   intention   of  the   railwaj    compan] 
neers    to   install    units   of    5,000   kilo 
The  first  type  of  engine  considered    - 
compound,    vertical    machine,    similar    to    those    fur- 
nished   for    the    Metropolitan    street    railway,    and 
some  correspondence  passed  between  Mr.   Reynolds 
and   the  engineers  of  the   Manhattan    Railway  Com- 
pany   on    the   subject,   so   that    finally    Mr.    R 

come  to  New  Y'ork  and 
the  matter  in  detail.  Mr.  Reynolds  left  Milwau- 
kee, with  the  question  of  the  type  "f  engine  still 
unsettled,  but  with  the  understanding  that  the 
straight,  cross-compound,  vertical  unit  would  be 
used  if  it  were  found  practicable.  On  the  train, 
en  route  for  New  York,  however.  Mr.  Ri 
evolved  in  his  mind  the  possibility  of  using  a  com- 
bined vertical  and  horizontal  engine,  allowing  four 
cylinders  to  be  connected  to  the  one  shaft,  and 
before  reaching  New  York  he  was  prepared  to 
offer  to  the  engineers  in  charge  a  definite  proposi- 
tion, covering  a  combined  vertical  and  horizontal 
four-cylinder  engine,  now  generally  known  as  the 
■Manhattan"  type.  and.  furthermore,  he  submitted 
to  them  the  size  of  cylinders  which  he  would  rec- 
ommend, the  size  of  crank  pin  and  cross-head  pin 
and  the  size  of  main  journals,  with  rough  sketches 
of  the  proposed  unit  as  he  had  planned  it  in 
his  mind's  eye.  -As  a  result  of  that  conversation 
the  Allis-Chalmers  Company  received  orders  for 
eight   pairs   of   such    machines. 

On  Mr.  Reynold's  return  to  Milwaukee  work 
was  at  once  begun  on  the  design  of  the  new 
engines  in  accordance  with  the  data  used  by  him 
in  his  New  Y'ork  proposition.  When  the  complete 
designs  were  ready  it  was  found,  by  comparison, 
that  in  the  rough"  notes  made  by  Mr.  Reynolds 
while  on  his  way  East,  he  had  arrived  at  iden- 
tically the  same  dimensions  of  various  parts  as 
those  obtained  from  the  carefully  worked  out  de- 
signs. 

It  is  said  that  this  incident  is  only  one  of  a  great 
many  which  have  occurred  during  Mr.  Reynold's 
long  service  with  the  old  E.  P.  Allis  Company 
and  later  with  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company,  which 
display  his  wonderful  engineering  ability  and  his 
promptness    in    making    decisions. 


Prevention  of  Ice   on  Third  Rail. 

Accumulation  of  snow-  and  ice  on  the  third  rail 
is  the  source  of  much  annoyance  and  sometimes 
delay  in  traffic  on  electric  railways  employing  this 
method  of  current  collection.  Of  the  various 
methods  devised  for  the  prevention  of  the  trouble 
none  has  proved  entirely  satisfactory-  Another 
contribution  to  the  list  of  preventives  is  a  system 
devised  by  Jeremiah  D.  Burns  of  Washington. 
D.  C,  and  which  was  recently  patented.  The  sys- 
tem embodies  the  use  of  a  resistance  wire  insulated 
with  a  material  which  is  a  good  conductor  of  heat, 
carried  adjacent  the  web  of  the  rail  just  under  the 
flange.  The  insulator  should  consist  of  a  pipe 
of  iron  containing  the  wire  and  an  insulating  filling 
such  as  clay,  cement  or  any  silica  composition.  The 
tube  is  held  in  place  against  the  rail  by  hooks  so 
constructed  as  to  clamp  it  in  place.  Current,  when 
passed  through  the  wire,  will  warm  the  tube  suf- 
ficiently to  keep  the  rail  at  a  temperature  high 
enough  to  prevent  the  collection  of  ice.  The  device 
may  also  be  used  on  the  traffic  rails  at  points  where 
trains  or  cars  are  to  be  brought  to  a  stop,  and 
where  ice  on  the  rails  is  a  severe  menace  to  the 
safety  of  operation. 


282 

Ohio  Independent  Telephone   Associa- 
tion. 

The  third  annual  convention  and  banquet  of  the 
Ohio  Independent  Telephone  Association  took  place 
at  the  Hotel  Hartman,  Columbus,  on  March  29th 
and  was  interesting  and  successful.  The  meeting 
was  opened  at  10  o'clock  with  an  address  of  wel- 
come by  Mayor  D.  C.  Badger.  The  response  was 
made   bv  J.   C.   F.  Hull  of   Bucyrus. 

In  his  address  President  Frank  L.  Beam  ac- 
knowledged in  appreciative  words  the  assistance 
which  has  been  given  the  Independent  movement 
by  the  executive  committee  of  the  state  organiza- 
tion, the  district  vice-presidents,  the  manufacturers 
and'  supply  houses,  the  electrical  journals  and  the 
daily  press.  The  annual  conventions  are  the  key- 
stone to  the  success  of  the  Independents,  he  said. 
Before  this  organization  was  established  each  local 
companv  had  to  shift  for  itself.  Twelve  years 
ago,  Mr.  Beam,  said,  the  Bell  company  had  less 
than  50,000  telephones  in  service  in  Ohio.  Up  to 
that  time  only  a  limited  number  of  people  had  been 
educated  to  know  the  great  value  of  telephone 
service  either  in  business  or  social  life.  A  great 
many  important  towns  and  villages  were  without 
telephone  connection.  Then  the  Independent  com- 
panies were  organized.  Progress  was  siow  at  first 
because  of  obstructions  from  patent  litigation  and 
because  of  inducements  offered  small  companies 
to  keep  out  of  the  Independent  organization.  But 
the  public,  he  said,  encouraged  competition,  both 
in  the  way  of  subscribing  for  service  and  investing 
in  securities  of  Independent  companies. 

Today,  said  Mr.  Beam,  the  Independents  have 
approximately  250,000  telephones  in  service  in  the 
state,  a  gain  of  about  60,000  in  the  last  year.  There 
are  '367  incorporated  companies  doing  business  in 
the  state  with  an  investment  of  over  $30,000,000. 
This,  he  said,  proves  that  the  association  has  joined 
the  several  companies  in  a  union  that  is  invincible; 
it  has  brought  the  local  companies  to  see  that  the 
support  of  neighboring  companies  is  necessary  to 
their  progress;  it  has  eliminated  any  feeling  of 
jealousy  in  regard  to  the  division  of  territory;  it 
has  done  a  great  deal  in  the  way  of  establishing 
uniform  rates,  and  it  has  brought  together  influ- 
ential men  and  stockholders  representing  every  line 
of   industry. 

The  report  of  Secretary  Ralph  Reamer  showed 
that  the  financial  end  of  the  work  had  been  kept 
up  fairly  well,  but  that  more  money  is  needed  to 
successfully  carry  on  the  work.  For  this  reason 
he  urged  that  all  companies  become  members.  Out 
of  325  companies  in  the  state  the  association  has 
a  membership  of  135.  The  expressions  on  the 
floor  showed  that  a  good  increase  in  membership 
is  likely  to  follow  this  meeting.  The  appointment 
of  committees  followed  the  report. 

James  B.  Hoge,  president  of  the  National-Inter- 
state Telephone  Association,  read  a  paper  on  "Na- 
tional Development  and  Progress  of  the  National- 
Interstate  Telephone  Association."  He  used  a 
number  of  maps  to  show  the  location  of  lines  and 
the  thoroughness  with  which  some  of  the  territory 
has  been  developed.  Trunk  lines,  he  said,  now 
extend  from  Albany  to  Kansas  City  and  along  the 
Lakes  to  a  point  near  Chicago.  Work  is  being 
pushed  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  within  a 
short  time  all  the  exchanges  in  that  portion  of  the 
country  will  be  connected.  In  all,  about  3,200,000 
Independent  telephones  are  in  operation  now  and 
$300,000,000  has  been  expended  to  make  the  service 
as  nearly  perfect  as  possible.  New  Hampshire,  Ver- 
mont, Oregon,  Arkansas,  Oklahoma  and  the  Indian 
Territory  have  been  organized.  Franchises  have 
been  secured  in  New  York  city,  Detroit,  Spokane 
and  Portland,  and  applications  are  pending  in  Cin- 
cinnati, San  Francisco,  Evansville,  Ind.,  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  and  a  number  of  other  towns,  including  the 
New  England  states.  In  the  large  cities  the  com- 
panies are  increasing  their  business  at  the  rate  of 
from  500  to  1,000  telephones  a  month.  Develop- 
ment on  the  Pacific  Coast,  about  Minneapolis  and 
Duluth  and  in  the  New  England  states  is  going  on 
at  a  rapid  rate.  Many  places  now  desire  ex- 
changes and  are  only  waiting  for  some  one  to 
build  them,  the  money  being  ready  for  investment. 
Mr.  Hoge  then  recounted  the  advantages  that  come 
from  the  development  of  country  business.  It 
enables  the  farmers  to  be  in  close  and  constant 
communication  with  the  markets,  brings  the  city 
and  country  people  closer  together  and  makes  busi- 
ness better  and  easier  to  do.  The  address  was  full 
of   interest   all   through. 

The  roll  call  of  counties  was  not  completed, 
but  progress  was  reported  by  E.  G.  Miller  of  War- 
ren, district  No.  1 ;  J.  B.  Rhodes  of  Zanesville,  dis- 
trict No.  9,  and  G.  P.  Thorp  of  Hamilton,  district 
No.  4. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  visit  the  state  Sen- 
ate and  work  against  the  passage  of  the  Howe  tax 
bill.  The  committee,  composed  of  G.  P.  Thorp, 
James  S.  Brailev,  Jr.,  J.  C.  F.  Hull,  B.  C.  Hcn- 
drickson,  C.  D.  Juvenal,  W.  H.  Baum,  W.  F.  Lau- 
bach,  J.  W.  Devore  and  W.  W.  Fisher,  went  at 
once  to  the  Senate  chamber  and  the  next  morning 
the  bill  was   defeated. 

A  resolution  was  adopted  relative  to  Cincinnati 
especially,  to  the  effect  that  where  towns  or  cities 
are  opposed  to  the  Independent  movement,  and  so 
manifest  it  by  persistently  refusing  to  grant  fran- 
chises,   they   must   be    considered    as    enemies,    and 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

telephone  men  should  act  accordingly.  A  short 
address  by  Mr.  Hurtford  of  the  Charleston  Home 
Telephone'  Company,  Charleston,  W.  Va.,  completed 
the  work  of  the  forenoon. 

In  the  afternoon  W.  B.  Woodbury  of  Detroit 
told  about  the  situation  in  that  city  and  in  Michi- 
gan. He  said  that  everything  looked  encouraging 
there  and  that  his  company  would  have  one  of  the 
best  systems  in  the  country  when  it  is  completed. 
Ed.  L.  Barber  spoke  of  the  work  in  the  South. 
The  first  long-distance  line  through  to  the  gulf 
will  be  completed  in  about  four  months.  Another 
line  is  now  completed  to  Birmingham  and  will  be 
built  to  the  coast.  The  Central  Home  Telephone 
Company  is  prepared  to  take  care  of  smaller  ex- 
changes in  Kentucky  as  a  holdrhg  company.  While 
opposition  is  being  encountered  on  all  sides  the 
Independent  system  is  being  firmly  planted. 

The  question  box  brought  out  some  interesting 
discussions.  The  first  question  read  was:  "Are 
telephone  securities  a  better  investment  today  than 
they  were  two  years  ago?  If  so,  why?"  W.  Gil- 
bert Thompson  of  Hamilton  opened  the  discussion 
and  was  followed  by  D.  E.  Sapp  of  Mt.  Vernon, 
James  S.  Brailey,  Jr.,  of  Toledo,  and  Jay  Secore 
of  Toledo.  The  trend  of  the  remarks  were  to  the 
effect  that  confidence  has  been  established  in  the 
securities  and  that  the  investing  public  looks  at 
them  as  good  and  making  a  remunerative  invest- 
ment. 

"What  benefit,  if  any,  has  been  derived  by  mem- 
bers of  the  association  from  the  papers  read  a  year 
ago  on  standardization  of  equipment,  uniform  ac- 
counting, toll  signs,  etc?"  O.  F.  French  opened 
the  discussion  on  this  question  by  saying  that  much 
good  could  have  come  from  the  study  of  these 
subjects,  but  they  had  not  been  taken  up  to  as 
great  an  extent  as  might  have  been.  However, 
much  progress  has  been  made  in  the  way  of  stand- 
ardizing equipment.  All  equipment  should  be  made 
so  that  exchanges  may  operate  together.  Mr. 
Peters  of  Athens,  A.  C.  Davis  of  the  West  Vir- 
ginia Association  and  others  also  discussed  the 
question. 

At  this  point  the  matter  of  disputed  territory 
came  up  and  there  was  a  disposition  on  the  part 
of  some  to  have  legislation  on  the  matter,  owing 
to  experiences  that  they  had  had.  But  it  was 
finally  left  to  the  executive  committee  to  devise 
plans  for  taking  care  of  this  trouble. 

Other  questions  were  as  follows ;  "Is  it  advis- 
able where  more  than  one  company  is  operating  in 
a  county  to  consolidate  and  have  all  companies 
under  one  management?"  "What  has  the  United 
States  Long-distance  Company  done  during  the 
last  year,  and  what  are  its  plans  for  the  coming 
year?"  "Has  the  Ohio  Independent  Telephone  As- 
sociation benefited  the  companies  throughout  the 
state?" 

Late   in   the   afternoon   the   nominating   committee 
reported  the   following-named  as  officers  who  were 
elected  for  the  ensuing  year: 
President — Frank  L.   Beam. 
Secretary — Otto  C.   Weisheimer  of  Columbus. 
Treasurer — Ralph  Reamer  of  Columbus. 
Delegates     to     the     National     convention — E.     L. 
Barber    and    James    S.    Brailey,    Jr.,   Toledo;    Judge 
Louis    Brucker,    Mansfield;    I.    H.    Thiedieck,    Sid- 
ney;   J.    C.    F.    Hull,    Bucyrus;    W.    G.    Thompson, 
Hamilton;    G.    H.    Metheany,    Lima;    W.    W.    Mor- 
rison. J.  B.  Rhodes,  Zanesville ;  G.  F.  Thorpe,  Wil- 
mington;   J.   B.   Hoge,   Cleveland;   D.   E.    Sapp,   Mt. 
Vernon ;  F.  L.  Beam,   Cyrus  Huling,   C.  F.  French, 
G.  R.  Johnson,  Columbus;  C.  Y.  McVey,  Cleveland; 
W.    F.    Laubach,    Akron;    E.    C.    Coen,    Vermillion; 
Leo    Flelsch,    L.    H.    Beatty,    Washington    C.    H. ; 
Washington  Hyde,  H.  F.   Folsom,  J.   C.  Reber  and 
J.  M.   Saltzgaber. 

The  banquet  in  the  large  dining  hall  of  the  hotel 
of  the  hotel  in  the  evening  was  a  pretty  affair,  the 
greater  number  of  the  delegates  and  visitors  hav- 
ing remained  for  it.  Hon.  Harry  M.  Daugherty 
presided  as  toastmaster  and  performed  his  duties 
Well.  He  introduced  Hon.  Walter  B.  Ritchie  of 
Lima,  who  predicted  some  great  things  for  the 
state  and  for  the  Independent  telephone  move- 
ment. 

Judge  C.  B.  Matthews  of  Cincinnati  spoke  on 
"The  Cincinnati  Situation."  By  every  method  that 
can  be  employed,  he  said,  the  Cincinnati  people 
have  been  educated  to  believe  they  do  not  want 
two  telephone  systems.  They  do  not  understand 
the  good  that  is  to  come  from  the  additional  serv- 
V  ice.  Cincinnati  has  lost  because  of  the  improved 
business  policies  of  St.  Louis,  and  she  is  losing  be- 
cause of  the  old  idea  regarding  the  two  systems. 
Public  sentiment  must  be  created  for  the  good  of  the 
people  as  well  as  the  Independent  interests.  "Why 
We  Should  Maintain  a  State  Association"  was  the 
subject  taken  by  Frank  A.  Davis  of  Columbus. 
Colonel  J.  D.  Powers  of  the  Louisville  Home  Tele- 
phone Company  closed  the  addresses  with  a  most 
interesting  talk  on  "The  General  Telephone  Situa- 
tion as  Viewed  from  a  Neighboring  State." 
Convention  Notes. 
The  North  Electric  Company  showed  a  line  of 
100  and  50-line  magneto  boards,  hotel-type  instru- 
ments and  the  new  iron  box  and  small  branch  ex- 
change equipment.  The  full  line  of  magneto  work 
was  shown  and  attracted  much  attention.  George 
P.  Pratt.  Ohio  representative,  was  in  charge,  but 
Engineer    E.    T.    King    and    General    Sales    Agent 


April  7,   1906 

J.  F.  Engle  were  on  the  ground  to  aid  in  meeting 
the    delegates. 

Red  and  black  wire  was  shown  by  the  Erner  & 
Hopkins  Company. 

A.  B.  Crawford  had  a  line  of  the  Stromberg- 
Carlson  Telephone  Manufacturing  Company's  prod- 
uct. 

The  United  States  Coin  Register  Company  had 
a  sample  of  its  pay-stations  for  the  inspection  of 
the  delegates. 

H.  L.  Grant,  state  representative  of  the  Century 
Telephone  Construction  Companj',  was  on  hand 
with  his  line,  as  usual. 

F.  B.  Miller  represented  the  Miller  Anchor  Com- 
pany with,  a  line  of  anchors  that  have  become 
well   known  to  the  trade. 

The  Leeds  &  Northrup  Company  showed  a  line 
of  electric  measuring  instruments,  testing  sets  and 
other  things   of  the  kind. 

C.  M.  Hamilton,  sales  manager,  and  F.  M. 
Knierim  showed  a  line  of  security  specialties  for 
the    F.    Bissell    Company   of   Toledo. 

The    W.    G.    Nagel    Electric    Company   of    Toledo 
had  a  line  of  pay  stations,  anchors,  tools  and  spe-      1 
cialties.     Ernest  J.   Paradis  was   in   charge. 

Baird's  lockout  system  for  pay  stations  was 
shown  by  the  Baird  Manufacturing  Company.  J. 
W.  Harris  was  in  charge  of  the  display. 

The  Mountain  State  Electric  Company  had  a 
display  of  Hall  specialties,  party-line  lockouts  and 
material.     John  F.  Frasher  was  in  charge. 

Double  galvanized-iron  telephone  wire  was  shown 
and  its  qualities   demonstrated  by  the  Indiana  Steel 
and  Wire  Company,  which  was  represented  by  Rob-       ' 
ert  Miller. 

R.  E.  McDuff,  Jr.,  representing  Frank  B.  Cook, 
was  unfortunate  in  not  receiving  his  goods  in  time 
to  show  them,  although  they  had  been  shipped  10 
days    previously. 

The    Select    Telephone    Manufacturing    Company 
had    its    line    of    lockout    telephones,    central-energy 
and  farmers'  line  instruments  at  the  meeting,   with      I 
representatives  in  charge. 

V.  A.  Chapman  had  charge  of  the  display  of  the 
Michigan  Electric  Specialty  Company,  which  con- 
sisted of  two-group  party-line  selectors  and  other 
apparatus  for  farmer  lines. 

Switchboards,  protectors,  telephones,  pole  houses 
and  cable-protection  supplies  were  shown  by  the 
Sterling  Electric  Company,  represented  by  Evan 
Shelby,   G.   W.   Metcalf  and  C.   L.   Carr. 

The  display  of  the  American  Electric  Fuse  Com- 
pany was  in  charge  of  J.  A.  Kenny.  Can-top  ter- 
minals, wire-joint  fuse  protectors  and  all  acces- 
sories relating  to  protection  were  shown. 

J.  V.  Latham,  representing  the  Cadiz  Electric 
Company,  manufacturer  of  Star  telephones,  switch- 
boards, protectors  and  accessories,  was  among  the 
delegates   and   gave   a  good   idea   of   his   goods. 

Lamps,  boxes  and  switchboards  were  shown  by 
the  Kellogg  Switchboard  and  Supply  Company. 
R.  S.  Mueller  was  in  charge  of  the  display  and 
with  him  were  Chief  Engineer  C.  S.  Winston,  J.  C. 
Kelsey,  O.  T.  Kimmel  and  R.  W.  Pillars. 


Discuss  Dual  Telephone  System  in 
Milwaukee. 

The  Merchants  and  Manufacturers'  Association  of 
Milwaukee,  Wis.,  has  been  hearing  arguments  for 
and  against  the  admission  of  the  West  Shore  Tele- 
phone Company  to  Milwaukee,  a  matter  that  is  now 
before  the  City  Council.  The  association  is  now 
taking  a  postal-card  vote  to  ascertain  the  views  of 
the  members  on  the  question.  There  were  present 
at  a  recent  hearing  to  speak  for  the  West  Shore 
Company  Don  Farnsworth  of  New  York ;  Richard 
Valentine,  president  of  the  Rock  County  Tel- 
ephone Company,  Janesville,  and  J.  B.  Doe  of  Mil- 
waukee. L.  A.  Olwell  also  spoke  in  its  behalf. 
Among  those  who  opposed  it  were  President  Alonzo 
Burt  of  the  Wisconsin  Telephone  Company,  Vice- 
president  J.  D.  McLeod  and  Captain  I.  M.  Bean  of 
the  special  committee  appointed  by  the  merchants. 

President  Burt  argued  that  an  additional  system 
would  mean  but  additional  expense,  as  the  user 
would  have  to  have  two  telephones  instead  of  one, 
and  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  Wisconsin  Tele- 
phone Companv's  system  covered  the  territory  thor- 
oughly. F.  L.  Bills,  construction  agent  of  the  West 
Shore  Company,  in  a  letter  said  that  20,000  resi- 
dents of  Milwaukee  were  prevented  by  present 
rates  from  the  use  of  the  telephone;  that  his  com- 
pany would  spend  $5,000,000  for  a  local  system  and 
exchange,  and  thus  aid  in  making  Milwaukee  a 
greater  jobbing  center  because  of  the  added  con- 
nections for  country  merchants. 


On  the  whole,  I  think  our  telephone  system  is 
superior  to  that  of  any  foreign  cities.  Our  tele- 
phone girls  have  larger  vocabularies,  for  one  thing. 
In  England  the  "hello"  is  never  used.  When  an 
Englishman  gathers  up  the  ponderous  contrivance 
and  fits  it  against  his  head  he  asks,  "Are  you 
there?"  If  the  other  man  answers.  "No,"  that  stops 
the  whole  conversation.— George  Ade. 


April  7,   [906 

H.  T.  Scott,  President  of  the  Pacific 
States  Telephone  Company. 

Henry  T,  Scott,  who  was  elected   a   '1 01    md 

presidcnl  of  the  Pacific  States  Telephom    and    11 
graph   Company   al    the   annual    meeting    thi 
has   long   been   identified    with   the   heavy   manufai 
luring    and    financial    interests    of    California,     He 

came    from    Philadelphia   to   San    Franci  the 

1     '70's,  taking  a  clerical  position  with  the   D 

!hh-  Iron  Works,  in  which  his  brother,  Irving  M 
Scott,  was  employed  as  a  draftsman  and  engineei 
The  enterprise  and  ability  of  the  Scotl  brother 
became  an  importanl 
factor  in  the  subsequent 

growth     of    engi g 

works  in  the  city.  The 
firm  of  Prescott,  Sc.n 
&  Co.  was  organized 
w  i  t  h  their  assistance 
and  succeeded  to  the 
business    established    b\ 

the     Dc hue    interests. 

The  new  firm  was  very 
successful,  ami  I  a  I  e  r 
the  Union  [ron  Works 
u  a  s  organized,  with 
Henry  T.  Scotl  as  presi 
dent,  which  position  he 
continued  to  held  until 
the  recent  sale  of  the 
company  to  eastern  cap- 
henby  t.  scott.  iialists.     This     company 

soon  acquired  a  repu- 
tation for  marine  work,  secured  government  con- 
tracts, and  became  famous  as  the  builder  of  the 
battleship  Oregon,  which  was  followed  by  a  number 
of  other  warships,  including  the  Ohio.  A  great 
deal  of  Henry  T.  Scott's  time  was  spent  in  Wash- 
ington. 11.  C,  and  the  East  in  connection  with  the 
work   on    these   contracts. 

After  disposing  of  his  shipbuilding  interests  prof- 
itably, Mr.  Scott  continued  to  reside  at  his  country 
place  at  Burlingame  and  to  be  identified  with  the 
business  interests  of  San  Francisco.  He  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Pacific  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany during  the  period  while  the  merger  was  be- 
ing arranged  with  the  Conservative  Life,  under  the 
name  of  the  Pacific-Conservative  Life  Insurance 
Company. 

When  the  Home  Telephone  Company  of  San 
Francisco,  which  has  just  been  granted  a  franchise, 
was  organized,  Mr.  Scott  became  one  of  -its  di- 
rectors. Last  year,  for  some  months,  no  apparent 
headway  was  made  toward  the  consummation  of 
its  "plans.  In  the  meantime  John  I.  Sabin.  presi- 
dent of  the  Pacific  States  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company,  died  late  last  year,  and  shortly  there- 
after Mr.  Scott  was  offered  the  presidency.  He 
now  devotes  the  greater  portion  of  his  time  to 
his  duties,  with  offices  in  the  new  building  of  the 
company  on   New  Montgomery   Street. 

Mr.  Scott  entered  the  presidency  at  an  auspicious 
time  when  the  new  plant  in  San  Francisco  was 
nearly  completed  and  when  the  long-distance  lines 
l-.ad  reached  a  high  degree  of  efficiency.  He  has 
already  made  an  inspection  of  the  lines  along  the 
coast,  and  his  known  executive  ability  is  expected 
to  make   itself   felt   in   various   places   shortly. 


GENERAL  TELEPHONE  NEWS 

T.  M.  Kay  will  install  a  local  telephone  system 
in  Irene,  Tex.,  with  connections  to  Emmet  and 
Mertens. 

The  Whiteshoro  Telephone  Company  of  Whites- 
boro,  Texas,  has  sold  out  to  the  North  Texas 
Telephone    Company. 

Secretary  J.  B.  Earle  of  the  Texas  Independent 
Telephone  Association  has  issued  a  call  for  the  an- 
nual meeting  to  be  held  in  Waco,  Tex..  April  25th 
to  27th. 

The  Central  Union  Telephone  Company  has  made 
a  report  for  the  year  1005,  showing  152,928  sub- 
scribers at  the  close  of  the  year.  The  total  num- 
ber of  sub-licensed  subscribers  was  50,900,  making 
the  total  number  of  stations  connected  with  the 
Bell  system  in  the  Central  Union's  territory  203,- 
228.  The  net  increase  in  the  company's  stations 
for  the  year  was  23,233,  in  new  sub-licensed  sta- 
tions 11,830,  the  total  increase  being  35,063.  No 
report   of   earnings    has   been   issued. 

The  Pennsylvania  Telephone  Company  has  opened 
the  new  operating  room  in  the  new  building  in 
York,  Pa.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  telephone  office 
and  exchange  buildings  in  the  state.  The  building 
is  a  two-story  brick  structure,  and  the  telephone 
plant  is  of  the  central-energy  system.  The  switch- 
board is  in  five  sections,  capable  of  accommodating 
1,100  lines.  The  ultimate  capacity  of  the  board 
will  be  10,000.  The  present  equipment  will  accom- 
modate  14  operators. 


ELEl  ll'' 

Indiana  Telephone  Items. 
Ih.-    Indianapoli      i 

Board  of  Pub 
-11   i,,   11,  tituti 
Indianapoli        riu    companj    will    ad 

1 icnl   Hi. -I   1 

rially  incrca  ict   thi   1 
phone 

Mi,      1 1  ,i...      Com 
Huntingl 
1 .,!,'.    ol    Petei 

i'i     tocl     and  improvi  mi 

A.    P,    11  mill.    Chard       Pat* 
W  ,i .  1 1. 11. 'i    1 1 zed   a    I,,  v.    ■ 

pany.       I  hi  .    propo  11     10  1    tablish    a   plant    11 

land  ami   conm  djoining 

■Hid    I"    gi> rice    in    and    out    to    any    point 

reached    bj    a    frei 

1..  furnish  their  own  telephom 

of   wiring   and  alio   guarantee 

ei  ■■  ii     to  tin...    v, I..,  ,1 ,1   v.  1  li  to  take 

$12  a  yeai 

I  In-  (  ity  <  nun.  il  of  Richmond   ha 
city  engineer  0.  prepare  plans   for  a  conduil 

for    all     low    On   v.  il 

Ai    a    meeting   of   the   board   oi   direi  toi       i   the 

1  mi' il     I  '  1,  pi Company    of    Marion    held    in 

Indianapolis   lasl   week  the  taking  over  of  thi 
pany  by  the  Bell  company  was  completed      Ml  con 

in'i  inai     will   I.,    made   Froi 1      tatiori    ii 

from   two  .1     In  1  -  1   fori 

The    Peaceable    Telephom     Company    of    I 
Township,   Hancock  County,  has  been   incorporated 
to    build    and    operate    a    telephone    system    in    that 
community.     Fred    E.    Williams    and    associates    of 
Greenfield   are   the    incorporators. 

The  Farmers'   Mutual  Telephone   Exchange  Com- 
pany of  lias!  Enterprise  has  been  incorporated   with 
a    capital   of  $1,000.      The   company    will    operate    in 
East    Enterprise    and    in    Switzerland    and    Ohio   'ii 
ties.      Harvey    Sedan    is    among    the    incorporators. 

The  Eleventh  District  of  the  Indiana  fndepend 
cut  Telephone  Association,  in  convention  assembled, 
petitioned  the  City  Council  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  to 
grant  to  an  Independent  telephone  company  a  fran- 
chise to  establish  a  telephone  system  in  Cincin- 
nati. The  district  represents  10  counties,  25  com- 
panies. 15,455  subscribers  and  12,000  stockholders 
in  all  lines  of  business.  It  is  said  that  the  pressure 
now  being  brought  from  all  directions  is  likely  to 
influence  the  council  to  grant  the  Independents  a 
foothold    in    Cincinnati. 

The  New  Long-distance  Telephone  Company  of 
Indianapolis  has  begun  the  installation  of  circuits 
from  Indianapolis  to  Ft.  Wayne,  South  Bend,  Lo- 
gansport,  Muncie,  Winchester,  Anderson,  Kokomo. 
Lebanon.  Thorntown,  Spencer,  Bloomington,  Bed- 
ford,  Washington,   Vincennes   and   other   points. 

The  Town  Council  of  Oakland  City  has  granted 
a  franchise  to  a  telephone  company  represented  by 
C.  F.  Stevens.  The  city  is  to  receive  one  per  cent, 
of  the  gross  earnings  of  the  local  system  after  it 
has  been  in  operation  10  years.  The  rates  will  be 
$1  for  residences  and  $2  for  business  houses  until 
500  telephones  are  in  use,  and  then  an  advance  of 
25  cents  will  be  added.  The  new  company  will 
have  long-distance  connection  with  the  New  Long- 
distance  company.  S. 


Michigan  Telephone  Matters. 

The  report  of  the  Union  Telephone  Company, 
read  at  a  stockholders'  meeting  at  Alma,  shows 
that  the  company  operates  40  exchanges  in  Central 
Michigan,  with  6.500  subscribers.  It  has  also  more 
than  800  miles  of  long-distance  lines  service.  Offi- 
cers elected  included  Tocl  Kincaid.  Owosso.  presi- 
dent, and   W.   A.  Melchers  of  Alma,  manager. 

The  Springport  Mutual  Telephone  Company 
stockholders  rejected  a  proposition  from  the  Michi- 
gan State  Telephone  Company,  to  have  the  mutual 
lines  centering  there  go  into  the  Michigan  State 
exchange.  The  local  Independent  exchange  signed 
a  contract  with  the  Citizens'  company  of  Grand 
Rapids,  whereby  the  Citizens'  company  will  build 
a  line  to  give  service  between  that  place  and  Jack- 
son. The  farmers  on  the  Cook  lines  recently  sold 
to  the  Michigan  State  company  have  decided  to 
build  Independent  lines  of  their  own  to  connect 
Vydth  Springport,  Eaton  Rapids,  Onondaga,  Rives 
and   Jackson. 

The  Cassopolis  Telephone  Company  held  its  first 
annual  meeting  on  March  21st.  These  officers 
were  elected:  President,  Harsen  D.  Smith:  vice- 
president.  H.  W.  Crook:  manager.  W.  W.  Rey- 
nolds ;  secretary  and  treasurer,  William  Jones.  A 
dividend    of    seven   per   cent,    was    declared. 

Twenty  miles  of  conduit  will  be  built  at  once 
by  the  Michigan  State  Telephone  Company  in  De- 
troit. Five  contracts  for  conduits  were  awarded 
to  the  contracting  firm  of  John  A.  Mercie  &  Co.. 
and  the  aggregate  cost  of  the  work  will  be  close 
to  $100,000.  B. 


■    ■ 

Umcda 

It    will 

ami    t' 1  ring   an    area    50   by    11 

Work   will   l„ 

(  lal.la.id 


Telephone   News  from    the    Northwest. 

telephone  line  •  Faulk 

ton,   S    1/ 

new    exchange    building    in 
Crookston,  Minn. 

Hughe,   &    Deiter   of    1  lid 
to   build   a    telephone   line   to   Glendive,   Mont 

Business  men  of  Kllcndalc,  Minn,  are  working 
to    secure   the   establishment   of  a   local   exci 

of    the    Northwestern    Tele- 
phone    !  tpany   in    Minneapolis   include, 

calls   on  Met"    a 

ii'i'." ■  ntown   district. 

The  Me, aha  Telephone  Companj  ha-  completed 
a  new  switchboard  at  Virginia.  Minn.,  and  ha, 
cut    it    over    on    a    central-energy    system. 

Ill,     Minnesota    Central     Telephone    Company    ha, 
agreed   to    rebuild   completely    its   local    exchange   al 
Lamberton,    Minn.,    in    consideration    of   the    project 
of   forming  a  new   company  and  putting   in 
ond    exchange    being    abandoned. 

The  Great  Western  Telephone  Company  will  build 
an  extension  from  Fort  Pierre.  S.  D.,  to  Rapid 
City,  following  the  extension  of  the  Chicago  and 
Northwestern    Railway. 

The  Nimrod  Rural  Telephone  Company  has  been 
formed  to  build  a  line  from  Nimrod,  Minn..  t< • 
Sebeka. 

The  telephone  exchange  at  Ackley.  Iowa,  has  been 
sold  by  Bruening  &  Symington  to  a  .-u>ck  company 
of  which  E.  B.  Smith  of  Waterloo  is  president, 
and    F.    J.    Martin    of    Ackley.    secretary. 

The  New  State  Telephone  Company  has  secured 
a  site  at  Cherokee,  Iowa,  on  which  it  is  proposed 
to  erect  an   exchange  and  office  building.  R. 


Ohio  Telephone  Notes. 

General  Manager  Bayard  Kilgour  of  the  City 
and  Suburban  Bell  Telephone  Company  of  Cin- 
cinnati asserted  before  the  Council  committee  on 
telephones  a  few  days  ago  that  he  could  present 
the  protests  of  10,000  business  men  and  citizens 
against  granting  the  Queen  City  Home  Telephone 
Company  or  any  other  company  a  franchise,  if 
given  a  week's  time.  The  Queen  City  had  re- 
ceived letters  from  many  other  cities  in  the  state 
attesting  to  the  advantages  of  having  an  Inde- 
pendent system  in  the  city,  hut  Mr.  Kilgour  said  he 
could    also    prove    that   they   are    wrong. 

'Telephone  men.  as  well  as  those  interested  in 
other  semi-public  corporations,  are  pleased  because 
of  the  failure  of  the  Howe  bill  to  pass  the  Senate. 
'The  assertion  has  been  made  that  the  bill,  if  made 
a  law.  would  have  added  a  yearly  expense  of  $1 
per  telephone  in  this  state.  A  like  expense  would 
have  been  added  to  all  other  corporations  that  op- 
erate for  the  public  convenience,  such  as  street  and 
electric  railroads,  light  plants,  waterworks  and 
others  of  the  kind. 

The  Townsend  Telephone  Company  of  East 
Townsend  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital 
stock  of  $10,000  by   C.   B.  Canfield  and  others. 

Talk  continues  as  to  the  purchase  of  the  Federal 
properties  by  James  S.  Brailey.  Jr..  and  his  asso- 
ciates. It  is  probable  that  negotiations  are  being 
pushed  forward  as  rapidly  as  possible,  but  it  is  not 
known  when  they  will  be  closed  or  whether  they 
will  be  closed  at  all.  However,  it  is  believed  that 
some  arrangement  will  be  made  whereby  they  may- 
be operated  either  in  a  group  to  themselves  or 
grouped  with  others.  This  is  in  line  with  the  gen- 
eral plan  of  the  National-Interstate  Telephone  As- 
sociation. 


The  Telephone  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

The  Sunset  Telephone  Company  is  preparing  to 
rebuild  the  Yreka  telephone  plant  and  will  expend 
about  $5, coo.  Another  $5,000  will  be  spent  in  the 
building  of  a  new-  line  from  Yreka,  Cab.  to  Ham- 
burg. 

A    telephone    exchange    will    be    installed    at    the 


A  meeting  of  the  First  District  of  the  Illinois 
Independent  Telephone  Association  is  called  to  be 
held  in'  Joliet,  111.,  on  April  10th  at  the  office  of 
the  secretary  of  the  state  association,  suite  225 
Barber  Building.  The  meeting  will  be  called  to 
order  at  11  a.  m.  The  district  consists  of  Henry. 
Lake,  De  Kalb,  Kane.  Dupage.  Kendall,  Cook, 
Will,  Grundy  and  Kankakee  counties.  A.  J.  Ver- 
nier of  Kankakee  is  vice-president  of  the  district. 


284 

Lower    Telephone    Rates  for    Chicago 
Demanded  by  Illinois  Manufac- 
turers' Association. 

An  influential  factor  in  the  present  telephone  rate- 
reducing  campaign  in  Chicago  is  the  Illinois  Man- 
ufacturers' Association.  This  association  has  for 
a  1  timber  of  years  disputed  the  right  of  the  Chi- 
cago Telephone  Company  to  charge  more  than  $125 
for  the  most  improved  service,  and  it  believes  that 
the  rates  can  be  considerably  reduced  all  along 
the  line  with  profit  to  the  telephone  company.  To 
prove  its  sincerity  in  the  matter  the  Illinois  Manu- 
facturers' Association  has  offered  to  install  a  com- 
plete telephone  system  in  Chicago.  It  asks  only 
a  return  of  six  "per  cent,  on  its  investment,  the 
remaining  profits  to  be  set  aside  to  form  a  sinking 
fund  for  repairs  and  extensions,  and  a  fund  for 
purchase  of  the  system  by  the  city  at  any  time 
within   the    term   of   a   definite   franchise   grant. 

The  details  as  to  rates,  etc..  to  be  inaugurated 
by  the  company  which  the  manufacturers  would 
organize  have  not  been  fully  worked  out.  The 
association,  however,  has  had  the  advice  of  ex- 
perts, and  as  proof  of  its  intention,  if  given  a 
franchise,  to  lower  existing  rates,  the  company's 
attorney  appeared  before  the  City  Council  commit- 
tee which  is  considering  the  subject  and  offered 
a  certified  check  for  $100,000  to  vouch  for  its  sin- 
cerity. , 
John  M.  Glenn,  secretary  of  the  manufacturers 
association,  in  an  interview  with  a  representative 
of  the  Western  Electrician,  said  that  the  associa- 
tion was  not  at  all  anxious  to  go  into  the  telephone 
business,  but  with  information  at  its  command  it 
is  satisfied  the  rates  can  be  reduced  from  10  to 
30  per  cent,  from  the  latest  offer  of  the  existing 
company.  Mr.  Glenn  said  the  association  had  plenty 
of  money,  and  the  raising  of  funds  to  install  a 
telephone  system  would  be  an  easy  matter.  How- 
ever, if  rates  considered  fair  by  the  manufacturers' 
association  are  embodied  in  a  franchise-extension 
ordinance  for  the  Chicago  Telephone  Company,  it 
is  not  likely  that  the  Illinois  Manufacturers'  As- 
sociation will  make  any  further  effort  for  a  fran- 
chise. 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Council  committee  on 
gas,  oil  and  electric  light  the  Chicago  Telephone 
Company  presented  a  schedule  of  proposed  changes 
and  reductions  in  addition  to  those  previously  made. 
As  soon  as  it  is  physically  possible  the  company 
will  abolish  the  10-party  line  residence  service  and 
substitute  therefor  the  four-party-line  service, 
charging  for  the  four-party-line  service  the  same 
rate  which  is  now  charged  for  the  10-party-line 
service. 

It  will  reduce  the  cost  of  residence  telephones, 
unlimited  service,  single-party  line,  from  $100  a 
year  to  $75  a  year;  two-party  lines  from  $75  a 
year  to  $60  a  year,  and  change  all  four-party  resi- 
dence lines  to  two-party  residence  lines.  This  will 
involve  a  reduction  in  the  company's  revenue  of 
$59,838. 

A  reduction  is  to  be  made  in  the  rate  of  desk 
telephones  to  $1  a  month.  The  present  rate  for 
business  extensions  is  $30  a  year;  residence,  $15 
a  year.  It  will  make  the  charge  uniform  at  $1  a 
month,  making  an  annual  reduction  in  revenue  of 
$58,029. 

These  changes  by  the  schedules  as  now  proposed 
will  change  24,440  residences  from  10  to  four-party 
lines,  9.138  10-party  business  telephones  will  be 
changed  to  two-party  lines,  16,188  four-party  tele- 
phones will  be  advanced  to  two-party  service,  and 
the  rates  for  6,675  extension  telephones  will  be  re- 
duced to  $12  per  annum. 

Mayor  Dunne  sent  a  letter  to  the  mayors  of 
Philadelphia,  Denver,  St.  Paul,  Omaha  and  Cin- 
cinnati, in  which  he  asked  for  data  on  telephone 
rates. 


The   First  Independent  Telephone   Ex- 
change. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  that  Indiana  was 
the  birthplace  of  the  Independent  telephone  system. 
Thirteen  years  ago  the  first  Independent  telephone 
plant  was  installed  at  Noblesville,  Ind.  Albert 
Church,  a  banker,  and  P.  C.  Burns,  then  a  manu- 
facturer, in  a  small  way,  of  dry  batteries,  but  now 
president  of  the  American  Electric  Telephone  Com- 
pany of  Chicago,  organized  the  first  Independent 
company.  The  new  company  started  with  75  sub- 
scribers, and  the  first  year  cleared  30  per  cent,  on 
the  capital  of  $io,oco,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
it  had  cut  the  Bell  rates  in  half.  Thus  the  great 
Independent  telephone  movement  of  the  country 
was   started   on   its   career   in   March,    1893. 


The  Stromberg-Carlson  Telephone  Manufactur- 
ing Company  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  reports  having 
just  closed  a  contract  with  the  Kinloch  Long-dis- 
tance Telephone  Company  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  for 
10,000  central-energy  telephones.  This  is  the  first 
order  the  .Kinloch  company  placed  for  new  tele- 
phones to  be  used  in  conjunction  with  the  17,000- 
line  switchboard  now  being  installed  by  the  Strom- 
berg-Carlson   company. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 
CORRESPONDENCE. 

Great  Britain. 

London,  March  21. — It  is  now  officially  announced 
that  the  Hull  Corporation  has  received  offers,  both 
from  the  postmaster-general  and  the  National  Tele- 
phone Company,  for  the  purchase  of  its  municipal 
telephone  system.  Apparently  terms  were  not 
reached  with  the  postmaster-general,  but  matters 
reached  a  much  finer  point  with  the  company.  The 
terms  practically  asked  by  the  telephone  committee 
of  the  corporation  were  that  the  corporation  should 
be  reimbursed  every  sovereign  of  its  capital  ex- 
penditure and  that  the  existing  low  subscriptions 
should  remain  undisturbed  for  three  years.  The 
company  agreed  to  these  terms  and  also  promised 
to  take  over  the  staff.  The  telephone  committee 
reported  to  the  corporation  in  favor  of  the  accept- 
ance of  these  terms,  but  at  a  special  meeting,  after 
discussion,  the  report  of  the  telephone  committee 
was  rejected.  Better  terms  can  hardly  be  expected 
from  the  company,  while,  if  the  system  is  main- 
tained by  the  corporation  until  the  expiry  of  its 
license  in  1911,  the  postmaster-general  is  not  ex- 
pected to  renew  the  license  and  will  not  be  bound 
to  purchase  any  more  of  the  system  than  he  thinks 
will   be  necessary   for   his   purpose. 

While  on  the  question  of  telephony,  it  may  be 
interesting  to  point  out  that  the  National  Tele- 
phone Company  has  been  held  to  be  a  landowner 
in  respect  of  any  land  upon  which  its  poles  are 
placed,  so  long  as  its  structures  remain.  A  de- 
cision was  given  the  other  day  to  this  effect,  en- 
abling the  company  to  oppose  in  Parliament  a  bill 
which  sought  to  acquire  compulsorily  land  holding 
telephone    poles. 

The  government  is  being  pressed  as  to  its  in- 
tentions regarding  the  report  of  the  Royal  Com- 
mission on  London  Traffic,  and  the  recommenda- 
tions contained  in  it.  While  acknowledging  the 
advantage  of  certain  of  the  recommendations,  it 
is  now  pointed  out  that  the  government  has  not 
been  in  office  long  enough  to  thoroughly  investigate 
them,  and  that  it  is  hopeless  to  anticipate  any  leg- 
islation  this   vear. 

The  London  electric  power  bills  still  remain  in 
a  state  of  animated  suspension;  apparently  there 
is  being  experienced  in  ministerial  quarters  some 
difficulty  in  arriving  at  a  decision  as  to  the  best 
manner   in   which   to   deal   with   them. 

A  number  of  breakdowns  have  been  occurring 
of  late  upon  the  District  Railway,  chiefly  through 
the  breaking  of  the  axles  on  the  American  rolling 
stock.  The  matter  has  been  the  subject  of  con- 
siderable press  comment,  and  some  questions  have 
been  put  to  the  parliamentary  officials  of  the  Board 
of  Trade.  Obviously  it  is  without  their  province 
to  interfere,  and  little  satisfaction  has  been  re- 
ceived from  these  quarters.  It  is  a  matter  in  which 
the  ingenuity  and  tact  of  Sir  George  Gibb  will  no 
doubt   be   exercised. 

The  London  County  Council  has  three  bills  in 
Paliament  this  year,  viz.,  its  tramway  bill,  its  gen- 
eral-powers bill  (which  includes  powers  to  enter 
into  the  business  of  wiring  and  fitting  premises  for 
electric  supply)  and  its  electric  power  bill.  There 
are  a  very  large  number  of  opponents,  and  every 
effort  is  made  to  eliminate  as  many  as  possible  if 
there  are  any  technical  grounds  for  so  doing.  Some 
work  of  this  character  has  been  carried  out  this 
week,  but  the  council  got  the  worst  of  the  fight. 
A  combination  of  electric-light  companies  has  been 
granted  the  right  to  oppose  the  wiring  and  fitting 
clauses,  on  the  ground  that  a  new  competition  is 
being  set  up;  and  the  'bus  companies  have  been 
given  a  right  to  appear  against  the  tramways  bill 
on  the  same  ground. 

The  Bristol  Corporation  was  the  first  authority 
owning  electricity  works  of  any  magnitude  to  be 
compulsorily  included  within  the  sphere  of  opera- 
tions of  an  electric  power  company.  Naturally,  with 
a  go-a-head  engineer  and  committee,  there  has  been 
considerable  resentment  since  1903.  when  the  event 
took  place.  The  power  companv  in  question  has, 
however,  not  made  any  steps  toward  putting  its 
act  of  Parliament  into  force,  and  Bristol  is  not 
being  slow  in  taking  advantage  of  the  fact,  for 
at  a  meeting  of  the  corporation  last  week  it  was 
decided  to  petition  the  Board  of  Trade  to  exercise 
its  powers  and  strike  Bristol  out  of  the  company's 
area.  Should  the  case  come  on  for  hearing  at 
-.  the  Board  of  Trade  it  will  be  an  interesting  one, 
and  the  first  of  its  kind. 

The  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire  Railway  Company 
is  contemplating  the  conversion  of  others  of  its 
steam  lines  to  electric  traction. 

The  London  County  Council  is  equipping  a  very 
large  number  of  its  tram  cars  with  electromagnetic 
brakes,  at  a  cost  of  nearly  $60,000. 

The  annual  return  concerning  the  telegraph  sys- 
tem of  Great  Britain  shows  an  adverse  balance 
of  nearly   $5,000,000. 

Rapid  progress  is  now  being  made  with  another 
of  the  Yerkes  group  of  tube  railways  in  London, 
viz.,  the  Great  Northern,  Piccadilly  and  Brompton 
Railway,  which  will  connect  up  the  Southwest  of 
London  with  the  North.  A  station  shaft  has  just 
been  sunk  in  the  courtyard  of  the  Charing  Cross 
station,  and  for  the  privilege  of  doing  this  from 
the  surface,  instead  of  from  below",  it  is  stated  no 
less  than  $400,000  has  been  paid  to  the  company 
owning  Charing  Cross   station.  G. 


April  7,   1906 

Now  England. 

Boston,  Mass.,  March  31. — Next  Monday  night 
the  Newton  aldermen  will  hold  a  public  hearing 
on  the  Boston  and  Worcester  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany's petition  for  authority  to  carry  express  mat- 
ter over  its  road  in  that  city.  The  Boston  and 
Suburban  Electric  Companies  also  desire  similar 
authority,  but  the  corporation  has  not  presented  a 
petition.  Newton  is  the  only  municipality  that  has 
not  granted  this  permission  to  the  Boston  and 
Worcester  company. 

The  Old  Colony  Street  Railway  Company  will 
soon  begin  carrying  express  over  a  section  of  its 
electric  railway,  which  connects  with  a  line  to 
Providence,  R.  I. 

The  Worcester  Light  and  Equipment  Company 
of  Worcester,  Mass.,  has  been  incorporated.  It  has 
a  capital  of  $10,000.  and  was  incorporated  by  Albert 
M.    Thompson,    William    J.    Hall    and    associates. 

The  Norwich  and  Westerly  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany's stockholders  have  authorized  an  issue  of 
bonds  amounting  to  $750,000,  the  proceeds  to  be 
used  for  the  construction  of  the  company's  electric 
railway  between  Norwich,  Conn.,  and  the  Rhode 
Island  state  line  in  Westerly.  The  company  has 
completed  six  miles  of  track  and  expects  to  have 
its  road   in  operation  by  July   1st. 

The  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford  Rail- 
road Company  has  sent  representatives  of  its  op- 
erating department  to  Pittsburg.  Pa.,  to  inspect  the 
new  electric  locomotive  built  for  the  company  by 
the  Westinghouse  company.  The  locomotive  will  be 
run  on  the  newly  electrified  section  of  the  com- 
pany's road  between  Stamford,  Conn.,  and  New- 
York.  The  company  intimates  that  the  division  be- 
tween New  Haven,  Conn.,  and  New  York  will  be 
electrically   equipped   during  the  next  year. 

The  city  of  Boston  is  preparing  to  build  a  group 
of  buildings  for  the  Girls'  Latin  School  and  the 
Boston  Normal  School,  in  which  it  will  install  ap- 
paratus for  the  generation  of  direct  current  of  low 
voltage,  for  the  purpose  of  instruction  in  electrical 
work ;  also  apparatus  for  controlling  and  measur- 
ing current,  and  a  motor  for  operating  machine 
tools  in  the  handicraft  department  of  the  Normal 
School. 

Owners  of  500  of  the  555  shares  of  the  Brat- 
tleboro  Street  Railway  Company's  stock  have 
assented  to  the  acceptance  of  a  New  York  syndi- 
cate's offer  for  the  company's  property  in  Brattle- 
boro,  Vt.  The  syndicate  offered  to  pay  the  com- 
pany's bonds  in  full  and  to  pay  25  per  cent,  of  its 
face  value  for  the  stock,  the  offer  amounting  to 
about  $35,000.     The   plant   cost   $80,000. 

The  Shaw  syndicate  has  formally  transferred  the 
control  of  the  Hartford,  Manchester  and  Rockville 
Tramway  Company  to  the  Consolidated  Railway 
Company.  J.  L.  Adams,  who  has  been  superin- 
tendent for  the  Hartford,  Manchester  and  Rock- 
ville company  for  eight  years,  has  resigned  that 
position  and  accepted  the  general  managership  of 
a  chain  of  Ohio  electric  railways,  covering  145 
miles   of   road. 

A  petition  to  the  Connecticut  Railway  and  Light- 
ing and  the  Consolidated  Railway  Companies,  ask- 
ing them  to  construct  an  additional  electric  rail- 
way between  New  Britain  and  Hartford,  Conn., 
has  been  signed  by  400  persons,  representing  the 
larger   business   firms   of   New    Britain. 

The  Massachusetts  Senate  has  reconsidered  its 
acceptance  of  the  street-railway  committee's  ad- 
verse report  on  E.  Moody  Boynton's  petition  for 
a  revival  of  the  Quincy  and  Fall  River  Bicycle 
Railway  Company's  charter,  and  has  substituted  the 
bill   for  the   report.  B. 

New  York. 

New  York  city,  March  31. — The  Assembly  at 
Albany,  on  Wednesday,  threw  out  a  bill  promoted 
by  Assemblyman  Shanahan,  designed  to  prevent  the 
formation  of  holding  companies  on  the  consolida- 
tion of  public-service  corporations.  In  the  argu- 
ments against  the  bill  a  merger  was  foreshadowed 
between  the  Consolidated  Gas  and  the  Brooklyn 
Union  Gas  companies.  On  the  same  day  the  state 
Senate  passed  Senator  Elsberg's  rapid-transit  bill, 
after  striking  out  a  clause  which  would  have  per- 
mitted separate  contracts  being  made  for  the  con- 
struction,- equipment  and  operation  of  subways  in 
New  York  city.  The  measure,'  if  finally  approved, 
will  not  interfere  with  pending  subway  plans  in 
New   York  city. 

Bids  for  some  of  these  new  lines  will  shortly  be 
advertised  and  will  be  returnable  on  June  1st.  The 
contemplated  routes  are  along  Third,  Seventh. 
Eighth  and  Lexington  avenues,  and  on  Fourteenth 
and  Thirty-fourth  streets,  with  branch  lines  in 
Brooklyn   and  the   Bronx. 

The  New  York  Central  Railroad  has  informed 
the  State  Railroad  Board  that  it  will  reduce  sub- 
urban fares  when  the  electric  traction  is  introduced. 

Governor  Higgins  has  signed  a  bill  calling  for 
the  removal  of  the  New  York  Central  tracks  from 
the  surface  of  Eleventh  Avenue,  and  giving  au- 
thority for  the  construction  of  a  subway  on  that 
thoroughfare.  Governor  Higgins  says  the  company 
may  take  its  tracks  entirely  out  of  the  avenue,  if 
it  elects  to  do  so,  in  which  case  it  will  receive 
compensation  for  all  lawfully  existing  privileges 
which   are   thereby  taken   from   it. 

Official  discussion  over  the  terms  of  the  Connect- 
ing  Railroad    Company's    franchise    has    been   con- 


April  7,  [906 


ELEl  TRIi 


tinued  and  an  aldermanic  •  oi t<  1    ha     in  pectcd 

the  route,  I  he  Board  of  Aldermen  ha  di  mandi  d 
1h.1i  di  tailed  plana  of  Ihe  road  hall  hi  ini  ludi  d  in 
the  fram  hi  ic  1  ontracl   when   il   1 .  drawn  up      1  hi 

ting    railroad   1     di    igncd   lo   foi  m   a    link   by 

mean  0:  a  bridge  over  the  Ea  1  Rivi  1  hctwi  1  n 
the  New  Haven,  Long  Island  and  Pcnn  ylvania 
Lines,  and  there  are  plans  on  paper,  bul  nol  "Hi 
cially  authenticated,  for  through  traction  bj  team 
and  electricity  between  Boston,  New  Vork  and 
Chicago. 

I,     iv I'n  covering  over  ih<-  third   rail  at    thi 

Columbus   Circle    subway   station   caught    fire    at    a 

late  li '  last   Saturday  night.     The  re  ulting   : 

filled  the  station  and  the  power  had  to  be  shut  ofl 
for  IS  minutes. 

I  In     Assembly    at    Albany    has   passed    a    bill    to 

i pel   the   New   Vork  City  Railway   to   sell   ticket 

at   the   rate  of  six  for  25  cents.     This   company   is 

the  first  in  aim icv  the  arrival  ol   spring  bj    put 

ting  "ii  open  cars  on  the  East  Side  route 

I  he  State  Railroad  Commission  has  received  a 
deputation  urging  the  installation  of  trolley  trac- 
tion in  place  of  tlir  existing  horse  cars  on  '  anal, 
Madison,  Spring,  Delancy  and  other  important  East 
Side  routes. 

Bids  will  Ik-  advertised  in  a  few  days  foi  the 
contracts  fur  the  construction  of  the  Manhattan 
Bridge  between  New  York  city  and  Brooklyn, 
known   lo  tin.'  bridge  department  as  "Undue   No.  3." 

Brooklyn  residents  are  asking  the  lire  department 
to  replace  the  old-fashioned  fire-alarm  boxes  with 
new  boxes  of  the  keyless  kind.  Under  present 
conditions  the  box  keys  are  in  charge  of  an  ad- 
jacent  householder. 

Edwin  E.  Ross  and  associates  of  Camden,  N.  J., 
have  incorporated  the  Electric  Service  Supply  Com- 
pany  with  capital   of  $450,000. 

The  State  Civil  Service  Commission  advertises 
examinations  for  inspectors  of  gas  and  electricity 
with  salaries  ranging  from  $1,200  to  $2,000.  Ap- 
plications must  he  made  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  by  April 
oth.  Candidates  must  possess  ample  technical  qual- 
ifications as  to  lighting  methods  and  photometrical 
tests. 

The  State  Board  of  Railroad  Commissioners  has 
issued  a  compilation  of  statistics  showing  the  trans- 
portation and  operation  of  the  surface,  elevated  and 
subway  lines  of  New  York  city  for  the  years  1004 
and  1905.  The  total  number  of  fares  paid  in  all  the 
boroughs  in  1904  was  1,077,658,247,  and  in  1905 
1,171,151,698,  an  increase  of  93,493,451.  The  car 
mileage  for  all  the  boroughs  in  1004  aggregated  201,- 
584,912  and  in  1905  230,249,455,  an  increase  in  the 
latter  year  of  28,664,543.  The  Metropolitan  street 
railway,  Manhattan  system,  received  379,721,637 
cash  fares  in  1905,  a  decrease  of  1,027,954  over  the 
preceding  year,  and  transferred  166,125,412,  a  de- 
crease of  12,625,978.  The  elevated  carried  249,955,- 
166  passengers  during  1905,  a  decrease  of  42,691,508. 
The  subway  carried  116,209,313,  compared  with 
16,241,369  in  1904.  The  net  increase  on  all  the 
lines  of  this  company  of  passengers  carried  was 
57,285,936.  On  the  roads  of  the  Brooklyn  Rapid 
Transit  system  337,678,930  cash  fares  were  received 
in  1905,  an  increase  of  33,762,300,  and  78,923,328 
transfers  were  made,  an   increase  of  15,375,164. 

Commissioner  Ellison  has  announced  that  he  had 
declined  to  grant  the  New  York  Central  railroad  a 
permit  to  place  its  11,000-volt  transmission  line 
overhead  in  carrying  out  its  plans  to  electrify  the 
line  from  Grand  Central  Station  to  Peekskill.  The 
road  has  ordered  hundreds  of  heavy  steel  poles  to 
be  placed  along  its  tracks  and  has  caused  hundreds 
of  pits  to  be  dug  and  concreted,  so  that  they  would 
be  ready  for  the  poles  when  they  arrive.  They 
will  be  useless  under  the  present  ruling  for  that 
part  of  the  road  between  the  Grand  Central  Sta- 
tion and  the  city  line.  Commissioner  Ellison  thinks 
the  danger  to  life  from  the  high-voltage  wires  in 
case  of  a  break  is  too  great  to  place  the  line  over- 
head. D.  W.  W. 


Ohio. 

Cleveland,  March  31. — Considerable  speculation 
has  been  caused  by  the  report  that  W.  Kelsey 
Schoepf  and  his  associates  have  purchased  the  Co- 
lumbus and  Lake  Michigan  steam  road,  operating  a 
line  42  miles  long  between  Lima  and  Defiance.  A 
route  is  now  being  located  from  Lima  to  Bellefon- 
taine,  where  the  original  Appleyard  lines  will  be 
joined.  It  is  said  the  syndicate  is  also  planning 
to  build  a  line  directly  from  Bellefontaine  to  Co- 
lumbus over  the  right-of-way  of  the  Columbus  and 
Lake  Michigan.  From  Defiance  north  a  road  may 
be  built  to  reach  Bryan  in  Williams  County.  These 
roads  will  connect  up  the  Schoepf  interests  in  north- 
ern and  southern  Ohio  and  Indiana  and  make  Lima 
the  hub  of  the  system  in  that  part  of  the  state. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives  a  few  days  ago 
the  Stockwell  bill  providing  for  the  submission  of 
franchises  to  the  vote  of  the  people,  if  five  per  cent, 
of  the  voters  demanded  it,  has  been  killed.  Mr. 
Stockwell  said  the  bill  is  not  what  he  wanted,  but 
that  it  is  an  improvement  over  the  present  method 
of  granting  franchises. 

The  Appleyard  securities  given  the  German  Bank 
of  Buffalo,  amounting  to  not  less  than  $1,400,000, 
have  been  sold  to  Walter  P.  Cooke  of  Buffalo  for 
$43,100. 

It  is  said  the  confiscation  of  coal  shipped  to  the 
Appleyards    roads    at    Springfield    by    a    steam    road 


riouily  cripple  the  trai  lion  lini 

en  1     tri  ki    cot 

11   thi     ' 
What 

.ii  ,,nd  Light 
Company  I 

..ill      rhi     routi 
fewer  1  de«   than  the  northern 

1  ii'  r  on  thi  ille  and 

\     E,   Smith   of    Harland, 

plan    for  a    through    roi 

1  levi  land   bj    way  of    I  oledo  die  by 

'    1  ' 11. id    1 Smith 

ret thi     I  !n   !•■■  >,   Kenosha   and      I 

fcctril      Railway    I  '"ini 

a   freight    a     ■.■  ■  II         pa    1 

id    Manager    \V,    1 1.    V,  ma   and 

I  .1  i'  in     Interurban     Railway    '  ompany    ha 
quoted  work   on    the 

road  would  I"-  commenced  next  month. 

lb'-  bonds  "i  the  Columbus,  Delaware  and 
Marion     Electric     Railroad     Company,    aggregating 

$1,000,000,  have-  1 11   approved  in    Maine,  where  the 

company    i  ■•    ini  01  I 

Health  authorities  at  Akron  have  begun  t"  make 
war  upon  the  interurban  roads,  charging  that  some 
of  them  do  not  keep  their  cars  in  a  sanitary  con- 
dition. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  the 
Columbus,  Delaware  and  Marion  Railway  Company 
and  its  subsidiary  corporations  a  few  days  ago, 
President  J.  G.  Webb  submitted  a  report  showing 
that  the  gain  in  earnings  for  the  year  had  been 
30  per  cent.  The  sum  of  $300,000  was  authorized 
for  betterments.  These  include  the  completion  of 
the  extension  to  Greencamp  and  Richwood,  tin- 
purchase  of  seven  new  cars  and  31  miles  ol  - 
steel  rails,  another  2,000-kilowatt  generator  for  the 
Stratford   power   house   and   the   Bucyrus   extension. 

Nineteen  bids  have  been  received  for  preparing 
plans  for  the  municipal  light  plant  at  Covington, 
Ky. 

The  Electric  Construction  Supply  Company  of 
Springfield  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital 
stock  of  $10,000  by  William  W.  Rodgers  and  others. 

An  increase  of  capital  stock  from  $25,000  to 
$100,000  has  been  made  by  the  Blakeslce  Electric 
Auto   Company   of   Cleveland.  O.  M.  C. 


Indiana. 


Indianapolis,  March  31. — The  mayor  and  city- 
attorney  of  Bluffton  hold  that  the  ordinance  grant- 
ing a  franchise  to  the  Marion,  Bluffton  and  East- 
ern Traction  Company  to  enter  that  city  is  invalid 
because  the  Board  of  Public  Works  failed  to  act 
in  harmony  with  the  council.  The  company  has 
concluded  to  build  into  the  city  and  permit  the 
question  to  be  raised  by  an  injunction. 

The  Vincennes  Traction  and  Light  Company  has 
filed  articles  of  incorporation,  capitalized  at  $200,000. 
The  company  proposes  to  build  street  railways  in 
Vincennes,  Bruceville,  Bicknell,  Oaktown,  Decker, 
Monroe  City,  Princeton,  Washington,  Carlisle  and 
Sullivan.  It  is  proposed  to  connect  the  cities  named 
with  an  interurban  road  and  and  to  supply  elec- 
tricity and  steam  for  light,  heat  and  power.  Ben- 
jamin G.  Hudnot  and  C.  A.  Gordon  of  Terre 
Haute,  William  Folley  of  St.  Louis  and  George 
E.    Henry   of   Vincennes   are   the   incorporators. 

By  ordering  a  reduction  of  30  cents  a  ton  in  the 
coal  rate  between  the  Linton  coal  fields  and  Stines- 
ville  the  Indiana  Railroad  Commission  this  week 
decided  one  of  the  most  important  cases  that  has 
come  before  it.  The  rate  has  been  80  cents  for  a 
haulage  of  59  miles.  It  is  said  the  commission 
will  soon  take  up  the  question-  of  exchange  of 
freight  between    interurban   and   steam    roads. 

The  city  councils  of  Noblesville,  Greenfield  and 
other  cities  have  granted  franchises  to  the  Capital 
City  Circuit  Traction  Company.  This  company  will 
build  a  line  around  Indianapolis  at  a  radius  of  25 
miles. 

A.  E.  Smith  of  Kenosha,  Wis.,  representing  a 
syndicate  owning  gas  and  electric  plants  and  elec- 
tric railways  operating  in  Wisconsin,  has,  it  is  an- 
nounced, purchased  the  Michigan  City  electric-rail- 
way lines.  It  is  through  that,  perhaps,  these  inter- 
ests are  identical  with  those  of  the  Chicago  Air 
Line  Company  now  building  from  South  Bend  to 
Chicago. 

The  Indiana  Union  Traction  Company  has  stored 
Soo  tons  of  coal  for  its  central  power  station  at 
Anderson,  which  operates  the  300-mile  system  of 
electric  lines.  Other  traction  lines  are  storing  coal, 
and  the  steam  lines  are  confiscating  coal  in  tran- 
sit, all  preparatory  to  the  anticipated  strike.  The 
electric-light  plants  through  the  state  will  likely  be 
closed  down  in  case  the  v  suspension  of  mining  con- 
tinues long.  As  a  rule  they  carry  a  small  supply 
of  coal. 

A  suit  to  determine  the  rightful  owners  of  a 
site  near  Shoals  on  the  White  River  for  a  water 
power  has  been  decided  in  favor  of  the  Peru 
company,  headed  by  Jerome  Serff  of  Peru.  A 
large  power  plant  to  generate  electricity  will  be 
built  this  summer.  It  is  said  4,000  horsepower  is 
available. 

Interline  tickets  good  over  all  connecting  Indiana 
and    Ohio    electric   lines    have   been   issued   and    are 


ibrir   1, 

:te    al- 

. 
of  tli.-  plain   to  tbc  city,  but 

pal     lighting 
The    new    m  plant    at    Mai 

artificial    gat    from    crude    oil     The    company   will 
supply  consumers   with   ga-  at   50  cent 

■d  that  the   Richmond   Light 

and     Power    Company     will  ,1     im- 

provements   t"    it-    power    plain,    u 

parity.     Much  of  the  machinerj 

by  new  ami   more  modem   machinery.    The   inten- 
i"   improve   the    service   b)    constructing    ad- 
ditional   '  with 
ih,    municipal   plant. 

lie-    Fair unt    Light    and  pany    of 

Fairmounl    propose!    to    install    meter-    for   all    con- 

and    to   give   a    continuous 
an    Ameri  engine.     Paul    LaRuc 

eral    manager 


Michigan. 

Grand   Rapids,    March      31. — The   Ptre   Marquette 

Light   and    Power   Company    ha-   offered    to   supply 

the  village  of  Shelby  with  electricity  for  lighting 
and  power  purposes  at  the  switchboard  at  the  rate 
of  three  cents  a  kilowatt.  The  company  is  build- 
ing a  dam  on  the  south  branch  of  the  Pere  Mar- 
quette River  which  will  give  a  35- foot  head  and 
will    develop    about    1,200    horsepower. 

A  new  alternating  generator,  a  new  switchboard 
and  150  new  enclosed  arc  lamps  have  been  put  in 
operation  by  the  Pontiac  Standard  Lighting  Com- 
pany at  Pontiac.  The  control  of  the  company  lias 
passed  out  of  the  hands  of  George  E.  Fisher  <  if 
Detroit,  who  for  the  last  14  years  has  been  actively 
identified  with  street-lighting  contracts  in  Pontiac. 
Following  the  sale  of  Mr.  Fisher's  interest  Charles 
A.  Ward  of  Ann  Arbor  appeared  as  active  head  of 
the  new  company.  Mr.  Ward  has  now  been  suc- 
ceeded by  Glenn   D.   Smith  of  Jackson. 

During  the  last  five  months  a  Detroit  and  Adrian 
syndicate  has  been  working  50  quietly  on  a  project 
to  build  an  electric  railway  between  the  two  cities 
that  the  purpose  was  not  generally  known  before 
the  filing  of  articles  of  the  Detroit  and  Adrian 
Traction  Company.  Mason  L.  Brown  of  Detroit, 
who  is  one  of  the  incorporators  and  in  charge  of 
the  survey,  said  that  the  survey  had  been  about 
completed  and  a  private  right-of-way  to  the  River 
Rouge  and  franchises  in  Adrian  and  Tecumseb 
secured.     The  route  is  about  60  miles  long. 

The  street-car  system  between  South  Bend  and  St. 
Joseph  will  be  in  operation  by  June  1st.  Contractor 
George  Townsend  will  turn  the  road  over  on  May 
1st.  Fare  for  the  round  trip  from  Xiles  to  St 
Joseph  will  be  80  cents.  The  fare  for  the  round 
trip  from  St.  Joseph  to  South  Bend  will  be  $1. 10. 
The  roadbed  between  St.  Joseph  and  South  Bend 
covers  a  distance  of  35  miles.  Ten  elegant  new- 
compartment  cars  will  go  on  at  the  opening,  while 
six  freight  and  baggage  cars  will  handle  the  fruit 
business.  The  traction  company  has  arranged  to 
handle  fruit  for  the  Graham  &  Morton  steamers. 

The  Co-operative  Construction  Company,  whose 
purpose  it  is  to  build  an  electric  railroad  from 
Grand  Rapids  to  Ludington  through  Hesperfa. 
Hart  and  Pentvvater,  has  been  incorporated  with 
$10,000  capita],  $6,000  of  which  is  paid  in.  George 
E.    Milton   is  president. 

The  changes  incident  to  the  acquisition  of  the 
Detroit.  Monroe  and  Toledo  Short  Line  by  the 
Detroit  L'nited  Railway  will  be  one  of  the  latest 
improved  turbine  engines  and  dynamos,  which  will 
have  the  capacity  of  the  three  electrical  units  now- 
installed  in  the  power  house  at  Monroe.  This  im- 
provement will  necessitate  the  abandonment  of  the 
general  offices  of  the  company  in  the  power  house 
proper.  General  Manager  Tarkington  will  be  quar- 
tered in  the  building-  occupied  by-  the  despatcher. 
The  proposed  change  will  necessitate  an  expendi- 
ture of  $100,000.  LTnder  the  new  regime  the  freight 
trains  will  start  from  Detroit  and  Toledo  each 
morning  instead  of  Monroe. 

The  Grand  Rapids.  Grand  Haven  and  Muskegon 
Railway  Company  last  Wednesday  for  the  first 
time  received  power  furnished  by  the  Grand  Rap- 
ids-Muskegon  Waterpower  Electric  Company.  It 
is  said  that  the  regular  power  house  at  Fruitport 
will  be  turned  over  to  the  new  power  company  to 
be  used  as  an  emergency  *  station.  The  interurban 
company  is  now  commanding  a  motive  power  of 
1. 000  horsepower.  The  new  powder  arrangements 
will  allow  the  interurban  railway  company-  to  re- 
duce   its    working    force    considerably.        L.  W.  B. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April  7,   1906 


Central  Illinois. 

Peoria,  March  31. — The  Illinois  Traction  Com- 
pany has  decided  that  the  route  of  the  line  be- 
tween here  and  Bloomington  shall  follow  the  Big 
Four  steam  road.  The  company  is  also  considering 
building  a  branch  of  the  Springfield  and  North- 
western from  Lincoln  to  Peoria,  via  Minier  and 
Pekin. 

The  McKinley  syndicate  has  surveyors  in  the 
field,  running  a  line  from  Pekin  to  Jacksonville, 
to  connect  with  the  Peoria-Bloomington  line  at  East 
Peoria. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  lowest  bidders  on 
the  bridge  to  be  built  across  the  Illinois  River  in 
Peoria  by  the  Illinois  Traction  Company,  wanted 
more  time  than  the  company  would  allow,  the  con- 
tract has  not  as  yet  been  let.  The  bids  for  the 
substructure   are    about    to   be   opened. 

The  Illinois  Independent  Telephone  Association 
has  issued  an  open  letter  to  the  people  of  the  state 
asking  them  to  do  what  they  can  to  induce  the 
Chicago  City  Council  to  grant  a  franchise  in  that 
city  to   some   Independent   company. 

A  municipal-ownership  league  was  formed  at 
Bloomington.  Rev.  H.  O.  Hoffman  was  chosen 
president   and   Julius    Freeman   secretary. 

The  McKinley  syndicate  has  purchased  a  tract 
of  27  acres  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  at  Peoria, 
on  which  the  new  bridge  approach  will  be  built, 
and  it  is  also  reported  that  it  intends  to  build 
extensive  shops  on  this  property  soon.  The  Federal 
government  has  approved  the  plans  of  the  bascule 
bridge  to  be   erected  by  the  McKinley  syndicate. 

The  indications  are  that  the  Illinois  Central  elec- 
tric-railway line  from  Lewiston  to  Canton  will  be 
built  this  year.  The  Cleveland  syndicate  will  fur- 
nish $235,000.  and  the  amount  to  be  subscribed  by- 
Canton  and  Lewiston  persons  is  nearly  all  sub- 
scribed. 

The  surveys  for  the  Peoria,  Streator  and  Ottawa 
railway  are  being  pushed  north  from  Streator  and 
as  soon  as  finished  to  Ottawa  the  surveyors  will 
start  this  way.  According  to  the  terms  of  the  ordi- 
nances granted  this  road  may  be  operated  by  elec- 
tricity   or    any    other    motive    power    except    steam. 

Grading  on  the  Peoria-Bloomington  line  is  pro- 
gressing rapidly.  Three  miles  has  been  finished 
east  of  East  Peoria,  which  is  ahead  of  contract 
time.     The  entire  road  is  to  be  graded  by  June  1st. 

A  license  to  incorporate  the  Springfield  and 
Southeastern  Traction  Company  has  been  issued. 
The  orincipal  office  will  be  in  Springfield,  111.,  and 
the  capital  stock  will  be  $250,000.  It  is  proposed 
to  construct  an  electric  railroad  from  Springfield 
in  a  southerly  direction,  taking  in  Pana,  Vandaha 
and  Decatur.  The  incorporators  and  first  board 
of  directors  are  L.  A.  Shadburne,  P.  Chase,  T.  J. 
Finn,  James  J.  Finn  and  M.  P.  Vale,  all  of  Chi- 
cago. V.   N. 


Northwestern  States. 

Minneapolis,  March  31. — The  Iowa  Gas  and  Elec- 
tric Company  has  been  organized  for  the  purpose 
of  constructing  an  interurban  line  from  Adair  to 
Corning.  J.  H.  Simmons  of  Corning  is  president 
and    C.    E.    Barry    of    Casey,    secretary. 

There  is  considerable  talk  of  building  an  elec- 
tric railway  from  Corydon,  Iowa,  to  Sewal,  con- 
necting the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy  and 
the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  railroads  at 
those   towns. 

The  Jamestown  (N.  D.)  Traction  Company  has 
been  incorporated  by  Morris  Beck  and  others  with 
a  capitalization  of  $150,000,  and  it  is  proposed  to 
build  an  electric  railway  from  Jamestown  to  Cour- 
tenay    and   another   to    either    Oakes    or   Edgeley. 

A.  T.  LeVesconte  has  purchased  the  electric- 
light  plant  at  Langdon,  N.  D.  He  has  resigned  as 
manager  of  the  electric-light  system  at  Glencoe, 
Minn.,  and  Mr.  Cummings  of  Webster  City,  Iowa, 
has   been   elected   as   his    successor. 

The  Roberts  &  Abbott  Company,  consulting  engi- 
neers of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  is  preparing  specifica- 
tions for  a  concrete  dam  and  power  house,  to  be 
constructed  at  Decorah,  Iowa,  by  Burtis  &  Howard. 

The  LaCrosse  (Wis.)  City  Railway  Company  and 
the  LaCrosse  Gas  and  Electric  Company  may  both 
be  sold  to  Chicago  interests  who  have  taken  op- 
tions   on    the    properties    which    run   to    June    1st. 

An  electric-light  system  is  a  possibility  at  Tyler, 
Minn.  R. 


Paeific  Slope. 

San  Francisco,  March  30. — The  Del  Monte  Hotel 
at  Monterey,  Cal.,  will  have  a  complete  electric 
power  plant  installed  at  once.  The  new  equipment 
will  include  three  125-kilowatt  two-phase  belted- 
type  generators,  each  driven  by  a  Harrisburg  four- 
valve  engine.  New  boilers  will  be  installed  of 
sufficient  capacity  to  supply  the  electric  plant,  which 
will  drive  a  laundry  and  do  pumping,  in  addition 
to  supplying  lights  for  the  large  hotel  buildings. 
Oil  fuel  can  be  obtained  very  cheaply  from  a  pipe 
line  at  Monterey. 

The  directors  of  the  Citizens'  Light  and  Trac- 
tion Company  of  Salem,  -Ore.,  held  a  meeting  last 
week,  and  reorganization  was  effected.  H.  W. 
Goode  of  Portland  was  elected  president.  F.  G. 
Sykes  of  Portland  vice-president,  Sam  Reed  of 
Portland    secretary    and    treasurer,    and    Rollin    K. 


Page  of  Portland  manager.  Mr.  Page  has  moved 
to  Salem  and  will  take  charge  of  the  railway,  light, 
power  and  gas  systems  of  that  city  and  the  electric 
plants  at  Woodburn,  Mount  Angel  and  Silverton. 

Articles  of  incorporation  of  the  Ygnacio  Valley 
Railway  have  been  filed  in  Alameda  County,  and 
a  series  of  condemnation  suits  have  been  brought 
against  a  number  of  defendants  in  Oakland  and 
Fruitvale,  Cal.  The  company  has  a  capital  stock 
of  $2,oco,ooo,  and  it  is  its  intention  to  build  a  rail- 
way from  Oakland  to  Antioch,  with  two  branch 
lines,  having  a  total  mileage  of  55.  A.  Bishop, 
L.  F.  Winchell  and  W.  Murphy  are  the  incorpo- 
rators. 

The  Fairmont  Hotel  management  has  closed  con- 
tracts for  a  complete  three-wire  no  and  220-volt 
electric-light  and  power  plant  in  the  new  building, 
which  is  the  largest  and  finest  of  its  kind  in  San 
Francisco.  Three  150-kilowatt  Westinghouse  gen- 
erators will  be  direct  connected  to  three  Harrisburg 
four-valve  engines,  and  one  75-kilowatt  generator 
will  be  direct  connected  to  an  Ideal  engine.  Three 
double-throw  panel  switchboards  will  be  installed 
and  the  entire  plant  will  be  fitted  up  in  handsome 
style.  At  least  1,200  rooms  are  to  be  lighted,  and 
laundry,  etc.,  operated. 

The  Western  Power  Company,  which  has  been 
doing  preliminary  work  for  several  years  on  a  very 
large  electric  power  project,  which  contemplates  the 
development  of  power  at  the  Big  Bend  of  the 
Feather  River  in  Plumas  County,  California,  has  its 
engineers  completing  the  revised  plans  in  New 
York.  They  will  probably  resume  operations  at 
the  power  site  during  April,  and  will  lose  no  time 
in  constructing  the  transmission  system  that  is  to 
be  eventually  extended  to  San  Francisco,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  150  miles. 

The  San  Francisco,  Vallejo  and  Vaca  Valley 
Railway  and  Steamship  Company  will  soon  begin 
work  on  its  electric  road  from  Vallejo  to   Benicia. 

Articles  of  incorporation  have  been  filed  for  the 
Oroville  Townsite  Company  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$400,000.  The  incorporators  of  the  company  are  M.  J. 
Gordan.  Fred  B.  Grinnell  and  Charles  A.  Dibble 
of  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  and  Frank  C.  Paine  of  White- 
fish,  Mont.  The  company  proposes  to  install  an 
electric-light  plant  and  a  system  of  street  and 
suburban  railways   in   Oroville   or  the   City  of   Oro. 

A  six-stamp  mill  is  to  be  erected  at  Blewett, 
Wash.,  and  operated  by  electricity.  A  six-stamp 
battery'  is  on  the  ground  now.  Power  will  be  taken 
from  the  Peshastin  Creek,  and  operations  will  com- 
mence about  April. 

The  Valley  Electric  Company  of  Santa  Maria, 
Cal.,  is  contemplating  extensive  improvements  to 
enlarge  its  plant  and  lighting  capacity.  A  new 
building,  boilers  and  machinery  will  be  added. 

The  Pacific  Wireless  Telegraph  Company  has 
leased  12  acres  of  land  on  the  summit  of  Mt. 
Tamalpais,  California,  where  the  company  has  es- 
tablished a  station  and  erected  a  tower  300  feet 
high. 

The  Napa  and  Lakeport  Railroad  Company  has 
been  granted  a  franchise  to  operate  an  electric  rail- 
way on  the  streets  of  Napa,  Cal.  The  new  com- 
pany is  to  operate  a  ferry  system  from  San  Fran- 
cisco   to    the    Marin    County    shore. 

It  is  reported  that  M.  R.  Jones  and  his  asso- 
ciates in  the  newly  incorporated  Martinez  and 
Contra  Costa  Railroad  Company  intend  to  build 
an  electric  road  from  Martinez  to  Antioch,  Byron 
Springs,  and  through  the  San  Ramon  Valley,  to 
a  connection  with  the  Key  Route  line  at  Berkeley. 

F.  M.  Greenwood  and  his  associates  of  San 
Francisco  have  been  granted  a  50-year  franchise 
by  the  city  trustees  of  Alameda,  Cal.,  for  a  com- 
peting  electric-railway   and    ferry   system. 

One  million  dollars  of  the  Los  Angeles  Pacific 
Company's  bonds,  at  10054  and  accrued  interest, 
recently"  placed  on  the  market,  were  oversubscribed 
$QO,ooo!  They  were  placed  by  Sutro  &  Co.  of  San 
Francisco,  who  are  understood  to  have  bought  the 
entire  issue  at  something  less  than  par.  The  eager- 
ness with  which  the  bonds  were  taken  may  be  ac- 
counted for  by  the  published  statement  that  Mr 
Harriman    has    acquired   control    of   the   property. 

Jay  P.  Graves  has  bought  the  franchise  held  by 
the  Spokane  Light  and  Power  Company,  at  Spo- 
kane, Wash.,  carrying  the  right  and  privilege  to 
build  and  operate  a  light  and  power  plant  in 
Spokane.  Mr.  Graves  has  also  secured  waterpower 
and  privileges  at  falls  in  the  Spokane  River,  and 
it  is  understood  that  it  is  his  intention  to  bring 
the  power  to  Spokane,  where  a  commercial  lighting 
plant  will  be  installed. 

The  Starr-King  Building  on  Geary  Street,  San 
Francisco,  is  to  be  equipped  with  an  isolated  elec- 
tric-lighting plant,  which  will  furnish  lights  also 
for    several    adjoining    buildings. 

The  new  Fairmont  Hotel,  in  San  Francisco,  which 
was  about  completed,  but  is  ,to  be  considerably  en- 
larged by  its  new  owners,  Hartland  Law  and  H.  E. 
Law,  will  be  equipped  with  an  isolated  electric- 
light   and   power  plant,   steam-driven. 

W.  D.  Crawford  and  A,  D.  Ridson,  representing 
the  Pacific  Wireless  Telegraph  Company  of  Los 
Angeles,  are  in  Bellingham,  Wash.,  and  will  install 
a  space-telegraph  station  there  this  summer.  The 
system  owned  by  this  company  is  used  by  the 
LTnited  States  government  in  the  northwestern  part 
of   Washington.  A. 


PERSONAL 

F.  R.  Glover,  manager  of  the  British  Columbia 
Electric  Railway  at  Vancouver,  B.  C,  will  leave 
soon  for  the  Okanagan  country,  where  he  intends 
residing  in  future. 

J.  G.  Forsthove,  superintendent  of  the  McKinley 
syndicate  interests  at  Galesburg,  111.,  has  resigned 
his  position.  About  May  1st  he  will  engage  in 
business    in    St.    Louis. 

John  T.  Huntington,  for  the  last  three  years  gen- 
eral manager  of  the  Elgin,  Aurora  and  Southern 
Traction  Company,  resigned  his  position  in  Aurora, 
111.,  and  has  gone  to  Topeka.  Kan. 

Alex  Dow,  vice-president  and  general  manager 
of  the  1  Edison  Illuminating  Company  of  Detroit, 
has  gone  abroad  for  a  vacation.  He  will  spend  the 
time  principally  in  England  and  expects  to  return 
next   month. 

Samuel  L.  Black,  manager  of  the  New  England 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company's  office  at  Ca- 
lais, Maine,  died  on  March  23d.  He  was  73  years 
old.  Mr.  Black  was  a  telegraph  operator  for  51 
years,  having  been  employed  by  the  Western  Union 
Telegraph    Company    for   48  years. 

George  R.  Metcalfe,  editor  of  the  Technical 
World  Magazine  and  also  of  the  text-book  depart- 
ment of  the  American  School  of  Correspondence, 
Chicago,  has  resigned  to  accept  the  position  of 
editor  of  the  publication  department  of  the  West- 
inghouse Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company  at 
East  Pittsburg.  Mr.  Metcalfe  is  an  experienced 
and  capable  technical  writer,  and  he  will  make  a 
valuable    addition   to    the    Westinghouse    forces. 

H.  N.  Morris,  president  of  the  Shreveport  (La.) 
Gas,  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company  and  of 
the  Texarkana  Lighting  Company,  will  leave  in  a 
short  time  for  North  Carolina,  where  he  will  spend 
several  months.  Mr.  Morris  will  give  up  the  active 
management  of  the  local  lighting  company,  and 
will  turn  its  affairs  over  to  A.  G.  Curtis,  formerly 
of  Chicago.  He  will  retain  the  presidency  of  the 
two  concerns.  This  action  is  taken  by  Mr.  Morris 
on  account  of  ill  health. 

David  H.  Wilson  has  been  appointed  to  the  po- 
sition of  electrical  engineer  of  the  Erie  Railroad. 
The  new  office  has  just  been  created  by  the  Erie 
in  recognition  of  the  increasing  importance  of  the 
electrification  work  which  is  being  furthered  on 
sections  of  the  system  in  New  York  state.  Mr. 
Wilson,  who  is  a  graduate  of  Purdue,  comes  to 
the  road  from  the  American  Locomotive  Company. 
He  will  devote  himself  at  first  to  the  work  of 
equipping  the  Erie's  big  power  house  at  Hornells- 
ville. 

William  S.  Hine  has  many  friends  who  will 
be  pleased  to  know  that  he  has  again  entered  the 
electrical    business    and    has    this    time    joined    the 

forces  of  the  Fort  Wayne      

Electric  W  o  r  k  s.  Mr. 
Hine  wras  for  years  con- 
nected with  the  Stanley 
interests,  and  his  excel- 
lent work  in  marketing 
alternating-current  appa- 
ratus while  he  was  with 
the  Western  Electric 
Company  is  well  known. 
Of  late  Mr.  Hine  h  a  s 
been  identified  with  the 
1  i  f  e-insurance  business. 
He  wall  operate  from  the 
Chicago  office  and  be,  so 
to  speak,  the  "right 
bower"    to    Manager    Goll 

in  charge  of  this  branch  of  the  Fort  Wayne 
business.  Mr.  Hine  is  a  brother  of  Henry  Hine, 
also  wrell  known  among  electrical  men.  His  pleas- 
ant personality  no  less  than  his  business  ability 
has  made  him  a  favorite  among  electrical  men  in 
Chicago  and  the  West. 


VILLIAM    S.    HINE. 


ELECTRIC  LIGHTING. 

The  council  of  Hanover,  Mich.,  will  install  a 
$20,oco   light   and   water   plant   at   Hanover. 

The  Minden  (Neb.)  Edison  Light  and  Power 
Company  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  of 
$20,000. 

The  Eldorado  (Kan.)  Light,  Heat,  Ice  and  Power 
Company  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $50,000. 

The  Ellendale  (N.  D.)  Light  and  Power  Com- 
pany has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock 
of   $25,000. 

Ed.  Sawyer  of  Rushton,  Iowa,  has  been  granted 
a  franchise  to  put  in  an  electric-light  system  in 
Homer,   La. 

V.  A.  Decker.  F.  C.  White  and  Lewis  P.  Cooke 
have  purchased  the  plant  of  the  Hawley  (Pa.) 
Electric  Light  Company.  About  $20,000  will  be 
expended   in    improvements. 

The  frequency  of  passenger  wrecks  recently 
throughout  the  country,  in  which  passengers  were 
burned  to  death  by  reason  of  fire  breaking  out  in 
the   debris,   has   caused   a    renewal    of  the   agitation 


April  7.  rgo6 

among  many   new  papi  i     in   favoi   ol   clcctrii    lighl 

for  •■ill   ■  la    ■      "i    pa    i  n| |uipmcnt. 

i  Ibi  rim,   Kan.,   has   voted   to   i    m    bond     to  the 
amounl   of  $10,000  for  the  construction  of  ai 
trie  lighl    plant. 

I  In     Pell    Citj     1  Ala  1     tfanufai  tin  ing    I  ompany 

hi     i"  hi id    in!    .1    fram  hi  1     to    Eurni  h     lectrn 

light    fur   1  In-  city. 

Citizens  oi  Aberdeen,  S.  I).,  will  vote  on  April 
17th  on  a  proposition  to  is  uc  $35,000  '"  bondi  foi 
:ni   electric  lighl    plant 

\  rccenl  fire  in  Fordycc,  Ark.,  damaged  the 
electric  lighl  planl  to  the  1  ctcnl  of  $1,500.  The 
loi  a   1     partly  covered   by   ins 10 

I  he  council  of  Covington,  Ky.,  has  adopted  1 
resolution  providing  for  the  appointment  "f  an 
engineei  to  prep  in  plan  and  pi  1  fii  at  ii  n  for  an 
electric  light    plain    fur   Covington. 

The  Seward  Lighl  and   Power  Companj  of  Scw- 

111I.     \l.i  ka,    will    s install    a   225-kilowalt     \lli , 

1  halnurs  walerwhecl  type  '"ini.ii  r.  .1  nine-kilowatt 
belted  exciter  and  a  new  switchboard.  I  he  new 
equipment  will  be  for  furnishing  light  and  power 
m   Seward. 

I".  J.  Combe  and  S.  C.  Tucker  of  Brownsville, 
Tex.,  are  preparing  to  install  an  electric-lighl  and 
power  plant  at  Brownsville.  The  proposed  plant 
will  probably  be  used  to  provide  lighting  and  power 
service  also  for  Matamoros,  Mexico,  situated  oppo- 
site  Brownsville. 

The  Gray's  Harbor  Lighting  Company  of  Aber- 
deen. Wash.,  has  been  reorganized  under  the  name 
of  the  Gray's  Harbor  Railway  and  Lighting  Com- 
pany. George  F.  Sonic  of  Seattle,  and  others,  are 
the  incorporators.  The  capital  stock  of  the  com- 
pany   is    $500,000. 

At  Stillwater,  Minn.,  complaint  has  been  made 
that  the  rules  contained  in  the  National  Electrical 
Code  are  too  strict  for  a  city  of  its  size.  This 
Statement  has  been  denied  before  the  City  Council 
by  an  underwriters'  inspector  from  St.  Paul,  who 
was  called  in  for  consultation  on  the  subject.  An 
ordinance  designating  the  code  as  the  standard  for 
wiring  will  probably  be  adopted  soon. 

Municipal  authorities  of  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  are 
engaged  in  a  controversy  with  the  Syracuse  Light- 
ing Company.  It  is  understood  that  the  mayor 
holds  out  for  street  arc  lights  at  $70  each  and 
commercial  lighting  at  six  or  eight  cents  a  kilowatt- 
hour.  Street  lighting  now  costs  $85.55  a  lamp,  and 
the  private  users  of  electric  light  are  charged  10 
cents  a  kilowatt.  Some  of  the  citizens  advocate  a 
municipal   plant. 

At  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  an  outside  wiring  in- 
spector has  been  appointed  and  an  ordinance  drawn 
defining  his  duties.  The  lighting  company  proposes 
to  expend  about  $600,000  during  the  next  six  years 
in  perfecting  and  enlarging  the  underground  sys- 
tems in  the  business  district,  and  in  the  meantime 
various  minor  extensions  to  the  conduit  system 
will  be  made  as  the  service  requires.  Nothing  will 
he  done,  however,  until  the  City  Council  formally 
approves  the  ordinance  covering  outside  work. 

The  De  Queen  Light,  Ice  and  Cold  Storage  Com- 
pany of  De  Queen,  Ark.,  recently  purchased  a 
small  lighting  plant  to  serve  its  own  needs  and 
also  to  furnish  lighting  current  to  the  town.  The 
main  unit  will  consist  of  an  85-kilowatt  belted  gen- 
erator, wound  for  60-cycle  single-phase  current  at 
1, TOO  volts.  There  will  also  be  a  35-kilowatt  di- 
rect-current exciter.  Both  of  these  generators  are 
to  be  driven  by  a  14  by  24-inch  Reliance  engine. 
The  equipment  was  ordered  from  the  Allis-Chal- 
mers  Company's   St.  Louis  office. 

At  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  the  newly  adopted  ordinance 
requiring  concealed  electric-light  and  power  wires 
to  be  enclosed  in  iron  conduit  where  placed  in 
buildings  used  for  public  gatherings  and  in  all 
basements  is  being  rigidly  enforced.  The  electrical 
inspector  has  been  furnished  an  assistant  which  per- 
mits more  time  being  given  to  old  and  defective 
equipments.  State  licenses  will  be  required  of  all 
contractors  and  journeymen  electricians.  This  will 
affect  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  and  Duluth.  Some 
progress  is  being  made  by  the  street  railroad  com- 
pany in  removing  feeders  from  the  main  business 
district. 


ELECTRIC  RAILWAYS 

The  Norfolk  (Va.)  Street  Railway  Company 
proposes  to  expend  $3,000,000  in  improving  the 
street-railway   system. 

Street-car  barns,  to  cost  $30,000,  will  be  erected 
in  the  near  future  by  the  Shreveport  (La.)  Trac- 
tion Company  on  its  property  at  the  foot  of  Market 
Street.  Plans  will  soon  be  completed,  when  bids 
for  construction  will  be  asked. 

It  is  reported  that  the  Erie  Railroad  management, 
in  making  plans  for  increasing  interurban  traffic 
on  its  branch  lines  in  New  York  state,  has  ordered 
surveys  and  estimates  for  the  electrification  of  the 
Rochester  Division,  from  Corning  to  Rochester. 
A  power  house  is  being  constructed  at  Hornells- 
ville    for    the    easterly    interurban    lines.      For     the 


WESTERN     ELI  I 

id,   the  company   will 

1 

0     en   1 
for   a    frai 

ted   al    Gallatin, 

■ he  1 

to  Gallatin.     1  ; 

\\       I.       -.'  h.iui 

corpoi  'i'.  1 

I  he  I 
taken  out   a   building  permit   foi    (hi 
power  house  i'n  South  Cameron  Street.  I  In 
adjoining  the  pre  enl   planl 

l.i-   [00  by   172  I'll,  .hi. I  v.ill  I.,    erected  entirely  of 
teel    ind   te 

Manage]   \\         1 1 
Railway   an. I    Power    Company,    who    ha     returned 
from  his   11 1[>   i"   Bo  ton,  annoum  1      that    tl 
pany    will    spend    marly    $1,000,000    in    exti 
double  tracking 
during  the  coming  summei 

I  In-  Southeastern  Kansas  Railway,  Light  and 
Power  Company  is  being  incorporated 

11. il    of  $4,000,000  by  L.   Rosenthal.  J.   J.   Jom 
I1.111I      I  li.'  mi    of    Chanutc,    Kan.      I  be    comp;  n 
organized    to    build    extensive    systems   of   intl 
railway    lines    in    the    southeastern    part    of    Kansas. 

The    Steuben   .ill -I     East    Liverpool    Railway 

and  Light  Company  of  Wheeling,   W.   Va..  has  been 
incorporated    to    build    an    electric    railway    I 
Pittsburg   ami    Win rime.    \\      Va     VanHorn    Ely, 
president  of  the  East  Liverpool    Traction  ami    Light 
Company,   is   one   of  the   incorporators. 

Large  increases  in  traffic  for  the  month  of  March. 
1006,  are  reported  by  the  Chicago  elevated  railways. 
The  Metropolitan  reports  the  heaviest  for  a  single 
month  in  its  history,  being  a  daily  average  of 
138,169.  The  daily  average  on  the  Northwestern 
for  March  was  85,154,  and  on  the  South  Side 
95.466. 

The  Eastern  Wisconsin  Railway  and  Light  Com- 
pany 01  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.,  has  run  the  first  car 
over  its  new  private  right-of-way  into  Oshkosh. 
Heretofore  the  company's  interurban  cars  gained 
entrance  into  Oshkosh  over  other  tracks.  Its  new 
right-of-way  extends  to  the  new  Main  Street 
Bridge  and  will  cut  about  10  minutes  from  the  20- 
mile   run    between   the   two   cities. 

Negotiations  are  to  be  opened  with  the  Winnipeg 
Electric  Street  Railway  Company  by  the  city  of 
Winnipeg,  Man.,  with  a  view  to  having  an  agree- 
ment drawn  up  between  the  city  and  the  company 
on  the  question  of  running  Sunday  street  cars. 
If  an  agreement  can  be  reached  a  by-law  will  be 
drawn  up  embodying  the  agreement  and  submitted 
to   the   people    for   their   approval. 

The  Aurora,  Elgin  and  Southern  Traction  Com- 
pany was  recently  merged  with  the  Elgin,  Aurora 
and  Chicago  road.  It  is  understood  that  the  entire 
business  of  the  roads  will  be  transacted  from 
Wheaton,  where  the  general  office  will  be  located. 
'The  clerical  force  will  be  moved  from  Aurora  and 
Elgin  and  '  only  a  superintendent  of  transportation 
will   be   left   in  each  of  the  cities. 

A  charter  has  been  granted  for  a  trolley  line  to 
connect  Ocean  City,  N.  J.,  with  Somers  Point,  the 
company  being  authorized  to  issue  $25,000  of  cap- 
ital stock.  The  proposed  line  is  to  run  directly 
across  Great  Egg  Harbor  Bay,  and  will  have  to 
be  built  almost  wholly  upon  trestle  for  about  two 
miles.  It  is  said  that  the  road  is  designed  to  con- 
nect at  Somers  Point  with  the  cars  from  Atlantic 
City. 

Work  has  been  started  on  the  construction  of 
an  electric  railway  between  Scranton  and  Lake 
Winola,  Pa.,  a  distance  of  22  miles.  The  line  is 
being  built  jointly  by 'the  Northern  Electric  Street 
Railway  and  the  Daiton  Street  Railway  companies. 
A  traffic  agreement  is  likely  to  be  effected  with 
the  Scranton  Railways  Company,  controlled  by  the 
American  Railways  Company,  whereby  the  cars  of 
the  new  line  will  be  able  to  reach  the  heart  of 
Scranton. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Denver  Tramway- 
Company  was  held  a  few  days  ago,  and  the  old 
officers  were  re-elected.  The  company  is  not  pre- 
pared to  make  a  statement  concerning  its  extension 
and  improvement  plans,  in  which,  it  is  said,  $3,000.- 
000  will  be  expended.  A  new  line  will  be  built 
to  Argo  and  a  line  will  be  extended  to  Fort  Logan 
and  Loretto  Heights.  The  gross  earnings  of  the 
company  last  year  were  almost  $2,400,000.  The 
surplus,  after  charges,  is  said  to  be  $750,000.  It 
was  the  best  year  in  the  history  of  the  company. 

Service  of  the  Philadelphia  Rapid  Transit  Com- 
pany was  severely  crippled  last  week  by  a  fire 
which  destroyed  the  Wyoming  Avenue  power  plant. 
The  fire  was  caused  by  an  explosion  of  unknown 
origin  in  the  room  containing  the  gas-generating 
machinery.  The  Wyoming  Avenue  plant  was  the 
largest  power  plant  of  the  company,  and  the  only- 
one  supplying  an  alternating  current.  There  are 
10  direct-current  plants  in  the  city,  and   the   Beech 


milting   it   to   ■ 
boldt  Park  bra 

thing   I 

■ 

on  demand,  aft* 

lilroad 

.  including  tl  • 
line   to    Turner,   4X   mill 

principally  ihc  impr 
"f   thi 

will   be  the-  abandonment  of   1 

for   pa  I    which 

will   carry  all   the   passenger  traffic   will   run 
th.-  bills. 


POWER  TRANSMISSION. 

iwer  Company  of   N,  ... 
minster,    B.   (.".,   1-   preparing  to  put   in   a  S5.000  dam 
on    the    Stave    River    and    erect    a    p. 
supply  power  for  the  railroad  and   for  lighting  pur- 

A.    II.    DeLong   of    Forest    City.    Minn., 
to    organize    a   company    to    utilize    the    waterpower 
of  Crow  River  for  the  generation  of  electi 
be    supplied    to    Litchfield.    Minn.,    and    neighboring 
towns.     Mr.    DeLong  already   has  a  dam  erected  at 
Forest   City,    which   has    developed    300   hor  • 

The  Inland  Power  and  Electric  Company  .,f 
Spokane,  Wash.,  has  acquired  20.000  horsepower 
at  Albany  Falls,  Idaho,  and  20,000  horsepower  at 
Hell  Gate  in  the  Columbia  River,  and  an  addi- 
tional power  at  Metalline  Fall-  on  the  Pend 
d'Oreille  River  in  Stevens  County,  Washington. 
The   company   is   incorporated    lor  $1,000,000. 

The  borough  of  Steelton,  Pa.,  was  on  March 
30th  for  the  first  time  lighted  by  power  supplied 
from  the  York  Haven  power  plant.  More  than 
100  arc  lights  and  nearly  8,000  incandescent 
lighted  with  power  received  from  this  source.  The 
power  is  brought  across  the  Susquehanna  River 
near  Middletown  on  cables  and  strung  on  poles 
from  Middletown  to  Steelton.  Twenty-four  thou- 
sand volts  is  carried  from  the  power  plant  to 
Steelton. 

The  Traders'  Paper  Company  of  Lockport.  X.  Y  . 
will  soon  install  electricity  for  power  purposes  in 
place  of  steam.  About  2.500  horsepower  will  be 
used.  The  decision  was  reached  after  some 
months'  investigation  by  Superintendent  Joseph  H. 
Eilers  of  the  relative  cost  of  steam  and  electric 
power.  The  Lockport  Gas  and  Electric  Light  Com- 
pany will  build  a  transmission  line  to  the  several 
large  East  Lockport  mills  from  the  Niagara.  Lock- 
port  and  Ontario  Power  Company's  transformer 
station  on  the  Ernest  farm,  west  of  the  city.  A 
petition  for  the  same  is  now  before  the  Common 
Council.  It  is  believed  that  all  the  East  E 
mills  will  be  using  electrical  power  within  a  few- 
months. 

Plans  are  being  made  by  a  number  of  Pittsburg 
capitalists  for  the  construction  of  a  large  power 
plant  near  Springdale  for  the  generation  of  elec- 
tricity, which  is  to  be  used  for  heat  and  light,  and 
for  the  operation  of  car  lines  in  the  Allegheny 
Valley.  H.  P.  Dilworth  of  Pittsburg,  one  of  the 
local  promoters,  has  secured  from  the  secretary'  of 
war  the  rights  to  construct  a  plant  on  the  banks 
of  the  Allegheny  River  and  to  make  use  of  the 
Springdale  dam  for  waterpower.  The  plan,  as  out- 
lined in  the  application  for  a  charter  for  the  East 
Deer  Light  and  Power  Company,  includes  the  build- 
ing of  a  trolley  line  from  Pittsburg  to  Apollo  and 
other  L:pper  Allegheny  towns.  The  work  will  be 
carried  on  in  conjunction  with  that  of  the  Alle- 
gheny Valley  Street  Railway  Company,  which  is 
now  building  lines  near  New  Kensington,  and  with 
the  newly  organized  Harmar  Light  and  Power 
Company. 

It  is  said  to  be  the  intention  of  the  Baden  Ani- 
line and  Soda  Manufacturing  Company  of  Mann- 
heim, Germany,  to  obtain  powers  to  erect  a  large 
generating  station  in  the  Bavarian  Alps,  in  order 
to  carry  on  the  manufacture  of  nitric  acid,  and 
to  produce  by  electric  agency  (Bierkeland  process"! 
nitrate  of  potash,  suitable  for  the  preparation  of 
gunpowder.  Power  will  be  obtained  from  the 
River  Alz.  which  flows  out  of  the  Chiemsee.  This 
river,  which  discharges  into  the  Inn,  passes  at  one 
point  in  its  course  within  3.72  miles  of  the  River 
Salzach.  forming  the  Austrian  boundary,  which 
river  is  likewise  tributary'  of  the  Inn  and  flows 
at    a    much    lower    level.      It    becomes    possible    by 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April  7,  1906 


means  of  a  tunnel  3.72  miles  in  length  to  divert 
the  Alz  into  the  Salzach,  and  thus  to  obtain  a 
constant  volume  of  water  with  an  available  head 
of  164  feet.. 

Arrangements  for  the  longest  hydro-electric 
power-transmission  system  in  Pennsylvania  are  be- 
ing carried  out  by  Hollidaysburg  and  Mtoona  men, 
who  have  organized  the  Bedford  Waterpower  and 
Electric  Company.  The  power  houses  will  be  lo- 
cated at  the  headwaters  of  Yellow  Creek,  30  miles 
from  Altoona,  the  cost  of  the  plant  being  esti- 
mated at  $150,000.  The  intention  of  the  promoters 
is  to  deliver  electric  power  to  Martinsburg,  Roaring 
Spring  and  Hollidaysburg,  selling  it  on  the  way 
for  light  and  power.  Numerous  grist  mills  are  lo- 
cated along  the  line,  and  other  industrial  plants, 
which   will   need   the  power. 


PUBLICATIONS. 

The  Allis-Chalmers  Company  has  issued  a  bul- 
letin devoted  to  transfer  machinery  used  in  .  saw- 
mills. 

A  new  bulletin  descriptive  of  various  types  of 
sawmill  machinery,  such  as  trimmers,  slashers  and 
cutting-off  saws,  has  been  issued  by  the  Allis- 
Chalmers  Company  of  Milwaukee. 

The  Power  and  Mining  Machinery  Company  of 
Cudahy,  Wis.,  is  mailing  a  comprehensive  catalogue 
on  machinery  for  rock-crushing  plants.  The  prin- 
cipal machine  described  is  the  McCully  gyratory 
rock  crusher,  designed  by  the  late  Robert  McCully 
of   Philadelphia. 

Compressed  Air  announces  that,  with  its  issue 
of  May,  it  will  appear  in  enlarged  form  and  under 
new  management.  Hereafter  it  will  be  published 
by  the  Kobbe  Company,  90-92  West  Broadway,  New 
York.  W.  L.  Saunders  will  remain  as  editor-in- 
chief,  W.  R.  Hulbert  will  be  managing  editor,  and 
P.   F.    Kobbe,  Jr.,   will   be   business   manager. 

A  dainty  desk  calendar  for  April,  May  and  June 
is  distributed  with  the  compliments  of  the  North- 
ern Electrical  Company  of  Duluth,  Minn.  It  is 
adorned  with  a  beautiful  female  figure  representing 
"Spring,"  from  the  original  painting  by  Philip 
Boileau,  reproduced  and  copyrighted  by  the  Os- 
borne Company  of  New  York  city.  The  calendar 
is  graceful  enough  to  adorn  a  lady's  boudoir,  and 
those  who  receive  it  will  be  grateful  to  the  North- 
ern company  for  it. 

Merits  of  electric  motors  for  power  purposes  are 
well  set  forth  in  a  circular  from  the  Westinghouse 
Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company  and  devoted 
to  type  DA  motors.  These  motors  are  especially 
adapted  for  small  power  consumers  in  driving 
■  ice-cream  freezers,  coffee  grinders,  copying  ma- 
chines, etc.,  several  examples  being  illustrated  in 
the  circular.  These  motors  follow  closely  the  de- 
sign of  Westinghouse  fan  mo'tors,  but  are  provided 
with  a  base  which  enables  them  to  be  mounted  on 
the  floor,  wall  or  ceiling. 

"The  Preservation  of  Ships,"  a  pamphlet  issued 
by  the  "Long-arm"  System  Company  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  represents  a  distinct  departure  in  trade  liter- 
ature. The  company  manufactures  electrically  oper- 
ated bulkhead  doors  and  hatch  plates  for  ships,  its 
system  being  in  use  on  new  vessels  of  the  navy. 
Instead  of  the  customary  catalogue  the  company  is 
putting  out  a  series  of  "short  talks"  on  the  prin- 
ciples of  safety  at  sea  and  the  conditions  under 
wrhich  safety  can  best  be  procured,  with  special 
reference,  of  course,  to  the  important  part  of 
watertight  bulkheads  and  their  doors  in  producing 
an    unsinkable    ship. 

What  first  catches  the  eye  upon  taking  up  the 
Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany's new  fan-motor  catalogue  is  the  beautiful 
design  of  the  front  cover.  It  is  done  in  colors  of 
delicate  tint  and  represents  a  picturesque  landscape 
set  off  in  an  unobtrustive  manner  by  a  few  designs 
in  fan  motors  indicative  of  the  contents  of  the 
pamphlet.  The  inside  is  no  less  attractive,  and 
fine  half-tone  cuts  depicting  various  forms  of  fan 
motors  and  numerous  adaptations  for  various  inte- 
riors are  a  pleasing  adjunct  to  the  well-written 
descriptive  matter  accompanying  them.  A  few 
pages  are  also  devoted  to  Westinghouse  small-power 
motors. 


SOCIETIES  AND  SCHOOLS. 

At  a  meeting  at  Lake  Forest  College,  Lake  For- 
est, 111.,  a  few  days  ago,  it  was  announced  that 
Andrew  Carnegie  had  offered  to  erect  a  new  sci- 
ence building  if  the  college  would  raise  an  amount 
equal  to  his  gift  as  an  endowment  for  a  science 
department. 

The  April  meeting  of  the  Illuminating  Engineer- 
ing Society  will  be  held  in  the  Edison  Auditorium. 
44  West  Twenty-seventh  Street,  New  York,  on 
the  evening  of  Thursday,  April  12th.  The  pro- 
gramme of  the  evening  is  a  discussion  of  the  sub- 
ject of  "Interior  Illumination."  Three  short  intro- 
ductory papers  will  be  presented  by  a  gas  engineer, 
an  electrical  engineer  and  an  acetylene  engineer, 
respectively.  Invitations  will  be  issued  to  gentle- 
men   representing   the    several    interests    among    the 


membership  of  the  society,  to  take  part  in  the  dis- 
cussion, which  will  then  be  made  general.  The 
membership  of  the  society  is  growing  rapidly,  the 
total   enrollment   to    date   being  320. 

It  was  announced  in  Pittsburg  a  few  days  ago 
that  Andrew  Carnegie  had  given  $2,000,000,  in  ad- 
dition to  previous  gifts,  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
Carnegie  Technical  Schools.  It  is  expected  the 
technical  schools  will  have  cost  about  $5,000,000 
when   completed. 

Proceedings  of  Ohio  Electric  Light  Association 
for  1905,  substantially  bound,  are  now  ready  for 
distribution.  The  volume  contains  a  report  of  the 
convention  proceedings  at  Put-in-Bay,  Lake  Erie, 
Ohio,  August  16,  to  18,  1905.  The  president  of  the 
association  is  F.  E.  Valentine  of  Piqua,  vice-presi- 
dent, W.  E.  Russell  of  Massillon,  and  secretary- 
treasurer,   D.   L.   Gaskill,    Greenville. 

Purdue  University's  department  of  telephonic  en- 
gineering, now  four  years  old,  is  to  be  enlarged 
and  made  a  more  prominent  factor  in  the  curricu- 
lum of  the  institution.  Every  member  of  the  class 
to  graduate  this  year  has  already  a  position.  The 
Western  Electric  Company  has  contracted  to  give 
employment  to  15  telephone  students,  and  other 
concerns  want  more.  The  electrical  building  is 
being  enlarged  to  accommodate  this  growing  de- 
partment. 


MISCELLANEOUS 


The  seats  to  be  occupied  by  members  of  the 
National  Assembly  in  the  Tauride  Palace  in  St. 
Petersburg,  Russia,  have  been  equipped  with  elec- 
trical apparatus  similar  to  the  system  proposed  sev- 
eral years  ago  for  use  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives at  Washington,  by  which  the  members 
press  buttons  and  register  their  votes  at  the  clerk's 
desk,   thus  avoiding  the   delays  of  rollcalls. 

The  Delmarvia  Telephone  Company  has  consoli- 
dated with  the  Wilmington  (Del.)  Electric  Light 
and  Power  Company  under  the  corporate  title  of 
the  Wilmington  Light,  Power  and  Telephone  Com- 
pany, with  a  capital  of  $1,250,000.  The  Delmarvia 
Telephone  Company  has  installed  an  automatic  sys- 
tem and  the  electric-light  company  was  recently 
given  a  city  franchise  to  compete  with  the  old 
electric  company.  Charles  C.  Kurtz  is  president  of 
the  new  company. 

Pettibone,  Mulliken  &  Co.  of  Chicago,  whose 
new  power  plant  was  described  in  the  Western 
Electrician  of  June  18,  1904,  will  add  very  mate- 
rially to  the  equipment  first  installed.  At  the  time 
the  description  of  the  plant  appeared  there  was  one 
generating  unit  installed,  consisting  of  a  24  and 
40  by  48-inch  cross-compound  Allis-Chalmers  en- 
gine driving  a  600-kilowatt  Crocker-Wheeler  gen- 
erator. The  company  has  now  ordered  two  new 
engines  of  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company,  one  an 
18  and  36  by  42-inch  and  the  other  24  and  48  by 
48-inch ;  both  are  of  the  heavy-duty  cross-com- 
pound  Corliss   type. 

The  Chicago  Underwriters'  Laboratories  recently 
established  a  wire-inspection  bureau  to  make  fac- 
tory tests  of  all  rubber-covered  wire,  with  stamp- 
inspection  tags  certifying  its  approval.  This  has 
been  found  to  work  so  successfully  that  the  labora- 
tories have  just  begun  the  inspecting  and  testing 
at  the  factories  of  rigid  conduits,  both  lined  and 
unlined.  A  similar  service  and  factory  inspection 
is  to  be  begun  soon  of  flexible  tubing,  and  the  work 
will  be  extended  to  other  material  and  devices. 
The  expense  of  this  w-ork  is  defrayed  by  the  fees 
charged  for  the  stamps  and  tags  attesting  inspec- 
tion and  approval. 

In  addressing  the  Glasgow  University  Engineer- 
ing Society  a  few  days  ago,  President  G.  T.  Beilby 
is  quoted  as  saying  that  there  are  in  Great  Britain 
steam  engines  and  boilers  with  a  yearly  output  of 
at  least  5,000,000  horsepower.  The  coal  consumed 
by  these  is  not  less  than  five  pounds  per  indicated 
horsepower-hour.  By  the  use  of  gas  engines  and 
steam  turbines  the  coal  consumption  might  be  re- 
duced to  lYz  pounds  per  indicated  horsepower-hour. 
The  saving  in  coal,  therefore,  would  be  equal  to 
28,000,000  tons,  valued  at  £9,800,000.  The  cost  of 
making  the  change  need  not  exceed  £50,000,000,  or, 
if  the  power  is  to  be  delivered  as  electricity,  £60,- 
000.000. 

The  United  States  Civil  Service  Commission  an- 
nounces an  examination  on  May  2,  1906,  at  promi- 
nent cities  in  each  state,  to  secure  eligibles  from 
which  to  make  certification  to  fill  six  vacancies 
in  the  position  of  electrical  assistant,  at  $900  per 
annum  each,  in  the  Signal  Service  at  large,  and 
vacancies  as  they  may  occur  in  any  branch  of  the 
seryice  requiring  similar  qualifications.  Also  an 
examination  on  May  3-4,  1906,  to  secure  eligibles 
from  which  to  make  certification  to  fill  a  vacancy 
in  the  position  of  assistant  electrical  engineer,  Sig- 
nal Service  at  large,  for  duty  in  the  Department 
of  California,  at  $1,400  per  annum,  and  vacancies 
as  they  may  occur  in  any  branch  of  the  service 
requiring  similar  qualifications.  Applicants  should 
at  once  apply  to  the  LTnited  States  Civil  Service 
Commission,  Washington,  D.  C,  for  application 
form  1312.  No  application  will  be  accepted  unless 
properly  executed  and  filed  with  the  commission  at 
Washington.     In  applying  for  the  examinations  the 


exact  title  of  the  position  for  which  the  applicant 
wishes  to  try — either  "electrical  assistant"  or  "as- 
sistant electrical  engineer"  should  be  used  in  the 
application. 

The  Western  Canada  Cement  and  Coal  Company 
recently  purchased  three  Allis-Chalmers  steam  tur- 
bines and  generators  of  1,000  kilowatts  capacity 
each,  which  will  be  installed  on  the  company's 
properties  located  57  miles  west  of  Calgary,  Can- 
ada, on  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  The  new 
units  will  generate  current  of  60  cycles,  three- 
phase,  at  600  volts,  and  the  coal  to  be  used  for 
the  operation  of  the  plant  will  be  from  the  Bank- 
head  mines  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  and 
delivered  at  the  mills.  The  current  generated  from 
the  turbo-generator  units  will  be  devoted  entirely 
to  power  purposes.  The  lighting  load,  consisting 
of  some  40  arcs  and  400  incandescent  lamps,  will 
be    carried    by    the    exciters. 

Both  branches  of  Councils  of  Philadelphia  have 
passed  the  ordinance  to  reduce  the  price  of  gas  to 
consumers  after  January  1,  1907,  to  the  actual  fig- 
ures received  by  the  United  Gas  Improvement 
Company  under  the  lease,  which  drops  by  a  sliding 
scale  to  75  cents  per  1,000  feet  by  1918.  This  sim- 
ply turns  over  to  the  consumers  the  profits  which 
the  city  has  been  getting  out  of  the  sale  of  gas. 
Councils  also  authorized  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mission to  audit  the  accounts  of  the  United  Gas 
Improvement  Company,  so  that  the  city  will  get 
an  idea  of  the  amount  to  be  paid  to  recover  the 
works  at  the  expiration  of  the  first  10  years  of 
the  lease.  By  the  provisions  of  the  ordinance  the 
price  of  gas  will  be  reduced  to  90  cents  on  January 
1,  1907;  to  85  cents  on  January  1,  1908;  to  80 
cents  on  January  I,  1913,  and  to  75  cents  on  Jan- 
uary  1,    1918. 

Particulars  of  an  accident  in  which  no-volt  cur- 
rent caused  the  death  of  a  man  come  from  East 
London,  South  Africa.  The  wire  was  carrying 
no-volt  50-cycIe  alternating  current  for  arc-light 
purposes.  It  had  been  burned  through  by  contact 
with  a  wrire  carrying  a  heavier  voltage  and  had 
fallen  to  the  ground.  At  the  time  of  the  accident 
it  was  not  in  contact  with  the  500-volt  wire,  but 
it  was  subsequently  found  that  there  was  a  ground 
on  the  other  main  of  the  no-volt  circuit.  The  man 
who  was  killed  was  crossing  the  lot  in  the  night 
and  took  hold  of  the  wire  to  push  it  aside.  It 
was  raining  and  the  ground  was  wet,  as  was  also 
the  man's  clothing  and  body.  He  received  a  shock 
which  caused  him  to  fall  but  not  to  release  the 
wire.  When  he  was  finally  cleared  from  the  wire 
he  was  dead,  and  a  post-mortem  examination 
showed  that  the  current  had  passed  transversely 
across  the  body  through  the  heart  and  lungs. 

Harvard  University,  taking  the  side  of  municipal 
ownership,  won  the  debate  with  Yale  on  the  ques- 
tion, "Resolved,  that  it  would  be  for  the  best  inter- 
est of  New  York  city  to  own  its  street-railway 
system,  including  surface,  elevated  and  subways." 
Harvard  claimed  gross  overcapitalization  by  private 
companies,  bad  service,  corruption,  unhealthy  cars 
and  immoral  overcrowding,  and  that  New7  York  was 
in  the  grasp  of  a  "gigantic  monopoly."  Municipal 
ownership  was  urged  as  the  only  reform.  Yale  ad- 
mitted some  of  the  defects,  but  claimed  that  worse 
corruption  would  follow-  public  ownership ;  that  it 
would  cost  $500,000,000  to  buy  the  properties  and 
$20,000,000  loss  each  year  to  run  them,  and  that 
proper  regulation  of  private  owners  was  the  best 
way  to  meet  the  problem.  Colonel  N.  G.  Osborne 
of  New  Haven  presided,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  James 
M.  Buckley,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Robert  Stuart  MacArthur 
and  Melville  E.  Stone,  all  of  New  York,  were  the 
judges. 

An  English  journal  relates  the  unusual  result 
of  a  recent  short-circuit.  The  trouble  occurred  on 
the  distributing  cables  of  the  East  Ham  (London) 
Corporation  network  in  front  of  a  house  in  Green 
Street.  The  fault  extended  from  the  positive 
to  the  negative  cable,  and  as  the  current  was  well 
within  the  capacity  of  the  machines,  the  fault  was 
allowed  to  burn  out,  and  the  section  was  then  cut 
out.  About  an  hour  after  this,  however,  it  was 
found  that  a  number  of  people  in  an  adjoining 
house  were  in  a.  state  of  partial  suffocation,  some 
of  whom  were  promptly  taken  to  the  hospital,  but 
soon  recovered.  On  taking  up  the  footpath  to 
repair  the  fault  it  was  found  that  a  gas  pipe  cross- 
ing over  the  cable  troughing  was  leaking  badly. 
The  fumes  from  the  burning  fault,  mixed  with  the 
escaping  gas,  had  found  a  way  into  the  cellar 
through  a  hollow  which  had  been  left  by  a  disused 
gas  service,  and,  ascending  to  the  top  of  the  house, 
had    overcome    the    persons    sleeping    in   the    attics. 


TRADE  NEWS, 

Trade  of  the  United  States  with  Mexico  in  the  fis- 
cal year  1905  aggregated  in  value  $92,000,000.  In  1895. 
only  a  decade  earlier,  it  was  but  $31,000,000,  and 
in  "1885,  $18,000,000,  thus  practically  doubling  in  the 
decade,  ending  with  1895,  and  trebling  in  the  decade 
ending   with    1905. 

Sealed  proposals  are  being  invited  until  April 
20th  for  furnishing  the  various  branches  of  the 
government  of  the  District  of  Columbia  with  elec- 
trical supplies  during  the  next  fiscal  year.  Specifi- 
cations and  full  information  will  be  furnished  upon 


April   7,    [906 


applj,  .1 1 1. .1 1  to  Hi'    prop*  1 1     clerk,  D  ;: 

U.,  hiiiRton,    l>     I 

S u i  11  &   1 ' (  I'"  '  ill   add   to  I 

planl    cciuipmenl    two    800  kilowatt,     150    oil 

Chalmcr;    1 ratoi 

I  hi    1  nil.. I   State     1  in  nil   1  oun    for  the   North 

mi    1 1    of   New    York,   a    few    daj      igo,   fill  d 

a   di  crcc   1  nj ing    Hie    defendanl    in    1  In    1  a 

1I1,'  i  „  11-  r-a  I   Eli  ctric  1  'otnpanj   again      thi      [adison 
1  niiiii  v  1 .1     and   Electric  1  lompany,   from   11  ing   al 

td  hating  cm  rcnl     integrating    wattmi 1     othi  1 

motor  devices  embodying  0  pro\  1  iior  1 1 an 

approximate  90-degree  phase  adjustment  by  ind 1 

1 The   infringement,    which    foi  m     thi     ba  i 


<.f  thi 

Supplie    and 

I 
trical 

'  11 br 

I 

: 
condu  toi         11  bon     bi 
,  i,       Propo  al  blanl 
i'ii"'!    at  thi      .  Pa 

upon  application  i"  the  bu  ington. 


BUSINtSS 

1 

■  : 


ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 


815,945.     Coin     \ii.m  liint-iii    for    Prcpaymenl    Meters. 
John   Doyle  and  Charles   !•'.   Averill,   New    Yorl 
N.    Y.     Application    fil<-,<!    March    31,    [903. 
\ii  cli  mil  al    features    embodii  'I    in    the    coin    actuating 
meclianiBm    of    the    meter    arc    described. 

815,961  Electrical  Device  and  Circuit.  William  II. 
Lane,  VVestfield,  X.  J  ,  assignor  to  the  Hall 
Signal  Company.     Application  filed  June  2,  [905. 

Two    roagnel    coils   in    Itiple    are    associated    with   a 

circuit  changer  connected  with  one  of  the  roils  and 
bo  arranged  thai  when  it  is  in  one  po  ition  it  excludes 
tin  coil,  and  when  in  its  other  position  it  connects  the 
coil  in  multiple  with  the  other  coil.  Thi  movement  of 
the     circuit     changer     to     the     position     which    excludes 

gized  in  multiple. 
815.964.  Electric  Fuse.  Benjamin  S.  Luther,  Bos- 
ton,  Mass.,  assignor  to  the  Chase-Shawmut 
Company,  Newburyport,  Mass.  Application  filed 
April  24,  1905. 
I  he  fuse  is  encased  in  a  shell  along  with  non-inflam- 
mable material. 

815.901.  Trolley  Pole.  Andrus  S.  Weaver,  Sodus, 
N.    Y.     Application    filed   January    7,    1905. 

A  tube  with  bifurcated  end  forming  arms  comprises 
the  trolley  pole,  which  is  mounted  on  a  base  and  held 
up    by    a    spring    on    the    base. 

8i5,993-  Transfer  Switch  for  Testing  Circuits. 
John  S.  Whitakcr.  Portsmouth.  N.  H.,  and 
Harry  P.  Wood.  Brooklyn.  N.  V.,  assignors  to 
the  Consolidated  Engine  Stop  Company,  New 
York,   N.   Y.     Application  filed  July  24,   1905. 

In  combination  with  a  circuit  are  testing  device  and 
test-responding  signal,  two  sources  of  current  supply,  an 
automatic  switch,  a  resistance  in  the  path  of  the  re- 
sponding signal  and  contacts  for  the  switch  adapted  to 
supply  current  from  one  source  through  the  resistance  in 
one     position,     and     from     the     other     source     with     the 


815,996.     Rheostat,     Charles  Wirt,   Germantown,  Pa., 
assignor    to    the    Wirt    Electric    Company,    In- 
corporated.    Application    filed   January    10,    1005. 
In    a    rheostat    is   a    removable    resistance   element    com- 
posed of  a  helical   coil   of  wire  bent  into  a  circular    form 
and    having    a    core    of    plastic    material    which    has    the 
property  of  becoming  hard.      (See  cut  on   next  page.) 

816.000.  Combined  Telephone  and  Watchman's 
Alarm  System.  John  J.  Berry,  Indianapolis, 
Ind.,  assignor  to  the  Indianapolis  Watchman 
Clock  Company,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Application 
filed  January  3,   1905. 

The  watchman's  reporting  means  are  normally  elec- 
trically connected  to  the  service  circuit,  a  central  record- 
ing means  being  electrically  connected  to  the  service 
circuit.  An  alarm  signal  and  means  controlled  by 
the  central  recording  means  automatically  intermittently 
operate    the    alarm    signal. 

816,014.  Safety  System  for  Electric-road  Crossings. 
Arthur  H.  Johnson,  Railway,  N.  J.,  assignor 
to  Harvey  J.  Donaldson,  trustee,  Ballston  Spa, 
N.  Y.  Application  filed  December  5,  1892. 
Renewed   February  8,   1906. 

Safety  mechanism  for  electric-road  crossings  embodies 
a  conductor  for  supplying  current  to  operate  a  car  of 
the  railway,  a  signal  therefor  and  means  outside  of  the 
car  for  cutting  off  the  current  to  check  the  progress 
of  the  car  over  a  portion  of  the  railway  in  proximity 
to    the    crossing  and   simultaneously    operating   the    signal. 

816,028.  Electrical  Switch.  James  F.  McElroy,  Al- 
bany, N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Consolidated  Car 
Heating  Company,  Albany,  N.  Y.  Application 
filed   April    30,    1903. 

A  swivcled  .bar  having  a  pair  of  spring  contacts,  the 
faces  of  which  are  adapted  to  yield  in  a  direction  sub- 
stantially transverse  to  the  plane  of  oscillation  of  the 
bar,  a  coacting  pair  of  contacts  and  means  for  moving  one 
set  of  contacts  toward  and  from  the  other  make  up 
l  lie    apparatus. 

816,033.  Rosette  for  Electric-light  Wires.  John  H. 
Parker,  Saugus,  Mass.  Application  filed  Febru- 
ary 20,    1905. 

An  arch  with  a  cord  hole  in  the  center  extends 
completely  over  the  base  and  forms  a  chamber  for 
the    reception    of  the   lamp    cords. 

816,042.  Gas  Calorimeter.  Charles  E.  Sargent,  Chi- 
cago,   111.     Application,  filed    September   8,    1905. 

Combined  with  a  heater  are  a  fuel  meter  and  a 
source  of  water  supply  connected  with  the  heater.  A 
water  receptacle  is  arranged  to  receive  the  flow  from 
the  heater,  and  electromagnetic  means  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  meter  direct  the  flow  from  the  receptacle 
to    a   reservoir    and    deflect   it   therefrom. 

816,052.  Telephone-exchange  System.  Harry  G. 
'  Webster,  Chicago,  111.,  assignor  to  the  Strom- 
berg-Carlson  Telephone  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany. Rochester,  N.  Y.  Application  iiled  De- 
cember  3,    1903. 

A  common  source  of  current  at  the  exchange  sup- 
plies talking  and  signaling  currents  to  the  cord  circuit 
and  telephone  line.  A  supervisory  lamp  circuit  extends 
between    one    pole    of    the    source    and    one    cord    strand, 


issued  (United  Slates   Patent    Office)    Mai.ti   37,   tQo6. 

-  -'    in    the 

816,055.    Centrifugal    Mi  Itin  ■    1  >■     ■  dore   J. 

Zocller,  Nashville,    I  enn  .  a    ignor  to 
trie  Candy    Machine   Company.    Nashville,   Tcnfl. 
\i'pii<  ation   filed   October   n, 

\     fugal  I     mixing    candy 

inpredienfo    ains  cli 

revolving   vessel,  current   being   transmitted    '      the   means 
through   a   slip   ring  d  t  • 

816,078.  Telephone-exchange  System.  William  M. 
Davis,  Chicago,  III.,  assignor  ta  thi  Strom  berg 
Carls* hi  I  elephone  Manufacturing  Company, 
Rochester,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  August  5, 
1 901. 

Actuation  of  the  substation  apparatus  causes  ener- 
gization of  the  line  relay  independently  of  the  cut-off 
relay  winding.  Upon  connection  of  the  cord  circuit 
with  one  of  the  multiple  sections  a  local  circuit  con- 
taining    the     cut-off     relay      winding     is     closed.        Means 

c ect    the    spring-jack    contacts    with    the    line    limbs, 

the    local    circuit    including    one    of    the    cord    circuit-con- 
ductors   and    one    limb    of    the    telephone    circuit. 

816,083.  Current  Controller  for  Igniting  Devices 
for  Hydrocarbon  Engines.  Fay  0.  Farwell, 
Dubuque,  Iowa,  assignor  of  one-half  to  the 
Adams  Company,  Dubuque,  Iowa.  Application 
filed  October  21,  1004. 
Details    are    described. 

816,100.  Electric  Switch.  Montgomery  H.  John- 
son, Utica,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  April  20, 
1903. 

In  an  electric  switch  are  a  contact  post,  a  double 
switch  blade  engaging  the  post  on  each  side,  springs 
on  opposite  sides  of  the  post  secured  to  the  base  of 
the  post  and  pressing  the  blade  parts  against  the  sides 
of  the  post,  and  pivot  studs  or  projections  on  the 
springs    entering    openings    in    the    blade. 

Si6,ur.  Reverse-relay  Device.  Ralph  D.  Mershon, 
New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  November 
4,   1904. 

Co  operating  with  a  source  of  current  connected  with 
one  or  more  other  sources  of  current  are  a  circuit- 
controlling  device  acutatcd  by  force  proportional  to  the 
vectorial  product  of  components  dependent  upon  current 
and  electromotive  force,  respectively,  and  means  for 
adjusting  the  magnitude  and  phase  relation  of  the  com- 
ponents. 

816,112.  Circuit-controlling  Apparatus.  Ralph  D. 
Mershon,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
December  27,    1904. 

Comhined  with  a  circuit  are  co-rperating  contact?  and 
electroresponsive  means  for  actuating  them.  Electro- 
magnetic means  in  the  circuit  are  arranged  to  become 
operative  upon  an  actuation  of  the  contacts,  and  then 
control   the  circuit  independently   of  the  electroresponsive 

816.131.  Transfer  Circuit  for  Telephone-exchange 
Systems.  Charles  A.  Simpson,  Chicago,  111., 
assignor  to  the  Kellogg  Switchboard  and  Sup- 
ply Company,  Chicago,  111.  Application  filed 
October  27,   1904. 

Means  at  each  section  connect  the  subscribers'  lines 
with  a  transfer  circuit  to  establish  a  complete  talking 
circuit  between  the  subscribers.  A  signal  is  associated 
with  each  end  of  the  transfer  circuit,  a  differential 
relay  controlling  the  operating  circuits  of  the  signals. 
Means  actuated  in  making  and  unmaking  connections 
with  the  transfer  circuit  control  the  operation  of  the 
relay    to    suitably    control    the    operation    of    the    signals. 

816.132.  Telephone  System.  Charles  B.  Smith.  New 
York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  November  28, 
1898.     Renewed    October    22.    1902. 

A    continuous    metallic    line    extends    from    the    central 
station,     a     second     metallic     line     extending     therefrom 
and    broken    at    a    scries    of    stations.       A    third    line    is 
arranged   to  complete  the  circuit  from  each  station  to  the 
central,  and  switch  mechanism  at  each  station   is  arranged 
to   successively    and   automatically    break    the    third   circuit 
connection     from    each    station    to    central    and    build    up 
the    broken   line    through  each    station. 
816,135.     Telephone-exchange      System.     Harold      B. 
Stroud,    Chicago,    111.,    assignor    to    the    Strom- 
berg-Carlson     Telephone     Manufacturing     Com- 
pany. Rochester.   X.  Y.     Application  filed  March 
25,    1901. 

In  a  trunking  cord  connection  are  Uie  strands  of 
the  trunk  cord,  an  indicator  and  one  terminal  of  the 
trunking  connection  having  a  controlling  electromagnet 
provided  with  differentially  wound  coils,  means  at  the 
other  terminal  of  the  trunking  connection  for  closing 
circuit  through  one  of  the  coils  to  effect  an  operation 
of  the  indicator  and  means  at  the  first  terminal  of  the" 
trunking  connection  for  nullifying  the  magnetizing  effect 
of    the    winding. 

816,14s.  Trolley  Shield.  John  W.  Brown  and 
Charles  W.  Jenkins,  Washington,  D.  C.  Ap- 
plication filed  April  29.  1905. 
A  trolley  shield  comprises  a  main  body  which,  when 
secured  to  the  trolley,  rests  under  the  wheel,  and 
means  adapted    to    engage   the    ends   of  the    trolley    wheel 


»haft   wbcroby   ibr   body   >,i   the   lUeld  may   be   mpporlrd 

816,172  •■  r      Harmon 

ph  C.    W     It., 

oi 

M'l,     Applit 

■ 

'     i    with   a    [>a»tc   001 

r      William      Stanley, 
ruary    17. 

Icctrical    generator   arc    the    combir 
induced  member,  .- 
inbcrs  at  a  predetermined 
lag     from     the    induced    member    all 
having  .  1  mram 

from  the  induced 
rent     dependent     upon     the     predetermined     speed     having 
a    frequency    different    from    that   of    the    first-named   cur- 
rent.     (Sec  cut  on   next  page.) 

816,205.     Wireless- telegraph      Receiving      Apparatus. 
andro      \rt-.n,     Turin,     Italy.     Application 
filed   September   7,    1905. 

In  a  receiver  for  circularly  or  clliptically  polarized 
electromagnetic  waves  are  a  pair  of  grounded  aerials 
angularly  disposed  to  each  other,  a  primary  coil  inserted 
n  each  aerial  and  the  ground  and  a  secondary 
coil  in  inductive  relation  to  the  primary  coils  and  all 
Of  the  coils  in  axial  altnemcnt,  the  secondary  coil  form- 
ing pari  of  a  suitable  electric  circuit  controlling  a  receiv- 
ing  instrument.      1  See  cut  on  next  page.) 

Trolley  Harp.     Isaac   H.   Lurit,   Barre,   Vt 

Application   tiled    September  6,    1005. 

Combined  with  a  trolley  pole  arc  a  sectional  housing 
secured  to  the  pole  and  formed  of  side  section?  spaced 
apart  by  lateral  projections,  a  harp  pivotally  mounted 
between  the  side  walls  of  the  housings  and  springs  dis- 
posed on  each  side  of  the  harp  for  <iupporting  the  latter 
in  alinement  with  the  trolley  pole. 
816,259.  Automatic  Gearing  Device.  Jud-on  Shoe- 
craft,  Eskridge,  Kan.  Application  filed  Novem- 
ber 9.    IQ05- 

An  electromagnetic   device  brings  the  motor   shaft  into 
■     relation   to   the    gearing   driving  the  work. 

816,270.  Refractory  Material  for  Electric  Insula- 
tion and  Other  Purposes.  Demetrius  M.  Stew- 
ard, Chattanooga,  Tenn.  Application  filed  Feb- 
ruary 25,    1003. 

An  insulatmg  and  refractory  material  comprises  the 
combination  of  water  glass  and  steatite  or  their  sub- 
stantial equivalents,  chemically  converted  practically  to 
a  complete   extent  by   heat. 

816,307.  Engraving  Machine.  William  S.  Eaton, 
Sag  Harbor.  X.  V.  Application  filed  August 
23.    I905- 

t  circuit  are  the  only  electrical    fca- 


816,316.  Shade.  Louis  \Y.  Haisht.  White  Plains, 
and  William  E.  Chapman,  Xew  York.  X.  Y. 
Application    filed    March    7,    1905. 

Several  electric  lamps  are  associated  with  an  electric 
cable  connected  with  and  sustaining  each  lamp,  all  of 
the  cables  emanating    El  i    sii  int      Spreaders  are 

supplied  extending  from  one  cable  to  the  other  and 
causing  the  cables  to  diverge  from  the  single  point  to 
separate    the    lamps. 

816,330.  Frictfonless  Bearing  for  Electric  Meters. 
Thomas  J.  Johnston.  Brooklyn.  X.  Y..  assignor 
to  the  General  Electric  Company,  Schenectady, 
X.   Y".     Application  filed   September.  28.   1001. 

In  a  meter  are  a  movable  element,  a  vertical  shaft 
therefor,  the  end  of  which  is  tapered,  and  means  for 
applying  air  under  pressure  to  the  tapered  end  to 
support    the    shaft    tree    from    the    means. 

816,355.  Apparatus  for  Decomposing  Water  by 
Electrolysis.  "William  F.  M.  McCarty,  Rocky 
Ridge,  Md.,  assignor  to  Thomas  A.  Darby. 
trustee.  Xew  York.  X.  Y.  Application  filed 
November  8,  1904.  Renewed  September  25, 
1905. 

A  pair  of  tanks  communicating  through  the  medium 
of  a  conduit  contain  each  a  spiral  electrode  suitably  con- 
nected with  a  source  of  electricity  and  having  at  its 
lower  end  a  radially  projecting  portion  located  directly 
opposite  one  end  of  the  conduit. 

816,365,  Vibrator  for  Massage  Treatment.  Will- 
iam Olson,  Mount  Vernon,  X.  Y.  Application 
filed  October  6,    1904.     Renewed  June   19.   1905. 

A  vibrator   for  massage    puj  by   a   small 

electric    motor    operated    from    dry  batteries. 
816,375,     Electric    Meter.     William    H.    Pratt,    Lynn. 
Mass.,    assignor   to   the    General    Electric    Com- 
pany,    Schenectady.     N.    Y.      Application      filed 
July    .:?.    1004. 

Combined  with  z  four-wire  three-phase  system  are  two 
field  windings  connected,  respectively,  between  two  phases 
and    tli  lings    .    r.nected   in    series 

with  snd    two    field    windings 

both  connected   in    =eries  with  the  third  phase. 


290 

816.383.  Motor  Starter.  Ernest  Schattner,  Sche- 
nectady, N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General  Elec- 
tric Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application 
filed  July  20,   1905. 

In  a  motor  circuit  are  a  starting  switch,  comprising 
e  magnetically  suspended  switch  arm  mounted  to  estab- 
lish the  running  connections  of  the  motor  when  released, 
and  means  dependent  upon  the  speed  of  the  motor  for  re- 
leasing the  arm. 

816.384.  Battery.  Eugene  W.  Schneider,  New 
York,  N.  Y.  assignor  to  the  Hears  Ear  Phone 
Company,  New  York.  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
August    11,    1905. 

A  battery   composed   of  cells   has   means   whereby    one 

■  of    the    cells,    by    an    end-to-end  reversal,    may   be    thrown 

into    or    out    of    the    generating    circuit    of    the    battery. 

816,395.  Alternating-current  Generator.  Charles  P. 
Steinmetz,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the 
General  Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y. 
Application  filed  July  25,    1904. 

A  field  structure  provided  with  a  distributed  winding 
and  a  many-part  commutator,  brushes  bearing  on  the 
commutator,  means  for  supplying  direct  current  to  the 
field    to    magnetize    the    field    structure    on    a    line    fixed 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


Electric    Company,    Schenectady,    N.    Y.     Appli- 
cation  filed   May    14,    1904. 

A  thermal  cut-out  or  fuse  comprises  an  enclosing  en- 
velop consisting  of  an  open-ended  non-conducting  tube 
and  an  enlarged  portion  or  chamber,  the  chamber  being 
composed  of  pressure-resisting  material  and  having  un- 
yielding walls  throughout.  The  fuse  is  placed  in  the 
chamber. 

116,444.  Electric  Switch.  August  R.  Everest  and 
Ralph  E.  Barker,  Lynn,  Mass.,  assignors  to 
the  General  Electric  Company,  Schenectady, 
N.    Y.     Application   filed    September    14,    1903. 

An  insulating  base  has  several  stationary  contacts 
mounted  thereon.  A  metallic  bush  is  secured  to  the 
base  and  electrically  connected  to  one  of  the  contacts,  a 
shaft  is  journaled  in  the  bush  and  a  switch  blade  is 
loosely  mounted  upon  the  shaft  and  connected  thereto 
by  a  spring  and  adapted  to  make  electrical  connection 
.  between   the  bush   and  the    respective    stationary  contacts. 

16,456.  Time  Register  for  Telephones.  Gustav 
Fiirst,  Pozsony,  Austria- Hungary.  Application 
filed  January  29,   1904. 

.A  time  register  for  telephones  comprises  a  motor 
train  mechanism,  a  transmitter,  means  to  permit  both 
to  act  together-  and  a  receiver  adapted  to  be  used  inde- 
pendently   of    the    mechanism    and    transmitter. 


April  7,  1906 

perial  Ore  Separator  Company.  Original  ap- 
plication filed  July  19,  1904.  Divided  and  this 
application    filed    October    6,    1904. 

In  a  magnetic  ore  separator  are  a  feed  conveyor 
and  two  separating  conveyers,  a  magnet  comprising  two 
sets  of  opposed  poles  producing  two  fields  of  different 
intensity,  two  cores  each  connecting  one  pole  of  one 
set  in  magnetic  circuit  with  one  pole  of  the  other 
set  and  side  frames  connecting  the  poles  of  the  same 
set    in    magnetic    circuit    with    each    other. 

816,506.  Massage  Instrument.  William  G.  Shelton,. 
Chicago,   111.     Application   filed   April   3,   1905. 

The  message  device  is  driven  by  a  small  motor  in 
the  body  of  the  instrument. 

816,511.  Dynamo-electric  Machine.  Charles  P.  Stein- 
metz, Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y. 
Application   filed   January  28,    1905. 

An  electrical  machine  is  provided  with  a  core  having 
concentric  sets  of  slots,  those  of  one  set  being  adjacent 
to  the  surface  and  of  the  proper  number,  form  and  di- 
mensions to  contain  armature  coils,  and  those  of  the  other 
set  being  of  the  proper  number,  form  and  dimensions 
to  contain  resistance  leads  for  connection  to  the  arma- 
ture   coils.. 

816,540.  Magnetic  Rivet  Holder.  Henderson  B. 
Douglas,  Butler,  Pa.,  assignor  of  one-half  to 
John  S.-  Douglas,  Butler,  -Pa.  Original  appli- 
cation filed  December  2,  1904.  Divided  and  this 
application  filed   May   18,   1905. 

In  combination  with  a  magnetic  holder.,  having  a 
hollow  handle,  are  a  die  or  set,  a  wedge  block  for  adjust- 
ing the  die,  a  solenoid  carried  by  the  handle  and  a 
solenoid  core  having  a  flexible  connection  with  the 
wedge  block.      (See   cut.) 


NO.  S15 


relatively  thereto  and  means  for  supplying  to 'the  brushes 
a  current  varying,  in  magnitude  and.  phase-  with  the 
armature    current    are    the   essential    features. 

816.406.  Fuse  Plug.  August  Weber,  Sr.,  and  Au- 
gust Weber,  Jr.,  Schenectady,  N.  Y. ;  said 
Weber,  Jr.,  assignor  to  said  Weber,  Sr.  Ap- 
plication filed  March  8,   1904. 

Details  are    described. 

816.407.  Electric  Pressure  Indicator.  Joseph  E. 
Wertz,  New  Haven,  Pa.,  assignor  of  one-half 
to "  W.  E.  Day,  Connellsville,  Pa.  Application 
filed   March  21,    1905. 


normally  closed  between  the  high-pressure 
conductor  and  a  battery.  A  circuit  extends  from  the 
low-pressure  conductor  to  the  battery  and  is  normally 
closed   between    the    low-pressure    conductor    and    the    bat- 

816,415.  Trolley.  Henry  Zander  and  Gustav  Hahn. 
Wilmerding,  Pa.  Application  filed  September 
25,    1905. 

A  trolley  mounted  in  the  -trolley  harp  is  protected 
by  a  pair  of  guard  fingers  mounted  upon  the  "harp.  A 
pair  of  bolts  pass  through  the  guard  fingers  in.  the 
harp,  the  harp  being-  formed  with  curved  inclined 
.sides  and  one  of  the  bolts  being  passed  therethrough  at 
a  point  along  the   curved  sides. 

816.428.  Electric  Cable.  Harold  W.  Buck,  Niag- 
ara Falls,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General  Elec- 
tric Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application 
filed  July  27,    1904. 

The  method  of  fireproof!  ng  electric  cables  consists 
in  placing  the  cables  in  their  final  position,  treating  a 
fireproof  material  with  a  fireproof  self- hardening  liquid 
and  applying  the  treated  material  while  wet  to  the 
cables    so    as    to    completely    enclose    them. 

816.429.  Device  for  Supporting  Cables  of  Electric 
Lamps.  James  F.  Burns,  Albany,  N.  Y.  Ap- 
plication  filed  July    12,    1905. 

The  parts  of  the  device  are  a  frame,  a  reel  mounted 
therein,  means  for  rotating  the  reel,  a  ratchet  con- 
nected with  the  reel,  a  dog  adapted  tc  engage  the  ratchet, 

magnet    in    operative    connection    with   the   dog,    a   lamp 


816,436.  Electric-light  Socket  and  Key.  Owen  C. 
Cover,  Goshen,  Ind.  Application  filed  Novem- 
ber 12,   1904. 

A  socket  for  electric-lighting  systems  comprises  a  body 
having  oppositely  disposed  spaced  contacts,  spring  con- 
tact members  arranged  within  the  body  and  respectively 
connected  at  opposite  ends  to  one  of  each  of  the  pair 
of  spaced  contacts,  the  remaining  ends  of  each  of  the 
contact  members  being  free.  Means  operate  the  contact 
members  to  include  all  of  the  spaced  contacts  in  the 
circuit  or  but  one  of  each  of  the  pairs  of  contacts. 

816.442.  System  of  Electrical  Regulation.  William 
L.  R.  Emmet,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to 
the  General  Electric  Company,  Schenectady, 
N.    Y.     Application    filed    July    1,    1904. 

Several  alternating-current  dynamo-  electric  machines 
have  a  common  source  of  exciting  current  and  a  regu- 
lating source  of  voltage  interposed  between  the  source 
of    exciting    current    and    one    or    more    of   the    machines. 

816.443.  Expulsion  Fuse.  Charles  E.  Eveleth, 
Schenectady,    N.    Y.,    assignor    to    the    General 


O.   Sl6,205. — SPACE-TELEGRA 
RECEIVER. 


NO.   Sl6,540. — MAGNETIC 
HOLDER 


816.467.  System  of  Trolley-wire  Suspension.  Paul 
E.  Herkner,  Berlin*  ■  Germany,  assignor  to  the 
General  Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y. 
Application    filed    September    10,    1904. 

Means  for  suspending  trolley  wires  comprise  a  thrust 
member,  a  flexibly  supported  tension  member  and  a 
bell-crank  lever  pivoted  to  the  thrust  member  and  con- 
nected at  one  end  to  the  tensian  member  and  at  the  other 
end    to   the    trolley  wire.      (See    cut.) 

816.468.  Making  and  Breaking  High-potential  Cir- 
cuits. Edward  M.  Hewlett,  Schenectady,  N.  Y., 
assignor  to  the  General  Electric  Company, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  December 
14,    1898. 

An  impedance  for  the  circuit  has  a  shunt  around  the 
impedance.  Means  ■  in ■  the  shunt  are  responsive  to 
change  of  current  density  and  automatically  open  the 
shunt  -  on  an  overload.  -A  circuit-breaker  is  placed 
outside  of' the  shunt,  and  means  controlled  by  the  open- 
ing  of  the    shunt  operate   the   circuit-breaker. 

.816,472.  Sparking  Ignition  Mechanism.  John  F. 
Johnson,  Chester,  Pa.  Application  filed  October 
19,    1904. 

Details    are    described. 


816,541.  Magnetic  Rivet  Holder.  Henderson  B. 
Douglas,  Butler,  Pa.,  assignor  of  one-half  to 
John  S.  Douglas,  Butler,  Pa.  Original  appli- 
cation filed  December  2,  1904.  Divided  and  this 
application   filed   May    18,   1905. 

,  Combined  .with  a  magnetic  holder  arc  a  die  or  set  and 
a  longitudinally  adjustable  carrier  extending  between  the 
-  holder  and  die  to  vary  the  distance  between  the  two. 

PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Following  is  a  list  of  electrical  patents  (issued 
by  the  United  States  Patent  Office)  that  expired 
April  2,   1906: 

■400,430.     Galvanic  Battery.     E.   H.   Crosby,  Boston,  Mass. 
400,473.     Device     for     Supporting     Electric     Lamps.       A.     T. 

Moore,  Jr.,  New  Bedford,  Mass. 
400,479.     Electric    Gas    Lighter.      J.    Y.    Parke,    Philadelphia, 

Pa. 
400,48b.     Transfer    Svstem    of    Electric    Distribution.      E.    W. 

Rice,   Jr.,    Lynn,    Mass. 
400,492.      Eire  trie    Gas-li  fining    Device.       D.    Rousseau,    New 

York,  N.   Y. 

400.515.  Apparatus  for  Regulating  Current  or  Potential  in 
Secondary    of  Transformers.      E.    Thomson,    Lynn,    Mass. 

400.516.  Method  of  Regulating  Current  or  Potential  in  Sec- 
ondary   of    Transformers.       E.     Thomson,     Lynn,     Mass. 

400,552.     Telegraph-wire   Carrier.     R.   S.  Donaldson,  Wilkins- 


\Y.    T.  Morton,  Ne 


York, 


NO.  816,467. 


816.483.  Holder  for  Electric  Incandescent  Lamps. 
Peter  Leonard  and  Charles  H.  Jones,  Great 
Crosby,  near  Liverpool,  England.  Application 
filed   February    17,    1904. 

An  electric  incandescent-lamp  holder  has  a  shell,  a  plug 
which  fits  water  tight  into  the  shell,  spring  plungers 
carried  by  the  plug,  leading-in  wires,  a  ring  in  the 
shell  exterior  to  the  plug  and  embracing  the  wires  and 
insulating  material  which  fills  the  ring  about  the  wires, 
the  ring  being  disposed  between  the  plug  and  the  at- 
taching  end    of    the    shell. 

816.484.  Automatic  Carrier.  Sam  H.  Libby,  East 
Orange,  N.  J.,  assignor  to  the  Sprague  Elec- 
tric Company.  Application  filed  September  1, 
1904. 

A  motor-driven  carrier  is  connected  to  a  normally 
energized  continuous  conductor  and  a  normally  dead 
sectional  conductor  by  collecting  devices  carried  by  the 
carrier  and  engaging  the  conductors.  The  device  en- 
gaging the  sectional  conductor  is  normally  connected  to 
the  driving  motor,  while  means  at  each  station  ener- 
gize the  sectional  conductor  as  far  as  that  station  to 
bring  the  carrier  to  the  station.  Means  connect  the 
driving    motor     to    the     continuous    conductor    to    return 

816,491-  Magnetic  Ore  Separator.  Richard  R. 
Moffatt,   Brooklyn,   N.   Y.,   assignor  to   the   Im- 


Gennert,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

400.661.  Apparatus  for  Determining  Electric  or  Magnetic 
Forces.      A.  Gipperich,  Richmond,   Va. 

400.662.  Art  of  Determining  the  Value  of  Electric,  Magnetic 
or  Electromagnetic  Forces  by  Weight.  A,  Gipperich, 
Richmond,   Va. 

400,663.-  Apparatus  for  Determining  the  Value  of  Electro- 
magnetic   Forces    by    Weight-      A.    Gipperich,    Richmond,. 

400.664.  Process  of  Reducing  Aluminum  from  Its  Fluoride 
Salts  bv  Electrolysis.      C.    M.   Hall,  Oberlin,  Ohio. 

400.665.  Manufacture  of  Aluminum.  C.  M.  Hall,  Oberlin,. 
Ohio. 

400.666.  Process  of  Electrolvzing  Crude  Salts  of  Aluminum. 
C.   M.  Hall,   Oberlin,   Ohio. 

400.667.  Process  of  Electrolvzing  Fused  Salts  of  Aluminum. 
C.   M.   Hall,   Oberlin,  Ohio. 

400,669.  Safety  Device  for  Electric  Circuits.  W.  J.  Ham- 
mer,   Boston,    Mass. 

400,680.  Prevention  of  Sparking  in  Electric  Motors  and 
Generators.      D.    Higham,    Philadelphia,    Pa. 

400,724.     Trolley    for    Electrical    Railways.       D.    A.    Ainslie, 


...    W„ 
Balet,   New  York,  N.   Y. 

400.732.  Electric    Switch.     S.    Bergmann,    New    York,    N.    V, 

400.733.  Switch    for    Electric    Circuits.      S.    Bergmann.    New 
York,    N.    Y. 

400,766.     Process  .  of    Reducing    Aluminum    by    Electrolysis. 


St.   Louis,    Mo. 
400,809.     Alternating-current    Electric    Reciprocating    Engine. 

C.    J.     Vandcpoele,    Lvnn,    Mass. 
400,830.     Electric     Car.       G.    H.     Condict    and    V.     Angerer, 

Philadelphia,    Pa. 
400,838.      Dynamo-electric   Machine.     J.    B.   Entz,    New  York, 
Y. 

Secondary    Battery.      W.    W.    Griscom,    Haverford 


N.   Y. 


W.    W.    Griscom,    Haverford    College,    Pa. 

,      Secondarv    Generator    for    the    Conversion    of    Elec- 
?.]  En-rev  by  Induction.     W.  Lowrie  and  C.  J.  Hall, 

William  Marshall,  New  York,- 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


Vol.  XXXVIII. 


i  Illi  AGO,  APRIL  i  i.   1906 


The  Blllo  Central    Station   at  Hamburg, 
Germany. 


Bv   Ki<  a 


The  city  of  Hamburg,  Germany,  has  a  population 
of  aljout  750,000.  Electric  current  for  li^ht  and 
power  is  supplied  from  four  principal  stations  by 
the  Hamburger  Elektricitatswcrke  Aktiengescll- 
sch:ift.  One  of  these  stations  at  Barmbeck  1  being 
equipped     with     2,000-kilowatt     three-phase     alter- 


iln    powi '     tation  by  two  alti  in  the 
ind,    upplying  :i  currei  : 
01    distribution  to  ited  at 
a  distance,  when  to  a  direct  cur- 
rent at  250  volts  for  distribution  in  co lion  with 

a  storage  battery  equipment. 

Transformer  tationi  are  of  550-kilowatt  ca- 
pacity each  and  contain  motoi  generator  groups 
1 .]  -■  ■  i  .1 1 .  d  bj   altei  nating  cun  enl   1 


"X  type,  each  operating  :it 

vertical   reciprocating 

each  have  a  capacity  of  from  2/rxj  to  2,500 

iwet  and  were  constructed  by  the  Vereinigte 

nenfabrik    Augsburg    und    Maichinenbauge- 

'•.kticngctcllschaft.      Of    thete 

five  units  three  of  the  engines  are  directly  coupled 

to       din  bunt-WOUnd       genera' 

1,750    kilowatts    each,    supplying    a    current    at    600 


INTERIOR    OF 


CENTRAL   STATION,    SHOWING    DIRECT-CONNECTED    ALTERNATORS   AND    DIRECT-CURRENT   GENERATORS. 


nators  supplying  a  current  of  5,000  volts  pressure 
to  sub-stations  about  the  city  provided  with  stor- 
age-battery plants  and  transforming  devices.  These 
sub-stations,  located  at  Eildeck,  Uhlenhorst  and 
Uppendorf,  distribute  direct  current  to  an  incan- 
descent lighting  load  of  58,295  50-watt  lamps,  sev- 
eral hundred  arc  lamps  and  electric  motors  of 
1,160  horsepower  capacity. 

The  accompanying  illustration  (Fig.  1)  shows  tiie 
arrangement  and  design  of  the  electrical  equipment 
of  the  Bille  central  station  in  Hamburg,  which 
supplies  current  to  storage-battery  sub-stations  at 
St.  Georg.  Gross  Newmarkt  and  Pferdmarkt.  The 
station  has  a  total  output  of  8,550  kilowatts  normal 
capacity,  with  storage-battery  installation  of  3,441 
kilowatts.  This  station  serves  a  lighting  load  of 
78,407  incandescent  lamps  and  1,794  arc  lights  and 
furnishes  besides  electric  power  for  commercial 
service  to  the  extent  of  6,987  horsepower.  Fig.  1 
shows  the  interior  of  the  generator  room  and  Fig. 
2  is  a  view  of  the  electrically  operated  pumps,  the 
latter  being  an  example  of  a  very  well-arranged 
pumping   plant. 

Direct  current  at  600  volts  is  generated  for  rail- 
way service  and  for  commercial  light  and  power 
distribution  by  the  three  direct-connected  units 
farthest  from  the  observer,  looking  at  Fig.  1.  The 
oco-volt  current  is  also  utilized  by  transformation 
at  the  sub-station  in  the  plant,  using  a  storage  bat- 
tery between  the  neutral  and  outside  wires  of  the 
three-wire    circuit.      Current    is    also    generated    in 


In  the  central  station  there  are  also  motor-gen- 
erator sets  of  from  144  to  272-kilowatt  capacity. 
These  machines  are  supplied  with  a  direct  current 
at  600  volts,  the  motors  operating  at  this  pressure 
driving  direct-current  generators  of  250  volts  for 
storage-battery  charging  and  lighting  service  on 
the  three-wire  system. 

The  Bille  central-station  engine  equipment  con- 
sists of  five  vertical,  triple-expansion  engines  of  the 


ALLY   OPERATED 
STATION. 


volts  pressure.  The  remaining  two  units  are  di- 
rectly coupled  to  generators  of  1,650-kilowatt  ca- 
pacity each,  supplying  polyphase  current  at  5,000 
volts  pressure.  The  electrical  equipment  in  the 
station  was  installed  by  the  Siemens-Schuckert 
Company  of  Berlin.  One  of  the  interesting  features 
of  this  plant  is  the  artistic  switchboard  and  gal- 
lery shown  at  the  extreme  rear  in  Fig.  I,  which 
is  characteristic  of  German  central-station  prac- 
tice. 

This  plant  is  one  of  a  number  of  installations 
in  Germany  having  both  direct  and  alternating- 
current  equipment  in  connection  with  storage  bat- 
teries distributing  current  on  the  three-wire  sys- 
tem. It  is  of  comparatively  recent  construction  and 
is  the  last  one  installed  in  Hamburg,  the  Barm- 
beck  station  having  been  built  just  before  this  plant 
in  1S09 ;  the  Zollvereinsniederl  station  in  1898.  and 
the  first  station  of  the  four  now  in  operation — the 
Zentralle  Poststrasse — several  years  before.  The 
last  two  stations  supply  current  to  2.680  meters 
and  1.747  meters,  respectively,  the  total  outputs  be- 
ing 5,600  kilowatts  and  2,400  kilowatts. 

The  total  capital  invested  in  the  Hamburger 
Elektricitatswerke  is  nearly  SS.500,000,  and  the 
combined  plants  have  a  total  capacity  of  19.950 
kilowatts  for  the  engine  and  generator  equipments 
and  7.1S1  kilowatts  for  the  storage-battery  installa- 
tion;. There  are  282.462  50-watt  incandescent 
lamps  on  the  lighting  circuits  as  well  as  3.852  arc 
lamps   of  the   equivalent   of   10  amperes   each;    also 


292 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April   14,   1906 


commercial  electric  motors  of  a  total  capacity  of 
10.367  horsepower.  The  total  number  of  electric 
meters  installed  on  all  of  the  lines  in  Hamburg 
served  by  these  four  electric-generating  stations  is 
11,452  and  the  price  for  current  charged  is  about 
12  cents  a  kilowatt-hour  for  lighting  service  and 
about    four    cents    for    power    service. 

There  are  several  other  electric  stations  in  Ham- 
burg and  its  suburbs  not  operated  in  connection 
with  the  four  principal  plants  above  mentioned. 
These  include  the  Nordl.  Freihafen  plant,  with  the 
sub-station  Ho'landischerbrook  -of  1,703  kilowatts 
capacity;  the  Oswaldquai  and  the  Petersenquai 
plants  of  900  kilowatts  and  165  kilowatts,  respect- 
ively, as  weH  as  the  Central  Kuhwarder,  with  an 
output    of    1,400    kilowatts. 


Collins'  System  of  Wireless  Telephony. 

Transmission  of  articulate  speech  from  point  to 
point  electrically,  without  the  use  of  conducting 
wires,  has  been  experimented  upon  with  varying 
degrees  of  success  by  numerous  inventors.  Among 
the  methods  proposed  have  been  several  which 
make  use  of  the  earth  as  the  conducting  medium. 
Work    in    this    direction    has    led    to    the    discovery 


working  upon  a  system  of  this  general  nature,  but 
which  relates  more  particularly  to  the  transmis- 
sion of  impulses  by  direct  or  alternating  current 
having  a  higher  voltage  and  amperage  than  has 
hitherto  been  employed.  He  has  devised  special 
sending  and  receiving  apparatus  which,  he  asserts, 
will  permit  of  the  transmission  of  speech  over 
much  greater  distances  than  have  heretofore  been 
negotiated,  and  was  granted  a  patent  recently  on 
the  invention.  The  accompanying  illustrations  show 
the   simplicity   of    "Mr.    Collins'    apparatus. 

The  method  of  transmitting  consists  essentially 
in  modifying  a  current  (of  sufficient  electromotive 
force  to  produce  an  arc  light)  by  means  of  a  shunt, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  1,  or  by  superimposing  a  direct 
or  alternating  current  on  the  arc-light  circuit,  as 
shown    in    Figs.    2,    3    and    4. 

In  Fig.  1  it  is  seen  that  the  source  of  electro- 
motive force,  the  transmitter  (4)  and  the  earth 
are  in  series,  with  the  arc  light  connected  in  shunt. 
Any  modification  of  the  derived  circuit  (B).  by 
virtue  of  a  change  of  resistance  due  to  a  variable 
pressure  of  the  diaphragm,  is  impressed  upon  the 
circuit  (A),  and  the  temperature  of  the  arc  and 
its    resistance    indicates    a    corresponding    and    pro- 


8 
— X- 


J  3 


Jl 


COLLINS'  SYSTEM    OF 

that  when  a  source  of  electromotive  force,  a  trans- 
mitter and  the  earth  are  connected  together,  in 
series  by  terminal  conductors  entering  the  earth, 
any  variation  in  the  resistance  of  the  transmitter 
will  produce  a  difference  of  potential  at  the  two 
terminals  entering  the  earth,  and  a  slight  current 
will  flow,  the  earth  forming  part  of  the  circuit. 
When  this  condition  takes  place,  equipotential  sur- 
faces are  established  around  each  terminal,  and 
while  the  major  portion  of  the  current  flowing 
in  the  circuit  passes  directly  from  one  terminal 
to  the  other  through  the  earth,  a  certain  amount 
flows,  by  less  direct  paths,  and  finds  it  way  from 
one  terminal  to  the  other  through  ever-widening 
arcs,  which  extend  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  conductors.  These  earth  currents  may  be 
picked  up  at  any  point  in  their  path  by  an  ordinary 
telephone  receiver  whose  terminals  are  also 
grounded.  By  certain  modifications,  also,  an  alter- 
nating current,  such  as  is  produced  by  the  sec- 
ondary of  an  induction  coil,  may  be  made  service- 
able in  transmitting  the  impulses  through  the  earth. 

The  above  facts  have  been  known  for  some  time, 
but  inventors  have  made  use  in  their  instruments 
of  ordinary  telephone  transmitters  and  receivers. 
It  was  found,  however,  that  although  speech  could 
be  thus  transmitted  short  distances,  owing  to  the 
lack  of  sensitiveness  and  general  inadaptability  of 
the  apparatus  conversation  could  not  be  carried 
on  with  distinctness  over  any  considerable,  distance. 

Archie    F.    Collins    of    New    York   city    has    been 


>.      Modified    Re- 
RELESS    TELEPHONY. 


portionate  change  in  the  circuit  (A).  This  varia- 
tion of  resistance  in  the  arc  produces  in  the  cir- 
cuit which  includes  it  electrical  undulations  in  the 
earth  or   other  medium. 

In  a  second  modification  of  the  method  ("shown 
in  Fig.  2)  the  heavy-current  circuit  (A)  includes 
a  source  of  electromotive  force,  the  arc  light  and 
the  conductor  terminals,  forming  connection  with 
the"  earth  or  other  medium  in  which  they  are  em- 
bedded, and  one  of  the  windings  (4)  of  a  trans- 
former coil.  The  circuit  (B)  is  separated  me- 
chanically from  the  circuit  (A),  but  is  in  inductive 
association  with  it  through  the  complementary 
winding  of  the  coiL  as  showrn  at  (5).  When  the 
^transmitter  is  in  operation,  an  undulatory  current 
is  set  up  and  superimposed  on  the  current  in  the 
circuit  (A),  and  the  current  is  varied  as  indicated 
with  reference  to  Fig.   1. 

A  third  modification  is  shown  in  Fig.  3.  In  this 
case  the  current  flowing  in  the  circuit  (A)  is 
varied  by  an  alternating  current  set  up  in  the  cir- 
cuit (B),  which .  includes  a  winding  of  a  trans- 
former coil  and  a  condenser.  A  third  circuit  (C) 
includes  a  battery  cell,  a  telephone  transmitter  and 
a  winding  of  the  transformer.  It  is  the  undulations 
of  the  current  in  this  circuit  which  produce  the 
alternating   current   in   the   circuit    (B). 

A  fourth  modification  of  this  method  is  shown 
in  Fig.  4,  and  has  for  its  object  the  production 
of  alternating  currents  in  the  circuit,  which  in- 
cludes   the    earth    or    other    medium.     By    referring 


to  Fig.  4,  (A)  (B)  (C)  (D)  indicate  separate 
circuits.  The  primary  circuit  [represented  by  <Aj] 
includes  a  telephone  transmitter,  a  source  of  elec- 
tromotive force,  and  the  winding  of  a  transformer 
coil.  The  secondary  circuit  (B)  includes  the  com- 
plementary coil  of  the  transformer,  a  condenser  and 
the  arc  light.  The  third  circuit  (Cj  is  in  parallel 
with  the  circuit  (E)  and  includes  the  arc  light, 
a  scurce  of  electromotive  force,  which  feeds  the' 
arc,  and  the  primary  winding  of  a  transformer. 
The  fourlh  circuit  (D)  includes  the  secondary  of 
the    transformer    and    the   conductor   terminals. 

In  action  the  direct  current  from  the  source  of 
electromotive  force  is  changed  into  an  undulatory 
current  by  means  of  the  transmitter  in  the  circuit 
(A  1.  This  sets  up  an  alternating  current  in  the 
circuit  (B),  by  means  of  the  transformer,  and  this 
current  is  then  superimposed  upon  the  current  flow- 
ing in  (C)  feeding  the  arc  light.  Every  imposition 
of  the  alternating  undulatory  current  flowing  -in 
(C)  produces  identically  the  same  effect  upon  the 
circuit  (D)  that  the  current  in  the  circuit  (A) 
has  upon  (B),  with  the  final  result  that  an  alter- 
nating current  having  the  same  frequency  and 
phase  as  that  produced  in  the  circuit  ( B) ,  but 
with  its  amplitude  greatly  increased,  is  made  to 
pass  through  the  circuit  including  the  earth  or 
other  medium  in  which  conductor  terminals  are 
embedded. 

As  a  receiving  device  there  may  be  employed 
a  simple  telephone  receiver  having  its  conductor 
terminals  embedded  in  the  earth.  When  such  a 
receiver  is  employed,  the  received  impulses  will 
have  a  value  corresponding  to  the  sensibility  of 
the  instrument.  To  further  increase  the  amplitude 
and  intensity  of  the  impulses,  so  that  the  reproduc- 
tion of  speech  may  be  louder,  and  without  increas- 
ing the  sensitiveness  of  the  receiving  telephone. 
Mr.  Collins  employs  a  method  shown  in  Fig.  5. 
of   which   Figs.   6   and   7   are   modifications. 

Fig.  5  shows  the  receiver  in  its  simplest  form. 
The  circuit  (A)  includes  a  source  of  electromotive 
force,  an  arc  light  and  conductor  terminals,  em- 
bedded in  the  earth.  The  circuit  (B)  is  derived 
from  (A),  which  is  in  parallel  to  it  and  includes 
a  telephone  receiver  or  other  means  of  indication 
and  a  resistance.  When  in  operation,  the  function 
of  this  receiver  is  as  follows:  The  received  im- 
pulses through  the  earth  are  superimposed  and 
impressed  upon  the  current  flowing  in  the  circuit 
(A).  These  superimposed  impulses  vary  the  re- 
sistance of  the  arc  and  increase  the  variations  of 
the  current  from  the  generator  flowing  through 
the  circuits  (A)  and  (B).  The  receiver  in  the 
circuit  (B)  is  protected  from  excessive  voltage, 
by  means  of  the  resistance,  and  the  circuit  (B) 
[since  it  is  in  parallel  with  the  circuit  (A)]  de- 
rives its  energy  from  that  circuit,  and  the  tele- 
phone receiver  responds  to  changes  in  the  circuit, 
but    with    augmented    amplitude    and    intensity. 

In  Fig.  6  the  circuit  (B)  includes  a  condenser. 
in  series  with  the  transmitter  instead  of  the  resist- 
ance (shown  in  Fig.  5),  which  precludes  the  flow 
of  the  direct  current  in  the  circuit  (A)  through 
the  receiver,  but  permits  alternating  impulses  to 
act  upon  it,  or  a  combination  may  be  effected  by 
including  the  receiver,  the  resistance  of  Fig.  5  and 
the   condenser,   Fig.  6,   in  the  circuit    (B). 

Fig.  7  illustrates  a  modification  of  the  invention 
in  which  two  distinct  circuits  are  represented  by 
.(AB).  The  circuit  (A)  includes  a  source  of  elec- 
tromotive force,  an  arc  light,  conductor  terminals 
and  one  winding  of  a  transformer  coil.  The  cir- 
cuit (B)  includes  the  opposite  winding  of  the 
transformer  coil,  a'  telephone  receiver  and  a  con- 
denser. This  arrangement  removes  the  telephone 
receiver  from  the  circuit  (A)  and  thus  insures  its 
safety. 

Various  other  modifications  of  the  receiving  sys- 
tem are  suggested,  but  which  are  based  on  the 
same  principles  as  those  just  described.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  whole  system  is  a  modification  of  the 
''speaking  arc,"  but  it  is  evidently  a  new  adapta- 
tion of  this  interesting  device  which  has  hitherto 
found  application  principally  as  a  subject  for  the 
lecturer. 


One  Lesson  of  the  Dewey's  Voyage. 

The  experience  of  the  Navy  Department  in  its 
efforts  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  dry  dock  Dewey 
in  its  remarkable  cruise  from  the  Chesapeake  Bay 
to  the  Philippines  may  result  in  a  concerted  at- 
tempt to  secure  an  international  control,  within 
certain  limits,  of  space  telegraphy.  The  officials 
have  had  good  reason  to  believe  that  in  several 
instances  Commander  Hosiery,  in  charge  of  the  tow- 
ing expedition,  might  have  succeeded  in  communi- 
cating with  the  department,  and  that,  too,  at  times 
when  there  was  genuine  apprehension  as  to  the 
safety  of  the  tow,  had  the  shore  wireless  stations 
responded  to  his  signals.  Efforts  will  be  renewed, 
it  is-  said,  to  compel  all  wireless  companies  to  ac- 
cept any  messages  from  any  other  company  upon 
terms   of  fair  compensation. 


April  1 1.  1906 

Trolley  Express    Service    In    New    Eng- 
land, 

'I  he  Old   Colony   Strccl    Railw  • ,    pan     began 

running    an    1    pi rcgulai    li  ip     h 

Taunton,    Ma     ,   and    Pro\  id ,  R     [.,   lasl 

In     1     the   i"  1   cai    in  I"    1  mi   iindci    tl 

itreel  railwaj    frcighl  and  express  law  by  anj   

pany   which    run  .   1  ar     mi"    Bo  ton      1  I mpan 

expeel  i    .""ii   i"   run   expn       cars   bctwi  1  11    Bi  01 
i,ni   and    Pro\  idence      I  In    exprc      cai    mal  -      two 

trips  a  day  between    I  aunton  ami    Pro  id co 

ering   the   distance    al 1    25    mil.-      in    1       h 

1  1     r 11:1m    ha     three  cars. 

The    rates    arc    a  i    follow        1  'ai  I a  cighing 

less   than   25   pounds,    1  i    cenl    ;    packages   weighing 
from  25  i"  loo  pounds,  25  i"  30  cenl    ;  largei   pad 
ages,  .in  cents  per   100  pounds.     Tin    cai      will    taki 


I 

The  Pennsylvania  Railroad's  Extension 

to  New  York  and  Long  Island    Long 

Island   City   Power  Station.     II 

l'i  1  1 

'In    boile li   nit.  1  • 

0    ,     1.. 

■   .mlii 

certain    I 

id 
'  ipai  ily    and    highc  I  der    all 

-inin    0I1S    Ol 

ol    thi     boili  r   am 

ici 

n  two  batti 

I  'nib  r    n"i  1.1     1  ondition       thi      gam      li  -hi    the 


;frat*    cli 


- 

OU|      Willi 

■ 


FIG.    5.       INTERIOR    OF 

or  leave  freight  at  designated  stations  in  the  larger 
places  on  the  route.  C.  S.  Seibel  is  to  be  freight 
agent  at  Taunton,  the  station  being  located  in  what 
was  the  boiler  house  in  the  company's  old  power 
plant  off  Winthrop  Street.  The  company  has  en- 
gaged a  double  store  at  Center  and  Commercial 
streets  in  Brockton  for  an  express  depot.  A  local 
express  company  will  collect  and  deliver  matter  for 
the  railway  company  in  Taunton. 

The  Old  Colony  company  has  also  established  a 
purchasing  department  by  which  express  agents  in 
any  place  will  purchase  goods  for  persons  in  other 
places.  The  company  has  obtained  rights  in  Fall 
River,  Mass.,  where  express  matter  for  New  York 
will  be  delivered  to  the  Enterprise  Transportation 
Company,  which  runs  steamboats  between  that  city 
and  New  York.  These  rights  wilt  become  effective 
as  soon  as  the  Fall  River  authorities  remove  cer- 
tain conditions  which  the  Massachusetts  railroad 
commissioners    pronounced    irrelevant. 

The  Rhode  Island  company  has  been  running 
express  cars  nearly  five  years  and  the  Dartmouth 
and  Westport  Street  Railway  Company  has  been 
carrying  freight  between  New  Bedford  and  Fall 
River,  Mass.,  for  three  or  four  years.  Cars  have 
been  run  between  New  Bedford  and  Providence 
over  the  Dartmouth  and  Westport  and  the  Provi- 
dence and   Fall   River   roads. 


four  boilers  discharge  into  their  respective  sections 
of  the  main  flue,  then  pass  through  the  economizer 
directly  above  and  into  the  stack,  being  then  under 
the  control  of  the  main  damper  regulator.  The 
first  and  second-floor  dampers  and  the  flue  parti- 
tion dampers  are  open,  thus  permitting  inequalities 
of  quantity  and  pressure  to  divide  under  the  differ- 
ent economizers  irrespective  of  the  boilers  in  serv- 
ice. In  case  it  is  found  necessary  to  isolate  any 
economizer  for  cleaning  and  repairs,  this  can  easily 
be  done  by  closing  its  inlet  and  outlet  dampers, 
and  the  gases  can  then  either  be  by-passed  directly 
into  the  stack  or  divided  up  through  the  other 
economizers.  The  second-floor  boilers  can  discharge 
into  the  stack  through  the  flues  and  economizers 
and  the  first  floor  or  vice  versa.  All  the  boilers 
can  discharge  through  one  economizer,  or  all  econ- 
omizers can  be  cut  out,  and  stacks  may  also  be 
cut  out,  so  that  the  number  of  combinations  pos- 
sible is  fully  equal  to  any  demands  which  extraor- 
dinary conditions  may  impose. 

By  the  use  of  the  economizers  the  hot  gases  are 
so  reduced  in  temperature  that  they  enter  the  base 
of  the  stack  at  about  350  degrees. 

Each  boiler  is  fitted  with  a  Roney  stoker.  The 
bars  are  rocked  by  mechanical  power  derived  from 
a  shaft  which  is  driven  through  a  sprocket  chain 
by  a  4V2  by  four-inch  Wesunghouse  standard  en- 
gine, there  being  one  engine  to  eight  stokers.  An 
arrangement   is  also  provided  for  blowing  in  steam 


bines  are  of  the  YVcstinghouse-Parsons  single-flow 
type,  rated  to  develop  5.500  kilowatts  at  175  pounds 
steam  pressure,  and  2js  £  inches  vacuum,  running 
at  750  revolution?  per  minute.  A  general  view  of 
the  three  turbine  units  in  the  engine  room  is  given 
in    Fig.   5. 

The  Westinghouse-Parsons  steam  turbine  is  now 
so  well  known  that  a  description  of  the  principles 
involved  in  it  is  unnecessary. 

The  cylinder  casting  is  made  in  halves,  split 
horizontally,  so  that  the  upper  part  can  be  lifted 
off.  enabling  easy  inspection  of  the  interior  of  the 
turbine.  The  bearings  of  the  turbine  are  supplied 
with  a  forced  circulation  of  oil  and  are  also  water- 
jacketed.  At  each  end  oi  the  cylinder  where  the 
shaft  passes  through  a  water-seal  gland  is  provided 
which  effectually  prevents  leakage  of  steam  along 
the  shaft.  There  is  a  large  air  space  surrounding 
the  cylinder  for  its  entire  length  and  it  is  lagged 
with  asbestos  and  fitted  with  an  outside  jackc:  of 
sheet  steel,  giving  a  smooth  cylindrical  exterior. 
The  entire  structure  of  the  turbine  and  generator 
rests  on  a  heavy  rectangular  bedplate,  which  in 
turn  rests  on  the  foundation,  but  it  is  not  fastened 
with   anchor   bolts. 

The  length  of  the  turbo-generator  unit  is  47  feet, 
width  13  feet  and  height  14  feet  to  the  top  of  the 
gallery  railing.  By  way  of  contrast  it  may  be 
stated  that  a  four-cylinder  piston  engine  of  equal 
capacity,   with   us    generator,  occupies   a   floor  space 


294 

about   55    feet   long  by   about  35    feet   wide,   and   is 

39  feet  in  height.  

Unique  among  governors  is  that  winch  controls 
the  operation  of  the  Westinghouse-Parsons  steam 
turbine  A  train  of  levers  deriving  its  motion  from 
worm  gearing  on  the  main  shaft  of  the  turbine  con- 
tinuously actuates  an  oscillating  pilot  valve,  which 
in  turn  actuates  the  main  admission  valve  (which 
is  of  the  poppet  type)  by  varying  the  steam  pressure 
against  a  piston  that  lifts  it.  Steam,  therefore, 
enters  the  turbine  through  this  main  poppet  valve, 
not  in  a  continuous  blast  but  in  puffs,  the  duration 
of  which  is  controlled  by  the  amplitude  of  vibra- 
tion of  the  little  oscillating  pilot  valve.  The  ad- 
vantages of  this  intermittent  action  of  the  gov- 
ernor are:  First,  that  the  turbine  is  always  using 
boiler-pressure  steam  no  matter  what  the  load  may 
be  ;  second,  that  the  admission  valve,  being  constantly 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

predetermined  limit.  A  device  is  also  provided  for 
controlling  the  action  of  the  relief  valve  in  the 
outboard   exhaust   connection. 

The    turbines    were    built    at    the    East    Pittsburg 
Works    of   the    Westinghouse    Machine    Company. 
Condensers. 

A  separate  condenser  is  provided  for  each  tur- 
bine of  the  counter-current  surface  type,  built  by 
the  Alberger  Condenser  Company,  and  having 
20,000  square  feet  of  cooling  surface,  consisting  of 
seamless  drawn-brass  tubes  of  No.  18  S.  W.  G.,  and 
one  inch  outside  diameter.  The  condenser  is  placed 
in  a  large  arched  opening  made  in  the  turbine 
foundation.  There  is  thus  a  marked  saving  in 
space  made  possible  by  the  horizontal  type  of  tur- 
bine, for  it  enables  the  entire  condensing  plant, 
consisting   of    condenser,    circulating    pump,    dry-air 


April    14,    1906 

contained  in  them  thus  has  an  opportunity  to  get 
back  into  the  harbor  without  going  through  the 
piping  system  and  the  condensers. 

In  order  to  neutralize  the  effect  of  such  current 
as  might  still  leak  past  the  insulating  joints  a  small 
booster  generator  was  provided,  driven  by  a  220- 
volt  motor,  the  positive  pole  of  the  booster  being 
connected  to  the  heavy  grounded  shunt  cable  above 
mentioned,  the  negative  pole  being  connected  to 
seven  different  points  on  each  condenser,  there 
being  an  adjustable  rheostat  in  each  of  these 
branches  of  the  negative  circuit.  This  superim- 
posed voltage  can  be  adjusted  by  means  of  the 
rheostats  to  exactly  counterbalance  the  natural  gal- 
vanic electromotive  forces  due  to  the  brass  tubes, 
the  iron  shell  and  the  circulating  water,  together 
with  the  stray  electromotive  forces  from  outside. 
With  the  destructive  potentials  so  counterbalanced 
the  condenser  is  in  a  neutral  electric  state,  which 
effectively  prevents  the  corrosion  and  pitting  of 
condenser  tubes  and  sheets  and  secures  a  far 
longer  life  than  has  hitherto  been  possible  for  this 
very  important  and  highly  vulnerable  section  of  the 
steam    equipment. 

A  differential  voltmeter  is  provided  which  can  be 
plugged  to  each  of  the  sections  of  the  negative 
circuit,  there  being  a  separate  rheostat  in  each 
circuit.  By  adjusting  the  rheostats  for  each  sec- 
tion it  is  possible  to  keep  the  potential  at  zero  in 
all  of  them.  The  booster  apparatus,  shown  in 
Fig.  7,  is  conveniently  situated  in  the  electrical  bus 
gallery  directly  under  the  operating  gallery.  The 
rheostat  panel  for  each  condenser  is  situated  con- 
veniently to  it  in  the  engine-room  basement,  and 
observations  at  suitable  intervals  enable  the  oper- 
ating force  to  maintain  the  condensers  absolutely 
neutral. 

Piping. 

In  making  the  layout  for  the  niping  of  a  power 
station  the  aim  is  to  secure,  first,  safety;  second, 
efficiency;  third,  simplicity,  and  fourth,  flexibility, 
with  due  regard  for  the  provision  for  relaying 
both  pipes  and  apparatus.  Last  but  not  least,  the 
question  of  cost,  other  things  being  equal,  was  con- 
sidered   all   important. 

In  general  the  piping  for  the  main  power  units 
in  the  plant  was  laid  out  to  conform  with  the 
general  design  of  the  station  on  the  lines  of  the 
unit  system  above  referred  to.  In  other  words,  the 
piping   was   so   arranged   that   under   normal   condi- 


in  oscillation,  has  no  opportunity  to  get  stuck;  and 
third,  as  the  governor  balls  are  moved  in  and  out 
very  slightly  at  every  oscillation  of  the  system 
of  levers  that  is  fulcrumed  upon  them  they  are 
never  at  rest,  and  it  is  practically  impossible  for 
them  to  wear.  The  most  important  parts  of  the 
governor  mechanism  also  run  in  oil,  which  insures 
long  life  and  the  minimum  of  adjustment. 

To  secure  the  best  results  in  parallel  operation 
of  alternating-current  generators,  close  control  of 
engine  speeds  is  necessary.  The  construction  of 
this  form  of  turbine  governor  lends  itself  leadily 
to   fine   adjustment. 

Fig.  6  shows  a  view  of  the  steam  end  of  the 
turbo-generator.  The  system  of  levers  fulcrumed 
upon  the  governor  spindle  and  actuating  the  main 
admission  valve  on  top  of  the  turbine  casing  is 
clearly  shown.  Directly  under  the  governor  there 
is  suspended  a  rocker  carrying  a  weight  which  can 
be  moved  along  it  from  one  end  to  the  other  by 
a  screw  forming  the  extended  shaft  of  a  little 
motor  carried  on  the  rocker.  This  rocker  is  con- 
tinually oscillating,  receiving  its  motion  through 
a  vertical  rod  attached  to  the  outer  end  of  the 
governor-lever  system.  The  inertia  of  the  gover- 
nor-leverage system  is  altered  and  its  amplitude  of 
vibration  consequently  changed  by  changing  the 
position  of  the  weight  on  the  rocker  through  the 
operation  of  the  little  motor,  which  can  be  seen 
at  the  left-hand  end  of  the  rocker.  This  motor  is 
controlled  by  suitable  switch  gear  located  in  the 
electrical  operating  gallery,  so  that  the  switchboard 
attendant  whose  duty  it  is  to  throw  the  machines 
in  parallel  has  simply  to  manipulate  this  speed- 
changing  device  in  order  to  attain  synchronism 
with  the  generator  which  he  is  about  to  couple  to 
the   system. 

The  steam  consumption  of  the  turbine  is  guaran- 
teed by  the  builders  not  to  exceed  the  following^ 
rates  when  operating  at  750  revolutions  per  minute, 
with  dry  saturated  steam  at  the  throttle  of  175 
pounds  gauge  pressure,  with  a  vacuum  of  27^2 
inches  mercury  (referred  to  a  30-inch  barometer) 
in  the   exhaust  pipe : 

Rated  load,  5,500  kilowatts.  15.3  pounds  steam  per  electric  horse- 
power hour. 

Three-quarter  load.  4,126  kilowatts.  16. 1  pounds  steam  per  elec- 
tric horsepower  hour. 

One-half  load,  2,750  kilowatt,  r8.t  pounds  per  electric  horse- 
power hour, 

These  results  will  be  improved  by  the  following 
percentages  by  the  use  of  superheated  steam,  tem- 
perature being  measured  at  the   throttle: 

ioo°  superheat 10     per  cent. 

1500  superheat 12^  per  cent. 

175°  superheat 13%  per  cent. 

The  turbine  is  also  fitted  with  an  automatic 
safety-stop  arrangement  which  shuts  off  the  steam 
supply  automatically  in  case  the  speed  exceeds  the 


pump  and  hot-well  pump,  to  be  compactly  grouped 
within   and   about   the  base  of  the   foundation. 

The  exhaust  steam  enters  the  condenser  at  the 
bottom.  The  dry-air  pump  exhausts  the  vapor  from 
the  top  and  the  water  condensation  is  collected 
from  the  bottom  by  the  hot-well  pump.  The  circu- 
lating water  enters  the  tubes  at  the  top,  makes 
three  passes  and  is  discharged  from  the  bottom  of 
the  condenser  into  the  overflow  flume  directly 
underneath. 

The  intake  flume  is  underneath  the  overflow  and 
access  to  its  contents  is  made  possible  by  a  well 
extending  past  the  outflow  flume  down  to  the  intake 
flume.  Condensing  water  is  lifted  from  this  well 
by  a  24-inch  double-suction  centrifugal  pump  made 
by  the  Morris  Machine  Works,  capable  of  pumping 
20,000  gallons  of  salt  water  per  minute  against  a 
head  of  20  feet.  Each  pump  is  driven  by  a  12  by 
24  by  12-inch  Westinghouse  compound  engine  direct 
connected  to  it. 

The-condensed  steam  is  drawn  from  the  bottom 
of  each  condenser  and  discharged  to  the  hot-well 
tanks  in  the  boiler-room  basement  by  a  four-inch 
centrifugal  pump  direct  connected  to  a  15-horse- 
power  220-volt  direct-current  motor  running  at  560 
revolutions  per  minute.  A  by-pass  arrangement  to 
the  overflow  flume  is  provided  for  discharging  the 
condensed  steam  directly  into  the  flume  if  desired. 
Vacuum  is  maintained  in  each  surface  condenser 
by  means  of  a  horizontal  steam-driven  two-stage 
dry  vacuum  pump,  with  Corliss  valves  and  auto- 
matic governor  on  the  steam  end  and  positive  valve 
motion   on    the   vacuum    end. 

A  somewhat  unusual  feature  has  been  introduced 
into  this  station  to  prevent  the  serious  deterioration 
usually  occurring  where  salt  water  is  used  for  cir- 
culation of  surface  condensers.  It  is  the  universal 
experience  that  more  or  less  galvanic  action  takes 
place  in  any  event  at  the  expense  of  condenser 
tubes,  but  this  is  often  aggravated  in  large  and 
important  plants  by  the  fact  that  the  water  and 
the  body  of  the  condenser  have  formed  a  con- 
venient path  for  stray  electric-railway  return  cur- 
rents getting  back  to  their  own  power  station  some 
distance  away  through  tthe  condenser  intake  and 
the   water   of   the   harbor. 

The  method  adopted  to  prevent  this  corrosion 
consists,  first,  in  providing  a  shunt  circuit  between 
the  incoming  water  pipes  and  the  condenser  flume 
in  order  to  divert  as  large  a  proportion  as  possible 
of  the  current  from  the  condensers.  This  was  done 
by  the  insertion  in  each  water-main  connection  of 
a  short  pipe  with  an  insulating  joint  on  each  end 
of  it.  These  short  pieces  of  pipe  were  then  con- 
nected to  a  750,000  C.  M.  cable,  which  was  carried 
to  the  outer  end  of  the  condenser  intake.  Such 
current   as   may   leak   from   the   pipes   to   the   water 


FIG.  7.       BOOSTER  FOR    PREVENTING   CONDENSER 
TROLYSIS. 

tions  a  given  group  of  boilers  and  auxiliaries  serves 
a  single  main  power  unit,  which  is  provided  with 
suitable  cross  and  equalizing  connections  between 
itself  and  the  similar  system  of  piping  of  the  ad- 
jacent power  units.  Space  will  not  permit  of  a 
detailed  description  here.  It  may  be  remarked, 
however,  that  Fig.  8  is  a  view  of  the  manifold  con- 
nection where  the  group  of  boilers  on  the  second 
floor  discharges  its  steam  into  the  top  of  one  of 
the  main  feeders,  which  is  then  carried  down  to 
the  point  where  if  passes  through  the  engine  room 
wall  under  the  turbine  operating  floor,  having  on 
the  way  a  connection  from  a  similar  manifold 
with  the  corresponding  group  of  boilers  on  the 
first  floor.  The  two  boilers  on  the  south  side  of 
the  boiler  room  are  run  into  the  same  manifold 
as  the  two  boilers  directly  opposite  them  on  the 
north  side,  and  the  same  arrangement  is  carried 
out  on  the  lower  tier  of  boilers. 

As  it  is  planned  to  use  steam  up  to  200  pounds 
pressure,  with  200  degrees  superheat,  special  care 
had  to  be  taken  to  design  steam  piping  so  as  to 
allow  ample  flexibility  for  the  excessive  expansions 
due  to  these  high  temperatures.  Long-radius  pipe- 
bends  were  used  throughout,  and  this  arrangement 
has  been  found  to  furnish  ample  flexibility  under 
the    most    exacting    conditions.      Full    weight    steam 


April    i.|,    [906 

pipe    with    extra    heavy    welded     tccl    flangi 

11  1  d    throughoul    on    ll in     >■ pipii 

fittings   are   ol     pi  1  ial    di    ign     ind 

hearth  1 .1  1     tci  1      Partii  ulai    atl 01 

Mm-    li'.n )    manifold    <  tion      in    Pig     8       In  r< 

four    seven-inch    boiler    11  1 ei     on      is 

inch  main, 

Fire    i'i'"i ei  ' in 

Although    the    entire    powi  1    t: 

absolutely  fireproof,  ii   is    lituatcd   in  the   middle  ol 
a  manufacturing  district  and  adjacent  to  tin 
front  in  a  position  thai  1  all    foi  1  ompli  tc  fin    pro 

tection     againsl     oul  idc     1  onflagral I  hi       1 

effected  bj   an  ej ■      .  tcm  ol  ca  1  iron  fl d 

in'-   pipe  line,    with    11  '.mi   i  :.:  ini  1 0     1 

'Ii  1 'I   along    the   parapi  1       unding    il 1 

of   the    building,    two   ;ii    Mi.-    middle   ..f   th 1 

bridge  commanding   the   railroad   yard  and   twi 

the  coal   towel    itself  1 aneling   il"    water  front, 

Four    Siamese    hose    c ctions    arc    provided    al 

the  sidewalk  level  al  the  1 ■  corners  of  the  build 

ing,   .'mil   "in'   inside   the   boilei    hou  n    al    thi 

(■ml    of    the    coal    bunker   as    a    protection    again  1 

possible  fires  in  the  bunker.      I  In      j   tei I 

by  two  u  by   io  by   12  inch  In  .1      lined   1 ,000  gallon 
Epping  Carpenter    pumps    install.   I    in    tin-     1"  1  1 


WESTEkX     ELEl 

trolled    aul 

1    and 

clcctri. 

Hi.-    ..il'ii 

I 

0 

'  illy  worked  ..ni,  an, 1.  a 

throughout  thi  en    herewith  : 

i'" '  ' -    ' 

11.  11 

in,    drip  i'i|" 

I-.!  ,-  1:    ■      •    . 

,li  inn    .     in.  Iii'lii... 

Blue      Ml     ..  in        . 

turol  coloi      1  .:..-' . 

'"  "1 '''  i'    'I"-    i""    '.-      inch   'i 

1: 
Green      Vii   pipi 


"I     with 


FIG.   b.        MANIFOLD    CONNECTION    IN    MAIN    STEA? 

corner  of  the  engine-room  basement,  with  salt- 
water suction  direct  from  the  intake  flume.  These 
pumps  are  constantly  under  steam  and  are  pumping 
against  a  head  of  100  pounds,  the  fire-line  system 
being  fitted  with  a  system  of  relief  valves,  all  pipes 
and  valves  being  properly  protected  from  freezing, 
which  constantly  insures  the  immediate  availability 
of  the  entire  power  of  both  pumps  at  any  place 
where  protection   from  fire  may  be  needed. 

L.UBRICATING-OIL     CIRCULATION. 

There  are  three  systems  of  distribution  of  lubri- 
cating oil.  First  of  all  is  that  which  distributes 
the  oil  to  the  turbine  bearings  and  includes  a  stor- 
age tank  eight  feet  in  diameter  by  14  feet  eight 
inches  deep,  situated  in  the  boiler  house  at  about 
the  level  of  the  coal  bunker,  from  which  oil  is  dis- 
tributed by  gravity  to  the  turbine  bearings.  From 
the  bearings  it  is  carried  to  a  filter  tank,  from 
which  it  is  pumped  automatically  to  the  storage 
tank  again  by  two  compound  duplex  piston  pumps. 

There  are  about  5,oco  gallons  of  oil  in  this  sys- 
tem and  about  90  gallons  per  minute  is  circulated 
througn  each  turbine  when  in  operation.  About 
20  gallons  per  day  is  drawn  off  for  various  pur- 
poses, this  including  a  very  small  loss  by  evapora- 
tion. 

The  oiling  system  for  the  crank  cases  of  the 
Westinghouse  engines  used  for  the  auxiliaries  in- 
cludes a  storage  tank  three  feet  in  diameter  by 
10  feet  nine  inches  high,  which  supplies  by  grav- 
ity a  system  of  piping  that  leads  to  all  Westing- 
house  reciprocating  engines  and  allows  the  addi- 
tion of  new   oil   when  needed. 

Cylinder  oil  for  the  lubrication  of  the  cylinders 
of  the  reciprocating  engines  is  handled  by  the  sys- 
tem, which  includes  a  storage  tank  feeding  by  grav- 
ity through  a  system  of  piping  that  serves  the 
lubricators  on  all  the  reciprocating  engines  and 
pumps.  Fresh  oil  is  raised  into  this  storage  tank 
from  small  receiving  tanks  by  means  of  compressed 
air. 

COMPRESSED-AIR     ClEANINC     SYSTEM. 

The  station  is  equipped  with  a  compressed-air 
system  for  cleaning  and  other  purposes.  Air  is 
supplied  to  this  system  by  two  motor-driven  com- 
pressors of  the  Westinghouse  Traction  Brake  Com- 
pany's D-4  type  of  water-cooled  compressors,  oper- 
ating from  the  220-volt  supply  circuit.  Each  com- 
pressor has  a  capacity  of  50  cubic  feet  of  free  air 


Sla 


.il     piping     between     engines    and     sep- 


Brass    (not  painted) — All  oil  piping,  except    the  above-men- 

li"iK'l   "il    pipes    painted   slate  color. 

All    the    gate    valves    are   made   by    the    Chapman 
Valve     Manufacturing     Company     and     the     globe 
valves    by   the    Star    Brass    Company. 
Generators  and  Exciters. 

Since  the  standardization  of  the  steam  turbine 
as  a  prime  mover  a  distinct  type  of  electric  gener- 
ator has  been  designed  to  conform  to  the  new  speed 
condition  imposed  by  the  turbine.  In  a  way  it  is 
a  reversion  toward  the  earlier  types  of  high-speed 
generator.  The  difference  between  the  size  and 
weight  of  a  5,500-kilowatt  turbo-generator  and  one 
of  the  slow-speed  engine  type  is  no  less  marked 
than  the  difference  between  the  two  types  of  prime 
mover.  The  "engine"  type  of  generator  runs  from 
60  to  75  revolutions  per  minute,  while  the  turbo 
type,  so-called,  running  at  750  revolutions,  can  be 
designed  with  far  greater  economy  both  of  floor 
space  and  material — conditions  which  readily  lend 
themselves  to  the  greatest  possible  simplicity  of 
design. 

The  stationary  armature,  enclosed  in  a  large  cyl- 
indrical yoke  of  cast  iron,  consists  of  a  ring-shaped 
core  built  up  of  overlapping  punchings  of  soft 
sheet  steel  with  the  interior  surface  slotted  to 
receive  the  winding,  having  ventilating  strips  in- 
serted at  suitable  intervals  to  form  passages  for 
the  free  circulation  of  air  through  the  core  and 
winding.  The  coils  are  wound  with  copper  wire, 
and,  as  is  usual  with  very  large  generators,  the 
coils  were  built  into  the  slots  after  the  armature 
frames  and  cores  were  permanently  in  position  on 
the  bedplates.  The  coils  are  securely'  held  in  the 
slots  by  retaining  wedges  of  hard  fiber  fitted  into 
grooves  formed  in  the  armature  teeth.  The  ends 
of  the  coils  where  they  project  beyond  the  ends 
of  the  laminated  core  are  protected  by  large  per- 
forated cast-iron  flanges,  completely  enclosing  the 
opposite  ends  of  the  armature.  The  machines  are 
"star-wound,"  i.  e.,  the  three  sets  of  armature 
coils,  needed  for  the  generation  of  three-phase  alter- 
nating current,  are  all  connected  to  one  point 
called  the  "neutral,"  and  the  neutral  points  of 
the  three  machines  are  connected  to  one  neutral 
bus   wdiich   is   permanently  grounded   through   a    re- 

The  revolving  field  consists  of  a  four-pole  struc- 
ture  formed  out  of  solid   steel  disks,  milled  to  re- 


■ 
■ 

f.    a     200  kilowatt     d 

td     I"     run     al      , 
111,     . 

..f  ilu-  main  floor.      1 

ilowatt   capacity,   1*   di 

11. 1    generator   being   mounted   on   ti 
earings    and    bedplati 
exciter 

[To   In-  concluded.] 


Controlling  the  Direction  of  Space- 
telegraph  Signals. 

Willi*  t,  d  a  p.-ir„r  |„.. 

ling    with    nun 
transmitting  space-telegraph  m 

sired    directions    an. I    also    di  ing   ap- 

paratus  for  taking  tip  the   u :.  .    from   a 

given  direction.  The  information  which  be  pre- 
sented 1  lati  I  a  -traight  horizontal 
conductor  placed  a  short  distance  above  the  earth 
instead    of    the    usual    vertical    one. 

When  an  insulated  hi  ri  ontal  wire  i-  connected  at 
"tie  end  to  a  sphere  of  a  spark  gap.  the  other 
sphere  of  which  is  earthed,  and  sparks  are  caused 
to  i"  between  the  spheres,  it  will  be  no) 
investigating  the  space  around  such  an  oscillator 
that  the  ra. ban, .11-  emitted  reach  a  maximum  in 
the  vertical  plane  ..i  the  horizontal  wire,  and  pro- 
ceed principally  from  the  end  which  is  connected 
to  the  spark  gap.  while  the  radiation  is  nil,  or 
reaches  a  minimum,  in  directions  which  are  ap- 
proximately ICO  degrees  from  the  direction  in 
which  the  maximum  effect  occurs.  He  had  also 
noticed  that  any  horizontal  conductor  of  sufficient 
length,  placed  upon  or  at  a  short  distance  above 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  connected  at  one 
end  through  a  suitable  detector  to  earth,  would 
receive  with  maximum  efficiency  only  when  the 
transmitter  was  situated  in  the  vertical  plane  of 
the  horizontal  receiving  conductors,  and  in  such  a 
direction  that  the  end  connected  to  the  detector 
and  to  the  ground  was  pointed  toward  the  trans- 
mitting station.  If,  therefore,  such  a  horizontal 
conductor  was  swivelled  about  its  earthed  end  in  a 
horizontal  plane  the  bearing  or- direction  of  any 
transmitting  station  within  range  of  the  receiver 
would  be  ascertained. 

The  speaker  then  went  on  to  give  the  results  of 
actual  tests  demonstrating  the  phenomena  above 
related. 

In  bis  experiments  Mr.  Marconi  had  noticed  that 
the  most  advantageous  length  of  the  receiving  hori- 
zontal wires,  in  order  to  obtain  results  at  maximum 
distances,  was  about  one-fifth  of  the  length  of  the 
transmitted  wave,  if  the  wires  were  placed  at  a  dis- 
tance above  the  ground ;  but  the  receiving  wires 
should  be  shorter  if  placed  on  the  ground.  He  thought 
it  would  be  instructive  to  investigate  more  thor- 
oughly the  difference  of  the  results  and  curves 
obtained  by  means  of  horizontal  wires  placed  at 
different  heights  above  ground,  and  also  the  effect 
of  varying  the  length  of  such  wires.  When  using 
horizontal  receiving  wires,  arranged  as  described, 
he  had  often  noticed  that  the  natural  electrical  per- 
turbations  of  the  atmosphere  or  stray  electric  waves, 
which  were  generally  prevalent  during  the  summer, 
appeared  to  proceed  from  certain  definite  direc- 
tions, which  varied  from  time  to  time.  It  would 
be  exceedingly  interesting,  he  thought,  to  investi- 
gate whether  there  existed  any  relation  between  the 
direction  of  origin  of  these  waves  and  the  known  bear- 
ing or  direction  of  distant  terrestrial  or  celestial 
storms  from  whence  these  stray  electric  waves  most 
probably  originated.  The  experiments  described  were 
carried  out  during  a  period  of  many-  months.  The 
tests  over  short  distances  were  conducted  over 
practically  flat  country,  while  those  over  consider- 
able distances  took  place  over  hilly  country,  and 
in  some  cases  partly  across  sea  and  partly  across 
land. 


296 

WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 

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CORRESPONDENCE  relating  to  electricity  or  any  of  its 
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~* 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

The  Bille  Central  Station  at  Hamburg,  Germany.     By  Frank  C. 

Perkins.     Illustrated 291,  292 

Collins'  System  of  Wireless  Telephony.      Illustrated 292 

One  Lesson  of  the  Dewey's  Voyage 292 

Trolley  Express  Service  in  New  England 293 

The   Pennsylvania  Railroad's   Extension   to   New  York    and 
Long   Island — Long   Island  City  Power    Station.      Part   II. 

Illustrated 293.  294.  295 

Controlling  the  Direction  of  Space-telegraph  Signals.. 295 

Editorial 296 

The  Charlottenburg  Conference  on  Electrical  Units  of  Meas- 
urement.    By  Henry  S.  Cacbart.     Portrait 297 

National   Civic   Federation   Inspects   Public-utility   Plants  of 

Chicago 297 

White  Coal  in  France 297 

A.    C.-D.   C.    Locomotives  for   New  York.  New    Haven    and 

Hartford  Railroad.     Illustrated 298,  299 

A  Telegraph  Seini-centennial 299 

Underwriters'  Report  on  Electrical  Conditions  in  Detroit 300 

Space  Telegraphy  for  North  Pole  Expedition 300 

Marconi  Company's  Report 300 

Oxone 300 

Street  Railways  of  York.  Pa.,  Sold 300 

General  Electric  Fan  Motors  for  1906.     Illustrated 301 

Iowa  Conventions 301 

Transportation  Arrangements  for  Atlantic  City  Convention. ..  301 

Argentine  Republic  as  a  Market  for  Electrical  Goods 302 

Motor  Drive  in  a  Large  Furniture  Factory 302 

Consolidation  of  "Tri-Cities"  Public-service  Utilities 302 

Laying  Cables  in  Simplon  Tunnel 302 

Electric  Light  and  Power  Supply  for  London 303 

Steam-turbine  Installation  in  Siam 303 

Thin  Insulation 303 

Two-part  Street-railway  Tracks 303 

Proposed  Foreign  Tour  of  Institute  Members 303 

Electrical  Conditions  in  Philadelphia 303 

Ground-wire  Clamp  for  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Work.      Il- 
lustrated    303 

Wright  Demand  System  in  England 303 

Indiana  District  Telephone  Meeting 303 

High-potential  Circuit -breaking  Apparatus.     Illustrated 304 

Canadian  Telephone  News 304 

Southeastern  Telephone  Developments 304 

Indiana  Telephone  Items 304 

Telephone  News  from  the  Northwest 304.  305 

Why  Europe  Lags  in  Telephone  Service 303 

Extensions  to  Chicago  Automatic  Telephone  System 30s 

General  Telephone  News 305 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence 305,  306,  307 

Great  Britain 305 

Dominion  of  Canada 305,  306 

New  York 306 

Southeastern  States 306 

New  England 306 

Ohio 306.  307 

Indiana 307 

Northwestern  States 307 

Pacific  Slope 307 

Personal 307.  308 

Electric  Lighting 308 

Electric  Railways ■ ..  308 

Power  Transmission 308 

Publications 308 

Societies  and  Schools 308 

Miscellaneous 3o5,  309 

Trade  News 309 

Business 309 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record 309.  3io 


DATES  AHEAD. 

Fond  du  Lac  Gas  and  Electrical  Show,  Armory  E,  Fond 
du    Lac,    Wis.,    April   9th    to    14th. 

Iowa  Electrical  Association  (annual  convention).  Kirk- 
wood  Hotel,  Des  Moines,  April    iSth  and   19th.. 

Texas  Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  meet- 
ing),  Waco,  Tex.,  April  25th,  26th  and  27th. 

American  Electrochemical  Society  (general  meeting) 
Ithaca  Hotel,  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  May  1st  to  3d 
astern  Electrical  and  Gas  Associat 
Galveston,  Tex^,  May  16th,  17th  iwu  idlu. 
Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  meet' 
ing),    Claypool   Hotel,    Indianapolis,    May    17th   and    18th. 

National    Electric    Light    Association    (annual 
Atlantic   City,    N.   J.,    June    5th   to  8th,    inclusiv 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

Professor  Carhart's  article  on  "The  Charlotten- 
burg Conference  on  Electrical  Units  of  Measure- 
ment," presented  elsewhere  in  this  issue,  will  give 
the  reader  a  clear  idea  of  the  status  of  the  inter- 
national movement  for  standardization  in  the  legal 
definitions  of  electrical  units.  A  great  deal  has  been 
done  in  this  direction  since  the  necessity  for  elec- 
trical units  was  first  recognized,  but  not  a  little 
remains  to  be  determined.  The  gathering  at  Char- 
lottenburg last  autumn  was  one  of  the  meetings 
for  "tuning  up"  which  precede  the  full  international 
concert  on  electrical  units  of  a  future  day.  Dr. 
Carhart  was  the  only  American  delegate  present, 
and  he  speaks  with  knowledge — a  knowledge  gained 
not  only  by  participation  in  the  conference  of  last 
year,  but  by  many  years'  experience  in  the  deter- 
mination of  units  and  in  representing  his  country 
at    former    assemblages    of    similar    character. 


April    14,   1906 

as  the  customary  layover  in  the  roundhouse  is  five 
hours,  the  machine  has  no  dividend-earning  ca- 
pacity for  one-third  of  the  time. 


Electric  signs  give  an  appearance  of  brightness, 
prosperity  and  enterprise  which  can  be  attained  in 
no  other  way.  This  fact  is  recognized  by  business 
men  to  a  constantly  increasing  degree.  Thus  in 
Des  Moines,  where  the  Iowa  Electrical  Association 
will  meet  on  the  18th  and  19th  of  this  month,  a 
daily  newspaper  reports  as,  follows :  "The  business 
men  of  Des  Moines  are  making  this  city  a  brilliant 
spectacle  at  night.  They  have  learned  that  making 
their  buildings  and  the  streets  attractive  promotes 
business.  Trade  follows  the  light.  Light  streets 
and  light  stores  catch  the  crowds.  Nobody  wants 
to  live  or  shop  or  eat  in  a  dimly  lighted  place. 
Some  Des  Moines  business  houses  have  traced  25 
per  cent,  increase  of  business  directly  to  the  installa- 
tion of  an  electric  sign.  There  may  be  may  differ- 
ences of  opinion  about  the  value  of  electric  signs, 
but  the  preponderance  of  evidence  from  successful 
men  is  greatly  in  their  favor."  It  is  a  fact  that 
one  can  almost  judge  of  the  relative  progressiveness 
of  a  city  compared  with  others  of  the  same  size 
by  the  number  of  its  electric  signs. 


There  is  a  widespread  popular  impression  that 
persons  who  have  fallen  into  a  state  of  suspended 
animation  have  been  believed  to  be  dead,  and  as 
such  actually  buried  alive.  While  such  gruesome 
calamities  must  be,  happily,  very  rare,  an  infallible 
test  which  will  prove  beyond  a  doubt  whether  life 
has  ceased  would  be  a  discovery  of  great  impor- 
tance. Prof.  Elmer  Gates  of  Washington,  D.  C,  is 
said  to  have  recently  announced  that  he  has  dis- 
covered ultra-violet  rays  of  a  certain  wave  length 
which,  w-hen  properly  applied,  constitute  a  sure  test 
of  the  existence  or  non-existence  of  life  in  an  ani- 
mal organism.  Living  objects  placed  in  these  strange 
rays  are  said  to  cast  a  shadow  which  exists  only 
as  long  as  life  is  present  in  the  body ;  when  life  is 
extinct  the  body  becomes  suddenly  transparent  to 
the  rays  and  the  shadow  vanishes.  If  true,  this  is, 
of  course,  very  mysterious  and  wonderful.  What 
relation-'these  rays  bear  to  the  life  principle  which 
distinguishes  a  living  organism  from  inanimate 
matter  is  hard  to  fathom,  but  if  the  report  of  this 
discovery  is  to  be  relied  upon,  a  step  in  advance 
has  undoubtedly  been  taken  in  the  effort  to  solve 
the  fundamental  mysteries  of  life,  disease  and 
thought  transference. 


nd   =8th. 

National    Electrical    Contractors'    A 
on),    Cleveland,    Ohio,  July    18th 


One  of  our  contemporaries  devoted  to  railroad 
interests  points  out  one  advantage  of  the  electric 
locomotive  which  may  be  overlooked.  This  relates 
to  the  matter  of  layovers  in  the  roundhouse  after 
the  completion  of  a  run.  Steam  locomotives,  after 
a  run  of  ioo  miles  or  more,  must  lay  over  to  en- 
able attendants  to  examine  and  clean  the  boiler. 
This  loss  of  time  means  a  considerable  loss  of 
earning  power  of  the  equipment,  especially  in  short 
runs,  for  the  time  required  for  the  layover  after 
a  short  run  is  about  as  long  as  after  a  long  run. 
If  the  water  of  the  district  is  poor  the  boiler  must 
be  washed,  taking  time  for  cooling  and  for  re- 
firing.  If  the  boiler  is  fired  by  oil  the  delay  is 
longer  than  otherwise  on  account  of  the  heavy 
lining  of  fire  brick  in  the  firebox,  which  holds  its 
heat  for  several  hours.  With  the  electric  locomo- 
tive, it  is  needless  to  say,  loss  of  time  for  boiler 
cleaning  is  done  away  with.  This  means  that  the 
capacity  for  earning  dividends  is  increased.  The 
average  run  of  a  steam  locomotive  is  10  hours,  and 


Metric  reform  by  the  educational  method  has 
been  set  on  foot  in  Canada.  Mr.  A.  G.  Seyfert,  the 
United  States  Consul  at  Stratford,  Ont.,  reports 
an  active  movement  that  has  for  its  object  the 
adoption  of  the  decimal  system  of  weights  and 
measures.  Active  propaganda  is  at  work  to  have 
the  question  properly  presented  to  the  Canadian 
people.  The  consul  writes :  "With  a  view  of 
adopting  the  metric  system  in  weights  and  measures 
at  an  early  day  the  Canadian  government  is  pre- 
paring and  educating  the  people  for  the  change. 
Prof.  J.  C.  McLennan  of  the  University  of  To- 
ronto has  been  engaged  by  the  Dominion  govern- 
ment to  devote  the  next  year  to  explaining  the  sys- 
tem in  a  series  of  lectures  in  all  the  leading  cities 
from  Halifax  to  Vancouver.  The  professor  de- 
livered his  first  lecture  on  the  subject  at  Stratford. 
February  7th,  before  the  Board  of  Trade.  Accord- 
ing to  his  explanation,  it  is  the  object  of  the  Cana- 
dian government  to  secure  a  uniform  standard  of 
weights  and  measures  throughout  the  entire  Brit- 
ish Empire,  and  thus  to  advance  trade  relations 
among  the  different  colonies  of  the  empire.  The 
Board  of  Trade  at  Stratford  unanimously  adopted 
resolutions  urging  adoption  of  the  system." 

This  is  a  very  sensible  method  of  procedure,  and 
it  might  be  copied  with  advantage  in  the  United 
States.  Instead  of  asking  Congress  to  pass  a  man- 
datory law,  would  it  not  be  wiser,  in  order  to  bring 
about  this  great  reform  effectively  and  permanently, 
to  begin  a  campaign  of  education?  If  additional 
laws  are  to  be  enacted,  why  not  petition  the  Legis- 
latures of  all  the  states  to  make  the  teaching  of 
the  metric  system  compulsory  in  all  public  schools? 
The  foundation  must  be  laid  before  the  super- 
structure is  erected. 


One  feature  of  the  agitation  for  the  preservation 
of  Niagara  Falls  against  further  diversion  on  the 
part  of  hydro-electric  companies  which  is  not  to  be 
overlooked  is  its  effect  on  the  Chicago  Drainage 
Canal.  This  channel  has  now  a  capacity  of  divert- 
ing 300,000  cubic  feet  of  water  a  minute  from  Lake 
Michigan  to  the  Desplaines  River  and  thence 
through  the  Illinois  River  to  the  Mississippi.  In 
the  rock  cuts  the  canal  has  a  capacity  of  600.000 
feet  a  minute,  and  this  is  apparently  the  capacity 
provided  by  existing  law.  The  International  Water- 
ways Commission  has  recommended  that  this  limit 
be  the  final  and  ultimate  maximum  of  capacity  of 
the  Drainage  Canal  under  any  circumstances,  and 
the  president  has  endorsed  these  recommendations, 
together  with  others  designed  to  restrict  the  diver- 
sion of  water  from  the  Upper  Lakes  and  Niagara 
River  in  order  to  preserve  the  cataract  at  Niagara 
Falls. 

The  Chicago  Drainage  Canal  was  built  primarily 
to  protect  the  water  supply  of  a  population  of  two 
million  people  at  present,  and  of  a  much  greater 
number  in  the  future,  by  diverting  sewage  from 
Lake  Michigan.  But  it  has  also  power  possibilities 
which  are  now  in  process  of  utilization,  as  the 
readers  of  the  Western  Electrician  are  aware,  and 
it  may  in  the  future  serve  as  a  ship  canal  connect- 
ing the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Mississippi  River.  It 
has  cost  the  city  of  Chicago  about  $46,000,000  up 
to  date  and  is  a  public  work  of  great  magnitude 
and  importance.  The  trustees  of  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict have  taken  alarm  at  the  report  of  the  Water- 
ways Commission  and  protest  against  that  portion 
which  relates  to  the  Drainage  Canal,  asking  that 
Congress  fix  the  final  limit  at  840,000  or  more  feet, 
and  lockage,  instead  of  the  600,000  feet  recom- 
mended by  the  commission.  They  do  not  see  why 
the  power  interests  of  Niagara  are  more  important 
than  the  health  of  the  people  of  Chicago,  and  they 
ask  for  the  higher  limit  to  provide  for  the  future 
needs  of  the  city.  Canadian  power  companies  at 
Niagara,  for  instance,  are  allowed  to  divert  over 
2,000,000  feet  a  minute.  The  trustees  have  certainly 
a  right  to  a  respectful  hearing,  and  their  arguments 
should   be   given   careful   consideration. 

The  Drainage  Canal  is  on  a  different  basis  than 
the  Niagara  Falls  power  companies,  as  it  is  not 
used    for  private    profit. 


April    i  l,    1906 


rERN     ELECTRN 


The      Charlottenburg      Conference     on 

Electrical  Units  of  Measurement. 

r,,   Hi  km  S  Cabhari 

h  will  i»'  ml I  thai  Hi'    I  hambi  i  ol   Deli 

gales  ai    the   Si     Loui     Elci  trii  il   I  -mi'"    I   'I  ■  idi  d 

lo  secure  if  pos  lible  the  app tmenl  "i  ai r  i 

tional  commission  who  t  duty  il     I Id  I"   to  elimi 

nate   the  existing  diffc "   the   di  I 

the  di'.  in'  .il   nun    in  different  """       ""I  c  pc 

ciallj    differem  e     in   the  phj  ifi  al   rc| tal I 

Mm.  i     nun         In    put, ii 

Hi'  ■     "I     lln       ."  ii  'ii     .'i 

Si    Louis  the  pre  idcnl 

-I  the  I-"'  ii  anstall  al 
i  li.ii  lottenburg  1 1  >ui  d 
,i   call   last  June   fur  a 

prclimin  u  \    fi  rem  i 

l"i    lli.    pui  i i   - 

changing  views  and  to 
ascertain  to  what  ex 
tent  unanimity  respcel 
ing  standards  of  elec 
t  r  i  c  ii  I  measurement 
might  be  c  x  p  ec  i  c  .I 
To  i In ~.  conferem  i  ■■■  i  i 
invited  the  Ii  ea  .1  s  of 
government  bureaus 
dealing  with  eledtrical 
prof,  hbnrys.  carhart.  measurements  of  pre- 
cision iu  the  United  States,  England,  Belgium  and 
Austria- Hungary ;  also  certain  physicists  whose 
work  has  been  conspicuous  in  the  field— Lord  Kay 
leigh,  Professor  Kohlrausch,  Mascart  and  Carhart. 
All  these  were  present  at  the  conference,  which 
opened  October  23d,  except  Dr.  Stratton  of  Wash- 
ington and  Lord   Rayleigh. 

The  sessions  of  the  conference  were  held  at  the 
Reichsanstalt,  and  this  famous  imperial  institution 
was  represented  by  Dr.  Lewald,  president  of  the 
governing  body  of  the  Reichsanstalt,  Professor  War- 
burg, president,  and  Professors  I  lagcll.  Jaeger  and 
St.  Lindcck.  On  nomination  by  Dr.  Lewald,  Pro- 
fessor  Mascart   of    Paris   was  chosen    chairman. 

The  conference  continued  in  session  for  three 
days  anil  reached  conclusions  with  entire  unanimity, 
except  011  one  or  two  important  points.  The  Chi- 
cago congress  defined  three  international  standards, 
namely,  the  ohm  by  the  resistance  of  a  specific 
thread  of  mercury,  the  ampere  by  the  deposit  of  a 
definite  weight  of  silver  in  the  silver  coulotneter 
under  defined  conditions,  and  the  volt  as  a  spe- 
cific fraction  of  the  electromotive  force  of  a  Clark 
standard  cell.  For  reasons  not  necessary  to  enter 
into  here,  it  has  turned  out  that  in  Germany  only 
two  of  these  concrete  standards — the  ohm  and  the 
ampere — have  been  legalized,  leaving  the  volt  to 
be  determined  by  the  application  of  Ohm's  law.  It 
has  been  shown  by  many  researches  since  1893 
that  the  electromotive  force  of  the  Clark  cell  is 
about  one  part  in  1,000  lower  than  the  value  legal- 
ized in  the  United  States  and  England.  Thus  two 
values  of  the  volt  are  in  actual  use.  The  confer- 
ence therefore  decided  unanimously  that  it  is  desir- 
able to  choose  only  two  independent  standards  as 
practical  units  instead  of  three.  Conservatism  and 
respect  for  the  past  quite  as  much  as  anything  else 
led  to  the  choice  of  the  ohm  and  the  ampere  instead 
of  the  ohm  and  the  volt.  Briefs  were  presented 
by  our  Bureau  of  Standards  and  by  myself  in  favor 
of  the  volt  as  defined  by  a  Weston  normal  cell  in- 
stead of  the  ampere  as  defined  by  the  deposit  of 
silver  in  a  silver  coulometer.  These  briefs  appear 
as  appendices  to  the  Proceedings  of  the  Conference 
printed  at  the  Reichsdruckerei  in  Berlin. 

The  conference  neither  affirmed  nor  denied  the 
correctness  of  the  accepted  value  for  the  electro- 
chemical equivalent  of  silver,  but  recognized  that 
much  work  must  be  done  before  a  revision  of  the 
specifications  for  the  silver  coulometer  is  possible. 
Hence  the  legal  value  of  1.11S  milligrams  of  silver 
per  coulomb  remains,  unless  further  investigations 
shall  make  it  appear  without  doubt  that  this  num- 
ber should  be  changed.  In  fact,  one  or  two  mem- 
bers of  the  conference  expressed  the  opinion  that 
the  present  legal  values  of  the  ohm  and  the  am- 
pere should  be  retained,  whether  they  are  found  by 
more  precise  investigations  to  conform  to  the  theo- 
retical definitions  or  not.  The  meter  and  the  kilo- 
gram were  cited  as  practical  legal  standards  which 
do  not  correspond  exactly  with  the  original  de- 
signed values.  But  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that 
electrical  units  are  a  part  of  a  correlated  mechan- 
ical system  derived  from  the  meter,  the  kilogram  and 
the  second,  or  their  sub-multiples ;  and  any  appre- 
ciable variation  of  the  practical  standards  from  the 
accepted  C.  G.  S.  definitions  would  introduce  con- 
fusion,   because    the    electrical    kilowatt    would    not 


then  i'  rm  to  ii     mei 

11. ,1  the  ■  '  ■    »ith  thi  ■',  »nd 

11  111.1i  • 

the  lb' 0 
of  arbiti 

It  i     now   rci   ign 

1      .1    dilli.  nil    p 1    ippai  .1'  "      ' 

ind   the   ingenuity   •■> 
1.1   find    the    best    method    ol    preventing    II 

anodii    I I    d 

from    reai  It  i      ■■■  ithin 

■  n  ,1    1  nowledge    that    invi   ligation    "i    ihi 

I tei  Ubora 

lories  in  Europe  and  Ami  rii  -      If  I 

in,  1, 1   is  to  bi    rel  tild  I"-  brought  10  the 

highest  point  ol  pel  fection  that  the  pi 

11  ii  11.      permits. 

It  is  admitted  bj  all  thai  electric  currents  will 
,,,11111,11,    to  1"    mi      Ul    d    foi    p  i:i, ration 

and   in   accurati    :  landard 

resistance  and  a  standard  1  •  li      Prai  ticall; 

use  i"  which  the  silver  coulometer  will  l»   put  1-  in 

the  determination  or  checking   of 

1 1      tandard    cells.      If    the    electrochemical 

equivalent  of  silver  and   the  electromol 
the   adopted    standard   cell   are   determined 
rently   b)    means   of   the    same  ampere   balance   Ihe 
choice   Of   the  ampen    instead   of  the   voll    for   the 
second    independent    unit    will    be    of    no    great    1111 

portance. 

It  is  a  personal  gratification  that  my  original  pn. 
posal,  made  at  the  meeting  of  Ihe  American  Insti- 
tute of  Electrical  Engineers  in  100,?.  to  replace  the 
Clark  cell  by  the  Weston,  was  unanimously  approved 
by  the  conference.  There  was  entire  unanimity  in 
the  view  that  the  Weston  cell  must  contain  solid 
cadmium  sulphate,  so  that  at  both  electrode-  the 
corresponding  salt  shall  be  present  in  the  solid  as 
well  as  the  liquid  phase;  also  that  the  amalgam 
composing  the  negative  electrode  must  contain   from 

12  to  13  per  cent,  of  cadmium,  ft  was  further  pro- 
vided that  precautions  must  he  taken  to  insure  the 
electrical  integrity  of  the  negative  electrodi  b; 
adopting  a  method  of  construction  that  shall  pre- 
vent the  liquid  solution  reaching  the  connecting 
platinum  wire.  In  other  respects  the  specifications 
were  left  to  be  determined.  The  view  was  ad- 
vanced at  the  Reichsanstalt  that  the  chief  cause  of 
variations  in  the  electromotive  force  of  the  cell  is 
the  variation  in  the  size  of  the  crystals  of  mer- 
curous  sulphate.  This  view  is  not  accepted  in  this 
country,  but  the  subject  needs  further  investigation. 
It  is  certain  that  the  Weston  normal  cell  is  now 
reproducible  to  within  one  part  in  10.000.  or  one 
hundredth   of  one  per  cent. 

Among  the  proposals  which  the  Reichsanstalt  laid 
before  the  conference  was  one  to  establish  an  "In- 
ternational Bureau  of  Electrical  Standards."  The 
object  in  view  was  the  preservation  of  international 
agreement  among  the  fundamental  standards  for 
practical  electrical  measurements.  The  proposed 
bureau  would  be  charged  with  the  duty  of  setting 
up  the  mercury  normal  for  the  ohm  and  sending 
copies  of  it  to  the  countries  participating  in  the 
agreement.  The  metrological  part  of  the  undertak- 
ing was  to  be  done  in  collaboration  with  the  Inter- 
national Bureau  of  Weights  and  Measures  in 
Sevres.  For  the  initiation  of  the  undertaking  the 
proposed  international  electrical  bureau  was  to  be 
at  the  Reichsanstalt. 

Whatever  might  be  said  in  favor  of  this  proposal, 
it  was  a  new  proposition,  and  several  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  conference  did  not  feel  authorized  to 
commit  themselves  in  favor  of  it.  Much  less  could 
they  commit  their  governments  to  the  undertaking. 

The  conference  expressed  itself  with  due  caution 
in  favor  of  an  international  convention,  conference 
or  commission,  to  be  called  together  in  the  course 
of  a  year.  It  is  altogether  likely  that  such  a  com- 
mission will  be  invited  by  the  British  government 
to  assemble  some  time  next  autumn.  It  is  not  to 
be  expected,  however,  that  all  outstanding  ques- 
tions to  be  settled  will  be  ready  for  solution  by 
that  time.  Still,  great  progress  has  been  made, 
and  time  must  be  allowed  before  final  action  is 
taken  to  insure  results  that  will  last. 

Socially  the  conference  was  the  occasion  of  the 
most  charming  courtesies  on  the  part  of  our  Ger- 
man confreres.  On  the  three  successive  days  of  the 
conference  we  were  invited  to  luncheon  at  the 
home  of  President  Warburg,  where  we  were  de- 
lightfully received  by  Mrs.  Warburg  and  her  lovely- 
daughters.  The  members  of  the  conference  were 
further  invited  by  President  Warburg  to  a  dinner 
at  the  Automobile  Club.     Twenty-six  gentlemen  sat 


Among  11 

and  Kul.- 
'"ire 


National  Civic  Federation  Inspects  Pub- 
lic-utility Plants  of  Chicago. 

I    ga> 

public  0 

had    pn 

W      V.i  ,    and     I iwli.ii.  ,i 

..i  the  Big  lour  Railroad,  ii  non  ii 

ing  tli> 

committi 

in   band   numbers    -■-•,   Mr    lug-all.   I, 

man. 

The  Chicago  party   bad   pr. 
d,,r.-    Stebbim    of   '  olumbu 

nston,   III.   E    ' 
and    I)     II      Maury    of    Peoria,    III.,    lo   gather    data 
relating  jhl    and 

water   plant-      The   first    day   in   On 
up  i"  hearing  and   discussing  the   : 

In  the  forenoon  of  the  second  day  the 
party  was  conducted  in  automobiles 
trician  Carroll  to  the  citj  light,  water  and  pumping 
plant-.  The  gas  plant,  wire  also  visited  In  the 
afternoon  John  I".  Gilchrist,  representing  President 
Samuel  Insull  of  the  Commonwealth  Elcctn 
p.-inv.  took-  the  party  to  Ihe  Fisk  Street  station  of 
that  company. 

The  Chicago  trip  will  end  the  invest  - 
for  the  present  at  least.  Those  in  the  - 
parly  were  Prof.  Frank  J  Goodnow  of  Columbia 
University;  Charles  1.  Edgar,  president  of  the  F.di- 
son  Electric  Illuminating  Company  of  Boston; 
Walton  Clark  of  the  United  Gas  Improvement  Com- 
pany of  Philadelphia;  Walter  L.  Fisher  of  the 
Municipal  Voters'  League  of  Chicago;  Edward  W 
Bemis,  superintendent  of  waterworks  at  Cleveland; 
Frank  Parsons,  president  of  the  National  Public 
Ownership  League  of  Boston;  Prof.  John  H.  Gray 
of  Northwestern  University;  Prof.  John  R.  Com- 
mons of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  and  Edward 
E  Moffett,  representative  of  trades-union  organi- 
zations. 


"White  Coal"  in  France. 

A  consular  report  from  Mr  Mason,  the  United 
States  consul-general  in  Paris,  and  Mr.  Skinner, 
consul  at  Marseilles,  covering  French  trade,  con- 
cludes   as    follows 

Greater  industrial  efficiency  is  being  sought  in 
all  directions,  but  particularly  by  the  distribution 
of  energy  supplied  by  rivers  and  streams.  This 
is  being  especially  felt  in  the  region  extending  from 
the  Mediterranean  to  the  Alps.  The  degree  t.. 
which  this  energy  may  be  multiplied  is  infinite,  hut 
with  present  knowledge  it  is  assumed  that  2.000.000 
horsepower  may  be  economically  obtained,  of  which 
perhaps  a  fifth  has  been  secured  or  is  in  process 
of  being  secured. 

The  greatest  completed  French  works  are  to  be 
found  in  the  Alps,  where  sparse  population,  nar- 
rowness of  range  of  raw  materials,  and  remote- 
ness from  large  markets  deter  large  industrial  op- 
erations. At  present,  work  is  in  progress  on  eight 
different  plants,  which  will  revolutionize  manu- 
facturing conditions  in  the  whole  Mediterranean 
region  and  in  Durance  Valley,  where  general  condi- 
tions are   favorable   to   manufacturing   enterprises. 

The  Vesubic  plant,  now  in  operation,  supplies 
Grasse  with  power  at  the  rate  of  five  cents  per 
horsepower-hour.  The  Brillane  and  Saulce  plants 
will  soon  be  in  operation,  and  will  supply  power 
to  the  Marseilles  tram  lines  and  other  companies. 
These  plants  are  65  miles  and  102  miles  from 
Marseilles,  the  Saulce  being  the  farthest.  The  Bril- 
lane plant  deals  with  a  sluggish,  muddy  stream — 
the  Durance — and  requires  settling  basins  at  in- 
tervals. The  power  will  be  transmitted  under  ten- 
sion of  45.000  to  50.000  volts,  which  will  be  reduced 
near  Marseilles  to  3.500  and  5.000  volts.  In  the 
country  overhead  wires  will  be  strung  on  iron 
poles,  supporting  an  inverted  porcupine  platform 
under  the  cross-trees,  to  prevent  unauthorized  per- 
sons from  reaching  the  wires.  L'nderground  trans- 
mission   is    regarded    as    ultimately   neccsary. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April  14,  ic 


A.  C.-D.  C.  Locomotives  for   New  York, 
New  Haven  and  Hartford  Railroad. 

The  present  plans  of  the  New  York,  New  Haven 
and  Hartford  Railroad  Company  contemplate  the 
electrical  operation  of  its  main  line  betweeti-New 
York  city  and  Stamford.  Conn.,  a  distance  of  oyer 
33  miles.  That  portion  of  the  road  which  lies 
between  the  Grand  Central  Depot  and  Woodlawn, 
N.  Y.,  utilizes  the  tracks  of  the  New  York  Cen- 
tral Railroad  and  constitutes  a  portion  of  the  elec- 
trical zone  of  that  company  within  which  the  di- 
rect-current third-rail  system  is  being  installed. 
Between  Woodlawn  and  Stamford  the  road  will 
be  equipped  with  the  Westinghouse  single-phase 
alternating-current  system,  and  the  trains  will  be 
operated  by  electric  locomotives  which  take  alter- 
nating   current    from    the    overhead-trolley    line. 

The  power  station  of  the  New  Haven  company 
will  be  located  at  Riverside,  Conn.,  three  miles 
from  Stamford.  The  power  equipment  will  include 
three  Westinghouse-Parsons  horizontal  steam  tur- 
bines driving  25-cycle  alternating-current  generators 
of  the  revolving-field  type,  which  have  a  rated 
continuous  capacity  of  3,75°  kilowatts  each  when 
running  single-phase  and  of  5.500  kilowatts  when 
supplying  a  three-phase  service.  The  generator 
armatures  are  designed  for  both  single-phase  and 
three-phase  connection.  They  are  wound  for  nr 
000  volts  and  are  connected,  direct  to  the  trolley 
system/  Absolutely  no  transforming  stations  or  re- 
ducing transformers  along  the  line  will  be  required, 
but  the  entire  system  will  be  operated  direct  from 
a  single  central  station  without  the  interposition 
of  sub-stations  or  auxiliary  apparatus  of  any  kind 
between  the  switchboard  and  the  cars.  This  de- 
sirable simplicity  is  made  possible  by  the  alternat- 
ing-current system  and  the  high  trolley  electromo- 
tive force  which  will  be  employed.  It  is  probable 
that,  with  a  service  equivalent  to  that  now  given 
by  steam  locomotives,  electrical  operation  can  be 
extended  a  distance  of  20  miles  beyond  Stamford 
without  the  use  of  a  higher  transmission  potential 
or  the  introduction  of  transforming  stations. 
High-potential    Trolley    Line. 

The  overhead  construction  will  be  supported  from 
steel  bridges,  which  will  be  located  every  300  feet 
and  which  will  normally  span  from  four  to  six 
tracks,  though  on  certain  portions  of  the  road 
longer  bridges  will  be  employed.  Every  two  miles 
the  bridge  will  be  made  of  a  specially  heavy  con- 
struction— forming  an  anchor-bridge,  to  make  the 
overhead  structure  even  more  secure.  The  trolley 
wires  will  be  hung  from  steel  messenger  cables, 
which  in  turn  will  be  supported  by  heavy  insu- 
lators mounted  upon  the  steel  bridges.  Each  trol- 
ley wire  will  be  suspended  from  a  pair  of  steel 
messenger  cables  by  triangular  supports,  forming 
a  double  catenary  suspension  of  great  strength  and 
stiffness.  The  triangular  supports  are  placed  about 
10  feet  apart.  The  messenger  cables  will  have  a 
total  sag  of  about  six  feet,  while  the  trolley  wire 
itself  will  be  held  in  a  practically  horizontal  posi- 
tion. 

The  trolley  system  will  be  divided  into  sections 
approximately  two  miles  in  length,  each  section 
being  separated  from  its  neighbors  by  heavy  line 
insulators.  Adjoining  sections  will  be  connected 
through  automatic  oil-type  circuit-breakers.  If  a 
short-circuit  or  other  trouble  occur  in  any  section, 
therefore,  it  can  be  cut  out  without  disturbing  the 
operation  of  other  portions  of  the  line.  Two  feeder 
wires  will  be  carried  the  whole  length  of  the  al- 
ternating-current line  and  will  be  so  connected  to 
the  various  sections  of  the  trolley  system  by  auto- 
matic switches  that  any  section  of  four  or  more 
trolleys  can  be  cut  out  of  service  and  those  beyond 
kept   in    operation. 

The  trolley  wires  will  be  held  normally  at  a 
height  of  22  feet  above  the  track.  The  overhead 
system  is  designed  with  a  safe  margin  to  meet  the 
stresses  imposed  by  the  most  severe  conditions, 
such  as  high  winds  or  heavy  coatings  of  ice. 
Locomotives. 

Thirty-five  locomotives  are  to  be  furnished  by 
the  Westinghouse  company,  suitable  for  opera- 
tion on  the  direct-current  division  between  the 
Grand  Central  Depot  and  Woodlawn,  and  on  the 
alternating-current  portion  of  the  line  between 
Woodlawn  and  Stamford.  One  locomotive  has 
already  been  constructed,  and  the  results  obtained 
assure  the  complete  success  of  the  alternating-cur- 
rent system. 

The  frame,  trucks  and  cab  of  the  locomotive 
were  built  by  the  Baldwin  Locomotive  Company, 
according  to  designs  developed  with  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  New  Haven  Railroad  and  the  West- 
inghouse   Electric    and    Manufacturing   companies. 

The  Frame. — The  frame  is  of  the  rigid  type  with 
side  pieces  made  of  steel  channels  to  which  are 
bolted  and  riveted  other  steel  channels  placed  trans- 
versely, two  over  each  truck,  forming  transoms 
for  the  transmission  of  the  weight  to  the  center 
pins.  These  channels  are  placed  outside  the  wheels 
and  as  close  together  and  as  low  down  as  the 
wheels  and  draw-head  will  permit,  and  are  braced 
and  squared  by  substantial  steel  flooring  plates, 
which  are  riveted  and  bolted  to  the  top  flanges. 
The  transoms  are  further  braced  by  gusset  plates 
which  are  riveted  and  bolted  to  the  bottom  flanges 
of   both    sets    of    channels    and    which    transmit   the 


tractive  power  from  the  center  pin  to  the  side 
channels.  The  frame  is  still  further  strengthened 
and    secured   by    diagonal    plate   braces. 

As  the  entire  space  between  the  wheels  is  occu- 
pied by  the  motors,  it  was  impossible  to  transmit 
the  drawbar  pull  through  the  center  line  of  the 
locomotive;  so  the  entire  strain  is  carried  by  the 
strong  plate  girders  which  make  up  the  locomotive 
frame.  A  Westinghouse  friction  draft  gear  is 
mounted  directly  underneath  the  box  girder  at  each 
end  and  is  applied  to  two  steel  bumpers  laid  hori- 
zontally between  vertical  gusset  plates  on  the  ends 
of  the  side  channels. 

The  Trucks. — The  running  gear  consists  of  two 
trucks,  each  mounted  on  four  62-inch  driving 
wheels.  The  trucks  have  side  frames  of  forged 
stee],  to  which  are  bolted  and  riveted  pressed-steel 
bolsters,  which  carry  the  center  plates.  The  weight 
on  the  journal  boxes  is  carried  by  small  semi- 
elliptic  springs,  with  auxiliary  coiled  springs  under 
the  ends  of  the  equalizer  bars,  to  assist  in  restoring 
equilibrium.  A  very  strong  construction  is  secured 
without  excessive  weight  by  the  use  of  bolsters 
30  inches  wide  at  the  center  plate  and  extended  to 
nearly  double  that  width  at  the  ends,  which  are 
bolted  to  the  side  frames.  Center  pins  18  inches 
in  diameter  transmit  the  tractive  effort  to  the  frame. 
They  are  well  lubricated  to  permit  free  motion  on 
curves.  The  truck  pedestals  are  provided  with 
wedge  and  jib  adjustments  to  take  up  wear,  and 
the   bearing   brasses   are   easily   removable   by   hand. 


armature  coils  and  the  auxiliary  winding,  all  in 
series.  This  auxiliary  winding  produces  a  mag- 
netic field  which  opposes  and  neutralizes  the  re- 
action of  the"  armature.  It  is  so  formed  that  it 
need  not  be  disturbed  in  order  to  remove  the  main 
field   coils. 

The  armature  core  is  built  up  of  soft  steel  punch- 
ings,  which  are  assembled  on  a  cast-iron  spider 
and  held  in  place  and  keyed  to  prevent  their  turn- 
ing. The  surface  is  slotted  and  the  armature  wind- 
ing is  arranged  in  three  layers.  The  two  upper 
layers  are  composed  of  a  copper  strap  connected 
to  form  the  usual  direct-current  type  of  winding. 
The  third  layer  constitutes  -the  Dreventive  winding. 
It  is  connected  between  the  commutator  and  the 
main  winding.  This  preventive  winding  is  so  pro- 
portioned as  to  minimize  the  combined  loss  due  ^to 
the  normal  working  current  and  that  which  is  pro- 
duced in  the  coil  under  commutation,  when  short- 
circuited  by  the  brush  in  an  alternating  field.  The 
individual  coils  are  insulated  along  their  entire 
length  by  overlapping  layers  of  mica  tape,  and  each 
group  is  further  insulated  from  the  core  by  a 
molded  mica  cell.  The  completed  winding  is  'held 
firmly  in  position  by  insulating  wedges.  The  ends 
are   banded   down   against  the  coil   supports. 

The  commutator  is  formed  of  copper  bars  clamped 
between  V-shaped  cast-steel  rings  and  insulated 
by  V-rings  and  bushings  of  molded  mica.  It  is 
pressed  on  the  spider  which  supports  the  armature 
core.    The  brush-holders  are  of  the  sliding  type  with 


LOCOMOTIVE    FOR 


YORK,    NEW     HAVEN 


The   distance   between   truck   centers   is    14   feet   six 
inches. 

Cab. — The  cab  is  formed  of  sheet  steel  mounted 
on  a  framework  of  Z-bars,  which. supports  the  walls 
and  roof.  Windows  are  provided  at  each  end,  giv- 
ing an  outlook  on  both  sides  and  in  front  of  the 
locomotive,  and  the  driver  is  so  close  to  the  front 
that  he  can  see  the  track  a  very  few  feet  ahead. 
This  advantage  is  not  possessed  by  any  type  of 
steam  locomotive  now  in  service.  The  master  con- 
trollers, auto-transformers,  instruments,  grid  re- 
sistances, air-operating  valves,  compressors  and  other 
auxiliary  apparatus  are  mounted  inside  the  cab  upon 
an  angle-iron  framework  which  is  built  into  the 
cab  and  securely  anchored  to  floor  and  roof.  A 
clear  passageway  is  left  through  the  center.  Trap- 
doors in  the  floor  furnish  easy  access  to  the  mo- 
tors for  inspection  or  repair. 

Equipment. — The  equipment  of  the  locomotive  in- 
cludes four  gearless  motors,  controlling  apparatus 
and  auxiliaries. 

Motors. — The  motors  are  of  the  compensating 
gearless  type,  designed  for  operation  on  both  sin- 
gle-phase alternating  and  direct  current.  They  are 
wound  for  approximately  235  volts  on  alternating 
current  and  275-300  volts  when  operated  by  direct 
current.  They  have  normal  rated  outputs  of  250 
horsepower  on  the  basis  of  ordinary  railway  prac- 
tice, and  a  continuous  capacity  of  200  horsepower 
each.  The  locomotive  therefore  has  a  continuous* 
operating  capacity  of  800  horsepower. 

The  motor  frames  are  made  of  cast  steel  and 
are  of  a  circular,  skeleton  form.  They  are  divided 
horizontally  into,  two  parts,  in  order  to  give  access 
to  the  inside  of  the  field  or  to  the  armature.  A 
laminated  core  with  slotted  projecting  poles  is  built 
up  within  this  frame  and  wound  with  field  coils 
of  flat  copper  strap  insulated  between  turns  with 
asbestos  and  filled  with  an  insulating  compound 
which  is  heat-conducting  and  waterproof,  so  that  a 
sealed  coil  is  produced  which  can  withstand  moist- 
ture  and  internal  heat.  Copper  bars  are  placed  in 
slots  in  the  pole  faces  and  connected  to  form  a 
continuous  neutralizing  winding  which  forms  part 
of    the    circuit    including    the    main    field    coils,    the 


arms  mounted  on  a  rocker  ring.  Tension  is  provided 
with  flat,  phosphor-bronze  springs,  which  have  suffi- 
cient turns  and  are  so  mounted  that  friction  be- 
tween turns  is  eliminated  and  uniform  pressure  se- 
cured over  a  considerable  range  without  adjust- 
ment. Each  spring  is  held  in  a  harness  which 
definitely  fixes  the  radius  of  movement  of  the  spring 
tip.  A  pawl  on  the  side  of  the  spring  harness 
allows  easy  adjustment  of  the  tension. 

Suspension. — The  weight  of  each  motor  is  carried 
on  a  frame  which  passes  over  the  wheels  and  side 
frames  and  rests  on  the  journal  boxes.  Each  frame 
carries  four  bolts  which  receive  the  weight  of  the 
motor,  and  each  bolt  is  fitted  with  a  heavy  coil 
spring  at  its  lower  end,  through  which  all  weight 
is  transmitted  to  it,  so  that  the  motor  is  carried 
on  very  flexible  springs  and.  is  independent  of  the 
truck   frame. 

Tbe  torque  of  the  motor  and  the  jar  caused  by 
sudden  starts  and  stops  are  transmitted  from  the 
motor  to  the  truck  through  heavy  tie-rods,  which 
affect  the  motion  of  the  motor  only  lengthwise  of 
the  locomotive.  The  armature  is  not  placed  di- 
rectly on  a  shaft,  but  is  built  up  on  a  quill  through 
which  the  car  axle  passes,  with  about  five-eighths- 
inch  clearance  all  around.  The  bearings  which 
carry  the  field  frame  are  mounted  on  this  quill,  and 
from  a  flange  at  each  end  of  the  quill  seven  round 
pins  project  parallel  to  the  shaft  into  corresponding 
pockets  formed  in  the  hub  of  the  driving  wheel. 
The  torque  of  the  motor  is  transmitted  from  these 
pins  to  the  wheel  through  helical  steel  springs 
which  are  wound  with  their  turns  progressively 
eccentric,  and  which  are  contained  between  two 
steel  bushings,  the  smaller  of  which  slips  over  the 
pin  and  the  larger  fits  in  the  pocket  in  the  wheel. 
These  springs  are  under  compression,  both  longi- 
tudinally and  horizontally,  so  that,  at  all  times,  they 
fill  the  pockets  in  the  wheel  but  permit  a  vertical 
and  a  lateral  motion.  Their  longitudinal  compres- 
sion between  the  quill  and  the  segmental  cover 
over  the  outer  ends  of  the  pockets  in  the  wheel 
keeps  the  motor  at  all  times  midway  between  the 
hubs.  The  end  play  of  the  motor  does  not  come 
directly  on  the  wheels,  but  is  taken  by  strong  coiled 


April    1 4,    [906 


^lirii in--  inside  of  the  dri\  ing  pin  i,  w  hii  h  pn 
against  the  covers  in  the  outer  ends  of  the  spring 
pockets  in  the  wheels.  Though  normallj  required 
to  transmit  only  the  torque  of  the  motor  and  to 
keep  the  motor  axis  parallel  to  the  axle,  thesi 
springs  are  amply  strong  to  carry  the  entire  weight 
of   the    motor.     They   allow    a    total    vertical    move 

incut   of   about    three  fourths    inch.     The    torqi 1 

the  motor  is  taken  by  heavy  parallel  rods,  which 
anchor  the  frame  to  the  truck  above  and  below  the 
axle  and  permit  vertical  or  side  motion  ol  thi  mo 
tor,  but  prevent  excessive  bumping  strains  from  com- 
ing hii  the  driving  springs.  If  these  springs  are 
compressed  more  than  one-fourth  inch  by  the  heavy 
centrifugal  force  exerted  by  the  motor  when  round- 
ing curves,  the  force  is  taken  up  by  noses  on  the 
motor  which  lit  into  corresponding  recesses  in  the 
cross-ties  between  the  side  frames  of  the  locomotive. 

This  suspension  has  the  advantage  of  removing 
all  dead  weight  from  the  axle,  of  driving  through 
springs,  and  at  the  same  time  of  having  the  motor 
thoroughly  anchored  to  prevent  undue  strain  on 
the  driving  spring.  The  only  parts  of  the  locom'o 
live  not  spring  supported  are  the  driving  wheels. 
axles  and  journal  boxes.  It  is  a  great  improve- 
ment on  any  method  of  mounting  gearless  motors 
heretofore    devised. 

Forced  Ventilation. — The  motors  are  arranged  for 
ventilation  by  a  forced  circulation  of  air  which  en- 
ters under  pressure,  is  distributed  throughout  the 
motor  and  escapes  through  the  perforated  covers. 
In  the  floor  of  the  cab  there  is  a  natural  conduit 
formed  by  the  side  channels  of  the  frame,  the  floor 
and  side  walls  of  the  cab,  and  a  lower  plate,  through 
which  air  is  carried  to  the  motors,  transformers 
and  resistances.  This  method  of  cooling  improves 
the  continuous  capacity  of  the  apparatus  and  is,  in 
a  large  measure,  accountable  for  the  high  continu- 
ous rating  of  the  motors,  which  almost  equals  that 
on  the  one-hour  railway  basis.  The  air  furnished 
to  the  motor  is  taken  from  the  inside  of  the  cab 
and  can  therefore  be  kept  relatively  clean  and  dry. 


WESTERN     ELEi 

oil,.  1,1     .  mpl 

mbi     0 

in    pa      1 
ha       It 

,h '! 

1    i     1  on  idi  rably  lower  than   in  din 
1 1  hi    pi  ictici 

thai   dternating   currenl    ■     ul 

I 

all,  III  ilme    and    tl 

1  I"  "    i f  thi 

whii  li  i    nol  gi  ni  1  ill     found  at  the  pre  1  lit  t ■  in 

dirci  t-currcnl   cq 

field    foi    highi  1     pi  cd       in  1 

direct-i       1  it 

1  i unning    point,     tl    1     usual    r; 

to  pa      from  il to  thi   multiple  po   lion  with 

out   an   1  lie  ii  nl    inti  rim  diati    running     pi  -  d     With 

the   Mew   1 1  a , |uip 

motor    11  ,  d    i"  1  ion      1  hunting 

of  the  in  Id   » ithoul   in   1  ition  or 

operation,  and  higher    pi  1  d    an    pro 
ing  the  in  Id     I"  fori    pa    ing   ii 

waj      '  veral    1  fficient    running 

between  tl ii     and  multiple  po  it 

have    shown    thai    thes.-    1 1      opi  rati     prop 

direel    currenl    with    theii    fields     I ted    down    to 

less    than    half    their   normal    strength.      Whi  n 
a  led  on   'in  011    em  n  111    the   1  ui  n  nl    1     Fed  1 
to    the    motors.    On    alternating   current,    hi 
auto-transformers  are   required,   a     the   alternating 
currenl   trolley   voltage  1-    n,ooo.     Two   such   trans- 
formers form  part  of  each  equipment— one  mounted 

ach    id.   of  the  cab  door  to  balance  the  weight. 

They  are  connected  in  parallel  across  the  high 
voltage,  bul  on  the  low-voltage  side  each  trans 
former  feeds  one  pair  of  motors  through  a  sep- 
arate control  unit.  This  means  that  the 
system,  when  operated  on  alternating  current,  con- 
sists   of    two    normally    independent    units. 

The  main  controllers  are  of  the  well-known  West- 
ingbouse  electro-pneumatic-unit  switch  type.  The 
design  differs  somewhat  from  that  used  in  direct- 
current  service,  because  of  the  fact  that  the  switches, 
blow-outs,  etc.,  must  operate  on  both  alternating 
and  direct  current,  as  many  parts  of  the  controller 
are  common  to  both  systems.  The  reversing 
switches  are  also  parts  of  the  unit  switch  groups. 
The  main  controllers  are  operated  from  master 
controllers  at  each  end  of  the  cab.  The  control 
system  is  arranged  for  multiple-unit  service,  so  that 
two  or  more  locomotives  can  be  coupled  to  the 
same   train    and    handled    by    a    single   driver. 

'I  here  are  six  switch  groups,  each  containing  unit 
switches.  The  two  line  switches  are  so  connected 
in  the  switch  groups  that  each  carries  the  current 
supply  to  each  pair  of  motors  when  they  are  op- 
erating in  parallel  combination.  When  the  motors 
are   in    series,   one   of  the   line   switches   carries    the 


COMPLETELY    EQUIPPED 


OF    ELECTRIC    LOCOMOTIVE    USED    ON    NEW    YORK 


iAYEN     RAILROAP. 


Current  Collection. — On  the  direct-current  part  of 
the  line,  current  is  taken  from  the  third-rail  system 
by  eight  collecting  shoes,  four  on  each  side  of  the 
locomotive,  arranged  in  pairs  of  two  each.  There 
are  two  pairs  on  each  side,  one  at  each  end,  for 
the  purpose  of  bridging  such  gaps  as  may  occur 
in  the  third-rail  system.  The  direct-current  con- 
tact shoes  are  designed  to  work  on  two  forms  of 
third  rail — one  in  which  the  shoe  runs  under  the 
rail,  and  the  other  on  top  of  the  rail.  To  collect 
alternating  current  from  the  high-potential  over- 
head-trolley line,  the  locomotive  is  equipped  with 
two  pantagraph-type  bow  trolleys,  each  of  which  has 
a  capacity  sufficient  to  carry  the  total  current  re- 
quired by  the  locomotive  under  average  conditions, 
two  being  provided  to  insure  reserve  capacitv. 

The  Control  System. — On  direct  current  the  mo- 
tors are  controlled  in  series  parallel,  as  in  ordinary 
street-railway  practice.  In  alternating-current  op- 
eration no  resistance  is  used  in  the  regular  run, 
but  a  small  resistance,  which  constitutes  a  pre- 
ventive device  to  diminish  the  short-circuiting  effect 


current  supply  to  all.  Each  line  switch  is  provided 
with  an  overhead  trip,  so  connected  that  all  of  the 
switches  of  both  switch  groups,  as  well  as  both 
the  line  switches,  open  in  case  of  an  overload  or 
short-circuit  on  either  pair  of  motors  or  in  the 
circuit  of  either  pair.  The  overload  trip  is  auto- 
matically locked  out  when  brought  into  action  and 
cannot  be  reset  until  the  master  controller  is  re- 
turned to  the  off  position. 

The  external  resistances  used  in  regulating*  the 
flow  of  current  to  the  motors  are  arranged  in  two 
groups  -which  are  connected  in  series  when  the 
motors  are  in  series,  and  in  series  with  each  motor 
when  the  motors  are  in  parallel.  The  change  over 
between  the  direct-current  third  rail  and  the  alter- 
nating-current overhead  system  can  be  made  easily 
and  quickly,  even  when  the  locomotive  is  running 
at   full   speed. 

An  ammeter  is  mounted  in  each  end  of  the  loco- 
motive in  plain  view  of  the  operator  when  at  the 
master   controller. 

The   master   controller   is   of  the   drum    type   and 


FOR    ELECTRIC    LOCOMOTIVE. 

two  blowers,  driven  by  similar  motors,  and  which 
furnish  air  to  the  transformers,  motors  and  direct- 
current  rheostats;  "il  circuit-breakers  ior  the  high- 
tension  circuits;  switches  to  change  the  equipment 
from  alternating  to  direct  current :  a  steam  gen- 
erator to  supply  heat  to  the  railway  coaches  in  cold 
weather;  a  complete  Westinghouse  air-brake  equip- 
ment, signal  apparatus,  automatic  bell  ringers, 
whi-tles.  sanding  apparatus,  etc 

Dimensions  and  Performance. — The  New  Haven 
locomotive  measures  .v5  feet  four  inches  over  the 
bumpers  and  weighs  approximately  85  tons.  It  is 
capable  of  handling  a  200-ton  train  in  local  ■ 
on  a  schedule  speed  of  26  miles  an  hour,  with  stops 
averaging  about  two  miles  apart — making  in  such 
service  a  maximum  speed  of  about  45  miles  per 
hour.  It  can  also  handle  a  250-1011  train  on  through 
service  with  a  maximum  speed  of  about  60 
per  hour.  With  heavier  trains  it  is  planned  to 
couple  two  or  more  locomotives  together  and  op- 
erate  them    in   multiple. 

Tests. — The  tests  which  have  been  made  on  the 
first  locomotive  equipped  show  that  it  will,  without 
difficulty,  meet  all  the  requirements  for  which  it 
has  been  designed. 

This  locomotive  has.  on  actual  test,  repeatedly 
accelerated  a  200-ton  train  at  a  rate  of  0.5  mile 
per  hour  per  second,  which  is  in  excess  of  the  rate 
required  by  the  service  condition;  of  the  Xew  Ha- 
ven road.  The  current  and  power  consumption 
correspond  very  closely  to  the  predetermined  values. 
The  line  upon  which  the  locomotive  has  been  tested 
is  not  well  adapted  to  high-speed  work,  on  account 
of  the  numerous  sharp  curves  which  exist,  but,  in 
spite  of  these  adverse  conditions,  the  locomotive  has 
been  operated  at  speeds  above  CO  miles  an  hour 
without   difficulty. 


A  Telegraph  Semi-Centennial. 

The  current  year  of  1906  marks  the  fiftieth  anni- 
versary of  the  founding  of  the  Western  Union 
Telegraph  Company.  By  act  of  the  Legislature  of 
the  stale  of  Xew  York,  passed  April  4.  1856,  the 
company  was  granted  its  original  charter.  Prior  to 
that  date,  and  between  the  years  1851  and  1856.  the 
predecessor  company  was  known  as  the  New  York 
and  Mississippi  Valley  Printing  Telegraph  Company. 
The  change  to  the  name  of  the  Western  Union  was 
to  shorten  a  long  title  and  to  adopt  one  that  would 
indicate  the  union  of  the  western  lines,  which  had 
just    been    consummated,    into   one   compact    system. 


3oo 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April  14.  1906 


Underwriters'  Report  on  Electrical  Con- 
ditions in  Detroit. 

The  National  Board  of  Fire  Underwriters  has 
made  an  exhaustive  report  on  the  city  of  Detroit, 
Mich.,  and  special  attention  has  been  given  to  elec- 
trical conditions.  What  follows  is  interesting  as 
representing,  in  part,  the  conclusion  of  the  fire-in- 
surance people. 

In  relation  to  inside  work  it  is  reported  that  in 
December,  1905,  25  new  and  68  old  installations 
were  inspected  by  National  Board  engineers  to 
ascertain  the  quality  of  the  city  inspection  work 
and  the  general  condition  of  the  old  work.  In  the 
new  work  inspected,  a  total  of  244  alleged  defects 
was  found,  or  an  average  of  about  10  to  each  in- 
stallation. The  following  most  prominent  de- 
ficiencies found  include  63  per  cent,  of  the  whole : 

Circuits  overfused ;  flexible  cord  not  properly  sus- 
pended; flexible  cord  too  long  or  used  as  line  wire; 
stranded  wires  not  properly  soldered  at  connec- 
tions ;  wires  not  properly  bushed  through  wails, 
floors,  etc. ;  unapproved  tubes  and  bushings ;  wires 
in  contact  with  or  not  properly  separated  from  gas 
pipes  or  other  metallic  or  conducting  bodies;  unap- 
proved insulation  of  service  wires;  unapproved  in- 
sulation of  wires  for  conduit  work;  had  work 
around  meter;  rheostat  or  starting  box  not  prop- 
erly separated  from  inflammable  material  and 
wooden  molding  not  standard  or  not  waterproofed. 

A  large  conduit  equipment  recently  approved  was 
found  to  contain  the  following  defects :  Fusible 
cut-out  located  50  feet  from  service  entrance ;  lead 
sheathing  of  service  cable  not  grounded ;  conduit 
system  incomplete  and  not  grounded;  a  number  of 
outlets  without  outlet  boxes;  absence  of  junction 
boxes  in  a  number  of  places ;  conduit  not  bushed  at 
outlets;  some  single  braid  wire  in  unlined  iron  con- 
duit; unapproved  fixture  wire;  fixture  canopies  not 
insulated;  distribution  all  floors  through  picture 
molding;  unapproved  cartridge  fuses  and  rheostat 
improperly  mounted. 

It  is  asserted  that  fully  80  per  cent,  of  the  de- 
fects found  are  due  to  original  installation  and 
should  have  been  remedied  through  rigid  inspec- 
tion. 

In  the  old  work  inspected  744  alleged  defects 
were  found,  or  an  average  of  about  n  to  the  in- 
stallation, one  equipment  running  as  high  as  iS. 
In  addition  to  the  deficiencies  noted  under  new 
work  many  cases  were  found  of  porcelain-base 
link-fuse  cut-outs,  unapproved  flexible  cord  or  cord 
old  and  frayed,  joints  not  properly  spliced  or  joined 
or  not  properly  soldered  and  taped,  wires  not  prop- 
erly supported,  cleats  unapproved  or  in  poor  condi- 
tion, wires  in  wooden  molding  in  damp  places, 
wires  not  properly  arranged  in  elevator  shafts,  insu- 
lation of  wires  unapproved  or  in  poor  condition, 
dead  wires  in  buildings  and  numerous  other  defects. 

Outside  construction  work  receives  practically  no 
supervision  from  the  city,  and  is  said  to  be  in  a 
poor  condition  in  a  large  number  of  cases.  The  rule 
requiring  wires  to  be  placed  underground  is  poorly 
enforced  in  regard  to  telephone,  telegraph  and  sig- 
naling wires,  numerous  lines  of  which  cross  streets. 
In  lighting  and  power  work  services  from  the  un- 
derground systems  are  brought  up  in  the  interior 
of  blocks  and  distributed  along  the  rear  of  build- 
ings; the  telephone,  telegraph  and  signaling  sys- 
tems almost  universally  use  distributing  poles  in  the 
interior  of  each  block.  All  of  the  principal  com- 
panies own  conduit  systems  and  frequently  high  and 
low-tension  circuits  occupy  the  same  manhole. 
Pole  lines  are  often  used  in  conjunction  by  high 
and  low-potential  lighting  circuits  and  telephone, 
telegraph  and  fire-alarm  circuits. 

The  municipal  lighting  plant  supplies  current  for 
all  street  and  public-building  lighting.  No  series 
arc-light  circuits  enter  buildings ;  maximum  voltages 
are  5,500  volts,  both  alternating  current  and  direct 
current.  Part  of  the  alternating  current  is  stepped 
down  to  no  volts  alternating  current  for  incan- 
descent lighting,  some  of  the  transformers  being 
located  inside  of  buildings,  notably  at  the  fire-alarm 
headquarters.  Within  one-half  mile  of  the  City 
Hall  all  wires  are  underground,  except  for  a  pole 
line  from  the  station  through  the  southeast  part  of 
the  district;  part  of  the  wires  adjacent  to  this  dis- 
trict are  also  underground. 

The  Edison  Illuminating  .Company  supplies  com- 
mercial light  and  power.  Three-phase  4,600-volt 
alternating  current  is  brought  from  outside  the  city 
limits  through  independent  conduit  to  two  sub-sta- 
tions and  transformed  to  120-240  volts  direct  cur-^ 
rent :  neutral  grounded  at  station.  All  wires  within 
one-half  mile  and  some  as  far  out  as  the  three- 
mile  circle  are  underground. 

The  Peninsular  Electric  Light  Company  also  fur- 
nishes commercial  light  and  power.  Three-phase 
4,600-volt  alternating  current  is  brought  from  out- 
side the  city  limits  through  a  conduit  used  by  the 
Edison  Illuminating  Company.  Part  of  this  is  dis- 
tributed without  transformation,  part  stepped  down 
to  2,300  volts,  part  to  10S-216  volts  and  part  to 
120-240  volts  alternating  current  in  two  sub-sta- 
tions. Bank  transformers  on  poles  and  a  few  indi- 
vidual transformers  in  dwellings  step  down  the 
2,300-volt  current  to  108-216  volts.  No  current  is 
supplied  within  the  half-mile  circle,  and  only  a 
small   amount   of   wires   underground   outside. 

The  Detroit  United  Railways  Company  operates 
all  of  the  street  railways  and  has  about  192  miles 
of    overhead   trolley,    with    rail    return,    operated    at 


565  volts  direct  current,  with  284  miles  of  overhead 
feeders.  Rails  are  well  bonded,  generally  with 
heavy  copper  wire,  with  special  arrangement  at 
turn-outs  and  crossings.  There  is  only  a  small 
amount  of  return  feeder. 

The  following  companies  maintain  low-tension  or 
signaling  systems,  all  circuits  being  protected  from 
heavy  currents  by  one- fourth  to  one-half  ampere 
fuses  at  least  at  one  end:  Michigan  Telephone 
Company,  Co-operative  Telephone  Company,  West- 
ern Union  Telegraph  Company,  Postal  Telegraph 
Company,  Michigan  Auxiliary  Fire  Alarm  Com- 
pany, American  Still  Alarm  Company,  and  the  city 
fire-alarm  and   police   signal  systems. 


light  has  ben  surmounted,  and  that  a  regular  serv- 
ice can  be  maintained.  A  station  like  the  one  in 
Canada  is  being  erected  in  Ireland.  Considerable 
development  has  taken  place  in  the  use  of  the  sys- 
tem in  the  navy,  especially  from  the  high  power 
station  at  Cornwall.  Seven  stations  have  been 
erected   in   China   for   inland   work. 


Space  Telegraphy  for  North    Pole    Ex- 
pedition. 

Announcement  is  made  by  the  Chicago  Record- 
Herald  that  Walter  Wellman  has  negotiated  a  con- 
tract with  the  American  De  Forest  Wireless  Tele- 
graph Company  for  equipment  of  the  Wellman- 
Record-Herald  North  Pole  expedition  with  space 
telegraphy.  This  application  of  space  telegraphy 
is  interesting.  Leading  wireless  companies,  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic,  are  said  to  have  sought  the 
opportunity  to  furnish  their  systems  to  the  ex- 
pedition. Mr.  Wellman  decided  in  favor  of  the 
De  Forest  company,  after  a  thorough  investigation 
of  various  systems,  particularly  in  view  of  the  good 
results  of  the  De  Forest  system  in  work  for  the 
United   States  Navy. 

Abraham  White,  president  of  the  De  Forest 
company,  promises  to  furnish  the  means  of  sending 
a  wireless  message  from  the  Pole  to  the  Record- 
Herald,  provided  Mr.  Wellman  succeeds  in  reach- 
ing the   Pole   in  his   great   air   ship. 

The  wireless  company  undertakes  to  demonstrate 
the  possibilities  of  the  Wireless  art  and  of  its  sys- 
tem by  establishing  and  maintaining  communication 
between  the  expedition  and  Norway,  no  matter  how 
far  from  Norway  the  airship  may  voyage,  even  to 
to  the  North  Pole  itself.  By  its  contract  the  com- 
pany agrees  to  establish  wireless  station  No.  1  at 
Hammerfest,  Norway,  which  is  the  most  northerly 
town  on  the  globe,  with  regular  cable  communica- 
tion to  the  civilized  world.  Station  No.  2  is  to 
be  upon  the  expedition  steamer  Frithjof,  now  lying 
at  Tromso,  Norway.  This  steamer  is  to  carry  the 
expedition  and  its  equipment,  including  the  air- 
ship, to  North  Spitsbergen,  where  headquarters  are 
to  be  established.  As  the  Frithjof  is  to  remain  at 
the  headquarters,  wireless  communication  is  to  be 
established  between  that  point  and  Hammerfest, 
650    statute    miles    distant. 

Wireless  station  No.  3  is  lo  be  installed  upon 
the  airship,  and  messages  are  to  be  sent  back  to 
the  Frithjof  at  Spitsbergen,  and  from  Spitzbergen 
to  Hammerfest.  The  De  Forest  experts  expect 
to  be  able  to  transmit  from  the  airship  a  distance 
of  650  statute  miles,  or  575  geographical  miles, 
which  is  equivalent  to  the  distance  between  the 
headquarters   and   the   Pole. 

All  the  wireless  installation  for  the  polar  expe- 
dition is  to  be  installed  before  June  15th,  as  on 
that  day  Mr.  Wellman  expects  to  leave  Norway 
for  Spitzbergen.  Whether  the  airship  voyage  from 
Spitzbergen  toward  the  Pole  be  made  this  year  or 
next  will  depend  upon  circumstances.  The  De  For- 
est company  has  full  charge  of  the  wireless  equip- 
ment   and    is    responsible    for    securing    results. 

Mr.  JM.  J.  Smith  is  the  wireless  expert  and  su- 
perintendent of  the  Wellman-Record-Herald  expe- 
dition. He  is  said  to  be  the  foremost  space-tele- 
graph operator  in  America.  Mr.  Smith  will  be 
the   operator   on   the  airship. 

It  is  said  to  be  not  improbable  that  by  July  or 
August  the  De  -.Forest  company  may  be  able  to 
maintain  wireless  communication  across  the  At- 
lantic Ocean.  The  British  De  Forest  company  is 
establishing  a  station  at  Iceland,  and  it  is  possible 
that  a  station  may  be  able  to  get  Hammerfest  or 
Spitzbergen.  and  to  transmit  across  to  Newfound- 
land   or   the    American    mainland. 


Marconi  Company's  Report. 

The  Marconi  Wireless  Telegraph  Company  has 
issued  a  report  showing  the  net  profit  for  the  year 
ended  September  30.  1905,  to  have  been  £16,750. 
In  view  of  large  expenses  for  development  it  was 
decided  to  make  no  distribution  to  shareholders. 
The  report  says  the  company  is  making  satisfactory 
progress  all  over  the  world,  and  the  business  of 
space  telegraphy  is  being  extended  wherever  profit- 
able business  seems  likely  to  'result.  The  report 
says  that  the  directors  are  unable  to  give  publicity 
to    many    existing  and    pending    contracts. 

The  expenditure  during  the  year  on  development 
was  £13,244.  The  amount  of  the  company's  shares 
in  the  American,  Canadian  and  Marconi  Interna- 
tional Marine  companies  stands  at  £1,439. 285.  As 
regards  progress  and  work  done,  mention  is  made 
of  new  patents  for  directed  transmission,  and  it  is 
stated  that  the  new  station  in  Canada  is  now  fin- 
ished and  has  been  working  satisfactorily.  This 
station  has  been  tested  for  the  transmission  of  mes- 
sages to  England,  and  the  directors  are  satisfied  that 
the   difficulty  of  transmitting  signals  in  bright  sun- 


Oxone. 

The  Niagara  Electro-Chemical  Company  of  Ni- 
agara Falls  has  a  new  product,  to  which  the  name 
"Oxone"  has  been  given.  It  is  a  discovery  of 
George  F.  Brindley,  who  for  years  has  been  man- 
ager of  the  Niagara  plant,  but  who  will  shortly  de- 
part for  the  Orient.  It  is  a  specially  prepared 
fused  form  of  sodium  peroxide,  bluish  gray  in 
color,  and  has  the  peculiar  property  of  emitting 
free  oxygen  when  it  comes  in  contact  with  carbon 
dioxide  charged  with  moisture.  It  is  this  peculiar 
quality  that  arouses  the  belief  that  "Oxone"  is  to 
be  particularly  beneficial  in  submarine  navigation, 
for  the  use  of  "Oxone"'  aboard  the  submarine  ves- 
cels  will  insure  a  supply  of  pure  air,  for  it  will 
keep    the    supply    of    free    oxygen    quite    constant. 

Two  experiments  made  with  "Oxone"  in  Niagara 
Falls  have  attracted  attention.  The  first  was  the 
placing  of  a  man.  Dr.  R.  von  Foregger,  in  an  air- 
tight box.  three  by  six  feet  in  size,  two  pounds  of 
"Oxone"  being  placed  in  the  box  with  him.  Ac- 
cording to  calculations  made,  the  air  supply  in  the 
box  should  have  lasted  Dr.  von  Foregger  about 
20  minutes,  after  which  he  should  have  succumbed 
to  asphyxiation.  Instead,  however,  he  remained  in 
the  box  six  hours,  smoking  and  reading.  He  suf- 
fered no  distress,  but  apparently  was  exhilarated. 
At  the  end  of  six  hours  the  air  in  the  box  grew 
bad  very  rapidly,  but  the  conclusion  was  that  had 
more  "Oxone"  been  used  he  could  have  remained 
in  the  box  for  a  longer  period  of  time. 

Still  another  experiment  was  made  before  the 
Western  New  York  section  of  the  American  Chem- 
ical Society  in  the  public-library  building  in  Niag- 
ara Falls  on  the  evening  of  Tuesday.  April  3d,  when 
five  healthy  rabbits  were  placed  in  an  air-tight  box 
with  something  over  six  ounces  of  "Oxone."  At 
the  end  of  three  hours  they  were  taken  out,  in 
seemingly  perfect  condition. 

A  further  use  for  "Oxone"  may  be  found  in  its 
probable  usefulness  in  connection  with  mining. 
"Oxone"  generators  in  the  form  of  a  portable  appa- 
ratus may  be  placed  on  the  market.  In  this  form 
the  new  product  would  be  of  value  to  country  phy- 
sicians who  might  be  called  upon  to  provide  a  sup- 
ply of  free  oxygen  in  cases  of  serious  illness — 
pneumonia,    for   instance. 


Street  Railways  of  York,  Pa.,  Sold. 

The  negotiations  which  have  been  going  on  for 
the  sale  and  purchase  of  the  York  (Pa.)  Street 
Railway  and  its  valuable  franchises  has  been  con- 
summated. Brown  Brothers  of  Philadelphia  made 
the  purchase.  It  is  said  that  several  millions  of 
dollars  were  involved  in  the  sale  of  the  roads. 
Captain  W.  H.  Lanius,  president  and  founder  of 
the  road,  will  tender  his  resignation  and  a  new 
president  will  be  elected;  also  a  new  board  of 
directors.  The  property  is  one  of  the  most  valu- 
able pieces  of  trolley  roads  in  the  state.  The 
York  County-  Traction  Compamr,  previous  to  the 
sale,  owned  and  controlled  all  of  the  lines  of 
street  railway  in  the  city  of  York,  together  with 
the  suburban  line  to  Dallastown,  Red  Lion  and 
Windsor,  and  the  York  and  Dover  electric  railway. 
In  addition,  there  is  the  York  Haven  Street  Rail- 
way Company  and  the  York  and  Wrightsville 
Street  Railway  Company.  These  25  miles  of  sub- 
urban road  are  allied  to  the  York  County  Trac- 
tion Company,  and  operated  by  the  York  Street 
Railway  Company.  The  total  trackage  of  the  en- 
tire system  is  56  miles,  and  there  are  carried  dur- 
ing the  year  something  over  4,000,000  passengers. 

The  Edison  Electric  Light  Company,  the  West- 
inghouse  Electric  Light  Company  and  the  York 
Steam  Heating  Company  belong  to  the  trolley 
property.  The  corporations  which  have  been  char- 
tered by  the  promoters  of  the  trolley  system  are 
as  follows:  Penn  Park  Street  Railway  Company, 
Red  Lion  and  Windsor  Street  Railway  Company, 
Wellsville  Street  Railway  Company,  York  and  Dal- 
lastown Electric  Railway  Company.  York  and  Dover 
Electric  Railway  Company.  York  and  Hanover 
Street  Railway  Company,  York  and  Manchester 
Electric  Railway  Company,  York  and  Wrightsville' 
Electric  Railway  Company.  York  County  Traction 
Company,  York  Haven  Street  Railway  Company, 
York  Street  Railway  Company.  The  new  corpora- 
tion, upon  assuming  control,  will  extend  the  trolley 
lines  already  projected.  They  will  form  a  network 
over  the   entire   country. 


April    i.|.    [906 


.     i.l.l-.'  TRIi 


General  Electric  Fan  Motors  for  I  906. 

Pan  motor  pi  acl  ice  ha    become  more  01   ' 
and  the  General  Elei  trii    1  'ompatr  '     fan  motoi     foi 
i.,i,',    retain    all    of    the    di  tini  tivi     feature     which 
hai  1    made  (hem  standards   in   prcviou 

tcntion    has    been    c :cntrated    on    incrca  ing    the 

efficiency  of  the   motor  1   bj    cmbod  ing  evi 
trical    and    mechanical    improvemenl 
liiist   experience.    As   a    rcsull    the    general    appeal 
ance  ol    the    1906   fan   is   very  similar   lo   thi    prcdi 
cessors,  and  ii  retains  the  good  qualities  oi  careful 

design  and  constrm  tion      Both  d and   alt  rn  I 

ing  currenl    fans    have    a    special    bladi     di 
positive    trunnion    adjustmenl    and    excellent    lubri 
cation. 

In  the  design  .if  the  blades  the  end  attained  wa 
that  of  distributing  the  air  over  <  wide  angle,  not 
of  delivering  a  straight  column  of  air  covering  a 
limited    area.    Coupled    with    this    excellent    blade 


In  addition  to  the  n  3 

arc    ordinarily    equipped 

1  in    al  1    with    aluminum    blai 

1  1    in   d   mp 

regulating  id    op 

crated    h 

hoti  !     and   re  tauranl       an  mo 

I'n    1       upplii  d     '  both    alternating    and 

■  In.  11  1    . 

hi.]   trunnion   type   of 

.inn rn    and    alternating-current    fans,    n ntcd    in 

id    adapted    i"i      uspen  ion    in 
«  indow  ompfctc    motor 

1. 1....'..  1     1. in     can   also  itilation 

purposi     ' ' 

both    alternating     ind    dircct-ci 


design  is  a  sure  and  positive  trunnion  adjustment. 
which  permits  the  quick  change  of  the  breeze  for 
either  horizontal  or  vertical  circulation.  In  mak- 
ing these  changes  the  position  of  the  motor  can 
always  be  positively  fixed  by  a  notched  clamp  and 
thumbscrew.  Wick  oilers  are  provided,  and  the 
oiling  devices  require  no  attention  beyond  the  an- 
nual renewal  of  oil.  As  has  been  stated,  the  blades 
of  the  fans  are  constructed  on  correct  mathematical 
principles  properly  to  distribute  the  air  over  a 
wide  angle,  and,  at  the  same  time,  they  are  care- 
fully balanced  and  hung,  insuring  elimination  of 
disagreeable    humming. 

For  frequencies  of  60,  125  and  140  cycles  the 
General  Electric  fan  consists  of  a  single  moving 
element  without  contacts,  revolving  in  a  ventilated 
cast-iron  field  frame  of  compact  design.  Speed 
changes  in  the  alternating-current  motors  are  ob- 
tained by  a  six-point  reactive  coil  and  switch. 
The  variation  in  speed  so  obtained  makes  the 
standard  desk  or  wall  bracket  type  of  fan  motor 
of  universal  application.  It  may  be  operated  on 
slow  speeds  for  the  office  desk  and  home  or  on 
the   higher    speeds    for    stores   and    halls. 

The  General  Electric  Company's  direct-current 
fans  have  cast-iron  frame  of  elliptical  form,  with 
ventilated  removable  end  shields,  rendering  the 
brushes,  commutator  and  armature  easily  access- 
ible. Rectangular  brushes  are  used,  giving  the 
largest  area  of  contact  on  the  commutator,  and  an 
ingenious  brush  holder  insures  constant  brush  pres- 
sure on  the  commutator,  keeping  it  polished  and 
practically  free  from  wear.  Speed  regulation  is 
provided  in  the  direct-current  desk  and  wall  bracket 


eiling  Fan  with  Wood  c 
906. 

compact  little  telephone-booth  fan  motor,  which 
helps  make  conversation  pleasant  in  a  closed  tele- 
phone  booth    on    a    hot    day. 

All  these  various  types  can  be  furnished  in  the 
standard  commercial  sizes,  and  for  any  commercial 
voltage  or  frequency,  or  can  be  ordered  with  special 
windings  for  operation  on  odd  voltages  or  fre- 
quencies. In  general,  the  standard  finish  is  black 
with  brass  trimmings,  hut  this  practice,  too,  may 
be  varied  to  suit  the  taste  of  the  customer. 


Iowa  Conventions. 


The  sixth  annual  convention  of  the  Iowa  Elec- 
trical .Association  will  be  held  at  the  Kirkwood 
Hotel,  Des  Moines,  on  April  iSth  and  19th,  be- 
ginning at  10  a.  m.  on  the  opening  day.  Partly 
in  unison  with  it,  the  third  annual  convention  of 
the  Iowa  Street  and  Interurban  Railway  Associa- 
tion will  be  held  at  the  same  place  on  April  19th 
and  20th.  Both  conventions  have  excellent  pro- 
grammes, that  for  the  electrical  association  having 
already    appeared    in    the    Western    Electrician. 

Mr.  L.  D.  Mathes.  general  manager  of  the  Union 
Electric  Company  of  Dubuque,  and  secretary  of 
the  Iowa  Street  Railway  and  Interurban  Associa- 
tion, has  issued  a  characteristic  circular  calling  at- 
tention to  the  features  of  the  convention  of  his 
association.  These  include  papers  on  "Transfers," 
by  J.  F.  Ohmer  of  Dayton :  "Testing."  R.  W.  Co- 
nant,  Cambridge.  Mass. :  "Gasoline  Motors."  F.  W. 
Hild,  Chicago:  -Standard  Car  Bodv  and  Truck." 
G.  H.  Tontrap.  St.  Louis:  "Discipline."  J.  G.  Hun- 
toon,   Davenport,  and  "Operator  and   Supply  Man," 


. 


Transportation    Arrangements    for    At- 
lantic City  Convention. 

A   rat  ■• ificaic 

plan,   ha 

June  5th  1..  Kri:  ill  (arc 

f.,r    tit.-    going    j'.nni.  . 
than   Inn.-  it  nor  later  thai, 
mm  until  June  12th     Visiton   ihould 
t  ideate    when    p  irrival 

at   the  meeting 
Mr     Go 

transportation,   to 

address   in    New    York   city   i-    120  Libert)    S 
It    has    Inn    arranged   that    a    -penal    railroad   agent 
will  I..-  in  attendance  to  valid  I  011  June 

5th,  '.lb.   ?th   and   Kth.      A    !•  •  nrill   be 

collected  for  each  certificate  validated. 

In  the  West  rapid  progress  1-  being  made  in  the 
f  transportation  matter-      Already  ar- 
rangement- have  been  made  by    Issistant   M 
Transportation     Frank    I..     Perry     (510    Marquette 
Building,    Chicago),    with   Assistant 

Vgenl  C  1.  Kimball  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Lines  al  Chicago,  to  furnish  delegates  from  the 
West  with  ..tie  of  the  up-to-date  special  Pennsyl- 
vania train-,  consisting  of  it-  luxurious  composite 
and  observation  car-.  Pullman  standard  sleepers  anil 
nnsylvania  Line-  dining  car-.  The  train  to 
lie  furnished  I5  in  fact  equivalent  in  equipment  to 
the  Pennsylvania  Limited  and  the  "Pennsylvania 
Special,"  the  latter  the  "18-hour  train"  CI 
Xew  York.  Thi-  X  H  L  A.  train  will  be  run  east 
from  Chicago  over  the  Fort  Wayne  Route  through 
Fnrt  Wayne.  Pittsburg,  Harrisburg  and  Philadel- 
phia,  all  rail    to   Atlantic   City. 

This  special  convention  train,  which  will  be  the 
official  train  for  the  exclusive  use  of  delegates 
trical  supply  men,  their  ladies  and  friends,  will  leave 
Chicago  at  2  p.  in.  1  Chicago  time  I  Sunday.  June  3d. 
to  arrive  at  Atlantic  City  Monday.  June  41b.  4  t..  5 
p. m.  (Atlantic  City  time).  It  will  run  through  solid 
from  Chicago  to  Atlantic  City.  Those  in  the  West 
desiring  to  join  the  convention  par*. 
from  Chicago  to  Atlantic  City  on  this  "special" 
should  without  delay  early  make  reservations  direct, 
addressing  C.  L.  Kimball.  2  Sherman  Street.  Chi- 
cago, or  apply  to  the  city  ticket  office.  24S  South 
Clark  Street.  Chicago,  as  the  road  for  convenience 
is  handling  all  inquiries  appertaining  t. .  reservations 
for  Mr.  Perry  for  the  National  Electric  Light 
Association. 

For  the  benefit  of  those  living  in  the  west  in  a 
zone  between  Chicago  and  the  Pacific  Coast,  anil 
who  might  consequently  be  willing  to  pass  through 
Chicago  on  their  way  East,  arrangements  are  lieing 
perfected  by  which  there  will  likely  be  started  over 
the  Burlington  route  from  Denver  a  special  car 
to  leave  that  point  at  a  time  suitable  to  make  easy- 
connections  at  Chicago  with  the  Pennsylvania  Spe- 
cial leaving  Chicago  from  the  same  depot  for  At- 
lantic City  Sunday  at  2  p.  m..  June  jd.  Special 
trains  will  also  be  run  from  Boston.  Xew  York 
and    Philadelphia. 

Further  information  in  various  pans  of  the  coun- 
trv  may  be  obtained  from  the  following  named : 

"C.  O.'  Simpson.  Little  Rock  Railway  and  Electric  Com- 
pany,   Little  Rock.  Ark. 

\V.  L  Barker,  Denver  Gas  and  Electric  Company.  Dcmcr. 
Colo.  ' 

C.    H.    HodskinSOn,    70    Stale    Street.    Boston,   Mass. 

A.  H.  Manwarinc.  Tenth  and  Sansom  streets.  Philadel- 
phia, Pa. 

A.    F.    Giles.    Empire    Building,    Atlanta.    Ga. 

J.  \V.  Cunningham,  Capital  Electric  Light.  Motor  and  Gas 
Company,   Boise,   Idaho. 

F.  S.  Hunting,  Fort  Wayne  Electric  Works.  Fort  Wavnc. 
Ind. 

T.  It.  1  leGrange.  New  Orleans  Railway  and  Light  Com- 
pany,    New    Orleans,    La. 

E.  F.  Phillips.  Peninsular  Electric  Light  Company.  De- 
troit.   Mich. 

H.  T.  Gille,  St.  Paul  Gas  Light  Comoany.  St.  Paul,  Mien. 

A.  "  G.  Monroe,  secretary  Nebraska  Electric  Company. 
Omaha.  N'eb. 

W.  K  Huntley,  Puffalo  General  Electric  Company.  Buf- 
falo.  X.   V. 

F.  LI.   Gale.  General  Electric  Company,  Schenectady.  X.  Y. 
II     W.    Plummer,    Asheville    Electric    Company,    Asheville, 

X.  C. 

W.  I.  Hanley,  400410  Columbus  Savings  and  Trust  Build- 
ing, Columbus,    Ohio. 

T.  T.  Cagney,  Montreal  Light.  Heat  and  Power  Company. 
Montreal,   Canada. 

W.    E.    Swayze.   Junction    City.    Kan. 

Samuel  G.  Reed.  Seventh  and  Alder  streets,  Portland,  Ore. 

T.    C.   McOuiston,    Westinghouse    Companies.    Pittsburg,    Pa. 

W.  W.  Fuller.  Charleston  Railway.  Gas  and  Electric 
Company.  Charleston.  S.    C. 

T.  R.  Cox.  Brush  Electric  Light  and  Power  Comoanv, 
Galveston,   Ton. 

Tohn  Montgomery.  Tr..  L  rah  Light  and  Rail.vay  Company, 
Salt   Lake   City.    Utah. 

W.    S.    Heger.   Allis-Chalmers   Company.    Milwaukee.  \\  is. 

H.  G.   Xicholls.   14  King  Street.  East,  Toronto,  Canada. 

F.  B.  Blankenship.  Virginia  Passenger  and  Power  Com- 
pany,  Richmond.  Va. 


302 

Argentine  Republic  as  a  Market  for 
Electrical  Goods.1 

The  population  of  Argentina  does  not  exceed 
5,500,000;  nevertheless,  the  imports  in  1905  amounted 
to  £41,000,000  Kl  =  $4.87],  and  the  exports  to  £65,- 
coo.ooo,  making  a  total  trade  of  £106,000,000,  or  an 
average  per  inhabitant  of  over  £20.  The  only  coun- 
tries which  have  a  greater  average  total  trade  per 
inhabitant  are  Holland,  Switzerland,  Belgium  and 
the  United  Kingdom.  This  fact  in  itself  should 
be  sufficient  to  attract  the  attention  of  manufac- 
turers of  all  classes  to  this  market.  Moreover, 
comparing  the  total  figures  for  1905  with  those  for 
the  previous  year,  we  find  that  the  imports  in- 
creased by  about  £3,600,000  and  the  exports  by 
about  £12,000,000,  while  the  figures  for  1904  showed 
an  increase  of  nearly  £12,000,000  over  the  average 
of  the  previous  five  years  in  the  imports,  and  an 
increase   of  about   £14,000,000  in   the  exports. 

The  detailed  figures  for  1905  are  not  yet  avail- 
able, but  the  figures  for  1904  show  a  marked  in- 
crease in  the  importation  of  electrical  goods.  Tak- 
ing a  few  of  the  headings  given  in  the  trade  re- 
turns for  Argentina,  we  find  that  the  imports  of 
telephone  apparatus  in  1904  amounted  in  value  to 
25,107  pesos  [1  peso  =  96  cents],  or  an  increase 
of  8,792  pesos  on  the  quinquennial  average;  almost 
half  the  imports  are  from  Belgium.  The  value  of 
dynamos  imported  was  60,946  pesos,  an  increase 
of  6,453  pesos;  25,465  pesos  were  from  the  United 
Kingdom  and  21,561  from  Germany.  The  imports 
of  material  for  electrical  appliances  amounted  to 
304,095  pesos,  or  an  increase  of  108,823  pesos;  the 
imports  from  Germany  amounted  to  117,115  pesos, 
an  increase  of  51,156  pesos  ;  from  the  United  King- 
dom, 98,040  pesos,  an  increase  of  40.733  pesos,  and 
,  from  the  United  States  28,686  pesos,  a  decrease  of 
17,320  pesos.  Motors,  other  than  wind  motors, 
were  imported  to  the  value  of  571,433  pesos,  an 
increase  of  244,286  pesos ;  from  the  United  King- 
dom 123,854  pesos,  an  increase  of  59,926  pesos; 
from  the  United  States  228,689  pesos,  an  increase 
of  131,095  pesos;  and  from  Germany  109,673  pesos, 
an    increase   of   51,468   pesos. 

Wire  and  cables  for  electrical  purposes  were  im- 
ported to  the  value  of  662,213  pesos,  an  increase 
of  144,654  pesos ;  the  imports  from  Germany  ex- 
ceed those  from  all  other  countries  together,  and 
amount  to  453,046  pesos,  an  increase  of  217,024 
pesos;  the  imports  from  Italy  are  next,  amounting 
to  92,894  pesos,  an  increase  of  92,894  pesos ;  the 
imports  from  all  other  countries  show  a  decrease 
as  compared  with  the  average  of  the  previous  five 
years;  in  the  case  of  the  United  Kingdom  this 
decrease  amounts  to  no  less  than  74,087  pesos. 
Electric  meters  were  imported  to  the  value  of  40,- 
776  pesos,  of  which  25,200  pesos  were  from  Ger- 
many. Electric  bells  are  practically  all  of  German 
origin,  while  two-thirds  of  the  electric  ventilators 
imported  come  from  Italy.  Carbons  for  arc  lamps 
were  imported  to  the  value  of  27,054  pesos,  of 
which  14,417  pesos  were  from  Germany;  and  there 
were  practically  none  from  the  United  Kingdom. 
Arc  lamps  were  imported  to  the  value  of  34,786 
pesos,  and  incandescent  lamps  to  the  value  of 
99,274  pesos ;  of  the  former,  25,222  pesos  were 
from  Germany,  and  of  the  latter  56,376  pesos. 
Tramway  material  was  imported  to  the  value  of 
499.958  pesos  ;  the  imports  from  Germany  amounted 
to  200,313  pesos;  from  the  United  States  142,894 
pesos,  and  from  the  United  Kingdom  103,610  pesos. 
In  telegraph  material,  the  United  Kingdom  holds 
almost    the    whole    of    the    trade. 

So  much  for  the  statistics  of  the  imports  of 
electrical  goods,  which  goes  to  show  that,  as  a 
general  rule,  the  imports  from  Germany  have  in- 
creased greatly,  while  in  most  cases  those  from 
the  United  Kingdom  have  not  increased  in  any- 
thing like  the  same  ratio.  In  many  cases  the  cause 
of  this  increased  trade  with  Germany  may  be  traced 
to  the  fact  that  German  capitalists  have  taken  a 
keen  interest  in  South  American  undertakings,  and 
particularly  in  those  of  Argentina,  hence  the  sup- 
plies for  these  undertakings  have  been  of  German 
origin.  The  interest  which  German  capitalists  have 
taken  in  Argentine  enterprises  was  recently  com- 
mented on  by  the  German  minister  at  Buenos 
Ayres,  who  stated  that  German  capital  in  that 
country  was  in  a  very  flourishing  condition,  and 
that  its  employment  was  being  greatly  increased, 
particularly  in  electrical  enterprises.  The  change 
in  the  last  few  years  in  the  conditions  on  the 
Argentine  market  as  to  the  countries  supplying 
electrical  machinery  is  extremely  interesting.  Re- 
porting in  1898,  Mr.  Worthington,  the  commissioner 
appointed  by  the  British  government  to  inquire  into 
the  conditions  of  trade  with  South  America,  stated, 
with  reference  to  Argentina,  that  the  bulk  of  elec- 
tric-light plant,  and  practically  all  the  electric-trac- 
tion plant,  was  imported  from  the  United  States, 
and  that  American  manufacturers  had  gained  their 
trade  by  supplying  machinery  to  the  requirements 
of  the  market,  and  capable  of  working  well  under 
local  conditions.  In  the  commissioner's  own  words : 
"The  American  electric  machinery  is  looked  upon 
as  the  most  advanced.  The  English,  I  am  told, 
have  not  kept  pace  with  the  American  improve- 
ments and  new  inventions,  while  the  Germans  have 
carefully  watched   and  promptly  copied  the   Ameri- 

1.    From  the  Electrical  Review  ot  London. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

cans."  German  manufacturers  are  now  evidently 
gaining  the  reward  of  their  labors  at  the  expense 
even    of    American    manufacturers. 

In  all  parts  of  Argentina  concessions  are  con- 
tinually being  granted  for  electric-lighting,  power 
and  tramway  works,  but  in  this  connection  it  may 
be  well  to  repeat  the  warning  recently  given  by 
the  British  consul  at  Rosario,  that  great  care  should 
be  taken  by  capitalists  to  ascertain  the  legality, 
exact  terms,  etc.,  of  concessions  before  making 
any  investments.  Among  some  of  the  works  re- 
cently undertaken,  or  proposed  to  be  undertaken, 
may  be  mentioned  the  electric  lighting  of  Rosario 
and  the  electrification  of  its  tramways,  the  electric 
lighting  of  Bahia  Blanca  and  other  towns,  the  ex- 
tension of  the  electric  tramway  systems  of  Buenos 
Ayres,  the  installation  of  new  telegraph  lines  and 
the  extension  of  those  at  present  existing.  Pro- 
posals are  also  being  made  for  an  extensive  system 
of  underground  railways  for  Buenos  Ayres,  and  it 
is  stated  that  German  capital  is  already  interested 
in  this  project,  which  promises  to  be  a  very  im- 
portant work.  The  construction  of  port  works  at 
Rosario,  which  is  now  being  carried  out  by  two 
amalgamated  French  firms,  although,  perhaps,  not 
of  direct  interest  from  an  electrical  point  of  view, 
may  be  cited  as  a  further  proof  that  great  devel- 
opments are  being  made  in  the  conditions  of  the 
country.  Recent  notices  in  the  Argentine  Press 
state  that  the  minister  of  public  works  proposes 
to  ask  Congress  to  sanction  the  construction  of 
extensive  port  works  at'  Buenos  Ayres,  as  the 
present  port  has  become  inadequate  to  cope  with 
the    increased   trade. 

The  duty  leviable  on  electrical  goods  in  Argen- 
tina is,  as  a  rule,  25  per  cent,  ad  valorem,  with  the 
exception  of  certain  kinds  of  wire,  which  pay  only 
five  per  cent. ;  certain  kinds  of  shades  which  pay 
40  per  cent.,  and  carbons  for  arc  lamps  which  pay 
35  per  cent.  At  the  present  time  a  surtax  of  two 
per  cent,  ad  valorem  is  leviable  on  all  goods  pay- 
ing a  duty  of  10  per  cent,  or  more,  so  that  in  the 
great  majority  of  cases  electrical  goods  would  pay 
27  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  The  valuations  for  duty 
are  fixed  from  time  to  time  by  the  customs  au- 
thorities. Duties  are  payable  in  gold  (one  peso 
gold  =  4s.),  but  national  currency  is  accepted  at 
the  rate  of  one  peso  =  44  cents.  Machinery,  main 
pipes,  etc.,  for  the  public  installation  of  gas  or 
electric  lighting  are  only  dutiable  at  five  per  cent., 
and  in  many  cases  special  provision  is  made  that 
the  goods  necessary  for  certain  public  works  shall 
be   admitted   duty   free. 

The  following  are  amongst  the  chief  importers 
of  electrical  goods  in  the  larger  towns  of  Argen- 
tina : 

Buenos  Ayres — Cia  Luz  Electricia  y  Traccion  del 
Rio  de  la  Plata ;  Cia  Sud  Americana  de  Luz  y 
Fuerza;  Cia  de  Alemana  Transatlantic;  Cia  de  los 
Tramways  de  la  Capital ;  H.  Kruger.  386  Florida ; 
Otto  Straube,  Congallo  1,701 ;  Adolfo  Mantels  & 
Co.,  Belgrano,  602;  Juan  Quevado.  Cangallo,  380; 
Augusto  Parcus,  Moreno  477;  Juan  Carosio  y  Cia, 
Sulpacha  433 ;  Le  Roy  d«  Bonneville  Edmundo, 
Cangallo    1,268;    Walter   Kohlstedt,   Monreno   487. 

Bahia    Blanca. — Empresa    de    Luz    Electrica. 

Rosario. — Wedekind   &  Weihmiiller,  Libertad  754. 

Apart  from  these  there  are,  of  course,  the  large 
importing  dealers  who  have  their  own  agents  in 
Europe  and  who  often  visit  producing  markets 
themselves,  and  the  smaller  ones-  who  order  through 
agents  and  travelers.  In  the  case  of  firms  having 
their  own  buying  agents  in  England,  payment  is 
usually  made  on  this  side,  against  shipping  docu- 
ments. -For  direct  trade  good  travelers  or  agents 
are  practically  indispensable,  as  the  personal  ele- 
ment enters  very  largely  into  business.  In  this 
respect  it  may  be  mentioned  that  in  Buenos  Ayres 
a  tax  of  about  £4  7s.  6d.  per  annum  is  levied  on 
foreign  commercial  travelers,  whilst  in  other  prov- 
inces the  taxes  range  from  £S  15s.  to  £147  per  an- 
num. The  travelers  should  be  well  supplied  with 
catalogues  printed  in  Spanish,  which  is  the  lan- 
guage of  the  country,  with  prices  in  Argentine  cur- 
rency, and  weights  and  measures  in  the  metric  sys- 
tem. Samples  and  models  are  also  of  great  value 
in  gaining  orders.  Samples  without  commercial 
value  are  admitted  free  of  duty;  samples  of  value 
are  charged  with  duty  which  is  refunded  on  re- 
exportation within  six  months.  Advertising  of  the 
most  elaborate  and  expensive  type  is  very  much  in 
,yogue.  It  is  important  to  note  that  a  contract 
^signed  in  the  United  Kingdom  cannot  be  enforced 
in  Argentina  unless  it  has  been  vised  at  an  Argen- 
tina consulate  in  tthe  United  Kingdom. 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  stated  that  in  a  recent 
report  the  British  Consul  at  Buenos  Ayres  wrote 
as  follows :  "The  opportunities  for  the  extension 
of  British  trade  appear  to  exist  in  every  direction 
and  in  every  line  of  business.  What  is  wanted  are 
the  people  who  are  willing  and  also  qualified  to 
take    advantage    of   the    openings." 


April   14,   1906 

Motor  Drive  in  a  Large    Furniture  Fac- 
tory. 

From  the  seven  buildings,  of  brick  and  concrete 
construction,  which  constitute  the  new  works  of 
the  Horrocks  Desk  Company  of  Herkimer,  N.  Y., 
are  produced  annually  a  great  number  of  desks 
and  typewriter  cabinets.  The  arrangement  of  the 
buildings  in  relation  to  each  other  is  particularly 
suited  to  the  economical  process  of  manufacture 
used,  in  which  the  raw  material,  lumber,  etc.,  enter- 
ing the  factory,  progresses  by  various  stages  to  the 
completed  product,  packed  for  shipment  without  a 
single  retrogression  or  unnecessary  handling.  The 
manufacture  of  this  product  is  also  greatly  facili- 
tated by  the  use  of  motor  drive  in  the  various 
departments. 

The  power-house  equipment  contains  three  450- 
horsepower  boilers,  supplying  steam  to  a  250-horse- 
power  high-speed  engine,  direct  coupled  to  a  150- 
kilowatt  generator  wound  for  three-phase,  240  volts 
and  a  speed  of  225  revolutions  per  minute,  and  a 
smaller  engine  (150  horsepower)  of  the  same  type  is 
direct  connected  to  a  75-kilowatt  generator  of  char- 
acteristics similar  to  those  of  the  larger  machine. 
A  i2j<-kilowatt  120-volt  belted  exciter  is  driven 
from  the  shaft  of  the  150-kilowatt  generator,  while 
a  i2T/<-kilowatt  engine-type  exciter  is  installed  for 
auxiliary  purposes  and  also  used  for  running  the 
watchman's  lights  at  night  and  for  the  office  light- 
ing when  used.  The  generators  are  of  the  Allis- 
Chalmers  make. 

The  power  derived  from  this  plant  is  applied  to 
some  70  Allis-Chalmers  induction  motors,  which 
drive  every  machine  in  the  plant,  either  directly 
mounted  upon  it  or  belted  to  it  from  ceiling,  side 
wall  or  floor.  These  motors  range  from  two  to  40 
horsepower  and  aggregate  over  500  horsepower  in 
all.  The  main  building  is  equipped  with  an  ex- 
tensive blower  system  operated  by  two  40-horse- 
power  motors.  Shavings  are  carried  direct  to  the 
power  house  and  automatically  fed  to  the  boiler 
fires. 

The  office  and  main  building  of  the  group  faces 
German  Street  and  has  a  frontage  of  202  feet  by  74 
feet  in  width,  four  stories  high.  Adjoining  it  on 
the  west  is  the  office  building,  which  is  30  by  32 
feet,  and  three  stories  in  height.  The  finishing  build- 
ing standing  south  of  the  main  building  is  252 
by  62  feet  and  four  stories  in  height,  connected 
to  the  main  Duilding  by  a  two-story  bridge  leading 
from  the  third  and  fourth  stories.  The  power  house 
adjoins   the   main   building   on   the   south. 


Consolidation  of  "Tri-Cities"  Public- 
service  Utilities. 

The  Tri-City  Railway  and  Light  Company  of 
Hartford,  Conn.,  has  filed  a  certificate  of  incorpo- 
ration in  that  city.  Its  authorized  capital  is  $12,- 
000,000  and  it  will  acquire  and  hold  the  stock  of 
the  traction,  light  and  power  utilities  of  Rock  Is- 
land and  Moline,  111.,  and  Davenport,  Iowa.  Harry 
A.  Saben  and  J.  Morris  Miller  of  New  York  and 
William  Waldo  Hyde  of  Hartford  are  the  incor- 
porators. 

There  is  in  the  locality  of  the  "Tri-Cities"  at  the 
present  time  eight  separate  companies,  supplying 
light,  power  and  transportation  for  about  100,000 
inhabitants.  -  These  are  the  Tri-City  Railway  Com- 
pany, operating  a  railway  in  Davenport,  Rock  Is- 
land and  Moline;  the  People's  Light  Company,  do- 
ing a  gas  and  electric-light  business  in  the  city  of 
Davenport ;  the  People's  Power  Company,  doing  a 
gas  and  electric-power  business  in  Moline  and  Rock 
Island ;  the  Davenport  and  Suburban  Railway,  be- 
tween Davenport  and  Grand  Island;  the  Davenport 
Gas  and  Electric  Company,  a  direct  competitor  of 
the  People's  Light  Company;  the  Mississippi  Valley 
Traction  Company,  operating  an  electric  railway  be- 
tween Moline  and  Watertown,  and  the  Moline 
Water  Power  Company,  which  controls  the  Mis- 
sissippi River  waterpower  developments  in  the  dis- 
trict. 

The  report  of  the  physical  condition  of  the  prop- 
erties of  "these  companies  was  made  by  J.  G.  White 
&  Co.,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  operating  depart- 
ment of  the  same  company  will  be  charged  with 
the  work  of  operating  the  consolidated  system  in 
accordance   with  the  best  modern   practice. 


A  big  Pittsburg  brewing  concern  whose  brewery 
stands  near  the  Carnegie  Technological  Institution 
advertised  recently  that  it  would  put  "Tech"  beer 
on  the  market.  Director  A.  A.  Hammerschlag  of 
the  Carnegie  schools  saw  the  advertisement  and 
communicated  with  Mr.  Carnegie',  who  protested, 
but   to   no    avail. 


Laying  Cables  in  Simplon   Tunnel. 

The  laying  of  the  electric  cables  for  the  Simplon 
Tunnel  has  been  completed,  says  a  Swiss  corre- 
spondent of  the  London  Times  Engineering  Sup- 
plement, and  a  few  details  of  the  plan  adopted 
may  be  of  interest.  The  train  which  carried  the 
drums  was  composed  of  a  passenger  coach  for 
the  staff  of  workpeople,  a  truck  for  tools,  one  carry- 
ing the  lighting  plant,  another  for  the  cables,  a 
third  fitted  up  with  side  pulleys  for  unrolling  the 
drums,  and  then  another  cable  truck,  with  its  truck 
for  pulleys,  making  seven  vehicles  in  all,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  engine.  With  this  equipment  two  kilo- 
meters of  cable  were  laid,  and  then  the  train  went 
back  to  the  station  for  more  drums,  with  which 
it  returned  to  the  tunnel.  Owing  to  these  special 
arrangements  it  became  possible  to  lay  the  whole 
length  of  the  cable,  amounting  to  68.34  miles,  in 
a  little   over  a  fortnight. 


.April    1. 1,   1906 

Electric  Light  and  Power  Supply  for 
London. 

nf   the    numcrou     bill      before    tin     luigli  h     Pai 

liamenl    for    furnishing    powci    to    LoikI Iirough 

1 .,,..,     generating    plants     situated    out  idi     1 

on|y   ii propositions   deal   with   tin    problem    in   a 

rca||j  1  omprchen  iv<    in; :i       I  I"    e: How 

Hi,,   administrative    County  of    London    and    di  tricl 
,1,.,  trj,    powci    bill,   which  is  a   replica  of   la  1 

me; ■ ;     the     "additional"     1  lei  ti  ii      1 1     uppl; 

l,j||,    and     the    scheme     pi oted     bj     the     I  Ion 

1 i   Co :il.     ( )f   these   the   "add al"   cl<  ctrii 

power  bill  is  an  extremely  novel  one,  for  tin    propo 

gition   is   I"  erect   a   generating   statio 1   the   coal 

,  1,1 .      miir    50   mile     to  the    north   of    L lo I 

having    negotiated    a    private    right  of  way    with    the 
railwaj    company    into    London,    the    intention    1      to 

build   an  overhead   transmission   line  on   land  ad 1 

ing  the  railway  tr.uk  to  a  point  touching  tin  out 
skirls  of  London,  and  thence  to  distribute  the  elei 
trical  energy  by  means  of  underground  mains.  Pri 
marily,  il  is  staled.  Ibis  scheme  contemplates  a  large 
consumption  for  the  electrical  working  of  railways 
fa  and  an, iiinl  London,  and  il  is  strongly  supported 
In    many    railway   companies. 

The  scheme  of  the   London   County  Council  is  to 

Utilize    the    power    house    which    is    being    built    at 

Greenwich     for    supplying    the    council's    tramways 

well   as  the  existing  cable  duels,   etc.,   to  build  a 

new    generating   station  further   to   the   west   en    the 

I,, !S    and    to  supply    electric    power    in    bulk    to 

focal   authorities   and   electric-light   companies. 

I  lie  administrative  County  of  London  and  dis- 
trict electric  power  scheme  as  promoted  last  year 
i,„,k  as  its  field  of  operations  a  district  embracing 
nearly  400  square  miles,  and  as  London  only  totals 
117  square  miles  it  will  be  seen  that  it  was  a  very 
comprehensive  scheme.  The  idea  was  to  creel  huge 
generating  stations — 90,000  kilowatts  each — and,  in 
short,  to  supply  electric  power  wholesale  to  exist- 
ing suppliers,  to  railways,  canals  and  docks,  and 
also  to  ordinary  power  consumers  under  certain 
conditions.  It  is  now  historical  that  the  proposal 
failed  to  pass  into  law  by  a  mere  hair's  breadth, 
owing  to  the  session  of  Parliament  terminating  a 
few  days  before  its  final  stage  could  be  reached. 

When  these  proposals  were  discussed  in  the 
House  of  Commons  an  effort  was  made  to  deter- 
mine the  issue  as  a  party  question,  but  to  a  certain 
extent  this  has  been  frustrated,  and  the  present 
position  is  that  the  London  County  Council  bill 
has  been  sent  to  a  committee,  while  the  other 
promoters  have   a   full   locus   standi  to  oppose  there. 


!  ERN     Mi.'  TRK 


1  of  s 


Steam-turbine  Installation  in  Siam. 

One  of  the  most  progressive  of  the  independent 
principalities  of  Asia  is  the  little  kingdom  of  Siam 
on  the  Indo-Chinese  Peninsula.  In  the  principal 
city,  Bangkok,  is  a  modern  electric-railway  power 
plant,  operated  by  the  Siam  Electricity  Company, 
and  equipped  with  reciprocating  engines  and  gen- 
erators. Because  of  the  increased  demand  for 
power,  an  additional  unit  has  become  necessary, 
and  a  Curtis  turbo-generator  has  been  decided  upon 
as  most  suitable.  This  is  a  500-kilowatt  575-volt 
machine,  built  bv  the  General  Electric  Company 
of  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  The  boiler  plant  for  this 
station  is  unique,  in  that  paddy  husks  are  burned 
in  place  of  coal.  The  fuel  is  brought  down  the 
river  from  the  rice  fields  in  flat-bottomed  boats 
to  the  power  house  and  unloaded  directly  into  the 
boiler  room  by  an  elevator  and  belt  conveyor,  built 
by  the  Link  Belt  Engineering  Company,  and  op- 
erated by  several  direct-current  500-volt  General 
Electric  motors.  This  method  of  using  rice  husks 
for  fuel  is  an  economic  utilization  of  a  waste  prod- 
uct similar  to  the  use  of  the  crushed  sugar  cane,  or 
bagasse,    on    sugar    plantations. 


Thin  Insulation. 


Two-part  Street-railway  Tracks. 

\n  invi  ntioi 

Iracl     cat ■ 

by  Unit,  1  lull,   England. 

I  be    invcntii  lh<    rail    ii  to 

girder 
mppoi  1      li    all ov      ol  n  ncwal  of  the 

in  fai  '        i>' arj     without    pulling    up    the 

H  hole    ol    tl id     ■  rig    at    all    with 

Hi.    under  girder,   vvhii  I 
cretc  l"d 

Ike    invention    i      nol    in    tl  1  in    the 

machine    rcqui  iti     foi    1  ombir  1 

effecti   elj      '  'I"     1 m 

.  hinc     thai    are   m  ce    arj .  om    mai  hinc   for  rolling 
on   the  upper   rail  and  two  for  cutting  u   off  when 
il     1       worn    OUl        ITlc    wearing    portion    of    the    rail 
lit-,    down    om  1    the    lowei    portion,    I 
11,.,,  1 1 ling    He    depending   Ranges    inv 

a-     tO     grip     lie        tip  porting    rail.       I  I 

flanges  are  converted  into  cold  rolled   springs,  with 

an  inward  gi  ip  0  inti  n  1  1I1  ii  al  a  li  1  made  by 
the  Sheffield  Tesl  Works  thi  adhesion  of  the 
top  section  to  the  bottom  section  in  a  length  of 
only  one  foot  was  found  to  be  23  tons  lie  cut 
ting  machine  cuts  a  groove  into  om  of  the  de 
pending  flanges  of  the  rail  to  a  depth  of  one-third 
or  half  the  thickness  of  the  metal,  while  the  break 
ing-off  machine  applied  to  the  two  flanges  breaks 
off  the  partly  cut  flange,  therein  releasing  tin  head 
rail.  These  operations  do  not  in  any  way  injure 
or  disturb  the   under   T-sectiori. 

If  each  time  a  renewal  of  the  rails  is  necessary 
the  cost  of  taking  up  the  whole  of  the  track  is 
avoided  there  must  be  a  great  saving  and  the  gen 
eral  manager  of  the  Leeds  tramways  estimates  this 
economy  at  53H  per  cent.  Another  great  advan- 
tage asserted  for  the  system  is  that  the  work  of 
renewals  can  be  done  very  speedily  at  night,  and 
involves  so  small  an  amount  of  material  on  the 
road   that   the   traffic    is   very   little    interfered    with. 


Ground-wire  Clamp  for    Telephone  and 
Telegraph    Work. 

Grou 

and     I-      . 

commod 

•  I   the   pipe. 


In  the  Western  Electrician  of  November  II,  1905 
(page  374),  it  was  noted  that  in  Germany  a  new 
insulation  for  wires  had  been  invented  which  had 
the  desirable  feature  of  being  extremely  thin,  with 
strength  to  withstand  comparatively  high  voltages. 
The  Allegemeine  Elektricitats  Gesellschaft  of  Ber- 
lin has  now  placed  on  the  market  two  kinds  of 
this  insulated  wire,  using  the  substance  known  as 
"acetate  wire"  and  "enamel  wire."  The  first  is 
produced  by  depositing  successive  layers  of  cellu- 
lose tetra-acetate  on  the  wire.  The  result  is  a 
tough  covering  not  exceeding  0.02  millimeters  in 
thickness  and  capable  of  withstanding  1,500  volts. 
Acetate  wires  are  supplied  up  to  0.17  millimeters  in 
diameter.  "Enamel  wire"  is  supplied  in  sizes  from 
0.2  millimeter  up  to  two  millimeters  in  diameter. 
The  covering  is  from  0.015  to  0.025  millimeters 
thick  and  is  said  to  possess  great  elasticity  and 
toughness.  Although  the  covering  is  non-hydro- 
scopic  and  unaffected  by  brine  or  vinegar,  except 
at  high  temperatures,  and  by  sulphuric  acid,  except 


Proposed  Foreign   Tour  of    Institute 
Members. 

The  Institution  of  Electrical  Engineers  of  Great 
Britain  is  making  preparations  to  entertain  members 
of  the  American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers 
and  kindred  institutions  who  will  visit  England 
during  the  coming  summer.  The  plans  contemplate 
a  stay  of  several  days  in  London  and  a  tour  of  the 
provinces  from  June  23d  to  July  27th.  It  is  neces- 
sary that  prompt  advice  of  the  number  who  will 
probably  attend  be  given  to  the  Institution,  so  that 
there  will  be  sufficient  time  in  which  to  make  the 
railroad  arrangements  and  to  secure  hotel  accom- 
modations in  the  provinces. 

The  Associazione  Elettrotecnica  Itahana  has  also 
extended  an  invitation  to  the  Institute  to  visit  Italy 
during  the  Milan  Exposition.  This  invitation  has 
also  been  accepted  by  the  board  of  directors  on 
behalf  of  the  membership.  The  visits  contemplated 
by  the  Associazione  include  Naples,  Rome,  Florence, 
Genoa,  Turin,  Milan  (Exposition)  and  Venice,  and 
the  time  fixed  by  the  Associazione  is  June  1st  to 
June  15th.  It  is  expected  that  the  party  will  meet 
in  Milan  on  June  1st,  spending  several  days  there 
visiting  the  exposition,  which  promises  to  be  of 
great  interest,  both  from  a  technical  and  an  artistic 
standpoint,  and  then  undertake  the  circular  tour 
above  outlined,  with  visits  to  the  important  trans- 
mission plants  and  the  main  points  of  interest  along 
the  route.  The  detailed  programme  is  not  yet  avail- 
able, but  it  is  expected  that  the  expenses  of  the  15 
days'  circular  tour  in  Italy  will  be  about  the  same 
as  those  of  the  English  tour,  or  approximately  $75. 

In  order  to  give  the  Italian  visit  an  official  char- 
acter it  is  necessary  that  at  least  15  take  part  in 
the  tour.  The  week  between  the  tours  in  Italy  and 
Great  Britain  may  be  spent  by  the  members  in 
France,  Switzerland  or  Italy,  according  to  their 
personal   inclinations. 


Electrical    Conditions    in  Philadelphia. 

Mayor  Weaver  of  Philadelphia  in  his  annual 
message  to  the  councils  of  that  city  strongly  advo- 
cates the  encouragement  of  competition  for  public 
lighting  of  the  city.  He  does  not  believe  in  con- 
sidering the  establishing  of  a  municipal  plant  unless 
the  city  does  not  succeed  in  getting  a  competitive 
plant  established  by  a  private  corporation.  Up  to 
1906,  Mr.  Weaver  says,  the  city  has  been  paying 
$110  a  year  for  each  arc  light,  which  price  was 
reduced  to  $99  for  1906.  wdien  agitation  for  a  com- 
peting company  became  popular.  Mr.  Weaver  ex- 
pects soon  to  report  details  of  a  New  York  com- 
pany, which  proposes  to  establish  a  plant  in  Phila- 
delphia with  all  wires  underground,  giving  arc 
lights  at  $S5  and  paying  the  city  five  per  cent,  of 
the  gross  earnings.  He  warns  existing  wire-using 
companies  that  the  time  is  not  far  off  when  all 
wires  will  have   to  be  placed  underground. 


1,    secure  than  the  most  carefully  wrapped  joint, 

and   the  total   cosl  than  one-half  that  of 

the  wrappi  d 
The    necessity    for    a   good    ground   connc 

apparent   to   telephone   men,  particu- 
larly    for     selective    ringing    party-lii 
water   pipe   is  often   the   most   available   and   efficient 
ground  plate.     A  sold,  1  10  such  a  pipe 

cannot   be   made    satisfactorily,  and   a   wrapped    con- 
nection   consumes    considerable    time    and    ;- 
imperfectly    applied. 


Wright  Demand  System  In  England. 

The  Wright  maximum-demand  system  of  charg- 
ing has  done  good  service  to  the  electricity  supply 
industry.  In  addition  to  affording  a  means  of  ar- 
riving at  equitable  tariffs,  it  also  did  much  in  the 
earlier  days  of  its  development  to  educate  the  cen- 
tral-station engineer  as  to  the  true  significance  of 
the  load  factor  and  its  influence  on  the  cost  of 
generation.  So  valuable  was  the  system,  in  fact, 
that,  in  spite  of  the  difficulty  of  explaining  it  to 
consumers,  and  the  consequent  suspicion  with  which 
the  method  of  charging  was  sometimes  regarded 
by  those  who  had  failed  to  understand  the  system. 
it  was  adopted  by  a  very  large  number  of  elec- 
tricity works.  Thanks  to  the  knowledge  brought 
by  its  application,  many  central-station  men  have 
now  substituted  for  the  maximum-demand  system 
flat  rates  of  charging,  with  discounts  which  make 
sufficient  allowance  for  the  character  of  the  load 
of  individual  consumers,  and  there  are  now  com- 
paratively few  towns  in  which  the  Wright  system 
is  the  only  tariff  in  use.  In  some  it  has  been 
abandoned  altogether,  while  in  others  flat  rates 
are  offered  as  an  alternative  method  of  charging. 
Brighton,  the  town  ill  which  the  maximum-demand 
system  was  born,  has  hitherto  been  among  those  in 
which  every  consumer  was  charged  on  the  maxi- 
mum-demand system,  but  the  Brighton  Corpora- 
tion has  now  decided  to  give  every  consumer  the 
option  of  being  charged  at  a  flat  rate  of  4d.  (S 
cents)  instead  of  on  the  Wright  system  at  7d. 
for  the  first  hour  and  id.  after.  As  it  requires 
a  two-hours'  user  of  the  maximum  demand  per 
day  at  7d.  and  id.  to  bring  the  average  charge 
down  to  4d.  per  unit,  it  is  probable  that  a  large 
number  of  consumers  will  adopt  the  alternative. — 
Electrician,   London. 


Indiana  District  Telephone  Meeting. 

The  Second  District  of  the  Indiana  Independent 
Telephone  Association,  composed  of  seven  counties 
in  Northeastern  Indiana,  held  its  first  meeting  at 
Ft.  Wayne  on  April  5th.  W.  L.  Moeller.  vice- 
president  for  the  district,  presided,  and  E.  M.  Popp 
was  selected  as  secretary.  Nine  new  companies 
were  admitted  to  membership,  making  this  one  of 
the  strongest  districts  in  point  of  numbers — both 
as  to  companies  and  telephones — in  the  association. 
After  transacting  some  routine  business.  Mr.  W.  S. 
Vivian  of  Michigan,  manager  of  the  Independent 
Telephone  Clearing  House  of  that  state,  was  intro- 
duced and  addressed  the  meeting. 

The  proposition  to  cut  off  all  companies  having 
any  connection  with  the  Central  LTnion  companies 
aroused  an  animated  discussion,  but  final  action 
was  deferred  on  the  matter  until  the  meeting  of  the 
state  convention  in   Indianapolis,  May   16th  to   18th. 


304 

High-potential  Circuit-breaking    Appa- 
ratus. 

Circuits  having  high  self-induction  or  capacity 
and  employing  currents  of  high  potential  are  often 
injured  seriously  in  their  insulating  qualities 
through  sudden  breaks  and  the  consequent  surging 
which  takes  place.  This  danger  is  especially  apt 
to  result  in  underground  circuits  where  the  con- 
ductors are  carried  in  cables.  In  fact,  any  sudden 
change  in  the  current  flowing  in  a  cable  is  apt  to 
bring  about  a  resonant  increase  of  potential  which 
will   be  disastrous  to   the   insulation. 

Edward  M.  Hewlett  of  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  has 
devised  an  improved  circuit-breaking  device,  for 
which  he  received  a  patent  recently,  although  ap- 
plication was  made  several  years  ago.  The  prin- 
ciple upon  which  the  device  is  based  is  to  cause 
the    making   or   breaking  to   take   place   gradually— 


HIGH-POTENTIAL    CIRCUIT-BREAKING    APPARATUS. 

as,  for  example,  by  gradually  increasing  the  im- 
pedance of  the  circuit  immediately  before  breaking, 
or  in  making  the  circuit  by  first  introducing  a 
large  impedance  and  then  gradually  and  progres- 
sively withdrawing  it.  The  device  may  be  made 
for  manual  or  automatic  operation,  the  accompany- 
ing illustration   showing  the   latter   form. 

The  circuit-breaker  actuating  coil  is  indicated  at 
(9),  and  operating  in  conjunction  therewith  is  the 
armature  (10),  which  serves  to  trip  the  bridging 
contact  piece  of  the  circuit-breaker  in  any  well- 
known  manner.  One  end  of  the  armature  (10) 
serves  to  retain  in  place  the  knuckle  of  a  toggle 
lever  (11),  which  operates  a  bridging  contact  piece 
(12)  for  connecting  together  the  contact  blocks  (13), 
inserted  in  the  line  (2).  Shunted  about  the  switch 
formed  by  the  terminals  (13)  and  bridging  piece 
(12)  is  the  primary  (P')  of  the  transformer  (T'). 
In  series  with  the  primary  (P')  is  the  primary 
(P2)  of  another  transformer  (T2).  The  secondary 
(S')  of  the  transformer  (T')  is  connected  to  a 
resistance-changing  device.  This  rheostat  consists, 
preferably,  of  a  metallic  retaining  vessel  contain- 
ing acidulated  water,  and  in  contact  electrically 
with  one  terminal  of  the  secondary  (S')-  The 
other  terminal  of  the  secondary  is  connected  to  a 
metallic  plate  (15),  which  may  be  inserted  at  dif- 
ferent depths  in  the  liquid  contained  by  the  rheo- 
stat, and  which  in  one  of  its  extreme  positions  is 
embraced  by  two  metallic  spring  fingers  (16),  se- 
cured to  the  bottom  of  the  retaining  vessel  (14). 
The  plate  (15)  is  pivotally  connected  through  an 
insulating  rod  with  one  end  of  a  lever  (18),  ful- 
crumed,  for  example,  at  (19).  A  weight  is  sus- 
pended from  the  opposite  end  of  the  lever  and 
is  of  such  a  value  as  to  overbalance  the  plate;  but 
the  apparatus  is  normally  retained  in  the  position 
shown  by  a  catch  (20),  which  engages  the  lever 
in  any  suitable  manner.  The  catch  is  suitably 
pivoted  and  carries  an  armature  within  the  in- 
fluence of  an  actuating  coil,  excited  by  current 
derived  from  the  secondary  ( S: )  of  the  trans- 
former, already  referred  to,  the  primary  of  which, 
as  has  been  noted,  is  in  series  with  the  primary 
of  the  transformer  (T')-  The  lever  carries  a 
bridging  contact  (2^)  which  operates  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  terminals  ,(24)  to  close  a  local  cir- 
cuit. This  circuit  has  in  series  therewith  some 
suitable  source  of  electromotive  force — as,  for  ex- 
ample, the  battery  (B)  and  a  circuit-breaker  coil 
(25),  which  operates  a  circuit-breaker  (C)  of  any 
suitable  form,  thus  serving  to  open  the  main  line 
(2)    at  the  contacts    (26). 

In  the  operation  of  an  apparatus  such  as  just 
described,  suppose  that  the  current  in  the  mains 
has  increased  beyond  the  limit  allowed  by  the  cir- 
cuit-breaker. The  current  in  the  circuit-breaker 
coil  (9)  then  acts  to  draw  down  the  armature 
(10),    thus    releasing    the    toggle    and    opening    the 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

circuit  at  the  contacts  (13).  This  operation  does 
not  actually  break  the  main  circuit,  but  diverts 
the  current  through  the  primaries  (P'P")  of  the 
transformers  (T'T2).  The  resistances  of  the  re- 
spective secondaries  are  comparatively  small,  so 
that  only  a  moderate  amount  of  impedance  is  by 
this  operation  introduced  into  the  main  line.  Cur- 
rent then  flows  through  the  actuating  coil  (22) 
and  releases  the  catch,  thus  allowing  the  weight 
to  fall,  and  so  raise  the  contact  plate  (15)  away 
from  the  bottom  of  the  retaining  vessel  of  the 
water  rheostat.  The  resistance  of  the  secondary 
(S')  is  thus  gradually  increased  in  an  obvious 
manner,  and  so  gradually  increases  the  impedance 
of  the  main  circuit,  and  thus  reduces  the  current 
flowing  therein.  The  downward  motion  of  the 
weight  forces  the  bridging  contact  (23)  into  con- 
nection with  the  contacts  (24),  and  so  closes  the 
local  circuit  through  the  battery  or  other  source 
of  electromotive  force  and  the  circuit-breaking  coil 
(25),  thus  operating  the  circuit-breaker  (C),  and 
so  opening  the  main  circuit,  the  current  in  which 
has  been  reduced  to  a  safe  amount  by  the  operation 
of  the  transformer    (T')    and  the  water  rheostat. 


Canadian  Telephone  News. 

The  attorney-general  of  the  Manitoba  government 
has  been  in  Ottawa  in  the  interests  of  his  govern- 
ment's scheme  for  provincial  control  of  telephones. 
He  has  arranged  that,  as  soon  as  possible,  a  depu- 
tation from  the  Union  of  Canadian  Municipalities 
shall  wait  upon  the  Dominion  government  to  urge 
the  passing  of  such  federal  legislation  as  will  en- 
able Manitoba  either  to  buy  out  the  telephone  or  to 
establish  a   separate   provincial   system. 

Prominent  representatives  of  the  Bell  Telephone 
Company  of  Canada  have  been  visiting  the  town  of 
Ingersoll,  Ont.,  and  have  offered  reduced  rates  to 
subscribers.  This  step  has  been  taken  in  conse- 
quence of  the  fact  that  a  proposed  Independent  com- 
pany has  given  notice  to  the  Town  Council  that 
it  will  make  application  for  a  franchise.  The  con- 
tract with  the  Bell  company  expired  last  October 
and  the  company  now  offers  business  telephones  for 
$25   and   residence  telephones   for  $20. 

A  bill  is  now  before  the  Ontario  Legislature,  hav- 
ing been  introduced  by  a  member  of  the  provincial 
cabinet,  respecting  local  municipal  telephones.  It  will 
enable  20  or  more  subscribers  to  secure  for  them- 
selves, at  the  lowest  cost,  all  the  advantages  of  a 
telephone  system  upon  petitioning  any  municipality 
for  it,  and  stating  their  intentions  as  to  location, 
etc.  The  municipality  may  then  proceed,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  subscribers,  to  establish  the  system. 

It  is  now  clear  that  the  Dominion  government  has 
dropped  the  scheme  of  ex-Postmaster-general  Sir 
William  Mulock  to  nationalize  the  telephone  sys- 
tems of  the  Dominion,  and  has  adopted  instead  the 
policy  of  bringing  the  Bell  company  and  its  com- 
petitors under  the  jurisdiction  and  control  of  the 
railway  commission  of  Canada. 

Arrangements  are  being  made  by  the  Grand 
Trunk  Railway  Company  for  a  telephone  system  of 
its  own.  This  may  supersede  the  telegraph  as  the 
instrument  and  medium  of  control.  The  central 
exchange  will  be  at  the  general  offices  of  the  com- 
pany at  Montreal,  where  the  switchboard,  with  all 
necessary  terminal  facilities,  will  be  erected.  Wires 
will  be  run  from  Montreal  to  Portland,  Me.,  on  the 
one  hand  and  from  Montreal  to  Chicago  on  the 
other.  This  new  system  will  involve  the  expendi- 
ture _of  upward  of  $400,000  and  the  construction  of 
many  thousands  of  miles  of  copper  wire.  W. 


Southeastern  Telephone  Developments. 

It  is  announced  that  the  Southern  Bell  Telephone 
Company  will  spend  $100,000  on  a  new  system  ex- 
tending from  Danville  to  Richmond,  Va.  A  system 
is  also  being  built  between  Staunton  and  Win- 
chester. 

A  case  involving  tax  on  $5,000,000  worth  of  prop- 
erty of  the  Cumberland  Telephone  Company  at 
Hopkinsville,  Ky.,  alleged  to  have  been  omitted 
from  the  returns  for  assessment  for  some  years 
back,  has  just  been  decided  in  favor  of  the  defend- 
ant company.  The  court  sustained  the  demurrer, 
holding  that  the  property  of  the  company  sought  to 
be  assessed  was  not  liable  for  state  and  county 
taxes,  as  the  notes,  bonds,  etc.,  held  by  the  com- 
pany had  already  been  assessed  by  the  state  board 
of   valuation,   or   should  have  been. 

Ed  L.  Barber,  president  of  the  new  Central  Home 
Telephone  Company,  has  announced  at  Louisville, 
Ky.,  the  objects  of  this  new  concern,  which  pro- 
poses to  merge  some  15  or  20  telephone  companies 
in  Kentucky  and  Indiana.  Long-distance  facilities 
will  be  increased  largely,  the  Central  company  oper- 
ating in  connection  with  the  Louisville  Home  Tele- 
phone Company  and  the  Independent  long-distance 
company.  It  is  said  that  a  number  of  companies  in 
various  Kentucky  towns  have  already  been  taken 
in.  The  Columbia  Finance  and  Trust  Company  is 
acting  as  trustee  of  the  securities  of  the  companies 
acquired.  As  these  are  purchased  by  the  Central 
company,  the  local  management  of  the  various  com- 
panies absorbed  are  not  being  altered  in   any  man- 


April    14,    1906 

ncr.  The  officials  of  the  trust  company  are  also 
said  to  be  interested  in  the  new  organization,  which 
is  capitalized  at  $5,000,000. 

Clyde  R.  Hoey  and  associates  have  incorporated 
as  the  Shelby  Mutual  Telephone  Company  at 
Shelby,   N.  C,   with  $10,000  capital. 

Raleigh,  N.  C,  holding  the  distinction  of  being 
the  only  town  in  the  United  States,  as  far  as  is 
known,  to  have  three  telephone  systems,  will  likely 
be  served  with  fewer  systems  soon.  The  Merchants' 
association  has  voted  to  cut  out  the  Bell  and  Inter- 
state systems  and  use  the  Raleigh  Telephone  sys- 
tem, urging  its  patrons  at  the  same  time  to  follow 
suit.  L. 


Indiana  Telephone  Items. 

The  Indianapolis  Telephone  Company  has  filed 
its  petition  with  the  Board  of  Public  Works,  ask- 
ing for  the  right  to  increase  its  rates,  stating  that 
present  rates  will  not  enable  the  company  to  main- 
tain a  high  standard  of  service  and  make  a  rea- 
sonable return  on  the  investment,  or  warrant  such 
additions  and  improvements  as  the  present  demands 
of  the  company  absolutely  require.  The  increase 
asked  would  raise  business  telephones  from  $40  to 
$52  a  year,  and  residence  telephones  from  $24  to 
$30.  The  company  also  asks  to  have  the  franchise 
extended  to  40  years  from  July,  1906,  and  so 
amended  as  to  require  a  payment  to  the  city  of 
$6,000  a  year  flat,  instead  of  $6,000  and  $2  a  tele- 
phone for  all  over  6,000  telephones  in  service.  The 
petition  asks  for  the  right  to  make  an  additional 
annual  charge  of  $2  a  telephone  for  each  1,000 
telephones  over  15,000  that  may  be  used.  The  com- 
pany now  has  9,500  connections.  In  consideration 
of  the  proposed  grant  the  company  pledges  to  in- 
crease the  efficiency  of  the  service  and  to  ■  invest 
$500,000  in  a  new  fireproof  building  and  install  a 
new  plant  therein  in  12  months.  The  board  has 
set  April  16th  as  the  date  for  the  first  hearing  as 
to   the   changes   asked. 

C.  A.  Jay,  general  manager  of  the  Citizens'  Tele- 
phone Company  of  Kokomo,  is  asking  for  bids  on 
the  putting  in  of  $15,000  worth  of  underground  and 
overhead  cables.  The  present  Hues  are  to  be  ex- 
tended  and   greatly   improved. 

The  Central  Union  Telephone  Company  has  ob- 
tained franchises  in  Plainfield  and  Avon,  in  Hen- 
dricks County,  and  has  located  exchanges  in  each 
place. 

The  Citizens'  Telephone  Company,  which  was  re- 
fused a  franchise  by  the  City  Council  of  Evans- 
ville  on  April  2d,  will  make  another  application,  it 
is  announced.  There  are  10  members  of  the  City 
Council,  and  when  the  vote  was  taken  it  stood  five 
to  four,  with  one  member,  Dr.  J.  E.  Owen,  absent. 
Dr.  Owen  is  in  favor  of  the  franchise.  Mayor 
Boehne,  in  a  statement  to  the  public,  says  the  City 
Council  made  a  mistake  in  not  passing  the  fran- 
chise, and  he  believes  that  it  will  do  so  at  the 
next    opportunity. 

The  Central  Union  Telephone  Company  has  taken 
over  the  mutual  company  at  Shelbyville,  according 
to  a  statement  given  out  at  that  city  by  John  and 
Daniel  Deprez  and  David  B.  Wilson,  owners  of 
the  Independent  plant.  The  Shelbyville  Independ- 
ent exchange  has  about  600  subscribers  and  the 
Central    Union    about   800. 

There  is  much  complaint  on  the  part  of  the  pa- 
trons of  the  Home  Telephone  Company  of  Wabash 
who  attempt  to  use  the  Independent  United  lines 
between  Wabash  and  Marion,  which  were  taken  over 
some  time  ago  by  the  Central  Union  Telephone 
Company.  The  Home  Telephone  Company  of  Wa- 
bash and  the  New  Long-distance  Telephone  Com- 
pany own  jointly  a  copper  metallic  circuit  from 
Wabash  to  Marion,  which  is  cut  into  the  Marion 
office  of  the  Central  Union.  Instead  of  sending 
the  messages  to  Wabash  over  this  circuit,  as  here- 
tofore, the  Central  Union  now  persists  in  sending 
Wabash  messages  through  the  Central  Union  ex- 
change in  Wabash.  The  patrons  of  the  Home  com- 
pany are  refusing  to  receive  messages  sent  this 
way  and  insist  on  the  call  coming  over  the  Home 
company's    line. 

The  Branch  Independent  Telephone  Company, 
which  has  lines  in  Randolph  and  Jay  counties, 
Indiana,  and  Dark  and  Mercer  counties,  Ohio,  has 
been  sold  to  the  Eastern  Independent  Telephone 
Company  of  Winchester.  This  combination  will 
make  a  strong  company  of  the  Eastern.  S. 


Telephone   News  from   the   Northwest. 

The  Herman  Telephone  Company  of  Herman, 
Minn.,  has  filed  articles  of  incorporation  with  a 
capitalization  of  $50,000.  C.  J.  Bacon  heads  the 
list  of  stockholders. 

The  Brainerd  (Minn.)  Telephone  Company  has 
sold  its  system  and  franchise  to  the  Northwestern 
Telephone  Exchange  Company.  The  latter  company 
will  improve  the  system  and  extend  the  line  to 
Walker  and   Bemidji. 

The  Hennepin  Telephone  Company  has  been  in- 
corporated, with  headquarters  at  Long  Lake,  Minn. 

The  Commercial  Club  of  Aberdeen,  S.  D.,  con- 
sidering the  application  of  a  second  telephone  com- 
pany for  admission  to  the  city,  has  concluded  that 
one  company   is   sufficient. 

H.  E.  Poseley,  principal  owner  in  the  Stewart 
and  Buffalo  Lake   (Minn.)  Telephone  Company,  has 


I  .pi ll   I  I,   I'j'lll 

gold  hi     inti  rem     to  I     I     v.  hiti   ol     tcwart,  M 

1 1,.     Farmi  i  '   M al    'I  •  li  pi           '  hi 

been  organizi  'I  al    Ring  ti  d,   Iowa        ndn 

pre  idcnl  .iii.I    f.     I     Soru retary.  R. 


Why  Europe   Lags  In  Telephone  Serv- 
ice. 
Hcrbcrl   Laws  Webb  ha     written  a    crii     ol  thn  c 

; |.  .,l|       "I    nllli ..I         I   .    I.       I  '       [Ol        'I"         I    OP 

don     I  mi.'     Engineering    Suppl nl      Pcrhap     Ihc 

Idea   w; gi   ted   b;    the   following   cditoi  ial    re 

I. n    in    i>i.     Wi   I'  >  ii    Elccti  i'  i i 

u;,i .,     ...Mi   la  i,   n  i.  i  ring   to  teleph i lil 

I Ion      "  Hi.-    I  imc     could   loubl    do   a    n  il 

.,., .. ,.  e   to    il      n  icli  i      by    publishing    a     eric     ol 

, :lcs   showing   whal    a   modi  rn   teli  phoni 

jhould  be  .111.1  how  the  public  should  tal  i  id  tn 
[age  of  it.  I  here  is  a  telephone  cngincci  in  I  on 
don,  an  Englishman,  bill  well  vei  ed  in  Vmi  rii  an 
practice,   who  could   write  well  on   such  a  topii    il 

railed    upoi In   so."     At    any    rate,    the    first 

artii-K-  of  the  scries  appeared  on  March  28th  under 
the  sub-title,  "Why  Europe  Lags."  Among  other 
il .    Mi     Webb  says: 

"No  observer  can  be  three  days  in  an  American 
city  with. .111  noting  that  the  telephone  service  is  a 
highl)  developed  part  of  the  currcnl  machinery 
nf  business  and  social  life,  that  the  use  made  ..1 
it  is  prodigious,  that  its  efficiency  and  regularity 
arc  of  a  high  order,  and  that  it  is  employed  by 
almost  .-ill  classes  of  the  community.  Mo  traveler 
who  has  also  roamed  over  Europe  can  have   failed 

1 itc   thai    it    is  only   in   America   that    the   1 1- If 

phone  service  has  reached  litis  high  pitch  of  de- 
velopment, -Hi.  1. 11. \  and  popularity.  No  sane  pel 
son,  traveler  or  stay  at  home,  will  deny  that,  the 
telephone  service  being  absolutelj  and  beyond  com- 
pare the  quickest  and  most  direct  means  of  com- 
munication, a  highly  developed  and  efficient  tele- 
phone service  is  of  great  value  to  every  active 
community  as  a  time  and  labor  saver,  as  an  econo- 
mizer in  production  and  distribution,  even  as  a 
saver  of  life  and  property.  Therefore,  why  does 
Europe   lag? 

"Broadly  speaking,  the  reason  for  the  wide  gulf 
between  the  position  of  the  telephone  service  in 
America  and  that  which  it  occupies  in  Europe  lies 
in  the  difference  of  the  attitude  of  the  public— 
and  of  the  representatives  of  the  public — of  the 
two  continents  toward  the  telephone  service.  In 
America  the  telephone  service  has  been  treated  as 
a  friend,  or  as  a  promising  youngster  capable  of 
effecting  vast  improvement  in  the  conduct  of  af- 
fairs. No  artificial  restrictions  have  been  imposed 
to  hinder  its  development,  and  neither  the  tele- 
phone managers  nor  the  public  has  put  the  ques- 
tion   of   cost    before    the   question    of    efficiency. 

"In  Europe  the  telephone  service  has  never  been 
treated  as  a  legitimate  business  enterprise  and  has 
never  had  a  fair  field.  From  the  very  beginning 
it  lias  been  treated  as  a  mere  offshoot  of  the  tele- 
graph—which it  is  not — and  it  has  occupied  the 
position  of  Cinderella  in  the  family  of  methods  of 
communication  placed  under  government  control. 
As  a  result!  not  only  have  all  sorts  of  harassing 
restrictions  inseparable  from  a  bureaucratic  con- 
trol been  brought  to  bear,  but  telephony  as  a  sci- 
ence, telephone  engineering  as  a  specialty  and  tele- 
phone administration  as  a  distinct  branch  of  or- 
ganized  effort   have  been  neglected." 


Extensions  to  Chicago  Automatic  Tele- 
phone System. 

Work  has  been  begun  by  the  telephone  depart- 
ment of  the  Illinois  Tunnel  Company  to  extend  the 
automatic  telephone  service  to  the  new  territory 
reached  by  the  tunnel  extensions  on  the  North, 
West  and  South  sides  in  Chicago.  In  the  January 
directory  issued  by  the  company  notice  was  pub- 
lished canceling  the  meter  service  on  May  1, 
1906.  Delays  in  extending  the  system,  however, 
have  caused  the  company  to  feel  unwarranted  in 
charging  a  flat  rate  at  this  time  and  service  will 
continue  under  existing  contracts  to  all  present 
subscribers. 

Some  arrangement  may  be  made  before  long  for 
connecting  the  automatic  system  of  Chicago  with 
surrounding  Independent  telephone  systems.  The 
Tunnel  company  has  been  waiting,  it  says,  for  the 
outlying  companies  to  get  their  systems  together 
and  working  unitedly  so  that  when  entrance  is 
given  into  Chicago  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  deal 
with  a  large  number  of  systems  individually.  An 
officer  of  the  Tunnel  company  stated  that  several 
thousand  telephones  will  be  added  to  the  Chicago 
system  soon. 


The  Chicago  Telephone  Company  reports  a  net 
gain  of  1,412  subscribers  in  the  city  in  March  and 
725  in  the  country,  a  total  increase  of  2,137  for  the 
month.  The  total  number  of  the  company's  tele- 
phones in  service  March  31st  was  150.184.  of  which 
109.520  were  in  the  city  and  the  rest  in  the  country 
and  small  towns  which  the  company  serves. 


ELEl    IK- 
GENERAL  TELEPHONE  NEWS. 
I  in-  Star    I'elei  ><<y  "I 

1  hi     Hami  ton    (1   in  1    Mutual    Tclcp 

by   !<    B     \iidi  1  on  and 

i!..i  nty     I  elepl 

uratcd    with    a 

On  Ap  ■  ; 

1  panj   pul    inl 

ing  .in   . 
mi.     named 

1  h.    Citizens'     rdephom    Company   of    Waldron, 

Ark.,  ha     I rporati  'I 

■ 
are  incorpoi 

J    W    Johnson  and    1 
incorporated   as     the     People's     Mutual     Telephone 

<  pany,    with    a   cap  0,000       I  hey    will 

open hangi     •    D 

\  company  ha     been  organi  '  Ikla., 

with    I     W.    Si  1      pn      cnl      W     II     Green 

1 |i  in  .    1  ii     1  Kcal       ccretary,   and    V    II 

Scay,  n .- 1  in  .1 ,  to  1  onstruct  a  telephi  11 

I  he  select   commit 1   thi     M  tnitob  1    1  I   ma. la  1 

Legislature  appointed  to  invi   tigati  11  ral  tel 

cphon  ■  conditions  and  report   t.  ial  gov- 

ernmenl  has  endorsed  government  ownership  ol  Ihi 
telephom 

I  be    Western     Oklahoma     Telephone     Extension 

(  ..iiipany,  operating    in    k..e,c    Mill      and    some   of   the 

other  southwestern  counties  of  Oklahoma,  has  sold 
out  all  of  iis  interests  to  the  Pioneer  Telephone 
and    relegraph  Company  of  Fort  Worth, 

The  Southwestern  ["elephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany has  engaged  C.  L  Thompson  to  prepare  plans 
For  a  new  telephone  exchange  building  in  Little 
Rock,  Ark.  The  building  will  be  two  stories,  60  by 
80   feet,   pressed    brick,    fireproof   construction. 

The  Hamilton  Hume  Telephone  Company  has 
nia.le  application  for  a  franchise  to  build  and  op- 
irate  an  exchange  in  Middletown.  Ohio.  The  ap- 
plication was  accompanied  by  a  petition  signed  by 
over  100  business  men  asking  that  the  ordinance 
be   passed. 

J.  P.  Janson  of  Little  Falls,  Minn.,  has  suc- 
ceeded W.  A.  Stanton  as  manager  of  the  North- 
western Telephone  Exchange  Company's  system 
at  Owatonna,  Minn.  The  rural  lines  centering 
there  will  be  improved  and  about  60  miles  of  ex- 
tensions   made. 

The  Chesapeake  and  Potomac  Telephone  Com- 
pany will  erect  an  addition  to  its  exchange  on 
Madison  Avenue,  near  Robert  Street,  in  Baltimore, 
Md.  One  story  will  be  added  to  the  present  build- 
ing and  a  three-story  addition  to  the  rear.  The 
building    will    be    fireproof    throughout. 

The  Flat  Branch  Mutual  Telephone  Company 
of  Shelbyville,  111.,  has  been  incorporated  with 
a  capital  of  $2,000.  The  line  will  be  built  al  once 
and  will  have  connection  with  the  Queen  City 
Mutual  Telephone  Company's  line  of  Shelbyville. 
David  L.  Morey  and  Frank  G.  Beckett  are  among 
the     incorporators. 

The  Illinois  Mutual  Telephone  Company  (Inde- 
pendent) has  planned  a  number  of  extensions  for 
the  coming  season  which  will  connect  the  Rock- 
ford  Home  Telephone  Company  with  a  number 
of  other  towns  in  Northern  Illinois..  This  is  made 
possible  by  the  merging  of  several  Independent 
companies.  The  officers  of  the  Illinois  Mutual 
Telephone  Company  are:  President,  William  Neely 
of  Seward :  secretary  and  manager,  C.  S.  Thomas ; 
treasurer,  F.  S.  Hollenbeck.  The  headquarters  are 
at    Seward,   111. 

The  First  District  of  the  Illinois  Independent 
Telephone  Association  held  a  meeting  at  Joliet  on 
April  10th.  Plans  to  get  a  franchise  into  Chicago 
for  Independent  telephone  lines  and  other  matters 
of  interest  to  the  district  were  discussed.  The  First 
District  comprises  Henry.  Lake.  De  Kalb.  Du  Page. 
Kane.  Kendall,  Cook,  Will,  Grundy  and  Kankakee 
counties.  A.  J.  Vernier  of  Kankakee,  state  vice- 
president  from  the  First  District,  was  elected  presi- 
dent, E.  C.  Hennis  of  Sandwich  vice-president,  and 
J.    C.   Joslyn   of    Sycamore    secretary-  and   treasurer. 

Among  the  telephone  companies  recently  incor- 
porated are  the  following:  Current  Lake  Co-op- 
erative Telephone  Company,  Ruthton,  Minn. :  New- 
kirk  Commercial  Telephone  Company,  Newkirk. 
Okla. ;  Citizens'  Telephone  Company,  Success,  Ark. 
Audubon  Telephone  Company,  Audubon.  Minn. : 
Shipton  Telephone  Company,  Shipton.  Kan. ;  Oak- 
view  Telephone  Company.  Hennessey,  Okla. :  Farm- 
ers and  Merchants'  Telephone  Company.  Granite, 
Okla. :  Medicine  Lodge  Telephone  Company.  Medi- 
cine Lodge,  Kan.:  Douglas  County  Telephone  Com- 
pany, St.  John,  Kan. :  Home  Telephone  Company. 
Capron,  III.:  Mutual  Telephone  Company,  Danville, 
Iowa. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


Great  Britain. 

- 

nally    li  ■ 

III. it   ll>. 
will    Ik 

a  very  gencrall  • 

moted  by  the  council 

I  he  ■  " 
buy  up  the  municipal  telephone  ->  item  at   Hull  ha* 
brought   1 

re,  althdugh  il 
a  few  years  before  the 

. 
It    will    l»-   remembered   thai    the   companj 

rpo ran. .11  all  its  capital  expenditure  up 
undertaking. 

of  Parliament,  who  are  tupp 
matters,  are  familiar  with  the 
been  asked  in  thi 

purchasing  the  municipal  undi  - 

appeared    n.   be    to    buy     plain    which    would     l« 

it   back    to  thi 
in   i'ii  1.  presumably  al  a  profit      But  the  qui 
overlooked  the  fundamental  fact  thai  tl 
general    is    only    bound    in    I'm    to    buy    Mich    plant 
liable   for  his  purpose,  less   depreciation,  and 
no    good-will,    so    that    it    matters    not    whether   the 
company   or  the   municipalities  own   the   systems   in 
101 1.  the  terms  would  Ik-  the  same.     It  may  be  that 
the    reason    the    municipalities   are    listening    to   the 
terms  <>f  the  company  i-  because  the  terms  offered 
by  the  postmaster-general  are  unsatisfactory  to  them. 

That  this  may  be  so  i-  given  color  by  the  fact  that 
the  Swansea  corporation  has  just  refused  somewhat 
indignantly  an  offer  f.,r  it-  undertaking  by  the 
i.  tmaster-general  on  these  terms.  Something  un- 
der $150,000  lias  ben  -pent  .hi  tlii>  undertaking, 
but  taking  into  account  depreciation  and  the  fact 
that  the  exchange  building  would  lie-  useless  f-.r  the 
state  service  in  101 1.  an  .tier  of  only  <x>  j>cr  cent 
of  the  above  stun  was  made  and  has  been  rejected. 

There  have  been  quite  a  series  "I*  fights  in  the 
committee  rooms  of  the  House  of  Lords  recently 
between  railway  companies  wishing  to  inaugurate 
motor  1  minibus  service  in  localities  where  the  mu- 
nicipalities have  electric  tramway  services  in  opera- 
tion. The  main  object  of  the  railway  companies 
i-  to  run  their  buses  between  certain  definite  |->iul- 
and  their  station-,  where  these  are  very  often  not 
adequately  served  by  the  tramways.  Oi 
most  of  the  results  in  favor  of  the  railway  com- 
panies have  hinged  upon  local  conditions,  but  an 
unsuccessful  attempt  has  been  made  to  ha-,  e  it  de- 
termined that  for  a  railway  company  to  run  motor 
omnibuses  is  beyond  its  authority. 

A  good  deal  of  discussion  will  take  place  during 
the  coming  few  weeks  on  the  question  of  electric 
vs.  steam  winding  for  collieries.  Two  papers  have 
been  read  before  the  Institution  of  Electrical  Engi- 
neers and  two  whole  nights  have  been  allotted  for 
their  discussion.  One  of  the  authors,  who  is  in 
danger  of  being  branded  a  "traitor  to  his  trade." 
has  produced  figures  which  tend  to  prove  that  at 
present  the  efficiency  of  steam  winding  is  - 
that  existing  electric  winding  machinery  si 
chance  whatever  in  competition  therewith.  But  as 
several  others  are  prepared  to  contest  his  figures 
a  useful  result  should  be  obtained.  It  is  a  subject 
very  little  discussed  here  hitherto  and  any  light  that 
can  be  thrown  upon  it  will  be  welcome. 

One  great  advantage  of  electric  tramwaj 
motor  omnibuses  is  the  economy  resulting  from  the 
generation  of  the  motive  power  at  one  center  instead 
of  on  each  vehicle.  It  has  been  announced,  how- 
ever, that  a  new  type  of  omnibus  is  being  experi- 
mented with,  in  which  a  suction  gas  plant  will  be 
employed  on  each  car.  and  with  which  the 
power"  will  be  reduced  to  that  of  electric  cars.  An- 
other item  of  news  is  that  the  head  of  the  biggest 
electric  traction  concern  in  Great  Britain  is  now- 
engaged  in  erecting  a  large  factory  for  the  manu- 
facture of  motor  omnibuses.  G. 


Dominion  of  Canada. 

Ottawa.  Out..  April  7. — It  is  stated  that  the  town 
of  Merritton,  Ont..  will  take  over  one  or  two  mill 
plants,  having  excellent  waterpowers.  and  develop 
electrical  power  to  be  sold  to  manufacturers  at  very 
low   prices. 

Another  electric  power  company  has  been  incor- 
porated by  the  Dominion  government  to  carry  on 
business    outside    of    Canada.      The    Official    Gazette 


306 

contains  the  notice  of  incorporation  of  the  Yucatan 
Power  Company,  which  apparently  proposes  to  sup- 
ply a  portion  of  Central  America  with  electrical 
energy.  The  company  is  authorized  to  issue 
$1,000,000  capital  stock,  and,  to  facilitate  financing, 
the  city  of  Montreal  is  named  as  the  head  office. 

Thoroughly  to  equip  the  lighting  plants  of  the 
city  of  Kingston,  Out.,  it  is  probable  that  the  com- 
mittee on  light  and  power  will  submit  a  by-law  to 
the  people  next  month  involving  the  sum  of  $80,000. 
Since  the  plant  was  taken  over  in  1904  some  $35,000 
has  been  expended,  but  the  additional  sum  is  needed 
to  make  the  concern  profitable  and  give  light  at  the 
lowest  possible  cost. 

The  city  of  Peterboro,  Ont,  has  applied  to  the 
Ontario  Legislature  for  power  to  acquire  water- 
powers  and  supply  electricity  to  manufacturing  con- 
cerns. The  city  has  now  received  an  offer  from  the 
Peterboro  Light  and  Power  Company  to  furnish  any 
factories  with  power  up  to  2,000  horsepower  for  a 
period  of  10  years  at  the  rate  of  $20  per  horse- 
power per  annum.     The  offer  is  being  considered. 

That  the  telegraph  business  of  Canada  is  grow- 
ing rapidly  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway  Telegraph  Company  contem- 
plates during  the  summer  the  construction  of  610 
miles  of  new  pole  lines  and  4,068  miles  of  wire,  of 
which  1,966  will  be  copper.  With  the  increased 
facilities  the  company  will  be  able  to  give  rapid 
service  between  all  the  leading  cities  in  Canada. 
It  is  the  only  telegraph  system  in  the  Dominion 
stretching  from  ocean  to  ocean  under  one  manage- 
ment. W. 


New  York. 


New  York  city,  April  7. — Another  bill  has  been 
introduced  in  the  state  Assembly  to  compel  the 
attorney-general  to  determine  the  legality  of  the 
"transportation  monopoly  operating  under  the  name 
of   the    Interborough    Rapid  Transit    Company." 

The  Elsberg  rapid-transit  bill,  in  its  emasculated 
form,  was  advanced  a  stage  at  Albany  on  Thursday 
night.  The  New  York  City  Rapid  Transit  Com- 
mission is  protesting  against  the  bill  and  desires  to 
have  a  free  hand  to  deal  with  bidders  of  future 
subways.  August  Belmont  is  also  objecting  to  the 
bill  and  declares  that  it  is  intended  to  force  mu- 
nicipal  operation. 

Chief  Engineer  George  H.  Rice  of  the  Rapid 
Transit  Commission  recommends  that  automatic 
ventilating  valves  should  be  placed  in  the  roofs  of 
the  subways,  midway  between  the  stations,  thus  ex- 
hausting the  foul  air  at  these  points.  The  cost  of 
these  valves  would  be  $275,000,  and  Mr.  Rice  states 
that  they  ought  to  be  put  in  before  June   1st. 

A  dispute  has  arisen  between  the  Rapid  Transit 
Commission  and  the  Interborough  Rapid  Transit 
Company  on  a  proposal  to  connect  the  feed  wires 
of  the  subway  with  those  of  the  surface  lines  in 
the  Bronx.  These  wires  would  run  partly  through 
conduits  built  by  the  city  along  the  walls  of  the 
subway,  at  a  cost  of  more  than  $1,500,000.  The 
engineers  of  the  Interborough  Rapid  Transit  Com- 
pany are  making  the  proposal  in  order  to  utilize 
surplus  power  from  the  subway  power  house  for 
the   Bronx   trolley   lines. 

It  is  stated  unofficially  that  the  New  York  Cen- 
tral Railroad  is  not  disposed  to  substitute  a  tunnel 
for  its  surface  tracks  on  Eleventh  Avenue,  as  re- 
quired uy  recent  legislation,  but  is  suggesting  that 
it  should  be  allowed  to  put  up  an  elevated  line. 
W.  J.  Wilgus,  vice-president  of  the  New  York 
Central,  states  that  the  engineering  difficulties  of 
constructing  a  subway  so  near  to  the  river  front 
would  be  almost  insurmountable,  and  it  would  be 
entirely  too  expensive. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Electrical  Engineering  So- 
ciety of  Columbia  University  on  Wednesday  even- 
ing, H.  D.  Hawks  of  the  General  Electric  Company 
read  a  paper,  illustrated  with  lantern  slides,  on 
"Electric  Locomotives,"  his  general  idea  being  to 
point  out  the  advantages  of  the  direct-current  sys- 
tem of  traction  to  be  used  on  the  New  York  Cen- 
tral Railroad.  Mr.  Hawks'  address  was  an  analysis 
of  the  paper  on  the  same  subject  read  by  B.  G. 
Lamme  before  the  New  York  Railroad  Club,  as 
recorded  in  the  Western  Electrician  for  March  24th. 
A  second  paper,  on  "Gasoline-electric  Cars,  as  Re- 
cently Installed  on  the  Delaware  and  Hudson 
Railroad,"  was  read  by  Mr.  H.  G.  F.  G.  Chatain  of 
the  General  Electric  Company.  Both  speakers  are 
graduates  of  Columbia  University  of  the  class  of  '95. 
The  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  Company  is  con- 
templating the  construction  of  an  elevated  terminal 
at  the  Manhattan  end  of  the  Williamsburg  Bridge 
to  accommodate  eight-car  trains,  at  a  cost  of  $100,- 
000.  Longer  platforms  are  also  planned  for  the 
stations  on  the  connecting  Brooklyn  lines.  The 
work,  if  finally  approved,  can  be  accomplished  in 
about    16   months. 

The  executive  officers  and  engineering  staff  of 
the  New  York  City  Railway,  under  the  chairman- 
ship of  A.  E.  Aeby  of  the  Pennsylvania  Steel  Com- 
pany, gave  a  farewell  dinner  on  Friday  evening 
to  W.  Boardman  Reed,  who  is  retiring  from  the 
position  of  chief  engineer.  President  Vreeland  pre- 
sented to  Mr.  Reed  engrossed  resolutions  and  a 
$400  ring,  and  the  legal  department  of  the  company 
gave  him   a  gold  watch. 

On  Monday  next  George  W.  Kittredge  will  be- 
come chief  engineer  of  the  New  York  Central  and 
West    Shore    railroads,    in    succession    to  H.    Fern- 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

strom,  who  resigned  some  months  ago.  Mr.  Kit- 
tredge is  50  years  of  age,  a  native  of  Andover, 
Mass.,  a  graduate  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of 
Technology,  and  until  recently  chief  engineer  of  the 
Cleveland,  Cincinnati,  Chicago  and  St.  Louis  Rail- 
way. 

Franchise  terms  have  been  agreed  upon  between 
the  Board  of  Estimate  and  the  Atlantic  Telephone 
Company,  after  six  months'  negotiations.  The  com- 
pany, which  is  Independent,  agrees  to  pay  the  city 
a  minimum  aggregate  of  $3,000,000  for  a  25-year 
grant  to  do  a  general  telephone  business  in  the  city. 
Harry  P.  Nichols,  chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Fran- 
chises, originally  reported  in  favor  of  a  compensa- 
tion of  $7,750,000.  The  company  insists  on  the  right 
to  lay  its  wires  in  the  ducts  of  the  Empire  City 
Subway  Company,  which  are  partly  owned  by  the 
New  York  Telephone  Company.  The  company 
agrees  to  establish  a  five-cent  interborough  rate 
and  low  rates  for  outside  connections.  Various  le- 
gal details  have  yet  to  be  fought  out.  The  Atlantic 
company  is  connected  with  the  New  York  and  East- 
ern Telegraph  and  Telephone  Company,  which  held 
its  annual  meeting  on  Tuesday,  when  the  control 
of  the  affairs  of  the  company  passed  from  D.  A. 
Reynolds  to  Paul  E.  de  Fere. 

The  Beck  Flaming  Lamp  Company,  with  an  office 
at  Canton,  St.  Lawrence  County,  New  York,  has 
been  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $300,000.  This 
company  will  manufacture  the  Beck  arc  lamp,  as 
described  in  the  Western  Electrician  of  July  15, 
1905.  The  directors  are  C.  J.  Klebere,  L.  J.  Auer- 
bacher   and    S.    S.   Newton,   all  of  New   York. 

D.  W.  W. 


Southeastern  States. 

Charlotte,  N.  C,  April  7. — The  town  of  Tusca- 
loosa, Ala.,  has  granted  a  franchise  to  Robert  Jemi- 
son  of  Birmingham  for  establishing  public  utilities, 
including  electric  lights,   street   railways,   etc. 

The  city  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  will  save  about 
$38,000  a  year  under  the  terms  of  a  new  contract 
with  the  Louisville  Lighting  Company,  which  takes 
effect  on  May  1st.  The  city  will  pay  $65  for  arc 
lights  instead  of  $84,  the  former  rate. 

The  Louisville  (Ky.)  Lighting  Company  will 
expend  the  sum  of  $300,000  in  improvements  that 
are  contemplated,  including  a  new  turbine  unit  with 
a  capacity  of  3,000  kilowatts.  The  investment  has 
been  authorized  and  work  will  likely  start  in  a 
short  time  and  will  be  completed  about  October  1st. 
The  stockholders  of  the  Birmingham  Railway, 
Light  and  Power  Company  have  voted  an  addi- 
tional issue  of  $1,000,000  preferred  stock  to  be  sold 
at  par  to  the  present  holders,  making  the  total 
stock  $7,000,000,  half  preferred  and  half  common.  A 
meeting  of  the  directors  followed,  at  which  the 
authorized   $1,000,000  was   voted   unanimously. 

A  decision  has  been  rendered  in  the  County 
Court  declaring  the  franchise  of  the  Louisville 
Traction  Company  non-assessable,  and  the  company 
thus  wins  a  back-tax  suit,  the  Louisville  Railway 
Company  paying  taxes  on  the  property  represented 
by  the  traction  company's  franchise.  It  was  further 
decided,  however,  that  the  traction  company  owed 
back  taxes  on  certain  amounts,  it  being  alleged  that 
the  traction  company  had  transferred  to  the  account 
of  the  railway  company  $700,000  in  cash,  the  Louis- 
ville railway  now  being  sued  for  taxes  on  that 
amount. 

At  an  enthusiastic  meeting  of  the  Albany  (Ga.) 
Business  League  a  resolution  was  adopted  that  a 
committee  immediately  take  up  the  matter  of  the  city 
ownership  of  an  electric-railway  system,  the  power 
to  be  brought  from   Big   Shoals. 

The  fight  in  the  city  of  Richmond,  Va.,  over  the 
establishment  of  a  municipal  lighting  plant  is  still 
being  waged  and  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the  com- 
mittees on  finance  and  electricity  a  report  by  A.  W. 
Trafford,  appointed  to  make  the  investigation,  was 
heard.  The  report  favored  municipal  ownership 
and  stated  that  the  present  cost  of  lighting  to  the 
city  would  more  than  pay  interest  on  the  amount 
needed  for  a  complete  plant.  On  the  other  hand 
the  present  electric-lighting  interests  are  naturally 
opposing  the  measure. 

A  letter  was  recently  received  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  from  B.  H.  Ritchie  of  Emporia,  Kan.,  asking 
for  information  upon  municipal  ownership,  includ- 
ing street  railways,  etc.  Captain  Chester  Harding 
replied  that  Washington  owns  only  its  water  sys- 
tem ;  that  there  was  no  agitation  for  municipal  own- 
ership, and  that  such  ownership  is  not  practicable 
or  advisable,  especially  where  a  bond  issue  is  neces- 
sary to  raise  funds.  L. 


New  England. 

Boston,  Mass.,  April  7. — The  board  of  directors 
of  the  Boston  Chamber  of  Commerce  has  vigor- 
ously protested  against  the  passage  of  a  bill  au- 
thorizing the  construction  of  subways  by  the  Bos- 
ton Elevated  Railway  Company,  which  is  now  be- 
fore the  Massachusetts  Legislature.  The  board 
objects  to  any  legislation  which  will  abrogate  or 
curtail  any  of  the  city's   rights  under  existing  laws. 

The  increased  use  of  arc  lights  in  lighting  Bos- 
ton is  shown  in  a  statement  recently  issued  in  con- 
nection with  the  agitation  for  municipal  ownership 
of  the  city's  lighting  plants.  During  the  year  ended 
January  31,  1899,  the  city  spent  $368,446  for  2,893 
electric   lights,   or  $127  per  light.     During  the  year 


ApriL  14,   1906 . 

ended  January  31,  1905,  the  city  spent  $441,174  for 
3,731  arc  lamps,  or  $118  per  light.  The  first-named 
year  was  the  last  in  which  the  city  did  its  own 
lighting,  the  work  having  been  done  by  a  company 
since   then. 

The  Hartford  (Conn.)  street  commissioners  have 
voted  to  order  the  removal  of  all  overhead  electric 
wires  within  half  a  mile  of  the  Hartford  City  Hall 
before  October  1st.  The  Hartford  Electric  Light 
Company,  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company, 
the  Southern  New  England  Telephone  Company 
and  the  Holmes  Electric  Protective  Company  are 
affected   by   the  order. 

A  Hartford  County  (Conn.)  Superior  Court  judge 
has  granted  the  city  of  New  Britain's  motion  that 
the  state  of  Connecticut  be  made  a  party  plaintiff 
to  the  city's  suit  against  the  New  York,  New  Ha- 
ven and  Hartford  Railroad  Company,  in  which  the 
city  asks  for  the  discontinuance  of  the  company's 
third-rail  electric  service  within  the  city  limits,  on 
the  ground  that  it  is  a  menace  and  danger  to  the 
public.  It  is  said  that  if  it  is  assured  that  there  is 
serious  opposition  to  the  third  rail,  the  company 
will   abandon   the   services. 

The    United    Electric    Signal    Company    of   Attle-  I 
boro,  Mass.,  has  been  incorporated  in  this  state.     It 
has   a   capital   of   $200,000.     Stephen   A.    Wood,    Jo- 
seph   M.    Metcalf,    Frederick    G.    Hovey,    Ralph    C. 
Estes  and  Louise  R.  Barrett  are  the  incorporators. 

The  Boston  Elevated  Railway  Company  is  equip- 
pin"-   its   open   surface   cars   with   side   rails   to  pre-    J 
vent    passengers    getting    on    and    off    the    left    side 
of  the  cars. 

M.  C.  Allen,  special  agent  for  the  American 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company,  has  been  in 
Worcester,  Mass.,  offering  positions  to  members  of 
the  senior  class  of  the  Worcester  Polytechnic  In- 
stitute,  for  their  acceptance  after  graduation. 

New  Haven  (Conn.)  people  are  forming  a  com- 
pany to  run  a  line  of  electric  stages  between  that 
city  and  East  Rock,  which  will  compete  with  the 
Consolidated  Railway  Company.  During  the  sum- 
mer the   stages   will  be   run  to   Savin   Rock. 

The  fund  committee  of  the  Massachusetts  Insti- 
tute of  Technology  alumni  has  raised  $241,000  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Institute.  This  amount  was  con- 
tributed by  1,250  men.  The  following  alumni  have 
been  elected  members  of  the  corporation  governing 
tne  Institute :  For  five  years — Charles  T.  Main. 
'76,  Frederick  W.  Wood,  '77,  and  T.  C.  Du  Pont, 
'84 ;  for  four  years — Frederick  E.  Copeland,  '76, 
Joseph  P.  Gray,  '77,  and  Frank  L.  Locke,  '86;  for 
three  years — Eben  S.  Stevens,  '68,  Richard  H. 
Soule,  '72,  and  Frederick  H.  Nowell,  '85.  Three 
alumni   will  be  elected  in  1907  and  three  in  1908 


Ohio. 

Cleveland,  April  7. — The  Chamber  of  Commerce 
of  Cleveland  has  recommended  that  the  Cleveland 
Electric  Railway  Company  be  granted  a  new  fran- 
chise for  25  years,  in  consideration  of  a  reduction 
of  fares  within  the  city  to  three  tickets  for  10 
cents,  15  for  50  cents,  or  30  for  $1,  to  be  used  for 
single  fare  without  transfer,  and  five  cents  for  a 
cash  fare  or  when  a  transfer  is  desired.  A  single 
fare  would  carry  a  passenger  to  the  river  from 
the  east  line  and  to  Erie  Street  from  the  west  lines. 
Mayor  Johnson  is  not  favorable  to  such  an  ar- 
rangement, nor  is  the  railway  company,  it  seems. 
Mr.  Johnson  wants  three-cent  fares.  Again,  such 
an  arrangement  would  work  a  hardship  upon  labor- 
ing people  who  are  compelled  to  transfer. 

The  Ft.  Wayne-Lima  line,  it  is  said,  now  holds 
the  record  for  fast-schedule  time.  Trains  make  the 
distance  of  32%  miles  in  60  minutes,  including  five 
stops  at  stations  and  three  stops  at  railroad  cross- 
ings. 

At  a  caucus  of  the  members  of  the  Cleveland 
City  Council,  a  few  days  ago,  it  was  decided  that 
$40,000  will  be  spent  in  making  additions  and  ex- 
tensions   to    the    city    light    plant. 

H.  H.  Clough  and  associates  have  asked  for  a 
franchise  for  a  belt  line  in  Elyria.  The  proposed 
line  would  take  in  the  factory  district  as  well  as 
extend  around  the  city.  The  Cleveland  and  South- 
western has  been  desirous  of  building  such  a  line 
also,  and  the  Lake  Shore  has  been  seeking  an  en- 
trance to  the  heart  of  the  town  on  some  plan. 
A.  L.  Garford,  the  wTell-known  manufacturer,  is 
interested,    with  others,    in  the   matter. 

The  first  of  an  order  of  25  gasoline-electric  cars 
has  been  completed  for  the  New  York  Central  by 
the  Wellman-Seaver-Morgan  Company  at  the  Akron 
shops.  The  gasoline  engine  and  generator  are  placed 
under  the  car,  and  the  entire  space  in  the  car  may 
be  used  for  passenger  purposes.  The  coach  will 
seat  60  passengers  and  is  built  after  the  pattern 
of  coaches  now  in  use  on  the  road. 

A  franchise  has  been  granted  by  the  council  at 
Upper  Sandusky  to  John  J.  Barber  of  Toledo,  rep- 
resenting the  Findlay,  Carey.  LTpper  Sandusky  and 
Marion  Electric  Railway  Company,  to  build  an  elec- 
tric railway  through  the  town.  Should  this  line 
be  built  it  will  supply  the  link  connecting  Columbus 
and   Toledo  by  a  comparatively  direct  line. 

The  Ely  syndicate  is  said  to  be  negotiating  for 
the  purchase  of  the  property  of  the  Steubenville 
Traction  Company  and  the  Steubenville  and  Wells- 
ville  line.  The  traction  company  owns  the  electric- 
light    and    gas   plants   also,    and    operates    a    line    to 


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lugs  In   Ea  id  1 11  1  'In' 

I  he    Dayton    and     1  roy,    thi     '••''■  ■   tern    Ohio 

1I1,     1  oli  'i"   1  '1  ban  and    tnl ban   h 

thai    afti  1    ''.1 1 h    i ■  ill  be 

,   ,.,1,1,  hed    hi  iv,,,. 1    Dayton    and     loledo    ai 

,.,    1., 1,     will    be    charged      VII    thi     clectrii 

road    in. 1  1  !■  i''1 1 (  " 

.   'I     ,    11. 1    1. n,    ,,ii    ill,,    limited    train  ,    and 
,,, .,\  l„    taken     1 Ij   on  thi     1 

1  h,    Columbus   Railway  and    I  ighl    I 

arranged    to    doubl,   track    the    We  1    Broad      treel 
line.    A dinam  1   i    noi    1 lin h  il  p 

1  In    1  olumlui  ,    1 Ion   and  Springfield   and    thi 

1  lolumbu  ,     Grove     City     and     South wi   ti  rn     ha « 

adopt'  'l  1!"   n    01 1 "'il' 1 1  .    tlthough  noni 

,,1   tn    otln  1     Vppli  yard   road  1  ha'  1    ,-el   taken   il   up 
.1     ,.1    < 


Indiana. 

Indianapolis,  April  7.     I  he  Lafayette  and  Logans- 

, .,,1 pan)    I1.1     1 incorporated  with 

.,  capital   stock  of  $500,000.     I  he   ii poratoi     an 

Frank    II.  Cutshall,   Henrj    E.   \  ordermark,  Samuel 

1.,  Morris,    Frederick     II.    Si  I Il    and     I  rcdcrii  I 

|,    \\     s,  In  mi, urn,  .ill  ol   l'i    \\  ayne.     I  he  1  ompany 

proposes  to  build  and  operate  streel    ind   urban 

propi  rtics  and   furnish  electric  light,  heal  and  powci 

1  I,,    \ linn      I  raction  and  Light   Company  has 

1.1,  ,1   , 1,  ,   ol    poration   with   a   capital  stock 

,,,   $200,1  '„'      1  he  company  expects  to   run   a    tra, 
,,,,,,  line  through  Knox,  Daviess,  Gibson  and  Sulli 
vim  counties.     The  incorporators,  owners  of  $10,000 
WOrth   of   stock   of   the   Vinccnnes    Streel    Railwa" 
are   Benjamin   1 1    and    VToi  ris    I  [udnul   and   (  harles 

\    1, ,n   ni     fcrre    Haute,   William   Foley  of  St. 

I  ouis   and  1  le E     I  [enry  of    Vincennes. 

The  directors  of  the  Evansville  and  Eastern  In- 
tcrurban  Company   have  signed  a  mortgage  for  $550,- 

,  go,   , ver  a   bond   issue   foi    that   amount   to   the 

Pittsburg  Bond  Company,  which  will  furnish  the 
necessary  capital  for  building  the  road  from  New- 
burg   to  Rockport,  Ind.    Construction  has  been  be 

The  council  of  Noblesville  has  granted  the  Capital 
City  Circuit  Traction  Company  a  30-year  franchise 
on  Conner  Street,  the  principal  residence  thorough 
fare  in  the  city.  According  to  the  terms  of  the 
franchise,  the  company  is  required  to  sweep  the 
street  over  which  the  line  runs,  light  the  street 
with  electricity  and  erect  a  modern  passenger  sta- 
tion. The  road  must  be  completed  and  in  opera- 
,,,,,,  by  January  1,  1910.  The  proposed  line  will 
connect  Noblesville,  Greenfield,  Shelbyville,  Frank- 
lin,   Danville  and   Lehanon. 

At  an  annual  meeting  in  Philadelphia  this  week 
Of  the  directors  of  the  Indiana  Union  Traction 
Company,  the  following-named  officers  were  elected: 
President,  Arthur  VV.  Brady  of  Anderson;  chairman 
hoard  of  directors,  George  F.  McCulloch  of  Muncie; 
first  vice-president,  J.  Levering  Jones  of  Philadel- 
phia; second  vice-president,  W.  Kelsey  Schoepf  of 
Cincinnati ;  third  vice-president,  D.  G.  Edwards  of 
Cincinnati :  treasurer  and  assistant  secretary,  John  J. 
Collier  of  Philadelphia;  secretary,  William  C.  Samp- 
Several  Ohio  members  of  the  Central  Electric 
Railway  Association  have  decided  to  stop  charging 
excess "  fares  for  limited  service  on  their  traction 
lines,  and  it  is  thought  the  same  policy  will  be 
adopted  by  all  the  interurbari  companies  in  Indiana 
and  Ohio.  The  Ft.  Wayne  and  Wabash  Valley 
Tr-ti;n  Company  is  willing  it  is  :-nd  to  drop 
the  excess  fares  immediately  if  the  other  lines  will 
follow  suit.  The  officers  of  the  Central  association 
are    advocating   the    straight-fare    policy. 

The  general  offices  of  the  Indianapolis  and  North- 
western Traction  Company  have  been  moved  from 
Lebanon  to  Indianapolis,  where  they  have  been 
consolidated  with  the  offices  of  the  other  companies 
in  the  traction  merger. 

The  City  Council  of  Linton  has  passed  an  ordi- 
nance asking  for  bids  for  the  purchase  of  the  mu- 
nicipal   electric-light    plant. 

The  Board  of  Public  Works  of  Terre  Haute  has 
made  a  five-vear  contract  with  the  traction  com- 
pany for  stre'et  lighting  at  $70  a  lamp.  This  puts 
an  end  to  municipal  lighting  for  at  least  five  years. 

S.  S. 


Ml.'    I  RIl 

riic    Eagli     Poinl    tl 

... 

il  out 
G.   C 

pany. 

Holler  &  Hartung  of  Van  Horni 
plat,-  putting  in  a  largi 

\V    1 ,  .  poratcd 

the    Beltrami    Electric  1 

,    B, 1         il  :       ■■  ith   a  capitaliz;  I 


Pacific  Slope. 


Northwestern  States. 

Minneapolis,  April  7..— The  foreclosure  sale  of  the 
Benton  Power  and  Traction  Company  of  St.  Cloud, 
Minn.,  took  place  April  2d,  the  Granite  City  Rail- 
way Company  being  the  only  bidder  and  securing 
the  property  at  $35,748.  There  will  be  no  change 
in  the  management,  E.  E.  Clark  remaining  as  man- 
ager. 

The  state  Legislature  has  granted  permission  to 
the  Fort  Dodge,  Des  Moines  and  Southern  Railroad 
Company  to  build  an  electric  railway  through  the 
college  grounds  at  Ames,  Iowa.  This  insures  an- 
other  interurban  line  for  Des    Moines,   Iowa. 

The  Minneapolis  City  Council  has  passed  a  res- 
olution directing  the  removal  of  all  poles  and  elec- 
tric wires  in  streets  on  which  new  paving  is  or- 
dered, and  conduits  must  be  provided  if  the  various 
companies    would    use    these    streets. 

The  Iowa  Gas-electric  Railway  Company  has 
been  formed  and  proposes  to  establish  a  chain  of 
electric  railways  from  Sioux  Falls,  S.  D.,  to  Kansas 


San     Franci  1 0,      Kpi  il  I  he     Northern 

fornia    Powei    Compan  an  additional 

\\  •    1  in,, 1 111  rator 

1,. 1    ,,,  tall  ition 

,  ompany'     tran  m  in   with 

,1 il,,    1  alifoi  ma  G  I 

h,,, 11    1  In,,,,  and   the   latter  company  will   pur 

chase  all  the  surplus  p  rmer,     Further 

,.,,,,,  1  ion     an    being   made  and   the   Northern  Cali- 

foi in pan     is  m 

ing  dp,  idend  . 

I  he   11    en      Ri  1  1     W  ati  1    and    Power   <  ompany 
,,f  San  Francisco  now  has  good  prospects  for  push- 
ing  its   electric   transmi  omplction. 
I,,    i„   1   watei   right*  ,,n  the  Owens  River  in  Call 
fornia    are    held    by    this    company,    which    I, 
engaged  in  hydraulic  development  on  a  small 
i,  1     ,  veral   years   past,      I  hi     1  ompanj    pi  tni 
be   the   first   to   transmit    current    about    [00   miles    to 
Tonopah  and  Goldfield,  Nev.     Various  obstructions 
wen    thrown   in    the   way   and    in    the   meantime   an- 
other company  completed  the  firsl  transmission  line 

into    the      Ion,, pah     region        The    present     |u 
are  for  the  Owen,   Ivivci    Compan).  which  ha*  ample 
capital    available,    to    carry    out    its  original    plans  in 
short    order. 

The  Santa  Rosa  and  Northern  Railroad  has  been 
incorporated  with  a  capital  stock  of  $500,000  by 
W  A  Cattcll,  W.  T.  McMurray,  W.  G.  Taylor, 
J.  H.  Sanford  and  P.  S.  Scales,  all  of  Santa  Rosa. 
The  company  will  build  a  road  from  Santa  Rosa 
to  Hcaldsburg  and  thence  up  the  Dry  Creek  Val- 
ley to  the  Geyserville  and  Skaggs  Springs  wagon 
road,  an  estimated  distance  of  23  miles.  The  road 
will  probabb  be  an  electric  road,  as  the  persons 
interested  in  this  road  are  also  interested  in  the 
Petaluma  and   Santa  Rosa,  an  electric  road. 

The  California  Gas  and  Electric  Company  is  plan- 
ning a  big  power  line  to  supply  Vallejo.  Cal ,  and 
the  government  shops  on  Mare  Island  direct  from 
its  present  trunk  system  at  Cordelia.  A  big  force 
of  men  is  now  being  assembled  and  material  is  ar- 
riving at  South  Vallejo  and  at  Cordelia  for  the 
work. 

The  Shasta  Electric  Company  has  been  incorpo- 
rated with  a  capital  stock  of  $1,000,000  by  C.  \\ . 
Fancher.  R.  C.   Wilson  and  W.   E.  Wretman. 

The  Inland  Power  and  Electric  Company  has 
been  incorporated  with  a  capita!  stock  of  $1,000,000. 
of  which  $700,000  is  in  the  treasury.  Offices  have 
been  opened  in  the  Mohawk  Building  in  Spokane, 
Wash. 

The  Grays  Harbor  Lighting  Company  of  Aber- 
deen, Wash.,  has  been  reorganized  under  the  new 
name  of  the  Grays  Harbor  Railroad  and  Lighting 
Company  and  new  articles  of  association  have  been 
filed.  The  capital  stock  is  $500,000  and  the  incor- 
porators are  G.  F.  Stone,  J.  W.  Geary  and  J.  B. 
Bridges. 

The  General  Electric  Company  of  Portland,  Ore., 
which  recently  purchased  the  Citizens'  Light  and 
Traction  Company  of  Salem,  will  install  600  addi- 
tional horsepower  at  the  Salem  plant  and  will  also 
add  250  additional  horsepower  boiler  capacity,  mak- 
ing 1. 100  horsepower  available  for  transmission. 
Plans  are  perfected  for  transmitting  power  at 
60.000  volts  from  Oregon  City  for  the  Willamette 
Valley  Traction  Company  to  furnish  light  and  power 
to  all  towns  along  its  line.  A. 


PERSONAL 

With  the  February  number  of  the  Electrical  Age 
the  editorial  connection  of  Mr.  Albert  Spies  with 
that  journal  ended,  having  extended  from  January. 
1904,   to  Februarys   1906. 

H.  B.  Wales,  manager  of  the  Salisbury-Spencer 
(N.  C.)  Electric  Railway  Company,  has  resigned 
to  accept  another  position.  He  will  be  succeeded 
by  James  A.   Trimble  of  Grand  Rapids,   Mich. 

R.  H.  MacMullan,  general  manager  of  the  Des 
Moines  (Iowa)  Edison  Light  Company,  lias  sent 
word  that  he  will  return  to  Des  Moines  a*  ■ 
the  weather  is  more  favorable.  After  recovering 
from  an  illness  last  October.  Mr.  MacMullan  was 
taken  with  an  attack  of  pneumonia  and  a  few  days 
later   suffered  from  bronchitis.     As  a  result  he  has 


I 

the     well-kni 

Columli 
bus,  Oh 

irn   he    will    resign   in 
I. ■mi, ,n    1 

Albert    Schcible,    wi 
all  ti-'  1 

Mr.   Cutter.     It   i-   understood  that   .'.: 
10  head  a  new  manufacturing  company  with  head- 
quarters  in  Chi 
The  death  occurred 

the    original  inl 

irol    il,.     I 

trie    railway.     He    retired    fron 

lusc  of  declining  health.  His  death 
was  111  ...     The  funeral   war  held  in 

n    April  5th. 
Henry    Williams    l'arkhiir-i, 
the  Western  Society  of  Engineers  and  until 

1  the  Illinois  Central  road,  died  at 
St.  Luke's  Hospital  in  Chicago  on  April  71I1.  He 
was  struck  by  an  Illinois  Central  locomotive  while 
grossing    the    company1  Windsor    Park 

February  20th,  sustaining  a  fracture  of  the  skull. 

General  Eugene  Griffin,  first  vice-president  of  the 

I  Electric  Company,  sailed  from  New  York 
on  April  10th  on  the  steamer  Graf  VValdes* 
eral  Griffin  plans  an  extended  trip  in  England  and 
on  the  continent,  largely  for  rc-t  and  recreation. 
As  he  is  a  director  in  the  French  Thomson- 
Houston  Company  and  vice-chairman  of  the  Brit- 
ish Thomson-Houston  Company,  these  interests  will 
naturally  claim  a   portion  of  bis  lime. 

T.  F.  Grover.  formerly  vice-president  and  general 
manager  of  the  Eastern  Wisconsin  Railway  and 
Light  Company  of  Fond  du  Lac.  Wis.,  and  more 
recently  connected  with  the  financial  end  of  various 
electrical  properties,  has  now  taken  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Trinidad  Electric  Railroad  Company 
and  the  Trinidad  Light  and  Power  Company  of 
Trinidad.  Colo.  Mr.  Grover  has  a  wide  acquaint- 
ance throughout  the  Northwest,  and  was  particu- 
larly well  known  among  the  members  of  the  North- 
western Electrical  Association,  in  the  affairs  of 
which  he  took  a  prominent  part. 

Francis  W.  Parker,  state  senator  in  the  Illinois 
Legislature,  is  a  candidate  for  the  Republican  nom- 
ination for  Congress  in  the  Second  Cong- 
District  of  Illinois,  comprising  a  large  part  of  the 
South  Side  of  Chicago.  Mr.  Parker  is  a  patent 
lawyer  well  kown  to  many  electrical  men  of  Chi- 
cago. W.  Clyde  Jones  is  a  candidate  for  the  Re- 
publican nomination  for  state  senator.  He  is  a 
lawyer  who  has  made  electrical  litigation  a  specialty. 
He  was  an  organizer  and  president  of  the  old 
Chicago  Electrical  Association  and  is  treasurer  of 
the  Benjamin  Electric  Manufacturing  Company. 

The  resignation  of  Prof.  Frederick  R.  Hutton 
from   the   secretaryship 

Mechanical  Engineers  is  pending.  He  has  held  the 
position  for  23  years,  but  feels  that  the  work  re- 
quires a  secretary  who  can  devote  his  entire  time 
to  it.  His  services  have  been  considered  indis- 
pensable, and  an  effort  will  be  made  to  make  an 
arrangement  by  which  Mr.  Hutton  will  bi 
ignated  as  honorary  secretary,  with  another  man  to 
attend  to  the  detail  work.  Professor  Hutton  is  the 
head  of  the  department  of  mechanical  engineering 
of  Columbia  University. 

D.  G.  Edwards,  vice-president  in  charge  of  traffic 
of  the  so-called  merger  traction  lines  of  Indiana, 
announces  that  Frank  D.  Norviel  has  been  ap- 
pointed assistant  general  passenger  and  freight  agent 
of  the  Indiana  Union  Traction  Company.  Indianap- 
olis and  Northwestern  Traction  Company.  Indianap- 
olis and  Martinsville  Rapid  Transit  Company.  In- 
dianapolis and  Eastern  Railway  Company,  Indi- 
-  Coal  Traction  Company.  Richmond  Street 
and  Interurban  Railway  Company  and  Ft.  Wayne. 
Van  Wert  and  Lima  Traction  Company.  This  pro- 
motion   makes   Mr.    Norviel   traffic   manager   for   all 


3o8 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April  14,   1906 


the  lines  in  Indiana  owned  by  the  Dolan-McGowan 
syndicate.  All  passenger  and  freight  agents  of  the 
■lines  named  will  report  to  him  and  receive  in- 
structions and  tariffs  from  his  office  in  the  Traction 
Terminal    Building,  Indianapolis. 

Charles  Haynes  Haswell  is  the  oldest  engineer 
in  the  world  in  active  practice,  says  the  Scientific 
American,  He  is  96  years  of  age  and  is  consulting 
engineer  to  the  Board-  of  Estimate  and  Apportion- 
ment of  New  York  city-.  He  never  misses  a  day 
at  his  office,  it  is  said.  Mr.  Haswell  built  the  first 
practical  steam  yacht,  built  the  first  steam  warship 
for  the  United  States,  was  the  first  engineer-in- 
chief  of  the  United  States  Navy,  and  designed  and 
superintended  the  construction  of  warships  and 
other  vessels,  the  foundations  of  buildings  and 
bridges,  etc.  He  is  the  author  of  Haswell's  Engi- 
neers' and  Mechanics'  Pocket  Book,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  leading  engineering  societies. 

C.  R.  Maunsell  has  resigned  as  manager  of  the 
Edison  Electric  Illuminating  Company  of  Topeka, 
Kan.  His  action  results  from  the  passing  of  the 
control  of  the  Edison  company  to  the  street-rail- 
way company  of  Topeka,  controlled  by  L.  E.  Myers 
and  associates.  Mr.  Maunsell  is  an  active  worker 
in  the  National  Electric  Light  Association.  He  is 
an  authority  on  district  heating  and  is  well  known 
to  electrical  men.  F.  F.  Maunsell,  chief  electrician 
of  the  Topeka  Lighting  Company,  has  also  re- 
signed to  take  a  position  as  superintendent  of  the 
electric-light  plant  at  St.  Joseph,  Mo.  John  T. 
Huntington,  who  left  the  Elgin,  Aurora  and  South- 
ern Traction  Company,  has  succeeded  C.  R.  Maun- 
sell  at  the   Topeka  plant. 

Mrs.  R.  H.  Pierce,  wife  of  Richard  H.  Pierce, 
died  in  Newtonville,  Mass.,  on  April  7th  after  an 
operation  for  appendicitis.  Before  removing  to  Bos- 
ton three  years  ago  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pierce  were  for 
many  vears  residents  of  Chicago,  where  Mr.  Pierce 
was  head  of  the  engineering  firm  of  Pierce,  Rich- 
ardson &  Neiler.  Mr.  Pierce  is  well  known  and 
highly  esteemed  among  electrical  engineers.  He 
was  electrical  engineer  in  charge  of  construction 
and  operation  at  the  Chicago  World's  Fair  of  1S93 
and  chief  engineer  of  the  power  plant  of  the  St. 
Louis  World's  Fair  of  1904.  Mrs.  Pierce  was  a 
daughter  of  Elisha  Morrow  of  Green  Bay,  Wis., 
and  a  lady  of  quick  intelligence,  gracious  manner 
and  high  "character.  The  bereaved  husband  is  the 
recipient  of  the  sincere  sympathy  of  his  friends. 


ELECTRIC  LIGHTING 

Weatherford,  Okla.,  is  contemplating  a  municipal 
electric-light  plant 

The  Home  Light  and  Power  Company  of  Gales- 
burg.  111.,  has  petitioned  for  a  franchise  to  operate 
a  light  plant. 

F.  J.  Holman  and  J.  W.  Smead  of  Spokane  have 
been  granted  a  franchise  for  an  electric-light  plant 
in  Odessa,  Wash. 

Arrangements  are  being  made  for  the  establish- 
ment of  an  independent  lighting  plant  to  supply 
Fort   Sam   Houston,   Texas. 

The  Chickasha  Light  and  Power  Company  has 
been  given  a  franchise  to  install  an  electric-light 
system   in   Chickasha,   I.   T. 

The  Goodland  (Kan.)  Heat  and  Power  Company 
has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock  of  $50,- 
coo,    and   will   put   in    an   electric-light   plant. 

The  Home  Light  and  Power  Company  of  Gales- 
burg  111 .  has  been  incorporated  by  E.  P.  Hobson, 
Harry  Gardt  and  I.  S.  Callender.  It  is  proposed 
to  furnish  light,  heat  and  power. 

The  Villa  Grove  (111.)  Electric  Company,  pro- 
posing to  operate  an  electric-light  and  water  plant 
in  Villa  Grove,  has  been  incorporated  by  V.  J.  El- 
more, E.  C.  Elmore  and  C.  W.  Hageman. 

The  concentrator,  power  house  and  electric-light 
plant  of  the  Pennsylvania  and  Wyoming  company 
at  Grand  Encampment.  Cheyenne,  Wyo.,  is  said  to 
have  been  destroyed  by  fire  at  a  loss  of  $300,000; 
insurance,  $154,000. 

The  South  Bullfrog  Gas  and  Telephone  Company 
of  Los  Angeles  is  making  arrangements  to  install 
an  electric  plant  for  light  and  power  purposes  at 
Beatty,  Nev.  The  plant  will  have  a  capacity  of 
500  horsepower,  machinery,  including  gas  plant  and 
generators,  having  been  ordered. 

President  H.  W.  Goode  is  said  to  have  confirmed 
the  report  that  the  Portland  General  Electric  Com- 
pany has  closed  a  deal  whereby  it  assumes  the 
ownership  of  the  Citizens'  Light  and  Traction  Com- 
pany of  Salem,  Ore.,  and  the  Union  Light  and 
Power  Company  of  Silverton.  The  two  plants  will 
be  consolidated  under  the  name  of  the  Citizens' 
Light  and  Power  Company  of  Saiem,  and  the  head- 
quarters  and  management   will   remain    in   that   city. 


Pa.,  a  distance  of  11  miles.  A  power  house  will 
be  erected  at  Tarentum  at  a  cost  of  $27,000.  The 
equipment    for   the  plant   will   cost  $80,000. 

Ohio  papers  have  been  printing  items  to  the  effect 
that  the  New  York  Central  has  secured  the  con- 
necting link  which  will  join  Cleveland  and  Buffalo 
by  trolley,  and  later  on  connect  New  York  and 
Port  Huron,  Mich.,  a  distance  of  911  miles.  The 
company  has  options  on  all  but  the  Pennsylvania 
and  Ohio  Traction  Company's  lines,  it  is  said,  be- 
tween Ashtabula  and  Conneaut.  Conneaut  and  Jef- 
ferson people,  who  own  the  line,  held  out,  but  it 
is  now  reported  that  an  option  has  been  secured 
from  the  McGovern  syndicate,  which  controls  the 
road. 

The  formal  concession  for  the  proposed  Alpine 
railway  from  Brig  to  Gletsch  has  recently  been 
granted  to  Messrs.  Imfeld  and  Stubb  by  the  federal 
authorities.  This  line,  of  standard  gauge,  will  start 
from  Naters,  near  the  northern  mouth  of  the  Sim- 
plon  Tunnel,  and  ascend,  by  steep  gradients,  to  the 
top  of  the  Rhone  Valley,  a  distance  of  42  kilome- 
ters. The  line  is  intended  principally  for  the  con- 
veyance of  tourists  to  see  the  snow-slide,  known 
as  the  Rhone  Glacier,  about  a  mile  above  Gletsch. 
The  electric  motive  power  for  traction  will  be  gen- 
erated  by  waterfalls. 

The  city  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  has  lost  its  suit  in  the 
LTnited  States  Supreme  Court  against  the  Cleveland 
Electric  Railway  Company.  The  suit  involved  the 
city's  right  to  grant  a  charter  to  a  new  street-car 
company  in  Woodland  Avenue  in  the  face  of  the 
old  company's  contention  that  the  latter's  charter 
had  not  expired.  The  litigation  was  a  part  of  the 
city's  campaign  to  enforce  a  three-cent  fare.  The 
controversy  hinged  on  the  validity  of  an  extension 
of  a  previous  charter  to  the  old  corporation — an  ex- 
tension until  1908 — which  no  less  than  four  ordi- 
nances proved  to  have  been  actually  granted,  ac- 
cording   to    the    Supreme    Court. 

Within  the  last  fortnight,  says  the  Manufacturers' 
Record,  two  things  were  done  which  speak  elo- 
quently of  the  demand  for  high-speed  electric  rail- 
wavs  in  the  South.  One  was  the  letting  of  a  con- 
tract to  build  the  projected  line  from  Baltimore  to 
Washington,  and  the  other  was  the  beginning  of 
construction  on  the  line  from  Houston  to  Galves- 
ton. Considering  these  enterprises  in  connection 
with  the  Richmond  and  Chesapeake  Bay  electric 
railway,  now  building  in  Virginia,  and  other  pro- 
posed interurban-railroad  plans  in  the  southern 
states,  a  large  future  for  such  transportation  under- 
takings in  this  section  seems  to  be  fast  approaching. 


POWER  TRANSMISSION. 

In  addition  to  other  extensions  recently  an- 
nounced, the  Portland  (Ore.)  General  Electric  Com- 
pany has  adopted  plans  for  a  large  power  plant  at 
Oregon  City,  which,  will  involve  a  total  expenditure 
of  $2,000,000.  It  will  be  situated  at  the  east  end 
of  the  Willamette  River  Falls,  opposite  the  present 
plant,  known  as  Station  B.  Work  preparatory  to 
beginning  the  construction  of  the  building  will  be 
carried    on    during   low    water   this    summer. 


PUBLICATIONS. 


ELECTRIC  RAILWAYS 

The  Texas  Traction  Company  of  Sherman,  Texas, 
proposes  to  build  a  line  to  connect  with  Dallas. 
J.   F.   Strickland  is  president. 

The  Allegheny  Valley  (Pa.)  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany  will   construct  a  trolley   line   from    Aspinwall. 


The  Allis-Chalmers  Company  has  read-  for  dis- 
tribution a  new  bulletin  entitled  "Gates  lube  Mill 
for  Wet  Pulverizing  in  Mining  Work." 

To  follow  the  "beaten  path"  is  often  to  "get  in 
a  rut"  is.  the  warning  of  the  Calculagraph  Com- 
pany of  "New  York  city.  The  company  believes 
that  a  calculagraph  is  a  necessary  adjunct  to  the 
modern  factory  and  tells  why  in  a  little  booklet 
which   it   is   sending  out  to   the   trade. 

The  first  issue  of  a  monthly  magazine  called  The 
Third  Rail  has  made  its  appearance.  It  is  published 
by  the  benefit  association  of  the  employes  of  the 
Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  Company  and  is  devoted 
chiefly  to  the  interests  of  the  men  who  work  on 
the  cars  and  in  the  shops  and  stations  of  the  rail- 
way company.  Much  of  the  matter  is  contributed 
by  the  railway  men  themselves. 

A  leaflet  from  the  Pittsburg  Transformer  Com- 
pany of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  tells  of  the  winding  depart- 
ment in  the  company's  factory,  where  the  trans- 
former coils  are  made.  Illustrations  are  embodied 
showing  the  lathes  upon  which  the  coils  are  formed 
and  also  examples  of  the  completed  product.  An 
attractive  calendar  for  the  month  of  April  is  also 
included    among   the   company's    latest   literature. 

"General  Electric  Straight  Air-brake  Equipments," 
"G.E.  M  High-efficiency  High-candlepower  Incan- 
descent LTnits"  and  "Direct  and  Alternating-current, 
Automatic,  Carbon-break  Circuit-breakers,  Type  C, 
Form  G,"  are  the  titles  of  three  new  bulletins  is- 
sued recently  by  the  General  Electric  Company. 
The  company  has  at  the  same  time  ready  for  dis- 
tribution two  leaflets  on  sockets,  shades  and  port- 
ables and  upon  lightning-arrester  apparatus.  Still 
another  piece  of  literature  which  deserves  more 
than  passing  attention  is  the  new  General  Electric 
fan-motor  catalogue  for  1906.  This  is  a  highly 
artistic  bit  of  work,  and  although  the  attention  is 
at  once  arrested  by  the  bright  and  catchy  cover  de- 


sign, the  inside  of  the  booklet  is  no  less  interesting, 
containing  descriptions  of  an  extensive  line  of  fans, 
each  type  illustrated. 

Originality  is  one  of  the  distinguishing  features 
of  the  new  catalogue  on  Voltax  issued  by  the  Elec- 
tric Cable  Company  of  Bridgeport,  Conn.  It  is  in 
the  form  of  a  small  book  bound  in  boards,  the  read- 
ing matter  being  printed  on  a  heavy  grade  of 
slightly  tinted  paper.  Voltax  is  a  new  insulating 
compound  and  the  catalogue  contains  among  other 
things  descriptions  of  tests  made  upon  the  insula- 
tion by  the  Electrical   Testing  Laboratories. 

The  Exide  battery  instruction  book  for  1906,  is- 
sued by  the  Electric  Storage  Battery  Company  of 
Philadelphia,  is  now  ready.  It  will  be  found  help- 
ful to  storage-battery  users  who  have  Exide  cells, 
and  the  rules  set  forth  in  the  pamphlet,  if  followed 
strictly,  bring  the  best  results  from  the  batteries. 
The  pamphlet  embodies  a  description  of  the  bat- 
tery parts,  directions  for  charging,  taking  cells  out 
of  service,  the  use  of .  measuring  instruments,  and 
rules  for  assembling  and  for  the  general  care  of 
the  batteries. 


SOCIETIES  AND  SCHOOLS. 

Dr.  \V.  M.  Thornton  has  been  appointed  to  the 
newly  created  professorship  of  electrical  engineer- 
ing at  the  Armstrong  College.  Newcastle.  England. 
He  has  been  head  of  the  electrical  engineering  de- 
partment of  the  Armstrong  College  for  seven  years. 
A.  P.  Stradling  of  1  ji-141  South  Fourth  Street. 
Philadelphia,  has  been  appointed  master  of  trans- 
portation for  the  coming  meeting  of  the  National 
Fire  Protection  Association,  which  is  to  be  held  in 
Chicago.  May  22d-24th.  At  that  meeting  a  pro- 
posed amendment  to  the  articles  of  association  will 
come  up  for  consideration  allowing  individuals,  firms 
and  corporations  interested  in  the  protection  of  life 
and  property  against  loss  by  fire  to  be  eligible  for 
subscribing    membership. 

The  final  list  of  questions  for  the  1906  "Question 
Box"  of  the  National  Electric  Light  Association, 
edited  by  Mr.  Paul  Liipke  of  222  East  State  Street, 
New  York  city,  has  been  prepared.  A  few  things 
in  connection  with  the  answers  to  these  questions 
are  to  be  observed  for  the  convenience  of  the  editor. 
Each  answer  should  be  upon  a  separate  sheet  of 
paper,  signed  with  the  signature  that  the  contrih- 
utor  wishes  to  appear  in  print,  and  bearing  the 
number  of  the  question.  The  answers  "Yes"  and 
"No,"  though  they  are  to  the  point,  do  not  tell  the 
reasons  "why."  The  reasons  why  are  what  mem- 
bers of  the  association  want  to  know,  and  answers 
shaped  accordingly  will   do  the  most  good. 

The  eleventh  annual  convention  of  the  Interna- 
tional Association  of  Municipal  Electricians  will 
be  held  at  New  Haven.  Conn.,  August  15th.  16th 
and  17th.  At  this  meeting  the  following  papers 
will  be  presented  and  discussed:  "History  of  the 
Fire  Alarm  and  Police  Telegraph;"  "Details  of 
Certain  Auxiliaries  to  Fire-alarm  Apparatus;" 
"Advisability  of  Protecting  Municipal  Electricians 
by  the  Civil  Service  Laws;"  "Comparison  of  Un- 
derground and  Overhead  Wiring,  and  of  the  Rela- 
tive Values  of  Single,  Rubber-covered  Wire  and 
Lead-encased  Cable  for  Underground  Construc- 
tion:" "Conditions  Surrounding  the  Inspection  of 
Wires  in  the  Southwest."  In  addition  to  this,  the 
Question  Box  will  be  a  feature  at  this  meeting. 
Any  questions  for  explanation  should  be  sent  to 
the  secretary,  and  they  will  be  assigned  to  some- 
one who  is  "competent  to  answer  them  fully.  Mem- 
bership application  blanks  and  information  will  be 
furnished  bv  Secretary  Frank  P.  Foster,  Corning. 
N.   Y. 


MISCELLANEOUS, 

Alaskan  cable  and  telegram  tolls  paid  to  the 
United  States  government  in  March  aggregated 
$14,500.  and  exceeded  the  receipts  for  any  previous 
month.  In  the  fiscal  year  which  ended  last  June 
the  government  collected  more  than  $100,000  in 
tolls. 

The  Great  Falls  Electric  Properties,  incorporated 
at  Newark,  N.  J.,  proposes  to  construct  and  con- 
trol street  railways,  amusement  parks  and  water- 
power  in  any  part  of  the  world.  The  capital  is 
$1,000,000  and  the  incorporators  are  Pressley  E. 
Bisland,  William  S.  Brayton  and  Robert  Randall. 

Space  telegraphy  was  put  in  public  service  on 
January  1,  1906,  at  Mazatlan.  Mexico,  and  mes- 
sages are  now  being  sent  and  received  from  Guay- 
mas  and  Santa  Rosalia,  Lower  California;  the  lat- 
ter place  having  been  without  telegraphic  com- 
munication. The  tariff  rate  for  a  message  is  $1 
American  currency,  for  each  10  words  and  10  cents, 
American,  for  each  additional  word.  It  is  too 
early  to  give  an  opinion  as  to  the  success  of  the 
system,  which  consists  of  two  plants,  called  the 
Slaby-Arco  and  Telefunken,  both  of  which  were 
imported    from    Germany. 

In  the  year  1904  there  were  exactly  the  same 
number  of  establishments  engaged  in  the  smelting 
and  refining  of  zinc  in  the  LTnited  States  as  in 
1900,  namely,  31,  but  the  capital  invested  increased 
from  $14,141,810  to  $23,132,586,  or  63.6  per  cent.; 
the    number    of  salaried    employes    increased    from 


April    i.|,    [906 

ac8    1  who    were    paid  $4  i<>.  -'"'    lo    •,  1  • 

$3i754.SX>3'      lli'-   total   value  ol  il itpul    in 

i |,8<Sg,  earning  $2,35  ■''-''    to  6,35; 

7.=;.|.'j".!      1  he    total    valui    ol    thi     outpm 
from  $18,188,408  in   igoa  to  $24,791,299  in    1904   "i 
36,3    per    cent.     I  I"     im  ludi  d    in    [904      ,  .  079,0; 
pound     "i"    ipeltcr   and     heel    zini .     alui  1  s       19 
2x0,859.     I  I"'    '.iiipiit    <.i     ulphui ic    .1'  id    in 

1 7,655,214    pounds,    valued    .11     (424,670,    to 

1  54,61  9,036  pound  i,   at   $576,060 

The   '    ivo    nittce    of   the  Olympi      Eli 

ttical    Exhibition,    held    in    London,    last    pear,    ri 
purls   that   tin-  undertaking   ihows   a    profil    '• 

of  nearly  $18,000,  lea>  ing  .1    ub  tantial  bal iftei 

nun  iniir,  i"  the  1  shibitoi     .1   rebi fa     p 

on   thi     urns  they  paid   for   space.     I  lonatioi 

madi of  the  balance  to  the  bem  voli  nl    fund  of 

[he   Institution   of   Electrical    Enginei  1     and   1 

Electrical    I  rades    Bcncvolcnl     \   101  ia hi    n 

maindcr  constitutes  a  nucleus  "i    1  1 1  for  starting 

another  exhibition      In    the  event    chibition 

held  hi  iIk'  nexl  five  years,  tin-  money  got  i<> 
the    above  named    benevolcnl     fund        I  li      trustees 

are  Sir   William    Preece,   I'     1  urn wen,  J.   I-:. 

Kingsbury,  1'-  S.  Northcotc  and  a  nominee  "i  the 
tncorporated   Municipal    Electrical    Association. 

Preparations  are  being  made  by  the  Jamestown 
Exposition  Company  in  celebrate  the  three-hun- 
dredth  anniversary  'if   the   first   English   settle nl 

in  America  with  an  elaborate  exposition  ai  Srwalls 
Point,  near  Jamestown,  I  lampion  Roads,  Va.,  in 
mk>;\  More  than  20  of  the  stales  of  die  Union 
will  have  unusually  large  and  attractive  buildings. 
X 1  >.  .lit  17  other  buildings  will  lie  erected  I  several 
of  the  largest  600  by  350  feet),  for  a  display  of 
manufactures,  liberal  arts,  machinery,  art,  agri- 
culture, transportation,  electricity,  history,  varied 
industries,  etc.  A  special'  building  will  also  be 
erected  for  foreign  exhibits.  Application  for  space 
should  be  made  by  June  1,  1906,  if  possible,  and 
further  information  will  be  furnished  by  Algar  M. 
Wheeler,  chief  department  of  exhibits,  Norfolk-, 
Va. 

It  is  proposed  to  amend  the  United  States  patent 
laws  by  repealing  section  4886,  and  enacting  in  its 
Stead  the  following:  "Any  person  who  has  in- 
vented or  discovered  any  new  and  useful  art,  ma- 
chine, manufacture,  or  composition  of  matter,  or 
any  new  system  or  process  of  conducting  or  carry- 
ing nn  a  business  or  business  operation,  or  any 
new  and  useful  improvement  thereof,  not  known  or 
used  by  others  in  this  country  before  his  invention 
or  discovery  thereof,  or  more  than  two  years  prior 
to  his  application,  and  not  in  public  use  or  on 
sale  in  this  country  for  more  than  two  years  prior 
to    his    application,    unless    the    same    is    proved    to 


WESTERN     ELECTRIi 

Gill,   .omI    1.. 

.  ided  1I1  'i   'li'     I   ■ 

Van    Burcii 
under  the  <  Imago  River  at  il 

I  he    num.  i    I        .'..;.  d    II) 

way   company,  bj   whom   il  undei 

1    thi     \\  ••  hington    and    La 
Salle  Street 
pany  10  lower  the  runnel  al   Van   F'.nr.  ■ 


TRADE  NEWS 

1 hi     Stand  "'I    '  ••■'  < id-  1    b 

Dpi  ii'  'I  ■"!  office,   

•  nili.  in    friends,    ai    Atlanta,    ' , a .    in    Suite   1323 
Candlei     Building      Mi    <       \     Brown    will 
charge   and   will   givi  n   to  all 

'  "i  ■■    1 !■  1 '■  ■ 

Cuba    1  .hi!        ' '  ond  ce  in   the    trad.' 

relation  1    "i    the    '  nih  d    Stati       with    othct 
tries  iii  tin-  Western   Hemisphere.     The  total   trade 
of  the   United   States  with   thi  med  in 

the  liseal  year  1905  wa  With  I  anada,  $203,000.- 
coo;  with  tuba.  $125,000,006;  with  Brazil,  $m,- 
000.000;     with  000,000,    and    with     Ar- 

gentina,   $39,000,000. 

The  Navy  Department,  through  the  Bureau  of 
Supplies  and   Accounts,  is  inviting 

until  April  24th  for  furnishing  eastern  navy  yards 
with  submarine  cable,  lighting  wire,  circuit-breakers, 
fuse  plugs,  electric  bells,  fiber,  mica,  dry  cells,  parts 
for  Tclefunken  wireless  system,  annunciators,  in- 
sulating tape,  etc.,  embraced  in  schedule  450.  which 
can  be  obtained  ai  the  Navy  Pay  Office  in  New 
York,  or  upon  application  to  the  bureau  at  Wash- 
ington. 

The  Evening  Wisconsin  of  Milwaukee  says:  "The 
Wisconsin  Brake  and  Electric  Company,  the  new 
corporation  which  will  take  over  and  carry  out  the 
reorganization  of  the  National  Electric  Company 
in  the  interest  of  the  Westinghouse  company  of 
Pittsburg,  Pa.,  has  been  organized  iu  Milwaukee. 
The  incorporators  are  W.  U.  Hickman  of  tins  city 
and  two  outsiders,  Carl  W.  Boehm  and  J.  A.  Mc- 
Cormick,  who  represent  the  Westinghouse  interest. 
The  capital  stock  of  the  new  company  is  hut  $5,000, 
which  is   stated   to  be  only  the  nominal    stock   used 


■ 

■ 
and    cli 
lobbing 

Building,   Grand   Rapi 

- 
with  t; 

<  ompany    and    1 

Bending 

in  the   Hacklcy   Manual    i  rail 

gem.    J 

mechanic    in  the   Hackley  Manual  Training   - 


BUSINESS 


Ice    graphite.    11 
Professor  <...-■.  of  Pui 

value    a.    a    lubricant    and   its    mechanical 
affinity   for  metal   surtai 

adoption    of   an    appropriate    name    for    any 
manufacturing  try    important. 

Machinery,  "for  ii  oftentimes  has  a  deciding  effect 
in  the  success  ..f  the  concern.  If  possible,  the  name 
ihould  tell  tin-  business  and  also  the  pi.-,.. 
obvious  that  the  name  'Smith  Bell  Company'  tells 
than  'Smith  Manufacturing  Company,'  but 
lady  Bell  Company.'  for  example,  is  still 
better.  It  not  only  discloses  the  business  but  also 
the  location  of  the  concern  s.,  far  as  the  name  of 
ii  1-  concerned,  and  thi-  i-  usually  enough. 
Such  a  name  in  the  directory  i-  self-explanatory, 
but  what  is  more  important  is  that  possible  cus- 
tomers will  more  readily  remember  a  concern  so 
named.  Advertisements  in  trade  journals  do  not 
yield  all  their  results  immediately:  it  is  no  uncom- 
mon thing  for  firms  to  get  answers  to  ads'  that 
appeared  10  or  20  years  before.  Many  more  re- 
turns would  be  received  if  people  could  always 
remember   'who'   and    'where'." 


ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 

Issued  (United  States  Patent   Office)  April  j>,  igo6. 


816,554.  Electric  Furnace.  Anson  G.  Betts,  Troy, 
N.   Y.     Application   filed   May  20,    1904. 

In  combination  with  an  electric  furnace  comprising  a 
hearth  adapted  to  contain  a  bath  of  liquid  conductor 
are  a  channel,  both  ends  of  which  lead  into  the  hearth 
and  adapted  to  contain  liquid  conductor,  electrodes  ar- 
ranged to  supply  electric  current  to  pass  through  the 
liquid  conductor  in  the  channel,  and  means  for  causing 
a  circulation  of  liquid  comluctnr  from  the  hearth  through 
the   channel   and   back   to   the   hearth.      (See  cut.) 

816,571.  Flexible  Connection  and  Suspension  Means 
for  Gearless  Motors.  Karl  F.  Elers,  Pittsburg, 
Pa.,  assignor  to  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and 
Manufacturing  Company,  Pittsburg,  Pa.  Ap- 
plication  filed    April    3,    1905. 

Mechanical  features  of  a  motor-suspension  system  are 
described. 

816,600.  Suspension  Means  for  Electric-railway 
Motors.  Charles  A.  Psilander,  Pittsburg,  Pa., 
assignor  to  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Man- 
ufacturing Company,  Pittsburg,  Pa.  Applica- 
tion filed  April  3,  1905. 

The  motor  armature  is  flexibly  mounted  on  the  axle, 
the  field-magnet  frame  having  bearings  for  the  armatures. 
Spring  connections  are  made  between  the  middle  positions 
of  the  magnet  frame. 

Si6f6io.  Flexible  Connection  for  Gearless  Motors. 
Robert  Siegfried,  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  assignor  to 
the  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing 
Company,  Pittsburg,  Pa.  Application  filed  May 
22,    1005. 

The  truck  wheel  has  a  cylindrical  chamber  or  opening 
and  a  set  of  yielding  resilient  lines  arranccd  side  bv  side- 
in  the  opening.  A  sleeve  or  quill  for  the  motor  armature 
has  a  boss  that  projects  through  the  set  of  rings  in  the 
wheel    chamber. 

816.611.  Flexible  Connection  and  Suspension  Deyice 
for  Gearless  Motors.  Robert  Siegfried.  Pitts- 
burg, Pa.,  assignor  to  the  Westinghouse  Elec- 
tric and  Manufacturing  Company,  Pittsburg, 
Pa.    Application   filed    May   22,    1905. 

A  quill  for  the  motor  armature  loosely  surrounds  the 
driving  axle,  connections  being  made  between  tile  quill 
and  truck  wheel. 

816.612.  Flexible  Connection  for  Gearless  Motors. 
■Robert  Siegfried,  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  assignor  to  the 
Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, Pittsburg,  Pa.  Application  filed  Decem- 
ber 18,  1905. 

Mechanical    features  are    described. 


816,619.  Telephone  Desk  Stand.  Henry  Tideman. 
Menominee,  Mich.  Application  filed  September 
14,   1005. 

In  a  telephone  desk  stand  are  a  base,  a  cap,  a  web 
attached  to  the  base  and  the  cap  and  forming  a  part  of 
the  shaft  connecting  them  and  a  detachable  plate  forming 
the  completing  portion  of  the  shaft  between  base  and  cap. 

Si6,628.  Electric  Transmission  Pole.  John  L.  Wel- 
ler.  St.  Catharines,  Canada.  Application  filed 
July  29,    1904. 

The  pole  is  made  of  concrete  with  longitudinal  steel 
rods   running   through  it. 


'.  ;  5  4 


816.6.36.  Adjustable  Support  for  Incandescent  Elec- 
tric Lamps.  Oscar  T.  Banks.  London,  Eng- 
land.    Application   filed   October  6.    1004. 

A    telescopic    support    to    imitate    a     candle    holds    the 
incandescent    lamp. 

816,649.  Electric  Automatic  Mail  Carrier.  Michael 
Danner,  Panola.  111.  Application  filed  August 
8,   1005. 

til    pouches   is 

816.676.  Mechanism  for  Operating  Railway  Sig- 
nals. William  V.  Mi lak,  Utica,  N.  Y.  Applica- 
tion filed  July  13.   1905. 

electric 


816,686.  Horsepower  Indicator  and  Engine-over- 
load  Alarm.  John  F.  Shreffler.  Chicago,  111. 
Application  filed  November  28.  1904. 
Electric  contacts  on  a  graduated  scale  arc  closed  at  a 
predetermined  point  on  the  scale  by  the  pointer,  which 
is  moved  by  the  steam  pressure.  The  contacts  arc  part 
of  an  alarm  ctrcujt. 

816.762.  Apparatus  for  Controlling  the  Passage  of 
Cars  or  Vehicles  Along  a  Railway.  Louis  H. 
Thtdlen.  Edgewood.  Pa.,  assignor  to  the  Union 
Switch  and  Signal  Company.  Swissvale.  Pa. 
Application    filed   January    18.    100;. 

Combined  with  a  reversible  electric  motor  arc  a  switch- 
and-lock  movement  operated  thereby  and  an  electric  clutch 
in  circuit  with  the  motor  and  adapted  when  energized 
to  couple  the  armature  of  the  motor  with  the  switch-an.i- 
lock  movement  whereby  the  movement  will  be  operated. 
A  I  ircuit  controller  is  operated  bv  the  movement  for 
opening  the   circuit,   including  the   electric  clutch   but  not 

S16.767.      Chronograph.      Meyer      Wildermann     and 
Robert    L.    Mond,    London.    England.     Applica- 
tion  filed   November   18.   1903. 
Electromagnetic  means  operate  the  pens  of  the  cbrono- 

S16.792.  Lock.  Oliyer  H.  P.  Green  and  Delos  Car- 
penter. Orion.  Mich.  Application  filed  Septem- 
ber 6,    1004. 


Si6,S04.     System    of    Motor    Control.     Axel    Magnu- 
son.    New    York.    N.    Y..    assignor    to   the    Otis 
Elevator    Company,    Jersey    City,    N.   J.     Appli- 
cation   filed    January    iS.    1005. 
Electromagnetic    switches    in    the    motor-controlling   cir- 
cuits   co-operate    with    means    for    generating   a    variable 
voltage. in  proportion  to  the  speed  of  the  motor,  the  volt- 
age   being    applied     to     the     electromagnetic    switches    in 
the  controlling  circuits,  which  are  arranged  to  be  actuated 
by  the  variable  voltage. 

Si6,So5-  System  of  Motor  Control.  Axel  Magnu- 
son.  Xew  York.  X.  Y..  assignor  to  the  Otis 
Eleyator  Company.  Jersey  City.  X.  J.  Appli- 
cation  filed  June    14.   1905. 

A  motor,  a  source  of  pulsating  current  therefor,  a 
direct-current  generator  driven  by  the  motor,  a  starting 
switch  for  the  motor,  .1  single  magnet  for  actuating  the 
starting  switch,  the  magnet  being  energized  by  pulsating 
and   direct  currents   and  means  dependent  upon  the  gen- 


tic  , 


tial  features. 


3io 

8i6,8o6.  Electric  Traction  Elevator.  Axel  Magnu- 
son,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Otis 
Elevator  Company,  Jersey  City,  N.  J.  Appli- 
cation  filed   November    17,   1905. 

An  electric  motor  has  a  magnetic  sheave  arranged  to 
be  driven  thereby.  A  cable  connects  the  sheave  and  the 
car,  a  generator  being  connected  to  run  with  the  motor 
and  arranged    to    energize    the   sheave. 

816,819.  Two-division  Telephone  System.  Howard 
M.  Post,  Chicago,  III.,  assignor  to  the  Kellogg 
Switchboard  and  Supply  Company,  Chicago,  111. 
Application    filed    October    24,    1902. 

In  a  telephone  system  are  a  telephone  line,  relays  at 
the  central  office,  parts  controlled  by  the  relays  and  means 
for  causing  the  operation  of  the  relays  singly  from  the 
substation  and  simultaneously  from  the  central  office. 

816,869.  Electric  Elevator  System.  Axel  Magnu- 
son,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Otis 
Elevator  Company,  Jersey  City,  N.  J.  Appli- 
cation  filed   May   23,   1905. 

Combined  with  an  alternating-current  motor  are  a  re- 
versing   switch,    a    generator    connected    to    run    with 


nge*d    to    produce    a    direct 

rtional  in  strength  to  the  speed  of  the  1 
ntrolling  the  motor  by  the  direct  1 


for 


:  thus  produced 
and  means  on"  the  reversing  switch  for  causing  the  gener- 
ator to  produce  its  current  in  the  same  direction  when 
the  generator  is  run   in   one  direction  or   the  other. 

816,875.  Trolley  Harp.  Barney  Murphy,  New  Ha- 
ven, Conn.,  assignor  of  one-half  to  Fred  Wal- 
lace, New  Haven,  Conn.  Application  filed 
August    24,    1905. 

Details    are    described. 

816,8,9.  Electric  Hoisting  Apparatus.  Almon  E. 
Norris,  Cambridge,  Mass.  Application  filed 
September   23,    1904. 

Electric  driving  means  are  arranged  with  a  step-by- 
step  electric  controller  and  a  controlling  lever  arranged 
relatively   remote    from  its   controller. 

816,894.  Apparatus  for  Telephone  Switchboards. 
Henri  E.  A.  Andre,  Paris,  France,  assignor  to 
the  Western  Electric  Company,  Chicago,  111. 
Application  filed  April  27,   1904. 

An  answering  and  a  calling  plug  and  a  plug  cir- 
cuit unite  the  lines.  Telephonic  apparatus  is  associate! 
with  the  plug  circuit,  and  blocking  mechanism  renders 
the  telephonic  apparatus  inert.  A  relay  operates  the 
blocking  mechanism,  and  a  circuit  for  the  relay  is  com- 
pleted  as   the    answering  plug   engages   the   terminal    of  a 

816,900.  Portable  Insulated  Support  for  Double- 
wire  Electric  Lines.  Albert  Collet,  Paris, 
France.     Application  filed  May   19,   1904. 

Steel  ladders  hinged  together  at  their  upper  ends  and 
"carrying  a  winch  for  straining  the  wires  support  the 
latter,   the    ladders   being    insulated   from    the    ground. 

816,903.  Combination  Clock  and  Fan.  Spencer  D. 
Earl,  ■  Norristown,  Pa.  Application  filed  May 
5.    1905- 

The  combination  consists  of  an  electric  fan,  clock 
and  source  of  electricity,- with  make-and-break  apparatus 
included  in  the  circuit  and  adapted  to  be  operated  from 
one    of   the    wheels   of   the    clock    to    make   and   break   the 


MOTOR    CONTROL. 


816,912.  Dynamo  Magnetic  Power-transmission  De- 
vice. John  O.  Heinze,  Jr.,  Lowell,  Mass.  Ap- 
plication filed  April  17,   1905. 

The  apparatus  includes  a  driving  shaft,  a  driven  shaft, 
a  multipolar  field  and  an  internal  slotted  armature,  one 
shaft  being  fixed  to  the  field  and  the  other  shaft  fixed 
to  the  armature.  Commutator  segments  are  fixed  to  and 
electrically  connected  with  the  armature  coils,  a  multi- 
plicity of  brushes  engaging  these  segments.  _  Each  brush 
is  fixed  to  the  field  and  between  its  adjacent  pole- 
pieces,  and  electrical  connections  are  made  whereby  the 
windings  of  the  armature  are  short-circuited  through  the 
brushes  of  the  commutator,  and  the  windings  on  the 
polepieces  of  the  field.  Poles  are  formed  in  the  arnn- 
ture  at  the  brushes,  each  pole  of  the  armature  attracting 
one  and  repelling  the  other  of  its  adjacent  poles  of  the 
field  and  causing  the  field  to  move  in  the  same  direction 
as  does  the  armature.     (See  cut.) 

816,922.  Electric  Meter.  Robert  C.  Lanphier, 
Springfield,  111.     Application  filed  March  9,  1904. 

Combined  in  a  mercury  motor  meter  are  an  arma- 
ture, a  pressure  field  coil  having  series  connection  there- 
with and  means  for  varying  the  relative  amount  of  pres- 
sure   field    current   passing    through    the 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


816,931.  System  of  Motor  Control.  Axel  Magnu- 
son,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Otis 
Elevator  Company,  Jersey  City,  N.  J.  Appli- 
cation   filed    November    16,    1905. 

A  generator  is  connected  to  run  with  a  motor,  a 
source  of  current  supply  being  connected  to  the  motor 
and  to  the  field  of  the  generator.  Motor-controlling 
means  separate  from  the  field  of  the  motor  is  operated 
by  current   from  the  generator. 

816,938.  Electric  Programme  Clock.  August  L. 
Ronell,  Forest  City,  Iowa.  Application  filed 
March    10,    1905. 

Details  are  described. 

816,948.  Controller  for  Automatic  Telephone  Sys- 
tems. Alton  E.  Stevens,  Fall  River,  Mass. 
Application   July    12,    1905. 

Our  claim  reads:  "A  shaft,  a  cam  mounted  thereon,  a 
contact  arm;  a  series  of  contracts  with  which  the  con- 
tact arm  may  be  moved  successively  into  engagement,  a 
series  of  manually  operated  parts  operatively  connected 
with  said  cam,  whereby  said  contact  arm  may  be  moved 
into    engagement    with    one    or    more    of    said    scries    of 


April  14,  1906 


S16.930.  System  of  Motor  Control.  Axel  Magnu- 
son,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Otis 
Elevator  Company,  Jersey  City,  N.  J.  Appli- 
cation filed  June   13,    1905. 

A  motor,  a  controlling  device  therefor,  a  generator 
Connected  to  run  with  the  motor  and  an  electromagnetic 
clutch  dependent  upon  the  action  of  the  generator 
arranged  to  cause  the  controlling  device  to  be  actuated 
by    the    movement    of     the      motor     are     the     patentable 


816,981.  Cross-arm  for  Electric  or  Signal  Wires. 
Anthony  H.  Iliohan,  Oakland,  Cal.  Application 
filed   March  21,    1905. 

In  a  cross  arm  are  an  insulating  body,  pins  secured 
in  and  depending  below  and  to  one  side  of  the  body 
and  having  insulators  on  their  free  extremities,  and  in- 
sulating inclosures  removably  applied  to  the  under  side 
of  the  body  around  portions  of  the  pins. 

816,990.  Sparking  Igniter  for  Gasoline  Engines. 
John  C.  McLachlan,  Toronto,  Canada.  Appli- 
cation filed  October  31,   1904. 

Details  are  described. 

816,996.  Electric-light  Fitting.  Herbert  E.  Plass, 
New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Howard 
Miniature  Lamp  Company.  Application  filed 
June  9,   1905. 

An  ornamental  fixture  for  holding  an  incandescent  lamp 
is  described. 


NO.     8l6,9I2.— ELECTRICAL    POWER-TRANSMITTING 
DEVICE. 

Si7,oog.  Automatic  Alarm  for  Gas  Pipes.  August 
L.  Schultz,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  assignor  of  -one- 
half  to  John  H.  Collister,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
Application  filed  November  28,  1904.  Renewed 
November    11,    1905- 

Several  independent  closures  of  an  alarm  circuit  are 
made  by  contacts  which  are  moved  by  a  diaphragm  under 
the  influence  of  the  gas  pressure  in  the  system. 

817,031.  Controller.  Thorsten  von  Zweigbergk, 
Preston,  England.  Application  filed  May  15, 
1903. 

Combined  with  a  motor  are  a  controlling  switch  and 
electric  means  for  actuating  the  controller  step  by  step, 
the  means  being  automatically  governed  by  the  counter 
electromotive  force  of  the  motor  and  including  an  arma- 
ture whose  cycle  of  movement  corresponds  to  a  step  in 
the  control. 

817,036.  Automatic  Block-signal  System.  Abram 
L.  Bower,  Boyertown,  Pa.  Application  filed 
January  31,  1903. 
In  a  railway  signal  system  are  a  relay,  lever,  pawl, 
ratchet  wheel  and  commutator,  alternate  segments  of  the 
latter  being  connected  respectively  to  the  two  poles  of  a 
source  of  electric  energy.  Brushes  in  relation  to  the 
commutator    segments    transmit    the    signaling    currents    to 

817,056.  Machine  for  Forming  Metal  Tubes.  Ed- 
win T.  Greenfield,  Monticello,  N.  Y.  Applica- 
tion  filed   August   5,    1904. 

The  mechanism  is  electrically  operated. 

817,082.  Apparatus  for  Subjecting  Air  to  Electric 
Discharges.  John  E.  Mitchell  and  Dennis 
Parks,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  assignors  to  the  Alsop 
Process  Company,  St.  Louis,  Mo.  Application 
filed   January    3,    1906. 

In  an  apparatus  for  modifying  air  by  the  electric  dis- 
charge, are  a  vieldably  mounted  electrode  and  a  pair  of 
electrodes  reciprocable  into  and  out  of  contact  with 
opposite  f>nds  thereof,  the  electrodes  being  connected  with 
a  suitable  source  of  electricity.      (See  cut.) 

817,086.  Conduit  for  Electric  Wiring.  Daniel  H. 
Murphy,  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  assignor  to  the 
Safety  Armorite  Company,  Pittsburg,  Pa.  Ap- 
plication filed  June  9,  1902. 

A  metal  pipe  has  a  metallic  coating  on  one  surface  and 
a    flexible    enamel    coating    applied    directly    to    the    other 

817,104.  Igniter  for  Internal-combustion  Engines. 
Arthur  R.  Curtis,  Golden,  Colo.  Application 
filed   April    10.    1905. 

Combined  with  two  electrodes  are  a  weak  spring  acting 
on   one   electrode   to    normally    separate    the   electrodes,    an 

electrode-actuating     lever,     a     second     spring    mounted    on 


the  lever  and  through  which  the  latter  acts  to  close  the 
electrodes,  the  last-named  spring  also  acting  on  the 
lever  to  effect  a  separation  of  the  electrodes  and  simulta- 
neously reacting  on  an  electrode  to  hold  the  two  elec- 
trodes in  contact  until  tiie  instant  of  separation. 

817.131.  Automatic  Railway  Signal.  John  Neu- 
maier,  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  assignor  of  three- 
fourths  to  George  L.  Baldauf,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 
Application   filed   July   8,    1905. 

Air  brake  and  signal  mechanism  on  a  locomotive  are 
set  in  operation  by  an  electromagnet  in  a  track  circuit 
which  is  energized  by  a  distant  generating  station  and 
controllable  by  an  operator  not  on  the  engine. 

817.132.  Storage  Battery.  William  H.  Palmer,  Jr., 
New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  February 
14,    1905. 

A  storage-battery  cell  comprises  a  containing  jar,  a 
series  of  positive  and  negative  plates  alternately  disposed 
therein,  the  two  groups  supported  from  opposite  ends 
of  the  jar,  and  means  at  the  upper  edges  of  the  plates 
constructed  to  provide  additional  mutual  supporting  means. 


NO.  8l7,082. — APPARATUS    FOR    SUBJECTING   AIR    TO 
ELECTRIC    DISCHARGES. 

817,137-  Apparatus  for  Producing  Electric  Waves. 
Alessandro  Artom,  Turin,  Italy.  Original  ap- 
plication filed  January  3,  1903.  Divided  and 
this    application   filed   July   6,    1904. 

Three  discharge  terminals  have  means  to  supply  each 
with  current  differing  in.  phase  from  that  in  the  others, 
and  aerial  conductors  connected  thereto  and  disposed  at 
right  angles  to  each  other. 

817,140.  Telephone  Transmitter.  William  W.  Dean, 
Chicago,  III.,  assignor  to  the  Kellogg  Switch- 
board and  Supply  Company,  Chicago,  111. 
Original  application  filed  January  27,  1902. 
Divided  and  this  application  filed  April  3,  1902. 

A  telephone  transmitter  comprises  a  flat  main  diaphragm, 
an  open  non-flexible  ring,  a  flexible  auxiliary  diaphragm 
and  suitable  means  for  securing  the  auxiliary  diaphragm 
to  one  side  of  the  ring  to  form  a  cup,  the  auxiliary 
diaphragm  forming  the  bottom  of  the  cup.  Oppositely 
arranged  electrodes  are  secured  to  the  diaphragms  within 
the  cup,  granular  carbon  being  placed  between  the  two 
electrodes  with  means  for  securing  the  main  diaphragm 
to  the  cup.  A  bridge  is  rigidly  connected  with  the  elec- 
trode associated  with  the  auxiliary  diaphragm. 

817,146.     Switching     Device     for     Electric     Lamps. 

John    McCullough,    Newark,    N.   J.    Application 

filed  June  23,  1903. 
In  an  electric  lamp  are  a  lamp  bulb,  a  collar  upon  the 
base,  a  tube  within  the  collar,  a  contact  part  contained 
within  the  tube,  and  connected  to  a  lamp  filament,  a  sec- 
ond contact  part  adjacent  to  the  first-named  contact  part 
and  connected  to  the  lamp  collar  and  means  movable 
axially  in  the  tube  itself,  adapted  to  close  the  circuit 
between  the  two  contact  parts. 

PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Following  is  a  list  of  electrical  patents  (issued 
by  the  United  States  Patent  Office)  that  expired 
on  April  9,  1906: 

400, S90.  Regulation  of  Electric  Motors.  Foree  Bain,  Chi- 
cago,   111. 

400,916.  Current-collecting  Device  for  Electric  Railways. 
R.   M.  Hunter,    Philadelphia,   Pa. 

400,926.  Electric  Railway.  Robert  Lundell,  New  Yorkr 
N.   Y. 

400,951.  Electric  Circuit-testing  Device.  M.  Robinsonr 
Newton,  Mass. 

400,971.  Alternating-current  Electric  Motor.  EHhu  Thomp- 
son, Lynn,  Mass. 

400,97-'.  Induction  Coil  and  Self-inductive  Apparatus.  E. 
Thompson,   Lynn,   Mass. 

400,973.  Armature  for  Dynamo-electric  Machines.  E. 
Thompson,   Lynn,   Mass. 

400,97s.  Electric  Heating  Apparatus.  H.  F.  Watts,  San- 
dusky,   Ohio. 

400,980.  Standard  Tangent  Galvanometer.  E.  Weston- 
Newark,  N.  J. 

400,985.  Telegraph  Apparatus  for  Ships.  James  B.  Willis, 
Portsmouth,   County  of  Hants,  England. 

401,006.  Electric  Self-winding  Timepiece.  Manuel  Carranza, 
Guatemala,  Guatemala  and  Jose  M.  Tinoco,  San  Fran- 
Cisco,  Cal. 

401,014.  Insulating  and  Coating  Compound.  Alfonso  De 
Figanicre.    Philadelphia,    Pa. 

401,035.  Electrical  Night  Signaling  Apparatus.  Emit  Kase- 
lowsky,    Berlin,    Germany. 

401.041.  Electromedical  Apparatus.  J.  J.  Lewin,  San  Fran- 
cisco,  Cal. 

401,059.     Galvanic    Battery.     James   H.    Phalan,    New    Havenr 

401,065.  Electric  Winding  for  Torsion-pendulum  Clocks.  H, 
Rahe,    Hanau,    Germany. 

401. 


did  pi- 


Armature     for     Electromagnets.     J.     Geary,     Phila- 
Geary,    Philadel- 


Pa. 


401,153.     Electric    Gas-lighting    Bu 


401,*  54.  Tube  or  Conduit.  George  H.  Gillette  and  King  G. 
Gillette,   New  York,  N.  Y. 

401,155.  Conduit  for  Electrical  Conductors.  George  Gil- 
lette and  K.  G.  Gillette,   New  York,  N.  Y. 

401,200.  Electric  Valve  Controller.  William  E.  Norris, 
Waterbury,  Conn. 

401,207.  Combined  Mechanical  and  Electromagnetic  Motor- 
Charles  A.    Randall,    London.   England. 

401,221.     Electric   Railway.      S.    H.    Short.    Denver,    Colo. 

401.225.  Apparatus  for  Laving  Electrical  Conductors.  W.  F. 
Smith,   Philadelphia,  Pa. 

401.226.  Electric  Meter.     W.  F.  Smith.JPhiladelphia,  Pa. 

401.227.  Mechanical     Telephi 


Thomas,     New     York,. 
Machines.     Charles  J. 


N.   Y. 

401.230.  Regulator  for  Dynamo-elect 
Vandenoele,    Chicago,    111. 

401.231.  Reciprocating    Electric    Engine    System.      Charles  J 
Vandepoele,    Lvnn,   Mass. 

401,255.      System     for     Transmitting     ami     Distributing-    Elec 
tricity.     Stanley  C.    C.  Currie,  Philadelphia,  Pa; 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


Vol.   XXXVIII. 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


CHU     (JO       PRIL  2i,  ■'.■/■ 


Electrical  Operation   In    Silk   Factories. 
By   I  )r.    Alfred  I  in  mi  rwn 
1  he   growing   attention    paid    to   electi  i<  al    opi  i  a 

li.ni    for    textile    works    is    due    to    thi     I  u  i.    rt 

and     more    generally     realized,     thai     the     cle 

motor  shows  a  number  of  valuable  features  ren 
dering  it  especially  available  for  il"'  operation  of 
such    delicate   machinery.      I  he    illu  itration     n  pro 

duced    herewith    represent    a    few    typical    elei il 

drives  in  the  Krahmcn  &  (icibbcr  ill,  fnctnric 
in  Germany.  Besides  their  extensive  I  refeld 
works    this    concern    possesses    two    other    factories 


cnt    operated  .... 

ii. • 

paratoi  ,    I 

1,1 ,,  in,,       bru  '  mbing    mai  him 

ing    'i  th     not 

om   iini  'l   ii"     i  ■   mad ■  and 

largi     ivai  ping    machii  one  half 

and     ','       horscpowei 

then    is  a  pump  in  thi  two  drinking- 

watci    pump     and  an   n  i    dircci       uplcd  to 

.-I  wormwheel,  which  arc  operated   b 
mil;   from  .('  i  to  fivi    horsepowi         1*1 


bam- 
warping   machii 

the  nui 

machines,   according   '  o  be  manufac- 

lurcd. 

ing   machine   U 
used  in  inserting  and  disconnecting  * 

driven    by    the 


Ribbon  Warping  Machii 
Warpinc  Machine. 
VASSENBERG. 


at  Wassenberg,  the  electrical  equipment  of  which 
was    supplied    by   the    Siemens-Schuckert    Company. 

The  power  station  that  supplies  the  electrical 
energy  is  installed  in  the  older  factory  at  Wassen- 
berg and  contains  a  generator  of  105  kilowatts 
capacity,  generating  current  at  6co  volts,  with  600 
revolutions  a  minute.  This  current  is  transmitted 
through  an  overhead  line  from  the  old  to  the  new 
factory,  and  after  the  pressure  has  been  reduced 
in  a  transformer  down  to  no  volts,  serves  to  oper- 
ate the  spooling,  beaming  and  other  preparatory 
machines,  as  well  as  to  light  the  works,  accessory 
rooms  and  offices  by  means  of  about  400  incan- 
descent and  four  arc  lamps.  The  direct-current 
generators  which  are  provided  for  the  lighting 
of  the  old  factory  feed  about  6co  incandescent  and 
10  arc  lamps.  Another  overhead  line  transmits 
accumulator  current  required  for  emergency  light- 
ing from  the  power  station  in  the  old  works  to 
the  new  factory.  All  the  overhead  wires  are  pro- 
tected both  at  the  primary  and  secondary  sta- 
tions, as  well  as  halfway  between,  against  atmo- 
spherical discharges  by  horn  lightning  arresters, 
which  have'  proved  useful  in  view  of  the  very 
frequent    thunderstorms. 

No  less  than   113  different  machines  are  at  pres- 


works  are  operated  in  a  group  by  a   10-horsepower 
motor,   with   slip-ring  armature  and  oil   starter. 

The  motors  of  from  one-quarter  to  one-third 
horsepower  are  synchronous  machines  with  short- 
circuited  armatures.  Braking-band  clutches  and 
resilient  belt  disks  are  used  in  connection  with  the 
belt  transmissions  and  a  toothed  wheel  with  pat- 
ent braking-wheel  clutch  in  the  case  of  the  geared 
machines.  The  latter  kind  of  drive  has  been 
exclusively  used  in  connection  with  the  warping 
and  beaming  machines.  The  motors  are  free  to 
swing  in  a  jack  having  in  its  upper  part  a  bearing 
to  support  the  shafting  of  the  labor-saving  ma- 
chinery. On  this  shaft  is  mounted  a  toothed 
wheel  with  brake-band  clutch,  the  inner  part  of 
which  (comprising  a  braking  disk)  is  fixed  by 
adjusting  screws  to  the  shaft  of  the  machine, 
while  the  toothed  rim  is  clutched  to  the  braking 
disk  by  means  of  a  band-brake.  The  tension  of 
the  brake  hand  being  controlled  by  a  spring,  the 
clutch,  while  safely  transmitting  the  normal  torque 
and  that  produced  in  the  starting  of  the  beaming 
machine,  will  yield  in  the  case  of  any  higher 
forces.  To  the  motor  shaft  is  niounted  a  rawhide 
pinion  gearing  with  the  large  toothed  wheel.  The 
swinging    arrangement    of    the    motor    in    the    jack 


same  type  of  motors,  but  act.  through  a  belt  trans- 
mission. As  these  spooling  machines  should  start 
with  especial  smoothness  in  order  to  avoid  any- 
tearing  of  the  silk  threads,  the  belt  disk  connected 
to  the  large  toothed  wheel  at  the  motor  has  been 
made  resilient  so  as  to  deal  with  the  shock  ex- 
erted by  the  motor  on  suddenly  starting  at  full 
speed  and  to  cause  the  spooling  machine  to  start 
smoothly. 

All  the  motors  work  with  high  efficiency.  Indi- 
vidual operation  is  the  more  convenient,  as  some 
preparatory  machines  (beaming  and  warping  ma- 
chines), whenever  new  pieces  are  to  be  fed.  have 
to  he  stopped  at  intervals.  Another  advantage  of 
individual  operation  in  the  case  of  spooling  ma- 
chines is  the  more  uniform  working  of  the  silk. 

The*  above  plant  has  been  in  operation  for  more 
than   a   vear   with   entire   satisfaction. 


Block  Lighting  Proposed  in  Cleveland. 

A  number  of  business  men  are  considering  the 
advisability  of  establishing  light  plants  to  serve 
small  blocks  of  territory  in  the  business  district  of 
Cleveland.  Mr.  Springborn.  the  director  of  public 
safety,  has  the  names  of  these  gentlemen  and  knows 
something  of  the  detailed  plans. 


3« 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April  21,   1906 


Baker  Street   and   Waterloo  Tube  Rail- 
way in  London. 

One  of  the  most  recent  additions  to  the  tube-rail 
way  system  of  London  is  the  Baker  Street  and 
Waterloo  Street  Railway,  which  has  just  been  opened 
for  traffic.  While  the  tube  railway  is  no  more  a 
novelty,  this  particular  line  possesses  many  features 
which  are  radical  departures  from  designs  hereto- 
fore carried  out.  A  comprehensive  description  of 
this  interesting  piece  of  work  appeared  recently  in 
the  Tramway  and  Railway  World  of  London, 
which    has   reprinted   the  article    in   pamphlet    form. 


The  clearance  between  the  flanges  of  the  segments 
of  the  tube  and  the  conductor  rail  is  only  2|/^ 
inches.  The  insulators  are  of  vitrified  earthenware, 
manufactured  by  Doulton  &  Co.,  and  are  fastened 
to  the  sleepers  by  malleable-iron  clips  with  felt 
pads  below  them.  The  negative  rail  insulator  is 
a  square,  solid  block  with  a  groove  in  the  center 
for  the  rail,  and  it  is  held  down  in  a  similar  way. 
The  conductor-rail  joints  have  each  four  bonds, 
two  long  and  two  short,  on  each  side.  They  are 
of  the  flexible  plaited-wire  type,  and  were  supplied 
by    the    American    Steel    and    Wire    Company.    The 


Some  of  the  facts  as  set  forth  in  this  pamphlet 
will  be  found  of  interest. 

Fig.  1  is  a  map  showing  the  location  of  the  Baker 
Street  and.  Waterloo  line  and  its  relation  to  the 
other  London  railways,  it  being  indicated  by  the 
heavy  black  line.  The  total  length  of  the  line  will 
be  slA  miles,  although  the  portion  from  Edgew-are 
Road  to  Paddington  has  not  yet-  been  completed. 
There  are  12  stations  on  the  line,  as  indicated  on 
the  map. 

As  in  other  railways  of  this  class,  each  track 
is  a  separate  circular  tunnel  which  is  lined  through- 
out with  cast-iron  segments  bolted  together.  There 
are  three  internal  diameters  of  the  running  tun- 
nels— 11  feet  8J4  inches  on  straight-away  track  and 
slight  curves,  12  feet  on  curves  of  not  less  than  10 
chains  radius  and  12  feet  6  inches  on  sharper 
curves.-  At  passenger  stations  the  tunnel  is  21  feet 
2l4  inches,,  in  diameter.  Lifts  are  installed  at  all 
stations  as  well  as  large  ventilating  fans  to  insure 
a  pure  atmosphere  in  the  tubes.  The  cars  are  built 
entirely  of  non-combustible  materials,  steel  being 
the  chief  element. 

The    track    arrangement    may  be    gathered    from 


short  bonds  are  placed  inside  the  loops  of  the 
long  ones.  The  total  cross-section  area  of  the  four 
bonds    is    1.4   square   inches. 

Vibration  trouble,  sometimes  complained  of  by 
residents  near  underground  railways,  has  been  en- 
tirely prevented.  During  the  experimental  running 
of  the  trains,  tests  were  made  by  an  expert,  who 
used  a  seismograph  which  magnifies  earth  tremors 
300  times.  This  instrument  was  employed  both 
on  the  surface  and  on  the  ground  of  a  .chamber 
immediately  below  the  street,  at  points  directly 
above  the  railway,  and  even  to  such  a  delicate 
recorder  the  vibration  caused  by  passing  trains 
was    scarcely    perceptible. 

Power  for  the  operation  of  the  Baker  Street 
and  Waterloo  line  is  obtained  from  the  Chelsea 
power  station  of  the  Underground  Electric  Rail- 
ways Company  of  London.  This  station  has  an 
ultimate  capacity  of  80,000  horsepower,  and  was 
described  in  the  Western  Electrician  of  February 
25,  1905.  The  chief  sub-station  for  the  Baker 
Street  line  is  at  Charing  Cross,  which  was  also 
described  in  that  issue.  Besides  the  Charing  Cross 
sub-station,  there  are  two  others,  one  in   the  depot 


the  section  shown  in  Fig.  2,  from  which  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  bottom  of  the  invert  is  filled  with  a 
bed  of  concrete  with  sloping  sides  in  which  the 
ties  are  firmly  set.  The  running  rails  are  of  the 
standard  go-pound  bullheaded  British  railway  type. 
Positive  and  negative  conductor  rails  are  used  and 
are  of  practically  square  cross-section.  They  weigh 
85  pounds  to  the  yard.  The  chemical  composition 
of  these  rails  is  as  follows :  Carbon,  0.05  per  cent. ; 
manganese,  0.19  per  cent;  sulphur,  0.05  per  cent.; 
phosphorus,  0.05  per  cent. ;  silica,  0.03  per  cent.,  the 
balance  being  iron.  The  electrical  conductivity  is 
very  high  and  the  resistance  is  said  to  be  only  6.4 
times  that  of  pure  copper. 

The  positive  conductor  rail  is  carried  on  spe- 
cially shaped  insulators,  mounted  on  the  ends  of 
the  sleepers,  close  to  the  wall  of  the  tube,  while 
the  negative  rail  is  placed  centrally  on  a  lower 
type  of  insulator  between  the  track  rails.  The 
positive  insulator  is  of  peculiar  shape,  and  has 
been  designed  to  lie  close  to  the  curve  of  the  tube. 


at  St.  George's  Circus  and  the  other  at  Baker 
Street. 

One  hundred  and  eight  cars  have  been  ordered 
and  95  are  now  ready.  Six  cars  go  in  a  standard 
train — a  motor  car  at  each  end  and  four  trailers 
v  between.  The  cars  are  50  feet  over  all,  33  feet 
between  truck  centers,  eight  feet  eight  inches  in 
width  and  nine  feet  sH  inches  high.  Both  longi- 
tudinal and  transverse  seats  are  used.  The  trailer 
cars   seat   52   passengers   and   the   motor   cars   46. 

Two  standard  General  Electric  motors,  type  69, 
of  200  horsepower  each,  are  mounted  on  the  driv- 
ing truck  of  each  motor  car,  the  Sprague- Thom- 
son-Houston multiple-unit  control  being  used.  One 
of  the  recently  developed  features  of  the  equip- 
ment is  an  electrically  operated  carbon-break  cir- 
cuit-breaker for  protection  of  the  motor  circuit  on 
each  motor  car. 

It  is  of  much  interest  to  collect  into  one  view 
the  numerous  systems  for  the  distribution  of 
energy  in  various   forms   which   are   installed   along 


the  entire  length  of  the  railway.  First,  there  are 
the  high-tension  feeder  cables,  which  run  along  the 
tunnels  to  the  sub-stations;  second,  the  conductor 
rails,  two  to  each  track,  which  supply  the  current 
for  working  the  trains ;  third,  the  220-volt  three- 
phase  circuits  for  supplying  the  incandescent  lamps 
in  the  tunnels ;  fourth,  the  550-volt  circuits  for 
the  lifts  and  for  the  arc  lamps  in  the  stations; 
fifth,  the  entire  system  of  telephone  circuits;  sixth, 
the  electrically  continuous  track  rail  in  each  tun- 
nel for  the  signaling  system ;  seventh,  the  negative 
main  for  the  same  purpose,  and  eighth,  the  com- 
pressed-air pipe  running  from  end  to  end  of  the 
railway,  which  supplies  aid  to  the  pneumatic  mo- 
tors  for  the  signals  and  points. 


Two-speed  Controller  for  Electric  Light 
and  Power  Circuits. 

Controlling  devices  capable  of  acting  with  two 
different  speeds  under  different  conditions  are  de- 
sirable, among  other  places,  in  electric  power  and 
lighting  systems,  and  especially  in  systems  of  this 
kind  employing  very  large  currents.  In  these  sys- 
tems when  the  current  in  one  or  more  of  the  cir- 
cuits becomes  unduly  great  it  is  necessary  to  ex- 
ercise some  control  over  these  circuits,  so  as  to 
prevent  injury  from  overload  currents.  Common 
expedients  are  to  open  the  circuit  itself  or  to  open 
the  exciting  circuit  of  the  generator  supplying  such 
circuit.  In  either  case  the  overload  current  is 
caused  to  subside,  and  injury  or  damage  is  averted. 
Where  the  overload  current  is  not  largely  in  ex- 
cess of  the  normal  current,  or  where  it  acquires 
its  excess  size  in  a  slow  manner,  it  is  sufficient 
and  desirable  to  open  or  control  the  circuit  slowly. 
But  where  the  overload  current  is  greatly  excessive 
or  where  it  acquires  its  size  .very  rapidly  it  is 
desirable  to  open  or  control  the  circuit  instantane- 
ously.   A    two-speed    device    to    perform    this    duty 


was  patented  recently  by  Mr.  George  N.  Eastman 
of  Chicago  and  assigned  by  him  to  the  Minerallac 
Company   of   the   same    city. 

A  diagrammatic  view  of  the  arrangement  is 
shown    in    the    illustration    herewith. 

(A)  is  a  generator  of  the  direct-current  type. 
A  main  circuit  leads  from  this  generator  to  the 
translating  devices.  The  two-speed  controller  com- 
prises a  magnetic  core  (3)  provided  with  a  coil, 
which  is  included  in  the  generator  circuit.  This 
core  is  provided  with  a  rod,  carrying  two  contact 
plates  or  disks.  The  disk  (6)  is  adapted  to  make 
contact  with  a  pair  of  contacts  upon  a  moderate 
elevation  of  the  core.  The  disk  (7)  is  arranged 
to  make  contact  with  a  second  set  of  contacts 
upon  a  larger  elevation  of  the  core,  the  disk  (6), 
however,  still  remaining  in  contact  with  the  con- 
tacts (8  8)  during  the  rise  of  the  core  to  place 
the  contact  (7)  against  the  contacts  (99),  the 
contacts  (8  8)  being  mounted  in  spring  material, 
so   as   to  permit  the   elevation   of  the   disk. 

Contacts  (8  8)  are  included  in  a  local  circuit, 
containing  a  relay  (11),  which  is  arranged  to  con- 
trol a  slowly  acting  circuit-closing  device,  the  form 
shown  consisting  of  a  rotary  drum,  provided  with 
a  vane,  which  is  engaged  by  an  arm,  which  serves 
as  an  armature  for  the  relay.  The  drum  carries 
a  coil  of  cord,  which  is,  of  course,  lowered  as 
the  drum  revolves.  On  the  end  of  the  cord  is  a 
metal  contact  plate,  which  is  adapted  on  the  un- 
coiling of  the  cord  to  drop  upon  and  make  contact 
with  contacts  in  a  trip-coil  circuit  (18),  containing 
a  trip  coil  (19).  The  contacts  (99)  are  included 
directly  in  the  trip-coil  circuit,  a  conductor  (20) 
being  extended  around  the  contacts  (17)  so  as  to 
make  a  trip-coil  circuit  for  the  contacts  (99), 
closed  throughout  except  at  the  contacts.  Thus  it 
will  be  seen  that  when  the  overload  current  is  only 
moderately  excessive  or  acquires  its  excessive  size 
slowly  the  core  will  be  slowly  elevated,  thereby 
causing   its   disk    (6)    to   connect   with   the   contacts 


Lpril    ii,  1906 

(««),  and  1  Ion    the   loi  al 
1  li<    n  laj    <iii    to  cli 
drum,    0  thai   the  wi  igh 

in  I  hull    H  Mil    ll ICl       (17  17) 

eoil    cin  uil      1  1 1  incli Ihc  ' 

drum    i'  v'       1    modi  ral 

ing   .1    delay    in   the  opi  ration, 

a  slow   action,     It.  on   thi    othi  1    hand    thi 

load   in I    1     greatl] 

i/r    1 : 1 1  >  t  >  1 1 . ,    thi     ..  ill     riii     highi      quickly, 

and    while    thi     1  ontai  1     (.6)     ■■  ill 

(10)   tin    -    i    1    '    "•  'ii  also  closi    11 

tad     1 "  9 1    ii    i"  icticall     thi 

ih.    trip  '  ml    •  in  uil    (20)     ■■■  ill    I"     closi  'I   and    the 

trip    ■  "il    1 1"  1  "i  :<  'l    i"  fori     thi     h  mi  m     1  1    in 

operal  ion   b)    1  li  1  ing    the   ci 1    (10)    ha 

opi  1  at       I"    ii'i      ■  •".     'In     trip    1  "il    will    be    in 

Itantancou  Ij    actuated   undc lition     ol     ci  iou 

overload   and    Jowl)    actuated   undei    c lition     ol 

moderate  overload. 


The  Pennsylvania   Ralll  nslon 

to  Now  Ynii   and  Long  1  iland    Long 

Island  City  Power  Station.     Ill 

nbioluti 

1 


.. 


Chicago  Drainage  Canal    Water  Supply 
Likely  to  be  Unrestricted. 

Predictions  ba  1  'I  on  di  vclopmenl  in  the  Senate 
committee    on    foreign    relations    arc    in    the    crlccl 

that   ii"   limitations   will   be   pul    on   thi    a ml    of 

watei   that  maj  be  diverted  I"  the  Chicago  Drainage 

I  anal.    Si  natoi    1  ittllom    ol    the    Senate    con ttec 

Baid  thai  il  w a  1  the  en  11  ol  him  ell  tnrl  hi  1  col 
Ii that    ill"   •  anal    should    have    all    the    v.  tl   1 

II  required,  "I'm  againsl  anj  limitation  with  re 
sped  I"  :li"  canal,"  Scnatoi  (  nil. mi  said.  "Ni  itlu  1 
myself  nor  my  colleagues  can  understand  il"-  pro 
posal    which    contemplates    giving    privati  corpora 

1 ill  the  water  they  want  for  industrial  pur- 
poses and  failing  to  allow  Chicago  all  the  water 
it  needs  to  conserve  Ms  health.  Therefore,  I  think 
it  may  be  safely  anticipated  the  committee  will 
refine  to  adopt  the  recommendation  of  the  Ameri- 
can members  of  the  International  Waterways  Com- 
mission." 

As  was  noted  in  the  Western  Electrician  last 
week,  the  International  Waterways  Commission  rec- 
ommended that  the  Mow  or  the  canal  be  restricted 
to  600,000  cubic  feet  a  minute,  which  is  apparently 
the   capacity   provided    for   by   existing   law. 

President  R.  R.  McCormick  of  the  board  of 
trustees  and  I  sham  Randolph,  chief  engineer  ol  the 
.Sanitary    District,    addressed    the    committee. 

Another  thing  affecting  the  situation  at  Chicago 
is  the  introduction  of  a  bill  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives by  Representative  Burton  of  Ohio 
which  accepts  the  recommendations  of  the  Ameri- 
can members  of  the  International  Waterways  Com- 
mission to  the  extent  of  prohibiting  the  diversion 
of  any  more  water  from  Niagara  Falls  than  is  now 
being  withdrawn.  The  bill  does  not  attempt  to 
regulate  the  inflow  at  the  Drainage  Canal,  how- 
ever, but  confines   its  cure  to  the   treatment   of   the 


OPERATING    GALLERY    IX    LONG    ISLAND    CITY    POWER    STATION. 


battery  has  a  discharge  rate  of  366  amperes  for 
one  hour  and  is  controlled  from  the  operating  gal- 
lery. It  is  normally  kept  floating  aero  the  e.xci- 
lalion  bus.  In  order  to  charge  the  battery  a  12.5- 
kilowatt  booster,  driven  by  a  15-horsi 
lion  motor,  is  located  in  the  operating  gallery  next 
to  the  motor-driven  exciter  above  mentioned.  This 
motor-driven  booster  used  to  charge  and  discharge 
n  can'  be  seen  in  Fig.  9,  placed  next  to  the  motor- 
driven  exciter. 

Switchboard   Apparatus. 

The  generators  are  designed  to  run  in  parallel 
on  either  of  two  sets  of  main  bus-bars,  called  the 
"working"    and    the    "auxiliary"    bus,    only   one    set 

of    which    is    generally    in    use.      The    switchi 

the    outgoing    feeders    are    arranged    in    groups    of 

>ix    (.three    only    of    each    group    being    installed    at 


OIL   CIRCUIT-BREAKERS   FOR    FEEDERS    AND    GENERATORS. 


conditions  existing  in  close  proximity  to  the  Falls. 
After  prohibiting  the  increase  by  the  manufactur- 
ing establishments  of  the  quantity  of  water  now- 
being  diverted  by  them,  the  bill  provides  that  these 
establishments  can  operate  only  upon  permits 
granted  by  the  secretary  of  war,  and  the  secretary 
is.  prohibited  from  issuing  permits  to  new  com- 
panies. 


There  are  now  between  4,200  and  4,300  licensed 
automobiles  in  Chicago.  Perhaps  three  per  cent, 
of  these  are  electric  vehicles. 


present),  these  feeders  being  tapped  from  an 
intermediate  or  "group"  bus.  In  order  to  dis- 
tribute current  to  the  feeders,  therefore,  it  is  first 
necessary  to  connect  a  group  bus  to  either  the 
working"  or  the  auxiliary  bus.  and  this  is  d 
providing  each  group  with  two  selector 
breakers,  one  for  each  of  the  two  sets  of  main 
bus  bars.  Thus  any  generator  or  any  group  of 
feeders  can  be  connected  at  will  to  either  set  of 
main  bus-bars. 

The  cables   are   run   through   the   turbine 
tions   into   the   basement    (  where   taps   are    taken    off 
for    the    generator    potential    transformers,    whence 
small  wire  leads  run  in  conduits  to  the  instrument 


pi  ied  in  '1"  tl  rci  story  bus  structure  of  brick  and 
dong  the  north  sidi  of  the  gallery, 
the  auxiliary  bus  being  disposed  in  a  similar  struct- 
ure along  tin  -..mil  side  and  directly  opposite  the 
in  on  In"  Ranged  along  the  inner  sides  of  these 
bus  structures  anil  facing  each  other  arc  two  lines 
rJnghousc  type  C  oil  circuit-breakers.  The 
two  smaller  breakers  on  either  line  directly  oppo- 
site each  other  are  the  generator  selector  circuit- 
breakers,  and  the  two  larger  ones  are  the  feeder 
group  selector  breakers.  these  successive  pairs  of 
feeder    selector   switches   are   joined   underneath   the 

bus-bars,  and.  there  l>ciiig  a 
switch    al    1  iclt    end    oi    this    group    bus  bar.    the 
group   bus   can    be    joined    to   either   the   main   or 
..uxiliarv   station  bus.     '1  be  mai      -  switches 

are    connected    to    similar    s^t-  -meeting 

busbar.-,    joining    the    -  .-.itches, 

thus    enabling    any    generator    to    lie    thrown    in    on 
either    s.t    "i    bus-bars    by    closing    the    pri 
lector     switch.      The    feeders    are    tapped     from    the 
group      bus      joining      two     opposite      feeder      selector 

switches,  '..ing   tapped  onto  each  auxil- 

iary group  bus.  and  each  feeder  having  its  separate 
circuit-breaker.  The  feeder  circuit-breakers  are 
therefore   installed   in  groups  three  of  each 

group  being  now  installed,  the  remaining  three 
being  omitted  until  future  completion  of  the  equip- 
ment. 

There  are    frequent   openings  in   the  working  bus- 
bar    structure,     it     being    closed     by     glass 
set    in    iron    frames.     A    general    view    of   both    luis 
structut  es   of   thi    v.  ncr  itoi  lei    -.  lector 

switch.  .    them   is   shown   in    Fig     11. 

The    bus   structures   are    laid   out    in    sections,    the 
first    secttot  mplcted    half    station    contain- 

ing   the    selector    circuit-breakers     for    the    future 
watt    lighting    generators    and    the    lighting 
feeder  circuits.     The  second  section   is 
installed,    and*  includes     three     pairs    of    generator 
select  ir  sv 

selector  switches.  R""iu  is  left  in  the  station  for 
the  further  extension  of  the  bus  structures  toward 
the  easterly  end  of  the  gallery,  to  an  extent  that 
will  enable  the  installation  of  three  more  pairs 
..I"  generator  select  r  switches,  and  three  more 
of    feeder    group    selector    switches. 

All     of     the    circuit-breakers    are    Westinghouse 
type    C    -il    switches,    with    remote    electrical    con- 
trol,   worked    from    the    main    operating    gallery    on 
the      upper      floor.     The      main      generator      circuit- 
breakers    are    of    600    amperes    each,    the    generator 
breakers      of     600    amperes    capacity,    the 
feeder    group    selectors    of    1.200    amperes    capacity, 
and    the    feeder    switches    of   600   amperes    capacity. 
aerator   switches   are    four-pole,    in   order   to 
dale    an    extra    connection    to    the    neutral 
i    the   generator   winding  and  a   neutral   bus 
which   is  grounded.     All  the  other  oil  switches   are 
three-pole. 

Some   of   the    features   of   these   oil    switches   are 


3i6 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April  21,  1906 


WESTERN   ELECTRICIAN 

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CORRESPONDENCE  relating  to  electricity  or  any  of  its 
practical  applications  is  cordially  invited,  and  the  co-operation 
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concise,  well  written  articles  are  especially  welcome;  and  com- 
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fully received  and  cheerfully  acknowledged. 

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CAN     BE     MADE     BY     NO    OTHER      ELECTRICAL     JOURNAL     IN     THE 

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REMITTANCES.— All  checks,  drafts  and  other  remit- 
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CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

Eleclrical  Operation  in  Silk  Factories.     By  Dr.  Alfred  Graden- 

witz.     Illustrated 311 

Block  Lighting  Proposed  in  Cleveland 311 

Baker  Street  and  Waterloo  Tube  Railway  in  London.     Illus- 
trated    312 

Two-speed  Controller  for  Electric  Light  and  Power  Circuits. 

Illustrated 312,  313 

Chicago  Drainage  Canal   Water    Supply  Likely  to  Be  Unre- 
stricted    313 

The   Pennsylvania  Railroad's   Extension  to   New  York    and 
Long  Island — Long  Island  City  Power  Station.      Part   III. 

Illustrated '. 313,  314,  315 

Location  and  Care  of  Lighting  Fixtures 315 

American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers  to  Meet  in  Chatta- 
nooga    315 

Editorial 316 

The  Prevention  of  Pole  Rot.     By  Charles  H.  Coar 317.  318 

Electrical  Show  in  Salt  Lake  City 318 

Franklin  Celebration  in   Philadelphia 3T8 

Milwaukee  Convention  of  the  Institute 318 

Death  of  Lemuel  Bannister 31S 

Electrical  Show  in  Fond  du  Lac.  Wis.     Illustrated 318.  319,  320 

Some  Important  Considerations  in  Electric  Illuminating  En- 
gineering'    By  Douglas  Burnett 320 

Electrical  Conditions  in  Wisconsin  Cities 320 

Protection  from  Lightning. 320 

Books  Received 320 

Questions  and  Answers 321 

Initial  Charging  and  Complete  Discharge  of  Storage  Bat- 
teries   321 

Difference  Between  Synchronous  aod  Asynchronous  Motor.  321 

Bunsen's  Photometer  321 

Trials  and  Dangers  of  the  Lineman.     By  R  G.  Grayne.     Illus- 
trated    321 

Municipal  Operation  in  Europe  Disappointing 321 

Aii  Hrakesfor  Electric  Cars 322 

Chicago  Traction   Matters .* 322 

Iowa  Elecirical  Association 322 

Electricity  for  the  Egg  eating   Hen 322 

World-wide  Telephone  Kates  Disclosed  by  Canadian  Parlia- 
mentary Inquiry.     Parti 323 

Chicago  Telephone  Rates 323 

Portable  Telephone  Service  for  Detroit 323 

General  Telephone  News 323 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes 324 

Indiana  Telephone  Items 324 

Telephone  News  from  the  Northwest 324 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence 324,  325,  326,  327 

Great  Britain 324 

New  England 324 

New  York 324.  325 

Southeastern  States 325 

Texas 325 

Mexico 325 

Ohio 325,  326 

Indiana 326 

Michigan 326 

Illinois 326 

Northwestern  States 326 

Paci6c  Slope 326.  327 

Personal 327 

Electric  Lighting 327 

Electric  Railways 327,   328 

Power  Transmission  . .  328 

Publications .' 328 

Societies  and  Schools 32S 

Miscellaneous 328 

Trade  News 328,  329 

Business 329 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record 329.  330 

DATES  AHEAD. 

Texas  Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  meet- 
ing). Waco,   Tex.,  April  25th,  26th   and  27th. 

''■I'"   ;■:■■.:  M  !  .:■■■:■,    I  ■:..:■     . '•  -     .    ;■    I  •,  I  u.  n.   :  :i\  Illee  til\C '>  , 

Ithaca  Hotel,   Ithaca,   N.   Y.,  May   1st   to  3d. 

American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers  (annual  con- 
vention), Read  House,  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  May  1st  to  4th. 

Southwestern  Electrical  and  Gas  Association  (annual  con- 
vention), Galveston,  Tex.,   May   16th,   17th   and   18th. 

Indiana  Independent  Telephone  Association  (annual  meet- 
ing),   Claypool   Hotel,    Indianapolis,    May    17th   and    18th. 

National  Electric  Light  Association  (annual  convention), 
Atlantic    City,    N.    J.,    June    5th   to  8th,    inclusive. 

Canadian  Electrical  Association  (annual  convention), 
Clifton  House,  Niagara  Falls,  Ont.,  Tune  19th,  20th  and  21st. 

National-Interstate  Telephone  Association  (second  annual 
convention),  Auditorium  Hotel,  Chicago,  June  26th,  27th 
and  28th. 

National  Electrical  Contractors'  Association  (annual  con- 
vention),   Cleveland,    Ohio.   July    iSth. 

International  Association  of  Municipal  Electricians  (annual 
convention),    New  Haven,  Conn.,  August  15th  to    17th. 

Ohio  Electric  Light  Association  (annual  convention),  Put- 
in-Bay,   Ohio.  August  21st  and  23d. 

American  Street  and  Interurban  Railway  Association  (an- 
nual convention),  Columbus,  O.,  October  15th  to  20th. 


The  news  comes  from  California  that  the  tele- 
phone repeater  has  been  invented  again.  David  C. 
St.  Charles,  an  engineer  of  that  state,  has,  accord- 
ing to  the  veracious  daily  papers,  invented  a  re- 
peater "which  will  make  it  possible  to  telephone 
from  San  Francisco  to  New  York.  The  combining 
of  the  echo  in  nature  with  the  sounding  board  of 
a  violin  furnished  the  clew  to  the  discovery,  accord- 
ing" to  a  statement  of  St.  Charles."  This  is  just  a 
little  bit  indefinite,  but  let  us  hope  there  is  some- 
thing tangible  behind  the  story.  Alleged  "telephone 
repeaters"  that  fail  to  repeat  are  numerous;  one 
that  really  did  the  work  automatically  would  mark 
a   tremendous    advance   in    the.  art    of   telephony. 


Just  as  the  Western  Electrician  is  going  to  press, 
we  learn  with  horror  and  dismay  of  the  terrible 
calamity  which  afflicted  San  Francisco  on  April 
18th.  An  earthquake,  followed  by  fire,  appears  to 
have  wrought  a  great  disaster,  in  which  the  elec- 
trical as  well  as  all  other  interests  in  the  city  have 
suffered  enormously.  At  the  present  writing  there 
appears  to  be  no  electric  or  gas  lighting  service; 
the  street  cars  are  not  running,  and,  owing  to  burst 
water  pipes,  there  is  no  water  to  extinguish  the 
fires  that  are  raging.  Perhaps  a  thousand  persons 
or  more  have  lost  their  lives.  In  the  face  of  such 
a  visitation  words  are  weak.  But  we  assure  the 
electrical  men  of  San  Francisco  and  their  fellow 
citizens  that  the  sympathy  of  the  electrical  men  in 
the  rest  of  the  country  is  sincere  and  profound. 
If  any  outside  assistance  will  mitigate  the  disaster, 
it   will   be  forthcoming  in   profusion. 


While  the  garish  and  malodorous  gasoline  car 
continues  its  triumphal  march  through  the  highways 
of  the  world,  the  quiet,  graceful,  serviceable  electric 
automobile  is  not  without  its  moments  of  triumph. 
Such  an  occasion  is  reported  from  London,  where, 
after  May  1st,  the  "petrol"  machines  will  be  ex- 
cluded from  Hyde  Park,  although  the  electric 
vehicle  will  still  be  allowed  to  wend  its  elegant  and 
unobtrusive  way  along  the  drives  in  that  well- 
known  pleasure  ground.  This  decision  on  the  part 
of  the  authorities  has,  as  might  be  expected, 
aroused  much  opposition  among  owners  of  gaso- 
line automobiles,  but  to  no  purpose.  The  noise, 
rush,  fumes  and  smell  of  the  gasoline  machine  are 
absent  in  the  electric  type,  and  for  this  reason  the 
discrimination  is  made.  It  is  gratifying  to  note 
that  the  merits  of  the  electric  machine  receive  this 
recognition,  for  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  pro- 
portion of  the  electrics  among  the  total  number  of 
self-propelled  pleasure  vehicles  is  not  as  large  as 
might   be    wished. 


One  of  the  first  things  that  will  be  taken  up, 
probably,  by  the  committee  on  gas,  oil  and  electric 
light  of  the  new  City  Council  of  Chicago  will  be 
the  consideration  of  the  report  on  electric-light  rates 
made  by  the  old  committee  just  before  the  expira- 
tion of.- the  aldermanic  year.  The  old  committee 
recommended,  after  several  conferences  with  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Chicago  Edison  and  Common- 
wealth electric  companies,  that  ordinances  be  passed 
fixing  the  net  maximum  kilowatt-hour  rate  at  14 
cents  for  the  next  two  years  and  12  cents  for  the 
next  three  years  thereafter.  But  further,  in  the 
language  of  one  of  the  proposed  ordinances,  "Such 
maximum  or  full  rate  may  be  charged  to  a  con- 
sumer only  for  a  consumption  of  electricity  not 
exceeding  the  equivalent  of  30  hours*  use  per  month 
of  the  consumer's  maximum  demand,  as  shown  by 
a  meter  or  meters  to  be  installed  by  the  supplying 
company.  For  all  electricity  taken  by  a  consumer 
in  excess  of  the  equivalent  of  30  hours'  use  per 
month  of  such  maximum  demand  the  maximum 
rate  (commonly  called  a  'secondary'  rate  as  applied 
to  such  longer  use  of  electricity),  to  be  charged 
by  either  of  said  companies,  shall  not  be  more  than 
nine  cents  a  kilowatt-hour  during  the  first  year  of 
said  five-year  period,  not  more  than  eight  cents  a 
kilowatt-hour  during  the  second  year  of  said  pe- 
riod, not  more  than  seven  cents  a  kilowatt-hour 
during  the  third  year  of  said  period,  and  not  more 
than  six  cents  a  kilowatt-hour  during  the  fourth 
and  fifth  years  of  said  period." 

These  rates  are  considered  to  be  equivalent  to  a 
flat  rate  of  nine  cents  a  kilowatt-hour.  The  pres- 
ent net  maximum  rate  is  16  cents  a  kilowatt-hour 
as   the   "short-hour"    rate   and   10   cents   a  kilowatt- 


hour  as  the  "long-hour"  rate.  These  rates  are,  of 
course,  subject  to  certain  other  discounts  where 
current  is  taken  in  large  quantities.  As  New  York 
has  a  flat  rate  of  10  cents  a  kilowatt-hour,  what  is 
practically  a  nine-cent  rate  should  be  acceptable  in 
Chicago.  The  new  Council  will  do  well  to  adopt 
the  report  and  pass  the  proposed  ordinances. 


The'  conspicuous  success  of  the  Chicago  Elec- 
trical Show  last  January  has  given  an  impetus  to 
the  electrical-show  idea  among  central-station  men 
and  electrical  manufacturers  and  dealers.  We  re- 
port two  such  shows  in  this  week's  issue  at  such 
widely  separated  points  as  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.,  and 
Salt  Lake  City,  Utah.  Another  will  probably  be 
held  in  La  Crosse,  Wis.,  in  two  or  three  weeks, 
and  several  others  are  in  contemplation.  The  idea 
of  holding  these  local  shows  for  the  education  of 
users  and  possible  users  of  electric  light  and  power 
is  a  good  one  and  deserves  careful  attention  in  all 
parts  of  the  country.  These  displays  need  not 
necessarily  be  large,  elaborate,  expensive  affairs, 
but  they  should  by  all  means  be  bright  and  at- 
tractive, with  popular  features,  such  as  light,  music, 
novelties  and  demonstrations.  A  bit  of  radium, 
mercury-vapor  lamps,  X-ray  apparatus,  wireless 
communication,  or  something  not  often  met  with 
in  the  daily  experience  of  the  ordinary  visitor, 
should  be  secured  if  possible.  Electrical  experi- 
ments, even  of  the  simpler  sort,  are  always  inter- 
esting, and  a  section  of  a  telephone  exchange  in 
service  invariably  attracts  attention.  Exhibits  should 
be  shown  in  operation  where  possible.  The  idea 
is  capable  of  infinite  expansion. 


A  correspondent  in  a  western  state  brings  up 
an  interesting  point.  "What,"  he  asks,  "is  the  out- 
look in  relation  to  gasoline  and  vapor-lamp  com- 
petition? If  the  use  of  denatured  alcohol  without 
revenue  tax  is  allowed,  at  what  cost  can  it  be 
made,  and  can  it  be  used  to  give  a  cheaper  light 
than  gasoline?  Under  present  conditions  we  cannot 
reduce  the  price  of  current  below  a  certain  figure, 
and  the  penurious  nature  of  the  small  country  mer- 
chant cannot  always  appreciate  the  quality  and 
convenience  of  electric  light  if  it  'costs  more  than 
gasoline.'  Hence  we  will  all  welcome  a  means  of 
reducing  the  cost  of  electric  light,  to  make  a  cus- 
tomer of  every  store  or  house  on  the  line,  instead 
of  one  in  every  four  or  five,  as  at  present." 

Advocates  of  the  removal  of  the  internal-revenue 
tax  from  denatured  alcohol  to  be  used  in  the  arts 
argue  that  such  a  course  would  be  of  great  indus- 
trial benefit.  We  do  not  believe  that  any  opposition 
to  electric  lighting  lies  back  of  the  bill,  but  per- 
haps such  an  incidental  possibility  is  worth  taking 
into  consideration.  Should  Congress  pass  the  bill 
now  under  discussion  it  is  not  .likely  that  any  very 
immediate  effect  would  be  felt.  It  might  be  years 
before  alcohol  would  be  sufficiently  reduced  in 
price  to  compete  with  other  liquid  fuels.  And  it  is 
as  a  cheap  fuel  for  motors  that  the  tax-free  alco- 
hol is  mainly  advocated,  not  as  a  cheap  iiluminant. 
Moreover,  in  view  of  the  high  fire  test  now  re- 
quired for  kerosene  sold  for  illumination  and  the 
restrictions  thrown  about  naphtha  and  gasoline 
vapor  lamps  by  the  underwriters,  owing  to  the 
danger  of  fire,  it  does  not  seem  likely  that  alcohol 
vapor  lamps  with  mantles,  even  with  free  alcohol, 
would  introduce  any  element  of  competition  which 
is  not  now  experienced. 

Electricity  furnishes  the  best  and  safest  agency 
for  illumination  now  known.  Improvements  are 
constantly  taking  place  in  the  art  of  electric  light- 
ing, so  that  the  service  rendered  may  be  cheaper 
and  better.  Possibly  a  future  improvement  to  lower 
the  cost  of  producing  current  will  be  the  employ- 
ment of  alcohol  engines  to  drive  the  generators. 
In  many  western  states,  where  grain  is  the  prin- 
cipal product  of  a  fertile  soil  and  where  coal  is 
comparatiely  dear,  such  a  situation,  with  no  tax 
on  denatured  alcohol,  is  conceivable.  At  any  rate, 
we  believe  that  electric  lighting  will  more  than  hold 
its  own  against  all  other  illuminants.  Occasionally 
there  are  flurries,  such  as  that  caused  by  the  intro- 
ductiqn  of  acetj'lene,  the  spread  of  the  "gas  arc," 
and  the  like,  but  the  progress  of  the  electric  light 
has  been  steady  and  constant  ever  since  its  intro- 
duction. We  have  no  fear  that  it  will  remain  for 
alcohol,  taxed  or  untaxed,  in  its  natural  state  or  de- 
natured, to  inflict  a  serious  injury. 


April  21,   [go6 

The  Prevention  of  Pole  Rot. 
i: i   Charles  H    Coah 

(  in,'    ,,f    lli,     pun,  ip.,1    call  , 

ai  i  i.'l   ,l'  ii  'I,"' tern     i     polt    rot,    whii  li   ha 

beer   i  omparati'  •  Ij    ni  jli  i  t,  d   up  to   within 

,.,  ,i     ago,    though    ,,,,n.   compani,  -;  ,,   the 

Agricultural  Di  partmi  nl  ol  thi    I  i I     tati      ' 

,  ondui  ted   extcnsivi    e>  perimi  nl      vith   thi 
finding   some   efficient   method   ol    li 
preciation  from  this  cause.    The  rapid  incn 

pi  i, ,   of  good  pole  liini,,  i   ha    d i h  to 

late  the  adoption  of  thods  which  would  lengthen 

the   useful   life   of   poles,    The   idea   of   pri 

wood  is  old,  and  many  different  prepai  il haw 

tilized    fr,r   this   purpose,   including   chl li 

of  zinc,  zinc  and  tannin,  bichloride  of  mercury, 
sulphate  of  copper,  wood  creosote  oil,  dead  oil, 
coal  tar  and   various  commercial   preparation 

ally    combinations    composed    from,    ntaining, 

0 i    thi     <!„>\ ,■  named    ingredient        I  rcatmi  nt 

ompo  ed  from  i  oal  tai  .,",1 1  reo  ote  oil  an  fai  mon 

ful,  all   thin i  idi  r<  d,  and   an    undoubl 

idly  more  generally  used  in  omi  form  or  ,,th<r 
than  any  of  the  other-named  preparations,  With 
the  exception  of  iron  poles  used  in  treel  railwa 
work,  wooden  poles  are  almost  exclusively  used 
in  electric  systems,  and  may  be  chosen  from  any 
of  the  following-named  timbers :  Red  and  white- 
cedar,  sap  and  hard  pine,  cypress,  juniper  or  red 
wood  and  chestnut. 

Cedar  of  good  quality  has  a  capacity  to  resist 
the  attacks  of  insects  and  fungus  growths  to  a 
greater  extent  than  any  other  wood  used  for  poles 
in  this  country.  Heart-sawed  pine  poles  have  an 
average  life  of  from  eight  to  nine  years,  while 
sap  pine,  though  readily  secured  in  suitable  sizes, 
is  rarely  used,  because  of  its  rapid  decay,  its  nat- 
ural   life    being    scarcely    more    than    three    years. 

The    accompanying    table    gives    ih<     apj ati 

life  of  the  different  kinds  of  timber  used  for  poll  • 
in  this  country : 

Kind  of  Pole.  Averaye  Natural  Lite. 

Red  cedar 10  to  30  years. 

White  cedar 10  to  2S  years. 

Chestnut 8  to  12  years. 

Heart-sawed  pine 8  to    ,>  years. 

Cypress 5  to    8  years. 

Sap  pine 3  to    5  years. 

The  facilities  and  cost  of  obtaining  the  various 
kinds  of  timber  for  poles  in  the  United  States 
has  much  to  do  with  the  selection,  and  for  this 
reason  the  poles  used  in  one  section  of  the  country 
will  differ  from  those  used  in  a  different  portion. 
For  instance,  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  United 
States,  red  cedar  and  cypress  are  used  quite  ex- 
tensively, because  these  trees  grow  in  that  portion 
of  the  country,  and  for  this  reason  are  better 
suited    to    the    climatic    conditions    in    some    ways. 

Different  conditions  to  be  met  with  have  caused 
many  different  methods  of  either  preserving  the 
poles  or  arranging  them  so  that  they  can  be  readily 
replaced  when  necessary,  due  to  loss  of  strength. 
An  instance  wherein  much  ingenuity  was  shown 
is  in  connection  with  the  New  Orleans  Drainage 
Commission  lines,  a  large  portion  of  which  was 
constructed  through  swampy  country,  an  ideal  spot 
for  the  production  of  rot.  It  was  found  that  the 
poles  set  in  the  ground  after  the  customary  manner 
in  this  line  had  to  be  reset  in  a  very  short  time, 
and  it  is  well  known  that  piecemeal  resetting  of 
poles  is  very  expensive,  in  that  the  work  is  here, 
then  there,  necessitating  the  transportation  of  both 
tools  and  men,  and  also  that  the  old  construction 
has  to  be  taken  down.  All  this  consumes  extra 
time,  to  say  nothing  of  the  inconveniences  the  con- 
sumers are  put  to  during  shutdowns.  Because  of 
this,  and  to  obtain  greater  strength,  the  engineer- 
ing staff  having  charge  of  the  construction  of  the 
above-mentioned  line  adopted  a  plan  which  con- 
sisted of  setting  a  wooden  box,  of  slightly  larger 
inside  dimension  than  the  poles,  in  the  earth  a 
sufficient  depth.  This  box  was  then  completely 
surrounded  by  a  concrete  filling  or  jacket.  As 
soon  as  this  was  set  the  box  was  withdrawn,  and 
the  hole  thus  left  in  the  concrete  formation  was 
used  to  place  the  pole  in.  The  poles  used  were 
square-cut  timber  and  the  hole  was  left  slightly 
larger  than  the  pole,  the  unfilled  space  being  filled 
later  with  clean  sand,  thereby  preventing  any 
looseness  when  the  pole  was  in  place.  The  poles 
thus  set  could  be  easily  withdrawn,  the  sand  scooped 
out  of  the  hole,  and  a  new  pole  substituted.  Poles 
so  placed  necessarily  have  a  very  strong  but  not 
permanent    setting. 

The  construction  of  lines  in  the  Oriental  coun- 
tries often  necessitate  the  use  of  precautions  which 
are  not  met  with  in  European  or  American  prac- 
tice, and  which  in  some  instances  appear  needless 
at  first  thought.  It  is  said  that  the  wild  animals 
in  some  portions  of  the  Oriental  countries  do  great 


iwn,  vi 
thai   11   ofl 
i 
lop      Whcthei    ■  In 

ing    them    ■  ! 

countri, 

Salt    I, 

poll   ,   and 

Sail  Lake  City,  1 

v   a   liberal  application  of  thi 

,,i   1] "mi 

0 '  thi 

rol   co 1  -i  •  harring  the  I, mi  of  thi    pole  with 

il,,    il  ii 1    >   blow    Ion  I ii,- 1     uilabl 

hii  li  Hi,    ■  I,  ,1  ■  !   will, 

tarry    id,  .1    in    thi 

othei     devised  latei 

'in'     '"     ll     thi  il    .-in, I    ■■■..iter    line,    or    :,t    that 

point  v.  hi  "i,  t     the  earth,        "his  por- 

ii,,n   is   first   attacked,   due   to  the  combined 

,,f    the    joil    and     i phi  i  ii     elements.    Thi  1 

;i    ii  H    e 1  com  on  the  market 

which,   as   before   mention'  d,   have 
man, ,11  of  some  kind  for  their  basis. 

The    principal    pn  icrvativc    property    of    ci 
oil   appears   to  he  due  to   its   naphthalene,   which    is 
deposited   mi',  the  pores  of  the  wood,  together  with 
the    antiseptic    acids    always    found    combined    with 
the  dead  nils  of  coal  tar.     One  objection  t,,  tl 
ni"   creosoted    poles    is   due   to   the   tarry   acid 

tained   in   the  ci ti    oil,   prim  ipa  II; bolii    ai   d 

which  makes  the  handling  i  i  the  pi  ill 
agreeable,  because  of  its  irritable  qualities  to  both 
the  flesh  and  sight.  A  thoroughly  creosoted 
is  also  lowered  in  resistance  to  such  an  extent 
that  linemen  can  no  longer  depend  upon  the  poles 
to  insulate  them  when  handling  high  potentials. 
Compounds  having  a  larger  percentage  of  creosote 
or  carbolic  acid  lower  the  resistance  of  treated 
poles  considerable,  while  treatments  with  a  larger 
amount  of  naphthalene  and  a  smaller  percentage 
of  creosote  or  carbolic  acid  do  not  materially  lower 
the    resistance    of   the   poles. 

A  complete  creosoting  plant  for  the  treatment  of 
poles  and  railroad  ties  was  installed  several  years 
ago  by  the  Augusta  (Ga.)  Railway  and  Electric 
Company,  which  seemed  to  give  good  satisfaction. 
The  plant  consists  of  a  long  steel  cylinder  six 
feet  in  diameter  by  102  feet  long,  being  provided 
;ii  each  end  with  heavy  cast-iron  heads  securely 
supported  on  hinges  and  arranged  to  lie  clamped 
against  fiber  gaskets  of  the  cylinder  in  a  secure 
manner,  so  as  to  resist  a  hydrostatic  pressure  of 
150  pounds  to  the  square  inch.  The  cylinder  has 
a  narrow-gauge  railway  laid  through  it,  with  the 
tracks  extending  beyond  the  ends,  to  the  pole  yards, 
where  sufficient  space  is  provided  for  handling  the 
poles.  Inside  the  cylinder  there  is  laid  a  series 
of  one-inch  pipes  from  end  to  end  along  the  bot- 
tom between  the  car  rails.  These  pipes  are  ar- 
ranged to  be  supplied  with  steam  at  a  temperature 
of  from  400  to  500  degrees. 

There  is  also  connected  to  the  cylinder  a  14  by 
10  by  18-inch  direct-acting  oil-pressure  pump  which 
obtains  its  oil  supply  from  a  large  tank  buried  in 
the  earth  beneath  the  cylinder.  The  poles  are 
loaded  on  to  a  train  of  cars  adapted  to  run  into 
the  cylinder,  and  are  drawn  in  by  means  of  a 
wire  rope.  The  cylinder  doors  are  then  securely 
bolted  and  live  steam  is  turned  into  the  interior 
of  the  cylinder,  until  a  pressure  of  80  pounds  to 
the  square  inch  is  reached,  which  is  maintained 
while  the  steam  is  being  circulated  through  the 
series  of  heating  pipes  arranged  along  the  bottom 
of  the  cylinder.  This  steaming  process  is  contin- 
ued for  a  period  of  from  four  to  six  hours,  de- 
pending upon  the  size  and  kind  of  timber  being 
treated.  The  steam  pressure  is  then  drawn  down 
and  the  vacuum  pump  is  started,  which  creates  a 
vacuum  in  the  cylinder  containing  the  timber,  which 
has  now  attained  a  temperature  of  approximately 
350  degrees.  The  effect  of  evacuating  is  to  season 
the  green  timber  by  drawing  the  sap  and  air  from 
its   pores. 

Seasoning  is  facilitated  by  the  steaming  to  which 
the  timber  has  been  subjected,  which  causes  the 
sap  to  dissolve,  and  raises  its  temperature  to  far 
above  the  boiling  point,  due  to  the  reduced  pres- 
sure which  the  vacuum  has  caused.  It  is  said  that 
sap  is  immediately  volatilized  upon  application  of 
a  vacuum,  which  has  the  effect  of  causing  the  ex- 


3'7 

The    oi!-pre»«ure    t,  mil    a 

pomped 

■  mount 

into    (hi 

culating 

drippinf  team  in 

maintained  throughout 

the    Mill: 

lli,    lr.,111    and    poles    are   then   withdrawn    f: 
cylinder  and   the   poles   placed   in   tie 

this    tr- 

panies   Inning   similar   creosoting  plants   ob-- 

the  hit;) 

nize  at  a  tern; 
ranging   about   300  dee  i,at   the   rapid 

exudation  of  '; 
vacuum    in    addition    to    the    high    temperatui 

h    1     ■     .His.'     di  rin 

poles,  that  all  the  wrk  I,,.   done  on  them  ■ 

h  of  the  benefits  will 
be  lost,  since  r,.t  will  read:!;  Ugin  in  such  places 
as  have  been  laid  bare.  Therefore,  the  Doles 
should  be  trimmed,  roofed  and  the  gains  cut,  and 
such  other  necessary  operations  as  are  required 
for  finishing  a  pole  should  be  performed  pi 
treatment.  Should  it  become  necessary  to  cut  into 
the  pole  after  the  treatment,  the  portion  affected 
should  be  thoroughly  saturated  with  hot  tar  or 
creosote   as    soon    as    possible. 

It    is    not    the    customary    practice    to    thoroughly 
creosote  poles  in  this  manner,  because  of  the  equip- 
ment necessary  and  also  because  the  treated  timber 
is    not    as    readily    handled    or    worked.     1 
timber    often    becomes    very    brittle     itbis    is 
cially    true    of    pine)     and    ill 
climbing  or  working  upon  one  with  linemen 
is    increased,      the    weight    1-    also    increased    con- 
siderably,  also   a   factor   not   to  be  lost   sight   of   in 
construction   work. 

Untreated  timber  has  about  the  same  strength 
as  treated  timber  at  the  first  stages,  but  the  treated 
timber  maintains  its  strength  much  longer  than  the 
untreated,   due  to  the   non-existence  of  rot   effects. 

It  is  said  that  the  cost  of  thoroughly  ere 
poles  in  a  plant  as  outlined  above  ranges  from 
$1.50  to  $2  each  and  that  their  life  is  increased 
thereby  from  four  to  six  times,  a  fact  which  leaves 
no  grounds  for  arguments  as  to  the  feasibility  of 
treating  poles  when  viewed  from  a  financial  stand- 
point. Sir  William  Preece  is  authority  for  stating 
that  creosoted  poles  have  been  set  in  England 
for  30  years  without  showing  the  least  indi 
of    rot. 

The  most  used  and  best  suited  means  of  treating 
p,,les  where  limited  means  are  available  c 
of  thoroughly  saturating  the  poles,  prior  to 
them,  for  a  distance  of  about  three  feet  at  that 
portion  which  will  be  about  two  feet  under  the 
earth  and  one  above  it.  when  the  pole  is  set.  Creo- 
sote, or  any  good  tarry  compound,  can  be  used 
for  this  purpose,  and  all  that  is  required  is  the 
material  and  a  brush  to  apply  it.  which  may  be 
done  at  the  place  where  the  pole  is  to  be  used. 
It  is  the  best  practice  to  shave  the  pole  where  the 
creosote  is  to  be  applied,  so  that  it  may  be  painted 
directly  onto  the  sound  timber,  instead  of  to  old 
bark  or  peelings,  as  would  otherwise  be  the  case 
in  most  instances.  It  is  also  good  practice  to  treat 
the  roof  and  cross-arm  gains  of  poles  in  the  same 
manner :  some  companies  even  apply  the  prepara- 
tions to  the  knots,  but  this  is  hardly  necessary 
ordinarily. 

To    treat   a   pole   in    this   manner   would   increase 

5t    from    10    to    15    cents,    and    its    usefulness 

will  be  increased,  at  the  very  lowest  estimate,  from 

100   to   200  per  cent,   which   is   effecting  a  large 


3*8 

gain  when  compared  with  the  original  outlay  re- 
quired to  bring  about  this  result.  If  tar  be  used 
for  this  purpose,  its  bad  feature,  that  of  adhering 
to  everything  it  comes  in  contact  with,  may  be 
overcome  by  sprinkling  it  with  lime  after  the  tar 
has  been  applied  to  the  pole.  Banking  the  earth 
about  the  poles  will  reduce  rot  at  the  earth  line 
considerably,  but  this  line  would  be  constantly 
changing,  due  to  the  banking  settling  or  washing 
away.  This,  of  course,  would  aid  in  pre- 
venting rot,  but  only  in  a  minor  way.  It  has 
occurred  to  the  writer  that,  in  many  instances,  i't 
would  be  beneficial  to  place  in  the  pole  holes,  prior 
lo  setting  the  poles,  a  quantity  of  crushed  rock 
upon  which  the  pole  could  rest,  thereby  furnishing 
it  some  aid  in  circulation  at  its  base,  which  would 
hasten  the  seasoning  process  Green  timber  should 
never  be  set,  but  should  be  allowed  to  season  before 
•  use.  The  increase  in  the  cost  of  wooden  poles 
has  furthered  the  use  of  iron  poles,  which,  how- 
ever, are  not  used  to  any  great  extent  in  any  other 
than  street-railway  work,  but  the  scarcity  of  good 
timber  and  the  rapid  depreciation  of  the  poles  now 
in  use  are  factors  which  will  compel  the  use  of 
iron  for  this  purpose  to  a  greater  extent  in  the 
near  future. 

At  all  events,  the  subject  of  preventing  pole  rot 
is  worthy  of  investigation,  and  those  having  new 
construction  in  view  will  be  amply  repaid  for  in- 
vestigating this  matter,  and  can  receive,  upon  re- 
quest to  the  Agricultural  Department  of  the  United 
States,  a  comprehensive  and  able  treatise  on  the 
subject'  called    "Metal    Railroad    Ties." 


Electrical  Show  in  Salt  Lake  City. 

The  first  exclusive  electrical  show  in  the  Rocky 
Mountain  region  was  held  in  Salt  Lake  City  during 
the  week  ended  April  7th.  It  was  given  by  the 
electrical  interests  of  Salt  Lake  City,  with  the  Utah 
Power  and  Railway  Company  as  the  principal 
mover  in  the  enterprise.  Nearly  every  dealer  in 
electrical  appliances  in  the  city  was  associated  in 
the  movement.  In  the  Aztec  Building,  where  the 
show  was  held,  the  illumination  was  brilliant.  An 
electric  tower  on  top  of  the  building  was  hung  with 
streamers  of  electric  lights.  Archways  in  various 
colored  electric  lights  extended  from  the  entrance 
of  the   building  west  to   Main   Street. 

It  was  the  purpose  of  those  giving  the  show  to 
enlighten  the  public  as  to  the  many  uses  of  elec- 
tricity, and  incidentally  to  advertise  their  wares. 
From  the  opening  night  the  building  was  thronged 
daily  with  interested  visitors  who  were  given  an 
opportunity  to  see  all  kinds  of  electrical  appliances 
and  machines,  and  to  witness  demonstrations  of  the 
usefulness  of  the  various  devices.  These  included 
various  electrical  kitchen  utensils,  electrical  radi- 
ators, stoves,  flatirons,  broilers,  fans,  motors  for 
operating  wash  machines,  sewing  machines,  etc., 
and  many  other  devices.  There  were  exhibited  a 
large  range  of  sizes  of  generators  of  various  makes, 
and  motors  ranging  from  50  horsepower  down  to 
one-tenth  horsepower. 

Among  the  exhibits  was  an  electrically  lighted 
map  of  the  system  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Bell 
Telephone  Company,  showing  125  lights  for  the 
different  exchanges  of  that  company  in  the  states 
of  Idaho.  Wyoming,  Montana  and  Utah.  The  Utah 
Independent  Telephone  Company  had  a  new  switch- 
board and  exchange  representing  the  newest  appli- 
ance of  the  kind.  The  Independent  company  also 
showed  a  mercury  arc  rectifier  for  transforming 
alternating  current  to  direct  current,  used  in  charg- 
ing storage  batteries. 

There  was  a  suite  of  rooms  illustrating  a  kitchen, 
dining  room  and  sitting  room  in  which  electricity 
is  used  for  many  purposes.  Mrs.  A1.  M.  Walden 
was  present  and  gave  demonstrations  in  electric 
cooking,  a  series  of  luncheons  being  served. 

A  large  lamp  post  was  erected  at  the  side  of  the 
street  in  front  of  the  building,  and  from  it  a  num- 
ber of  32-candlepower  incandescent  lights  were  dis- 
played to  demonstrate  the  advantages  of  side  light- 
ing of  this  nature  for  streets,  which  is  being  con- 
sidered for  the  paved  districts  of  Salt  Lake. 

Among  the  mechanical  attractions  were  the  in- 
struments belonging  to  the  University  of  Utah  for 
measuring  electricity  in  every  form  and  for  stand- 
ardizing   meters    and    other   measuring    instruments. 

Arc  lights  and  electric  signs  of  many  designs 
made  the  place  exceedingly  light  and  attractive. 
Those  who  attended  the  exposition  were,  to  a  large 
extent,  residents  of  Salt  Lake. 


Franklin    Celebration  in    Philadelphia. 

The  Philadelphia  celebration  in  honor  of  the  bi- 
centenary of  Benjamin  Franklin  is  scheduled  to  be 
held  by  the  American  Philosophical  Society  April 
17th  to  20th.  Mayor  Weaver  of  Philadelphia,  in 
speaking  of  the  celebration,  said:  "Benjamin  Frank- 
lin was  one  of  the  greatest  men  that  the  American 
colonies  produced,  and  while  he  was  born  in  Bos- 
ton, he  was  distinctively  a  Philadelphian,  and  did 
more  for  the  city  than  any  other  man  that  ever 
lived  here.  I  respectfully  ask  all  the  citizens  of 
Philadelphia    to    join    in    celebrating    the    two-hun- 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


dredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  this  splendid 
citizen  and  philanthropist,  printer  and  philosopher, 
scientist,  statesman  and  diplomatist.  The  city  will 
decorate  the  City  Hall  by  flags  during  the  day  and 
by  electric  illuminations  at  night." 

During  the  exercises  it  is  expected  that  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania  will  confer  the  degree  of 
LL.  D.  on  Edward  VII.,  Andrew  Carnegie,  Will- 
iam Marconi,  Prof.  A.  A.  Michelson  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago,  and  others. 


Milwaukee  Convention  of    the  Institute. 

As  heretofore  announced  in  the  Western  Elec- 
.  trician,  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  is  to  be  the  scene  this 
year  of  the  annual  convention  of  the  American  In- 
stitute of  Electrical  Engineers.  Instead  of  being 
held  late  in  June,  as  customarily,  the  convention 
this  year  will  be  held  May  28th  to  June  1st  to  en- 
able members  who  so  desire  to  go  on  the  European 
trip  the  last  of  June.  The  Hotel  Pfister  will  prob- 
ably be  the  headquarters  of  the  convention. 

The  programme,  as  at  present  arranged,  is  as 
follows : 

Monday,  May  28th— Address  of  welcome;  ad- 
dress by  President  Schuyler  Skaats  Wheeler; 
"Repulsion  Induction  Motor,"  by  Maurice  Milch, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y. ;  "Direct-current  Motor  Design 
as  Influenced  by  the  Intcrpole,"  by  Charles  H. 
Bedell,  Bayonne,  N.  J. 

Tuesday — "Experiences  with  Lightning  and  Static 
Strains  on  33,000-volt  Transmission  Systems,"  by 
Farley  Osgood,  New  Mil'ford,  Conn.;  "Cell-type 
Lightning  Arrester,"  by  E.  E.  F.  Creighton,  Schenec- 
tady, N.  Y. ;  "Protective  Apparatus,  for  Lightning 
and  Static  Strains,"  by  H.  C.  Wirt,  Schenectady, 
N.  Y. ;  "Short-circuit  and  Ground  Currents  in  Al- 
ternating-current Systems,"  by  Charles  P.  Stein- 
metz,    Schenectady,   N.   Y. 

Wednesday — "Magnetic  Properties  of  Electrolytic 
Iron,"  by  Charles  F.  Burgess,  Madison,  Wis.,  and 
A.  Hoyt  Taylor,  Madison,  Wis. ;  "Measurement  of 
Temperature  bv  Electrical  Means,"  by  Edwin  F. 
Northrup,  Philadelphia,  Pa.;  "The  Educational 
Value  of  an  Electric  Test  Car,"  by  T.  F.  Morgan. 
Urbana,  111.;  "The  Art  of  Inventing,"  by  Edwin  J. 
Prindle,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  "Shunt  and  Compound- 
wound  Converters,"  by  W.  L.  Waters,  Milwaukee, 
Wis. 

Thursday— "Economics  Derivable  from  the  Use  of 
Relatively  Small  Waterpowers  of  Low  Head  in  the 
Middle^  West,"  by  Dugald  C.  Jackson,  Madison, 
Wis.;  "Oscillations  and  Surges  Against  Ground  in 
Alternating-current  Systems,"  by  Charles  P.  Stein- 
metz,  Schenectady,  N.  Y. ;  "Relative  Merits  of 
Various  Types  of  Booster  Control,"  by  Joseph 
Bijur,  New  York,  and  Lamar  Lyndon,  New  York; 
"Safety  Devices  for  Steam  Engines,  Turbines  and 
Motors,"  by  Charles  M.  Heminway,  New  York. 

The  Milwaukee  local  committee  consists  of  John 
I.  Beggs,  chairman;  W.  E.  Dodds.  W.  F.  Johnson, 
H.  H.  Cutler  and  Charles  W.  Burkett. 


The  two-hundred-and-sixth  regular  meeting  of 
the  Institute  will  be  held  in  the  assembly  room  of 
the  New  York  Edison  Company,  44  West  Twenty- 
seventh  Street,  New  York  city,  on  Friday,  April 
27th,  at  S:i5  in  the  evening.  The  following  papers 
will  be  presented  and  discussed:  "Standardizing 
Rubber-covered  Wires  and  Cables,"  by  John  Lan- 
gan,  New  York ;  "Comments  on  Present  Under- 
ground Cable  Practice,"  by  Wallace  S.  Clark,  Schen- 
ectady,   N.    Y. 

On  Mav  15th  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Institute 
will  be  held  at  New  York. 


Death  of  Lemuel  Bannister. 

Lemuel  Bannister,  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the 
Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company 
of  Pittsburg  and  the  Westinghouse  Electric  Com- 
pany of  England,  died  at  the  Imperial  Hotel  in 
New  York  city  on  April  13th.  He  had  been  ill  for 
three  years  with  a  cancerous  affection  of  the  throat 
and  had  traveled  far  and  wide  in  the  hope  of  find- 
ing a  cure.  Up  to  three  years  ago  he  was  vice- 
president  of  the  English  Westinghouse  company. 
He  then  lived  in  London,  but  when  his  health  failed 
he  retired  from  business.  Mr.  Bannister  was  about 
67  years  old.  He  leaves  a  widow,  Frances  Kenyon 
Bannister,  and  a  nephew,  Lemuel  Bannister  of 
Boston. 

For  several  years  Mr.  Bannister  was  first  vice- 
president  and  general  manager  of  the  Westinghouse 
Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company,  ranking  next 
to  Mr.  Westinghouse  himself.  In  earlier  life  he  had 
been  admitted  to  the  bar  and  had  practiced  law. 
He  had  considerable  aptitude  for  mechanics  and 
was  the  inventor  of  the  Bannister  rocking  grate. 
But  it  was  in  business  affairs  that  he  achieved 
his  greatest  distinction.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
strength  of  character — a  man  who  made  himself 
felt — but  nevertheless  suave  and  courteous,  an 
industrial  diplomat.  His  ability  and  force  made 
him  a  tower  of  strength  to  the  Westinghouse  in- 
terests, and  although  of  late  years  he  had  rather 
retired  from  the  field,  owing  to  his  health,  his 
death  will  be  keenly  regretted. 


April  21,   1966 

Electrical  Show  in  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis. 

With  characteristic  enterprise  the  Eastern  Wis- 
consin Railway  and  Light  Company  of  Fond  du 
Lac,  Wis.,  last  week  conducted  an  electrical  and 
gas  show  in  Fond  du  Lac.  Armory  E,  where  the 
show  was  held,  is  a  spacious  and  conveniently  ar- 
ranged building  near  the  business  center  of  the  city. 
Even  in  this  large  building  it  was  difficult  at  times 
to  accommodate  the  large  throng  of  enthusiastic 
people  who  came  to  learn  of  the  increasing  uses 
of  electricity  and  electrical  appliances  in  every-day 
life.  From  Monday  evening,  when  the  show 
opened,  until  the  close  on  Saturday  night,  April 
14th.  the  building  was  well  filled  with  visitors  every 
afternoon  and  evening.  No  admission  was  charged, 
the  entire  expense  being  borne  by  the  railway  and 
light  company. 

Some  time  ago  the  Eastern  Wisconsin  Railway 
and  Light  Company  determined  to  increase  its  out- 
put of  electricity  and  gas  in  the  city.  The  company 
controls  the  electric  and  gas  lighting  of  Fond  du 
Lac  and  the  local  street  railway,  besides  a  fine 
interurban  railway  to  Oshkosh,  20  miles  distant. 
An  illustrated  description  of  the  street  and  inter- 
urban property  was  printed  in  the  Western  Elec- 
trician of  October  8,  1904.  A  new-business  depart- 
ment was  organized  with  Mr.  L.  E.  Holderman  at 
its  head.  On  January  1,  1906,  the  rates  for  electric 
light  and  power  and  for  gas  were  considerably  re- 
duced, bringing  their  use  within  the  reach  of  all. 

Further  to  popularize  the  use  of  electricity  and 
gas  Mr.  Holderman  and  General  Manager  N-  C. 
Draper  decided  to  give  a  show  at  which  to  exhibit 
the  modern  electrical  and  gas  devices  and  appliances 
and  demonstrate  their  uses  as  applied  to  commercial 
and  domestic  practice.  Local  electrical  men  were 
invited  to  participate  and  exhibition  space  was 
offered  to  manufacturers  and  dealers  throughout 
the  country.  Space,  power  and  light  were  fur- 
nished free  by  the  company.  The  result  was  grati- 
fying. The  local  public  was  made  familiar  with 
things  which  will  be  of  much  use  to  them  and  of 
which  most  of  them  formerly  knew  but  little.  For 
the  success  of  the  show  much  credit  is  due  Mr. 
Draper  and  Mr.  Holderman,  also  Mr.  Thomas 
Le   Pine,  superintendent  of  the  gas  department. 

Extending  across  the  walk  over  the  Armory  en- 
trance was  a  large  electric  sign  bearing  the  words 
"The  Electric  Company.  Gas."  Within  the  building 
the  illumination  was  the  most  effective  ever  seen 
in  Fond  du  Lac.  The  general  illumination  of  the 
building  was  by  1,600  incandescent  lamps  and  17 
Nernst  lamps — 12  three-glower,  four  four-glow-er 
and  one  six-glower.  For  the  incandescent  lamps 
one  extra  20-kilowatt  and  one  io-ki!ow.att  trans- 
former were  placed  in  the  company's  commercial 
light  circuit  and  a  three-wire  system  was  carried 
around  the  balcony  of  the  building. 

Addi'n'g  to  the  brilliance  of  the  picture  were  a 
large  number  of  electric  signs  and  many  novel  elec- 
trical devices  of  illumination.  In  front  of  the  booth 
of  the  Eastern  Wisconsin  Railway  and  Light  Com- 
pany were  some  large  electric  signs  made  by  the 
Federal  Electric  Company  and  the  Haller  Machine 
Company  of  Chicago.  In  this  booth  the  General 
Electric  Company  exhibited  its  product.  Mr.  J.  B. 
Tingley  of  the  Chicago  office  was  in  charge.  In 
this  booth  was  shown  the  luminous  electric  radiator 
which  throws  a  mellow  light  and  is  particularly 
serviceable  for  the  quick  heating  of  a  sick  room, 
bedroom,  or  the  like,  because  it  throws  heat  the 
instant  the  current  is  turned  on.  Electric  flatirons. 
coffee  percolators,  chafing  dishes,  glue  pots,  water 
heaters,  frying  pans,  little  electric  stoves,  cereal 
cookers,  fan  motors  and  fans,  G.  E.  incandescent 
lamps  and  enclosed  fuses  were  among  the  things 
shown  by  the  General  Electric  Company.  In  this 
booth  two  demonstrators  were  at  work  showing 
the  uses  of  the  various  devices.  Many  dainty  es- 
culents were  electrically  prepared  and  presented 
to  visitors  to  show  the  practicability  of  electricity 
in  the  kitchen.  "Noark"  fuses,  made  by  the  H.  W. 
Johns-Manville  Company,  were  also  shown  in  this 
booth. 

H.  L.  Wallichs,  electrical  contractor  of  Fond  du 
Lac,  and  dealer  in  electrical  supplies,  showed  a  line 
of  electrical  supplies.  His  booth  was  particularly 
attractive  because  of  the  rich  electrical  glassware 
and  fixtures  shown.  Mr.  Wallichs  built  for  the 
occasion  an  attractive  electric  sign  and  a  huge 
electric  ball  made  of  150  incandescent  lamps.  The 
sign  and  the  ball  flashed  intermittingly.  A  revolv- 
ing electric  wheel  of  vari-colored  bulbs  attracted 
attention. 

F.  O.  Bichel  of  Fond  du  Lac,  electrical  con- 
tractor and  dealer  in  electrical  supplies,  displayed 
his  name  in  colored  lights  in  the  rear  of  his  booth, 
with  sloping  walls,  bearing  white  lights,  spreading 
open  to  the  front  of  the  booth. 

In  the  booth  of  L.  A.  &  W.  F.  Briggs  of  Fond 
du  Lac  and  Beloit,  electrical  contractors  and  deal- 
ers in  electrical  supplies,  were  shown  electric  flat- 
irons,  fans,  motors,  heating  pads,  etc.  A  washing 
machine  was  shown  in  operation,  driven  by  an  elec- 
tric motor.  An  expert  gave  demonstrations  in  the 
art  of  sewing  on  an  electrically  driven  sewing  ma- 
chine. An  electric  "chaser,"  built  by  Mr.  W.  F. 
Briggs,   attracted  attention. 

The  largest  and  most  complete  exhibit  at  the  show 
was  that  of  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manu- 
facturing Company.  Besides  the  large  booth  at  the 
west  wall   of  the  main   exhibit   room  the   company 


April   21,    [906 

had  an  elaborate  exhibit  of  motoi  dri     I 

1  in    entering    thi    building    attentioi 

attrai  ted    to    the    word     "'■'•■  1 

in  the  1  hapi   ol  lectrii     i nad    of  1 

indi  1 1  "I   lamp    and  huni thi    1 1  hi 

booth   was  made  the  headquarti  1     1 1 

electrical  men  during  the  week      Mi    E    M.Bi  chofl 

of  il»'  re  .;il''  depai  tmenl   ol   thi    I  hii 

In  charge  of  thi    exhibil   and   -.- ■    oi   t! 

popular    men    ai    the    shew.      I  [e    wa     a    i  ti  d    bj 

R,   E.  Schaulin  and   M    Q.  Brunton  of  thi    '  

office,     lii  the  booth  were    hown    ingle  pha  1   motoi 

wiili  phase  splitters  ;  direel  cui  n  nl   and  all inn 

current    1006  patti  1  n    1 1      1  ■  and    16  im  h  : 

high  tension     automal I     1  in  nil  bi  eakci    .     oil 

w  itchi    ,    copper    1 .-.  iti  he      foi     low  ti  1 

work ;    integrating    wattmi  tei  1;   set    ol    portabli    in 

Btruments    of    precision ;    switchboard    in  itrui 1  . 

lightning    arresters,   etc.     Then     wen     also    shown 

al 40  styles  of  Sawyer-Man   indi   cent   lamps 

and  11   line  of  the  new   type    £   1  ircuil  bn  al  -  1      Foi 
either  alternating  or  direel  current  as  low  a 
amperes, 
In    thr    Westinghouse    booth    were    also    thi     1 

liiliiis  of  llu-  Nemsl  Lamp  Company  I  il onci 

Hewitt  Lamp  Company,  in  charge  of  Mr.  J.  It. 
Griffith  of  Chicago.  I  In-  exhibit  was  lighted  by  two 
alternating-current  tiotvoll  multiple  arc  lamps,  three 
four-glower  and  to  single-glower  Nern  1  lamp  and 
a  Cooper  Hewitt  mercury-vapor  lamp.  The  latter 
attracted  much  attention,  many  of  the  visitors  hav- 
ing never  seen  this  type  of  lamp. 

The  motor-driven-machine  exhibit  of  the  Wi  ting 
house  company  was  in  a  separate  room  and  was 
very  interesting,  all  the  machines  being  shown  in 
operation.  The  company  installed  a  small  power 
plant,  shown  in  the  accompanying  picture.  Cur- 
rent  was  taken  from  the  mains  of  the  Eastern  Wis- 
consin  Railway  and  Light  Company.  One  unit  in 
the  plant  consisted  of  a  500-volt  direct-current  mo- 
tor driving  a  125-volt  direct-current  generator  sup- 
plying current  for  the  direct-current  motors  in  the 
power  exhibit  and  for  fan  motors,  mercury-vapor 
lamp  and  fur  the  Cutler-Hammer  exciter  for  the 
alternator.  The  other  unit  is  a  50-kilowatt  three- 
phase  60-cycIc  1,100-volt  alternating-current  gener- 
ator driven  by  a  500-volt  direct-current  motor.  Cur- 
rent from  the  alternator  was  transformed  down 
th  rough  a  set  of  two  single-phase  transformers  to 
200  volts  three-phase,  the  current  supply  being  for  . 
the  various  induction  motors  in  the  exhibit.  An- 
other transformer  of  1.100-100  volts  supplied  cur- 
rent for  the  single-phase  motors  and  Nernst  lamps. 
From  the  secondary  of  the  transformers  the  cur- 
rent was  carried  to  the  low-tension  switchboard 
shown  in  the  picture,  on  which  were  mounted  the 
instruments,  switches  and  rheostats  for  the  control 
of  the   entire  exhibit. 

One  of  the  accompanying  pictures  shows  some 
of  the  motor-driven  machines  in  the  Westinghouse 
operating-machine    exhibit.      A    vertical    drill    press 


printed    1 

'  ■    ' 

I"  '   " 


sunt  a  triplex  pump  which  was  geared  to 
half-horsepower  three-phase  60-cycie  200-volt  West- 
inghouse motor,  type  ill..  \  n  idencc  mangli 
made  by  the  Troy  Laundry  Machinery  Company  of 
Chicago  and  New  York,  was  direct  driven  by  a 
onc-quartcr-horsepower  i  io-volt  type  R  mot,  ir.  A 
double  coffee  mill  for  granulating  or  pulverizing, 
made  by  Henry  Troemner  of  Philadelphia,  was 
driven  by  a  one-half-horscpower  type  CCL  motor 
A  cream  separator  from  ibe  Vermont  Farm  Ma- 
chinery Company  of  Bellows  Falls,  Vt.,  in  which 
the  cylinder  revolves  at  9.000  revolutions  per  min- 
ute, was  operated  by  a  Westinghouse  one-sixth- 
horsepowcr   no-volt  type  R  direct-current  motor. 

In  the  power  exhibit,  the  General  Electric  Com- 
pany also  showed  a  complete  line  of  500-volt  di- 
rect-current motors  ranging  in   size   from  onc-quar- 


3<9 

■• 

'I  In  r- 

. 

in    the    bund,    of    Mr 
.1    large    pari    • 

the  gathering  m  and 

lectrical   men. 

Draper.     The  parly   was    taken   in   .-. 

mpany's  interurban  road  I     1  I 
where   the   new    private   right-of-way   into  the  city 

.Mr.     William     Wall.  11     ••!'     •  |  :,-hting 

Company   and   entertai 

Thursday  evening  the  clcctn. 

banquet    it  the   Ewing  Hotel  by  Mr.   Holderman, 

Already  the  company  i-  beginning  I 
results  of  the  show.     People  bought  many 
electrical  appliances  at  the  show,  as  well  as  a  large 
number  of  gas   Stoves.      The  company  distribul 
adertising    literature    at    the    show,    which,    with    th-: 
given,    are    bringing    in    mat 

live  to  call.     The  company  is 
well    pleased    with    the    I 

It  is  probable  that  a  similar  show  will  be  held 
in  La  Crosse,  Wis.,  in  al>out  three  weeks,  the  date 
having  not  yet  been   selected. 

Aiming  the  electrical  men  who  visited  the  Fond 
du  Lac  show,  most  of  them  being  present  at  the 
banquet,  were   the   following-named: 

Acker,   John    L,.    electrical    contractor.. Sheboygan 

Arn.ll.  Phil,  Green  Bay  lias  and  Electric  Company.... 
'.Veen     Bay 

Bischoff,  E.  M ..  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufactur- 
ing  Company    ..Chicago 

I'.riiijs.    L.    A..    L.    A.    *    W.    i 


Alternating  Curi 


made  by  the  Marshall  &  Huschart  Machine  Com- 
pany of  Chicago  was  driven  by  a  one-half-horse- 
power three-phase  60-cycle  200-volt  Westinghouse 
induction  motor  revolving  at  1,700  revolutions  per 
minute.  A  punch  and  shear  from  Joseph  T.  Ryer- 
son  &  Son  of  Chicago  was  run  at  250  revolutions 
per  minute,  driven  by  a  three-horsepower  three- 
phase  60-cycle  200-volt  motor  running  at  1,120  rev- 
olutions per  minute. 

The  Ewing  automatic  house-tank  pump  from 
Ewing  &  Co.  of  .Chicago  attracted  considerable 
attention.  It  consisted  of  a  no-volt  two-wire  direct- 
current  motor  direct  connected  to  a  centrifugal 
pump.  The  motor  is  automatically  started  and 
stopped  through  the  medium  of  a  spring  resting  on 
a  diaphragm  which  is  actuated  through  the  pressure 
in  the  tank.  A  small  No.  83  enterprise  coffee  mill 
was  direct-driven  by  a  one-quarter-horsepower  di- 
rect-current  500-volt  motor. 

The  Reporter  Printing  Company  of  Fond  du  Lac 
had  on  exhibition  a  Golding  job  press  driven  by  a 


SOME   OF   THE    EXHIBITS   AT    FOND    DU    L 

ter-horsepower  to  15  horsepower.  The  company 
also  exhibited  a  line  of  overhead  construction  mate- 
rial. The  Cutler-Hammer  Company  showed  vari- 
ous types  of  controllers  and  rheostats,  among  which 
was  demonstrated  the  operation  of  the  open-tank 
automatic  motor-starting   switch. 

One  striking  feature  of  the  show  was  "the  largest 
meter  in  the  world,"  constructed  of  wood  by  Mr. 
Holderman.  It  was  built  for  the  purpose  of  teach- 
ing customers  how-  to  read  a  meter.  A  train  of 
gearing  was  operated  by  a  small  motor,  and  a 
demonstrator  was  in  charge.  The  face  of  the  meter 
is  about  six  feet  in  diameter.  It  is  an  enlarged 
reproduction  of  a  Westinghouse  type  B  instrument. 
The  relative  size  of  the  two  is  shown  in  the  picture. 

Among  the  other  electrical  exhibitors  was  the 
R.  Haas  Electric  Manufacturing  Company  of 
Springfield.  III.,  the  Worthington  Automobile  Com- 
pany of  Fond  du  Lac  and  the  Central  Electric 
Company  of  Chicago,  the  last  named  displaying  a 
Universal  extension   and  portable   desk  lamp. 


Brunton.     Mott    Q.,    Westinghouse    Electric    and     Manu- 
facturer;   Company    Chicago 

Ellis,  A.  K..  Wisconsin  Traction.  Light,  Heat  and  Power 

Company    Appleton 

Ewer,    Edward    P.,    Sheboygan    Light,    Power    and    Rail- 
way   Company    Sheboygan 

Griffith,  A.    E..  Central  Electric  Company    Chicago 

Griffith.    T.    P.,    Nernst    and    Cooper    Hewitt    Lamp    com- 
panies     Chicago 

Hill,    C.    T.     Winnebago   Traction    Company Oshkosh 

Korst,    P.    H..    Tanesvillc    Electric    Company Tanesvillc 

Lord.    Irving    P.,    Waupaca    Electric    Light    and    Railway 

Company    Waupaca 

Mainland,   Tames.    Stevens  Point  Light  Company 

Stevens    Point 

Mohr,    Frank  F-,   H.   V\  .    Tehr.s-Manville   Company 

Milwaukee 

Obright.    N.    F.,  Western   Electrician    Chicago 

Pagel,     H.     J.,     Sheboygan     Light,     Power     and     Railway 

Company    Shebovean 

Roepke,     F.     W..     Monarch     Electric     and     Wire     Com- 
pany   Chicago 

Root.    W.    W-,    Kurtz  &   Root Appleton 

Sarau,    Chris.,  Central  Construction   Company Oshkosh 

Schaulin.    R.    E..    Westinghouse    Electric    and    Manufac- 
turing  Company    Chicago 

Sterling.    H.    C-.    municipal    electric-light  plant.. New  London 
Thompson,  C.  L.,  Central  Construction  Company.  .Eau  Claire 


320 


Voth, 

Wi 

Walt- 

.    A 

Wall. 
Weslt 

Some  Important  Considerations  in  Elec- 
tric Illuminating  Engineering.1 

By  Douglass  Burnett. 
There  are  certain  questions  of  general  policy 
which  have  developed  within  the  last  few  years  as  a 
result  of  which  the  central-station  service  has  been 
made  more  and  more  satisfactory  to  the  users  of 
electric  lights.  For  instance,  experience  has  shown 
the  desirability  of  furnishing  free  incandescent  lamp 
renewals  and  the  first  equipment  of  lamps,  and  of 
inspecting  the  condition  of  lamps,  all  with  the  ob- 
ject of  improving  electric-lighting  service.  The 
writer  personally  knows  of  a  case  in  which  the  con- 
dition of  incandescent  lamps  in  use  by  the  custom- 
ers of  a  certain  company  was  very  bad,  the  com- 
pany declined  to  furnish  any  lamps  without  selling 
them;  a  more  libera!  policy  has  resulted  in  an  im- 
provement of  the  service  of  fully  too  per  cent. 

The  same  company  found  that  there  were  many 
cases  in  its  territory  in  which  excellent  results 
came  from  the  use  of  five-light  incandescent  clus- 
ters, and  many  people  were  found  to  be  entirely 
satisfied  with  the  results  who  had  considered  the 
cost  of  wiring  as  prohibitive.  For  instance,  there 
were  a  dozen  or  more  public  market  houses  in 
different  parts  of  the  city,  each  occupying  from  one 
to  three  small  city  blocks,  and  each  occupied  by 
from  200  to  900  separate  stalls  owned  or  leased  by 
individuals  who  formerly  used  gas  lighting.  One 
market  building  had  about  25  electric-light  custom- 
ers using  pendant  drop  lights  and  another  building- 
two  or  three  arc-light  customers.  The  regular  arc 
was  tried,  also  the  low-energy  arc  lamp  and  the 
pendant-drop  incandescent  lamps,  but  the  use  of 
much  service  could  not  be  established  without 
the  loaning  of  the  five-light  clusters.  These  clus- 
ters generally  pay  for  themselves  in  one  or  two 
months  on  the  revenue  obtained,  and  now  there 
is  a  considerable  percentage  of  the  stalls  wired  up 
and  using  the  current.  The  point  of  this  is  that 
this  particular  device  best  met  the  particular  condi- 
tions and  the  customers  of  the  company  were  very 
quick  to  discover  the   fact. 

Some  of  the  questions  which  have  arisen  in  the 
recent  experience  of  the  writer  and  some  illus- 
trations of  his  point  of  view  are  given. 

For  show-window  lighting  is  it  not  best  to 
recommend  against  the  use  of  high-power  lights, 
such  as  arc  lamps,  Nernst  lamps  or  chandeliers? 
Is  it  not  best  to  recommend  against  the  use  of 
cone  reflectors  set  into  a  false  ceiling  on  account 
of  the  poor  distribution  of  the  light?  Notwith- 
standing the  display  value  of  the  lights,  should  not 
we  recommend  against  the  use  of  border  lights  in 
show  windows,  and  is  it  not  the  trough  reflector 
the  best  one  that  we  can  adopt?  To  the  writer  the 
answer  seems  perfectly  plain,  though  some  of  the 
central-station  companies  do  not  seem  to  agree. 

Is  it  good  practice  to  light  a  department  store 
with  chandeliers  having  about  20  incandescent  lamps 
each,  in  order  to  get  a  certain  effect  of  display,  or 
is  it  always  better  to  use  arc  lamps?  The  writer 
has  known  of  one  large  department  store,  the  pro- 
prietor of  which  very  much  prefers  the  chandelier 
method. 

In  department  stores  is  there  not  a  certain  mini- 
mum height  of  ceiling  at  which  incandescent  lamps 
should  be  used  in  preference  to  arc  lamps  for  the 
purpose  of  avoiding  the  glare  and  of  shortening  the 
fixture  ? 

In  the  basement  of  a  store  where  crockery  and 
glassware  are  displayed,  is  it  not  important  to  have 
the  lights  arranged  over  the  aisles  instead  of  over 
the  center  of  the  tables  in  order  to  bring  the  source 
of  light  over  the  customer's  head  and  to  do  away 
with  shades? 

For  store  fronts,  should  we  not  recommend 
against  arc  lights  in  the  doorways  and  in  favor  of 
incandescent  lights  in  the  windows? 

If  a  department  store  is  lighted  throughout  with 
a  type  of  lamp  which  does  not  give  the  true  color 
values  compared  with  daylight,  and  if  the'  pro- 
prietor wishes  a  few  arc  lamps  for  matching  col- 
ors, is  it  advisable  to  assent  and  thereby  interfere 
with    the   scheme  of  lighting? 

For  a  millinery  store  where  goods  of  delicate 
colors  are  shown,  are  not  arc  lamps  preferable  to 
incandescent  lamps  on  account  of  the  color  value 
of  the  arcs? 

Is  it  ever  advisable  to  use  arc  lamps  at  a  silver- 
smith's showroom  or  a  jewelry  store?  The  writer 
knows  of  one  individually  equipped  silversmith's 
shop  with  about  a  30-foot  ceiling,  in  which  the 
white  light  of  Nernst  lamps  is  very  much  preferred 
bv  the  proprietor.  The  writer's  opinion  has  been 
that  it  would  be  better  to  stud  the  ceiling  with 
incandescent  lamps,  or  else  use  clusters  in  such  a 
case  in  order  to  increase  the  number  of  points  of 
light,   and   in   order  to  get  the  yellowish   light   with 

1.  Abstract  of  a  paper  presented  before  the  Illuminatinc  EnRi- 
neerinc  Society,  New  York.  April  12,  1006.  Mr.  Burnett  is  man- 
aeer  of  the  electrical  department  of  the  Consolidated  Gas,  Elec- 
tric Light  and  Power  Company  of  Baltimore,  Md, 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

which   people  are  most  accustomed  at  home.     This 
seems  to  be  specially  true  of  jewelry   stores. 

For  drug  stores,  is  it  not  always  advisable  to 
use  incandescent  lamps  for  general  lighting  on  ac- 
count of  the  average  store  being  small,  and  so  that 
Hi.  scheme  of  general  lighting  will  fit  in  with  the 
decorative   lights  around   the   soda   fountain? 

^  nh  concentric  ceiling  diffusers  for  arc  lamps, 
what  rule  should  be  followed  for  spacing  the  lamps 
when  five-ampere  120-volt  direct-current  lamps  are 
used,   and    what   rule    for  7j4-ampere    lamps? 

Is  it  not  always  advisable  to  use  an  opalescent 
ball  globe  for  arc  lamps  in  interior  work  in  order 
to  remove  the  glare ;  but  if  porcelain  shades  are 
used,  should  not  convex  shades  be  selected  in  pref- 
erence to  concave,  for  the  reason  that  the  streaks  of 
light  formed  by  the  concave  globe  will  spoil  the 
appearance  of  many  goods  displayed?  For  in- 
stance, it  will  make  clothes  and  suitings  appear  as 
if  they  had  been  through  a  fire  or  had  been  water- 
soaked. 

For  office  lighting,  should  not  every  desk  or 
reading  light  either  be  placed  on  the  ceiling  near 
the  wall,  or  shaded,  in  order  to  take  away  the 
direct  glare? 

Is  it  ever  advisable  to  use  a  strong  source  of 
light,  such  as  an  arc  lamp  or  a  Welsbach  cluster, 
when  the  place  is  only  large  enough  for  a  single 
one  of  such  lamps,  and  in  such  a  case  is  it  not 
very  much  better  to  use  small-light  units  such  as 
incandescent  lamps? 

Is  it  not  best  to  use  a  studded  ceiling  in  a  ball- 
room in  order  to  increase  the  sparkle  on  the  jewels 
worn  by  the  guests,  and  is  not  concealed  or  cove 
lighting  to  be  specially  avoided  for  this  purpose? 

In  an  art  gallery,  should  not  all  the  light  be 
shaded  and  trough  reflectors  used  for  paintings  to 
secure  even  illumination?  And  on  the  contrary,  for 
art  galleries  with  statuary,  should  not  high-power 
lights  be  used  to  intensify  the  lights  and  shadows? 
For  theater  lighting,  is  it  not  important  to  place 
any  lamps  that  are  in  view  of  the  audience  around 
or  on  the  balconies  against  the  face  of  the  bal- 
conies toward  the  stage  and  to  carefully  avoid  the 
use  of  stalactites  and  low-hanging  chandeliers  on 
account  of  the  glare,  and  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
creasing the  impression  of  the  space  being  large? 

These  points  just  cited  with  reference  to  illumi- 
nation have  been  put  in  the  form  of  questions  so 
that  if  there  is  any  doubt  it  may  be  cleared  up,  and 
some  of  them  are  given  for  the  reason  that  there 
are  certainly  many  people  connected  with  lighting 
propositions  whose  attention  has  not  been  drawn 
to  the  proper  treatment  of  them. 

The  writer  is  quite  aware  that  some  central-sta- 
tion companies  have  made  it  a  practice  in  special 
cases  to  have  a  lighting  engineer  in  the  employ  of 
the  company  lay  down  the  lighting  plans,  with  the 
expectation  that  they  will  be  adopted  by  the  cus- 
tomer, but  in  such  cases  the  location  and  arrange- 
ment of  the  lights  and  the  type  of  the  lights  se- 
lected is  largely  a  question  of  individual  opinion, 
as  there  is  nothing  to  show  what  standard  practice 
throughout  the  country  requires  as  represented  by 
the  decision  of  any  particular  set  of  experts.  Such 
plans  have  been  prepared  in  our  own  office  and  our 
customers  have  very  much  appreciated  the  service 
we  have  performed,  but  we  desire  to  have  a 
check  on  the  accuracy  of  our  recommendations. 
These  are  special  cases.  Generally  the  customer 
says  to  the  electric-light  man  that  he  thinks  he 
will  wire  for  so  and  so  many  lights,  or  the  electric- 
light  man  recommends  that  he  -use  such  and  such 
lights  disposed  in  a  certain  way,  but  another  elec- 
tric-light man  in  the  same  company  may  recom- 
mend very  differently.  We  need  to  get  an  authori- 
tative expression  of  opinion  as  to  just  what  rules 
shall  be  laid  down   for  guidance  in  such  cases. 

A  list  or  schedule  of  the  different  classes  of 
buildings  to  be  lighed  should  be  prepared,  as,  for 
instance,  office  buildings,  department  stores,  small 
retail  stores,  wholesale  dry  goods,  notions,  etc., 
factories  and  railroad  stations ;  and  the  subheads 
should  be  given,  showing  the  different  classes  of 
rooms  in  these  different  buildings.  For  each  class 
a  statement  should  be  made  showing  which  type  of 
lighting  is  not  suitable  and  giving  the  reasons. 
Also  showing  what  is  in  general  practice  consid- 
ered the  best  arrangement  of  the  remaining  classes 
of  lights.  For  instance,  arc  lights  are  hardly  con- 
sidered acceptable  for  furniture  stores  and  carpet 
stores,  and  neither  are  they  to  be  accepted  for  gen- 
eral office  work:  neither  are  incandescent  lamps  best 
suited  to  department-store. lighting. 
j  And  that  brings  up  the  question  of  just  what 
is  a  suitable  standard  for  the  arrangement  of  arc 
lights  in  department  stores.  Generally  a  new  de- 
partment store  of  any  considerable  size  is  laid  out 
with  rows  of  columns  at  right  angles  from  15  feet 
to  25  feet  apart,  and  this  architectural  considera- 
tion requires  that  each  arc  lamp  should  be  located 
in  the  center  of  a  bay.  There  have  been  cases  in 
the  writer's  experience  in  which  the  location  of  arc 
lamps  as  given  by  the  architects  had  to  be  changed 
very  considerably  in  order  to  secure  the  best  results. 
We  say  that  an  arc  lamp  should  be  located  12  feet 
from  the  floor,  with  one  lamp  to  every  225 
square  feet  to  400  square  feet  of  floor  space,  using 
the  500-watt  multiple  arc  as  the  basis. 

One  question  to  be  considered  is  as  to  whether 
to  make  our  rules  on  a  basis  of  the  number  of 
candlepower  or  watts  per  square  foot  or  per  cubic 
foot,  or  whether  to  specify  the  foot-candle  as  the 


April  21,  1906 

unit  of  illumination.  Already  some  very  good  re- 
sults have  been  secured  by  laying  out  the  illumina- 
tion on  the  basis  of  from  one  to  two  watts  a  square 
foot.  But  this  basis  neglects  the  efficiency  of  the 
lamp  unit,  since  one  watt  a  square  foot  from  the 
arc  lamp  would  give  a  very  different  volume  of 
light  from  the  same  figure  as  applied  to  an  incan- 
descent lamp. 


Electrical    Conditions    in    Wisconsin 
Cities. 

The    National    Board    of   Fire    Underwriters   has 
made  an  investigation  into  the  electrical  conditions 
number  of  cities  in   Eastern  and   South- 


of  a 


era  Wisconsin.  At  Marinette  the  standard  for 
side  electrical  wiring  has  been  considerably  improved 
of  late.  The  inspector  has  concluded  to  make  an 
annual  reinspection  of  the  business  district  for  the 
purpose  of  detecting  unauthorized  extensions  or 
alterations.  During  the  coming  summer  the  out- 
side wiring  will  receive  attention. 

At  Green  Bay  the  traction  company  has  absorbed 
the  lighting  company,  ami  it  is  believed  that  much 
of  the  confusion  existing  in  the  overhead  electrical 
wiring  will  be  eliminated.  The  balance  of  the  pole 
lines  on  the  main  street  will  be  removed  during  the 
summer  and  the  inspector  has  promised  to  require 
certain  changes  in  the  alleys,  where  considerable 
obstruction  to  the  work  of  the  fire  department  ex- 
ists. 

The  electrical  inspector  appointed  at  Fond  du  Lac 
pursuant  to  the  provision  of  the  electrical  inspection 
ordinance  recently  adopted  is  doing  good  work. 
The  new  wiring,  while  not  In  full  compliance  with 
National  Code  requirements,  will  grade  very  fair, 
and  is  greatly  improved  in  character  over  that  for- 
merly installed.  The  present  chief  of  the  fire  de- 
partment favors  municipal  supervision  and  gives  the 
inspector,  who  is  the  electrician  of  the  fire  depart- 
ment, every  opportunity  possible  to  properly  per- 
form his  duties.  Some  of  the  less  reliable  contract- 
ors were  inclined  to  ignore  the  ordinance,  but  this 
opposition  was  easily  disposed  of  with  the  co-op- 
eration of  the  lighting  company,  which  refuses  to 
supply  current  to  equipments  not  having  the  ap- 
proval of  the  inspector. 

The  lighting  company  at  Kaukauna  has  extended 
its  lines  to  Little  Chute,  and  many  buildings  at  the 
latter  point  have  been  wired.  The  workmanship 
together  with  material  and  devices  used  is  not  in 
entire  conformity  with  the  requirements  of  the  Na- 
tional Electrical  Code.  The  village  trustees  favor 
the   appointment   of   an    electrical   inspector. 

Menasha  has  recently  completed  the  installation 
of  a  street-lighting  plant  which  in  time  may  be 
enlarged  to  take  care  of  commercial  lighting.  "  The 
service  corporation  furnishing  current  is  said  to  be 
unpopular,  owing  to  the  high  rate  charged  for  light, 
and  many  of  the  mill  owners  supply  electricity  to 
their  own  homes  from  the  mill  plant. 

At_  Apnleton  most  of  the  old  and  defective  wir- 
ing in  the  mercantile  district  has  been  removed. 
In  some  instances  unauthorized  additions  are  made 
to  approved  wiring,  but  current  is  not  supplied  to 
any  new  installations  without  the  approval  of  the 
city  inspector.  The  lighting  company  is  co-oper- 
ating in  the  effort  to  bring  all  wiring  into  strict 
compliance  with  code  requirements.  Outside  wir- 
ing conditions  are  not  satisfactory.  Pole  lines  and 
service  wires  interfere  with  the  placing  of  ladders 
by  the  fire  department.  The  Bell  Telephone  Com- 
pany is  contemplating  the  installation  of  an  under- 
ground system  in  the  business  district.  The  Inde- 
pendent company  has  so  far  refused  to  equip  sub- 
scribers' instruments  with  protectors,  and  the  local 
fire  insurance  agents'  association  will  endeavor  to 
secure  the  necessary  improvements.  An  inspection 
service  has  been  inaugurated  by  private  persons  to 
cover  the  monthly  examination  of  electric  wiring, 
in  many  of  the  paper  mills  located  in  the  Fox  River 
Valley.  It  also  includes  the  necessary  repairs  to 
make  such   wiring  safe  and  reliable. 


Protection  from  Lightning. 

The  committee  of  the  National  Electric  Light 
Association  appointed  to  consider  the  question  of 
protection  from  lightning  and  other  static  disturb- 
ances asks  its  central-station  friends  to  "get  busy" 
and  help  it  out  with  data  and  information.  The 
committee  desires  to  determine  how  complete  is  the 
protection  afforded  by  the  existing  types  of  light- 
ning arresters,  and  how  greatly  this  protection  is 
is  affected  by  special  conditions  of  climate,  etc.  As 
the  protection  is  measured  by  freedom  from  inter- 
ruption to  service,  and  by  freedom  from  injury  to 
apparatus,  the  report  will  deal  chiefly  with  these 
points.  Alex  Dow  of  Detroit  is  chairman  of  the 
committee,  but  communications  should  be  addressed 
to  Robert  S.  Stewart,  secretary,  814  Penobscot 
Building,    Detroit,    Mich. 


Books  Received. 

"Elementary  Electrical  Engineering  in  Theory 
and  Practice."  By  J.  H.  Alexander.  Published  by 
Crosby  Lockwood  &  Son,  London  (D.  Van  Nos- 
trand  Company,    New    York).     Price.    $2. 

"Single- phase  Commutator  Motors."  By  Franklin 
Punga.  (Translated  from  the  German  by  R.  F. 
Looser.")  Published  by  Whittaker  &  Co.,  London. 
(The    Macmillan    Company,    New    York.j       Price, 


April   21,   1906 

QUESTIONS  AND    ANSWERS. 

Initial   Charging  and  Complete   Dis- 
charge of  Storage  Batteries. 

N.    C    K.     w\  lies    lo    1  ■     hov     .1 1 

charging  hi     itoragc  batten    foi    thi    fu  1   incl 

also  how  Hi'    batti  1  y   ma;    bi    di  1  hai    ■  d  con 
without  danger  of  injury. 

Ansu  1  R 

With   a   voltmeter  and   ammeter   in   circuit,     tarl 
charging    with    a    small    current,    which      hould    be 

j| nc  ilni  'I  lb'    n"i  mal  outpul  and  be  1  ontinui  -I 

fi  ,    al 1    1 hour         I  hen    ini  n  a  c    to    normal 

Currcnl   and   leave  il foi    about    20  co 1  1 

I ■  until  the  i"i  Hi'.'    plate  .  ;■■  1   .1   dai  I.  brown 

,  0I01 .  iinlc  Hi''  cells  begin  l"  boil  and  tin  cl<  c 
[rolyte  gel  milky.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  continue 
ih  charge  till  longer  at  a  lower  rate,  gradually 
i'  dm  I""   iln    ' it 

Some   care   should    be    excrei  "I    in    di  charging   a 

cell   i"   I"! in    "i     'I' i"       11    Ih'    "  '1      in     i" 

In     put    mil    "I    '  "1111111     fin      everal    wi  cits    tin 

I  |ate  !i  '"III  n"i  In  allow.  I  i"  1  me]  in  1I1.  .  h ' 
trolyte  unlc  1  a  mall  charge  and  di  1  hai  gi  bi 
given  al  interval  .  lay  once  a  week.  When  the) 
are  to  be  unused  for  :i  considerable  length  nf  time 
1I1.  i  should  I"-  charged  slowly,  then  discharged  foi 
a  couple  of  hours  al  normal  rate.  Then  the  elec 
trolyie  should  he  drawn  off  and  the  tanks  immc 
diately  filled  up  with  pure  water.  I  he  discharge 
is  then  continued  at  about  one-half  normal  rate 
Until  the  voltage  becomes  very  low,  say  one-half 
Mill.  The  plates  must  then  be  washed  thoroughly 
in  running  water,  allowed  to  soak  24  hours  in  water 
and  then  dried.  In  order  to  get  the  cells  to  dis- 
charge with  the  pure  water  for  an  electrolyte  they 
must   be   short-circuited. 


Difference  Between  a  Synchronous  and 
Asynchronous  Motor. 

M.   L.  L. :    Please  explain  the  terms  "synchronous 
and  "asynchronous  motor."     What  is  the  difference 
between   the  two  machines? 
Answer. 

A  synchronous  motor  is  simply  an  alternating- 
current  generator,  with  a  few  modifications,  which 
is  run  as  a  motor  on  an  alternating-current  circuit. 
This  form  of  motor  must  be  brought  up  to  the 
voltage  and  frequency  of  the  circuit  from  which  it 
is  to  be  operated,  in  other  words  "synchronized," 
before  it  will  run  from  the  circuit  as  a  motor.  An 
asynchronous  motor,  or  induction  motor,  as  it  is 
more  generally  termed,  is  one  in  which  the  armature 
or  rotating  element  has  no  commutator  or  slip 
rings,  and  whose  coils  arc  closed  upon  themselves, 
with  no  connection  to  the  outside  source.  In  this 
rotating  element,  or  rotor  as  it  is  called,  currents 
are  induced  from  the  field  or  stator,  which  is  con- 
nected to  the  alternating-current  circuit.  The  cur- 
rent in  the  stator  sets  up  a  rotating  magnetic  field 
which  reacts  upon  the  induced  current  in  the  rotor, 
causing  it  to  turn. 


vould 
with- 

.vhich 


Bunsen's  Photometer. 

An  operator  of  a  small  electric-light  plant 
like    to    know    how    to    make    a    photometer 
which    he    can    get    approximate   results,    but 
will  be  inexpensive  to  build. 
Answer. 

The  type  of  photometer  known  as  the  Bunsen 
is  one  which  may  be  used  with  a  fair  degree  of  ac- 
curacy. It  consists  of  a  board  five  or  six  feet  long 
on  which  is  marked  a  scale.  Transversely  of  this 
board  is  a  square  sheet  of  paper  with  a  grease  spot 
in  the  center,  which  may  he  supported  in  any  con- 
venient manner  so  as  to  be  moved  back  and  forth 
along  the  scale.  At  one  end  of  the  scale  is  fixed 
a  standard  incandescent  lamp  and  at  the  other  the 
lamp  to  be  tested.  Regulating  resistances  are  placed 
in  series  with  the  two  lamps,  and  current  is  taken 
from  a  storage  battery,  if  possible,  so  as  to  keep 
the  pressure  as  nearly  constant  as  possible.  Watt- 
meters are  also  connected  to  the  lamp  circuits  to 
determine  the  lamp's  efficiency.  The  paper  is  then 
moved  back  and  forth  along  the  scale  until  the 
grease  spot  can  no  longer  be  seen  from  either  side, 
which  shows  that  the  light  on  the  two  sides  is 
equally  strong.  Then  measure  the  distances  from 
the  respective  lamps  to  the  paper.  Suppose  the 
standard  lamp  is  x,  or  two  feet,  from  the  paper, 
and  the  other  lamp,  y,  or  four  feet  from  the  paper. 
The  candlepowers  of  the  lamps  are  in  direct  pro- 
portion to  the  squares  of  the  distances ;  therefore 
if  cp  is  the  unknown  candlepower  the  following 
equation  will  obtain,  if  the  standard  lamp  is  16 
candlepower : 

16  ;  cp    :  :  x:  :  y",  or  16  :  cp.  :  :  4  ;  16, 
or  j6   :  cp    ;  ;  1    :  4. 


WESTERN    ELECTRIl 


...   tin 

1  in    ". ..ii    1 

"I  ■  •  an  In-  del d  from 


Trials  and  Dangers  of  the  Linen 

1 
When   the  weather  il  calm,  and  bu 

ompany,  the   lit 

lini-ni. 

But  « li- 11  1 

the     iiliml.  .    il.     lii 

mil.        mi     - 

-    rt unity 


OF    THE    LINEMA 


to  sum  up  a  number  of  experiences  of  linemen, 
relative  to  daily  dangers  to  which  they  are  ex- 
posed on  the  poles  and  building  tops  and  to  illus- 
trate, by  a  few  simple  sketches,  some  of  these 
dangers    and    their   causes. 

Notification  is  received  at  the  central  station  of 
a  break  in  the  communication  at  a  certain  point. 
Tf  the  weather  is  calm,  the  usual  system  of  test- 
ing between  poles  until  the  trouble  is  located  is 
performed  readily.  liul  perhaps  a  storm  is  in 
progress.  Not  long  since  it  was  necessary  for  a 
lineman  to  ascend  a  tall  pole  during  a  high  wind, 
and  while  he  was  at  work  the  pole  snapped  under 
his  weight  and  the  weight  of  ice  adhering  to  it 
and  the  wires.  Fig.  I  shows  the  nature  of  the 
break  in  the  pole  as  at  (A).  The  cluster  of  wires 
was  fortunately  amply  strong  to  support  the  top 
and  the  man,  and  as  the  top  of  the  pole  fell,  the 
lineman  gripped  the  cross-arms  with  his  legs  and 
arms,  and  ultimately  made  the  ground  in  safety 
by  getting  back  to  the  main  pole. 

Not  only  do  poles  break  off  occasionally,  but 
the  various  types  of  wood  and  metal  rungs  on  the 
poles  often  prove  dangerous  to  the  lineman.  Usu- 
ally he  is  in  a  hurry,  and  does  not  take  time  to 
examine  the  rungs  closely.  The  first  thing  he 
knows  a  rung  snaps  off  as  at  ("B") .  Fig.  2.  and 
unless  the  man's  wits  are  about  him  he  may  get 
a  fall.  In  some  places  the  rungs  arc  hardwood 
pins  screwed  into  a  bore  tapped  into  the 
the  pole  at  proper  intervals,  as  at  (C).  Not  in- 
frequently the  threads  on  the  pin  or  the  threads 
in  the  bore  are  defective  and  the  pin  is  permitted 
to  work  free  and  prove  a  menace  to  the  lineman. 
There  are,  of  course,  various  types  of  metal  steps 
and  improved  devices  employed,  some  of  which  are 
feathered  at  the  points,  as  in  Fig.  3.  so  as  to 
afford  a  gripping  property  for  the  step  when  it 
it  is  driven  home :  or  the  metal  step  may  be  turned 
with   a  screw  end,   as  m   Fig.   4. 

Then  there  are  defective  splices  and  kinks  in 
wires  to  bother  linemen.  On  one  occasion  the  wire 
was  being  drawn  along  the  poles,  and  a  poorly 
made  union,  with  a  projecting  hook  point,  as  in 
Fig.  5,  at  (D),  caught  the  clothing  of  the  line- 
man and  almost  pulled  him  off  his  perch.  Some- 
times, instead  of  a  projecting  point  of  wire,  it  is 
simply  a  kink   in   the  wire,  as    (E).  Fig.  6. 

Covered  and  partly  concealed  skylights  are  a 
source  of  annoyance  to  the  lineman.  Some  of 
these  skylights   are  practically  unseen   when  there 


321 

of    danger    to    the    linemen. 

A    lineman    tclU    me    of    a    «hocIc    I 

a    high 
building.     While    he    wa<    up    the 

!ge.  a» 
I    with 

>virmcnt« 

■ 

■  n  had 

■  ■   language  be- 

which  hindered  hi*  progress.  The 
fart  that  the  many  wires  saved  him 
fn.ni  mn-  death  changed  his  mind, 
and  he  felt  thankful  for  the  network 
of    lines. 

The  modern  lineman  is  furnished 
with  various  climbing  devices  for 
nowadays,  and  often 
he  follows  along  with  the  wagon  on 
important  jobs.  But  at  other  times 
he  works  alone  and  depends  upon 
what  he  can  find  to  help  him  out  when 
reaching  difficult  plai 
building 

'  .enic-nt 
he  had 
some  «"ih  P.  do  at  a  difficult  point 
of    access.    He    adjusted    the    large 
r  a  dividing  wall  and 
proceeded    to    ascend.      When    part 
way  up  the  hook  broke  off  at   (H), 
Fig.  9.  and  the  man  had  a  fall.     De- 
vices  of  this   description   which   are  placed  about   a 
building   f  1    usi     -  imetime   in   the   indefinite   future 
are  1  a  rule,  to  be  relied  upon. 

The  conventional  fire  bucket  and  the  fire  ax 
"for  use  only  in  case  of  fire"  usually  prove  to  be 
he  poor  devices  for  real  service.  They  may  have 
jood  and  strong  at  one  time.  But.  as  years 
pass  without  use,  they  rust  and  weaken,  and  when 
pul  i"  service  often  fail.  I  recollect  that  a  friend 
used  .1  in.  ladder  on  the  side  of  a  building  lately, 
rather   thai  bother  of  taking   the    ladder 

from  the  repair  wagon  which  was  al  hand.  When 
part  way  up  the  ladder,  the  metal  -pokes  com- 
menced -lipping  fr.'in  their  sockets,  while  one  side 
of  the  ladder  expanded,  as  at  (I),  Fig.  10.  The 
ends  of  the  rungs  had  simply  rusted  out  in  process 
of  time.  Then  there  are  frail  cross-arms  to  look 
out  for.  Many  men  have  received  injuries  by 
trusting  too  faithfully  in  a  cross-arm.  Some  men 
are  careful,  especially  after  they  have  had  a  fall, 
and  make  sure  that  the  cross-arm  is  strong  enough 
for  a  support  before  they  get  astride  it.  Others 
take  the  chances,  with  the  result  that  the  cross- 
arm  may  snap  off,  as  at   ill.  or  depress,  as  at  (K). 


Municipal  Operation  in  Europe  Disap- 
pointing. 
M  S.  Hopkins,  former  general  superintendent  of 
the  Columbus  (Ohio)  Railway  and  Light  Company, 
jusl  returned  from  a  European  trip,  says  that  he 
d  with  what  he  saw  of  the  .-treet  and 
electric-railway  service  in  Italy.  France  and  Eng- 
land. The  service  would  not  he  tolerated  in 
America,  he  said.  The  properties  are  all  owned 
by  municipalities  and  he  saw  enough  to  convince 
him  that  the  plan  is  not  what  it  should  be.  Every- 
thing is  adapted  to  the  use  of  the  classes  and  no 
attention  is  paid  to  the  masses.  Competition  in 
America  is  what  has  brought  the  sen-ice  to  such 
a  high  grade,  hut  in  the  old  countries  there  is  no 
competition,  consequently  improvements  are  very- 
slow  in  coming.  Tram  service  is  insufficient,  the 
cars  are  dirty  and  no  effort  is  made  to  please 
patrons.  He  said  that  the  plan  of  doing  away 
with  grade  crossings  is  about  the  only  thing  he 
saw  that  is  an  improvement  in  the  operation  of  the 
this  country. 


J.  W.  Smead  and  F.  W.  Hollman  of  Spokane. 
Wash.,  are  seeking  a  franchise  for  an  electric-jigbi 
plant  in  Odessa,  Wash, 


322 

Air  Brakes  for  Electric  Cars. 

With  the  increasing  use  of  heavy  cars  and  higher 
speeds  in  interurban  service  comes  the  necessity 
of  efficient  braking  apparatus  which  is  comparable 
with  that  used  upon  steam  lines.  In  a  paper  upon 
"Air  Brakes  for  Electric  Cars,"  read  by  Mr.  W.  S. 
Bartholomew  before  the  New  England  Street  Rail- 
way Association,  a  thorough  analysis  of  the  situa- 
tion is  made,  and  the  requirements  of  different 
classes  of  service  with  the  proper  appa  itus  for 
each  are  set  forth,  the  author  confining  himself  to 
the  apparatus  of  the  Westinghouse  Air  Brake  Com- 
pany   with   which   he   is   connected. 

Mr.  Bartholomew  divides  the  service  up  into  eight 
classes,  as  follows:  Single-car  train;  two-car  op- 
eration (one  motor  and  one  trailer),  the  motor 
car  to  be  operated  singly  most  of  the  time;  two- 
car  train,  both  cars  to  be  operated  together  the 
major  part  of  the  time;  two  and  three-car  trains, 
all  motor  cars;  two  and  three-car  trains,  one  or 
two  non-motor  cars  ;  trains  of  four  or  more  cars,  each 
equipped  with  motors  and  complete  air-brake  equip- 
ment ;  trains  of  four  or  more  cars,  part  motor  cars 
and  part  non-motor  cars;  trains  of  any  length 
hauled  by  completely  equipped  electric  locomotive. 
For  single-car  operation  it  will  no  doubt  con- 
tinue to  be  standard  practice  to  use  straight  air 
brakes,  as  the  variations  of  the  weights  of  the  cars 
and  the  variations  of  speeds  at  which  each  car  is 
likely  to  be  operated  are  such  that  the  air-brake 
apparatus  is  required  to  have  the  extreme  of  flexi- 
bility in  every  direction. 

In  the  event  of  the  cars  being  very  heavy,  and 
the  maximum  speed  reaching  a  rate  of  SO  to  65 
miles  ah  hour,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  have 
an  additional  braking  effort  to  stop  the  rotation  of 
the  armatures  at  these  high  speeds,  and  to  stop 
the  heavy  vehicles  approximately  within  the  dis- 
tance that  the  stop  would  be  made  at  a  lower  speed 
or  with  a  lighter  vehicle.  While  such  additions 
and  refinements  have  not  generally  been  added  to 
the  straight  air-brake  equipment,  the  demand  is  be- 
ginning to  be  felt,  owing  to  the  fact  that  these  con- 
ditions of  operation  are  becoming  more  general. 
In  other  words,  what  would  serve  properly  for 
handling  a  car  in  the  ordinary  service  requirements 
of  the  brake  might  not  serve  to  prevent  an  acci- 
dent in  an  emergency  at  maximum  speed.  In  order 
to  meet  such  a  situation  it  is  necessary  to  arrange 
the  brake  valves  so  that  in  ordinary  service  ap- 
plications (to  make  the  regular  stops),  the  maxi- 
mum pressure  in  the  brake  cylinders  would  not 
be  reached  so  promptly,  whereas  in  an  emergency 
the  maximum  pressure  should  be  secured  in  the 
shortest  possible  instant,  because  it  is  ordinarily 
impossible  to  add  braking  effort  to  the  wheels  at 
high  speeds  sufficiently  to  cause  them  to  slide,  the 
coefficient  of  friction  being  extremely  low  at  that 
time.  If  the  same  braking  effort  were  used  at 
slower  speeds  in  the  ordinary  service  requirements 
of  the  brake,  flat  wheels  would  inevitably  result, 
so  that  two  separate  conditions  must  necessarily 
be  met  with  the  same  brake  valve.  With  the  lighter 
cars  and  slower  speeds  that  obtained  at  the  time 
of  the  earlier  adoption  of  the  straight  air  brake, 
no  special  necessity  existed  for  such  an  arrange- 
ment. 

Referring  to  the  operation  of  two-car  trains,  an 
air-brake  apparatus  may  be  used  to  advantage  which 
is  but  one  step  away  from  the  straight  air  brake, 
which  has  just  been  discussed.  Such  an  equipment 
would  contemplate  the  handling  of  the  motor  car 
continually  by  "straight-air,"  just  as  would  be  done 
if  the  trailer  proposition  were  not  to  be  considered, 
and  when  a  trailer  car  is  added,  it  is  also  handled 
by  "straight-air"  during  the  application  and  release 
of  the  brakes  in  the  ordinary  service  requirements 
of  operation,  so  that  all  of  the  flexibility  of  opera- 
tion   incident   to    "straight-air"    is    secured. 

The  conditions  of  operation  just  described,  hav- 
ing the  operation  of  the  motor  car  as  a  single  car 
during  such  a  large  part  of  the  time,  makes  it 
advisable  to  use  a  combination  arrangement  which 
would  have  the  straight-air  features  most  promi- 
nent; but  also  embody  that  factor  of  safety  in  an 
emergency  whereby  the  brakes  are  applied  auto- 
matically just  as  though  the  complete  automatic 
equipment  were  used.  With  such  an  equipment,  a 
second  hose  line  is  added,  and  on  each  vehicle  is 
placed  a  small  triple  valve.  The  valve  body  is 
much  shorter  than  the  usual  triple  valve,  as  there 
is  no  travel  of  the  slide  valve  except  to  secure  an 
emergency  application.  The  main  reservoir  pressure 
is  connected  to  the  slide-valve  chamber.  The  piston 
is  at  rest  against  the  graduating  spring,  so  that 
no  movement  of  the  piston  can  take  place  without 
sufficient  differential  to  compress  the  graduating 
spring.  The  function  of  this  triple  valve,  therefore, 
is  to  apply  the  brakes  automatically  only  in  the 
event  of  a  rupture  in  the  hose  connection  or  pip- 
ing, or  in  the  event  of  the  emergency  position  of 
the  brake  valve  being  used. 

The  brake  valve  in  connection  with  this  equip- 
ment is  in  reality  the  special  feature  of  the  equip- 
ment, as  it  is  a  composite  valve  through  which 
straight-air  applications  are  made  in  the  ordinary 
service  requirements,  and  an  automatic  application 
of  the  brakes  by  a  reduction  of  the  pressure  in  the 
second  hose  line  only  in  the  emergency  position 
of  the  handle 
Referring  to  the  third  method  of  operation,  viz., 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

a  two-car  train  consisting  of  a  motor  car  and  a 
non-motor  trailer.  In  this  event  the  conditions 
mentioned  cover  the  two  cars  being  operated  con- 
tinually together.  This,  therefore,  would  eliminate 
the  necessity  of  having  a  straight-air  brake  _  pure 
and  simple  for  the  handling  of  the  motor  car  singly, 
and  if  certain  features  were  added  to  the  automatic 
equipment  in  the  matter  of  a  straight-air  release 
of  the  brakes  from  the  brake  cylinder  of  the  head 
car,  and  if  the  brake  applications  could  follow  each 
other  immediately  without  danger  of  depleting  the 
pressure  in  the  auxiliary  reservoirs,  the  conditions 
could  be  better  met  with  automatic  brakes  than 
with   straight-air. 

An  equipment  for  this  class  of  service  consists 
of  a  very  simple  brake  valve  in  the  release  position 
of  which  a  wide-open  connection  is  made  from  the 
feed  valve  to  the  brake  pipe,  so  that  the  feed-valve 
pressure  is  on  top  of  the  rotary  at  all  times  and 
not  the  variations  of  main-reservoir  pressure.  The 
applications  of  the  brakes  are  made  in  the  regular 
automatic  way  by  the  reduction  of  the  pressure 
in  the  brake  pipe,  both  in  service  and  emergency. 
The  fact  that  this  equipment  is  purely  automatic, 
and  requires  the  movement  of  the  triple  valve  dur- 
ing each  application,  makes  it  essentially  an  equip- 
ment for  train  service;  in  other  words,  this  equip- 
ment is  to  be  recommended  for  use  on  two-car 
trains  where  the  cars  are  likely  to  be  operated 
together  the  major  portion  of  the  time. 

Referring  to  the  fourth  and  fifth  methods  of  op- 
eration, it  may  be  said  that  these  approach,  and 
in  fact,  are,  train  operation  in  the  full  sense  of  the 
word,  and,  therefore,  completely  away  from  the 
necessity  of'  any  straight-air-brake  features  as  ordi- 
narily understood,  unless  it  would  be  to  facilitate 
the  handling  of  one  of  the  motor  cars  singly,  if 
such  operation  should  seem  to  be  necessary. 

An  equipment  for  this  purpose  is  essentially  an 
automatic  brake,  and  is  designed  for  either  a  single 
pipe  line  or  with  an  additional  control  pipe  line,  if 
desired,  depending  upon  the  operating  conditions 
of   the    road   on   which    it   is    to   be    installed. 

The  equipment  also  consists  of  a  very  simple 
brake  valve,  in  the  release  position  of  which  a 
wide-open  connection  is  made  from  the  control 
line  beyond  the  feed  valve  to  the  brake  pipe,  there- 
fore securing  feed-valve  pressure  on  top  of  the 
rotary,  preventing  the  overcharging  of  the  brake 
pipe,  and,  consequently,  of  the  auxiliary  reservoirs 
on  the  front  cars  of  the  train.  This  particular 
features  cannot  be  made  too  much  of,  as  it  is  a 
very  important  point  in  connection  with  the  hand- 
ling of  .short  trains,  and  especially  single  cars  with 
automatic  brakes.  It  is  always  essential  to  have 
a  quick  response  of  the  brakes  at  all  times,  and 
this  cannot  be  done  with  the  ordinary  method  of 
having  main-reservoir  pressure  on  top  of  the  rotary 
valve,  especially  with  the  quick-recharge  triple 
valves.  With  this  feature  the  flexibility  and  quick 
response  incident  to  straight  air  in  the  application 
of  the  brakes  can  be  secured,  and  this  feature,  in 
connection  with  the  quick  recharge  of  the  auxiliary 
reservoirs,  and  also  in  connection  with  the  grad- 
uated release  feature,  makes  it  possible  to  handle 
short  trains  with  automatic  brakes  with  a  flexi- 
bility and  safety  not  possible  heretofore.  The  ap- 
plications of  the  brakes  are  made  in  the  regular 
automatic  way,  by  the  reduction  of  pressure  in  the 
brake  pipe,  so  that  the  triple  valve  moves  both  in 
service    and    emergency   positions. 

In  the  sixth  and  seventh  methods  of  operation 
the  same  conditions  are  found  as  just  described, 
except"  that  the  train  may  be  extended  in  length 
to  any  number  of  cars  desired.  As  the  trains  in- 
crease in  length  the  time  of  serial  action  increases, 
unless  special  arrangements  are  made  in  the  air- 
brake equipment  to  offset  the  length  of  the  train. 
This  condition  of  operation  would  call  ordinarily 
for  the  standard  automatic  quick-action  air  brakes, 
but  the  trains  being  electrically  operated  bring  in 
the  new  conditions  of  having  each  unit  self-accel- 
erating, and  each  motor  car  equipped  complete  with 
compressor,  brake  valves,  etc.,  made  it  necessary 
to  provide  for  the  division  of  pump  labor  and  ar- 
range to  use  each  independent  aid  supply  on  the 
motor  cars  for  securing  refinements  in  the  air-brake 
equipment  not  possible  in  steam-railroad  operation. 
Two  equipments  are  used  for  this  class  of  serv- 
ice. These  equipments  are  automatic  air  brakes 
of  the  highest  type,  with  all  of  the  additions  and 
refinements  which  the  present  passenger-car-train 
operation  requires.  The  particular  conditions  which 
necessitated  the  development  of  these  equipments 
were  mostly  found  upon  the  elevated  railroads  in 
this  and  foreign  countries. 

Some  of  the  worst  accidents  on  the  elevated  rail- 
roads heretofore  have  been  due  to  the  fact  that 
one  application  after  another  of  the  brakes  could 
not  follow  in  quick  enough  succession  with  the 
standard  automatic  air-brake  equipment,  and  as  the 
trains  are  continually  being  operated  on  close! 
schedule,  it  became  apparent  that  some  improve- 
ments were  necessary.  Not  only  this  feature  has 
been  incorporated,  in  these  equipments  now  being 
described,  in  the  matter  of  quick  recharge  of  the 
auxiliary  reservoirs,  but  other  and  perhaps  equally 
important  features  have  been  included.  The  grad- 
uations of  the  release  of  the  brakes  have  not  here- 
tofore been  possible  with  automatic-air-brake  equip- 
ments,   but    with    the    present    equipments    this    is 


April  21,   1906 

possible  to  any  degree  desired.  As  five-pound 
graduations  of  the  release  can  readily  be  secured, 
and  as  the  trains  can  be  handled  smoothly  with 
10-pound  graduations  of  the  release,  it  is  mani- 
festly evident  that  the  necessary  flexibility  in  this 
respect  is  found  in  these  particular  equipments. 

The  next  matter  of  importance  is  the  quick- 
service  feature,  which  is  an  arrangement  of  ports 
in  the  triple  valve  to  secure  the  use  of  brake-pipe 
pressure  to  aid  in  raising  the  brake-cylinder  pres- 
sure in  service  applications  of  the  brakes  and  re- 
duce the  time  of  serial  action  through  the  train, 
whereas  this  feature  has  heretofore  been  confined 
to  the  emergency  application  of  the  brakes  only. 
With  this  feature  the  time  of  the  serial  action 
of  the  service  application  of  the  brakes  through 
the  train  has  been  reduced  at  least  half,  so  that 
longer  trains  can  be  handled  with  greater  smooth- 
ness and-  facility  than  could  be  done  with  the 
former  equipments.  This  feature  also  materially 
reduces  the  amount  of  free  air  required,  and,  of 
course,  reduces  the  compressor  labor  proportion- 
ately. 

The  method  of  operation  in  the  case  of  electric 
locomotives  is  the  standard  for  steam  railroads  and 
(overs  the  handling  of  a  train  with  a  locomotive 
at  the  head  end,  and  consequently  one  source  of 
air  supply.  The  standard  automatic  air-brake  equip- 
ment will  serve  for  train  operation  of  this  kind 
for  many  years  to  come,  especially  as  far  as  the 
cars   are   concerned. 


Chicago  Traction  Matters. 

The  first  act  of  the  new  City  Council  of  Chicago 
relative  to  traction  matters  was  directly  opposed  to 
the  programme  of  Mayor  Dunne  and  his  municipal- 
owrnership  advisers.  ,  The  council  directed  the  com- 
mittee on  local  transportation  to  proceed  to  frame 
ordinances  providing  for  the  "immediate  unification, 
improvement  and  rehabilitation  of  the  street-rail- 
way service."  This  move  was  made  in  the  form  of 
a  resolution  presented  by  Alderman  Foreman  and 
three-fourths  of  the  aldermen  approved  it. 

This  is  directly  opposite  to  the  mayor's  ideas 
expressed  in  his  message  to  the  council,  in  which 
he  says  that  while  the  test  of  the  Mueller  certifi- 
cates in  the  courts  is  under  way  he  may  ask  the 
council  to  take  steps  toward  putting  into  operation 
the  "contract  plan"  which  he  outlined  in  his  mes- 
sage of  July  5,  1905,  or  some  similar  plan,  for  the 
taking  over  of  the  street-car  lines.  He  commends 
this  plan  because  of  "its  manifest  superiority  as  a 
means  of  accomplishing  the  object  with  which  we 
are  charged — namely,  the  earliest  possible  installa- 
tion of  good  service  and  the  establishment  of  mu- 
nicipal ownership  of  the  entire  street-railway  sys- 
tem of  Chicago  by  construction,  purchase  or  con- 
demnation." 

The  mayor,  with  his  special  traction  counsel,  went 
to  Washington,  D.  C,  this  week  to  ask  an  extension 
of  the  time  when  the  river  tunnels  must  be  low- 
ered. The  matter  involves  the  conversion  of  the 
cable  street  railways  to  electric  traction  and  has  a 
bearing  on  the  traction  question.  Secretary  of  War 
Taft  will  give  his  decision  in  the  matter  probably 
next  week. 


Iowa  Electrical  Association. 

[Special  Dispatch  to  the  Western  Electrician  ] 

Des  Moines,  April  18. — Good  attendance  and  en- 
thusiastic conventions  for  both  the  Iowa  Electrical 
Association  and  the  Iowa  Street  and  Interurban 
Railway  Association  seem  assured.  The  electrical 
association  held  its  first  session  this  morning,  and 
the  first  portion  of  the  programme  was  carried 
through  successfully.  President  Austin  Burt  of 
Waterloo  presided  and  gave  a  short  address  which 
was  full  of  pertinent  remarks.  The  routine  business 
was  then  gone  through  with,  after  which  J.  R. 
Cravath,  with  his  report  on  electrical  progress  for 
the  last  year,  and  the  reports  on  the  subject  of 
increasing  business  in  towns  under  5,000,  were  lis- 
tened to.  Many  street-railway  men  have  already 
registered  for  their  convention,  which  begins  to- 
morrow. About  16  manufacturers  have  exhibits, 
which  are  rapidly  taking  form,  and  the  Kirkwood 
Hotel  presents  an  animated  appearance.     H.  W.  Y. 


Electricity  for  the  Egg-eating  Hen. 

Edward  J.  Shanahan  of  Tribes  Hill,  N.  Y.,  be- 
lieves that  he  has  solved  the  vexatious  problem  of 
the  egg-eating  hen,  and  he  has  received  a  patent 
on  an  electrical  device  for  breaking  hens  of  this 
expensive  habit.  A  battery  is  connected  to  the  pri- 
mary of  an  induction  coil.  The  secondary  of  the 
coil  has  its  terminals  connected,  respectively,  to  a 
conducting  egg  receptacle  and  to  a  conducting  plate 
upon  which  the  fowl  must  stand  to  eat  an  egg. 
The  receptacle  and  plate  are  insulated  from  each 
other.  An  egg  is  placed  in  the  receptacle,  and  when 
the  fowl  comes  to  partake  of  the  forbidden  fruit 
it  is  subjected  to  a  shock  which  it  is  believed  will 
cause  it  to  dislike  eggs  ever  after. 


April  21,   1906 

World-wide  Telephone  Rates  Disclosed 
by  Canadian  Inquiry.     I. 

'I ,  ],  |,! ■   systems    111   operation  in    '  anada    ha 

1,,-i-ti   the   subjei  1    of   Bomc   cril I    rdi 

1,,  gel  al   the  can  1  1    foi    di    1 tion   thi    1  [ou  1 

,,i    1  lommons  al    Ottawa    appointed    a      eleel    

mittce  1 poi  1    1 1  garding  the  variou  .  publii    ti  1 

phone   systems   in   operation   in   tin     I  < 1    1 

1  1  -  v.  Iii  n       'I  hi      v.. Wan  li    1; ,    too  ,        1  hi 

committi  c      1  on  ;i  ted      of      Sir      \\   II 

1 1 |.  ni  |     and     Vlcsst       <  Irant,     fohn  ton,    Mai 

lean,  Monk,   Roche,  Smith,  Zimmerman,     Bergeron 

and  I  loeffrion.     Since  thai   time  M mmittcc  ha 

entered  energetically  into  the  work  and  ha  col 
lectcd  data  not  only  on  the  telephone  situation  in 
Canada  but  in  all  parts  of  the   world   a     well,  the 

whole    forming    pi  rhap  \   the   mo  1    pli  ti 

of   the   Kind   ever  published.      In    Augu  1.    190 

lirsl    installmcnl    of   the   reporl    wa     published,   

listing  "f  .(<>  pamphlets  containing  1,438  pages  of 
|o  ely  printed  matter.  In  the  issues  ol  the  \\  1  1 
.in  Electrician  dated  August  -•<>  and  September 
j.  [005,  sonic  of  the  most  important  facts  set  fori h 
in  the  reporl  were  published.  Now  comes  a  sec- 
mid  installmcnl  of  the  report,  bringing  the  total 
number  of  printed  pages  up  to  2.047. 

While  it  is  not  practicable  to  attempt  to  give  a 
complete  outline  of  Ihe  second  portion  of  the  re- 
port, it  nevertheless  contains  a  great  mass  of 
information  from  which  portions  may  be  selected 
which   will    make    interesting   and   valuable   reading. 

In  brief,  the  second  installment  of  the  reporl 
consists  principally  of  communication  from  various 
telephone  companies  and  government  telephone  sys- 
tems in  answer  to  questions  sent  them  by  the 
committee.  These  communications  are  some  of 
of  them  very  complete  and  contain  exact  figures  as 
to  their  operating  conditions.  The  following  is 
taken  from  among  the  reports  of  these  various 
authorities: 

Canada. 

The  number  of  Bell  telephone  exchanges  in 
Canada  in  January,  1905,  was  400,  having  connected 
to  them  in  round  numbers  77.000  telephones.  Mon- 
treal, with  a  population  of  267.730,  had  14,995  tele- 
phones, and  Toronto,  with.'  208,040  inhabitants, 
came  next  with  12,714.  From  these  figures  the 
numbers  diminished  all  the  way  down  to  as  low 
as  one  telephone  line  in  some  of  the  smaller  towns 
which  could  hardly  be  said  to  have  exchanges,  the 
line  probably  connecting  with  an  exchange  in  an- 
other town. 

Some  interesting  figures  relating  to  rates  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  Canada  were  contained  in  the 
report. 

The  Yukon  Telephone  Syndicate,  Ltd.,  of  Yukon 
Territory,  charges  business  subscribers  for  a  direct 
line  $240. ;  for  a  two-party  line,  $180;  three-party 
line,  $120  per  annum.  The  $240  and  $180  rates 
cover  free  service  between  Dawson  City,  Klondike 
City,  Magnet,  Grand  Forks  and  Bonanza  and  Eldo- 
rado creeks;  also  half-toll  rates  to  other  points.  The 
cost  price  of  wall  telephones  is  $17;  freight  and 
duty  brings  the  total  cost  to  $37-50.  The  Yukon 
syndicate  is  owned  practically  by  two  people,  the 
third  stockholder  having  only  one  share.  Up  to 
date  $175,605  has  been  spent  on  the  system,  and 
the  dividends  in  eight  years  amounted  to  $104,000. 
The  Telephone  Company  of  Prince  Edward  Is- 
land makes  the  following  rates  per  annum :  Char- 
lottetown,  business  direct  lines,  $45  ;  two-party  lines, 
$30;  residence  direct  lines,  $45;  two-party  lines, 
$20.  Summerside,  business,  $20;  residence,  $15. 
Elsewhere,  business  or  residence,  $15.  Toll  rates 
within  10  miles,  15  cents;  beyond  this,  25  cents, 
with   a   discount  of  20  per  cent,   to   subscribers. 

In  York  County,  N.  B.,  a  new  company  has  been 
started  in  competition  with  the  New  Brunswick 
Telephone  Company.  The  new  company  is  build- 
ing extensions  in  York  County  in  a  substantial 
manner  and  putting  on  the  latest  improvements 
and  appliances  known  to  the  business.  Its  main 
line  is  to  be  No.  12  copper  wire,  continuous  cir- 
cuit of  two  wires  for  long-distance  business,  and 
for  local  circuits  two  No.  9  copper  wires  will  be 
used,  making  metallic  circuits  throughout.  The 
instruments  used  are  to  be  the  newest  and  best 
made.  All  the  people  are  asked  to  take  stock 
for  purposes  of  extension  of  the  system  through 
their  individual  territory,  thus  participating  in 
profits  as  well  as  privileges  and  making  the  sys- 
tem thoroughly  mutual.  The  company  is  charging 
$15  per  annum  for  farmers'  telephones,  with  free 
use  of  circuits,  and  a  small  switching  charge  in 
addition  for  long  distances  outside  of  the  circuits, 
which  average  35  to  50  miles. 

In  the  municipality  of  Matsqui,  B.  C,  a  peculiar 
condition  exists.  The  municipality  is  about  10 
miles  long  by  about  eight  miles  wide,  and  has  just 
one  telephone  line  running  through  its  center,  or 
nearly  so,  east  and  west,  and  in  the  whole  length 
it  has  but  one  telephone  the  public  can  use.  one 
installed  at  the  postoffice  at  Abbottsford  (which  is 
the  Canadian  Pacific  railway  depot).  At  first  the 
charges  were  for  short  distances  10  cents;  later 
the  minimum  price  was  25  cents.  This  was  con- 
sidered exorbitant  and  deterred  many  from  its  use. 


[  r        ELD  TRK 

1  he   Mi ■ 

bi  ni  in     '" 

publii  'i  would 

bin    a    guar* 

publ 

chargi      had  ni 

rin     1  1 1 11.  tion    and    1 

nscqi 

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I  ■  li  pli '  ■ 

in, 11,  and   thi     coupled   with  the  pcculiai    1  om 
obtaining    in   thai    country    render   any    information 

■,    and 

ii"i    ni  .1    natun     u| whii  h  to 

fur    the    cstabli  ;hmi  nl    of     imilai     urn 
othi  1   I'.n  1     of  tin    world. 

\\  nli    regard    to    rural    telcj  is    at 

present    no  apprei  1    service 

in    Egypt,   a     tl to    large   class    wh 

patromzi     tl ifficiently 

great.       I  he    company    is,    however,   installing    for 

the   govc 1    tensivi         tcm    oi     iroi  incial 

tclephi 'in   ,   1 H"   up  Hi'    chiel   ti iv,  11    ol   pi 

with    the  outlying    towns   and    villagi 
being   used    by    the    go'  ernmenl    for    adniini 
purpo  '  1. 

1  he     ni-"    of   the    1  eli  phone   Company  of 
vary  according   to  many  circumstance 
$38.96     upward,  all   for  unlimited   service,  within  an 
area    extending    roughly    to    the    outskirts    of    the 
towns,  say  two  to  2' j  miles.     In  Alexandria,    P 
Said   and    Suez  continuous   service   is  given.     Other 
exchanges    close   at    midnight    and   open    at    7  a.    m. 
Open  Sundays  everywhere.     The  fee  for  local  con- 
versations   i"    non-subscribers    is    one  piastre    (five 
cents)   per  communication  of  any  reasonable  length. 
Ilh      long-distance     fees    on    the    Cairo-Alexandria 
trunk    line    are    five  piastres    up    to    three    minutes, 
and     10    piastres    up    to    eight    minutes,    equal    to 
about  26  cents  and  52  cents  respectively. 

About  160  miles  (Cairo  to  Alexandria)  is  the 
greatest  distance  spoken  over.  All  instruments  arc 
made  by  L.  M.  Ericsson  &  Co.,  Stockholm,  and 
are  of  their  standard  magneto  pattern.  The  local 
systems  are  now  in  course  of  conversion  from 
overhead  earth  circuits  to  metallic  circuits  ill  dry- 
core  underground  cables,  with  overhead  distribu- 
tion. The  change  is  about  half  completed.  The 
only  trunk  line  at  present  existing  in  Egypt  is 
owned  and  maintained  by  the  Egyptian  government 
and  leased  to  and  worked  by  the  telephone  com- 
pany. It  is  metallic  circuit  of  No.  11  copper. 
Payment  of  long-distance  charges  is  covered  by 
deposits  from  subscribers  and  by  cash  payments  of 
the  time  of  speaking  from  call  offices.  The  system 
at  present  in  use  is  the  ordinary  magneto,  with 
multiple    switchboards. 

Portsmouth,  England. 

In  the  corporation  of  Portsmouth.  England,  the 
subscriber's  instrument  consists  of  a  magneto  of 
any  ordinary  construction  provided  with  a  ring-off 
key.  This  key  when  in  normal  position  connects 
the  subscriber's  instrument  to  the  metallic  circuit, 
but  when  pressed  down  it  connects  the  metallic 
circuit  directly  to  earth  so  long  as  it  remains 
pressed. 

Each  subscriber's  metallic  circuit  contains  at  the 
switchboard  an  indicator  of  ordinary  construction 
and  a  four-point  spring-jack.  When  the  answer- 
ing plug  is  inserted  in  the  spring-jack  the  line 
indicator  is  cut  out  of  circuit,  and  the  metallic 
loop  is  in  direct  communication  with  the  two  cir- 
cuits of  the  plug.  The  second  or  rear  plug  when 
out  of  use  sits  on  and  presses  down  a  switch 
which  connects  the  two  conductors  of  the  flexible 
cord  joining  the  two  plugs  to  a  second  switch 
which  is  worked  by  the  operator's  finger.  When 
the  rear  plug  is  sitting  on  its  switch  and  the  but- 
ton of  the  second  switch  remains  impressed  the 
metallic  circuit  into  which  the  answering  plug 
has  been  inserted  is  directly  on  to  the  operator's 
telephone.  If  in  this  position  the  finger  switch  is 
pressed  the  operator's  telephone  is  cut  out  and  a 
magneto  generator  is  brought  into  circuit  by- 
means  of  which  the  operator  is  enabled  to  ring 
the  bell  of  the  subscriber  into  whose  jack  the 
answering  plug  is  inserted.  The  consequence  of 
this  arrangement  is  that  the  mere  insertion  of  the 
answering  plug  puts  the  operator  in  communication 
with  the  calling  subscriber  without  any  further 
movement.  After  ascertaining  his  wishes  she  lifts 
the  rear  plug  from  its  position  and  inserts  it  in  the 
jack  of  the  subscriber  called  for.  The  lifting  of 
the  rear  plug  from  the  switch  cuts  off  the  oper- 
ator's telephone  and  brings  into  circuit  a  ring-off 
indicator. 

[To  be  concluded.'] 


Chloago  Telephone  Rates. 

. 

and   will  by  .,.•• 
due    from    (hi 

li   the  company 

RuiDSjrci    Kate*    w:. 

1-r.nmim 
pel  >f>nt>tn 

.'"■'>■  -alii. 

Ity  line.  r<7<i,lr,». 
Extension  telephones,  li.oo  per  month. 


Portable  Telephone  Service  for  Detroit. 

Tli. 
paring    lo   make    $500,000    « 

'       Permits  h.\  . 
to  lay  conduits  in  200  streets  and  all 
new  telephones  arc  to  be  installed.     A  plan  is 
wi  rked  out  to  provide  portable  telepi 
mobile  owners,   doctors,   grocery-wagon   drivers  and 
others  who  are  about  the  city  a  great  deal.    At  three 
or  four  hundred  places  al>out  the  city  and  in  the  sub- 
urb, will  be  metal  plates  with  boles  at  the  bottom 
lor  inserting   plugs  and  making  the  telephone  con 
nection.      These    plates    will    be   of   the    bell    shape, 
which    is    the    symbol    01    the    Bell    company.      The 
will  be  only  to  regular  telephone  subscribers 
and  at  a   small  additional  cost.     Directories  01   the 
portable   telephone   stations   will    be   provided.     The 
connection  plates  will  be  placed  on  telephone  poles, 
sides    of    buildings    or,    when    necessary,    on    small 
posts.     Detroit  will  be  the  first  city  :•■   the  country 
lo  have  a  general  portable  telephone  service. 


GENERAL  TELEPHONE   NEWS 

The  Home  Telephone  Company  has  made  appli- 
cation  fqr  a  franchise  in   Springfield.   Mo. 

Ihe  Johnson  County  Telephone  Company  of 
Smartville,  Neb.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  cap- 
ital   stock   of  $50,000. 

Gilles  Elliot,  Fred  Morrison  and  Martin  Dotty 
have  incorporated  as  the  Pecatonica  Mutual  Tele- 
phone  Company  of  Pecatonica.  111. 

The    Michigan      State     Telephone    Companv    has 
bought  the   Parma  Independent  exchange,  bul 
of  the   subscribers,   desiring  an   Independent    - 
will   put  in  a  board  of  their  own. 

The  programme  for  the  National-Interstate  tele- 
phone convention  in  Chicago  on  June  26th  to  28th 
is  being  prepared.  The  various  committees  will 
meet   at   the  Auditorium  Hotel  on  June  25th. 

J.  P.  Jensen,  for  several  year;  manager  of  the 
local  telephone  exchange  at  Little  Falls,  Minn.,  of 
the  Northwestern  Telephone  Exchange  Company, 
has  been  transferred  to  the  Owatonna  (Minn.) 
office  of  the  same  company. 

The  Illinois  Western  Telephone  Company  has 
purchased  the  telephone  exchange  at  Camp  Point. 
It  also  recently  purchased  the  exchange  at  Golden. 
Adams  County.  This  gives  the  Illinois  Western 
system  more  than  5.000  telephones. 

Among  the  recently  incorporated  telephone  com- 
panies are  the  following-named:  Solon  Telephone 
Company,  Douglas.  Neb. :  Mountain  Park  Telephone 
Company.  Mountain  Park,  Okla. :  Ranchmen's  Tele- 
phone Company,  Deerhead.  Kan.;  Cimarron  Valley 
Telephone  Company,  Ripley.  Okla.;  Rose  Hill  and 
Augusta  Mutual  Telephone  Company.  Augusta. 
Kan.;  Silver  Creek  Telephone  Company.  Silver 
Creek.   Neb. 


The  Independent  telephone  interests  of  Oklahoma 
and  Indian  Territory  have  been  organized  under  the 
name  of  the  Oklahoma  and  Indian  Territory  Tele- 
phone Association.  Mr.  H.  Furman  of  Geary. 
Okla.,  is  president,  and  Mr.  L.  T.  Hine  of  Purcell, 
I.  T.,  is  secretary  and  treasurer. 


The  Detroit  and  Cleveland  Navigation  Company- 
is  arranging  to  operate  a  Clark  space-telegraph. sys- 
tem on  the  steamer  Western  States  of  the  Detroit- 
Buffalo  line.  A  10-kilowatt  station  will  be  installed 
by  the  Clark  company  at  Buffalo  about  May  15th. 
Commercial  messages  will  be  accepted  and  deliv- 
ered, it  is  said. 


324 

Ohio  Telephone  Notes. 

At  a  hearing  before  the  council  committee  on 
telephones  at  Cincinnati  a  few  days  ago,  both  the 
Bell  and  the  Independent  interests  were  represented. 
From  what  can  be  learned,  it  was  a  warm  session. 
Manager  Kilgour  of  the  Bell  presented  a  large 
number  of  letters  from  business  men  and  citizens 
saying  that  they  want  but  one  system  in  the  city. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  representatives  of  the  Queen 
City  company  presented  a  list  of  telephone  users 
in  the  state,  showing  that  several  counties  in  the 
southwestern  part  of  the  state  have  very  few  Bell 
telephones,  while  there  are  many  Independent  tele- 
phones over  the  territory.  Mr.  Kilgour  questioned 
the  correctness  of  the  figures  given,  and  finally 
invited  the  members  of  the  committee  to  visit  St. 
Louis,  Louisville,  Cleveland,  Philadelphia,  Pittsburg, 
Buffalo,  Baltimore,  Toledo,  Columbus,  Indianapolis 
and  some  other  cities  to  investigate  the  claim  that 
people  have  found  an  advantage  in  having  both  sys- 
tems. The  Queen  City  offered  to  bear  half  the 
expense  if  the  committee  made  its  investigations 
within  the  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Kentucky  and 
West  Virginia,  but  other  cities  were  insisted  upon 
and   the   offer   was   withdrawn. 

An  increase  of  capital  stock  from  $75,00°  t0  $20<V 
coo  has  been  made  by  the  Sandusky  Telephone 
Company,  recently  acquired  by  James  S.  Brailey, 
Tr.,  and  his  associates.  A  bond  issue  of  about 
$100,000  will  also  be  floated.  With  the  money  thus 
secured  important  extensions  and  improvements  will 
be  made  to  the  plant,  which  now  has  only  about 
1,000    subscribers. 

The  Greenspring  Mutual  Telephone  Company  of 
Greenspring  has  been  organized  by  about  200  farm- 
ers in  the  vicinity  of  that  place.  It  is  said  the 
new  company  will  compete  with  the  Greenspring 
Telephone  and  Electric  Company,  which  has  had 
the    business    so    far. 

The  Sandy  Valley  Telephone  and  Electric  Com- 
pany of  Sandy  Valley  has  been  incorporated  with 
a  capital  stock  of  $50,000  by  R.  A.  Kayler,  A.  S. 
Hillhouse.   W.    M.    Meeker   and   others. 

H.  Friedman,  Harry  McCall  and  others  have  in- 
corporated as  the  Home  Telephone  Company  of 
Hamersville.    The  capital  stock  is  $10,000.  C. 


Indiana  Telephone  Items. 

The  Home  Telephone  Company  of  Wabash  is 
arranging  to  erect  a  new  business  block  for  its 
own  use,  and  to  install  a  $10,000  central-energy 
multiple  switchboard.  The  company  has  1,200  tele- 
phones in  service.  The  Central  Union  Telephone 
Company  has  but  20  telephones  in  service  and  is 
proposing  to  abandon  the  local  field  if  the  Home 
will  handle  its  toll  business.  The  Home  company 
refuses,    however. 

A  trunk  line  will  be  built  by  the  Russiaville  In- 
dependent Telephone  Company  into  Kokomo  within 
a  short  time,  according  to  officials  of  that  company. 
The  line  will  be  attached  to  the  local  Independent 
line,  and  the  Russiaville  subscribers  will  be  given 
free   communication  to  Kokomo. 

Mayor  McCormack  of  Columbus,  Ind.,  gave  the 
Citizens'  and  Central  Union  telephone  companies 
20  days'  notice  to  remove  their  wires  from  the  city 
poles.  This  notice  having  been  ignored,  the  mayor 
and  chief  of  police,  with  a  force  of  men,  proceeded 
to  cut  down  all  the  company's  wires,  but  were  re- 
strained temporarily. 

Independent  telephone  men  from  all  parts  of  In- 
diana and  from  adjoining  states  will  meet  in  In- 
dianapolis May  17th  and  18th  for  the  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  state  association.  George  W.  Beers  of 
Ft.  Wayne  is  president  and  C.  S.  Norton  of  Indi- 
anapolis is  secretary  of  the  association. 

The  Central  Union  Telephone  Company  has  ap- 
proved plans  for  a  new  exchange  building  in  Co- 
lumbus. S. 


Telephone   News  from   the   Northwest. 

The  Nelson  Telephone  Company  of  Nelson,  Minn., 
has  filed  articles  of  incorporation  with  $10,000  cap- 
ital. 

E.  R.  Jones  is  to  be  manager  of  the  local  tele- 
phone exchange  at  Brainerd,  Minn.,  which  has  just 
been  sold  to  the  Northwestern  Telephone  Exchange 
Company. 

E.  M.  Irish  of  Akeley,  Minn.,  has  sold  the  local 
exchange   there  to   a  stock  company. 

The  People's  Telephone  Company  has  moved 
into  its  new  exchange  building  at  Superior,  Wis.     , 

The  local  telephone  system  at  Howard,  S.  D.. 
has  been  sold  to  the  Dakota  Central  Telephone 
Company. 

The  local  telephone  system  at  Albany.  Minn., 
will  lie  merged  with  the  Northwestern  Telephone 
Exchange    Company's    system. 

The  Akeley  (Minn.)  Telephone  Company  has 
filed  articles  of  incorporation  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $15,000.  H.  H.  Thomas  is  president  and  Bert 
Rodman   secretary  and  treasurer.  R. 


Extensive  improvements  are  making  in  the  equip- 
ment of  the  old  Michigan  Traction  Company  of 
Kalamazoo,  now  owned  by  the  Michigan  United 
Railways.  A  tunnel  near  "the  city  limits  of  Kala- 
mazoo has  been  lowered  to  admit  the  larger  inter- 
urban  cars,  and  through  service  between  Kalamazoo 
and  Jackson  is  now  maintained. 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 
CORRESPONDENCE, 

Great  Britain. 

London,  April  4. — Each  week  the  feeling  is  gain- 
ing ground  that  the  action  of  the  government  in 
regard  to  the  London  electric  power  bills  will  re- 
sult in  another  futile  session,  and  that  not  one  of 
the  bills  will  be  passed  into  law.  To  start  with,  it 
is  now  over  a  week  since  it  was  decided  to  send 
the  bill  of  the  London  County  Council  to  a  com- 
mittee, and  while  practically  suspending  all  the 
others,  to  give  their  promoters  a  locus  to  appear 
before  the  committee  dealing  with  the  County  Coun- 
cil bill.  Th'e  only  step  since  taken  has  been  to 
announce  merely  that  the  committee  shall  consist 
of  five  members  selected  by  the  House  and  four 
selected  by  the  ordinary  committee  of  selection. 
This  means  that  no  work  can  be  commenced  before 
Easter.  In  the  meantime,  the  promoters  of  one  of 
the  other  bills — that  which  proposes  to  give  a  sup- 
ply primarily  for  railway  purposes  from  a  power 
station  50  miles  away  from  London — are  making 
great  efforts  to  effect  a  compromise  with  the  Lon- 
don County  Council.  In  order  to  get  their  bill 
through  at  all  costs,  they  have  refused  to  allow  it 
to  be  suspended,  and  will  practically  force  a  second 
reading,  in  order  to  settle  the  matter  without  de- 
lay. With  a  view  to  overcome  the  opposition  of 
the  London  County  Council,  the  promoters  of  this 
bill  have  offered  to  insert  a  clause  by  which  no 
supply  may  be  given  for  any  other  purpose  than 
railways,  canals,  etc.,  without  the  consent  of  the 
County  Council.  But  with  something  in  the  nature 
of  a  hint  of  help  from  the  government,  this  offer 
has  not  been  accepted,  and  the  bill  will  be  opposed 
strongly.  The  promoters  of  the  bill  which  very 
nearly  became  law  last  year  are  curiously  quiet 
and  have  accepted  the  decision  of  the  government 
regarding  the  London  County  Council  bill  with  a 
readiness  that  has  awakened  suspicion  in  the 
minds  of  the  municipallsts.  Although  last  in  the 
field,  the  municipal  scheme  has  obtained  the  whip 
hand,  so  to  speak,  by  a  fortuitous  circumstance, 
for  with  the  composition  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons as  last  year,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  bill 
would  have  gone  as  far  as  it  even  now  has.  Even 
so,  many  regard  it  as  a  certainty  that  the  House 
of  Lords  wiil  throw  the  scheme  out  should  it  ever 
go  so  far.     But  that  is  unlikely. 

The  difficulties  of  the  Hull  Corporation  in  re- 
gard to  the  sale  of  its  telephone  undertaking  are 
to  be  brought  before  Parliament.  A  sub-committee 
has  been  appointed  to  consider  the  best  means 
of  doing  this,  and  in  the  meantime  the  five  authori- 
ties which  are  the  proud  possessors  of  such  under- 
takings are  wondering  what  steps  will  be  taken 
either  to  buy  them  out  now  or  extinguish  them  at 
the  expiration  of  their  licenses.  At  present  the 
postmaster-general  will  only  offer  them  60  per  cent, 
of  their  capital  expenditure. 

The  discussion  which  is  now  taking  place  at  the 
Institution  of  Electrical  Engineers  should  rank  as 
one  of  the  most  important  contributions  to  the  sub- 
ject ever  made.  Already  two  whole  evenings  have 
been  devoted  to  the  subject,  and  another  is  yet 
to  come.  Although  the  subject  matter  has  been 
the  general  one  of  the  electrical  equipment  of  col- 
lieries, it  seems  to  have  turned,  with  a  little  feel- 
ing, on  to  the  relative  efficiency  of  steam  and  elec- 
tric winding.  Mr.  W.  C.  Mountain,  a  partner  in  a 
firm  of  electrical  engineers  in  the  New-castle  col- 
liery district,  has  been  the  heretic,  for  he  has  sol- 
emnly produced  figures  to  prove  that  electric  wind- 
ing is  .some  two  or  three  times  as  expensive  as 
steam  "winding,  and  that,  for  the  present,  the  for- 
mer has  no  chance.  In  fact,  the  position  he  indi- 
cates seems  to  be  an  unassailable  one  for  steam 
winding  for  some  time  to  come.  The  array  of 
tables  of  figures  produced  by  Mr.  Mountain,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  by  several  of  his  critics,  on  the 
other,  somewhat  bewilder  the  not  too  technical  and 
statistical  mind,  and  the  discussion  requires  fol- 
lowing carefully  and  deeply  to  be  understood  aright. 
But,  really,  electrical  engineers  ought  to  be  grate- 
ful to  Mr.  Mountain,  for  it  should  be  easy  to 
see  that  he  has  the  good  of  the  profession  at 
heart,  and  his  paper  is  a  gallant  effort  to  awaken 
greater  interest  in  a  field  of  application  of  elec- 
tricity which  hitherto,  here,  at  any  rate,  has  never 
been  properly  developed.  Unless  I  am  much  mis- 
taken, Mr.  Mountain  will  be  thoroughly  satisfied 
that  the  object  of  his  paper  has  been  achieved 
to  the  full,  if  only  for  the  information  it  has 
been  the  means  of  extracting  from  others,  which 
would  probably  have  never  otherwise  come  to  light. 

The  bill  which  has  been  introduced  this  year 
giving  the  state  further  powers  of  control  over 
wireless  telegraphy  until  1912  is  being  rapidly  passed 
through  its  various  stages.  No  further  restrictions 
are  imposed  upon  "wireless"  experimenters,  but  the 
control  of  the  state  is  extended  until  1912  under 
the  present  conditions.  If  no  unsatisfactory  records 
come  to  hand  then,  probably  the  measure  will  be 
made  permanent.  An  effort  was  made  to  reduce 
the  period  from  1912  until  190S.  but  no  good  rea- 
son was   adduced,   and  it  was  unsuccessful. 

The  report  of  the  National  Physical  Laboratory 
for  1905  has  just  been  published.  Considerable 
work  has  been  carried  out  in  the  physics  depart- 
ment, including  the  completion  of  an  ampere  bal- 
ance, a  series  of  determinations  of  the  electromotive 


April  21,  1906 

force  of  a  cadmium  cell  in  terms  of  the  interna- 
tional ohm,  experiments  on  the  voltameter,  and 
many  other  matters.  An  investigation  has  been  car- 
ried out  on  behalf  of  the  Institution  of  Gas  Engi- 
neers on  the  relation  between  the  candlepower?  of 
the  Pentane,  Hefner  and  Carcel  lamps.  The  stale 
will  grant  an,  additional  $25,000  for  buildings,  and 
also  increase  the  annual  grant  by  $2,500.  A  private 
donation  of  $5,coo  has  also  been  made  to  the  lab- 
oratory. 

The  present  capital  commitments  of  the  London 
County  Council  amount  to  over  $105,000,000.  and 
future  proposals  are  as  follows,  among  others: 
Tramways  and  street  improvements,  $20,000,000 ; 
electric  power-supply  undertaking,  $12,500,000.  There 
are  also  a  large  number  of  proposals  as  to  tram- 
ways, etc.,  which  have  not  yet  been  approved,  and 
which  also  run  into  many  millions  of  dollars.  The 
North  London  tramways  have  now  actually  been 
taken  over  by  the  council,  which  is  now  absolutely 
the  one  tramway  authority  in  London.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  it  will  take  four  years  to  convert  the 
northern  lines  to  electric  traction.  G. 


New  England. 


Boston,  April  12. — Vermont  capitalists  are  con- 
sidering the  feasibility  of  building  an  electric  rail- 
way connecting  Hartwellville.  Vt.,  with  the  Hoosac 
Valley    street    railway,    a    distance    of    10   miles. 

The  Massachusetts  railroad  commissioners  have 
authorized  an  issue  of  four  per  cent,  first-mort- 
gage bonds,  maturing  in  50  years,  and  amounting 
to  $200,000,  by  the  Old  Colony  Street  Railway 
Company. 

It  is  stated  that  William  L.  Mauran  of  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  and  his  associates  have  secured  con- 
trol of  the  Westerly  Railway  and  Lighting  Com- 
pany, a  holding  Connecticut  company,  wrhich  con- 
trols the  Westerly  (R.  I.)  Gas  and  Electric  Light 
Company,  the  Mystic  (Conn.)  Electric  and  Gas 
Lighting  Company,  the  Pawcatuck  Valley  Street 
Railway  Company  and  the  Westerly  and  Hopkiu- 
ton-  Street  Railway  Company.  The  H.  B.  Rust 
Company  of  Providence  will  superintend,  the  en- 
larging   and    improving   of   the   Westerly    plant. 

The  proposition  to  build  an  air-line  electric  road 
between  Boston  and  New  York  has  brought  out 
a  statement  from  Charles  S.  Mellen,  president  of 
the  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford  Railroad 
Company,  in  which  he  sa\rs  that  engineers  are 
planning  a  new  express  air  line  for  that  company, 
over  which  a  train  can  be  run  from  one  city  to 
the  other  in  four  hours,  and  in  less  time  should 
the    powrer   be    changed    from    steam    to    electricity. 

The  Boston  Elevated  Railway  Company  has  re- 
ceived five  carloads  of  steel  for  its  elevated  struc- 
ture between  Guild  Street,  Roxbury,  and  Forest 
Hills  in  this  city,  and  is  setting  up  the  machinery 
necessary  for  handling  the  uprights.  The  work  of 
building  the  structure  will  probably  be  under  way 
before  the   end   of  the   week. 

The  Massachusetts  legislative  committees  on  street 
railways  and  railroad,  sitting  jointly,  have  referred 
matters  suggested  by  the  special  recess  committee's 
report  to  a  sub-committee  of  eight.  These  subjects 
refer  to  a  general  revision  of  the  laws  governing 
electric-railway  companies,  including  their  control 
by    steam-railroad    companies. 

The  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford  Rail- 
road Company  has  sold  four  per  cent,  debenture 
bonds  maturing  in  50  years  and  amounting  to  $15.- 
000.000,  part  of  the  proceeds  to  be  used"  for  com- 
pleting the  electric  railway  between  Woodlawn  and 
Stamford,    Conn. 

An  international  telegraph  tournament  is  to  be 
held  in  Tremont  Temple  on  June  8th.  Andrew 
Carnegie  has  donated  a  solid  silver  cup  23*^  inches 
high,  which  will  be  a  trophy  of  the  championship 
of  the  world  for  fast  sending,  fast  receiving  'and 
accuracy,  the  person  receiving  the  most  points  to 
be  the  victor.  Clarence  H.  Mackay,  president  of 
the  Postal  Telegraph-cable  Company,  has  donated 
four  cups  for  first  and  second  prizes .  in  "team" 
work.  There  will  be  contests  for  broker  and  rail- 
road operators.  The  proceeds  will  be'  used  for  the 
endowment  of  a  free  hospital  bed. 

The  LTnderwriters'  Laboratories  has  established 
a  branch  station  at  93  Water  Street,  in  charge  of 
Franklin  H.  Wentworth.  who  has  been  conducting 
a  test  of  electric  car  heaters  at  the  Edison  Illumi- 
nating Company's   Head    Place   plant. 

The  legislative  committee  on  public  lighting  has 
requested  "leave  to  withdraw"  on  a  petition  for  leg- 
islation authorizing  the  construction,  purchase  or 
lease  of  electric  plants  by  cities,  provided  a  ma- 
joritv   so   vote.  B. 


New  York. 


New  York  city,  April  1.1. — Franchise  terms  have 
at  last  been  agreed  upon  between  the  legal  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Atlantic  Telephone  Company  and 
Harry  P.  Nichols,  chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Fran- 
chises of  the  Board  of  Estimate.  Under  the  agree- 
ment the  company  will  pay  to  the  city  an  aggregate 
of  $^.000,000  as  a  minimum  for  a  25-vear  grant. 
The  'matter  will  be  laid  before  the  Board  of  Esti- 
mate on  April  20th  for  its  action.  Final  action  by 
the  Board  of  Estimate  cannot  be  had  until  the 
Court  of  Appeals  passes  on  the  constitutionality  of 
the  act  of  1905  transferring  the  franchise-granting 


Al.nl     •!,    tQOfj 

power  from  the  Board  of  Aldei  mi  11  to  tin  Boat  .1 
mi    Estimate. 

Plans  arc  being  made  in  a  number  of  localitii 
in  the  vicinity  of  New  York  i..  establish  automobile 
omnibus  lines  this  summer,  and  arrangements  are 
also  under  way  I"  run  from  half  a  dozen  to  to 
motor  'buses  from  this  city  to  the  rai  c  trad  I  hi 
'|,n  .--  thai  will  be  used  for  this  purpose  will  be 
small    cars   holding    m    persons.      No    attempt    will 

!»■  made  I"  make  the  trip  a   sightseci I'ln 

'buses  will   start  from  fixed   points  and  partii      ma 
hire  the  entire  cars   if  they  choose. 

A  marconigram  from  mid-ocean  announced  the 
fact  that  Maxim  Gorky,  the  noted  Ru  lian  authoi 
an. I  revolutionist,  was  a  passenger  on  hoard  the 
Red  Stat    Linci    I. iland. 

A   lull   wai    pa    ed   in   thi    '-..  nap    al     Ubanj     ipril 

.ah,  inn. ..In.  ed  by  Senator   Barm    .    lutl thi 

New    York   and   Queens    Electrii     Light    and    Powei 

Company  lo  commence  an  acl againsl    New   York 

city  for  nearly  $1,000,000.  From  January  1,  [00.1, 
the  city  refused  to  make  contracts  with  a  numbei  ol 
the  lighting  companies,  among  them  the  New  York 
and  Queens  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company, 
which  supplied  current  for  lights  in  streets  and  pub 
lie  buildings  in  the  Borough  of  Queens.  After  the 
expiration  of  the  contract  on  this  date  the  companj 
continued  to  supply  the  current,  and  the  city  used 
it  as  before  on  the  theory  that  it  would  pay  for  il 
according  to  a  price  which  would  be  determined 
by  a  court  decree  or  commission  named  to  fix  the 
compensation.  The  company  did  not  bring  its  action 
for  three  years,  and  the  purpose  of  the  bill  is  to 
make  the  city  pay  for  the  current  supplied  at  the 
hi.  1    pi  i.  •-  .1     11    .    1  ted   before   the  contrai  1   1 

piled. 

\  four-hour  train  service  fr.nn  New  York  to 
Boston  is  promised  by  the  New  York,  New  Haven 
and  Hartford  Railroad  as  soon  as  the  company's 
plans  for  the  shortening  of  its  lines  between  the 
two  cities  have  been  completed.  These  plans  have 
already  made  good  progress.  The  recent  issue  of 
$5,000,000  of  bonds  by  the  New  York  and  Boston 
Air  Line  was  in  furtherance  of  the  scheme  for  a 
shorter  line  from  this  city  to  Boston. 

Many  new  trolley  lines  of  the  New  York  City 
Intcrborough  Railway  Company  will  be  opened  on 
May  1st.  The  work  on  the  company's  other  lines 
will  be  pushed  forward  as  rapidly  as  possible.  The 
New  York  City  Interborough  Railway  Company  has 
franchises  for  more  than  40  miles  of  street  surface 
lines  and  will  furnish  a  comprehensive  system  of 
crosstown  lines  in  the  Borough  of  the  Bronx  and 
feeders  to  numerous  stations  of  the  rapid-transit 
system  in  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx. 

Elihu  Thomson,  president  of  the  International 
Electrical  Congress  at  St.  Louis,  has  reported  to 
tlie  American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineering 
that  the  balance  of  the  funds  of  the  congress  is 
$2,052.06.  This  sum  is  offered  to  the  Institute  for 
its  library,  to  be  made  a  separate  perpetual  fund, 
the  annual  proceeds  of  which  are  to  go  for  the  pur- 
chase of  international  electrical  literature.  At  the 
last  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Insti- 
tute the  gift  was  formally  accepted  and  resolutions 
adopted  to  the  effect  that  the  money  shall  consti- 
tute the  "International  Electrical  Congress  of' St. 
Louis  (1904)  Library  Fund."  The  proceeds  are  to 
be  devoted  to  the  purchase  of  non- American  elec- 
trical literature.  C.  I.  C. 


Southeastern  States. 

Charlotte,  N.  G,  April  14.— The  city  of  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  has  filed  a  petition,  amounting  to  $170,- 
000,  against  the  Richmond  Traction  Company,  for 
alleged  damages,  alleging  this  amount  of  damages 
to  water  pipes,  etc.,  due  to  electrolysis. 

The  Mercantile  Trust  Company  of  New  York 
has  filed  suit  against  the  Sedalia  (Mo.)  Electric 
Light  and  Water  Company,  to  recover  the  value 
of  the  first-mortgage  bonds  issued  by  the  electric 
company,   amounting  to  $200,000. 

The  financial  end  of  the  merger  of  the  public 
utilities  of  Norfolk,  Portsmouth  and  Berkeley.  Va., 
are  completed,  including  over  115  miles  of  electric 
lines.  Middendorf,  Williams  &  Co.,  John  L.  Will- 
iams &  Sons  and  Chandler  Bros.  &  Co.  of  Phila- 
delphia are  the  promoters  of  the  huge  deal.  The 
Norfolk  Railway  and  Light  Company  is  to  be  ac- 
quired through  lease.  It  is  given  out  that  interests 
of  the  Lmited  Gas  Improvement  Company  of  Phila- 
delphia are  behind  the  merger.  The  new  corpora- 
tion will  be  known  as  the  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth 
Traction  Company,  with  $6,000,000  capital  in  stocks 
and  $8,000,000  in  bonds.  There  will  be  an  imme- 
diate issue  of  $3,500,000  in  bonds  and  $5,000,000 
stock.  The  president  is  R.  Lancaster  Williams  of 
Richmond  and  Baltimore,  and  E.  C.  Hathway  gen- 
eral manager,  these  gentlemen  having  held  similar 
positions  with  the  Norfolk  Railway  and  Lighting 
Company. 

An  effort  is  being  made  to  have  United  States 
mail  boxes  attached  to  the  street  cars  of  Macon, 
Ga.,    chiefly    for    the    benefit    of    the    suburbanites. 

The  Columbia  Electric  Street  Railway  Company 
has  offered  gratuitous  insurance  to  employes  who 
have  been  with  the  company  a  year.  The  company 
only  requires  that  those  taking  advantage  of  the 
offer  waive  the  right  to  bring  suit  in  case  of  acci- 
dent,  it   is   said. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  New  Orleans  (La.) 
Railway   and  Light   Company    President   Foster   re- 


1    1  ■  .      in.  rait 

1 "'  i: 

hot        1      i] 
md     ithi  1 

; 

build 

p 1  1   rhoi 

1  ompani  Philadelphia  1  ip 

..in,  ,1 

ville, 

1  hi     .  hat  lotte    Cot 

pni,    has  been 

a  ith  th. 

gas    engit 

itclj    [,000  fcili 

I. 


Texas. 

\ 1,    \| Ill    Hill,  [ al  n 

the    Galve Housl 

has    been    directed    by    the    l>...-ir.|    of    direct 

111  'i ■■■    an    invc  tiga 1    thi     pt 

-..il   1I1.    road  ,,i.|   run., 

betwci  n   .  ialvc  ton   and 
miles,   and   'I",      a    hi  a 

I  larv.-y   T.  D.    Wils 1    I  louston   1     prom. 

the   construction   ol    ilei  tt  ii     rail 

that  city   « ith   it     pi  in.  ipal     uburb       He  hi 
estcd  a  number  of  St.  Louis  men. 

I  In    '  <n    ilidatcd   Construction   Company      1 

York  ha    madi     1  pro] n  to  th.    cil     ol    Austin, 

through  the  City   n.  il,  to  n  build  thi    .1 

the   Colorado   River   which   was    washed   aw 
eral   yi  at  s  ago.      I  he   dam    furnished   thi    p. 

operating  the  electric  light  and  powei   pi 

works  plain.  ,1.  h  is  estimated  that  tin 
rebuilding  the  dam  would  be  about  $1,000,000.  1  he 
company  agree,  to  receive  its  payment  at  the  rate 
of  $86,500  a  year.  The  city  of  Austin  has  sub- 
mitted a  counter  proposition  which  is  open  to  all 
bidders.  It  provides  that  anyone  who  will  recon- 
struct the  dam  will  be  paid  at  the  rate  ol  $60,000 
a  year.  This  proposition  is  predicated  upon  the 
basis  of  the   dam   costing  $800,000. 

T.  B.  Enochs  of  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  is  at  the  head 
of  a  syndicate  which  proposes  to  build  an  electric 
railway  from  the  coal  fields  in  the  Caballcro  Moun- 
tains to  Clint,  passing  through  El  Paso.  The  pro- 
posed road  will  be  about  60  miles  long.  M.  \V. 
Stanton  of  El  Paso  is  the  local  representative  of 
the    syndicate. 

J.  C.  Houser,  who  promoted  the  building  of  the 
interurban  electric  line  between  Temple  and  Belton, 
has  taken  steps  toward  building  an  interurban  road 
between  Temple  and  Marlin,  a  distance  of  about  25 
miles. 

The  Lawton,  Denton  and  Dallas  Electric  Rail- 
way Company,  recently  organized  for  the  purpose 
of  building  an  electric  railway  between  Dallas  and 
Lawton,  Okla.,  is  making  good  progress  in  finan- 
cing. The  line,  if  built,  will  be  the  longest  in  the 
Southwest,  the  distance  between  the  two  places  be- 
ing about  150  miles.  The  temporary  officers  of  the 
company  are:  President,  J.  \V.  Lowery ;  vice-presi- 
dent, J,  T.  Chambers:  general  superintendent,  G  S 
Henderson;   general   manager,   S.   E.   McCullin. 

The  construction  of  the  La  Porte  branch  of  the 
proposed  Houston-Galveston  interurban  electric  rail- 
way is  in  progress.  The  right-of-way  for  the  main 
line  between  Houston  and  Galveston  has  been  se- 
cured and  the  construction  at  both  ends  of  the  line 
will  soon  be  commenced.  J.  O.  Ross  of  Houston  is 
president. 

J.  V.  Watkins,  promoter  of  the  proposed  inter- 
urban electric  railway  between  Palestine  and  Cor- 
sicana,  announces  that  the  construction  of  the  line 
will  be  commenced  about  April   15th.  H. 


Mexico. 

City  of  Mexico,  April  9. — The  Guanajuato  Elec- 
tric Light  and  Power  Company  is  preparing  to  ex- 
tend its  electric  transmission  lines  to  the  towns  of 
Ocotlan,  Jamay  and  Ribera  Castellanos.  This  is  an 
American  company,  which  operates  a  large  hydro 
electric  plant  at  El  Duero.  It  is  already  furnishing 
lights  and  power  to  Guanajuato,  Leon,  Irapuato 
and   La   Barca. 

An  electric-light  and  power  plant  is  to  be  in- 
stalled at  Santa  Cruz  de  Bravo  by  the  federal  gov- 
ernment. The  town  was  until  recently  the  capital 
of  the   Maya   Indian   tribe. 

The  American  Gas  Company  has  purchased  the 
electric-light  and  power  plant  at  Merida.  The  price 
paid    was   $1,600,000. 

The  machinery  for  the  large  hydro-electric  plant 
which  is  to  be  installed  on  the  Piaxtla  River  by 
the  owners  of  the  Guadalupe  de  los  Reyes  mines 
has  arrived.  The  plant  will  have  a  capacity  of  5,000 
horsepower  and  will  cost  about  $Soo,ooo.  Robert 
McDoble,  electrical  engineer  of  San  Francisco,  has 
charge    of  the    construction    work. 

R.  H.  Springer  of  Chicago  is  at  the  head  of  a 
party  of  engineers  who  are  making  a  survey  for 
a  proposed  electric  railway  that  is  to  traverse  a 
rough  country,  but  a  rich  mining  district,  where  a 
number  of  large  mines  are  operated.  It  will  be  for 
both  freight  and  passenger  service.  The  syndicate 
which  Mr.  Springer  represents  recently  obtained  op- 
tions to  purchase  large  tracts  of  land  situated  ad- 
jacent   to    the    route    of    the    proposed    road.     It    is 


If 


Ohio. 

grant 

I.    A.  Robison  of  I'm 

1 

Robison    1      pr. 

Sandu 

with   a   nominal   capil 

1  -id   to   Frcm  ml 

.    May  71I1  p.   10th  the  annual  meeting 

Intcnirl.  iation    will   be   held   at 

I  1  1 , 1 1 1 1      1 .  !  1    1      1 

on   was  formed  by  a  merger  "i  the 

..r>'    and    motormen's    a iations    last    fall,    and    it 

-.-  expected  that  the  ritual  wil 
meeting. 

In  exchange  for  a  25-year  franchise,  with  the 
privilege  of  building  a  double  track  on  certain 
streets,  the  I  1  eland  and  Southwestern  ha-  pro- 
posed to  the  Village  Council  of  Elyria  to  pay  half 
the  share  or"  the  town  for  an  undercut  br;  . 
lit  River  Street,  widen  the  F.ast  River  bridge- 
to  46  feet,  with  a  six-foot  walk  on  either  side,  and 
keep  the  streets  over  which  the  lines  pass  in  good 
condition. 

Lake  Shore  Electric  officials  state  that  no  ne- 
gotiations have  been  conducted  toward  uniting  that 
road  with  the  others  that  are  supposed  to  make 
up  the  line  that  the  New  York  Central  is  planning 
between    Chicago    and    New   York. 

Columbus  people  interested  in  the  Ashtabula  Pub- 
lic Service  Company  expect  to  put  in  a  lighting 
and  heating  plant  that  will  furnish  light  and  heat 
in  abundance  at  Ashtabula.  Some  of  the  men  in- 
terested in  ti).-  nt  are  R.  H  - 
J.  K.  Henry,  A.  J.  Stahl,  C.  E.  Bonebrake  and 
C.    E.    Myers. 

The  proposed  Consolidated  Gas  and  Electric 
pany,    which    is    to    take    over    the    gas    and    electric 
plants  of  the  Cincinnati  Gas  and  Electric  Company, 
acquired  by  an  eastern  syndicate  on  a  oo-ye  .- 
a  few  days  ago.  is  planning  for  extensive  improve- 
ments 111  the  electric  as  well  as  the  gas  department. 
Plans     have     been     partially     formulated     for     an 
immense    electric    plant    on    the    river    front,    which 
will    be    double    the    capacity    of    the    present    plant. 
The    machinery    will    be    made    up    of    units    driven 
by    turbine   engines,   and   each    will   have   a   capacity 
of    iS.OOO    kilowatts.     The    terms    of   the    lease    are 
that  a  company  with   a  capital   stock   of  $20,000,000 
shall   be   organized   under  the   laws   of   Ohio.     Nor- 
man G.  Keenan,  president  of  the  old  company,  will 
also   be   president   of  the   lessee   company   and   have 
the  management  and  entire  charge  of  th;-   bi 
The    guarantee    is    S3.000.000    in    cash    and    the    ex- 
penditure   of    $2,000,000    in    betterments    during    the 
next    five    years.     A    certain    amount    of    '.he    stock 
will    be   offered   the    shareholders    of   the    old    com- 
pany,  and   it   is   said   that  a  majority  of  the 
of   directors   will    be   Ohio   men.     A.    S.    White   and 
C.    A.    Lieh    ei    New    York    conducted    the    neg 
tions  for  the   lease. 

The  Town  Council  of  Fostoria  has  promised  the 
National  Electric  Lamp  Company  fire  protection  for 
its  several  factories  in  that  place  if  the  company 
would  remain  there.  The  company  had  made  ar- 
rangements to  look  for  a  new-  location  becaus 
lack  of  protection. 

F.  J.  j.  Sloat,  general  manager  of  the  Cincinnati 
Northern  Traction  Company,  states  thai  20  new- 
open  cars  and  15  closed  cars  have  been  ordered 
for  the  local  lines  at  Hamilton.  Ten  interurban 
coaches  have  also  been  ordered.  The  company  is 
ready  to  proceed  with  work  on  the  extensions  of 
the  local  lines  and  awaits  the  action  of  the  council 
in   the   matter. 

From  New  York  comes  a  report  that  a  company 
will  be  formed  to  build  a  direct  line  from  Cleve- 
land to  Sharon.  Pa.,  and  from  there  to  Pittsburg. 
The  line  will  pass  through  Middlefield.  Ohio,  and 
connect    with    Warren    and    some    other    points,    the 


326 

proposed  Warren,  Cortland- Jefferson  line  having 
been  taken  over.  The  Eledenbel  Construction  Com- 
pany has  already  signed  a  contract  to  build  the 
line  from  Middlefield  to  Sharon  for  the  Cleveland 
and  Sharon  Traction  Company.  A  company  with 
a  capital  stock  of  $2,000,000  and  a  bond  issue  of 
the  same  amount,  and  known  as  the  Cleveland 
and  Sharon  Electric  Railroad  Company,  is  to  be 
organized  to  finance  the  project.  C.  F.  Clendenin, 
James  B.  Cahoon  and  Norman  C.  Raff  of  New 
York,  and  George  W.  Birrcll  of  Kinsman,  Ohio, 
will  be  among  the  directors  of  the  new  company. 
O.  M.  C. 


Indiana. 

Indianapolis,  April  14.— The  Tippecanoe  County 
commissioners  have  granted  a  franchise  to  the  La- 
fayette and  Logansport  Traction  Company  for  the 
construction  of  an  electric  railway  through  Tip- 
pecanoe County  to  the  Carroll  County  line,  the  road 
to  extend  on  to  Logansport.  James  Murdock  of 
this  city  represented  the  traction  company.  The 
company  also  received  a  similar  franchise  from  the 
commissioners  of  Carroll  County.  The  road  is  to 
enter  Logansport  at  Park  Avenue,  and  the  com- 
pany hopes  to  complete  the  line  by  next  fall. 

The  secretary  of  war  has  granted  the  Indiana 
Union  Traction  Company  a  permit  to  construct  a 
loop  into  Ft.  Benjamin  Harrison,  near  Indianap- 
olis. The  permit  is  revocable  at  the  will  of  the 
secretary  of  war. 

With  the  inauguration  of  its  spring  schedule  dur- 
ing the  last  week  the  Schoepf-Morgan  syndicate  of 
traction  roads  claims  the  fastest  trolley  service  in 
the  world,  now  running  daily  on  its  Ft.  Wayne, 
Van  Wert  and  Lima  line.  The  new  Ft.  Wayne 
cars  are  running  daily  on  time  at  a  rate  of  32% 
miles  an  hour,  including  all  stops. 

The  advent  of  the  interurban  railways  in  Indiana 
seems  to  have  instilled  a  spirit  of  pride  in  the  farming 
community.  The  old  shacks  and  sheds  on  farms  along 
the  electric  roads  have  begun  to  disappear,  the  old 
fences  are  being  replaced  with  new  ones,  new 
houses  and  barns  are  being  built  and  old  ones  re- 
modeled and  modernized.  The  improvement  of 
lawns  is  a  noticeable  feature.  Lands  near  inter- 
urbans  are  more  valuable,  by  $20  to  $40  per  acre, 
than  farms  remote  from  traction  lines.  Electrical 
development  will  soon  bring  other  advantages  to 
the   farmers  along  the  tcaction  lines. 

No  public  question  in  years  has  so  interested 
Richmond  people  as  the  proposed  sale  of  the  mu- 
nicipal light  and  power  plant,  constructed  by  the 
city  four  years  ago,  at  a  cost  of  nearly  $200,000. 
The  owners  of  the  stock  of  the  Richmond  Light, 
Heat  and  Power  Company,  which  is  a  competitor 
of  the  city  plant,  have  offered  to  pay  the  city  dollar 
for  dollar  for  money  expended  on  the  plant,  as- 
suming the  bonded  indebtedness.  The  offer,  which 
was  made  through  Mayor  Zimmerman  to  the  City 
Council,  has  been  referred  to  a  committee,  and 
experts  are  at  work  estimating  the  cost.  The  peo- 
ple are  divided  on  the  proposition,  and  the  matter 
is    arousing   a   warm    discussion. 

Work  has  been  started  on  the  new  municipal 
electric-light  plant  at  Cannelton.  The  plant  will 
be  a  one-story  stone  structure,  45  feet  square.  It 
is  located  on  the  site  of  the  former  plant  destroyed 
by   fire.  . 

A  reorganization  of  the  Evansville  Electric  Com- 
pany was  effected  during  the  week  wdiereby  Henry 
W.  Marshall,  Charles  Murdock  and  Samuel  T. 
Murdock  of  Lafayette,  Ind.,  secured  a  controlling 
interest  in  the  company.  Charles  Murdock  was 
elected  president  to  succeed  James  O.  Parker,  and 
Henry  Marshall  was  elected  secretary  and  treas- 
urer, to  succeed  Judge  Alexander  Gilchrist.  Her- 
bert Moran  retained  his  position  as  vice-president 
and  general  manager.  Thomas  Krutz  of  New  York 
and  William  G.  Krutz  of  Chicago  are  directors  in 
the   company,  with  the   four  officers  mentioned. 

The    Remy    Electric    Company    of    Anderson    has 

increased  its  capital   stock   from  $50,000  to  $75,000. 

The   Garrett  Trolley  Wheel   Company  of   Garrett 

has  been  incorporated  to  manufacture  trolley  wheels. 

John   B.   Myer  is  president. 

At  Kokomo  on  April  7th  an  electric  car  ap- 
proached a  curve  at  a  high  rate  of  speed  and  was 
thrown  over,  killing  James  Bruff,  a  prominent  archi- 
tect and  citizen.  Every  effort  is  being  made  to 
discover  the  cause  of  the  accident.  S.  S. 

Michigan. 

Grand  Rapids,  April  14. — Within  five  years  the 
city  of  Lansing  will  be  getting  the  power  for  it? 
municipal  lighting  plants  from  the  Commonwealth 
Power  Company,  is  the  prediction  of  Commissioner 
Frank  C.  Brisbin  of  the  water  and  electric-light 
board.  It  is  said  the  electric-light  and  waterworks 
property  will  inventory  $600,000.  To  save  these 
departments  from  an  annual  deficit  the  city  will  be 
asked  to  pay  $i8,coo  a  year  for  city  light  and 
water. 

The  new  municipal  lighting  plant  at  LAnse  has 
been  out  of  commission,  owing  to  the  crumbling 
away  of  the  concrete  engine  foundations.  The  dam- 
age is  attributed  to  the  fact  that  the  foundations 
were  put  in  during  the  winter  months. 

The  Grand  Rapids-Muskegon  Waterpower  Elec- 
tric Company  has  awarded  the  contract  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  second  dam  and  electric  plant  at 
Croton  with  a  capacity  of  12,000  horsepower.  To 
convey   the   electric   current   from    this   dam    to    the 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


sub-station  near  Casnovia  village  a  new  pole  line 
30  miles  long  will  be  built.  The  pole  line  from  the 
station  in  Casnovia  township  to  Grand  Rapids  is 
finished.  The  company  is  nearly  ready  to  deliver 
electricity    in    Grand    Rapids. 

The  Thornapple  Power  and  Electric  Company 
of  Grand  Rapids  has  filed  amended  articles  of  in- 
corporation increasing  its  capital  stock  from  $1,000 
to    $100,000. 

Promoters  intend  to  establish  an  electric  power 
plant  at  Atlas  to  furnish  lighting  and  power  for 
the  city  of  Flint,  10  miles  away,  and  for  other 
surrounding  towns.  The  river  is  dammed  at  that 
point  to  supply  the  motive  power  for  a  grist  and 
flour  mill,  and  the  water  fall  is  of  sufficient  volume, 
it  is  said,  to  run  a  power  plant.  It  is  proposed  to 
purchase  the  mill  and  replace  it  by  the  new  power 
plant. 

The  general  offices  of  the  Benton  Harbor-St. 
Joe  Railway  and  Light  Company  have  been  moved 
to  Benton  Harbor  from  St.  Joseph.  The  office  in 
St.  Joseph  will  be  retained  for  the  accommodation 
of   St.   Joseph  patrons. 

In  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  people  of 
Kalamazoo,  as  expressed  at  the  polls,  for  free  in- 
terurban railways  into  the  city,  a  franchise  has 
been  granted  to  the  Kalamazoo,  Elkhart  and  South 
Bend  Traction  Company.  The  council  ignored  a 
petition  signed  by  500  of  the  leading  business  men 
of  the  city,  to  admit  the  roads,  and  ordered  that 
the  question  be  submitted  to  the  people  at  the  polls. 
Four  electric  roads  are  seeking  entrance  to  the  city. 
It  is  announced  that  the  Battle  Creek  and  Cold- 
water  Electric  Railway  Company  has  bought  and 
paid  for  all  its  right-of-way.  It  will  run  from 
Battle  Creek,  through  Athens  and  Union  City,  to 
Coldwater,  a  distance  of  37  miles,  using  the  third- 
rail  system.  It  is  expected  steel  will  be  laid  this 
summer. 

The  Common  Council  of  Three  Rivers  has 
granted  a  franchise  to  the  Michigan  and  Indiana 
Traction  Company  to  build  an  electric  railway 
through  that  place.  This  is  the  line  which  will 
connect  Elkhart  and  Kalamazoo,  passing  through 
Constantine,  Three  Rivers  and  Vicksburg.  Fran- 
chises have  been  applied  for  at  the  other  villages 
along   the   proposed    route. 

In  railroad  circles  it  is  reported  that  Matthew 
Slush,  former  president  of  the  Detroit,  Monroe 
and  Toledo  Short  Line,  is  negotiating  for  the  pur- 
chase of  the-  Toledo,  Ann  Arbor  and  Detroit  elec- 
tric, now  under  construction  and  completed  from 
Toledo  to  Petersburg,  a  distance  of  15  miles. 

Henry  J.  Wieck,  administrator  of  the  estate  of 
the  late  Henry  A.  Wieck,  shot  during  the  street-car 
strike  in  Saginaw  last  June,  has  filed  in  the  Cir- 
cuit Court  a  declaration  of  suit  against  the  Saginaw 
Valley  Traction  Company.  The  action  is  for  $10,000 
for  the  death  of  Mr.  Wieck.  The  allegation  upon 
which  damages  are  asked  is  that  the  cars  were  at 
that  time  in   incompetent  hands.  L.  W.  B. 


April  21,   1906 

superstructure  by  August  1st  and  the  foundations 
for  the  girder  spans  across  the  tracks  on  the  Peoria 
side  of  the  river  and  the  piling  on  the  other  side 
are  to  be  completed  by  October  1st.  The  contract 
for  grading  of  the  line  from  Bloomington  west 
through  Danvers  and  Mackinaw  has  been  awarded 
to  S.  A.  Tuttle  and  Brother  of  Decatur.  Work  is 
to  commence  at  once  and  grading  finished  by  Au- 
gust   1st.  V.  N. 


Illinois. 


Peoria,  April  7. — Another  new  interurban  railway 
is  being  planned  to  run  from  Peoria  to  Decatur. 
The  road  will  be  financed  by  R.  D.  Starbuck  of 
Mattoon.  J.  M.  Clokey  of  Decatur,  G.  A.  Goode 
of  Bearsdale,  B.  H.  Faith  of  Warrensburg,  R.  H. 
Snyder  and  K.  C.  England  of  Mt.  Pulaski,  Thomas 
L.  Clackburn  and  W.  H.  Evans  of  Lincoln,  and 
G.  A.  Salle  of  Latham.  They  will  construct  a  trol- 
ley line  from  Decatur  to  Lincoln  through  Mt.  Pu- 
laski. It  will  run  parallel  to  the  Peoria  division  of 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad.  The  section  from  Lin- 
coln  to   Decatur  will  be   built   first. 

The--Illinois  Traction  Company  is  now  planning 
to  build  to  the  southwest  from  Peoria.  The  com- 
pany is  now  making  surveys  south  from  Abington 
to  Macomb  and  on  to  Quincy.  This  will  open  a 
new  field,  as  there  is  only  one  electric  line  in  the 
territory  between  here  and  Quincy.  That  line  is 
from  Macomb  to  Industry,  a  distance  of  about  12 
miles.  From  Macomb  to  Peoria  the  new  line  will 
run  through  Cuba  and  Canton. 

Articles  of  incorporation  of  the  Peoria,  Pekin  and 
Fremont  Telephone  Company  have  been  filed.  The 
capital  stock  is  $2,500  and  the  incorporators  are 
A.  J.  Davis,  Walter  H.  Ames  and  S.  A.  Hayward. 

The  three  coal  mines  at  Lincoln  have  been  sold 
to  an  eastern  syndicate  which  will  equip  them  with 
electricity.  Thomas  F.  Holmes  is  superintendent 
of  the  citizens'  shaft  and  has  represented  the  own- 
ers in  the   deal. 

The  capital  stock  of  the  proposed  electric  rail- 
way between  Canton  and  Lewistown  is  nearly  all 
subscribed.  The  promoters  have  been  holding  meet- 
ings in  the  towns  through  wdiich  it  will  pass,  and 
a  great  deal  of  interest  is  being  taken  in  the  various 
towns. 

The  steam  -turbine  for  the  central  power  house 
of  the  Illinois  Traction  Company  at  Riverton,  near 
Springfield,  has  arrived  and  is  now  being  erected. 
The  company  announces  that  cars  will  be  running 
betwen  Springfield  and  St  Louis  within  a  month. 
The  cars  will  contain  a  cafe  and  smoking  apart- 
ment. 

The  contract  for  the  electric-railwav  bridge  of 
the  McKinley  syndicate  at  Peoria  has  been  awarded 
to  the  Stroebel  Steel  Company  of  Chicago,  and 
work  on  foundations  will  be  started  at  once. 
Soundings  have  been  taken  at  close  intervals  by 
a    local   firm.     The    piers    are    to  be    ready    for   the 


Northwestern  States. 

Minneapolis,  April  14. — Articles  of  incorporation 
of  the  Brookings  (S.  D.)  and  Sioux  City  Railway 
Company  have  been  filed  with  a  capitalization  of 
$ioo,oco,  and  it  is  proposed  to  build  a  trolley  line 
between  those  two  cities.  Neil  Stewart  of  Brook- 
ings is  interested  in  the  new  enterprise. 

The  Kaukauna  Gas,  Electric  Light  and  Power 
Company  of  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  has  been  incorpo- 
rated with  a  capital  of  $100,000  to  succeed  the 
Kaukauna  Electric  Light  Company  of  Kaukauna, 
Wis. 

The  Milwaukee  Electric  Railway  and  Light  Com- 
pany is  planning  extensions  to  its  system  which  will' 
aggregate  in  cost  about  $150,000. 

A  survey  is  being  made  for  a  proposed  electric 
line  from  LeMars,  Iowa,  to  Spirit  Lake,  via  Hartley 
and   Primghar. 

Engineer  Hugh  L.  Cooper  will  begin  work 
shortly  on  surveys  for  the  proposed  development 
of  the  Des  Moines  Rapids  of  the  Mississippi  River 
at  Keokuk,  Iowa. 

The  Electric  Manufacturing  Company  of  St. 
Paul  has  been  incorporated  with  $150,000  capital. 
B.  B.  Downs  is  president  and  E.  A.  Reed  secre- 
tary-treasurer. 

The  Newton  and  Northwestern  Railway  Company 
has  let  the  contract  to  Shugart  &  Stevens  for  the 
construction  of  that  portion  of  the  proposed  inter- 
urban line  between  Des  Moines  and  Ames,  Iowa. 

John  Crisler  and  associates  have  bought  the  Wis- 
consin Power  Company's  mill  and  power  plant  at 
Rice  Lake,  Wis. 

The  Minneapolis  General  Electric  Company  is  to 
make  reductions  in  its  rates  for  lighting  and  power 
and  is  now  conferring  with  the  council  committee 
on   the   subject. 

John  Anderson  proposes  to  install  an  electric- 
light  plant  at  Tyler,  Minn. 

Bonds  for  $350,000  have  been  voted  at  Aberdeen, 
S.  D.,  for  the  erection  and  equipment  of  an  electric- 
light   plant. 

J.  E.  Townsend,  village  clerk,  will  take  bids  until 
May  1st  for  a  15  to  20-year  franchise  for  an  elec- 
tric-light system  at  Belle  Plaine,  Minn.  R. 


Pacific  Slope. 

San  Francisco,  April  12. — The  Pacific  Wireless 
Telegraph  Company  will  open  its  stations  in  the 
Merchants'  Exchange  Building  in  San  Francisco 
and  in  Oakland  for  the  transmission  of  commercial 
business  on  April  14th.  The  management  asserts 
that  in  the  near  future  the  users  of  this  system  will 
be  placed  in  communication  with  all  of  the  other 
stations  from  British  Columbia  to  Southern  Cali- 
fornia. No  messages  have  been  transmitted  very 
long  distances  on  this  coast  yet,  but  this  company- 
is   working   energetically  to   secure  better   results. 

Leopold  Micbels,  the  local  representative  of  the 
Eastern  capitalists  composing  the  San  Francisco 
Coke  and  Gas  Company,  is  authority  for  the  state- 
ment that  $1,500,000  has  been  set  aside  for  an 
electric-light  plant  and  underground  distributing 
system  to  supply  the  central  portion  of  the  city. 
It  will  be  a  thoroughly  modern  plant,  the  gener- 
ators being  direct-connected  to  large  gas  engines. 
The  company's  engineers  are  now  working  out  the 
details.  The  Mutual  Electric  Light  Company  hav- 
ing been  purchased  by  the  Pacific  Gas  and  Electric 
Company,  there  is  now  no  competition  in  the  local 
electric-lighting  field.  The  San  Francisco  Coke  and 
Gas  Company  has  built  up  a  good  business  in  gas 
lighting  in  a  short  time  in  competition  with  the 
older  gas  company  and  charges  75  cents  a  thousand, 
holding  its  patronage,  although  it  is  undersold  in 
the  competitive  districts.  Sixty  miles  of  mains  are 
in  use  and  30  miles  mere  will  be  laid  soon.  The 
gasworks  are  at  North  Beach,  and  it  is  the  inten- 
tion to  locate  the  electric-light  plant  near  by  for 
convenience  in  operating  the  gas  engines.  The  man- 
ufacture of  coke  will  soon  be  resumed,  and  a  supply 
of  gas  can  thus  be  secured  that  will  be  well  adapted 
for  use  in  gas  engines.  The  San  Francisco  Coke 
and  Gas  Company  has  an  authorized  bond  issue  of 
$5.oco,coo.  half  of  which  has  been  placed  by  the 
Knickerbocker  Trust  Company  of  New  York,  which 
also  financed  the  Stanislaus  Electric  Power  Com- 
pany. The  latter  company  is  constructing  an  elec- 
tric-power transmission  .system,  which  will  be  ex- 
tended to  San  Francisco  within  two  or  three  years. 
According  to  Mr.  Michels,  when  this  transmission 
line  reaches  the  city  the  San  Francisco  Coke  and 
Gas  Company  will  distribute  its  current  for  light- 
ing and  power  purposes.  Leopold  Wallach  of  New 
York  is  prominently  identified  with  the  new  light- 
ing  concern. 

The  reconstruction  and  extension  of  the  Geary 
Street  Railroad  Company's  line  in  San  Francisco 
is  to  be  commenced  within  a  week.  Bids  have  been 
opened  by  the  public  utilities  committee  of  the 
Board  of  Public  Work,  and  the  $347-°°°  bld  of 
C     E    Loss    &    Co.    of    San    Francisco,    well-known 


by   J.    W. 
-light   plant 


has 


April  21,   [906 

dcctrii   railwaj    1  ontractoi  .    «  1     I I    to  1 1 

id, , . ,  1 , 1  v   lower  than   any  ol    the   thn  1    othci    bid 

\    dem    underground    1  onduil 

built,  utilizing  the  pre  1  nt  trad 

A  municipal  power  hou  c  1     'I  b ted 

Much  bittei   disi  u   lion  ha     tal  ■ 

0Ver  ill'-   pi' hi'" i'"1'1' 

1 [uii      ',  'I  In-    1  nitcd    R I 

,„riii    in  oppos 1I1.    demand    ol   propi  rl 

on   Sutter   Strcel    foi    the  changing   ■  I    thi    pri   cnl 

,  ,i,|,.    ,,""1    1 .1    conduil      '.  i'  '"    I''  ti  id 

overhead   trolley   I saj    thai    the   

.  t, ,,,  of  tin   city  would  1  ati  e  II ling  of  tin 

1   failure  "I  the  system. 

M.   11.   Andrew  1,   representing   an    I' 

cate    has    been    granted    a    fi  tm  In  1     to    in 

power   sj  i'  I"   al    l:. 'I  1  1    City,   1  Ire       Mi      Andrew 

will    furnish    powci    al    ''"'I  '  1    '  itj    a'"1    >■■'    

miles  througl thai     cction. 

'I  |lc   I,,., nl   "i    the   Crocki  tl     "■■ Rni  1  s 

,1  Crockett,  Cal.,  will  in  tall  elei  trie  motoi  foi 
ip,  operation  ol  the  big  plant,  \dditional  boilei 
u,ll  be  hi  talli  'I  i"i   H  ic  in  the  power  planl 

Ground  lias  been  broken  for  a  new   powei     tation 

for   the    Seattle    Elccl mpanj    .11    Geoi  ;cl 

Wish     which    will   cosl    aboul    $250,000   when    com 

Dieted.     The   company   also   has   plan-    foi    th 1 

struction  of  large  car  barns,  the  total  invc  tmenl 
being   upward  of  $400,000. 

Contracts  for  machinery  for  the  new  power  planl 
which  will  In-  erected  at  Bcllingham,  Wash.,  this 
year,  have   been   let   by   the   Columbia    Improvement 

'  Manager  T  A.  Rendle  of  the  Barth  tl  Estab 
Company  states  thai  the  South  Park  ami  East  Side 
Railway  Company  ..f  San  Diego,  Cal.,  will  change 
1,,  electric  traction.  Construction  will  begin  at 
once  on  the  power  house  in  South  Park  ■ 

Al  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  "1  Red  Mull,  Cal., 
il  was  deei.leil  I"  grant  a  franchise  I"  the  Redding 
and  Red  Bluff  Railway  over  Jackson  Street.       A. 

PERSONAL 

L  VV.  Daniels  has  been  succeeded 
Hunclc  as  superintendent  of  the  electric 
al    Aitkin,   Minn. 

C     R.    Cummings    of    Webster    City,    __ 
taken   charge  of  the   electric-light   plant   at   (alcncoc. 
Minn.,  as  the  successor  of  A.  T.  LcVesconte. 

R  Borlase  Matthews,  formerly  connected  with 
the  National  Electric  Company  of  Milwaukee,  is 
now  electrical  engineer  for  the  Edison  Electric 
Light  and  Power  Company  of  Amsterdam,  N.   Y, 

Miss  Nora  Stanton  Blatch  has  been  elected  to 
membership  in  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engi- 
neers the  first  woman  so  distinguished.  She  is  a 
granddaughter  of  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  and  the 
first  woman  to  win  the  degree  of  civil  engineer  111 
Cornell    University. 

Frank  J  Boehm.  who  succeeded  H.  C.  McKay  as 
auditor  of  the  Milwaukee  Electric  Railway  and 
Light  Company,  has  been  appointed  assistant  sec- 
retary and  treasurer  of  the  company,  to  succeed 
the  late  George  0.  Wheatcroft.  George  W.  Kal- 
weit  succeeds  Mr.   Boehm  as  auditor. 

Linden  G.  White  has  been  appointed  superin- 
tendent of  the  Columbus  Railway  and  Light  Com- 
pany of  Columbus,  Ohio.  Mr.  White  succeeds  M. 
S  Hopkins.  Formerly  Mr.  White  was  assistant 
superintendent  of  the  company,  but  retired  to  be- 
come manager  of  the  Columbus  Structural  bteel 
Company. 

Nathaniel  Southgate  Shaler,  dean  of  Lawrence 
Scientific  School  of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  died  April 
10th  at  the  age  of  65  years.  He  was  a  graduate 
of  Harvard  and  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War.  fit- 
teen  years  ago  he  was  made  dean  of  the  school. 
It  was  due  to  his  efforts  that  the  McKay  bequest 
of  $5,000,000  was  made  to  the  institution  a  year 
ago. 

E  R  Conklin  of  Aurora,  111.,  general  manager  of 
the  Interstate  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company, 
is  expected  to  return  from  Europe  soon.  Mr.  Conk- 
lin has  been  accompanied  by  Mr.  Alfred  Stromberg, 
the  well-known  Independent  telephone  manufac- 
turer, and  Mr.  Francis  Dagger,  a  representative  ot 
the  Canadian  government.  Mr.  Dagger  recently 
visited  Peoria,  111.,  and  inspected  the  telephone  ex- 
change there. 

Mr  L  F.  Bower,  formerly  manager  of  the  elec- 
trical works  of  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company  in  Cin- 
cinnati, who  was  recently  promoted  to  the  position 
of  comptroller  of  the  company,  has  already  assumed 
the  duties  of  his  new  office, 
vith  headquarters  at  the  gen- 
eral offices  of  the  company. 
Milwaukee.  Mr.  Bower  was 
born  and  spent  the  earily 
years  of  his  life  in  Berwick, 
Pa.  He  attended  Wesleyan 
University,  Middletown,  Conn.. 
from  which  he  graduated  in 
1870.  He  engaged  in  commer- 
cial pursuits,  but  later  was 
for  three  years  principal  of 
the  preparatory  department  of 
Dickinson  College,  Carlisle, 
Pa.  Returning  to  active  busi- 
ness, Mr.  Bower  made  several 


WESTERN     M.I  '   H'1' 

- 
facluring     I 

the    Mil 

and    in     i.,.  ippointl  'I    man ..;■■ 

'  dmilleil 

of  1  My. 

1 ,.,  1 1 . ,  hi  Id    ["ucsda 

1 ■   1 .    tl 

1  1  .  -1    ■  1 

n   igni  'l       Mi      ["aylo! 

pan;,,    will     retain    In 

ill,    board       [1    0 
third    irice-pn 

'III"'  1 1    thi 

and   manufacturing   a 

ol    thi    1    '",.  1  1 
idi  a   hi 
the  direction  ol  tl imi  1 

rial       ."In  ill,  ',1        He 

pany,    while    retaining    those 
..1     ill,     ei  ■  part  '■■  ' 

nir ni.     1  h,    new     .a  "ii. 1  '.  io   pn   idenl   1        gi  aduatc 
of  1  ■  .111.11   I  fniversity.     I  tc  entered  the  empli 
of    Hi"    Westinghouse    Electrii    and    Monufacturing 
Company    in    i^ot    and    has    successively    held    the 
positions    of    assi  1  ml      upi  1  inti  ndi  nt,  tant    to 

the   vice-president,   manager  of   work-,    fourth   vice- 
I.    idem  and  third  vice  president. 

On  account  of  the  rapid  expans il    the  busi- 
ness  of   the   Westinghouse    Ma.l Company,   the 

board  of  director-    has   decided    to   enlarge  the   ex- 
ecutive  organization    by   increasing   the   number   of 

vice-presidents    f rum    two    in    1 ■    and    ha 

Mr.  E.  H.  Sniffin  and  Mr.  Arthur  West  to  fill  the 
new  offices  of  third  and  fourth  vice-president,  re- 
spectively. Mr.  Sniffin  will  be  in  charge  of  the  ill 
department  as  heretofore,  his  field  of  work  not  be- 
ing altered  in  assuming  the  new  title.  Mr.  West, 
who  has  been  chief  engineer  of  the  company,  still 
retains  that  title  and  position.  Mr.  William  A 
Boles,  in  consequence  of  his  election  to  the  vice- 
presidency  of  the  Westinghouse  Foundry  Company, 
has  resigned  his  position  as  manager  of  works  of 
the  Westinghouse  Machine  Company  in  order  that 
he  may  better  serve  the  interests  of  the  foundry 
company,  of  which  he  assumes  the  entire  manage- 
ment. The  Westinghouse  Machine  Company,  how- 
ever, retains  Mr.  Boles  as  consulting  engineer,  avail- 
ing itself  of  his  services  and  counsel  on  important 
work,  which  his  ripe  experience  has  made  peculiarly 
valuable.  Mr.  Henry  L  Barton,  formerly  general 
superintendent  of  the  East  Pittsburg  Works  of  the 
Westinghouse  Machine  Company,  has  been  ap- 
pointed  manager  of  works. 


planl, 
and     .11. 
Hubbard 

Hill    >n 

.  i     Huti  1 n,    Kan  ,    r.  -    ml)     pun 

.pany,     Milwaukee.     '1  he     new 

-■  30  anil 

1     16    kilowatt-,    will    furnish    the    e> 
current    for   tl  \    ico-kilowait 

nt,    which    will    be    used    for    llghtinK    and 


•iLECTRIC  LIGHTING 

The  Northern  Light  Company  of  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock  of  $10,- 
coo  by  E.  M.  Cloves,  R.  S.  McConnell  and  Samuel 
H.    Kleimnan. 

The  city  hospital  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  is  to  install 
an  isolated  electric-light  plant,  and  this,  too,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  it  is  furnished  free  gas  to 
the  amount  of  $1,000  a  year. 

The  Home  Light  and  Power  Company  has  been 
incorporated  in  Galesburg,  III.  The  capital  stock 
is  $15,000  and  the  incorporators  are  E.  P.  Robson, 
Henry   Gardt   and   I.    S.   Callendar. 

J.  M.  Bricker  is  local  manager  of  the  Somerset 
(Pa.)  Electric  Light.  Heat  and  Power  Company, 
which  proposes  to  erect  a  central  power  station  to 
furnish    light   and   power  to   adjacent   towns. 

A.  R.  Coates  is  at  the  head  of  the  Kaukauna 
(Wis.)  Gas,  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company, 
incorporated  for  the  purpose  of  making  improve- 
ments to  the  electric-light  plant  at  that  place.  The 
capital   stock  is  $ioo,coo. 

Tomlinson  Brothers,  owners  of  the  Mena  (Ark.) 
Electric  Light  and  Power  Company,  recently  com- 
pleted the  purchase  of  a  new  Allis-Chalmers  steam- 
electric  unit  complete  for  installation  at  the  power 
plant  in  Mena.  The  new  outfit  consists  of  a  Rey- 
nolds Reliance-Corliss  engine,  a  115-kilowatt  belted 
generator  wound  for  three-phase,  60  cycles,  2,300 
volts,  and  a  four-kilowatt  120-volt  direct-current 
exciter. 

The  Wickford  Light  and  Water  Company,  hav- 
ino-  purchased  all  rights  from  Stillman  Saunders, 
Brownie  Lockwood,  Walter  Greene  and  S.  P.  Kelly, 
will  establish  an  electric-lighting  system  at  Saun- 
derstown,   R.   I.,  that   will   be  in   operation  soon. 

Directors  of  the  Cincinnati  Gas  and  Electric  Com- 
pany are  said  to  have  unanimously  ratified  a  99- 
year  lease  of  the  plant  and  all  the  properties  of  the 
company  to   New   York  capitalists.     The   new    com- 


tLECTRIC  RAILWAYS 

mtracl      r  1 

railway,  between   Elmira,   N.   Y ..  and 
Valley,  ha-  been  let  to  the  McG  traction 

Company  ol  Ithaca,  for 

Brookings   (S.  D.)   and   Sioux  City  railwaj 
pany  ha  S100,- 

000  for  the  put  p 

the  two  place-.     Neil   Stewart  of   B 
in."    is   the  promoter. 

Directors    of   the    Galveston,    Houston    and    Hen- 
derson  Railroa  iveston  and   II 
Texas,    have    directed    General    Manager   J.    J.    Hill 
to   make  a  report  upon  the  cost  of  converting  the 
road  from  steam  to  electric  opi 

Work  is  about  to  be  resumed  on  the  Engl' 
and  Stock  Yards  branches  of  the  South  Side  elc- 
vati  d  raiiway  in  Chicago,  after  having  been  held 
up  for  several  months  on  account  of  a  strike  on 
the  part  of  the  structural  steel  workers.  The  work 
will  be  done  with  non-union  men. 

Net  earning-  "i  the  Chicago  and  Milwaukee  Elec- 
tric Railroad  Company  for  the  month  of  March 
and  for  the  first  quarter  showed  a  substantial  in- 
crease. The  road  earned  $18,234  for  the  month,  an 
increase  of  $3,oSS.  During  the  first  quarter  the 
increase   in   net    earnings    was  $20,498. 

Mass    meetings    have    been    held    at    Ithac 
Louis.  Beebe  and  other  points  in  Michigan  : 
Pittsburg  capitalists   and   moneyed    men    of    Detroit 
who  propose  to  build  an  electric  road  from  St 
and  Ithaca  to  connect  at  St.  Charles  with  the  D.  0 
S.  road,  which  the  same  capital  will  build  t! 
mer. 

Work  has  been  started  on  the  actual  construc- 
tion of  the  Jonesboro  branch  of  the  Birmingham 
Railway,  Light  and  Power  Company's  lines.  Con- 
siderable material  has  been  placed  at  Bessemer,  and 
it  is  believed  that  the  work  can  be  rushed  - 
in  a  few  weeks  the  operation  of  cars  will  be  a 
possibility. 

Dr.  Milton  G.  McCorkley  of  Portland.  Ore.,  is 
interested  in  a  company  to  build  hotel  and  sani- 
tarium near  Mt.  Hood.  In  addition  to  the  erecting 
of  sanitarium,  it  is  proposed  to  build  an  electric 
railway  from  Portland,  a  distance  of  46  miles,  ex- 
tending up  the  mountain  to  a  point  where  the 
snow    begins. 

E.  M.  Loveland  of  Fenidale.  Cal..  has  a 
sition  for  an  electric  railway  in  the  Ferndale  \  al- 
ley, the  first  line  to  extend  from  Brizzily  Blurt  to 
Ferndale.  thence  to  Loleta  and  across  the  Eel  River. 
The  residents  of  the  valley  are  asked  to  provide  a 
bonus  of  $14,000.  and  the  project  is  meeting  with 
encouragement. 

The  Walla  Walla  Traction  Company  o'"  Walla 
Walla,  Wa-h.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital 
of  $3,500,000.  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  an 
interurban  line  connecting  Walla  Walla  with  sur- 
rounding towns  and  villages.  Among  the  incor- 
porators" are  Miles  C.  Moore.  F.  W.  Paine  and 
W.    W.    Baker  of  Walla  Walla. 

Rumors  are  to  the  effect  that  a  high-speed  elec- 
tric railway  is  to  be  built  between  Chicago  and 
New  York  upon  which  10-hour  trains  will  be  run. 
The  scheme  is  still  in  the  future,  but  it  is  asserted 
that  some  of  the  right-of-way  has  been  secured  and 
that  a  line  is  mapped  out  which  will  be  200  miles 
shorter  than  the  shortest  steam  line,  no  attempt 
being  made  to  touch  large  cities  out  of  the  direct 
line."  The  road,  if  built,  will  be  of  especially  strong 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April  21,  rrjo6 


construction  to  withstand  the  stress  of  high  speed 
which  would  have  to  average  75  miles  an  hour.  Five 
years  is  the  time  set  for  the  completion  of  the  road. 

It  is  said  that  arrangements  have  been  com- 
pleted for  building  the  high  electric-railway  bridge 
by  the  Canon  City,  Florence,  Royal  Gorge  and 
Interurban  Railway  Company  of  Colorado.  I  his 
bridge  will  span  the  Royal  Gorge  at  a  point  directly 
above  the  "hanging  bridge"  of  the  Denver  and  Rio 
Grande  Railroad  and  will  be  over  2,600  feet  above 
the  bed  of  the  Arkansas  River. 

It  is  reported  that  the  United  Railways  Invest- 
ment Company  of  San  Francisco  has  completed  the 
purchase  in  New  York  city  of  the  21,000,000  snares 
of  stock  of  the  Philadelphia  Holding  Company. 
This  transaction  gives  to  the  United  Railways  In- 
vestment Company  the  control  of  all  the  street  rail- 
roads in  Pittsburg  and  Allegheny  as  well  as  control 
of  the  artificial  gas,  the  electric  lighting  and  So 
per  cent,  of  the  natural-gas  business  of  Pittsburg. 
The  deal  was  completed  April  5th. 

The  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth  Traction  Company 
has  been  incorporated  to  improve  the  Williams  in- 
terests in  Norfolk,  Va.  A  power  house  will  be 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $1,000,000.  The  plans  of  the 
new  company  are  financed  by  Middendorf,  Wil- 
liams &  Co.  of  Baltimore,  J.  L.  Williams  &  Co.  of 
Richmond,  and  Chandler  Bros.  &  Co.  of  Philadel- 
phia. The  company  will  push  a  trolley  line  into 
Suffolk  at  once.  This  has  been  advanced  as  far  as 
Churchland  under  the  present  management. 


POWER  TRANSMISSION, 

\  hydro-electric  power  plant  is  to  be  installed 
for  the  operation  of  the  Guadalupe  de  los  Reyes 
mines  in  the  Cosala  district  of  Sinaloa.  The  plant 
will  have  a  capacity  of  5,000  horsepower  and  will 
be  situated  on  the  Praxtla  River.  Robert  McDoble 
of  San  Francisco  has  the  contract  for  installing 
the  plant,  and  recently  started  with  six  assistants 
for  the  site  of  the  development. 

The  construction  of  a  second  dam  and  water- 
power  electric  plant,  with  a  capacity  of  12,000  horse- 
power, has  been  ordered  by  the  Grand  Rapi'ds-Mus- 
kegon'  Water  Power  Electrical  Company  in  Michi- 
gan. Work  is  to  be  started  at  once  and  the  plant 
ready  for  operation  within  a  year.  The  dam  will 
be  650  feet  long  and  will  be  built  for  a  35-ioot 
head  of  water.  J.  B.  Foote  of  Jackson,  Mich.,  will 
be  the  engineer  in  charge.  A  new  pole  line  30 
miles  long  will  have  to  be  built  from  the  plant  to 
Casnovia.  The  pole  line  from  Casnovia  to  Grand 
Rapids    has    already    been    built. 


PUBLICATIONS. 

A  folder  from  the  Robert  Instrument  Company 
of  Detroit,  Mich.,  gives  a  very  complete  description, 
with  illustrations,  of  the  line  of  Robert  battery- 
testing  instruments,  including  voltmeter,  ammeter 
and  volt-ammeter.  There  are  also  included  direc- 
tions for  the  use  of  the  instruments. 

The  Electrical  Testing  Laboratories  of  New 
York  city  has  reprinted  in  pamphlet  form  the 
paper  presented  by  Mr.  Clayton  IT.  Sharp  before 
the  American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers, 
November  24,  1005,  upon  the  subject  of  "A  Testing 
Laboratory    in    Practical    Operation." 

Circular  No.  54  of  the  Dean  Brothers  Steam 
Pump  Works  of  Indianapolis,  Ind..  deals  with  At- 
lantic type  boiler  feeders  or  pressure  pumps.  The 
circular  gives  comprehensive  details  of  the  con- 
struction of  these  pumps  and  tables  of  sizes  which 
will  be  found  of  value  in  calculations  for  installa- 
tions. 

A  small  pamphlet  entitled  "Where  Neatness 
Counts  as  Against  'Any  Old  Thing'  "  is  to  be 
had  from  the  H.  T.  Paiste  Company  of  Philadel- 
phia. It  contains  some  facts  about  the  simplicity 
and  neatness  of  the  company's  brass  cap  plugs. 
The  company  is  mailing  at  the  same  time  a  new 
price  list  of  its  extensive  line  of  electrical  spe- 
cialties. 

"The  Rise  of  a  Great  Company"  is  the  title  of 
a  folder  which  is  distributed  by  the  Allis-Chalmers 
Company  of  Milwaukee.  The  folder  is  interesting 
in  that  it  describes  the  growth  and  development 
of  the  company,  and  outlines  the  scope  of  its  work 
in  the  many  departments  of  manufacture  which  are 
embodied  under  the  name  of  the  Allis-Chalmers 
Company. 

The  Allis-Chalmers  Company  is  sending  out  a 
series  of  50  multi-chrome  cards  giving  views  of 
Swiss  scenery,  as  an  advertisement  of  the  Schindler 
bolting  cloth,  which  it  furnishes  to  its  milling  cus- 
tomers. The  pictures  are  reproductions  of  Alpine 
views,  and  the  cards,  having  no  printed  matter  upon 
them,  will  form  a  very  interesting  and  attractive 
collection  when  the  series  is  complete. 

A  seasonable  talk  on  "Spring  Painting"  is  con- 
tained in  a  pamphlet  which  is  being  widely  dis- 
tributed by  the  Joseph  Dixon  Crucible  Company 
of  Jersey  City,  N.  J.  Graphite  produced  in  the 
well-known  Ticonderoga  graphite  mine  is  the  basis 
of  the  paints  manufactured  by  this  company — the 
Dixon  silica-graphite  paint.  The  natural  smooth- 
ness of  the  Ticonderoga  fiake  graphite  permits  of 
the  use  of  the  greatest  possible  volume  of  pigment, 
and  a  material  saving  in  cost  of  labor  and  brushes 


in  application.  Under  average  conditions  for  good 
coatings  on  metal  surfaces,  one  gallon  covers  about 
500  square  feet  for  first  coat,  and  about  550  square 
feet   for   second  coat. 

Volume  VIII  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Ameri- 
can Electrochemical  Society  has  been  issued,  in- 
cluding a  complete  report  of  the  eighth  general 
meeting,  which  was  held  in  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  Sep- 
tember 18-20,  1905.  There  is  also  contained  in  the 
volume  a  directory  of  members.  The  president  of 
the  association  is  Wilder  D.  Bancroft;  secretary, 
S.    S.    Sadtler,   and  treasurer,    Pedro   G.    Salom. 

Benjamin  W.  Sands  of  Springfield,  Mo.,  has  is- 
sued in  pamphlet  form  the  lecture  which  he  gave 
June  14,  1905,  before  the  Photographers'  Associa- 
tion of  Missouri.  The  title  of  the  pamphlet  is  "The 
Primordial  Energy."  The  author  spent  some  10 
years  in  study  and  experiment  on  this  subject  and 
has  proved,  to  his  own  satisfaction  at  least,  that 
all  the  various  kinds  of  energy  are  but  the  different 
phases  of  magnetic  vibrations,  which  he  believes  is 
the  primordial  force  in  nature. 

Cincinnati  is  to  have  a  fall  festival  and  industrial 
exposition,  to  be  held  in  Music  Hall,  exposition 
buildings  and  Washington  Park  on  August  28th  to 
September  22d.  The  Cincinnati  Fall  Festival  As- 
sociation Company,  of  which  Otto  Armleder  is 
president,  has  issued  a  very  handsome  souvenir 
booklet  which  gives  an  outline  of  the  various  at- 
tractions. Among  other  things,  there  will  be  a 
comprehensive  electrical  show,  open  to  everything 
pertaining  to  the  use  of  electricity. 

The  Bliss  Electric  Car  Lighting  Company  of 
Milwaukee,  Wis.,  has  issued  a  new  bulletin  (No. 
30)  on  the  Bliss  system  for  electrically  lighting 
railroad  cars.  This  system  is  a  belt-driven  one, 
equipped  with  a  form-three  car  generator.  Twenty- 
five  distinctive  advantages  of  the  system  are  first 
enumerated,  after  which  follows  a  complete  illus- 
trated description  of  the  equipment  in  all  its  de- 
tails. The  first  experimental  equipment  was  in- 
stalled in  1899  and  is  still  in  operation. 

The  new  volume  of  the  Proceedings  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers  for  1904 
is  an  imposing  book  containing  846  pages.  It  con- 
tains all  the  papers  and  discussions  at  the  New 
York  and  Chicago  meetings  and  also  at  the  annual 
convention  in  St.  Louis.  As  a  frontispiece  there  is 
a  fine  portrait  of  Mr.  Bion  J.  Arnold,  who  was 
president  of  the  association  during  1903-4.  The 
book  as  a  whole  contains  a  varied  and  valuable 
assortment  of  papers  upon  nearly  every  branch  of 
the  electrical  industry  and  is  an  important  addition 
to  any  library. 

A  very  neat  example  of  central-station  advertis- 
ing literature  for  the  education  of  the  public  in 
things  pertaining  to  electric  light  is  the  booklet 
issued  by  the  Columbus  (Ohio)  Railway  and  Light 
Company,  entitled  "Edison  Light,  Right  Light." 
The  booklet  sets  forth  in  a  non-technical  manner 
the  advantages  of  "right  light"  and  something 
about  the  company  and  its  facilities  for  producing 
this  valuable  commodity.  It  makes  interesting  read- 
ing which  will  demand  the  attention  of  those  into 
whose  hands  it  may  fall.  The  booklet  was  prepared 
for  the  lighting  company  by  the  C.  W.  Lee  Com- 
pany of  Newark,  N.  J. 


was  compelled  to  sleep  on  the  floor.  He  suffered 
sickness  without  the  care  of  a  doctor.  He  is  being 
treated  in  the  County  Hospital  at  El  Paso. 

The  Concrete  Pole  Company  of  Winnipeg,  Man., 
recently  completed  the  erection  of  a  massive  con- 
crete pole  to  carry  wires  over  the  old  Weland  Canal. 
This  pole  is  150  feet  in  height,  11  inches  square  at 
the  top,  31  inches  at  the  bottom,  and  weighs  45 
tons.  It  is  designed  to  stand  a  horizontal  pull  at 
the  top  of  2,000  pounds,  in  addition  to  the  wind 
pressure. 

Prof.  Frank  A.  Perret  of  New  York  had  the 
opportunity  of  studying  the  volcanic  disturbances  at 
the  recent  eruption  of  Vesuvius  with  Prof.  Matte- 
ucci.  The  action  of  the  volcano  as  described  by 
Prof.  Perret  was  truly  terrifying.  The  roaring 
was  terrific  and  the  volcano  operated  like  a  fount- 
ain, the  main  jet  rising  high  in  the  air.  Among 
the  most  terrifying  of  the  phenomena  were  the  elec- 
trical storms.  "The  claps  of  thunder  were  inces- 
sant, with  a  lurid  play  of  lighting.  The  cause  of 
the  phenomena  was  friction  from  the  ascending 
particles  generating  electricity,  which  displayed  itself 
in  incessant  lightning  and  thunder  claps." 


SOCIETIES  AND  SCHOOLS. 

The  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  offers 
summer  instruction  during  the  months  of  June  and 
July,  supplementing  the  work  of  the  regular  school 
year.  .  Persons  other  than  students  are  admitted 
to  the  courses  if  they  possess  the  necessary  qualifi- 
cations. PI.  W.  Tyler  of  Boston,  secretary  of  the 
Institute,   can   give  "further   information. 


MISCELLANEOUS 


Electric  power  for  the  Shinn  tunnel  near  Granite, 
Colo.,  is  being  planned,  the  power  to  be  developed 
from  Pine  Creek,  about  four  miles  below  Granite. 
The  waterpower  is  sufficient,  it  is  said,  to  furnish 
current  for  other  purposes  besides  the  operation  of 
the    tunnel. 

It  is  said  that  the  real  inventor  of  the  induction 
coil  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Callan.  professor  of  physics 
at  Maynooth  College,  Ireland,  and  not  Ruhmkorff, 
as  is  generally  supposed.  The  invention  dates  back 
to  the  years  1S36-37,  and  was  for  some  time  known 
by  the  name  of  Callan's  coil.  But  Mr.  Ruhmkorff, 
a  Parisian  maker  of  philosophical  apparatus,  manu- 
factured a  large  number  for  sale  and  put  them  on 
the  market  in  a  highly  finished  form,  for  which 
reason  the  invention  came  to  be  called  Ruhmkorff's 
coil. 

The  El  Paso  (Tex.)  Herald  tells  the  story  of 
Join!  Humphries,  an  American,  who  has  just  ar- 
rived in  El  Paso  a  physical  wreck,  after  a  12-year 
confinement  in  a  Mexican  prison  at  Torreon.  Mr. 
Humphries,  employed  by  the  Torreon  Electric  Rail- 
road and  Power  Company  in  1S90,  put  on  an  extra 
voltage  bevond  what  the  company  was  permitted  to 
carry,  and  a  broken  wire  which  fell  to  the  street 
resulted  in  the  death  of  four  men.  Humphries  was 
arraigned  and  sent  to  the  jail,  wdiere  he  lingered  in 
solitary  confinement.  This  was  in  1S94.  His  story 
of  prison  life  is  one  of  miser}'.  The  greater  part 
of  the  time  he  says  that  he  was  without  clothes  and 


TRADE  NEWS 

The  A.  Riemann  Electric  Company  of  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$5,000. 

The  Union  Warehouse  and  Electric  Company  of 
Bay  City,  Texas,  has  been  incorporated  with  a  cap- 
ital stock  of  $20,000. 

The  Joplin  Electric  Supply  and  Construction  Com- 
pany of  Joplin.  Mo.,  has  succeeded  to  the  business 
of  the    Electric   Supply   and   Construction   Company. 

Sealed  proposals  will  be  received  May  1.  190$ 
and  then  publicly  opened  for  furnishing  and  install- 
ing lighting  fixtures  for  buildings  for  the  Army 
War  College.  Information  on  application.  John 
Stephen  Sewell,  captain  engineers,  Washington  Bar- 
racks, D.  C. 

The  Menominee  Electrical  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany is  about  to  begin  work  on  the  construction  of 
its  new  plant  in  Menominee,  Mich.  The  company's 
plant  in  Marinette  has  been  running  overtime  to 
get  the  large  number  of  orders  reduced  by  the  time 
of   the   removal   this   fall. 

G.  M.  Gest  of  Cincinnati  and  New  York,  the 
expert  subway  contractor,  has  obtained  control  of 
the  Rundle  patented  graphic  chart  system  for  re- 
cording underground  and  overhead-cable  data.  This 
system  of  charts  has  been  adopted  by  the  largest 
conduit  users  in  the  United  States. 

Joseph  L.  Berwanger  and  Robert  Murray  have 
formed  a  partnership  to  engage  in  the  electrical 
business  in  Logansport,  Ind.  They  ha\e  leased  a 
room  at  322  Pearl  Street  and  are  prepared  to  do 
all  kinds  of  wiring  and  repairs  and  will  also  carry 
a  complete  line  of  supplies  and  fixtures. 

The  Westinghouse  Machine  Company  on  April 
nth  in  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  for  the  Dis- 
trict of  New  Jersey  commenced  another  suit  against 
the  Allis-Chalmers  Company,  alleging  infringement 
of  turbine  patent  No.  788,830.  This  patent  relates 
to  the  construction  of  the  rotating  element  of  the 
turbine. 

Among  the  new  electrical  manufacturing  com- 
panies recently  incorporated  are  the  Fox-Borden 
Manufacturing'  Company  of  New  York,  N.  Y.; 
capital.  $10,000;  incorporators.  F.  Fox,  F.  M.  Fox, 
New  Rochelle.  N.  Y.,  and  C.  H.  Borden,  Stam- 
ford, Conn.,  and  the  Markle  Electric  Company  of 
Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  capital  stock  $5,000;  incorpora- 
tors. A.  R.  Markle.  E.  L.  Cooper  and  G.  Gunder- 
son. 

C.  A.  Becker  and  A.  C.  Becker,  comprising  the 
firm  of  Becker  Brothers,  electrical  contractors,  at 
367  Homer  Street,  Chicago,  announce  that  they 
arc  prepared  to  take  contracts  for  electrical  in- 
stallations of  all  kinds  from  house  wiring  to  com- 
plete installations  of  lighting  plants,  'these  gen- 
tlemen have  a  wide  practical  and  theoretical  ex- 
perience in  their  line  and  have  the  energy  and 
ability    to    assure    their   patrons    satisfactory    results. 

The  new  tariff  for  Argentina  provides,  among 
others,- for  the  assessment  of  the  following  rates  of 
duty:  Carbons  tor  arc  lamps.  35  per  cent,  ad  va- 
lorem; metallic  wire  or  cables  exceeding  five  milli- 
meters in  diameter  for  electricity,  and  all.  acces- 
sories for  the  installation  of  underground  cables, 
five  per  cent,  ad  valorem;  machines  for  installing 
public  electric-lighting  plants,  and  motors,  five  per 
cent,  ad  valorem ;  electric-railway  appliances  of  all 
kinds,  free. 

Formation  of  the  Pfannmueller  Engineering  Com- 
pany of  Chicago,  incorporated  to  do  a  general  engi- 
neering and  contracting  business,  has  been  an- 
nounced. The  officers  are:  President,  F.  E.  Pfann- 
mueller ;    vice-president   and   consulting  engineer,    S. 

D.  Boynton,    M.    E.,    and    secretary    and    treasurer, 

E.  M. 'Mills.  The  company  will  make  a  specialty 
of  designing  and  installing  complete  power  plants. 
The  principal  offices  will  be  at  suite  1134  First 
National  Bank  Building,  Chicago,  111. 

The  Marlboro  Equipment  Company  has  been  in- 
corporated in  Marlboro,  Mass.,  for  the  purpose  of 
importing  and  exporting  electrical  goods.  The  cap- 
italization  is  $3,000.    Julius   P.  Watson  of  Concord 


April    21,    [906 

1     pre  idcnt,    I  [erbcrl    Smith    of    1  !om  ord    In 

and   clerk,  and    Eugene    U     Godfn       the   remaining 

member  of  [lie  board  of  directoi 

Vielc,    Cooper    S     Blackwell    oi     txj 

New    York    city,    is   the   name   of  a    firm    for d    to 

1  ai  rj   'ii   1 1       1 Iianii  al,  clci and   h 

draulic    engii r  1    and    to    do    gi  ni  ral    

The  capital  1    $1,500,000      I  he  direel rfa 

V    Vicle  of  New   York,   llnuli    I..   Coo| 1     itam 

[ord,   <  'nun.,   and    Fram    1   I  1     Blai  I  m  II  ol    li  ngli 
w I.  N.  J. 

Mi.'     Westinghousc     interests     in     Europe     have 

formed  an  alliance  with  the   Italian  panj    headed 

lij  Dr.  Finzi,  and  the  new  ci  mp  1113  ol  .-,  hii  h  I  h 
Giorgio  Finzi  is  director,  is  called  the  Electro 
Railways    Works    (limited)     Company,    with    head 

quarters  in    Milan.      I  he  patei id  in  the  single- 

,li  r  system  in  Italy  will  be  called  the  Westing- 
bousc-Finzi  patents.  The  Electro  Railways  Works 
Company  will  look  afn-r  the  installation  and  ex- 
ploitation of  the  single-phase  system  in  Italy  under 
ih.  patents  of  both  Dr.  Finzi  and  the  Wi  tin 
11.  1.    1 

The  erecting  department  of  the  Westinghousc 
Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company  for  Manhat- 
tan Borough,  which,  until  recently,  was  located  on 
the  nineteenth  floor  of  the  Trinity  Building,  lias 
been  moved  to  the  Fuller  Building,  corner  of 
Twenty-third  Street  and  Broadway.  This  change 
was  made  necessary  because  the  department  was  in 
whim  of  more  space  than  it*  was  possible  t<>  obtain 
it  111  Broadway,  and  also  because  the  uptown  lo- 
cation is  more  suitable  and  convenient  for  the  con- 
siniclion  work,  most  of  the  power  plants  being 
located    within    easy-reaching   distance. 

The  Navy  Department,  through  the  Bureau  of 
Supplies  and  Accounts,  is  inviting  sealed  proposals 
imlil  May  8th  for  furnishing  the  Naval  Home  at 
Philadelphia  with  its  annual  supplies  of  electrical 
material.      The     schedule,    number    .156,    is    obtain- 


1  1  .!■  ■     ELE(  TRI< 

public    I. III]. In 

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ni,  D.  C. 

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bra  ii    i'.  ilro  id      bout    r,ooo 

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1  hi     11. in  porl  'i  on    I 

hopi  .1  1l1.1t  1I1.    ii.  ',v  fai  toi  v  building  .  may  :. 

pi '  ar.     'I  he  111  h   buildii 

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of   b^lit    and    ail 
11.  ....     factors    arc    Brennekc    8 
with   Dodge  &  Day  of  Philadelphia  in  consultation 
on   the     ubjei  1   of   industrial   01  Vn   in- 

teresting  feature  of  the  nc«    p 

1  "mi ■.   1    tbi 

tor,  an   annual    retainer,   who   will   givi 
to  all  1  mployes  injured  in  thi 

I'. "ii.   v.nl 1   charge   to   them      Dr.    II.    I 

lias   already   been   engagi  'I     1     '1 

cian. 


BUSINESS 
The  Ellsworth  Coal  Company  of  Ellsworth,  Pa.. 
is  a  recent  purchaser  of  a  new  lot  of  Allis-Chal- 
iii'  1  electrical  machinery  built  at  the  com 
works,  Cincinnati.  The  new  equipment  will  consist 
of  a  500-kilowatt  direct-current  rotary  converter, 
four  14-horsepower  type  X  motors  and  four  7%- 
horsepower    type    B    motors.      Charles    H.    Besley   & 


a 

■ 

■ 

■ 
Short      I 

000  kilo- 
nd  (intfm   Wheel  Company, 

Iphia   branch,   n  of  the 

11    and    the    Denis,    Atlanta    1  itjr,    N    J.      In 
the  plant  of  the  former  all  of  I 
water    pipi  ered    with    its    "J-M"   molded, 

and  all  ih  the  well-kni 

■  ring.    In  the  I  lenU  the  en- 
!  with  "J-M"  three-ply 
covering,    and    higi; 
with  85  per  cent,  magnesia.    In  the  1 

none  but  manufacturers  of  the  highest 
reputation  was  considered,  and  the  H.  \V  Johns- 
Manville  Company  is  pleased  on  securing  these  or- 
ders  in  the  face  of  such  keen  competition.  The 
company  will  send  a  neat  and  attractive  booklet 
entitled  "Pipe  and  Boiler  Insulation"  for  the  asking. 


ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 


317,152.  Apparatus  for  Nickel  Plating.  Jonas  W. 
Aylsworth,  East  Orange,  N.  J.,  assignor  to 
the  Edison  Storage  Battery  Company,  West  Or- 
ange, N.  J.    Application  filed  September  17,  1004. 

The     mechanical     features     of     an     electroplating     appa- 
ratus   are    set    forth   in    the    patent. 

$17,160.  Heat  Coil.  Frank  B.  Cook,  Chicago,  111. 
Application  Hied  November  14,  1003.  Renewed 
February  6,   ifjo.s. 

A    heat-producing    coil    is    wound    upon    a    hollow    cylin- 


corc  and  secured  thereto  by  fusible  mate 
wheel  is  secured  to  the  pin,  and  there 
from    the    heat    coil    by    which    the 


ial. 


the 


when     the  fusible     material     is    softened. 

317,175.     Electric  Time  Switch.     Charles  E.  Katsch, 

New  Haven,  Conn.     Application  filed  March  15, 
1905. 

clock    gear  furnishes    the    necessary    tripping    agent 


NO.    817,232. — ELECTRIC    CI 


817,210.  Magnetic  Friction  Clutch.  Harry  A.  Wil- 
liams, Akron,  Ohio,  assignor  to  the  Williams 
Electric  Machine  Company,  Akron,  Ohio.  Ap- 
plication filed  May  26,  1905. 

A  driving  disk  carries  a  magnetic  coil  and  is  asso- 
ciated with  a  driven  disk,  a  pulley  rigid  therewith,  an 
expansible  ring  connected  with  the  driven  disk,  a  lever 
and  electrical  connections  whereby  the  ring  is  expanded 
by    the    lever. 

817,212.  Electric  Furnace.  Charles  O.  Wingren, 
Pasadena,  Cal.  Aoplication  filed  August  21, 
1905- 

Combined  with  a  metallic  air-tight  casing  is  a  body 
portion  and  a  removable  cover  secured  thereto,  the 
cover  being  provided  with  an  upwardly  extending  dome 
"'-  of  the  top  of  the  dome  being  transparent. 
ulated  from  and  secured  to  the  body, 
rasing   betwe 


Electrodes 

Resistance  material  is  placed 
electrodes  and  the  crucible  i 
between   the  electrodes. 


817,222.     Electric  Switch.     Harold  E.   Case,  Bridge- 
port,   Conn.     Application  filed   March   2*4,    1904. 

A  contact  for  a  knifeswitch  comprises  brushblades  of 
unequal  lengths,  the  lower  end  of  the  shorter  blade 
having  a  seat  for  a  contact  wire,  A  chair  formed  of  the 
longer  blade  is  adapted  to  embrace  the  seat,  while  means 
secure  the  extreme  lower  end  of  the  longest  blade  to  the 
vertical    body    portion    of    both    blades. 


Issued  (United  States  Patent  Office)  April 


iqo6. 


817,232.  Regulation  of  Electric  Circuits.  Edgar  A. 
Edwards,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  assignor  to  the  Met- 
ropolitan Trust  &  Savings  Bank,  trustee.  Ap- 
plication filed  March  7,  1902.  Renewed  February 
12,   1006. 

A  normally  open  constant-current  circuit  has  a  regu- 
lating magnet  in  shunt.  A  differentially  wound  !  . n.  . 
supplies  current  to  the  circuit  and  means  automatically 
close    the    circuit    by    current    from    the    dynamo.       (See 

817,251.  Automatic  Stereopticon  Apparatus.  Mar- 
cus H.  Killen,  Chicago,  111.,  assignor  of  one-half 
to  Mark  L.  Killen.  Application  filed  April  26, 
IQ05- 

Electromagnetic  devices  controlled  by  a  clockwork 
mechanism  operate  to  move  the  slides  successively  into 
position.  Individual  circuits  control  the  opening  and 
closing   of  the    switch  of  the   light   circuit. 

817,256.  Electric  Signaling  for  Trolley  Railroads. 
Edward  W.  Lee,  South  Atlanta,  Ga.  Application 
filed  January  31,  1905. 

Two  short  copper  strips  are  associated  with  two  oval- 
shaped  sides  of  a  strip  of  wood  fiber  or  other  good 
insulation  to  form  a  circuit-maker  and  breaker.  The  de- 
vice is  placed  on  the  under  side  of  a  short  plank  or 
block   of   insulation   which  will   act  as  a  watershed. 

817,264.  Electric  Controlling  Device  for  Cars.  James 
H.  K.  McCollum,  Toronto,  Canada.  Application 
filed  March  r,  1905. 

Combined  with  a  brake  lever  and  holdfast  device  and 
motor  for  controlling  the  device  is  an  auxiliary  con- 
troller provided  with  a  finger  and  contact  plate  for 
throwing   the    current    in    and    out   of    the    motor. 

8i7,28r.  Automatic  Intercommunicating  Train-re- 
porting System.  Elmer  E.  Steiner,  Knights- 
town,  Ind.    Application  filed  July  14,  1905. 


Two  trolley  wires  for  the  signalling 
ide  the  track,  each  train  carrying  a 
Each    train    operates   signals    at 


the    track 


passes  by. 


817,290.  Electric-railway  Switching  Mechanism. 
Harry  L.  Young,  Pueblo,  Colo.  Application 
filed  October  5,  1905. 

A  trolley  pole  carries  a  main  trolley  mounted  thereon. 
An  auxiliary  bridging  trolley  is  in  proximity  to  the  main 
trolley  and  pivotally  mounted  on  but  insulated  from  the 
trolley  pole,  and  an  electromagnetic  operating  device  is 
also  mounted  on  the  trolley  pole  and  connected  to  the 
auxiliary    bridging    trolley. 

817,293.  Automatic  Railroad  Signal.  James  S.  An- 
derson, Ames,  Neb.  Application  filed  December 
26,  1905. 

Details    are    described. 

817,305.  Electric  Meter.  Thomas  Duncan,  Lafay- 
ette, Ind.     Application  filed  June  6,  1904. 

An  electric  meter  has  a  damping  disk  upon  its  spindle 
and  a  damping  magnet  in  whose  field  the  disk  rotates, 
the  damping  magnet  comprising  a  permanent  magnet  and 
an  inclosing  element  of  magnetic  material  establishing 
a  portion  of  the  main  nux  circuit  parallel  to  the  portion 
of  the  main  flux  circuit  established  by  the  permanent 
magnet.      (See   cut.) 

817,322.  Display  Apparatus.  Calvin  Jackson,  Read- 
ing, Pa.,  assignor  to  Howard  J.  Potts,  Reading, 
Pa.     Application  filed  May  31,  1905. 

Electric  incandescent  lamps  and  their  circuits,  play  an 
important   part   in    the    apparatus. 


817,329.  Terminal  or  Coupling  for  Electric  Cables. 
William  Middleton  and  John  Y  MiddletOn,  New- 
castle-upon-Tyne, England.  Application  filed 
June  5,  1905. 

disks  have  their  inner  or  adjacent  faces  each 
provided  with  an  annular  groove  for  reception  of  a 
cable  or  cables,  the  groove  having  parts  of  its  outer 
wall  cut  away.  Means  are  supplied  for  connecting  disks 
together. 

817,346.  Electric  Hand  Lamp.  Herman  F.  Stakel- 
beck,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  Application  filed  August 
9.  J9°5- 

In  an  electric  hand  lamp  are  a  lamp,  a  socket  carrying 
the  lamp,  the  socket  being  interiorly  threaded  at  its 
base,  and  a  two-part  plug  furnished  upon  its  interior 
with  grooves  to  receive  each  one  of  the  line  wires  lead- 
ing to  the  lamp  terminals,  and  being  exteriorly  threaded 
so  as  to  be  screwed  into  the  base  of  the  socket. 

817. 34S.  Track  Instrument  for  Automatic  Railway 
Block  Signaling.  Alfred  J.  Stecker,  Detroit, 
Mich.,  assignor  to  Helen  P.  Nickels.  New  York. 
N.  Y.     Application  filed  March  27.  1905. 

In  a  railway  track  instrument  are  an  oscillatory  de- 
vice adjacent  to  a  railway  rail,  arranged  to  swing  ver- 
tically toward  and  from  the  railway  rail,  and  a  circuit- 
breaker    actuated    by    the    device. 


NO.    8l/r305. — ELECTRIC    METER. 

817,362.  Automatic  Time  Circuit-breaker.  Edmund 
T.  Browning,  Stockton.  Cal..  assignor  of  one- 
half  to  William  E.  Brown,  Stockton,  Cal.  Ap- 
plication filed   February  8,   1905. 

feature  is  obtained  through  a  clockwork 


817,366.  Electric  Switch  for  Electric-railroad  Cars. 
Otto  Frank  and  Peter  J.  McCaffrey,  Brooklyn, 
N.   Y.     Application  filed  April  I,   1905. 

The  switch  is  controlled  by  pneumatic  pressure,  which 
actuates  plungers  in  a  piston.  The  admission  of  air  to 
the   cylinder   is  controlled  by  electrically  operated   valves. 

£17,389.  Coin-controlled  Telephone  System.  Egbert 
A.  Reynolds,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to 
the  Iron  Telephone  Company,  New  York.  N.  Y. 
Application  filed  August  to.  100  l 

The  subscriber's  telephone  instrument  includes  a  coin 
receiver  and  a  circuit-closer  for  closing  the  talking  cir- 
cuit in  the  line  controlled  by  a  coin  received  therein. 
Means  are  provided  under  the  joint  control  of  the  cen- 
tral operator  and  the  subscriber  for  expelling  and  re- 
turning the  coin  from  the  coin  chute,  the  means  in- 
cluded in  one   side  only  of  the  line. 


33° 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April  21,   1906 


Si7,3QO.  Privacy  Device  and  Busy  Signal  for  Tele- 
phone Apparatus  and  Systems.  Egbert  A.  Rey- 
nolds, New  York,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Iron 
Telephone  Company,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Ap- 
plication  filed   August   19,    1904. 

Privacy  apparatus  for  each  instrument  includes  an 
electromagnet  and  means,  operating  when  the  line  cir- 
cuit is  connected  to  the  generator,  for  energizing  the 
privacy  device  of  any  one  instrument  only  with  the 
attempted  operation  of  its  own  instrument  concurrently 
with  another   instrument. 

817,392.  Electric  Time  Switch.  John  E.  Rogers, 
Elkhart,  Ind.    Application  filed  July  10,  1905. 

Details   are    described. 

817,396.  Receptacle  for  Incandescent  Electric  Lamps. 
Albert  P.  Seymour,  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  assignor 
to  Pass  &  Seymour,  Solvay,  N.  Y.  Application 
filed  January  30,  1905. 

The  receptacle  is  provided  with  a  porcelain  cap  having 
channel's  for  the  '■  conductors.  Wire  terminals  are 
fastened  between  the  cap  and  body  and  fitting  the  chan- 
nels. An  outer  lamp  terminal  is  carried  by  the  body 
of    the    receptacle. 

817,399.  Process  of  Magnetic  Separation.  Frederick 
T.  Snyder,  Oak  Park,  111.,  assignor  to  the  Inter- 
national Separator  Company,  Chicago,  111.  Ap- 
plication filed  December  20,  1902. 

Magnetically  separating  ores  is  done  by  differentially 
reciprocating  the  ores  within  the  influence  of  a  mag- 
net, periodically  energizing  and  de-energizing  the  mag- 
net, and  maintaining  synchronism  between  the  recipro- 
cations and  the  changes  in  the  field  of  the  magnet. 

817,419.  Process  for  the  Electrolytic  Manufacture 
of  Metal  Tubes.  Otto  Diefrenbach,  Darmstadt, 
Germany.    Application  filed  January  9,  1906. 

Production  of  galvanic  deposits  is  accomplished  by 
mixing  comminuted  kieselguhr  with  a  suitable  electrolyte 
passing  an  electric  current  through  the  mixture  and 
simultaneously  producing  a  relative  movement  between 
the  electrolyte  and  the  cathode  to  dislodge  the  hydrogen 
bubbles  and  to  smooth  the  metallic  deposit  by  the  action 
of  the   kieselguhr. 

817.448.  Poultry  Appliance.  Edward  J.  Shanahan, 
Tribes  Hill,  N.  Y.    Application  filed  July  7,  1905. 

A  device  for  preventing  hens  from  eating  eggs  consists 
of  a  battery  and  transformer  circuit.  One  secondary 
of  the  transformer  enters  a  specially  prepared  egg  re- 
ceptacle and  the  other  connects  with  a  conducting  plate 
on  which  the  fowl  stands  but  which  is  insulated  from 
the    egg    receptacle. 

817.449.  Receptacle  for  Incandescent  Electric 
Lamps.  Albert  P.  Seymour,  Syracuse,  N.  Y., 
assignor  to  Pass  &  Seymour,  Solvay,  N.  Y. 
Application  filed  March  15,  1905. 

Combined  with  a  porcelain  base  are  a  porcelain  cover 
substantially  equal  in  length  to  the  base  and  having 
marginal  side  walls  to  cover  and  protect  the  sides  of  the 
base,  open  insulating  air  channels  between  the  walls  and 
the  base,  wire  terminals  on  the  base,  lamp  terminals  on 
the  cover  and  metallic  connections  between  the  lamp 
terminals  and  the  wire  terminals,  the  metallic  connec- 
tions being  adapted  to    secure   the   cover  to    the  base. 

817,457.  Head  Band  or  Support  for  Telephone  Re- 
ceivers. Kelley  M.  Turner,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Application  filed  January  18,  1006. 

A  supporting  band  or  holder  for  telephone  receivers 
comprises  a  pair  of  curved  spring  sections  pivoted  to- 
gether at  their  upper  ends  and  a  ring  or  fork  adapted 
to  receive  and  hold  a  telephone  receiver  and  arranged 
to    fold    into    the   plane    of   the    spring 


17, 66*-  —  CONTACT    DEVICE    FOR    SPACE-TELEGRAPH 
APPARATUS. 

817,463.  Railroad  Signal  System.  Rollin  A.  Bald- 
win and  George  D.  Foote,  New  Haven,  Conn., 
assignors  to  the  Baldwin  &  Rowland  Switch 
and  Signal  Company.  Application  filed  August 
10,    1905. 

Essential  features  of  the  signal  are  a  wheel  or  disk,  a 
signal  circuit  arranged  to  be  completed  by  movement 
of  the  wheel  in  either  direction,  a  pair  of  operating 
magnets  for  moving  the  wheel  in  cither  direction,  and  a 
locking  magnet  for  holding  the  wheel  against  rotation, 

817.483.  Electric  Fuse-igniting  Apparatus.  James 
W.  Howard,  Connellsville,  Pa.,  assignor  to  How- 
ard Electric  Blasting  Machine  Company,  Con- 
nellsville,   Pa.     Application  filed   May  23,   1905. 

A  casing,  a  battery  located  therein,  a  key  switch  car- 
ried by  the  casing,  connections  for  the  line  fuse  wires 
also  carried  by  the  casing  and  an  electric  circuit  in- 
cluding the  battery,  the  connections  and  the  switch  are 
the    essential    features. 

817.484.  Insulating  Screw  Shell.  Harvey  Hubbell, 
Bridgeport,  Conn.  Application  filed  June  28, 
1905. 

A  shell  for  receiving  an  incandescenl  lamp  base  is  de- 
scribed. 

817,497.     Signal    System.      Joseph    H.    Lynch,    Red 

Bank,  N.  J.     Application  filed  October  25,   1905. 

Automatic    signal    apparatus    comprises    a    weight,    bars 

adapted     to     project    into    the    path,    of    the     weight,     the 

bars    being    of    different    lengths,    and    means    for    closing 

electrical    circuits    by    the    descent    of    the    Weight, 


817,498.  Storage  Battery.  James  R.  Macmillan, 
Menomonie,  Wis.,  assignor  to  the  Northwestern 
Storage  Battery  Company,  Chicago,  111.  Appli- 
cation filed  April  1,  1905. 

A  storage-battery  plate  is  composed  of  similar  grid 
units  firmly  electrically  connected  only  at  their  rims,  of 
horizontal  ribs  for  each  unit  and  diagonally  intersecting 
ribs  for  each  unit,  the  ribs  being  quadrilateral  and  the 
upper  and  lower  edges  of  the  ribs  of  each  unit  being 
disposed  in  a  common  vertical  plane.  All  of  the  ribs 
co-operate  to  form  compartments  for  lodgment  of  active 
material,  and  thin  webs  extend  from  the  edges  of  the 
ribs   in  the  vertical   planes. 

8i7.-555-  Speed  Indicator.  Robert  Hartmann- 
Kempf,  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  Germany,  as- 
signor to  the  firm  of  Hartmann  &  Braun  A.  G., 
Frankfort-on-the-Main,  Germany.  Application 
filed  June  27,    1905. 

Associated  with  a  graduated  scale  are  means  for  pro- 
ducing a  continuous  magnetic  field,  resonant  bodies  of 
magnetic  material  situated  in  the  field  and  tuned  to  cor- 
respond with  the  scale,  and  means  for  displacing  the 
lines  of  force  of  the  field  for  the  purpose  of  imparting 
periodic    magnetic    impulses    to    the    resonant    bodies, 

Si7,593-  Electric  Water  Heater.  Frederic  F.  Shipp, 
St.  Louis,  Mo.,  assignor  of  one-half  to  James  A. 
Howze,  St.  Louis.  Mo.  Application  filed  August 
10,   1903. 

A  heat-radiating  core  is  arranged  in  the  interior  of 
the  apparatus  which  derives  its  heat  from  an  electric 
current  passing    through    a  resistance    wound  on  the  core.  ' 

Si7,594.  Electric  Water  Heater.  Frederic  F.  Shipp, 
St.  Louis,  Mo.,  assignor  to  the  Electrical  Heat- 
ing and  Manufacturing  Company,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Application  filed  September  16,    1904. 

Electrical  water-heating  apparatus  comprises  heat-radi- 
ating sections  that  are  nonconductors  of  electricity  and 
an  electrical  conductor  coil  wound  throughout  the  sec- 
tions, the  sections  being  provided  with  notches  at  their 
ends,   in  which   the  folds  of  the  coil  are  located. 

8i7,597.  Apparatus  for  Commuting  Electric  Cur- 
rents Passing  Through  Lamps,  etc.  Campbell 
Smart,  Swansea,  England.  Application  filed 
September  19,   1504. 

Switching  mechanism  for  a  combined  arc-lamp  and  in- 
candescent-lamp system  includes  means  operating  upon 
each  alternate  failure  of  current  in  the  arc  circuit  to 
close  the  incandescent  circuit.  A  controller  is  placed  in 
the    arc   circuit. 

817,606.  Electric  Brake.  George  R.  Yancey,  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  assignor  of  one-fourth  to  William  A. 
Keller  and  one-fourth  to  Karl  Keller,  Louisville, 
Ky.     Application  filed  August  7,   1905. 

Brake  beams,  an  electric  motor,  a  connection  between 
the  brake  beams  and  the  motor,  including  an  elongated 
shaft,  a  shaft  adapted  to  be  rotated  by  hand,  and  a  de- 
tachable connection  between  the  two  shafts  are  the  essen- 
tial   parts. 

817,642.  Incandescent  Lamp  Cluster.  Harvey  Hub- 
bell,  Bridgeport,  Conn.  Application  filed  Sep- 
tember  1,   1905. 

A  cluster  for  incandescent  lamps  made  in  two  parts 
is  composed  of  insulating  material,  each  part  having 
formed  therein  threaded  half  sockets  which  with  the  cor- 
responding half  sockets  in  the .  other  part  form  sockets 
to    receive    the    screw    shells    of    incandescent    lamps. 

817,664.  Contact  Device.  Andrew  Plecher,  Los  An- 
geles, Cal.,  assignor  to  the  Pacific  Wireless  Tele- 
graph Company.  Application  filed  December  27, 
1904. 

In  a  system  of  wireless  telegraphy  are  a  contact  device 
comprising  a  tubular  body  of  quartz  glass  having  its 
ends  suitably  closed  and  the  air  exhausted  therefrom, 
a  silver  rod  in  the  tubular  body  electrically  connected 
to  the  aerial  line,  a  silver  plate  in  the  tubular  body  hav- 
ing an  oxidized  or  sulphurized  surface  in  contact  with 
the  rod,  an  iron  base  plate  supporting  the  plate,  a  spring 
supporting  the  base  plate,  electrical  connections  connect- 
ing the  spring  to  ground  and  a  magnet  exterior  the 
glass    body.      (See    cut.) 

817,687.  Magnetic  Actuator.  Daniel  Bacon,  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Magnetic  Control 
Company,  New  York,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
A-ugust  24,  1904. 

A  magnetic  actuator  comprises  a  driving  shaft  and  a 
driven  shaft,  the  shafts  having  telescoping  concentric 
sleeves  capable  of  independent  rotation.  A  radial  web 
extends  from  each  of  the  sleeves  and  electromagnets  are 
supported  at  the  periphery  of  each  of  the  radial  webs, 
the  pole-faces  of  the  magnets  upon  each  periphery  being 
in    noneont acting    magnetic    relation. 

817,719.  Electrical  Circuit  Controller.  Harry  W. 
Leonard,  Bronxville,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
November    30,    1901.      Renewed    December    20, 


full    strength    and    thereby 
close    or    open    the    circuit,    the    switch 
device    being    capable    of    independent 
arm  on    the  rheostat  contact  lever  for  operating  the  actu- 
ating   device. 

817,720.  Automatic  Electric  Circuit  Controller. 
Harry  W.  Leonard,  Bronxville,  N.  Y.  Applica- 
tion filed  January   26,  1903. 

Automatic  circuit-controlling  apparatus  consists  of  a 
resistance-controlling  switch,  a  spring-actuated  hammer 
arm,  a-  locking  device  for  holding  the  arm  in  its  normal 
position  and  two  electrorcsponsive  devices  arranged  to 
release  the  arm  under  abnormal  conditions  to  impart  a 
blow  to   the  switch  and  drive  it  to  its  starting  position. 

817,730.  Electrical  Friction  Clutch.  *  Harry  A.  Wil- 
liams, Akron,  Ohio.  Application  filed  October 
22,    1904. 

A  shaft  carrying  a  driving  disk  is  provided  with  re- 
taining blocks  of  nonmagnetic  material.  A  scries  of 
recessed  rings  to  engage  the  blocks,  a  pressure  disk,  a 
driven  pulley  carrying  retaining  blocks,  a  series  of  re- 
cessed rings  engaging  the  blocks,  the  rings  forming  part 
of  a  magnetic  flux,  and  electrical  connections  whereby 
the  pressure  disk  brings  the  rings  into  frictional  contact 
are  the  remaining  parts. 

817,732.  Electric  Incandescent  Lamp.  Werner  von 
Bolton,  Charlottenburg,  Germany,  assignor  to 
Siemens    &    Halske     Aktiengesellschaft,    Berlin, 


Germany.  Original  application  filed  May  31, 
JC102.  Divided  and  this  application  filed  Decem- 
ber 28,  1905. 

An  incandescing  body  for  electric  glow  lamps  consists 
of   a  homogeneous  metallic  wrought  filament  of   tantalum. 

',733-  Homogeneous  Body  of  Highly  Refractory 
Metals.  Werner  von  Bolton,  Charlottenburg, 
Germany,  assignor  to  Siemens  &  Halske  Aktien- 
gesellschaft, Berlin,  Germany.  Original  applica- 
tion filed  January  5,  1904.  Divided  and  this  ap- 
plication filed  September  29,  1905. 

A  metal  derived  from  tantalum  compounds  and  pos- 
sessing the  quality  of  being  homogeneous  and  ductile  J3 
used   as   the  basis  of  a    lamp    filament. 


NO.    817,736. 


817,734.  Incandescing  Body  for  Lighting  Purposes. 
Werner  von  Bolton,  Charlottenburg,  Germany, 
assignor  to  Siemens  &  Halske  Aktiengesellschaft, 
Berlin,  Germany.  Application  filed  May  31, 
1902. 

A  homogeneous  metallic  glower  for  incandescent  lights 
contains  ductile  metal  of  the  vanadium  group,  the  light- 
emitting  properties  of  the  glower  being  due  to  the  pres- 
ence   of    this    metal. 

617,736.  Apparatus  for  Detecting  and  Localizing 
Mineral  Deposits.  Leo  Daft,  Ealing,  and  Al- 
fred Williams,  Wimbledon,  England,  assignors 
to  the  Electrical  Ore  Finding  Company,  Limited, 
London,  England.  Application  filed  October  14, 
1902. 

An  apparatus  for  locating  mineral  deposits  consists 
of  a  combination  of  a  source  of  electricity,  an  inductor 
which  is  adapted  to  emit  fluctuating  electric  impulses, 
two  portable  electrodes  which  are  electrically  connected, 
having  the  battery  and  inductor  in  series  between  them, 
wo    other    portable    electrodes   which   are    electrically 


ectcd.      (Se 


PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Following  is  a  list  of  electrical  patents  (issued 
by  the  United  States  Patent  Office)  that  expired  on 
April   16,   1906: 

401,270.  Switch  for  Circuit  Changer.  William  W.  Griscom, 
Haverford  College,  Pa. 

401.289.  Secondary   Battery.      William  Main,   Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

401.290.  Secondary  Battery.    William  Main,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

401.291.  Process  of  Repairing  Electrodes  of  Secondary  Bat- 
teries.      William    Main,     Brooklyn,    N.    Y. 

401,296.      Electrical    Call   Bell.      Toseph  G.    Noves,    New  York, 

N.    Y. 
40 1,3 1 7.     Dynamo    or    Magneto-electric    Machine.      Ed.    Wes- 
ton,   Newark,    N.    J. 
401,322.     Apparatus     for     the     Application    of    Electricity     to 
Propel    Vehicles.       F.     Wynne,     Westminster,     County    of 
Middlesex,    England. 
401,332.     Automatic     Cut-out     for     Secondary     Batteries.       S. 

C.    C.    Currjc,    Philadelphia,    Pa. 
401,334.      Telegraphy.      P.    B.    Delany,    New   York,    N.    Y. 
401,343.     Electric    Wire    Nail.      C.    A.    Gildemeyer,    Haddon- 

field,    N.    J. 
401,348.     Attachment       for       Electromagnetic       Thermoscope. 

H.   J.  Haight,    New   York,   N.    Y. 
401,366.     Therapeutic     Attachment     for     Galvanic      Batteries. 

C.    V.    Osborn,    Chicago,    111. 
401,405.     Rheostat.      N.    Benardos,    St.    Petersburg,    Russia. 
401,417.     Electric     Lantern.       C.     W.     Cox    and    T.     E.    Van 

Dyke,    Philadelphia,    Pa. 
401,444.     Incandescent    Lamp.      II.    Lemp    and    M.    J.    Wight- 
man,    Hartford,    Conn. 
401,466.      Secondary    Battery.      J.    S.    Sellon,   Hatton   Gardens, 

County    of    Middlesex,    England. 
401,472.      Electric-railway     Track    Alarm.       T.     Taylor,     Cedar- 

ville,   Cal. 
401,482.      Electric    Heating    Apparatus    for    Railway    Systems. 

M.    W.    Dewey,    Syracuse,    N.    Y. 
401,486.      Svstem  of  Electric   Lighting.      T.   A.    Edison,  Menlo 

Park,    N.   J. 
401,498.      Wiring     Structure    for     Electric     Lighting.       E.     H. 

Johnson  and  E.  T.    Greenfield,    New  York    N.    Y. 
401,515.      LTnderground    Conduit     for    Electrical    Railways.     F. 

H.    Reed,  Jersey   City,   N.   J. 
401,520.     Method    of    Operating    Electromagnetic    Motors.      N. 

Tesla,    New    York,    N.    Y. 
401,527.     Cut-out    for    Incandescent    Electric    Lamps.      E.    R. 

Whitney,    St.   Johnsbury,    Vt. 
401,580.      Method    of    Exhausting     Electric-lamp     Bulbs.      J.  W. 

Packard,    New    York,    N.    Y. 
401,591.     Electric    Alarm    Advance    Car.      H.    Riesenberg,    St. 
Louis,   Mo. 

401.606.  Manufacture  of  Carbon  Filaments.  E.  P.  Thomo- 
son,   Elizabeth,  N.    J. 

401.607.  Manufacture  of  Incandescing  Carbon  >.  Filaments. 
E.    P.    Thompson,    Elizaheth,    N.    J. 

401.608.  Distribution  of  Electric  Currents.  E.  Thomson, 
Lynn,    Mass. 

401.616.  System  of  Electric  Locomotion.  F.  Wheeler,  Meri- 
den,    Conn. 

401.617.  Electrical-measurement  Apparatus.  A.  C.  White, 
Boston,    Mass. 

401.631.  Forming  Curved  Electrotypes.  G.  H.  Benedict, 
Ellenville,  and  P.  M.   Furlong,  Troy,  N.  Y. 

401.632.  Dvnamo  Armature.  C.  O.  C.  Billberg,  Philadel- 
phia,   Pa. 

401,639.  Process  of  Electric  Welding.  C.  L.  Coffin,  De- 
troit,  Mich. 

401,646.  Incandescing  Electric  Lamp.  T.  A.  Edison,  Menlo 
Park,    N.  J. 

401.668.  Dvnamo-electric  Machine.  E.  Weston,  Newark. 
N.  J. 

401.669.  Dviianio-electne  Machine.  E.  Weston,  Newark, 
N,  J. 

401,682.  Eleetmtlicrapeuiic  Spectacles.  C.  Brust,  Schloss- 
gasse,    No.    62.   Haidhausen,    Munich,    Germany. 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY 


Vol.  XXXVIII. 


CHICAGO,  APE 


Art  and  Utility  Combined  in  Italian  Hy- 
dro-electric Plant. 
The    Kremlin    River    hydro-electric    powcr-trans- 

mission  development  is  one  of   tl i    important 

in  Northern  Italy.  This  interesting  power  planl 
was  recently  constructed  by  the  Society  [mpn 
Elettrichc,  Conti  &  Co.  of  Milan.  The  accom- 
panying  illustrations  show  the  details  of  construc- 
tion and  the  arrangement  of  the  generators,  tur- 
bines and  transformers  as  well  as  the  arti  tii 
decorative  effects  produced   in   this   i lern   station. 


foi hi 

to  pi t  the  mail 

on    il ti 

upplii  d    .....  through 

special   I"'  tot        nd  p  igh   the 

■  oil     and   lini     i i  the  top 

of   the   transformers.     ITicsc  t 
foi  mi  i     an    all   in  talli  d  din  i  tl  I    of  the  high- 

ten  ion   panels  and   mout  ted  on 

' t"hi 

to     the  e     tran  foi  mi  i      from    the    main    b  i 


ni   per   minute, 
if     ihree-pba«e 
econd. 
h  board, 
which  „i    iht 

main    generator    and    tl  by   cablet   car- 

ried under  the  il<".r      I  here  i  ■  a    • 

forming  the  main   iwitchboard  of  tin 


FIG.   I.       HYDRO-ELECTRIC 

There  are  four  units  installed  in  the  generator  \ 
and  turbine  room,  as  shown  in  Fig.  1,'each  having 
a  capacity  of  2,000  horsepower  and  operating 
under  a  head  of  about  55  meters.  The  turbines 
are  of  the  Riva  Monneret  construction  of  the 
Francis  type,  with  hydraulic  servomotor  regula- 
tion directly  coupled  to  three-phase  alternators, 
constructed  at  Milan  by  Gadda  &  Co.,  formerly 
Gadda  &  Brioschi,  Finzi  &  Co.  The  current  from 
this  power  station  is  raised  from  2,750  volts,  at 
which  pressure  it  is  generated,  to  25,000  volts  for 
transmission  to  the  Monza  district,  where  it  is 
distributed  throughout  the  Brianza  section  of  the 
country  and  as  far  to  the  north  of  Italy  as  the 
Lecco-Erba  power-transmission  development.  On 
the  south  the  transmission  lines  conduct  the  cur- 
rent to  Milan,  where  it  is  distributed  by  the  power 
company,  reaching  as  far  in  this  direction  as  the 
transmission  circuits   of  the    Milan    Societa   Edison. 

There  are  three  600-kilowatt  single-phase  trans- 
formers in  each  of  four  sets,  raising  the  pressure 
to  25,000  volts.  They  are  of  the  air-blast  type, 
the  cooling  air  being  supplied  from  motor-driven 
ventilating  fans,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2.     These  trans- 


which    are    supplied    with    current    from    the    four 
alternators   directly  coupled  to   the  turbines. 

The  power  station  is  supplied  from  the  River 
Brembo,  which  rises  in  the  Orobian  Alps.  It  has  a 
hydrographical  basin  a  considerable  distance  above 
the  point  where  the  power  canal  branches  off, 
about  500  square  kilometers  in  area.  There  is  an 
abundance  of  water  during  most  of  the  year,  and 
it  is  practically  constant  on  account  of  the  many 
springs  and  lakes  which  are  drained  by  this  river. 
During  the  midsummer  months  and  for  a  short 
period  in  midwinter  there  is  a  minimum  flow,  the 
difference,  however,  not  being  sufficient  to  be  of 
serious   moment. 

As  will  be  noted  by  the  accompanying  illustra- 
tion (Fig.  3)  of  the  exterior  of  the  power  house 
at  Zogno,  there  are  four  main  penstocks  for  oper- 
ating the  four  Francis  turbines  of  2,000  horse- 
power each,  and  another  smaller  penstock  for  sup- 
plying water  to  the  turbines  driving  the  exciting 
generators.  The  water  is  supplied  to  the  pen- 
stocks by  a  canal  eight  kilometers  long,  the  total 
head  being  58  meters  at  the  plant. 
Four    turbines    drive    the    rotors    of    the    alter- 


in  Fig.  4.  There  is  another  set  of  high-tension 
panels  of  25,000  volts  pressure  facing  toward  the 
transformer  sets,  and  die  controlling  board  for 
both  rooms  is  located  underneath  on  an  iron 
framework. 

There  are  four  panels  for  the  four  alternators, 
a  central  panel  for  the  line  ammeters  and  volt- 
meter, as  well  as  panels  for  the  different  sets  of 
transformers.  The  controlling  mechanism  for  the 
25,000-volt  interrupters  is  mounted  on  six  cast- 
iron  columns,  and  at  one  end  of  the  controlling 
switchboard  is  mounted  the  registering  wattmeter, 
while  at  the  other  end  is  installed  a  switchboard  for 
the  two  exciter  sets. 

The  two  exciter  units  consist  of  150-horsepower 
turbines  directly  coupled  to  six-pole  direct-current 
dynamos,  each  supplying  950  amperes  at  a  pressure 
of  no  volts,  these  machines  operating  at  a  speed 
of  750  revolutions  a  minute.  The  current  is  con- 
ducted from  these  machines  to  the  exciter  panels 
and  thence  to  the  revolving  fields  of  the  alter- 
nators, which  have  a  peripheral  speed  of  40  meters 
a   second. 

On    account    of    the    comparatively    low    tension 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April  28.   1906 


Mount  Vesuvius  Eruption  and  Abandon- 
ment of  Electric  Railway. 
By  Frank   C.   Perkins. 

The  accompanying  illustration  shows  the  electric 
railway  used  up  to  the  present  time  for  conveying 
tourists  to  the  crater  of  Mount  Vesuvius,  while 
the  drawings  show  the  details  of  construction  of 
cars  and  electrical  equipment.  The  eruption  of 
Mount    Vesuvius    has    become    so    dangerous    that 


who  escaped  with  the  employes  after  passing  the 
last  night  in  darkness  on  account  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  electric  lighting  plant  and  gas  works. 
The  electric  railway  around  the  mountain  has 
been  destroyed  in  several  places  as  well  as  the 
funicular  railway  up  the  mountain  side,  portions 
of  which  have  been  entirely  obliterated.  Lava  has 
been  flowing  several  feet  deep  through  the"  streets 
of    Ottajano    and    many    houses    have    fallen,    while 


generated  in  the  armatures  of  these  machines, 
extra  heavy  insulation  is  not  required,  the  open- 
gap  armature  type  being  utilized,  having  separately 
wound  coils  insulated  throughout  their  length.  It 
is  stated  that  these  coils  are  tested  carefully  be- 
fore being  placed  in  position,  and  are  wound  on 
frames  and  can  be  changed  at  a  moment's  notice 
without  difficulty.  The  magnetic  circuit  is  lam- 
inated within,  forming  a  mechanically  strong  homo- 
geneous ring,  the  projecting  poles  carrying  boxes 
of  copper  sheets  which  are  wound  spirally,  bronze 
pieces  being  used  for  bridging  the  spaces  between 
the  poles.  The  rotors  of  the  alternators  are 
coupled  rigidly  to  the  waterwheels,  and  the  bear- 
ings are  water-cooled  and  lubricated  bj'  an  auto- 
matic  system. 

Current  is  conducted  to  the  switchboard  and 
transformers  through  three  separate  lead-covered 
cables,  one  being  employed  for  each  phase,  and 
after  passing  oil  switches  enters  the  transformers 
of  1,800  kilowatts  capacity.  In  order  that  over- 
loads of  short  duration  may  not  open  the  gener- 
ator circuits,  automatic  circuit-breakers  are  em- 
ployed having  time  relays,  the  retarding  effect  be- 
ing obtained  by  a  small  safety  fuse  provided  in 
parallel  with  the  relay  electromagnets.  By  this 
arrangement  the  electromagnets  will  not  trip  the 
circuit-breaker  until  the  fuse  has  blown,  and  mo- 
mentary overloads  do  not  affect  the  continuous 
supply    cf    current    from    the    alternators. 


FIG.    3.       EXTERIOR    OF  ITALIAN    ( 

the  electric  railway  has  been  abandoned,  a  portion 
of  it  having  been  destroyed,  and  streams  01  lava 
from  the  new  craters  have  flowed  for  several  miles, 
emitting  terrific  heat  and  threatening  the  surround- 
ing towns,  some  of  which  have  already  been  de- 
stroyed. The  main  stream  of  lava  was  several  hun- 
dred feet  wide  and  moved  at  the  rate  of  20  to 
30   feet   a   minute. 

Thousands  of  people  have  already  lost  their  lives 


HYDRO-ELECTRIC 


tf  STOCKS. 


the  villages  Poggio,  Marino  and  Somma,  in  addi- 
tion to  those  mentioned  above,  have  been  aban- 
doned. 

The  earthquakes  accompam-ing  the  eruption  and 
the  fire,  smoke  and  ashes  pouring  from  the  craters 
were  most  terrifying  to  the  unfortunate  people  of 
the  towns  along  the  railway,  who  stood  watching 
the  procession  of  crowded  electric  trolley  cars  car- 
rying the  people  to  Naples  from  Boscotrecase  and 
Portici  as  well  as  the  other  places  near  the  vol- 
cano. Thousands  of  refugees  have  reached  Cas- 
tellamaria  and  others  hurried  overland  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Caserta,  while  the  vessel  Princess  Mafelda 
left  the  Island  of  Capri  with  a  large  number  of 
passengers,  but  was  unable  to  reach  its  destina- 
tion on  account  of  the  gases,  ashes  and  stifling 
fumes,  which  enveloped  it  about  a  mile  from  the 
coast. 

The   whole  cone   of  the   volcano  has  been   blown 


fig.  4. 


V1TCHB0ARD    GALLER 


The  number  of  hydro-electric  plants  in  Northern 
Italy  is  rapidly  increasing,  and  it  is  generally  con- 
ceded that  in  a  very  short  time  Italy's  "white 
coal*'  will  be  operating  not  only  most  of  its  shops 
and  factories  but  also  the  main  railway  lines  in 
that   section   of   the    country. 


Robert  Smith  of  Grand  Rapids.  Mich.,  has  ob- 
tained a  patent  on  an  electric  hammer  for  use 
in  lettering  in  marble  works.  The  inventor  says 
that  his  device  does  away  with  the  necessity  of 
an  air  compressor  and  engine,  and  incidentally  an 
expense  of  $600  in  equipment.  It  is  also  asserted 
that  it  avoids  the  jar  now  incident  to  the  machine 
lettering    in   marble    works. 


and  there  has  been  terrible  devastation  to  the  cGast 
as  well  as  the  inland  towns.  Ottajano  has  a  popu- 
lation of  20,000  people  and  Torre  del  Greco  has 
a  population  of  30,000.  Hot  ashes  and  sand  as 
well  as  cinders  and  molten  lava  are  thrown  to 
a  height  of  several  thousand  feet,  ruining  the 
homes,  gardens,  vineyards  and  orchards  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  volcano.  Torre  Annunziata,  on  the 
shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Naples,  one  mile  to  the 
southward,  as  well  as  San  Giorgia,  Porttct,  Resina 
and  Cremona,  have  been  abandoned. 

The  electric  railway  passes  the  Royal  Observa- 
tory-, 2,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  which 
was    in    charge    of    the    director.    Signor    Matteucci, 


RACK-RAILWAY    LOCOMOTIVE. 

away,  the  summit  being  nearly  250  meters  lower 
than  it  was  before  the  eruption,  while  the  outline 
of  Mount  Vesuvius  has  been  altered  to  a  large 
extent. 

The  volcano  has  been  more  or  less  active  dur- 
ing the  last  year,  many  eruptions  having  taken 
place  during  the  winter  just  past,  presenting  most 
interesting  spectacles,  particularly  at  night.  The 
accompanying  illustration  was  obtained  by  the 
writer  during  a  visit  in  January,  1906.  On  the 
24th  of  that  month  a  blinding  snowstorm  was  rag- 
ing on  the  summit  of  the  volcano,  while  the 
weather  was  most  beautiful  in  the  valley,  with 
flowers  in  blossom  and  the  orange  trees  hanging 
heavily  with  fruit.  Explosions  were  accompanied 
by  clouds  of  smoke  and  three  streams  of  flowing 
lava    threatened   on   this    date   to   cut   the    route   of 


April  28,    [906 

the  electric   railway.     Lava    wa     1 ■■    h  om   thi 

en  i  ii '    on    lllr    1I11.'.''  1     idi    and   (1 

into    three    streams,     whili     tin     rumbling      below 

oni '     fei  1    made    mi 1    tin     inti  rna 

though  ii   icemcd  i"  can  1    no  appn  I m  t< 

operating    the   electric    line     01    the    inh  ibitanl      1 

jng   on   the     idc     ol    the    1  oli  ano       I  hi     until    re 

cently  was  one  of  the  mo  1   inti  1 1   ting   trip 

by   the  tourist,   the   jaunt    from    Napli      to   the   top 

ol   Mount  Vesuvius  l>--ii  1*4  taken  with  ea  1   and  com 

parativc    safety   by   the   aid   of   1  lei  trii 

affording   experiences   unique   in   attractivcm       and 

excitement. 

1  h liffi  rent    ij  tc 1   1  lei  iii'    trai  1 ivi  re 

heretofore  employed  in  conveying  the  traveler  from 

Naples   i"   the   crater   ol    the    vole; \     far 

Pugliano  the   1 ej    wa  1  tal  en  bj    mi 1   ordi 

nary  electric  cars  or  trams  used   in    Italian   1  tii 
and    From   this   point   i"   the   i"|i   of    \  esu\  in      nn 
portion   is  of   rack  and   pinion  construction,   another 
is    uf    ordinary    adhesion    traction,    while    the    last 

■  1 which    passes    up    the    steep    side    of    lava 

deposil  to  a  point  1,181.26  meters  above  sea  level 
is  :i  cable  mad.  The  cable  road  was  constructed 
two  decades  ago  for  the  highest  section  of  the 
Mount    Vesuvius   Electric   Railway. 

The  electric  line  from  Naples  passes  through 
the  Strada  <li  Chiaja,  showing  the  Italian  city 
street  life  as  well  as  the  suburban  life  of  the  San 
Giovanni  and  Portici,  and  giving  one  a  fine  view 
of  the   Bay  of  Naples. 

h  began  at  the  northern  quarter  of  Resina,  run- 
ning through  a  most  interesting  cultivated  section, 
with  vineyards,  orchards  and  gardens  on  even 
side,    to    the   Royal    Observatory,    which    was   nearly 


\|  \r   sn.'V.  [•...    m  "i"i  '.in-. 


RAILWAY. 


between  Pugliano  and  the  lower  tation  of  the 
cable  road,  has  an  electric-generating  station  pro- 
vided   al    the    foot   of   the   rack   and   pinion 

249.6   meters   above   the    -ea   level.      The   power   sta- 


MOTOK    CAR    ON    MOUNT    VESUVIUS 


2,000  feet  above  sea  level.  On  the  last  portion  of 
this  section,  where  the  train  ascended  the  slope  of 
Mount  Cateroni,  an  electric  locomotive  was  re- 
quired for  pushing  the  electric  cars  up  the  rack 
railway  from  the  generating  station  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountain. 

The  track  construction  is  of  the  Strub  system, 
which  is  similar  to  the  Jungfrau  Mountain  Electric 
Railway.  At  a  point  793.6  meters  above  the  sea 
level  the  cable  line  begins  and  rises  to  a  height  of 
1,181.26  meters,  with  grades  varying  from  35  to 
65  per  cent.  The  cable  cars  each  carried  21  per- 
sons. 

It  is  stated  about  15,000  persons  were  carried  to 
the  top  of  this  cable  line  each  year,  the  larger 
numbers  during  the  months  of  March  and  April, 
the  average  being  for  these  months  more  than  2,000 
passengers. 

On  this  trip  as  soon  as  the  Hermitage  was 
reached  the  electric  locomotive  was  removed,  as 
this  was  the  end  of  the  cog  section;  and  the  elec- 
tric cars  carried  the  passengers  by  their  own  power 
past  the  Royal  Observatory  to  the  foot  of  the 
cone  where  the  funicular  railway  station  is  located. 
The  scene  changed  as  the  mount  was  ascended 
from  the  beautiful  gardens  to  the  barren  desert; 
and  in  the  few  minutes  required  for  passing  up 
the  cable  road  to  within  a  few  hundred  feet  of 
the  crater,  which  was  finally  reached  by  foot,  dark 
brown  lava  was  noted  on  every  side,  frequently 
colored  pink  and  green  by  the  rays  of  the  sun. 
The  great  cone  of  ashes  was  seen  above  the 
mountain  of  lava,  over  which  rose  a  black  column 
of  smoke.  The  field  of  solidified  lava  spread  out 
in    most   curious  and   fantastic    formations. 

The   Mount  Vesuvius  Electric  Railway,  operating 


tion  was  provided  with  two  gas  engines,  con- 
structed by  the  Schweizerischen  Lokomotiv  und 
Maschinenfabrik  of  Winterthur,  Switzerland.  Each 
of  these  engines  had  a  normal  capacity  of  90 
horsepower    and    operated    direct-current    dynamos 


peed    of    700    revolutions    a    minute, 
electric  pplied   a   current   of    137   am- 

■ 
ating  the   electric  cars,   the  electric   locomotive  and 
the  electric-rope  railway  of  Mount   Vesuvius. 

This    i  in    the 

recent  eruption,   which 
tory. 

The    electric    locomotive    used    on    the    rack    rail- 
way  and    the  overhead    electric   construction   of  the 
Mount  Vesuvius  Railwaj   were  supplied  by   B 
Boveri  &  Co.  of  Baden.  Switzerland.     On  this 
trie     locomotive    two    mi  tors,    each    having    a    ca- 
pacity   ol    ■=.   I    rsep   wer,  are  used,  and   thej 
ate   at   a   speed   of  700   revolution;   per   minute  and 
art    of   the    four-pole    type,   the   magnets    having   a 
diameter    of    235    millimeters.     The    armati  - 
these   machines   each   has   3   diameter   of  450  milli- 
meters with  53  slots.     The  commutator  in  each  case 
has   105   segments. 

The  rack  locomotive  weighs  somewhat  over  to 
tons  and  operates  at  a  speed  of  from  six  to  eight 
kilometers  an  hour,  drawing  a  load  of  more  than 
10  tons.  The  locomotive  is  provided  with  emer- 
gency as  well  as  hand  brakes,  together  with  auto- 
matic brakes,  which  are  so  arranged  that  the  cur- 
rent is  also  shut  off  when  the  speed  exceeds  the 
limit   decided   upon. 

As  before  mentioned,  the  highest  section  of  the 
Mount  Vesuvius  Electric  Railway  was  a  cable  road 
which  was  constructed  23  years  ago,  since  which 
it  has  carried  many  tourists  to  the  top  of  the  cone, 
or  to  within  several  hundred  feet  of  the  crater  of 
the  volcano. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  cable  line  begins  at 
a  point  793.6  meters  above  sea  level  and  rises  to  a 
height  of  1,181.26  meters,  with  grades  varying  from 


JACK    AND    PINION    LOCOMOTIVE    ON    MOUNT    VESUVIUS    ELECTRIC    RAILW 


334 

35  i"  65  per  cent.  The  cable  cars  each  carry 
21  persons  and  are  provided  with  hand  brakes  as 
well  as  complete  equipment  of  automatic  brakes 
for  both   sets   of   wheels. 

On  the  Vesuvius  railway  the  electric  cars  each 
weighs  somewhat  less  than  nine  tons  and  arc  pro- 
vided with  single  trucks  having  two  axles,  the 
wheel  base  measuring  2.1  meters.  Three  compart- 
ments are  provided  for  each  car,  which  seats  eight 
passengers. 

It  may  be  stated  that  the  rack-and-pinion  section 
of  the  road  has  much  higher  grades  than  the  ad- 
hesion section,  the  latter  not  exceeding  eight  per 
cent.,  while  the  maximum  for  the  former  is  about 
2;  per  cent.  The  rails  are  fastened  to  wooden 
ties,  the  gauge  being  about  40  inches.  The  rack- 
rail  is  located  in  the  center  between  the  running 
rails.  The  total  length  of  the  electrically  operated 
sections  is  nearly  five  miles,  and  the  trip  over  these 
portions  of  the  road  under  ordinary  circumstances 
takes   about   50   minutes. 

At  Pugliano  the  station  is  97.17  meters  above 
the  sea  level  and  is  1.550  meters  from  Sanvito. 
which  stands  179.6  meters  above  the  sea  level.  The 
distance  from  Sanvito  to  the  central  power  station, 
which  is  at  Mount  Cateroni.  is  1,705  meters.  The 
total  cost  of  the  Mount  Vesuvius  Electric  Railway, 
including  the  cars,  track  construction  and  power 
house,  was  about  $250,000,  or  somewhat  over 
$50,000  a  mile.  The  cost  of  repairs  is  very  high, 
especially  on  the  upper  section  of  this  railway, 
where  deposits  of  lava  have  given  considerable 
trouble. 

The  rack-and-pinion  section  of  the  road  is  1,641 
meters  long.  The  total  distance  from  the  Royal 
Observatory  to  the  funicular  station  is  2.695.5  me- 
ters, which"  makes  a  total  length  of  electric  railway 
of  nearly  five  miles,  and  the  trip  over  this  section 
of  the  road  takes  less  than  one  hour.  The  central 
power  station  was  constructed  so  that  the  capacity 
could  be  increased  by  installing  an  additional  gas 
engine  and  generator.  The  engine  room  measures 
17  meters  in  length  and  14.5  in  width,  and  the 
gas  generator  room  measures  10.2  meters  in  w:idth 
and  14.2  meters  in  length.  The  storage  battery 
room  has  a  width  of  seven  meters  and  a  length  of 
12.5  meters,  while  a  car  barn  has  been  provided  in 
the  same  building  for  the  electric  locomotive  and 
motor  cars  with  double  tracks,  having  a  capacity 
for    six   cars. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  remarked  that  the  Rome 
correspondent  of  the  London  Chronicle  says  that 
Professor  Matteucci  complains  that  the  electric 
railway  almost  annihilated  the  value  of  his  scien- 
tific observations  on  Vesuvius  during  the  eruption, 
the  current  affecting  his  delicate  instruments.  He 
intends  to  oppose  vigorously  the  rebuilding  of  the 
line,  according  to  the  same  authority.  If  this  state- 
ment is  correct,  it  will  be  interesting  to  know  why 
the  operation  of  the  electric  railway  interfered  with 
the  scientific  observations  during  the  eruption  more 
than  at  other  times.  But  possibly  the  professor 
was  always  opposed  to  the  electric  line,  and  now 
that  it  is  partially  destroyed  he  means  to  prevent 
its  rebuilding,  if  possible,  in  the  interest  of  science. 
But  no  doubt  the  traveling  public  will  look  at  the 
situation    in    an    entirely    different    light. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April  28.   1906 


IOWA  ELFXTRICAL  ASSOCIATION. 


Program     of   Southwestern   Gas    and 
Electrical  Convention. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  executive  committee  of  the 
Southwestern  Gas  and  Electrical  Association  held 
at  Houston,  Tex..  April  19th  the  programme  for 
the  state  convention  to  be  held  in  Galveston,  May 
16th,    17th   and    18th,   was   arranged. 

On  May  16th.  besides  the  regular  order  of  busi- 
ness, the  question  box  will  be  discussed  and  the 
following  papers  read:  "Up-to-date  Methods  of 
Increasing  the  Business  of  Public-service  Corpora- 
tions," by  G.  C.  Gum;  "Extracts  from  a  Letter  from 
Frederick  Egner  on  Retort-house  Practices." 

On  May  17th  three  papers  will  be  presented  be- 
sides the  discussion  of  the  question  box.  They  are: 
"What  Is  Electricity?"  by  S.  J.  H.  White:  "Rela- 
tions of  Public-service  Employes  to  the  Public."  by 
Frank  J.  Duffy;  "Care.  Maintenance  and  Inspection 
of  Street-railway  Rolling  Stocks,"  by  H.  S.  Cooper. 

Immediately  after  adjournment  a  visit  to  the  sea- 
wall, the  grade-raising  dredges  and  grade-raising 
operations  will  be  made.  Later  in  the  evening  the 
Sons  of  Jove  will  give  a  public  "grand  rejuvena- 
tion." 

May  18th  there  will  be  given  a  paper  on  "Tele- 
phone Engineering  Problems."  by  F.  W.  Yenson. 
followed  by  "Organization  and  Operation  of  Pur- 
chasing and  Supply  Departments."  by  A.  W.  G. 
Birtwell,  after  which  there  will  be  reports  of  officers 
and  election  of  new  officers. 


Des  Moines  was  once  more  the  scene  of  one  of 
the  conventions  of  the  Iowa  Electrical  Association, 
which  have  always  resulted  in  so  much  profit  to 
its  members.  Conventions  of  this  association  have 
been  marked  by  one  thing  in  particular,  and  that 
is  the  attendance  of  a  large  number  of  central- 
station  men  who  come  to  learn  things,  and  whose 
interest  in  their  association  is  proverbial.  The 
convention  was  held  in  the  Kirkwood  Hotel  on 
April  18th  and  19th,  and  at  this  place  was  also 
held  the  annual  convention  of  the  Iowa  Street  and 
Interurban  Railway  Association  on  the  19th  and 
20th,  so  that  the  headquarters  of  the  two  conven- 
tions for  the  three  days  w'ere  highly  "saturated" 
with  ideas  electrical  The  supply  men  were  also 
there  with  their  exhibits,  and  between  sessions 
their  quarters  were  thronged  The  universal  opin- 
ion among  these  gentlemen  is  that  at  the  state  con- 
ventions, especially  in  the  western  states,  more 
interest  is  excited  in  the  new  things  to  be  offered 
by  the  trade  than  at  any  other  gatherings  of  this 
nature  where   exhibits   are  made. 

President  Austin  Burt  of  the  Iowa  Electrical  As- 
sociation called  the  first  meeting  of  that  body  to 
order  Wednesday  morning,  and  introduced  Mr. 
Milo  Ward,  one  of  Des  Moines'  leading  citizens, 
who  gracefully  welcomed  the  members  of  the  asso- 
ciation to  the  city.  He  said  among  other  things 
that  the  Iowa  Electrical  Association  represents  a 
class  of  men,  who,  in  the  part  they  have  taken  in 
the  general  development  of  the  industries  today, 
have  made  themselves  the  observed  of  all  observers. 

After  Mr.  Ward  had  concluded  his  remarks 
President  Burt  suggested  that  suitable  resolutions 
be  adopted  in  relation  to  the  death  of  Mr.  Robert 
H.  MacMullan,  general  manager  of  the  Des  Moines 
Edison  Light  Company.  Mr.  L.  D.  Mathes  moved 
that  suitable  resolutions  be  made  a  part  of  the 
minutes.  President  Burt  then  read  his  address, 
which  was  short  but  to  the  point.  He  said  that  the 
association  can  be  of  more  help  to  its  members  than 
any  other  one  thing  of  which  he  has  knowledge. 
The  regulation  of  rates  is  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant considerations  which  can  take  the  attention  of 
the  members,  and  he  believed  that  a  great  deal 
could  be  done  in  this  direction  by  following  care- 
fully the  things  which  are  taken  up  by  the  State 
Legislature  relative  to  the  central-station  business. 
Iowa  Central-station   Statistics. 

Secretary  G.  S.  Carson  of  Iowa  City  next  read 
his  report.  As  secretary  of  the  association  he  cor- 
responded with  130  companies  representing  electric- 
lighting  plants  throughout  the  state  other  than  mu- 
nicipal plants.  From  these  he  received  S2  replies, 
of  which  yy  contained  data  which  he  desired  to  put 
before  the  association.  Of  the  77  companies  the 
total  paid-up  capital  stock  is  $3.679,525 ;  the  total 
bonded  debt,  $2,495,100:  total  investment.  $6,174,- 
625:  total  interest  on  bonds.  $130,200.  total  divi- 
dend  on    capital    stock,    $108,837.      Eight    companies 


had  the  opportunity  to  prepare  his  report,  which 
was  read  later,  on  Thursday  afternoon.  The  re- 
port showed  the  financial  affairs  to  be  in  a 
healthy  condition.  At  this  time  Mr.  Carson  pre- 
sented to  the  association  a  fine  Crosby  steam  indi- 
cator, which  is  to  be  for  the  free  use  of  the  mem- 
bers. It  is  hoped  that  this  will  be  the  beginning 
of  a  comprehensive  collection  of  instruments  of 
this  sort.  Many  of  the  small  companies  do  not 
feel  able  to  invest  in  expensive  apparatus  of  this 
nature,  and  if  the  association  at  a  future  time 
should   be  in   a  position  to  loan  them   such   instru- 


A.   W.    ZAHM,    PRESIDENT    IOWA    ELECTRICAL    ASSOCIATION. 

ments  as  they  need  it  would  be  of  great  help.  Mr. 
Mall  w-as  thanked  by  the  association  in  a  fitting 
manner  for  his  gift. 

Next  in  order  on  Wednesday  morning  after  the 
treasurer's  report  came  the  report  of  the  executive 
committee,  followed  by  reports  of  special  commit- 
tees. Mr.  Mathes  in  his  report  of  the  publication 
committee  showed  that  the  proceeds  from  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Iowa  Electrical  Association  Proceed- 
ings had  considerably  more  than  paid  expenses, 
and  he  was  given  a  special  vote  of  thanks  for  his 
efficient   services. 

A  nominating  committee  was  then  elected,  con- 
sisting of  the  following-named  gentlemen :  S.  C. 
Green  of  Webster  City,  D.  F.  McGee  of  Red  Oak. 
G.  S.  Carson  of  Iowa  City.  Austin  Burt  of  Water- 
loo and  L.  D.  Mathes  of  Dubuque. 

The  first  paper  on  the  programme  was  by  J.  R. 
Cravath  of  Chicago,  and  was  a  report  on  the  elec- 
trical  progress   during  the   last  year.     Mr.    Cravath 


DELEGATES   TO   THE   IOWA   CONVENTIONS    AS   Gl 

with  a  capital  of  $129,000  earn  10  per  cent. ;  13  with 
a  total  of  $250,175  earn  eight  per  cent.;  10  with  a 
total  of  $323,500  earn  six  per  cent. ;  five  with  a  total 
of  $671,000  earn  five  per  cent. ;  two  with  a  total 
$26,000  earn  four  per  cent. ;  two  with  a  total  of 
$255,000  earn  three  per  cent. ;  two  with  a  total  of 
$165,000  earn  two  per  cent.,  and  25  companies  with 
$1,704,800  total  capital  earn  nothing  at  all. 
Other    Business   of   Opening    Session. 

The    report    of    Treasurer    W.     A.    Mall,     Belle 
Plaine,    was   next   in   order,   but   Mr.   Mall   had  not 


;STS   OF   THE   INTER    URBAN    RAILWAY    COMPANY. 

said  that  the  interest  which  has  been  taken  in  cen- 
tral-station business  getting  has  been  the  most  no- 
table advance  during  the  year.  He  pointed  out  that 
the  organization  of  the  new-business  departments, 
especially  among  the  smaller  plants,  is  not  what  it 
should  be.  He  also  mentioned  the  good  work  being 
done  by  the  Co-operative  Electrical  Association. 
Another  thing  noticeable  is  the  increasing  number 
of  small  single-phase  systems  supplying  a  number 
of  small  towns  in  a  single  neighborhood.  Such 
lines,  costing  from  $225  to  $325  complete  a  mile,  are 
now    of    quite    common    occurrence.      This    paper 


April   28,    [906 


licked    some   discussion    in    ri  gard    [0   thi     u  1 
,,,.,11   current  consuming   dcvici        1 1    I      ilcGci 

,.,l  ( )ak  wi  ilied  lo  Icai  n    lomelhing  ol   il 1  ol 

laintenance    of    electric    flatirons.      A,     \\      Zahm 

iid    from    his    experience    this    h 

niece  a  year  for  those  ol  hi  company.  Man) 
1  hi,,  however,  are  oi  the  earliei  typi  ,  and  the 
,.w  ir,,ns  now  on  the  market  are  practically  tin 
urnable,  F.  L,  White  had  onlj  oni  iron  in 
srvice    I  1-'"  volt    direel    current  1      li    had   been   in 

peral for  five  year*  and  the  coil  had  onlj   I 

mewed  once,  thai  time  owing  to  exce  sivi  voltagi 
1,1,  0f  un  irons  reported  bj  Mi  Mathe  1  only  one 
ml  ever  burned  out, 

D,    I''-    McGee,    chairman    of    the    committei 

Facts  and  Factors,"  was  to  have  reported  al  this 
me,  bul  he  s.iiil  thai  the  data  thai  he  required  had 

o|   been    freely  given   by  the  central   stal and 

e  did  nol  have  enough  to  make  a  proper  presenta 
on,  He  said  there  seemed  to  be  a  hesitancy  on  the 
art  of  central-station  managers  to  reveal  the  true 
Iwardness  of  the  affairs  of  their  companies,  li 
I  very  important  the  facts  on  the  operation  of  the 
arum's  plants  !»■  obtained,  however,  and  £01  this 
sason  ilii'  committee  was  continued,  the  members 
romising  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  aid  in  the 
ork. 

In  relation  to  this  (1.  Lundgren  remarked  thai 
'  nportance  of  records  on  the  operation  of  each 
id  every  plant  cannot  be  overestimated.      Che  planl 


il'  .     ELE<  TRIi 

1 ■  ti 

In    pi  1 

0  mucl 

Mi  hi  •     i 

tii  1         in  ighbi  • 

"i  1     .■.  ho    1      ;  "" 

Begin   «  ith     how  ii  g  him 

1  i'ii.    i"  rhap 

II  L"-    but    III    a    H 

•.-.ill   nol    lei    linn  know  you  1  0  grind 

1 1,-  will  lull,   for  th  oppor 

[unity   and    h  ill    do   .1    world  ci  uring 

new    1 1 isi    he  1  -  "  'li  nnti 

and  ili-  '.  -ii'    il 'ii"i   mi 

more   of   the   good   things   about   electric   light   and 

powi  1    than    anj    number    "i    thi 

solicitors.  Mi  knowledge  of  chemistry  will  «"  a 
long  waj    toward   discrediting  gasolim 

Vnothei    thing    whi  h   helps   out   greatly   1-   f<>r  a 
-latum    1"    trj    i"    '"i    'I".'.  11  ighl    and 

power  bills  wherever  possible  by  making  adyan 
tageous  arrangements  of  In-  apparatus,  especially 
in    the    case    "i    il"     I'm   1     1  "  tot 

1  n  ii  ml  ..I  the  .  11  1. .in.  1  iii  1.  ad  "i  making  him 
think   lie   is   being  crushed   by   a    soul 


335 

■ 

Willi     ", 

building 

in    our    1 

oil.    We  then  began   t< 

We    have   nol    paid   out 
during  I 

years  ii 

and     Willi     tl 

.  our  fuel  bili 
for  last  year  was  only  10  per  cent,  greater  than  ii 


DELEGATES    AN] 

which  he  operates  is  a  small  one,  but  great  care  is 
taken  to  weigh  the  coal,  measure  the  water  and  to 
measure  the  current  produced  at  the  switchboard, 
and  it  is  a  source  of  great  satisfaction  as  well  as 
a  means  of  effecting  a  great  saving  to  be  able  to 
ascertain  at  any  time  just  what  the  cost  of  produc- 
tion is.  Mr.  Carson  concurred  in  this  opinion,  as 
did  also  Prof.  W.  H.  Grover  of  Ames,  Iowa.  The 
latter  said  that  crude  instruments  are  generally 
all  that  is  necessary  to  show  up  the  weak  points 
of  a  plant  that  has  never  been  under  the  search- 
light of  a  thorough  investigation. 

Ways  and  Means  of  Increasing  Business. 
Ways  and  means  of  increasing  business  in  towns 
under  5,000  was  the  subject  upon  which  several 
members  were  expected  to  contribute.  The  names 
down  for  this  subject  were  W.  S.  Mead  of  Park- 
ersburg.  O.  E.  Brownell  of  Lake  City.  Joseph 
Hutchinson  of  Manchester  and  Thomas  Ferris  of 
Osage.  Mr.  Brownell  was  the  only  one  contrib- 
uting a  written  paper  to  this  general  subject.  He 
laid  more  stress  upon  uninterrupted  service  as  a 
factor  in  retaining  the  good-will  of  customers  than 
any  other  one  thing.  He  encourages  his  customers 
to  reoort  local  trouble  wherever  it  occurs,  which 
helps '  much  to  settle  any  little  difficulties  in  the 
service,  which  if  let  go  might  lead  to  serious  dis- 
satisfaction. To  insure  a  continuous  service  care 
should  be  taken  to  store  sufficient  coal  to  tide  over 
any  unforeseen  difficulty.  The  railroads  are.  _  he 
believes,  a  sure  barometer  of  the  coal  situation. 
When  they  commence  to  lay  in  a  big  supply  the 
central-station  man  will  be  wise  in  doing  likewise. 
Another   thing— let    the    people    always   believe    that 


AT    IOWA    ELECTR 


MOINES    LAST    WEEK. 


thought  the  last  point  brought  out  a  particularly 
good  one.  This  is  one  of  the  ways  to  turn  aside 
the  talk  of  municipal  ownership.  Mr.  McGee  did 
not  believe  the  advertising  and  soliciting  concerns 
offering  to  get  business  for  central  stations  are  of 
much  use.  The  company's  own  men  should  be  the 
ones   to   do   this. 

The  paper  by  Frank  B.  Rae,  Jr.,  on  this  general 
subject  was  read  by  the  secretary,  Mr.  Rae  not 
being  present.  The  paper  was  entitled  "Modern 
Advertising  Methods"  and  appears  elsewhere  in 
this   issue. 

Steam-plant   Operation. 

Two  papers  relative  to  the  steam  end  of  central- 
station  practice  were  on  the  programme  Wednes- 
day afternoon.  One  of  these  was  upon  the  subject 
of  the  "Effect  of  Boiler  Compounds  on  Engine 
Lubrication)"  by  L.  W.  Gill  of  Manchester.  Mr. 
Gill  was  not  present,  however,  so  the  subject  was 
discussed  in  a  general  way  by  the  members.  W.  J. 
Greene  said  that  he  had  had  considerable  trouble 
with  the  use  of  soda  ash,  which  acted  injuriously 
when  coming  in  contact  with  the  cylinder  oil.  Mr. 
Brownell  said  that  they  got  around  that  by  using 
a  heavier  grade  of  oil.  President  Burt  asked  for 
information  on  the  percentage  of  the  cost  of  cylin- 
der oil  to  coal  bill.  I.  A.  Innes  said  about  one  per 
cent.  Other  members  having  no  steam-heating  plant 
in  connection  said  about  one-half  of  one  per  cent. 
Mr.  Burt  was  of  the  opinion  that  it  was  usually 
about  five  or  six  per  cent.  Messrs.  Greene  and  Mc- 
Gee  found,   respectively,    \Vi   and  one  per  cent. 

Treasurer  W.  A.  Mall  of  Belle  Plaine  next  read 
a    short   paper   on   the   "Economy  of  a    Condensing 


was   before   we   used    the   condenser.     We   are    well 
satisfied   with   our  plant." 

Relative  to  the  condenser  question.  President 
Burt  wanted  to  know  how  many  among  the  mem- 
bers of  the  association  used  condensers  in  theii 
plants,  and  it  was  ascertained  that  only  four  were 
doing  this.  A.  W.  Zahm  has  a  condenser  installed, 
using  the  steam  pumps  of  the  heating  system  "i 
his  plant  as  circulating  pumps  in  the  summer  time 
to  supply  circulation  for  his  condensers  by  simply 
cross   connecting. 

Effect  of  Day   Load  on   Station   Economy. 

Station  economy  as  affected  by  day  load  was  the 
next  subject  for  discussion.  J.  P.  Jones  of  Cedar 
Falls.  F.  H.  Richardson  of  Boone.  W.  T.  Greene 
of  Cedar  Rapids,  and  C.  H.  Walsh  of  Burlington 
being  down   for  papers   on   this   subject. 

Mr.  Jones  bad  gathered  some  data  on  this  subject, 
part  of  which  had  unfortunately  been  lost  in  a  fire 
which  occurred  in  his  plant.  Some  of  this,  how- 
ever, was  available.  Between  the  hours  oi  seven 
a.  m.  and  six  p.  m.  in  April.  1005.  the  load  on  his 
station  was  150  kilowatts:  in  October.  1005.  170 
kilowatts,  and  for  one-half  of  November.  250  kilo- 
watts. The  questions  bearing  on  the  profitable 
operation  of  a  day  load  were  these:  How-  long 
would  the  banked  fires  suffice  to  run  the  station: 
what  would  be  the  cost  of  oil  waste,  etc. :  the  cost 
of  coil,  and  the  item  of  salaries?  Taking  these 
items  all  into  consideration,  it  was  found  by  the 
figures  given  by  Mr  Jones  that  a  day  load  could  be 
carried  with   profit  in  a  station  the  size  of  his. 

Mr.    Greene   gave   some   figures   on   the   operation 

[Continued  on  page  339.I 


33<5 


WESTERN   ELECTRICIAN 


EVERY    SATURDAY. 


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of  ail  electric;!]  thinkers  ami  workers  earnestly  desired.  Clear, 
concise,  well  written  articles  are  especially  welcome;  and  com- 
munications, views,  news  items,  local  newspaper  clippings,  or 
any  informal  ion  likely  to  interest  electricians,  wiil  be  thank- 
fully received  and  cheerfully  acknowledged. 

ADVERTISING-.— The  Western  Electrician— the  only 
general  electrical  paper  published  in  the  West— thoroughly 
covers  a  territory  exclusively  its  own.    This  ib  a  claim  which 

CAN    BE    MADE    BY    NO    OTHER     ELECTRICAL     JOURNAL    IN    THE 

United  States.  Electrical  merchants  and  manufacturers 
dfslhnq  it'fstt-rri  trade  will  appreciate  the  unequaled  vai.-ve 
of  this  journal  as  an  advertising  medium  in  its  special  field. 
Advertising  rates  are  moderate,  and  will  be  furnished  on 
application. 

REMITTANCES.— All  checks,  drafts  and  other  remit- 
tances should  he  made  payable  to  the  order  of  the  publishers, 
the  Electrician  Publishing  Company,  and  addressed  to  the 
offices  of  publication,  Suite  610,  Marquette  Building  (204 
Dearborn  Street),  Chicago,  Illinois,  U.  S.  A. 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

Art  and  Utility  Combined   in   Italian   Hydro-electric  Plant. 

Illustrated 331.  332 

Mount  Vesuvius   Eruption     and     Abandonment    of    Electric 

Railway.     By  Frank  C.  Perkins.      Illustrated 332,  333,  334 

Programme  of  Southwestern  Gas  and  Electrical  Convention..  334 
Iowa  Electrical  Association's  Convention   at  Des    Moines   on 

April  18th  and  19th.     Illustrated 334.  335,  339.  340,  341 

A.  W.  Zahm.     Portrait 334 

Iowa  Street  and  Interurban  Railway  Association 340,  341 

Entertainment  of  Visitors ■. 34i 

Delegates  in  Attendance 34i 

Convention  Notes 34i 

Editorial 336 

Death  of  Professor  Curie.     Portrait 337 

San  Francisco  Earthquake  and  Fire.     With  map 337,  338.  339 

Bids  for  Panama  Canal  Electric-liijht  Plant  Rejected 339 

Selling  Electricity 342,  343 

Proper  Handling  of  New-business  Department.      By  W.  W. 

Ferris > 342 

Empty  Houses  Lighted  by  Electricity  to  Attract  Purchasers,  342 

Electric  Plate  Warmers 342 

Modern  Methods  of  Advertising.    By  Frank  B-  Rae.  Jr. .342,  343 

Minneapolis  Merchants  Believe  in  Light 343 

Electric  Signs  as  a  Summer-  Load 34  3 

Central-station  Advertising.  '  Illustrated 343 

Census  Figures  of  Electrical  Manufactures  for  1004 343 

Deaths  of  R.  H.  MacMullan,  William  A.  Rudd  and  George  W. 

Stockley 343 

Electrical  Exports  for  February 343 

Franklin  Honored  in  Philadelphia 344 

The  Paris  Lighting  Situation 344 

Free-alcohol  Bill  Passes  Lower  House 344 

World-wide  Telephone  Rates  Disclosed  by  Canadian  Inquiry. 

Part  II 345 

Bell  Telephone  Output 34  5 

General  Telephone  News 345 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Correspondence 346,  347 

Great  Britain 346 

New  York 346 

New  England 346 

Southeastern  States 346,  347 

Indiana 347 

Personal 347 

Electric  Lighting 347 

Electric  Railways 347 


rTra 


Publications 

Societies  and  Schools 

Space  Telegraphy  .   

Miscellaneous 

Trade  News 

Business 

Illustrated  Electrical  Patent  Record. 


DATES  AHEAD. 


American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers  (annual  con- 
vention), Read  House,  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  May  1st  to  4th. 

Southwestern  Electrical  and  Gas  Association  (annual  con- 
vention),  Galveston,   Tex.,    May    16th,    17th    and    18th. 

Indiana  Independent;  Telephone  Association  (annual  meet- 
ing),   Claypool    Hotel,    Indianapolis,    May    17th   and    18th. 

American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers  (annual  con- 
vention), Hotel  Pfister.    Milwaukee,  May   28th  to  June  1st. 

National  Electric  Light  Association  (annual  convention), 
Atlantic   City,    N.    J.,    June    5th   to   8th,    inclusive. 

Canadian  Electrical  Association  (annual  convention), 
Clifton  House,  Niagara  Falls,  Ont.,  June   19th,  20th  and  21st. 

National-Interstate  Telephone  Association  (second  annual 
convention),  Auditorium  Hotel,  Chicago,  June  26th,  27th 
and    28th. 

National    Electrical    Contractors'    Association     (annual    con- 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

Fortunately,  the  loss  of  life  at  San  Francisco 
bids  fair  to  be  less  than  at  first  apprehended.  And 
we  have  not  heard  that  any  electrical  men  were 
among  those  killed.  But  in  other  respects  the  dis- 
aster has  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  stupendous 
of  modern  times.  Electrical  interests  have  suffered 
severely,  but  are  pluckily  at  work  rehabilitating 
themselves.  We  are  not  advised  that  these  interests, 
as  such,  are  particularly  in  need  of  financial  as- 
sistance. Many  of  them  have  strong  eastern  con- 
nections that  will  help  them  get  on  their  feet.  But 
if  still  later  advices  show  that  the  electrical  people 
need  help  beyond  that  necessary  to  tide  them  over 
the  immediate  emergency,  it  will  be  quickly  forth- 
coming. 


In  a  paper  read  before  the  Dublin  section  of  the 
Institution  of  Electrical  Engineers  not  long  ago  L. 
Broekman  gives  some  useful  hints  on  the  care  of 
storage  batteries.  Acid  should  always  be  obtained 
from  the  makers.  The  use  of  even  the  best  well- 
water  and  of  rainwater  is  condemned;  only  pure 
distilled  water  should  be  used.  No  attempt  should 
ever  be  made  to  treat  the  electrolyte  with  the  sul- 
phates of  potassium  or  sodium,  or  with  caustic 
soda.  Habitual  overcharging  is  wasteful  arid  de- 
cidedly detrimental'.  Immediate  proximity  of  the 
battery  room  to  stables  or  manure  heaps  is  harmful 
on  account  of  the  presence  of  ammonia.  A  semi- 
automatic reversible  booster  in  place  of  a  charging 
booster  is  recommended,  as  it  does  away  with  the 
troubles  connected  with  the  end  or  regulating  cells 
of  the  battery.  The  practice  of  starting  gas  or  oil 
engines  from  the  battery  is  condemned  as  throwing 
too  severe  a  strain  on  it.  Parallel  groupings  of  bat- 
teries should  not  be  resorted  to.  The  author  thinks 
that  with  modern  traction  cells  having  an  output  of 
nine  watt-hours  per  pound  at  the  five-hour  rate, 
and  with  a  good  track,  efficient  motors  and  gearing, 
satisfactory  results  could  be  obtained  with  accumu- 
lator cars.  On  this  point,  however,  his  hopes  are 
not  in  accord  with  the  actual  results  of  extended 
tests  made  in  the  United  States.  In  this  country 
the  expectation  of  a  practicable  system  of  electric 
traction  using  power  from  storage  batteries  carried 
on   the  cars  has  virtually  disappeared. 


From  the  viewpoint  of  downright  value  to  cen- 
tral-station men  the  conventions  of  the  Iowa  Elec- 
trical Association  have  always  ranked  high  among 
gatherings  of  like  character.  Indeed,  many  of  jts 
members  believe  that  they  derive  more  benefit  from 
the  state  association  than  from  the  national  asso- 
ciation, and  this  is  very  likely  true  in  many  things, 
such  as  mutual  support  in  matters  of  legislation 
and  the  exchange  of  practical  experiences  among 
managers  of  stations  which  are  about  in  the  same 
class.  But,  nevertheless,  the  national  association 
is  of  great  value,  for  it  conducts  investigations  and 
collects  and  disseminates  information  on  •  a  scale 
which  no  state  association  could  reasonably  attempt. 
The  interests  of  national  and  state  associations  do 
not  conflict  in  the  slightest  degree.  Both  are 
needed. 

The  conventions  just  held  by  this  association  and 
also,  at  the  same  time,  by  the  Iowa  Street  and  In- 
terurban Railway  Association,  in  Des  Moines,  were 
no  whit  less  productive  of  good  results  than  those 
of  previous  years,  and  the  members  came  away 
feeling  pleased  and  benefited.  The  city  of  Des 
Moines  is  widely  known  for  its  hospitality  on  occa- 
sions of  this  sort,  and  this  time  nothing  was  left 
undone  to  make  the  stay  of  the  delegates  enjoyable 
in  every  way.  The  street  and  interurban- railway 
companies  and  the  local  lighting  company  rose  to 
the  occasion  right  royally  and  did  all  in  their  power 
Mo  show  everyone  a  good  time.  Many  excellent 
papers  were  read  at  both  conventions,  as  will  be 
seen  by  the  report  elsewhere  in  this  issue,  and  it  is 
notable  that  these  papers,  instead  of  being  long  and 
tedious,  were  short  and  pithy.  The  discussions 
were  enthusiastic  and  of  real  value. 


in-Bay,    Ohio,  August  21st  and  23d. 

American    Street   and    Interurban    Railway    Association    (a 
nual  convention),  Columbus,  O.,  October    15th  to  20th. 


To  insure  greater  safety  in  railroad  travel  a  bill 
has  been  introduced  in  Congress  to  provide  for  the 
examination  and  licensing  of  all  telegraph  oper- 
ators engaged  in  operating  block-signal  systems 
or  in  the  receiving  and  transmitting  of  telegraphic 
train  orders  affecting  the  movements  of  trains  on 
all  railroads  engaged  in  interstate  commerce  in  the 
United  States.     This  examination  is  to  be  prepared 


April  28,   1966 

by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  and  to  be 
for  the  purpose  of  determining  not  only  the  tech- 
nical, but  the  mental  and  physical  fitness  of  ap- 
plicants   for   positions   in   these   occupations. 

The  measure  provides  that  the  commission  shall 
have  the  right  to  issue  licenses  to  applicants  who 
pass  the  examinations  with  a  percentage  of  75  or 
more.  Railroads  in  need  of  either  of  these  classes 
of  service  would  be  expected  to  apply  to  the  com- 
mission for  the  men  whom  they  needed,  and  would 
be  supplied  with  a  list  of  names  from  an  eligible 
list  prepared  from  the  names  of  successful  can- 
didates at  the  examinations.  It  is  not  intended  that 
the  proposed  law  shall  interfere  with  the  services 
of  any  employe  of  the  roads  who  have  been  en- 
gaged in  these*  capacities  for  a  period  of  three 
years  preceding  the  date  of  the  passage  of  the  bill. 

It  is  provided  that  it  shall  be  unlawful,  after 
the  first  of  January  next,  should  the  bill  become  a 
law,  for  railroads  to  employ  telegraph  operators 
other  than  those  who  have  been  certified  by  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  those  already  mentioned.  Violation  of  the 
law  in  this  respect  would  mean  a  penalty  of  not 
more  than  $500  and  imprisonment  for  not  more 
than  one  year,  by  any  person  so  violating  the  law, 
while  any  railroad  company  violating  the  provisions 
of  the  act  'would  be  punishable  by  a  fine  of  not 
more   than  $5,000  for  each  violation. 


There  are  those  who  hold  that  the  terrible  earth- 
quake and  fire  in  San  Francisco  of  April  18th  was 
no  greater  calamity  to  the  world  than  the  death 
of  one  man — Prof.  Pierre  Curie — who  was  run  over 
and  killed  by  a  wagon  in  the  Place  Dauphine,  Paris, 
on  April  19th.  Curie  shared  with  his  equally  dis- 
tinguished wife  the  great  honor  of  the  discovery  of 
radium,  and  the  two  ranked  with,  or  perhaps 
above,  Roentgen  and  Becquerel  among  the  great 
chemists  and  physicists  of  the  present  day.  But, 
after  all,  there  is  really  no  ranking  or  grading 
among  the  truly  great  men  and  women  of  science. 
To  the  Curies,  who  were  delving  in  the  fundamen- 
tal verities,  human  honors  or  distinctions,  while 
perhaps  appreciated,  must  have  seemed  to  savor  of 
a  certain  pettiness.  Their  minds,  we  may  suppose, 
were  chiefly  occupied  with  greater  things.  Possibly 
if  Professor  Curie  had  been  more  keenly  alert  to 
the  routine  of  everyday  existence  he  would  have 
dodged  the  wagon  and  have  been  alive  today.  It  is 
the  very  irony  of  fate  that  one  of  the  very  greatest 
authorities  and  students  in  the  world  on  the'  im- 
mensely important  subject  of  radio-activity  should 
have  been  knocked  down  and  killed  in  a  Paris 
street,  perhaps  for  lack  of  the  ordinary  alertness 
and  dexterity  that  are  taught  to  a  child. 

But  why  is  the  discovery  of  radium  considered 
of  such  great  importance?  Dr.  William  Hallock 
answers  this  question  in  a  recent  article  in  the 
New  York  Times.    Two  extracts  may  be  quoted : 

Radium  has  made  it  possible  to  show  that  we 
can  knock  electrons  out  of  any  atom  and  that 
electrons  are  always  the  same,  no  matter  whether 
they  are  derived  from  oxygen,  hydrogen,  chlorine, 
or  any  other  element.  The  inevitable  conclusion 
from  this  observation  is  that  all  atoms  contain 
identical  electrons,  or,  in  other  words,  the  prophecy 
of  Prout  a  century  ago  is  realized — we  find  all  the 
elements  to  be  only  different  aggregations  of  the 
one  and  only  primordial  matter,  the  electron.  Ruth- 
erford has  shown,  by  a  beautiful  line  of  circumstan- 
tial evidence,  almost  as  elaborate  as  it  is  con- 
vincing, that  the  atom  of  radium  is  undergoing  a 
continual  disintegration.  The  various  steps  are 
evidenced  by  characteristic  degrees  of  radio-activ- 
ity, until  finally  the  inert  gas  helium  remains  as 
one  of  the  end  products.  *  *  *  One  of  the 
beauties  of  the  science  of  the  present  day  is  the 
ease  and  quickness  with  which  it  adjusts  itself  to 
new  facts  of  observation.  All  of  the  more  recent 
theories  of  the  nature  and  structure  of  matter  start 
with  the  electron.  It  is  the  most-talked-of  member 
of  the  scientific  family  at  the  present  time.  *  *  *  * 
It  is  quite  safe  to  say  that  radium  has  helped  more 
toward  the  reading  of  the  riddles  of  nature  than 
any  other  element.  There  is  scarcely  a  branch  of 
physics  which  has  not  been  literally  illuminated  by 
radium.  It  may  solve  the  problem  of  the  source 
of  energy  of  the  orb  of  day,  which  warms  and  sus- 
tains us,  no  less  than  of  the  microscopic  flash  which 
is  seen  when  an  alpha  particle  strikes  a  fluorescent 
screen. 

Thus  the  discovery  of  the  Curies  is  believed  to 
be  a  long  step  toward  the  understanding  of  the 
composition  of  matter— a  final  determination  of  the 
ultimate  foundation  of  all  material  things.  There- 
fore the  death  of  such  a  man  as  Professor  Curie 
is  a  great  loss  indeed. 


April  28,  rgofj 

Death  of  Professor  Curie. 

Science    ha  i    I"  I    one    of    il      mi    i    di  til hed 

rcprc  'iii.in..'  .  by  the  death  of  Profc    01  Pi< iri 

of   Pari  i,   who   wa     ihc   i I   discovcrei    of    i  idium 

inih    lir,    wife,    Mrs.    Curie,    On     Vpril    [9th    Pro 
lessor  Curie  was  run  over  and  killed   by   a   wagon 

in   .-I   streel    in    Paris.     Ii    wa  ;  a     1 \<  ,    mom I 

and    untimely    end     for    the    grcal     phj  icist,     ■■■  ho 
was   Iml   .47   year    old 

The  death  <>l   Profc    or  '  m  ic   nol   onlj    1 


SAN  FRANCISCO  EARTHQUAKE   AND    FIRE. 


.« 

Tab 

ftp 

«8« 

1 

I                    t.   ■ 

K3  -  /* 

1IT~~ 

PROFESSOR    AND    MRS.    CURIE   AND    THEIR    DAUGHTER. 

a  great  scientist  but  ends  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able marital  partnerships  in  the  annals  of  science. 
As  a  recent  writer  has  remarked,  "The  two  physi- 
cists to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  discovery 
of  radium  are  attracting  the  notice  of  everyone, 
and  the  more  so  in  that  they  afford  an  example 
of  a  must  interesting  and  touching  collaboration, 
since  it  concerns  a  husband  and  wife,  both  of  high 
scientific  attainments,  who  aided  one  another  with 
their  efforts  and  knowledge  in  the  arduous  path 
that  finally  led  to  the  production  of  pure  radium 
and  the  discovery  of  the  phenomena  that  are  now 
engrossing  the  minds  of  most  of  the  physicists 
of    the    world." 

Professor  Curie  was  a  Parisian  and  the  son  of 
a  physician.  He  had  always  been  a  retiring,  almost 
timid,  student.  He  began  researches  on  his  own 
account  in  1879,  immediately  after  finishing  his 
preparatory  studies.  In  1895  he  was  made  pro- 
fessor of  physics  in  the  university  at  Paris.  His 
wife  was  formerly  Miss  Sklodowska,  and  was  of 
Polish  birth.  When  she  went  to  Paris  to  study, 
her  independent  means  were  so  small  she  could 
not  matriculate  at  one  of  the  big  schools,  and 
she  went  to  a  municipal  working-class  institute, 
where  Mr.  Curie  directed  the  laboratory.  Observ- 
ing that  she  took  extraordinary  interest  in  his 
experiments  and  had  unusual  ability,  he  made  her 
his    assistant.     Soon    after    they    were    married. 

Several  years  ago  Henry  Becquerel  noted  that 
some  substances,  especially  the  metal  uranium,  even 
when  not  shining  visibly,  gave  off  rays  resembling 
X-rays.  Mrs.  Curie  interested  her  husband  in 
Becquerel's  study  of  uranic  radiation,  and  for  six 
years  they  conducted  an  astonishingly  brilliant 
series  of  experiments  to  ascertain  what  substance 
emitted  the  so-called  "Becquerel  rays."  They  mean- 
time lived  in  a  Paris  suburb,  .almost  in  poverty, 
being  so  poor  they  could  not  afford  to  pay  car 
fare,  and  had  to  ride  between  their  homo  and 
laboratory   daily  on  bicycles. 

Their  work  was  crowned  in  1898  with  the  most 
splendid  success.  The  announcement  of  their  dis- 
covery of  the  new  substance,  radium,  created  a 
profound  sensation  throughout  the  world  of  sci- 
ence. Possessing  the  extraordinary  property  of 
continuously  emitting  heat  without  combustion, 
without  chemical  change  of  any  kind  in  its  molecu- 
lar structure,  which  remains  spectroscopically  iden- 
tical after  months  of  continuous  emission,  radium 
shook  the  foundations  of  several  of  the  most  widely 
accepted  scientific  theories,  including  the  atomic 
theory   and   that   of   the    "conservation    of    energy." 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Curie  in  a  day  emerged  from  ob- 
scurity and  took  rank  among  the  world's  leading 
scientists.  In  1903  they  were  awarded  the  Nobel 
prize  for  chemistry,  but  before  that  they  had  re- 
ceived the  LaCaze  prize  of  10,000  francs  from  the 
French    Academy    of    Sciences. 

The  Curies  were  unspoiled  by  success.  They 
continued  to  live  modestly  and  to  carry  on  assidu- 
ously their  experiments  with  radium.  Professor 
Curie  was  a  small,  mild,  meek  man,  and  always 
dressed  poorly,  even  shabbily.  After  he  became 
famous  he  received  many  invitations  to  deliver 
public  addresses,  but  his  excessive  modesty  made 
him  a  poor  speaker.  He  leaves,  besides  his  wife 
and   collaborator,   a   daughter,  now   eight  years   old. 


Late 


"i" 


1 
San    Pram  1  co    <•,    whii  h    brief    editorial    n 

in     following   the   earthquake   raged   for   f.,ur 

da     .    ""! 

-1      1  I,.    I.. 
Km  lb.    numbi  known,  and  vi  • 

will  be  ■  ■■• ."  tlj      Probabl] 
were   killed   outright    or   died    ir">n     n 
the  humbi  r  ma;    bi     ■  000 

to  the  value  ol   property   dc  1  0 

11. ii.     .  an   i"    -i     :       On 
"n.il'l'     in    view    of   the   extent    of   thi 
$200,000,000.    To  offsel  thi    then    will  bi    tin 


mi    all 

mine. I  ■ 
quake. 


FRANCISCO    ANE 


S'S,    SHOWING    ELECTRIC   TRANSMISSION    LINES. 


ance  (although  all  of  it  may  not  be  paid,  owing  to 
the  magnitude  of  the  disaster  and  the  fact  that  both 
earthquake  and  fire  losses  are  involved)  and  the 
money  contributed  for  relief  in  all  parts  of  the 
United  States.  The  latter  fund  will  be  very  large. 
At  the  time  of  writing,  including  $2,500,000  from  the 
United  States  government,  the  amount  in  sight  is 
about  $15,000,000. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  although  the  largest 
loss  was  in  San  Francisco,  some  of  the  surround- 
ing cities  and  towns  suffered  in  greater  proportion, 
considering  their  size.  Santa  Rosa  was  one  of 
these.  Here  about  100  persons  were  killed,  and  the 
business  section  is  in  ruins.  The  accompanying 
map  show-s  the  location  of  San  Francisco  and  its 
surroundings.  It  is  a  reproduction,  in  part,  of  a 
map  showing  long-distance  electric  transmission 
lines  conveying  power  to  San  Francisco  which  was 
issued  and  copyrighted  by  the  Stanley  Electric  Man- 
ufacturing Company  in  1904.  The  heavy  lines  on 
the  map  show  the  transmission  lines  of  the  Califor- 


electric-light,  street-railway  or  telephone  ser\  ice. 
and  it  will  be  a  long  time  before  these  utilities  arc 
restored  to  a  state  corresponding  to  the  condition 
before  the  disaster.  The  telegraph  companies,  on 
which  so  much  depended,  were  also  badly  crippled, 
while  the  electrical  manufacturing  and  supply  inter- 
ests suffered  heavy  loss.  But  it  is  not  believed  that 
many  persons  engaged  in  electrical  pursuits  lost 
their  lives,  which   is  a  consolation. 

One  effect  of  the  earthquake  was  to  make  a  bad 
tangle  of  electric  overhead  wires  overthrown  into 
streets  choken  with  debris.  It  is  possible  that  some 
deaths  were  caused  by  contact  with  "live  wires" 
during  the  first  period  of  the  disaster.  But  within 
an  hour  the  electric  power  was  entirely  shut  off. 
What  effect  the  earthquake  has  had  on  under- 
ground electrical  construction  is  not  known  at  the 
time  this  is  written.  From  the  point  of  view  of 
the  practical  electrical  man,  this  will  be  one  of  the 
most   interesting  lessons  of  the  catastrophe. 

It    is    difficult    to    obtain    information    from    San 


338 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April  2S,   1906 


Francisco,  owing  to  its  distance  from  the  eastern 
and  central  states,  the  disorganized  condition  of  the 
telegraphs  and  the  great  mass  of  official  and  pri- 
vate messages  with  which  the  wires  are  burdened. 
The  Western  Electrician  has  a  resident  corre- 
spondent in  San  Francisco  whose  "Pacific  Slope" 
letters  are  familiar  to  its  readers,  but  it  has  been 
unable  to  get  in  touch  with  him  as  yet,  either  by 
telegraph  or  mail.  But  from  various  sources  some 
detached  facts  have  been  secured. 
Electric   Lighting. 

The  Pacific  Gas  and  Electric  Company  (suc- 
cessor since  last  January  of  the  San  Francisco 
Gas  and  Electric  Company)  is  the  principal  cen- 
tral-station company  of  the  city.  John  A.  Britton 
is  president,  Frank  G.  Drum  vice-president,  Cyrus 
Peirce  treasurer,  and  C.  W.  Conlisk  secretary.  The 
general  superintendent  is  S.  L.  Naphtaly.  This 
company,  still  commonly  referred  to  as  the  San 
Francisco  Gas  and  Electric  Company,  has  lately 
made  extensive  improvements.  The  daily  newspa- 
pers refer  to  its  Post  Street  plant  as  damaged.  It 
has  recently  had  a  discouraging  experience,  for  on 
February  22d  last  it  sustained  a  net  loss  of  $450,000 
by  a  disastrous  fire  in  its  Station  C,  near  the  new 
Jessie  Street  station.  This  was  the  old  Edison 
three-wire  station.  Station  A,  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  city,  has  a  larger  capacity  and  perhaps 
escaped  destruction.  But  it  will  probably  be  some 
time  yet  before  the  company  will  be  in  shape  to 
distribute  current  throughout  the  downtown  dis- 
trict. This  company  has  the  city  street-lighting 
contract. 

The  California  Gas  and  Electric  Corporation,  in 
itself  a  holding  corporation  for  several  light  and 
power  companies,  including  the  one  in  ill-fated 
Santa  Rosa,  is  likewise  controlled  by  the  new  Pa- 
cific Gas  and  Electric  Company.  Its  chief  officers 
are:  President,  E.  J.  de  Sabla,  Jr.;  vice-presidents, 
John  Martin  and  John  C.  Coleman ;  secretary,  C.  W. 
Conlisk ;  general  manager,  John  A.  Britton ;  trans- 
mission engineer,  F.  G.  Baum.  John  Martin,  it 
may  be  remarked,  is  also  a  member  of  the  execu- 
tive committee  of  the  National  Electric  Light  As- 
sociation. This  company  controls  many  of  the  long- 
distance electric  power  transmission  lines  of  Cen- 
tral California.  It  supplies  considerable  current  at 
wholesale  to  the  San  Francisco  Gas  and  Electric 
Company. 

The  Mutual  Electric-light  Company  is  also  now 
supposed  to  be  controlled  by  the  Pacific  Gas  -and 
Electric  Company.  H.  H.  Taylor  is  president  and 
W.  R.  Summerhayes  vice-president  and  general 
manager.  One  newspaper  account  referred  to  the 
power  house  of  this  company  as  having  escaped 
destruction. 

The  Central  Light  and  Power  Company  has  or 
had  a  plant  in  the  Parrott  Building.  Frank  Pauson 
is  president,  Joseph  Naphtaly  vice-president,  J.  W. 
Pauson  secretary  and  treasurer,  Edward  Stephen- 
son chief  electrician,  ancT  M.  Mamlock  superin- 
tendent. 

There  were  several  large  isolated  plants  in  the 
city,  including  those  in  the  Rialto,  Mills  and  Claus 
Spreckels  buildings.  The  new  Fairmont  Hotel, 
several  times  alluded  to  in  the  dispatches,  had 
closed  contracts  for  a  450-kilowatt  plant  of  its  own, 
to  be  fitted  up  in  handsome  Style.  At  least  1,200 
rooms   were   to  be   lighted. 

Electric  Railways. 

The  United  Railways  of  San  Francisco  (con- 
trolled by  the  United  Railroads  Investment  Com- 
pany of  New  York  city)  is  capitalized  at  $40,000,000 
and  operated  258  miles  of  electric  and- cable  rail- 
way. It  buys  current  of  the  California  Gas  and 
Electric  Corporation  and  has  also- two  electric  and 
three  cable  power  plants.  This  company  was  able 
to  give  some  service  on  the  -  fourth  day  after 
the  disaster.  This  report  is  dated  April  22d:  "Street- 
car service  of  a  crude  and  limited  nature  was 
restored  during  the  day.  Electric  cars  were  run- 
ning in  Fillmore  Street  today  and  appear  to  have 
plenty  of  power.  The  service  was  free  to  all.  The  ^ 
cars  on  Sutter  and  Pacific  Avenues  were  being 
hauled  by  horses.  Several  other  lines  will  be  in 
operation  tomorrow." 

Cleveland  people  are  interested  in  the  fate  ot  the 
street-railway  property  in  San  Francisco  from  the 
fact  that  Patrick  Calhoun,  who  has  his  residence  in 
that  city,  is  president  of  the  United  Railroads  of 
San  Francisco  which  operates  there.  He  took  the 
office  six  months  ago  and  before  that  time  was 
a  director  in  the  United  Railways  Investment  Com- 
pany, a  holding  company  for  the  United  Railroads. 
It  is  said  that  most  of  the  capital  of  the  company 
came  from  the  East,  although  heavy  interests  are 
held  in  various  cities.  Mr.  Calhoun  is  now  in  the 
East  with  his  family,  but  was  expected  home  in 
a   short  time. 


Under  date  of  April  23d  the  following  was  re- 
ported from  San  Francisco  :  "A  force  of  men  is  at 
work  straightening  the  street-car  lines.  Compara- 
tively few  street  cars  were  lost.  Only  one  of  the 
main  car  houses  was  in  the  burned  district,  and 
the  earthquake  came  at  a  time  when  only  the  owl 
cars  were  running.  So  when  the  tracks  are  in 
shape  and  the  connection  made  with  the  lines  of 
the  big  power  companies,  the  electric  lines,  which 
run  to  the  mission,  will  be  started  up.  It  will  take 
longer  to  repair  the  plants  of  the  cable  lines,  upon 
which  the  western  addition  and  all  the  hill  country 
depend  for  rapid  transit.  The  cable  power  houses 
are  down  and  the  machinery  must  be  ruined.  The 
repairing  gang  found  that  at  the  corner  of  Mis- 
sion and  Seventh  streets  the  earth  had  sunk  away 
for  four  feet.  Here  they  tore  up  the  tracks  and 
began  to  grade  in  new  earth.  This  is  probably  the 
first  active  work  for  the  reconstruction  of  San 
Francisco.  The  sight  of  men  at  work  on  some- 
thing except  ruins  does  the  eyes  good." 
Telephone  Service. 

The  Bell  operating  company  in  San  Francisco  is 
the  Pacific  States  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, of  which  Henry  T.  Scott  was  lately  elected 
president,  succeeding  the  late  John  I.  Sabin  (see 
Western  Electrician  of  April  7,  1906,  page  283). 
The  latest  information  is  that  all  telephone  ex- 
changes in  San  Francisco  were  destroyed.  These 
include  several  large  new  switchboards  installed 
within  the  last  year  or  two.  A  new  office  building 
on  New  Montgomery  Street  and  the  stock  of  sup- 
plies were  also  destroyed.  The  company  has  estab- 
lished temporary  headquarters  in  Oakland.  Later 
it  may  use  the  Folsom  Street  warehouse  of  the 
California  Electrical  Works,  which  was  only  slightlv 
damaged,  as  an  exchange. 

The  Home  Telephone  Company  (Independent) 
has  a  franchise.  It  is  reported  that  it  will  spend 
$4,000,000  on  a  new  plant. 

Telegraphs. 

From  the  telegraph  companies,  naturally,  more 
detailed  information  can  be  obtained.  Both  suf- 
fered the  complete  destruction  of  their  buildings 
and  plants.  Both  the  Western  Union  and  the  Pos- 
tal Telegraph-cable  companies  occupied  large  build- 
ings in  the  business  portion  of  the  city,  known  re- 
spectively as  the  Western  Union  Building  and  the 
Postal  Building.  These  were  damaged  by  the 
earthquake  and  later  destroyed  by  fire.  The  Postal 
Building  was  one  of  the  first  of  the  large  business 
blocks  to  fall.  The  operators  remained  at  their 
posts ,,  until  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
day  of  the  disaster.  Both  companies  bought  their 
current,  which  operated  the  power  plants  in  the 
basements   of  the    buildings. 

When  the  buildings  were  wrecked  in  San  Fran- 
cisco the  companies  moved  their  operators  and  em- 
ployes across  the  bay  to  Oakland.  Here  in  small 
quarters  and  with  limited  facilities  communication 
was  maintained  to  some  extent  with  the  outside 
world.  Only  three  separate  wires  could  be  operated 
by  each  company,  and  of  the  six  the  government 
monopolized  two.  The  remaining  wires  were  soon 
overcrowded  by  the  newspapers  and  anxious  people 
who  wished  to  send  word  to  friends.  As  the  news 
spread  over  the  country  many  thousands  of  mes- 
sages were  left  at  the  telegraph  offices  addressed  to 
people  in  San  Francisco.  Some  of  these  might  have 
been  delivered,  but  as  the  fire  progressed  this  be- 
came practically   impossible. 

Anxious  people  who  had  friends  in  San  Fran- 
cisco were  compelled  to  wait.  An  illustration  of 
the  great  difficulty  of  reaching  people  in  the  burn- 
ing city  is  given  by  the  fact  that  Mr.  C.  M.  Baker, 
construction  superintendent  of  the..  PostaL  company 
in  Chicago,  spent  12  hours  of  extreme  anxiety  try- 
ing to  get  word  from  Mrs.  Baker,  who  had  planned 
to  reach  the  Palace  Hotel .  in  San  Francisco  on 
April  16th,  two  days  before  the  earthquake.  Mr. 
Baker  finally,  after  12  hours'  continuous  effort,  got 
word  that  his  wife  was  safe  in  Oakland. 

Outside  of  San  Francisco  the  Postal  company 
suffered  little  damage.  The  Western  Union  lines, 
however,  were  badly  damaged  in  several  places. 
Several  miles  of  the  line  from  Oakland  to  Los 
Angeles  are  said  to  have  completely  disappeared  in 
fissures  caused  by  the  earthquake.  The  Western 
Union  Company  last  Saturday  morning  sent  a  force 
of  men  from  Chicago  with  a  large  supply  of  con- 
struction material  and  telegraphic  supplies,  includ- 
ing gas  engines  and  power  equipment,  to  Oakland. 
The  lines  in  the  vicinity  will  be  repaired  and  a 
temporary  telegraph  office  and  plant  established  in 
San  Francisco.  The  Postal  company  also  has  taken 
steps  toward  a  temporary  plant  in  San  Francisco. 

At  the  time  of  writing  the  telegraph  companies 
are  trying  to  devise  some  scheme  by  which  to  de- 
liver what  messages  they  can  transmit.     Both  com- 


panies have  sent  special  messengers  to  Oakland  to 
handle  the  messages  which  come  in  for  San  Fran- 
cisco persons.  But  as  the  city  is  in  ruins,  without 
means  of  communication  or  transportation,  it  is 
impossible  to  reach  the  persons  addressed.  Mes- 
sages for  the  stricken  city  are  only  accepted  sub- 
ject to  indefinite  delay.  Thousands  of  messages 
could  have  been  handled  by  the  companies,  but  the 
facilities  were  lacking. 

T.  P.  Cook,  general  superintendent  of  the  West- 
ern Union  Telegraph  Company  in  Chicago,  in 
speaking  of  the  earthquake  and  fire,  said  that  he 
had  no  doubt  that  the  city  would  be  rebuilt.  San 
Francisco  seems  to  be  more  subject  to  earthquakes 
than  other  parts  of  the  country,  but  this,  he  thinks, 
should  be  no  hindrance  to  rebuilding  the  city,  inas- 
much as  it  seems  clear  that  the  damage  from  the 
earthquake  in  the  present  case  would  not  have  been 
very  great  had  it  not  been  for  the  fire  which  fol- 
lowed. 

The  American  Pacific  submarine  cable  has  its 
eastern  terminus  in  San  Francisco.  Despite  reports 
to  the  contrary,  the  service  was  not  seriously  in- 
terrupted, although   the   cable  house  was   destroyed. 

Clarence  H.  Mackay,  president  of  the  Postal  Tel- 
egraph Company,  sent  a  message  to  L.  W.  Storer, 
general  superintendent  of  the  Postal  Telegraph 
Company  in  San  Francisco,  in  which  he  said :  "I 
cannot  adequately  express  to  you  my  feelings  re- 
garding_tb.e  calamity  which  has  befallen  San  Fran- 
cisco. I  hope  that  you  will  move  heaven  and  earth 
to  open  communication,  to  San  Francisco  city  and 
thus  relieve  thousands  from  anxiety.  Do  this  at 
any   cost   within    reasonable   bounds."    . 

On  several  occasions  when  attempts  were  made 
to  send  out  messages  from  a  temporary  telegraph 
office  in  San  Francisco,  the  crowd  waiting  outside 
would  fall  on  the  men  carrying  them,  and  in  some 
cases  the  messengers  were  so  terrified  by  the  sud- 
den onslaught  that  they  dropped  the  envelopes  and 
ran  back  into  the  office  for  their  lives. 

The  correspondent  at  Wellington,  New  Zealand, 
of  the  London  Times  telegraphs  that  both  of  the 
Eastern  company's  cables  between  New  Zealand 
and  Australia  suddenly  broke  on  Monday,  April 
23d,  the  supposed  result  of  submarine   disturbances. 

An  attempt  to  communicate  with  the  stricken  city 
by  wireless  is  reported  to  have  been  made,  but  for 
some  reason  not  explained  it  failed. 

From  Oakland  on  April  20th  it  was  announced 
that  until  further  notice  letters  from  San  Fran- 
cisco will  be  sent  through  the  mails  free  of  postage. 
This  has  been  made  necessary  on  account  of  the 
unprecedented  demand  for  stamps  which  the  local 
postoffice  cannot  supply. 

Miscellaneous. 

The  California  Electrical  Works,  Pacific  Coast 
agents  of  the  Western  Electric  Company,  had  re- 
cently built  a  warehouse  on  Folsom  Street,  about 
three  blocks  from  the  Palace  Hotel,  and  this,  most 
fortunately,  escaped  the  earthquake  and  subsequent 
fires.  It  was  slightly  damaged,  probably  to  the 
extent  of  a  few  hundred  dollars.  The  building 
contains  about  75,000  square  feet  of  floor  space,  was 
completed  last  December  and  is  of  mill  construction. 
It  is  provided  with  wire-glass  windows  and  a  com- 
plete sprinkler  equipment.  The  advices  are  that 
these  features  with  the  efforts  of  the  night  watch- 
man saved  the  property.  The  Western  Electric 
Company  is  establishing  temporary  headquarters  in 
Oakland,  from  which  point  it  will  be  able  immedi- 
ately to  assist  the  Pacific  States  Telephone  Com- 
pany in  its  construction  work.  Its  business  in  gen- 
eral supplies  will  be  for  the,  present  conducted  by 
its  Los  Angeles  branch,  the  California  Electric 
Company,  assisted  by  the  Denver,  St  Paul  and 
Chicago  houses. 

The  San  Francisco  house  of  the  Electric  Appli- 
ance Company  of  Chicago  was  wiped  out.  None 
of  its  men  was  hurt,  and  the  records  are  in  the 
vault  still  in  the  ruins.  The  fire  rather  than  the 
earthquake  caused  the  destruction.  A  good-sized 
stock    was    carried    and    there    was    considerable    in- 


R.  B.  Daggett  and  G.  R.  Murphy  of  the  San  Fran- 
cisco office  of  the  Electric  Storage  Battery  Com- 
pany are  safe.  Mr.  Daggett  and  Joseph  Appleton 
of  the  home  office  in  Philadelphia,  manager  of 
construction,  were  in  Los  Angeles  at  the  last  ac- 
count. 

Due  to  the  earthquake  and  fire  in  San  Francisco, 
the  West  Coast  office  of  the  Northern  Electrical 
Manufacturing  Company,  Madison,  Wis.,  has  been 
temporarily  established  at  102  Woodman  Block,  Oak- 
land, Cal.  Mr.  H.  C.  Parker,  the  Northern  com- 
pany's sales  manager,  is  prepared  to  give  power- 
transmission  propositions  prompt  and  careful  atten- 
tion, says  the  company. 

Up  to  April  24th  no  word  had  been   received   in 


April  28,   [906 

1  I,,, from  the  San  Fri :o  offi thi    Wi   1 

inghou  1      Electric    and     Manufai  tin  ing     1  ompan 
which  was  al    \2  ,   Marl  el  Strccl 

Xhc  San   Fraw  1  1  0  offii  1    and    irarclu 
Hi,-  General   Elect™    Company  were  completely  dc 
troyi  d.     'I  he  office   wai    in   the   Cro    Icj    Buildii  ■ 
Dr.  Addison,  the  manager  ol   the   Pacifii    1  oasl   di 

partment,  and  his  associate!   are    al         •    •  m\ 

office  has  been  opened  in  the   I  inion   Sat  ing     Banl 
Building    Oakland. 

1  he  electrical  press  wa    n  pi  e  d  in  '  ian  F  <  an 

n  in    by    the    Journal    ol     Electricity,    Powi  1     and 

1  ,,1      .1  high  1  la      hi) .  pai  tii  ulai  Ij    ■•  1  II  pi  int<  d 

and  illustrated.    Electrical  journalists  will  I th  1 

this  excellent    publication   will   suffer   the   minimum 
of  loss  and   inconvenience. 

Anions  the  members  and  associates  oi  the  \meri 
can  Institute  ol  Elei  trical  Ei  [in  ci  li\  ing  in  San 
Francisco  :m>l  vicinity  are  Prof.  II.  J.  Ryan,  pro 
feasor  of  electrical  engineering  in  Stanford  Uni 
versity;  Prof,  C.  I..  Cory,  profe  sor  ol  electrical 
engineering  in  the  University  of  California;  Joseph 
N.  Le  Conte  and  G.  C.  Noble  of  the  same  univcr 
jity;     W.     II.     Allen,    consulting    engineer;     F.    Ii. 

Baum,  transmissi :ngineer;   I  >    II    Fry,  consulting 

engineer;  A.  M.  Hunt,  consulting  engineer;  Wynn 
Meredith,  electrical  engineer;  A.  E.  I!.  Ridley,  en 
gineer  and  contractor;  Fred  F.  Barbour,  S  I.  Fo 
ter,  F.  V.  T.  Lee,  J.  A.  Lighthipe,  E.  J.  Molera, 
F,  E.  Smith,  R.  1!.  Daggett,  Robinson  Crowell, 
Louis  Glass,  L.  M.  Hancock,  William  R,  Hewitt, 
A.  S.  Kalenborn,  W.  F.  Lamme,  John  Martin,  I'.  I'. 
Medina,  Elam  Miller,  G.  R.  Murphy,  S.  L.  Naph- 
taly,  L.  E.  Reynolds,  F.  F.  Springer  and  F.  H.  Var- 
ney. 

Prominent  San  Francisco  electrical  concerns  nol 
elsewhere  mentioned  are  the  Standard  Electrical 
Works,  Kilbourne  &  Clark  Company,  Drendell 
Switchboard  Company,  John  R.  Cole  Company, 
C.  S.  Knowles,  John  M.  Klein  Electrical  Company, 
Hunt,  Mirk  ec  Co.,  Century  Electric  Corporation, 
Electric  Supply  Company,  Brooks-Follis  Electric 
Corporation,  California  Incandescent  Lamp  Com- 
pany. Van  Emon  Engineering  Company  and 
Charles   F.   Sloane  Company. 

John  A.  Roebling's  Sons  Company,  wire  maker, 
announces  the  total  destruction  of  its  store  and 
warehouse  in  San  Francisco.  Customers  will  be 
supplied  for  the  present  from  Oakland  by  the  cour- 
tesy of  the  Pacific  Steel  and  Wire  Company. 

The  loss  sustained  by  the  Allis-Chalmers  Com- 
pany was  considerable,  owing  to  the  fact  that  it 
kept  a  large  stock  of  standard  machinery  in  San 
Francisco  for  immediate  shipment  upon  orders  from 
Pacific  ■  Coast  territory.  The  warehouse  containing 
this  machinery  was  situated  in  the  center  of  the 
burned  district,  as  were  also  the  offices,  in  the 
Rialto  Building,  Mission  Street.  Manager  H.  D. 
Scribner's  first  telegram  to  the  home  office  in  Mil- 
waukee, which  was  not  received  until  24  hours 
after  the  first  shock,  gave  assurance  of  the  personal 
safety  of  the  entire  office  force  of  five  salesmen 
and  the  office  attendants,  although  the  homes  of 
Mr.  Scribner  and  most  of  the  others  were  destroyed 
by  fire  in  the  general  conflagration.  New  offices, 
however,  were  procured  on  April  20th,  on  the  prem- 
ises of  E.  B.  and  A.  L.  Stone,  Oakland,  Cal.,  from 
which  place  the  Allis-Chalmers  business  affairs  re- 
lating to  that  district  will  be  conducted.  Duplicate 
lots  of  machinery  have  already  been  shipped  to 
replace  what  was  lost,  and  there  will  be  very  little 
interruption  to  business.  The  Allis-Chalmers  Com- 
pany has  made  a  contribution  of  $3,000  to  the  San 
Francisco  relief  fund  and  $1,000  was  sent  to  the 
district-office  manager  for  distribution  among  the 
company's    employes   there. 


Bids  Rejected  for  Panama  Canal  Power 
Plant. 

A  special  dispatch  from  a  Washington  corre- 
spondent of  the  Western  Electrician  is  to  the  effect 
that  the  Isthmian  Canal  Commission  has  rejected 
all  bids  opened  on  April  13th  for  the  construction 
of  the  small  electric  power  plant  at  Empire,  Panama, 
the  general  specifications  for  which  were  given  in 
the  Western  Electrician  April  7th.  New  bids  under 
revised  specifications  are  called  for,  to  be  opened 
May  2d.     Bids  are  being  solicited  by  circular  letter. 


Mr.  Chilton,  the  United  States  consul  at  Toronto, 
writes:  "It  requires  over  40,000  horsepower  to  keep 
Toronto's  factories  in  motion,  and  in  connection 
with  that  fact  the  development  of  electrical  power 
at  Niagara  Falls  is  of  interest.  Within  a  year 
power  will  be  transmitted  to  Toronto  by  at  least 
one  of  the  three  big  development  companies  now 
engaged  in  harnessing  Niagara  ;  and  this  will  prob- 
ably lead  to  a  big  reduction  in  the  cost  of  power 
with  all  its  attending  advantages  to  manufacturers." 


ELECT  RIi 
Iowa  Electrical  Association. 

Hi 

only  27   I- 

J.     '1  he    opportllllit) 

Mill      lli. 

1  ■■■  battery   in  a    imall   • 

i'  11 1-  '   d 

not   mean  an 
1  - ■! , 

batti 

used. 

I  In     oth 
mi    ilo       ubject,    Mr,    Walsh    ami    Mi 
were  nol   pn 

I Ill      1      DlSTI  [DI    Hon. 

"I  ni,     In    e     1    Economii        D    trib 

1 1    1  papei    '     ',"■     l  Ini 

1,1,,         1 1     1 

ni   ill  tribtttion  and   treated  ii   in  a   pi 

than    a    ti'i  I111n.1l    wa)        1 11    i  hi     ■ 

In      iaid;     "When    the    distributing  m 

in  i'.  'ii   ovi  1  head  on 

easy    matter    u  itl n  idi  n 

In  use  to  reach  and  serve  in  a     atisfactoi 

closely   luiili  up     ' '  1  mi'     ni    thi  n    ially   if 

the  power  house  be  located,  a     i     usuall) 

near    to    the    blisi SS    district.       Il    i-.    hoWC 

entirely    different    proposition    to    n  ai  h    thi 

tered   residence   seel n  hen  the  cosl 

ing  and  maintaining  a  suitable,  economical  and   reli- 
able    \  tern    1     '  '  in  idei  ed.     Il 
taut   that  the   system   installed   for  tin 
In    suitable  when,  as  in  the  writer's  expericm 
70  per  cent,   of  the   total   lighting    income    1-    from 
this   scattered   residence    work,    and    where    > 
an   average  of  one  meter  installed    for   each    10  in- 
habitants.    Those  of  us  who  have  been  in  the  work 
for    a    decade    or    more    will    remember    with    what 
vehemence  the   relative  merits  of  alternating 
direct-current     practice     was     formerly     proclaimed. 
But   this  condition   has   happily   disappeared   and    we 
may  now  choose  that  best  suited  to  our   needs,   or 
combine    the    merits    of    both    if    thought    advisable. 

In  the  experience  of  some,  the  system  of  distribu- 
tion  adopted  may  be  the  result  of  careful  planning 
before  the  work  of  construction  is  begun,  while 
in  other  cases  wc  fall  heir  to  a  system  built  on 
lines  far  from  good  modern  practice  and  that  have 
to  be  worked  over  as  far  as  possible  in  conformity 
with  recent  ideas.  The  writer's  experience  lias 
been  largely  with  one  of  the  latter  class  of  installa- 
tions. The  station  in  mind  was  originally  installed 
as  a  two-wire  direct-current  system  some  12  years 
ago  and  was  operated  in  this  way  for  about  a  year 
when  the  necessity  of  a  change  became  urgent.  In 
making  the  change  the  direct  current  was  retained 
for  the  nearby  business  district  and  alternating 
current  adopted  for  all  outlying  work.  Making 
this  change,  use  was  made  of  the  existing  direct- 
current  network  for  the  secondary  system,  and  as 
these  wires,  which  were  bare  copper,  were  of  a 
size  much  larger  than  would  usually  be  installed 
for  a  purely  alternating  system,  it  permitted  the 
use  of  fewer  and  larger  sized  transformers.  The 
incandescent  street-lighting  system  formerly  in  use 
was  arranged  for  multiple  operation  by  using  one 
side  of  the  house  circuit  for  one  side  of  street- 
lighting  circuit,  and  the  lights  were  controlled  by 
running  the  other  side  to  the  switchboard  at  the 
station  and  passing  through  a  single-pole  switch 
to  the  opposite  bus-bar.  In  making  the  change  to 
alternating  current  the  circuits  were  cut  loose  from 
the  switchboard.  Regular  primary  circuits  were 
run  out  to  transformers,  and  one  side  of  this  cir- 
cuit became  one  side  of  the  street-lighting  primary, 
and  a  single-leg  primary  circuit  was  run  out  to 
four  suitable  distributing  points,  where  transform- 
ers fed  to  the  original  street-light  system.  The 
house  and  also  the  street-lighting  system  was  di- 
vided up  for  the  most  part  so  each  transformer 
worked  independently  rather  than  banked,  on  ac- 
count of  the  facility  with  which  any  trouble  could 
be  located.  In  this  way  we  were  able  to  supply 
both  house  lights  and  street  lights  without  inter- 
ruption or  change  of  any  service  or  meter  con- 
nection." 

Meters  and  Lightning  Arresters. 

A.  W.  Zahnl  of  Mason  City  next  read  a  paper 
upon  the  "Care  and  Maintenance  of  Meters."  This 
paper   will    be   given    in   a   future    issue. 

The  paper  by  W.  P.  Caspar,  upon  "Up-to-date 
Lightning  Protection,"  was  carefully  prepared  and 
excited  considerable  discussion.  He  told  of  the 
development  of  the  lightning  arrester  as  made  by 
his  company,  and  illustrated  his  words  by  a  dia- 
gram showing  the  design  of  the  latest  type.  He 
also  pointed  out  the  cardinal  points  of  a  good  ar- 
rester and  what  it  is  expected  to  do  in  successful 
operation. 

Discussing  this  subject.  Air.  Carson  described  his 
system,  which  contains  a  two-mile  transmission  line. 
At  first  they  had  a  good  deal  of  trouble,  and  light- 
ning arresters  seemed  of  no  use.  They  finally 
strung   barbed    wire    over    the    lines,    grounded    fre- 


by    an    il 

trouble 

eliminate 

of  tinned  coppei   plate   mnl    I 

with    eight    bushels    of    chan 

bushel  the    ground    1 

a    groui 

1    a    lightning 

the    high    ind 
compared  to  the  wire  would  I 

of     re-'    ' 

good  practice  to  connect  the 
or  gas   pipe. 

Informal  Em 

An    informal    session    was    held    Wed 
ing   at    which    the   subject   of   "Some    Practical    Ex- 
perienci  Si  was    taken    up 

-  which  members  might  ask 
as  to  any  pin-,-  •  f  their  operating  work.  In  the 
past  tins,,  informal  meetings  have  been  productive 

h I.  as  the  member!   fee!   ■'■ 

in;,  subj  i'  that  may  not  be  down  on  the  pro- 
gramme. 

\    !'  ipi  r   upon  thi  im   turbines   in 

actual  practice  was  prepared  bv  C.  E.  Stanton  of 
Dubuque    and  sident    Burt,   in    the   au- 

thor's   al  of   the 

exigencies  which  have  arisen  in  the  operation  of 
a  turbine  in  the  plant  of  the  author.  On  the  sub- 
ject of  the  step  bearing,  he  said  that  the  water 
for  the  bearing  is  first  filtered,  then  strained  and 
passed  through  a  screw-shaped  baffler  to  the  bear- 
ing. The  baffler  acts  to  take  away  the  pulsations 
of   the   pump.     Some   h  eperienced   with 

the  strainer,  which  must  be  cleaned  1 
The  accumulators,  for  insuring  a  sufficient  pi 
should    the    pumps    fail,    must    be    inspected    often, 
they    are    inclined    to    stick. 

To    grind    the    step    bearing,    partially    close    the 
stop    valve    SO    as   to   obtain   any   degree   of    pi 
on    the    bearing    that    is    desired,     'ibis    is    : 
what  delicate  operation,  and  many  of  the  members 
thought   they  would   hardly  care   to  risk   the  opera- 
tion   without   an    expert   on    the    spot. 

"Flie  steadying  bearings  are  another  part  that 
should  he  carefully  looked  to.  and  they  should  be 
carefully    cleaned    before    being    put    in    place 

The  close  regulation  of  the  turbine  was  a  matter 
of  great  surprise  to  the  purchasers,  and  everything 
in    the    station    was    run    on   1  ses,    the 

turbine  operating  in  parallel  with  the  reciprocating- 
engine    machines    perfectly. 

President    Burt    also    gave    the    results    of    some 
tests    made    upon    a    steam    turbine    in    the    plant    at 
Waterloo.       The    results    of   these   tests    will    Ii      g 
in   a   future  issue. 

"Technicai     Men    as    Dividend    Earners" 

Thursday  morning's  programme  included  a  paper 
bv   Prof.   George   D.   Shepardson   of  the  University 

of  Minnesota  upon  "Technical  Men  as  Dividend 
Earners."  Records  of  a  prominent  western  uni- 
versity show-  that  27  per  cent,  of  its  men  are  con- 
nected with  central  stations.  22  per  cent,  have  en- 
tered telephone  engineering.  17  per  cent,  arc  en- 
gaged with  the  manufacturers  of  electric-lighting 
and  power  apparatus.  10  per  cent,  in  teaching.  10 
per  cent,  in  engineering  other  than  electrical,  eight 
per  cent,  consulting  and  contracting  engineers 
per  cent,  in  work  not  engineering,  two  per  cent, 
have  died.  In  the  last  four  years  34  per  cent. 
have  gone  with  manufacturers  of  light  and  power 
machinery.  24  per  cent,  with  telephone  manufactur- 
ers, while  the  lighting  and  railway  companies  have 
secured  24  per  cent.,  of  whom  nearly  one-half  are 
with  one  company.  The  above  seems  to  illustrate 
that  central  stations  are  not  using  the  technical 
as  great  an  extent  as  the  manufacturer. 
The  reasons  why  so  few  technically  educated  men 
are  connected  with  the  smaller  operating  companies 
are.  in  general  two:  First,  that  the  companies  do 
.  m   to  want  them.  and.   second,  that  the  men 


340 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April  28,  1906 


do  not  seem  to  care  for  such  jobs.  The  companies 
do  not  seem  to  care  much  for  technical  men,  partly 
for  the  reason  that  overzealous  and  short-sighted 
sales  agents  have  too  commonly  urged  as  one  of 
the  desirable  features  of  their  system  that  "any 
one  can  run  it."  Another  reason  is  that  the  amount 
of  business  involved  will  hardly  warrant  the  em- 
ployment of  the  highest  and  most  expensive  talent. 
From  the  standpoint  of  the  technical  man,  the 
small  station  is  apt  to  offer  a  more  monotonous 
routine,  a  low  salary,  fewer  advantages  and  a  gen- 
eral  lack  of  appreciation. 

These  reasons  are  partly  inherent  and  partly  due 
to  an  incomplete  or  incorrect  understanding  of  the 
true  conditions.  Almost  any  station  could  employ 
a  young  technical  graduate  to  the  mutual  advan- 
tage of  all  concerned.  Generally  speaking,  it  is 
better  for  a  young  man  to  obtain  some  factory 
experience  before  settling  down  as  an  operating 
engineer,  thereby  supplementing  his  college  train- 
ing (which  is  necessarily  more  theoretical  than 
applied)  by  a  year  or  more  of  experience  in  the 
construction  and  testing  of  electrical  apparatus. 
The  balance  of  Professor  Shepardson's  paper  was 
devoted  to  actual  examples  of  savings  and  better- 
ments made  by  technical  graduates  where  they  have 
taken    hold   of   the   central-station   business. 

Depreciation    of    Electrical    Properties. 

Prof.  G.  W.  Bissell  of  Ames  next  read  his  pa- 
per on  "The  Depreciation  of  Electrical  Properties." 

As  a  preliminary  to  the  preparation  of  this  paper 
the  writer  sent  to  each  member  of  the  association, 
as  listed  in  the  Proceedings  of  two  years  ago,  a 
letter  propounding  and  asking  replies  to  the  fol- 
lowing   inquiries  : 

1.  In  computing  the  total  cost  of  your  output  do 
you  make  allowances  for  depreciation? 

2.  If  the  answer  to  No.  1  is  affirmative,  how 
much  depreciation  do  you  charge  off,  and  how  do 
you   arrive   at   this    amount? 

3.  How   do  you  invest  your   sinking   fund? 
Twenty    replies    were    received.     Three    answered 

questions  1  and  3  in  the  negative,  without  ex- 
planation or  other  sign  of  interest  in  the  matter, 
and  of  course   gave  no   answer  to   question   No.   2. 

Four  members  answered  question  No.  1  in  the 
negative,  but  explained  that  circumstances,  such  as 
pressure  for  dividends  prevented  the  practice,  or 
regretted  that  extensive  renewals  of  deteriorated 
property  had  prevented,  or  that  the  plant  was  not 
yet  old  enough  to  be  affected  by  depreciation ;  but 
all  four  evidently  appreciated  the  importance  of 
the  subject. 

Two  members  took  issue  against  the  recognition 
of  depreciation  as  an  account  to  be  considered  in 
making    a    true    book    showing    of    the    property. 

One  member  answered  question  No.  1  in  the 
affirmative  and  No.  3  in  the  negative,  and  evidently 
confused    depreciation    and    maintenance.  . 

The  remainder,  10  in  number,  gave  affirmative 
and  more  or  less  complete  answers  to  the  three 
inquiries. 

In  the  course  df  his  paper  the  author  gave  sev- 
eral methods  for  determining  the  rate  to  be  al- 
lowed for  depreciation.     One  of  these  is  as  follows: 

Suppose  a  power  plant  to  consist  of  buildings 
and  chimney  worth  $25,000,  having  an  estimated 
useful  life  of  SO  years;  boilers  and  auxiliaries, 
worth  $20,000,  having  an  estimated  useful  life  of 
15  years;  engines  and  generators,  worth  $30,000, 
having  an  estimated  useful  life  of  12  years;  switch- 
board, worth  $2,500,  useful  life  10  years.  The 
depreciation  period  may  be  assumed   at  50  years. 

Buildings g25,oooX,&  S    500.00 

Boilers 20,000X15  1,333-33 

Engines 30,000X1^1  .  2,500.00 

Switchboards 2,500X1^  250.00 

577-Soo  S4.583.33 

54.583.33^-77.500=5.9  per  cent. 

Rate   Regulation. 

T  wo  papers  upon  the  general  subj  ect  of  rate 
regulation  were  presented  Thursday  morning,  one 
by  L.  G.  Hurd  of  Dubuque,  on  the  "Legal  Status 
of  Rate  Regulation,"  and  the  other  by  George  Mc- 
Lean of  Dubuque,  on  "Equitable  Rates  in  Rela- 
tion   to    Rate   Regulation." 

Mr.  Hurd  pointed  out  that  in  certain  exigencies, 
as  in  the  regulation  of  corporations,  the  state  may 
step  in  and  determine  the  methods  of  operation, 
regardless  of  the  fact  that  competition  is  supposed 
to  be  the  great  leveler  under  the  ordinary  condi- 
tions of  buying  and  selling.  The  fair  value  of  the 
property  at  the  time  when  the  rates  are  fixed  is 
the  point  upon  which  the  court  must  fix  its  atten-^ 
tion   when  attacking  the  rate  problem. 

Mr.  McLean  said  that  an  electric-light  customer 
will  refuse  to  pay  a  light  bill  when  no  light  has 
been  received  because  he  cannot  see  the  expense  in- 
volved in  "readiness  to  serve."  He  does  not  un- 
derstand the  minimum  bill,  because  he  argues  that, 
for  the  reason  he  has  not  used  his  lights  for  a 
period  of  time,  he  should  not  pay  for  something 
he  has  not  received.  Nevertheless,  he  pays  without 
question  his  insurance  premiums  even  when  he  has 
had  no  loss  by  fire.  It  is  hard  for  him  to  see  the 
analogy. 

The  speaker  then  went  on  to  explain  the  factors 
entering  into  the  minimum  bill,  the  greatest  of 
which  is  "readiness  to  serve."  He  said  that  a  slid- 
ing scale  in  proportion  to  earnings  would  be  a 
good  solution  of  the  problem.  This  might  be  de- 
veloped  practically  into   a  profit-sharing  plan. 

In   the   afternoon   of  Thursday   another  paper   on 


this  general  subject  was  read  by  M.  J.  Wade  of 
Iowa  City  on  the  "Political  Status  of  Rate  Regula- 
tion." Mr.  Wade  said  that  there  has  never  been 
a  demand  for  municipal  ownership  which  has  not 
arisen  from  an  abuse  of  some  sort  on  the  part  of 
the  corporation.  Inflating  capital  stock  is  prob- 
ably the  most  prolific  source  of  discontent.  A  cor- 
poration should,  however,  be  allowed  a  rate  suf- 
ficient to  cover  not  only  a  fair  interest  on  capital 
invested  but  also  enough  to  cover  the  uncertainties, 
the  worry  and  the  risk  accompanying  such  an  in- 
vestment. During  the  reading  of  this  paper  the 
members  of  the  Iowa  Street  and  Interurban  Rail- 
way Association  were  present  at  the  session  in  a 
body. 

New   Officers   of  the  Association. 

At  the  executive  session  following  Mr.  Wade's 
paper  the  following-named  officers  were  elected  for 
the    ensuing   year: 

President — A.  W.  Zahm,  general  manager  of  the 
Brice  Gas  and  Electric  Company,  Mason  City. 

Vice-president — George  S.  Carson,  manager  of 
the  Iowa   City  Electric  Light  Company,   Iowa  City. 

Secretary — L.  B.  Spinney  of  Iowa  State  College, 
Ames. 

Treasurer— W.  A.  Mall  of  of  the  Belle  Plaine 
Electric  Light  Company,  Belle  Plaine. 

Members  of  executive  committee — L.  D.  Mathes, 
Union  Electric  Company,  Dubuque;  O.  E.  Brown- 
ell,  lessee  Lake  City  Electric  Company,  Lake  City, 
and  W.  N.  Kiser,  Des  Moines  Edison  Light  Com- 
pany. 

Mr.  A.  W.  Zahm,  the  new  president  of  the  asso- 
ciation, was  born  in  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  January  10, 
1872.  He  entered  the  employment  of  the  North- 
west Thomson-Houston  Company  at  St.  Paul  just 
previous  to  the  consolidation  in  1891,  being  em- 
ployed in  installing  isolated  lighting  plants.  In 
1894  he  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  East 
Side  Electric  Company  of  St.  Paul  (a  central  sta- 
tion), the  first  to  operate  the  Siemens  &  Halske 
direct-current  five-wire  system  in  this  country.  This 
company  was  merged  with  the  St  Paul  Gas  Light 
Company  three  years  later.  In  1896  Mr.  Zahm  was 
appointed  manager  of  the  Manhattan  Light,  Heat 
and  Power  Company  of  St.  Paul.  This  company 
owned  the  Manhattan  Building  and  was  given  a 
franchise  to  do  commercial  lighting  in  the  business 
section  of  the  city,  in  which  undertaking  it  was  very 
successful.  In  1901  Mr.  Zahm  was  appointed  man- 
ager of  the  Public  Service  Company  at  St.  Cloud, 
Minn.,  operating  a  lighting  and  steam-heating  plant 
which  was  at  that  time  being  rebuilt.  Finally,  he 
was  appointed  general  manager  of  the  Brice  Gas 
and  Electric  Company  of  Mason  City  shortly  after 
Mr.  W.  E.  Brice  acquired  the  property,  which  has 
been  entirely  rebuilt  since  that  time.  This  plant 
gives  an  electric-light  and  power,  hot-water  heat- 
ing and  gas  service.  Mr.  Zahm  is  a  member  of  the 
National  Electric  Light  Association  and  has  been 
identified  with  the  Iowa  Electrical  Association  since 
1902,  the  year  following  its   organization. 

The  convention  will  be  held  in  Clinton  next  year. 


Iowa  Street  and   Interurban  Railway 
Association. 

The  Iowa  Street  and  Interurban  Railway  Asso- 
ciation held  its  third  annual  meeting  at  the  Kirk- 
wood  Hotel,  Des  Moines,  April  19th  and  20th.  The 
president  of  the  association,  Mr.  George  B.  Hippec, 
general  manager  of  the  Des  Moines  City  Railway 
Company,  presided.  The  address  of  welcome  was 
made  by  Air.  H.  H.  Polk,  president  of  the  Inter 
LTrban   Company. 

President  Hippee  in  his  address  remarked:  "Right 
here  L-want  to  say,  the  National  Association  is  a 
good  thing,  and  all  should  be  members  of  the  same, 
and  it  is  one  of  the  big  factors  in  the  present  street 
and  interurban-railway  development  and  affairs,  and 
can  do  much  good;  but  it  is  so  big  that  it  is 
startling  to  some  of  us  in  its  immensity,  and  to 
we  smaller  fry,  as  we  go  up  against  the  propositions 
and  problems  that  interest  the  large  city  companies, 
are  lost  in  the  big  sea  of  possibilities.  We  are  not 
used  to  such  big  boats  as  they  sail.  We  know 
more  about  the  'prairie  schooner'  of  the  West,  and 
our  problems,  while  seemingly  hard  for  us  who 
are  trying  to  grade  the  prairie  mounds  to  good 
practical  operating  grades,  and  bridge  the  sloughs 
and  small  rivers  of  trouble,  to  make  our  few  miles 
of  interurban  or  city  roads  a  financial  success,  feel 
that  we  cannot  be  taken  care  of  in  the  discussions 
of  the  larger  association.  Such  little  ventures  as 
ours  seem  lost  in  the  maze  of  this  large  organiza- 
tion. But  here,  in  your  home  state,  you  should 
all  get  together,  every  one  of  you  who  are  inter- 
ested in  traction  propositions.  Give  us  the  benefit 
of  your  ideas  and  thought.  Some  kink  that  is  good 
for    you    is    good    for   your    neighbors." 

He  also  touched  upon  the  proposed  legislation 
against  Sunday  amusement  resorts,  and  strongly 
discountenanced  any  such  move.  He  believed  these 
places,  if  properly  conducted,  are  a  great  benefit 
to  the  community,  and  should  not  be  legislated 
against. 

"There  are  many  small  towns,"  he  said,  "that 
have  no  street  railways  in  this  state.  The  senti- 
ment in  these  places  should  not  be  forced  on  other 
and  larger  towns  who  enjoy  baseball,  and  have 
Sunday  summer  afternoon  and  evening  entertain- 
ments. The  legislation  on  this  should  be  left  to 
the  local  places.  Let  them  decide  locally  what  they 
want,    and    each    of   you    should    aid    in    converting 


your  senator  or  representative  to  this  idea,  because 
it  is  a  living,  wideawake  issue,  and  one,  from  the 
moral    standard,    that    is    right." 

After  the  regular  order  of  business  a  paper  was 
read  on  Thursday  morning  on  "Transfers — Their 
Use  and  Abuse,"  by  John  F.  Ohmer  of  Dayton, 
Ohio.  The  paper  brought  forth  considerable  dis- 
cussion as  to  methods  to  be  pursued  in  correcting 
the  wrongful  use  of  transfers.  The  whole  trouble, 
when  sifted  down,  is  in  the  perfection  of  a  system 
of  transfers  which  will  prevent  persons  not  in- 
tending to  use  them  from  turning  them  over  to 
others,  making  them  a  commodity  and  resulting  in 
much  loss  to  the  company. 

J.  G.  Huntoon  read  a  paper  on  "Discipline  of 
Car  Service  Employes." 

Thursday  afternoon  was  given  up  to  a  discussion 
of  the  testing  of  rail  bonds,  fields  and  armatures. 
The  subject  was  introduced  by  Roger  W.  Conant 
of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  who  came  on  from  that  place 
especially  to  present  the  subject.  The  subject  is  an 
important  one  and  the  discussion  of  it  required  the 
principal  part  of  the  afternoon,  with  the  exception 
of  a  short  period,  when  the  members  joined  in  the 
session  of  the  Iowa  Electrical  Association  to  listen 
to  the  paper  of  M.  J.  Wade  on  the  political  status 
of  rate   regulation. 

"The  Adoption  of  Gasoline  Motors  for  Street 
and  Interurban  Service,"  by  F.  W.  Hild  of  Dubuque, 
was  a  thoughtful  paper  and  brought  out  some  lively 
discussion.  It  was  read  Friday  morning.  Mr.  Hild 
analyzed  the  problem,  taking  into  account  the 
straight  electric  car,  the  gaso-electric  car  and  auto- 
mobile for  both  track  and  macadam  operation,  and 
gave  figures  on  cost,  maintenance  and  operation  of 
the  various  systems.  The  object  of  his  paper  was 
to  find  out,  if  possible,  just  what  operating  con- 
ditions would  make  this  or  that  system  a  paying 
proposition.     In  conclusion   he   said: 

"Managers  of  steam  railroads,  entrusted  with  the 
direction  of  large  vested  interests,  are  naturally 
very  conservative  and  therefore  slow  to  make  what 
would  appear  to  be  radical  changes  in  their  equip- 
ment. Therefore,  while  they  realize  the  limitations 
of  the  steam  locomotive  in  suburban  and  inter- 
urban service,  they  will,  before  stringing  the  trolley 
wire  over  their  tracks,  try  out  pretty  thoroughly 
the  independent  motor  car,  which  holds  out  allur- 
ingly the  suggestion  of  interurban  service  without 
the  power  house,  without  the  track  bonding,  and 
without  the  external  transmission  circuit.  This  try- 
out  will  definitely  establish  the  true  field  of  the  self- 
contained  car  and,  in  the  writer's  judgment,  this 
field  will  be  the  very  short  spurs  of  existing  steam 
railroads,  serving  sparse  population,  making  infre- 
quent trips,  principally  to  connect  with  main-line 
trains.  Take  one  road — the  Burlington,  for  exam- 
ple. The  Galena  Junction  shuttle  train,  operating 
on  a  five-mile  spur,  and  meeting  the  more  impor- 
tant trains  of  the  main  line;  and  the  Dubuque 
shuttle  train  which  operates  on  the  mile-and-a- 
quarter  spur  from  East  Dubuque  over  the  Missis- 
sippi River  Bridge.  These  could  well  use  such 
independent  motor  cars;  unless,  indeed,  electric 
power  at  satisfactory  rates  can  be  purchased  of  the 
neighboring  electric  companies. 

"There  is  another  field,  not  very  wide,  it  is  true, 
but  a  profitable  field,  which  the  independent  motor 
car  may  enjoy  with  freedom  from  competition. 
The  writer  expects  to  see  the  present  private  cars 
of  our  millionaires  displaced  by  the  independent 
motor  car,  which  can  be  made  as  comfortable  and 
luxurious  as  any  of  the  Pullmans  now  in  service. 
Its  owner  may  go  anywhere  that  standard  gauge 
tracks  lead  to,  regardless  of  limitations  to  locomo- 
tives or  to  electric  cars. 

"As  to  prospective  interurban  roads  which  are 
promoted  with  the  view  to  using  the  gasoline  or 
other  types  of  independent  motor,  it  is  highly  de- 
sirable to  go  slow  and  investigate.  Broadly  speak- 
ing, if  a  prospective  road  is  to  depend  for  revenue 
only  on  its  passenger  and  light  express  traffic,  and 
the  business  only  warrants  one-half  or  more  hours 
headway  between  cars,  it  becomes  very  much  of  a 
question  whether  or  not  the  road  will  pay  or  ought 
to   be   built   at    all." 

One  member,  in  discussing  this  subject,  said  that 
the  operating  cost  of  a  gaso-electric  car  is  greater 
than  the  straight  electric,  on  account  of  the  neces- 
sity of  three  operators  instead  of  two.  A  skilled 
mechanic  is  now  needed,  a  motorman  and  a  con- 
ductor. The  discussion  also  drifted  into  the  rela- 
tive merits  of  gasoline  engines. 

On  Friday  afternoon  G.  H.  Tontrup  of  St.  Louis 
read  a  paper  on  "The  Standard  Car  Body  and 
Truck  for  Both  City  and  Interurban  Service."  In 
city  service  the  requirements  are  manifestly  facility 
in  handling  passengers,  comfort  of  passengers  and 
maintenance  of  equipment.  The  double-truck  car 
is  the  steadier  and  facilitates  handling,  and  should 
be  as  low  and  long  as  possible  practically.  The 
entrance  should  be  a  single  door,  which  makes  more 
room  for  passengers  on  the  platform.  The  aisle 
should  be  as  wide  as  possible  and  leave  a  com- 
fortable seat.  As  to  maintenance,  the  jar  and  shock 
should  be  dissipated  by  a  sufficient  number  of  nests 
of  springs.  Straight  sides  are  best  from  a  mainte- 
nance point  of  view,  as  the  swell  bodies  of  the 
older  types  of  cars  necessitated  the  removal  of  an 
expensive  panel  when  a  break  was  made  by  acci- 
dent. 

For  the  interurban  car  the  same  general  con- 
ditions hold  true.  Smaller  cars  and  more  frequent 
.service   should  be   used  to  be   consistent  with    what 


April  28,  [906 


1I1,     intentrban    was    dc  igncd    for.     Mr.      I  a 
„;..,. 1   ii  -I  a  length  of  ,|.i  feci  over  all. 

The  last  paper  on  thi  progi  ammi  v  a  b  W.  R. 
Garton,  on  the  "Mutuality  of  lulcresl  of  the  Op 
erator  and  the  Supply  Man." 

Ai  the  executive  session  the  following  m 1  offi 

,  1     were  elected  : 

president     F.  J.   I  [anion,   \  ii  e  pn  lidenl   an  1   gi 

eral   manager  of   the    Ma:  0 and   I  Icai    Lai  • 

Railway  <  lompany,    Ma  on   <  it) 

\  i,  c  president  P.  P.  <  'rafl  1,  general  managi  1 
In'.v.-i  and   Illinois  Railway  Company,  Clinton. 

Secretary   and    treasurer     I..    I>     Mathcs,   general 

nun. ,,.,  'i      I    111. hi     Kirch  ir    I  i  .rii].n  11  \  ,     I  liil,il.|in-. 


Entertainment  to  Visitors. 

The  electric-railway  and  lighting  intcre  1     in   Di 

\l is  demonstrated,  as  they  have  <li -m-  in  the  past, 

1I1.1I   they  arc  composed  of  whole  sottlcd  and  hearty 

men    who    do    everything    in    their    power    iaki 

ii  stay  of  1  lit;  delegates  to  the  two  conventions 
1   pli  .1  anl   one. 

Mi,  power  plants  were  thrown  open  to  the  defc 
gati  ,  who  were  given  free  transportation  by  the 
Des    Moines   Cily    Railway    Company   and    the    Inter 

I  limn   Company,   handsome   little   souvenir   I klets 

containing  transportation  being  distributed  to  each 
\  isitor  at  the  ('invention. 

Thursday   evening   a   smoker   and   vaudeville   per- 

1 1 1 1 , , ■    was   given    by   the    railway   companies   at 

the  Elks  hall.  The  entertainment  included  some 
clever  wrestling  and  boxing  bouts  by  local  talent 
belonging  to  the  Iowa  Athletic  Association. 

immediately  after  the  close  of  the  last  session  of 
the  railway  association  the  delegates  were  taken  on 
two  ears  of  the  Inter  Urban  Company  and  taken  for 
a  trip  over  the  entire  system.  One  of  these  cars 
was  a  private  car  of  the  company  and  the  oilier 
was  one  of  the  latest  type  of  interurban  cars.  An 
excellent  luncheon  prepared  on  the  private  car  was 
served  to  all  the  guests,  which  numbered  nearly 
100  persons.  The  accompanying  picture  was  taken 
after  the  party  had  gone  some  distance  out  from 
Des    Moines. 

The  lines  of  the  Inter  Urban  Company  are  two 
in  number,  which  come  together  just  outside  the 
city  limits.  One  line  runs  to  Colfax,  23  miles,  on 
single  track.  The  transmission  line  runs  beside  the 
tracks  and  has  a  voltage  of  13.000,  with  one  sub- 
station. The  other  line  runs  to  Granger,  about  18 
miles,  and  is  also  supplied  by  one  sub-station.  The 
transmission  pressure  in  this  case  is  23,000  volts. 
Sendee  given  by  these  lines  is  excellent.  A  great 
deal  of  freight  and  package-delivery  business  is 
done  in  addition  to  the  regular  passenger  business. 
The  day  was  fine  and  everyone  enjoyed  the  outing 
immensely  after  the  work  of  the  conventions.  A 
resolution  of  thanks  was  drawn  up  on  the  train  and 
duly  presented,  expressing  the  appreciation  of  all 
for"  the  trip   which  was   so  thoroughly  enjoyed. 


Delegates  in  Attendance. 

Following  is  a  list  of  the  members  of  the  Iowa 
Electrical  Association  and  the  Iowa  Street  and  In- 
terurban Railway  Association  who  attended  the 
conventions  in  Des  Moines : 

Iowa  Electrical  Association. 

Dissell,   G.    M.,    Iowa  State   College Ames 

Blank,    F.    M.,   Hamburg   Electric   Light   Company.  .Hamburg 
I'.rownell,  Otto   E.,  lessee   Lake   City    Electric   Company.. 

Lake    City 

Burt.  Austin,   Waterloo  and  Cedar  Falls  Gas  and  Electric 

Light    Company    Waterloo 

Hurt,  iM.    1..,    Bedford  Light    Heat  and  Power   Company.. 

Bedford 

Carson,    George,    Iowa   City    Electric   Light    Company.... 

Iowa    City 

Chase,   II.    E.,  Leon    Electric  Light,  Heat  and  Power  Com- 
pany     Leon 

Christensen,    Niels,    Waterloo   and   Cedar   Falls    Gas  and 

Electric    Light    Company    Waterloo 

Cole,  O.   K.,  Grinnell   Electric  and  Heating  Company 

Grinnell 

Crawford,    I..  R..   Sioux  City  Service  Company Sioux  City 

Dodd,    A.    L.,   Charles   City   Light  and    Heat    Company... 

Charles    City 

Dyke,    A.    II.,    New    Valley    Junction    Water    and    Light 

"Company    Valley  Junction 

Emery,    C.    I...    Mount    \  croon    t.lcrtric    l.ielit    Lompanv.. 

Mount    Vernon 

Ford,  A.   II Iowa    City 

Green    S.   C Webster  City 

Greene.  W.  J.,   Cedar   Rapids  and  Iowa  City  Railway  and 

Light   ComDany    Cedar    Rapids 

Groyer,    W.   II.,  Iowa  State    College Ames 

Hampton,  A.   S.,  Des  Moines  Edison  Light  Company 

Des    Moines 

Harrison,  M.  A.,  Nevada  Electric  Company Nevada 

Harney,    C Guthrie    Center 

Hewes,   George  T Sioux   City 

Higbee,  John  A.,    People's  Gas  and   Electric   Company.  . . 

Burlington 

Hoag,    E.   W..    E.    W.   Hoag    Electric   Light    and    Power 

Company    Manchester 

Hudson,  \V.,    Des  Moines   Edison  Light  Company. Des  Moines 
Hopkins,    F.     M.,    Guthrie    Center    Electric    Light    Com- 
pany     Guthrie    Center 

Hoyer,    G.    C.    Nashua  Electric    Light    Company Nashua 

Hunt,    E.   C,  Belle  Plaine  Electric   Light  Company 

. Belle    Plaine 

Innes.  J.  A.,  Citizens'  Light,  Heat  and  Power  Company.. 

Eagle    Grove 

Tones     I.    P..    Citizens'    Gas   and   Electric   Company 

.  ..! Cedar    Falls 

Jones,    A.    E..    Perry    Electric    Light,    Railway    and    Heat 

Company    Perry 

Ketchum.  William,   Leon   Electric  Light.  Heat  and  Power 

Company    Leon 

Kline,   L.   O Winterset 

Lawton,     T.     IL,     Humboldt    Electric    Light    and     Power 

Company    Humboldt 

Linebaugh,    F.    W Ames 

Lundgren,    G.,    Cherokee    Electric    Company Cherokee 

Lyon.    C.    A..    Perry    Electric    Light.    Railway    and    Heat 

Comnanv    Perry 

Madson,    L.    F..    Northwood    Electric    Company.  ..  .Northwood 


i.l.l-.i  TRIi  [AN 

Moll,   W     A  ,    It-  III 

1.  I 

II 

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Wheeler,     I     1  .    ■■ 

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IllW   ■  ■       ,  •   HO*. 

.1'    P.,  Iowa  and  II  R 

Garner,   11     H      Olluloou  1 



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tlovey,    M.    «.,    Manholll  ■ 

an]  t  "  li.illi.iwn 

Howard.    It.    M-.  i  , 

Hunt. 1011.    I,    I ...     I  ,     '  I 

Joni    ,    '       I  '         i                           I  and    Railway 


Leu   iler,   R,    V.  '  Imaho  and  1 

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Mathcs.    I..     Ii..    I'm, ,11     II., tin     Company ' 

McDonald    '.'■ 

\.   ■  M.    I V. 

1,    11,    1:  .   Omaha    and   Council    Bluffs    Strccl    Rail 

woj   Company  Council   Bluff* 

I'.!        \ D 

Polk,  II-  If.  tnterurban  Railway  ( ' 

Rollins,   Richard  R 

Walters,    I     D„    Tama   and    Toledo    Electric    Railway    and 

right    Company    loi,  ,1,, 

\\  alt.  is,    W.    C,   Tama  and    Toledo   Electric    Railway  and 
Light    Company    Toledo 


Convention  Notes. 

J.  I!,  tviendenhall,  special  metal  salesman  "f  the 
National  Lead  Company,  made  it  a  point  to  stop 
over  and  see  bis  friends  at   the  convention. 

President   W.    R.   Garton   of   the   W.   R.    Garton 

Company,  Chicago,  and  C.  C.  Ewing  were  in  at- 
tendance and  exhibited  a  line  of  trolley  wheels, 
insulators,  bonds,  etc. 

F.  W.  Roberts  of  the  Clarke  Electric  Meier  Com- 
pany of  Chicago  was  at  the  convention  and  ex- 
plained the  work  of  his  company,  which  is  an 
expert  on  meter   repairing  and  calibrating. 

D.  Thomas,  representing  the  Atlas  Railway  Sup- 
ply Company,  exhibited  some  of  the  standard  types 
of  rail  joints  manufactured  by  his  company,  and 
which  arc  so  well  known  as  to  need  no  description. 

Frank  P.  Kennedy  and  F.  D.  Phillips  talked  for 
the  American  Electrical  Supply  Company  and  ex- 
plained in  particular  the  advantages  of  a  new  steel 
gain  for  pole  cross-arms,  which  they  had  on  ex- 
hibit. 

Sangamo  direct-current  and  alternating-current 
wattmeters  and  Packard  transformers  were  ex- 
hibited bv  the  Electric  Appliance  Company  of  Chi- 
cago, with  F.  J.  Alderson  and  J.  K.  Alline  in 
charge. 

Harry  H.  Polk,  the  president  of  the  Inter  Urban 
Railway  Company,  is  a  young  man  of  pleasing  per- 
sonality, and  the  hospitality  of  the  interurban  com- 
pany, which  was  displayed"  through  Mr.  Polk,  will 
long  be   remembered. 

E.  P.  Magoon  and  Sam  Furst  of  the  Illinois 
Electric  Company  and  the  Bryan-Marsh  Company 
were  joint  entertainers.  Though  they  did  not  make 
an  exhibit  their  quarters  were  crowded,  for  they  have 
many  friends  among  the  Iowa  electrical  men. 

The  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany gave  free  use  of  its  long-distance  lines  to  any 
part  of  the  country  to  delegates  after  four  p.  m. 
each  evening.  This  courtesy  was  greatly  appre- 
ciated and  many  took  advantage  of  the  generous 
offer. 

J.  A.  White,  from  the  Chicago  office  of  the  Elec- 
tric Storage  Battery  Company,  was  a  popular  man 
at  the  convention.  He  was  not  only  out  for  busi- 
ness, but  contributed  some  valuable  discussion  on 
the  subject  of  day-load  economy  in  central-station 
practice. 

Frank  N.  Jewett  and  C.  Warner  of  Chicago  and 
■  C.  E.  Delafield  of  St.  Louis,  the  well-known  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Wagner  Electric  Manufacturing 
Company,  were  present,  and  although  they  did  not 
show  any  apparatus  they  made  their  presence  felt 
none  the  less. 

Charles  L.  Wight,  auditor  of  the  Des  Moines 
City  Railwav  Company  and  the  Inter  Urban  Railway 
Company,  accompanied  the  delegates  on  the  trip 
over  the"  interurban  lines.  Mr.  Wight  is  a  pleasing 
conversationalist  and  he  took  great  pains  to  explain 
the  workings  of  the  system. 

One  of  the  most  popular  exhibits  was  that  of 
the  Fort  Wayne  Electric  Works,  which  was  in 
charge  of  Walter  S.  Goll  of  the  Chicago  office, 
F.  S.  Wiemeyer.  Iowa  representative,  and  T.  P. 
Bradner  of  the  St.  Paul  office.  These  gentlemen 
were  ready  at  all  times  to  explain  the  points  of 
advantage  "of  their  apparatus,  of  which  quite  a  line 
was  shown,  such  as  small  power  motors,  coin- 
operated    prepayment    meters,    arc    lamps,    fans,    etc. 


.V»i 

■  I    John     I      Ii 

' 
Inlnt    ... 

! 

•plain  but  (he 
man   who  did   ll 

John    t.     I'.oyd.    ■  r 
known. 

f    the    Columbi 

pany.    -.. 

tin-  smoker 
broadcast    among   hi-    friends   to   meet   bun   in   the 
ring.     But  hi-  magnificent  blufl  was  never  called. 

I  In-  Pittsburg  Piping  and  I  pany  of 

Pittsburg  was  represented  1,;,  :.  sec- 

retary   and    treasurer.      The    company    exhibited    an 
example   of  the    Pittsburg   joint,   in   which   the   pipe, 
■I   through   tin-   flange   and   ti,  n   rolled  out 
flange.     The  two  rolli 
faces    with    a    copper    gasket    between    form    a    per- 

tight   joint    when    the    flanges   arc    bol 
gcthcr. 

Joseph  T.  Ryerson  S  Son  of  Chicago,  repre- 
sented  by  J.  T.  Corbett,  bad  on  exhibition  a  model 
of  the  Morrison  corrugated  furnace    ■ 

wing  the  interior  construc- 
tion. The  particular  advantage  of  tlii-  boiler  is  that 
the  sediment  from  the  water  i-  collected  at  the 
bottom  of  the  boiler,  where  it  may  be  easily  re- 
moved, while  at  the  same  time  the  circulation  over 
the  heating  parts  is  good. 

A  new  electric  interurban  road  between  Des 
Moines  and  Creston,  a  distance  oi  60  miles,  i.  to  be 
built  within  the  next  two  years  and  is  to  be  known 
as  the  lies  Mi  lines.  Winterset  and  Creston.  Mr. 
V  I  Park  i-  tin-  general  manager,  and  was  a 
prominent  figure  at  the  conventions.  According  to 
Mr.  1'ark.  a  power  house  will  be  built  n< 
Moines,  the  initial  installation  being  2.00a  kil 
The  road  will  in  all  probability  he  single-phase. 

George  E.  Quigley  of  Omaha  was  one  of  the 
popular  supply  men  at  the  convention,  representing 
the  American  Steel  and  Wire  Company.  An  ex- 
hibit of  this  company's  product  was  made  in  one 
of  the  hotel  parlors.  There  were  samples  -bowing 
the  construction  of  a  three-phase  armored  cable  and 
also  of  a  paper-covered  cable.  The  street-railway 
men  were  particularly  interested  in  twin-terminal 
rail  bonds  which  were  shown,  and  many  visited 
the  exhibit  particularly  to  see  them  after  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  subject  of  rail  bonding  on  Thursday. 

Railway  supplies  of  a  varied  nature  were  shown 
by  Porter  &  Berg  in  conjunction  with  an  exhibit 
made  by  the  Garton-Daniels  Company.  The  former 
exhibited  rail  bonds.  Mayer  &  Englund  overhead 
material.  Locke  high-tension  insulators.  Kalamazoo 
trolley  wheels  and  harps.  Miller  anchors  and  the 
Crouse-Hinds  electric  headlight.  In  the  last  named 
the  carbons  are  set  obliquely  and  the  light  is  re- 
flected so  that  there  are  no  objectionable  shadows. 
Porter  &  Berg  were  represented  by  E.  R.  Mason 
and  \Y.  D.  Hamer.  The  Garton-Daniels  Company, 
which  showed  its  lightning  arrester,  was  repre- 
sented by  W.  P.  Caspar. 

Westinghouse  alternating-current  and  direct-cur- 
rent fan  motors,  type  MP  wattmeters,  arc  lamps 
and  type  F  circuit-breakers  were  the  principal  things 
shown  by  the  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufac- 
turing Company.  W.  R.  Pinckard.  A.  M.  Miller  and 
Harry  P.  Coughlan  were  the  efficient  representatives 
of  the  company.  They  also  had  on  exhibit  the  big 
meter  which  was  the  object  of  so  much  comment  and 
interest  at  the  Fond  du  Lac  electrical  show,  and 
which  was  illustrated  and  described  in  the  Western 
Electrician  last  week.  This  meter  was  too  large 
to  get  upstairs,  so  it  was  set  up  on  the  sidewalk 
just  outside  the  hotel,  and  there  was  a  curious 
crowd  around  it  at  all  hours. 

Some  interesting  things  in  the  line  of  arc-lamp 
construction  were  shown  by  the  Stanley-G.  I.  Elec- 
tric Manufacturing  Company.  Louis  Friedmann. 
E.  L.  Barr  and  C.  A.  Mann  being  in  attendance. 
The  new  type  K  lamp  has  some  mechanical  features 
to  recommend  it.  A  new  form  of  cross-head  does 
away  entirely  with  the  center  tube,  making  the 
parts  readily  accessible  and  aiding  in  trimming. 
Another  type  of  lamp  shown  was  a  short  lamp  only 
1^  inches  long  for  use  on  low  ceilings,  and  consum- 
ing about  the  same  power  as  six  16-candlepower 
incandescents.  There  were  also  shown  an  induction 
motor  and  a  Wright  discount  meter  for  determining 
the  load  upon  a  transformer. 


342 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April  28,   1906 


SELLING  ELECTRICITY. 


Under  this  he 


Proper  Handling  of   New-business 
Department.1 

By  W.  W.  Ferris. 

Much  is  said  and  little  is  done  toward  sugges- 
tions for  the  organization  of  a  new-business  de- 
partment. Let  me  therefore  suggest  a  plan  simple 
enough  and  cheap  enough  for  even  the  smallest 
central   station. 

First  of  all,  procure  and  maintain  a  respectable 
office,  be  it  ever  so  small;  light  it  well;  maintain 
at  all  times  a  modest  and  attractive  window  dis- 
play, which  should  be  changed  frequently;  invite 
people  to  come  to  your  office,  and  when  they  do, 
receive  them  as  they  should  be  received.  Profits 
to  be  realized  from  the  added  output,  together 
with  the  methods  to  be  devised  and  put  into  oper- 
ation in  the  getting  of  new  business,  certainly  make 
this  part  of  the  central-station  work  attractive  and 
interesting. 

The  proper  handling  of  the  new-business  depart- 
ment should  be  divided  into  three  general  heads — 
salesmen  or  solicitors,  advertising  or  publicity,  and 
rates. 

Requirements  in  a  solicitor  consist  primarily  of 
a  love  for  the  business,  loyalty  to  the  company 
and  an  inborn  and  inbred  taste  for  the  work.  With 
any  of  these  qualifications  missing,  the  company  had 
better  get  a  new  solicitor.  Given  these  three  quali- 
ties and  almost  any  young  man  can  make  a  de- 
cided success  at  soliciting.  The  field  from  the 
standpoint  of  a  solicitor  is  an  exceedingly  inviting 
one.  In  the  case  of  a  solicitor,  it  is  his  duty  only 
to  inform  a  prospective  customer  of  the  facts  re- 
garding the  goods  which  he  has  to  sell.  A  plain, 
straightforward  statement  of  facts  is  much  more 
effective  than  any  kind  of  oratory  or  dramatic 
effect.  A  solicitor  is  always  telling  his  pros- 
pective customer  of  facts  regarding  which  the 
customer  has  very  little  or  no  knowledge.  In 
almost  no  case  is  it  necessar)'  to  talk  to  anyone 
but  an  interested  and  attractive  listener.  Public- 
utility  salesmen  should  give  much  attention  to  local 
affairs,  should  study  carefully  the  best  trade  jour- 
nals, and  should  have  on  hand  at  the  office  of  the 
company  several  advertising  magazines  and  trade 
journals  generally  read  by  prospective  customers. 
The  company  should  furnish  for  the  solicitors'  use 
an  annual  subscription  to  at  least  six  of  the  lead- 
ing magazines. 

A  fundamental  essential  of  a  successful  new- 
business  department  consists  in  expending  judi- 
ciously a  certain  amount  of  money  in  advertising. 
In  my  opinion  a  large  part  of  this  should  go  to 
the  local  newspapers.  Advertising  in  its  various 
forms  must  of  course  he  of  great  value,  but  in 
my  opinion  there  is  no  way  of  bringing  a  subject 
to  so  many  people  for  the  money  as  by  the  means 
of  newspapers.  That  the  public  naturally  looks 
kindly  upon  large  advertisers  is  true  in  a  general 
way.  I  would  recommend  that  no  ad.  appear  more 
than  one  day.  Let  the  copy  be  pointed,  effective 
and  composed  only  of  interesting  facts ;  use  no 
exclamations  or  other  expressions  intended  to 
"catch"    but   lacking   in   thought. 

It  is  a  good  plan  for  any  company  in  organizing 
a  promotion  department  to  select  some  expression 
which  should  be  used  very  generally  throughout 
all  its  advertising  matter,  and  which  the  public 
shall  come  to  know  as  well  as  it  knows  the  com- 
pany's name. 

When  central-station  service  first  assumed  com- 
mercial proportions,  flat  rates  were  naturally  made. 
As  business  grew  it  was  soon  learned  that  this 
method  of  charging  was  unprofitable  and  unsatis- 
factory to  the  consumer.  From  this  extreme  the 
tendency  went  to  the  opposite,  and  a  few  years 
ago  it  was  the  general  opinion  that  nothing  should 
be  allowed  of  any  kind  except  a  meter  rate.  More 
recently,  however,  it  has  been  learned  that  the 
purely  meter  rate  is  almost  as  unsatisfactory  as 
the  old  flat  rate.  The  middle  ground  is  now  gener- 
ally taken,  and  a  combination  rate  made  which 
has  various  forms,  and  the  instance  is  now  very 
common  where  central  stations  are  making  flat 
rates  on  various  well-defined  kinds  of  lighting  and 
upon  some  kinds  of  power.  This  middle  ground 
has  become  of  great  value  to  the  central  station  in 
allowing  it  an  income  on  certain  kinds  of  lighting 
which  was  utterly  impossible  to  get  under  a  meter^ 
system. 

Regarding  the  question  of  a  solicitor  as  to  get- 
ting a  start  with  a  new  customer,  I  suggest  that 
the  company  adopt  one  little  plan  which  may  be 
Of  service,  and  that  is  in  trying  to  get  house  light- 
ing, particularly  houses  that  are  now  using  gas.  I 
find  it  rather  difficult,  owing  to  the  first  cost  of 
installing.  People  say  that  they  would  like  to  use 
electric  light  and  will  some  day,  but  they  do  not 
care  to  equip  their  houses  at  the  present  time.  My 
way  of  getting  at  them  is  this :  "We  will  put  a 
porch  light  in  for  you  at  50  cents  a  month  fiat." 
This,  I  believe,  is  something  a  great  many  would 
like.  After  they  are  started  with  a  porch  light 
pretty  soon  they  want   a  light  inside  the  hall,  and 

1.  Part  of  a  paper  read  before  the  J.  J.  Hogan  Engineering 
Club  of  La  Crosse.  Wis.,  March,  1906.  The  author  is  connected 
with  the  Wisconsin  Utrht  and  Power  Company  of  La  Crosse, 


ions  and  examples  which  will  be  of  assistance  in  the  constant  effort 
:tric  current  and  to  create  new  demands. 

then  the  meter  goes  in.  When  they  are  once 
started  it  is  just  a  question  of  time  until  the 
whole   house    is    electrically   lighted. 

There  are  at  least  four  elements  to  every  sale. 
First,  the  introduction  either  for  a  personal  inter- 
view or  by  letter;  second,  the  creating  of  a  desire 
in  the  prospective  customer  for  that  which  you 
have  to  sell;  third,  the  selecting  and  adjusting 
of  that  which  you  have  to  sell  to  his  particular 
needs  and  working  him  up  to  the  point  where  he 
will    be   ready  to   sign;    fourth,  the  sale. 

I  realize  how  hard  it  is  to  break  away  from 
your  daily  routine  and  give  matters  of  this  kind 
your  attention,  but,  as  already  stated,  much  has 
been  said — little  done.  Discussion  is  valuable  only 
when  it  works  hand  in  hand  with  accomplishment. 
A  single  plan  put  into  operation  is  worth  100 
"mind's-eye"  schemes.  The  thing  in  hand  is  the 
most  important  now.  Tomorrow  will  take  care  of 
tomorrow's  tasks  if  today's  tasks  are  done  today. 
On  the  clock  of  time  there  is  but  one  word,  and 
that  is  "now."  Now  is  the  time  to  begin.  By  the 
sweet  bye-and-bye  one  arrives  at  the  house  of 
never.  Putting  off  means  leaving  off  and  going 
to  do  becomes  undone.      So  begin  now. 

When  it  comes  to  personal  solicitation,  such 
solicitation  is  absolutely  essential  to  getting  busi- 
ness. Advertising  will  do  nothing  more  than  bring 
an  inquiry,  and  in  sending  out  solicitors  it  is  abso- 
lutely essential  that  those  solicitors  shall  not  only 
be  salesmen  but  educated  along  electric  lines. 
When  sending  out  a  solicitor  he  should  be  sent  to 
do  something.  The  point  simplv  is  that  when  a 
customer  has  been  lined  up  and  interested  the 
solicitor  must  know  exactly  what  the  man  should 
have,  not  what  he  wants  particularly,  and  what 
is  sold  to  him  ought  not  to  be  necessarily  the 
thing  that  is  going  to  bring  the  company  the 
largest  revenue  but  what  will  do  the  customer  the 
most  good. 

The  central-station  man,  if  he  is  going  out  after 
new  business,  should  economize  for  his  customer 
in  every  possible  way,  and  that  can  only  be  done 
by  keeping  in  close  touch  with  the  progress  of 
manufacturers  in  making  new  types  of  reflectors, 
lamps,  etc.,  which  enable  the  lighting  of  windows 
intelligently.  In  regard  to  the  motor  applications 
the  same  principle  is  true.  If  a  drug  store  is  do- 
ing a  good  soda-fountain  business,  you  might  say 
there  is  a  milk  shaker  available  there  which  might 
be  run  by  a  motor ;  but  it  is  really  not  enough  to 
tell  that  man  to  run  the  old  milk  shaker  by  a 
motor.  The  article  of  latest  design  from  some 
manufacturer  should  be  shown  by  picture  if  the 
article  itself  cannot  be  conveniently  obtained. 
Then  go  to  your  customer  with  a  "dead-open-and- 
shut"  proposition.  "By  this  it  costs  so  much  to 
install  and  run  and  will  give  3rou  so  much  profit." 
That  is  the  way  to  sell  goods  and  get  new  busi- 
ness. Salesmen  must  go  in  with  a  regular  propo- 
sition well  supported  by  facts  and  unvarying  fig- 
ures. 


Empty    Houses    Lighted    by    Electricity 
to  Attract  Purchasers. 

E.  A.  Cummings  &  Co.  and  the  Proviso  Land 
Association,  dealing  in  suburban  property  near 
Chicago,  have  tried  the  experiment  of  connecting 
all  their  50  new  houses,  built  for  sale  in  Maywood, 
to  the  electric-lighting  system  out  there,  and  show- 
ing them   off  at  night  brightly  illuminated. 

The"  idea  has  proved  most  successful,  the  firm 
reporting  that  business  has  been  done  under  these 
conditions  which  could  not  otherwise  have  been 
secured. 

Owners  of  new  apartment  buildings  in  Chicago 
have  frequently  done  the  same  thing  to  advan- 
tage, and,  as  there  is  no  minimum  bill  required  on 
electric-lighting  connections  any  longer,  it  would 
seem  like  a  good  chance  to  make  use  of  this  valu- 
able form  of  advertising  this  spring.  It  is  a  pay- 
ing investment  for  high-grade  property.  At  all 
events,  be  sure  that  your  propert3r  is  wired  for  the 
use  of  electricity,  as  the  discriminating  renter  or 
buyer  won't  look  at  it  otherwise.  Having  it  con- 
nected in  advance  is  excellent  assurance  of  com- 
pleted   wiring. 

E.  A.  Cummings  &  Co.  are  going  to  extend  this 
method  of  advertising  to  their  16  new  residences 
for  sale  in  River  Forest,  and  23  in  Harlem,  at  the 
terminus  of  the  Metropolitan  Elevated  Railroad. — 
The   Electric   City. 


Electric  Plate  Warmers. 

Mrs.  M.  B.  Florence,  in  an  article  in  a  late 
issue  of  The  Caterer,  says :  "Individual  electric 
plate  warmers  have  been  growing  in  favor  since 
their  practicability  has  been  demonstrated.  A  large 
order  for  them  has  recently  been  placed  for  the 
New  Hotel  Knickerbocker,  New  '  York.  They  are 
of  steel,  nickel  plated,  oblong  shape,  mounted  on 
legs.  These  up-to-date  service  adjuncts  are  in- 
valuable for  keeping  plates  or  specially  cooked 
dishes  hot,  for  service  to  rooms  or  any  other  place 
at  a  distance  from  the  kitchen,  or  when  two  or 
more  orders  are  brought  in  at  once  to  expedite 
service." 


Modern  Methods  of  Advertising.1 

By  Frank  B.  Rae,  Jr. 

You  have  heard  a  great  deal  within  the  last  few 
months  on  this  subject  of  advertising.  The  tech- 
nical press  has  been  full  of  it.  Advertising  agen- 
cies have  bombarded  you  with  it.  In  your  per- 
sonal meetings  and  conventions  you  have  discussed 
and  argued  it.  Advertising,  in  short,  is  the  talk 
of  the  hour  among  electrical  men — the  fad.  "Where 
will  it  all  lead?"  you  ask. 

Gentlemen,  it  will  lead  to  this:  The  business  of 
manufacturing  and  marketing  electric  current  will 
become  as  other  business,  and  it  will  be  advertised 
as  other  business.  The  trouble  just  now  is  that 
central-station  policy  and  practice  is  changing  to 
meet  new  conditions.  Heretofore  business  has 
come  to  you.  Hereafter  you  must  seek  business. 
That  is  the  meaning  of  all  this   furor. 

Advertising,  when  stripped  of  its  trappings  and 
gilt,  is  a  very  plain,  commen-sense  business  propo- 
sition—a proposition  of  selling  goods.  While  it 
would  seem  that  this  is  simple  enough  and 
obvious  as  the  first  proposition  in  geometry,  it  is 
a  fact  that  only  a  very  small  percentage  of  so- 
called  advertising  conforms  to  this  definition.  On 
the  contrary,  the  fundamental  principle  has  been 
so  hidden  and  befogged  by  a  maze  of  high-sound- 
ing words  that  not  one  man  in  a  thousand  of  those 
who  foot  the  bills  knows  what  he  is  trying  to  ac- 
complisn  or  is  paying  others  to  accomplish  for 
him.  He  staggers  along  blindly,  believing  that  any 
sort  of  an  announcement  regarding  his  business  is 
advertising,  and  the  more  startling  the  form  and 
wording  of  this  announcement  the  better  advertis- 
ing he  believes  it  to  be.  Just  as  idol-worshipers 
of  old  clothed  their  religion  in  fearful  mystery  and 
expressed  it  in  awe-inspiring  pageantry  and  ritual, 
so  the  ad  man  of  today  shrouds  simple  truth  in  a 
garment  of  the  inexplicable  and  says  much  about 
nothing,  with  pomp  and  ceremony. 

Gentlemen,  there  is  just  one  mystery  in  adver- 
tising—the mystery  of  the  personal  equation.  Ad- 
vertising— real  advertising — is  good  or  bad  only  as 
the  man  who  prepares  it  is  gifted  or  not  gifted. 
Words  are  in  every  man's  mouth,  but  every  man 
cannot  be  a  Patrick  Henry.  A  pen  is  in  every 
man's  hand,  yet  every  man  is  not  a  Shakespeare. 
The  tools  of  advertising  are  within  every  man's 
grasp,  yet  very  few  men  can  write  an  effective  ad- 
vertisement. It  is  well  for  us  to  recognize  at  once 
that  the  gift  to  see  and  express  in  advertisements 
the  possibilities  of  a  business  is  no  more  common 
than  the  gift  to  see  and  express  in  poetry  the  in- 
spiring  beauties   of   nature. 

Advertising  has  been  likened  to  salesmanships — 
salesmanship-on-paper  is  the  expression  of  a  clever 
ad  man.  For  practical  purposes  this  is  a  very  good 
definition.  Furthermore,  it  bears  out  what  I  have 
already  said.  You  have  all  listened  to  the  clever 
salesman.  He  came  unknown,  unasked  and  unan- 
nounced. His  dress  and  appearance  were  his  cre- 
dentials ;  a  bright  word  his  introduction.  In  terse, 
clean-cut  English  he  told  his  story :  with  con- 
vincing logic  he  drove  home  his  argument ;  with 
undeniable  assurance  he  solicited  your  business. 
Tact,  courage,  good  breeding  stamped  each  word. 
If  he  did  not  get  an  order  he  left  an  indelible  im- 
pression of  the  worth  of  his  goods.  Perhaps  you 
did  not  want  to  buy  them — for  any  one  of  a  thou- 
sand reasons — but  sooner  or  later  his  well-deliv- 
ered arguments,  his  tactful  insistence,  will  win 
you.     You  will  buy. 

What  were  this  salesman's  qualifications?  He 
was  tastefully,  or  at  least  decently,  dressed ;  his 
introduction  commanded  your  attention ;  his  argu- 
ment appealed  to  your  reason ;  his  tact  and  clever- 
ness assured  him  a  future  opening  if  not  an  imme- 
diate sale.  These  are  the  qualifications  of  a  suc- 
cessful salesman.  They  are  the  qualifications  of  the 
successful  advertisement. 

My  paper  was  to  be  devoted  to  advertising 
method,  yet  I  have  spoken  only  of  advertising  mat- 
ter. I  have  done  this  with  purpose,  for  unless  the 
matter  is  right,  no  method  will  avail.  Results  of 
a  sorry  sort  will  come  from  almost  any  advertis- 
ing just  as  sales  will  be  made  from  almost  any 
salesman ;  but  if  you  are  to  enter  this  field  with 
an  idea  of  profit,  let  me  exhort  you  to  pay  the 
bulk  of  your  attention  to  matter.  The  need  of 
method  will  be   self-evident. 

It  must  be  understood  that  the  backbone  of  your 
business-getting  department  is  the  solicitor.  Ad- 
vertising can  persuade  a  man  of  the  advantages  of 
your  service;  can  convince  him  that  he  needs  it; 
can  cr3rstalHze  his  desire  into  an  immediate  de- 
mand for  specific  information  touching  his  indi- 
vidual wants;  but  it  cannot  figure  his  installation, 
nor  secure  his  signature  to  a  contract.  This  re- 
quires a  solicitor 

Granted  that  you  have  intelligent  and  energetic  so- 
licitors, the  advertising  will  be  designed  to  bring 
the  prospects  to  the  point  where  it  will  require  the 
least  amount  of  the  solicitor's  time  to  close  a  con- 
tract. To  do  this  is  not  the  work  of  a  single  ad- 
vertisement, nor  of  a  number  of  diversified  and  dis- 
jointed advertisements.  It  is  the  work  of  a  long- 
continued,  regular,  systematic  advertising  cam- 
paign. 

It  is  here  that  the  average  lighting  manager  in- 
terposes objections.     He  is  perfectly  willing  to  take 


C.  W.  Lee  Company. 


April    28,    [906 


). 1.1.'  TRU 


"flyei        1 1  ""I    il I    ' lili '1 

p,  1  fiap      01    inserl    a     0  calli  '1     '1  ati 

new  ipapei        '  iui  h   ach  erti  ing,   il    idvcrti  ■  11 

li,    calli  d,   1     ill'     1 1    «  Ubjci 

,1     you    « ill   i"   tlii       tatcmcnt,   il   yoi 

again    your    adverti  iing    1  ainpaign    lb    tin      vorl     - 

the    • npli  I"  'I     ali    man    you     •  ill    begin    to 

1I1.    "reason    whj "   ol    Ihi     follow  ni thod      I  01 

r,in     .il.  .in. 111  doi     alw  ij     '."  1 rdi  1    on   In 

first   call,    nor    his     ;ci I,    1101    the    third       1 

take  a  half  dozen  of  his  calls  to  cdw  ati    ^011  lo  thi 

nil. ml: i      lli        I I        I      I"      ,\  i '       I 

.1 diort,   to   I R    you   to   thi    bttj  ing    1 1 

I  [ad     the     firm     cmploj tlii        ali    man      -  m 

different   man  each   time ;   had   tin    '  ai  ion     men  em 

ployed    radical]}     diffi  n  nl    hod  .    il    1      probabli 

that  you   would   pay   little   if  any   attention    to   thcii 
solicitation        Bui    the   om    man,   Ihe   one   mi  thod 
ih     constant,   aggressive,   pel   1  tent,    follow  up     thai 
is    wh.it    lands   the   ordei 

\111l  that  is  what  will  land  orders  from  adver 
tising. 

The  matter  of  such  a   follow  up  campaign   should 

I  e    pi; ccl,   prepared    and     ystetnatized    in 

with  very  strict  regard  to  local  conditions.  Il  is 
in  the  planning  and  systematizing  that  such  a  cam 
paign  wins  or  loses  in  the  logical  sequence  of 
the  advertising  used.  The  system  of  handling  in- 
quiries, nl  checking  and  revising  the  mailing  lists, 
,,i  adapting  the  solicitor's  lahor  and  reports  1  1  thi 
mutual  benefit  of  both  solicitors  and  the  advi  rti 
ing— these  arc  all  vitally  important  points  to  be 
settled  before  a  single  piece  of  maltei  is  issued. 
Having  settled  them  the  actual  follow  up  work  n 
sokes  itself  iiiin  the  very  simple  proposition  of 
seeing  thai  the  matter  goes  out  promptly  on  the 
scheduled  dates,  that  inquiries  arc  carefullj  fol 
lowed  and  thai  the  enthusiasm  of  the  soliciting 
force  is  kepi  at  fever  heat.  When  il  is  under- 
stood that  the  chief  object  of  the  advertising  is 
to  pave  the  way.  introduce  and  make  definite  ap- 
pointments for  the  solicitors,  the  importance  of 
having  the  latter  always  aggressive  will  be  appre- 
ciated. The  actual  business-getting  must,  and  al- 
ways   will,    remain    with    the    soliciting    force. 

"Modern  Methods  of  Advertising,"  so  far  as 
the  central  station  is  concerned,  means  merely  that 
you  regularly  and  persistently  keep  the  advan- 
tages of  your  service  before  every  prospective  cus- 
tomer within  reach  of  your  mains.  That  such 
methods  can  he  adopted  with  profitable  results  by 
the    smaller   plants    has   been    demonstrated. 

But  a  warning  should  be  sounded.  Do  not  make 
your  advertising  too  elaborate  or  too  voluminous. 
Do  not  waste  it  upon  ill-chosen  lists.  Most  impor- 
tant of  all,  do  not  allow  it  to  be  designed  by  an 
advertising  man  ignorant  of  the  ethics  of  the  light- 
ing business,  or  by  a  lighting  man  lacking  in  ad- 
vertising   genius    and    experience. 


Minneapolis  Merchants  Believein  Light. 

"Minneapolis  is  fast  becoming  the  electrical  city 
of  the  country,  and  as  far  as  the  business  districts 
are  concerned,  the  best  lighted,"  says  the  Journal  of 
Minneapolis.  "Block  after  block  of  the  downtown 
streets  is  being  equipped  with  private  arcs — both  elec- 
tric and  gas — that  throw  a  brilliant  white  light  over 
the  building  fronts,  the  display  windows  and  the 
sidewalks  and  streets.  Since  the  introduction  of  the 
idea,  merchants  have  taken  to  it  with  a  rush  and 
are  installing  lights." 

"The  first  move  was  the  illuminated  sign  that  is 
now  seen  everywhere.  The  addition  of  the  outside 
lights  makes  the  display  more  effective.  This  scheme 
of  electrical  illumination  not  only  advertises  the  mer- 
chant who  installs  it,  but  helps  advertise  the  city. 
The  flaming  arc  lamp  is  new  in  Minneapolis.  It 
has  a  strangely  penetrating  light.  The  lamps  are 
made  only  in  England.  They  are  burned  in  pairs 
and  cost  $150  a  pair.  The  same  voltage  is  used  as 
in  the  arc  light,  but  about  seven  amperes  are  required 
instead  of  three  and  one-quarter,  as  in  the  old  form." 


Electric  Signs  as  a  Summer  Load. 

In  a  recent  folder  the  Chicago  Edison  Company 
makes  the  point  that  the  summer  season  is  the  best 
time  of  year  for  outdoor  advertising.  This  is,  of 
course,  because  more  people  are  out  of  doors,  but. 
with  the  decrease  in  the  ordinary  lighting  load,  the 
fact  is  a  good  thing  to  be  borne  in  mind.  To 
encourage  the  electric-sign  business  the  company 
offers  to  secure  suitable  roof  locations  for  its 
customers,  furnish  the  signs  subject  to  their  ap- 
proval and  attend  to  all  details.  All  the  sign  ad- 
vertiser does  is  to  pay  for  the  light  after  the  sign 
is  up.  It  is  said  that  there  are  thousands  of  good 
roof  locations  along  the  various  elevated  and  sur- 
face roads  visible  nightly  by  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  people,  which  might  be  utilized.  The  title  of 
this  striking  folder  is  "Making  $$$$$  After  Dark." 
It  will  be  seen  that  it  is  something  of  a  step  in 
advance  in  the  matter  of  the  central-station  com- 
pany itself  securing  the  locations  for  the  advertis- 
ing roof  signs. 


Whitewashing  the  tunnels  of  the  Central  London 
Railway  will  be  done  by  an  ingenious  device,  de- 
signed by  General  Manager  G.  C.  Cuningham.  The 
apparatus  will  be  attached  to  an  ordinary  motor 
car.  Through  finely  pierced  piping  an  electrically 
driven  pump  forces  the  whitewash — fed  by  a  600- 
gallon  tank — which  emerges  in  the  shape  of  a  fine 
spray. 


Central-station  Advertising. 

null     ad     in     a 

ing    .■    width 

I 

ill, 
uri    to  attention   and 


THE 

STUDY 

LAMP 

Much  of  Ihe  comfort  derived 
from  reading  evenings,  de- 
pends on  the  light.  It  should 
throw  a  soft  glow  over  Ihe 
bonk  or  piper,  and  leave 
Ihe  eyes  in  the  shadow. 

This  is  etieiltiatty  accom- 
plished  by  the  use  of  an 
electric  portable  lamp.  Call 
at  our  office. 

WISCONSIN 

LIGHT  &  POWER 

COMPANY. 

Both  Phones  271.         318  Main  S 


^EDISON* 


library  or  living  room?  Will  not  a  central 
head  source  of  illumination,  with  suitable  shade 
accessories,  giving  the  most  light  over  the  reading 
table  and  yet  lighting  the  whole  room  fairly  well, 
In  In  si  both  for  the  company  and  the  user?  The 
sharp  contrast  between  a  brightly  lighted  area  from 
the  study  lamp  and  the  dim  light  of  the  outlying 
parts  of  the  room  is  fatiguing  to  the  eye,  and 
should  be  avoided. 

The  New  York  ad  is  tastefully  arranged,  but 
it  might  be  more  forceful,  more  convincing.  One 
great  advantage  of  electric  drive — "the  moment  the 
motor  stops  the  expense  ceases" — is   not  mentioned. 


Census  Figures  of  Electrical  Manufac- 
tures for  1  904. 
The  director  of  the  census  announced  on  April 
23d  the  result  of  the  tabulation  of  the  statistics  of 
electrical  machinery  and  apparatus  for  the  calendar 
year  1904,  forming  a  part  of  the  census  of  manu- 
factures of  1905.  taken  in  conformity  with  the  act 
of  Congress  of  March  6.,  1002.  Like  the  New 
Year's  estimates  of  the  Western  Electrician,  the 
figures  indicate  that  there  has  been  a  substantial 
increase  in  this  industry  in  the  United  Stales. 
Compared  with  the  statistics  of  1900,  which  cov- 
ered the  fiscal  year  ended  May  31st.  the  following 
summary  is  given : 

Percent. 

of  In- 

1905.  1000.         crease. 

Number  of  establishments 783  580  35.0 

Capital S191. 460.8-4    S63, 130,943        130.3 

Salaried  officials,  clerks,  etc. : 

Number ir.S90  4.987        13s. 4 

Salaries S  11.675. 5-6    S  4. 563. 112        155-9 

Waee-earners: 

Average  number 59.330  40.800  45.1 

Wages S  31.226.721     S20.n10.344  54.7 

Miscellaneous  expenses 17.934, S78        6.78S. 3t4        1642 

Total  cost  of  materials  used 66,72s. 176      48.916.440  36.4 

Total  value  of  products. *t40.6i4.4Si      91.348.8S9  53.9 

♦Exclusive  of  S17.335.033  reported  as  by-products  of  other  in- 
dustries, the  aggregate  value  of  electrical  machinery  and  appa- 
ratus production  for  1905  being  St57.949.5i4. 

The  principal  products  are  summarized  as  fol- 
lows : 

Percent, 
of  In- 

Dynamos S  11.0S4.234    S  10.472.576  5.S 

Motors 22.370.626  19.505.504  14.7 

Carbons.... 2.710.935  1,731,248  56.6 

Incandescent  lamps S. 310. 159  4.036,112  106. 1 

Telephone    and    telegraph  appa- 
ratus  16.974.S92  12.154.67S  39.7 

Insulated  wires  and  cables 34.519.699  21.292.001  62.1 

All  other  products 59,171.047  33.490.464  76.7 

Custom  work  and  repairing 2.798.922  2.063,736  35.6 

SI57.949.5I4    S104.746.319  50. S 

T.  C.  Martin,  special  agent  of  the  Bureau  of  the 
Census  for  electric  industries,  supplies  this  com- 
ment: "These  figures  will  be  developed  and  dis- 
cussed later  in  the  usual  bulletins  and  reports  of 
the  Census  Office.  In  these  'detailed  figures  the 
group  of  All  Other  Products,  here  constituting  a 
third  of  the  total  amount,  will  be  considerably  sub- 
divided and  classified  in  detail.  It  will,  of  course, 
be  understood  that  these  figures  do  not  include 
the  very  large  amount  of  manufacturing  and  repair 
■work  done  by  the  public-service  corporations  of  all 


OBITUARY. 


Robert  H.  MacMullan. 
Kobe  1 

liiill     III     ill     In 

hell    it 
untry    and    had 

eilie,     a 
and   oii. 

iglit    plant    wai    undergoing 
in    1809,    Mr.    MacMi 

ami  made  general  manager      lb-  built  up  thi 

He  was  prominent  a  num- 

a  member  of  the  Elks,  was  a  Mason  and  a  member 
,1    thi     Sons  the    !•'■      lution,    and    of   the    Loyal 

age  at  the  timi 

death. 


William  A.  Rudd. 
William  A.  Rudd.  manager  of  the  Western   Union 

suddenly 
.,1  the  Boothby  Surgical  Hospital  in  Boston  on 
April  13th.  He  went  to  the  hospital  on  April  4th 
and   was  0]  -  -nl  6th. 

1 1  was  thought  that  he  was  recovering,  but  there 
was  a  change  for  the  worse  early  in  the  evening  of 
he  died.  Mr.  Rudd  was  born  in  Connecti- 
cut 50  years  ago  and  went  West  while  young.  He 
learned  telegraphy  in  the  West  and  was  for  some 
time    in  it  Western     Union    Company's 

at  St.  Paul.  Minn.,  a  position  he  resigned  to 
become  manager  of  tin  Postal  Telegraph  Company's 
office  at  Memphis,  Tenn.  He  went  to  Bo-ton  from 
the  latter  place  two  years  ago.  He  left  a  widow 
and  one  son.  The  latter.  Leon  E.  Rudd.  is  mana- 
ger of  the  Western  Union  Company's  branch  office 
at  16  and  ifs  Devonshire  street.  Boston.  .Mien 
\\ lie.  for  many  years  in  the  company's  employ- 
ment as  manager  at  smaller  cities,  is  acting  manacer 
at   Boston. 

George  W.  Stockley. 

George  W.    Stockley  of  Cleveland,   '  I 

the  pioneers  in  the  electrical  business  in  this  coun- 
try and  the  first  president  of  the  Brush  Electric 
Light  Company,  died  at  Atlantic  City.  X.  J.,  on 
April  19th.  His  death  was  due  to  pneumonia.  Mr 
Stockley  was  born  in  Cleveland  53  years  ag 
is  survived  bv  three  sons  and  one  daughter — Wai- 
ter D..  Gait  and  George  I.  Stockley  and  Mrs.  Owen 
Johnson  of  New   York. 


Electrical  Exports  for  February. 

Electrical  exports  from  the  United  States  during 
February  reached  a  value  of  $1,191,438.  compared 
with  $1,055,962  for  February.  1905.  Both  electrical 
machinery  and  electrical  appliances  (the  latter  in- 
cluding telegraph  and  telephone  instruments!  show 
a  gain  over  February,  1905.  The  figures  are  as 
follows:  Electrical  appliances— February.  I9°5 
4S3:  February.  1906.  $544,006.  Electrical  machinery 
—February,  1005.  $637,479;  February,  1906.  $ 

Considering  electrical  machinery  only,  the  prin- 
cipal purchasers  from  the  United  States  and  the 
value  of  their  purchases  during  February  were  as 
follows:  Cuba.  $135,218;  British  North  America. 
$128,322;  United  Kingdom.  $117,393;  Mexico.  $72,- 
52S:  Japan.  $64,197:  British  Africa.  $25,006:  Brazil. 
$11,301;  Philippine  Islands.  $10,097:  British  Aus- 
tralasia. $5.063 :  Germany.  $9.301 :  Argentina.  $4.- 
$91;    France.   $3,631. 

Eastern  capitalists  have  been  looking  over  the 
ground  from  Corbin.  Ky.,  to  Jellico.  on  the  line 
between  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  for  an  electric 
railway.  Should  the  road  be  built,  waterpow-er 
from  the  falls  of  the  Cumberland  River.  16  miles 
from  Jellico,  will  be  used  for  the  generating  plant. 
It  is  believed  that  100.000  horsepower  could  be  gen- 
erated, as  the  river  has  a  fall  of  about  So  feet. 


344 

Franklin   Honored   in  Philadelphia. 

An  elaborate  programme,  including  a  wide  range  of 
events,  characterized  the  celebration  in  Philadelphia 
of  the  bi-centennial  of  the  birth  of  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin. Franklin's  versatility  was  especially  beneficial 
to  Philadelphia,  where  he  did  many  things,  from 
the  inventing  of  an  improved  pump  to  the  found- 
ing of  a  university  and  a  philosophical  society. 
The  celebration  in  Philadelphia  began  with  a  wel- 
coming reception  on  Tuesday  evening,  April  17th. 
and  ended  with  a  banquet  on  the  evening  of  April 
20th.  There  were  many  noted  men  present  from 
all  parts  of  the  world.  Flags  were  flying  in  all 
parts  of  the  city  and  at  night  an  equally  appro- 
priate tribute  was  paid  in  the  electrical  display, 
the  City  Hall  being  illuminated  with  thousands  of 
red.  white  and  blue  incandescent  bulbs,  wdiile  the 
characteristic  kite,  outlined  in  white  electric  lights, 
with  an  electric  key  dependent  from  the  tail,  was 
displayed   over   the   four   entrances. 

The  presentation  of  the  honorary  degree  of  doc- 
tor of  laws  to  Miss  Agnes  Irwin,  great-grand- 
daughter of  Franklin,  conferred  by  Andrew  Carne- 
gie, lord  rector  of  St.  Andrew's  University,  Scot- 
land, was  the  first  of  a  series  of  events  in  the 
celebration.  This  followed  the  reception  of  dele- 
gates representing  learned  societies  from  this  and 
other  countries.  President  Edgar  F.  Smith  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society  presided  at  the 
reception,  and  in  his  address  dwelt  at  some  length 
on  Franklin's  electrical  experiments  and  showed 
that  certain  principles  evolved  by  him  have  re- 
mained unchanged  to  this  day.  Franklin  was 
elected  president  of  the  Philosophical  Society  in 
1769. 

In  the  building  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society  on  Wednesday  some  of  the  leaders  of 
thought  in  the  principal  nations  of  the  world  gath- 
ered. Prof.  William  B.  Scott  of  Princeton  and 
Edgar  F.  Smith,  president  of  the  society,  shared 
the  honors  of  presiding.  Of  the  papers  read  many 
were  very  technical.  Sir  George  Howard  Darwin, 
for  instance,  apologized  at  the  conclusion  of  a  very 
elaborate  paper  on  the  interaction  on  each  other  of 
two  heavenly  satellites,  one  liquid  and  the  other 
solid,  connected  by  an  imaginary  pipe  without 
weight,  for  discussing  a  theme  which  hardly  more 
than  one  or  two  present  would  comprehend.  Pro- 
fessors E.  L.  Nichols  of  Cornell  and  Ernest  Ruth- 
erford of  Montreal  talked  about  electricity  as 
developed  from  the  beginnings  of  the  science  which 
Franklin  had  so  much  to  do  with.  A  popular 
paper  was  that  of  Professor  Pickering  of  Harvard, 
in  which  he  proposed  to  commemorate  the  Frank- 
lin bi-centennial  by  the  establishment  of  an  inter- 
national astronomical  observatory  on  some  of  the 
high  Andean  peaks. 

Before  beginning  his  paper  Mr.  Darwin  presented 
to  the  American  Philosophical  Society  a  very  fine 
medallion  of  Franklin  and  another  of  Erasmus 
Darwin.  One  of  the  highly  technical  papers  was 
on  "The  Statistical  Method  in  Chemical  Geology," 
by  Prof.  Frank  Wigglesworth  Clark  of  Washing- 
ton. Prof.  Thomas  C.  Chamberlain  of  the  Chi- 
cago University  discussed  a  possible  reversal  of 
deep-sea  circulation  and  its  effect  on  geological 
climates.  He  said  that  the  phenomena  of  the  at- 
mosphere and  the  ocean  attracted  the  old  philos- 
opher, Franklin,  and  aside  from  atmospheric  elec- 
tricity, certain  climatic  phenomena  were  subjects  of 
his  special  study.  Prof.  Hugo  De  Vries  of 
Amsterdam,  Holland,  read  a  paper  on  "Elementary 
Species  in  Agriculture,"  and  he  was  followed  by 
Prof.  Edward  C.  Pickering  of  the  chair  of 
astronomy  at  Harvard. 

In  the  afternoon  Prof.  Albert  A.  Michelson  of 
Chicago  read  a  paper  on  "Form  Analysis,"  showing 
by  stereopticon  the  most  delicate  crystal,  shell, 
plant  and  other  forms.  In  his  paper  on  "The 
Present  Position  of  the  Problem  Concerning  the 
First  Principles  of  Scientific  Theory,"  Prof.  Josiah 
Royce  of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  to  the  evident  enjoy- 
ment of  the  keen  minds  before  him,  undertook  to 
analyze  the  thinking  process,  contending  that  the 
study  of  scientific  theory  must  resolve  itself  into 
a  sort  of  science  of  a  thinker's  ways.  In  an  ad- 
dress on  /'Positive  and  Negative  Electrons,"  Prof. 
H.  A.  Lorentz  of  Amsterdam  referred  to  the  fact 
that  Franklin  tried  to  explain  all  electricity  by  one 
electric  fluid.  Professor  Lorentz  entered  into  an 
elaborate  demonstration  to  prove  that  there  are 
two  electric  fluids,  the  positive  electron  being  the 
electricity  in  the  mass  of  matter,  in  the  body  of 
the  earth,  and  the  like,  while  the  negatfve  electro^ 
is  the  movable  or  fugitive  electricity. 

Telegrams  and  cablegrams  of  felicitation  were 
read  by  Secretary  I.  Minis  Hays  from  the  Tokyo 
Zoological  Society',  from  the  oldest  society  in  Hol- 
land, from  the  Imperial  University  at  Tokyo,  from 
the  Imperial  St.  Petersburg  University  Council,  the 
Institute  of  Electrical   Engineers   and  others. 

The  evening  was  devoted  to  Franklin's  electrical 
work.  Several  letters  from  prominent  foreigners 
were  read  and  then  Professor  Barke,  vice-president 
of  the  society,  introduced  Prof.  Edward  F.  Nichols 
of  Cornell  University,  speaking  of  him  as  the  fore- 
most man  of  the  country  in  the  science  of  elec- 
tricity. Professor  Nichols  spoke  at  length  on 
"Franklin's  Researches  in  Electricity."  Among  other 
things  he  said:  "That  Benjamin  Franklin  should 
be  the  author  of  the  one  theory  of  electricity  which 
of  all  the  views  on  this  subject  comes  nearest  to 
our    twentieth-century    concept   may    seem    strange ; 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

for  with  him  electricity,  after  all,  was  merely  an 
episode,  a  form  of  intellectual  diversion." 

Prof.  Ernest  Rutherford  of  Montreal  spoke  on 
"The  Modern  Theories  of  Electricity  and  Their 
Relation  to  the  Franklinian  Theory."  In  a  lengthy 
and  somewhat  technical  paper  he  devoted  himself 
to  pointing  out  the  significance  of  Franklin's  con- 
tributions to  the  knowledge  in  the  special  domain 
of  electrical  theory.  The  speaker  constantly  linked 
the  name  of  Franklin  with  those  of  J.  J.  Thom- 
son, Lord  Kelvin,  Lorentz,  Maxwell,  Drude,  Zee- 
man  and  other  specialists  in  electricity.  He  com- 
mented on  the  fact  that  Franklin's  one-fluid  theory, 
in  a  modified  form,  had  survived  for  a  century  and 
a  half. 

It  is  provided  that  15  native  and  five  foreign 
members  may  be  elected  to  the  Philosophical  So- 
ciety at  each  annual  meeting.  Just  that  number 
were  elected  at  the  conclusion  of  the  morning 
programme.  During  the  intermission  for  luncheon  the 
delegates  discussed  the  earthquake  news  from  San 
Francisco.  Professors  Scott  and  Chamberlain,  in 
answer  to  questions,  said  there  was  no  connection 
between  the  recent  eruption  of  Vesuvius  and  the 
seismic  disturbance  which  wrecked  San  Francisco. 
"It  is  merely  a  coincidence,  I  think."  said  Professor 
Scott.  "The  old  theory  that  there  is  a  necessary 
connection  between  volcanic  eruptions  and  earth- 
quakes is  pretty  well  exploded  now.  The  two 
phenomena  are  too  far  separated  to  have  any  inter- 
relation. Earthquakes  are  common  in  Northern 
India,  where  there  are  no  volcanoes.  It  is  true  that 
the  earth  wave  at  Vesuvius  may  have  been  felt  in 
some  slight  degree  at  San  Francisco,  just  as  a 
sound  wave  may  register  at  a  remote  distance. 
The  earthquake  shocks  in  Japan,  for  instance,  are 
always  registered  by  the  very  delicate  instruments 
in  the  Isle  of  Wight  observatory."  Professor 
Chamberlain  said  the  quake  at  San  Francisco  might 
be  due  to  a  line  of  fracture  in  the  Sierras  that 
gives  way  now  and  then. 

On  Thursday  Franklin's  memory  was  honored  in 
the  Academy  of  Music  by  conferring  the  degree  of 
LL.  D.,  conferred  by  the  University  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, founded  by  Franklin,  upon  Edward  VII,  in 
appreciation  of  the  service  rendered  by  George  II 
in  establishing  the  school  which  developed  into  the 
present  institution.  The  honor  was  accepted 
through  the  British  ambassador  to  the  United 
States.  At  the  same  time  degrees  were  conferred 
on  19  other  eminent  men,  after  which  Attorney- 
General  Carson  delivered  a  brilliant  eulogy  upon 
Franklin. 

The  grave  of  Franklin  in  old  Christ  Church 
burying  ground  was  covered  with  wreaths  in  the 
afternoon  by  representatives  of  the  President  of 
the  _  United  States,  the  commonwealth  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  the  local  institutions  with  which  Frank- 
lin's name  is  immortally  linked.  This  followed  a 
parade  of  the  military.  Masons  and  postmen  of  the 
city,  while  the  cruiser  named  for  the  state,  lying 
off  Arch  street  wharf,  fired  -a  presidential  salute 
of  21   guns. 

At  night  a  brilliant  reception  was  held  in  the 
ballroom  of  the  Bellevue-Stratford,  where  the  dele- 
gates to  the  Philosophical  Society  and  the  leading 
men  and  women  of  the  city  were  introduced  to 
each  other  by  President  Edgar  F.  Smith  and  Mayor 
Weaver,  and  by  Prof.  Hugo  De  Vries  of  Amster- 
dam, representing  the  foreign  delegates.  They 
stood  upon  a  raised  dais,  under  flags  of  all  coun- 
tries, and  for  more  than  an  hour  the  line  was  pass- 
ing by. 

The  concluding  ceremonies  were  begun  at  the 
Academy  of  Music  on  Friday.  Speakers  were  in- 
troduced by  Governor  Pennypacker,  who  presided 
jointly  with  President  Smith  of  the  Philosophical 
Society.  Franklin  was  spoken  of  as  a  citizen  and 
philanthropist  by  Horace  H.  Furness ;  as  a  printer 
and  philosopher  by  President  Eliot  of  Harvard,  and 
as  a  statesman  and  diplomatist  by  Joseph  H. 
Choate.  Secretary  of  State  Root  presented  to  the 
Republic  of  France,  on  behalf  of  the  Congress  and 
by  direction  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
a  gold  medal  in  commemoration  of  this  bi-centen- 
nial of  Franklin's  birth.  It  was  accepted  for  the 
republic  which  had  done  so  much,  through  Frank- 
lin's mediation,  to  aid  the  struggling  colonies  in 
their  revolution,  by  Ambassador  Jusserand.  Mr. 
Choate  formally  presented  to  the  United  States 
the  Earl  Grey  portrait  of  Franklin,  which  rested 
upon  the  stage  in  its  gilt  frame  upon  an  easel. 

The  formal  part  of  the  celebration  concluded  with 
the  session  of  the  Philosophical  Society  in  the 
afternoon.  Before  the  reading  of  papers  a  tele- 
gram was  sent  to  the  California  Academy  of 
Science,  expressing  the  grief  of  the  Philosophical 
Society  at  the  great  calamity  which  had  befallen 
San  Francisco. 

Prof.  Paul  Haupt  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  Univer- 
sity read  a  paper  on  "The  Herodotean  Prototype  of 
Esther  and  Sheherazade."  A  paper  on  "The  Use 
of  Dilute  Solutions  of  Sulphuric  Acid  as  a  Fungi- 
cide" was  read  by  Prof.  Henrv  Kraemer  of  Phila- 
delphia, and  Prof.  William  Keith  Brooks  of  Balti- 
more read  an  essay  on  "Heredity  and  Variation. 
Logical  and  Biological."  Franklin  was  represented 
as  the  one  who  was  first  to  recognize  that  north- 
east storms  were  from  the  southwest,  in  a  paper  by 
Prof.  William  M.  Davis  of  Cambridge.  Mass.  "The 
Elimination  of  Velocity  Head  in  the  Measurements 
of  Pressures  in  a  Fluid  Stream"  was  the  title  of  a 
paper  by  Prof.  Francis  E.  Nipher  of  St.  Louis, 
who  is  experimenting  with  apparatus  to  determine 
the   -wind    pressure    against    sky-scrapers,    the   prac- 


April  28,    1906 

tical  purpose  of  which  is  to  assist  architects  in  their 
work.  Prof.  Cleveland  Abbe  of  Washington,  D.  G, 
showed  that  Franklin  was  a  meteorologist  of  no 
mean  ability.  Dr.  John  A.  Brashear  of  Allegheny 
read  a  paper  on  "Notes  on  the  Production  of 
Optical  Planes  of  Large  Dimensions,"  and  Prof. 
William  B.  Scott  of  Princeton  read  a  paper  on 
"Notes  on  a  Collection  of  Fossil  Mammals  from 
Natal." 

The  celebration  was  concluded  with  an  elaborate 
banquet  at  the  Bellevue-Stratford  in  the  evening,  at 
which    Dr.    S.    Weir   Mitchell    was   toastmaster. 


In  view  of  the  disaster  at  San  Francisco,  the 
exercises  which  were  to  have  taken  place  in  Paris 
on  April  20th,  on  the  occasion  of  the  unveiling  of 
the  statue  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  presented  to  the 
municipality  of  Paris  by  John  H.  Harjes,  the 
American  banker  of  Paris,  were  postponed. 


The  Paris  Lighting  Situation. 

The  prefect  of  the  Seine  has  just  presented  a 
memoir  to  the  Paris  Municipal  Council  in  which 
he  gives  the  results  of  an  examination  of  12  propo- 
sitions which  have  been  made  to  him  by  various 
parties  or  companies,  as  a  result  of  the  advertised 
wish  of  the  municipality  to  receive  proposals  for 
the  carrying  on  of  the  lighting  of  the  city  of  Paris 
on  the  expiration,  in  a  year  or  so,  of  the  several 
concessions  riow  worked  by  the  "secteurs."  (These 
"secteurs,"  of  course,  are  the  sectors  in  which 
Paris,  considered  as  a  circle,  has  been  divided  for 
electric-lighting  purposes,  to  give  each  company  a 
share  of  the  heavy   "downtown"   business.) 

The  examination  of  the  prefect  has  given  re- 
sults which  may  be  considered  as  negative.  In 
fact,  it  appears  from  the  report  of  the  engineer  in 
charge  of  the  commission  that  the  prefect  of  the 
Seine  considers  that  two  of  the  12  projects  sub- 
mitted are  complete  from  a  technical  as  well  as 
from  a  financial  point  of  view ;  but  it  is  stated 
that  these  projects  do  not  provide  adequately  for 
the  period  of  transition,  which  the  municipality  is 
so  desirous  should  be  adopted,  on  the  running  out 
of  the  concessions.  This  so-called  period  of  transi- 
tion, in  fact,  takes  the  aspect  of  .1  short  concession, 
which  the  municipality  desires  to  grant,  under 
suitable  guarantees,  to  allow  it  time  to  cast  around 
and  take  stock  of  the  doings  of  other  cities  in 
respect  to  municipal  enterprise,  before  deciding  to 
confide  to  a  private  concern  a  concession  or  con- 
cessions for  any  length  of  time.  This  period  of 
transition,  it  is  considered,  should  be  worked  by 
a  single  company,  to  avoid  the  inconvenience  of 
dealing  with  the  several  secteurs  now  in  existence. 

The  memoir  goes  on  to  state  that  the  public 
appeal,  decided  upon  on  December  27th  last,  has 
not  caused  the  submission  to  the  city  of  any  proj- 
ects offering  advantages  superior  to  those  contained 
in  projects  already  in  the  hands  of  the  commission. 
One  of  these  projects  was  submitted  by  a  syndicate 
formed  last  autumn  in  Paris,  with  the  object  of 
consolidating  the  Paris  lighting  interests  and  ob- 
taining a  concession  from  the  city  for  future  ex- 
ploitation of  electric  lighting  in  the  city.  It  is 
this  project  that  the  prefect  of  the  Seine  advises 
should  be  accepted.  It  is  generally  known  as  the 
Schneider-Milde  proposal,  these  two  firms  having 
controlling  interests  in  the  syndicate.  In  this  scheme 
the  problem  of  the  "transition  period"  is  solved  by 
merging  it  in  the  new  concession  which  is  sought 
bj'  the  syndicate.  The  prefect  considers  that  the 
proposals  of  the  syndicate  are  attended  with  no 
risks  and  at  the  same  time  the  interests  of  the  city 
and  those  of  the  consumer  are  both  well  safe- 
guarded. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  sub-commission  of  the 
Municipal  Council  is  not  yet  ready  to  take  into  con- 
sideration any  proposals  which  may  be  made  for 
the  future  regime  of  the  lighting  of  the  city  of 
Paris,  and  the  deliberations  of  this  commission  will 
form  the  subject  of  a  report  which  may  contain 
conclusions  differing  from  those  now  presented  by 
the  orefect  of  the  Seine  in  his  memoirs  M.  V. 


Free-alcohol  Bill  Passes  Lower  House, 

The  House  of  Representatives  at  Washington. 
D.  C,  has  passed,  almost  unanimously,  the  free- 
alcohol  bill.  The  bill  provides  that  denatured  do- 
mestic alcohol  may  be  withdrawn  from  bond  with- 
out the  payment  of  an  internal-revenue  tax  for 
use,  not  only  in  the  arts  and  industries,  but  for 
fuel,  light  and  power.  The  bill  provides  for  its 
denaturing — that  is,  making  it  poisonous,  so  that  it 
cannot  be  used  as  a  beverage  or  for  medicinal  pur- 
poses. Mr.  Young  of  Michigan  opposed  the  bill 
on  the  ground  that  it  would  destroy  the  wood- 
alcohol  industry.  In  his  district  alone  15.000  per- 
sons are  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  wood 
alcohol  and  $20,000,000  invested  in  manufactories. 
Champ  Clark  of  Missouri  pointed  out,  however, 
that  most  of  the  wood  alcohol  now  made  would 
be   used   for  denaturing  purposes. 


April  28,    [906 

World-wide  Telephone  Rates  Disclosed 
by  Canadian   Inquiry     II. 


1:1 


The    Po  1.1I     I  1  h  graph    Dcpar ■ 1    il. 

eral    Po  toffii  1    in   England   reports   tl  il    thi    I  'niti  'I 

Kingdom    is    divided    into    a    numbci     ol    • 

areas   containing  generally  one   large   town  and   tnc 

"i ding   smaller  place        I  he  c  an  a     vai  |   

idcrably   in  si/",  tin    large  il   bi  ing  the   mctropolil  in 

area,   which    is   aboul    640     qnai Ii  1    in 

I  he:  ■     areas    are    c :i  ti  d     by     long  di  t; 

trunk   lines,   which   are  all  owned  and   operated   l> 

the  state.     Circuits   which   may   I i   considerabl 

length  connecting  exchanges  within   the   s; iri 

arc    erected    and    worked    by  iIil'    party   or    partii 
supplying   the   local   exchange  service   in   the  area. 

There   were   112,743^  miles  of  long  di  1 lini 

>>n  March  31,  1005,  their  cost  being  about  $102.27 
per  mile  of  single  wire,  or  $204.54  pur  mile  of 
circuit.  These  Inns  were  carried  upon  10,958^ 
inilrs  of  poles  and  comprised  56,371^  mile  ol 
separate    circuits.      The    charge    for    long-distance 

IC is   six    cents    fur  each  period   of  three   min 

uiis'  conversation  for  each  25  miles  up  to  100 
miles,  \2'/i  cents  for  each  additional  40  mill  01 
fraction   thereof  above   100  miles. 

The  distances  are  measured  "as  the  crow  flics" 
Inl ween  the  central  exchanges  where  the  trunk 
lines  arc  worked,  except  in  the  case  of  the  lines 
between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  In  that  case 
the  mileage  is  calculated  as  the  crow  flics  to  the 
respective  terminals  of  the  cable,  and  an  extra 
charge  of  37  cents  for  each  three  minutes'  use 
is  made  for  the  use  of  the  cable.  A  charge  of  six 
cents  for  each  three  minutes'  use  is  also  made  for 
the  cable  connecting  the  Isle  of  Wight  with  the 
mainland.  Double  periods  arc  allowed  for  a  single 
charge  when  the  conversations  take  place  at  night. 
Subscribers'  circuits  are  with  few  exceptions  of 
copper  and  metallic  throughout.  The  size  of  wire 
varies  from  150  pounds  per  mile  to  800  pounds 
per  mile. 

The  expenditure  on  trunk  lines  was  $13,621,390 
up  to  March  31,  1905.  The  cost  of  maintenance 
was  $303,858.78  for  the  year  ended  March  31,  1905. 
This  amount  does  not  include  depreciation.  Three 
per  cent,  interest  is  paid  on  capital.  The  amount 
set  aside  for  depreciation  was  $378,199.33  for  the 
year  ended  March  31,   1905. 

When  Mr.  Austen  Chamberlain  was  postmaster- 
general  in  Great  Britain  he  decided  in  view  of 
representations  made  by  Mr.  Lough,  M.  P.,  to 
open  experimentally  some  rural  telephone  call 
offices,  that  is  to  say  call  offices  in  villages  by 
means  of  which  the  inhabitants  may  communicate 
with  their  nearest  market  town,  and  with  callers 
at  other  village  call  offices  on  the  same  local  sys- 
tem.    The  service  was  to   be  purely  a   local   one. 

Three  districts  were  chosen  for  experiments: 
Cavan,  in  Ireland,  in  which  Mr.  Lough  was  inter- 
ested ;  Fraserburgh,  in  Scotland,  and  Oakham,  in 
England.  The  expense  involved  was  small  in  these 
cases,  as  existing  telegraph  circuits  could  be  util- 
ized for  calls  also.  All  that  was  necessary  was  to 
make  a  few  slight  alterations  and  to  provide  some 
silence  cabinets.  Callers  in  the  villages  can  ar- 
range with  their  correspondents  in  the  market  town 
to  attend  at  the  call  office  at  a  certain  hour,  or 
they  can  first  make  a  call  to  the  market  town  in 
order  to  obtain  the  services  of  an  express  messen- 
ger there  who  will  fetch  the  person  required  to  the 
telephone.  There  has  now  been  a  fair  opportunity 
of  judging  of  the  utility  of  arrangements  of  this 
kind,  and  it  seems  clear  that,  when  the  call  offices 
are  grouped  around  a  town  to  which  the  exchange 
system  has  not  been  extended,  very  little  use  is 
likely  to  be  made  of  the  call  offices  and  their  main- 
tenance will  be  unremunerative.  At  Oakham  and 
Cavan,  where  there  are  no  telephone  exchanges, 
four  cents  is  charged  for  each  call,  and  if  the  serv- 
ices of  an  express  messenger  are  required  they 
have  to  be  paid  for  at  the  ordinary  express  service 
rates,  and  the  minimum  charge  for  a  message 
becomes  10  cents.  This  perhaps  is  more  than  the 
villagers  can  afford  to  pay  for  the  privilege  of 
speaking  to  their  market  town.  In  any  case  com- 
paratively few  calls  have  been  made;  and  the  re- 
ceipts have  not  covered  the  expenses,  although  the 
latter  have  been  small.  At  Fraserburgh  the  cir- 
cumstances are  different.  There  is  a  considerable 
postoffice  exchange  system  there,  and  callers  at  the 
postoffice  can  speak  to  subscribers  to  the  exchange 
without  having  to  make  previous  arrangements  with 
their  correspondents  or  to  employ  express  messen- 
gers. Moreover,  as  the  charge  for  a  local  call  on 
the  Fraserburgh  exchange  is  only  one  penny,  one 
penny  only  has  been  charged  for  a  local  call-office 
call.  The  result  has  been  that  at  Fraserburgh  the 
call-office  receipts  have  about  met  the  expenses. 

South   Africa. 

Johannesburg  in  the  Transvaal  has  a  population 
of  80,000.  The  telephone  system  is  owned  and 
operated  by  the  government  of  the  Transvaal  Col- 
ony, and  comprises  1,500  subscribers.  There  is  one 
switchroom  or  central  office,  with  1,486  direct 
lines.  Eighty-five  outside  extension  telephones  and 
190  inside  extension  telephones  connect  with  these 
direct    lines. 

The  rates  for  business  and  residence  telephones 
are  : 

Within  a  radius  of  two  miles,  $97.40  for  the  first 
connection;    $85.23    for   the   second,    and   $73.05    for 


ELE<  'l  RIi 

annum.     I  hi  r< 

In    Switzerland    thi 

bi  1  ii    foi 

.-.  1 1  ■    1   ;  millimci 

and    for   those    1 in 

irin     two  to  thn  -   millimi  tci      n  dial 
There    .1"      till    in    1  h 
great    nun 
Bron       vin 
arc  gradu 

•  1  il,.  rs'   circuil  I    rgo4 

siill  aboul  2,  ii  1 
through  to  thi  i 
aci  omit  of  thi  • 
.ill   .c  1    the   counti  y,   and    the    influi  1 

then  bj   on  the  telepl lini  ■   olved 

gradually    to    introduce    for    the  telephoni 

exclusively    the    double 

For  the   interurban   1 .1    Ii  mg  distan 
bronze     wire     three,     four     or     live    ril       mi  I 

diameter  is  used,  ac ling   to  thi    lenj 

pose  of  the  lines.     The  interurban   coi 

during  the    last     few    years,    being    COI 

lircly   of   double    wire.     There  are   still    14   lit 

single    wire,    existing    from    the    older    regime. 

I  1 cpenses  of  the  telegraph  and  telephone  lines 

(the  new  constructions)  are  placed  to  the  construc- 
tion account.  This  amounted  to  $3,115,858  at  the 
end  of  1904.  The  interest  paii 
per  cent,  of  the  capital  on  December  31,  1903.  The 
yearly  amount  of  sinking  fund  for  construct!' 
count  is  15  per  cent,  of  the  capital  on  December  31, 
1903.     Charges   for  interurban   calls  as   well   as   the 

charges  for  local  calls  are  noted  down  by  telepl 

girl  clerks.  A  careful  account  is  kept  for  eai  I 
single  subscriber,  and  the  total  amount  is  paid  in 
every   month   through    the   postoffice. 

During  the  last  few  years  the  government  has 
begun  to  use  simultaneous  telephony  and  telegraphy 
on  the  interurban  lines,  employing  the  "Cailho" 
system.  When  the  insulating  conditions  are  good 
on  these  lines  this  arrangement  has  been  quite 
satisfactory. 

The  population  of  Switzerland,  according  to  the 
census  of  December  1,  1900,  was  3,315,443.  The 
total  number  of  telephone  subscribers  in  Switzer- 
land  is  47,314,   or   one   telephone   to   70  inhabitants. 

German-Belgian   Compact. 

Agreement  has  been  entered  into  between  the 
Belgian  and  German  governments  concerning  tele- 
phone service  between  the  two  countries.  Lines 
constructed  in  both  countries  are  connected  so  that 
the  exchanges  in  Belgium  and  Germany  may  trans- 
act a  toll  business.  The  managements  of  the  tele- 
phone departments  in  the  two  governments,  how- 
ever, can  make  extensions  or  improvements  to  the 
interconnecting  system  only  by  mutual  agreement. 

Russia. 

Nearly  all  the  long-distance  lines  in  Russia  are 
owned  and  operated  by  the  government.  The  total 
pole-route  length  of  these  is  1,521  miles.  There 
are  generally  from  16  to  20  poles  to  each  1,167 
yards.  The  cost  of  the  St.  Petersburg-Moscow 
lines,  comprising  two  bronze  metallic  circuits,  was 
$492.44  per  mile. 

Subscribers'  circuits  are  overhead  and  under- 
ground. The  former  are  principally  of  bronze,  with 
a  diameter  of  1.2  millimeters,  but  there  are  also 
circuits  of  iron  wire  with  a  diameter  of  three 
millimeters  for  country  subscribers.  In  the  case 
of  underground  cables  the  circuits  are  copper  and 
the   diameter  of  the  wires   is  0.66  millimeter. 

Revenue  from  the  communications  between  St. 
Petersburg  and  Moscow  in  1904  was  $83,704.50,  and 
during  1903  $63,610.23.  Between  Warsaw  and 
Lodz  in  1904  the  revenue  was  $10,827.36,  and  dur- 
ing 1903  $9,500.72.  The  total  expenditure  upon  the 
operation  and  maintenance  of  the  telephone  service 
between  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow  during  each 
year  is  $iS,025.  For  the  telephone  service  be- 
tween St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow  the  surplus  in 
1904  was  $36,050.  Some  of  the  long-distance  lines 
are  used  for  simultaneous  telephony  and  telegraphy. 

The  switchboard  in  most  general  use  has  an 
equipment  of  100  single  lines  and  is  made  in  the 
Ericsson  factory  at  St.  Petersburg.  It  costs 
$283.25.  The  same  switchboard,  with  an  equipment 
of  100  metallic  circuits,  costs  $309.  Multiple  switch- 
boards are  also  made  at  the  same  factory  and  cost 
from  $3.61  to  $5.15  for  each  number.  A  switch- 
board with  magneto  generator  for  operating  mag- 
neto bells  for  two  lines  having  double  circuits 
costs  $5.15.  The  same  for  two  lines  with  single 
circuits  costs  $4.76.  A  simple  switch  for  two  lines 
with  double  circuits  costs  72  cents.  The  same  for 
two  lines  with  single  circuits  costs  44  cents.  Wall 
and    desk   telephones    cost   $16.48   each. 

A  lead-covered  cable  with  37  pairs  of  conductors 
costs  $2.S3  per  toise  (six  feet  four  inches).  The 
same  with  112  pairs  of  conductors  costs  $5.15  per 
toise.  The  same  with  400  pairs  of  conductors  costs 
$J3-39  per    toise.      Bronze    wire    of    a    diameter    of 


345 

■ 

■  rably. 

Tasmavia. 
In  the   Island  of 

I  lie     • 

1 

■ 

1   multiple,  wui 

h    rn- 
■I. mi   at   on.-   position   t',  put 
ar  of  an  alter, 
any  other  position  by  pressing  a  button.     Thi 
nically. 
At     1 1 
with    the    exchang-.    lour    of    which 
•h    line-    are    u 
the    call    is    re  in    the 

form   of    a    "t....i.      on    others    the    calling    current 
a    relay    and    a    shutti  1  induc- 

I     with     vibrator    i,    used     for    cab:-  . 
ton  there  are  four  trunks,  for  all  of  which 
telegraph    lines  arc   used  on   the  condenser  principle. 
On    the    larger   exchanf  '.changers   arc 

country  exchanges  the  call 
is  by  magneto.  The  present  central  switchboards 
arc  now  will   be  immediately   replaced 

mints,     the     particular    design 
being   not  yet   decided   on— probably  central   energy. 
[The  end.] 


Bell  Telephone  Output. 

The  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany reports  for  March  as  follows:  Output  of 
instruments.  188,102,  against  169.159  for  March  last 
year  and  126,522  in  1904;  instruments  returned, 
66,596,  against  47,645  last  year  and  35,043  in  1904: 
net  output,  121.506,  against  121,514  last  year  and 
91,479  in  1904;  outstanding  March  31.  6,046.080. 
against  4,781,736  last  year  and  3,972,095  in   1904. 


GENERAL  TELEPHONE  NEWS 

The  Davenport  and  Tipton  Independent  Tele- 
phone Company  has  sold  its  interests  in  Walcott. 
Iowa,  to  the  German  Mutual  Telephone  Company 
of   Clinton,    Iowa. 

Among  recently  incorporated  telephone  companies 
are  the  following:  Nelson  Telephone  Company. 
Nelson,  Minn.:  Valparaiso  Telephone  Company, 
Valparaiso,  Neb. ;  Solon  Telephone  Company,  So- 
lon, Neb. ;  California  Telephone  Company,  Cali- 
fornia, Mo. 

A  unique  telephone  fight  is  on  at  Webster  City, 
Iowa.  The  Martin  Telephone  Company  recently 
raised  the  rates  on  telephones  in  physicians'  offices 
to  that  paid  for  other  business  telephones.  As  a 
result,  n  of  the  13  doctors  have  removed  their 
telephones,  and  the  telephone  company  proposes  to 
hire  physicians  to  locate  there  to  compete  with  the 
local  doctors. 

The  Court  of  Chancery  of  New  Jersey  has  ap- 
pointed Charles  M.  Myers  of  New  York  receiver 
of  the  Telegraph  and  Telephone  Company  of  Amer- 
ica, a  large  holding  company,  with  $30,000,000  capi- 
tal stock.  The  liabilities  are  placed  at  $925,5  _. 
composed  largely  of  unpaid  assessments  on  stocks. 
The  assets  are  $2,051,171,  but  of  uncertain  value. 
it  is  said,  because  they  are  composed  of  stocks 
and  bonds  of  subsidiary'  companies,  most  of  which 
are    inactive. 

The  New  England  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company's  stockholders  will  hold  a  special  meeting 
on  May  7th  to  act  upon  the  directors'  recommenda- 
tion that  the  capital  be  increased  from  $30,000,000 
to  $50,000,000.  Of  the  present  capital  stock  the 
company  has  issued  $28,000,000.  Directly  and 
through  its  sub-companies  the  company  operates 
200,000  subscribers'  stations  in  Maine.  New  Hamp- 
shire, Vermont  and  Massachusetts.  The  new  stock 
will  be  issued  as  funds  are  required  for  new  con- 
struction, equipment  and  exchange  buildings. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  contract  agents  of 
the  Bell  telephone  companies  of  the  United  States 
and  Canada  is  announced  to  begin  in  Atlanta,  Ga.. 
on  May  15th,  continuing  one  week.  There  will 
be  addresses  by  prominent  officials,  and  other  at- 
tractive features  on  the  program.  Two  or  more 
representatives  from  each  of  the  Bell  companies 
will  be  expected,  besides  officials  and  others  in- 
terested. These  meetings  ■  have  usually  been  held 
in  the  north  and  east,  but  it  was  decided  this  year 
to  bring  the  convention  south,  partly  on  account 
of  the  growth  of  the  southern  Bell  system. 


346 


CORRESPONDENCE, 


Great  Britain. 

London,  April  II.— An  almost  perfect  feeling  of 
despair  seems  to  be  coming  over  promoters  of  pri- 
vate bills  with  the  present  government  in  power, 
for  it  is  becoming  abundantly  clear  that  any  public 
undertaking  not  promoted  by  a -municipal  authority 
in  some  shape  or  form  will  stand  a  very  poor 
chance  of  being  passed  into  law.  The  proceedings 
in  connection  with  the  London  electric  power  bills 
have  proved  this  up  to  the  hilt.  As  I  have  already 
reported,  the  London  County  Council  bill  was  read 
a  second  time  and  referred  to  a  hybrid  committee, 
while  the  other  schemes  meantime  were  suspended, 
but  a  right  was  given  to  appear  against  the  Lon- 
don County  Council  bill.  The  promoters  of  the 
Administrative  County  of  London  bill  accepted  this 
dictum,  but  an  effort  was  made  to  pass  the  new 
power  bill,  viz.,  the  additional  electric  supply  bill, 
as  a  measure  solely  to  deal  with  the  electrification 
of  railways.  This,  in  itself,  was  a  laudable  object 
and  one  which  was  strongly  supported  by  the  railway 
companies,  for  it  is  an  open  secret  that  none  of  the 
latter  will  ever  take  a  supply  from  the  London 
County  Council.  However,  there  was  a  strenuous 
opposition,  and  the  bill  was  actually  opposed  by 
the  cabinet,  on  whose  behalf  the  House  was  asked 
to  teach  the  promoters  a  lesson  for  attempting  to 
secure  a  second  reading,  after  the  previous  action 
of  the  government  in  sending  the  London  County 
Council  bill  to  a  committee,  where  everyone  could 
appear  against  it.  The  result  was  that  the  bill  was 
rejected  by  a  majority  of  nearly  200.  The  large 
proportion  of  business  men  interested  in  this  matter 
view  with  apprehension  the  prospect  of  the  supply 
of  electricity  in  London  being  handed  to  the  Lon- 
don County  Council  as  a  monopoly.  Personally, 
however,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  there  will  not 
be  time  to  pass  any  measure  dealing  with  this  sub- 
ject this  session,  and  that  in  consequence  the  whole 
controversy  will  be  started  de  novo  next  year. 
Meantime  large  manufacturing  works  are  leaving 
or  threaten  to  leave  London  for  the  want  of  that 
cheap  supply  of  electrical  energy  which  is  so  essen- 
tial to  their  industrial  and  commercial  well-being. 
It  is  interesting  to  note,  also,  that  the  whole 
action  of  the  government  in  this  matter  has  been 
of  a  party  character,  which,  as  has  several 
times  been  pointed  out,  is  much  to  be  regretted. 
In  addition  to  openly  opposing  all  the  schemes 
which  were  antagonistic  to  the  London  County 
Council  scheme,  it  has  appointed  no  fewer  than 
seven  supporters  of  the  government  out  of  the  nine 
members  which  will  form  the  committee  dealing 
with  the  bills.  It  may  be  anticipated  that  at  least 
one  other  member  is  not  a  radical  municipalist,  but, 
as  I  have  suggested,  save  for  the  shortness  of  time, 
there  would  not  be  much  doubt  as  to  the  result. 
While  on  the  point  of  municipal  trading — and  it 
is  a  most  important  one  at  the  present  time — it 
will  be  appropriate  to  point  out  that  for  the  first 
time  in  its  history  the  proposals  of  the  London 
County  Council  to  carry  tramways  over  the  Thames 
bridges,  and  the  authority  for  London  councils  to 
supply  electrical  fittings  on  hire,  have  been  passed 
in  the  lower  house  unopposed.  The  opponents  are 
trusting  in   the   House  of  Lords. 

The  interesting  and  prolonged  discussion  on  elec- 
tric winding  for  mines  which  has  just  been  con- 
cluded at  the  Institution  of  Electrical  Engineers 
is  remarkable  for  the  enormous  quantity  of  sta- 
tistics produced  by  the  various  speakers,  all  deal- 
ing with  the  same  mines,  but  being  based  on  dif- 
ferent premises.  The  result  was  a  fine  confusion, 
without  close  and  careful  study  of  the  figures  after- 
ward. The  main  object  of  the  originator  of  the 
discussion  was  to  show  how  far  behind,  in  effi- 
ciency, electric  winding  is  to  steam  winding,  but 
the  advocates  of  the  former,  in  order  to  institute 
comparisons,  produced  figures  worked  out  on  a  dif- 
ferent basis,  and  thus  there  were  two  sides,  each  ob- 
viously making  out  the  best  case  for  itself;  a  not 
particularly  desirable  thing,  from  the  point  of  view 
either  of  debate  or  impartial  facts.  One  point  was 
conceded  all  around,  however,  and  that  was  that, 
whereas  steam  winding  is  much  cheaper  in  initial 
capital  expenditure,  electric  winding  is  much 
cheaper  in  running  costs.  The  discussion  has  cer- 
tainly awakened  a  general  interest  in  the  application 
of  electricity  to  mines,  which  did  not  exist  before, 
but  the  fact  that  a  prominent  member  of  the  elec- 
trical profession  should  point  out  the  shortcomings 
of  electrical  equipments,  seems  almost  to  have 
rankled   in   some   minds. 

The  interesting  statement  was  made  in  the  House 
of  Commons  the  other  day  that  the  rather  frequent 
breakdowns  upon  the  District  Railway  have  been 
due  to  the  use  of  German  axles ! 

The  National  Telephone  Company  has  just  placed 
its  wires  underground  in  Birmingham,  and  the  cor- 
poration   has    paid   half   the   cost. 

The  development  of  the  radial  tram-car  truck  is 
being  pushed  here  now,  and  the  Birmingham  Cor- 
poration has  ordered  that  150  of  its  new  cars  shall 
be  fitted  with  these  instead  of  rigid  wheel  trucks. 
The  chief  engineer  of  the  Birmingham  Tramway 
Company,  which  at  present  runs  a  lot  of  cars  in 
the  city,  was  an  early  inventor  of  a  truck  of  this 
type. 

A  special  meeting  of  the  Underground  Electric 
Railways  Company  of  London  has  been  held,  at 
which  it  was  decided  to   authorize  the  directors   to 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

raise  further  funds  to  the  extent  of  $25,000,000  to 
he  used  in  the  prosecution  of  the  objects  of  the 
company.  It  has  been  decided  to  abandon  the  use 
of  the  sliding  exit  doors  in  the  middle  of  the  elec- 
tric coaches,  as  on  several  occasions  passengers  have 
been  caught  between  them  and  hurt.  I  have  wit- 
nessed one  or  two  such  accidents  myself,  which 
arise  through  the  doors  being  out  of  the  gateman's 
sight. 

One  of  the  London  borough  councils,  which  sup- 
plies electricity  for  its  own  street  lighting  at  about 
five  cents  per  unit,  has  been  offered  a  supply  for 
this  purpose  by  a  competing  company  at  three 
cents.  The  company,  if  its  offer  is  refused,  has 
intimated  that  it  will  lay  the  facts  before  the  Lon- 
don County  Council  and  the  Local  Government 
Board.  G. 


New  York. 


'  New  York  city,  April  21. — Preparation  of  the  gas 
and  electric-light  contracts  on  the  basis  of  the  bids 
submitted  by  the  companies  on  February  1st  has 
been  completed  by  Commissioner  Ellison  of  the  De- 
partment of  Water  Supply,  Gas  and  Electricity,  and 
he  expects  to  lay  them  before  the  mayor  on  Monday. 
Corporation  Counsel  Delany  already  has  gone  over 
them,  and  it  is  expected  that  as  soon  as  the  mayor 
gives  his  assent  the  contracts  will  be  signed,  thus 
giving  the  lighting  companies  contracts  for  the  first 
time  in  three  years. 

Dr.  Schuyler  Skaats  Wheeler,  chairman  of  the 
contest  committee  which  will  conduct  the  two-gallon 
efficiency  automobile  test  in  this  city  on  May  5th 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Automobile  Club  of  Amer- 
ica, has  announced  the  conditions.  The  entry  fee 
for  each  car  is  $10.  The  entries  will  close  on  May 
2d.  It  is  confidently  believed  that  the  results  will 
have  a  wide-reaching  effect  in  demonstrating  cer- 
tain practical  principles  in  the  economy  and  en- 
durance of  motor  vehicles. 

An  investigation  of  the  telephone  rates  in  New 
York  was  begun  by  the  Aldermanic  Committee 
on  Laws  and  Legislation  this  week.  Alfred  R. 
Conkling  spoke  in  favor  of  the  adoption  of  a  5-cent 
interborough  telephone  rate.  D.  A.  Reynolds,  who  is 
the  president  of  the  Great  Eastern  Telephone  Com- 
pany, spoke  in  favor  of  the  establishment  of  an 
Independent  telephone  system.  While  not  urging 
the  establishment  of  a  municipally  owned  system, 
Mr.  Reynolds  said  the  city  could  run  such  a  system 
on  a  2-cent  per  call  basis  and  make  money.  Martin 
Littleton,  as  counsel  for  the  Atlantic  Telephone  Com- 
pany, has  sent  a  letter  to  the  Board  of  Estimate, 
asking  for  the  appointment  of  a  subcommittee  of 
the  board,  or  of  engineers  acting  in  its  behalf,  to 
investigate  the  workings  of  the  automatic  telephone 
system  which  the  Atlantic  Company  proposes  to  use 
if  it  gets  its  franchise. 

The  Commission  of  Gas  and  Electricity  has  re- 
ceived an  opinion  from  the  attorney-general  holding 
that,  upon  application  to  the  commission  of  a  cor- 
poration for  a  certificate  of  authority  to  transact 
business,  the  commission  need  not  permit  the  legality 
of  the  consent  granted  by  the  municipality  to  the 
corporation  to  be  attacked.  The  question  came  up 
on  the  application  of  the  Citizens'  Lighting  Com- 
pany of  Oswego.  The  People's  Gas  and  Electric 
Company  of  the  same  city  opposed  the  granting  of 
the  application  and  sought  to  attack  the  legality  of 
the  consent  granted  to  the  new  corporation  by  the 
municipal  authorities. 

Paul  J.  Rainey  has  closed  a  contract  with  the 
De  Forest  wireless  company  "for  the  installation  of 
the  De  Forest  space-telegraph  system  on  his  steam 
yacht  Anona.  This  will  be  the  first  American  steam 
yacht  equipped  with  wireless,  although  the  De  Forest 
company  says  it  has  orders  on  hand  for  many  other 
installations. 

The  governor  has  vetoed  the  Culleen-Keenan  bill 
providing  that  street  railways  in  Kings  and  Queens 
counties  shall  carry  school  children  on  their  lines 
at  a  maximum  rate  of  3  cents.  The  governor  says 
that,  while  the  bills  originate  in  a  laudable  desire  to 
lighten  the  burdens  of  the  people  who  have  children 
of  school  age,  they  are  disapproved  because  he  deems 
them  unconstitutional. 

Under  an  opinion  rendered  by  Corporation  Counsel 
Delany  to  Commissioner  Ellison  of  the  Department 
of  Electricity,  the  Great  Eastern  Telephone  Company 
will  have  to  go  to  the  Board  of  Estimate  for  a  new 
franchise  if  it  intends  to  establish  an  Independent 
telephone  system  in  this  city.  The  corporation  coun- 
sel declares  worthless  the  company's  claim  to  a 
franchise  through  the  New  York  Electric  Lines  Com- 
pany and  goes  on  to  deny  the  corporate  existence 
of  that  company.  The  decision,  however,  is  not  going 
to  end  the  fight.  The  concern,  which  wishes  to  com- 
pete with  the  New  York  Telephone  Company,  an- 
nounced that  it  will  try  to  force  the  city  to  permit 
it  to  lay  wires.  Papers  are  now  being  drawn  in 
mandamus  proceedings  to  force  Commissioner  Elli- 
son to  grant  the  necessary  permit  to  open  the  streets. 
The  counsel  of  the  Great  Eastern  Telephone  Com- 
pany say  that  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  success  of 
these  proceedings. 

Governor  Higgins  has  approved  the  bills  intro- 
duced by  Senator  L'Hommedieu  repealing  the  special 
charters  of  the  Lockport  Water  Supply  Company,  the 
Lewistou  Water  Works  Company,  the  Lewiston 
Water  Supply  Company  and  the  Buffalo  and  Niagara 
Power  and  Drainage  Company.  All  are  said  to  be 
inactive    corporations.      A    memorandum    filed    with 


April  28,  1906 

the  approval  says :  "This  legislation  is  in  accordance 
with  recommendations  made  by  Governor  Higgins 
in  his  message,  that  the  scenery  of  Niagara  Falls 
should  be  protected  from  further  spoliation." 

A  bill  introduced  in  the  Assembly  at  Albany  would 
compel  the  examining,  licensing  and  registering  of 
motormen  on  surface,  subway  and  elevated  railroads. 
By  the  terms  of  the  bill  the  governor  would  appoint 
three  persons,  to  hold  office  for  three  years,  as  the 
State  Board  of  Examiners  of  Motormen.  Severe 
penalties  would  be  imposed  upon  those  who  operate 
cars  without  a  license.  Any  corporation  employing 
an  unlicensed  motorman  would  be  liable  to  a  fine 
of  $500.  C.  I.  C. 


New  England. 


Boston,  April  21. — Charles  Neal  Barney's  petition 
for  legislation  providing  for  the  licensing  of  elec- 
tricians and  the  supervision  of  the  electrical  business 
in  Massachusetts  has  been  referred  to  the  next  Leg- 
islature by  the  present  General  Court.  The  accom- 
panying bill  provided  for  an  examining  commission 
of  "three  persons  and  an  annual  licensing  fee  of 
$25  for  each  electrician. 

The  bill  providing  for  the  investigating  and  test- 
ing of  safety  and  other  devices  on  street  cars,  lias 
passed  both"  branches  of  the  Massachusetts  Legis- 
lature. 

The  House  of  Representatives  has  agreed  to  the 
public  lighting  committee's  report  asking  leave  to 
withdraw  a  petition  for  a  referendum  on  proposi- 
tions to  build,  buy  or  lease  and  maintain  gas  and 
electric  plants  by  municipalities. 

The  House  has  passed  a  bill  providing  for  the 
supervision  of  all  companies  engaged  in  the  trans- 
mission of  intelligence  by  electricty  by  the  State 
Highway   Commission. 

In  connection  with  the  proposed  establishment  of 
an  express  service  on  the  Boston  Elevated  Railway 
Company's  lines  in  Boston,  it  has  been  ascertained 
that  the  charters  of  eight  of  the  companies  forming 
the  West  End  Street  Railway  Company  (whose 
lines  are  leased  by  the  Elevated  company)  authorize 
the  earning  of  "persons  and  property."  There  will 
have  to'  be  a  ruling  on  the  West  End  company's 
authority  to  carry  express  on  extensions  built  by 
it,  as  its  charter  carries  no  such  authority.  Fifty- 
five  street-railway  companies  in  the  state,  aside 
from  the  Boston  Elevated  company,  now  have  the 
right  to  carry  freight  and  express. 

The  Lowell  (Mass.)  Electric  Light  Corporation 
reports  for  February  as  follows :  Operating  ex- 
penses. $13,187,  against  $10,300  last  year;  net  earn- 
ings, $10,912,  against  $10,400  last  year;  balance, 
$10,222,   against   $9,560  last  year. 

The  Continental  Public  Utilities  Company  has 
filed  its  certificate  of  incorporation  in  Maine.  It 
has  a  capital  of  $12,500,000.  Milard  W.  Baldwin  of 
Portland,  Maine,  is  president.  The  company  pro- 
poses to  build  and  operate  gas  and  electric-light 
plants    and    street    and    interurban    railways. 

The  voters  of  Morrisville,  Vt..  have  authorized 
the  establishment  of  a  municipal  power  station, 
which  includes  the  building  of  a  large  dam  across 
the  Lamoille  River  at  Cady's  Falls,  forming  a  lake 
of  106  acres.  Electric  power  developed  will  be  used 
by  several  industries  in  the  town,  as  wel^  as  the 
company  operating  the  electric  railway  between 
Waterburv  and  Stowe. 

The  Milford  Construction  Company  has  nearly 
completed  the  large  dam  across  the  Penobscot  River 
between  Oldtown  and  Milford,  Maine.  This  dam 
will  be  1,000  feet  long,  and  a  power  house  224  by 
80  feet  will  be  built  at  its  Milford  end.  The  Allis- 
Chalmers  Company  will  furnish  12  wheels  of  800 
horsepower  each,  and  the  Stanley  Electric  Company 
will  furnish  the  generators.  The  electric  power 
will  be  furnished  manufacturing  establishments  along 
the  river  for  20  miles. 

The  Norwich,  Jewett  City  and  Voluntown  Street 
Railway  Company  has  begun  the  construction  of  an 
electric  railway  between  Norwich  and  Jewett  City, 
Conn.,  which  will  be  the  final  link  in  an  electric 
line  connecting  Norwich,  New  London  and  Willi- 
mantic,  Conn.,  and  Worcester  and  Boston,  Mass. 
The  company  is  controlled  by  the  Consolidated 
Railwav   Company. 

According  to  automobile  dealers,  the  demand  for 
electric  automobiles  is  greatly  increasing  in  Boston 
and    vicinity. 

The  Edison  Electric  Light  Company  of  Brock- 
ton, Mass.,  reports  for  February  as  follows ;  Op- 
erating expenses,  $9,984,  against  $S,857  last  year; 
net  earnings,  $4,301,  against  $2,995  last  year;  bal- 
ance,  $3,572.   against  $2,325   last  year. 

The  Trolley  Express  Company  has  begun  op- 
erating an  express  business  over  the  Consolidated 
Railway  Company's  road  between  New  Haven  and 
Branford,  Conn.,  and  between  New  Haven  and 
Wallingford,   Conn. 

Prof.  H.  W.  Clifford  of  the  Massachusetts  Insti- 
tute of  Technology  will  deliver  a  lecture  on  "En- 
closed Fuses"  before  the  Worcester  (Mass.)  Poly- 
technic Institute  branch  of  the  American  Institute 
of   Electrical    Engineers   tomorrow    evening.         B. 


Southeastern  States. 

Charlotte,  N.  C,  April  21. — Although  the  town 
owns  a  first-class  electric-lighting  plant  the  Savan- 
nah River  Power  Company  will  supply  power  to 
Greenwood,  S.  C,  for  street  lighting  and  other 
purposes    on    account   of   the   cheap    rate   which    the 


April  28,   1906 

powc pan  1  offei         1    acl 

1  1, 1    li.i  .    bi  en    in. hIi 
\  1  ontrai  1  has  I"  en     igm  'I  «  ith  tlii    I  on  olidati  cl 

Elcctrii    I  pan;    ol    I  liarli   Ion,   S.  C„  to 

in. hi     to   Sullivan'     I  land,   whii  h    ,\  ill   bi    maili 

pii  1 rcsorl  iln  i    .1 1  in ii'  1 

'I  he  annual  rcpqi  1  ol   the   I  mi  d   Railv  lys  Com 

p;uiy    of    St.    I. "in  i    show      thai    1 1 nine     and 

otln  1   'in have  increased   from  $4, 160,  |. .,     n   • 

lo     ■".  (fio,oifi  in   1905,  while  the  qpi  1  ating   1    1 

have  increasi  d   nearlj    $2,000,001 hi      imi    timi 

1  in     in  pin     w.i     lei     than  $900,000  in   igi  0  and  thi 
.  poi  1     bow     ii   to  In    $.i,i  (1,647   in    1905. 

ci ". I   &    Meyer   ol   I  lit ati    havi    bought 

the    $10,000    1  Ic light    bond  1    ol    the    town    of 

vi nil .  n  c. 

R,  ('.  Black  hi  Atlanta  ha  hci  n  elci  ti  'I  upci  in 
tendcnt  of  the  La  Grange  (Gn  1  municipal  lighting 
plant  and  will  soon  have  the  new  citj  lights  burn 
ing. 

Il  is  reported  that  Iln-  1  . .  1 1  ■  1 1  i  ■  1 .  1 1 1  il  Sin  .i  Nail 
way  Company  ol  Wilmington,  N.  C,  is  endeavoring 

in   secure    control   ol    an    exteusi   >    'I mj 

[ine  in  thai  town  and  operate  il   bj   ele it; 

Atlanta  and  Macon  capitalists  are  figuring  on  a 
new  electric  plant  at  Macon,  1  la.  1  he  city  i  il 
in.  1  in  lighted  by  (he  Macon  Railwaj  and  Light 
1  lompaliy  al  $75  per  Unlit   a  year. 

White  &  Middleton  of  Baltimore,  well-known 
contractors,  will  furnish  dynamos  for  submarine 
boats  for  Russia  and  Germany.  They  will  install 
in  the  boats  gasoline  marine  engines,  and  while  the 
boats  run  al  the  surface  of  the  water  the  engines 
will  be  used  to  store  electricity  thai  will  run  two 
large  dynamos.  While  running  under  the  surface 
the  boats  will  be  driven  by  the  electric  motors  en 
tirely. 

The  Railway  and  Electric  Company  lias  regained 
control  of  the  Scdalia  Transit  Company  at  Se- 
dalia,   Mo.,  and   will   make  extensive   improvements, 

The  Sumter  (S.  C.)  Power,  Light  and  Water 
Company  Iris  been  chartered  with  $80.01  f>  i.ipilal 
by    Marion   Moisc  of   Sumter  and  others. 

The  Baltimore  and  Ocean  City  Railroad,  char- 
tered recently  by  the  Legislature,  promises  to  build 
a  mono-rail  line  between  the  two  points  named. 
It  is  said  the  charter  is  the  property  of  the  Ameri- 
can Mono  Rail  Company,  organized  sonic  years  ago 
In  develop  the  invention  of  Mr.  Howard  H.  Tunis 
of  Baltimore.  E.  L.  Tunis,  Ru.xton  M.  Ridgley 
and  others  are   interested. 

J.  Levering  Jones  of  Philadelphia  recently  visited 
the  state  of  Kentucky  with  capitalists  interested 
with  him  in  the  recent  purchase  of  the  electric  and 
ice  plants  at  Lexington,  the  interurban  lines  radi- 
ating therefrom  and  the  electric-railway  system  of 
Frankfort.  The  promoters  inspected  their  new- 
holdings.  L. 

Indiana. 

Indianapolis,  April  21. — The  Andrews  Electric 
Railway  and  Power  Company  has  filed  articles  of 
incorporation,  capitalized  at  $35,000,  to  construct 
and  operate  a  street-railway  system  in  the  city  of 
Andrews.  PL  B.  Thornton  is  president,  T.  D.  De- 
wirc  vice-president  and  W.  E.  Nichols  secretary. 

The  Indiana,  Columbus  and  Eastern  Traction 
companies,  incorporated  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  during 
the  past  week,  in  addition  to  building  from  Dayton 
to  the  state  line,  proposes  also  to  build  to  Rich- 
mond, thereby  completing  traction  connection  from 
Zanesville,  Ohio,  to  Terre  Haute,  Ind.  The  capital 
stock  is  $r,ooo,ooo.  The  directors  are  headed  by 
W.  Kelsey  Schocpf. 

Prominent  officials  of  the  Indiana  Union  Trac- 
tion Company  who  organized  and  incorporated  a 
coal-mining  company  last  winter  have  secured  1,700 
acres  of  coal  land  in  Sullivan  County.  The  com- 
pany is  now  planning  to  erect  an  immense  power 
plant  at  these  mines,  which  will  furnish  power  for 
its  hundreds  of  miles  of  Indiana  roads  as  well  as 
for  the  lighting  of  cities  and  the  supplying  of  power 
and  light  to  the  people  along  the  line. 

The  Goshen,  South  Bend  and  Chicago  Railroad 
Company  has  filed  articles  of  incorporation,  capi- 
talized at  $150,000.  The  company  proposes  to  build 
an  electric  road  across  Northern  Indiana.  The  di- 
rectors are  F.  C.  Raff,  D.  D.  Bates  and  John  W. 
Tell  of  South  Bend;  Anthony  Dehl  of  Goshen,  and 
George    S.   Lay  of   Lafayette. 

On  April  28th  work  will  begin  on  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Indianapolis,  New  Castle  and  Toledo 
traction  line,  according  to  the  statement  of  C.  N. 
Mikels,  one  of  the  chief  promoters.  Three  branch 
lines  will  be  built — one  to  connect  with  Greenfield, 
one  with  Richmond,   and  one  with   Muncie. 

A  merger  of  the  traction  lines  in  Vanderburgh 
and  adjacent  counties  is  contemplated  by  the 
Widener-Elkins  syndicate,  which  has  purchased  the 
Evansville  street-railway  system,  and  is  expected  to 
purchase  the  Evansville  and  Princeton  traction  line 
as  well  as  several  other  traction  lines  now  being 
built  out  from  Evansville.  Murdock  &  Marshall  of 
Lafayette  are   the   active  agents  of  the   syndicate. 

The  announcement  is  made  that  the  Remy  Elec- 
tric Company  of  Anderson  has  decided  to  remove 
its  plant  to  Richmond,  a  bonus  of  $65,000  having 
been  given  to  the  company  by  the  Richmond  South 
Side  Improvement  Company.  The  company  agrees 
to  erect  a  $20,000  factory  building  and  employ  75 
men. 

It  is  announced  that  a  deal  involving  the  sale 
of  the  Evansville  Gas  and  Electric  stock  to  the 
E.    H.    Clark    syndicate    of    Philadelphia    has    been 


1. 1. 1- 1  ran 

Evansville   1 

P 

Ii id  ol 

fii  Id 

'I  In    City  1 
lighl    plan)    to 
the  cit 

impli 

ai  $50  a  year,  all  nigl  I 
pay   $20,000  ca  li    and   $t,ooo  yearly    for    12 

1  In    plant    i      aid   to 

the   city,   and   thi  lighted 

li  1     mill.  1  I.  ...I  thai  thi    pun  ha  ei     »il    p 
build  a  new   plant 
1  h.    cil  Crawford 

•■  to    ill   iln    municipal  lighting  plain 

is  a  <li \  i  urn  union;,  thi  pi  opli  a  to  iln  advisabil- 
ity ol  i  lling  the  plant  I  [i  nerally 
bi  lii    i  il   the   people   an 

hip  of  iln    local  lightit] 


PERSONAL 


(  1 1 . 1 1 1 .      V,    Brown,   well   I  nown   to  the  •  li 

interests,   »  ill  re ,  e  his  offii  e  to  i     o 

Building   on    Mas    ist,     Hen    hi 
practice   of    patent    law,    in    association    with    Lynn 
V    Williams,    I  harle     J.    Schmidt    and    Hai   i 
1 1  .ins.  >ii. 

Francis    B,   Crocker,  professor  of  electrical  engi- 
neering ai  1  lolumbia  I  Inn  ei  iity,  and  Hem     G 
uperintendenl  ol   motive  power  of  thi    Interborough 
Rapid   Transit  Company,  have  been  invited  by  Presi- 
dent   R veil    to   serve  on   the  advisory  board  of 

fuels  and  structural  materials. 

Frank  II.  Gale,  the  advertising  manager  of  the 
General  Electric  Company,  has  been  elected  presi 
dent  of  the  Technical  Publicity  Association  of  New 
York  city,  Mr.  Gale  is  highly  esteemed  by  all  his 
friends  and  acquaintances,  who  will  be  pleased  at 
this  recent   recognition  of  his  ability  and  popularity. 

Francis  Lewis  Sperry,  well  known  as  a  mineral- 
ogist and  expert  chemist,  died  in  Tallmade.  Ohio, 
on  April  17th.  Mr.  Sperry  was  44  years  old  and 
was  the  discoverer  of  "Sperryitc,"  named  for  him. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  Sheffield  Scientific  School, 
Yale  University.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Ameri- 
can Society  of  Mining  Engineers. 

An  important  change  recently  announced  in  the 
offices  of  the  Southern  Bell  Telephone  Company 
is  the  separation  of  the  offices  of  vice-president 
and  general  manager,  previously  held  by  Mr. 
W.  T.  Gentry,  with  headquarters  in  Atlanta.  .Mi- 
Gentry  will  retain  the  position  of  vice-president,  while 
Mr.  J.  Epps  Brown  has  been  appointed  general 
manager.  This  action  results  from  the  increasing 
business  of  the  company.  Mr.  Brown  is  a  young 
man,  but  has  had  wide  experience  in  his  pro- 
fession. 

Robert  L.  West,  who  for  the  last  six  years  has 
been  district  superintendent  of  the  state  of  Georgia 
for  the  Southern  Bell  Telephone  Company,  has 
tendered  his  resignation  to  Vice-president  Gentry 
in  Atlanta.  Mr.  West  started  telephone  work  in 
Richmond  and  wdten  only  19  years  old  was  man- 
ager of  the  Danville  (Va.)  exchange,  later  manag- 
ing the  exchanges  at  Charlotte,  Birmingham  and 
Richmond.  During  Mr.  West's  administration  in 
Georgia  the  system  has  increased  from  13  to  50 
exchanges.  His  resignation  is  generally  regretted 
by   the  company. 

In  recognition  of  his  long  tenure  in  the  office 
of  president  of  the  Institution  of  Electrical  Engi- 
neers, and  of  his  hard  and  faithful  work,  Mr.  Rob- 
ert Kaye  Gray,  past-president  of  the  Institution,  was 
induced  to  make  the  necessary  sittings  for  two  fine 
paintings  of  himself,  one  of  which  was  presented 
to  him  and  the  other  to  the  Institution.  The  por- 
traits were  also  to  show  the  appreciation  of  the 
members  for  his  munificent  entertainment  of  the 
foreign  telegraphic  engineers  on  the  occasion  of 
the  International  Conference,  held  in  London.  The 
portrait  was  painted  by  Miss  Beatrice  Bright,  and 
the  presentation  address  was  made  by  Sir  Joseph 
Swan. 


ftLECTRIC  LIGHTING 

P.  L.  Pyle  has  purchased  the  local  electric-light 
plant   in   Fort   Gibson,   I.   T..   and   will   enlarge   it. 

The  city  of  Aberdeen.  S.  D..  has  voted  $36,000 
in  bonds   for  an   electric-light  and  power  system. 

Edwin  Sawyer  of  Rushton,  La.,  has  been  granted 
a  franchise  for  an  electric-light  plant  in  Homer.  La. 

Poteau,  I.  T.,  has  given  a  20-year  franchise  to 
R.  C.  Alexander  of  Abilene,  Texas,  for  an  electric- 
light   system. 

Specifications  have  been  adopted  by  the  city  of 
Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.,  for  the  granting  of  a  fran- 
chise to  construct  and  operate  a  plant  to  furnish 
to  the  city  of  Fond  du  Lac  and  its  citizens  elec- 
tricity for  light,  heat  and  power.  Bids  will  be 
received   for  the   sale  of  the  franchise  at  the  office 


- 

heating    plant    will   Ik-    itartcd    in    1 

I  he  I 

1 
tional   i 

-  by  30-inch,  from  the  Allis-Cnalmei 
pany,   Milwauki  unit  will  run  1. 

h  .1  to  a   1 1  by  26-inch  ammoi 

It    1     a unced   that   the   plant   ai 

been   purchased   by   thi  ded  by   II    M 

Byllesby  &  Co.  of  Chicago.     S 
ol   tin 

tion.      1  i 

has   owned   thi  I    the   principal 

electric-lighting  plants  of  the  city. 

lii.      Philadelphia     Suburban      Heat.     Light     and 
Power  Company,  which  was  organized  a  short  time 
ago  lo    State    treasurer  William    L   Mathues,   II.  J 
Makiver    and     several     Philadelphia 
purchased    the    plant    of    the    Lansdownc    Electric- 
light   Company   at    Lansdownc,    Pa.,   has   also   pur- 
chased the  plant  of  the   Farraday   Heat.   Light  and 
Power    Company    at    Morton.      This    plant    and    the 
one    at    Lansdownc    will    be    abandoned    after    the 
main    plant   at    Darby    has    been    completed.      It    is 
understood    that    the   company    will    extend    il 
tern  throughout   Delaware  County,  ami  all  lin 
be   supplied    with    light   and    power    from    the    main 
station   at    Darby. 

The  price  of  the  tantalum  lamp  has  been  reduced 
by  the  Siemens  &  llalske  Company  from  97.3  cents 
to  60.8  cents  each,  as  a  result  of  the  introduction 
of  improved  methods  of  construction  and  a  con- 
siderable increase  in  the  production,  which  have- 
lowered  the  cost  of  manufacture.  As  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  economy,  it  is  stated  that  on  1! 
of  the  present  price  of  9.74  cents  a  kilowatt-hour 
in  Berlin,  a  lamp  of  25  candlepower  burning  1,000 
hours  in  a  year  will  consume  less  energy  to  the 
extent  of  $2.80  than  a  carbon-filament  lamp  of  the 
same  candlepower.  The  saving  in  current  in  the 
case  of  a  16-candlepower  tantalum  lamp  i-  - 
be  85.6  cents  in  12  months. 


ELECTRIC  RAILWAYS 

A.  B.  Campbell  of  Spokane.  Wash.,  is  one  of 
the  trustees  and  chief  financial  backers  of  the 
Columbia  and  Walla  Walla  Traction  Company,  in- 
corporated for  $3,500,000.  to  build  an  electric  road 
in  the  vicinity  of  Dayton  and  Waitsburg,  Wash. 

The  Spokane  and  Inland  Railway  will  have  its 
line  completed  from  Spokane  to  Palouse  and  Col- 
fax by  January  1,  1907,  according  to  a  statement 
by  F.  A.  Blackwell,  general  manager  of  the  com- 
pany.    The  contractors  have  Soo  men  on   the   work. 

The  Washington,  Baltimore  and  Annapolis  elec- 
tric railway  may  be  completed  and  ready  for  opera- 
tion in  1007.  Contracts  are  now  being  let  for  the 
construction.  It  is  thought  that  franchises  for  the 
terminal  facilities  in  Baltimore  will  be  secured 
within   a    few    weeks. 

Governor  Stokes  has  signed  the  bill  passed  by  the 
New  Jersey  Legislature  authorizing  electric  rail- 
ways to  carry  freight  through  such  cities  and  towns 
as  may  pass  ordinances  permitting  them,  sub; 
such  restrictions  as  may  be  imposed  by  these  cities 
and  towns.  Several  companies  are  already  prepar- 
ing to  take   advantage   of  the  law. 

The  State  Railroad  Commission  of  Indiana  has 
taken  steps  to  compel  the  steam  railroads  and  elec- 
tric lines  of  Indiana  to  provide  ample  appliances  to 
prevent  wrecks  at  intersections  of  the  roads.  Rules 
have  long  been  established  regarding  the  intersec- 
tion of  steam  railroads,  but  the  matter  of  inter- 
sections of  steam  and  electric  roads  is  a  new  one 
in  the  state. 

A  newspaper  dispatch  is  to  the  effect  that  G>1. 
Fred  P.  Cobham  of  Jamestown.  N.  Y..  is  the  in- 
ventor of  a  new  and  powerful  electric  light  for  use 
on  the  rear  of  electric  cars,  subway  and  elevated 
trains.  One  of  the  new  lights  has  been  success- 
fully tested  in  Warren.  Pa.,  it  is  said.  The  back- 
ers of  the  invention  have  received  an  invitation 
to   demonstrate   it  before   the  officers   of   the   Inter- 


348 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


April  28,   1966 


borough  system  in  New  York,  and  have  been 
promised  an  order  of  12,000  lamps  if  successful 
for  use  on  the  subway  cars  of  the  system. 

The  Spokane  and  Pend  d'Oreillo  Rapid  Transit 
Company  has  definitely  located  most  of  its  line 
between  Spokane,  Wash.,  and  Lake  Pend  d'Oreillo, 
a  distance  of  44  miles.  It  has  acquired  1,600  acres 
of  land  on  the  southwestern  shore  of  the  lake  and 
proposes  building  a  town  at  that  point.  John  Rus- 
sell. Jr.,  of  Milwaukee  has  been  added  to  the  engi- 
neering  corps   of  the   company. 


POWER  TRANSMISSION. 

The  Mississippi  Water  Power  Company  is  in 
process  of  formation,  it  is  said,  with  A.  S.  White 
as  head.  It  is  also  rumored  that  C.  C.  Cokefair, 
president  of  the  Great  Northern  Development  Com- 
pany of  Duluth,  Minn.,  is  interested.  The  com- 
pany is  reported  to  have  $20,000,000  available  and 
about  25,000  horsepower  will  be  generated  by  means 
of  two  dams  to  be  erected  across  the  Mississippi 
River  at  Clearwater,  Minn.,  and  Monticello,  Minn. 
Most  of  this  power  would  be  utilized  at  Minne- 
apolis. 

The  statement  was  made  by  F.  A.  Dudley,  vice- 
president  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Electrical  Transmis- 
sion Company,  before  the  House  committee  on 
rivers  and  harbors  in  Washington,  D.  C,  a  few 
days  ago  that  Niagara  River  was  greater  in  Volume 
at  the  present  time  than  it  had  been  in  years;  that 
the  use  of  its  waters  for  the  development  of  power 
so  far  had  not  detracted  from  the  scenic  beauty 
of  the  falls,  and  that  at  least  30  per  cent,  of  the 
flow  might  be  diverted  before  any  difference  in 
the  volume  of  water  could  be  detected. 

The  Thompson  Power  Company  of  Washington 
County,  Tenn.,  capitalized  at  $30,000,  has  been 
granted  a  charter.  T.  M.  Thorne,  Robert  Martin, 
R.  M.  May,  J.  H.  Epps  and  E.  J.  Baxter  are  the 
incorporators.  The  company  has  been  formed  for 
the  purpose  of  improving  the  waterpower  in  the 
following  streams  and  counties  of  Tennessee : 
Nolichucky  River,  Washington  County ;  Conasauga, 
Hiawasse  and  Oconee  rivers  in  Polk  County; 
Conasauga  River,  in  McMinn  and  Monroe  coun- 
ties; Little  Tennessee  River,  in  Blount  and  Mon- 
roe counties.  The  company  is  authorized  to  con- 
struct and  maintain  dams,  piers  and  locks  for  the 
purpose  of  generating  power  for  the  manufacture 
of    electricity 

The  Keewatin  (Ont.)  Power  Company  will  offer 
for  sale  at  auction  its  developed  waterpower  on 
the  west  branch  of  the  Winnipeg  River,  at  the 
outlet  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  town  of  Kenora, 
Ont.,  on  July  5th.  The  characteristics  of  the  plant 
are  said  to  be:  Effective  horsepower,  2S,ooo;  fall, 
19  feet ;  water  supplied  directly  from  the  Lake  of 
the  Woods;  entire  immunity  from  ice  difficulties 
of  every  kind ;  massive  granite  dam,  on  bed-rock 
foundation ;  386  acres  of  land  for  utilizing  power ; 
direct  connection  with  the  main  line  of  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway  at  Keewatin  Station  and  di- 
rect navigation  connection  with  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods  and  Rainy  River.  R.  A.  Mather  is  mana- 
ger of  the   company. 

Increasing  attention  appears  to  be  directed  in 
India  to  the  possibilities  of  utilizing  for  power 
purposes  the  enormous  volumes  of  water  now  an- 
nually running  to  waste  during  the  monsoon  sea- 
son in  the  Ghats.  According  to  the  February  issue 
of  the  Indian  Textile  Journal,  the  subject  is  now 
approaching  a  practical  stage,  and  an  English  com- 
pany, called  the  Bombay  Hydro-electric  Syndicate, 
has  been  formed,  under  the  auspices  of  Messrs. 
Tata  and  of  leading  London  financiers,  to  study 
the  question.  Dr.  John  Mannheim  of  the  firm'  of 
Alfred  Dickenson  &  Co.,  who  are  the  engineers  to 
the  syndicate,  is  studying  the  electrical  part  of  the 
scheme,  and  Mr.  R.  B.  Joyner,  M.  I.  C.  E.,  has  been 
engaged  during  the  last  winter  with  the  final  in- 
vestigations respecting  the  hydraulic  section  of  the 
undertaking.  It  is  stated  that  the  ease  with  which 
large  quantities  of  water  giving  a  magnificent  fall 
can  be  stored  within  a  comparatively  short  distance 
from  the  proposed  power-supply  station  renders 
this  one  of  the  finest  hydro-electric  propositions 
ever  contemplated. 

PUBLICATIONS. 

The  Goldschmidt  Thermit  Company  of  New  York 
city  has  issued  a  small  pamphlet  on  the  use  of 
Thermit  for  rail  welding,  wheel  repairing,  butt- 
welding  pipes,  repairing  steel  castings,  etc.  The^ 
pamphlet  is  interesting  and  contains  many  sugges- 
tions for  those  not  thoroughly  alive  to  the  possi- 
bilities of  Thermit. 

Little  economies,  as  promulgated  by  "The 
Hughes  Idea,"  are  set  forth  in  a  neat  booklet  which 
will  be  of  interest  and  value  to  all  men  owning  or 
operating  engine  and  boiler  rooms.  The  booklet 
gives  many  hints  as  to  economies  which  bring 
results.  It  is  published  by  Milton  L.  Hughes  &  Co., 
consulting  engineers,  324  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago. 

The  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  through 
its  Bureau  of  Statistics,  has  issued  two  volumes, 
one  of  which,  the  Statistical  Abstract  of  the  United 
States,  1905,  contains  something  over  600  pages. 
and  the  other,  entitled  "Commerce  and  Navigation 
of  the  United  States,  1905,"  contains  about  1,200 
pages.  The  publications  of  the  Bureau  of  Statis- 
tics   which    present    the    record    of    commerce    from 


month  to  month  aggregate  about  3,000  pages  during 
the  year,  but  the  summarization  and  analysis  of 
the  full  year's  commerce  are  contained  in  the  two 
volumes    named. 

A  beautiful  piece  of  work  is  the  new  fan-motor 
catalogue  of  the  Sprague  Electric  Company.  In 
addition  to  its  well-known  standard  direct-current 
fans,  the  company  is  this  year  listing  a  line  of  high- 
class  alternating-current  desk  and  bracket  fans. 
All  these  types  are  shown  in  the  new  catalogue, 
the  pictures  being  accompanied  by  ample  descrip- 
tive  matter. 

The  H.  B.  Camp  Company  of  New  York  has 
just  published  a  valuable  little  book  dealing  with 
the  art  of  protecting  cables.  The  divided  Camp 
tile  is  given  special  attention.  The  book  is  full  of 
diagrams  showing  the  Camp  products  installed  for 
the  various  services — in  floors,  for  wall  ducts,  for 
high  and  low  tension  service  in  underground  con- 
struction, etc.  Plans  and  sections  of  manholes  are 
given  showing  the  advantages  of  divided  Camp  tile. 

The  Stromberg-Carlson  Telephone  Manufacturing 
Company  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  is  sending  out  Bul- 
letin No.  19  (superseding  No.  11).  It  is  an  at- 
tractive and  complete  book  of  50  pages  devoted  to 
generator-call  telephones.  The  various  instruments 
and  parts  are  fully  described  and  nearly  everything 
is  illustrated  by  half-tone.  The  company  has  aban- 
doned the  idea  of  publishing  a  complete  catalogue 
for  various  reasons,  and  instead  is  publishing  bul- 
letins on  the  loose-leaf  method,  which  will  be  sent 
to    anyone    interested. 

Latest  practice  in  multiphase  revolving-field  belted 
generators  is  exemplified  in  the  machines  described 
in  Bulletin  No.  1073,  issued  by  the  Fort  Wayne 
Electric  Works  of  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.  These  ma- 
chines are  described  in  a  comprehensive  manner  in 
this  bulletin,  as  are  small  direct-current  generators 
in  Bulletin  No.  1077.  Another  valuable  piece  of 
trade  literature  issued  by  this  company  is  its  in- 
struction book  on  type  K,  multiphase  integrating 
wattmeters.  Numerous  excellent  diagrams  are  given 
in  this  little  book  which  will  be  found  a  downright 
help  to   the   central-station   man. 

Full  details  and  excellent  illustrations  of  the 
various  types  of  electric  hoists  built  by  the  Well- 
man-Seaver-Morgan  Company  of  Cleveland  are 
contained  in  an  attractive  36-page  booklet  just  pub- 
lished by  the  company.  Besides  a  large  line  of 
steam  hoists  and  haulages,  the  company  builds 
electrically  driven  hoists,  equipped  with  motors  of 
various  types,  and  in  a  variety  of  styles  and  sizes. 
The  company  has  built  such  hoists  up  to  800  horse- 
power, and  is  prepared  to  submit  proposals  on 
either  standard  or  special  equipment  to  meet  the 
requirements  and  work  to  be  done.  These  hoists 
may  be  equipped  with  single  or  double  drums,  or 
with  reels,  as  may  be  specified.  The  book  con- 
tains   much    valuable    information. 

From  the  electrical  department  of  the  Allis- 
Chalmers  Company,  Milwaukee,  comes  a  new  .  bul- 
letin— No.  1050 — descriptive  of  waterwheel  type 
alternating-current  generators.  Besides  a  number 
of  excellent  half-tones,  showing  installations  of 
these  alternators  in  service,  the  bulletin  illustrates 
the  various  parts  of  the  machine.  The  Allis- 
Chalmers  standard  waterwheel  alternators  are  of 
the  horizontal  type,  having  a  base,  two  bearings 
and  shaft  extended  for  the.  reception  of  a  flange 
coupling.  The  company  has  also  made  vertical- 
tvpe  machines  for  direct  connection  to  vertical 
turbines  and  is  prepared  to  build  alternators  to 
meet  special  conditions.  The  new  bulletin  fully 
describes  the  details  of  construction  and  operation 
of  thes_e   generators. 

Bulletin  No.  603  from  the  Stanley-G.  I.  Electric 
Manufacturing  Company  of  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  deals 
with  the  merits  of  carbon-break  circuit-breakers — 
types  C16,  C7  and  C11.  There  are  some  fine  half- 
tone illustrations  showing  complete  instruments  and 
parts,  also  diagrams.  The  three  types  of  circuit- 
breakers  described  and  listed  are  designed  to  meet 
every  requirement  for  switchboard  service  and  also 
the  requirements  of  users  of  both  direct  and  alter- 
nating-current motors.  The  type  of  circuit-breaker 
which  opens  automatically  on  the  occurrence  of 
an  overload  or  short  circuit  will  meet  the  require- 
ments of  most  users  of  circuit-breakers.  The  three 
lines  of  breakers  are  adapted  to  other  requirements, 
such  as  automatic  opening  under  low-voltage  or 
under-load  conditions.  They  may  also  be  furnished 
with  shunt-trip  attachments,  with  coils  for  con- 
necting in  shunt  across  the  circuit,  which  cause  the 
breaker  to  open  when  a  controlling  switch  located 
at  a  distant  point  is  closed. 

The  new  car-repair  shops  at  Fort  Smith,  Ark., 
of  the  Fort  Smith  Light  and  Traction  Company 
have  been  made  the  subject  of  a  descriptive  article 
published  in  pamphlet  form  by  H.  M.  Byllesby 
&  Co.,  engineers,  of  Chicago.  The  street-railway 
system  of  Fort  Smith,  Ark.,  has  undergone  a  com- 
plete reconstruction  since  it  was  acquired  by  the 
Byllesby  company,  a  little  more  than  a  year  ago. 
The  power  house  has  been  rebuilt  and  enlarged,  the 
lines  extended,  a  pleasure  park  containing  more 
than  100  acres  opened  up,  and  other  improvements 
tending  to  put  the  system  on  a  well-paying  basis 
have  been  inaugurated.  Of  the  new  features,  the 
shops  recently  erected  to  care  for  the  equipment 
contain  many  interesting  features.  In  their  de- 
sign all  the  requirements  of  shops  for  a  small  sys- 


tem were  considered  and  well  worked  out  by  Mr. 
O.  E.  Osthoff,  chief  engineer  for  H.  M.  Byllesby 
&   Co. 

A  new  booklet  issued  by  the  Buckeye  Electric 
Company  of  Cleveland  possesses  the  stamp  of  origi- 
nality. Though  the  Buckeye  lamp  is  the  article 
which  the  booklet  is  supposed  to  bring  to  the  fore, 
there  are  many  other  interesting  things  than  lamp 
talks,  among  which  might  be  mentioned  a  number 
of  fine  half-tone  illustrations,  showing  views  of 
interiors    and    exteriors    lighted   by    Buckeye    lamps. 


SOCIETIES  AND  SCHOOLS. 

The  National  Electric  Light  Association  expects 
to  have  a  full  thousand  names  on  its  membership 
list  at  the  time  of  the  Atlantic  City  meeting,  June 
5th  to  8th.  Only  30  more  are  needed  to  make  up  this 
number,  and  at  the  rate  applications  are  coming  in 
there  is  no  doubt  of  the  full  number  being  reached. 
The  executive  committee  of  the  National  Electric 
Light  Association  has  decided  to  recommend  to  the 
exhibitors  the  adoption  of  a  uniform  style  of  booth 
construction  and  decoration  for  the  convention  to 
be  held  in  Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  June  5th  to  8th. 
A  comprehensive  plan  has  been  submitted  by  Mr. 
M.  A.  Singer,  who  has  done  a  great  deal  of  work 
for  other  associations. 


SPACE   TELEGRAPHY. 

The  De  Forest  Wireless  Telegraph  Company 
will  establish  a  new  station  on  the  twelfth  floor 
of  the  National  Bank  of  Commerce  at  Norfolk, 
Va.,  and  will  handle  messages  to  a  distance  of 
about  1,000  miles,  it  is  said. 

Consul-general  Ragsdale  writes  from  Tientsin 
that  the  Chinese  government  has  arranged  to  es- 
tablish several  space-telegraph  stations  throughout 
China  for  experiment  with  the  Marconi  system, 
and  instruct  Chinese  operators  in  working  it.  The 
apparatus  has  been  installed  on  four  Chinese  men- 
of-war  at  Shanghai  and  at  the  three  North  China 
cities  of  Tientsin,  Peking  and  Paotingfu,  the  radius 
of  action  being  about  230  kilometers  and  the  cost 
about  25,000  taels.  An  Italian  officer  has  been 
appointed,  not  only  as  instructor,  but  to  act  as 
engineer  of  the   installations. 


MISCELLANEOUS, 


An  ordinance  has  passed  first  reading  in  the 
council  of  Memphis,  Tenn.,  to  establish  the  office 
and  define  the  position  of  electrical  inspector ;  to 
provide  to  maintain  the  position  by  fees ;  to  estab- 
lish rules  and  regulations  for  the  installation  and 
maintenance  of  electrical  wiring  and  apparatus ; 
to  provide  for  the  licensing  of  electrical  contract- 
ors, and  to  provide  penalties  for  the  violation  of 
the   ordinance. 

Fearing  the  work  of  "firebugs"  or  other  dam- 
aging mischief,  threats  of  which  have  been  made 
against  its  mining  property,  the  Trenton  Mining 
Company  of  Trenton,  Mo.,  is  said  to  have  erected 
about  its  works  a  high  wire  fence,  all  the  metal 
parts  of  which  are  charged  with  electricity.  Within 
this  inclosure  the  non-union  miners,  all  of  whom 
are  small  stockholders  in  the  company,  are  work- 
ing full  hours  in  security  from  outside  interference. 
A  watch  is  also  maintained  over  the  works 
at  all  hours.  Notices  are  posted  along  the  fence 
warning  strangers  of  the  presence  of  the  electric 
current,  and  forbidding  trespassing  upon  the 
grounds. 

The  Electrical  Industrial  Company  of  Geneva, 
Switzerland,  recently  made  an  interesting  series  of 
experiments  on  three  of  the  20,000-volt  direct-cur- 
rent machines  of  the  St.  Maurice-Lausanne  plant  to 
ascertain  if  60,000-volt  direct-current  transmission 
were  possible.  These  experiments  having  given  sat- 
isfactory results,  the  Moutiers-Lyons  electric  power- 
transmission  plant  (1S0  kilometers  in  length),  which 
is  now  being  completed,  was  arranged  for  a  pres- 
sure of  56-57,000  volts.  In  view  of  the  encourag- 
ing results  obtained  in  this  connection,  the  Elec- 
trical Industrial  Company  is  continuing  the  tests 
in  the  presence  of  Swiss,  French  and  English  engi- 
neers on  direct  currents  of  even  higher  pressures. 
It  is  thus  possible  for  the  first  time  to  observe  the 
effects  of  continuous  current  at  pressures  ranging 
up  to  100,000  volts  between  the  line  and  the  ground, 
corresponding  to  a  pressure  of  200,000  volts  between 
the  wires,  in  the  case  of  a  power-transmission  plant. 


TRADE  NEWS 

The  E.  M.  F.  Electric  Company  of  Colorado 
Springs,  Colo.,  has  sold  its  business  to  the  Central 
Electric    Company   of   that   place. 

The  India  Rubber  and  Gutta-Percha  Insulating 
Company  will  move  its  offices  in  New  York  to  the 
Postal   Building,  253   Broadway,  on  May   1st. 

The  American  Steel  and  Wire  Company  of  Chi- 
cago will  install  at  Anderson,  Ind.,  a  200-kilowatt 
Allis-Chalmers  type  I  generator  recently  purchased. 

The  Hammermill  Paper  Company  of  Erie,  Pa., 
will  install  a  150-kilowatt  Allis-Chalmers  type  H 
generator  and  a  175-horsepower  type  H  motor,  re- 
cently ordered.  These  units  will  be  built  at  the 
electrical  works  of  the  Allis-Chalmers  Company  at 
Cincinnati. 


April   28,    [906 


ELEI  TRK 


BUSINESS 

I  h<      lirown     Specialty  Macliincrj      I  rmipany,     71 
\\,-  1    Jacl    "ii     I'.'Hili  1.  .nil.    1  liii  ago,    ha      madi     ai 

ran mils   «  ith   llic    He  lianci     In  1 111    1  nmpan 

i(,    .,,  1    as      "In  1         ali       '!•-  hi    i'ii    ilh     R,  ham  1 

voltmeters    and    ; iieli  1         I'lics.     1 111      ai  1 

iM  II    know thi     n  adc    a      filling    a    nci  'I    Col 

Imv.  pi  iced    'I'  1  ice   thai    doc      ati  fai  toi  .     woi  I 

I   1       \\ '    1111. .In  .11  ..-     Mai  I'iih-    1  paiij     '.1     I    1  1 

Pittsburg,     I'a.,     has    recently    contracted     with     the 

1  ilr. in    Strcel     Railu  aj     pan)     1 tall    in    il 

-    .i    lion  .r   al    i  'ere: ,    N.    Y.,   two   (?a     1  1 01 

upplyiiiK    '  in  11  in     in    the    1  Mean     Si  reel     Railway, 

lei '  Hean,    I'M,    I'.oliva,   etc.     In    llic    11  ai    fn 

iiii<    power    n  ill   al  10   he     upplicd   1 1    intci  in  hail 

railv  r.      ;y  lem     liel  ween     I  llean      and      '  ialaini 

N,   Y.,  ■<  'li  itancc  ol    15   mile  .      I  he   en 1  an    to 


1 

eratii 

0 
tribution 

ili.' 

constructs 

1  1 11 

ing    .... 

ard   b     tin        .... 

anii       .."I   1     madi 

in. .11        1   in  [|       carbon     1] 

"!• fni         ind 

portant,     especiall       durini 


■ 


ILLUSTRATED  ELECTRICAL  PATENT  RECORD. 

Issued  f 'United     tatea  Patent  Office)  April  /?,  /go6. 


817.746.     Kleetrnstalic     \pparatns.     Lucien    I 

Lawrence,    Kan.     Application    filed    |anuar>    23, 
[90S- 


817,749.  i ''I'  ctriral  Apparatus  fur  Determining  the 
Location  of  Metallic  <  Ires.  Fred  1 1.  Brow  n, 
Los   Angeles,   Cal.     Application   filed    March   31, 

KJUJ. 


Me 


elci 


cal 

ce  1 


817,761.  Telephonic  Repeater.  Merritt  Gaily,  Brook- 
lyn, N".  Y.  Application  filed  April  14,  1904. 
In  ;t  telephone  repeater  for  repeating  telephonic  pulsa- 
tions from  one  telephone  line  to  another  are  a  single 
receiving  diaphragm  and  two  independent  receiving  mag- 
nets. I'mth  magnets  are  on  one  side  of  the  diaphragm 
and  operate  tin-  single  diaphragm,  one  of  the  magnets 
for  connection  with  one  telephone  line  and  the  other 
magnet    for   connection   with    the   other    line.      (See   cut.) 

817,767.  Electric  Furnace.  John  F.  Hammond, 
Brewster,  N.  Y.  Application  filed  April  13, 
1905. 

The  combination   with  a  muffle  whose   interior  is  wound 
■ith    a    heat-generating   wire   consists  of   a   casing    for    the 


nd  whose 
»th  of  the 
cling     from 


lil    for 


and     n 


<Vi7.;8r.  Multiple  Switchboard  for  Telephone  Ex- 
changes. Milo  G.  Kellogg,  Chicago,  III.,  as- 
signor to  the  Kellogg  Switchboard  and  Supply 
Company,  Chicago,  111.  Application  filed  No- 
vember  30,    1891. 

A  metallic-circuit  and  a  ground-circuit  line  are  con- 
nected together  in  a  complete  circuit  for  conversation 
from  the  ground  of  the  subscriber's  ground-circuit  line 
through  such  line  and  thence  through  the  metallic-circuit 
line  to  ground  at  the  central  office.  There  are  two 
circuit  connections  of  high  retardation,  one  for  each 
line,  through  both  of  which  respectively  the  complete 
circuit  is  grounded  at  the  central  office,  the  line  an- 
nunciators   forming    part    of    the    circuit    connection. 

817,807.  Electric  Motor.  Charles  H.  Roth,  Chi- 
cago, 111.,  assignor  to  Roth  Bros.  &  Co.,  Chi- 
cago,  111.     Application   filed   December   27,   1904. 

The  combination  consists  of  a  field  magnet  having  a 
main  pole  and  two  supplemental  poles,  all  of  like  polarity, 
one  of  the  supplemental  poles  being  located  at  each 
side  of  the  main  pole,  the  combined  areas  of  the  sup- 
plemental poles  being  kss  than  that  of  the  main  pole. 
There  are  means  for  changing  the  magnetic  strength 
of  the  main  pole  without  affecting  the  strength  of  the 
supplemental  poles.      (See  cut  on  next  page.) 

817,827.  System  of  Charging  Storage  Batteries. 
Asbury  G,  Wilson,  Wilkmsburg,  Pa.,  assignor  . 
to  the  Union  Switch  and  Signal  Company, 
Swissvale,  Pa.  Application  filed  March  14, 
1505. 

of"alternating-current°supply    is   provided    nith    mean.-,    for 


the 


batteries  are  charged  by  the 
nd  feed  wires  extend  from  t 
iignaling  system. 


817,832.  Electroplating  Tank.  Clarence  G.  Backus 
and  George  L.  Wallace,  New  York,  N.  V, 
assignors  to  Zucker  &  Levett  &  Loeb  Company, 
New    York,    N.    Y.    Application    filed    July    27, 

1905. 

A  tank,  arms  attached  at  one  end  to  a  side  of  the 
same  and  a  rotatable  drum  supported  bv  the  outer  ends 
of  the  arms,  and  means  for  raising  the  drum  out  of 
the  tank  and  lowering  it  on  one  side  of  the  tank  sub- 
stantially   constitutes    the    device. 

817,843.  Electrical  Measuring  Instrument.  John 
C.  Gano,  Chicago,  111.,  assignor  to  the  Inter- 
national Electric  Meter  Company,  Chicago,  111. 
Application  filed  July  24,  1905. 
The  combination  with  a  bracket  is  composed  of  a 
movement  supported  by  the  bracket  comprising  a  pair 
of  pole-pieces  fixed  upon  the  bracket,  a  moving  coil 
ni  voted  to  rotate  between  the  pole-pieces,  a  horseshoe 
magnet  between  the  arms  of  which  the  pole-pieces  are 
Haptc-d  to  fl>.  and  a  clamp  independent  of  the  pole- 
pieces    for   holding    the    magnet   and  bracket    together. 


817,846.    'I  roll.      !]■  id  1     John 

1      Gi 

'  li  tobi  1     |i,    1904. 
i M   .,   ii.. 11.     h,  ,  1 
suppoi  tins     meant    thi    efoi     compri 

pil  ..'.illy      Ilhli  .1      ..n      Mi.        I  ,  ..ll.     .     ;■    .1.       , 

■  ngi ■■     thi      trolley-poli      heat] 

-nring      In  ti  Limenl        l 
II.,    assignor    to    tl 
national    Elecl  I  C01       ny,   Chicago,   1)1. 

application    filed   July   31,    1905. 
in.  Indi  d    in    the    instrument    and    in    1 
coil    pivoted    i"    turn    upo 
cis    m  ■■   -1    ■■'.•  ight    can  ied    b      ''"    coil    icting  to 
li,     coil    '■"■  mall  ■     ii      1      cro     ■  ■  il    1       ■■ 
permaneni 


817,857.     Electrical      \1 
\1.    Lea,    Chi<  ag 


betw 

otatablc,    the   polai    Ea 

netic   field    ■  ■ 


NO.   817,76 


817,858.  Automatically  Tripping  Trolley  Pole 
Thomas  H.  Mars,  Chicago,  111.  Applicatior 
filed  July    12,    1905. 


817,867.  Supervisory  Signal  for  Telephone  Switch- 
boards. Frank  R.  McBerty,  Evanston,  111.,  as- 
signor to  the  Western  Electric  Company,  Chi- 
cago,   111.     Application    filed    January    24,    1902. 

A  local  circuit  having  two  parallel  branches  with  a 
signal  device  in  each  branch,  means  for  opening  and 
closing  each  branch,  a  resistance  in  the  undivided  portion 
of    the    circuit    and    an    electronic  .■    -■■'    ',    ,   mrolling 

a  shunt  or  short  circuit  of  tbt  '  -■-  n.  .  i'..  -onree  of 
current,  signal  devices  and  n  .-i-t.inc.  hu;^  pr.'pi.rtioned 
to  prevent  the  actuation  oi  either  signal  de\  ice  when 
both  of  the  parallel  branches  are  closed,  one  of  the 
signal  devices  being  adapted  to  be  actuated  by  the 
increased  current  when  the  resistance  is  shunted  by  the 
switch,   are   the  principal   features. 

Si  7,869.     Electrical    Measuring    Instrument.      Joshua 
Patrick,    Chicago,    111.,   assignor  to   the    Interna- 
tional   Electric    Meter    Company,    Chicago.    111. 
Application    filed    August    3,    1905. 
Combined     with     a     coil-frame     and     the     coil     disposed 
upon  the  inside  of  the  frame  are  trunnions  mounted  upon 
the    ends    of    the    coil-frame,    bearing    jewels    mounted    in 
the    ends    of    the    trunnions,    supporting    brackets    opposite 
the    ends    of    the    coil-frame,     and    pivot    screws    passing 
through    the    brackets    and     having    pointed    ends    entering 
the    jewels    and    forming    bearings    upon    which    the    c ■  -■  i  1  - 
frame   may    freely  turn. 


Winding     V 

24,     '   ■ 


land, 

ii. 

■ 

tilt      ': 

Mean 

B  i  England.     Application     filed 

Tll< 

■ 
an   alternating   •  urn  i  I 

ined   in    the  peat    t 
ids,    the    current    being    regulated    in    such   a    manner 
that    a    beating    of    ■'■  ■■■    degrees    C.    ii 

ided.     The    water    freed  by   I  ritcrnat- 

ing  curr 

517.920.  Met. Tin-    of    Telephonic    St  i 

Kitsee,    Philadelphia,   Pa.     Application   filed  Oc- 
tober   20.    1904. 

Mean-    are  the    exchange    to    register    the 

value    of    the    conversation    at    an    outlying    station,    the 
means    embracing    at    the    cxchanRc    automatic    n 
make    and    break    a    circuit    in    accordance    with    :■ 
to    be     register..'.  ncct    this    make-and-brcafc 

means  to  the  circuit  of  the  subscriber,  and  a  grounded 
source  of  current  for  the  make- and -break  means,  which 
embraces  at   the    subscriber's   station   a    registering    device. 

817.921.  Electric  Transmission  of  Intelligence. 
Isidor  Kitsee,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  Application 
filed     June    24,     1904.     Renewed     Decern) 

1905. 

A  line  of   transmission   consists   of  a   series  of  sections 
of  a   pair   of   twisted     ,.  ■  f    the  first  section 

being  in  operative  relation  to  a  receiving  device 
station;  the  second  wire  of  the  section  is  in  inductive 
relation  to  one  wire  of  the  third  section.  The 
wire  of  the  third  section  is  iti  inductive  relatii 
receiving  device  of  the  second  station,  the  term!] 
the    line   being   connected    through    instruments   to   a  return 


Si/,926.     Transformer.     Carl   A.   Lohr,   Wilkinsburg, 

Pa.     Application    filed    April    27,    1905. 


is,   has   links  connecting  the 
nals    of   the    sections   <?•{    the    low-voltage    circuit,    the    links 
being    disposed    alternately    inside    and   outside    of    I 
tions  of  the   bigh-voltage  circuit. 

Si 7.945.     Electric    Controlling    Device.     Frederick   L. 
Willard,   Brooklyn,   X.  V..  assignor  oi  one-half 
to  George  Weiderman,   New   York.  X.   Y.     Ap- 
plication  filed    October   2,    1905. 
The    device    includes    a    number       f 
number    of    circuit-breakers    in  anication 

therewith,  an  electrical  circuit  through  the  main  winding 
of    the    electri  magnet!  iugh    the    circuit-breakers, 

a  supplenu  nta  -    .  ranged 

through    the    shunt    of    the    first-named    electrical 
and    movable    members    adapted    to    be    operated    by    the 
corresponding     one     of     the     electromagnets     thr    ig 
main     winding    thereof    and    be    held    in     the    las 
position    through    the   supplemental    winding 

Sl/,959.     Alarm     Fuse     for     Telephone     Excl 

Edward  B.   Craft.  Chicago.   III.,  assignor  to  the 
Western    Electric    Company.    Chicago.    [11. 
plication    tiled    February   5.    1904. 

A     pro  tec  insulating    mount- 

ing-strip  and  terminal  plates  therefor,  a  spring  secured 
to    one     of    the    terminals,    a     fust  cally    con- 

nected with  the  other  terminal  and  united  with  the 
spring  to  maintain  the  same  under  tension,  and  a  target 
carried      by     the      Spring,      tile      SI   '  '      -  tension 

holding     the     target     in     an     inc   nspic        -  ion     but 

being  adapted  upon  the  parting  oi  the  fuse  to  move  the 
target  into  a  position  of  display. 

817,976.      Ultra-violet    Lamp.     Thomas    B.    Kinraide, 
Jamaica     Plain,    Mass.     Application    filed    June 

12,     I005. 
An    ultra-violet   lamp   comprises   opposite   electrodes   hav- 
'    ing    central     discharge    points    and     provided    with 

wardly    extending    separated    heat-dissipating    members    for 
-ing     the     heat    reanvardly     from     the     points     and 
temperature  of  ihc  discharge  points 
st  page.) 


Mean?  and  Method  of  Transmitting 
Power.  William  Stanley.  Great  Barrington. 
Mass.     Application    filed    March    10,    1905. 

In    a    system    of    distribution    are    means   for    generating 
low-frequency    currents    of    high    potential,    mains    leading 


350 


msforniers   connected    in    multiple 
rs   of    the    commutator    type    con- 

i  of  the  transformers.      (Sec  cut.) 


therefrom,  step-down 
to  the  mains,  and  m< 
nected  to  the  secondar 

8,027.  Induction  Motor.  Dugald  C.  Jackson, 
Madison,  Wis.  Application  filed  March  8,  1900. 
Renewed  April  11,  1904. 
This  method  of  operating  an  induction  motor  provided 
with  an  armature  having  a  progressive  winding,  a  com- 
mutator and  auxiliary  conductors  for  short-circuiting 
conductors  of  the  armature  winding  ■  ■  -  ii  estab- 
lishing a  field  by  a  single-phase  alternating  current, 
subjecting  the  progressive  armature  winding  t..  the  in- 
fluence   of     the     single-phase     alternating     field,     inducing 


the 

ed,  changing  the  m 
which  the  armature  is  subjected,  and 
between  the  coils  of  the  armature  that  are  subject  to 
unlike  poles  of  the  field  through  the  auxiliary  conductors 
for  normally  operating  the  motor. 

818,035.     Electric    Switch.     Henry   E.    Leppert,    New 
Britain,    Conn.,    assignor    to    the    Hart    Manu- 
facturing   Company,    Hartford,    Conn.     Applica- 
tion   filed    April    24,    1905. 
The  mechanism  of  a  snap   switch   is  described. 

818,068.  Registering  Apparatus  for  Telephone  Ex- 
changes. Clarence  E.  Wright,  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
assignor  to  David  A.  Yoder,  Toledo,  Ohio. 
Application  filed  January   19.    1905. 

With  a  controlling  circuit-closing  device  arc  combined 
a  source  of  current,  an  electrically  actuated  counter, 
another  electrically  actuated  counter,  and  means  for 
supplying  interrupted  current  thereto  and  adapted  to  be 
ected   with   tin     "   ' 


NO.    817,807.  —  ELECTRIC    MOTOR. 

818,07s.  Electric  Hoist  Philip  J.  Darlington,  Chi- 
cago,   III.     Application   filed  December    19,    1904. 

In  the  end  walls  of  a  housing  for  the  hoisting  drum 
is  journaled  the  horizontal  drum-shaft.  A  motor  is 
mounted  outside  the  bousing  upon  one  of  the  end  walls 
thereof  with  its  shaft  passing  through  the  housing- exter- 
nal to  the  drum,  and  reduction  gearing  is  supported  on 
the  other  end  wall  of  the  housing  and  connecting  the 
drum  and  motor  shafts,  whereby  a  powerful  hoist  is 
obtained    occupying    small    head-room. 

818,133.  Combined  System  of  Electric  Signaling 
and  Switch  Setting  for  Railroads.  Bruno  O. 
Wagner,  El  Paso,  Texas.  Application  filed 
October    28,    1904. 

The  first  of  37  claims  reads:  "In  a  system  of  the 
character  stated,  a  source  of  electric  energy,  a  sema- 
phore mechanism  and  a  switch-setting  mechanism,  the 
semaphore  mechanism  and  the  switch-setting  mechanism 
each  including  armature  and  field  magnets,  the  armature- 
magnets  of  the  switch-setting  mechanism  and  semaphore 
mechanism  being  connected  in   series  with   each  other." 

818.145.  Telegraph  System.  Myron  J.  Carpenter, 
La   Grange,   111.     Application  "filed  June  2,   1905. 

The  system  includes  a  telegraph  key,  a  telephone 
upport  common  to  both  adapted  and 
nunicate  mechanically,  vibrations  due  to 
of  the  telegraph  key  to  the  telephone 
iurce  of  electric  current,  and  a  circuit 
including  the  source  of  current,  the  key,  and  the  trans- 
mitter in  series,  whereby  the  transmitter  is  responsive 
to  the  sound  vibrations  and  to  the  current  variations 
produced  by   the  manipulation  of  the  key. 

818.169.  Electrical  Circuit  and  Device.  Robert  J. 
Hewett,  Westfield,  N.  J.,  assignor  to  the  Hall 
Signal  Company.  Application  filed  June  2, 
1905. 

A  circuit-changer  is  connected  with  the  circuit  and 
acts  to  change  the  connection  of  the  magnetic  means 
from  one  of  low  resistance  to  one  of  high  resistance  and 
the  reverse.  A  circuit-controller  is  controlled  by  the 
magnetic  means  and  is  arranged  to  be  picked  up  during 
the  low-resistance  connection  of  the  magnetic  means  and 
to    be    held   up    during  its    high-resistance    connection. 

818.170.  Electrical  Device  and  Circuit.  Robert  J. 
Hewett,  Westfield,  N.  J.,  assignor  to  the  Hall 
Signal  Company.  Application  filed  June  2, 
1905. 

With  two  magnet  coils,  one  of  high  resistance  and 
one  of  low  resistance,  is  combined  a  circuit-changer  con- 
nected with  the  circuit  and  so  arranged  that  when  in 
one  position  it  excludes  the  high-resistance  eoil  from  the 
circuit  but  includes  the  low-resistance  coil  in  the  circuit, 
and  when  in  its  other  position  it  includes  the  high- 
resistance  coil  in  the  circuit.  A  circuit-controller  is  ar- 
ranged to  be  picked  up  when  the  low-resistance  coil  is 
initially  energized  and  tn  be  held  up  when  the  high- 
resistance  coil  is  energized. 

818,186.  Insulating  Cleat.  Henry  D.  Murdock, 
WilUinsburg,  Pa.  Application  filed  July  17, 
1905. 

An     insulating    block    consists    of    two     member; 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 


carried    by     the     upper     and     lower     faces     of     the     other 
member. 

818,203.  Railway  Signal-controlling  Circuit.  Her- 
bert B.  Taylor,  Newark,  N.  J.,  assignor  to  the 
Advance  Signal  Company,  Newark,  N.  J.  Ap- 
plication   filed    October    1,    1900. 

A  series  of  electrically  separate  track  sections,  a 
signal  for  each  section,  a  relay  located  at  the  entrance 
end  of  each  section  and  connected  to  the  rails  thereof, 
a  single  relay  connected  to  the  rails  of  the  advance  end 
of  the  adjacent  section  and  controlling  the  first-named 
relay,  a  signal-operating  circuit  controlled  by  the  first- 
named  relay,  a  single  source  of  energy  and  a  normally 
open  track-circuit  operating  each  of  the  relays  to  clear 
the  signal    are   some  of  the  features. 


April  28,   ic 


no.  817,976 


,226.  Electric  Switch.  Lewis  R.  Brown,  South 
Orange,  N.  J.,  and  Fred  H.  Wentworth,  New 
York,  N.  Y. ;  said  Wentworth  assignor  of 
thirty-one-hundredths  to  said  Brown.  Appli- 
cation   filed    May    5,    1905. 

An  electric  switch  comprises  a  contact-making  element, 
means  for  supporting  the  element  in  inoperative  posi- 
tion, an  electric  circuit,  means  connected  with  the  electric 
for   releasing    the   element  to   cause  it   to    complete 


released    the  element. 


when 


§18,236.  Space-signaling  System.  Cornelius  D. 
Ehret,  Ardmore,  Pa.  Application  filed  July  27, 
1903. 

In  a  wireless-telegraph  receiver  are  means  for  pro- 
ducing fluctuating  electric  current,  means  for  reinforc- 
ing the  current,  and  a  recorder  controlled  by  the 
reinforced  current.  The  receiving  apparatus  comprises 
means  responsive  -to  the  received  electroradiant  energy 
for  producing  fluctuations  or  changes  in  locally  generated 
current,  means  for  amplifying  the  changes  or  fluctua- 
tions in  the  current,  and  a  signal-translating  inMriuneut 
controlled    or    actuated     by    the    amplified    current.      (See 


NO.  817,998.  —  POWER-TRANSMITTING    DEVICE. 

318,244.  Signaling  System.  John  L.  Hall,  Schenec- 
tady, N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General  Electric 
Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
September    15,    1904, 

A  signal  system  comprising  a  transmitter  and  a  receiver 
each  having  .1  rota  table  part  has  means  for  driving  the 
parts  synchronously,  an  observing  instrument  on  the 
movable  independently  of  the  rotatable  part 
id  means  on  the-  receiver  for  indicating  a 
1  definite  relation  to  the  position  of  the 


be'a: 


having 


formed     then 


protuber: 


§18,253.  Incandescent-lamp  Socket.  Walter  J.  Jones, 
Hackensack,  N.  J.,  assignor  to  the  General 
Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Appli- 
cation  filed   December   3,    igoo. 

In  series  incandescent  lighting  are  a  receptacle  having 
automatic  line-closing  contacts  and  a  lamp-socket  adapted 
to  receive  an  ordinary  incandescent  lamp  therein  and 
carrying  co-operating  contacts  normally  separated  by  in- 
sulation   of    low    dielectric   value. 

818,290.  High-tension  Circuit-breaker.  Robert  H. 
Read,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y. 
Application    filed    June    25,    1903. 

In  combination  with  a  switch  are  a  number  of  fuses 
and    means    for    automatically     feeding    them    successively 


into  shunt  relation  to  the  switch  upon  successive  opera- 
tions of  the  switch.  A  rotatable  magazine  fuse  is  in 
shunt  with  the  switch  and  means  are  provided  for  auto- 
matically rotating  the  magazine  at  each  closure  of  the- 
switch. 

818,291.     Electric    Cut-out.     Robert   H.    Read,    Sche- 
nectady, N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General  Electric 
Company,   Schenectady,  N.  Y.     Application  filed 
September   26,    1904. 
A   chamber,   a   fuse    contained   therein,   a  movable  mem- 
ber   subjected    to    the    pressure    generated  in    the    chamber 
when     the     fuse     blows,     a    movable     contact    within     the 
chamber    operatively     connected    to     the    member,     a     sta- 
tionary   contact   and  means  for   holding  the    movable    con- 
tact   normally    in    engagement    with    the    stationary    contact 
constitutes  the  device. 

818,349.  Control  System.  Frank  E.  Case,  Schenec- 
tady, N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  General  Electric 
Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Application  filed 
October    10,    1904. 

In  combination  are  a  number  of  circuits,  a  switch 
in  one  of  the  circuits  and  means  operable  to  open  the 
switch  only  upon  the  de-energization  of  one  of  the 
circuits  while  the  other  remains  energized.  Other 
features  are  a  motor  circuit,  a  control  circuit,  a  normally 
closed  circuit-breaker  in  the  motor  circuit,  and  means 
operable  upon  the  de-energization  of  the  control  circuit 
while    the    motor    circuit    remains    energized    to    trip    the 

818,361.  Arc-welding  Apparatus.  Arthur  C.  East- 
wood, Cleveland,  Ohio.  Application  filed  May 
2,    1905. 

An  arc-welding  apparatus  includes  a  portable  terminal 
and  an  electromagnetic  switch  in  circuit  therewith,  with 
a  switch  carried  on  the  terminal  and  connected  to  control 
the  electromagnetic  switch.  There  is  an  insulated  handle 
therefor,  a  hand-controlled  switch  on  the  handle,  with 
electromagnetic    switch     in    circuit    with 


and    having 
switch. 


ulled 


818,363.  Art  of  Signaling  Through  Space.  Cor- 
nelius D.  Ehret,  Ardmore,  Pa.  Original  ap- 
plication filed  July  27,  1903.  Divided  and  this 
application,   filed    August   25,    1905. 

The  method  of  rendering  intelligible  messages  or 
signals  transmitted  through  the  natural  media  in  electro- 
" radiant  form  consists  in  transforming  the  received  elec- 
troradiant energy  into  the  energy  of  electric  currents 
or  charges,  controlling  by  such  currents  or  charges 
locallv  generated  electrical  energy  to  produce  changes 
or-  fluctuations  thereof,  amplifying  the  fluctuations  or 
changes  of  the  energy,  and  controlling  or  actuating  a 
signal-translating    instrument    by    the    amplified    energy. 

818,372.     Spark    Plug.     Bert    W.    Hallstead,    Scran- 
.  ton,    Pa.     Application   filed    November   5,    1904. 

The  plug  comprises  a  body  portion,  a  cap  carried  by 
the  body  portion,  a  conductor-stem  extending  longitudi- 
nally through  the  cap  and  body  portion,  a  body  of 
insulating    material    surrounding    the    stem    and    engaging 

the  walls  of  the  body  portion  for  spacing  the  stem  from 
the  body  portion,  a  similar  body  of  insulating  material 
surrounding  the  stem  and  engaging  the  can  for  spacing 
the  stem  from  the  cap.  and  means  carried  by  the  stem 
and  interposed  between  the  bodies  of  insulating  material 
for  spreading  the  bodies  apart  and  pressing  the"  same 
against  the  body  portion  and  ca^  respectively. 


NO.   818,23    .-  SPACE    SIGNALING    SYSTEM. 

3i8,377.  Reverse-current  Relay.  Edward  M.  Hew- 
lett, Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  the  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y. 
Application   filed   October  22,    1904. 

In  a  relay  are  a  stationary  field-magnet  member,  an 
armature  journaled  between  the  poles  thereof,  a  cam 
carried  by  the  armature  shaft,  a  reciprocating  member 
adapted  to  be  moved  by  the  cam,  and  a  switch-contact 
carried  by   the    reciprocating   member. 


PATENTS  THAT  HAVE  EXPIRED. 

Following  is  a  list  of  electrical  patents  (issued  by 
the  United  States  Patent  Office)  that  expired  on 
April  23,  1906: 

401,732.      Mouthpiece    Guard   for  Phonographs   or  Telephones. 
W.  L.    Gindcc.    Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

401.743.  Telephone  Transmitter.      W.   Gillett,   St.   John,  New 
Brunswick,   Canada. 

401.744.  Secondary    Battery.      W.     W 
College,    Pa. 

401.761.      Combined    Motor    and    Elect 


riscom,    Haverford 

Generator.      J.     F. 

H.    Short,    Colum- 
_.,   Ohio. 

401,797.      System    of    Elevated    Conductors    for    Electric    Rail- 
ways.     S.    H.    Short,  Columbus,   Ohic 
401,801.       Commutating    Devi' 

wood,   111. 

401,803.     Electric   Meter.     E.    Thompson,   Lynn,   Mass. 
401,882.     Electric  Belt.     C.   H.  Grimlcy.    New  York,  N.  Y. 
401,927.      Box    for    the    Distribution    of    Electric    Wires.       D. 

Brooks,  Jr.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
401,936.     Electric  Conductor.     T.  Eeleston.  New   York,  N.  Y. 
401,953.       Secondary    Battery.      W.    P.    Kookogey.    Brooklyn, 


W.    Thompsi 


Engle 


N.  Y. 
401,970.       Electric     Motor     for    Tramway    Vehicle 

Sandwell,   London,   Engl; 
402,006.      Secondary  Battery. 


W. 


Paris,  France. 
Electric  Cables.  T.  J.  Dewees, 
Palmyra,   N.   J. 

402,064.  Switch  for  Electric  Motor  Trolleys.  W.  Christy, 
Akron,  Ohio. 

402,066.  Dynamo-electric  Machine.  C.  Coerper,  Ehrenfeld, 
Prussia,   Germany. 

402,080.      Electric   Car.      T.    W.    Henderson.    Philadelphia,    Pa. 

402,084.  Incline  Electric  Railway.  R.  M.  Hunter,  Phila- 
delphia   Pa. 

402,099.       Printing    Telegraph     System.       C.    J.     A.     Munier, 


Pari 


'(..•ilyai'u 


Battery.     R.   J.    Pratt,  Greenbush  Heights, 


In.    y. 

402,107  and  402,108.      Process  of  Welding   Together 

of  Pipe  by  Electricity.      E.    E.    Ries,    Fialtimore. 

402,121.      Telephone.      E.    A.    Woelk,    Belleville,    111. 


WESTERN  ELECTRICIAN 


Vol.  XXXVIII. 


EVERY    SATURDAY 

1    HI'    '••'■".    MAY   s,   1906 


Electric  Pumping  Plant  of  the  Schenec- 
tady Waterworks. 


Wi 


A    tlraili.iw;.     pump    '.1    the    Wo,' 

crtical    volul      I    1  tailed    in   th< 

lounted   11      thi  .     lump 


At  the  village  of  Rotterdam,  N.  Y,  about  thrci 
miles   from   the   city   of   Schenectady,   toward     \in 

Bterdam,  stands  the  pumping  stati f  the  Schcnci 

lady    waterworks.     Ii    is    located    011    the    banl     ol 
the    Erie   1  !anal,    not    far    from   the    Mohaw  I     Rivei 

This    plant     furnishes    1 1     inter,    ting     1    pli 

1.1   ,■    modern   applicati f  electricity. 

Fig.  1  is  a  view  showing  the  old  and  new  sta 
linns  (for  there  are  two,  il  being  the  newer  one 
which  lias  the  electrical  equipment),  while  Fig.  2 
represents  the  interior  of  the  new  station,  showing 
the  two  electric  motors  that  drive  the  pumps.  Thi 
old  station  is  steam  driven,  and  the  engines  are  ol 
iIh  vertical  tj  pc  and  were  built  bj  the  I  lean  Steam 
Pump  Company  of  Holyoke,  Mass,  in  [Sg6,  The 
11.  u  station  contains  two  [8-inch  two-stage  vertical- 
shall  turbine-type  centrifugal  pumps  built  bj  the 
ll.nij    R,    Worthington   Company. 

The  new  pumping  station  has  a  capacity  if  24, 
000,000  gallons  daily  against  a  head  of  [10  pounds, 
and  the  old  one  had  only 
u.ooo.ooo  gallons  capac- 
ity, each  station  contain- 
ing two  units.  The  old 
Station  employed  a  total 
Staff  of  nine  attendants, 
while  the  new  one  has 
only    six. 

Each  centrifugal  pump 
consists  of  an  outer  cas- 
ing containing  a  set  of 
fixed  diffusion  rings  and 
veins  and  an  impeller. 
The  water  enters  from 
the  top  at  the  center  of 
Ihe  impeller  and  is  thrown 
out  through  the  diffusion 
veins  into  the  discharge 
chamber.  (See  Fig.  3.) 
The  veins  are  so  curved 
that  the  transmission  of 
kinetic  energy  of  the  pump 
into  static  pressure  is  pro- 
duced with  minimum  loss, 
and  a  remarkably  high 
efficiency   is   obtained. 

The  rated  speed  of 
these  units  is  Soo  revo- 
lutions per  minute,  and 
they  are  of  the  vertical 
type,  the  weight  being 
carried  by  a  thrust  bear- 
ing. This  bearing  con- 
sists of  two  plates  or 
disks    situated   at    the   top 

of  the   shaft,   the  entire   weight  being   supported   by 
the    horizontal    bearing    shield    of    the    motor. 

Lubrication  is  effected  by  forcing  oil  under  ap- 
proximately 100  pounds  pressure  under  the  lower 
hearing  surface.  This  oil  is  supplied  by  two  ver- 
-  tical  triplex  Knowles  pumps,  each  driven  by  a 
geared    three-horsepower    induction    motor. 

The  water  pumps  are  installed  in  a  21-foot  pit 
beneath  the  main  floor  of  the  station  (see  Figs. 
3  and  4),  and  water  is  supplied  to  them  through 
a  42-inch  suction  pipe  from  two  circular  wells  42 
feet  and  35  feet  deep.  These  wells,  which  are 
situated  close  to  the  station,  are  50  feet  in  diam- 
eter and  are  covered  by  a  reinforced-concrete  struc- 
ture. One  of  them  is  shown  in  the  foreground  of 
Fig.  1.  The  wells  have  concrete  walls  three  feet 
thick  and  deep  gravel  bottoms,  which  sen  e  to 
filter   the    incoming   water. 

Since  the  main  pumps  are  situated  above  the 
normal  water  level  of  the  wells,  a  priming  pump 
is  installed.  This  consists  of  a  nine-inch  by  seven- 
.  inch  vacuum  pump,  driven  by  a  geared  five-horse- 
power induction  motor,  which  sucks  the  water  up 
to  the  main  pumps  when  starting,  and  is  shown 
at  the   left   of  the   drawing.    Fig.   4,   page   352. 

The  two  main  motors  (Fig.  2)  are  rated  at 
800  horsepower  at  800  revolutions  per  minute  and 
are  wound  for  550  volts  three-phase  .10  cycles. 
Their  smooth  operation  and  the  simplicity  of  con- 
trol, when  compared  with  a  steam  pump,  are  re- 
markable. 


! 


t^.mmJT 


lilfMII 


IX  IKK' [OR  VIEW'  IN  1 


3.       TWO- STAGE  VERTICAL   SOO-I 
JMP   IN    ROTTERDAM   PUMPING    STATION    DRIVEN    BV 
INDUCTION    MOTOR    ON   FLOOR    ABOVE. 


pump, 

from    1 

Mating    (  ompany,    which    fun 

power   and    ligl  ■ 

The    equip in    of    | 

and    lightning 

pen  up,  first,  at  the  pit 
-tation    el,r|    ,,|    ill,     |.„,.     ■,,,,!    , 
or    prolbl 

at    the    sub-station    in    Schenectadj 
up.    At  the  pumping   stati,,,, 

!  down  by  two  banks  oi  thr 
single-phase  air-blast  transforn 

ing     tap-     and     <l  o  u  b  I  c- 

voltagc     for    starting    the 

pump  motor-,  thi 

current.     The    hunting    of 
Rotterdam     Valle; 
the    immediate    i 
hood    is    provided    for   bj 
llation   of  a    150- 
kilowatt     lighting 
former. 

The  air-blast  chamber, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  .4,  ;, 
situated  immediate]}  be- 
low the  trai 
room,  and  is  supplied  by 
two  independent 
utfits. 

arate  the  high-tension 
switches,  main  transform- 
er-, current  and  potential 
transformers  and  all  the 
high-tension  gear  from 
the  main  station,  and  the 
switchboard  forms  part 
of    this    partition. 

T  h  e  panel  equipment 
consists  of  two  incoming- 
line  panels,  two  high-ten- 
sion transformer  panels 
and  two  low-potential  motor  panels,  provided  with 
the  necessary  ammeters,  voltmeters,  etc.  Low-ten- 
sion lever  switch.es  have  pump  motors,  and  r 
control    switches    for   operating  the   oil 

switches  and  controlling  switches  for  the  drain  pump, 
priming    pump     and    oil    pumps  mounted 

on  this  switchboard.  A  spare  oil  plln,p  js  pro. 
vided  for  emergencies.  The  whole  layout  ■ 
markable  for  its  open  spacing  and  roomy  arrange- 
ment, and  much  forethought  and  care  have  been 
expended  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  shutdown, 
which  would  be  a  very  serious  matter  for  the  city 
of  Schenectady.  Duplicate  high-tension  and  low- 
tension  buses  are  provided,  with  simple  arrange- 
ments for  switching  from  one  to  the  other  in  case 
of  need.  The  main  and  auxiliary  switches  are  also 
double-throw,  to  enable  them  to  he  fed  from  either 
bus. 

These  turbine  centrifugal  pumps  are  especially- 
adapted  to  meet  extraordinary  demands  for  a  large 
supply  of  water,  and  they  have  proved  remarkably 
efficient  wdien  called  upon  for  exceptional  outputs. 
In  a  recent  large  fire  in  Schenectady  as  many  as 
10  hose  streams  were  taken  from  consecutive  hy- 
drants, thus  completely  satisfying  the  insurance  in- 
terests that  these  pumps  were  capable  of  meeting 
any  emergency  within  the  delivering  capacity  of 
the   mains. 

1  he  employment  of  electric  motors  for  the  op- 
eration   of    waterworks    is    comparatively    new-,    but 


I'S  ON    FLOOR 


seems   to    have   a    promising    future- 


352 

Steinmetz's  Arrangement  for  Com- 
pounding Alternating-current 
Generators. 

Among  the  United  States  patents  issued  on 
March  27th  was  one  to  Dr.  C.  P.  Steinmetz  of 
Schenectady  relating  to  the  compounding  of  alter- 
nating-current generators  for  varying  loads  and 
power  factors.  The  method  described  in  the  speci- 
fication of  the  patent  (application  for  which  was 
filed  July  25,  1904)  is  of  considerable  interest. 
The  inventor  notes  that  it  has  been  proposed  here- 
tofore to  excite  the  field  of  an  alternating-current 
generator  with  a  constant  direct-current  excitation 
supplemented  by  a  second  excitation,  corresponding 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

series  winding  of  an  ordinary  direct-current  ma- 
chine. This  arrangement,  while  it  accurately  com- 
pensates for  varying  load  and  power  factor,  and 
while  it  compounds  the  phases  separately,  since 
each  portion  of  the  armature  field  may  have  ad- 
jacent to  it  a  distributed  winding  carrying  a  cur- 
rent proportiqnal  in  amount  and  varying  in  power 
factor  therewith,  is  subject  to  the  disadvantage 
that,  since  it  is  self-exciling,  it  may  lose  its  excita- 
tion in  case  of  a  short-circuit,  and,  moreover,  the 
excitation  furnished  by  the  shunt  transformers  is 
not  necessarily  constant,  but  depends  upon  the 
voltage  at   the   armature  terminals. 

The    object    of    Dr.    Steinmetz's    invention    is    to 


to  the  series  excitation  of  a  compound-wound  di- 
rect-current generator,  obtained  by  rectifying  the 
whole  or  a  part  of  the  armature  current  and  de- 
livering it  to  a  separate  winding  on  the  field.  This 
method  of  compounding  corresponds  strictly  to  that 
employed  in  direct-current  generators.  As  the  load 
increases,  the  field  flux  increases,  and  the  potential 
at  the  generator  terminals  may  be  maintained  con- 
stant or  increased.  It  does  not  compensate,  how- 
ever, for  the  variation  in  armature  reaction  due  to 
varying  power  factor.  The  magnetizing  effect  of 
the  armature  current  on  the  field  varies  greatly 
with  the  power  factor,  even  if  the  amount  of  cur- 
rent remains  practically  constant.  Furthermore, 
with  the  above  arrangement,  the  compounding  of 
a  polyphase  machine  can  at  best  be  adjusted  only 
for   the   average   load   of   the   several    phases.     Con- 


RECEDING    PAGE.) 


provide  a  novel  arrangement  for  compounding, 
which  combines  the  advantages  of  both  the  ar- 
rangements briefly  described  above.  In  common 
with  the  second  arrangement,  varying  loads  and 
power  factors  are  properly  compensated  for,  and 
the  different  phases  of  the  armature  are  separately 
compounded,  while  the  method  possesses  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  first  arrangement,  in  that  no  danger 
exists  of  its  losing  its  excitation  under  any  cir- 
cumstances. 

The  invention  consists  in  employing  a  distributed 
field  winding  with  a  commutator,  and  supplying 
to  fixed  points  on  the  commutator  a  direct-current 
excitation  and  accomplishing"  the  compounding  by 
means  ot  a  series  transformer  connected  to  brushes 
bearing   on   the   commutator. 

Fig..  1    shows    a    single-phase    alternating-current 


AWVW^ 


Method  of  Excitation  Applied  to  Sincle- phase  Generator.  Fig.  2.     Method  of  Excitation  Applied  to  Polyph; 

steinmetz's  arrangement  for  compounding  alternating-current  generators. 


sequently,  if  the  phases  are  loaded  unequally,  the 
voltage  of  the  phase  having  the  heaviest  load  oi' 
the  lowest  power  factor  will  be  too  low  and  the 
voltage   of   another   phase    too   high. 

A  second  arrangement  for  compounding  alternat- 
ing-current generators  that  has  been  suggested  here- 
tofore consists  in  supplying  the  field  with  a  dis- 
tributed winding  and  a  commutator  like  the  arma- 
ture of  the  ordinary  direct-current  machine. 
Through  brushes  bearing  on  this  commutator  poly- 
phase currents  are  supplied  to  the  distributed  wind- 
ing, these  currents  being  so  derived  from  the  arma- 
ture currents  that  proper  compounding  is  obtained. 
The  method  of  deriving  these  exciting  currents 
consists  in  the  use  of  shunt  transformers  to  produce 
the  constant  excitation  like  the  shunt  winding  of 
a  direct-current  machine,  and  series  transformers 
to    produce    the    compounding    excitation,    like    the 


generator  arranged  in  accordance  with  the  inven- 
tion, and  Fig.  2  shows  a  polyphase  generator  simi- 
larly   arranged. 

Referring  to  Fig.  I,  (A)  represents  the  armature 
of  an  alternating-current  generator  connected  to 
the  mains  (a  a')-  (F)  represents  the  field  wind- 
ing, which  is  shown  as  a  distributed  winding  con- 
nected  to   a  many-part   commutator. 

In  addition  to  its  connections  to  the  commutator 
(C)  the  field  winding  (F)  is  connected  at  two  fixed 
points  to  the  collector  rings  (c).  (E)  represents 
a  direct-current  exciter,  which  supplies  the  field 
winding  (F)  through  the  collector  rings.  The  di- 
rect current  in  the  field  winding  (F)  produces  a 
constant  field,  rotating  with  the  field  structure  in 
the  same  manner  as  when  a  polar  winding  is  em- 
ployed. In  addition  to  the  direct-current  excitation 
an   alternating   current    is    supplied    from    the   series 


May  5,  1906 


transformer  (T)  through  the  commutator  brushes 
(bb)  to  the  field  winding  (F).  This  current  be- 
ing obtained  from  a  series  transformer,  varies  both 
in  magnitude  and  in  phase  with  the  armature  cur- 
rent, and  since  the  brushes  (b  b)  are  fixed  in  space 
and  are  positioned  opposite  to  the  armature  ter- 
minals, each  turn  of  the  field  winding  (F)  carries 
at  all  times  a  current  which  varies  in  magnitude 
and  phase  with  the  current  in  an  adjacent  turn 
of  the  armature-  winding.  The  armature  reaction 
may  thus  be  neutralized  for  all  loads  and  power 
factors  and  proper  compounding  thereby  secured. 

In  Fig.  2  is  shown  the  invention  as  applied  to 
a  three-phase  machine.  The  armature  field  (A) 
is  connected  to  the  three  line  wires  (a')  (a2)  and 
(a3).  The  field  windings  (F)  are  provided  with 
a  commutator  (C)  and  collector  rings  (c),  the 
latter  being  supplied  with  a  direct  current  from 
the  exciter  (E).  Instead  of  two  commutator 
brushes,  three  brushes  (b')  (b2)  and  (bB)  are  em- 
ployed, and  three  transformers  (T')  (T2)  and 
(T3)  are  connected  to  the  brushes,  the  primaries 
of  the  transformers  being  connected  in  circuit  with 
the  Several  phases  of  the  armature.  With  the 
connections  as  shown  it  will  be  seen  that  if  the  load 
on  one  phase — as,  for  instance,  on  the  mains  (a'a2) 
— is  greater  than  that  on  the  other  two  phases,  the 
potential  impressed  upon  brushes  (b')  and  (b2) 
will  be  greater  than  the  potential  impressed  be- 
tween brushes  (b')  and  (b3)  or  (b2)  and  (b3). 
A  larger  current  consequently  flows  in  that  part 
of  the  field  winding  which  is  adjacent  to  the  most 
heavily  loaded  part  of  the  armature  winding.  Thus 
the  different  loads  on  the  separate  phases  are  sep- 
arately and  automatically  compensated  for.  What 
is  true  as  to  the  amount  of  current  flow  is  also  true 
as  to  phase.  If  the  power  factor  of  the  load  on 
one  phase  is  different  from  the  power  factor  of 
the  loads  on  the  other  phases,  the  phase  of  the 
current  in  the  adjacent  portion  of  the  field  winding 
will  also  differ  from  the  phase  of  the  currents  in 
the  rest  of  the  field  winding. 

A  number  of  alternators  compounded  in  accord- 
ance with  the  invention  may  be  operated  in  par- 
allel, the  same  as  with  compounded  direct-current 
generators.  In  Fig.  2  are  shown  equalizer  connec- 
tions (t)  from  the  terminals  of  the  three  com- 
pounding transformers,  these  connections  corre- 
sponding to  the  equalizer  connections  employed  with 
the  series  winding  of  a  direct-current  generator. 


The  New  Wolfram  Lamp. 

Whether  the  new  wolfram  lamp  which  is  the 
invention  of  Dr.  Hans  Kuzel  can  be  covered  by  a 
basic  patent  is  uncertain.  A  correspondent  of  the 
London  Times  Engineering  Supplement  is  of  the 
opinion  that  it  cannot.  He  believes  that  no  patent 
can  confer  the  sole  right  to  the  use  of  wolfram 
in  the  manufacture  of  incandescent-lamp  filaments. 
Other  patents  have  been  granted  for  the  manu- 
facture of  these  lamps,  notably  that  of  Hanamam 
of  Budapest,  the  Osmium  Lamp  Company  of  Vi- 
enna, and  the  German  Incandescence  Gas  Light 
Company  (Auerlight  Company)  of  Berlin.  These 
patents  appear  to  apply  to  processes  only,  and  do  not 
claim  a'n  exclusive  right  to  use  the  metal.  "It  is 
not  known  exactly  how  the  manufacture  of  these 
lamps  has  been  progressing  up  to  now,"  says  the 
writer  in  the  London  paper.  "Nobody  has  as  yet 
introduced  this  lamp  on  the  market,  but  I  have 
seen  in  Berlin,  at  the  works  of  the  German  In- 
candescence Gas  Light  Company  (Auerlight  Com- 
pany) wolfram  lamps  of  no  volts  and  32  candle- 
power.  The  Osmium  Lamp  Company  of  Vienna 
recently  organized  a  public  exhibition  of  these 
lamps,  when  the  room  was  lit  up  with  wolfram 
lamps  manufactured  by  the  company.  Until,  how- 
ever, the  lamps  of  the  different  makers  appear  on 
the  market  it  will  not  be  possible  to  judge  what 
are    their   respective    qualities    and    advantages." 

One  of  the  principal  seats,  it  may  be  mentioned, 
of  the  wolfram  or  tungsten  mining  industry  is 
situated  in  Queensland,  Australia.  The  price,  which 
has  fluctuated  between  $87.50  and  $272.26  a  ton,  is 
stated  to  have  a  rising  tendency  beyond  the  latter 
figure  in  view  of  the  increased  demand  for  this 
metal. 


Philadelphia  Lighting  Situation. 

After  many  weeks'  deliberation  over  the  subject 
of  making  possible  competition  in  the  city's  electric 
lighting,  Mayor  Weaver  on  April  20th  sent  to  the 
councils  of  Philadelphia  an  ordinance  granting  a 
franchise  to  the  Commonwealth  Electric  Company. 
He  urged  upon  the  councils  the  necessity  of  prompt 
action  on  the  measure  so  as  to  allow  the  new  com- 
pany to  prepare  to  compete  with  the  monopoly  which 
"has  for  years  exacted  extravagant  prices  from  the 
city."  The  ordinance  provides  that  the  Common- 
wealth Electric  Company  shall  be  granted  certain 
privileges,  in  consideration  of  which  it  is  to  bid  to 
furnish  public  street  lighting  at  not  more  than  $85 
per  light  per  annum  and  to  give  the  city  five  per 
cent,    of   the.  gross    receipts    from    all    sources. 


May   5,    1906 

Space    Telegraphy    on    Seagoing 

Steamships. 

)',v   Dr.   Alfred  Grade -.v.  i i z 

The  use  oi    pace  telegraphy  for  the  mutual  com 

liniiiir.'itioii  of  seagoing  si  earners  rind  r<»rr<-\|M.ii<l 
cm  1  between  the  latter  and  the  land  hai  i><  1  n 
making  rapid  advances  of  late.  The  first  practical 
utilization  of  wave  teli  graphy  on  1  icrman  coa  1 
ua,   made    by   the   North    (icrman    Lloyd,    which,    in 


FIG.     1.       SPACE-TELEGRAPH    STATION    ON    THE    STE 

May,  1900,  established  the  first  German  wireless- 
telegraph  station  on  the  Borkum  Island  and  an- 
other at  Bremerhaven,  while  equipping  its  rapid 
steamers  with  wireless  apparatus.  The  German 
Navy  followed  this  example,  and  the  Hamburg- 
American  line,  as  well  as  all  the  leading  steam- 
ship companies  of  other  countries,  adopted  this 
system  of  telegraphy  for  their  large  steamers,  about 
50  steamships  of  the  mercantile  navy  of  different 
nations  being  at  present  provided  with  wireless  out- 
fits. At  the  same  time  numerous  stations  for  space 
telegraphy  were  erected  at  the  most  important 
coasts  throughout  the  world,  especially  on  the  North- 
ern Atlantic,  either  by  the  respective  governments 
or   by   private    companies. 

With  the  increasing  number  of  these  installa- 
tions, their  advantages  became  more  numerous, 
owing  to  the  growing  possibilities  afforded  for  such 
ships  as  were  provided  with  space-telegraph  ap- 
paratus to  communicate  with  either  a  land  station 
or  a  passing  steamer.  It  may  be  said  that  the 
rapid  steamers  sailing  for  New  York  from  Bremen 
or  Hamburg  are  at  present,  generally  speaking, 
every  day  in  telegraphic  communication  with  some 
land  station  or  another  steamer.  While  being  sel- 
dom without  communication  in  the  North  Sea  and 
the  Channel,  steamers  are  frequently  in  a  position 
to   exchange    telegrams   on   the   Atlantic   Ocean. 

This  adoption  of  wireless  telegraphy  in  steamship 
service  will  be,  in  constantly  increasing  degree,  a 
benefit  to  passengers,  especially  business  men,  while 
having  an  extraordinary  bearing  on  the  safety  of 
steamship  service  as  well  as  on  the  correspondence 
between  the  steamers  and  the  company  or  their 
agencies.  In  fact,  a  steamer  supplied  with  space- 
telegraph  apparatus  will  be  able  several  hours  be- 
fore coming  to  anchor  in  the  harbor  to  indicate 
the  actual  time  of  its  arrival,  the  number  of  pas- 
_  sengers,  etc.,  so  that  any  arrangements  can  be 
made  before  its  arrival  for  dealing  with  the  pas- 
sengers and  baggage,  and  providing  for  special 
traveling   facilities.     Information  on  the  atmospheric 


Wl-.vi  ii-  .     ELECTRICIAN 

■ 
1  am   I  nd 

1        !     will    be    remembered,    have    i^— ji    recently 
pi  inting    1  ording  -.ii  the 

high    sea    ;my    information    ti 
1 

I  he    arrant I;l    ol    :.    mi  d 

hipa   will   tx    ill 
by  a  di  1  lied  by 

ii,.    Gi   cllsi  had    1       D 

in    ii  t  p    Bn  men   of  the 
German    Lloyd     Thi 
tal illu  trati  -I    in 

i»    Fig,    ->.    ban    a    warranted 

r  :i  11  k  c  of  -mi  kilomi  • 

the  r.iiiK'  ai  hi 
ally  achieved,  howevi  r,  bi  ing 
100   1  ilomi  ti 

in       tat  ion   i     equipped 
■■••  1  1  ii    thn      .iiii.  1.11    waves, 

-">■    350    and    150    

length,  n  pi  i  tivi  I.,  to  effect 
which  two  antennas  have  been 

1 idi  d, 

The    antenna    intended    foi 

,l"      '•"  "I'  >'  :     II 'i      ■.! 

bronze  wire  about  50 
meters  in  length  and  lead  in 
•  in    oblique    direction     down 

from  ;,  yard  raised  on  the 
'"I1  of  lh<-  rc-ar  m;i -t  to  the 
apparatus  compartment  in- 
stalled on  the  boat  deck  be- 
hind the  funnels.  For  t  h  e 
350  and  450-meter  waves  has 
been  provided  an  antenna  sys- 
tem, comprising  three  parallel 
wires,  thai  are  suspended  hor- 
izontally between  the  t  w  0 
masts,  these  wires  being  about 
100  meters  in  length.  The 
masts  are  about  32  meters  in 
height.  A  short  cable,  being 
metallically  connected  to  the 
hull  on  the  miter  wall  of  the 
station  room,  is  used  as  earth 
connection. 

The    existing    direct-current 
plant   of   about    100   volts    ten- 
sion   is    used    as    a    source    of 
power,  the  intensity  of  current 
required    being    about    10    am- 
peres.    The    direct    current    is 
converted  into  alternating  cur- 
rent by  means  of  two  turbine 
interrupters    (one    of    w  h  i  c  h 
serves  as  a  reserve)    having  a 
cardanic  suspension,  and   a  resonance  induction.     A 
Morse    key    of    the    Braun    system,    free    from    any 
sparking,    serves   as    a    telegraph    key. 
The   capacity   of  the   transmitter   comprises    seven 


- 
with     linoleum     lining     and 
!  lie  ea- 

•noving    any    pi 
which  pen  through  a- 

rublH-r    till*-. 

To  regulate  the  vibi 

■ 

,,f  an) 

ng    outfit    ha*    been    «>   arranged    that 
incomii 

in   tin-  hearing  appan  - 
and  the   recording   apparatu     with 

ible    any    distui 
and    1  :"'g.   receiving 

transfoi  re  u«ed 

both  in  the  hearing  and  recording  apl    I 

ouplings    enal,:> 
high  as  about   tl 
,    ,  .   .,   .hit  1. 11. ■.■   oi   thi     magnitude  in  tl<- 

•j. lion   will   not   interfere   with 
ity    in    the    re- 
ceiving  apparatus   is   reduced    most   readily   on    the 
approaching  of  two  stations  by  altering  the  relative 

positi i    the    primary    and    secondary   coil 

tating  the  latter  I.  thus  reducing  the  effect  on  the 
ondary  coil.  A  coil  with  high  self-induction  and 
a  spark  gap  arc  inserted  in  parallel  to  the 
receiving  apparatus  to  avoid  any  disturbing  at- 
mospheric influences.  This  so-called  lightning  ar- 
rester has  the  property  of  leading  off  to  the  ground 
any  slowly  vibrating  discharges  of  the  air,  while 
the  high-frequency  oscillations  from  the  sending 
station  meet  with  so  great  a  resistance  in  the  highly 
self-inductive  coil  so  as  to  exclude  any  direct  dis- 
charge to  the  earth  The  rate  oi  telegraphing 
is  about    18  words  a  minute. 


Precautions  Against  Electrolysis  in 
Detroit,  Mich. 

A  special  electrolytic  survey  of  Detroit.  Mich., 
was  recently  made  by  A.  A.  Knudson  of  New  York, 
acting  for  the  Detroit  Water  Company  and  the 
Detroit  Gas  Company.  The  report  on  this  survey 
has  not  yet  been  made  to  the  water  commission- 
ers, but  it  is  stated  that  conditions  were  found 
much  better  than  was  anticipated.  There  have 
never  been  any  large  breaks  due  to  electrolytic 
corrosion,  although  a  number  of  lead  services  have- 
been  destroyed  and  some  leaks  caused.  In  gen- 
eral, while  there  are  some  doubtful  points,  the  situ- 
tion  is  well  in  hand,  the  water  department,  gas  and 
street-railway  companies  each  making  frequent  tests, 
and  efforts  are  being  made  to  reduce  electrolytic 
as  much   as  possible.     Rails  are  mainly   well 


FIG.    2.       DIAGRAM    OF   CONNECTIONS    IN    SPACE-TELEGRAPH    STATION    ON    THE   STEAMSHIP   BREMEN. 

Leyden    jars.     The    self-induction    is    constituted    by  bonded,    generally    with    heavy    copper    wire.  Also 

a   bronze   wire   being    wound    up   on    a   hard-rubber  at    several    of    the    most    dangerous    points,  return 

coil    and   being   fitted    with    a    sliding   contact.     The  feeders,    connected    with   the   water   and   gas  mains, 

exciting-spark    distance    consists    of    three    sections,  have  been    installed. 


o'54 

The  Telephone  Line.1 

By  S.  P.  Grace. 
In  considering  the  development  of  systems  for 
distributing  telephone  lines,  it  will  not  be  amiss  to 
look  back  and  run  over  hastily  the  various  meth- 
ods which  have  been  proposed  and  used  for  this 
purpose.  Before  the  introduction  of  the  telephone 
there  already  existed  the  lines  of  the  various  tele- 
graph companies,  and  it  was  but  natural  that  when 
the  telephone  came  into  the  field  the  construction 
of  its  lines  should  follow  the  same  general  practice 
as  developed  by  the  telegraph  companies.  It  was 
soon  found,  however,  that  the  number  of  telephone 
lines  multiplied  much  more  rapidly  than  did  the 
telegraph  wires,  the  result  being  poles  of  great 
height,  equipped  sometimes  with  as  many  as  20 
cross-arms,  each  arm  carrying  from  10  to  20  wires. 
When  these  lines  became  overcrowded,  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  relieve  them  for  short  distances  with 
aerial  cables,  made  up  of  rubber-covered  wires.  A 
little  later  the  dry-core  lead-sheathed  paper  cable 
was  invented,  and  it  was  largely  used  to  supple- 
ment the  open-wire  leads.  These  heavy  open-wire 
leads  were  subjected  to  many  disturbances,  because 


of  sleet  and  windstorms,  and,  furthermore,  they 
became  such  an  "eyesore"  that  in  many  cities  the 
wires  were  ordered  underground  in  the  business 
districts. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  first  underground 
distributing  conduit  system  for  telephone  wires  was 
installed  by  Mr.  Metzger  and  Mr.  Paynter  of  the 
Central  District  and  Printing  Telegraph  Company 
in  Pittsburg  in  1881,  on  Fifth  Avenue,  between 
Wood  and  Liberty  streets.  The  roof  fixtures  had 
become  too  heavy  for  the  buildings  supporting 
them,  and  as  permits  for  poles  on  the  streets  could 
not  be  secured,  it  became  imperative  to  place  the 
wires  underground.  The  cables  were  laid  in  the 
bottom  of  a  wooden  box,  and  immediately  over 
them  was  placed,  at  intervals,  porcelain  plates  con- 
taining 40  holes,  through  which  were  pulled  dis- 
tributing wires  to  be  run  into  each  basement  along 
the  route.  After  the  cables  and  wires  were  in  place 
the  entire  box  was  filled  with  pitch,  and  this  con- 
struction gave  fair  service  for  a  short  time.  It 
was  only  a  short  time,  however,  until  all  -  forms 
of  "solid  systems"  in  Pittsburg  and  in  other  cities 
were  abandoned  in  favor  of  the  "drawing-in  sys- 
tem," the  standard  practice  calling  for  vitrified-clay 
ducts,  into  which  the  cables  could  be  readily  drawn 
and  withdrawn.  The  direct  underground  connec- 
tion of  subscribers'  lines  was  abandoned  practically 
everywhere,  on  account  of  its  cost,  in  favor  of 
the  distributing  pole  connected  to  the  underground 
cables,  from  the  top  of  w-hich  radiated  wires  _  to 
the  various  subscribers'  premises.  In  the  districts 
outside  of  the  congested  business  district  it  con- 
tinued to  be  the  practice  of  most  companies  for 
many  years  to  adhere  to  the  tall,  open-wire  leads, 
supplemented  with  aerial  cables.  However,  the  Cen- 
tral District  and  Printing  Telegraph  Company  early 
developed  a  system  of  distribution  by  means  of 
aerial  cable  placed  on  low  poles  and  provided  with 
terminals  every  two  or  three  hundred  feet,  which  has 
given  excellent  satisfaction  for  a  number  of  years 
and  is  now  being  extensively  used.  A  more  com- 
plete description  of  this  system  will  be  given  later 
on  in  this  paper. 

The  development  of  telephone-line  distribution 
having  thus  been  briefly  sketched,  let  us  consider 
what,  in  the  present  knowledge  of  the  art,  can  be 
considered  the  best  practice  of  today  for  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  subscribers'  telephone  lines.  It  has 
been  many  times  recommended  and  demanded  by 
those  not  experienced  in  the  art,  that  all  telephone 
wires  should  be  placed  completely  underground,  and 
these  persons  point  to  the  water  and  gas  systems 
as  an  example.  There  is,  however,  a  fundamental 
difference  between  these  systems,  usually  lost  sight 
of.  In  the  case  of  gas  and  water,  one  pipe  is  com- 
mon for  an  entire  street  and  may  be  tapped  any- 
where along  its  length.  In  the  case  of  telephone 
distribution  we  must  provide  a  separate  pair  of 
wires  all  the  way  from  the  exchange  to  each  sub- 
scriber's premises,  and  no  common  line  can  be 
tapped,    as   is   done   in   the  gas   and   water   systems. 

1.  Abstract  of  a  paper  read  before  tbe  Pittsburg  branch  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers.  March  13,  1906.  Mr. 
Grace  is  chief  engineer  of  the  Central  District  and  Printing 
Telegraph  Company. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

This  makes  the  difficulties  and  the  expense  of  di- 
rect underground  connection  very  great,  and,  if 
enforced,  would  necessarily  result  in  a  large  in- 
crease in   the  cost  of  service  to  the  subscriber. 

In  modern  engineering  practice,  before  building 
the  distributing  routes  in  any  city  or  district,  it  is 
customary  to  prepare  a  development  study  whch 
shows  the  number  of  subscribers  to  be  expected 
at  the  end  of  definite  periods  for  the  next  20  years, 
and  also  to  predict  the  probable  routes  and  the 
number  of  ducts  required  for  this  distribution. 
From  studies  recently  made  it  seems  best  to  limit 
the  number  of  wires  carried  in  cables  on  pole  lines 
to  about  400  pairs,  and  that  above  this  limit  the 
distribution  should  be  made  underground.  On  this 
basis  it  will  be  seen  that  it  is  economical  to  extend 
the  underground-conduit  system  along  what  might 
be  called  "feeder  routes"  throughout  the  residence 
sections  of  the  city.  In  districts  where  there  are 
underground  conduits  it  is  to  be  recommended  that 
direct  underground  connections  be  made  to  the 
various  buildings,  wherever  the  number  of  tele- 
phones in  each  building  will  justify  the  expense 
of  such  a  connection.  This  is  particularly  true  of 
office  buildings,  apartment  houses,  large  stores,  ho- 
tels,   etc. 

Where  direct  connection  is  not  economical,  the 
vault  system  or  the  wall-wiring  system  may  be  ■ 
used.  In  the  vault  system  a  cable  is  run  into  one 
of  the  basements  in  the  block,  and  from  its  ter- 
minal are  carried  distributing  wires  through  the 
other  vaults  to  the  various  telephones.  This  sys- 
tem is  limited  in  its  application,  because  of  the  ir- 
regularities and  sometimes  the  absence  of  vaults, 
and  because  of  the  objections  of  property  owners 
to  having  the  telephone  company's  employes  fre- 
quently passing  through  their  basements.  In  the 
wall-wiring  system  a  small  terminal  is  placed  on 
the  rear  wall  of  one  of  the  buildings,  and  from  it 
are  run,  through  rings,  twisted  pair  No.  18  B.  &  S. 
soft  copper,  rubber-covered  and  braided  wire,  to 
the  different  telephones.  This  type  of  distribution 
is  very  neat,  economical  in  first  cost,  and  the 
maintenance,  because  of  the  protected  condition  of 
the  wires,  is  very  small.  It  will  be  found  that 
this  style  of  distribution  is  particularly  suited  to 
second-class  business  districts  and  first-class  resi- 
dence districts  in  the  vicinity  of  underground-con- 
duit routes,  where  the  buildings  are  built  close 
enough  together  to  prevent  long  spans  of  ring 
wiring.  In  Fig.  1  is  shown  a  typical  example  of 
this  kind  of  wiring. 

Where  the  buildings  are  very  much  scattered 
and  the  lot  and  building  lines  irregular,  it  seems 
that  some  form  of  a  distributing  pole  will  furnish 
the  best  and  most  economical  service  pending  the 
time  that  the  block  is  so  closely  built  up  as  to 
warrant  direct  connection  or  wall  wiring.  It  is 
possible  to  design  this  type  of  pole  with  a  small 
circle  top,  and  if  the  wires  are  strung  from  it  in 
a  neat  manner,  without  attempting  to  encompass 
too  much  territory,  the  effect,  although  not  beauti- 
ful, is  not  displeasing.  In  Fig.  2  is  shown  the 
wiring  of   one   of  these  poles   at  close   range. 

After  agreeing  that  the  main  feeder  routes  should 
be    underground,    and    after   providing   for   distribu- 


FIG.   2.       TOP    OF    DISTRIBUTING  POLE,    SHOWING    WIRING. 

tion  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  these  routes  by 
means  of  direct  connection,  vault  or  wall-wiring 
systems,  as  described  above,  there  still  remains  the 
problem  of  distributing  aerially  the  subscribers* 
lines  on  the  many  side  streets.  In  the  majority  of 
our  cities  to  attempt  to  make  such  distribution 
completely  underground  would  either  financially  in- 
volve the  telephone  companies  or  else  make  the 
cost  of  service  prohibitive  to  the  subscribers.  As 
explained  earlier  in  this  paper,  the  aerial  distribu- 
tion of  telephone  lines  has  in  the  past  largely  been 
done  by  means  of  tall  open-wire  leads,  supplemented 
with  aerial  cables.     On  account  of  the  rugged  char- 


^ay  5,   1906 

acter  of  the  territory  of  the  Central  District  and 
Printing  Telegraph  Company,  the  streets  in  the 
various  towns  are,  as  a  rule,  very  narrow  and 
crooked,  which  made  extremely  difficult  the  build- 
ing of  tall,  open-wire  leads  for  distributing  tele- 
phone  lines. 

Early  in  the  year  of  1898  it  became  apparent  to 
the  engineers  of  the  Central  District  and  Printing 
Telegraph  Company  that  some  new  form  of  con- 
struction must  be  developed  if  it  was  hoped  to 
distribute  aerially  the  thousands  of  wires  being 
required  by  the  rapid  expansion  of  the  business 
of  the  company.     An  aerial-cable  system  of  disiribu- 


fig.  3. 


10-PA1R    JUNCTION    BOX 


tion  was  conceived  by  Mr.  Bliss  and  Mr.  Snyder 
of  the  engineering  department,  and  they,  in  con- 
junction with  Mr.  Donaldson  of  the  construction 
department,  proceeded  to  prepare  plans  for  its  in- 
stallation. It  should  be  stated,  however,  that  the 
Bell  Telephone  Company  of  Philadelphia  independ- 
ently installed,  at  this  time,  an  aerial-cable  system 
in  Germantown,  Pa.,  although  for  several  years  it 
did  not  extend  this  type  of  construction. 

Since  1898  the  aerial-cable  method  of  distribution 
has  been  followed  exclusively  in  the  territory  of 
the  Central  District  and  Printing  Telegraph  Com- 
pany wherever  it  was  desired  to  distribute  sub- 
scribers' lines  aerially.  Low  poles  of  30  to  35  feet 
in  length  have  been  used  and  aerial  cable  placed  at 
the  tops  of  the  poles.  On  alternate  poles  and 
sometimes  on  every  pole,  was  placed  a  10-pair  junc- 
tion box.  Each  pair  usually  appeared  somewhere 
along  the  lead  in  from  two  to  three  separate  ter- 
minals, so  it  was  possible  to  make  use  of  any  par- 
ticular pair  at  different  points,  and,  furthermore, 
the  multiplying  was  so  arranged  as  to  permit  the 
economical  grouping  of  party  lines.  From  the  lock 
'  nuts  of  the  terminals  No.  14  B.  &  S.  gauge  copper 
rubber-covered  and  braided  twisted-pair  wire  was 
strung  direct  to  the  protector  at  the  subscriber's 
premises,  no  cross-arms  being  used  along  the  lead. 
On  account  of  the  short  length  of  rubber-insulated 
wire  used  in  running  the  subscriber's  loop,  no  pro- 
tection is  necessary  at  the  cable  terminal,  but  each 
line  should  be  fused  at  the  place  where  the  aerial 
cable   is    connected   to    the    underground    cable. 

A  cable  system  of  this  kind  is  highly  useful  for 
distribution  at  right  angles  to  underground-conduit 
base  lines  and  along  streets  that  will  in  the  future 
be  provided  with  underground  subways.  Construc- 
tion of  this  kind  is  not  an  "eyesore,"  does  not 
invite  criticism,  and  the  result  is  that  underground 
legislation  lies  dormant  for  many  years.  An  ex- 
ample of  this  style  of  construction  is  shown  in  Fig. 
3.   and   a    detail   of  the   construction    in    Fig.   4. 

Because  of  the  large  number  required,  an  im- 
portant part  of  an  aerial-cable  system  is  an  efficient 
and  economical  terminal.  About  two  years  ago  this 
matter  was  carefully  investigated  and  a  terminal 
designed  which  was  low  in  first  cost,  low  in  mainte- 
nance, and  possessing  a  long  life.  This  terminal 
is  built  up  of  essentially  two  elements,  a  cast-iron 
box  and  a  porcelain  block  for  mounting  the  lock- 
nut  terminals.  In  developing  this  terminal  the  first 
point  insisted  upon  was  the  use  of  a  dry-core 
cable  for  the  tapping  cable,  which  form  of  cable 
is  cheap,  and  besides  is  easily  handled  and  spliced 
by  the  cable  splicers.  A  diagram  of  this  terminal 
is  shown  in  Fig.  5  and  a  reproduction  of  a  photo- 


May  5,  1906 


graph  111  Fig.  6.  It  can  be  used  for  vault  wiring, 
wall  wiring,  and  on  poles  for  aerial-cable  lines. 
The  cost  of  a  IO-pair  size  is  $2.45,  and  it  is  be- 
lieved that  the  life  will  be  at  least  IS  years.  The 
labor  of  placing  and  splicing  is  $1.70  when  con- 
nected to  a  50-pair  cable,  and  the  material  used 
for  splicing  amounts  to  $1.15,  which  makes  the 
cost  of  a  complete  10-pair  terminal  $5-3°-  This 
type  of  terminal  has  been  in  service  nearly  two 
years,  and  tests  in  all  kinds  of  weather  have  shown 
them   to   have   a  high   insulation    resistance. 

About  two  years  ago  a  number  of  studies  were 
made  to  determine  the  most  economical  system,  or, 
in  other  words,  the  system  having  the  lowest  an- 
nual charges,  for  distributing  telephone  lines  aeri- 
ally. The  annual  charge  is  made  up  of  interest, 
taxes,  depreciation  and  maintenance,  and  it  is  ap- 
parent that  the  system  having  the  lowest  first  cost 
may  not  be  the  most  economical  in  the  long  run. 
Different  groupings  of  subscribers  were  assumed 
and  their  distribution  was  effected  by  open-wire 
systems,  aerial-cable  systems,  aerial  cable  with  taps 
on  every  pole,  aerial  cable  supplemented  with  bare 
wire,  etc.  It  was  found,  as  a  result  of  these  studies, 
that  the  aerial-cable  system  with  taps  on  alternate 
poles  and  with  rubber-covered  wire,  directly  con- 
nected from  the  aerial-cable  terminals  to  the  pro- 
tector in  the  subscribers'  premises,  was  generally 
the  most  economical.  This  system,  besides  being 
the  most  economical,  is  by  far  the  most  sightly 
of  any   form   of   aerial   distribution. 

It  is  obvious  that  on  many  streets,  where  there 
are  but  a  few  telephones,  it  would  not  be  eco- 
nomical to  place  an  aerial  cable  at  once,  but  the 
distribution  must  be  initially  effected  either  with 
bare  wire  or  twisted-pair  rubber-covered  wire.  A 
study  of  these  cases  showed  that  it  was  economical 
to  distribute  all  telephone  lines  within  1,000  feet 
of  aerial-cable  routes  with  twisted-pair  wire  strung 


1    .  r|  :.  :.     i 

proved  to  1) 

ihi     loop    to 

i    cd-pai 
vas  desirable,  b'  1   ndpoint 

id  from  thi 
to    n  plai  ■ 

•.nil    an I    cab 

"i   about    

bowed    Mi.. 1 

onomj    '  distributing 

nut  attempt   n>  use  it 
far  aparl      li   n 


with  !■■ 
Whir. 


10  Pr  Junction  Box  N°  70  /", 

C.08PTEL  CO.-EH6  OEPT.  PBS  PA 

JUL  -       -05 

C-8336 


Note:  The  colored  aire  of  each  Co/He /bi 
stall  be  connected  lo  the 
0/  each  poir  of  Jorxtion  dor  Termm/s 


is  not  economical  to  parallel  cable  wires  with  out- 
side distributing  wires  strung  on  cross-arms  or 
brackets.  The  cable  should  be  so  tapped  as  to 
make  the  length  of  the  subscribers'  loops  a  mini- 
mum. This  last  point  is  very  important,  and  every 
effort  should  be  made  to  extend  the  cable  system 
and  make  the  subscribers'  loops  of  a  minimum 
length.  If  this  is  done,  it  is  economy  to  construct 
them  of  high-grade  material,  i.  e.,  of  first-quality 
twisted-pair  rubber-insulated  and  braided  copper 
wire. 

Summarizing,  it  would  seem  that  the  following 
rules  for  distributing  telephone  subscribers'  lines 
may   be   followed    with    economical    results: 

First — That  where  the  number  of  circuits  will 
exceed  400,  underground  subways  be  built,  and  the 
distribution  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  these  feeder 
routes   be   effected   by   direct   connection,   vault   sys- 


FOR    IO-PAIR    JUNCTION    BOX. 


should  be  placed  wherever,  by  so  doing,  300  icei 
of   twisted-pair  wire   can   be   saved. 

Third — That  on  side  leads  at  right  angles  to 
aerial-cable  lines,  twisted-pair  wires  strung  on 
brackets  should  be  used  for  distribution  to  sub- 
scribers located  within  1,000  feet  of  the  cable  line 
If  the  subscribers  are  at  a  greater  distance  than 
1,000  feet,  all  distribution  on  these  side  leads  should 
be  effected  by  means  of  No.  14  N7.  B.  S.  bare  cop- 
per wire,  strung  on  standard  cross-arms,  provided 
there  are  no  obstructions  in  the  way,  such  as  trees. 
foreign  wires,  etc.,  which  would  necessitate  the  use 
of  high  poles.  If  obstructions  are  met  with,  a 
special  study  should  be  made  to  determine  which 
is  most  economical — the  setting  of  high  poles,  the 
use  of  twisted  wire  on  low  poles,  or  the  placing 
of  a  cable. 

Fourth — That  when  the  number  of  circuits  on 
a  pole  line  reaches  10  to  15,  a  cable  should  replace 
them.  This  cable  should  be  provided  with  termi- 
nals on  alternate  poles,  so  that  the  bare  wire  or 
covered  wire  formerly  strung  along  the  lead  for 
local  distribution  can  be  removed  and  returned  to 
stock,  since,  as  before  stated,  it  is  not  economical 
to  parallel  cable  wires  with  bare  or  covered  dis- 
tributing  wires. 

It  is  certain  that  in  the  coming  years  the  number 
of  telephones  is  going  to  increase  at  a  most  rapid 
rate,  and  the  engineer  has  before  him  a  difficult 
problem  in  designing  and  constructing  the  lines 
necessary  to  connect  these  telephones  to  their  ex- 
change centers.  It  is  true  that,  as  the  number  and 
therefore  the  telephonic  density  increases,  the  line 
construction  cost  per  telephone  is  very"  materially 
reduced,  and  it  may  be  that  some  time  in  the 
future  we  can  see  the  way  clear  for  a  complete 
underground  distribution  of  all  telephone  lines  on 
the  most  important  streets  of  our  cities.  I  believe, 
however,  that  this  period  is  many  years  ahead,  and 
it  can  well  be  asked,  Why  should  the  telephone 
companies,  and  therefore  the  public  served  by  them, 
be  burdened  with  the  additional  expense  entailed 
by  complete  underground  distribution,  as  long  as 
it  is  possible  to  economically  distribute  in  a  sightly 
manner    from    properly   designed   aerial-cable    lines  - 


The  new  French  liner  La  Provence,  built  to 
break  all  speed  records  across  the  Atlantic,  arrived 
at  Sandy  Hook  from  Havre  on  April  27th,  having 
made  the  run  in  five  days,  23  hours  and  40  min- 
utes. The  previous  record  was  six  days,  nine  hours 
and  20  minutes.  When  1,800  miles  from  Poldhu, 
on  the  coast  of  Cornwall,  and  1,700  miles  from 
Cape  Cod,  in  America,  the  ship  is  said  to  have 
been  in  wireless  communication  with  both  shores  of 
the   Atlantic  at  the   same  time. 


3s6  WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

\X7'C1C"TT7"DM        J71  TPTDTPT  A  M  Ix    ls    t0    be    reSrctted    tllat    owing    to    the    small 

WljOl£ii\lN        IjLIjL'.I.IyIL'IAIN  number   of    members   of   the    American    Institute   of 

EVERY  SATURDAY.  Electrical   Egineers    desirous   of  taking  part    in    the 

"       ;  Italian  trip,  which  had  been  planned  for  this  sttm- 

PUBLICATION      OFFICES.  mer>     a     definite     representative     party     cannot     be 

510   Marquette   Building,        -        CHICAGO.  formed.      Suitable   explanations   have   been   made   to 

YELEPHONE     MAIN    1746.  l'le   Italian  association,  as   it  is  not  considered   de- 

-' sirable  to  send  a  party  of  less  than  15.     This  seem- 

Eastern  Office,  150  Nassau  Street,  New  York.  jng  lack  of  interest  is  the  more  remarkable  when  it 

Telephone,  5220  Beekman.  is   cons;dered   that   Northern   Ita,V|    Switzerland    and 

Trade  Supplied  by  Western  News  Co.  Germany    have    made    more    rapid    strides    in    elec- 

OOPTBIBHT.-  Not  only  the  title  but  the  entire  contents  oi  trical   engineering  within   the   last   three  years   than 

each  number  of  the  Western  Electrician  are  copyrighted.  _._i,,_.    „„,,    „f|,„    _,pt    _r    ri._    ,„„,-lH        An    nnnnr- 

This  paper  is  entered  at  the  Chicago  postofflce  as  mail  matter  pel  naps    any    other    part    ot    tile    world.      An    oppor- 

ot  the  second  class.  tunity    would    also    have    been    afforded    of    seeing 

SUBSCRIPTION,  in  advance,  postage  prepaid,  $3.00  for  a  ,     .    ■     ,  •  •  ,        1       „      ,  ■ 1    ,.„,iQ,- 

fuil  year  ot  52  numbers;  in  clubs  of  tour  or  more,  K.50,  with  tree  electrical-engineering  developments   conceived   under 
extra  copy  for  eight  subscriptions;  foreign  countries.  ?B.oo a  difficult   and   strenuous   conditions   met   in   ways  not 
sear;  single  copies,   19  cents.    \\  hen  change  of  address  is  re- 
quested, the  old  address  as  well  as  the  new  should  be  given.  usually    adopted   in    this    country,    where    the    whole 

^ffiS$^^^^ft&3!?&l&££&3&  ^  is  accustomed  to  the  apparatus  of  a  few  leading 

of  all  electrical  thinkers  and  workers  earnestly  desired.   Clear,  electrical    companies.       Three    or    four    members    of 

concise,  welt  wTittenarticles  arc  especially  welcome;  andcom-  ,                              .,,   _     .  ^,     .                ,      Ti  ,      .,  .              ., 

munications.  views,  news  it.-ms.  local  newspaper  clippings,  oi  the  Institute  will  find  their  way  to  Italy  this  month, 

any  information  likely  to  interest  electricians,  wHl  be  thank-  ,     .          _              hpliwp     in    anv    wiv    renrpsentin?    the 

fully  received  and  cheerfully  acknowledged.  but    not'    we    neneve,    in    any   way   lepresenting    tne 

ADVEBTISING— The  Western  Electrician— the  only  society   officially.      About  20  members   will    take   part 

general   electrical  paper  published  in  the  West— thoroughly  ■        ,           -      .      r      i       , 

covers  a  territory  exclusively  its  own.    Tins  is  a  claih  wuich  >n   me   11  lp  ro   r.u&idiiu. 

can  be  hade  by  no  other    Electrical   Journal  in  tbe  Doubtless   lack   of  time  on   the  part  of  our   busv 

United    States.      Electrical   merchants   and    manufacturers  . 

desiring  western  trade  will  appreciate  the  uneoualed  vaiue  electrical   engineers   explains  why   so   few   expressed 

of  this  journal  as  an  advertising  medium   in  us  special  field.  ....                             .     .,                              ,    „,.,„     ■      ;.„;•„ 

Advertising  rates  are  moderate!  and  will  bo  furnished  on  intention    to    accept    the    very    courteous    invitation 

application.  0f  tne{r   Italian   colleagues.     A   run   of  a  month   or 

REMITTANCES.— All    cheeks,  drafts  and  other  remit-  .              ,                         —      .       ,           ,  .    ,                        ,   , 

tances  should   be  made  payable  to  the  order  of  the  publishers,  six   weeks   Over  to   England   could   be   managed    by   a 

the  Electrician  Publishing  Company,  and    addressed  to   the  f       number   rhaii    rnnld    snare   the   time   to    make 

offices  of  publication,  Suite  510,  Marquette  Building  (204  greater  numDer  man  couia  spare  tne  time  ro  maxc 

Dearborn  Street),  Chicago,  Illinois,  rj.  S.  A. „^____  trle   longer  trip.     It  is   unfortunate  that  this  is  the 

fact,  but  we  are  sure  that  the  result  is  owing  to  no 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER.  ,ack    rf               iation     of    the     cordial     hospitaIity 

Electric   Pumping    Plant  of  the  Schenectady  Waterworks.  By  .       .       . 

C.T.Wilkinson.    Illustrated..: 35..  352  wh,ch    Prompted    the    invitation. 

Steinmetz's  Arrangement   for  Compounding   Alternating-cur-  

rent  Generators.     Illustrated 352 

The  New  Wolfram  Lamp 352  >'■,'*-',•                     ■             .      ,. 

Philadelphia  Lighting  Situation 352  WlEE    AND    CABLE    standardization-an    important 

Space  Telegraphy  on  Seagoing  Steamships.      By   Dr.   Alfred  and     timely     subject — was     discussed     at     the     recent 

P^Z^lJ^ES^oi^iuDenoiCMi^:::::::.^.!"  meeting  of  the  American  Institute  of  Electrical 
The  Telephone  Line.  By  s.  P.  Grace.  Illustrated 3;4.  355  Engineers.  Especial  attention  was  paid  to  the  mat- 
San  F^ancisco'situation!    iilustraied............ .....357.358  ter   of    insulation.     It   may   be   said    without   hesita- 

S^Sortst^rch^:::::::::::::::::::::::     :::  ill  tu»  that  there  is  no  part  of  an  electrical  plant 

Insulated  Wiring  and  Underground  Cables  Discussed   by   the  which    is    of    more     vital     consequence     to     successful 

Institute 358.359.360  . 

Standardizing  Rubber-covered  Wires  and  Cables.     By  John  operation    than    the    distributing    medium,    and    ellgl- 

C^m<k'™'v^i'Vni*vi^*MeP;^cl'''3Bi3S!f  neers    realize    this   to   be    true,   yet    it    may    also   be 

Wallace  s.  Clark 359  sa;ri   that  there  is  no  part  of  the   system  to   which 

New  Traction  Facilities  tor  Ilarrisbiug.     Illustrated 360  ,                 .                       ,                               - 

Arrangement  of  a  Modern  Engineering  Office.     Illustrated....    360  SO     little     heed     has     been     given     to     the     matter     Of 

^e%£j^JiT&7u%kZ™™i™^\V//::;.%  standardization    as    to    the    distribution    end.      Poor 

Chicago  Edison  Men  Entertained  at  Hawthorne  Plant 361,  362  insulation  in  the  distribution  system  will  imperil  the 

A  New  Type  of  Circuit-breaker.     Illustrated 362  . 

Maximum-demand  Systems  in  England  and  the  United  States-  success  of  the  most  elaborately  designed  generating 

Byl.S.C.     (Communication.) 362  0                          ...                               ,,        ,,     .     „ 

Chicaeo  Street-railway  Situation 362.363  equipment.      Some   men    believe,    apparently,    that    a 

Bristol  Portable  Recording  Gauges.     Illustrated 363  cab)e     js     a     caDle      an(J     tnat     jf     jts     crOSS-Section     is 

Anotlier  Wireless  Conference 363 

New  Consolidated  Company's  Power  Plant  at  Baltimore 363  sufficient    it    Will    do.       But    nothing    could    be    farther 

Preparations  for  National  Electric  Light  Convention 363  .                ,       ,            ,.                -                                      ■ 

Rosewater's  Recollections 361  from  the  truth  than  this  too  irequent  assumption. 

American  Pacific  Cable  Is  Completed 364  Turn    nanerc    were    rpnrl    at    tbe    Institute    meeting 

Underwriters    Requirements  for    a   Standard    Electric   Light  i  w°    Papers    were    read    at    tile    institute    mectiu0 

and  Power  Station 365  one  by   Mr.   John   Langan   on    "Standardizing   Rub- 
Test  of  500-kilowatt  Curtis  Steam  Turbine 365  r.                  ,     ~   .  .       .,           ,      .             ,          . 

Space-telegraph  Apparatus  Apparentij  Foretells  Earthquake.  36;  ber-covered    Wires   and   Cables,     and   the   other    by 

P^ttaS^^^l^^^\\":\:y.:V."\\:"'.::'.  365  Mr-  Wallace  S.  Clark,  entitled  "Comments  on  Pres- 

Boston  Illuminating  Engineers  Complete  Organization 366  ent    Underground    Cable    Practice."      Both    showed 

Copper  Production  in  the  United  States  in  1905 366  ...                          .                 ,       . 

Franklin  Statue  Is  Unveiled  in  Paris 366  thought    and    care    in    their   .preparation    and    they 

-h'oTelfphoneAN3tesa:!0n                                                     36c  brought   forth  a  long  discussion.     Abstractc    of  the 

Michigan  Telephone  Matters 366  papers  and  discussion  appear  elsewhere  in  this  issue. 

Indiana  Telephone  Items 366  5,        ,                   ...     .,              •,                   ,                 .,        ,         . 

Telephone  News  from  tbe  Northwest 366.367  Mr.  .Langan    hit    the    nail    squarely    on    the    head 

Southeastern  Telephone  Developments 367  when"iie  made  the   statement  that   "Under  existing 

General  Telephone  News 3".  .                        ,-    , 

DEPARTMENTS.  conditions,    then,    the    electrical    engineer    has    little 

Correspondence 367,368,369  in  the  way  of  data  to  guide  him  in  obtaining  reli- 

S-mimonotCanada                                                            30-  able   insulation        The    widely  varying   character   of 

NewEngland 367.368  rubber    renders    nearly    all    formulas    uncertain    and 

Somheastern's^ates!.'.'.''..'.'.''..'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.';;!!;;!!;!!!."!!'.'.'.'.  368  misleading.      Some   method    which    will    enable   the 

Ph1i°';j ;;; 368' 369  engineer  to  test  off-hand   the  quality  of  an   insula- 

Michigan 369  tion    without    the    aid    of    elaborate    chemical    proc- 

NoTthwesternsiaVes.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.".'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. V. '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'..'.  369  esses    is    greatly    needed.       In    order    to    establish 

Efec^cWting                                                             **'  370  some    sort    of    a    standard    Mr     Langan    suggested 

Electric  Railways 37°  some    specifications    for    rubber-insulated    wires    and 

Power  Transmission 370  r                                    .                                                  . 

Publications 370  cables  and  also  some  simple  tests  to  determine  the 

Societies  and  Schools 370.  371  .     .  r      ,  „..i„,- 

Miscellaneous 37'  characteristics    of   the    insulation. 

Trade^News 37i  Mr     Qark   remarked   that  high    insulation    resist- 

Illustrated  Eiectrical  Patent  Record :.r i.  3^2  ance,    high   puncture   resistance,    and    durability,   the 

~~  three    great    attributes    of    good    insulation,    do    not 

DATES  AHEAD.  o{  necessit     bear  any  relation  to  one  another.    The 

Southwestern   Electrical   and   Gas   Association    (annual    con-  .                           . 

vention),   Galveston    Tex.,   May   16th,   17th   and   18th.  first    IS    the    easiest    to    obtain,    the    second    somewhat 

Indiana    Independent  Telephone    Association    (annual   meet-  „.,.,..     H;ffi^,,lr      ind      llie     insf     the     hardest     of     the 

ing),  Claypool  Hotel,  Indianapolis,  May   17th  and  18th.  more    difficult,     and     tne     last    tne    Hardest    01    tne 

American   Institute  of  Electrical    Engineers    (annual  con-  three       A.    reasonable   amount   of   rubber,    and   good 

vention).   Hotel  Pfister.   Milwaukee.  May    rSth   to  June    rst.  ,  ,'         .                                           .                    ,        ,  ■,-,        ,,7,     ,. 

National   Electric  Light  Association    (annual    convention),  rubber,     is     necessary    to     insure     durability.    What 

AtCannadiaC„ty'Ekcrkal%  this  percentage  of  rubber  should  be,  and  what  kind 

Clifton  House,  Niagara  Falls,  Ont     June  19th    20th  and  21st.  f    rlli->Der     are    tile    questions    which    are    undecided. 

National-Interstate    Telephone    Association     (second    annual  ,           ,      ,          ,     r           ,                               -it    1 

convention),    Auditorium    Hotel,    Chicago,    June    26th,    27th  It    is    to    be    hoped    that    before    long    steps    will    be 

"National    Electrical    Contractors'    Association    (annual    con-  taken   to    standardize    insulating   compounds,    so   that 

vention),  Cleveland,  Ohio,  July  18th.                          ,,„„,„i  an    engineer    in    making    his    specifications    may    be 

International  Association  of   Municipal  Electricians    (annual  ""     ci.=,iiew                           =                 P                                   j 

convention),   New  Haven,   Conn.,  August  15th  to    17th.  ^ur&     0f    obtaining     an     insulation     which     will     fulfill 

Ohio    Electric   Light   Association    (annual  convention),    Put-  ,                  ,      ,          ■        1                -r    ■                 -1    ,-•„„ 

in-Bay,  Ohio,  August  2tst  and  23d.  his  requiremeqnts  by  simply  specifying  an  insulation 

American   Street  and  Interurban   Railway   Association    (an-  ,  •  ,,    ■      cf,,.jarr|    fnr    ^    „:„,,,    wnrk 

•nual  convention),   Columbus,  0.,  October    15th  to   20th.  which    IS    Standard    tor    a    given    W  01  k. 


May  S,  1906 

Lixe  work  in  telephone  engineering  has  only  of 
late  years  been  given  the  consideration  that  is  its 
due  as  one  of  the  most  important  parts  of  the  sys- 
tem. The  result  is  that  most  telephone  companies 
are  confronted  with  the  problem  of  rebuilding  much 
of  their  old  lines  which  are  becoming  high  in  their 
maintenance  cost,  and  which  are  often  an  eyesore 
to  the  community  which  they  serve.  In  replacing 
such  lines  and  also  building  new  ones  a  great 
many  questions  arise  as  to  the  policy  to  be  adopted, 
and  an  elaborate  development  study  is  necessary 
in  the  larger  towns  and  cities  to  determine  the 
probable  future  demands  on  the  system,  the  prob- 
able routes  and  the  number  of  ducts  if  the  under- 
ground system  is  to  be  adopted,  etc.  In  a  paper 
on  "The  Telephone  Line"  by  S.  P.  Grace,  pre- 
sented before  the  Pittsburg  branch  of  the  Ameri- 
can Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers,  which  ap- 
pears in  abstract  elsewhere  in  this  issue,  the  author 
tells  in  an  interesting  manner  of  the  methods  to  be 
followed  in  working  out  the  problem  of  building 
an  up-to-date  telephone  line,  many  of  the  methods 
described  being  those  followed  by  the  Central  Dis- 
trict and  Printing  Telegraph  Company,  of  which 
Mr.  Grace  is  chief  engineer.  Summarizing,  he 
gives  four  general  rules  to  be  followed.  First, 
where  the  number  of  circuits  exceeds  400,  under- 
ground subways  should  be  built,  the  distribution 
to  be  effected  by  direct  connection,  vault  systems, 
wall  distributing  systems  or  circle-top  poles,  ac- 
cording to  local  conditions.  Second,  where  aerial 
distribution  is  used  a  cable  should  be  placed  on 
low  poles  not  exceeding  35  feet  in  height,  this 
cable  to  be  provided  with  10  or  15-pair  terminals 
on  alternate  poles.  Third,  on  side  leads  at  right 
angles  to  aerial  cables,  twisted-pair  wires  are  to 
be  strung  on  brackets  for  subscribers  located  within 
I.coo  feet  of  the  cable  line.  At  distances  greater 
than  this  No.  14  N.  B.  S.  bare  copper  wire  should 
be  strung  on  standard  cross-arms.  Fourth,  when 
the  number  of  circuits  on  a  pole  exceeds  10  or  15, 
a  cable  should  replace  them,  which  should  be  pro- 
vided with  terminals  on  alternate  poles. 


Although  a  falling  off  in  the  use  of  the  Wright 
demand  system  of  charging  for  electric  current  is 
reported  from  England,  where  the  system  origi- 
nated, the  adherents  of  this  method  in  the  United 
States  do  not  seem  particularly  disposed  to  change 
their  allegiance.  An  interesting  contribution  to 
this  important  subject  is  made  by  a  Boston  cor- 
respondent in  this  issue  and  should  be  read  by  all 
station  managers.  But  the  matter  of  methods  of 
charging  is  one  which  excites  a  wide  divergence  of 
opinion.  In  a  paper  recently  read  before  the  Hogan 
Engineering  Club  of  La  Crosse,  Wis.,  and  re- 
printed in  part  in  the  Western  Electrician  of  April 
28th,  the  author,  Mr.  W.  W.  Ferris,  defended  a 
departure  from  the  meter-rate  idea.  "When  cen- 
tral-station service  first  assumed  commercial  pro- 
portions, flat  rates  were  naturally  made,"  says  Mr. 
Ferris.  "As  business  grew  it  was  soon  learned 
that  this  method  of  charging  was  unprofitable  and 
unsatisfactory  to  the  consumer.  From  this  extreme 
the  tendency  went  to  the  opposite,  and  a  few  years 
ago  it  was  the  general  opinion  that  nothing  should 
be  allowed  of  any  kind  except  a  meter  rate.  More 
recently,  however,  it  has  been  learned  that  the 
purely  meter  rate  is  almost  as  unsatisfactory  as 
the  old  flat  rate.  The  middle  ground  is  now  gener- 
ally taken  and  a  combination  tate  made  which  has 
various  forms,  and  the  instance  is  now  very  com- 
mon'where  central  stations  are  making  flat  rates 
on  various  well-defined  kinds  of  lighting  and  upon 
some  kinds  of  power.  This  middle  ground  has  be- 
come of  great  value  to  the  central  station  in  allow- 
ing it  an  income  on  certain  kinds  of  lighting  which 
was  utterly  impossible  to  get  under  a  meter  sys- 
tem." The  writer  of  the  foregoing  is  connected 
with  a  central  station  in  a  city  of  30,000  inhabi- 
tants, where  there  is  competition,  and  he  probably 
spoke  from  local  experience.  But  nevertheless  it 
is  true  that  it  is  never  wise  to  make  a  fetich  of 
any  particular  system  of  charging.  The  idea  is 
simply  to  devise  a  system  of  rates  that  will  attract 
all  classes  of  business  and  yet  prove  profitable  to 
the  company.  This  is .  no  easy  task ;  indeed  it  is 
a  very  difficult  one;  and  different  stations,  under 
varying  conditions,  must  meet  it  from  individual 
study  and  experience. 


May  5,    i 

San  Francisco  Situation. 
'I  lie  \v<   Li      Elcctri  !'"   ha     no       hanpily,  heard 

from  il     San   P  i rn   pondi  nt,    ■■  ho 

and    ivcll    and    ha       -  cured    ti  mpor:  ry  q 
Oakland  to  cai  ry  on  hi     wor\       tm  idi  til 

inj,'   tin-   intei  ruption   to   tclcgi  apliii    i  - iun 

ii    may   be   noted   that   he   rcpoi  i     

.■I mi  uf  April    it-'ili  mill  ri   letter  of  April    ■ 

the     ■ day     \pi  il     :6th      Bi  Mi    wen      enl    (nun 

the  office  of  the  Wc  itci  n  Electi  ii  ian  in  I  hii  ago 
The  reporl  of  "in  coi  re  pondi  nt,  -  i  ittcn  on  thi 
spot,   is   .'is    follows: 

l in  .1     l  .  1 1 1- i 

( lalcland,    i  'al„    A|>ril    26.-    Bcfon     tin     1  urn      h  id 

1 led,  I""   gang     ol    mi  n    t  ere     1  nl   to  tear  away 

fallen   « ire     of   the   San    FYam  isco   < 1    I  Ii  1 

trie    '  Company    and    otln  1    c ns,    and    traci 

w  hen  i  cr    practicable.      I  he    w g    w  .1      also 

thoroughly  inspected  in  tin  unbumed  districts,  with 
1    1  n  f,    to    resuming    elei  trie  lighl     ervici      •       oon 


the   burned 
Tin      Pa 

ing   ..11 

ti  m      1 
..ti.i 

plction,  as  then 
thai    an    ol 
iln    old   pli  n   been    idhercd   to  a  much   largi 

i'"i  1 f  thi         [em 

1.1    thi    burning   ..i  the   principal   bu 

1  he    lai  ;c   new   1 
lasl    wiiii.  i    ..11    11  |rdi 


Cross  indicates  the  broken  chimney  of  the  San  Franc 
eart 

A    VIEW    OF    SAN    FRANCISCO     RUINS,     SHOWING 

as  it  was  considered  safe  to  do  so.  The  earth- 
quake took  place  on  Wednesday,  April  18th,  and 
the  succeeding  fire  raged  almost  throughout  the 
city  during  three  days,  but  by  Sunday  the  under- 
ground wires  were  found  to  be  in  fair  condition 
and    repairs    were   made. 

The  heavy  rain  of  Monday  morning,  April  23d, 
flooded  many  conduits  and  caused  a  further  delay. 
The  11,000-volt  wires  leading  from  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Gas  and  Electric  Company's  main  power  sta- 
tion in  the  Potrero  district  to  the  main  sub-station 
at  Eighth  and  Mission  streets  were  found  to  be 
in  good  condition.  On  installing  step-down  trans- 
formers at  the  sites  of  three  other  burned  sub- 
stations, it  would  be  possible  to  start  up  the  main 
generating  plant  and  distribute  alternating  current 
through  a   large  section  of  the   city. 

The  total  destruction  by  earthquake  and  fire  of 
the  Jessie  Street  sub-station,  which  had  been  re- 
habilitated after  the  fire  of  February  22d  that 
destroyed  its  engines,  again  completely  crippled  the 
Edison  three-wire  distributing  system  supplying 
the  downtown  district  with  direct  current  for  light 
and    power. 

The  General  Electric  Company,  which  lost  its 
big  suite  of  offices  by  the  burning  of  the  Crossley 
Building,  has  opened  headquarters  in  the  Union 
Savings  Bank  Building  on  Broadway  Street,  Oak- 
land. 

The  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing 
Company's  Pacific  Coast  district  agency,  which  was 
destroyed  by  fire,  at  the  corner  of  Market  and 
First  streets,  has  secured  rooms  on  Broadway,  op- 
posite   those    of   the    General    Electric    Company. 

The  electrical  supply  trade  situation  is  very  un- 
satisfactory, especially  for  machinery,  as  large  ship- 
ments, already  on  the  way  before  the  fire,  have 
been  held  up. en  route  in  order  to  give  trains  bear- 
ing relief  supplies  the  right  of  way.  It  is  thought 
that  it  will  be  difficult  to  get  the  freight  for  the 
electrical  supply  dealers  nearer  to  the  city  than 
Sacramento  for  some  time.  It  is  possible,  how- 
ever, that  a  special  exception  will  be  made  by  the 
authorities  for  the  forwarding  of  electric  motors, 
motor-generators,  transformers,  etc.,  owing  to  the 
crying  necessity  for  lights,  and  the  destruction  of 
nearly    all    the    stocks    in    the    city.     Some    of    the 


ant,    looking  south 

onstrated  the  effectiveness  of  the  new  system,  was 
burned  on  Thursday  night,  after  the  second  day 
of  conflagration.  The  old  main  exchange  at  216 
Bush  Street,  went  up  in  flames  Wednesday  night. 
On  Friday,  before  the  flames  had  died  out,  Man- 
ager Glass  had  men  at  work  on  the  lines  along 
the  water  front,  where  the  principal  wharves  had 
been  spared  by  the  fire,  although  three  or  four 
of  the  sheds  had  collapsed  from  the  earthquake. 
On  Saturday  at  noon  the  new  office  on  Steiner 
Street,  near  Bush,  was  in  operation,  and  long- 
distance connections  had  been  established.  Tem- 
porary motor-generator  sets  were  installed  and 
skilled  electricians  rapidly  extended  the  scope  of 
the  service  under  emergency  conditions,  although 
the  earthquake  had  destroyed  most  of  the  overhead 
wires  and  the  fire  had  badly  damaged  some  of  the 
underground   work.  A. 


Under  date  of  April  28th  the  Associated  Press 
sends    this    from    San    Francisco: 

"Maintenance  of  telegraphic  communication  with 
the  outside  world  has  been  one  of  the  most  diffi- 
cult questions  with  which  the  newspapers  have  had 
to  contend.  The  experience  of  the  Associated 
Press  in  this  respect  will  give  an  idea  of  the  ob- 
stacles confronting  the  other  news  agencies  of  the 
city.  From  Wednesday,  April  iSth,  until  Monday, 
April  23d,  there  was  neither  communication  by 
means  of  telephone  or  telegraph  between  Oakland 
and  San  Francisco.  On  Monday  one  telephone  cir- 
cuit with  Oakland  was  established  for  the  Asso- 
ciated Press  and  for  telegraphic  purposes.  The 
use  continued  throughout  Tuesday,  and  Wednes- 
day it  failed.  On  Thursday  the  Western  Union. 
by  extraordinary  efforts,  succeeded  in  getting  a 
bay  cable  in  working  order  and  by  running  wires 
in  a  roundabout  way  managed  to  get  a  wire  into 
the  municipal  headquarters  at  Franklin  Hall,  on 
Fillmore  Street.  This  wire  was  placed  at  the  serv- 
ice of  the  Associated  Press,  and  through  communi- 
cation to  the  East  was  established.  News  from 
the  Associated  Press  headquarters  has  been  going 
over  this   wire   ever  since. 

"A.  B.  McCreary,  the  millionaire,  who  owns 
the  site  of  the  old  Western  Union  Building  at 
Montgomery  and  Pine  streets,  in  which  were 
located  the  offices  of  the  Associated  Press,  is  to 
begin  immediately  the  construction  of  a  six- 
story  building  of  the  most  modern  style.  Mr.  Mc- 
Creary, who  also  owns  the  southwest  corner  of 
Pine    and    Montgomery    streets,    says    he    will    not 


' 

W.    II 

still.     I ' 

all   humanitarian 

telegrai 
without  any   pi 

and    doing    it    willingl) 

il  em- 

throughout  thi 

rd   ami 
efficiently  to  maintain   the  lull 
lie.     We  ir  men." 

Referring  t.,  the-  ex]  i  frame  build- 

ings in  the  earthquake,  showing  that  the  fr.n 

bock,    while    in 
many    c:  and    partitii  n 

shaken   down,  the   Scientific  American 
dently,  if  this  disruption  of  the  walls  i'  to  Ik.-  pre- 
vented, they  must  eitl 

pletely    with    the    steel    frame,  t.   they 

must  be  made  homogeneous  or  monolithic  with  the 
frame  .Vow  the  last-named  conditions  arc  ideally 
present  in  the  new  form  of  concrete-steel  or  ar- 
mored-concrete construction,  which  has  made  such 
rapid  strides  of  late  years  in  structures  of  the 
larger  and  more  important  class.  As  the 
of  most  elaborate  engineering  tests,  concrel 
has  been  proved  to  possess  in  the  highest  degree 
those  qualities  of  elasticity,  toughness  and  homoge- 
neous strength  which,  when  combined  in  a  mono- 
lithic mass,  present  a  structure  as  nearly  earth- 
quake-proof as  our  present  methods  and  materials 
can  make  it.  Similarly,  and  in  even  greater  de- 
gree, the  buildings  of  lesser  height  may  be  ren- 
dered proof  against  overturning  or  serious  rup- 
ture: for  the  bending  and  shearing  moments  in- 
troduced by  the  sudden  lateral  movements  of  the 
earth  decrease  with  the  decrease  of  height."  In 
addition,  an  independent  water  supply  for  each 
large  building  is  recommended,  so  that,  in  case 
of  bursting  of  mains  by  earthquake,  there  will  still 
be    means    of    fighting    the    fire. 

One  of  the  first  tangible  penalties  to  i: 
growing  out  of  the  San  Francisco  disaster  was  the 
1  of  the  directors  of  the  United  Railways 
Investment  Company,  controlling  the  street  railways 
of  that  city,  to  pay  the  dividend  due  the  pre- 
ferred stockholders  of  the  company  May  i-t  in 
scrip  instead  of  in  cash.  The  stockholders  are 
asked  to  accept  the  scrip  so  that  the  cash  in  the 
company's  treasury  may  be  hel  1  to  meel 
gencies.  The  dividend  amounts  to  $712,500.  and 
the   scrip   will    bear    interest  :     until 

its  redemption.  The  losses  of  the  United  Rail- 
roads have  proved  to  be  smaller  than  at  firsl 
posed.  The  common  stock  fell  43  points  and  the 
preferred  37  in  the  first  few  days  succeeding  the 
disaster,  but  both  have  recovered  much  of  the 
ground  lost. 

Under  date  of  April  25th,  H.  D.  Scribner,  man- 
ager of  the  San  Francisco  office  of  the  Allis-Chal- 
mers  Company,  sends  this  interesting  account: 
"The  earthquake  occurred  on  Wednesday  morning. 
at  5:16  a.  m.  It  shook  down  many  of  the  weaker 
buildings,  causing  a  chaotic  condition  of  affairs. 
which  was  made  worse  by  the  cutting  off  of  the 
electric  and  gas  plants.  Water  mains  and  sewer 
mains  were  broken.  Owing  to  the  former,  the 
fire  department  was  unable  to  fight  the  fires  im- 
mediately  following  the   earthquake. 

"The  Rialto  Building,  where  our  offices  were 
located,  was  entirely  gutted.  At  this  writing  we 
have  been  unable  to  determine  the  exact  condition 
of  our  safe,  owing  to  the  heat.  We  had  a  limited 
stock  in  the  basement  of  the  Rialto  Building,  but. 
owing  to  the  dangerous  condition  of  the  wails,  we 
have  not  approached  the  building,  but  will  do  so 
in  a  day  or  so.  Our  stock  stored  in  our  warehouse 
is    probably-    entirely    destroyed. 

"Our  new  location  is  906  Broadway.  Room  21. 
Oakland.  About  every  firm  transacting  business  in 
San  Francisco  has  moved  to  Oakland,  and  there 
scramble  for  temporary'  offices,  which  will 
have  to  be  occupied  for  a  period  of  from  six  to 
nine  months.  We  were  fortunate  in  securing  a 
prominent  location  at  a  reasonable  rent.  We  se- 
cured   this    office    on    the    same    day   of   the    quake. 


35* 

;md  we  have  our  telephone  now  in  place.  Furni- 
ture is  at  a  premium,  but  we  have  secured  a  job 
lot  consisting  of  dining  and  parlor  chairs  and 
tables,   and   were   lucky  to   get   three  typewriters. 

"At  the  present  time  we  are  transacting  our 
business  under  difficulties,  and,  as  our  salesmen 
and  office  force  have  been  unable  to  get  then- 
families  to  Oakland,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  teams, 
we   have    not   a    representative   office    force   here. 

"It  is  useless  for  anyone  to  telegraph  us,  or  for 
us  to  use  the  telegraph,  owing  to  the  congested 
condition  of  affairs.  As  an  instance,  we  cite  the 
following:  The  manager  of  the  Western  Union 
stated  that  they  were  behind  7,000  messages,  1,000 
of  which  they  put  two-cent  stamps  on  and  mailed. 
The  effect  is,  of  course,  that  everyone  is  short  of 
money.  The  bank  presidents  find  it  necessary  to 
secure  the  rations  which  are  being  distributed  by 
the  United  States  Army  Commissary.  The  situa- 
tion is  further  aggravated  from  the  fact  that  the 
weather  conditions  are  bad.  We  have  received  a 
drenching  rain,  and  as  there  are  probably  100,000 
homeless  people  camping  in  the  parks  of  San  Fran- 
cisco without  shelter,  we  shall  probably  have  an 
epidemic  of  sickness.  Hence,  the  manager  of  this 
office  deemed  it  advisable  to  advance  the  salesmen 
sufficient  money  to  get  them  out  of  the  city  with 
their  families.  Our  entire  office  force,  with  their 
families,  were  saved,  but  a  number  of  them  lost 
their  homes,  and  -  some  of  them  have  only  the 
clothes  with  which  they  escaped  from  their  resi- 
dences." 

The  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing 
Company  carried  a  large  stock  in  San  Francisco. 
This  company  has  already  made  large  shipments 
from  the  East  to  meet  the  immediate  need  for 
electrical   material. 

The  Stanley-G.  I.  Electric  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany has  opened  temporary  offices  at  67  Blake 
Block,  Oakland,  Cal.  Several  carloads  of  elec- 
trical apparatus  have  already  left  Pittsfield,  Mass., 
to  take  the  place  of  machinery  damaged  or  de- 
stroyed in  the  California  disaster. 


Institute  Meeting  in  New  York. 

A  meeting  of  the  American  Institute  of  Electrical 
Engineers  was  held  in  the  auditorium  of  the  New 
York  Edison  Company  on  the  evening  of  April 
27th,  President  S.  S.  Wheeler  presiding.  Secretary 
Ralph  W.  Pope  announced  the  election  of  84  asso- 
ciate members  at  the  meeting  of  the  board  of  di- 
rectors in  the  afternoon.  The  topic  for  discussion 
was  the  general  subject  of  insulated  wires  and 
cables,  and  it  was  introduced  by  the  reading  of  two 
carefully  prepared  papers.  One  of  these  papers, 
by  John  Langan  of  the  Okonite  Company,  New 
York,  was  entitled  "Standardizing  Rubber-covered 
Wires  and  Cables."  The  other  paper,  entitled 
"Comments  on  Present  Underground  Cable  Prac- 
tice," was  by  Wallace  S.  Clark  of  the  General  Electric 
Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  The  field  covered 
by  these  papers  is  an  important  one,  and  a  valuable 
discussion  ensued.  Following  in  this  issue  will  be 
found  abstracts  of  the  papers  and  discussion.  In 
view  of  the  importance  of  the  question  of  insula- 
tion, it  was  recommended  that  Dr.  A.  E.  Kennelly, 
who  is  secretary  of  the  committee  on  standardiza- 
tion, look  into  the  matter  and,  if  need  be.  see 
that  a  committee  is  set  at  work  upon  the  stand- 
ardization of  cable  specifications. 


Electrical  Exports  for  March. 

Electrical  exports  from  the  United  States  for  the 
month  of  March,  1906,  reached  a  total  value  of 
$1,295,365.  In  March,  1905,  the  amount  was  $1,126,- 
201.  Both  classes  of  electrical  goods — electrical 
appliances  and  electrical  machinery — show  an  in- 
crease for  March  over  the  corresponding  month  of 
last  year.  The  figures  in  detail  are:  Electrical 
appliances  (including  telegraph  and  telephone  in- 
struments)—March,  1905,  $505,705;  March,  1906, 
$590,328.  Electrical  machinery— March,  1905,  $620,- 
496;    March,    1906,    $705,037. 

Considering  electrical  machinery  only,  the  fol- 
lowing countries  were  the  principal  buyers  from 
the  United  States  in  March,  the  value  of  the  ex- 
ports to  each  country  being  given :  British  North 
America,  $175,831;  Japan,  $127,921;  United  King- 
dom, $118,934;  Mexico,  $111,627;  Brazil,  $31,914; 
Cuba,  $22,791;  British  Australasia,  $18,750;  British 
East  Indies,  $12,772;  British  Africa,  $11,731;  Ger- 
many, $9,518;  Chinese  Empire,  $9,501;  France, 
$7,617;  Argentina,  $5,200;  Central  American  States 
and    British    Honduras,    $3,779;    Hongkong,    $1,300. 


A  newspaper  dispatch  from  Milwaukee  says  that 
Mayor  Becker  is  paving  the  way  for  the  construc- 
tion of  a  municipal  lighting  plant,  which  has  been 
demanded  several  times  by  the  people  of  the  city. 
A  commission  of  five  has  been  selected  to  superin- 
tend the  construction  and  operation  of  the  plant. 
Irving  B.  Cary,  an  electrician,  will  have  charge 
of  the  board,  being  the  member  appointed  for  five 
years.  The  members  of  the  commission  serve  with- 
out pay. 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 

Insulated     Wiring      and     Underground 

Cables  Discussed  by  the  Institute. 
'  Two  papers  dealing  with  present  practice  in  wire 
and  cable  work  were  read  at  the  meeting  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers  in  New 
York  on  April  27th.  One  of  these  papers  was 
upon  "Standardizing  Rubber-covered  Wires  and 
Cables,"  by  John  Langan,  who  is  identified  with 
the  selling  department  of  the  Okonite  Company 
of  New  York  city.  The  other  paper  was  entitled 
"Comments  on  Present  Underground  Cable  Prac- 
tice," by  Wallace  S.  Clark,  engineer  of  the  wire, 
cable  and  tube  department  of  the  General  Electric 
Company,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  Both  papers  are  in- 
teresting in  that  they  deal  with  one  of  the  most 
vital  parts  of  an  electrical  system — a  part  of  the 
system  which  is  perhaps  more  liable  than  any  other 
to  cause  loss  to  the  operating  company  through 
unseen  leaks  which  are  constantly  entailing  loss 
of  current,  or  through  breakdowns,  which  mean 
interrupted  service,  the  bugbear  of  the  central-sta- 
tion management.  Abstracts  of  the  two  papers,  to- 
gether with  some  of  the  most  important  portions 
of  the  long  discussion  which  followed  their  presen- 
tation,  are    here   given. 

Standardizing  Rubber-covered  Wires  and   Cables, 
ey  john  langan. 

On  the  distributing  and  not  the  generating  me- 
dium depends  the  success  of  the  present  tendency 
in  electrical  distribution.  A  badly  insulated  wire 
or  cable  will  imperil  the  success  of  any  system. 
Not  only  must  the  insulation  itself  be  perfect,  but 
it  must  also  be  properly  tested,  properly  installed 
and  properly  protected.  Curiously  enough  engi- 
neers while  examining  carefully  every  other  feature 
of  a  transmission  system  will  often  pass  lightly 
over  the  question  of  cables. 

The  object  of  this  paper  is  to  point  out  and  de- 
fine means  of  standardizing  rubber  insulation. 
Under  existing  conditions  the  electrical  engineer 
has  little  in  the  way  of  data  to  guide  him  in  obtain- 
ing reliable  insulation.  This,  I  know,  sounds  very 
heterodox.  "For  if  there  is  any  one  dogmatism 
to  which  electrical  practice  seems  unchangeably 
attached  it  is  that  of  a  firm  belief  in  the  value  of 
voltage  test  in  determining  dielectric  efficiency. 
Yet  nothing  could  be  more  misleading.  Indeed 
it  may  be  affirmed  that  a  potential  test  is  in  itself 
no  criterion  whatever  of  permanent  value."  As 
an  aid— as  a  collateral  agent— it  does,  however, 
play  an  important  part.  But  as  indicating,  much 
less  proving,  permanent  merit,  nothing  could  be 
more  misleading  and  empirical.  And  the  reason 
for  this  will,  on  a  little  reflection,  be  obvious 
enough. 

You  are  all  familiar  with  the  influence  of  certain 
oils  on  high-tension  switches  and  transformers. 
These  withstand  potentials  that  without  these  ad- 
ventitious aids  would  be  altogether  impossible. 
Certain  mineral  and  vegetable  oils  will,  therefore, 
stand  extremely  high  pressures,  and  in  this  we 
have  a  clew,  and  even  proof,  why  many  obviously 
cheap  insulating  compounds  stand  very  high  poten- 
tial tests,  and  yet  will,  in  a  short  time,  break  down 
in  actual  service.  The  logic  of  this  anomalous 
condition  is  that  when  these  communicated  oils  in 
the  compound  evaporate — as  they  will  in  a  short 
time — the  temporary  and  adventitious  virtues  they 
possess  disappear  also,  and  the  insulation  deprived 
of  this  artificial  support  quickly  falls  into  disinte- 
gration "and  decay.  This  is  the  inevitable  history 
of  all  such  combinations.  The  situation  is  some- 
what akin  to  a  horse  "doped"  for  a  race,  who 
shows  a  surprising  turn  of  speed  for  a  short  dis- 
tance and  then  suddenly  collapses.  From  this  it 
will  be  seen  that  a  puncture  test  is,  in  itself,  an 
uncertain  proof  of  dielectric  excellence. 

What  is  it  then  that  constitutes  good  insulation. 
and  how  can  we  ascertain  and  know  it?  This  is 
the  all-important  question.  With  this  assured, 
everything  else  logically  follows.  The  consensus 
of  opinion,  derived  alike  from  theoretical  and 
practical  experience,  is  that  rubber  is  the  best  of 
all  insulating  materials.  But  while  rubber  is  the 
principal  feature  of  good  insulation,  it  is  not  the 
only  feature.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  rubber  in  itself 
is  valueless  as  an  insulating  medium.  The  reason 
-.  for  this  is  that  in  its  native  condition  it  absorbs 
a  certain  amount  of  moisture,  and  when  exposed  to 
the  air  readily  oxidizes.  These  factors  of  disinte- 
gration naturally  preclude  its  use  as  a  distinct  and 
separate  constituent  for  insulating  purposes.  But 
in  conjunction  with  other  ingredients  .and  when 
allied  with  sulphur  and  properly  vulcanized  it  be- 
comes not  only  absolutely  waterproof,  but  indeed 
under  normal  conditions  one  might  say  indestruct- 
ible. From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  there  are  two 
factors  involved  in  good  insulation.  The  funda- 
mental thing  is,  of  course,  that  the  rubber  be  fine 
Para.  But  it  does  not  matter  how  good  the  rubber 
is  or  how  much  of  it  is  incorporated  in  the  com- 
pound, if  the  vulcanization  is  not  properly  carried 
out  the  insulation  will  be  defective. 

Chemically  considered,  rubber  is  differentiated 
by  the  amount  of  acetone  soluble,  extractive  or 
resinous  matter  which  it  contains,  and  physically 
by  its  tensile  strength.     Both,  of  course,  are  closely 


May  5,   1906 

related;  for  where  it  is  chemically  poor  it  is  also 
physically  weak.  In  brief,  a  high  percentage  of 
resinous  matter  is  indicative  of  the  cheaper  grades, 
such  as  African,  Madagascar,  and  some  South 
American  products ;  and  a  low  percentage  indicates 
the  best  grades  of  fine  Para,  such  as  Bolivia,  Ma-  I 
deira    and    Up-river. 

It  is  well  known  that  while  vulcanization,  when  ■ 
properly  done,  "does  not  alter  the  constitution  of  ] 
rubber,  yet  it  can  be  made  to  affect  adversely  or 
deceptively  modify  its  behavior.  For  example,  if 
it  is  over-vulcanized  it  will  become  hard  and  some- 
what brittle ;  and  if  under-vulcanized  it  will  be- 
come flabby  and  inert.  In  either  case  the  result  is 
indicative  of  imperfect  insulation,  and  will  not 
fulfill  the  requirements  of  a  tensile  test.  In  the 
one  case  it  will  break,  and  in  the  other  it  will 
stretch  but  not  return.  Good  insulation,  then,  is 
clearly  indicated  by  its  prompt  return  after  being 
stretched  several  times  to,  say,  three  to  four  times 
its  length.  _  Stretching  to  three  and  one-half  times 
its  length,  as  above  indicated,  is,  roughly  speaking, 
equal  to  about  800  pounds  to  the  square  inch.  But 
bear  in  mind  that  merely  stretching  implies  nothing; 
almost  any  kind  of  rubber  will  stretch.  But  in 
first-class  rubber  the  insulation  will  jump  back 
with  a  vigor  somewhat  similar  to  a  magnetic 
pull.  What,  however,  is  aimed  at  in  this  test  is 
a  tensile  strain  of  not  less  than  800  pounds  to  the 
square  inch,  and  wherever  practicable  this  is  much 
more  effective  in  weeding  out  the  cheaper  grades 
of   rubber   than   the   elongation   test   alone. 

The  first  lesson  that  it  conveys  is,  that  this 
physical  test,  rigidly  enforced,  precludes  absolutely 
the  use  of  shoddy,  bituminous  products,  and  even 
the  cheap  grades  of  rubber.  The  second  is,  that 
it  takes  40  to  50  per  cent,  of  a  cheaper  combina- 
tion to  do  what  30  per  cent,  of  pure  Para  will  do. 
Another  way  of  looking  at  it  is,  that  the  physical 
test  does  not,  in  itself,  prove  that  the  insulating 
compound  contains  nothing  else  but  pure  Para. 
This,  to  be  sure,  is  a  drawback  to  its  exclusive  use 
where  the  best  results  are  wished  for.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  if  it  does  not  give  you  the  best  it  does 
at  any  rate  wipe  out  all  cheap  rubber  substitutes 
and  gives  you  an  insulation  that,  if  not  equal  in 
durability  to  30  per  cent,  of  Para,  is  immeasurably 
superior  to  anything  you  can  now  obtain  by  any 
other  means  short  of  a  chemical  analysis.  This,  in 
itself,  is  an  immense  advantage.  It  enables  the 
distant  engineer  to  do  what  he  could  not  do  here- 
tofore— to  tell  off-hand  what  the  character  of  the 
insulation  is — that  is,  to  strip  the  insulation  from 
the  wire  and  test  according  to  the  specifications 
herein  to  follow.  Anyone  can  verify  the  value  of 
it  by  getting  some  code  wire  and  applying  this  test 
to  it,  or  indeed,  for  that  matter,  the  best  wire  to 
be  found  on  the  market,  and  see  what  the  com- 
parison will  reveal. 

How  to  obtain — how  to  compel — 30  per  cent,  of 
fine  Para  in  the  insulating  compound  is,  then,  the 
problem  where  the  best  and  most  enduring  results 
are  desired.  The  following  specifications  will,  it 
is  hoped,  in  view  of  what  has  been  said,  be  intelli- 
gible   to    all : 

Specifications  for  Rubber-insulated  Wires  and 
Cables. — All  conductors  to  have  at  least  98  per 
cent,  conductivity  and  to  be  thoroughly  and  evenly 
tinned. 

The  insulating  compound  to  contain  not  less  than 
30  per  cent,  and  not  more  than  32  per  cent,  of 
fine  Para  rubber.  No  shoddy,  reclaimed  rubber, 
rubber  substitutes,  or  the  like,  must  in  any  form 
be  in  the  compound,  the  extractive  matter  of  which, 
when  chemically  analyzed,  must  not  exceed  five 
per  cent. 

All  wires  and  cables  properly  insulated  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  above  provisions  must  after  48 
hours'  immersion  in  water  at  a  temperature  of 
6o°  F.,  and  before  tape,  braid  or  lead  is  applied, 
show  the  following  insulation  resistance  and  volt- 
age tests.  Insulation  test  to  be  made  with  a  bat- 
tery of  100  volts   after  one  minute's   electrification : 


Voltage  Test 

Resistance 

Wall. 

for 

Megohms 

Inch. 

One  Minute 

Per  Mile. 

One  Minute.       Per  Mile 


Insulation 

Voltage  Test      Resistance 

for  Megohms 


May   5,    1906 


ELECTR* 


Voltaire  T»»( 

ResUlancF 

Wall. 

foi 

Moirohrn* 

B.4S  Gau«< 

1,,  1 

in  ulai 

oil  iffi    1  ■    I      Rei 

Wall,  foi  •    [Ohi 


Oni    Ml I'. -1  Mill 


mil        1' 


For   railway   signaling,   fire   alarm,   telephone   and 

telegraph    purpo  ie     the    walls    ol    in  ulal hould 

tini  be  Ic  '   'han  the  following ; 

In    <.l  

Rubbsi       VoltogoTen     R01 1  11 

11   ,\  s  Wall  for  Pi  i  Mill 

I ■.  Inch         1  ine  Minute      Megohm 


■6.. 


Elongation  Test— In  addition  to  the  above  te  1 
iln.-  insulating  material  of  every  wire  must  stand 
an  elongation  test  of .  stretching  three  linns  its 
length  several  times;  thai  is,  a  piece  two  inches 
long  must  stretch  to  six  inches  and  promptly  return 
11  within  20  per  rein,  of  its  original  length.  It 
must  then  stretch  four  times  without  break  or 
rupture  and  return  to  25  per  cent,  of  its  original 
length. 

This  elongation  test  is  intended  principally  for 
code  wire,  and  would,  even  by  omitting  all  condi- 
tions  as  to  rubber,  compel  results  that  would  be 
entirely  reliable  and  satisfactory  for  all  conditions 
of  code   use. 

Tensile  Test. — Any  piece  of  insulation,  about  one- 
half  inch  wide  by  one-sixteenth  inch  thick,  stripped 
from  the  completed  wire  or  cable,  should  stand  a 
tensile  strain  of  800  pounds  to  the  square  inch 
and  stretch  to  three  and  one-half  times  its  length 
without   rupture. 

The  following  provision  will  be  found  useful : 
The  manufacturer  must  notify  the  electrical  engi- 
neer when  wire  is  ready  for  testing,  and  in  no  in- 
stance must  shipment  be  made  until  notified  of 
approval  and  acceptance  as  per  above  tests. 

In  carrying  out  the  tests  embodied  in  these  speci- 
fications there  is  sought  something  quite  different 
from  the  ordinary  potential  and  electrical  tests. 
Heretofore  the  electrical  engineer,  when  he.  imposed 
any  test  at  all,  relied  solely  upon  a  puncture  test.  If 
it  met  these  requirements  he  asked  for  nothing 
more.  If  a  wire  or  cable  withstood  a  very  high 
puncture  test  it  was  looked  upon  as  a  prima  facie 
evidence  of  dielectric  excellence,  forgetting  that, 
had  the  pressure  been  maintained  a  moment  longer, 
the  insulation  might  have  broken  down.  It  is  a 
most  mischievous  practice,  and  a  wholly  mislead- 
ing notion  of  safety  to  push  a  test  up  to  or  even 
to  approach  closely  the  dielectric  limit  of  the  insula- 
tion;  for  it  is  no  uncommon  occurrence  to  find 
the  very  best  insulation  hopelessly  injured  by  this 
practice.  It  may  not  be  well  known,  but  it  is  a 
fact,  nevertheless,  that  it  is  the  rise  in  temperature 
which  accompanies  a  rise  in  potential  that  is  so 
destructive  of  rubber  insulation.  The  layers  next 
the  copper  naturally  feel  these  injurious  effects 
first,  and  they  thus  successively  carbonize  and  break 
down  with  this  increasing  elevation  of  pressure 
and   temperature. 

Much  of  the  present  tendency  for  high  potential 
and  breakdown  tests  is  the  result  of  an  altogether 
erroneous  comparison  with  tests  imposed  on  paper- 
insulated  and  similar  cables,  which  must,  of  course, 
be  lead-covered  before  any  test  can  be  made.  Such 
tests  are  of  necessity  "dry  tests,"  whereas  rubber- 
covered  cables,  on  the  contrary,  are  soaked  in 
water  and  tested  before  the  tape,  braid  or  lead 
is  applied.  For  this  reason  it  is  hardly  an  exag- 
geration to  say  that  double  the  potential  imposed 
on  a  paper  cable  is  no  more  exacting  than  half  the 
amount  applied  to  a  rubber  cable.  To  expect,  then, 
on  a  rubber  cable  anything  like  the  same  strain  that 
is  ordinarily  put  on  a  paper  cable  would  be,  in 
effect,  expecting  rubber  to  stand  double  what  paper 
stands. 

Comments  on  Present  Underground  Cable  Prac- 
tice, 
by  wallace  s.  clark. 

Lozt'-tcnsioii  .Cables. — These  are  run  in  conduits 
with  some  portion  of  the  circuit  grounded.  In . 
railway  practice  one  leg  of  a  two-wire  circuit,  and 
in  lighting  the  neutral  wire,  is  permanently  earthed. 
The  continuous  sheath  on  these  cables  is  an  invita- 
tion to  stray  currents  and  consequent  electrolysis; 
while  dry,  well-vitrified  tile  is  a  fair  insulator,  but 
in  time  the  joints  between  the  sections  provide 
leakage  spots.  Further,  many  ducts  are  damp  at 
certain  seasons,  if  not  during  the  entire  year, 
making  the  dirt  which  accumulates  a  sufficiently 
good  conductor  to  offer  an  additional  path  for 
stray   currents. 

Grounding  the  sheath  at  each  manhole  was  an- 
nounced as  a  cure  for  electrolysis,  but  instead  of 
a   cure   it   has   been    found    in    some   cases   to   be   a 


1   trouble.     The   amount   of 

drop  hi   ■ 
uffii  ii  nl    to 

trouble 

1 
hi  iM,  initial 

devici       ii       ■  the  I  10  ml       !  I 

read hi    traveling  arc  the  fine  1  arth   il 

1 1  1 1 1 1      two   cabl 

largi     in  tallal ■  an    hum  h    from 

enou      ind    expei 
point     Further,  during  the  burn  out   a   hi 

rent   flows   in   the   sheath,  and   this   may   le 

sheath   by   arcing   to  eat 
section   of   1  ibli 

The    v'.liiiui     of    cun 
I'M  inn   condui  toi      in   rcgul  u 
that   in   manj    cases  1 
not  operate   w itti  thi    curn  nt,  dui    to  tin 

cuit.      1  he   .11 ti  1 

in    railway   work.      In    man; 

of  the  lim    <  ted  to  a  network  which 

is   capable  of    fin  ni  hing    all  thi 

maintain   the   an    aftci    thi    del bli 

null'  in  il  al   the   itatii  in  1  nd  ;  so  wi 
on   protectivi    apparatus   as   11 11  d   todaj    foi 
tion  of  these  troubles.     ■ 

Omitting   the   sheath   will  cure  all   r 
I.,  do  tin-  would  bar  paper,  leaded   i  1 
absolutely,  and   would   increase  the  depreciati 
count  if  some  type  of  cable  insulation  needing  lead 

only,   as   h 1   needs   paint,  were   used       Abandon 

ing  the  lead  entirely  is  an  economic  possibility  with 
only  very  large  conductors,  where  it  m 
cheaper  to  renew  die  insulation  on  a  non-leaded 
cable,  say  once  in  10  years,  than  to  renew  a  lead 
jacket  cable  once  in  20  years.  These  figure 
of  course,  merely  used  for  comparison,  for  theri  is 
little  accurate  knowledge  as  to  the  life  of  insulated 
cables.  If,  therefore,  we  arc  compelled  to  use  a 
lead  sheath  the  writer  believes  that  it  should  be 
interrupted  by  some  form  of  insulating  joinl  on 
low-tension   cables. 

If  this  plan  is  carried  out  a  serious  difficulty 
is  the  inability  to  test  the  insulation  of  the  ealiie. 
This  may  be  met  by  the  live  of  an  insulated  wire — 
proof  or  pressure  wire — in  the  outer  layer  of 
strands  forming  the  copper  core.  Such  a  wire 
should  be  insulated  with  some  material  like  treated 
paper  susceptible   to   the   absorption   of   moisture. 

For  the  purposes  of  initial  tests  when  cable  is 
installed  the  joints  in  the  sheath  may  Ire  bridged 
by  fine  fuse  wires,  which  are  afterward  removed. 
Several  methods  of  utilizing  the  pressure  wire  are 
suggested  below : 

(a)  The  outer  end  of  the  pressure  wire  is  insu- 
lated, in  which  case  periodic  tests  of  this  wire  for 
insulation  resistance  will  show  any  incipient  fault 
in  the  main  conductor.  Between  tests  the  wire 
can  be  connected  to  a  drop  annunciator  or  other 
signaling  device  which  will  become  operative  in 
case  of  a  burn-out,  since  the  pressure  wire  will 
become  "alive"  before  any  great  amount  of  energy 
Hows  through  the  fault.  It  might  also  be  made 
to  operate  a  current-interrupting  device. 

(10  The  wire  may  be  used  to  read  the  pressure 
at  the  far  end  of  the  line,  the  potential  on  the 
wire  being  opposite  to  that  on  the  conductor  ill 
which  it  is  embedded.  A  burn-out  would  reverse 
this  potential  and  either  make  the  wire  "dead"  or 
of  the  same  potential  and  sign  as  the  main  con- 
ductor. 

This  change  in  potential  could  operate  devices 
as  above  outlined  under  heading  (a).  If  used  in 
this  way  the  pressure  wire  would  have  to  be  dis- 
connected at  the  far  end  for  insulation  tests ;  a 
much  easier  operation,  however,  than  the  discon- 
necting and  insulating  of  the  main  conductor  and 
one  not   interfering  with   working   the   line. 

A  secondary  use  of  the  pressure  wire  would  be 
to  calculate  the  temperature  of  the  main  conductor 
by  measuring  variation  in  the  resistance,  figuring' 
from  length,  loss  in  line  and  known  resistance 
cold. 

High-tension  Cables.  -V-With  high-tension  lines 
some  of  the  troubles  due  to  the  metallic  sheath  on 
low-tension  cables  are  less  marked.  The  load  is 
usually  more  uniform  and  subject  to  less  violent 
fluctuation,  especially  where  sub-stations  with  bat- 
teries are*,  in  use,  allowing  protective  devices  to  be 
set  so  as  to  operate  more  promptly. 

Further,  in  the  case  of  a  network,  such  cables 
are  usually  protected  against  a  reversal  of  current, 
so  that  the  arc  at  the  fault  is  not  maintained  by 
energy   derived   from   the   network  or  sub-station. 

The  metal  sheath  on  high-tension  cables  must  be 
earthed  to  prevent  danger  to  life  and  also  risk  of 
puncturing  the  insulation  by  cumulative  static 
charge.  It  is  probably  unnecessary  to  use  insulat- 
ing joints  in  the  sheath  of  high-tension  cables,  ex- 
cept in  some  special  case,  where  local  conditions 
require  them  to  prevent  an  excessive  amount  of 
stray  current  being  carried. 

In  the  matter  of  sheaths,  for  a  number  of  years 
the  writer  has  been  advocating  multiple-conductor 
cables  for  arc  circuits  instead  of  several  cables  in 
the  same  duct  in  trunk  lines.  The  running  of  a  lot 
of  small   cables    in   one    duct    is   not   good   practice : 


Intulal 

.3    Mo  the    frequent 

pound   having 
rt  life. 
I  he 

many  engineer*  hold   rubbi 

insulation.      Hi's 
luring  n 

bear  an  ng  ma- 

terial may  ha-.  ■ 

ihe    remaining    qualil . 
High  punctun 

insulation    resi  difficult;   and 

durabilil  fficull   of   attainment. 

-I  rubber  m  ihe  present  state 

insure  durability. 

An  idea  of  the  life  of  a  rubber  cable  leaded  and 
operating    at    n.ooo 

below   through    the   kindness   of   Mr    H.    A 
endent  of  the  Cataract   Power  and  1 
.    Buffalo 

Cable  Cable 

Added  January  23.  :s  ,.   . 

Total  in  service  from  January  32.  IS 

8t<rn-ou(j.— December  28,  1897.  cable  No.  2.  20 
feel    Horn  end  of  pole  line;   cause,  no  end-bells 

May    11.    1858,   cable    Xo.    ,t,    same   as 

May   2.    1899.   cable    No.    ,t.   x.o.ti    feet    from    end. 
i  mined. 

October  12,   1809.  cab  -nd  in 

joint. 

IOOO,  none. 

loot.  none. 

May  17.  1902,  cable  No.  2.  14.224  feet  from  end 
in  cable  vault;   mechanical   injury. 

1903,  none. 

September  10.  1904.  cable  Mo.  2.  14.204  feet  from 
end:  laborer  drove  gas  pipe  into  conduit  and  cable 

1905,  none. 

March  27,   1906.  none  to  date. 

In  May,  1900,  cable  No.  2  was  tested  with  22.000 
volts  for  24  hours. 

Size  of  cable.  ,vo:  conductors,  three:  insulation 
on  each  conductor  9/32  inch  thick :  no  over-all 
jacket. 

The  most  noticeable  fact  brought  out  is  that 
although  most  of  the  cable  is  more  than  eight  years 
old,  there  is  no  indication  of  any  electrochemical 
or  other  electrical  action  weakening  the  ability  of 
the  insulation  to  withstand  the  working  pressure. 

Further,  these  cables  originally  operating  alone 
are  now  in  multiple  with  some  32  miles  of  three- 
conductor  cables,  and  therefore  subjected  in  all 
probability  to  more  severe  strains,  due  to  - 
than  when  first  installed.  These  are.  I  believe,  the 
oldest  working  rubber-insulated  ii.oco-volt  three- 
phase  cables  in  use  today. 

These  data  on  rubber  insulation  are  important, 
if.  as  the  writer  believes,  cables  for  very  high  ten- 
sion will  be  made  with  combined  insulations  of 
varying  capacities  rather  than  with  a  homogeneous 
insulation  oi  any  insulating  material  now  in  use. 

Discussion  (in  Abstract). 

Philip  Torchio,  Xew  York:  The  papers,  in  a 
nutshell,  recommend  two  tests :  One  the  acetone 
test,  to  determine  the  percentage  of  extractive  mat- 
ter in  the  compound,  and  the  other  a  mechanical 
test  of  elongation  and  tensile  strength.  One  of  the 
papers  recommends  a  limit  of  five  per  cent,  of  ex- 
tractive matter  of  the  total  compound,  the  other  six 
per  cent.  With  these  percentages  it  is  proposed 
to  absolutely  prohibit  the  use  of  less  than  30  per 
cent,  fine  Para  rubber  in  the  compound.  I  regret 
that  Mr.  Langan  in  his  paper  has  not  more  clearly 
stated  the  fact  that  it  is  an  impossibility  at  the 
present  time  for  any  chemist  to  directly  determine 
the  amount  of  pure  Para  rubber  in  a  compound.  He 
arrives  at  this  amount  by  inferences  and  assump- 
tions, by  means  of  which  he  tries  to  assume  how 
much  of  the  rubber  found  in  the  compound  is  pure 
Para  rubber  and  how  much  is  inferior  rubber. 

Five  per  cent,  of  the  total  compound  is  what  is 
called  for  in  the  specifications.  In  a  pure  Para 
that  is  one  per  cent,  of  extractive  matter,  and  one 
pi  cent,  of  three  per  cent,  would  be  only  one-third 
of  one  per  cent.  I  should  represent  the  extractive 
matter  in  percentage  of  the  total  amount  of  com- 
pound.    In  vulcanization   it  is  true  that  about  three 


360 

per  cent,  of  extractive  matter  is  added  by  the  proc- 
ess of  vulcanizing,  and  that  would  add  about  one 
per  cent.,  not  five  or  six  per  cent,  of  the  total 
per  cent,  of  the  compound,  for  30  per  cent,  pure 
Para. 

Summing  up  the  criticism  of  these  proposed 
specifications,  I  should  think  that  they  could  be 
properly  made  the  foundation  for  the  work  of  a 
special  'committee  of  the  Institute,  to  whom  should 
be  given  the  power  to  investigate  and  collect  data 
on  the  subject  and  make  a  report  to  the  Institute 
at   some   future   date. 

Dr.  A.  E.  Kennelly,  Cambridge,  Mass.:  The  pur- 
pose of  a  cable  in  the  transmission  of  power  is 
to  withstand  certain  voltages,  and  if  a  system  is  to 
distribute  at  10,000  volts  the  cable  must  be  built 
to  safely  withstand  10,000  volts,  and  so  much  more 
above  that  as  the  incidents  of  the  business  may 
require.  It  is  of  vital  consequence  to  the  station 
manager  to  know  just  how  much  that  cable  will 
probably  withstand,  but  in  order  to  determine  that 
he  is  not  going  to,  take  that  cable,  after  it  is  laid, 
and  bring  the  pressure  up  to  the  breakdown  point, 
because  that  would  be  like  taking  a  bridge  to  find 
out  how  much  weight  it  will  stand,  and  smashin" 
the  bridge  after  you  build  it.  I  suppose  the  natural 
procedure  would  be  to  test  samples  of  the  cable 
for  the  breakdown  test  both  before  and  after  the 
cable  was  put  down,  but  not  to  subject  a  whole 
cable  to  anything  like  a  breakdown  test.  The 
usual  practice  is  to  take  a  part  of  the  cable.  The 
basis,  both  in  mechanical  engineering  and  in  elec- 
trical engineering,  is  to  test  a  part,  and  the  capa- 
bility of  the  cable  to  come  up  to  the  test  piece  is 
a  matter  of  ordinary  judgment  for  the  engineer 
to  decide.  If  the  cable  is  lead-covered  and  is  not 
overheated,  then,  after  it  has  been  in  ordinary  serv- 
ice, without  being  overloaded  by  surges,  a  test 
piece  lying  on  a  shelf  ought  to  be  in  the  same 
condition  as  a  criterion  of  permanence  as  the  act- 
ual cable  that  has  been  in  daily  use  under  electric 
stress.  The  point,  I  think,  has  not  received  suffi- 
cient attention  that  when  a  cable  is  stressed,  say 
to  15,000  volts,  it  is  the  inside  layers  that  are 
crucially  tested,  always  the  inside  layer,  and  the 
outside  layer  gets  off  very  easily  by-  comparison 
with  the  dielectric  stress  upon  the  inside  layer,  and 
the  thickness  of  wall  is  only  a  very  imperfect  cri- 
terion as  to  the  strength  of  the  cable  for  a  given 
voltage.  It  does  not  really  depend  upon  the  thick- 
ness of  the  wall,  but  upon  the  ratio  of  the  external 
thickness  to  the  internal  thickness,  and  it  has  al- 
ways to  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  maximum  dielec- 
tric stress  will  be  exerted  upon  the  inside  layer, 
although  it  is  the  total  test  that  has  to  be  pre- 
served from  the  engineering  standpoint,  but  the 
criterion  must  always  be,  I  think,  in  any  scien- 
tific testing  of  cables,  the  maximum  stress  upon 
the  inside  layer. 

William  IvfcClellan,  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  England : 
The  point  cannot  be  made  too  strongly  that,  ac- 
cording to  the  use  to  which  the  insulation  is  to 
he  put,  the  percentage  and  quality  of  rubber  may 
vary  to  advantage  over^  comparatively  wide  limits, 
and  the  nature  of  the  other  substances  may  vary 
to  advantage  also.  For  a  large  proportion  of  the 
work  that  is  to  be  done  30  per  cent,  pure  Para 
rubber  is  wdiolly  unnecessary,  and  much  too  ex- 
pensive ;  moreover,  there  is  a  large  amount  of  very 
good  rubber  produced,  not  so  fine  as  Para,  but 
of  the  greatest  use  in  the  art  of  insulation.  Now, 
a  specification,  to  be  standard,  should  be  put  in 
such  a  form  as  to  permit  the  use  of  any  percentage 
of  any  kind  of  rubber  which  the  intelligent  engi- 
neer may  desire.  Any  specification  which  calls  for 
30  per  cent,  pure  Para  rubber  uniformly,  without 
regard  to  the  particular  use  for  which  the  insula- 
tion is  designed,  is  fundamentally  bad  from  an 
economic    standpoint. 

Charles  F.  Scott,  Pittsburg:  The  real  essence 
of  a  cable  test  should  be  to  determine  its  relia- 
bility. In  other  kinds  of  apparatus  we  do  not 
necessarily  specify  the  materials  and  how  they  shall 
be  made  ancl  treated  in  the  course  of  manufacture, 
but  we  deal  with  the  final  results.  There  was  a 
time  when  specifications  for  dynamos  went  care- 
fully into  the  amperes  per  square  inch  and  induc- 
tion, and  things  of  that  sort.  Now  specifications 
for  machinery  are  based  upon  the  final  results, 
upon  tests  of  those  elements  which  go  to  make 
up  and  determine  the  performance  of  the  machine 
in  service.  In  the  high-tension  tests  for  other  kinds 
of  apparatus,  as  is  the  custom  in  general  practice 
and  as  is  laid  down  by  the  standardization  rules 
of  this  Institute,  we  depend  upon  a  certain  high- 
voltage  test  that  has  been  raised,  with  high-voltage 
apparatus  in  general,  to  twice  the  working  voltage. 
Can  the  cable  accept  the  same  kind  of  a  specifica- 
tion, the  same  limits,  or  must  it  have  some  other 
kind  of  a  specification  and  some  other  kind  of 
limit?  Must  a  man  who  wants  a  cable  for  a  given 
service  necessarily  specify  the  ingredients  of  that 
cable  and  then  go  to  the  manufacturer  and  see  it 
is  put  in  and  stirred  up  and  baked  properly,  Ot- 
is there  some  way  to  determine,  in. the  case  of  the 
cable,  whether  it  is  going  to  do  the  service  for 
him?  If  the  high-tension  test  is  to  be  applied, 
shall  it  be  the  same  as  for  all  other  apparatus,  or 
shall  it  be  something  considerably  less?  That  mat- 
ter was  up  for  discussion  at  a  meeting  of  the 
standardization  committee  recently,  and  it  was  seri- 
ously proposed  that  the  test  on  cables  should  be 
considerably  less  than  the  tests  of  transformers. 
That  would  mean  to  the  operating  man  that  he  has 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 

transformers  which  are  better  than  the  cables,  and 
that  some  point  in  his  cable  would  likely  be  the 
point  of  breakdown. 


New  Traction  Facilities  for  Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania. 

Excavations  for  the  new  power  station  of  the 
Central  Pennsylvania  Traction  Company  of  Har- 
risburg, Pa.,  were  begun  early  in  December,  and 
the  construction  of  the  building  proper  is  now  well 
on  the  way.  The  new  plant  adjoins  the  old  No.  1 
Station  on  South  Cameron  Street,  Harrisburg,  and 
when  completed  will  replace  three  separate  plants 
which  are  now  in  service.  The  building,  175  by 
IC2  feet,  and  one  story  in  height,  is  of  steel  con- 
struction imbedded  in  concrete. 

The  steam  and  electrical  equipment  for  the  plant 
will  consist  of  three  Reynolds  horizontal  cross- 
compound  condensing  Corliss  engines,  heavy  duty 
type,  built  at  the-  West  Allis,  Milwaukee,  shops  of 
the  Allis-Chalmers  Company.  Each  engine  will 
be  direct  connected  to  a  650-kilowatt  600-volt  di- 
rect-current generator  mounted  on  the  main  shaft, 
the  generators  also  being  furnished  by  the  Allis- 
Chalmers  Company  and  built  at  the  company's  "Bul- 
lock" works,  Cincinnati.  These  units  will  have  a 
capacity  of  50  per  cent,  overload  for  short  periods, 


May  5,   1906 

plant  will  be  the  water-supply  tunnel.  Plans  have 
been  drawn  and  the  work  will  shortly  be  started 
on  the  boring  of  a  five-foot  tunnel  in  the  solid  rock 
30  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  extending 
from  the  plant  in  a  direct  line  under  the  yards  of 
the  Central  Iron  and  Steel  Company  to  the  river. 
From  the  river  bank  a  36-foot  cast-iron  pipe  will 
extend  to  a  point  in  the  river  where  the  best  qual- 
ity of  water  is  to  be  obtained.  This  water-supply 
tunnel  will  be  built  and  used  jointly  by  the  traction 
company  and  the  Central  Iron  and  Steel  Company. 
All  the  work  is  being  carried  out  from  plans 
prepared  by-  and  under  the  direction  of  Mason  D. 
Pratt,  consulting  engineer  of  Harrisburg,  and 
W.  C.  Gotshall  and  C.  O.  Mailloux  of  New  York 
city,  acting  as  advisory  electrical  engineers.  This 
plant  will  cost  about  $250,000  and  is  expected  to 
be   ready   for  operation   early   in   May. 


Arrangement  of  a  Modern  Engineering 
Office. 

As  representative  of  a  convenient  arrangement 
of  rooms  to  fit  the  requirements  of  a  modern  engi- 
neering office,  the  new  quarters  of  The  Arnold 
Company  of  Chicago  are  worthy  of  attention.  The 
company  moved  on  May  1st  into  the  new  Borland 


*EW    QUARTERS 


giving  a  maximum  capacity  for  the  entire  plant  of 
approximately  4,500  horsepower.  The  main  switch- 
board, which  will  consist  of  12  panels,  will  be  con- 
nected by  a  direct  feeder  line  to  each  of  the  12 
different  sections  into  which  the  traction  company's 
lines  are  divided.  The  engine  room  will  be  50  feet 
wide,  extending  the  full  length  of  the  building,  170 
feet,  and  directly  facing  Cameron  Street.  An  elec- 
tric traveling  crane  with  a  lifting  capacity  of  30 
tons  will  serve  the  engine  room  for  installing  heavy 
apparatus. 

The  boiler  room,  which  will  occupy  the  rear 
portion  of  the  building  and  contains  for  the  pres- 
ent five  350-horsepower  horizontal  water-tube  boil- 
ers furnished  by  the  E.  Keeler  Company  of  Wil- 
liamport,  Pa.,  will  be  equipped  with  all  the  neces- 
sary modern  appliances  for  handling  coal  and 
ashes,  including  an  overhead  bin  for  coal  with 
Ceo  tons  capacity.  There  will  also  be  an  overhead 
ash    bin    of   ample    capacity,    the    ashes   being    taken 


DIRECT-CONNECTED     RAILWAY     GENERATORS     IN    NEW    HAR- 
RISBURG   (PA.)    PLANT. 

from  the  ashpits  below  the  boilers  in  a  basement 
■  n  feet  below  the  boiler-room  floor  and  deposited 
in  the  bins  by  means  of  a  vertical  chain-bucket 
elevator.  A  continuous-belt  conveyor  extending 
the  full  length  of  the  coal  bin  is  used  for  convey- 
ing coal  to  a  bucket  elevator.  The  boiler  plant 
will  be  equipped  with  the  usual  feed-water  heaters 
and  economizers,  which  will  occupy  one-half  of 
the  floor  space  of  the  building  only,  ample  room 
being  provided  for  the  installation  of  additional 
boilers  and  engines  as  the  growth  of  the  system 
warrants,  so  that  the  plant  will  have  an  ultimate 
capacity   of  9,000   or    10,000   horsepower. 

The  "stack,  10  feet  inside  diameter  and  210  feet 
high  above  foundations,  will,  be  built  of  reinforced 
concrete,  resting  on  the  solid  rock  20  feet  below 
the  ground  level.  A  railroad  siding  connecting 
with  both  the  Pennsylvania  and  Reading  railroads 
will  run  between  the  boiler  room  and  the  stack. 

An    interesting    engineering    feature    of    the    new 


Building  at  the  corner  of  La  Salle  and  Monroe 
streets,  a  new  17-story  building,  where  it  will  oc- . 
cupy  the  entire  sixteenth  floor  and  also  a  suite 
of  rooms  on  the  seventeenth  floor  for  the  drafting 
rooms  of  the  architectural  and  structural-steel  de- 
partment, which  has  recently  been  added  to  handle 
the  building  problems  which  arise  in  connection 
with  the  construction  work.  The  accompanying 
plan  of  the  sixteenth  floor  of  the  Borland  Building 
shows  plainly  how  the  company  is  quartered  in  its 
new   home. 

As  the  plan  indicates,  the  usual  corridor  in  front 
of  the  elevators  is  done  away  with,  and  the  latter 
open  directly  into  a  large  reception  room.  There 
are  roomy  quarters  for  the  executive  staff  of  the 
company,  and  the  engineering  department  is  well 
taken  care  of.  There  are  two  large  rooms,  one 
for  a  library  and  the  other  for  conference  pur- 
poses. The  drafting  room  takes  up  nearly  one- 
fourth  of  the  space  on  this  floor  and  is  provided 
with  an  ample  vault  for  storing  tracings  and  blue 
prints.  The  accounting  department,  the  stenograph- 
ers' room  and  the  filing  department  are  located  in 
one  section,  so  that  all  the  details  of  the  office 
management  may  be  carried  out  with  a  minimum 
of   labor. 

The  Arnold  Company,  as  is  well  known,  is 
builder  and  contractor  for  electric  railways,  steam 
and  waterpower  plants,  repair  shops  for  railroads, 
etc.  Among  the  important  contracts  which  the 
company  has  now  in  hand  are  the  building  of  the 
entire  Elgin  and  Belvidere  (111.)  electric  railway, 
a  35-mile  interurban  line,  the  preparation  of  plans 
and  specifications  for  the  equipment  of  the  repair 
shops  of  the  Kansas  City  Southern  Railway  Com- 
pany at  Pittsburg,  Kan.,  plans  for  two  more  hydro- 
electric plants  for  the  Spring  River  Power  Com- 
pany near  Joplin,  Mo.,  and  the  construction  of  a 
2,000-kilowatt  auxiliary  steam  plant  for  the  same 
company,  besides  many  others  of  a  similar  nature. 
The  policy  of  the  company  in  handling  certain  parts 
of  the  work,  first  as  engineer  and  then  as  actual 
constructor,  has  a  broad  effect  on  its  engineering 
work  and  enables  it  to  keep  constantly  in  touch 
with  the  market  for  materials  and  equipment.  It 
is  also  frequently  retained  in  connection  with  the 
operation  of  a  property,  so  that  its  field  covers 
almost  the  entire  range  of  technical  work. 
•  Officers  of  The  Arnold  Company  are:  President, 
B.  J.  Arnold;  vice-president,  W.  L.  Arnold;  sec- 
retary-treasurer. Ralph  G.  Arnold :  managing  engi- 
neer,  George   A.   Damon. 


May  5,    [906 

Some  Now  Small  Electric  Tools. 

Several   small   motoi    adaptation      ■  hii  h   an    q  lit- 

1  1 a       hov 1         th 

manufaclurci     1   touch   with   tin    need 

gem  1  'I   ptiblii    "in  idi    ol   tin    puri  I.    clectrica 

,.,.  1    1,.  rii  dci  -  lopi  'I   bj    tin    'nini.it  :        Com 

pan        I  he 1  clcctrii    powci    i    dailj   being 

tended    by    tin     projjn     ivi     ci  ntral      tation      into 

I I    1    erj    nool     and   en I 

premisi        Motoi  .   foi     mall    laboi     ■  ■  ing   m  1  hin 

enable  the  icwelcr,  dc ■■ 1 .  1 hei   and  1    en 

their   cttslomi  r,   the    ' icholdcr,    I"   draw    on    tin 


1 

outfit 

1 

di  1  riBi  d 
witch  ii 
,  mgi  d 

up.  tion       11.       ■     -In    of    the    bn  .1  I 

1 nd    ■ 

n\ hi 

lltll  I        •:  nil      .      (i 
10 


3^' 


Cable  Clamps  Used  In  Turning  aCoi 

■ 


:  GrindiriE  and  I 


SMALL    ELECTR 


electric-lighting  circuit  for  economical  and  con- 
venient power  whenever  and  wherever  required  to 
meet  daily  needs. 

The  General  Electric  Company's  latest  develop- 
ment alone;  these  lines  includes  an  electrically  driven 
bench  drill  suitable  for  small  work,  a  portable  elec- 
tric breast  drill  for  the  same  range  of  requirements 
and  an  electric  buffing  and  grinding  outfit  for 
household  use.  The  bench  drill  has  been  particu- 
larly designed  for  the  use  of  jewelers,  repair  men 
and  manufacturers  who  have  a  large  amount  of 
drilling  on  small  work  or  otherwise  where  the 
drilling  service  is  not  severe. 

Machine  and  general  repair-shop  men  as  well  as 
manufacturers  are  becoming  better  informed  and 
more  convinced  of  the  advantages  of  the  electric 
motor  for  driving  their  machinery  and  realize  that 
large  savings  in  time  and  money  are  both  possible 
in  just  those  operations  for  which  the  electric  bench 
drill  is  designed. 

The  bench  drill  shown  in  Fig.  1  is  furnished  with 
a  vertical  motor  mounted  on  the  top  of  a  column 
sliding"  in  a  socket  cast  integrally  with  the  base, 
in  which  it  can  be  adjusted  for  various  heights. 
The  motor  body  or  head  is  also  adjustable  radially 
for   drilling   position. 

The  whole  outfit  rests  on  a  broad  base  about 
six  by  10  inches,  which  gives  the  desired  stability. 
The  minimum  height  is  16  inches  when  the  motor 
arm  is  in  the  lowest  position,  and  the  maximum 
height  is  22  inches  when  the  motor  arm  is  fully 
raised,  thus  giving  a  range  of  six  inches  through 
which  the  motor  body  may  be  raised  or  lowered. 
The  work  is  fed  to  the  drill  by  raising  the  circular 
table,  which  is  operated  by  a  lever  with  a  range 
of  iJ/i  inches  vertically. 

The  motor  is  series  wound  and  can  be  supplied 
with  115  or  230-volt  winding,  for  use  on  direct- 
current  circuit  only.  A  single  gear  reduction  is 
provided  between  the  armature  shaft  and  drill 
spindle.  The  handwheel  mounted  on  the  armature 
shaft  at  the  top  is  convenient  for  turning  the  spin- 
dle and  adds  a  flywheel  effect  to  the  spindle  as 
well,  thereby  insuring  a  smooth,  steady  rotation  of 
the  drill.  The  amount  of  power  required  in  the 
operation  of  the  drill  naturally  varies  with  the 
work  performed,  but  in  no  case  is  it  excessive. 
The  largest  drill  the  chuck  will  hold  is  21-64  inch 
diameter,  and   from   this   all  sizes   down  to  No.  40. 

Bearings  are  provided  with  self-oiling  cups, 
which  require  attention  only  every  three  or  four 
months.     The    outfit   includes   a   chuck   of   standard 


The  oiling  of  the  bearings  is  effected  through  pro- 
tected oil  holes  which  replace  the  self-oiling  fea- 
tures of  the  bench-drill  motor.  The  use  of  a  self- 
oiling  bearing  in  which  oil  is  stored  is  not  practical 
with  this  drill,  as  the  breast 
drill  is  used  in  all  conceivable 
positions  and  oil  could  not  be 
prevented  from  escaping  out 
of  the  reservoirs.  On  this  ac- 
count the  bearings  of  the 
breast  drill  must  be  oiled  fre- 
quently. 

The  new  domestic  grinding 
and  buffing  outfit  (Figs.  3  and 
4)  has  been  especially  designed 
for  grinding  knives,  scissors 
and  other  similar  edged  tools 
and  for  polishing  small  silver- 
ware, jewelry  and  other  like- 
articles.  A  grinding  wheel  of 
suitable  character  to  insure  a 
smooth  cutting  edge,  without 
the  use  of  a  second  sharpen- 
ing, is  interchangeable  with 
the  buffing  wheel.  These  out- 
fits are  adapted  for  the  inter- 
mittent service  required  in  the 
ordinary  household,  hut  are 
not  suitable  for  the  heavier 
continuous  work  which  is  re- 
quired by  jewelers,  dentists, 
etc.  Other  and  larger  outfits 
are  furnished  by  the  General 
Electric  Company  for  this 
more  exacting  service. 

The  household  outfit  con- 
sists of  motor  with  shaft  ex- 
tended two  inches  from  the 
end  of  bearing  to  inside  of 
wbeel,  the  necessary  washers 
and  nuts  for  holding  the  wheel 
in  place,  one  rag  wheel  of 
3^2-inch  diameter,  one  three- 
inch  emery  wheel  one-half 
inch  thick,  with  five-eighths- 
inch  bevel  face,  together  with 
attaching  plug  and  10  feet  of 
cord.  These  outfits  are  fur- 
nished for  no-volt  direct  cur- 
rent and  no-volt  alternating 
it  and  can  be  specially 
md  for  220  volts. 


Chicago  Edison  Men  Entertained  at 
Hawthorne   Plant. 

tin     - 

trip    i,{    inspection    through    il 
In    \  a r j ■ 

■lalth     F.lcctric 
companii 

1  .-.    principally    from    the   eng 
ating  u    departments.       lb- 

party,  in  charge  of   Mr.   McEwen,  the  Chi  can 
ted   by    Mr.    Burrows  and   Mr 
hit    "f    tin-    Western  pany,    left    the 

::-r    ar- 
riving at   Hawthorne  were  entertained  at  lui 
after    which    the    part) 

rk-     under    the     direction     of     Mr 
-.   and    Mr.   Kir.g.  chii 
No   effort 
extend     1 

and   to  show   them   the  many  rest   in 

this  thoroughly  modern  manufacturing  establish- 
ment, whose  site  includes  somi  300  acres  of  ground. 
The  scope  of  the  entire  establishment  and  the  broad 
n  which  it  i-  being  developed,  together  with 
the  very  substantial  character  of  the  improvements 
already  made,  impressed  on  the  visitors  the  belief 
that  the  Hawthorne  Works  of  the  Western  Elec- 
tric Company  is  an  institution  in  which  every  Chi- 
cagoan    may    take    pride,    and    destined,   perhaps,    to 


362 

become  one  of  the  largest  institutions  of  its  kind 
in  the  world.  The  new  factory  is  located  in  the 
western  suburbs  of  Chicago,  with  exceptional  trans- 
portation facilities,  and  built  with  the  help  of  all 
the  experience  of  the  company  in  its  older  plants. 


A  New  Type  of  Circuit-breaker. 

A  circuit-breaker  for  both  direct  and  alternating 
current,  which  is  .  built  on  extremely  radical  but 
scientific  lines,  making  it  simple  and  efficient  in 
construction,  is  being  manufactured  by  the  Switch- 
board Equipment  Company  of  Bethlehem,  Pa.  Fig. 
I  is  a  front  view  of  the  circuit-breaker  and  Fig.  2 
a  side  view.  The  fundamental  principle  of  this 
breaker    consists    in    the    current    passing    directly 


WESTERN     ELECTRICIAN 
COMMUNICATION. 

Maximum  Demand  Systems  in  England 
and  the  United  States. 

To   the   Editor   of  the   Western   Electrician : 

It  must  be  frankly  admitted  that  the  movement 
in  the  direction  of  scientific  rate  schedules  came  from 
England,  where  the  fundamental  principles  of  the 
maximum-demand  systems  were  first  enunciated  by 
Hopkinson  as  long  ago  as  1890  or  even  earlier. 
His  idea  was  to  charge  the  customer  by  meter  for 
the  consumption  and  in  addition  to  charge  a  fixed 
monthly  or  yearly  sum  to  cover  the  customer's 
share  of  the  fixed  expenses.  It  remained,  however, 
for  Mr.  Arthur  Wright  to  put  these  principles  into 
practice,  which  he  did  at  Brighton,  England,  in 
1893.  The  fixed  charge  to  each  customer  was  made 
proportional  to  his  maximum  demand  for  current, 
and  this  maximum  demand  was  determined  for 
each  customer  by  a  demand  indicator  invented  for 
the  purpose,  showing  that  Mr.  Wright,  even  at 
that  early  date, .  appreciated  the  serious  disadvan- 
tages and  also  the  inequity  of  basing  the  charge 
to  the  customer  on  his  connected  load,   as   was  the 


NEW    TYPE    OF    CI 


around  the  axis  of  the  moving  arm,  making  of  this 
axis  a  magnet  and  drawing  against  it  the  tripping 
armature   which    swings   freely   and  against   gravity. 

The  brush  is  laminated  and  so  arranged  that 
when  the  arm  is  in  contact  the  leaves  are  separated 
by  a  very  decided  air  space,  eliminating  the  chance 
of  burning  and  reducing  to  a  minimum  the  surfaces 
on  which  dust  may  accumulate,  as  shown  in  Fig.  3. 
The  stud  connecting  the  brush  with  the  terminal 
nuts  is  screwed  directly  through  these  brush  leaves, 
which  are  tapped  after  they  have  been  put  to- 
gether, thus  assuring  excellent  and  absolute  contact 
with  the  studs.  There  is  the  usual  carbon  for  the 
final  break,  and  for  voltages  above  250  an  auxil- 
iary heavy  copper  piece  makes  an  additional  break 
between  the  main  brush  and  the  final  carbon. 

In  capacities  of  1,000  amperes  and  above  the 
brush  leaves  themselves  form  the  stud.  The  78  or 
more  leaves  are  put  together  under  heavy  pressure 
at  the  base  and  then  turned  into  a  regular  stud 
bolt.  The  brush  terminal  complete  is  stationary 
and  thus  a  heavy  moving  mass  is  done  away 
with. 

Hard  sheet  copper  is  used  for  the  arm,  of  more 
than  sufficient  carrying  capacity.  The  arm  is  flanged 
■  to  give  it  both  rigidity  and  strength.  It  is  ex- 
tremely light,  the  advantage  of  which  is  readily 
seen,  as  it  is  the  only  moving  part  of  the  breaker. 
This  arm  has  for  its  axis  a  bearing  its  full  width, 
which  is  so  constructed  that  a  roller-bearing  effect 
is  produced.  The  magnet  coil  which  magnetizes 
the  axis  or  core  is  made  of  hard-drawn  copper 
strips. 

The  opening  impulse  is"  given  by  the  laminated 
contact  brush,  and  the  movement  is  further  accel- 
erated by  the  spiral  winding  of  the  coil  which 
forms  a  powerful  spring.  The  arm  is  closed  by 
true  roller  action,  which  is  both  simple  and  effi- 
cient, the  roller  and  roller  plate  being  made  of 
tempered  tool  steel.  The  armature  is  a  heavy 
casting  so  pivoted  that  it  cannot  float.  The  calibra- 
tion of  the  breaker  is  by  means  of  a  marked  dial- 
head  screw  which  varies  the  magnetic  air  gap.  No 
springs  are  used  and  the  action  is  due  to  a  positive 
magnetic  effect  against  gravity. 

Double-pole  breakers  consist  of  two  single-pole 
breakers  mounted  side  by  side,  as  shown  in  Fig.  4, 
each  breaker  being  operated  by  its  own  individual 
mechanism.  This  is  a  decided  advantage  over  oper- 
ating a  double-pole  breaker  with  one  coil,  as  pecu- 
liar grounds,  accidents,  etc.,  which  may  affect  the 
service  of  one  coil  will  not  disable  the  entire  pro- 
tective device.  Inasmuch  as  each  half  of  the  double- 
pole  breaker  is  a  separate  unit  it  is  impossible  to 
close  the  circuit  on  overload  and  it  is  unnecessary 
therefore  to  use  switches  in  connection  with  "S.  E." 
double-pole  breakers. 

Dimensions  of  the  breakers,  so  far  as  the  live 
metal  parts  are  concerned,  are  similar  to  those 
adopted  by  the  Board  of  Fire  Underwriters  for 
switches.  These  "S.  E."  breakers  are  offered  for 
separate  or  switchboard  mounting  and  in  overload, 
underload,   reverse-current   and   no-voltage  types. 

The  Switchboard  Equipment  Company  has  estab- 
lished branch  offices  in  New  York  and  Pittsburg 
and  has  for  western  agents  Crosby,  Craft  &  Co., 
Cleveland;  Francis  Raymond,  Chicago;  Railway 
and  Power  Equipment  Company,  St.  Louis.  Mb., 
and   Pike  &   Beardslee,   Portland.   Ore. 


practice  with  the  now  nearly  obsolete  "flat  rate"  or 
"contract"   system. 

In  Brighton,  however,  it  was  not  possible  to  make 
the  charges  in  the  form  suggested  by  Hopkinson, 
that  is,  to  make  an  annual  charge  per  kilowatt  of 
maximum  demand,  and  an  additional  charge  per 
kilowatt-hour  by  meter,  for  the  reason  that  this 
might  have  resulted  in  the  average  rate  per  kilo- 
watt-hour to  some  customers  being  higher  than 
14  cents,  which  was  the  maximum  rate  permitted 
by  law.  If  there  had  not  been  this  legal  restric- 
tion, the  original  Brighton  rate  might  have  been 
expressed  in  accordance  with  Hopkinson's  princi- 
ples as  follows:  $57.60  per  year  (or  $4.80  per 
month),  per  kilowatt  of  maximum  demand,  and  a 
meter  rate  of  six  cents  per  kilowatt-hour.  The  re- 
striction, however,  had  to  be  considered,  and  it  was 
therefore  decided  to  charge  the  maximum  rate  of 
14  cents  as  a  primary  rate,  on  a  consumption  equiv- 
alent to  such  a  number  of  hours'  use  of  the  cus- 
tomer's maximum  demand  as  would  result  in  the 
customer  paying  off  his  fixed  charges,  and  to  charge 
on  all  consumption  in  excess,  as  a  secondary  rate, 
the  simple  meter  rate  of  six  cents  per  kilowatt-hour. 

The  original  Brighton  rates  were  therefore  as 
follows :  Fourteen  cents  per  kilowatt-hour  up  to  a 
consumption  equivalent  to  60  hours'  use  per  month 
of  the  maximum  demand  and  six  cents  per  kilowatt- 
hour  for  all  consumption  in  excess.  These  rates 
have  since  been  reduced  several  times,  first  by  re- 
ducing the  number  of  hours'  use  at  the  high  rate 
from  (5o_~to  30,  then  by  reducing  the  secondary  rate 
to  two  cents,  and  finally  by  offering  a  flat  meter 
rate  of  eight  cents  per  kilowatt-hour  as  an  alter- 
native to  the  demand  system. 

This  offer  of  an  alternative  flat  rate  has  been 
spoken  of  in  some  of  the  technical  papers  as  a 
check  to  the  demand  system  in  the  very  city  in 
which  it  originated.  It  is  really  nothing  of  the 
kind.  Practically  the  offer  amounted  merely  to  the 
reduction  of  the  maximum  rate  per  kilowatt-hour 
from  14  cents  to  eight  cents,  and  this  reduction 
in  the  maximum  rate  was  probably  due  to  the  pres- 
sure brought  to  bear  by  the  short-hour  customers, 
who  are  always  in  a  majority,  and  can  therefore 
often  exact  lower  rates  than  they  are  entitled  to, 
the  loss  being  made  up  at  the  expense  of  the 
long-hour   customers. 

This"  point  has  been  well  brought  out  recently  at 
Chicago.  The  Chicago  Edison  Company  uses  a 
maximum-demand  system  of  charging,  with  a  max- 
imum rate  of  16  cents  per  kilowatt-hour.  In  the 
report  on  the  rates  of  this  company  made  by 
Messrs.  Arnold  and  Carroll  to  a  committee  of  the 
City  Council  it  is  stated  that  with  this  maximum 
rate  probably  25  per  cent,  of  the  total  numher  of 
customers  are  not  producing  a  profit,  and  that  any 
reduction  in  the  maximum  rate  can  only  be  made 
with  the  result  of  making  still  other  customers  un- 
profitable. Nevertheless  such  a  reduction  will  prob- 
ably be  made. 

In  the  United  States  there  were  no  demand  sys- 
lems  of  charging  in  use  prior  to  1898,  although 
the  principles  had  obtained  some  recognition,  notably 
by  Mr.  W.  D.  Marks,  in  his  recommendations  to 
the  Edison  Electric  Light  Comoany  of  Philadel- 
phia in  1891.  In  1897  Mr.  Wright  came  to  this 
country  and  read  his  paper,  "Profitable  Extensions 
of  Electricity  Supply  Stations,"  at  the  convention  of 


May  5,  1906 

the  National  Electric  Light  Association,  and  since 
that  time  the  rate  question  has  been  one  of  the 
most  prominent  subjects  discussed  at  the  conven- 
tions of  central-station  engineers,  and  demand  sys- 
tems of  various  forms  have  come  into  extended 
use  from  Maine  to  the  Pacific  Coast  and  from 
Wisconsin,  to  Texas.  They  are  in  pretty  general 
use  by  the  large  Edison  companies,  and  may  be 
found  also  in  cities  of  all  sizes  down  to  a  popu- 
lation of  less  than  2,000.  Further,  their  use  is 
apparently  steadily  increasing  and  at  a  more  rapid 
rate   than   in    England. 

This  is  in  some  measure  indicated  by  the  in- 
creased sales  of  demand  indicators  reported  by  the 
English  and  American  manufacturers,  the  former 
reporting  a  moderate  increase,  but  the  latter  an 
increase  over  the  previous  fiscal  year  of  nearly  50 
per  cent.  This  difference  may  be  accounted  for  in 
a  number  of  ways,  one  of  which  is  probably  the 
fact  that  in  this  country  electricity  is  produced  by 
enterprising  private  corporations,  while  in  England 
there  are  a  much  larger  number  of  municipal  plants. 

The  form  of  demand  system  most  used  in  the 
United  States  is  the  one  originally  adopted  by  Mr. 
Wright,  viz.,  a  high  primary  rate  up  to  a  consump- 
tion equivalent  to  a  certain  number  of  hours'  use 
of  the  demand,  and  a  low  secondary  rate  on  all 
consumption    in    excess. 

Another  common  form  is  the  "Doherty"  or 
"Readiness  to  Serve"  system,  which  is  practically 
the  original  idea  of  Hopkinson,  with  an  alternative 
flat  meter  rate  to  constitute  the  maximum.  The 
"Readiness  to  Serve"  system  superficially  appears 
to  be  very  different  from  the  "Wright,"  but  actu- 
ally the  only  difference  is  in  the  method  of  stating 
the^  rates.  For  instance,  the  rates  in  the  city  in 
which  the  "Readiness  to  Serve"  system  originated 
are  as  follows :  $1.80  per  year  per  lamp  (equal 
to  $36  per  year  per  kilowatt)  of  demand  and 
five  cents  per  kilowatt-hour  by  meter,  with  an 
alternative  flat  meter  rate  of  10  cents  per  kilowatt- 
hour.  This  schedule  might  have  been  expressed  in 
Wright's  manner  as  follows :  Ten  cents  per  kilo- 
watt-hour up  to  a  consumption  equivalent  to  60 
hours'  use  per  month  of  the  maximum  demand 
and  five  cents  per  kilowatt-hour  for  all  consump- 
tion in  excess.  Or,  again,  it  could  have  been  ex- 
pressed as  10  cents  per  kilowatt-hour  up  to  a 
consumption  equivalent  to  three  kilowatt-hours  per 
standard  16-candlepower  lamp  of  maximum  demand, 
and  five  cents  per  kilowatt-hour  for  all  consump- 
tion  in   excess. 

The  above-mentioned  company  also  makes  a  serv- 
ice charge  to  each  customer  of  $12  a  year,  but,  of 
course,  this  charge  could  also  have  been  made  if 
the  Wright  system  had  been  adopted  instead  of  the 
"Readiness    to    Serve."  J.  S.  C. 

Boston,    April   27,    1906. 


Chicago  Street-railway  Situation. 

Mayor  Dunne  apparently  has  changed  front  in 
the  street-railway  situation  by  placing  the  improv- 
ing and  unifying  of  the  street  railways  ahead  of 
immediate  municipal  ownership.  In  a  letter  to  the 
chairman  of  the  local  transportation  committee  of 
the  council  the  mayor  advocates  the  beginning  of 
negotiations  for  the  bettering  of  the  service,  and 
outlines  a  plan.  His  idea  is  to  have  the  companies 
agree  to  sell  their  lines  to  the  city  at  such  future 
date  when  the  city  is  able  to  take  them  over.  The 
price  to  be  paid  would  be  fixed  now,  and  the"  com- 
panies, under  the  mayor's  plan,  would  begin  at  > 
once  to  reconstruct  the  systems,  provide  for 
through  routing  and  universal  transfers.  The  re- 
construction would  be  according  to  plans  to  be 
prepared  by  the  city  and  concurred  in  by  the  trac- 
tion companies,  and  the  money  invested  in  improve- 
ments would  be  added  to  the  price  fixed  now  for 
the  tangible  property.  In  the  meantime  the  mayor's 
plan  suggests  that  the  companies  operate  the  lines 
under  a  revocable  franchise  with  a  fair  return  upon 
their  present  and  future  investment  and  a  share  of 
the  remaining  net  profits,  a  share  of  the  net  profits 
to  go  to  the  city  to  form  a  sinking  fund.  The 
local  transportation  committee  is  to  work  out  the 
details  of  the  new  plan. 

While  it  cannot  be  said  that  all  factions  agree 
with  the  suggestions  offered  in  the  mayor's  letter, 
there  is,  however,  a  general  feeling  of  encourage- 
ment respecting  a  settlement  of  the  traction  muddle, 
inasmuch  as  the  mayor  seems  to  have  relinquished 
his  radical  "immediate"  municipal  ownership  ideas 
which  have  several  times  blocked  the  progress  to- 
ward better  transportation  facilities  in  the  vain 
hope  of  the  city  getting  immediate  possession  of 
the  street  railways. 

While  the  negotiations  for  practical  improve- 
ment of  the  lines  are  going  on  the  mayor  proposes 
to  test  in  the  courts  the  validity  of  the  Mueller  law 
certificates. 

Reports  come  from  the  Eastern  interests  that 
plans  are  being  made  to  consolidate  the  Union 
Traction  Company  and  its  underlying  companies — 
the  North  and  West  Side  companies.  If  successful 
an  effort  will  also  be  made,  it  is  said,  to  get  the 
Chicago  City   Railway  into  the  consolidation. 

At  this  week's  meeting  of  the  City  Council  an 
order  was  unanimously  passed  directing  that  ar- 
rangements be  made  at  once  to  change  the  Mil- 
waukee Avenue  cable  line  to  electric  operation. 
Petitions  from  citizens  requesting  extensions  and 
electric  equipment  on  certain  other  lines  were  read 
and    referred    to    the    transportation    committee. 

Concerning    the    matter    of    lowering    the    street- 


May  5,  1906 

railway  tunnels  under  the   Chicago   River,   thi 

Depi - j r ■    has  given   its  decision.     It   is   directed 

ihat    the   time   for   removing   these   obstructions    to 
navigation  be  <  ■  tended  to  July   1  t. 

The  Chicago  City  Railway  '  ompan .  ha  igi  1  'I 
a  new  agreement  with  its  nun,  to  he  in  foro  1 
(nonths.  1  he  company  gives  the  mi  n  a  g<  m  ral 
in.  p  ,1  e  in  wages,  even  though  the  company  won 
the  big  strike  a  year  ago.  The  men  an  now  the 
highest  paid  in  the  United  States  f-.r  this  1  la  o\ 
work.  Nlotormen  and  conductoi  who  havi  been 
in  the  employment  nf  the  company  "in-  year  <>i 
more  will  gel  25  cents  an  hour.  Men  in  other 
branches    "f    work    were    advanced    aboul    five    pel 

cent. 


Bristol  Portable    Recording  Gauges. 

'['lie  value  nf  recording  pressure  ^augr-*  as  :i 
powerful  factor  in  promoting  safely  and  economy 
has  long  been  recognized,  and  their  adoption  has 
Been  quite  general  in  mills,  factories,  watei  nil 
gas  works,  electric-light  plants,  power  station 
flublic  buildings,  blast  furnaces,  mines,  etc  ,  both 
in  1  In-  eouu  ley  -Mid  abroad.  Many  users  have, 
[jowever,  felt  the  need  of  a  light,  compact,  portable 
recording  pressure  gauge,  and  particular!)  an  in 
strument  which  is  so  well  made  and  free  from 
delicate     mechanism     that     an     ordinan      workman 


BRISTOL    TORTABLE    GAUGE    FOR    PRESSURE    OVER    Fl 

can  manipulate  it  successfully  with  reasonable 
care.  To  cover  these  requirements,  the  Bristol 
Company  of  Waterbury,  Conn.,  has  placed  upon  the 
market  a  modification  of  its  well-known  recording 
gauge. 

In  these  portable  gauges  the  metal  case  has  been 
omitted,  the  pressure  tube  and  clock  for"  driving 
the  chart  being  mounted  on  a  light  aluminum  back, 
which  is  in  turn-  mounted  in  a  handsome  wooden 
carrying  case  designed  with  special  reference  to 
ease  in  handling  and  making  connections  to  the 
source   of   pressure. 

For  recording  pressures  which  may  exceed  five 
pounds  per  square  inch,  the  type  of  gauge  illus- 
trated herewith  is  employed.  A  special  flexible 
connection  with  unions  is  supplied  to  facilitate 
connecting  to  piping  at  various  angles.  When  a 
permanent  installation  is  unnecessary,  this  instru- 
ment could  be  used  to  advantage,  as,  for  example, 
on  boiler  tests,  water  mains  or  fire-protective  sys- 
tems where  a  few  accurate  and  continuous  records 
would  settle  disputes  or  lead  to  better   service. 

For  gas  pressures  in  outlying  districts,  mine  ven- 
tilating pressures,  draft  or  light  vacuum,  a  slightly 
different  type  of  gauge  is  adapted,  since  it  is  ca- 
pable of  recording  pressures  as  low  as  one-twen- 
tieth-inch head  of  water.  Correction  is  readily 
made  by  means  of  a  rubber  hose  to  a  nipple, 
which  projects  through  the  side  of  the  case.  A 
simple  clamping  device  is  employed  to  hold  the 
pressure  tube  rigidly  when  the  gauge  is  being 
transported.  Those  who  are  interested  in  the 
distribution  of  gas  will  be  particularly  pleased  to 
note  the  production  of  an  instrument  which  will 
be  of  such  great  assistance  in  solving  their  prob- 
lems. 

Portable  gauges  above  described  are  said  to 
weigh  about  one-third  as  much  as  the  standard- 
form  gauges  mounted  in  a  carrying  case,  which 
has  been  used  heretofore  as  a  substitute.  Both 
forms  are  furnished  with  leveling  screws  to  fa- 
cilitate adjustment  of  the  instrument.  Provision 
is  also  made  for  carrying  a  supply  of  charts  and 
ink   with  each  gauge. 


Another  Wireless  Conference. 

Germany  has  issued  invitations  to  20  states  to 
take  part  in  an  international  space-telegraph  con- 
ference at  Berlin  on  June  28th.  Besides  the  six 
powers  participating  with  Germany  in  the  first  con- 
ference, 23  other  governments  have  been  invited  to 
send  representatives. 


New  Consolidated  Company's  Power 
Plant  at  BaltlrnoM; 

11  thi    ■    pi 
trii     1  igl 

i  realized   the  compai 
..1    \\  ■   tporl     -. ; 

I 
interest      nd  a  i 
will    1..      1 

taken    from    1 1 .  -  cimum 

i    p  11  it;     ol     thi 

power,   .ii"'    it  is  capable  1 

i I  res    of 

land  .it  tl 

1  he  i"<  1 is  on  the  F 

pany"«  property   ini  ludi 

the   tidew  at  i    I I    tl  i   Rail- 

'"■"I  in     -I 

Baltimore  and  0 

site  i-  isolated   from  adjacent  buildii  ■ 

fire  hazard       I  ran  p<  11  tation   fai  ilitii      includi 

coal  carrying    railroad 

and    '  )hio    and    the    We  tern    Man  -■' 

entei  i hi  and    the    Pennsylvania   Rail- 

oad   l".    wati  i    'I'  li\  i  rj    from   I  water 

delivery  can  also  be  utilized  Ei  i  al  from 

the   Baltii nd  Ohio        I 

capacitj    i     sufficient  for  a  coal  supply  for  a 
yi  ii      Water  suppl)    foi 
will  l 

and  filtered.     Water  I 
purposes    will    be   taken    fro 
Patapsco   River.     Tunnels   for   tak- 
ing  in  anil  discharging  water   from 
the   rivei    are  proi  ided 

I  he  building  is  255  feel 
1 1 5  feel  wide  ;  it  is  singl 
liit  high,  with  operating  galleries 
and  coal  storage.  It  is  constructed 
so  that  additions  can  be  readily 
made  to  enlarge  its  capacity.  There 
will  be  no  wood  anywhere  in  thi 
construction  of  the  building;  even 
the  framing  for  windows  and 
doors  is  of  steel.  The  material 
used  is  reinforced  concrete,  and 
the  foundations,  walls,  floors,  pil 
lars,  galleries,  coal  bunkers  and 
discharge  chutes  for  ashes  from 
the  furnaces  are  all  built  of  this 
material.  Borings  were  made  of 
the  soil  to  decide  whether  it  was 
necessary  to  use  piling  under  the 
foundations,  and  while  it  was 
shown  that  the  soil  would  support 
such  a  structure,  under  the  policy 
of  being  doubly  sure  there  were 
driven  1,800  piles,  and  on  these 
were  laid  reinforced  concrete  foot- 
ings, from  which  the  building  rises. 
In  the  center  of  the  building  is  the  largest  smoke- 
stack about  Baltimore,  rising  to  a  height  of  209 
feet  from  mean  low  tide.  The  inside  diameter  of 
the  smokestack  at  the  top  is  14  feet.  Radial  brick 
is  used  in  its  construction  and  the  exterior  is  of 
buff,  presenting  a  neat  appearance.  In  addition  to 
the  natural  draft  furnished  by  this  chimney  the 
boiler  room  is  equipped  with  forced  draft  to  pro- 
vide  for  any  sudden  demands  for  power. 

The  boiler  room  will  contain  iS  650-horsepower 
Babcock  and  Wilcox  boilers.  These  will  be 
equipped  with  superheaters  to  raise  the  temperature 
of  the  steam,  taking  care  of  the  initial  condensa- 
tion. The  furnaces  under  the  boilers  discharge 
their  ashes  through  reinforced  concrete  chutes  into 
cars  which  run  on  railroad  tracks  in  the  basement, 
extending  out  and  over  land  now  under  water  to 
be  reclaimed  by  filling  in  with  ashes. 

The  coal  is  stored  in  bunkers  above  the  boilers 
and  is  fed  by  gravity  to  the  furnaces.  These 
bunkers  are  filled  by  coal-handling  machinery  of 
the  latest  type,  so  that  the  coal  in  its  transit  from 
the  barge  or  car  into  the  boilers,  and  thence  from 
the  grates  in  the  form  of  ashes,  is  automatically 
handled  until  the  ashes  drop  into  water  to  reclaim 
land.  The  coal  is  carried  by  a  gantry  crane 
equipped  with  a  bucket  that  picks  up  two  tons  of 
coal.  This  crane  is  the  largest  of  its  kind  ever 
attempted.  It  is  295  feet  from  end  to  end  and 
traverses  the  coal-storage  field.  It  will  deliver 
coal  to  the  bunkers  inside  of  the  station  or  to  the 
storage  field  and  will  take  coal  from  the  storage 
field  to  the  bunkers.  It  can  handle  from  a  barge 
to  the  field  150  tons  an  hour,  and  from  barge  to 
bunkers  60  tons  an  hour. 

From  the  boilers  the  steam  is  delivered  through 
well-designed  steam  piping  to  the  engine  room. 
The  delivery  system  is  such  that  if  a  boiler  breaks 
down  it  will  only  cut  out  a  small  portion  of  the 
plant,  which  could  be  quickly  overcome  through 
an  equalizing  line  connecting  with  the  reserve 
boilers. 

In  the  engine  room  the  first  plans  contemplated 
four  Mcintosh  &  Seymour  vertical  compound- 
condensing  engines.  This  has  since  been  greatly 
increased.  Two  of  these  engines  are  being  erected 
and  the  others  will  follow  from  the  builders  at 
short  intervals.  Each  engine  has  a  rated  capacity 
of  3,coo  horsepower  and  an  an  overload  capacity  of 
50  per  cent.,  making  the  maximum  of  each  engine 
4,500  horsepower,  aggregating  18,000  horsepower 
for  the  four.  In  addition,  to  meet  the  rapidly 
growing  business  of  the  company  there  has  just 
been  ordered   an   engine  of  7,500  rated   horsepower, 


363 


1      of      II- 

ir   type 

■ 

cover  a  nun- 


\'E    POUNDS. 


minimi    c 

<-ver  buill 
in    the    Inti 

mum  cap 

Whci  ;rr  on 

1   maximum   capacity 

,ht  and  power 

••'  greatly   ^n- 

maxi- 

will    generate    cur- 

the   current    to  be  handled   by 

electrically    operated    and    controlled    oil     twitches. 

i>c    current    will    be    trani- 

mitted   m   lead  in  a  subway  built  by 

tnpany    from   the   power   house   to  a  junction 

with  1I1  hich  will  carry  cables 

I   1'.  nn   Stre>t   station,  the   McClel- 

lan  Strei  'he  Monument  and  O 

tion    Street    nation.     The    Pratt    and    Penn    Street 

and  tlie   Monui  titution   Street  stations 

an-    now    steam    driven,   but   after   the   power   from 

Westport    i      received    the    steam    engines    will    be 

-hut    down,    disposing   of    whatever   objection    there 

may    he    to    the    -moke    from    these    stations.      The 

tion   is   already   equipped,   and 

the  other  two  stations  are  being  equipped  to  receive 

the   Westport    power.     This   includes   the   machinery 

for    transforming   and    reducing   the   power. 

Immunity  from  fire  hazards  and  guaranty  of  a 
noninterrupted  coal  supply  have  been  secured.  Im- 
electric  current 
for  light  and  power  purposes,  including  as  it  does 
tin  illumination  of  the  streets  and  public  parks  of 
Baltimore,  the  operation  of  many  factories  and 
the  illumination  of  business  buildings  and  homes, 
there   is   still   another   advantage  to   the   public   ob- 

111  the  plant.  This  is  the  installing 
cycle  apparatus  of  the  same  characteristics  as  the 
equipment . which  furnishes  power  from  the  Pratt 
Street  power  house  of  the  United  Railways,  which 
run-  the  entire  street-railway  system  of  Baltimore. 
thus  making  it  practicable  for  an  interchange  of 
electric  power  between  these  two  big  power  plants 
in   the   event   of  accident. 

The  power  station  and  its  equipment  are  from 
the  plans  of  P.  O.  Keilholtz,  consulting  engineer. 
The  foundations  and  bulkhead  were  built  by  Arm- 
strong &  Latta,  and  the  superstructure,  which  is 
now  rapidly  approaching  completion,  is  being 
erected  by  the  Baltimore  Ferro-concretc  Company. 
Among  the  other  contractors  besides  those  already 
mentioned  are  the  following:  Generators,  General 
Electric  Company ;  gantry  crane,  Lauer-Harper 
Company;  equipment  for  gantry  crane,  Morgan 
Engineering  Company:  switchboard,  Westinghouse 
Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company;  chimney. 
the  Alphons  Custodis  Chimney  Construction  Com- 
pany. 

The  Consolidated  Gas,  Electric-light  and  Power 
Company  is  the  successor  of  the  United  Electric 
Light  and  Power  Company  and  owns  a  large  ma- 
jority of  the  stock  of  the  Consolidated  Gas  Com- 
pany. Alten  S.  Miller  is  vice-president  of  the  corn- 
pan}-,  P.  O.  Keilholtz  is  the  consulting  engineer. 
Douglass  Burnett  is  the  manager  of  the  electric  de- 
partment, and  \Y.  Stuart  Symington  is  secretary 
and  treasurer.  S.  Davies  Warfield  is  chairman  of 
the  board  of  directors  of  the  company  and  of  the 
executive   committee  of   the  board. 


Preparations  for  National  Electric  Light 
Convention. 

The  approaching  convention  of  the  Xationa!  Elec- 
tric Light  Association  promises  to  be  interesting 
and  important.  The  papers  arranged  for  by  Presi- 
dent Blood  cover  a  wide  range  cf  topics,  and  the 
authors  are  men  eminent  in  their  respective  branches 
of  the  profession.  In  addition  to  the  convention 
proper,  there  will  be  an  exhibition  of  the  associate 
members,  occupying  the  large  hall  at  the  entrance 
to  Young's  Pier.  The  space  has  nearly  all  been 
taken. 

Special  rates  have  been  secured  from  no  less 
than  35  hotels.  However  large  the  attendance  this 
year,  it  is  probable  that  the  association  will  have 
hetter  hotel  accommodations  than  have  been  avail- 
able   heretofore. 

There  will  be  no  lack  of  entertainment.  On  one 
of  the  days  the  committee  expects  to  take  the 
ladies  attending  the  convention  to  Philadelphia, 
where  luncheon  will  be  served  at  the  Bellevue- 
Stratford.  The  attractions  at  the  "Board  Walk" 
will  he  exhausted,  and  possibly  a  short  sea  trip 
after  "crossing  the  bar"  will  be  taken.  Efforts  are 
also  being  made  to  have  an  exhibition  drill  of 
either  the  beach  guards  or  the  United  States  life- 
saving  crew  at  the   Atlantic  City  stations. 

The  hotel  circular  will  be  issued  in  a  few  days. 
Any  other  information  regarding  the  convention 
can  be  obtained  at  the  secretary's  office,  136  Liberty- 
Street    New   York   city 


WESTERN    ELECTRICIAN 


May  5,  1906 


Rosewater's  Recollections. 

Edward  Rosewater,  editor  of  the  Omaha  Bee, 
printed  in  a  special  issue  of  his  paper  last  year 
a  gossipy  article  entitled  "Personal  Recollections 
of  Some  of  the  World-famed  Electricians"  which 
may  be  of  interest  to  many  of  the  readers  of  the 
Western  Electrician.  Somewhat  condensed,  Mr. 
Rosewater's    reminiscences    are    as    follows: 

A  century  arid  a  half  has  elapsed  since  Benjamin 
Franklin  drew  lightning  from  the  clouds  and  trans- 
mitted electric  shocks  across  the  Delaware  River, 
but  practical  harnessing  of  electricity  dates  back 
only  threescore  years.  Within  this  comparatively 
brief  oeriod  all  races  and  nationalities  have  been 
brought  into  touch  and  sympathy  by  the  electric 
telegraph,  which  has  become  the  potential  factor 
that  gives  the  press  its  tremendous  power.  Within 
my  own  memory  the  telegraph  has  girdled  the 
earth  and  placed  its  remotest  parts  into  almost 
instantaneous  communication.  Electrical  distance 
writing  has  been  supplemented  by  electrical  distance 
talking,  distance  lighting  and  distance  propulsion. 
As  a  pioneer  telegrapher  of  more  than  13.  years' 
continuous  service  and  amateur  in  electric  sci- 
ence, it  has  been  my  fortune  to  come  in  contact 
with  a  number  of  eminent  inventors  and  electricians 
to  whom  the  world,  and  especially  America,  is 
indebted  for  many  marvelous  achievements  in  the 
domain    of   electrical    discovery    and   progress. 

Most  eminent,  if  not  the  most  famous,  among 
these  was  Prof.  Joseph  Henry.  My  acquaintance 
with  Professor  Henry  dates  back  to  the  summer 
of  1862,  while  I  was  stationed  as  a  military  teleg- 
rapher at  Washington.  Being  desirous  of  perfect- 
ing myself  in  electrical  science,  I  procured  a  letter 
of  introduction  to  Professor  Henry,  secretary  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institute,  from  Colonel  Anson 
Stager,  chief  of  the  United  States  Military  Tele- 
graph Corps,  and  was  most  cordially  received  by 
him  and  accorded  the  privilege  of  the  Smithsonian 
library  and  laboratory.  Professor  Henry  was  then 
a  man  of  middle  age,  medium  height,  chestnut  hair, 
blue  eyes,  florid  complexion,  clean-shaven  face  and 
handsome  features,  that  were  preserved  by  him 
to  the  advanced  age  of  nearly  fourscore  years.  At 
that  time  the  electric  telegraph  was  only  18  years 
old.  The  first  wire  across  the  continent  had  just 
been  completed  (July  4,  1862),  while  the  first  cable 
had  been  laid  across  the  Atlantic  six  years  pre- 
viously, but  remained  mute,  only  two  or  three  mes- 
sages having  been  transmitted  when  it  ceased  to 
work. 

Although  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  then  stdl  living, 
had  been  medallioned  and  honored  by  all  nations 
as  the  father  of  the  telegraph,  Professor  Henry  was 
the  real  father  and  inventor  of  the  works  inside 
of  the  watch,  while  Professor  Morse  contributed 
only  the  case.  Professor  Henry  had  discovered 
and  perfected  the  first  electromagnet  and  taught 
Professor  Morse  how  to  use  it  in  connection  with 
his  crude  clockwork  device  that  registered  the 
Morse  alphabet  of  dots  and  dashes  upon  strips  of 
paper.  Years  before  Professor  Morse  had  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  distance  communication  by  elec- 
tric energv,  Professor  Henry,  as  instructor  in  phys- 
ics at  Princeton  College,  had  constructed  an  electric 
magnet  that  could  lift  3,000  pounds,  and  that  mag- 
net is  still  preserved  in  the  Princeton  College  mu- 
seum. 

Mv  acquaintance  with  Professor  Henry  extended 
over  more  than  a  dozen  years,  and  he  freely  and 
frequently  talked  about  the  invaluable  assistance 
he  had  rendered  Professor  Morse  before  he  had 
taken  out  the  telegraph  patents.  Professor  Henry 
was  a  pure  scientist  and  disdained  to  use 
his  inventions  and  discoveries  for  profit.  Among 
the  precious  mementoes  preserved  by  me  is  an 
autograph  letter  from  Professor  Henry,  in  beautiful 
script,  dated  at  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  February  29,  1864,  which  closes  as 
follows : 

"I  now  embrace  the  first  opportunity  to  inform 
you  that  we  shall  be  pleased  to  receive  any  com- 
munication from  you  in  regard  to  the  weather  with 
which  you  may  favor  us,  and  we  should  be  par- 
ticularly pleased  to  have  a  record  of  electrical  phe- 
nomena you  may  observe,  from  which  a  general 
account  may  be  made  up  at  the  end  of  a  given 
time  for  our  annual  reports." 

In  compliance  with  this  request,  I  established 
the  first  weather  bureau  west  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  and,  under  the  direction  of  Professor  Henry, 
had  thermometer  and  barometer  records  taken  at 
fixed  hours  at  Omaha,  Julesburg.  Fort  Laramie,. 
Fort  Bridger,  South  Pass  and  Salt  Lake  City: 
Years  thereafter  Professor  Henry,  in  passing 
through  Omaha,  paid  me  a  visit  and  recalled  the 
interesting  material-  collected  for  the  first  weather- 
report  service  that  had  ever  been  attempted  in 
the  United  States.  It  was  not  until  1867,  if  mem- 
ory serves  me  right,  that  the  United  States  Signal 
Corps  inaugurated  a  system  of  weather  reports  ex- 
tending across  the  continent. 

The  most  noted,  all-around  man  among  the  pio- 
neer telegraphers  wr.s  Anson  Stager,  a  native  of 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  who  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
was  general  superintendent  of  the  Western  Union 
Telegraph  Company,  with  headquarters  at_  Cleve- 
land, and  subsequently  colonel  and  brevet  brigadier- 
general  in  command  of  the  United  States  Military 
Telegraph  Corps,  with  headquarters  in  the  War 
Department,  to  the  close  of  the  civil  war,  when 
he   was   promoted   to   the   position   of  vice-president 


and  general  superintendent  of  the  Western  Union 
system,  which  had  by  that  time  absorbed  half  a 
dozen  other  systems.  Anson  Stager  was  the  first 
telegrapher  who  received  a  message  by  tongue,  a 
feat  that  was  regarded  as  almost  miraculous.  While 
for  many  years  not  actually  engaged  in  the  operat- 
ing room,  he  always  retained  his  skill  as  a  manipu- 
lator of  the  key  and  reader  by  sound.  He  was 
a  short  stout  man,  with  a  large  round  head,  oval 
face,  blue  eyes  and  reddish  chin  whiskers,  without 
moustache.  General  Stager  was  the  incarnation  of 
executive  .force — short,  sharp,  decisive,  quick  to. 
grasp  a  problem  and  quicker  still  to  size  up  a  man 
or    a    situation. 

When  Edward  Creighton,  who  had  constructed 
the  Pacific  telegraph  between  Omaha  and  Salt 
Lake  City,  in  conjunction  with  Brigham  Young, 
asked  Colonel  Stager  to  recommend  to  him  an 
expert  operator  qualified  to  rough  it  in  the  wild 
and  woolly  West,  Colonel  Stager  pointed  me  out 
as  a  young  man  who  could  fill  the  bill,  and,  by 
way  of  encouragement,  tapped  me  on  the  shoulder 
and  remarked:  "You  will  be  worth  $30,000  in  15 
or  20  years  if  you  take  a  position  with  Creighton 
on  the  overland  telegraph  line."  In  those  days 
$30,000  was   a  very  large   fortune. 

My  acquaintance  with  lames  D.  Reid,  the  first 
telegraph  superintendent  in  America,  did  not  begin 
until  I  had  passed  out  of  the  telegraph  service  in 
the  >o's,  but  the  greeting  I  received  from  him  at 
our  first  meeting  made  me  understand  without 
explanation  how  and  why  he  had  obtained  such 
a  firm  hold  upon  the  affections  of  old-time  teleg- 
raphers, and  was  looked  up  to  by  them  as  their 
mentor  on  all  matters  relating  to  the  early  history 
of  the  telegraph. 

James  D.  Reid  had  been  the  intimate  friend  and 
associate  of  Professor  Morse  in  his  struggles  for 
the  recognition  of  his  claims  and  the  establishment 
of  his  system  of  telegraphy,  and,  perhaps  better 
than  any  other  man,  was  in  position  to  write  the 
history  of  the  telegraph  in  America,  which  still 
remains  the  standard  work  among  American  teleg- 
raphers. He  was  the  antithesis  of  Anson  Stager, 
physically  and  mentally — tall,  affable,  genial,  com- 
municative and  at  all  times  approachable.  At  the 
age  of  more  than  fourscore  he  was  appointed,  at 
the  instance  of  Andrew  Carnegie,  a  pioneer  teleg- 
rapher and  countryman,  to  the  United  States  con- 
sulship at  Dunfermline,  Scotland,  where  he  died  in 
the  harness  in   1901   at  the  age  of  90. 

During  my  inspection  tours  of  the  postal-telegraph 
systems  of  Europe  in  1891  I  spent  a  couple  of  hours 
in  the  largest  telegraph  office  in  the  world,  in  the 
General  Post  Office  Building  in  the  city  of  London, 
where  more  than  3,000  operators  are  employed  in 
the  transmission  of  dispatches.  While  most  of  the 
wires  were  equipped  with  Wheatstone  instruments, 
several  of  their  long-distance  lines  were  equipped 
with  Delany's  sextuplex— an  instrument  that  trans- 
mits six  messages  over  one  wire  at  the  same  time, 
or   two    more   than    Edison's    famous    quadruplex. 

This  instrument,  I  was  informed,  is  an  American 
invention,  for  which  the  British  government  pays 
a  royalty  of  $10,000  per  annum  to  its  inventor, 
Patrick  Bernard  Delany.  When  I  met  Mr.  Delany 
10  years  ago  he  had  perfected  a  number  of  inven- 
tions for  facilitating  the  transmission  of  dispatches 
by  submarine  cable  and  also  an  automatic  telegraph 
system  capable  of  transmitting  from  800  to  1,200 
words  per  minute  over  a  single  overhead  wire. 

Mr.  Delany  endeavored  to  introduce  this  system 
on  the  lines  of  the  Associated  Press,  but  its  man- 
agers decided  to  hold  fast  to  the  Morse  system, 
operated  in  conjunction  with  typewriting  machines. 
Since  then  I  have  met  Mr.  Delany  occasionally  and 
kept  up"  a  very  interesting  correspondence.  Among 
American  electrical  engineers  I  know  of  none  who 
can  boast  of  as  large  a  number  of  devices  for  ex- 
pediting telegraphic  communication. 

Mr.  Delany  holds  150  patents,  covering  anti-in- 
duction cables,  synchronous  multiples  of  telegraphy, 
automatic  systems  for  ocean  cables,  rapid-machine 
telegraphy  for  land  lines,  etc.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Franklin  Institute,  which  awarded  him  the 
Elliott  Cresson  gold  medal  and  the  John  Scott 
legacy  medal  for  his  inventions,  and  at  the  age  of 
60  he  is  still  active  in  his  scientific  researches  in 
his  laboratory  at  South  Orange,  N.  J.,  where  an- 
other and  more  famous  telegraph  operator,  Thomas 
Edison,  also  makes  his  home  and  maintains  his  ex- 
perimental laboratory. 

Edison's  phenomenal  career  is  a  household  word 
all  over  the  globe  and  it  would  be  superfluous  for 
me  to  indulge  even  in  a  brief  recital.  When  I  last 
met  Edison  'in  his  laboratory  at  Menlo  Park,  which, 
by  the  way,  is  the  greatest  storehouse  of  books  on 
the  progress  of  science  in  all  the  languages  and 
in  materials  for  experimental  alchemy,  he  was 
dressed  in  a  blue  blouse  and  cotton  overalls  and 
hard  at  work  in  making  chemical  tests. 

He  had  grown  stout  and  gray,  although  he  still 
has  a  full  head  of  hair,  and  his  handsome,  smooth- 
shaven  face  preserves  all  the  appearance  of  middle- 
aged  youth.  While  somewhat  hard  of  hearing, 
Edison  is  a  most  interesting  conversationalist,  and 
he  talked  freely,  not  only  about  electricity,  the  sub- 
ject always  nearest  to  his  heart,  but  about  the 
progress  of  the  country  and  especially  the  growth 
of  western  cities.  When  asked  as  to  whether  he 
had  reached  any  conclusion  as  to  the  nature  of 
electricity,  he  responded:  "You  know  as  much 
about  it  as  I   do."     That  was   simply  an  admission 


that   he   was   still   in  the    dark,   notwithstanding   all 
the  electric  illumination   evolved  by  his  genius. 

My  first  introduction  to  Alexander  Graham  Beli, 
the  inventor  of  the  Bell  telephone;  took  place  about 
15  years  ago  at  the  residence  of  Gardiner  G.  Hub- 
bard, in  the  city  of  Washington.  Mr.  Hubbard, 
the  father  of  Mrs.  Bell,  had  manifested  deep  in- 
terest in  the  postal  telegraph  and  had  '  appeared 
before  congressional  committees  as  an  advocate  of 
postal  telegraph,  and  appeared  to  be  much  inter- 
ested in  the  investigation  I  had  made  of  the  postal 
telegraphs   of   Europe. 

At  first  sight  I  was  much  impressed  by  Professor 
Bell's  superb  physique  and  massive  head,  that  re- 
called the  portraits  of  Balzac  and  the  elder  Dumas. 
He  was  brilliant  in  conversation,  gracious  in  his 
manners,  and  his  recital  of  the  story  of  the  first 
telephone  constructed  by  him  for  the  benefit  of  his 
wife,  from  the  lower  to  the  upper  floor  of  his  resi- 
dence,   was    a    genuine   treat. 

I  renewed  my  acquaintance  with  Professor  Bell 
when  he  visited  Omaha  a  few  years  later  and  nar- 
rated publicly,  for  the  first  time,  the  story  of  his 
great  invention  before  an  appreciative  audience  of 
telegraph    and   telephone   men. 

In  the  spring  of  1897;  while  attending  the  Uni- 
versal Postal  Congress,  then  in  session  in  Wash- 
ington, I  received  an  invitation  from  George  Owen 
Squier,  first-lieutenant  of  artillery,  United  States 
Army,  to  witness  some  experiments  with  his  au 
tomatic-telegraph  invention  at  Fortress  Monroe 
These  experiments  proved  eminently  satisfactory,  al- 
though the  mechanism  was  somewhat  complex.  In 
August  of  the  same  year  I  received  a  letter  from 
Lieutenant  Squier,  dated  from  London,  in  which 
he   wrote   as   follows : 

"I  know  you  will  be  interested  in  hearing  of  some 
of  the  great  results  of  the  synchrouograph  which 
we  have  recently  been  trying  over  the  government 
postal  lines  in  England.  The  British  government 
has  given  us  every  facility  possible  and  are  en- 
tirely convinced  of  the  superiority  of  our  system. 
On  August  22d,  over  a  line  from  London  via  York 
and  Aberdeen  and  return  to  London,  a  distance  of 
over  1,100  miles,  including  over  80  miles  of  under- 
ground cable,  we  sent  messages  at  the  rate  of  4,300 
words  per  minute,  and  this  speed  was  only  limited 
by  the  particular  dynamo  available.  We  have  also 
tried  a  cable  of  120  knots,  from  here  to  Germany, 
and  sent  over  it  at  the  rate  of  1,300  words  per 
minute.  Om  apparatus  is  mounted  in  the  general 
postoffice  at  London,  from  which  point  the  ex- 
periments thus  far  have  been  made.  I  will  be  glad 
to  send  you  a  detailed  account  of  these  experiments 
as   soon    as    time    permits   making   it   out. 

When  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  the  most  rapid 
speaker  would  not  talk  more  than  250  words  per 
minute,  this  achievement  would  seem  almost  in- 
credible and  forcibly  calls  attention  to  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  future  in  the  way  of  lightning  com- 
munication. The  fact  that  an  army  officer  in  the 
artillery  service  should  be  the  inventor  of  such  an 
apparatus    is    also   most    remarkable. 

Among  the  eminent  electrical  scientists  with  whom 
I  have  come  in  touch  recently  is  Michael  Pupin, 
professor  of  electromechanics  in  Columbia  Univer- 
sity. Professor  Pupin  is  an  Americanized  Hun- 
garian athlete,  wdio  might  have .  become  a  match 
for  Jim  Corbett.  Although  still  on  the  sunny  side 
of  50,  he  has  made  prodigious  strides  in  the  field 
of  electricity.  I  visited  Professor  Pupin  early  one 
morning  two  years  ago  last  winter  while  he  was 
at  breakfast  in  his  luxuriously  furnished  apartment 
in  New  York  and  had  a  very  agreeable  running 
conversation  concerning  certain  electrical  phe- 
nomena in  which  I  had  become  interested  and  in- 
cidentally concerning  some  of  his  recent  inventions, 
which  included  improvements  on  electrical  current 
transmission  over  long-distance  wires  and  through 
submarine  cables,  from  which  Professor  Pupin  has 
realized  a  respectable  fortune.  Ordinarily  a  very 
busy  man  and  not  easily  accessible.  Professor  Pupin 
accorded  me  a  courteous  and  patient  hearing  and 
freely  communicated  his  views  and  impressions  on 
the  subject  about  which  I  was  anxious  to  secure 
information   from  first   source. 


American   Pacific    Cable  Is  Completed. 

The  Pacific  cable  between  the  United  States  and 
China,  begun  several  j'ears  ago,  has  been  com- 
pleted, the  last  link  being  between  Manila  and 
Shanghai.  In  commemoration  of  this  achievement 
messages  were  exchanged  between  President  Roose- 
velt and  the  Emperor  of  China  on  April  17th. 

The  first  stretch  of  the  cable  was  laid  between 
San  Francisco  and  Honolulu.  It  was  later  ex- 
tended to  Manila  by  way  of  Guam  and  Midway 
and  finally  to  Shanghai.  Nearly  10,000  miles  of 
cable  have  been  laid  at  an  average  depth  of  2,640 
fathoms.  The  greatest  depth  was  3,490  fathoms — 
approximately  four  miles.  The  extension  of  the 
line  beyond  Manila  was  delayed  by  the  political 
upheaval  in  China  and  later  by  the  war  between 
Japan  and  Russia.  The  United  States  is  now  in 
communication  with  its  Pacific  Ocean  possessions 
and  with  China  by  means  of  the  cables  of  an 
American  company  operated  by  American  oper- 
ators. 


May  5,    [906 

Underwriters'     Requirements    for    a 

Standard  Electric  Light  and 

Power  Station. 

F 1  111 ati    ,    whii  li   on    man  ^  central     [a 

1 ire    all  111  -II      high,    1 I  liat    tin 

uiidi  1  h  1  ii'  1      li  1  in    Mi'      taiulard    clectri      light    and 
power    station.       I  In      1      a      tatii  n    con  ti  tictcd    in 

, I ■    h  nil    the    ni"  1    |i  in    practio     to    n 

clucc   the    fire    hazard    I    al  ippi  'I    v  ilh   1 

1, mi    ■  pecified    prolei  livi     appai  atu  lln       -  quii 

mi  in  ,,   in   general,  a 1 0 

'  '.mi'. ■      in     lai adopl      .  oluntarily      in 

the  design  and  coiistrtn  tio 1 1 01 

in   smaller   tow  n     mani .    ci  en    in    build 

plant'-,   arc   often    debarred    fr acting    up   to    tin 

|i  iter  "I  Hi"  lipulation  .  in  all  n  pects,  mi  the 
K i'i uttiil   of   expense.     1  lldci    planl  .   "I    com  ie,   often 

exhibit    wide  points  nf  divergent  1    fi v  bat    undi 

writers  call  the  taiulard.  I  [owever,  bettei  rate 
are   obtained     Ihcon  ticallj ,    al    lea  1     to    tin     dcgiei 

in    « hidi    the    station    under    c leration    a| 1 

mail's    In    the    standard.      The    whole      ubji  1  1     ha 

In  ni   .mil   is   being  carefully   investigated   I"     

mittee  <>f  lli"  Illinois  State  F.lcctric  Association, 
and  the  reader  is  n  fi  rrccl  to  ,1   reporl   ol   the   Peoria 

convention  of  thai   associ 1  We  tern    F.lectrii  ian 

"i    1  Ictobcr    1  1.    1905  1    fi  r    further    inf  ir ion       In 

addition  data   arc   herewith  given  of  the  fire  under- 
writers'  requirements    for   what   is   termed   a    stand 
anl   electric   light   and   power   station.     These    facl 
in.i\    well  be  preserved   for  future   reference: 

Ml  generators  must  be  located  in  a  dry  place; 
must  lie  insulated  on  floors  or  base  frames,  which 
1111  1  be  kept  filled  to  prevent  absorption  of  moist 
lire,  also  kept  clean  and  dry.  Where  frame  insu- 
lation is  impossible  the  inspector  may,  in  writing, 
perinil  ils  omission,  in  which  case  the  frame  must 
be   permanently   and  effectively  grounded. 

Conductors  from  generators,  switchboards,  rheo- 
stats or  other  instruments  and  thence  to  outside 
lines  must  be  in  plain  sight  and  readily  accessible; 
must  be  wholly  on  non-combustible  insulators,  such 
as  glass  or  porcelain,  and  must  be  separated  from 
contact  with  floors,  partitions  or  walls  through 
which  they  pass  by  non-combustible  insulating 
tubes.  They  must  be  rigid  and  so  far  apart  that 
they  cannot  come  in  contact,  and  must  be  covered 
with  non-inflammable  insulating  material  sufficient 
in  prevent  accidental  contact,  except  that  bus-bars 
may  be  made  of  bare  metal.  They  must  have 
ample  carrying  capacity  to  prevent  heating,  and 
where  leaving  the  building  must  be  looped  down- 
ward, the  tubes  in  which  they  are  inclosed  to  be 
inclined  so  as  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  rain  water 
along  the  wires.  An  approved  safety  fuse  or  automatic 
circuit-breaker,  on  a  non-combustible  base,  must  be 
provided  for  each  feeder  and  primary  main.  All  wire 
connections  must  be  soldered  to  secure  good  con- 
tact, excepting  approved  screw  contacts.  Branch 
wires  for  station  lighting  must  be  installed  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  National  Code  of  Rules  for 
electric-light   and   power   wiring. 

Switchboards  must  be  so  placed  as  to  reduce  to 
a  minimum  the  danger  of  communicating  tire  to 
adjacent  combustible  material.  Special  attention 
is  called  to  the  fact  that  switchboards  should  not 
be  built  down  to  the  floor,  nor  up  to  the  ceiling, 
but  a  space  of  at  least  18  inches  or  two  feet 
should  be  left  between  the  floor  and  the  board 
and  between  the  ceiling  and  the  board  in  order  to 
prevent  fire  from  communicating  from  the  switch- 
board to  the  floor  or  ceiling,  and  also  to  prevent 
the  forming  of  a  partially  concealed  space,  very 
liable  to  be  used  for  storage  of  rubbish  and  oil)' 
waste.  The  boards  must  be  accessible  from  all 
sides,  when  the  connections  are  on  the  back,  or 
may  be  placed  against  a  brick  or  stone  wall  where 
the  wiring  is  entirely  on  the  face.  They  must  be 
kept  free  from  moisture  and  made  of  non-combus- 
tible material  or  of  bard  wood  in  skeleton  form, 
filled  to  prevent  absorption  of  moisture,  tUts-bars 
must  lie  equipped  in  accordance  with  rules  for 
placing   conductors. 

Resistance  boxes  and  equalizers  must  be  equipped 
with  metal  or  other  non-cumbustible  frames;  the 
word  "frames'1  meaning  the  entire  case  and  sur- 
roundings of  the  rheostat,  and  not  alone  th-  uphold- 
ing supports.  These  boxes  and  equalizers  must 
be  placed  on  the  switchboard,  or,  if  not  thereon,  at 
a  distance  of  a  foot  from  combustible  material,  or 
separated  therefrom  by  a  non-inflammable,  non- 
absorptive  insulating  material- 
Lightning  arresters  must  be  attached  to  each  side 
of  every  overhead  circuit  connected  with  the  sta- 
tion, and  must  be  mounted  on  non-combustible 
bases,  in  plaint  sight  on  the  switchboard  or  in  an 
equally  accessible  place  away  from  combustible* 
material.  They  must  also  be  connected  with  at 
least  two  "earths"  by  separate  metallic  strips  or 
wires  having  a  conductivity  not  less  than  that  of 
the  No.  6  B.  &  S.  wire.  These  sirins  or  wires  must 
be  run  as  nearly  as  possible  in  a  straight  line  from 
the  arresters  to  the  earth  connection.  Arresters 
must  be  so  constructed  as  not  to  maintain  an  arc 
after    the    discbarge    has    passed. 

fn  general  all  apparatus  must  be  maintained  in 
good  condition  and,  together  with  all  wiring,  must 
conform  with   rules   for   safe   wiring. 


.if.     i-.l.l.i  TRII 

Test  of  600-kllowatt  Curtis  Steam 
Turbine. 

I'h     turbim 

'"  ri 

top   b   iring     fti 
-     ndi  ijcrs  arc  ol 

mparl 

citatio 

■"'"  il   Curti     tui 

is   used   for  In 

'" ;'''''      Si -'ii  thi  pu 

.iiii"     111. niii.i 

I  he    follow  ii 

with  '     l'"  '■   -;"      ill     

third,  full  I-."; 
without  auxili  11 
ti   1     .'..  1.    also  "i  idi     iftci     trd  on 

mfi       mill  1 I 

ci pound    I.  1.  Buckeyi 

■'  ted  to    1    100-kilov     IG 

1  ,1-1       1  I,,    .  tl 

compound    condensing    Bui  keyi    1    g 

'  'I      I"     a      133-kilov 

nator       I  be   condensi  r    foi    il  1     ,  quipi     nl     ■ 
the    \\  In  eler 

and  an   pistons  "ii  one  rod.     First,  thi 
'  ngim    was   run   alone,   full   lo 
""i"     in   parallel,   full    load;   third,    bi 
parallel,  variable  load.     (All   without    tuxil 
Following  are   the    results    of   the   test 


5- 

11 

2 

is 
< 

c 

l> 

E 

p 

§  1 

h 

=  5 
1  = 
m 

21.67 
21.82 

15.52 
26-52 

II 

-3 
a 

No.  1.    Turbine  X 

8.00 

25= 

366 

518 

301 

432 
2.12 

So. 6 

73-2 

103. r> 
67.4 

ISO 

1 1 
147 

117 

27.87 

26.91 
27.81 

28. 02 

5,487 

'     ' 
20,370 

6,432 

No.  2.     Turbine 

variable  load... 
No.  3.     Turbine 

lull   load 

No.